Cosmetics, Shopping and Intoxication

Review: Mac Lipstick Fashion City

2013-05-20T07:30:00.000+01:00

L wrote a few weeks back about her Mac purchases when we went for a make over before a night out for her birthday. I love getting my make up done in Mac they do such a great job. I really wanted to get Sunny Seoul lipstick but it had sold out.

Instead I picked up my first Sheen Supreme lipstick. I'm so glad that Sunny Seoul had sold out as I love this lipstick and love this formula. The sheen supreme lipsticks have different packaging to the normal formulas and I prefer it. It's still kept to the sleep black with white writing but this packaging is metal. I prefer this as it's more secure as I've cracked a few or the normal Mac lipstick lids meaning I can't keep them in my handbag anymore.

I picked up the shade Fashion city. It's an orange, peachy type of shade. I really love this. It's not normally a shade I'd go for. I tend to stick to pinks, reds and nude shades.

The Sheen Supreme formula reminds me of the Revlon Lip Butters. It almost melts onto the lips and isn't dragging onto them.

It does have a different bullet shape (the MUA told us once we get to the bottom use a lip brush as there is about an extra third left in there when you think it's run out) I find it just as easy to apply with this shape.

It's quite a sheer almost glossy lipstick. I've been wearing it all the time since I got it as it's perfect for day time. It also works great paired with a smokey eye for a night out.

Taken with flash, excuse my messy application. The shade on the lips is very moisturising. I like the glossy finish too it as lately I'm finding nude shades look better on me with a subtle glossy finish.

In natural light you can see the orange tones to the lipstick more. I think this shade would look great on anyone and it's great to have in the handbag as it goes with most make up looks. The Sheen Supreme lipsticks cost £14.50 so they are 50p more than the normal ones. I love the formula though so can't wait to get more of them.

Here's my make up from the night out. My lashes hadn't stuck properly on the corners or the eyes so you can see that, but I love the combination of the purple smokey eye with Fashion City. How gorgeous is L's make up! I've been rocking coloured liner a lot since this. You can see my current favourite one here.

I loved how she did my brows. They looked so amazing!!! I really need to get a new brush for my brows I think and practice more on them. What brush do you use for your brows?

As I was wearing a black dress I went with a purple toned smokey eye, I can't wait to try this look out again. I think L and I will be visiting Mac for Make Overs again soon!!
Have you had the Mac Make Overs? We always love ours!! Have you tried the Sheen Supreme lipsticks? Do you prefer them to the other finishes?
Love M
xxx
Don't forget to enter out giveaway here
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Glycolic Acid Peel First Impressions

2013-05-19T20:39:00.001+01:00

L and I are currently holding a giveaway where you can win The Skin Regime book and a Glycolic Acid Peel sample. (you can read about it here). The peel was something we were both really excited to try after reading the book and seeing so many positive results from it. The peel strength we tried was 30%. The skin regime site contains well trusted suppliers of peels. With things like this it's really important to only purchase from reputable suppliers.

It's fair to say we were both really nervous to put it on our skin, it is an acid peel after all. It is important to start with really clean skin. We both cleansed with dove soap and a muslim cloth then used alcohol wipes (we couldn't find rubbing alcohol as suggested in the book) the purpose of the alcohol is to remove the oil from the skin.

The solution is a clear liquid. I've dispensed mine into a pot so I can use it again. The solution is put onto a cotton wool pad and swept over the skin, starting on the cheeks and working your way round the rest of the face trying to avoid the corners of the neck and mouth. The cotton pad is then swept over the neck.

This is my skin before, as you can see it has a natural red tone to it anyway.

You only leave the solution on for a few minutes no more. We both interpreted this as 3.5 minutes. It definitely made my skin tingle at first. This is normal and expected. I did consider washing it off at this point but decided to stick it out. The stinging did stop after a while.

It's normal for the skin to appear red after and sometimes peel. Both of us round there was a touch of redness to the skin but no peeling and the redness didn't last. We both did it early evening, in case our skin went red so it would be cleared by the morning.

After the time is up, you rinse it off and then re-cleanse with the dove soap and apply moisturiser. I applied moisturiser again before I went to bed.

My skin after. The photo doesn't show much difference but I think it does look smoother and slightly shinier. As you can see it's not much redder and there wasn't any peeling.

Immediately after removing the peel I couldn't believe the difference. My skin on my forehead looked instantly smoother and my pores looked a lot better. Around my nose was smoother too. Almost similar to when you pull of a pore strip and it's smooth. L noticed her skin was a lot more plumped. We were both excited to see how it was in the morning. L noticed her skin was so soft in the morning and the slight lines on her forehead had almost disappeared I was impressed with how soft my cheeks felt and how much better the pores on my nose looked.

We both couldn't wait to do another peel but it's not recommended to do it again for another 7 days. I can't wait to do it again and hope the results continue to improve my skin.

Have you tried an at home acid peel? Enter our giveaway to try your own?

Love M

xxx

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Review: Laura Mercier Undercover Pot

2013-05-19T07:30:00.000+01:00

Back in April me and M booked to have our make up done by an international make up artist at Laura Mercier in Harvey Nichols in Bristol's Cabot Circus.

Unfortunately the make up artist cancelled which was a shame but we went along anyway as we'd put a £10 deposit down which we could use to purchase any product so we went for a makeover.

We both ended up picking up a few items....but we were intrigued with the Undercover Pot and snapped it up!

The Undercover pot contains a Secret Camouflage, Secret Concealer and Loose Setting Powder in number 1.

You can see on the picture above where each product is inside the casing, but lets have a look at it:

I love how simple this design is! The flip top lid is really secure but opens easily, contains a mirror and both concealers and the top part screws off the show the setting powder beneath.

The left hand concealer is the Secret Camouflage and is yellow toned. It's best for imperfections, scars and blemishes as it balances out the redness and helps to even out the skin tone. It's also oil free which helps to keep the concealer on the skin and makes it last longer.

Secret Concealer is in the right pan, and is pinker toned with slight illuminating particles in. This one is best for under eye circles as it combats darker circles and is emollient based so applies to delicate undereye skin easily without tugging.

The Setting Powder is lightweight and translucent, making sure your perfectly applied concealer stays put and leaves a velvety soft finish.

I have some photos below to show the difference when using it under eyes and on blemishes.

For the record I had already applied the Laura Mercier Silk Creme foundation, as I would normally apply foundation before concealer.

So the undereyes. On the left is before, and the right, after. You can see an improvement in the right picture with the concealer applied. I was clearly having a long week when I took these though as my bags are AWFUL!

In reality the bags were a lot more covered up than this picture shows and I think it may be the camera flash that stops the effects from showing as they look pretty covered to me!
It was really easy to apply and didn't irritate my skin at all.

Here it is applied to my cheeks where I have a few scars and spots in the centre. They're mostly covered by foundation but you can still see them. The concealer does cover them up perfectly, and makes them less visible and it stays put very well.

The only downside to the concealers I found was that they do settle into lines, especially under my eyes as my eye lids are just that shape that there have always been lines underneath. This is helped by the setting powder but I do find I need to reblend it back in after a few hours.

Have you used any Laura Mercier concealers?? What did you think?

L xxx

I've been wanting to try Laura Mercier products for a long time now, I've heard so many positives about the brand I couldn't wait to try them. I love the idea of this post holding concealers to suit any problem and a powder all in one compact packaging. I've been visiting home a lot lately and products like this are handy to take with me.

I really love the setting powder, it's soft to the touch and a true translucent powder that lasts all day on me without shine. It also helps to hold the concealer under the eyes.

The secret camouflage wasn't a product I expected to like at first. This concealer feels very hard in the packaging. When you rub your finger in it you feel like no product comes out onto it (I find brushes don't work great with this). I think the heat from fingers helps to melt this product. It feels like no product is on your finger but when applied to the face it is super pigmented and blends simply into the skin and looks invisible. It's perfect for spots, it perfectly conceals them and lasts all day. I love this concealer and will definitely repurchase this item separately. I think it's going to last me ages though.

Onto the product I wasn't as keen on in the trio. The secret concealer, as L mentioned this is pink toned and for use under the eyes. It does brighten under the eyes but I found creasing like L did. I can't help but compare this to Benefit Erase Paste (review here) and to me Erase paste is better. I find the Secret Concealer isn't as thick and I do struggle to blend it smoothly and flawlessly. It also seems to be going down at a rate quicker than the Secret Camouflage. I can't see this lasting very long unfortunately.

Have you tried any of the Laura Mercier concealer products?

You can pick up this trio for £29 from John Lewis here the secret concealer on it's own is priced at a reasonable £18.50.

Love M

xxx

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Origins Starting Over Eye Cream

2013-05-18T09:00:00.001+01:00

Another of my skincare beauties for you to read about today :)

As you know we are both fans of Origins as a brand and a trip to Cosmetics Company Outlet normally throws up another Origins purchase for me seeing as the products have a discount, it would be rude not to!

This time I picked up their Starting Over Eye Cream, which claims to be age-erasing and contains Mimosa.

The box blurb states it also has Fennel Seed to reduce appearance of crows feet and eye area, also smoothing out the crepiness on your eye lids and hydrating them all in one swoop!

This is what I like to read, multiple benefits in one tiny little pot!

The tiny pots for eye creams are great, I love how they are all of the same design and only the lower pot colour changes.
Owning this and GinZing and Eye Doctor the three of them look quite good together piled up! Though all have different functions so I don't feel too badly about it...

This pot houses a thick white cream that applies to your eye area and sinks in surprisingly easy considering its thickness.

I was surprised it was absorbed so well as it feels so dense when you touch it in comparison to other eye creams which are comparatively lighter in texture.
However this absorbed just as easily as lighter creams and I've had no reaction from my sensitive eyes.

I do always get a little annoyed at the pots for their functionality. Although they're quite cute they're not very practical and I end up digging my fingers in for product and getting it all inside my nails which are usually long.
This kind of freaks me out with the amount of contamination the moisturiser has when used twice a day for a long period of time, and the loss of product from constantly wasting it underneath my fingernails!

I should use a cotton bud to remove product from the pot but again this is wasteful so I won't do that and my hands are normally clean when I apply this anyway....it's just a little bug bear of mine at the moment!

You can see the cream above and below and how easily it sunk into my skin.
It feels very hydrating and for that reason I do believe it has helped with some fine lines that have started appearing around my eyes.

I don't have too many but I believe prevention is better than cure so will be applying this as much as possible to prevent any more from appearing!

Have you tried any eye creams from Origins? What's your favourite eye product?

L xxx

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No7: Youthful Glycolic Peel Kit

2013-05-17T19:31:00.001+01:00

As an additional post today I couldn't resist but show you this bargain.

The No7 Youthful Glycolic Peel Kit:

I couldn't resist but pick this up, especially at the introductory price of £19.95 instead of £24.95.

It contains 8 bottles of the Youthful Peel, a Post Peel Neutraliser and a Calming Recovery Balm and of course an instruction booklet.

Glycolic peel kits are supposed to be great for helping your general skin tone, fighting wrinkles and fading scars so I was very excited when I saw it and snapped it up.

I was even more excited when I realised that the current No7 vouchers also work!

So not only is there £5 off the kit anyway...you can get an extra £5 off with your vouchers! But only until this Sunday, so get a move on if you want to pick this up!

What do you think of this kit? Are you a peel fan or an intrigued newbie like me??

L xxx

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Review: Smashbox Smoke Box Eyeshadow Palette

2013-05-17T08:30:00.000+01:00

Who doesn't love a smokey eye??
I think they're a staple look for any girl wanting to have a more dramatic look.
You can do a nude smokey eye for those times when subtlety is needed, go dark and mysterious with greys and blacks, pop with a flash of colour and sparkle the night away with metallics and glitters.

It's probably the most versatile look in the make up book!

Smashbox have brought out the absolutely wonderful Smoke Box which when I saw in CCO in Swindon's McArthur Glen I just had to snap it up.

Firstly the outer packaging looks really simple and I love that they show an image of the contents, it's always good to get a peek of what you're paying for.

I also love the 'colour wheel' type strip along the side showing the colours inside the palette and these are pretty true to form, aside from the metallic ones which don't have their metallic bits on!

The palette itself is as sleek and simple as you've probably come to expect from Smashbox. Similar to Mac they tend to leave their products do the talking and most people would agree that they 're both pretty awesome, so simplicity is key!

It may seem gimmicky to some, but I think keeping up to date with technology and putting a QR code on the back for a Get The Look video is pretty good. YouTube is booming with make up tutorials and its another way for publicity and getting products across to new people.

So inside the palette.

Above you can see there's a mirror that fills the entire size of the case, this I love!

Can always use a mirror like this when you're on the go which is perfect with this palette for day to night looks after work etc.

It also comes with a mini brush which I always ignore. I ignore them mostly out of habit as they're never big enough for holding product to get the look that you know you can achieve with bigger and better brushes but I keep it there for emergencies.

You can see the names of each colour above, I love Alabaster for a base as it's just slightly lighter than my skin colour so blends in perfectly and creates an even base.

Roast, Thunder and Seafoam are the metallic offerings in this palette with Roast being more glittery than the others. Blackout is a perfect matte black for blending and lining the eyes and blackcurrant is absolutely gorgeous.

The colour are swatched below on my arm.

L-R: Alabaster (almost disappears on my skin!), Thunder, Blackout, Roast, Blackcurrant, Seafoam.

Some colours are sheer like Seafoam and for some reason Blackout doesn't show up at all on my arm but when applied it does show up really dark but not as pigmented as Mac Carbon.

Here are some looks I created with the palette:

Using Alabaster as the base, I then applied Thunder over the main lid and Blackout to the crease, before applying Seafoam to the centre of the lid for shimmer.

This is a great easy smokey eye sticking to greys and silvers. The colours are really easy to blend and applied smoothly.

Below shows a second look:

Excuse my unruly brows here!

This look uses Alabaster as a base again, Thunder on the inside lid, Blackcurrant on the outer corner and Roast applied to the centre for some shimmer.

This look can be worn for day time too and I love wearing it as its not a common colour but does look really nice and I get lots of compliments on it.

I do sometimes get some fall out from the product but luckily it doesn't stick to my face and brushes off easily but this can be annoying.

I feel like these pictures don't do the colours any justice though, Blackcurrant is a beautiful colour, as is Roast, Seafoam and Thunder.

Blackout could be more pigmented but when applied to the eye properly it does come out quite black.

Alabaster is a beautiful colour particularly on paler skin as it is a perfect base and blends in perfectly!

Have you tried any other Smashbox eye palettes?

Which is your favourite?

L xxx

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Antipodes: Divine Face Oil

2013-05-16T07:00:00.000+01:00

This post has been a looooooooooooooong time coming.

I have been a huge fan of this face oil ever since receiving it in the Selfridge's Beauty Box last year.
I have raved about this to anyone who would listen to me but for some reason felt that writing my post on it would just be lost in a load of others all saying the same things so I didn't type up anything.

But I'm still in love with it and want to add my voice to the mix!

Antipodes are a really cool brand, all the way from New Zealand using natural and organic ingredients to make super sonic products with a multitude of benefits.
Now sold in 9 countries around the world the company only started in 2006 which is amazing to have got this far and just shows what reliable brand it is.

Divine Face Oil contains organic avocado oil and rosehip which scientifically stimulates synthesis of collagen production in human skin cells by up to 51%.
It's packed with antioxidants and essential nutrient rich oils which smell of jasmine and sweet orange.

It has so many benefits to skin it's almost unbelievable. You can read them on the back of the box in the picture above but essentially it's anti aging, hydrating, rejuvenating and absorbs UV light from the sun to protect skin.
Sounds like a miracle oil!

I apply a few drops of this to cleansed skin morning and evening when my skin is feeling a little dry and dehydrated (which is most of the time lately!)
You rub in the oil in upward motions and pay special attention to spots, scars and any other blemishes including lines.
This to me was really weird, at the time I hadn't ever used oils on my face and was so worried about my skin breaking out etc but I really had nothing to worry about!

The dropper is my favourite part of the product because it reminds me of old medicines and being a scientist I automatically am drawn to glassware and it can't get much better than when it contains organic skincare too!
It's so easy to use and control the drops and the oil sinks into your skin so quickly.

One of the best things about this oil?? It's only £19.50! This is a bargain considering the effects and it's lasted me almost a year and I'm still not close to finishing it.

The oil is suitable for most skin conditions but particularly useful for dry and combination skin.

I've found it brilliant at hydrating my dry patches, and I feel it's cleared up so many of my blemishes and scars as the red spots on my face are fading pretty well.
The biggest factor about this oil is that it hasn't made my oily t-zone any oilier than it normally would be which has been perfect and something I was really worried about.

I'd fully recommend this to anyone and cannot wait to get my hands on some other Antipodes products.
I've heard absolutely loads about their Aura face mask containing Manuka Honey (one of my favourite New Zealand products from my family living there!) and the Juliet Skin Brightening Gel Cleanser.

Hopefully this combination of products will get my skin to behave itself.
Dealing with an oily t-zone and then dehydrated skin on the rest of my face with scars is really getting to be hard work!

What have you tried from Antipodes? Do you love organic and natural skincare?

L xxx

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OOTD Red Lace Dress

2013-05-15T07:30:00.000+01:00

Another OOTD today. I'm really loving doing these at the moment! Hopefully I'll persuade my other half to take some photos for me soon. (He's decided he wants to write a post on here, we will see if he does, he thinks living with a girl is so hard, apparently not being allowed his stuff in our bedroom isn't nice ;-)!! I need clothes space!)

Finding a red dress that's nice is always a bit of a challenge! First off it's colour, finding the perfect red shade that isn't tacky but classy, that goes for fabric too! When I factored in lace I didn't expect to find a suitable one. Near where my parents live is Clarks Village full of factory discount shops including Yumi! I picked this up from there a while back and it's now back on there website here. It retails for £28 and comes with a plain brown belt.

I used my usual Butterfly for Matthew Williamson Bag (Currently on offer here) It's the perfect size for just what I need. The leopard print heels are from Dorothy Perkins. I can find them online now. I like these as they are a softer shade of leopard print and a slightly lower heel makes them comfortable to wear all day.

The bracelet is from New Look It's £4.99 here. It's something I can reach for quickly. I picked this up in this spending ban update which I also got the necklace featured below!

The necklace is from River Island. I love this necklace, I used to own it about 4 years ago so I'm glad to have it back. You can pick one up here for £6. I love how it brightens up an outfit. The fake leather jacket is from primark! I love it bit I can't see it lasting long as I've already broken the lining.

I was all about the statement jewellery it would seem! The ring is from Boots range of jewellery. They have some great pieces in there and they are regularly on offer.

The belt is off another dress. I paired it with opaque tights so I could wear this too work. For me the length is perfect. It sits comfortable on me without being too short. The lace is a good quality and hangs really well. I also like that it has sleeves

It has a small keyhole at the back of the dress with a button at the top, I like all the little details this dress has and I've worn it loads. Even better it doesn't need ironing which is always a bonus as loads of my work dresses do!

I really like Yumi Dresses. They tend to be a bit different! I'm definitely coming around to red dresses too.

Love M

xxx

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Review: Avon Glimmerstick Cosmic Eye Liner Twilight

2013-05-14T07:00:00.000+01:00

After L had her make up done in Mac for her birthday I've been loving coloured eye liners. The Cosmic Glimmersticks from Avon. This range has a variety of colours and each of the colours hold multi colour glitter giving a gorgeous shimmer effect on the eye. Currently Half price at £3 here (I personally didn't like silver eclipse it lacked the glitter effect in my opinion)

The Glimmerstick range of eye liners from Avon don't require sharpening and have a twist action. The packaging has a secure lid (no worrying about this coming off in your handbag) and a colour coordinated bottom so it makes it easy to spot in your make up bag.

The pencil itself is soft but not too soft, meaning it's not going to drag along the eye but rather glide nicely.

This picture shows some of the different shades of glitter. It's really hard to pick up on camera. It looks flattering on the eye and not primary school disco as some glittery products can look.

I love this for easy make up days, a quick wash of neutral base and a line around the eyes and I'm done. It's such a pretty colour. Purple looks great on most eye colours as well.

I really love everything about this eye liner, the shade is perfect, not too bright and not too dull you can barely tell it's purple as I find happens with some eye liners. ( I was lucky enough to get the smashbox set for Christmas but I find the colours aren't bright enough to look great on the eyes) It lasts all day and can easily be blended out to make a great purple base for a night out. Applied all over and smudged with a bit of black in the outer V would look great.

What's your thoughts on coloured liners? I love them!

Love M

xxx

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Lipstick Lucky Dip

2013-05-13T07:00:00.000+01:00

Today is a bit of a random post! This is how I pick a lipstick when I'm in a rush.

Lipstick Lucky Dip started pretty soon after L and I got addictions to lipstick. We were both finding pretty quickly our handbags became lipstick storage, is that just us? It's not unusual for my handbag to have between 5-10 lipsticks!!

Whenever I pick a lipstick from my storage it gets thrown in the handbag where it seems to stay! The lazy person in me doesn't sort my bag out very often and lipsticks accumulate quickly! This does come in handy though.

Most mornings I end up being short on time ( I'm a fan of the snooze button and my bed!!) lipstick I've usually forgotten about until I'm on the bus!! Here is where me and L regularly do our lipstick lucky dip. Most days my lipstick is chosen by whichever shade I pick out of my handbag first!!

This is the simple way! No hard decisions! I always have a range of colours! In the picture is a small over the shoulder bag. In work I was grabbing a lipstick! To my surprise a small bag (which is filled by my purse basically) contained 8 different lip colours, not including the two lip balms!

Does your bag seem to accumulate lipsticks?

Love M

xxx

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The Skin Regime and Giveaway

2013-05-12T16:25:00.000+01:00

Skincare is something L and I are both big on and both fully believe (and hope) prevention is better than cure. You're never to young to start taking care of your skin. An interesting fact I read the other day from a study by Escentual.com was that the average French lady starts their skincare at age 15 and the average Britain at 25. The survey found as the French aged they looked younger!!

I'm paranoid about getting bad skin and will do what I can now to start. Over the past year I've started to notice huge changes in my skin (I'm thinking this is partially due to stress from starting back at university!!) it's now sometimes drier than it used to be, something I'm really not used too, and I'm starting to see fine lines appear in my forehead!!

When Dana got in touch to see if we fancied reading her book The Skin Regime and trying a sample of a chemical peel it was something we were both very interested in! Dana takes things back to basics and uses a few simple products, and it's very obvious from the photos she has amazing skin. Fingers crossed I'll look like that. In this picture she is 49 and only wearing eye make up: her skin is clearly glowing!

L and I wrote about how much we love the AHA/BHA exfoliating cleanser from Murad here and the components of this product are found in peels, but in higher concentrations. We love this exfoliating cleanser as it really works so a peel for us would be the next step.

Chemical peels are something I've been very interested in. Dana's book goes into detail about the correct types of peels you can do at home and how to ensure you take care of your skin.

Dana makes some excellent really interesting points throughout the book that really make you think about the money you are spending on skincare. The book is well written and made me laugh at some points. At the moment my skin (and body) in general is really playing up. I'm hoping once my exams are over it'll get better. At the moment I'm going back to basics and starting to pick up the bits so I can start the peel programme properly once my exams are over. It's pretty simple over 6-8 weeks you use a peel between 7-14 days apart and simply moisturise in between. This process removes all the bad layers of skin. Anyone with scarring and dark spots this is also great for and on her website you can see some great before and after photos! Take a look at them here.

I'm really excited to start this new regime. I'm willing to try anything to improve my skin and if the photos on the website are anything to go by I can't wait.

With the chemical peels it's important to do them early evening and not before a big event. As it's a chemical peel it's likely to leave the skin looking a bit read (it is removing a layer of skin after all) think of it like when you get your eyebrows waxed, they stay red for a while!!

I'll be doing a full post on the chemical peels once I've tried it properly. The book is really interesting and I'd recommend it to anyone to read. It's great to make you really think about skincare! You can see her website http://www.theskinregime.com/ for more information, photos and even features Tanning Mom!

M xxx

After reading this book and laughing a lot at Dana's straight forward attitude to skincare, I am reeeeeeeeally excited to try out the first peel and hopefully get skin as gorgeous and glowing as hers at my current age of 25, let alone 49!

Using acids is a great way to exfoliate your skin to a deeper level and I'm personally hoping the tiny lines that are appearing on my forehead (thanks uni stress!) and scars/red marks from the wonderful acne I've been dealing with the past year will hopefully fade away.

Looking at the pictures on the website lots of people have had great results with improved tone to their skin and decreased lines and I cannot wait!

We'll be posting about our experience with the peels asap :)

L xxx

Dana has allowed us to host a giveaway where one of our lovely followers can also win her book and a sample of a low strength chemical peel! Woohoooo!

We are so pleased we can share this with you!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

As always with giveaways there are mandatory and optional choices, but it should be explanatory which are which.

The prize is a copy of The Skin Regime book and a sample peel which will be sent straight to you from Dana herself.

We can't wait to start our boot camps, what do you think of doing your own glycolic peel??

L and M xxx

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Soap and Glory Butter Yourself Moisturiser

2013-05-11T09:30:00.000+01:00

Happy weekend!

I think everyone in the world knows about Soap and Glory and their pretty pink packaging. Not only does everything smell blooming amazing but the cute labelling and hilarious instructions cover products that actually do what they say on the tin.

I'd spotted this Butter Yourself moisturiser many times in Boots but stopped myself from purchasing due to lack of funds.

M was lovely enough to pick it up for me as part of my birthday present which was lush!

Containing exfoliating AHAs, orange waterjuice, shea butter, peppermint oil and fruit liquid fig this smells absolutely divine.

I'm a big fan of their other body butters (particularly the Righteous butter....I mean who isn't!) so I did wonder how this would match up, but it doesn't disappoint.

I felt this sunk in faster than the Righteous Butter which let's face it is always a bonus as butters can take a while to sink in, and I always seem to be wearing skinny jeans afterwards which is not a good combination!

The results though are just as good as the Righteous Butter and overall the products are very comparable.
I had gorgeously smooth skin almost instantly and after a few days use I felt like I'd been on a spa week my skin was so polished.

I would definitely recommend picking them up in a 3 for 2 deal at Boots (currently on hurrah!) as although they are worth the money and last a long time, it's always great to grab a bargain right??

The hardest task for me would be deciding which scent to smell of all day!

Which is your favourite body moisturiser? Do you prefer a butter, lotion or cream?

L xxx

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Skincare Wardrobe - Update

2013-05-10T07:30:00.000+01:00

Hello!

I keep meaning to write this post for SUCH a long time now that I thought it was about time it actually got done.

Since starting this blog I have of course spent a shed load of money on various products but primarily on skin care. When starting this blog I was a culprit of using only a face wipe and occasionally eye make up remover along with moisturiser as my daily routine. This shocks me immensely and I now cannot believe I did this!

Obviously I soon realised this wasn't going to cut it and I have significantly changed my 'Skincare Wardrobe' if you like, and here is the updated contents!

I currently use this box which contained a Christmas present in 2011. It isn't ideal as I'd prefer to have them all standing upright but nevertheless it's a great box for me to separate my skincare products from others (ever so slightly...)

So trying to get things in some sort of order I will start with cleansers.
This is what I am currently using;

Origins Checks and Balances, a lovely minty foamy face wash which is one of those that gives your skin a deep clean and leaves it with that 'tight feeling', sometimes I love this feeling and others I don't so it's nice to have options. This is where...

Liz Earle's Cleanse and Polish comes in, a creamy cleanser applied to dry skin that miraculously removes all types of make up so easily. It feels great on my skin and did so when I had oily skin and now with my dry/combination skin and we are both fans of this cleanser.

Having used these two primarily for the past few months I'm pretty happy with how they work for my skin. However on those nights when I come in quite late (4am is getting to be quite a regular time for me!) it's a little bit too loud to start running hot water and splash around in the bathroom waking everyone up.

For this reason I picked up La Roche Posay's Toleraine Gel Dermo Cleanser which you just rub into your skin and then remove either with a muslin cloth or wet wipe, which is what I use at 4am. It isn't ideal I would agree as I'd prefer hot water but definitely better than just the wet wipe as this removes every trace of make up even mascara and lipstick!
I am yet to post about this but so far I'm loving it especially as it's so easy and fuss free.

The Clarins eye make up remover was given to both myself and M just before Christmas at a Pharmacy event in Cardiff. I'd been using micellar water before that but this make up remover is great, requires minimal 'scrubbing', doesn't sting my eyes and gets rid of all traces.

Next up is Exfoliators:

These are without a doubt some of my favourite products to come out of my 'Skincare Epiphany'.

Origin's Modern Friction is well renowned for being good but I just adore how quick the results are from using it and although it's expensive, even with a use of 2/3 times a week this huge tube has lasted me months.
I'm about half way through and have had it well over 8 months, would 100% recommend.

Murad's AHA/BHA Exfoliating Cleanser is something we posted about recently and I truly believe this will be staying in my weekly routine for a long time to come. Not only because this huge bottle will also last you a while but because the effects are again pretty quick and show up after 4/5 uses which is great considering it feels like a normal cleanser.
The acids and tiny tiny jojoba beads (which feel like a powder!) definitely have a positive effect on my skin sloughing off cells and revealing a glow. Basically.....buy it!

Origins have also brought out Brighter By Nature which I got as a GWP (Gift with Purchase) before Christmas time. These pads are filled with enzymes and fruit acids and just require a swipe over the face for them to work their magic. These feel great and are definitely a less abrasive way to exfoliate your skin on days where a scrub just isn't what you're looking for.

A definite new addition to my weekly routine are masks:

As you can see I have an array, and what is quite clearly becoming an obsession with Origins, yikes! so from L-R...

Drink Up Intensive - another GWP and still going strong, this is the intensive overnight version of the other Drink Up mask coming up. This was the first hydrating mask I'd ever used and even on my then oily skin, was absolutely amazing and didn't break me out.
The next three; Clear Improvement, Out of Trouble and Drink Up were all bought together in a set after using up my first Out of Trouble mask. I absolutely love it for getting rid of blemishes and reducing spot size! 100% recommendation from me.
Clear Improvement and Drink up are both great for when my skin is in need of them, the charcoal definitely helps to reduce pore size and the Drink up is great for when my skin feels dry but is breaking out and too much hydration might overbalance my skin,

REN's Glycolactic Radiance Renewal mask really does do what it says on the tin (tube?), it smells like oranges, feels like orange juice and marmalade whizzed together and takes me to a happy summery place as well as making my skin look renewed.

Eye products:

Having never used an eye cream before this blog my collection is certainly increasing!

Starting with Origins Eye Doctor: I picked this up due to my severely dry eyes and sore skin due to rubbing my eyes. I've still got no idea what has happened to make my body so depleted in hydration regarding my skin and eyes and lips, but this was my first eye cream which I chose due to it's lack of any kind of chemicals at all. It's so hydrating and as I was so worried at the time about a reaction, it's the perfect comfort blanket for me to go back to.
The same with the No Puffery eye gel, it's so soothing and helps my eyes relax after a long day at work. This and Eye Doctor combined helped to reduce my dry eye effects and eliminate the lines I was getting around my eyes, presumably from dehydration.

Ginzing was next on my list when I felt more comfortable and I love it's reflecting properties for day wear when i have massive bags under my eyes.

Starting Over is a recent addition as it was on sale and I couldn't resist picking it up to rid myself of potential crows feet! It's thicker than the Eye Doctor cream and I will be writing about it soon.

Eysilix was picked up in a 3 for 2 deal a few weeks ago so is what I am currently trialling. I like the small nozzle and how it allows a small amount out each time, but I'm not sure if my eyes like the cream as i think they sting sometimes after use. Will have to investigate this!

Serums and oils:

Clearly my anti-aging and anti-blemish tendencies are running away with me here!

Both Antipodes and Clarins oils I have written before and I am in complete love with them both and they transformed my opinions on oils for oily skin.

Aesop's Parsley seed Serum is something I have been using recently and am interested in how it will affect my skin. I've heard rave reviews!

The Make a Difference Serum is absolutely gorgeous. Sinks in like a dream and I'm completely gutted to find out that it was only available at Christmas time exclusively from Selfridges. Heart broken!

Pepta Bright and Hydraluron were the other 2 items I picked up in my 3 for 2 deal with Eysilix (Indeed Labs got me good!). Hydraluron is a great extra step for adding in more hydration as it sinks in easily and doesn't clog your pores but my skin feels a lot more hydrated.
Pepta Bright has definitely had a brightening effect on my skin and I'm pretty sure has also helped to reduce the size and colour of the scars on my face but shhhhhhhhhh let's not say that too loudly as it might stop working! Posts on all of the Indeed Labs products will be up in the future when I feel like I've tested them properly.

Lastly onto moisturisers and other bits:

My first and only product from Apivita is this gorgeous organic lip balm with honey which has been a saviour in keeping my dry lips from worsening. It's been a god send in work as it's not a pot and really moisturises.

I'm sure everyone on the planet has heard of Effaclar Duo and I am one of them having picked it up a few weeks ago during a mass break out on my skin. It works a treat on drying up the white heads but on my bigger spots it only helped to reduce redness and size, not eliminate it completely. It works great but it isn't a miracle worker so don't expect it to remove all traces of a zit!

Normaderm is one of my favourite day moisturisers as it sinks in so easily and doesn't add to the oil on your skin. It prevents breakouts and helps combat scars and all other blemishes and it just works. This was a god send when I had oily skin and I still use it now, get it! You won't regret it.

Perfect World was a freebie from Origins when you took in an empty bottle of moisturiser and its taken me a while to warm up to it. Initially confined to the bottom of the pile it's now a firm favourite with my dry skin especially for day time due to it's SPF 25. Really loving this now!

Make a Difference is something I posted about fairly recently and am still raving about. The rejuvenating treatment glides onto skin and your skin drinks it up in seconds. It's helped to reduce scarring, even out blemishes and skin tone generally and hydrated my skin without overdoing it. Love.

This has been a gargantuan post and if you got bored I'm rather sorry, I had no idea there was quite that much to write about.
I have learnt a few things:

a) I'm obsessed with Origins

b) I need to condense my skincare down. Nobody needs this much on a daily/weekly basis!

c) Skincare is expensive but worth every penny, you only get one face which everyone sees every day, spending £30 on one skincare item lasting 6 months is much better value for money than £60 on shoes you'll wear once!

Have you written up your Skincare Wardrobe?? Do you have as much as me?? What are your favourite products and brands?

L xxx

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Mac Splurge!

2013-05-09T12:00:00.000+01:00

I'm sure the majority of you will have seen mine and M's tweets a few weeks ago when we both went to Mac to have our make up done before we went out for my birthday.

We were super excited to have our make up done for us by a professional and also to spend some hard earned cash on some more amazing Mac products.

I picked up a few things but these lipsticks were top of my list and I have been wearing them both non stop.

I picked up Coral Bliss to wear out on the night and Vegas Volt as I'd heard so much about it.

Coral Bliss is shown below:

I already own Creme Cup which is a dusky pink nude, and Costa Chic which is a frosted orange colour and I was looking for a corally nude for the summer months.

Coral Bliss answers this perfectly, it's a beautiful coral colour that is perfect for day time, evening, work etc and will be great when the weather finally improves!

Here are a few pictures from the night out where you can see my make up and the lipstick!

Here's some close ups of my eye make up.

I absolutely loved what they did with it, a nude smokey eye with green smudged underneath as a flash of colour.

I wish someone could do my make up like this for me all the time!!

I learnt a lot in the makeover and always come away with some new tips to try.

So back to the lipsticks....

Vegas Volt is a gorgeous red orange colour that really suits pale skin tones. I'm sure it looks great with tanned skin also (what doesn't!) but it sort of 'pops' with paler skin and I've seen many other blog posts with gorgeous pictures so I knew I had to have it.

You can see what I mean by the photos below, the colour is so lovely and bright but isn't too over the top.
I've worn it out to the pub, nights out and shopping in the day time and it's a great all rounder for any occasion where a full red lip would be too much.

I'm so happy with these purchases. Both wear really nicely and feel moisturising as they are both creamy.

What are your favourite Mac lipsticks? Would you choose something similar?
What would you buy at Mac if you had the choice?

L xxx

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Boots Panic Buying

2013-05-08T20:00:00.000+01:00

Hello!

You may have seen some tweets the past week or so celebrating the fact that I have a new job...hurrah!

I am so excited to start my new job in a toxicology lab and have been busy buying a new wardrobe now that I can wear my own clothes and not a standard uniform.

I have also, as you can imagine, been putting my discount to good use and buying my final few items with it as after I've left Boots i will be rid of temptation and therefore will not be buying anything for 6 months....right??!

I say few....this is what I've racked up so far.

I'm embarrassed, horrified and somewhat proud.

I've picked up essentials like moisturiser and bobbles, and also brushes and eye make up remover with the No7 vouchers. Some summery nail polishes did not escape my notice particularly the £1.99 Sinful Colours ones, and obviously some must have make up products.

Obviously I haven't used much of it yet but I wanted to let you know about a few deals I've picked up and what's looking good!

Revlon have a 3 for 2 deal on at the moment which means I've picked up my favourite primer, some skin highlights, a new concealer and my first ever BB cream:

So looking forward to trying out the new Revlon items!

Next up I picked up some items from Rimmel:

They have a deal on at the moment when you spend £10 you get a free Scandaleyes mascara which I've used before and really liked.
I think you can always use powder and I've been looking to get myself a matt bronzer for a while so picked these three up to compare them to more expensive powders and bronzers I already have.

Bourjois also have a similar deal on where if you spend £12 you get a free round blush pot.

I didn't plan on getting two of these deals but after picking up one I couldn't help myself!

For the first set I picked up a Volumizer mascara that I'd heard good things about, and of course the blogger fave nail varnish removal pot which has been raved about for glitter polishes.

I then picked up the Healthy Mix Serum foundation after a recommendation for my dry skin and also the infamous Bronzing Powder.

These blushes both look absolutely gorgeous.
I picked up one that has a slight shimmer and reminds me of my favourite Coralista, and also a slightly darker matt blush.

I've heard that Bourjois are bringing out some new Cream Blushes which is massively exciting!

I love cream blushes and if these powder ones are anything to go by the cream ones will be super easy to blend and have fantastic colouring.
They've already launched in Selfridges and online (3rd of May) and you can get them from Boots on the 15th of May.

There will be four colours and by the looks of things 01 and 02 look stunning for paler people like me and M!

Priced at £7.99 a pop I will certainly be looking at the Cream Blushes when they get into my Boots store :)

What do you think of my panic buying so far? Over the top or justified??
What would you buy if you had a discount card for Boots?

Will you be checking out the new Bourjois Cream Blushes??

L xxx

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OOTD Jeans and Lilac Lace Top

2013-05-08T07:00:00.000+01:00

Today I've got another OOTD post to show you. I've decided to do them a different way so it makes it easier to see the clothes.

I absolutely love this outfit. It's simple and girly and great for now the weather is getting a little bit warmer. The bag you'll probably see featured a lot. It's from Matthew Williamson's butterfly range for Debenhams. It's a perfect everyday bag. I'm eyeing up this one for summer. It's such great quality and worth the extra money!

I mentioned this necklace in a previous OOTD (seen here). I love the simplicity of this it goes with everything and is easy to throw on. It's From Sphere of Life.

Both of these are from New Look. I love the colours of these and the cute bow details on the cardigan. I like to add the lace top to casual outfits to add a bit of interest. I really like the lace on this one as I find some can look cheap.

If I wear silver jewellery I usually wear my Thomas Sabo charm bracelets. They are easy to pair on without thinking about. I love the little charms, most of them have a special meaning.

The jeans are also from the OOTD linked above! As you can tell they are a firm favourite! I love the fit.

All finished off with my Primark brogues! These are so perfect for spring! I need another pair!

On my nails is Essie Aruba Blue. (seen here)

I'm so glad the weather is starting to brighten up a bit and I can wear nicer things!!

Love M

xxx

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Empties 2

2013-05-07T07:00:00.000+01:00

It's been a while since I've done an empties post. I really shouldn't have left it so long as I've actually used up quite a bit lately. You can read my first post here. I've been really trying hard to use things up and work my way through my stash.

Here's what I've used up over the past two months. As you can see it's quite a stash!!

First up is hand creams.

I use quite a lot of these. I have quite dry hands and my job means I wash my hands a lot!! The Avon African Shea Butter hand and cuticle cream is my favourite of all time I think. It sinks into the skin easily and quickly and smells amazing! Will definitely repurchase! The Balance Me Super Moisturising Hand Cream which I think I got in a She Said Beauty box I just didn't get on with. It was a super thick cream but left my hands feeling so greasy!! I used it at night as after using it I just didn't want to touch anything. Wouldn't repurchase.

Deodorant and Dry Shampoo

Normally I wouldn't include deodorant! Let's face it it would be boring to see these in empties every time but I have this time, as at the moment I seem to be seeing lots of adverts for the compressed ones. so I thought seen as they are meant to be better for the environment and all that I'd give them a try! For me they ran out VERY quickly! Definitely wouldn't buy again. Batiste Dry Shampoo Tropical Love batiste, wouldn't use anything else. Love the fragrance (see my save, spend, splurge on Dry Shampoo here) have got another big bottle of it already!!

Bath and Body

Philosophy Peppermint Bark Shower Gel I love the smell of this, l gave me this as she didn't like it. I thought it smelt like mint chocolate!! Yum. Love the texture of this too. Will be on the look out for it at christmas time! Next Spa Sugar Body Scrub I loved this!! The texture was amazing, thick and gloopy in a good way and a great but not too harsh scrub! Can't seem to find it in shops at the moment which is a bit disappointing as I love it. Lee Stafford For Hair That Doesn't Grow Past A Certain Length Treatment I got into the habit of using this stuff about two years ago and couldn't get out of it. It always left my hair feeling lovely and soft and in great condition. I do really like it and I think it helps hair grow by improving the condition. Don't expect long flowing locks though. I do like it and have another one I'm currently using. Soap and Glory Calm One Calm All I love this bubble bath, gentle smell that's not over powering and produces a nice amount of bubbles. Have another waiting in the wings thanks to a donation from L.

Skin Care

Boots Cleansing Wipes Pretty sure these featured last time! Great product, does the job and stay reasonably moist, I prefer these to baby wipes I find they don't tug as much. Lush Whip Stick Although it's a pot lip balm I do love this for night time. Great smell and leaves lips nice and soft, I've already picked up another of these. Carmex Cherry Lipbalm I'd totally forgot about Carmex until I found this and a few other lipbalms lurking half finished. Carmex is one of my favourites for sore lips and love the cherry scent. Will pick up the tube version next time. No7 Eye Make Up Remover My all time favourite eye make up remover, I always pick it up when it's on offer and I'm never without it. Removes make up easily without tugging and doesn't leave the eyes too greasy. (Read my save, spend, splurge on Eye Make Up Removers here) Clarins Eye Make Up Remover I didn't get on with this at all, I just found it didn't remove my make up very well. Lancome Hydra Zen I loved this cream, light on the skin, sunk in well and left my skin feeling soft and well moisturised. Once I've used up some of my stash I'm going to be looking into this. Clinique 7 Day Scrub for me this just felt too much of a harsh scrub. The particles were so big I'm just not a fan.

Mascaras

I'm a mascara addict. I have a huge amount of them and usually use more than one type on my lashes. Benefit Bad Gal I think I got this in a magazine one time. The brush is huge!! Which I liked, it was great for volumising the lashes and even though it was a big brush it didn't get all over my face. Avon SuperMagnify won't talk about this one too much as it's being discontinued! I love it though, I have two back ups! Avon Curlious Diamonds I'm not sure this is still sold but their normal curl one is! I did quite like this mascara but a curling mascara isn't what I really go for. Maybelline Colossal Volume This is probably still my favourite mascara of all time, it's amazing, doesn't dry out and gives amazing results!!

Face Products

Collection Fix Me Up Spray I like this product but when you work it out on a price per ml basis the Urban Decay setting sprays are actually better value, It's a great purse size product though. Rimmel Clear Complexion This is an alright product, nothing amazing so wouldn't repurchase, for a cheap powder I prefer my Natural Collection loose powder. FCUK Brush This was in one of those sets you get from boots, I love the rest of the brushes in the set but this one is just rough and hard so I've decided to just throw it out. Rimmel Recover I quite like this as a light coverage foundation, it's a little bit rough in texture but does look great when applied, hard to find now but I did spot it on fragrance direct! Chanel Perfection Lumiere Foundation this was a generous sample I got from the counter. I really enjoyed this and think when I have some money and have used some foundations up I'll repurchase.

Random Make Up

Carmex Moisture Plus I had forgotten how much I loved these until recently, they are like the original of Revlon Lip Butters but sheerer. They provide great moisture and a wash of colour, will definitely pick more up! Bourjois Eyeshadow Beige Rose This is a great everyday base colour, a slight shimmer and easy to blend. Lastly Avon Perfect Wear Everlasting Eyeshadow I love the forumlation of these, a slight cream to powder formulation that's quite wet. It has a sponge type lip gloss applicator. I'm on the look out for more of these!!

So that's my latest stash of empties! The spending ban definitely helped me!!

Love M

xxx

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FOTD Every day Cranberry eyes

2013-05-06T07:00:00.000+01:00

Whoo no Monday blues here today. I'm spending the day with my parents today as they are coming over to visit my other half and me. Hope you've got some good plans for the Bank Holiday if you are lucky enough not to be working!

I really like doing and reading FOTDs. My make up skills aren't that great but I definitely think reading and writing blogs is helping improve them. I picked up Mac Cranberry eyeshadow a while back (you can read that haul here). After watching a YouTube Video by Tanya Burr I just had to have it. It was a colour I didn't think I would wear all that much but still had to have.

Pictured with the Beautiful Plumful Lipstick! Cranberry is a shimmery red shade with a hint of lilac. Not all that wearable on first glance but I actually probably wear this four days a week. I love the way it looks on me and people tend to comment on how pretty a colour it is!

To start with I applied a base of Porefessional, Mac Pro longwear (review) and erase paste (review).

I tend to wear it as a crease colour over Tease from Naked 2 palette (a matte light brown shade). I blend Tease through my crease and apply a generous amount of cranberry over the top and into my outer V. I apply Bootycall over the lid first as base. It's a shimmery nude shade or Mac Naked Lunch.

To deepen the outer corner I apply the smallest amount of Blackout (a matte black) and blend well. I then finish off the eyes with a flick of gel liner!

I add a small amount of blackout under the lash line and blend well so it doesn't look too much. I then put on lashings of mascara. I'm such a mascara girl. I love my lashes to look full and fake so tend to wear 3 different Mascaras. My current winning combination is to use Givenchy Phenomen'eyes as a bottom lash mascara and then Lancome Hypnose Doll lashes and YSL Shocking (review) on the upper lashes. I picked all of these up in duty free last year and would definitely repurchase all of them next time I have the money too. I'm dreading them running out.

For the cheeks I go subtle as I wear so much on the eyes! If you've read the blog of my tweets you may know I'm obsessed with the combination of Benefit Dandelion (review) and Liz Earle Natural Glow Bronzer (review).

For brows it couldn't be anything other than Benefit Brow Zings (review)! And Powder is Natural Collection loose powder.

Last but not least this gorgeous warm red lipstick is No7 Stay Perfect lipstick in Grace! I'd recommend testing these in store as the colours are nothing like on line. They are a little drying but I love them still.

Love M

xxx

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Spring Series: Make Up

2013-05-05T20:51:00.000+01:00

This is the last in our Spring Series (you can see the rest of our posts here). Today is all about spring make up.

It's this time of your all my dark berry lipsticks get pushed to the back and my bright vibrant pinks start to make an appearance again. I absolutely love a bold lipstick and bright pinks are my favourite for the spring time.

Here are a few of my favourites

Also I start to load on the bronzer more in the hope to look more sun kissed. For me there is no better than Liz Earle Natural Glow Bronzer (review here). I start to use it for more than just contouring and start to add a bronzed look too my face.

I tend to apply more highlighter through Spring too. I crave that natural luminous glowy skin. I've previously raved about MAC MSF in Soft and Gentle (review here). It gives a soft sparkly highlight and blends effortlessly into the skin.

Lately I'm also loving MeMeMe Sunbeam. This is a cheap version of the Benefit product. I find this gives a soft highlight to the skin and is less sparkly. Perfect for day times.

During spring I usually like a slightly bright blush to match my now bright lips. This is where Sleek comes in. Hello amazing pigmentation. I love my Blush by 3 Palette in Lace (review here). I love all the colours in this and using the middle one means I don't need to highlight. The red shade looks gorgeous blended in and I surprised myself with how much I liked an orange blush.

Excuse the dodgy photos! I'm surprised how much my photos have improved over the time of the blog

I really want the sleek Pink Spirit palette now. Maybe that can be my treat after my new challenge.

Lastly base, this changes in the spring. I've also been a full foundation girl but that is definitely changing. During spring this year I'll be favouring No7 tinted moisturiser and my Laura Mercier Illuminating Tinted Moisturiser. If my skin does need a bit more I'll be reaching for Mac Studio Fix Fluid.

I like my skin being able to breath more than with a foundation on. I really like both of these and will definitely be repurchasing the No7 one. I've not used the Laura Mercier one enough to comment yet but can't wait to more. I find both of these pretty good even on my Oily/Combination skin. For ages I was put off tinted moisturisers so I'm glad to have found these.

As for lips it's time to bring out all the bright colours, hello corals, pinks and oranges. Here are some of my favourites

Maybelline 10 h Tint Gloss Forever Fuchsia (review) Avon Perfect Kiss Berry Smooch (review) Kate Moss No 20 (review) Kate Moss Matte Collection Shade 110 (review) Mac Shine Supreme Fashion City, Mac Amplified Chatter Box (review) Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Satins in Smitten and Rendezvous (review)

The Swatches are in Lipstick Order.

Lastly I like to play with my eyeshadow on the weekend. When It's a bright day outside I love to play with my make up. I have a few brighter eyeshadows and I like to blend these through the crease and then smoke them out of use them under my bottom lashes to add a splash of bright colours. I do this with the colours from my Naked 2 palette making up the base and neutral shades!

Here are some of my favourites!!

What do you change during the spring months? Does your make up change to prepare for summer?

Love M

xxx

I am yet to find my perfect tinted moisturiser, I just can't seem to find one that it light enough but covers enough of my blemishes without making me oily and blotchy.

If you have any suggestions let me know!

I like using the Revlon PhotoReady Airbrush Mousse as it's light and even though it has really good coverage I don't feel like it clogs up my skin.

After this I do also apply concealer to my undereyes and any blemishes I have. My current favourite for this is Benefit's Fake Up as my skin s still so dehydrated the additional moisturisation is necessary to help it blend.

After setting with powder I then apply my favourites; Benefit's Dallas and Coralista which hopefully on a daily basis gives me definition and glow like this:

I love using Benefit's Brow Zings too, lots of love for Benefit in today's post!

M was kind enough to give me her spare Brow Zings kit and I've completely fallen in love with it. It's in light and even though my brows are pretty much black I think it looks better than dark might because of how pale my skin is, and I can't go without my brows being defined!

Depending on what I'm doing that day, I might apply some nude eyeshadow to define my eye shape by using my Naked Basics palette or Theodora before applying eyeliner in a winged effect.

After that it's lashings of mascara and it's time to apply some bright lippy!

Normally pink is the perfect colour so I might wear Mac's Nicki Minaj lipstick (shown below) or Rimmel Apocalips in Stellar.

Otherwise my latest purchase Vegas Volt is also a really good red/orange colour that seems to go with everything!

What are your favourite products for a Spring Make up look??

L xxx

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Urban Decay Oz Palette: Theodora

2013-05-03T07:30:00.000+01:00

I'm sure the world of bloggers own at least one Urban Decay palette (I own 4...) and the Oz palettes will be no exception.

When these bad boys came out I obviously needed one of them And by one I obviously meant both (!)

I was lucky enough to get the Theodora palette as one of my presents from my parents for my birthday.
I was massively excited and knew that I obviously needed to purchase the Glinda palette with my remaining birthday money to complete the collection.
A post on this will be coming up soon I can assure you!

The box contains the palette itself, a Super Saturated Lip Stick in the most beautiful red and also an instruction card which details how to create Theodora's face, played by the beautiful Mila Kunis.

Anything magical generally catches my eye, particularly all of these adaptations of childhood fairy tales.
I loved Hansel and Gretel, Alice in Wonderland and Snow White and the Huntsman!

I love the outer packaging for this, the dark and stormy colours with some celestial clouds look mystical and take me back to my childhood, who doesn't want to be a princess??
I love even more that theres a goody and baddy, a palette for all your moods and possible eye make up creations!

As for inside the palette:

There are a range of nude single colours and then two separate duo colours containing and black and a gold, and two varying sage green shades.
In the centre is also one of their 24/7 black pencil eyeliners which was a surprise for me as I only knew about the palette and lip pencil initially!

Here are the colours again in natural light. I do love the arrangement but part of me wonders why there isn't a space for the pencil too. It would be so much easier if you could carry them all together in one case and know that you have a look sorted if necessary.

You can see the palette and the corresponding names on the back of the original box in the above photo.

Names like Beware and Bewitch always make me want them more, they sound much more mysterious don't you think??

Having tried 'lip sticks' like the Revlon Just Bitten lip stains I was dubious about the pencil type lip stick but it actually is just that; lipstick in the shape of a pencil.

It's so soft and glides right onto lips with great colour pay off, it's really soft and moisturising too and I can see me getting a lot of wear from it.

You can see the colour when applied to my lips in the photo below. It's a great 'true' red and will suit all skin tones. You can easily draw the colour on using the pencil and the lipstick isn't hard on your skin at all like others are.

In fact the only issue I can find with this lip product is that it may even be too soft, as the pencil has in fact gone flat after a few uses and I'm a bit stumped as to how to get it back again. Sure, i could sharpen it.....but I'd have to buy a new one to accommodate its larger size and then I'm not sure it would sharpen well as it's so soft?! Dilemma!

So here are a few photos I've taken with my make up done using the Theodora palette on various occasions.
I've used the Super Saturated High Gloss Lip Color Theodora lipstick both times for the sake of continuity and all the eye shadows are from the Theodora palette!

The above three were completed using the duo eyeshadow called Jealous, along with Broken as a base and inner eye shade and West for the outer corner and crease.

The three pictures below all show the look created with Broken again as a base and inner eye colour, Beware and Bewitch as the main shades and West again in the crease:

I love how they're both so wearable and the red lip colour makes my teeth so white!

This is a great palette for those just starting out as the nudes and browns can be worn by anyone and the black/gold and green duo shadows are great ones to experiment with. They're staple colours in anyones make up wardrobe and i order you to buy this!

For £35 you get 6 shadows (8 really!), an eyeliner and a lip color making each item a bargainous £3.50.
They're also limited edition so don't miss out on these!

Which Urban Decay palette is your favourite?? Glinda will be coming up in a review soon!

L xxx

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Real Techniques: 3 for 2!

2013-05-02T08:00:00.000+01:00

I am super excited to share some personal news with you all....
Over the past 2/3 years I've been hunting for a job related to my degrees and have applied for around 300 in total which is quite peachy really (rage)
I am so unbelievably happy though because out of the blue I have finally got myself the most amazing job, its pretty decent pay and will give me all of the experience that I'm looking for to move forward for the future.

If I'm with them for a while they are also willing to pay for me to do a PhD which is almost unheard of in this current climate!
So I fully plan on celebrating this weekend with a few drinks, starting with Thursday night with M woop!

Anyway....back to the review :)

As always when a 3 for 2 deal is on in Boots I cannot resist picking up some new RT brushes as I'm sure most of you would do the same.

I have had my eye on the eye make up brush set for a while but haven't got round to getting it as I want to get the most of my money and can never find something that is the same value.

So to make up for this I picked up a shading brush, setting brush (one of M's favourites) and foundation brush.
No matter how many eye and face brushes I pick up I never seem to have enough!

I love that these brushes are colour coded depending on their function, it makes them so much easier to find in my fairly large make up bag, especially at 6.30am!

I tend to grab as many of the brushes as I can in the morning and attempt to lay them out in some sort of colour order and then i can see what I have to work with as I normally do it in 10 minutes so speed is key!

The shading brush is definitely a worthy purchase, I am always running low on eye brushes due to the fact I use so many different colour throughout the week and don't wash them until the weekends. This means that any light colours are normally overshadowed by the darker ones and as I have my favourite brushes don't rotate them anywhere near as much as I should!

The shading brush fits perfectly on my eye lid to cover it, fill in the crease and highlight at the inside of the eye. For evening looks it can be used to apply colour underneath too but I find this too heavy for day time normally.
It's super easy to use and a pleasure to paint my face on with, it makes blending easy and I'd quite happily buy a couple more of these!

The setting brush was suggested to me by M who absolutely raves about it. To be honest, initially I didn't see how it was much different from the contour brush which I already owned but now i can see how wrong I was!
This brush is so fluffy and soft and makes applying powder around your eyes and nose (particularly to set concealer) very easy and precise so it ensures your base stays on in all the right places.
I wouldn't say this brush was a necessity....purely because if you're patient enough you can use other brushes but to complete a collection it definitely has it's place and for the make up obsessed I'd get your hands on it!

Lastly the foundation brush was initially a massive disappointment.
I'd bought it to add to my collection of face brushes which as we all know get used up pretty fast and its such a chore to clean them regularly!

I had high hopes as I love the expert face and buffing brush.

Unfortunately this happened....

We all know that one of the best factors about Real Techniques brushes is the fact that they don't malt.One of my pet hates is applying my make up and having bits of hair all over my face from brushes.

They're annoying and almost always take forever to pick off your face and most often take off some make up too, so I was gutted when the hairs came out of the brush in clumps.

However after tweeting a picture of this to the Real Techniques account I was told to fill out their online form with details and the photo and within days a replacement had been sent to me.

I couldn't believe the outstanding customer service that they provided and not only did they replace the brush super fast, they emailed to let me know every step of the way and included a free kabuki brush as a way of an apology:

I couldn't believe how generous they were and although I sing their praises quite a bit, now they are so high up in my estimations that its going to take quite a lot to top them!!

I've been using the kabuki brush the past week or so and will do a separate post on this to do it justice!

What do you think of Real Techniques brushes? Which are your favourite?

Have you received some amazing customer service recently??

Gold stars all around for RT!!!

L xxx

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OOTD Dogtooth Work Dress

2013-05-01T07:00:00.000+01:00

Hey all it's hump day!! I have an exam tomorrow so I'm not all that happy to be half way through the week!!

Here is my second OOTD post. This is a work outfit. I'm very lucky in the fact I can wear what I like to work within reason.

I'm trying not to overly wash my hair still. It seems in much better condition if I let it go three days. This does mean if I haven't gone swimming by the third day I tend to put it up. For that you can't beat a bun ring (I've done a tutorial on that here) I like to accessorise mine with Dainty Rose Glitter Bows (you can pick them up here) I've mentioned Dainty Roses lots on this blog. I have bought a lot from Lisa.

On my lips I decided to wear Mac Angel. (review here). I've forgot about it a lot lately and want to start wearing it more again.

I love loading up bangles. L is much better at arranging them than me. They are so easy to wear and I like to load up on jewellery if I have a simple dress.

Rings are definitely my thing when it comes to jewellery. I have loads. I rarely leave the house without them. I love this one. It does tend to hurt my finger a bit after a while though. It looks go so it's worth it. A quick search on eBay found these which are similar. Two stacked up would give the effect.

I love these. I've wanted leopard print pumps for a while. I picked them up from Tesco last summer. They could do with replacing so I'm eyeing up these. I'm loving the bow on these.

I love to add a pop of colour to plain outfits and this two toned green double wrap belt is perfect for that. It adds shape too. I picked this up from ASOS a while a go. You can get a green skinny belt here for £5. It looks a similar colour.

The dress is form next and a favourite work dress of mine. I love the cowl neckline which makes it suitable for work. It's a great length too and I can ware it bare legged in summer. I also go to Next the day after the sale starts and stock up on work dresses. They tend to have a few I like and have great prints.

They also fit great. I've mentioned a few times my curvy bottom half. It can make dress shopping hard, my waist is an 8 and my hips can be upto a 12. I find next dresses generally fit in an 8 and are more roomy on the bottom half.

Where do you go for work wear? Can you wear what you like?

Love M

xxx

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Swansea Benefit Boutique

2013-04-30T21:26:00.000+01:00

Last week I was Lucky enough to be invited to the opening of the Benefit Boutique in Swansea. Swansea Debenhams is the counter that sells the most products beating even Oxford Street so the opening of the Boutique came.

I was so excited to go. I've been lucky enough to meet some of the Benefit ladies before so couldn't wait to head down. The Boutique is situated within the Swansea Debenhams. On arrival we were greeted by Alyson and Joanne. We went through to the last room in the boutique. Everything is decorated all girly and pink. It's so cute all the way through and the attention to detail is great.

When we entered the make up room all the attention to detail was clear. The chairs had the Benefit ladies heads printed on, the walls had information about the founders (Jean and Jane) and the back wall had a great selection of Benefit Make up. There were even pink glittery welsh cakes!! YUM

The room can be hired out for 10pp for things like hen dos, birthday's or even girly catch ups. You then get the £10 redeemable against purchases so it's technically free and one of the great Swansea Benebabes will come and demonstrate the products and make up.

While there we got a tour of the waxing room and tanning room. The boutique offers two different types of waxing, the hot wax and the strip wax. Hot wax (the amazing blue coloured one, being demonstrated on Jenny from The Pulse Of Fashion, I'm in love with her trousers!!!) is used on the bikini and the strip wax everywhere else. Hot wax is more expensive but it's better for the bikini area. I loved the waxing area and was so impressed with Julie (expert waxer!!) that I've booked to go down in a few weeks.

They also offer spray tans using fake bake! This is in my top 3 fake tans. I love a good spray tan especially for nights out.

We were also shown the new colour collection and allowed to play with it. There are some great colour lip glosses, hello an amazing coral one and new creaseless creams and eye shadows. The eyeshadows are £15.50 and are absolutely huge and the lip glosses are £14.50 and not sticky! The packaging for these are so cute!!

The colour range is so stunning with neutral colours and a few pastels thrown in. I'm loving always a bridesmaid ( a stunning lilac creaseless cream) and kiss me I'm tipsy (a beautiful brown longwear powder shadow). I will definitely be hinting for some of these for my birthday.

We were also hinted at some of the new sets coming out. I will definitely be purchasing some of these I'm sure. I'm absolutely loving Benefit make up lately.

As we left we were lucky enough to be given Porefessional, BrowZings and They're Real. Thanks so much to the ladies, as L couldn't join me at the event and I know she is lusting after BrowZings and They're Real and I have both I donated those to her. I personally now love Porefessional but only find it works with certain foundations and due to how thick it is I try not to wear it too much.

Thanks so much for showing us round Alyson and Joanne. Hopefully see you soon.

Also Temptation Telephone ends tomorrow. Who else is dying to know what it is the ladies were sworn to secrecy and couldn't tell us anything.

And a quick FOTD from the Event. I'm wearing Mac Prolong Wear NW20 (review), Benefit Porefessional, Benefit Erase Paste (review), Naked 2 (foxy and tease), Benefit BrowZings (review), Collection Liqid Liner, Lancome Hypnose Doll Lashes, Benefit Dandelion Blush (review), Liz Earle Healthy Glow (review) and Avon Perfect Kiss Lipstick Racy Red (review).

Love M

xxx

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New Challenge: Project 10 Pan

2013-04-29T07:00:00.000+01:00

After the success of the spending ban and finally starting to see my stash reduce every so slightly (more skin care products as you'll see in my empties post coming up soon) I've decided to something that will help reduce my make up collection more.

I tend to love a product use it loads then save the last of it for 'special' occasions, this leaves me with loads of half used products.

Project 10 Pan is an idea I saw on YouTube sometime last year. Sorry if it was your video I can't remember who's it was. I'm sure lots of bloggers have done it previously.

Basically the rules are simple. Use up 10 products completely before you can buy more!!

For me there will be no excuses. I have plenty of stuff and if I run out of something I have enough other stuff in my collection that I can find an alternative for it.

I will do a mid point update when I've used up 5 things and a hopefully a post to say I've completed it.

With this for me there will be no cheating. No buying make up because I have points or vouchers, no Avon (my mum is a rep and gets me lots that way, she spoils me). No nothing. I'm really hoping I complete it by my Birthday.

I'll be starting this on May 1st. Let me know if you fancy joining me and I'll add you're blog links to the bottom of this post :).

Hopefully this will be successful and I'll actually get through some of my products.

Maybe I'll end up with all different everyday products in here!

Love M

xxx

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Credit Card Chaos

2013-04-27T09:30:00.000+01:00

Morning Ladies!

How are you all liking my title up there??

It was my sneaky attempt at trying to do a spending ban without saying the words as they set my alarm bells ringing...

My last attempt at a ban ended with me whacking the credit card out in Cosmetics Company Outlet and purchasing a range of Origins, Ojon, Smashbox and Mac products in a beauty product frenzy.

I have since not stopped for breath and have bought a vast array of products including Urban Decay palettes, Laura Mercier products, Nail varnishes, Clothes, brushes, Mac palettes and let's not forget shoes and bags.

In truth, I need to stop my spending and start trying to pay off my credit card bill (with this month's pay!) and save to pay off my overdraft.

I know some of you will probably be a little horrified that at 25 I'm still in my overdraft, living at home, using a credit card etc etc.

Bear with me here. I recently finished a Masters (in December) and have only just started having monthly pay cheques again so the first few were a bit of a novelty and helped pay for Christmas.....basically I blew them.

But that's ok. Now I need to get my ass into gear and pay off the overdraft that helped me live for 2 years of my course which will probably take me some time. I've paid a quarter off so far but I can do better than this.

Primarily I will need to stop using my credit card. This has already gone to my mum for fear of another frenzy working its way into my life.

I officially stopped spending last Monday (15th) but am trying not to think about it and so haven't mentioned it yet.

My plan was to go cold turkey for a month without any spending and then allow myself to buy things after that on a necessary basis.

This will not include any form of beauty products however, they are blanket banned for the immediate future due to the severe lack of space in my bedroom.

I might take pictures for an update of the Beauty Rehab posts but lets just put it this way, 4 drawers, a cupboard, half a wardrobe and 2 suitcases of products later and there ain't much room to spare let me tell you!

So the rules of the ban:

1) No spending for a month

2) After the month is up I can buy clothing and similar items but absolutely no products

3) No beauty products AT ALL

4) Outings including food and drink do not count as otherwise I'd be quite a sad little hermit (I rarely go out so this will not be an issue for overspending)

5) If there comes a time when my resolves is low, it's ok for me to spend my hard earned Debenhams and Boots points, but no more than the amount on each card. This will also incur some sort of penalty, another month maybe? Eeeeek.

With that in mind I also bring you my first wishlist:

1) Mac eyeshadows to bulk out my new palette (post soon!) including Cranberry and some nudes

2) Antipodes Manuka Face Mask - so many rave reviews, so annoyed I didn't get this before the ban

3) Some other form of trainer - Converse or Supras or Nikes, I want you, I need you.

We will see how this grows and changes over the next few weeks.

How did your spenidng bans go? Do you have any tips or hints for helping me not spend for a month?

I think I can do it....it's just bargains that I can't resist!

L xxx

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