3-Minute Clay Mask

I think one of the best (and sometimes worst when I consider my bank balance) things about being a blogger is discovering new products. Whilst reading Megan's July favourites post on A Scholar Life I decided I wanted to check out the 3-minute Clay Mask from Boots.

Boots Essential is stocked in all highstreet Boots stores and I know that a lot of people regularly buy their face wipes as they do their job and are reasonably priced. At £2.03 for 50ml I think this product can be categorised in a similar manner. 

The primary ingredients are Kaolin (a clay mineral, hence the name) and Glycerin, which is designed to help the clay dissolve when you wash it off. Clay is widely regarded has being great for skin because it usually absorbs oil. Kolin is white clay which is one of the most gentle forms of cosmetic clay – making it genuinely appropriate for ‘all skin types’ as the tube claims. It aims to draw out oil whilst cleansing and stimulating the circulation to give you a healthy glow. I do generally tend to reach for this when I feel like my skin has been acting just a little bit too oily. The packaging says it can be used either once or twice a week. I do probably put it on weekly, but with a shelf life of 24 months I’m in no rush to get through it. 

As I’m sure you guessed, you apply the mask for 3 minutes. I like to apply a good, thick layer and even though it’s only on for the short period of time it does begin to feel slightly tight. However, it does not actually dry hard and washes of more like a luxe face wash. I have found that the best way to remove it is using a large cotton wool pad run under the tap (I use Large Ovals which are 65p for 50 here). 

The best thing about this mask is that it genuinely leaves your skin feeling healthy and clean. It has a slight cucumber smell, as the product does include a small amount of cucumber extract, which makes it refreshing. I imagine that on a hot day if you put this in the fridge for a short amount of time it would be luscious. 

I would definitely recommend this little tube of goodness as it leaves my skin feeling really freshl; if you have oily/combination skin this is definitely worth spending the pennies on for a weekday skin pick me up.

Justifying a Models Own Haul

Everyone has that one brand whose nail polishes outnumber any other in their collection and Models Own is definitely mine. I actually only discovered the brand a relatively short time ago when a friend gave me a bottle of Mystic Mauve as part of a birthday present (January 13^th, thanks for asking!). At first I thought it would be destined to lay dormant in a draw because it looked far too shiny and the light purple-silver just wasn’t what I was used to, tending to gravitate towards slightly bolder nail colours. I can’t remember the exact circumstances but somehow it did end up on my nails and I was in awe. It applies incredibly easily and the shine I was worried about dried into a salon nail looking sheen. Then on a shopping trip I stumbled across the now much loved Ibiza Mix which is also incredibly beautiful. I quickly added Lemon Meringue and Aqua Violet (Beetle Juice) to my collection and thus my love affair with Models Own was born.

Whilst browsing the ASOS sale website at the recommendation of Beauty’s Bad Habit I discovered that I could indeed get the Mini Trio, RRP £8, for the bargainous £4.50 – cheaper than one full size polish. This trio contains a two-toned pinky-brown, a golden green and a bubblegum pink with a slight iridescent sheen all in 6ml bottles. They all apply easily with good coverage from 2 coats and excellent coverage with anymore. (Shown in the picture is only 1 coat, except for the on the middle finger). I have a tendency to put my nails through hell during the day but can get a good 3 days wear out of each of these. I was worried that these miniatures would be below par because I do know a few companies whose sample-size products often have formula inconsistencies but these are the same as their bigger 14ml brothers.

I also found that the Beetlejuice trio was reduced to £7.50, RRP £12. Since my favourite nail polisuh is from that collection I quickly added this to my basket. It contains Emerald Black, Golden Green, and Pinky Brown. (admittedly at the time of ordering I didn’t register that both trios contained the same pink, I should’ve read the description). I thought the Emerald Black polish would be similar to Aqua Violet but, by itself it applies as a beautiful, almost matte, black. All these polishes an also be applied over other single tone nail colours to re-invent the shades.

I love all these products and surprised myself by even liking the golden-green shade. I couldn’t wear it on every finger but as an accent nail I’ve had many compliments. (I know that I don’t need two bottles just to do accents so I may put it in a giveaway). If you haven’t already tried Models Own nail varnish I would recommend checking them out as they have a great range. Personally, I really want to visit the Bottleshop but their regular stands can be found in select Boots stores.

Once again apologies for horrendous photos, I cannot wait to be reunited with my camera.

Wonderful Wednesday ♥ Minimalist DIY

I love DIY projects; I will occasionally scroll through the DIY tag on tumblr for hours looking at the brilliant things people have made. However, I am also blessed with an incredibly short attention span so unless I can see results immediately I may never actually make it through to the completion of a project.

Because of this one of my favourite ‘DIY’ (I use the term loosely) things to do is paint jars with white paint. No joke, you should try this as it is amazing – you don’t even just have to use white! Staying within this vein I recently discovered a new old kitchen object that looks amazing smothered in paint.

Like pretty much every girl in my age bracket I love candles. My room is full of large jar candles, little decorative candles, and I also have a large collection of tealights. Tealights are cheap and cheerful, but I’m not a massive fan of having them spread about the room loose as I feel like they don’t look so great (and I often worry I might accidentally put something next to them that will set on fire!). That’s why I am absolutely in love with these tealight wall holders made from empty tuna tins.

The potential for making these more exciting is also huge. If you are more artistic than I am you can put any sort of design on, or you could wrap them in ribbon or lace. Plus you have unlimited possibilities for how to display them on the wall; I am in my uni house at the moment and we have zero tools at our disposal so it is currently affixed with white tack (Health and Safety freaks, yes I know, I will not be leaving them unattended). But if I take a few home with me I will poke some holes in them so that I can either hang them down with some pretty strings or pin them into the wall.

As I (or my housemates) get through more tuna in the upcoming year I will for sure be making more of these, possibly incorporating some sort of hanger/mobile design which might look a bit more fancy than this picture. I will most likely put a picture on twitter if I do get it completed so feel free to follow me @GRTBlog.

Hope you had a Wonderful Wednesday!

PS: Apologies for poor photos, I've left my camera daawn Sarf (down South).

Welcome Back (Me).

I don't know what happened over the last few weeks; it was one of those where I kept thinking about writing a blog post but they just never materialised. I'm still playing the fun game of commuting, working and generally not having the most exciting summer (there's still time, hopefully!) so don't really have a great excuse for not updating. However, I will be finishing off all the posts I have half written over the next few weeks. This means I will be one of those annoying people who appear unrelentingly onto your Bloglovin' reads list - I didn't check it for one day last week and came back to 67 unread posts, either I follow to many blogs or people have more time on their hands at the moment!

Anyway, to ease me back in I thought I'd do a quick Instagram round up of July. I'm a bit late to the game and am just getting properly into it so feel free to leave your Instagram names in the comments, and I'll check them out. You can find me at @MissAniYates.

Riding Ripsaw at Alton Towers - ASOS Models Own Sale - In London with my Northern Roomates and an American

- Providing Tea and Cake for a night in - Playing Rounders - Classes for 3rd Year (Hello Shakespeare) - 

Indulging in Millies Chocolate early at Euston Station - Giving Blood - Grapes in 2 forms for the train journey home.

Since I rambled about it a bit earlier, I should clear up that I do actually love Bloglovin'. I think it's the best way to make sure you get your daily dose of your favourite blogs. If you've not used it before I'd strongly recommend getting an account, it just has a better interface than Blogger's reading list and also has an excellent Android (and presumably iPhone) app. I am currently using it to keep up with We Were Raised By Wolves, Tattooed Tealady, and essbeevee.