Catherine's Loves

Soap & Glory Peaches And Clean Deep Cleansing Milk Review

2012-02-27T16:33:00.000Z

Hi everyone, as you may already know I love Soap & Glory, the cute pretty packaging always draws me in as well as the fun original names, which is why I believe I bought this in the first place, and the fact that it says it melts away your make up, anyway I digress onto my review.

What they say

Wash-off deep cleansing milk with special clogged t-zone formula. It purifies, energizes and melts away makeup.

Massage a splodge of onto your cheeks in the evening (or morning, if you managed to fall asleep with your makeup on) rubbing double on any trouble spots - oily forehead, nose, chin - to maximize the purifying actives. Rinse off with water. (Repeat if you feel you need it.)

What I think
Packaging: The cleanser comes with a pump which allows you disperse the perfect amount of product I find two pumps is sufficient for one application, the bottle has the usual Soap & Glory characteristics the eye catching name and clever wording. I love their packaging it always draws me in, I'm a sucker for things in pretty packaging.

Smell: This isn't one of my favourite Soap & Glory scents I must admit, it is obviously peachy but it just reminds me of Peach Schnapps, not that I don't like Peach Schnapps but it seems a little strange to be putting it on my face. The smell isn't bad enough for me not to want to use the cleanser though, it's just a very strong smell which may put some people off.

Application: I take off my eye make up first then I use a couple of pumps on dry skin and massage in, rinse and dry and then repeat as I don't feel it gets all my make up off with one go, after two washes my face feels refreshed, soft to the touch and all traces of make up are gone.I can just follow it up with my night moisturiser and eye cream.

Summary

A strongly scented cleanser which removes all traces of make up with a couple washes, leaves skin feeling revitalised & fresh.

Ideal for: Those looking for a quick & easy way to take off make up

Price: £7

Size: 200 ml

Repurchase: Yes

Availability: Larger Boots stores, Soap & Glory website

What do you think? do you like this? or will you be trying it?

P.S The winner of my giveaway was Sophie, congratulations.

Girl Behind The Blog # 2

2012-02-26T14:37:00.000Z

Hello lovelies, the second Girl Behind the Blog, has an amazing make up collection and can pull off any make up look, she totally rocks the bright lip like no one else I have seen, her blog gives you serious make up envy and one I have been enjoying for a while now, this is the lovely Lilit of Makeup and Macaroons

What would be your five desert islands must haves?
1.Sunscreen because I don’t want to burn to a crisp
2.Illamasqua bronzing duo in Glint/Writhe as it’s the perfect combo for contouring and highlighting the cheeks
3.Barry M lipstick in “Pinkie Gold Sparkle”
4.The body shop vanilla oil perfume as it lasts for ages and the smell would suit the island environment
5.Moroccan Oil to keep my hair hydrated

If you could only use five nail polishes for the rest of your life what would they be?
1.Butter London Trout Pout – a perfect coral
2. Nicole by O.P.I. My Lifesaver – a lovely aqua colour
3. Essie A French Affair – a pale cool toned pink
4. Essie Van D’Go – a pale creamy peach colour which looks great with a tan
5. China Glaze No Chip Top Coat – this is my HG nail product. It truly makes my polish last for up to 5 days without any chips what so ever.

If you had to choose one shop that you could shop in for the rest of your life what would it be?

It would have to be Australian department store Myer. Not because I absolutely love the place, but being a department store I’ll have access to everything I need from clothes and accessories to makeup and furniture.

What’s the one make up item you couldn't live without?

Benefit Hoola bronzer – I use it for contouring my face every day, it instantly makes my cheeks and nose look slimmer and gives definition to my whole face.

In terms of make up what’s more important eyes or lips?

The “me” of 2 years ago would have said eyes, but the “me” of today definitely says lips. With eyes it takes a lot more effort to achieve different looks, but with lips it’s too easy to change your look completely with just a change of your lipstick colour.

If you had to choose one what would it be handbags or shoes?

Shoes, they complete an outfit.

You can only use three make up products for the rest of your life. Which ones will they be? A Mascara – to define the eyes
A matte bronzer – to contour and define the cheeks
A peachy lipstick – peachy colours instantly brighten up the complexion and can make you look put together with little effort.

What’s your best beauty tip?

Don’t be afraid to experiment with colour when it comes to lipsticks, you’d be surprised at how confident it can make you feel.

What's your best fashion tip?

Don’t be a slave to trends and dress for your body shape instead.

What’s your favourite post you have ever done to date on your blog? (please link to the post)

Can I link to two?

The quest for the holy grail – this is about my adventures in Europe trying to track down the Urban Decay Naked Palette

Moroccan Oil: is it no longer cool? - in this post I explain that even though Moroccan Oil does contain silicone's, that is not necessarily a bad thing for your hair.

Thank you so much Lilit

If you would like to be featured please email me at catherinesloves@hotmail.co.uk

My 40p Make Up Brush Holder

2012-02-25T17:14:00.000Z

Hello lovelies, hope you're enjoying your weekend, just a quick post to show you my new storage for my make up brushes, I don't have loads of make up brushes but when I saw this glass in Morrisons I thought it would be perfect.

The glass is 40p from Morissons, I added a hot pink ribbon and a butterfly brooch which is from Primark. I may buy another and have one for my face brushes and one for my eye brushes.

What do you think? Will you be buying one?

My Current Top Five Blushes

2012-02-23T12:00:00.000Z

Hi everyone, a while ago I did a post on my current top five lipsticks this was a feature I was meant to carry on with but with other make up items but didn't get round to it, so here are my current top five blushes.


Top Row L-R Sleek Rose Gold, Illamasqua Hussy & e.l.f Tickled Pink Bottom Row 17 First Kiss & Bourjois Rose D'or

Swatches

L-R Sleek Rose Gold, Illamasqua Hussy, e.l.f Tickled Pink , 17 First Kiss & Bourjois Rose D'or

♥ Sleek Rose Gold ♥

It's a gorgeous warm pink blush with a golden shimmer, it's highly pigmented so you only need a light hand if you have pale skin like me. It adds a golden sheen to your cheeks without looking like a disco ball, I love it. They are £4.30 and available from Superdrug.

♥ Illamasqua Hussy ♥

This is highly pigmented matte pink blush so you only need a a light hand with your brush it gives a gorgeous flush of colour to the cheeks and has been a firm favourite of mine since I got it, it can be seen here on an old FOTD

♥ e.l.f Tickled Pink ♥

This is the lightest of all the blushes and is a very subtle pink which needs quite a few sweeps of your brush depending on the amount of colour you want, but the colour is gorgeous and would look great on fair skinned girls, you can see a review and FOTD here.

♥ 17 First Kiss ♥

As you may see from the swatches above this has a subtle golden sheen to it so as well as adding gorgeous colour it gives a subtle sheen to your cheeks and for £3.49 it's an absolute steal. I have been wearing this quite a lot lately I think it would be great for most skin tones.

♥ Bourjois Rose D'or ♥

A gorgeous shade of pink which adds a subtle flush to your cheeks it has fine speckles of glitter which add a soft glow to your cheeks. You get a brush with this blush but I threw it away as I don't think it's very good I use my e.l.f stipple brush to apply all my blushes.

Do you share any of my current favourite blushers? What are yours?

Elmo Nails

2012-02-21T19:01:00.001Z

Hi everyone, after my Cookie Monster nails I thought I would try Elmo nails.

These are the polishes and dotting tools I used

L-R Barry M Black, Barry M Bright Red, Rimmel Tangerine Queen, Models Own Snow White

If you want to try this yourself this is how I did it. First paint the ends of your nails red with half circles.

Next use a dotting tool with black polish to do the backs of the eyes and also draw the mouth.

Then use the dotting tool again with white polish for the whites of the eyes.

Then to finish use your dotting tool with an orange polish for the nose and a small dotting tool for black pupils.

There you have it Elmo nails.

What do you think? Will you be trying these?

Catherine's Loves Nail Shop

2012-02-20T21:45:00.002Z

Hello lovelies, I have decided as I love nail art so much to start painting some nail sets which I am going to sell, since starting my blog this has become a hobby which I love and I thought what better way to show my love than to share it. This is just an idea really which I am goinng to see how it goes.

The sizes of the nails are between 0-9 (0 being the biggest 9 the smallest) each nail set will contain 20 nails 2 in each size as I know we all have different sized nails, so you will have more choice when choosing which nail fits best. The designs I will start with are the ones which have been popular on my blog. The nail sets will not contain glue as it can go off quickly and I will be initially only shipping to the UK.

Here is the link to my shop Pretty Tips.

Here are the nails you get for one hand, so you get two sets of these.

You can also find the link to my shop at the top of my blog with my other pages, I will be adding more designs soon so keep an eye out.

I would love to know your thoughts?

Recent Buys

2012-02-20T14:59:00.000Z

Hi lovelies, just thought Id share with you a few things I bought this week, and some lovely Rimmel nail polishes which I won in a competition on the Rimmel Facebook Page for my Kermit the Frog nails.


L-R Topshop Highlighter in Sunbeam, Revlon Nail Polish in Posh Pink, W7 Candy Floss Brightening Face Powder & MUA Out There Plumping Lip Gloss in Shocking Pink

I can't wait to try these and have a play around. These are the nail polishes I won from Rimmel

L-R Coralicious, Red Carpet, Sunshine, Green with Envy & Style Hunter

I will be reviewing some of these and swatching soon.

Have you bought/won any goodies recently? Do you like the look of my buys?

Girl Behind The Blog # 1

2012-02-19T13:27:00.000Z

Hi everyone, this is a new feature on my blog, where we will learn a little more about the girls behind our favourite blogs. To start this feature I wanted to start with a person who's blog I love and one of the first blogs I started to follow and inspired me with mine. This girl has such great style I have serious wardrobe envy, if only we had the same gorgeous weather too, her posts are always so bright, colourful and fun and her blog is one of the first ones I want to read on my dashboard, so my first Girl Behind the Blog is the lovely Carlinn of Superficial Girls

What would be your five desert islands must haves?

Sun block, mosquito repellent, lip balm, backgammon, soap.

If you could only use five nail polishes for the rest of your life what would they be?

I can go without nail polish :P

If you had to choose one shop that you could shop in for the rest of your life what would it be?

H&M

What’s the one make up item you couldn't live without?

Mascara

In terms of make up what’s more important eyes or lips?

Eyes

If you had to choose one what would it be handbags or shoes?

Handbags

You can only use three make up products for the rest of your life. Which ones will they be?

Dior Forever Foundation, Dior mascara, Bourjois lipstick

What’s your best beauty tip?

Always wash your face before you go to bed

What's your best fashion tip?

Dress for yourself

What’s your favourite post you have ever done to date on your blog? (please link to the post)

That is really tough. The one I like from recently is this one Look of the Day - Confetti because it really shows my personality. :)

Thank you so much Carlinn.

I hope you enjoy my new feature and hopefully you will find some new lovely blogs to follow

If you would like to be featured please email me at catherinesloves@hotmail.co.uk

Babyliss Curling Wand vs Waving Wand

2012-02-17T16:02:00.000Z

Hi everyone, I have long been a lover of Babyliss in fact every hair tool I own is Babyliss from my hairdryer, straighteners (although these are old now I would like some more) to my styling tools I have Big Hair (see my review here), the Curling Wand and the Waving Wand.

I am quite a sucker for new releases and had been swaying to and through for a while whether to get the waving wand not long after it was released, I already had the Curling Wand and couldn't decide whether it was necessary to have both, but convinced myself I needed both.

So the idea behind this post is to show you the results of both the Curling Wand and Waving Wand if you're having difficulties deciding which one to buy or like me whether to buy both, so I hope this post helps.

They both have the same functions on/off switch and the ability to control the temperature (maximum 200 degrees) ,the curling wand has a coned shaped barrel and is a gorgeous red colour the Waving Wand has an oval shaped barrel and is a lovely deep purple colour. They both have no clamp which makes them easy to use and means no kinks.

Below are the all important results first up we have the Curling Wand

This is the result of the Waving Wand

Close up of Curling Wand results

A close up of the Waving Wand result

As you can see from the above pictures the Curling Wand delivers a tighter curl and makes my hair more voluminous where as the Waving Wand is a much softer look.

Overall I love my Babyliss tongs they are so easy and simple to use and great are value for money, the Curling Wand is regularly on offer for under £20 which is a complete steal. If I had to choose one it would be the Curling Wand.

These are available from Boots, Amazon & Argos.

What do you think of the results?

Collection 2000 Cream Puff Lip Cream in Cotton Candy Review

2012-02-15T15:58:00.000Z

Hi everyone, I have seen these on various blogs and knew it was something I had to try for myself, I picked up Cotton Candy, here are my thoughts.

What they say

Collection 2000 Cream Puff Lip Cream is the new velvet-feeling, matt-looking, muted and moisturising lip cream.

For a velveteen pout that doesn’t look puckered, Collection 2000 Cream Puff Lip Cream is your perfect product. Enriched with a creamy, hyper-moisturising formula that is packed full of vitamins, this innovative cream with a powder finish is a lip-loving product that provides a unique matt, long-lasting lustre to the lips. Powder microspheres hug the creamy colour to your lips to make sure that your pout is perfect all day, or night!

The Collection 2000 Cream Puff Lip Cream is available in four neutral shades with refined hues that will transform your beauty look.

Try Cotton Candy (pink), Fairy Cake (coral), Powder Puff (nude) and Angel Delight (beige) for a fashion-forward beauty look that is bound to wow!

What I think

Packaging:These come in a small plastic tube with the standard lip gloss applicator.

Smell: This has a lovely sweet smell of vanilla but its not over powering.

Application & Results: You apply like a lip gloss but they have a finish of a lipstick, it glides onto the lips effortlessly leaving lips feeling soft and smooth, unlike some matte lip products this isn't drying, its a thick consistency, highly pigmented and such a gorgeous colour great for everyday wear, which look equally as good with a gloss over the top. Here are the swatches.

Summary

Overall these deliver on the promise of been matte whilst moisturising and not only does it deliver a gorgeous pink shade perfect for everyday wear they are excellent value for money, a great addition to anyone's make up bag.

Ideal for: Those looking for a matte lip without the dryness

Price: £2.99 currently 2 for £5 in Boots

Size: 5ml

Repurchase: Yes, great value and great results, but would love to see more colours maybe some brights.

Availability: Larger Boots stores & Superdrug

Have you tried these or will you be? what do you think?

P.S Don't forget you can win one of these in my giveaway

MUA Love Heart Nail Varnishes

2012-02-13T21:00:00.000Z

Hi everyone, following on from my post on the MUA Love Heart Lip Balms I now have five of the six MUA Love Heart Nail Varnishes(*) to show you.

Swatches

L-R U Rok, I Want U, Love U 24/7, I <3 U, U R Fab

All the above are with two coats and as you can see they deliver excellent colour pay off. My favourites are U Rok, Love U 24/7 and I <3 U.

I also attempted a couple of quick nail art designs with the new MUA polishes

These are again £2 each and available at selected Superdrug stores or the MUA website.

What do you think? What are your favourite colours?

MUA Love Heart Lip Balms Full Collection Review

2012-02-12T11:30:00.000Z

Hi everyone, MUA and Love Hearts have collaborated to form the Love Hearts Collection which consists of lip balms and nail polishes (which I will feature on a separate post), when I heard about this collection I was so excited to see it, if you are a regular reader of my blog you will know I am a lover of cute packaging and budget/ drugstore make up and this is both, here are the all important swatches and my thoughts of the MUA Love Heart Lip Balms(*).

What they say

MUA have collaborated with Love Hearts to bring the sweetest lip balm collection in gorgeous collectable pots. With a moisturising formula and a hint of colour these balms are a must have.

Swatches


L-R Kiss Me, Hot Lips, Sweet Kiss, Sugar Lips & Great Lips

What I think

Packaging: These come in a plastic round container similar to the Sleek Pout Polishes, I adore the cute and fun packaging they are so pretty and girly.

Smell: These smell of sweet vanilla its gorgeous.

Application:These glide onto lips and leave them feeling moisturised yet not sticky, whilst adding a hint of colour, as you will see from the swatches some are more pigmented than others and some are similar in the colour that they add.

Longevity: These last as long as a normal lip balm roughly around an hour.

Summary

Overall these are gorgeous lip balms which deliver a gorgeous tint to lips and are amazing value for money. These are great alone but could also be used paired with a similar toned lip stick.

Ideal for: Those looking for a tinted lip balm which is moisturising and not sticky.

Price: £2 each

Size: 10g

Repurchase: Yes they are a steal at £2 each , my favourites are Hot Lips, Sugar Lips & Great Lips.

Availability: Selected Superdrug stores and the MUA website

Have you tried these or will you be? Which ones your favourite ?

A Little Thank You Giveaway

2012-02-11T21:30:00.000Z

Hi everyone, I have had an idea to do a little giveaway for a while now, I really appreciate all your lovely comments and support. So here is what you can win.

Here's a closer look at the prizes, these are two things which I love and Bright Pink is one of my favourite nail polishes, you can see it here in my Barbie Nail Post

Collection 2000 Cream Puff in Cotton Candy & Barry M Bright Pink


e.l.f nail polishes in Metal Madness & Purple Pleaser

I bought this last year for myself and it is still a post which is well read you will receive the bracelet plus the four charms below.

e.l.f Travel Mirror & Shimmer Pencil in Plum Passion

How to enter

All you need to do is be a reader of my blog via GFC and leave me a comment and a way of me to contact you if you win.

Giveaway is open Internationally and will close on the 25th February 2012 at 23:59

If you wish to tweet about the giveaway or follow my page on Facebook you may for additional entries, you will get one for each. Just let me know in the comments box.

Winner will be chosen using random.org

Thank you & good luck

Valentines Day Nail Ideas

2012-02-10T13:13:00.001Z

Hi everyone, happy Friday, with Valentines Day just around the corner I thought I would share some of my Valentines nail ideas with you.

The polishes I used ( I really love these colours)

L-R Models Own Bloo Bloo, Models Own Jade Stone, Models Own Pastel Pink & Models Own Snow White

These are the polishes I used

Models Own White Nail Art Pen & Models Own Pastel Pink

These are the polishes I used

Barry M Bright Red & Models Own Snow White

What do you think? Whats your favourite? Will you be recreating any of these?

17 Miracle Matte Foundation Review

2012-02-08T16:05:00.000Z

Hi everyone, I bought this last week and must say I'm really impressed, it's my current go to foundation.

What they say

Reveal the miracle of flawless skin. Up to 16 hour shine control with a soft matte satin finish.
The dreamlike easy glide formula blurs blemishes, giving a full, even coverage.

Shade: Soft Ivory

What I think

Packaging: This comes in a plastic bottle with a pump dispenser which is great for hygiene and dispensing the right amount of foundation you need.

Smell: This has no distinguished smell just the normal make up smell.

Application: As you can see from the above swatch I picked up Soft Ivory, this is a great foundation for us pale girls.It has quite a thick consistency compared to other foundations such as Bourjois Healthy Mix for example, so it does need to be blended in well, but with my new Cosmopolitan Blending Sponge, it glides on a treat and doesn't feel heavy, skin is left feeling soft and smooth to the touch. It does contain an SPF which is great for day time but may not react well in photos causing the problematic ghost face.

Longevity: I was very impressed with the longevity, I didn't touch up all day (6:30am -8:00pm) the foundation held up well only a little shine by the end of the day on my t-zone but not nearly as much as normal ( I have oily/combination skin) I normally need a touch up by lunch time, so this delivered amazing results especially for the price.

Summary

Overall this is a great value for money foundation that delivers, gives matte skin all day without looking cakey or heavy, whilst providing good coverage.

Ideal for: Those with oily/combination skin looking to banish shine throughout the day, who are looking for a foundation which isn't too heavy offering a medium to full coverage

Price: currently £4.99 RRP £5.99

Size: 30ml

Repurchase: Yes, great value and great results.

Availability: Larger Boots stores

Have you tried this or will you be? what do you think?

Kermit The Frog Nails

2012-02-06T19:38:00.000Z

Hi everyone, hope you are all well and had a good start to the week. I got this idea after going to the cinema and seeing the adverts for the upcoming release of the new Muppets film (released 10th February). So here is my attempt at Kermit the Frog nails.

These are the nail polishes I used along with my dotting tools.

L-R Rimmel Green Grass, Barry M Bright Red, Barry M Black, Models Own Pastel Pink, Models Own Snow White

What do you think?

Soap & Glory A Great Kisser Lip Balm in Chocolate Cherry Review

2012-02-04T12:20:00.000Z

Hi everyone, yet another Soap & Glory product to add to my collection, as a lover of Soap & Glory and lip balms I was never not going to be able to resist trying one of these especially with the added bonus of receiving 200 extra Advantage Card points with any Soap & Glory cosmetic (voucher can be found in the back of the January/February Boots Health & Beauty Magazine), so really it cost me £3.

The reason I chose this flavour over the other two is one my love of pink and two my love of both chocolate & cherries, so the combination of all three was just too difficult to resist.

What they say

Pucker up ladies, and prepare yourself for A GREAT KISSER™. Our melt-on-your-mouth conditioning mix may just be the best lip balm ever built (it's not too waxy, not too slippery, not too greasy, not too sticky. In fact, it's just right). Featuring mango butter to moisturise, apricot butter for weather protection, lingonberry oil to boost the barrier repair (and prevent water loss) and pomegranate extract to renew your 'dewy'. Chocolate Cherry is a sheer popsicle pink

What I think

Packaging: Again Soap & Glory come up trumps with their retro eye catching packaging and cute name to match.

Smell: The smell isn't actually how I'd imagine it to be I don't know what I had in mind maybe I built it up too much, but it reminds me of the smell of chocolate liqueurs, I must admit its not my favourite scent although I love both cherries and chocolate I think it would be better suited to one or the other.

Application and results: This is easy enough to glide onto lips and feels moisturising and leaves lips looking super shiny and dewy, however it does feel a little sticky, I'm not overly keen on sticky lip products especially lip balms, it doesn't feel as nice on the lips as other lip balms I own nor do I feel it justifies the price compared to others in the market of a similar ilk, I think it is more like a tinted lip gloss, as you can see from the swatch above it is a pretty pink looking gloss.

Summary

A prettily packaged lip balm, which adds a nice pink tint, tastes sweet but leaves lips feeling a little too sticky.

Ideal for: Those looking for a tinted gloss with lots of shine.

Price: £5

Size: 18g

Repurchase: No, as it's a little too sticky and I'm not too keen on the scent.

Availability: Larger Boots stores, Soap & Glory website

Maybe I should have tried the Juicy Peach one. Have you tried these what do you think?

January 2012 Favourites

2012-02-02T17:31:00.000Z

Hi everyone, its that time of the month when I announce my monthly favourites I haven't done one of these in a while, these were the products which I have been loving and reaching for regularly in the month of January.

So here are my January 2012 favourites

♥ Soap & Glory Pulp-Friction Foaming Fruity Body Scrub ♥

I love this I got it from my mum at Christmas and also another one included in the Big Splendour, it's a body scrub which turns into a foamy lather, it's a milder version of Flake Away which I also love but this is much softer and one you could use daily. It leaves my skin feeling so soft afterwards without any moisturiser. I love it and will be definitely repurchasing when I use the two I have.

♥ No7 Cleanse & Care Eye Make Up Remover ♥

This is quite a recent purchase with one of my £5 off No7 vouchers so it only cost £2.75, but I soon came to love it, with a pump dispenser you only need a couple of pumps on a cotton wool pad for each eye and a gentle sweep and it does the job. Leaves skin feeling soft and fresh too.

♥ Urban Decay Naked Palette ♥

I must admit this has been left neglected left in my cupcake drawers for far too long, but I dug it out again and I'm loving using Virgin, Naked & Buck for an everyday smoky eye look, for someone like me who doesn't wear very daring eye make up this palette is perfect, it has both matte and shimmery shades so it can take you from day & night. This is probably one of my best beauty buys and I would recommend it to everyone as a staple item in your make up bag.

♥ 17 First Kiss Blush ♥

A dusky pink blush with a subtle golden sheen, I love this and it has become one of my most reached for blushes recently giving a gorgeous glow and hint of sheen and for £3.49 you can't go wrong, I'm keen to try more 17 blushes if anyone has any recommendations?

♥ Sleek Face Contour Kit In Light ♥
This was another neglected product, that I have rediscovered my love for lately. The bronzer is matte and highly pigmented the highlighter gives you a subtle sheen without been over the top. This is £6.50 available from Superdrug.

♥ Babyliss Curling Wand ♥

I have had this for ages now and I love it, it never lets me down, great for creating tight curls or waves, and such a good price too, normally retailing for around £19.99 on average.If you like creating curly hair I don't think you can go wrong with this for the money.

Do you share any of my favourites? What are yours?

Also You may have noticed my blog header has changed, I hope you like the new look, it was made by the lovely Rachael I love it! thank you Rachael.

Cookie Monster Nails

2012-01-31T18:29:00.001Z

Hi everyone, hope you well. I've had these nails on my to do list for ages now (yes I have a list of nails I want to try, I love lists! what can I say) so here is my attempt at Cookie Monster nails.

So as you can see the Cookie Monster is on my middle finger with cookies on the other fingers. If you want to recreate these nails yourself its quite a quick & simple design these are the nail polishes I used along with my dotting tools.

L-R Revlon Gray Suede, Models Own Feeling Blue, Models Own Snow White, Barry M Black & Barry M Mushroom

What do you think?

P.S. I reached 600 subscribers on my blog at the weekend and just wanted to thank you all for sticking by me, it's much appreciated.

Free Soap & Glory Thick & Fast Mascara with March Elle Magazine

2012-01-30T11:52:00.000Z

Hi everyone, just a quick heads up for those who don't know in the March copy of Elle Magazine which is out this Wednesday (1st Feb) you get a free full size Soap & Glory Thick & Fast Mascara worth £10.

Image from soapandglory.com

I love Soap & Glory but haven't tried any cosmetics yet so I can't wait to get my hands on this.

Also, I've heard you get a £2 off Soap & Glory cosmetics voucher, which can be spent at Boots if you spend over £10 in one transaction.

Will you be trying to get hold of this? Have you tried Soap & Glory make up before?

My Dressing Table

2012-01-27T13:10:00.002Z

Hi everyone, since moving into our new home I now use one of the bedrooms as my dressing room, so I have my dressing table, chest of drawers and most of my beauty products in this one room, I love it. So today I thought I would share the contents of my dressing table.

My dressing table which is looking rather tidy here, it doesn't seem to last long though, it soon has make up, brushes and things strewn across it. I keep my light up Revlon mirror in the middle which has lasted me so long without even changing the bulbs yet (touch wood) , my most used skincare products, cotton wool, cotton buds, hair straighteners, most used hair products and the make up I wear on a day to day basis.

The glass jar on the left is actually an empty coffee jar, its a Douwe Egberts jar, I just soaked it to take the label off. The heart on the front is from my wedding decorations, but alternatively would look just as pretty with some ribbon tied around. The jar on the right is a tea light holder from Next which is £3, I use it to store my cotton buds in.

On the right of my dressing table I store my daily make up products in this basket so they are easy to grab and see and the hair products I use the most.

How do you store your beauty products? What do you keep on your dressing table?

My Favourite Lip Products

2012-01-24T19:02:00.000Z

Hi everyone, thought I would share with you all my current favourite lip products, these are products I reach for daily and love, I should probably dig out and use some others but I'm just loving these too much.

♥ Vaseline Lip Therapy with Cocoa Butter ♥

Vaseline has been a staple of mine for many years (as with many of you I can imagine), can't remember a time where I haven't had a Vaseline in my handbag, but my particular favourite is the cocoa one I love the smell and taste and always have one to hand as my lips get so dry.

♥ Lush Sweet Lips Lip Scrub ♥

I love this it's great for my dry lips I use it most mornings to exfoliate my lips and to get rid of the dry skin, again it's the smell which is a vanilla chocolate (as you may be able to tell I love chocolate flavours) it tastes good too, and does wonders for my lips, you can find a full review here.

♥ Boots Ingredients Lip Butter Coconut and Almond ♥

I use this after the Lush Lips Scrub to sooth and moisturise them, it leaves lips so soft, the smell is amazing and they are only £1.52 from Boots.

L-R e.l.f Runway Pink, Barry M Pale Pink, Barry M Nearly Nude & Rimmel Nude Delight.

♥ Rimmel Moisture Renew Lipstick in Nude Delight ♥

I have professed my love of this many times and it is still a firm favourite in my life, the perfect nude lipstick.

♥ e.l.f Mineral Lipstick in Runway Pink ♥

Again another lipstick I have sung the praises of and like the Rimmel lipstick it is still a firm favourite of mine, I carry it around in my make up bag in my handbag, it's the perfect subtle pink for everyday make up, moisturising and only £3.50 you can't go wrong.

♥ Barry M Limited Edition Lip Gloss in Pale Pink & Nearly Nude ♥

These were the lip glosses which came free with the Impulse body sprays last year I bought them all but love these two they smell and taste ( I have seen a theme here maybe I enjoy the tastes too much) amazing and they look great paired with the above lipsticks.

Do you share any of my favourites? What are yours?

Moustache Nails

2012-01-21T14:57:00.001Z

Hi everyone, hope you're well & having a good weekend. For my latest NOTD I have attempted moustache nails, here are the results.

I used Models Own Utopia as the base colour & Barry M Black with my dotting tools to create the moustache.

What do you think?

Pastel NOTD

2012-01-17T18:24:00.003Z

Hi everyone, with pastel colours set to be huge this Spring/Summer I thought I'd get in early and have pastel nails to brighten up the cold winter days. I love pastel colours anyway and have picked some of my favourite nail colours for this NOTD.

Top L- R Models Own Lilac Dream, Pastel Pink, Lemon Meringue, Jade Stone

Thumb Bloo Bloo

All the colours used were Models Own

L-R Jade Stone, Lemon Meringue, Pastel Pink, Lilac Dream & Bloo Bloo.

What do you think?

Do you love pastel colours?

What I'm Currently Loving

2012-01-15T16:11:00.001Z

Hi everyone, can't believe how long it is since as last blogged, I'm so sorry for the long absence. Well since I have been away for so long I thought I would start by telling you what I am currently loving.

♥ Soap & Glory Night In Shining Armour Night Cream ♥
After turning 25 last year I thought it was about time I started to think about the dreading wrinkles and start think about anti-ageing products, so I began looking for a new moisturising routine and hadn't really used a proper night moisturiser before I used to use my regular moisturiser both morning and night. Night in Shining Armour claims to be a gravity battling face cream with proven wrinkle reducing superpeptide complex with oxygen boosters and EFA antioxidants for ageless skin. I haven't been using this for that long but I'm loving it so far, love how it leaves my skin feeling every night.

♥ Soap & Glory Catch A Wrinkle In Time Age Avoiding Day Moisturiser ♥
This is much lighter than Night in Shining Armour again this leaves skin feeling super soft and fresh, hopefully it will do what it says on the tin (or tube in this instance) and Catch a Wrinkle In Time.

♥ Soap & Glory Make Yourself Youthful Eye Cream ♥
Again I have not been using this for that long but I am loving the combination of my new moisturising regime and will hopefully see the results of using all three soon.

♥ Soap & Glory Face Soap & Clarity ♥

I got this in the Big Splendour just before Christmas it was a Soap & Glory product I hadn't tried before and I love it, it leaves skin feeling so fresh, soft and squeaky clean.

♥ Soap & Glory Mist You Madly Body Spray ♥
Again another product from the amazing Big Splendour which I hadn't tried before I have the Soap & Glory Glam-A-lot Body Spray & Girligo Body Moisturising Mist which both smell gorgeous, and this one is just as gorgeous I have been wearing it everyday.

♥ Loreal Mythic Oil ♥
I have had this a while now and use it every day on my ends and to smooth my hair, I love it, it's so light weight, smells lovely and last ages you only need one or two pumps.

♥ Revlon Colorstay Foundation ♥

I have had this foundation for a while now and just stopped using it, so I dug it out as my skin has not been the best lately I felt I needed a heavier coverage foundation, and I remembered why I loved it so much first time round, it may be a little heavy for some people, but when your skin needs more coverage its perfect, not the best for nights out though as it has SPF in it so can cause ghost face.

♥ 17 Hide & Chic Eye Brightening Concealer ♥

I first tried this when visiting Boots and getting a voucher from the Advantage Card kiosk for a free one with any 17 purchase and have loved it ever since, it doesn't hide dark circles but does brighten up the eye area, I have just got some more as they have the same vouchers now at the kiosks, so it cost £1.99 as I buy the cheapest product which is the 17 pencil sharpener.

Lots of Soap & Glory products I am loving it at the minute.

Hope everyone is well anyone got any news? What have I missed?

Catherine's Loves

Soap & Glory Peaches And Clean Deep Cleansing Milk *Review*

Girl Behind The Blog # 2

My 40p Make Up Brush Holder

My Current Top Five Blushes

Elmo Nails

Catherine's Loves Nail Shop

Recent Buys

Girl Behind The Blog # 1

Babyliss Curling Wand vs Waving Wand

Collection 2000 Cream Puff Lip Cream in Cotton Candy *Review*

MUA Love Heart Nail Varnishes

MUA Love Heart Lip Balms Full Collection *Review*

A Little Thank You *Giveaway*

Valentines Day Nail Ideas

17 Miracle Matte Foundation *Review*

Kermit The Frog Nails

Soap & Glory A Great Kisser Lip Balm in Chocolate Cherry *Review*

January 2012 Favourites

Cookie Monster Nails

Free Soap & Glory Thick & Fast Mascara with March Elle Magazine

My Dressing Table

My Favourite Lip Products

Moustache Nails

Pastel NOTD

What I'm Currently Loving

Soap & Glory Peaches And Clean Deep Cleansing Milk Review

Collection 2000 Cream Puff Lip Cream in Cotton Candy Review

MUA Love Heart Lip Balms Full Collection Review

A Little Thank You Giveaway

17 Miracle Matte Foundation Review

Soap & Glory A Great Kisser Lip Balm in Chocolate Cherry Review