Gloss Galore

Marshmallow Blends Products

noreply@blogger.com (GlossGalore) — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 09:44:00 +0000

If you've been around on Twitter lately, you'll probably know that the lovely Nicoletta (from Nicoletta's Beauty Space) has recently started up her own company called Marshmallow Blends, where she is hand-making some gorgeous bath and body products.

If you're a fan of foodie, sweet smells then you definitely need to check the website out.

I placed an order on Sunday and it was despatched on Monday and arrived Tuesday. Being an instant gratification sort of girl, I love that!

I ordered a few items which arrived wrapped in pretty hot pink tissue paper:

In the picture above, there is:

Pink Sugar Body Butter (£5.99)

This is absolutely gorgeous. It's a lovely light, whipped texture and it smells amazing. It's sugary and vanilla-y and just yum. It's not overpoweringly sweet, which is a common problem for me with vanilla scents. This is just perfect.

Coconut Ice Body Scrub Bar (£3.00)

I haven't tried this yet, but its a good sized scrub bar and it smells lovely. I've got a couple of other scrubs to finish up first, so I'm saving this to use then.

Bakewell Tart Massage Candle (silver heart shaped tin) (£5.99)

If you like the smell of almonds, you absolutely need this in your life. A perfect, true almond scent. I haven't lit the candle yet, but I'm definitely looking forward to giving this a try - as is the Mr!

Strawberry & Champagne Lip Butter (white heart shaped tin) (£3.99)

NOM! That's all I can say. This is a proper lip butter, soft and smooth and it just melts onto your lips. It's a lovely creamy strawberry flavour with just a hint of the champagne in the background. I imagine it is very moisturising but I don't know for sure as I end up licking it off before it gets that far! It's also really lovely to carry around in your handbag as the tin is so lovely and girly.

Nicoletta was also kind enough to include a sample of her cupcake body scrub which smells yummy and I can't wait to give it a try too.

I'm very impressed with the quality of the products and you really can't complain for the price. I've got some Laura Mercier foodie scented products which are 5 times the price and just not as lovely.

So, if you like your handmade "Lush" style body products, go and check out http://www.marshmallowblends.co.uk

Beauty Boxes - My Take

noreply@blogger.com (GlossGalore) — Sun, 09 Oct 2011 13:18:00 +0000

I’m 99% sure this will be my first and last post on the whole “Beauty Box” thing. There are lots of them every month and I’ve never bothered doing a review before because there are just so many.

This one is a bit different, and I’m doing it at the request of Kellie (http://big-fashionista.blogspot.com/) who wanted a review from someone who had tried the four main ones which seem to be out there:

Glossybox
Boudoir Prive
Feel Unique
Carmine

I’ve tried all four and have come to my own conclusion as to which ones I’ll be sticking with. Just to clarify, these are my opinions and experiences with each and you may not feel the same.

Glossybox

Things between Glossybox and I didn’t get off to a great start. I ordered a subscription for myself and one for a friend and I inadvertently made a mistake on the order for the box for my friend – I ordered her two instead of one. I emailed the customer service email address and they were very nice and cancelled the extra box, or so I thought.

When the next month came around, I got my box but my friend didn’t get hers (although they did charge me for it). I emailed them again and they said that they could only cancel the whole order, not one of the boxes – they didn’t tell me that at the time and to be honest, it all sounded a bit ridiculous to me. Some fairly blunt emails went back and forth and eventually they sent the other box out. But they sent it to me. My friend lives in Cheshire and I’m in Hertfordshire. I was fairly annoyed by this as the whole business had been a bit of a shambles and eventually managed to get them to credit the cost of the box and the P&P as I was out of pocket having to post it myself.

I sort of got over the less than stellar service and was fairly happy with the contents of my boxes. The first box was very good, including a full size Nars Illuminator and All for Eve lipstick but it did rather tail off after that (or at least my boxes did) I was a bit miffed that even though initially we were told the boxes would be tailored to us personally the products we got were a random selection. I keep getting nail varnish, which is useless for me because I have French manicure gels on my fingers and toes and so never paint my nails. I got an HD Brows kit last month which was for brunettes, I’m blonde. It’s useless.

The other thing that bothered me was that although everyone was paying £10 per box (before the sudden addition of P&P, more on that in a sec), the value of the goods in each box varied dramatically from box to box. For example, I know that lots of bloggers got samples of the boxes last month and every single one of them had at least two full size products in them. I had one, and it was the wrong colour for me. My friend got two full size products – so even two orders on the same account are getting different items.

I have had other friends get damaged or used items and have their tweets/emails pretty much ignore until they really kicked off publicly about it and even then there was no apology. Poor show all round.

The other thing which I was frustrated at was the sudden introduction of a P&P charge a couple of months in. I felt a bit like I’d been glossed over. All of a sudden, the £10 box is £12.95. I don’t mind paying P&P but I do mind it suddenly being introduced out of the blue.

The products themselves have been “nice”, but to include a perfume sample which I could get free at a counter, a sachet of shampoo or a travel size can of Batiste as a “luxury” item is just not on and the massive variance box to box bugs me massively. If the boxes varied because they were tailored to the individual I’d be fine with it, but they’re just a random selection. I found this really disappointing and as the months wore on I was almost dreading the box arriving each month. For the last couple of months I’ve been giving them one more chance each month and feeling let down each time.

After five months, I cancelled my box and I actually feel better for it. My friend is keeping her subscription and so that just goes to show you how hit and miss this one can be. She was pleased as punch with every box she's had, I was progressively more disappointed.

Boudoir Prive

These guys have actually got their customer service spot on. They email you when your box is being despatched (or if there is a delay), you get a hand-written note in your box and it really does feel much more personal.

The items themselves are much more niche than those in the other boxes and I think really tailored slightly more to those of us who are looking for more anti-aging products or who like to use things that others often haven’t heard of.

I think BP take a different view to their products and have in past months included some samples of tea rather than just beauty items which was quite nice.

From what I’ve seen there is very little variance in terms of the products that people get, which is great as you don’t find yourself feeling like you’ve been done.

This one is £10 with no sneaky P&P and I’ve had no problems with service. In terms of the value of the actual products this is great as I know that the samples are of some pricey products so per ml, you’re getting a great deal.

I cancelled my box, not due to any service issues or being unhappy with anything they had done but more because the products weren’t really “me”. They were beautiful products, but just not something I’d buy myself.

Carmine

This is the newest kid on the block and I’m sad to say I was a bit underwhelmed by the contents.

Their service was great, their peeps on twitter are very friendly and I can see that they have really made an effort with the blogging community by selecting some bloggers to write for their site. They emailed me notification when my box was on its way and it shipped within a couple of days – quicker than all the others out there.

Its just that for a first box, it didn’t have the “Wow!” factor I was hoping for. The products are nice but I had expected a really impressive first box – particularly as they’d had the chance to see what everyone else had done in theirs.

The products themselves aren’t luxury in my opinion but you’re getting your money’s worth for sure. In the box was a Daniel Sandler eye delight and a shadow/blush from The Balm which combined are more than the £10 + £2.75 P&P you pay for the box.

I haven’t cancelled this one yet, I’m waiting to see what next month’s box brings.

Feel Unique

I ordered this one after cancelling the Glossybox in the hopes that it would be better and so far, I can't complain at all.

For my £9.95 (it’s the cheapest of the four and no P&P cost) I’m extremely pleased with the products. There isn’t anything niche here, just decent sized samples of some well established brands. Thinking commercially, Feel Unique have the best chance of making this work as obviously they already have a relationship with many of the manufacturers and so getting the samples should be fairly easy for them. Hopefully that will mean that the crazy variance from subscriber to subscriber we saw with Glossybox won’t be an issue here.

The packaging on all of the boxes is lovely and really does feel like you’re getting a present but the Feel Unique one is the best for me. Not only is it black and hot pink (love!) but rather than being a box which you have to take the lid off of (this was a struggle on the Carmine one!) it’s a little drawer with a hot pink ribbon handle. I’m already planning what I’ll be using these for each month, they’re very handy!

The box has been going for a couple of months, so I was very pleased to see that in this box the standard of product included is still high – no “let’s put something amazing in the first box to get them hooked” here. They even included a perfume sample this month in addition to the 5 products in the box.

If the boxes stay of the high standard they have been with my first box, I don’t see myself cancelling this one any time soon. I guess we’ll see next month.

I hope having a side by side comparison of a few of the offerings is helpful for some of you. I think these beauty boxes are all hit and miss to an extent, the idea is that you'll have a surprise each month and it may be that for me, I'm not really in the spirit of it all - there is an extent to which I wonder whether I'd be better keeping my money and putting it towards something I know I'll definitely use, rather than taking a chance on something random. The Feel Unique box has definitely brought me back around to the idea of sticking with the boxes for a while, but that may not last.

How have you found the boxes? Are you pleased with what you've received? Have you not bothered to even subscribe? Leave me a comment and let me know.

One for the Boys: Vintage Shaving Company's Exfoliating Face Wash

noreply@blogger.com (GlossGalore) — Tue, 04 Oct 2011 10:00:00 +0000

I've got something a bit different for you in this post. A little review of a male grooming product, carried out for me by Mr GG. I'm writing this for him because whilst he does have his strengths, his spelling and grammar aren't on that list. Trust me, its better this way.

The product he tested was the Vintage Shaving Company's Exfoliating Face Wash. It was a bit of a struggle to get him to do it, not because he doesn't "do" the product thing but just because he has his little routine and likes to stick to it.

Mr GG's current list of products is actually quite impressive compared to a lot of men I know (he has a face wash, a scrub, a couple of masks and then a moisturiser and eye cream for both day and night. Shaving-wise, he uses Elemis Shaving Gel and some sort of Gillette razor.

Here's what the Vintage Shaving Company say about the product:

The 93% natural formulation deeply cleanses, removing dead skin and opening ports. It clears skin congestion and smooths the face to reduce razor drag and burn.

The natural star ingredient is Aloe Vera.

The packaging, as well as being made from 100% recycled materials has a really handy pump dispenser meaning that with each use you get the right amount of product, don't waste any and don't end up spilling it.

He tried the product for a couple of weeks and being an office worker, has to shave every day on weekdays. He said that he found it a bit odd at first, exfoliating every day but that the grains weren't too harsh on his skin. I have no idea if this is the right way round, but he shaves first and then showers so he can easily wash off any remaining shaving gel. This caused him a slight problem in that it meant he had to get all of the little grains off his face using splashes of water, rather than the shower. I did suggest that he shower first, then shave so that he could use the water from the shower to wash the grains away but like I said, creature of habit.

The only problem he found is that the product was slightly drying and he ended up using his richer, night moisturiser during the day to make sure his skin didn't. His skin is combination and he normally uses a lighter gel moisturiser during the day and so I think this may be more to do with his skin type than the product, but something worth bearing in mind.

Another nice plus point of this product, especially for those gents who are concerned about what goes into the products they use, is that its Paraben, SLS and SLES free.

Overall, he liked the product and will happily keep using it. He said that his skin felt smoother generally and that the product smelled really nice and I agree, its a lovely clean scent.

The wash is priced at £8.95 for 150ml. For more information, stockists and the lowdown on the other products in the range, check out http://www.vintageshaving.co.uk

Review: GOSH Long Lasting Eye Liner Pens

noreply@blogger.com (GlossGalore) — Sun, 02 Oct 2011 16:44:00 +0000

I'm going to start this post off by saying, I'm rubbish when it comes to liquid eyeliner.

Pencils? A breeze. Gels? I can just about manage. Eyeshadow with a bit of that clever converter stuff? Easy. But liquids? No. I end up in a horrible mess, rather than with gorgeous flicks.

I was recently sent a couple GOSH Long Lasting Eye Liner Pens to try out.

From the name, I had expected them to be a felt-tipped pen but these are a teeny pointed liner brush, which is made of some sort of foam. I think that with a bit of practice, this will definitely let me get a lovely fine line rather than a splotchy stripe along my eyelid:

(apologies for the odd look of this picture, the writing was upside down so I've had to do a bit of rotating)

Because I'm so useless with the application of these, I haven't got any pictures of them on my eyes (I didn't want negative publicity for them after all) but I do have a few swatches. I was sent 008 Carbon Black, which is spot on a descriptions go. It's black black. I also have 003 Brown which is an absolutely beautiful metallic bronzey chocolatey brown:

The next picture is the same swatches in bright sunlight. Its not a great picture but I wanted you to see how gorgeous the brown looks in direct sunlight, the metallic shimmer is beautiful:

What really impressed me about these liners is how long lasting they were. I put the swatches above on the back of my hand before going to the gym and after sitting in the jacuzzi for 40 minutes (What? That's a workout!), they hadn't budged or faded. They only started to flake when I actually rubbed them.

I can't tell you how much I love the brown and its actually encouraging me to practice, practice, practice so that I can actually wear it out in public. I also have my eye on the other shades in the range; there's a grey, turquoise, navy and a purple and I want them all!.

These are a very reasonable £5.99 from Superdrug. Worth looking out for their 3 for 2 offers too!

*PR Samples

My Favourite Products for De-Stressing

noreply@blogger.com (GlossGalore) — Mon, 19 Sep 2011 11:00:00 +0000

If you follow me on Twitter then you probably know that I have quite a stressful job. In fact, its probably not so much that the job is stressful but more that I take a huge amount of pride in what I do and so I take it all quite seriously. Probably more seriously than I should, after all I’m not saving the world. Far from it in fact.

This means that there are often stressful, teary, exhausting days during the week and I’m always looking for a way to relieve some of the tension. Here are some things which I like to use when I’m feeling stressed out. I can’t guarantee they’ll work for everyone, but I’d be lost without them:

L to R: Origins Peace of Mind, Clinique Lash Power, Aromatherapy Associates Deep Relax

Origins Sensory Therapy Peace of Mind On The Spot Relief (£11 from origins.co.uk)

This one is a tiny bottle which packs a pretty powerful punch. You put a couple of dabs of the product on your temples and massage it in. It’s instantly cooling and tingly which is lovely when you're feeling hot and stressed. It smells slightly minty and within a few minutes I’ve found that it really helps ease a tension headache. It’s been great for me when I’ve had sinus pain too.

Clinique Lash Power Mascara (£15 from clinique.co.uk)

Another odd one when we’re talking about products to help you de-stress but for me, if I’m already tightly wound then the thought of my mascara being all over my face doesn’t help. I have two physical responses to stress, to rub my neck and rub my eyes…meaning unless I’m using some pretty hardcore mascara, I’m looking like Gene Simmons in no time. I have no worries of that happening with this mascara, it gives lovely definition and length and doesn’t budge. It’s one of those “tubing” mascaras so you can’t even remove it with normal eye makeup remover, you need to take it off in the shower with warm water.

Aromatherapy Associates Deep Relax Bath and Shower Oil (£37, from aromatherapyassociates.com)

I read lots of extremely positive reviews on this product, but it was very much a considered purchase for me as I wouldn’t usually spend that much on something for the bath as my thoughts were that it was only going down the plughole. Boy am I glad that I did! This contains lots of lovely natural oils, such as sandalwood, vetivert and camomile to help you relax. If I have had a particularly bad day, I know that this will help me sleep. I’ve known some people say it knocks them out and I’m disappointed that it doesn’t do that for me, but it definitely helps. I’m an over-thinker by nature and so I often think that even an anaesthetist would struggle to get me unconscious quickly!

There's also one other thing not in the picture above that I want to share with you:

Meditainment Guided Meditations (starting at £3, from meditainment.com)

I love these. Love. This is a website I stumbled across a few years ago and I have been a huge fan ever since. They have over 60 different guided meditation MP3s and videos for all kinds of things; de-stressing, sleeping, improving self esteem, stopping smoking – you name it, it’s there. This might not be everyone’s cup of tea but for me it’s nice to have someone force me to focus on something else. If you’re interested, there’s a free meditation you can try.

Do you have any go-to products at the end of a stressful day? If you do, leave me a comment below - I'm always on the lookout for some new ones!

Vajazzling.... Not Just for Essex Girls

noreply@blogger.com (GlossGalore) — Sat, 17 Sep 2011 12:50:00 +0000

Vajazlling.

Never really thought it’d be something I’d try. Call me a snob if you will, but it’s all a bit “Essex” for me.

That being said, I was given the opportunity to try one of the Vajazzle.me kits which meant no trip to a salon and no small talk with someone sticking crystals to your bits.

I was curious as to whether I was the only one with reservations about the whole thing so went to twitter to ask my followers what they thought about it. Here are a few of the responses:

“Gets in the way I reckon and the vagina is good looking enough without jewels on it.”

“There are some places swarovski Crystals should not have a chance to get lost in. The Vahjayjay is one of them.”

“Only if my hypothetical partner penazzled to match.”

Generally speaking, my followers aren’t vajazzle-fans but I did a bit of googling and it seems there are some non-Essex celebs who are:

Well...if it’s good enough for Jennifer!

I struggled for a little while, looking at the crystals and thinking "Can I really do this?" and "I'm just going to look ridiculous". But, in the name of beauty blogging I soldiered on.

Obviously you need a smooth area to apply to so I shaved and got to work. The kit I was very kindly sent looked like this:

It wasn’t in a specific design although these are available (hearts, stars etc). It hadn't actually dawned on me that the kit I'd got was individual crystals that I could make my own design with and so I applied them in a landing strip sort of pattern. In the kit you get an alcohol wipe to ensure the area you are applying the crystals to is clean and will allow them to stick.

I was quite worried that it'd look ridiculous but here's the shocker. I loved it. I was really surprised by how pretty I it looked.

I was also curious to see what MrGG thought of it - particularly as so many of the "meh" comments I'd had were from men (surprising in itself).

His eyes almost popped out of his head and I got a "woof" (woof is a good thing) and once he'd composed himself, he managed to say that he thought it was really pretty too.

The glue which sticks the crystals on is pretty strong, they stayed put through some *ahem* entertaining and didn't get in the way. The crystals are very small so you don't really feel them once they're on. I kept mine in place for 3 days at which point I removed them. I didn't realise that the crystals can be re-used with eyelash glue and mine went down the plughole.

The one warning I'd have is that I think these may be better if you wax rather than shave. As I mentioned above, there is an alcohol wipe in the kit and it does sting slightly if you put it over freshly shaved skin. I also realised that had I not taken the crystals off when I did I'd have ended up with a couple of ingrowing hairs. Obviously if you wax, that won't be so much of a problem.

Something else to bear in mind is that you don't have to use these for vajazzling. They can also be used anywhere on your body you'd like a bit of sparkle.

I think that the Vajazzle.me kit is a great, fun, bargain little accessory and I'm very pleased I had the opportunity to try it. As is MrGG who I'm sure will now be spoiled forever more and expect a slightly more sparkly "landscape" permanently.

Vajazzle.me kits are available from Sally Stores and also from www.vajazzle.me.uk and start at £5.95

*PR Sample

Hello Body Confidence...are you there?

noreply@blogger.com (GlossGalore) — Thu, 08 Sep 2011 06:54:00 +0000

This isn’t so much a post with a point as just a little ramble on something that’s been bothering me lately and is a bit of an off-shoot of a recent twitter conversation with Charlie from Lady of the Lane (which is probably news to her as this isn’t even something we talked about).

We had a very short conversation about whether we were likeable people (she is, of course). In all honesty, I’m likeable to a certain group of people. Usually it’s fairly confident people with a dry sense of humour who aren’t idiots. The idiots tend to anger me, catch the sharp end of my temper and either go huffy or just avoid me. And that’s totally fine by me. I engineer it that way.

Broadly speaking I’m a confident woman. I can talk to pretty much anybody, I’ve no great fear of rejection or speaking in front of big groups of people. The usual social fears don’t plague me too much. I’m pretty happy to say what’s on my mind without worrying too much if people don’t like me for it. My friends are amazing and I pay very little mind to the opinions of people who aren’t my friends or well regarded associates.

BUT….

My body confidence, for the first time since I was an overweight teenager, is through the floor. I’m not sure if it’s a combination of gaining 22lbs in the last 21 months or the approaching milestone birthday. Did you know that under stress two thirds of people comfort eat and the other third stress starve. Can you guess which group I fall into? I’m in the eaters. Well, the eaters and boozers. Not that I’m out getting wrecked every night but I have noticed that I’m more inclined to have a G&T or glass of wine after a stressful day than an easier one.

You know how you get a lot of people who bleat on about how terrible they look/fat they are/bad their skin is just for the sake of a compliment; “oh, no you’re not – you look great”. I’m not one of those. I have been bleating a bit, but not for the compliment. Mostly out of disbelief that this has happened. The compliments, if forthcoming, actually don’t mean nearly as much as the payers intend because it isn’t what other people think that’s bothering me. It’s what I think, how I feel about myself at the moment.

In the past, I’ve been the sort of girl that actually felt happier in lingerie than in clothes. Gok Wan would be wasting his time trying to get me to be confident naked. That’s a breeze. It’s in clothes that I have a problem – or certainly at the moment.

The weight gain, whilst not actually all that visible (I’m 5’10 and so I have to really pile on the pounds for it to show) is impacting me day to day. I’ve lost my strut. You know, that walk you automatically slip into when you’re having a “I’m looking good” day? Gone. I work in sales and am quite good at my job (if I do say so myself) and so my professional confidence is fine but my physical confidence is nowhere to be found.

The real kicker is that 22lbs ago, I thought I looked lousy in a bikini. Little did I know. I’m still wearing them (to the pool, I’m not sitting here in one now) and don’t particularly worry about what other people think.

My gorgeous friend Charlotte text me after seeing my haul video to say how jealous I looked because I was all cheekbones and that I looked like I’d lost weight since I saw her a month ago. Amazing what a ponytail and contouring does for you isn’t it? I’ve actually gained since then.

So where does that leave me? Well, stuck ironically. I need to watch what I’m eating, need to exercise, need to give up the vino. I’m trying, but there’s a little voice in the back of my head going “Really, Beth? You’ll fail at dieting and exercising. You will. If you can’t handle a bit of stress at work then how on earth are you going to manage hours in the gym and a serious lack of cake? You can’t, can you? No. See, I was right.”

The problem is that being under pressure and feeling like everything is already so difficult makes me not want to diet. It sounds like an opportunity to fail miserably, leading to more stress…and round we go.

I’ve been trying to watch my diet more closely this week so far but it’s so bloody hard. When I get in, what I really want is to just relax but I end up firing up the laptop and working. The working and not having a ton of time for myself leads to eating in a rush, or not actually thinking about what or how much I’m eating or the feeling that I need something bad as a treat as a reward for making it through another hard day without having a meltdown/slapping someone/both. The stupid thing about that is the actual “reward” I get for that is feeling worse, more stressed than before. I know that’s what happens but I’m struggling to find the will power to stop it.

I was talking to someone about plastic surgery yesterday and said that lipo would be a nice option. He suggested that surely I’d feel better if I worked for what I wanted rather than paying for it. I understand his logic but no, actually I’d like a quick easy fix please. I don't necessarily think it's a bad thing, although I made the lipo remark somewhat flippantly.

If anyone has a giant “fix your whole life” plaster they could give me that would be awesome.

Project 10/20/30 Pan a.k.a. The one where I admit I have a serious problem

noreply@blogger.com (GlossGalore) — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 07:22:00 +0000

As I have no doubt mentioned before, my job is somewhat stressful. Everyone has their ow way of dealing with stress and it appears that mine is to spend ridiculous sums of money in Boots.

After my haul last week (which was virtually all makeup) I decided it might be worth having a quick look at all the body care products I have kicking around the house.

Here is a small sample:

Bonus points if you can tell what I was watching on the laptop, btw.

Chatting with Nicki (@notoriousnicola on Twitter, follow her!) she admitted that her stash was pretty extensive too. We realised one thing between us; we both have the "buying more products that we could possibly need/use" issue.

The picture above is really only a small part of it - just body, skincare and a small amount of hair products. The remainder of haircare is here:

This is after I made a donation of products to Give and Makeup (go and look at their site, its an amazing cause). All the things I've got left are half used and so couldn't be given to them:

I counted the following:

8 x shampoo
5 x conditioner
3 x deep conditioning mask
6 x shower gel
2 x body scrub
3 x cleanser
3 x makeup remover
2 x eye cream
3 x face mask
1 x toner
1 x bubble bath
9 x body lotion
3 x hairspray
23 x various styling products
4 x foot scrub
5 x foot moisturiser
3 x hand cream
3 x fake tan (which I don't ever use!)

I didn't count makeup. To be honest I couldn't face it. Pleased to see I do have some restraint though; note only one toner and one bubble bath.

The irony to all that is that I seldom leave the house looking like the pampered goddess you'd expect a woman who owned all that stuff to be. This morning, I left at 6am looking fairly tired and with no makeup on.

We decided that we'd both do a project 10 pan and actually get some stuff used up. It's actually really nice knowing that someone is going to be doing it with me although I bet we both cave, buy things in secret, fight the guilt and then come clean a few days later.

I know what you're thinking....but we're addicts and we can't help it. Trust me, if Michael Douglas can have sex addiction issues and that be a reasonable excuse, I'm sticking with the "product addiction" explanation.

I looked through everything I've got and decided that I couldn't really nominate specific things to use, and having massively overspent last week I'm putting myself on a sort of modified version/beauty spending ban as follows:

No more styling product purchases until the current stash is down by 60%
No more shampoo/conditioner purchases until I'm down to maximum 2 shampoo, 2 conditioner and 1 mask
No more skincare purchases - I need to try one thing for a month solidly to actually see some results
No more shower gel purchases until these are used up - No one needs 6 bottles. No one
No more body lotion purchases, possibly ever but at least until I've used what I've got

I can't say as it fills me with joy but it needs to be done. My logic is that the sooner I use all this up, the sooner I can buy something again!

I'll update in a couple of weeks by which time hopefully I'll have finished something at least. Do go over and check out Nicki's blog too and see how she's doing - I cannot believe how many lipglosses she had in her handbag!

Edit: I had forgotten, but I did this once before. Clearly I never learn.

Video Haul: Urban Decay, Bobbi Brown, MAC, YSL

noreply@blogger.com (GlossGalore) — Sun, 04 Sep 2011 12:03:00 +0000

I spoiled myself during the week and bought myself some new goodies. There was quite a lot there, so if you were interested a list of products is below:

Benefit The Porefessional
Benefit They're Real Mascara
MAC Sized to Go Cleanse Off Oil
MAC Sized to Go Fix+
MAC Lipstick - Fanfare
MAC Lipstick - Please me
YSL Effet Faux Cils Shocking Volume Mascara - Black
YSL Rouge Volupte Perle Lipstick - 107 Impetuous Beige
YSL Rouge Volupte Perle Lipstick - 108 Celestial Mauve
Urban Decay 15th Anniversary Palette
Urban Decay Revolution Eyelash Curler
Urban Decay Primer Potion - Eden
Urban Decay Lipstick - Naked
Urban Decay 24/7 Waterproof Eyeliner - Siren
Bobbi Brown Skin Foundation Mineral Makeup SPF15 - Alabaster
Bobbi Brown Tinted Eye Brightener - Porcelain Peach
Bobbi Brown Shimmer Brick - Bronze
Bobbi Brown Bronzing Powder - Golden Light 1
Maybelline Volum' Express Colossal Cat Eyes Mascara
VO5 Treat Me Right Deep Conditioner
Sleek Pout Polish - Bare Minimum

Thanks for reading/watching!

Review: Original Source Golden Pineapple Shower Gel

noreply@blogger.com (GlossGalore) — Fri, 02 Sep 2011 16:06:00 +0000

Hello lovelies...

I can't be sure, but I think I blinked and missed summer. We seemed to have a few lovely days at Easter and since then it's all been a bit "meh". One morning last week I was in Starbucks so early that it was virtually still dark, they were playing Frank Sinatra and it all felt decidedly festive.

We've had a couple of days of sunshine this week (major bonus as I've been off work) and so I've been using one product in particular to help nurture some summery feelings...

...it's Original Source Golden Pineapple Shower Gel.

I should go on the record now and say that I knew I was going to love this product the second I saw it. I love pineapple anything. I was walking through Boots and this caught my eye. I gasped like a child at Christmas, opened the lid to get a sniff and put a fair amount over my nose and gave my friend a good laugh.

The minor humiliation was totally worth it. This shower gel is the most divine, sweet, sugary pineapple scent. It's a bit like the pineapple cube sweets you can get, but the smell is more mouth-watering. It's the type of product that you would probably eat if you could...like pineapple jelly!

It's a lovely pick me up in the morning (although if you've had a heavy night or are getting an early start the Lemon and Tea Tree or Lime options may be a better bet) and it doesn't leave any scent on your skin, so you get the gorgeous smell in the shower but it won't interfere with your perfume - another big plus point for me.

It lathers up beautifully and you don't need much in a shower scrunchie to get lots of bubbles which for the price it's an absolute bargain. It's a limited edition for the summer, so if you want some check out the usual retail suspects. It's normally £1.99 but Boots have it on offer £1.00 at the moment. You'll need to be quick as I think I'll be stockpiling it!

Funny Habits and Bad Reactions

noreply@blogger.com (GlossGalore) — Sun, 21 Aug 2011 20:41:00 +0000

We all have them don't we, odd habits?

I'm going to tell you a little story about an odd habit of mine and why it's a habit I've just broken. Well, actually first I'll show you why it's a habit I've broken:

Sexy, no?

In my house, we have a kitchen, a bathroom and a downstairs toilet. Of all those different available sinks, the only one with mixer taps is the bath. Why is that relevant you ask? Read on...

When it comes to washing makeup brushes (which is really a task I hate at the best of times), having mixer taps is crucial. Otherwise your options are wash them in very cold water (eww) or very hot water (oww).

When I have a bath, its never just a bath. It's a bath followed by a shower. Bearing this in mind I figured that actually, I could wash my makeup brushes in a clever cunning way as follows:

Bring brushes to bathroom
Have bath
At end of bath but before shower, wash brushes - under the mixer tap, not in my bathwater. I'm not that disgusting.
Shower thoroughly - is there any other way?

As I've gone part way to embarrassing myself, I shall share my entire system with you as to how the brushes are actually washed.

Put soap of choice onto knee
Turn on mixer tap
Dip brush into water
Turn off mixer tap
Dip brush into soap
Rub soap into bristles
Turn tap back on and rinse

So, this evening I have my bath and get to washing the brushes and I've been trying out a few things lately to clean them. I'd been using shampoo but someone pointed out to me that there are no anti-bacterial agents in shampoo so although I'd be removing the product I'm not removing the nasties. A week or so ago, I bought myself a bottle of Radox Thyme and Tea Tree Handwash. Which is antibacterial you see.

It appears to also be very, very burny on non-hand skin. That hideous, red looking picture above is my "soap knee" and the result of washing maybe 10 brushes. I'd say it's been 15 minutes and its had a very liberal application of aloe vera and its still burning.

I have no idea why I reacted so badly. The bath water I was sat in had Radox bubble bath in it after all and I've never had a reaction like that to a soap product before.

All I do know is that I really, really need to find a new way to wash my brushes. And possibly pay for mixer taps for every other sink in the house.

Video Review - Emma Hardie Professional Cleansing System

noreply@blogger.com (GlossGalore) — Sun, 21 Aug 2011 16:06:00 +0000

Wedding Guest Makeup Trial Run EOTD

noreply@blogger.com (GlossGalore) — Mon, 25 Jul 2011 21:12:00 +0000

This weekend, I'm off up to Chester to see my friend Charlotte and my cousin Jay get married. I'm not exactly brilliant with wedding "stuff", mostly being far too pragmatic for all the romance. I'm very happy for them though and I'm sure the day will be wonderful.

I've got my dress, bag and shoes sorted. I'm having my hair done on the day (although I have no idea what sort of style...down and wavy probably) so that just left my face to sort. My dress is off-white with pink/purple and light/dark turquoise flowers. If there was ever a dress that called out for pretty colours, this was probably it.

I was playing around this evening as I've only got a few days to come up with something and have a bus week planned, but I think I've found the look I'm going with. I've snapped some pictures, but as its late and I'm tired they aren't the best. Yes, my eyebrows need sorting. Yes, I've got no base/concealer/blusher on and yes, my hair is only half dry and not styled. The wedding is at the weekend. I have plenty of time!

The Eyes...

Base (inner half) - MAC Otherworldly Paint Pot (turquoise)

Crease and outer v - MAC Stars n Rockets e/s (pinky purple)

Lid - MAC Fade e/s (pale blue with shimmer)

Inner Corner - Barry M Dazzle Dust in 9 (pale silver)

Under Eye (outer half) - GOSH Velvet Touch Liner Pencil in Pink Darling (pastel pink)

Under Eye (inner half) - GOSH Velvet Touch Liner Pencil in Ocean mist (lavender)

Mascara - YSL Singulier (black)

The Lips...

Estee Lauder Pure Color Crystal Lipstick in Crystal Baby

Given that I'm not a professional, I'm quite pleased with what I've managed to pull together. I think it will need a bit of tweaking on the day, but I feel like I've got a good place to start. I'm thinking it may actually need a bit of liner on my upper lashes but I'm not sure what colour to go with at this point. Any tips would be gratefully received!

The Great Courses (more of an inner beauty review..)

noreply@blogger.com (GlossGalore) — Fri, 22 Jul 2011 20:52:00 +0000

Bit of an unusual review for a Beauty blog, but bear with me...this is an inner beauty thing.

First up, a bit of background about me; I don’t have a ton of qualifications. I did A-Levels, but didn’t go to university because I didn’t know what I wanted to do. Instead I started working in an office straight from school and am still doing office work now.

I pride myself on my spelling and grammar (watch there be a ton of mistakes in this post now I’ve said that) and I have the sort of memory that allows me to remember ridiculous amounts of seemingly random trivia. Doing a pub quiz? I’m good to have around.

Recently, my Dad gave me a brochure for a company called The Great Courses. I’m not even sure how he ended up with it but as soon as I flipped through it I knew I’d be hooked.

Image from www.greatcourses.co.uk

The Great Courses are an American company who create DVD courses lead by some of the most highly regarded University professors in the USA and UK. They say there are around 500,000 professors in the US/UK. They pick the top 1% of those professors based on teaching awards, evaluation by their peers and the press. This means that only the top 1 out of 5,000 professors makes the cut. They choose people who are inspiring and really keep you interested in the subject matter.

There are well over 100 courses covering so many different subjects, there really is something for everyone.

I have bought myself 3 courses so far...

Stress and Your Body, taught by Robert Sapolsky Ph.D. (author of Why Zebras Don’t Get Ulcers and professor at Stanford University)

Understanding the Brain, taught by Jeanette Norden Ph.D. (professor at Vanderbilt University)

Story of Human Language, taught by John McWhorter Ph.D. (professor at Columbia University)

The DVDs consist of a number of lectures/classes taught by the professors so it’s a bit like being at University, just without the assignments and exams (and no one likes those anyway!). Understanding the Brain and Story of Human Language both have 36 half hour lectures – so you’re getting 18 hours of tuition for a darn site less than you’d pay if you went to the university itself.

Each set of DVDs comes with a very detailed course guide and you can also buy a full textbook to go with the courses if you’d like one. I haven't bothered as I've found the DVD's to be so thorough.

The courses vary in price and at least once per year, every course is on sale. The ones I’ve had so far have ranged from £19.99 up to about £34.99 but they do go a lot higher – some are £100+.

I know this sounds like a lot of money, BUT, (and this fairly impressive) these courses have a lifetime satisfaction guarantee. If you aren’t totally satisfied with the course they will refund your money or offer you an exchange. Likewise if you damage a disk at any time and provided the course is still in print they will replace it.

As I said, I do love to learn and I have really enjoyed these so far. I haven’t finished a course yet as they’re all quite long and I’m trying to do all of them at once! These are university level courses and I'm so, so impressed with the warmth of each professor. They really do keep you engaged and interested, which I guess is why they are the top in their field. I’ve already got my eye on a few more courses for when I finish these ones.

Obviously if you are looking to get a formal qualification then these courses won’t give you that, but if you’re someone who likes to learn things for the sheer pleasure of learning I couldn’t recommend these highly enough.

For more information on the company and their courses, take a look at www.greatcourses.co.uk or catch them on Twitter @TheGreatCourses

I'm a B.I.T.E. Blogger

noreply@blogger.com (GlossGalore) — Sun, 10 Jul 2011 19:43:00 +0000

It's a funny old blogosphere sometimes (yeah, I just said "blogosphere" - what?).

Like any other group of people thrown together, either with a shared interest or without, people online behave in a similar way. 95% of them are warm, friendly, helpful, honest people. The other 5%, not so much.

Recently, Beauty Mouth and Get Lippie began a new group called B.I.T.E. which stands for Bloggers, Integrity, Trust, Ethics.

This means that for any blogs you find showing a B.I.T.E.mark (the rather lush looking lip picture in my sidebar), you know that they (like I) adhere to a code of conduct as follows:

We will blog honestly but constructively
We will encourage good relationships between bloggers
We will support blogs that are victims of plagiarism
We will not engage in cyber bullying - between each other or against brands or PR's
We will openly disclose press samples sent for review, sponsored posts or affiliated links
We will not break embargos
We will not sell press samples

It's about doing what you do as a blogger, but being a decent, upstanding blog-citizen at the same time. It shouldn't be that hard.

I'm proud to have been invited to join the group by some of the most amazing beauty bloggers out there at the moment.

For more info, you can either click the bitemark, go to http://biteblogs.blogspot.com/ or check out @biteblogs on twitter.

New Hair & Snooki Poof Sunday

noreply@blogger.com (GlossGalore) — Sun, 03 Apr 2011 11:13:00 +0000

Yesterday, I went back to Stonehills Hair (see my original review here) to get my roots done and have a bit of a tidy.

I ended up having my roots done, a half head of lowlights and highlights and a good couple of inches off the length which resulted in...

Its quite a bit shorter and the length will take some getting used to, but I'm pleased with how much thicker it looks and feels when it's shorter. I absolutely love the colour now, lighter and brighter now that (hopefully) the weather should be the same!

I don't know why, but having a haircut always makes me want to do more with my hair and also buy tons of new products and so this morning, rather than just scraping my hair into a ponytail I've gone for a demi-Snooki Poof look. I don't care if it isn't classy. I love the Snooki Poof.

Tastefully done, I'm sure you'll agree.

Whilst getting ready I also decided to have a nose through my lippy collection to find something a bit more exciting than lip balm to wear and stumbled across MAC Lovelorn lipstick. I've had this for ages and don't wear it nearly as often as I should - its a lovely pale pink with blue undertones and has made me feel suitably spring-y today.

Whats your Sunday look this week? How do you feel about the Snooki Poof? Let me know in the comments!

Keeping Track..

noreply@blogger.com (GlossGalore) — Mon, 14 Mar 2011 21:41:00 +0000

Until recently I'd been using Google Reader to keep a track of all my blogs, but I've decided to give Bloglovin a try (pretty much purely because there is an iPhone app for it..).

So, if you'd like to:

Follow my blog with bloglovin

That'd be awesome.

Really though, you're probably already using something to follow it already!

Treatment Review – Brow Waxing at Benefit Carnaby Street

noreply@blogger.com (GlossGalore) — Tue, 01 Mar 2011 19:48:00 +0000

I’m a nightmare when it comes to my eyebrows.

Every couple of months I have them done and promise myself I’ll maintain them. For the first couple of weeks, I do. Each morning I check for any little hairs which are lurking and rip them out. But then by week three / week four, something in my brain switches off and I forget and by the time I remember, it’s too late to maintain them myself and I become this:

Obviously I’m less yellow, less fuzzy and more blonde. He does out-do me in the fashion stakes though.

I was in London for a meeting and managed to sneak away on my lunch break to see if I could find somewhere half decent to get my brows done. My meeting was near Regent Street and so I headed for Carnaby Street and to the Benefit Boutique.

Fortunately it was fairly quiet and they fitted me in straight away. The beautician who saw me was called Leonie and she was fabulous.

As you may have gathered from my haircut post here, I’m big into service. I like people who explain what they are doing and why – it makes you feel like they care what they are doing, and as a result will do a better job for you. Leonie very kindly explained that the Benefit way of doing brows is to define the arch to open up the eyes (I sort of thought this was everyone’s way, but whatever works!). Mine were in okay shape “shape” wise, but they needed a bit of a tidy up.

I usually have my brows threaded and whilst I love the effect, I hate the process. I’m not saying its the worst pain ever but my eyes water constantly and I just dread going (which is possibly why I leave it two months each time, now I think about it...). Benefit use a combination of hot waxing and plucking to get the desired shape and I’d forgotten how much less it hurts than threading! It’s a nice warm sensation followed by one quick RIP! and the worst is over, all bar a couple of little twinges with the tweezers. Threading is a good 3 minutes of “OMGOMGOMGOMGOMGWHENWILLITSTOPOUCHOUCHOUCH”.

Let’s talk aftercare shall we?

Being someone who has only ever gone to smaller salons to have brow-work done and being very pale, I’m used to leaving with a large amount of redness around my eyebrows. It’s just the way it is. Or so I thought...

Not at Benefit though. No ma’am. At Benefit, they conceal the redness.

First up, a little bit of Boo Boo Zap is brushed over the area to ensure no bacteria can get in there and cause a breakout. Then, off you go to the makeup counter and with a few quick dabs, you’re Boi-ing’d up and the pesky redness is gone.

All this means that if, like me, you were fitting your appointment in as part of a busy day – or before a meeting – you can get it all done and no one is any the wiser. There’s no giveaway redness. Woot!

The next day, I now have these (which probably just look like ordinary eyebrows to you, but I’m very pleased with them):

I’m not wearing any makeup in this picture (couldn't be bothered this morning) and the redness is totally gone 24 hours later. I know that is probably normal but I say it because the only other time I'd had eyebrow waxing done they burned me. The girl applied wax, removed it and then re-applied wax to the same area. It hurt and it took a week or so to heal, leaving me with one red eyebrow. Not hot. Not hot at all.

I think the pricing may vary between Benefit stores but I paid £13.50 for this treatment and given that I have been paying £10 for threading I think I got a pretty good deal. £3.50 for the convenience of having that redness covered is worth paying.

So, if you need your brows doing and you’re near a Benefit store it’s definitely worth a look. It's quick, its very reasonably priced and they make you look normal before you walk out. Who can ask for more?

Professional Beauty 2011 at London Excel + a Little Haul

noreply@blogger.com (GlossGalore) — Sun, 27 Feb 2011 17:32:00 +0000

A few weeks back, my manicurist of almost 10 years, Julie asked if I’d like to go with her to the Professional Beauty show at Excel this year.

I’d never really been to a trade show before – every year I toy with the idea of going to IMATS and then don’t bother, so it was all a bit of a new experience to me.

I think, given that I’m someone with virtually zero patience, I coped rather well. It was utterly rammed. So many people in what suddenly feels like a very small space.

Obviously the show is really geared at professionals in the industry and somehow I hadn’t quite realised how big that industry is. I think I’m lulled into a false sense of “not many people are interested in this” because in my non-twitter/blog social circle, I know only two people who are as into it as I am. Everyone else looks at me blankly when I’m talking about products or insistent on spending half an hour in Boots, or even longer in MAC.

There were SO many stands and products that I actually found it quite hard to take it all in. I didn’t really have a shopping agenda for the day although my manicurist was looking for new gels as the ones she currently using will be losing their UK distributor in September and at this point they don’t have a new one lined up.

The whole place was rammed, but in particular I found that the nail stands (Harmony/Gelish, OPI, CND/Minx and Jessica in particular) were absolutely rammed. By the time we were looking at it, the queue for Jessica was around the entire length of their stand (which was huge). I had fancied getting some Phenomen-oil for my nails, but I hadn’t much fancied waiting for an hour to pay for an £8 bottle of cuticle oil. I’ll pay more and order it online if needs be.

I had the pleasure of meeting Caroline Hirons (Beauty Mouth) over at the Beauty Alliance stand and not for the first time lately, she helped remind me of something I often forget when it comes to products – skincare in particular. Let me explain...

If you’re someone who is interested in beauty and you’re reading all the blogs it’s so, so easy to see something and think that you have to have it. Case in point: The Clarisonic. I have been coveting one of these for quite a while and had decided that in the next couple of months, I’d probably buy one.

They had them on the Beauty Alliance stand for half price - £79. Total bargain.

For once, before rushing in with my debit card, I actually asked “Do I need this?” Caroline did a quick stroke over my cheek with her finger tips and went “Nope, smooth skin. You don’t need it”.

Up until that point I was convinced, that I was bound to need it because it was getting rave reviews and everyone has one and so it must be good. I’m not saying that it isn’t good, but if it isn’t something I need then at this stage, why waste the pennies?

So I didn’t buy a Clarisonic.

I bought this though...

Apologies for the picture quality, the lighting here is appalling and the Urban Retreat bottle is impossible to photograph well (for me anyway). It's a good likeness of the colour on the blush and lipgloss though.

Caroline nudged me towards the Daniel Sandler end of the stand, where Simon very kindly helped me with some brushes, a blusher and a lipgloss.

The brushes I got are the Waterbrush, the Blending brush and the Concealer brush. All are beautifully soft and were ridiculously cheap at £5 each. I couldn’t say no given that if I’d bought them at full price all three would have cost me £43.

The blush is in “Bit O’ Candy” which a very pretty shade of pink. I can’t honestly say that I needed another blush, but this is a matte pink and the majority I own have shimmer in them (Benefit Dandelion, etc) so I think this will give a lovely flush of pink and gorgeous for everyday wear.

The lipgloss is in “Ethereal and is a lovely frosty baby pink with the faintest hint of glitter. I’m thinking it’ll go well with a smoky eye.

I also got some All for Eve Hand Cream, which I’ve been meaning to pick up for a while. I’ve been neglecting my mits lately and so it was about time I bought something to help them and help other people too. Check out their website for more information on what they're doing to help The Eve Appeal. It's an immensely worthwhile cause AND they're lovely products.

I picked up some Urban Retreat Anti Bump After Shave Lotion while I was waiting to pay. Lately, my legs have really been suffering from a combination of being in and out of the cold, the drying of the central heating and chlorine from swimming. I seem to be slightly more prone to ingrowing hairs, so anything to help that is a plus for me. It smells gorgeous too.

I spent a bit of time over at the Beauty by Hive stand, where there were all sorts of fun things. I came away from there with a huge pot of cuticle massage cream – 100ml for £2.60. It's normally £4.90 on their website and even then its a good deal! It has a lovely “clean” smell to it and I’ll be decanting some of this into a smaller pot to chuck in my handbag.

I also had the chance to say a quick hello to OxfordJasmine, who was very friendly even though she had no idea who I am. I’m disappointed not to have met a few other ladies who where there – Sarah from I Heart Cosmetics and Mercedes from Reigning Beauties but it was so crowded we didn’t stand much of a chance!

Did you make it to Professional Beauty this year? If you did, what did you buy?

Review and New 'Do! - Stonehills Hair in Welwyn Garden City

noreply@blogger.com (GlossGalore) — Sat, 12 Feb 2011 09:59:00 +0000

Sad as I am to admit it, I'm not a natural blonde. The colour you see is the result of a high-lift tint. I know, I know. You're surprised.

Dyeing hair means regular trips to have your roots done and with that, comes the decision on who to have do it.

In the last week I reached the point where I couldn't go on any longer with my roots as they were and started on the hunt for a new hairdresser that wasn't too far from where I work, so that I could go in on my way home from work.

I decided to try Stonehills Hair in Welwyn Garden City, which is only 10 minutes walk from the office and is a fairly new addition to the town having opened in October of 2010.

The salon itself is very modern, with square leather chairs in front of backlit mirrors with floating glass shelves. The dryer holders by each station are unusual, clear acrylic spirals. Its quite a minimalist looking space, with the chairs and mirrors running down one side of the space, rather than being on both sides where you have to run the gamut to get back to the sinks, or even to your chair.

Now, onto the important bit. The service. My stylist for this visit was a friendly, charismatic guy named G. Yep. Just "G". Like Q from James Bond, only for hair.

What made this experience stand out for me over 15 or so years worth of hairdressers was that he actually took the time to sit down with me and talk about what I was after. I know that sounds odd and I know that every hairdresser does that to an extent, but this was different in that it was a consultation. He asked what colour I was and whether I knew the type of dye used in my previous salons so that he could make absolutely sure he got it spot on.

Very often, in this situation, you feel a lot like they just slap the colour on and leave you for 45 minutes. There was none of that here, he regularly checked on the colour to make sure everything was going as it should.

Getting towards the last few minutes of the dye being on, he came over and suggested a few possible tweaks we could make by putting some partial highlights in. Either to lighten it up by putting a few strands of bleach through, or add some dimension by putting a few darker strands in. Nothing crazy, just a little something.

Again, the difference in experience here is that this was consultative. More often than not, I go to a hairdresser, they look at the colour and when I say that I might like something a bit different they say "but its such a lovely colour.." or "if it ain't broke, don't fix it". I was really pleased to be given some suggestions for how to make a subtle change.

So we did it, partial highlights in a slightly darker blonde - literally only a couple of shades darker. This of course was after the main dye was finished, washed out and my hair was rough-dried. G explained that doing it this way allowed him to see where best to put the streaks now that my hair was all one colour again.

As for the cut, we talked about what I wanted - which in this case wasn't a big change, just really to take the split ends off. Winter has been playing havoc with my hair and I was feeling that it was looking a bit blah. He showed me the minimum amount he could take off, then said that actually he'd like to take a bit more than that. He wasn't pushy about this at all, saying that very often holding on to extra length (especially when its looking a bit straggly) just pulls the hair down without actually making it that much longer. I agreed and so he took maybe an inch and a half off the bottom and tidied up my layers too.

This is the result (the morning after and yes, I'm wearing leopard print PJs and no makeup but its saturday!):

Obviously it's fallen a bit overnight, but last night it looked amazing and I felt fantastic. Its funny how having your hair done does that.

G was really pleased with the finished look, although not quite as pleased as I am. The lowlights are very, very subtle but there enough that it gives a visual impression of more movement and the cut has given my hair great body and movement too.

Another great thing was that we had a little bit of time to talk about how get the same effect he'd given when he blow dried and styled my hair and luckily, its simple to do because I struggle using a brush and a hairdryer at the same time. I've got weak arms and no co-ordination you see.

What I valued most about the experience is that G was someone who clearly loved what he was doing. My appointment was at 6pm and I didn't leave until 9pm by the time we'd done anything and at one point I said I felt bad because I was stopping him from going out. He said that he'd rather be doing this, something creative that he'd be proud of than going out and getting drunk, only to wakeup with a headache. I really respect people who are passionate about what they do and have a great work ethic and so this place was great for me.

After all that, I can't recommend Stonehills Hair highly enough. If you're in Hertfordshire and looking for a modern, well run hair salon with great stylists then pop in and speak to these guys and see what they can do for you - for me they were amazing and I'll definitely be going back.

www.stonehillshair.co.uk

Bare-Faced Cheek!

noreply@blogger.com (GlossGalore) — Sat, 05 Feb 2011 11:09:00 +0000

Yesterday, I read a post over on Nicoletta's blog following the episode of Beauty and the Beast that was on this week.

Her challenge was to see how many of us in the beauty-blogging world would be happy to post a picture on our blogs of us with no makeup on. So Nicolette, here you go!

Please excuse the bras in the mirror, I forgot they were on the hook on the back of the door! :)

I'm totally fine putting up a picture of me with no make up on and I'm happy being seen in public bare-faced. Of course I have days where I know I look tired or just feel "blah" and so need something to make me look a bit brighter, but its never a vital thing. Silly as it sounds, I feel like quite a pretty girl and my friends and family are amazing at boosting my confidence on days that I'm feeling more like the ugly duckling than the gorgeous, elegant swan.

On Twitter @beautyuk asked how many of us would be happy to go out on the town for an evening with no makeup and again, I don't have a problem with this. I think I'd probably prefer to put some on, but thats in the same way as I'd rather go in a nice dress than my PJ's - more about appropriate attire for the occasion than feeling unconfident.

On the last few first dates I've been on, I have deliberately worn virtually no makeup - just a bit of lip balm and maybe clear mascara for definition. It was my way of testing the guys to see what it was they were after. It turns out that most of them just wanted to get their end away, so the test was a bit redundant. :) Nonetheless, I'll do the same on the next date I go on.

There's one handsome fella I know who said that the first time he really noticed me was when he bumped into me in town one day. I was rushing around doing some errands, hair pulled back and no makeup but because I was smiley and our only encounters previous to that had me in a more stressed/unhappy situation he said I looked so much prettier.

I think its probably true for all of us. No matter how much makeup we've got, or how much we slap on of a morning, our most amazing beauty accessory is our smile - and its FREE! It's a cheesy thing to say, but its totally true.

Thanks Nicoletta, for a really interesting post and a great challenge!

Beth x

Bare Minerals Foundation - A Personal Review

noreply@blogger.com (GlossGalore) — Sun, 16 Jan 2011 14:16:00 +0000

I've called this a personal review, because I'm very much aware the reaction I've had to this product may not happen to everyone. Please bear in mind that this was my experience and yours may not be the same.

As part of my birthday haul this week, I bought myself a Bare Minerals Starter Kit. I've used mineral foundation before and really liked it and after seeing Bare Minerals on QVC a few times I thought I'd give it a try, particularly as my normal mineral foundation - Lily Lolo in Candy Cane - was out of stock.

I think the kit is very good value - I paid £45 for two shades of foundation, the Mineral Veil, a concealer and three brushes. In addition to that, you get a DVD which shows you how to use the products which I think is really handy if its a product you've never used a mineral product before. The brushes are lovely quality too, not just cheapies that they've chucked in.

My review is only really covering the foundation as this is all I have used. I dabbled with the Mineral Veil, but didn't use it enough to give a rounded opinion.

I found that you could build up quite a good level of coverage with the foundation, although it did take a few layers to do this and so was certainly more time consuming than using a medium coverage liquid foundation. I have some redness over my nose and my cheeks and I could cover that with two layers of the foundation and then a little bit extra applied over the red areas with a concealer brush.

The foundation lasted quite well everywhere except my nose, which is the area in which I get the oiliest on my face, so I did look slightly odd by about lunchtime. I'd have a shiny nose (it is not Christmas, I am not Rudolph!) but the rest of my face looked quite matte. In spite of that, I was still very pleased with the product and the look that it gave. So much so that I ended up buying another kit with some other bits and pieces from QVC.

I wore it on Thursday and on Friday and I was really pleased until Friday evening when I took my makeup off. I noticed that all over my face I had developed tiny bumps. They aren't visible, but I can feel them if I run my fingertips over my skin. I'm very, very lucky with my skin and other than a bit of redness over my nose and a little bit of darkness under my eyes, my skin is usually very good. It's usually smooth and I don't get many spots so to feel bumps everywhere was a bit of a shocker for me!

I've tried exfoliating, I've tried my faithful Lush Mask of Magnaminty but no. Still bumpy.

I've been racking my brains to try and work out what has caused it and it seems that the Bare Minerals is the only thing different in my routine. Same foods, same cleanser, same moisturiser. Different foundation.

After doing a bit of digging, this isn't all that uncommon. Although the product contains natural ingredients, that doesn't mean that you won't have an allergy to them. I think we often think of the word "natural" as something which won't cause any reaction but if we think logically, how many of us are allergic to a certain fabric - wool for example, or different foods - these are natural too!

I decided to do a bit of a comparison between the the Bare Minerals and the other two mineral foundations I have used in the past, Lily Lolo and Smashbox Halo.

Looking down the ingredients list, I think have found the culprit: Bismuth Oxychloride

From LiveStrong.com:
An elemental form of metal, this ingredient is used to add shine and shimmer to mineral makeup. It also refracts light, which makes it excellent for use in concealers such as Bisque, making fine lines and pores less noticeable. Some women are sensitive to bismuth oxychloride, however, and experience itchiness, especially when sweating. For this reason, the use of bismuth oxychloride is controversial.

Other reactions can be spots or small bumps on the skin (bingo!).

It seems that although Bismuth Oxychloride is used in a lot of different products, the reaction is more common in mineral foundations because there are fewer ingredients overall - making the concentration of the Bismuth Oxychloride much higher. Wish I'd known that beforehand!

Neither the Lily Lolo nor the Smashbox Halo have the Bismuth in them and so that's the only thing I think that can be causing my problem. I'm really disappointed as I really liked the Bare Minerals foundation but I'm not one for forcing a product on to my skin if there is a reaction. I don't plan on seeing if its just an initial reaction that settles down, just in case it gets worse.

Although I've had a reaction to it I don't think the Bare Minerals is a bad product, I just think I have had a bad reaction to it. If its something you're thinking about buying for yourself I'd definitely recommend making sure wherever you buy it from has a returns policy so that you can take it back if it does the same to you (QVC are brilliant with returns, no questions asked).

In the mean time, I'll be going back to the Lily Lolo which gave me great coverage and no bumps!

Birthday Shopping - Recommendations Please!

noreply@blogger.com (GlossGalore) — Fri, 07 Jan 2011 22:51:00 +0000

Howdy all!

I hope your first week of 2011 has gone well - thank god its Friday!

I mentioned in my last post that I'm going birthday blowout shopping next week and I'm working on a shopping list of goodies to get.

So far (beauty-wise) I'm thinking I need the following:

Nuxe Huile Prodigieuse (I can't find mine :( )
YSL Faux Cils or Possibly Diorshow Mascara
Some more GOSH Velvet Touch Liners (LOVE these)
Bare Minerals Foundation (I fancy giving it a go)
Lush Mask of Magnaminty (I'm all out)
Phyto Plage hair and body wash, or some other sort of shampoo for the gym (not really a treat, but I'm almost out!)
Ghost Sweetheart Perfume

I'm sure you'll agree, not a very long list. Pretty pathetic for someone who considers herself a product junkie.

So tell me lovely readers, what else do I need? What should I check out?

Happy New Year!

noreply@blogger.com (GlossGalore) — Sat, 01 Jan 2011 16:30:00 +0000

Can you believe its 2011 already? I have no idea where 2010 went but I'm fairly glad its gone. There were some great things that happened, but there was a lot of stress and no one likes that!

I'm very excited about what 2011 will bring, but I'm trying not to look too far ahead.

At the moment, I'm just permitting myself to get excited about my birthday, which is on the 12th. My plan is to have a day off work, a nice lunch and some shopping. Actually, make that some serious shopping. Santa didn't go crazy in the beauty department this Christmas (but I was totally spoiled with my other presents and I'm a very grateful girl), but I'm going to make up for that big time. I've already started to write a list of everything I'd like to get... starting with several things from the new MAC Cham-Pale collection.

I'm not making any resolutions this year. I'f you've been reading for a while then you've seen me go "right, that's it, I'm going to diet." more than once and it doesn't last much more than a few days. This year, I'm not going to bore you with that nonsense. I will just say that in 2011 I'm going to try and enjoy every single day and even on the bad days, I'm going to pull something good from them.

I hope your 2011 has got off to a great start (or at least that your hangover was minimal) and that it brings you all everything you wish for!

Bx

Will all the quitters please raise their hand? raises hand

noreply@blogger.com (GlossGalore) — Thu, 21 Oct 2010 20:09:00 +0000

I quit Weight Watchers. After a week. Well, more like after 3 days.

Here's the thing. I can see that if you're a person who is able to control where they are at mealtimes for the majority of your week, this will totally work for you.

I can't do that. I have the kind of job which means I can be anywhere and I'm not guaranteed that I'm going to be able to go into a chain restaurant where I know the points value of everything I'm eating.

I also really struggle with the points concept. For me, it just seems even more complicated than counting calories. Its fine if its a WW food, but if its not you've got to look it up in the book and if its not there, you have to work out the points value from the calories anyway. Why not just count calories in the first place?

I'm absolutely not saying that Weight Watchers is a bad system, I think that for the majority of people it works brilliantly well and the weekly weigh in is a great motivator, as is the group meeting. It's just not for me.

In just one week it has helped with one thing. I'm a lot more aware of what I'm eating and I'm trying a lot harder to make sensible choices. Like not having a 3 course lunch AND a massive dinner. Like not wasting calories on lattes - even a skinny latte is about 150 calories. Like not eating for the sake of it.

As an aside, I'm listening to and reading a Paul McKenna book called "I Can Make You Thin". Please note, I'm not expecting a quick fix but the principles are total common sense - only eat what you really, really want, enjoy every mouthful, eat slowly and stop when you are full.

As for a weigh in update? I'm 5lbs down after a week - 11st 13.

So, erm, about 13lbs to go then...

P.S. I would like to say thank you to Lee over at www.mwah.ie who kindly emailed me the answers to some questions I had about WW. She's doing brilliantly well with it and I really appreciate her taking the time out to help me - Thanks Lee! xx