OOTD- Has the bus come yet?

Big pat on the back for me finally a few outfit pictures where I look less Bob the plumber more me, not that there's anything wrong with Bob the plumber just not really the look I'm going for.

Although this outfit isn't anything spectacular I thought I'd share it with you as I think it's an easy everyday colourful summer look. My T-shirt is from River Island (they have some lovely things in at the moment) it's a great way of taking on the 'colour block' trend with minimal effort required. I love the neon yellow panelling I think the colour really pops against my skin tone. This T-shirt really brightens up what would otherwise be a pretty plain outfit, you could pair this with denim shorts, jeans or even tucked into to a pair of leather shorts. My jeans are New Look. I can't recommend New Look jeans enough, they have varied range of shapes and styles to flatter every figure. Some jeans look baggy in all the wrong places but I find New Look jeans fit really well and really flatter my figure. Most New Look jeans come in under £25 which for the quality, cut and how well they wash is a bargain. So if you're after a new pair of jeans but don't quite want to fork out on the Topshop  jeans (which I also love) check out New Look. The caged sandals are a couple of years old (sssh) they're real leather though and have survived several holidays they still look pretty good to say they've taken one heck of a beating, again these were from New Look. My bag is Zara, I apologise that the pictures don't really do it justice I'm planning on posting a 'what's in my bag' post pretty soon, but I purchased this bag for a cracking price  £25 on Ebay! I expected a bidding war, I prepared myself with a drink and snack at the ready but nope I pretty much won this without any effort on my part at all, the bag was brand new and came in it's original bag and packaging. I can't recommend Ebay enough for finding great clothing at affordable prices.

Bag- Zara Mini City Bag (sold out) 
Tshirt- River Island (sold out- only pink available)
Jeans- New Look 

For make up I kept things pretty natural and simple (as always) I used the 'Dr Brandt no more pores' as my primer followed by NARS sheer glow, NARS Creamy Concealer and the NARS Light reflecting loose powder (lots of NARS!) I used the Clinique high impact mascara, and on my lips is a combination of the Revlon lip butter (blotted down) in 'Berry smoothie' and S&G lip gloss in 'punch bowl.'

Do you like the colour block trend? What are your favourite shops for jeans?

Oskia Renaissance Cleansing Gel

As my Liz Earle Cleanse and polish came to a gradual end I decided to hold off on a repurchase in an attempt to try and use up some of the cleansers I currently have knocking about in my stash. I was very reluctant to use another cleanser as my skin is very sensitive and I don't like to chop and change my skincare a lot, but I prevailed and reached for the Oskia Renaissance Cleansing Gel.

I've never tried anything from Oskia before, nor have I heard much about the brand so I very much went in with an open mind. Oskia are an all natural British brand, they use 98% natural ingredients in all products they manufacture if you would like to read more about the brand see here. Coming from a regular Joe (no skincare qualifications as such) I do find the whole 'Nutritional skincare' thing that Oskia have going on a tad bit gimmicky, when I see the word 'nutrition' I immediately link this to internal, thing's we eat, drink not stuff we slather on the skin. So yes, after reading about the brand I was  a tad sceptical but here's my thoughts-

Quite contrary to the name this cleanser is NOT in any shape or form a gel cleanser. I took the pictures above in hope that they might give people an idea of what the texture of this cleanser is like. I have to admit the texture is odd and not like anything I've tried before. On first application the product is sort of jelly like with a salmon pink colour, when applied to the skin this transforms into a balm cleanser the texture at this point is quite oily, after massaging in I apply water, the texture turns milky and creamy (picture three) the oil dissolves into a milky cream cleanser that you can easily rinse away or towel off. Although I do think this adds a little bit of 'fun' to the cleansing experience I do feel like it adds unnecessary time onto cleansing as I felt like there were three steps on my cleansing alone.

So how does this perform? I've been using this for four weeks now and I'm still not sure how I feel, on first impressions it was love but after continued use I do think this cleanser for me has more cons than pros. As for pro's I do love that this cleanser works well with my combination skin. This hydrates dry patches, but didn't leave any greasy residue behind. After cleansing my skin never felt dry, tight or uncomfortable. This worked really well during breakouts calming painful under the skin spots. At the end of the four weeks, the texture of my skin has improved drastically and looks a lot clearer. However the biggest difference is the appearance of my skin. I've never found a cleanser that manages this before but my skin looks a lot brighter and more radiant. Pigmentation/scarring and dull skin seem to go hand in hand, this cleanser didn't reduce the pigmentation but the overall appearance of my skin looked a whole lot brighter.

For me though although my skin seems to love these oil/milky hybrids- I don't. It's going to sound lazy but for me a con is the amount of extra time added on to cleansing. In the mornings before work I did find that this added on a lot of extra time that sadly I just don't have. This also didn't do a fantastic job of removing make up, in all honesty this didn't remove make up in the slightest. I'm a fan of 'double cleansing' (make up remover followed by cleanser) but with this cleanser I felt like my skin got a little overwhelmed with the amount of products. Using an oil/balm make up remover, followed by slathering my face in an oil again (with this cleanser) just didn't quite work for me. For me this was another huge con as with my Liz Earle cleanser I can literally do two washes and all scraps of make up are removed (without the need to go in with further products.) Smell was also a big no no for me. Although this says 'rose scented' I didn't find the rose to be overpowering but I just wasn't a fan of the smell, it didn't smell clean more musky. Strangely enough this cleanser also made my flannels smell weird… okay I'll elaborate, I usually like to swap my flannel every 2-3 days but with this cleanser I had to change them daily, as I found that when my flannels dried they smelt like what can only be described as cat sick. After reaching paranoia stage I decided to stop using this cleanser and return to another cleanser (using flannels) and the flannels didn't smell, when I returned to this the smell returned… (ew.)

Will I repurchase? No, I think I'll give this a miss. Although I got this at the reduced price of £22.50 (Oskia had a £10 off first purchase offer) it's almost double the price of my beloved Liz Earle Cleanser (which I've already repurchased!) Sorry Oskia this just wasn't for me. On a side note I do want to mention how great the Oskia site is, when I ordered this the package arrived literally 2 days later, they include a little pouch with mini samples in and a brochure with Oskia products and skincare information I thought this was a nice added touch.

Have you tried the Oskia Renaissance Cleansing Gel?

OOTD-Singing In The Rain

After posting my very first 'OOTD' (scary stuff) I thought why not have a crack at this fashion thang, although I don't consider myself to be all that stylish who knows my posts may inspire someone, somewhere... and if all else fails take my posts as a fashion guide of 'How not to dress.'

Oh would you look at that Rinica's in monochrome again! It's okay guys and dolls don't call the fashion police I reassure you my wardrobe does contain some colour. Anyway everyone has that one fail safe comfy outfit in their wardrobe, the one you can chuck on without really thinking about it, the one you can eat lots of food in, this is mine. I've recently rekindled my love for my American Apparel leggings I enjoy pairing them with shirts, and polishing of the 'look' with my favourite kicks. If I'm not wearing Nike Blazers I usually just chuck on my Converse, New Balance or Vans. I will admit the American Apparel disco pants are super over priced but however much it pains me to say it there so worth it here's why-

They wash well (man when did I turn into my mum) no overstretching/baggy look you get with cheaper leggings
The colour lasts- No fading here folks
They're very slimming/flattering (especially around the waste line)
They're versatile
High quality and last a long time
They're not see through (sorry ladies that 'I can see your pants' look just ain't cool)

Shirt-Rihanna for River Island (Sold out)
Leggings American Apparel Disco Pants (Sold out) (I managed to get mine at £30 in the Asos Sale) 
Trainers- Nike Blazers

On a side note- I really want to get into posting more fashion related posts here on the blog, I know the pictures are a little amateurish at the moment what can I say I'm a not a natural born model, my poses are pretty awkward. If someone asks me to stand naturally I automatically go into my 'Jack the lad' pose (as demonstrated in picture 1.) If you have any tips or tricks for posing for outfit of the days please do let me know as it's something I'm working on. I also want to apologise in advance for the minimum make up look (I hadn't put my face on yet!) Oh and the weird blurry spot on my head (don't ask!)

Are you a fan of mixing formal/casual pieces? How do you style leggings?

P.S These New Look leggings here are kind of similar although there a little more matte looking and sadly have a button.

Topic 9: Music-My Running Playlist

I love that you can have the most stressful day at work, or be sat on a bus full of screaming children and all you have to do is put your earphones in and you have your escape from the world. Music for me is everything, it's relaxing, soothing, motivating and inspiring. My friend's call me the 'Playlist queen' as I have a crazy amount of playlists on my phone/Ipod, today though I thought I'd focus on the playlist I use for running/exercise. If you follow me on Twitter you'll know how much I love my running and having the right playlist is a must, especially if you're a lone runner like myself.

My music taste is a little weird I like anything from Lorde to Jay'z I really do have the most bizarre taste in music, for running though I like to keep thing's loud, trashy and annoying. Upbeat, repetitive, cheesy lyrics and an awesome beat are what I need to keep me running. My running music is something I would never listen to if I wasn't running as quite frankly it's just noise not the sort of music to relax me after a long day at work. Sadly that slow melodic indie song I love just won't get me moving that butt and pounding the pavements like the following songs do. Here's a snippet of the songs on my playlist-

Tidal Wave- Sub Focus Ft Alpines

Warm up track, perfect for when I'm in that walking, not quite running (but I'm already wanting to go back home) mood. Perfect dance track, and puts me right in the mood for my run.

Step It Up- Richie Sosa

Yup, that song from the Lexus advert. The beat on this gets me motivated. This is the song where the speed picks up. That's right sorry knees/legs it's time to get moving!

Don't You Worry Child

You'll have heard this one on the radio. It just reminds me of summer and although again not my usual style it does make me smile through the pain. Smile and run…smile and run.

Wake me Up-Avicii

Another one you'll have heard on the radio I like to do interval training with this song, slow jog through the slow melodic verses, when the beat kicks in pick up speed. By this point I'm loosing motivation but this song helps me keep the motivation..

Boomerang ft Pitbull

Boooomerangeeee, put your hands up. Sorry if this song doesn't get you moving that little bit faster I seriously don't know what will. Plus sexy beautiful lady are in the lyrics, I like to think that's me once the runs over…reality is I'm more beetroot than Boomerang!

Rihanna-We found love

Because quite frankly I'll never get sick of this song, it still gets me dancing.

Real-Years and Years

After hearing Katie Snooks/Andrew's version on this look book here. It reminded me how much I love this song. Unlike the other song's this is something that made it to my 'bus music' playlist.

For cool down, I opt for Beyonce or Alicia Keys for some feel good slow music.

What's on your exercise playlist? What sort of music do you like? Any songs I should add to my running playlist?