Weekend Eats: Cow & Co

This weekend me and Harry decided to make the most of the glorious weather and head

 out on our bikes for brunch. We decided to try Cow & Co, which is just a two minute walk

 away from the hustle and bustle of Liverpool One.

Cow & Co is a quirky little shop that stocks anything from stationary to kitchenware, and 

everything they sell is designed to perfection. They have recently transformed the ground floor

 of the store into a cafe and, after hearing good things, I decided it was next on my 'places to try' list.

Both me and Harry decided to go for a bagel, and they were pretty great choices. Mine was

 goats cheese and home made pesto, and Harry opted for the cheese, ham and pickle. 

We both also agreed that the cappuccino was the best we had ever tasted (quite a statement

 coming from us)! The greatest part of the cafe itself was its extensive magazine collection. 

There is a whole wall full of cool, alternative magazines to read including my particular

 favourite, Oh Comely. 

Although I loved Cow & Co it is definitely a place to go for a coffee and a small bite

 to eat, and not a meal. The relaxed atmosphere of the cafe was so lovely, and sitting outside

 in the sunshine we completely forgot that we were in the center of Liverpool. I will be visiting 

again for sure, even if it is just for their perfect coffee.

Yes To Grapefruit Daily Facial Scrub

Grapefruit Daily Facial Scrub, Yes To, £6.99

Yes To are a company that I have only recently become familiar with. I first caught 

wind of them during a Twitter bloggers chat and was intrigued to find out more. I began looking 

into the company as I'm a total skincare addict, but like to keep it all as natural as I possibly can.

Yes To make sure that all of their products are at least 95% natural and paraben, petroleum and

 SLS free. Plus, all the packaging is completely recyclable and the products themselves are cruelty free.

 You don't get skincare better than that, surely?

So, after finding out more about Yes To and their natural skincare range I headed to my nearest

 Boots store to check out the range in the flesh. I was in need of a new facial scrub and was immediately

 drawn to this one from their grapefruit range. My skin tone is pretty uneven and prone to blemishes,

 so this daily scrub seemed perfect for me. 

I have been using this grapefruit facial scrub for around two weeks now and I am really pleased

 with it. Not only does this scrub smell ridiculously fresh, it also evens skin tone and enhances

 luminosity. Made with lemon balm, this scrub helps to calm and repair damaged skin, whilst the 

grapefruit oil brightens and moisturises. After the first use my skin looked brighter and fresher,

 and I could really notice a difference. Although this is a daily facial scrub I try and use it just once

 a week as my skin doesn't need scrubbing too often. Overall, I am really impressed with this scrub

 and am looking to venture further into the Yes To skincare range.

Have you tried anything from Yes To? What did you think?

My Everyday Make Up Routine

I love doing my make up but as I work 9-6 five days a week I soon found that I needed to
 discover a lasting but quick and simple daily make up routine. I like to keep my day to day
 make up routine simple and my face looking natural, so I keep the amount of products I
 use to a minimum. I decided to show you my everyday make up routine, as I am quite
 boring and stick to the same thing every day.

Face: After prepping my skin with a morning cleanse and moisturise routine I apply the Revlon Photoready
 Skinlights Face Illuminator in Pink Light. I use this to brighten up my skin as it leaves a dewy finish.
Then I use my Real Techniques Expert Face brush to buff the Nars Tinted Moisturiser, in Finland,
 into my skin. The Expert Face brush is a bit of a cult classic in the beauty world, and personally
I have never used anything that has left such an even finish with my foundation. As the weather is
 getting warmer I recently switched from foundation to the Nars Tinted Moisturiser as it is lighter
 and has a high SPF. I finish off my my face makeup by lightly dusting on the Illamasqua 
Translucent Loose Powder using the Mac Duo Fibre Face Brush. Then, using the same
brush, I lightly sweep the Illamasqua  Powder Blusher in Naked Rose over the apples of my
cheeks and up along my cheekbones.

Eyes: After finishing my face I then move on to my eyes and usually start with my brows. I use
 the Illamasqua Eyebrow Cake in Thunder and the Benefit Hard Angle Brush to lightly fill in my
eyebrows and give them definition. I find a powder gives more of a natural finish than a pencil
when it comes to perfect brows. Then I apply a very light dusting of Mac Vanilla Pigment
 (this is such a wonder product!) over the top of the eyelid using the Real Techniques Base 
Shadow Brush . I don't like to wear eye shadow every day but I find that the vanilla pigment
opens up the eye and leaves it looking brighter, which I am all for. I finish off my eyes with a
few coats of Loreal Miss Manga Mascara in Black on both my top and bottom lashes.

Lips: On a day to day basis my make up look is very natural, and so I like to choose a lip
 colour to reflect this. I usually opt for the Mac Matte Lipstick in Kinda Sexy as the shade
 is a neutral pinky-rose and blends well with the rest of my daytime make up look. I love
 the matte look of this lipstick but it can sometimes be a little drying so I finish the whole thing
 off with a dab of the Lush Cosmetics Honey Trap lip balm as is is nourishing and hydrating.

What is your daily make up routine like? Do you use any of these products?

The Best Budget Buy: Hand Cream

Norwegian Formula Concentrated Hand Cream, Neutrogena, £3.85

I'm not much of a hand cream lover but sometimes needs must, you know?

My hands work incredibly hard: in the gym, at work and when I'm blogging- they just 

don't stop. As hands are the place that show the first signs of ageing I decided it was about time 

I started to show them the love they deserve.

I picked up this little tube when I was waiting at a train station before a long journey with 

work. I don't know what tempted me to purchase this product but when I first rubbed it into 

my hands I was pretty impressed. The formula is thick as it is glycerin enriched and, when

 rubbed in, it coats the hands in moisture. The reason I have never been much of a hand cream 

fan before is the greasy feeling that most leave on the skin. Sticky hands are such a no-no!

This cream however, leaves the skin feeling mattified, nourished and smelling beautiful. 

The fragrance isn't strong but floral enough to leave a lovely powdery lingering scent.

The size of this bottle is another bonus of this hand cream as it is pretty handbag friendly.

My only criticism of this hand cream would be that the bottle states that it lasts for 200 uses. 

I'm not sure if I am using far too much but it certainly wouldn't last that long for me.

However, considering the price of this product I will be sure to be repurchasing again in the future.

What is your favourite hand cream? 

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Garnier Micellar Cleansing Water

Micellar Cleansing Water, Garnier, £4.99

Recently I have really been struggling with my skin, it just kept breaking out 

and I couldn't figure out why. I'm drinking more water and I've completely 

upped my skin care game so something just wasn't adding up. The bad skin continued 

until just last week when I switched up my evening cleanser. I was previously using an oil 

based cleanser and I feel like this was causing more problems for my already 

oily complexion.

Micellar cleansing waters have been all over beauty blogs for a while now, 

particularly the ones from Bioderma. When I was in Barcelona last summer I picked up 

the Bioderma Sensibio H2O water but wasn't overly taken by it. Since then I had pretty

 much written off micellar waters thinking that they simply weren't for me.

When browsing the shelves of Superdrug recently I spotted this Garnier Micellar

 Cleansing Water on offer and just couldn't say no to such a bargain. I have started using 

this cleanser every evening to remove my make up and I absolutely love it. The water 

removes all dirt really quickly and leaves the skin feeling completely refreshed. This cleansing 

water is super gentle, even when removing stubborn eye make up.

The micellar waters work by capturing and lifting away from the skin, and the fragrance

 free formula means that it is suitable for even sensitive skin types. I use this cleanser by 

applying a few drops to a cotton pad and wiping over the face. It really is that simple!

Since using this cleanser on a daily basis I have seen a really great improvement in the 

condition of my skin and break outs seem to be much less frequent.

Have you tried any micellar water solutions? What do you think of them?

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Nars Pure Radiant Tinted Moisturiser Review

Pure Radiant Tinted Moisturiser, Nars, £29

With the on set of Spring here in the UK I was keen to switch up my beauty look 

and lighten the load on my skin when it came to coverage. I've never been one for

 tinted moisturisers as my uneven skin tone often demands a heavier coverage. 

However, when I saw my ultimate beauty guru, Kate, raving on about the Nars tinted 

moisturiser on her blog and I decided  to bite the bullet and give it a try.

I made the purchase at Harvey Nichols Beauty Bazaar in Liverpool after 

chatting to the lady on the counter about the product. She colour matched me to 

Finland which is one of their lightest shades. I opted for this tinted moisturiser as the 

coverage can be built up, meaning I can apply more to cover any areas that 

need a little extra love.

I have been using this product on a daily basis for almost two weeks now and I certainly
 do love it. This complexion perfecting fluid has both anti-ageing and skin perfecting
 benefits, and the high SPF is also pretty appealing as it helps to protect against
the elements. Personally I would only use this for day to day use as I would prefer
something a little more matte for an evening look.

I use the Real Techniques Expert Face Brush to apply this base as I love the way it
buffs into the skin. Once I've applied it evenly I'm left with an even skin tone and a
 fresh, healthy glow which is perfect for Spring.As far as tinted moisturisers go this
offering from Nars is the crème de la crème.

Do you opt for a lighter base for spring/summer? What do you use?

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