Wednesday 29 July 2015

London

The other week I spent four nights in central London and took quite a few photos, the best of which I thought i'd share.
I love London. I love how lively, vibrant and busy it is so every time I go I try to capture that as well as I can on my crappy phone camera (my camera got rain damaged last summer).
The following images are captured from the streets, a boat, an open top bus and the London Eye (which was insane and nerve wracking).
Enjoy x



















TTFN x

Monday 27 July 2015

Evening skin care routine

Skin care is and should be an important part of everyones life, especially what you use before bed as if will work all the wonders (or not) as you sleep. For this reason I find that it's more acceptable to maybe invest more in slightly more expensive skin care IF it does the job.
Anyway, now I have an evening routine I am happy with, I thought I would share what I use on a daily basis. 
PS: I have very dry, sensitive and acne prone skin (yay)





1) Cleanse
Liz Earle - Cleanse and Polish

This cleanser has been raved about over and over and for good reason. It is perfect for removing all your makeup including you eye makeup, and leaves your skin feeling really soft and clean. You can purchase a 100ml bottle with a pump for £14 which, for an incredible cleanser, I think is great value. It does have quite a pungent herbal smell, as it's packed with natural and essential oils, however i don't find it at all unpleasant and definitely doesn't take anything away from the quality of the product.


2) Exfoliate
Pixi - Glow Tonic

This step helps sweep away all dead skin cells and excess impurities from the day, and can also be used in the morning for those with less sensitive skin, not that this is at all harsh.
A couple of squirts of this over your whole face makes you feel even fresher and cleaner and is an important step, not to be missed. As i do have slightly more sensitive skin, I steer away from harsh exfoliants with bits in which tend to leave my skin dry, red and raw. So if you suffer from the same issue, this gentle liquid exfoliant would be perfect.


3) Serum
Kiehl's - Midnight recovery concentrate

Now this is a bit on the pricey side, but is just an incredible treatment for those who suffer from acne and blemishes and you only need a couple of drops to make a huge difference. It goes to work straight away and you wake up with clearer, fresher skin (everything in my routine tends to make you feel fresh apparently). It dispenses as a soft, fragrant oil but absorbs beautifully so don't worry about going to bed covered to clogging oil!


4) Blemish treatment
La Roche Posay - Effaclar duo

This is an optional step but, again, if brilliant for spots and blemishes. Out of my collection, this is the product I have been using the longest and have repurchased many a time. I cannot live without it.
To be honest there isn't much else to say apart from you can also use this in the morning and isn't too drying or anything horrible like that that some blemish treatments can cause.


5) Moisturise
Clinique - Moisture Surge

This product is just a complete god send for those with dry and/ or sensitive skin. Again, not cheap, but I have genuinely scoured the market for a dupe with similar hydration yet IT DOES NOT EXIST! This is so soothing and hydrating due to its gel formula and sinks in immediately so even if you have oilier skin I think it would suit. Alternatively, in the evening I occasionally use a night cream however i still prefer this all day round!


6) Eye cream
Kiehl's - Creamy eye treatment with Avocado

Oh look more Kiehl's!
Again, not an essential step for those younger out with naturally hydrated eye bags (ugh), but my under eyes do tend to get a little dry. This is REALLY nice. It appears like a thick cream but, on applying, blends out like an oil and sinks in lovely. I also have quit dark under eyes and this doesn't really combat that, but my concealer sits a lot better on top of this as without it does gather on my dry patches.



So this is my current routine, but i'm always on the look out for to grow my skin care collection to ensure I am doing everything possible to care for my skin in the right way, so feel free to recommend other products for me to try in the comments.
I also have a morning routine (sort of), but its pretty embarrassingly lazy right now so I'm hoping to grow into a better one which I might share in the future.

TTFN x


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Sunday 26 July 2015

ASOS Palaver (customer service review)

So, everyone uses and loves ASOS (including me) but i have never been in a situation in which I have had to deal with their customer service until recently, so I thought I would write about my experience for anyone wanting to know a little more about how they deal with something when your delivery goes pear shaped.

About a week ago I ordered a few items through the website, the night before I was going down to London for my hols. Not wanting to go away without my new clothes, I selected the click and collect option on checkout and put in a postcode around where I was going to stay in the hope i could pick them up when I arrived. However, being in a rush and basically just a bit of a knob, I unknowingly selected a store in Cheshire (whhhhyyyyy).
Anyway, there i am in London at around 9pm the following evening, flicking back through my emails to double the address of the collecting store i thought i had thought was only around the corner... After realising my complete internet fail, i desperately scoured the internet for a way to adapt my delivery option, only to be told "we can't make any any changes once you've placed you order". *swigs on bottle and cries into pillow*. Just to add it is apparently because "We're really quick at packing up your order" (brilliant).
Tired and growing a strange attachment to my order, I search for an ASOS customer service number and, without any recollection of normal office hours, I dial. I press 1 as instructed and am put through to a ridiculously charming Irish man called Jamie (ridiculous because by now it was 10pm and he was still in work, not because he was Irish dear god). I proceed to babble about my flunder and beg for a an alternative to driving miles up north just to collect my package (THE NORTH IS FINE TOO IT'S JUST FAR I PROMISE!). He then, after taking my delivery number, explains that my order was still pending at the warehouse so cannot be adapted the moment, so I was to call again once I had received the conformation email the my package was voyaging off to the great northern land with the chance that it could be re-diverted (yay!).
On a high i settle into Netflix before getting tired and checking my emails on my way to bed, only to discover my despatchion (not a word) email had landed in my inbox an hour ago. Now midnight (seriously ASOS your customer service team do need sleep yannow), I call and explain my situ and early conversation with her client of another woman of who's name I forget (sorry!). She apologetically explains that it probably isn't really an option however I would receive a full refund. Normally, i would sigh and hang up with gratitude for their time, but it was late, I was tired and I was prepared to be phone sassy so begged (wow SO sassy) her to try and find an alternative. She briefly put me on hold before returning and (after a bit more begging) explaining there WAS a slim chance that she may be able to re-deliver the package to my payment address of which I was hugely grateful. So i hung up, slept and woke up to an email explaining my package was on its way to my home address. Well, most of it. Two items had gone out of stock... :(

So no, I didn't have my clothes for my city break but all in all, I was really impressed with the waiting times, the late customer service phone line and genuinely helpful people the other end of the phone. For those of you wondering, Im not sure if it's a 24/7 phone line, but I was completely ready both times to hear an irritating automated voice explaining that their offices were closed and they don't live in their cubicles you know! I would definitely rate the service 9/10. Not quite a 10 from Len just because I'm stingy like that, but seeing as the palaver was my own fault, they probably deserve full marks!

TTFN x