Little Lottie: April 2014

Sunday 27 April 2014

Poreless. Battle of the toners!

Until cutting foundation and powder out of my daily routine I've never been interested in using a toner, although I have visible pores they were always easy enough to cover up however now they are out for the world to see action had to be taken. 

I've been trying a few toners over the recent months and I think you will be surprised to hear my favourite.

First of all I searched for something that would suit my skin type (combination/oily/blemish prone) and one product was talked about a lot. The Boots Botanics Rosewater Toning Spritz, Rosewater is very gentle and as the product is organic and fragrance free I had to give it a go. 

First impressions were good, easy to use spray and go, I like your style Boots! 
The smell is amazing and not too overpowering which is always promising when you've got it on your face all day. The product sank in slower than the others but a few dabs with cotton wool did the trick. I've got to be honest, as a toner I would of liked it to close up my pores more but for an everyday look I still needed a dab of concealer on my T zone with this product. 

Next I went to Simple, a brand I love and the major selling point for me was that I read Lucy Watson (Made in Chelsea star) uses this and I've always admired her immaculate English rose complexion. 

The Simple Soothing Facial Toner has a thicker consistency than the Botanics competitor and works almost instantly. I found it closed up my pores quickly, got rid of any shine and made my T zone silky smooth (Happy Charlotte) 

The price is small so it's worth giving this product a go, it doesn't break me out and is perfect to put makeup straight onto.

My third and favourite toner is a homemade remedy which also means it costs less than a £1! After struggling lately with aggressive breakouts I turned to the Internet for 'kitchen cupboard' remedies and soon found apple cider vinegar or lemon toners were the most raved about. 

I so happened to have a lemon lying about (I recommend juicing a lemon over buying the juice in a bottle) and decided to give it a whirl. I diluted the lemon juice to stop the citric acid from agitating my sensitive skin and put it in a spray bottle using about 1 quarter lemon juice and 3 quarters water. Give it a shake and spray on a cotton pad to dab onto T zone and any blemished areas! 

I immediately felt my skin tightening and the lemon juice had diminished my pores but left a natural dewy glow (LOVE IT)

I always trust what's in the kitchen cupboard over shop bought products. 

Have you got any home made beauty products?

Charlotte x

Lush King of Skin. Moisture Magic!


It's rare that I make a visit into Lush despite the enticing smell that can be recognised from 3 shops down. 
However after hearing the lovely Tanya Burr rave about the King of Skin body butter I had to investigate. 

I was looking for a body moisturiser as I'm so lazy when it comes to it and I'm off to sunny Cyprus in a week so much moisture will be needed to prolong my tan (hopeful pale Charlotte!) 

After smelling the delicious crown I had to make the purchase and I've got to admit the product may even convert me into moisturising everyday (i'm not making any promises) 

The scent is what I would describe as a vanilla  flavoured chocolate orange which sort of makes me want to eat it (like all the other Lush products!) 

The crown isn't easy to hold as it melts in your hand whilst in use so I have used cling film to prevent myself ending up with a melted yellow poo on my desk. 
The good thing is it melts onto the skin easily without having to scrub your skin to death.  It blends around the whole body a bit like an oil and the results are great!

It does leave a slight residue on the skin afterwards but as a fan of coconut and hair oil myself I don't mind this and my skin sucked in all the moisture after about 10 minutes. 

As with a lot of Lush products the scent sticks around for a while which I love with this product but I would recommend going to Lush and giving it a sniff yourself as my description is probably completely inaccurate! 

If you have any favourite lush products comment below! 

Charlotte x

Tuesday 1 April 2014

Concealers. Stuck in a rut.

Concealers. They are the pesky little devils that I cant seem to conquer. 

As I've mentioned before I don't wear foundation due to my troublesome skin but for my dabbing concealer here, there and everywhere does the trick. When I want a bit more coverage I mix my 'at that moment' concealer with some moisturiser and dab all over with my Eco Tools sponge. (I say 'at that moment' concealer because it's CONSTANTLY changing) - which is an expensive habit. 
Eco Tools Sponge Stick
My favourite concealer off all time is Boi-ing by Benefit. Boy do I love this. Its full coverage and as promised doesn't budge. Its pretty much bang on colour for me using shade 01, just slightly too dark. (you didn't think I wasn't going to complain a little did you?) I love the creamy consistency most as it provides amazing coverage and an effortlessly blended finish. However, it breaks me out like a bitch. I have just hit pan and am bracing to purchase another £17 pot.

Boing by Benefit
Shade 01























I'm sure you are all bored of bloggers and vloggers rambling on about this Collection Lasting Perfection beaut so I will spare you the lengthy review. The price is still considerably small compared to my Benefit love but has risen since the hype started. I heard about this through my favourite blogger and YouTuber; Zoella. I'd say it is worth the hype in the way that it's good coverage for a liquid concealer and is an excellent colour match for me, however I find it too cakey at times and tend to save it for a Saturday night boogey when I want to look flawless. 
Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer (01)
The newest concealer to my collection is the Maybeline Better Skin concealer which is averagely priced for the generous tube. The first thing I noticed was there was a very limited colour range and as I am pale it doesn't usually bode well with my skin. As suspected it is a bit orange for me but with a tan I could get away with it. The advert convinced me to make the purchase. (falling for the pretty model pictures again) Again it is a little to dark and heavey for me, it didn't improve the condition of my skin which is the main point of the product. Sorry Maybeline.
Maybeline Superstay Better Skin Concealer

My final concealer review is the Revlon Colourstay. I'd never tried a Revlon face product before this and it never occurred to me to look into them but when I was in a rut one day I Googled the exact words; 'concealers that don't cause breakouts' and this was the most common result! After reading reviews on trusty Boots I made the purchase and bought shades 01 pale and 02. (01 is more pink toned and 02 is more yellow toned) A mix of the two is a good colour for me and I have been using it everyday for a few months now. I don't feel the need to re-apply whilst I'm at work for 8 hours and behind my No 7 translucent powder it looks rather natural. I'd like it to be fuller coverage but on an everyday basis it's enough!
Revlon Colourstay
Bourjois have recently released a happy light concealer and I'm keen to try it despite the harsh ingredients it may contain. (looks like a bit of a creamy Benefit dupe)    

Please leave any recommendations in the comment section to get me out of my rut.        

Heatless Curls

I was recently invited to a posh event with work which was really exciting but I knew it was going to be a long day and hard work before the lavish affair in the evening so had to choose a sensible hairstyle.
Whilst usually sporting a straight hairstyle I like to wear curls on special occasions and friends actually thought I'd got my hair done professionally after creating this look so I'm going to explain it the best I can as it saved me so much time compared to a curling iron. 

Here I my step by step guide to stunning curls using no heat!

You will need an elastic hair band like this;


1. Using the hair band scrape your hair back keeping the hairband relatively close to the front of your head.

2. Next grab a peice of hair from the front (the size depends on how big or small you want the curl) and pull the hairband away from your head so you can see a gap.

3. Pull the piece of hair through the gap from behind the hole. You are essentially wrapping your hair around the band and it should look like this.


4. Repeat the process slowly grabbing more hair every time you twist so that you have one chunk of hair wrapping around the hairband.
You should eventually start to run out of hair to twist.

5. When you have wrapped your locks around the band pin the band for good measure. You should end up with a hairband of your own hair like this.

6. You should leave your damp tresses wrapped around the band overnight for best results, I always pop on a hair wrap to keep my pillows dry and curls in tact. Silk would be best for this but my wrap is from Primark.

You should end up looking so sexy in a hair wrap
When you wake up carefully pull the hairband from your hair (some gentle unraveling is recommended) 

At this point your hair is a little wild so I give mine a light comb with my fingers and let the curls drop whilst getting changed and doing my makeup.

Here I have finished it off with a small spritz of hairspray and some clips to create a formal look.


I hope you can re-create this look and save tonnes of time in the mornings. Comment if you have re-created the look or have any curling tips, don't forget to follow!