Tuesday 24 January 2012

Hey There Big Spender...Or Not So Much?

For the first time in a very long time I went shopping :) I was determined to not spend too much and it actually worked!! I started off in one of my favourite shops LUSH. I could spend hours in there and I could end up spending a lot of money, but sadly I could only pop in there as my boyfriend was getting impatient ha! I bought:

 ♥ Bubblegum LIp Scrub. LUSH say's: The pink all things girly, bubblegum flavour lip scrub. Clears dead skin and flakiness from lips, leaving them moisturised and smooth.Keeps lips in tip top condition, for kissing, pouting, talking or anything else you wish to do with them. 

 ♥ Happy Hippy Shower Gel. LUSH say's: This is the ultimate gel for waking you up in the morning or for keeping you up all night. Use it on your hair for wafts of grapefruit throughout your morning

 ♥ Sugar Scrub. LUSH says: The fennel oil in our Sugar Scrub is there because it is said to be a great diuretic, draining water and toxins from the tissues. We’ve also added lavender oil and fresh ginger to maximize the effects on clogged skin that needs a bit of extra help.Use on hips, bums and areas where you want to wake up your circulation to exfoliate the surface and stimulate the tissues.

♥  Rub Rub Rub Shower Scrub. LUSH says:
When it comes to scrubs, some of us like it rough, whilst some of us prefer the smooth operators. 
How much you go for it with Rub Rub Rub is up to you. If you want a gentle scrub, use it under running water like other shower gels. If you like it rough, get a big handful straight from the pot, Rub Rub Rub it on a dry body, then into the shower. All that salt makes this perfect for washing hair and adding volume. It’s also great as a scrub for tired feet.

♥ I was also given a sample of Peace Massage Bar. LUSH say's:  For times of turmoil, or just for when you’re having a bad day, Peace massage bar was designed to calm the storm and bring peace to your world. 




Sorry for the crappy photo yet again


I then went to Superdrug and picked up a couple of things that were on offer and it would have been rude not to buy them:
 ♥ Barry M lipstick in shade 101
 ♥ Me Me Me Beat the blues sunbeam irridescent complexion illuminator
 ♥ 2true smooth pressed matte pressed powder in shade 1
 ♥ 2true all over natural bronzing powder in shade 1
 ♥ 2trure effortless eyeliner in No1 ( all 2true cosmetics are currently 3 for £5 so I thought I'd give them a go)
I couldn't get a decent picture of any of these products as my camera was misbehaving.. sorry!

Sorry for just listing the products but I haven't tried everything that I bought on this shoping trip so I'm unable to give an honest review on each of the products but I'm sure I've bought something that I'm going to ramble on about in a post soon.  ♥ 

Monday 23 January 2012

Caramel Delight

For a while now I have been feeling a bit 'meh' about my hair colour. I've gone from blonde to brunette numerous times (sometimes it went a hint of ginger) but I'm still not satisfied with the colour! I was looking online for some inspiration for a hair colour and came across this picture. Now I'm not sure if it's the hair, or if I just want to look like her ( who wouldn't she's gorgeous) but I'm obsessed with caramel hair colours!
Picture from: http://www.google.co.uk/search?hl=en&source=hp&q=caramel
I'm going to the hair dressers next week so I'll see if I end up looking like that ( I can dream haha)♥.

Sunday 15 January 2012

To Fake it or Brave it?

I have to admit I'm a little frightened of fake tan, almost every attempt of self tan that I have undergone has resulted in me resembling an oompa lumpa ( It doesn't help that I'm 4ft11" so I could genuinely be mistaken for one). My skin tone is very pale, especially in the winter which sucks as I tend to look very washed out and someone once said my skin was translucent ha!! Over the years I have purchased a numerous amount of fake tan products ranging from St Tropez and Fake Bake to Dove's Summer Glow Beauty Body Lotion and no matter how I apply it (or get my sister to do it) I end up looking extremley orange and just unnatural. I am so jealous of those with beautifully tanned skin, whether it be real or fake!!

Jessica Alba with a natural tan. Jealous Much?

I had a professional spray tan before I went to Cyprus last August and that too was a disaster! I ended up looking very patchy, so unnatural and it almost had a dirty look to it. I got home and scrubbed it off as soon as possible as I couldn't bare the look of my skin!  Now at the age of 21 I have decided to save my pennies and stop buying fake tan products as they are no good for me, so from now on I am going to brave and embrace my pearly white skin!  ♥.

Nicola Roberts looking beautiful with pale skin
 Images from http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl  ♥

Wednesday 11 January 2012

Cheapsmells: Part 2

The second part of my order from cheapsmells finally came (Yay) and I was so pleased with what was delivered. The products that I ordered were:
♥ Revlon ColorStay foundation in 110 Ivory
♥ NARS Cream Eyeshadow in El Dorado
♥ BeneFit Creaseless Cream Shadow/Liner in Slippin' n Dippin'



Sorry for the awful picture


I had bought Revlon's ColorSaty foundation about a year ago in 150 Buff Chamois ( I'm a lot more pasty and pale like a vampire now that's why I bought Ivory haha), and I loved the medium to full coverage so I thought I'd give it another go as I'd run out of my curent foundation. I work 12.5 hour shifts and this foundation stays on for the whole shift and is suprisingly really moisturising. I use a GOSH 324 foundation brush to apply and then set the foundation with Rimmel's Silky Loose Powder in Translucent and I find that this works well together.


The Nars Cream eyeshadow whas something that I thought I'd just give a go and I'm so glad I did. It's a shimmery, bright golden colour in the pan but on application ( I use my finger as I feel it works better than a brush) it was more of a bronzy colour. I think it is really well pigmented and the shimmer isn't too much for an everday look. To stop the shadow from creasing I use Too faced Shadow Insurance and then apply the shadow. I would highly recommend this cream eyeshadow if you want an everyday versatile look.

BeneFit has to be one of my favourite make up brands and this shimmery coral/orangey (technical term there haha) cream eyeshadow has just confirmed my love for it. It is so pigmented and is perfect if built up on its own or under a neutral shade, I was a bit skeptical of the 'Creasless' tag that had been used but it actually doesn't crease even when no eye primer was used. This shade is perfect for the summer as it warms up the eyes and if used with an angled brush it creates the perfect eye liner.


Left: BeneFit Slippin' n Dippin'. Right: NARS El Dorado


I love all four of my purchases from cheapsmells.com as I can use them all for an everyday look or when I'm on a night out and will definitely be using the website again. ♥.

Sunday 8 January 2012

Beautiful


Sorry for the stock copy but I read the book on my kindle so don't have a hard coopy :)

I'm slightly behind the times as I know this book was out a good year ago but I have just finished reading Katie Piper's Biography: Beautiful. Katie Piper is an absolute inspiration, whilst reading the book I was completely moved by her story and her courage to continue with everyday life. I would highly recommend this book as it is has made me realise that I shouldn't moan when I have a bad hair day, when I have a so called 'major breakout' or when my make up doesn't go the way I want it. Katie is a beautiful person inside and out, a role model and I admire her for her courage and bravery ♥


Thursday 5 January 2012

Good Enough to Eat??


My sister bought me this Cupcake Hand Cream for Christmas (I think it's from Amazon, not too sure on the price though) and I have to say that this is one of the best hand creams I have ever used and I have used a lot. (I'm a student nurse so am forever washing my hands,  a good quality hand cream is a must have!!). Not only does it have the cutest cupcake design which makes it look edible, it also smells DELICIOUS! I don't normally like cherries or cherry smelling things but this (and cherry hubba bubba, do you remember those?) are the exception!

The sprinkles look more like beans in this photo, serves me right for trying to do an artistic close up haha!!




I find my self applying this cream for no apparent reason just so that I can smell it, the hand cream itself is fast absorbing, non greasy, really moisturising and a little bit goes a long way. I ♥ this hand cream it is officially my favourite one just down to the scent, Soap&Glory's Hand Food is a close second. I've also tried Elizabeth Arden's Eight Hour Hand Cream and although it is perfect in pretty much every way the scent just doesn't compare to my new cupcake.
 Do you have any hand creams that you can recommend? ♥.

Tuesday 3 January 2012

Cheapsmells: Order 1

                  So it's early Tuesday morning and it seems like I've been waiting forever for my cheapsmells delivery to come (in actual fact its only been about 3days but I'm very impatient ha!).Cheapsmells.com, for those who haven't come across it before, is a website that sells an array of high end and "drug store" brand cosmetics, fragrances and hair products for discounted prices. (Result right??)
           I received the first part of my order on Saturday morning (just in time for New Years Eve) and I was slightly dissapointed as only one item had been delivered. But when I opened the package it was MAC's Lipglass in Pink Clash. This is only my second MAC product as my first (Forgery eyeshadow) was a bitter dissapoinment so I was slightly dubious to purchase another product from MAC.


Such dodgy photography, couldn't get decent light for a swatch so this will have to do :)

              I was pleasantly surprised with the results of the Lipglass, although the name is "Pink Clash" I found it to be slightly more orange than pink but that didn't bother me as it was super shimmery with hints of gold sparkle and was really pigmented. The consistency wasn't what I was expecting (slightly more sticky... but still looks gorgeous on). I've read reviews that have said the lipglass doesn't stay on for longer than 30minutes but mine stayed on for a whole lot longer that.

                After buying this I am now swaying towards buying more MAC products due to the rave reviews of many of their cosmetics and maybe Forgery was just a one off?? A very good purchase from MAC thanks cheapsmells.com and I can't wait for the rest of my order to be delivered :)