Beauty tips: Spots

Spots can be somewhat troublesome, some can look awful and some make us feel really self-conscious. Small steps can be taken such as using concealer to cover them but I believe that prevention is better than a cure. Steps can be taken to prevent spots occurring, leaving skin looking clean and fresh and in turn will make you feel much better and happier in your skin.

Steam - Hot steam is great for opening up the pores and giving skin a deep clean. My favourite is mixing a few drops of tea tree oil with hot water and covering your head with a towel to keep the steam in. Time yourself 20 mins then pat dry. Or you could pop on a face mask afterwards. Think about trying different oils and collecting them in little pots.

Exfoliate - Find the right for exfoliator for your skin. If you have sensitive skin, use an exfoliator that's less harsh. It's all about trial and error. Using an exfoliator scrubs away all the dirt and grim that gets collected in pores and on the skin. As dead skin cells are scrubbed away; it reveals new and fresh skin. Be careful not to scrub to hard, gentle circular motions will work just as well.

Makeup Brushes - Dirty makeup brushes can contribute to spots. When using brushes, they collect dead skin cells, although we cannot see this, they are so small and become trapped in the bristles. (Think of applying blusher for instance.) So the next time you use the brush, there will be trapped dead skin cells from when you last used it. Giving your brushes a regular clean will remove these and will prolong the life if your brushes too!

Face Mask - Using a face mask weekly can help your skin too. As I have oily/combination skin; I find mud masks work really well for me. Apply evenly and leave to soak for 10-15 mins to get the best effects. I like to leave mine on while I'm in the bath, then I rinse off before I get out.

Foods - Certain foods can help give the skin a healthy boost. Try and maintain a healthy diet, plenty of fruit, vegetables, oily fish are all great for the skin. If you have lots of chocolate, sweets and fizzy drinks, try and cut these down to a minimum. Takeaways are also notorious for being unhealthy too. Reflect on your diet and see what small changes you can make. It might be simply drinking more water.

Cleanse, Tone & Moisturise - Try and find the best products and routine that suits your skin. If your skin is sensitive, you might what to look at products that are specifically tailored to sensitive skin types. Get into a routine of cleansing, toning and moisturising morning and evening.

No makeup days - Exactly what it says. Try to have days where you wear no makeup. If you have a day off work or college, give your skin a treat and allow it to breath.  Fitting in days like this means you aren't clogging the pores with makeup and long term, will benefit your skin for a younger and healthier looking face.

I hope some of these tips have helped. If you have any of your own, please leave a comment! Now that you have read this post, do you think you'll make any changes?

What Being A Blogger Can Do To You!

Hi lovelies! I hope you're all doing well and have had a fab weekend! Today, I'm going to be talking about 'Things Blogging Will Do To You', the 'side effects' of blogging if you prefer. Now, I know a lot of my readers are already bloggers and will be fully aware of most things I am going to be talking about in this post. However, I know some of you aren't bloggers yourselves, or maybe you're fairly new to blogging. So, take this post as a warning. These are a few things that could happen to you if you become a blogger.

Talking to Strangers
Remember what your Mum told you about never, ever talking to strangers? Forget about it. If you become a blogger, you will talk to completely random strangers on the internet every. single. day. On twitter, facebook, through comments, they're everywhere! There's even a #bbloggers chat on twitter twice a week that encourages talking to random strangers to chat away to eachother between the 8pm and 9pm. Though don't worry Mums, we're a friendly bunch. No dodgy omegle webcam chats here. And besides, we won't be strangers for long, other bloggers can quickly become your friends. Yay!

Taking Photos of Everything
'NO! Don't take a bite of that yet I haven't taken a photo!', 'I can't try this new lipstick yet, it'll look rubbish in photos if I do', 'Ooh Puppy! *click*'. If these are things you find yourself saying or doing while out and about, you've got blogger syndrome. You will begin to feel the need to take photos of everything, it's raining? Photo. On the tube? Photo. New shoes? Duh, photo. Afterall, this week's Instagram post is next week's 'week in photos'.

It's Okay, I Can Review it
This is an excuse you will make a lot while shopping. New lipstick you really don't need, it's fine, if you buy it, you can review it on your blog, right? This is a very common side effect to Beauty and Fashion bloggers in particular. You will find yourself spending money on unnecessary things, but telling yourself it's okay because you can do a blog post on it. This is great for your readers as they'll have lots to read, but your bank account, not so much. This is not limited to beauty either, you may buy clothes you don't need, thinking to yourself, 'well, it'll make a great outfit post'. But hey, as long as you let your readers know where you bought it, it's fine by us.

Over Familiarity With Your Postman
You know when you answer the door and the Postman says something like, 'ooh Parcel for you again Chloe!', that you've got blogger syndrome. Your Postman will become very friendly as he's so used to popping over to your house everyday to deliver the ten thousand things you ordered/ got sent this week and yes, your name is on the box, but Posties should not be on first name terms! This is accompanied by another relevant side effect, the post confusion. When I get home from work and ask 'any post?', I generally have absolutely no idea what I'm expecting to turn up. I often open parcels and go 'Oh yeah! This, I forgot about this!'. It's a problem.

No Post Withdrawals
This time, we're not talking the Royal Mail kind of post, we're talking about blog posts. When you visit one of your favourite blogs and realise they haven't posted for a few days, you may start to feel withdrawal symptoms. Where did they go? What are they up to? HOW DO WE KNOW! This can go as far as checking the blogger's twitter to see what's going on, or to find out if they're planning to post soon. This is particularly common with bloggers who post regularly, then don't post for a while. All you can do in this case is read some other blogs and wait patiently for them to return to posting, which I'm sure they will.