DIY Beauty: Aspirin as a blemish remover?

I heard this tip about using aspirin on blemishes that are about to form, from a pharmacist the other week.  Basically, aspirin is pure salicylic acid, which is often one of the key ingredients in a lot of pricey blemish removers.  I have been meaning to try it out to see if it actually works.  Lo and behold that 'time' of the month arrives (sorry TMI), and I am graced with one of those mini volcano style spots right in the middle of my chin.  You know the ones that are under the skin and hurt like a b*****d? Yep!  

So I picked up some really cheap asprin (you'll want the round, hard to swallow kind, I got mine from a local chemist for about 39p), crushed one up on a spoon, added a tiny bit of water to make a paste and stuck it onto the mini volcano spot, leaving it on overnight.

Did it work? Well, I can happily say that it reduced it a LOT.  It didn't go straight away, but it was much smaller when I woke up and having repeated this for a further two nights in a row, I can say that it's now virtually gone.  Having looked online, this seems to work for some people and do nothing for others, so if you want to try it, make sure that you use it when you feel a blemish coming on, as it doesn't seem to be as effective if you put it on one that has already 'erupted' so to speak.

Have you tried this before?  Did it work for you?         

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Budget Beauty: Collection 2000 Lasting Perfection Concealer

When it comes to the world of beauty blogging, whether you're a blogger yourself or an avid reader (or both!), there are times when you will come across the same products over and over again. From much loved classics such as Liz Earle's Cleanse & Polish to the new hyped 'must-have', like Revlon Lip Butters, there are just some products that will always be talked about. The main reason is that these items are usually Good. In fact, they're quite often Very Good. Case in point, Collection 2000's Lasting Perfection Concealer. You've probably seen this a million times before, you probably already have it in your make-up bag and use it every day. This concealer is like a legendary holy grail item for most women, it's that good.

So when I used up my Witch Concealer Stick recently, the natural step seemed to be to acquire this holy concealer. Unlike most coveted beauty items, these concealers are purse-friendly and retail at a most bargain worthy £4.19. I swatched them in the shop and decided to get 02 Light and 03 Medium.



Medium suits me perfectly for concealing blemishes and Light works well as an undereye concealer (if used extremely sparingly and blended in straight away. I'd say that these are definitely more suited for blemishes only in my opinion). The concealers have a sponge tip applicator and due to the thick formula, you only need a teeny tiny amount to cover with. They blend into the skin really well and I was literally amazed by how well they conceal, I completely understand the hype now! As for wear, they promise up to 16 hours which I haven't put to the test yet, but so far, I've been wearing it for 9 and a bit hours and it hasn't budged once. If you haven't tried Collection 2000's Lasting Perfection concealers yet and you're in the market to get a new concealer, just buy this. I don't think I'll ever go back to anything else now!

Which concealers do you use?

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Budget Beauty Tip: Use hair conditioner as shaving cream

When I picked up my Sleek bits in Superdrug, I remember seeing a group of young girls going to the tills, their baskets full of products. Oddly enough, I recall them purchasing shaving cream and I thought to myself 'Why?'. Shaving cream/foam/etc is SO expensive, just use hair conditioner instead.

I'm currently using a 91p bottle of Boots own brand Coconut and Almond conditioner and it works exactly the same, if not better, because it doesn't make my skin feel dry afterwards.

Any cheap brand of hair conditioner will do and it's a great way to use up any bottle that you bought for your hair but didn't like. I've also seen people talk about using the creamy soaps from Lush for shaving and that seems to work too.

Save yourselves some £££s and give it a go :)

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