The Body Shop Skincare Review

Sorry this has been a long time coming but today I have another review for you, and I'm going to be talking about a few products from the Body Shop Tea Tree range. I bought these items a few weeks ago now (I included them in a haul here) and I've been using them pretty much daily since then. So I'll just talk briefly about each product first, and then I will talk about the effect they've had on my skin as a whole.

Tea Tree Facial Toner

So I was very excited to buy this, as I recently read an article about how everyone should use a good toner on a regular basis. The bottle is huge (I got the 250ml size bottle) and I use this everyday. You only need a really small amount on a cotton pad and then sweep it over your face. I apply it after I've washed my face in the morning before any make-up and then occasionally I also use it before I go to bed at night. This is currently on sale for £5 but I think it was £9 when I bought it.

Tea Tree Skin Clearing Lotion

Again, I picked this up because I read that a good moisturiser is essential to good skin. Since I have combination skin, I've always hated using a moisturiser because it can make by skin oily, but this one doesn't. I apply this after the toner in the morning, and it's lighter than a normal moisturiser. It manages to really get to work in the dry areas of my face without making my t-zone oilier. This one costs £8 for a 50ml bottle.

Tea Tree Concealer

I bought this in the light shade, which is probably a little too light for my skin, but I couldn't find the medium shade in my shop. This is really good for covering up any spots or blemishes, as it has quite strong coverage but with a light feel on the skin. Also I like the way it covers spots without making them any worse. 

Do they work?

Personally, I think they do- I've been using them for a good few weeks now all together, and I have noticed a huge difference in my skin since then. Any oily areas seem to be calming down, my dry skin is no longer dry, and I rarely get spots or blemishes anymore and if they do, they come and go in a flash. 

Would I recommend them?

Definitely- they are a little more than I would normally pay for skincare products, but since they have been working so well I would happily buy them over and over, and it proves that slightly more expensive products are worth the money.

Olivia Ellen XXX

@oliviaellen97

How to: Ombre Nails

So today I'm going to show you how to create an ombre effect on your nails. Ombre was a huge trend last summer and this is a great way to work the trend is a subtle yet stylish way.

You will need:
- 2 nail polishes
- base coat and top coat
- a sponge
- a pair of scissors
- nail polish remover

So this takes a little time but it is quite simple to create, and can be done using some many different colour combinations.

To begin with, clean your nails using nail polish remover- I'm using these nail polish remover pads from Boots.

So next you need to decide what colour nail polishes to use. I like to use the same colour but in different shades, however you could use whatever colours you like (try to contrasting ones for a bold look). For this I'm using two Topshop nail polishes- Green Room and Jewel in the Crown, which are two shades of green.

Next apply a basecoat, I'm using Jessica's Reward Base Coat for normal nails.

Next you'll need a sponge- just a normal sponge you would wash with (I bought mine from a supermarket for about 50p). Then using a marker pen, draw a grid onto your sponge and then cut it up into loads of pieces. You'll probably only need one piece for all of your nails, but it's useful to have a lot of pieces so you can practise or do it again and again.

Now on to the nails! Once your basecoat is dry, paint your nails completely using the lightest shade of polish- I like to do two coats with this nail polish so I get a strong even colour.

Now on a piece of paper, pour out a little of the darker shade of nail polish, and dip the edge of your piece of sponge in it.

Alternatively at this point, you could just paint some polish onto the sponge using the brush, but I find it much quicker and easier pouring some out.

Now, using the sponge, dab the polish over the bottom half of your nail. It doesn't have to be perfect, and it should look a little blobby and a little patchy- this is how we want it.

Repeat that for all your nails and let it dry.

Now take your sponge, and start dabbing again, but this time just on the bottom quarter of your nail. This should make it darker and create a gradient.

You may be thinking at this point that it look just like 3 stripes of colour, and so this is where your topcoat come in. Once the polish is pretty much dry (doesn't have to be perfect, as long as it's not sticky it should be fine) apply a clear topcoat all over the nail (I'm using Jessica's Brilliance topcoat) and you should start to see the colours blending together, so the line between each colour is soft.

So there you have your finished ombre nails! I hope you like them, and give them a go- it's so simple.

Variations:
- use one colour nail polish and just make it get darker the further down your nail you go
- use one base colour and then glitter polish to do the ombre effect
- use a fine glitter topcoat.

Go wild, and feel free to send me some pictures of your attempts, (by twitter or email) I'd love to see them!

Olivia Ellen XXX
@oliviaellen97

Trend of the Week: Sequins and Sparkle

This trend comes just in time for all those Christmas parties you have to go to (or if you're like me, you buy them and then don't have any Christmas parties). It's not for the faint hearted- they are super bright and very bold, but if styled correctly you can look incredible, so don't be shy! As usual, I have four items to show you:

So this first dress is from ASOS, and I love this- the colours are really bold, it has a bodycon shape and a criss-cross cut-out back. What I love about this dress is that it has a longer length which means that the dress stays classy- if it was your usual short dress which I admit, I like to wear, then this would just look tacky, but I think it really works. Also this could be styled in so many ways- I actually read a blog post the other day where this dress was styled casually and for a party. I think for a party, keep it simple, just some heels and some gold jewellery.

Next are these incredible shoes from Topshop which are £65. They have wedge and a heel height of about 5.5 inches which would be pretty comfy to me, and these really are a statement piece. They are covered in glitter and  have gems on the t-bar front of the shoe. They are extravagant yes, but with a simple black dress and some gold jewellery these would be show-stopping, and would definitely get you noticed!

This top is a great way to wear this trend is a more simple way, if you're not into the big bold sparkly look. It's from Boohoo and is a really nice shape. It has some gold sequins down the front, and the rest of the top is like a sheer chiffon material. I love how it's worn here- with some disco pants or wet look leggings and some heels, or you could also dress it down with some skinny jeans and a blazer. At only £20 it's a perfect staple for the Christmas season.

So finally is this dress from Motel Rocks, and they actually have a lot of similar dresses on their website, I really love them. This one in particular has green sequins which change colour in the light, so it's really sparkly and eye-catching. The style of this one is really lovely too- I love the off shoulder look, it's sexy in an understated way. They do this same dress in a few other colours, and a similar one is different styles too (I love the long sleeved version).

Olivia Ellen XXX
@oliviaellen97

ALWAYS wear a basecoat...

Everyone tells me. I've been told so many times. It even says on the back of some bottles.

"ALWAYS USE A BASECOAT"

So what did I do? Well, I didn't use a bascoat, that's for sure. 

What I'm talking about happened to me last weekend. I'd been wearing 'Jewel in the Crown' by Topshop on my nails for a few days, it looks like this:

It is one of my favourite nail polish colours, and I've used a a lot of times before. But I've NEVER had such a disaster as this. I always get told that when you wear bright or intense colours on your nails to wear a clear bascoat underneath the polish, otherwise it will stain your nails. But did I listen? No, of course not. It's me, I just did my own thing, I was in a rush to apply it, so I just slapped it on, applied a top coat and bam, my nails looked great. Luckily, I didn't know what was coming. 

On Sunday, I decided to change my nail polish to a more natural colour, so I got out my nail polish remover pads and started rubbing away at my nails, as you do. I was so annoyed though, as just as people had warned me, the nail polish had stained my nails and they were left with a green tint on them all. Worse still, the nail polish that I had just taken off and that was on the pad was just rubbing off all over my fingers, and so I also had zombie fingers. I took a couple of photos to show you:

Vile. I tried washing my hands and that didn't do it. So I washed them again. And again. And again. Multiple hand washes and a shower later, and my fingers were beginning to look normal, but as for my nails, I had to paint over them, although you can still see some green around my nail beds. 

So the moral of this story is ALWAYS use a basecoat. It's not like I don't have any, I just choose not to use them normally. But from now on, I will be using one of two which I like- the first is by Jessica and is a salon-professional basecoat for normal nails, and the other is Boots Expert Nail Strengthener, which is great for all of you out there who are trying to grow your nails like I am. 

So as I say, I managed to paint over my green-tinged nails, and I am currently wearing a Bourjois polish on my nails called 'Taupe Sompteuex' which I hope won't stain my nails! At least I'm wearing a basecoat.

Olivia Ellen XXX

@oliviaellen97

Today I'm Wearing...

Haven't done one of these posts in ages! But anyway, I just really liked this outfit so I thought I would share it with you. Sorry if the pictures aren't great, I was just about to go out so was in a bit of a rush to take them! But anyway, today's outfit was just some basic pieces dressed up with some interesting accessories.

So my top is a cropped roll neck top in a burgundy colour from Topshop, I'm also wearing a flippy skirt also from Topshop, with some black tights. I just realised this outfit is quite Topshopy- my cardigan is also from Topshop and has a reverse Christmas print on it. In terms of jewellery- I have two pairs of earrings, my main ones are square aztec pyramids studs from Forever 21, and in my second holes are some amber coloured studs from Topshop. My belt is from H&M, my moustache necklace is from Forever 21 and finally my boots are from River Island. Oh, also my lipstick if 'Mulberry' by GOSH. Hope you like!

Olivia Ellen XXX
@oliviaellen97

Trend of the Week: Aztec

Hiya guys! This weeks trend is aztec, and again, this is another trend that I really like, because there are so many variations on it, and it can be worn in so many different ways. So I have 4 items to show you as usual:

So the first is this oversized cardigan from Boohoo and it comes in this burgundy colour and also in black. I love the baggy shape, and the pattern too. This would go with so many things- I would definitely wear this with a plain skater dress and some Converse, I think that would look really good. So this is only £20 which I think is an alright price, and I might find myself buying this at some point in the future.

As I said earlier, there are so many variations on the aztec trend, and this dress on the right is from Motel and it's completely different to the cardigan- it's bright in colour, and has so many different shapes on it. I really like the shape and the neckline, I especially like the exposed shoulders, I'm really into that look at the moment. This dress is £28 and I think you could wear it in different ways- with heels for a night out, or also with some flats and a leather jacket for a more casual look.




So next is this snood which is the perfect way to wear the aztec trend in a simple understated way. This is perfect for winter and can be worn with pretty much anything, and this is £18 from Topshop which is quite a lot, but if you were going to wear it for a lot of winter then I would say it is worth it.






The final item to show you is this phone purse from Urban Outfitters, and I love these hard purses which are the perfect size to put your phone in, and then to keep some money in too. Also if you drop it, then hopefully your phone will stay in one piece! This one is £16 and I think it would be really great if you used it just as a clutch if you were going out as it's nice and small, and you can slip it into your pocket if you get tired of carrying it.

Olivia Ellen XXX
@oliviaellen97

Birmingham Shopping Haul!

So last weekend I went to Birmingham with a few of my friends- I hadn't got much money on me, I hadn't got plans to buy a lot of things, so I went in with an open mind and just decided that if I saw something I liked I would buy it. So I bought 6 things which I'll show you, and they're mostly from Forever 21 (which I live in whilst in Birmingham!) and then one item from Topshop. So anyway, I'll get started:

This first item is from Forever 21 and is this gorgeous faux fur collar in a deep burgundy/wine colour. This was a complete impulse buy- I spotted this up on the top shelf and just fell in love with it. I'm really in love with collars at the moment, and I think this will look good over some coats and shirts, and because it's detachable I think it's a simple way to add some glamour to an outfit. This cost £6.65 and hopefully I'll be able to get a lot of wear out of it this winter.

Next is a top from Topshop, and it's a skinny polo crop top in an aubergine colour. I'd seen someone online wearing a top similar to this and she styled it really well so I thought I'd buy it. It's not too short, so will be ok for winter with some high-waisted bottoms. It's a really nice shape so it shows off the shoulders, and I think this is quite sexy in an understated way. Also polo necks are really on trend at the moment and this one is really nice because it doesn't come up too high. Originally I wanted to buy the white version of this top but every single one had make-up all over the neck and body, so I went for this colour instead. This was £10 which I don't think is too bad as I actually saw the same top in American Apparel for a lot more than this.

So next are some jewellery items from Forever 21- first up are these really cute hair clips which are really simple, just normal hair clips but I was just drawn to the cute pastel colours. Normally I only use hair grips in my hair but I end up loosing so many of them so I thought that if I bought some hair clips I would be much less likely to loose them. Also these are amazing value- there are 12 in this pack and they were only £1.10 so I'm super happy with them.

Next is a necklace which isn't anything special, I've seen similar ones many times before but I still think it's lovely- it's a gold necklace with a moustache charm on the end, and it was only £2.40 so I bought it as I think it will add a fun twist to an outfit.

Finally two pairs of earrings- the first are this pair of studs which were a bargain at £1.50 and they're really cute and I love that from the front they look blue and sparkly, but from the side they are clear plastic. But yeah, they're really nice and just great for day to day wear.

The other pair of earrings I bought are these square pyramid earrings in gold, which have like an aztec pattern on. They are quite large, so I think they'll hang down belong my lobe. I think they'll be nice to wear for day and night, and they're not quite what I was looking for (I actually wanted some triangle aztec style earrings) but I couldn't find any others and they were only £3.90 so I thought I would buy them.

So overall I'm really happy with what I bought, and I'm sure you'll be seeing these items in some 'how to style' posts (I'm thinking of doing a how to style crop tops for winter so let me know if you're interested in seeing that in the comments below) and I'll see you soon!

Olivia Ellen XXX
@oliviaellen97