Pore Care on a Budget

I recently read this piece on Refinery29 discussing pore strips. I thought it was a bit of a wash out- none of their testers actually seemed to have any skin issues, so I have no idea how they were assessing the products. As a result all their feedback is a little lacklustre and not particularly helpful for people who genuinely have issues with pore size and blackheads.

I have fairly large pores and am always on the look out for things that will reduce them in size/appearance. I don't think there are genuinely products that will make your pores smaller, but there are primers one can use to disguise size. I do also struggle with blackheads, and last year I discovered these Boots brand pore strips. I tried a lot of pore strips as a teenager and always found them barely useful- they made almost no difference and I eventually decided they were a waste of time and money. I relied on (irregular) facials or careful extraction to get rid of them. I picked up the Boots brand as they were on sale and I had been doing a lot of travelling for work and my skin was really suffering.

Let me just say, these are fantastic. They are £4.99 a pack, but I buy them on a 3 for 2 offer, so they work out to £3.32 a pack, with six strips in each pack. This sounds really obvious once I figured it out, but the main trick to using nose pore strips is to make sure you do it after steaming your face. This could just be a really hot shower- I like to do it on the days I wash my hair and am spending the most time steaming in there- but I also use a facial muslin and hot water to open up the pores on my nose. Once you've done that for a good amount of time, stick a pore strip on, wait 15 minutes, pull it off and there you go.

If I have gone some time without using these, I use them a lot, to the maximum recommended on the pack (note- no more than 3x a week) to clear up as much as possible. After that I use one a week or less depending on what I need.

The nose strips are very reliable, but I don't find the facial ones as helpful, but they might be more helpful when used on the forehead and cheeks (I don't use them there as I don't have blackhead problems there).

You don't have to spend an awful lot of money on expensive toners- I've never found a toner that did anything to close my pores for longer than an hour. Ultimately it's about using products that keep them clean so you don't have problems, or using a good primer/concealer to disguise them. Give these a go, but make sure you steam your face a lot first. I held a hot muslin over my nose for 3 minutes, refreshing the muslin very often (as soon as it starts to cool down a little). I just did one, and I would take a photo to show you how well they work but that would probably be gross :)

August Wish List

This is my wish list for the moment- fashion that I'm loving and beauty products that I'm craving. There's no way I can buy everything on here, but a few of them won't break the bank!

1. Fruit Print Blouse, Joy the Store 2. Wish Bracelet in Teal, Ayofemi Jewelry on Etsy 3. 1969 Ankle Zip Legging Jeans in Mulberry, Gap 4. Beige Canvas Tote, Leathinity on Etsy


I'm loving sleeveless collared shirts lately- there's something very retro and Betty Draper about them, and while I'm not a fan of her, her style in the first three seasons of Mad Men is undeniably amazing. They're great for summer, and I love the sort of nerdy vibe they give off. I like this one from Joy a lot; the print is great! It's a shame it's polyester, which is the only thing holding me back at the moment (I am a HUGE fabric snob- being in India we took gorgeous cheap cotton for granted) but I might crack and go for it. I also love these skinny zippered legging jeans from Gap- I actually did pick these up in the sale last week and they are AMAZING. I went for a size up actually, for comfort, and it oddly seemed to work. Everything else was ok in my usual size 10, so I suspect these are actually for tiny people. Anyway they're comfortable, the colour is great, and the mulberry is oddly very wearable. I've been pairing it with sleeveless shirts like this one, including a white collared one with a bird print, and I really love the combination.

These little wish bracelets are very cute, and while I think the whole 'make a wish and then wait for it to fall off' thing is more than a little gimmicky, I love the colours. I'm not really a fan of my jewellery falling apart though, so I might sleep on it.

This leather tote is just brilliant. I don't know what to say. The colours are just gorgeous, it'll work well for summer and A/W,  and that yellow panel is just scrumptious. Want.

1. Essie Nail Colour in Glamour Purse 2. Horto Botanico Tomato Soap 3. Black Olive and Argan Oil Scrub, The Body Shop 4. Korres Wild Rose Lip Butter 5. The Balm Cabana Boy 6. Almond Nail and Cuticle Balm, The Body Shop


I've never wanted brown nail polish before. I have brown skin and it usually looks bad- and I really really dislike the trend for mannequin nails as well. Nude is fine, but why would you want an exact match? It's a bit eerie and, well, mannequin. And mannequins are creepy enough anyway. However, this Essie shade in Glamour Purse, is suddenly calling to me. It's a gorgeous shade, and shopping around on the web it looks like a glossy much darker brown than it does in the bottle.

Horto Botanico do these gorgeous soaps that I've always really loved, and there's something about buying tomato and artichoke and lettuce soap that seems just weird enough for me to love it. They smell wonderful and are not very expensive for a luxury soap. Cambridge tip- the store in the Botanical Gardens actually sells these. Cambridge students have free entry!

I am a long-time scrub lover for keeping skin smooth and radiant, and I love shopping around for new ones. They are quite basic in formula really- some more moisturising and some more scrubby, but in general it's hard to get it wrong and I've rarely tried an unsatisfying one. It's probably the bath product I'm most adventurous with. This Body Shop Moroccan Spa scrub looks wonderful and will bring back happy memories of a Moroccan holiday a few years ago.

I have heard sooo much good about these Korres lip butters that I've been craving them for years. It's time for me to take the plunge, I think! Wild rose looks the best for my skin tone, and it's one of my favourite flowers so that'll be it for me. Same for the Balm blushes. Heard great things about the pigmentation and texture and I think it might be time for me to buy a new blush as it has actually been a very very long time and I don't mean that in fashion years (which are like dog years). The cheekily named Cabana Boy looks wonderful and I am dying to try it. Shame I can only find them online as I'm reluctant to spend without actually sampling first. Anybody know any outlets that sell them?


Lastly, my cuticles are in a shameful state. I had a stressful start to the month and bit my nails terribly and now I need to sort them out as I have some new nail polishes (reviews forthcoming!) that I'd like to debut to my office mates. I've not heard much about the Body Shop cuticle oil doohickey, but I like their products in general and am going to give it a go.

      Wanderlust card set from Satchel and Sage on Etsy


Ok ok, I know I said last thing, but these Wanderlust cards are adorable and not very expensive, and hey, it's summer holiday time! Although not for me. But that's why the cards, right?

What are you wishing for at the moment?

Dorothy Perkins Offer

New Dorothy Perkins offer- 15% off all full price items and £1 delivery. Enter DPSHOP15 at the checkout to claim the discount. For a limited time only, but I can't find a date on the offer!

Abigail Edwards Wallpaper

Home Shopping Spy, the wonderful design and interiors blog of Ideal Homes magazine, just introduced me to Abigail Edwards and her beautiful new range of wallpapers.

This has to be one of the most beautiful wallpapers I've ever seen, if not flat out the most. The Seascape in Winter (it also comes in summer, an aqua) is just incredible. It's £59 for each 10.05m x 52cm roll, and I'm not allowed to do any kind of wallpapering on my current student lease, but I am completely in love with this. 

I'm also keen on the Briar Owl Wallpaper in Gold, which is pricier at £75 but equally stunning. I keep comparing the two and I still can't decide which one I love more. An accent wall covered in either of the two would be simultaneously whimsical, sophisticated, otherworldly and a real thing of beauty. 

Maybe I should settle for a Seascape tea towel in the meantime...

All images from Abigail Edwards' Online Shop. 

Product Review: Lush Sugar Scrub

Although I'm a confirmed Lush fan, I'm not so far gone as to not be able to admit it when a product isn't great. I'm a big fan of scrubs and like to try loads. If you don't exfoliate, believe me, start and you'll be doing your skin a huge favour. It makes me feel very energetic, probably because it briefly improves circulation, it's good for your skin tone, and it's fantastic for things like spotty backs and ingrown hairs. I can't say this enough- I've never had a real problem with spots other than on my face, but if I stop exfoliating a few will roll in. I've tried to convince a few of my friends as well, including some men with serious bacne, and those that have picked it up have reported a difference. Not sure why men are so reluctant to start scrubbing, particularly as they seem to have more problems with body spots.

Anyway, I was excited to try a new scrub, and I really liked the smell of this (I know, I say that a lot), but I was warned in the shop not to use it under running water. Most scrubs will dissipate if you use them directly under a water stream, just like most shower gels, so this didn't bother me, but the problem was more that the entire solid scrub crumbled. You need to break pieces off this, and then store it very carefully and make sure you don't leave it in a bathroom where it is exposed to too much humidity. Is this starting to sound like a bit of a chore? It was :( I didn't manage to preserve mine sadly. It got quite hard which made breaking pieces off nigh on impossible, and then it started to crumble. You have to 'pre-break' pieces as well, as if you get the whole thing wet it'll dissolve.

It's quite a scrubby scrub, which I really like, but might be unpopular with other people as it is very scratchy indeed. The smell is fennel, ginger and sugar and I found it unusual and oddly very nice. It costs £2.75 for 100gm, and considering how little use I got out of it, I'll stick to Rub Rub Rub.

Product Review: Votivo Candle in Deep Clover

I was given this Votivo candle in Deep Clover in the travel version as a present. I'd never bought a Votivo candle before (or heard of the brand) and I have a dangerous relationship with beautiful scented candles. I harbour an unhealthy love for them, but can't buy them very often because they are so overpriced (*cough cough Diptyque*).

The travel candle cost £12 for 81gm and apparently burns for 20-25 hours, which isn't bad (although I think they're a tenner at Harvey Nick's). The full-size candles cost £28 for 193gm and apparently burn for 50-60 hours.

I like the packaging a lot- it's simple and no fuss, but the colour schemes are great. I love the simple two-tone label and think the Deep Clover label is particularly pretty.

Reading the description, this isn't a scent I'd have picked for myself. I gravitate towards floral scents most of the time, and was very surprised by how much I loved this. It genuinely smells enormously like clover to me. It's described as having 'dewy green, aldehydic notes', with 'fescue grass, red clover, stemy greens middle notes' and a 'fir needle, patchouli and cedarwood base'.

The green aldehydic notes are very strong, and the green really lingers. I love the woody base as well, as it seems extraordinarily natural here. This is a very evocative little fragrance- for me it was really as if I'd suddenly been transported to a field of clover. Near a wood.

I've been burning this quite a lot so don't know how much longer it'll last (and I haven't been timing it). The smell lingers a fair amount which I really like because I love the fragrance.

All in all, I'm a convert to Votivo candles and will definitely be buying some more when I've used up the four I currently have on the go. I'd love to try Champaca, Honeysuckle, Pondicherry Sandalwood, Tuberosa, Rush of Rose, Seablue Sky, Rain- I could go on and on but I should draw the line somewhere. I told you I had an unhealthy love for them! I'm also intrigued by the combinations in Mosaic and Lavender Chamomile Pear.

I'd like to try a few more of these, but I was so impressed by Deep Clover and how unusual and somehow magical it is, that I'd probably order them without sniffing. I'm happy as a pig in clover*.

*I apologise. But I'd do it again ; )

Product Review: Lush You've Been Mangoed Bath Melt

I love Lush bath products, but they often strike me as quite indulgent considering you get maybe two uses out of each bubble bar. They're a treat for me, but I do love them. I was lucky with the You've Been Mangoed Bath Melt as it was given to someone I know in a gift box, and as they have extremely sensitive skin that reacts to literally everything, they passed it on to me as a certified Lush lover.

Now I'm not just a Lush lover...I'm also Indian. And our love of mangoes is well documented. I can vouch that it certainly is a national obsession, and of the many many things I miss living in another country, gorgeous fresh mangoes is very very high on the list. Trust me, there is absolutely nothing like eating a mango in India (ok South Asia).

Ok, moving on. MANGOES. No I'm done, really. So this is apparently made from avocado, mango and cocoa butters, and also scented with lemongrass, lime and lemon essential oils. It smells gorgeous, but actually quite natural somehow, especially compared to the Body Shop mango body butter, which I find quite cloying and overly sweet.

I can't remember what bubble bath I was using at the time, but I remember I found it very drying so I needed extra moisturiser afterwards. However, there was no chance of that when I used this melt. It made the water feel like silk. It was incredibly soft and fragrant, and very very moisturising. I used the whole thing (partly because it had been sitting around for a while) but you can probably slice off pieces and use smaller amounts. I really liked the feel of this, and if you love a nice soak but find them very drying something like this is perfect for you!

Ultimately I love bubbles too much to use this on its own. I combined it with bubbles when I used it and the whole thing was a very very indulgent soak - I stayed in there for hours with a book to make the most of it! I haven't bought another one since just because it's more economical for me to switch to bath products that moisturise and create mountains of bubbles so I can have both rather than buying two separate products. If you're not bothered about bubbles you won't have that problem*.

I might buy one again for the smell though. Probably the next time I feel homesick! It costs £3.10 for 30gm which isn't terrible considering how strong it seems to be. I do wish they'd use the fragrance on something else as well.

*I mean this in the loosest sense of the word.