Beauty | My Skincare Routine...

Hello Hello, welcome to my little post on MY personal Skincare Routine. Now I'm not claiming that I am any sort of beauty guru that should be listened to or that I actually follow this religiously otherwise I'm sure my skin would be a lot more glowy, healthy and all things that it currently is not...Add to this the calcified damage from my teenage skin problem years (yes I'm talking un-photogenic acne scarring) and you have my dull little complexion and current skin condition ~ thank you winter.

So... onto the routine, Firstly depending on whether or not I've made an effort with makeup that day I will start by removing my eye makeup. My absolute favourite product for this is Dual Effect Eye Make-up Remover from Simple. I've tried plenty different products but due to my sensitive skin I have struggled with a few products being uncomfortable or irritating and the rest just didn't do the job properly... 

Next a double cleanse. Personally I don't have a favourite/ go to cleanser, although I am currently using a foaming face wash from The Skin System. Super low cost, not too sure about effectiveness just yet as it too early to say, but I am happy with the fact it is a foam cleanser (perfect for combination skin). I also have a travel sized Glow Mud Cleanser from Pixi which was part of a Christmas gift. I'm using it sparingly atm because of its small size, but also considering a re-buy as not only does it cleanse it also acts an exfoliator and contains glycolic acid.

Once all that cleansing is out the way, and its just my bare wee face left, it is time to start on the exfoliating process and cleaning right into those pores...

Currently I am absolutely loving The Body Shops Vitamin C Glow Boosting Microdermabrasion. I pair this up with my ProX Olay Cleansing system for a deep clean. I cannot tell you just how fresh my skin feels after this, its just fab!!

And now for my absolute favourite part of the routine...

FACE MASK!

Yes, I Shona Marie Mac am a secret hoarder of Face Masks... I absolutely adore them, and no I will never have enough in my collection, and yes it is a slightly unhealthy addiction but I do not care! If you are someone close to me and ever stuck for an idea on a present I can tell you now, face mask is always the answer ~ you're welcome.

Sooo many face masks, soo many unique purposes. And for that reason I wont single out just one as a favourite of mine so here are a few...

Mask of Magnaminty from Lush, thee perfect pick me up for sluggish skin, you can actually feel the peppermint in this mask tingly away if you walk anywhere while this beauty works its magic. Its a setting mask and the clean up after the removal of this mask is quite something. 

Cup O'Coffee also Lush, yes if I owned more than these two Lush masks I'm sure I could fill a page of my love for them. Short and Sweet this mask is a rich coffee smelling, non setting mask, which has amazing exfoliating skills. If I'm ever struggling with dry patches on my skin I reach for this Pot of Goodness asap...

The Body Shop's Seaweed Oil-Balancing Clay Mask, there are many reasons I love this mask. One being the clay, this is a godsend for us oily/ combo skin gals I'm telling you!! If you have a spot brewing this mask will dry it right up and speed up the treatment process...

And to finish up my skin care I will use a toner all over my face and neck preferably Seaweed Oil-Balancing Toner from The Body Shop. Then about 3 times a week I will then cover the same area with my Liquid Gold with Glycolic Acid by Alphah and lastly along the same area once again using upward strokes (avoiding the ageing process in any silly little way I can) I apply Ultimate Sleep Cream by Formula Absolute, this is part of the M&S Beauty range and so far I am reaping the benefits!

So that it is for my skincare routine....

On a good day that is! 

Let me know if you have any recommendations of products that I should test or need to hear about.

Until next time,

Wishlist | February 2017...

February already... I know its super cliche but this year is flying in! I hope it's been good to everyone so far.

First proper blog post of the year and as I'm sat in my cosy candle-lit living room, Gilmore Girls on tv, a glass of wine in one hand and a sudocrem face I'm scrolling through many:- skin care products, makeup and home decor items that "I NEED" but just cannot justify buying when I am in the middle of saving towards a mortgage (the thrills of becoming a mature adult). Anyway instead of actually buying any of these necessities I will just post my current 5 needs below and hope in the near future someone happens to gift me with any of these treats...

Catastrophic Cosmetic Face Mask - Lush

The first appearance of two from a Lush product in this list of five ~slight obsession. I have heard great things of this Lush Mask, a calming and moisturising mask packed with antioxidants which is perfect for when your skin starts to play up. I currently have two pots of cup o'coffee in my skincare collection which I would say is more of an exfoliant and this would be a perfect addition as a quick fix for a bad skin day...

Layin Low Mac Paint Pot  

I have to admit my lust over this Mac paint pot may be due to my absolute love and obsession with Jamie Genevieve and her incredible makeup skills (It may also not be the only product in this list influenced by her recent tutorials). I've never been one who is big for eyeshadow or investing money in a good eye primer/ base but this paint pot seems like the perfect start.

Dark Angels Cleanser - Lush

I love charcoal products at the moment, they are soo deep cleansing, amazing at drawing impurities and oil out from pores and perfect for my combination skin type. This product cleanses and exfoliates all in one which sounds like a perfect add to any skin care addicts collection and quite frankly I just need it, no explanation needed!!

Rust Stack of Eyeshadows - Melt Cosmetics

*cough cough* another Jamie Genevieve inspired need...

If you have watched any of the recent makeup tutorials by Jamie you will understand just how much these eyeshadows make an appearance. The pigmentation looks unreal and easily blend-able! I have fallen in love with the rust stack as these are my usual go to shades. I'm not too big on wearing eyeshadow, mainly because of my lack in talent in the eye makeup area but feel a slightly natural looking/ smokey brown eye is as far as my basic shadow skills will go.

#Girlboss - Sophia Amorusa

And the last item on this months wishlist is #Girlboss by Sophia Amorusa. I have been looking for a new read for a while now and although I usually sway more toward the like of a James Patterson or Ian Rankin book I have heard great things of this. Also the fact it is rumoured to be coming to Netflix this year I have the urge to read it beforehand.

Who knows, maybe this book is what I need to get some inspiration for the future of this blog and whats to come...

Until next time,

P.S Who knew I would suddenly have an obsession with Gilmore Girls?? Day 3 and I'm already onto the second series... (Forever discovering a series long after its heyday).

Lifestyle | Life Updates...

Hello my Lovelies,
So life for me lately has been a little busy, a lot of fun and quite a change..

I'll start with a little background,

A year ago, a couple days after my 21st birthday I made a massive change in my life by moving from Aberdeen to Glasgow. I had the best 3 years living in Aberdeen, met the most amazing people who I will never lose contact with - gutting to not be seeing them all the time anymore- and had great experiences. Its such a scary thought when you've been brought up on a teeny Island off the west coast of Scotland, a population of under 2000, secondary school with about 100 pupils and a sixth year class of being a guesstimate - 30, to move away from your family to a city and somewhere you can't just hop in a car and drive home no mater how bad the homesickness gets. Luckily for me I did move in with my Auntie so I wasn't completely alone, but to start over in a new city where you know one person is a thought...

Anyways I spent my 3 years in Aberdeen working for an Oil company, starting on reception for a year and moving my way up to Project Administrator. Over the 3 years I had a wee think of where I wanted to go career wise in life and settled upon Beauty Therapy. It wasn't ever really a plan to move again, but my first interview for Beauty Therapy happened to be a Glasgow College - the plan was use this as a "practice interview" see how it goes and then stay in Aberdeen to study. During my Glasgow interview I was told I was going to be offered a place and as the interviewer wasn't actually allowed to tell me this yet, I wouldn't receive my official acceptance for a month or so. Super happy, comfortable in the College and the lecturers being bubbly and really kind I couldn't not choose this College...
So it was time to move! And lucky for me my boyfriend decided he couldn't stay in Aberdeen without me, so an even bigger step than just moving, we both moved in together. Best. Decision. Ever! 

Fast forward a year,

I'm no longer studying Beauty Therapy, as much as I did enjoy the course it just wasn't for me. I didn't feel challenged enough. Treatments I assumed I would enjoy most out the course became my most hated. Not going to lie, as much as I love doing my own nails and makeup its unreal how much I would dislike to do this as a full time job, it just stresses me out!! On the other hand ask me to do a bit of waxing or a facial and I am all for that! The course was made up of 7 Units, Facials, Waxing, Eye Treatments, Makeup, Manicures, Pedicure and Anatomy. Then each unit had both practical assessments and theory assessments. Each time a theory test came along, as much as I panicked over passing these, I would walk away with 100% bar the mistake in part of one question on both Anatomy and Eye Treatments respectively (irritating mistakes as I knew the answers). Most people would be happy with this but by the end it became a boring and unfulfilling deja vu...

So I am now back in full time employment, working for a whisky distillery company as an Engineering Administrator. I never thought I would say this but I've missed my office work and being in a routine. No more empty days between college to fill or sleeping in so late my day was almost over before I got up.
I've also kept on my part time job from while I was in College as a waitress/bar staff. This does mean it feels as though I'm alwaaays working but I don't think I would have it any other way at this moment. I just love being busy, and it is a little plus that there is that small extra income that helps with a healthy bank balance and to cover me for my makeup buying obsession haha!

Just a little note to say you're never to old to chase a dream, and if it turns out that dream just isn't for you, its never too late to change your mind! I can definitely vouch for both of these...

Shona Marie xo

p.s sorry for the longer and more chunky read than normal - a possible bit of a drag...

Anyone else ever had an epiphany and decided to make a life change?