tube strike survival kit

Having suffered through the tedious (yet understandable) tube strikes of 2014 twice now, I have developed a bit of a knack for them. In fact yesterday I was an hour early to work and even though I felt so exhausted I thought I might pass out by 12 o clock - I felt there were some key essential items that really got me through this weeks strike. If you are dreading the three day stint they have planned for next week you may want to take my advice...

1st is food & water (the obvious)

The wonderful and deliciousso Volvic with a Touch of Strawberry really cheered me up and stopped me from fainting in the sweaty crowds of the carriages.

Food wise a breakfast bar or piece of fruit is easiest in the morning as you can eat it quickly whilst (if you are lucky and extremely strategic like me) sat on the tube or whilst stood waiting for one (or if you have the pleasure of having to do a 20 minute walk from Waterloo to Westminster like me (or similar) - scoff it then!

On the way home a yummy chocolate bar actually does cheer you up - it is true what they say about it releasing your happy hormones - and the sugar gives you a little rush to keep you going until you get home to the warmth of food in the oven and your cosy duvet wrapped around you.

2nd is a personalised first aid kit 

Now these items are some what first aidy and medical seeming in their advantages as well as essential for your journey. Once you have fed and watered yourself you need to consider A. Cleanliness - This is where the Carex Refreshing Handy Wipes come into play, also here an antibacterial hand gel or cream would be perfect (I hear Lanolips is launching a new one with aloe, I can't wait to take a whack at it because I hate the alco-gels that smell like the bottom of a vodka bottle) anyway the wipes are perfect for cleaning you up, or moping up the orange juice you got all over your hands from successfully peeling your nectarine on the go.

B. Falling to the floor because your head feels so sensitive newspapers are too loud. 4head - my miracle worker. My all time love and one of those motherly tricks I'll never forget. The tingling sensation makes your headache seem miles away without having to pop pills mid journey. It really helps in the morning when you feel like your head is going to fall off your shoulders, and in the evening when you feel totally out of balance.

C. Puffy eye syndrome. Another thing that helps you feel less like death at 6.30 in the morning, is the Nip & Fab Viper Venom Eye Fix - a cold eye roll on that stops your eyes from making your journey to Westminster stop at Stanmore, and makes your eyes look more Shakira than Puff Daddy...

3rd is the nice smelly beauty things

Vaseline with aloe vera smells nice, does the job on cuticles, lips and sore dry bits (like my nose atm) so HAS to go in the handbag whether there be a tube strike or not.

Speaking of cuticles, once you've cleaned your mucky mits up with your wipes or anti-bac be sure to keep them moisturised throughout your journey with some hand cream (if you have anti bac hand cream - well - two birds and all). This is one of my new fave hand creams (Soap & Glory Hand Food), mainly for the smell and lightness of it. It's like sticking marshmallows up your nostrils - not that I have ever done this but I know my brother has once upon a time, and the image just came into my head... - anyway, it smells nice so I recommend it for all you pink and pretty lovers out there.

Another pink and pretty essential is the I love... Strawberries & Cream Body Spritzer - obviously you need this for when you start to sweat and stink (or smell someone else start to sweat and stink), but you should also use a mist or spritzer on the tube or in crowds because deodorants and body sprays aren't fair on your neighbouring passengers with asthma (so I've learnt). This one smells like heaven in a bottle (reminds me of the strawberry and cream chubba chub lolly).

Take head, and do as I do and say and you will survive the tube strike too. What's in your survival kit?

contour-ime & prime time

the typical title for a post about primer! and a contour kit..

It's a big day for the blogeroo as it's been renamed and reloved. The reason I picked Paws and Claws was because I intended to stick to nail art, but when I realised how much of a beauty hoarder I was I realised it was best to put it to good use and share it with all of you. So now we are Curiouser and Curiouser, not only because it is one of my favourite quotes from one of my favourite films (Alice In Wonderland obvs) but because that is what I am, curious, about beauty! And by the looks of things you are too! :D

Here is a cheeky post on my new amazing additions to my make-up kit...

Primer is something I've never used before and never thought of using, it's not a staple you grow up with like foundation, mascara, blusher. A lot like my contour kit, it just never occured to me how much it would change my make-up.

The first primer I used was the L'Oreal Paris Lumi-Magique Primer (click the link to see it/buy it from Boots' website) which was undoubtedly great. It gave me a really nice illumination to my skin and cooled down the reds slightly. I loved it and it is one of my only empties! I would definitely recommend this for those of you with dull, patchy skin - it's especially good for winter when the weather really gets to your lumination.

However, now that summer has started (well kind of spring time-bursts of sun have seen me apply some sun cream) I have founded the perfect priming and mattifying product to stop my oily nose from getting in the way. The GOSH Prime 'n' Set (again click to grab it from Superdrug's website) is absolutely perfect for this! It hides all my imperfections, soaks up and unwanted oiliness on my skin and primes my face for my foundation. It's a lovely pale white as well, which means us pale skinned lot could wear it without foundation as it gives amazing coverage. I would 100% recommend this for all year round oily skin types and everyone during the hot summer season where all our skin gets a little 'sweaty'. 

Another new addition to my make-up bag is my Sleek 'Face Form' Kit (available if you click through to Beautifeye)- something I never thought I would understand or be able to do right is defining and contouring - but it's actually very easy, especially with this palette. You get a bronzer, highlighter and blusher. Personally I stick with the bronzer and highlighter due to my naturally rosy cheeks, but the option is always there and available for those without the blessed red glow I have grown up with. All you need to do is follow these four easy instructions when 'applying' your contours:

• bronzer: Suck in your cheeks to define you cheekbones and dab a line of bronzer on the underneath of the bone. You can also apply to the sides of your nose, inner eye lid and jawline for extra contour-iness.
• highlighter: again suck in your cheeks and apply the highlighter to the top of your cheekbone this time and under your eyes. Also apply to the edge of your chin, brow bone and centre of your forehead.
• blusher: we all know where blusher goes (and the best way it suits us) add to the plumpest part of your cheeks to add some life to your skin - and always remember to keep it as natural as possible.
• Like as said, as natural as possible is key here, you don't want it to look really obvious. So my top top with contouring is to BLEND - blend the hell out of your bronzer and blusher with a powder that matches your skin to keep yourself stunning and not camoflage. 

Hope these tips and new products that I love help you all look even more beautiful than you already are! Look out for these products in my make-up looks posts that will start in a few weeks time :)

Bah byeee xxxx

New tags for my social media life:

@curiousitybeauty for both Insta and Twitta

scrub up well

I have got some many ideas for posts that I've actually had trouble choosing what to write up today! And this is just for beauty.. i do need inspiration for my nails however (Do not despair i will have a lovely tutorial up for you all tomorrow).

For now I want to show off my facial skin-care routine, including all the stages that I (now) do.. that's cleanse, tone, exfoliate, moisturise. The most important part of skin-care is finding products that suit your skin - condition and sensitivity. 

I have determined that my skin is mixed, I get oily around my t-zone (see below for a cheeky diagram on what this is) but dry and itchy around my jaw line and eyes. If you have mixed skin you can use the same products that I do - these products can apply to other skin types though so I will explain the qualities of each one and what makes them brill for your skin.

cleansing

Simple Kind to Skin Purifying Cleansing Lotion, £2.99

This lotion is really good for sensitive skin, it's not harsh but still gets rid of all your make up. It works really well as an eye make-up remover as well (god knows I need that). Reading the back it seems to have a lot of vitamins and good ingredients for your skin especially good is Vitamin E. If you can get anything with vitamin E in it then it's good, you need as much of that stuff as you can get. It makes the appearance of scars and marks on your skin better and smoothes it out (I know this because my auntie who is a masseuse recommended it when I got some stretch-marks a few years ago). I use this in the evening and morning as well, to get rid of over night dirt - I use it right before I apply my make up as it also moisturises the skin lightly so you don't have to wait until you can apply make up (this you would have to do with normal moisturiser to avoid slippy foundation).

toning

B. by Superdrug B. Pure Micellar Water, £4.99

I never understood what toning is, to me it sounds like a quick fix to great abs in a bottle (I WISH), but it unfortunately isn't. We tone our skin to get rid of any left over make up, dirt and dead skin cells. Sounds harsh right? Well actually it isn't too bad, I don't tone everyday as I find it irritates my skin and I end up moisturising a lot to compensate. But this Micellar Water is really good as it's quite gentle so I use it 3-4 times a week to keep my skin supple and firm. It's actually a 3 in 1 formula, so it is a cleanser, toner and refresher - which is great! I know it's doing it's job and there is no need to rinse it off. I would suggest using this daily if your skin is tougher than mine (or normal) just don't get it in your eyes! 

exfoliating

Freederm Exfoliating Daily Wash, £5.19

I didn't ever bother exfoliating regularly until recently, my skin has been breaking out left right and centre and i had enough, so I went straight to the Freederm section, and I am so glad I did.

This product is meant for spot prone skin so you know it's going to do you some good, it combats blackheads and works quickly. I started using it daily and my spots started to clear up and blackheads appeared .. well.. less black! within a week. I use this in the evening after I've cleaned all my make-up off. There is a sensitive one available which I didn't realise, but I would say if you have mixed skin this one will work just fine as it's not irritating unless you over scrub. I did over-exfoliate (something I didn't think was possible) and mustn't have moisturised properly so I ended up with really dry skin around my nostrils, make up really irritated it so be careful!

moisturising

Nivea Express Hydration Body Lotion for Normal Skin, £3.59

I swear by Nivea for moisturising, I also have the in shower moisturiser which is lush!, I normally would get Nivea Soft but have recently been using this and it does the job just fine... until I go grab my next batch of Nivea Soft. I love this one because it absorbs really fast so I don't have sticky skin when I go to bed, which is when I do most of my routine. I tend to cleanse as soon as I get in from work and then leave everything else till I am getting ready for bed. I've always moisturised and everyone should, it's so important especially if you have dry patches of skin. You can also get good mattifying moisturisers that are made for oilier skin (so if you do have oily skin there is no excuse!)

extra caring

Detoxifying Face Mask with Dead Sea Mud from Superdrug, £2.59

I love a good face mask every now and then, when I have a couple of hours to really pamper myself. And what better way to do than with a little dead sea mud? This mask is really nice and my skin feels so soft after I use it, I even think my blackheads look better. I would recommend this if you do get bad blackheads. If you aren't a mask kinda person, you don't need to go whole hog, just put it on your worse areas (or t-zone) while you are in the shower and wash off within 5 minutes - easy peasy.

N.B. Drink as much water as possible, it's so good for your skin I can't explain! I try and drink a large bottle  (don't ask me how many litres it is) a day through the week and I treat myself on the weekend and evenings to juice and iced tea hehe!

Have fun cleansing ladies!

xxxxxx

@pawsandclaws101 for insta

@pawsnclaws101 for twita

the key to a fast and furious blow dry

I have a bit of a versus post for you all today - and I am trying to be more (yes this previously said me bore, because I am apparently really bad at spell checking or lazy, either way I blame my mother the English teacher) efficient and constant with my posts too as I know I've been very quiet this week.

These products are used to speed up the process of the blow drying your hair, convenient for those like me who have thick hair and those who wash their hair in the morning before work (it gives you an extra ten minutes in bed!!). I don't know how the technology works in these products but it works well! So here is what I love about them..

Color Wow's Speed Dry

 The Color Wow product isn't as strong in speeding up the blow dry as the Blow Pro lotion however I will explain why this is an advantage in a minute.  What I loved about i t though is that it is in the form of a lovely spray, it's light and refreshing right before a blow dry and I think the spray gives you maximum and easier coverage of your hair. I personally prefer this product out of the two, even though they are both so good at their jobs.

Blow Pro Express Blow Dry

This lotion is really strong, it does the job much quicker than the Color Wow spray - however it was a little too strong for me - it felt like my hair was too dry after I used it and as I have hair that dries out really quickly between cuts it wasn't good. It meant I had to put a lot of oil on afterwards, which I didn't love! But I would advise that those with really thick hair, that have trouble with a blow dry, use this product. It does what it says on the tin so to speak!

So overall, I would say that both these products are great and what makes them differ is if you prefer spray/lotion products or the thickness of your hair. Whatever the whether, try one at least!!

I am doing this post and other hair related posts to create the perfect blow dry kit which will go up in a couple of weeks. :) 

xxx