REVIEW || BEAUTY FORMULAS DEEP CLEANSING NOSE PORE STRIPS - A 5 MINUTE PORE CLEANSE EVERYONE NEEDS IN THEIR LIFE

As someone who has medium sized pores and wears a lot of makeup, it is hard to keep up with skincare regime that won't clog up my pores and won't remove the good oils from my skin.
I recently came across these Beauty Formulas Deep Cleansing Nose Pore Strips after watching my friend Rebekah's video (you can check her channel out here - she mentions the tea tree ones). She said they're very good at taking out all the nasty makeup residue and oils from the skin so I obviously had to go and buy some.
The good news are that these are only £3.95 for 6 strips which should last you 6 weeks if you use one weekly. I would advise doing these only when you feel like you need an extra cleanse as they are quite strong and do get rid of all the oils and clogged pores. I also have to advice against using this too often, like a few times a week, as it does get rid of the good oils from your face as well as the bad.

I was going to insert a picture of the results after doing one of these but I don't think you would want to see my nasty makeup residue from my pores haha - correct me if I'm wrong though?!

Make sure you follow all the instructions as these are a bit tricky to apply. First, you have to wet your face completely, well, the nose area anyway. Once you've done this step, peel off the strip from the plastic and apply it to the desired area. I've previously put one on my nose and chin so whatever works for you! You can also cut the strips in different shapes to use on other areas such as the forehead.

After waiting until the strip dries completely, slowly peel it off from side to side (if that makes sense?). You should now be able to see the strip pulling out all the nasties from your skin - it's so satisfying! Once you've peeled the strip off, wash your face with warm water and continue with your skincare as normal.

Overall, I think these are fantastic for the price, they're very affordable and do a great job. I would recommend these to all boys and girls who struggle with oily skin as this works wonders! Even Kieran uses them and he's the kind of lad who only uses moisturiser when he feels like it, haha!

Have you tried these before? Would you recommend any nose pore strips?

Lots of love,

Maya xo

OOTD & FOTD || BELL SLEEVES AND RED HALO EYES

Ever since I laid my eyes on this Primark Bell Sleeved Top, I knew it was love at first sight - I just HAD to buy it. This top was only £10... Erm, excuse me but can we just appreciate that it so affordable and looks like it could be from River Island or Topshop??

Is it weird that I dressed up just to go shopping on my own? Sorry, but if I'm going to spend money on clothes I have to wear them out even if I look extra :') I own a few bell-sleeved tops now which I started collecting last year as I think they're so flattering and make every outfit look extra special. I mean, I matched this shirt with a pair of white ripped Jamie jeans, a big buckle belt and heeled mules, and this is something you can wear to an event, shopping, drinks etc. - ANYWHERE.

I also live in my Black Mules from Primark, which only cost me £10! I'm sorry, but Primark is killing it this year with their amazing fashion steals!🔥🔥🔥
I've been lusting over big Western-style buckle belts but couldn't find one within my budget so I settled for this gorgeous but simple buckle belt for £2, also from Primark (of course). I bought this belt in this dusky pink shade, as well as a deep mahogany brown which looks beautiful with my Mom Jeans.

On the other hand, my halo eye makeup was created using the Jeffree Star Beauty Killer Palette. I absolutely love this eyeshadow palette as the number of different looks you can create is infinite! I used the shade 'Courtney' as a base shadow and added some more in my crease for extra definition. I then went ahead and blended out the shade 'Confession' in my crease and inner corner, followed by 'Violence' for extra depth. Then, finally, I used my favourite shade from the palette called 'Princess' and put it in the centre of my lid for the halo effect. - If you're wondering what brushes I used to create this eye look then click here.
And that's it! The whole eye look is complete and it only took about 8 minutes to create! I've been loving dark pink and purple shades recently so that's practically all I've been wearing the past few weeks!

Have you got a favourite outfit that you can't get enough of? What about an eyeshadow look if you were makeup?

Lots of love,

Maya xo

REVIEW || NYX SOFT MATTE LIP CREAMS

Ever since I've heard about the brand NYX I have been wanting to get my hands on some of their products to try out. Finally, after a long time, I bought a few Soft Matte Lip Creams after hearing so many people rave about them.

I think the size is very handy as you can just shove it in your bag, and the little bottle looks a lot like the MAC Lipglasses. They're not heavy, and I believe that they are all made out of plastic. As always, all NYX products are vegan which means that the products are NOT tested on animals - just another reason to buy their makeup products!

The consistency of the product, for me, was very odd. It felt like mousse instead of liquid lipstick which I found fascinating as I can't feel it on my lips at all. It's very smooth and velvet like - yes! That's exactly what it feels like. Now I know why the lipsticks are called 'soft cream' haha.

Now, these are quite long lasting but I feel that I need to re-apply after eating or drinking which is annoying, but like I said before - they're easy to carry around anyway. On a good day it will last around 6 hours without touching up and I think that's pretty good bearing in mind a normal bullet lipstick would not last anywhere near as much as six hours.

The shades I currently own are London, Rome and Copenhagen. I thought they're the best of nudes, pinks and darks haha! The next shade that's on my wishlist is definitely Toulouse but I'm not sure if you can buy it individually or only in a set.

Have you tried any of the NYX Soft Matte Lip Creams? Do you have a favourite shade?

Lots of love,

Maya xo

WHAT'S IN MY SPRING MINI CROSS-BODY BAG?

I recently got a new cute little cross-body bag, so what better post to share with you than a 'what's inside my bag'?

As you can see, the bag is quite small but I have the powers of Mary Poppins and can always find enough room to shove all my things in, haha! My purse takes up the most room in my bag and I didn't want to replace it with a smaller coin purse as I never know how many cards I will need! (By this I mean loyalty/membership/gift cards - not debit/credit cards!!)

Another essential for me is a pair of sunglasses. I'm not sure if you're all aware but I do have to wear prescription glasses and my eyes tend to get really dry and sensitive in daylight so I always carry a pair of sunnies with me everywhere I go. I got these marble ones from Primark for only £3! What a bargain!

My house keys need to be on me 24/7 otherwise, I panic haha. Once I thought I wasn't able to go to work because I couldn't find my keys when I actually hung them up on my pinboard... :'). Now I always keep them in sight - either in my bag when I'm out, or on the table next to the front door.

I used to carry around a makeup bag with a full-face of goodies inside when I was at school & college, but now I can't be bothered to carry all the weight when I'm constantly on the go with an already heavy bag. Now I narrow it down to 2-3 products and this Spring I've been loving my Benefit Porefessional License to Blot Stick (now discontinued), any of the NYX Soft Matte Lip Creams, and a small bottle of perfume - this time is the Ted Baker XO Extraordinary fragrance.

Of course, my phone is going to find its way in my bag, haha. I use it to take some pictures for my social media when I carry a small bag around but hopefully, I'll be upgrading to a new phone soon(ish) so I won't have to drag my big camera around everywhere with me anymore.


*This post contains affiliate links.

What have you got in your bag this Spring? Any essentials you can't live without?

Lots of love,

Maya xo

REVIEW || MAC MINERALIZE CHARGED WATER SKIN HYDRATING MIST - THE BEST FACE PRIMER/SETTING SPRAY FOR DRY SKIN

Have you been wondering which setting/priming spray to buy? I've tried out quite a few different ones so I guess I can be a bit of help to y'all.

The first priming water I've used was the MAC Prep&Prime Fix+ after hearing all the hype about it all over the internet. I didn't really know how to use it and the staff member who served me at my local MAC shop wasn't very nice and she seemed like she didn't care about my skincare needs so I wasn't too happy about it. Anyhow, this doesn't affect my opinion of the product - I'm just stating that I wasn't told how to use the product to begin with haha.
After moisturising my skin, I sprayed the product onto my skin as a primer and waited for it to dry before applying foundation. I also used it to dampen my beauty blender and felt like it helped keep my makeup stay put, and other times I sprayed it on top of my makeup if I felt like my skin needed some hydration. Therefore, I think that the original Fix+ is great for everyone as you get a lot of use out of it and can use it in many different ways.

But, this time I wanted to go for something more moisturising as my skin is getting more mature (I' only in my 20s but it's best to start taking care of skin ASAP in my opinion), so I went for the Mineralize Charged Water Skin Hydrating Mist which has little droplets of oil inside - it's gold okay, it's beautiful! I was a bit sceptical about getting it as I didn't want it to make my face look oily as I usually go for a fresh but matte look. The first thing I noticed was that the scent was a lot different to the original. It smells very citrusy to me which I absolutely love in facial mists - I hate the smell of Urban Decay's All Nighter Spray but I love the job it does haha!!! It is always a plus when a setting spray has a scent that you enjoy, however some people find it irritating when makeup products have scents. The packaging is the same other than the box it comes in - all mineralize products come in white packaging. I do like the lid on this product as all you have to do is twist it, but I remember it breaking on my old spray so I hope it doesn't happen this time!

Overall, I must say that this priming water is very good for those who have dry skin but only if you use it before applying makeup as I found it moved around my mascara a bit as it made it a bit wet which made it transfer onto my skin. I will continue to use it as a primer rather than a setting spray as I feel it works better for me this way :)

Have you tried any of the MAC Prep&Prime Fix+? Have you got any setting spray recommendations?

Lots of love,

Maya xo