Today's Face! 💕

Primer: BareMinerals 'Prime Time'

Foundation: BareMinerals Original in shade Golden Medium 

Setting Powder: Rimmel Match Perfection in translucent 

Highlighting Powder: Laura Mercier smooth finish foundation powder in shade 04 

Contour: Mac Studio Sculpt Defining Powder in dark 

Bronzer: Mac Bronzing powder in golden 

Brows: Maybelline Brow Satin in dark brown, Anastasia Beverly Hills Dipbrow Pomade in the shade dark brown, set with Gimme Brow by Benefit in the shade medium-dark. 

Eyes: Benefit Stay Don't Stray eyeshadow primer, Urban Decay Naked From the Naked Pallette all over eyelid, and Smog All over eyelid.

Brow highlight: Benefit High Brow Glow in Champagne Pink. 

Mascara: L'Oréal Telescopic Falsh Lash

Lips: Mac lipliner in the shade spice, followed with Mac matte lipstick in the shade Velvet Teddy. 

All set with my Urban Decay Setting Spray. :) 

Hope you guys liked this simple everyday make up look! Stay tuned, 

Aimee

Xoxo

My 21st Birthday Make Up 🙊✨💕

On the night of my birthday party a lot of people were asking me what makeup I was wearing and where did I get it done, well I did it myself and if you want to achieve this glam look I created, just keep reading! 

Primer: BareMinerals Prime Time foundation primer. 

Foundation: BareMinerals Original foundation in the shade golden medium.

Setting Powder: Rimmel match perfection silky loose powder in transparent. 

Eyebrows: Maybelline brow satin pencil in the shade dark brown. Followed with Anastasia Beverly Hills Dipbrow Pomade in the shade dark brown, I then set my brows with my Gimme Brow by benefit in medium-dark. 

Brow Highlight: benefit's High Brow Glow in pink champagne. 

Contour: Mac Studio Sculpt powder in the shade dark. 

Bronzer: BareMinerals warmth. 

Highlighter: Sleek highlight and contour pallette in the shade medium. 

Eyes: 

Transition colour: Mac Saddle

Crease colour: Mac dark brew 

Mobile lid colour: Mac dance in the dark

Inner corner: Urban Decay YDK

Lower lash line : Mac dark brew all long the lash line and a touch of dance in the dark on the outer corner for some depth.

Eyeliner: Mac eye kohl in smoulder.

Mascara: L'Oréal Telescopic false lash. 

Lashes: Ardelle lashes in Demi Whispies.

Lips: Mac lipliner in the shade Spice, followed with Mac matte lipstick in the shade velvet teddy.

Hope you liked this look as much as I do, I got lots of compliments for it. I am a lover of a really dark smokey eye with a nude lip at the moment.

Lots more to come soon gals,

Stay tuned dolls,

Aimee

Xoxo

Dewy skin make up 🌱✨

PRODUCT LIST:

Primer: the POREFessional by benefit all around my t-zone & L'Oréal Lumi Magic illuminating primer around the remainder of my face. 

Foundation: Mac MatchMaster in the shade 5.0

Under eye concealer: Maybelline Age Rewind concealer in the shade light. 

Blemish covering concealer: Crown Brush 10 colour concealer pallette.

Setting Powder: L'ancôme translucent setting powder

Under eye Setting Powder: Mac Studio Fix in the shade NC 42

Contour: Sleek highlight and contour pallette in medium. 

Bronzer: BareMinerals warmth.

Illuminator: Sleek highlight and contour pallette in medium. 

Eyebrows: Maybeline brow satin pencil in dark brown. Followed with Anastasia Beverly Hills Dipbrow Pomade in dark brown, set with benefit Gimme Brow in medium-dark. 

Eye Primer: Benefit stay don't stray eyeshadow primer 

Eyeshadow: Mac sumptuous olive all over lid with another Mac shadow club blended into the crease. 

Eyeliner: Mac eye kohl pencil in smoulder 

Mascara: L'Oréal Telescopic False Lash.

All of this followed with my Urban Decay setting spray. 

Hope you liked this look,

Stay tuned for much more dolls, 

Aimee

Xoxo

Exciting News!!

Okay, it's time to reveal my exciting news!! I am literally BURSTING with excitement about this! 

Okay! So I am going to be doing a collaboration with the one and only Luxie Beauty!! 

Luxie Beauty is an American company which makes cosmetics and make up brushes and I have recently been informed that they want to do a collaboration with me and my blog following my post on my 'must have make up brushes' !!!

I am so over the moon to be working with this company and to be reviewing their products!

I am also going to be starting a youtube channel probably sometime in February, so fingers crossed it will go well! So everybody, watch this space!!

I am super excited about this! Head over to www.luxiebeauty.com for all your cosmetic and make up brush needs! Seriously guys, their stuff is amazing!! 

Let me know what you guys think and some ideas for youtube videos?! 

Stay Tuned Dolls,

Aimee

Xoxo

EXCITING NEWS!!

Tomorrow I will be announcing some very exciting news, blog related of course!!
I am absolutely over the moon and cannot wait to share it with you guys, my lovely readers!
So make sure to stay tuned tomorrow!!

Much love to you all :)

Aimee
Xoxo

How To Find Your 'Holy Grail' Foundation!

Right ladies, when shopping for make up, it is vital to remember that no product is perfect. That is why there is hundreds of products out there on the market, and there will continue to always be hundreds out there!
Now, the list of 'Do's & Don'ts for makeup can go on FOREVER, but I'm going to try and simplify this as much as possible. Today we're going to talk about foundations and how to go about finding the best one for you. Life would be very easy if there was just one foundation that was perfect on everybody. How and ever, sadly this is not the case, and finding a foundation that you really love can be a lot more extensive than you bargained for sometimes.
Okay, so here we go! Let's start on how (in my opinion) is the best way to find the 'perfect' foundation for you!

STEP ONE

FINDING YOUR SKIN TYPE.

This is the number one most important this in the search for ANY product for your face or body. Especially foundation!

I have written a seriously in depth post on how to find your skin type, so if you're unsure and you want to check it out, take a peak here.

A common mistake people make when they're looking for a foundation is going for one just because it is extremely popular when realistically, it could be all wrong for you.

An example of this is: my sisters holy grail foundation is the Estee Lauder 'Double-Wear'. It looks great on her and she loves it; however when I tried it, I didn't like the feel of the formula and it didn't look nice on me at all. 

If you have DRY skin, you're best going for a hydrating formula, either a liquid or a gel based foundation.

If you have OILY skin, you're best going for something 'mattifying' and oil-absorbing formula.

STEP TWO 

FINDING YOUR UNDERTONE.

This is the second most important step in the search for your foundation.

Foundations usually come in warm, cool and neutral colours to suit these undertones, and knowing the right one to choose can be a serious game changer in your makeup routine.

If you know your undertone but can't tell the difference between the different undertones of the foundations in the shop, just ask the people that work there to give you a hand.

If you're totally confused by what an undertone is (IT IS NOT THE COLOUR OF YOUR SKIN) I have also written an in depth post about this too, just click here !

STEP THREE 

KNOW WHAT COVERAGE YOU WANT.

Knowing what coverage you want from your foundation is vital! Foundations range from sheer coverage to full coverage and it's important to know what you want, and what suits you.

If you just want to even out your complexion and not look or feel like your wearing makeup; go for a sheer coverage foundation.

If you want to even out your complexion and cover imperfections without feeling cake-faced; go for a light to medium coverage foundation.

If you want to completely cover everything on your face and/or match your face to your neck if you're self-tanning; go for a full coverage foundation.

Again, if you are unsure, ask one of the sales assistants to help you!

STEP FOUR

APPLICATION IS KEY.

Using the right tools to apply your make up with, is a game breaker. It can make a world of difference, trust me.

You could have very cheap, not fantastic-not awful make up, apply it with excellent brushes and have a flawless face. Equally, you can have an extremely high end brand of makeup and not the best makeup brushes and your make up could look awful.

The right brush/sponge for your make up is everything.

Check out my post on my MUST HAVE make up brushes here!

STEP FIVE.

SETTING YOUR FACE.

This step is just essential. Unless you have extremely paper-like dry skin, I advise setting your foundation with a powder. Especially if you are oily. 

Setting your face with powder just gives the extra finishing touches to your face, you can even add a bit more coverage to your foundation with a pressed powder. It just makes sure nothing creases and that it stays in place all day.

SO, there you have it! How to find your holy grail foundation (in my opinion). Never be afraid to ask the sales assistants on makeup counters to help you with all of the above, as that is what they are trained to do.

What's my holy grail foundation?!

BareMinerals is a brand that is very often overlooked. People assume that it is only for that sheer coverage 'no makeup' make up look. But it isn't! It is completely buildable from sheer coverage to full coverage, depending on what it is you are going for.

I love this foundation because of it is so weightless on the skin even on full coverage application, and it lasts ALL DAY.

I have combination skin; oily on my t-zone and normal/dry everywhere else.This is absolutely brilliant at absorbing the oils along my t-zone and not getting shiny. It is humidity resistant, sweat proof (I would know, I am an excessive face sweater. Gross, I know.) and transfer resistant.

This foundation has me floored for the past couple of years, it's just that brand that I always go back to because the quality is just so reliable.The knack is to use a wet-ish primer underneath (I use the BareMinderals Primer) and then use whatever setting powder over it and it seriously lasts all day and looks beautiful on the skin. Although it's a powder foundation it is absolutely not drying on the skin and it has never caused me to break out.

This make up is a strong 10/10 for me, I highly recommend it for every skin type.

At 25 Euro for a big tub it is super affordable, and they do excellent 'starter kits' for people who are just starting out with it, which I think is absolutely phenomenal value. You get your foundation, setting powder, concealer, primer, warmth and 3 brushes all for a price of 58 Euro. I know it seems like a lot, but all of the products that come in it are full size and are about 20Euro a pop. I continue to re-purchase the starter kit over and over again since I was about 15. It seriously has no faults for me¬

Really hoped this helped you on your quest for the 'perfect' foundation! Let me know what you guys think of the Bare Minerals foundation if you've tried it, or what your holy grail foundations are?!

Stay Tuned Dolls,

Aimee

Xoxo

REVIEW - L'Oreal Telescopic 'False Lash'

Okay ladies, it's review time! This week I am reviewing the L'Oreal Telescopic 'False Lash'!


LOVE THIS MASCARA.
At 17 euro it is a little pricey, but trust me it is worth it! It seriously lives up to its name of 'false lash effect'!
It gives gorgeous length, a perfect amount of volume and is clump free!
The best part about this mascara for me is that it is completely buildable also. Personally, I wear a lot of mascara, some might say the 'clumpy' or 'spidery lashes' effect is what I go for. Some people don't like that but how and ever everybody to their own :)
I love the way this formula builds to however thick or thin you want it, and it doesn't dry out my lashes at all! It is super waterproof, but nothing that a good oil based eye makeup remover can't solve.

Now, I have particularly pathetic eyelashes after years of wearing false lashes, curling my lashes and mascaras just drying them out, so I really need a miracle worker of a mascara to be able to make my eyelashes look somewhat nice - and I am absolutely stoked to say that I have found it!!

Check it out for yourself

Over all, this mascara is a massive thumbs up for me, I am very impressed.
I'm actually going to do a comparison between this mascara and the Benefit 'Theyre Real!' on Friday.

Let me know what brand of mascara is your favorite or ones you don't like down below!

Happy Shopping :)

Aimee
Xoxo

MAC DUPE ALERT !!! BUY OF THE WEEK!

I know, I know, two posts in one day? 
Couldn't help it, sorry. This is just one not to be missed!!

You can imagine my excitement when my sister told me that NYX is available to buy in Newbridge. So I got myself up to Mangan's 'All Care' Pharmacy just opposite the Sports Centre.
I instantly fell in love with everything. I wanted it all.
After I calmed down from my excitement, I spotted the lip liner in the shade 'Nude Beige', swatched it, and loved it. Next I came across the Matte Lipstick collection. I'm a sucker for the matte lip look. Kyle Jenner wannabe much?! I found a lipstick in the shade 'Butter Beurre'. This was a match made in heaven.
When I swatched them on my hand, they were quite pinky toned, and looked to be a good dupe for my MAC 'honey love' lipstick and 'Spice' lip liner. However I was wrong.....

When the lipliner and the lipstick are applied to the lips, they actually are an absolute ringer for MAC's 'stone'. Now, 'stone' is one of MAC's biggest colours at the moment BUT if you dont know what I'm talking about, here's some pictures







pretty huh?
Well, here's a picture of my NYX lip liner and lipstick on me




Identical right?? Get yourselves to Mangan's Pharmacy gals! The Lipliner i think is 4.99 and the lipstick is 5.99. The two of them combined is still half the price of the one MAC lipliner. Even though, I am a MAC girl, even I have to admit I won't be spending 16-17 quid on the one lip liner!

And what's even better is NYX don't test on animals! :)


Happy Shopping!! :)

Stay Tuned Dolls,

Aimee
Xoxo

What Are Your Breakouts Telling You?

A lot of the time, we can get random sports or breakouts in different areas of the face. Sometimes, this can be if you're under a lot of stress, but that's far too easy of an answer for me so I dug a little deeper with my research on this one!
I personally get re-occurring breakouts around my mouth area, and no matter what I do with my skincare routine to refrain this from happening, it just never works. So, when I was studying beauty therapy I learned that spots and break outs can actually be caused a little deeper than we think.

Research shows that different areas of your face are actually connected to different part of your body. weird right? But this means that when you get a breakout, it might be your skins way of telling you something.
Here's a chart that I found with all the different areas of the face labelled with their twinned body part :



So, in plain English, if you, like me get re-occurring breakouts around your mouth and chin, this could be caused by gynecological problems. i.e. hormones.
When you think about it, it's kind of cool.
Here's some more diagrams to explain the more 'common' breakout areas in a bit more detail!






So if you're wondering why you keep getting breakouts in the same places all the time, or just get random ones all over the shop like I do, (Seriously, sometimes my face decides it wants to be a pizza instead of a face.) then look no further!! Your prayers are answered! haha :)

Hope this helped!

Stay Tuned Dolls,

Aimee
Xoxo

The week ahead!

Hope everybody had a great weekend :) 

Lots to look forward to this week! 

Watch this space! 

Here's some hints....

 

Got lots of lovely goodies last week, there will be reviews galore, and I'll also be doing a post on meeting the lovely Lily Pebbles and Anna from ViviannaDoesMakeup! 

Stay tuned dolls!

Aimee

Xoxo 

How To Navigate Around My Page :)

 <a href="http://www.bloglovin.com/blog/13796613/?claim=s4cvvywbqz5">Follow my blog with Bloglovin</a>

Because I am not a technology savvy person, I have no idea how to make a menu on Blogger with all of the different sections of the different bits and bobs that I want, SO
at the end of each post, there will be a 'label' , 
example 'reviews' under a review blog post. 
You can click on this label and it will show you all of my other blog posts ever published that's under the same label.
So if you click the label 'reviews' you'll  automatically get linked to a page with all of my review blog posts. :)

Enjoy dolls,

XOXO

My MUST HAVE Make Up Brushes.

Okay, so I have to admit I am a bit of a makeup brush addict. I have A LOT of brushes. Do I feel guilty about this? Nope. Not even slightly. In fact, I'm even going to give you a run down of my top favorite brushes to date. There's going to be a lot, so try and keep up! haha :)

FOUNDATION BRUSHES 

1. Real Techniques - Expert Face Brush 
  This brush was made by angels for the perfect flawless face, for 13 euro you cannot go wrong.

2. Real Techniques - Buffing Brush
  This brush comes in a set of 4 and retails for about 28.99 in boots, serious bargain!!

3.Sigma - F80 Flat Kabuki
  It is literally the most perfect foundation/stippling brush in all the world. LOVE.

4. Blank Canvas - F20
   This brush is brilliant. AND it comes in different colours, pink, purple and black. (I have all 3 colours.)

5. The Original Beauty Blender
  Technically not a brush, but this makes your foundation literally look like silk on your face. I got mine off LuxiBeauty. (This website has the most amazing stuff ever)

POWDER BRUSHES

1. Real Techniques - Big Fluffy Powder Brush
  This is just the right amount of fluffiness and bigness for an all over dusting of powder.

2. Real Techniques - Setting Brush
 Perfect for under eye concealer, or setting under eye concealer and for adding highlighter to the top of the cheekbones!

3. Blank Canvas - F22
I use this more so to apply my MAC StudioFix or to blend of my contour. It is beautifully soft! 

4. luxie-lush rose gold Stippling Brush
 This brush is beautiful for either foundation application or powder application, I like this for my Bare Minerals Foundation.

5. Real Techniques - Duo Fiber Face Brush
  This brush comes in a set, and the biggest is my favorite for loose setting powder. It is so soft and so beautiful!

EYESHADOW BRUSHES 

1. Real Techniques - Starter Kit
This set has 4 brushes in it, and retails for about 29 euro. I love all of the brushes in this set, they are a really good starter kit.

2. Luxie Beauty Rose Gold Angled Blender
 This brush is a must have for blending. It is just brilliant and so soft.

3. Crown Brush - Blending Fluff
Same as above, amazing blending brush, shadow applicator etc. and it's only like 5 euro!
 
4. Real Techniques - Nic's Picks
The eyeshadow brushes in this set are pretty fab. So are the face ones. Go and buy :)

5. Real Techniques - Shading Brush
I love this brush for adding shadow to the bottom of my eye, it is the perfect size!

CONCEALER BRUSHES 

1. Real Techniques - Angles Foundation Brush
I love using this brush for my contour just under my cheekbones, its the perfect shape and width. Makes it super easy to contour with!

2. The Original Beauty Blender
It just has so many uses! How could you not love it?!

3. Real Techniques - Core collection
The small brush labelled 'foundation brush' is the brush that I apply my Highlighting Concealer with when I contour & Highlight. It's the perfect shape and size for this job!

4. Crown Brush - C404
This brush is PERFECT for blending out your concealer. Love it. MUST HAVE!

5. LuxieBeauty - Angled Makeup Brush
This is just a perfect brush for whatever you want it for. Concealer, blending, eyeshadow etc.. it does it all!!


CONTOUR/BRONZING BRUSHES 

1. Real Techniques - Core Collection
The small brush labelled 'Cntour Brush' is perfect for dusting a bit of bronzer on your face to warm up your complexion.

2. Crown Brush - C405
This brish is excellent for adding a subtle contour or for applying blush, it is a multi use brush for sure!

3. Crown Brush - Pro Chisel Blush
This brush is PERFECT for contouring. It gets right in under the cheekbones, and is the perfect shape and size. It can be used with cream contouring or powder. I love this. Definitely a MUST have if you are into contouring.

4. Real Techniques - Blush Brush
This brush is fab for dusting bronzer onto your face without doing a strong contour. It is also great for applying blush!

5. Blank Canvas - F21 Contour Brush
This one is quite similar to the the Crown Brush C405 except that it is much more dense and thick. I would recommend this brush for applying cream contour as it is extremely dense. It applies the contour beautifully.

BROW BRUSHES 

1. Real Techniques - Starter Kit
I use the tiny round topped brush for setting my brows with my Benefit Browzings. Its the perfect size and shape, I prefer this over the brushes that come in the set because I feel like I have more control with the longer handle.

2. Blank Canvas - Double Ended Spoolie
I use this for my Anastasia Beverly Hills Dipbrow as the small angled brush is the perfect shape size and density. Also the other side is excellent for brushing through the brows before and after.

3. Benefit - Hard Angle
This brush is perfect for brow shaping and filling in. You actually get a small version of this in the Browzings set. I prefer the bigger one because I have more control over the brush. I have used this with my Dipbrow aswel and it works like magic!

HIGHLIGHTING BRUSHES

1. Real Techniques - Setting brush
As I mentioned above this brush is brilliant for setting under eye concealer, or applying a highlighter to the face.

2. Real Techniques - Duo Fiber Collection
The Brush labelled 'duo fiber contour brush' is the one I love to use for my highlighter on my cheekbones, down my nose and on my decliatage.

LIP BRUSHES 

I rarely use lipbrushes, I just dont like them. I only use a lip brush for my MAC - Ruby Woo because it is so matte it is very difficult to apply without a brush. The brush I use for this is the Real Techniques Retractable Lip Brush. It is pretty good, would defo recommend it. 

There you have it, my must have brushes. I definitely have a brush problem, I have so many but I still want more! I am absolutely loving Luxie Beauty Brushes at the moment, they are definitely a favourite of mine. Along with Real Techniques and Crown Brush. Check them out!

Aimee
Xoxo

Brow Lovin'

In case I haven't mentioned it before, I am an avid brow gal. I love brows, I love brow products, I love drawing on my brows and whenever there's a new brow product to be tried, I will definitely try it!
When I was younger I had, probably the bushiest and thickest eyebrows you ever did see. Seriously. Cara Delivigne had NOTHING on me. So I did what any normal young girl would do and I PLUCKED THEM ALL OFF. Which at the time, I thought was absolutely Faaaaaab but was so not. They were awful. So, I've spent the last 2 years trying to grow my brows out, which is going at snail pace but this is what I am left with at the moment;


Awful right?
So, I fill in my brows everyday with the majestic wonders of make up. Which can I just say, takes a long time to get the knack of doing. It is hard when you first start & I still don't have the hang of it yet. I have tried everything from pencils to markers to powders to gels and I have discovered that it is actually quite hard to 'fill in' brows that aren't there. They all did the job but I was never 100% satisfied with them.
UNTIL......
Anastasia Beverly Hills - Dipbrow Pomade entered my life.
I am beyond obsessed with this stuff. It is absolutely beautiful to apply, you literally only need the tiniest amount and it wears all day beautifully. It's also not that hard to use. It's not the easiest but it's definitely not the hardest! As long as you know the shape you're going for, you're fine. I actually outline my 'brow' or what I want my brow to look like with my eyebrow pencil by maybelline and then fill it in with the dipbrow.
I use the shade 'Dark Brown' and it is perfect for me, matches my hair colour brilliantly. What left me pleasantly surprised is that it looks a hell of a lot more 'natural' looking than I expected. And I love to sculpt and paint on my brows but it is not like BAMMMM in your face. Love it.
After I use my Dipbrow, I set it with my Benefit - Browzings in the shade medium and then top it all off with my Gimme Brow - also by Benefit. 







This is a serious MUST HAVE for any gal like me that love to draw on their brows or actually just have to draw them on if you have none. and for 12 quid you cannot go wrong! If you are interested, click here to get yourself some. You will NOT regret it, trust me.


Stay Tuned Dolls, 

Aimee
Xoxo

All About Your Skin

ATTENTION LADIES!!

Before you put anything on your face, or body, it is vital that you know your skin type, characteristics and of course, how to look after it properly. As an avid Beauty Blog reader, I am yet to come across a page where it explains how to discover your skin type. Now, I personally think this is a HUGE thing. Your skin type determines the type of products you can use on your skin, from Make-up to moisturiser- everything. Skin Analysis is a basic necessity for any beauty therapist/makeup artist in training/practice. So I'm going to tell you how to go about finding yours! :)

Skin is classified into 4 main types: -Normal
                                                           - Dry
                                                           - Oily
                                                           - Combination.

Skin types are congenital. i.e. they do not/cannot be changed.
I will now explain each skin type and their typical characteristics. This will help you evaluate your own skin.

DRY SKIN  (not to be confused with 'dehydrated')

Essentially, dry skin means that the skin lacks sebum. Sebum is the natural oil produced by our skin in order to lubricate it. Lack of sebum production also contributes to moisture loss within the skin.

Characteristics:

=> skin looks and feels tight

=> looks flaky and patchy

=> feels paper-ish and coarse to the touch

=> pores are very small and tight-especially after washing.

=>pre-mature aging and broken capillaries 

=> very dull/pale appearance.

What do I Do?
I would suggest regularly exfoliating your face, maybe about 2-3 times a week.
Dermalogica - Daily Microfoliant is a good one to try, and is suitable for everyday use,
St. Ives - Anti Blemish Exfoliant is also excellent, this one is from Boots and much more affordable.
I would also recommend using a hydrating face mask once a week.
My top picks are  the Dermalogica - Intensive Hydrating Masque, and the Lancome - Hydrating Masque also.

OILY SKIN

As you've probably guessed, oily skin is the opposite to dry skin; it produces too much sebum. This is very common at puberty, as the 'male' hormone testosterone (yes gals, you have a bit of testosterone too!) is being produced, it causes a significant increase in the production of sebum. 

Characteristics:

=> your skin actually looks and feels oily, especially around the t-zone

=> usually have a sallow complexion

=> large pores

=> uneven skin texture

=> blemishes appear very often, i.e. blackheads, spots etc.

What Do I Do?

I would recommend using witch hazel on your face at least 3 times a week, this will soak up the excess oil on the surface of the skin and is what's known as an astringent which with close up your pores also. 

I would also recommend that you exfoliate your face - particularly your t-zone - 2-3 times a week and this will reduce blackhead formation in this area. My top picks would be Dermalogica - skin prep scrub or a more affordable one would be the one I already referred to above St. Ives - Anti Blemish exfoliator which is available in Boots. 

I would also recommend a face mask once a week; ones that I would rate highly are the Dermalogica - Plankton Masque, and Una Brennan - Super Facialist clay masque. With each of these you leave them on for about 20 minutes and then wash off with warm water and a face cloth.

COMBINATION SKIN

As it's name suggests, this skin type is a bit of a mixture. Typically, the t-zone is oily skin and the rest of the face is normal/dry. (I will get to what 'normal' skin is in a minute) This is the most common skin type, as it is very rare that a person only has one type of skin. 

Characteristics

=> skin looks and feels oily in the t-zone

=> t-zone is typically shiny compared to rest of the face.

=> pores are almost invisable on the cheeks and neck, and are far more dilated and visable around the T-zone.

What Do I Do?

For combination skin, I would recommend the above mentioned steps for the dry parts of your skin, and then the above mentioned steps for oily skin, i.e. using the witch hazel and plankton masque along the t-zone and then the hydrating masque on the rest of the skin if its dry. Typically people tend to have at least 2 skin types on their faces, so this is most likely the one for you.

NORMAL SKIN

This is what's known as 'perfect' skin and is very rare! 'Normal' skin typically produces just the right amount of sebum so that the skin isn't too dry or too oily. It is perfectly balanced. This skin type usually appears in children, before puberty and the increase in the production of sebum. 

Characteristics

=> skin is soft and supple

=> warm to the touch

=> even texture

=> rare/no blemishes/spots/blackheads etc.

=> no visible pores

SKIN CONDITIONS. These are NOT skin types.

Dehydrated skin

Dehydrated skin lacks moisture NOT sebum.

Dehydration can effect any skin type- even oily. It just means that your skin lacks moisture, not the natural oil sebum. This can occur by using products on your skin that are too harsh or are wrong for your skin type.

It is very common in oily skin types that suffer with Acne, as the salicylic acid which is often used to treat the acne, can actually dry out the skin and strip it completely of its moisture, i.e. you still have oily skin, it is just temperarily dehydrated.

Sensitive Skin 

Sensitive skin usually (not always) accompanies dry skin, due to it's lack of sebum production, this leaves the skin unprotected from harsh conditions. Hypersensitivity is more likely to occur here, this basically means that your skin is very very sensitive. Usually occurs on the cheeks and/or the t-zone. Your skin will flush very easily, (go red) and you more than likely will have broken/dilated capillaries around the sensitive areas.