Fruity Treats From The Body Shop

I'm a huge Body Shop fan and always have been! Especially for body products (I can't say I've ever really tried much of their makeup) but they never disappoint with their yummy body butters and succulent shower gels. They also seem to have regular discounts and I'm not talking measly, I'm talking whopping great 40% off discounts! I try to take advantage whenever they run one of these promotions as I do tend to find them a tiny bit pricey for certain things. I only placed a small order, but I'm still excited to share my chosen goodies with you :)

 

 

A bit of a fruit medley! The first thing I wanted to try was something from the Satsuma range, I know a lot of people rave about the body butter but I wanted something a little thinner in consistency so I went for the body lotion. I actually didn't realise I'd selected such a small bottle, but at least I can try it and see what I think before buying a bigger size. I haven't used it yet, but I can tell you it smells delicious :) I love orange scents and it doesn't disappoint. The next thing that caught my eye was the banana shampoo. This has really good reviews and again it smells amazing. I actually used this earlier for the first time and it smells like bananas and honey (probably due to the fact it has banana puree and honey in it!) it's like a dessert for my hair :) Lastly I opted for the vineyard peach shower gel simply because I knew it would smell gorgeous and again it doesn't disappoint.

 

If you fancy treating yourself to some Body Shop goodies, check out their website and use the code HONEY at the checkout for your 40% off. The offer applies to all products.

My MAC Lipstick Collection

Four lipsticks probably doesn't qualify as a collection, but when you think about MAC lipsticks costing £15 a pop, four is actually a lot! I adore MAC in general and I definitely see their lipsticks as real investment pieces. Due to the price and the quality they are, in my opinion, luxury items and a lovely treat when you have some money to spare or you're compiling a birthday/Christmas wishlist. I would love to have lots of MAC lipsticks and my collection is slowly growing.

 

L-R: Ruby Woo, Girl About Town, Impassioned & Crème Cup

 

 

 

Ruby Woo (Matte)

 

This is a classic 'Marilyn Monroe' red, it's super pigmented and vibrant and if I'm doing a red lip then this is always what I reach for. The only down side for me is how drying the formula is. Because it's a matte finish it's not moisturising at all so I have to apply some lip balm before I use it. It does have great staying power though.

 

 

Girl About Town (Amplified)

 

This was my first MAC lipstick and I love it. It's such a beautiful purple toned dark pink and I wear it all year round. Amplified is probably my favourite finish as it's slightly glossy and feels really soft and moisturising on the lips.

 

 

Impassioned (Amplified)

 

My favourite of the four! I first saw this on pinterest and fell in love with the colour. It's so unique and actually seems to look different in different lights. I'd describe it as a neon pink with a slight coral undertone and it's perfect for the days I want to sport a super bright, trendy lip.

 

 

Crème Cup (Cremesheen)

 

I wear this one the most, it's a great neutral, every day shade. It's a pale nude pink and has quite and creamy and glossy formula, it doesn't last as long as the matte formula but one swipe gives great colour payoff.

 

The next on my wishlist is Rebel which I hope to get my hands on pretty soon :)

 

What are your favourite MAC lipsticks? I'm always after new recommendations!

Loreal Skin Perfection Micellar Solution

Hi ladies! Hope your week's going well :) I'm getting busier at college and loving it! I know I haven't been blogging an awful lot lately, but now that I'm in a more solid routine I will definitely try to post more often. I really miss blogging when I take little breaks from it so I must try and indulge in it more frequently.

 

Today I'm going to talk about a new skin care product from the lovely folk at Loreal. Admittedly, I've seen this product pop up a lot on twitter, instagram and various blogs and I was intrigued from the get go! A lot of bloggers are comparing this to the infamous Bioderma H2O Micellar Water but I have to say I've never tried it. Due to the difficulty in getting hold of it in the UK and the price (I believe it's pretty steep for what is essentially a makeup remover), I just haven't bothered to track it down. So I won't be making any comparisons in this post but I'll give you a detailed rundown of the Loreal Skin Perfection Micellar Solution.

 

 

 

For those of you who are unfamiliar with the name, a micellar solution or water is essentially a light, yet effective, makeup remover and cleansing water. I love the idea of using this to take my makeup off instead of using makeup wipes, which aren't great as they strip the skin. It's much more gentle and basically feels like water on your skin.

 

Loreal's version claims to be a 3 in 1 product, dissolving your makeup, unclogging your pores and toning/soothing your skin. It's also suitable for those of you with sensitive skin.

 

 

 

 

How I use it

 

It's so simple to use, I apply a small amount onto a cotton pad and wipe over my skin with a light hand. You only need to be gentle with this, unlike a makeup wipe which you literally need to rub over your skin, this softly removes your makeup.

 

After using this on my entire face, I'm always quite shocked at how much is on the cotton pad! It really does remove almost all of my makeup. I then go ahead and cleanse and tone as usual.

 

Does it work?

 

There's the important question. And I have to say, yes it does! It's so quick and simple to use and really does remove most of my makeup. I say most, as I like to cleanse afterwards to really give my skin a good clean and get rid of any last trace of foundation etc. But this is so much better than using makeup wipes. And the best part is it costs just £3.33 from Boots. A total bargain. I also love how soft and non-greasy my skin feels after I've used it, but it also doesn't dry my skin out at all which makes me think it's not stripping my skin.

 

For the price and the quality of the product, I'd definitely say give it a go. I'd like to try Bioderma's micellar water and maybe a couple of others to do a bit of a comparison, but for now I'm more than happy with this and it's been a great addition to my skin care routine.

 

Here's the link if you'd like to buy it.

 

Have you tried this? If so, let me know your thoughts :)

 

 

Peacock Inspired Eyes

Hi ladies! I hope you're all having a fabulous week so far :) I'm pretty much settled into college now and learning to balance studying with being a mummy. I'm really enjoying it so far (I'm doing a business diploma for anyone that's interested).

 

Anyway I like to mix things up a bit on my blog and try not to focus solely on product reviews as that can get a bit boring! If you know me, you'll know I'm hugely passionate about makeup, I'm not a professional makeup artist but I do some freelance makeup, mainly bridal. If I have a spare evening I love nothing more than to get all my palettes and products out and create something a bit different. Usually I'm inspired by a picture or just a random idea I have so I thought I'd share one of my latest looks with you :) I'll include a step by step guide if you'd like to recreate it.

 

Peacock Inspired Eye Makeup

 

 

I love these colours together, they look so pretty! I was originally just going for a deep purple and gold look but decided to add some emerald green under the eyes which made this more 'peacock inspired'.

 

• Firstly I applied a Maybelline Colour Tattoo in Eternal Gold to the centre of the lid. 
• I then applied NYX Jumbo Pencil in Purple to the outer third and inner third. 
• I blended these very lightly with a clean blending brush just through the crease.
• Over the top of the gold colour (centre of the lid) I packed on Half Baked from the UD Naked palette.
• Over the top of the purple I packed on a deep shimmery purple shade from a 120 eyeshadow palette which I bought on eBay. It's a really useful palette to have for creative looks and it's super cheap! Link here.
• I then took a soft taupe (or any neutral colour) onto a blending brush and blended through the crease to really merge the colours together and get rid of any harsh lines. Be careful not to touch the lid as you want the gold and purple there to be separate.
• I highlighted under the brow with a matte cream shade and then highlighted my inner corner with MAC's Vanilla pigment.
• I used a liquid liner to line the top lash line and created a flick. I then did the same at the inner corner.
• I lined my waterlines with a black Maybelline gel liner.
• Using a pencil brush I applied an emerald green shade just under my eye and blended it slightly. I then took an angled brush and created a flick with this eyeshadow just under the flick I'd created with the liquid liner.
• To finish it off, add mascara and lashes if you want to.

Let me know your thoughts on this look and also let me know if you'd like to see more step by step makeup guides.

Just a side note to let you know that my favourite makeup brush brand Crown Brush have a 10% off discount code running through September! So it's the perfect time to try out some of their fabulous brushes. I'll be doing a full post on my favourite angled brushes from the brand but they're really affordable and the quality is equal to if not better than MAC!

Discount Code FINS2013 (type in at the checkout) - Link to Crown Brush.

 

New Bourjois Lipsticks

Hi lovelies, I hope you're having a fab start to the week! I'm trying to learn the art of balancing college with being a mummy and it's proving to be a challenge, but I'm sure I'll get into a settled routine soon :) Anyway onto the good stuff!

 

I took a little trip to Boots on Saturday and I have to admit I've been avoiding that place for a good few weeks. Not because I dislike it, quite the opposite. It's probably one of my favourite places on earth and I've been known to spend an absolute fortune in there on occasion... oops! Goes hand in hand with being a beauty blogger I suppose. So anyway, I decided that as a treat for avoiding it for so long I'd allow myself a few little beauty goodies :) it was also a little treat to myself for getting through my first week at college. So, one of the first things I was on the look out for was a new Bourjois lipstick. Bourjois on a whole have been my favourite drug store brand this year without a doubt. They've had so many brilliant new releases and their product quality never falters! Boots also have a 'buy 1 get 1 half price' offer on at the moment so I ended up with 2 gorgeous lipsticks. I decided to pick up one of their lipsticks from the Rouge Shine Edition range as after swatching I realised the formula was quite similar to that of their Colour Boost lipsticks which you can read about here. I went for Famous Fuschia as I wanted a new pink to try. And what a gorgeous pink it is!

 

 

 

 

The formula (as the name suggests) is super glossy or 'shiny' but it's also really opaque. Bourjois are seriously impressing me with their glossy lip products of late! It's quite a bright pink but definitely wearable during the day, I actually wore this to college today. There's no shimmer in this one and the staying power is decent. I touched up probably every 3-4 hours at which point there was a very slight stain of pink on my lips.

 

The next lipstick I snapped up was Violine Stras from the regular Rouge Edition range. I'm seriously excited to share this one with you because I think I've found a spot on dupe for a very popular MAC lipstick! If you follow me on twitter, you'll know I've been rambling on about trying MAC's Rebel for autumn/winter and although I didn't realise it until I got home and started properly swatching, this little beauty is an almost exact match to Rebel! Now I don't own Rebel but I trawled through a ton of swatches on line and compared them to Violine Stras and I'm sure they're almost dead on! Please let me know your thoughts on this if you have Rebel :) Anyway, this one isn't glossy like the first lipstick, I'd say it's more of a satin finish but its a deep plum which also has very slight flecks of gold in it which I think will look beautiful for the upcoming colder months. I haven't worn this for very long so I can't comment on the staying power but after one swipe, it's extremely opaque so the pigmentation is great.

 

 

 

 

 

 

These retail for £7.99 each but with the Boots offer I got one for half price :)

 

 

Bourjois Rouge Shine Edition - Link.

 

Bourjois Rouge Edition - Link.

 

 

 

 

My Everyday Face

I have a ton of makeup. I'm not going to lie! But I thought I'd share with you the products I reach for on a pretty much everyday basis. I've recently just returned to college at the ripe old age of 26 :) It's actually the same college I attended 10 years ago so it feels very weird being back there! But after having my little boy and taking a career break I wanted to go back into studying for a year to help me get my dream job. I may do a more in depth 'lifestyle' post on that in a few weeks if it's something you guys would be interested in reading. Anyway, I still want to wear a full face of makeup to college (to be honest I'm one of those people that needs to apply a full face just to go to the post office), but I don't have a huge amount of time in the mornings to spend faffing about, so these are the products I grab every day and I truly love them all :)

 

 

 

Benefit The POREfessional

 

I have to be honest and say that I barely own any Benefit products, I've never really been that bothered about the brand and I've just ended up spending my money on other things. In fact I received this as a freebie with a magazine a couple of months ago so I didn't even part with any cash for it, but I have to say I'm really impressed. It's a bit of a multi-tasker because I use this as my primer (it mattifies and evens out my skin perfectly) and also as a pore minimiser which is what it's meant for. It hides my pores which helps to get a more flawless finish with my foundation and I have to say I'm all for multi-tasking products when I'm limited on time in the morning.   

 

 

Rimmel Wake Me Up Foundation

 

I've been really enjoying using this foundation through the summer. I'd say it's a medium coverage and I definitely need to set it well and powder throughout the day or I will get quite oily but it's a lovely formula. I apply it either with a beauty blender or my RT expert face brush and it creates a really even, flawless finish. I like it for day time because it's not too much coverage and it does last really well. I wear the shade True Ivory normally but if I fake tan, this can be a couple of shades too light so I'll either use a darker foundation or I'll darken this with bronzer when applied. It's also really affordable!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer

 

I'm not going to go into too much detail with this one because everyone in the blogging world has gone mad for it and I'm sure you've read 101 reviews. But it's a great drugstore concealer with quite a think, creamy consistency. I use the fair shade under my eyes to highlight, then I use the darker shade to conceal any blemishes. I take the darker shade out with me to touch up during the day but it generally lasts really well.

 

 

MAC Mineralize Skin Finish Powder

 

I'm actually just trying to use this up at the moment because it's lasted me an age! That's a great thing considering it's high end and quite pricey but I really want to try a couple of other powders so this is a means to end for me :) I do really like it but I'm not in love with it. I wear the shade medium plus which matches the foundation perfectly and sets it well. I do find I use my Soap & Glory blotting powder to touch up throughout the day though as that combats shine more than this one.

 

 

Nars Laguna Bronzer

 

A holy grail product for me. I've hit pan and it's bittersweet because although it's satisfying to see how much I've used and loved it, it also means I'm going to have to spend £26 on a new one! It's pricey but I can tell you now, it's worth every penny! I bought this at the beginning of May and it's still going strong after using it daily. It looks like there's a very slight shimmer in the pan but once applied it's completely matt. It's buildable so can be worn on a number of different skin tones & it blends beautifully. You really don't need a lot as it's got great pigmentation and I wear this day and night. I use it to contour or I'll use it for an all over glow. No orange tones, no patches, just pure bronzer loveliness :)

 

 

Milani Baked Blush in Luminoso

 

I bought this on Amazon after reading such great reviews and I adore it! Milani isn't available in the UK but it's hugely popular in the States and like I said can be bought on Amazon. This particular blush is pigmented like crazy and feels more like a high end blush! (In the US it's a drugstore brand). I'm not going to say too much because I have a full review planned during the next week or so, so look out for that. The logo has rubbed off the front which is a shame but this is a gorgeous peachy pink shimmer that has done me proud through the summer. I reach for this every single day and I've literally abandoned the rest of my blush collection. It goes with pretty much every makeup look as it's so natural and glowy. Gorgeous!

 

 

Urban Decay Naked Basics Palette

 

Another holy grail! The perfect travel sized eyeshadow palette with all the neutral colours you'll ever need! I use about 3 shades for a quick and easy day time look and the shadows blend beautifully, last all day over a primer and are really pigmented. All shades are matte apart from the highlight colour.

 

 

Nars Albatross Highlighter

 

Such a beautiful powder highlight. I brush a small amount on the top of my cheek bones but I really do mean small amount as a little goes a long way! It looks white in the pan but it's extremely gold! It looks gorgeous in the evening but a light hand is definitely needed during the day. 

 

 

 



 

 



 

Loreal Telescopic Carbon Black

 

I bought this mascara as it's one of Carli Bybel's favourites :) She always raves about it in her videos and her eyelashes look immense! So of course, I had to try it. On the first few uses I wasn't hugely impressed. It has a small rubber applicator whereas I usually prefer quite a large mascara brush, but I've grown to love this one. After 2 coats my lashes look super long and really black! I actually love the brush now because it separates my lashes perfectly and gets right into the root. I use this on my bottom lashes too and it doesn't smudge under the eye.

 

 

MAC Lipstick in Crème Cup

 

This particular shade is actually slightly too light pink for me. I have a serious pet peeve of really pale pink lipstick but paired with the next product, it's perfect!

 

 

Nars Lip Gloss in Chihuahua

 

I'm going to make a very bold statement here. This is my favourite makeup/beauty product of all time. I know, shocking that I can say that! But seriously, it's like this was made for me! I wear it with absolutely every makeup look, day or night and the compliments I've had are amazing! I's a beautiful rose pink, basically a 'my lips but better' gloss and as soon as I apply it I just feel gorgeous. It's glossy but beautifully creamy and as far from sticky as you can get. It's opaque and the formula is fabulous. Nars are probably my favourite makeup brand because everything I've tried I've fallen in love with. But this is the one product I couldn't live with it. I think this is my 3rd one of these in about a year! This on top of Crème Cup is my perfect everyday lip.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lauren's Way Self Tanning Bronzing Mousse - Darker Than Dark

I was so excited to get this post published ASAP and share another great product with you guys!

 

I've been following Lauren's Way on twitter for a fair few months now and I've read the endless reviews that claim this brand to be wonderful in regards to it's self tan products but up until now I hadn't bitten the bullet and bought it. I'm neither a lover nor a hater of Lauren Goodger, she has her good and bad points but for the most part I'm indifferent. I didn't purchase her product because of her, I bought it based on the great reviews and the fact that they had a 25% off offer over the recent bank holiday :) What you can expect though is a totally honest, unbiased review as I always give.

 

 

 

I knew I wanted to try one of the mousse products even though Lauren's Way do stock the lotion and spray versions, but from experience I just get on better with a mousse. I find it quicker & easier to apply and it seems to create a more even finish. What I couldn't decide on was which shade to get. I'm reasonably pale but I knew I wanted something that made a noticeable difference so I didn't fancy the 'medium', as I thought it may be a bit too light. I probably would've gone for the 'dark' option but that wasn't available in the mousse version so I ended up going with the Darker Than Dark which is a relatively new product to Lauren's Way. I'll admit now, I was slightly scared! I didn't want to go too OTT with the colour because going from lily white to David Dickinson within the space of a few hours just wasn't going to look natural! But I stayed positive and waited for the tan to arrive. It did about 3 days after I'd placed my order and these were my initial thoughts.

 

• Smart, sleek packaging with the information clearly shown.
• A nice amount of product (150ml)
• A large pump applicator which I loved.

Lauren's Way had packaged the tan perfectly in a small cardboard box cushioned with foam pieces to avoid any breakages. Good thinking guys! Reminded me of Feel Unique's packaging which I'm a big fan of.

 

 

 

Onto the good stuff! I of course exfoliated in the shower, then moisturised any dry areas before using a clean tanning mitt (I know it doesn't look very clean in the photo, but I promise it was!) to apply the tan. I used a couple of pumps and applied it from the top of my body to my feet. I didn't apply it to my face as I just never do with body tanning products, I will normally just use a darker foundation or I'll use a tan specifically meant for the face. All in all I was over the moon with the application process.

 

• The mousse is quite a dark brown with a green undertone.
• One pump goes a long way if applied properly.
• Glides onto the skin.
• Dries within a few seconds.
• No obvious scent.

I love the fact that this tan doesn't have a scent. That's such a hard thing to find when it comes to tanning products and it's a huge bonus point for me. I also love that it dries so quickly and I mean dries properly! No sticky or wet feeling at all. The instructions do state not to get too sweaty for the first 4 hours after application which is common sense when it comes to tanning.

 

I left it on for about 6 hours and had a quick rinse in the shower. I was pleased to see a streak free, even tan which wasn't orange at all. And I had nothing to worry about in regards to colour! It's definitely taken me a few shades darker but I don't think it's too much, at least I hope it isn't! I may even apply another layer tonight.

 

 

 

So to sum up, I'm extremely pleased with this! It really is a great product and I can see why Lauren has had such a huge success. I'd love to try more from her range in the future. Would I spend the normal RRP on it? I think I would, but I'm definitely pleased that I took full advantage of the 25% off.

 

And lastly, let me apologise for showing you a photo of my seriously pale leg! :)

 

Lauren's Way Self Tanning Bronzing Mousse in Darker Than Dark - Link - £19.95