Pretty Wonderful

February Empties

2012-03-03T16:33:00.000Z

Hey everyone, hope you're all ok! First off, apologies for my lack of posts lately, my life's been pretty hectic, so took a mini break from blogging to get some stuff done. Anyway, I'm back now and I thought I would start doing these 'monthly empites' posts to show you all what beauty products I've used that month and what I thought of them. I personally really like reading these posts and think it's a good way to still talk about beauty products I've tried out and still share my opinion on them, but without necessarily doing an in depth review of said product/s.

LEFT TO RIGHT: TRESemme Heat Defence Styling Spray, Simple Kind To Eyes Eye Make-up Remover, Davine's Authentic Cleansing Nectar, The Body Shop Nutriganics Refreshing Toner, Johnson's Replenishing Night Cream, Superdrug Tea Tree Spot Stick

TRESemme Heat Defence Styling Spray - I've had this for ages and have always loved it - I'm pretty sure this isn't my first bottle actually. I like the way it dispenses kind of like a mist, as oppose to a direct spray like a water gun like the not-so-good one I'm currently using does :/. It smells nice and from what I can remember, it left my hair nice and soft :) I think I'll try the Got2b Guardian Angel one next though, just because I've heard a ton of great things about it.

Simple Eye Makeup Remover - I've gone through a good few bottles of this and really like it. It's one of the only products I've found that removes my heavy duty waterproof mascara well, without being super oily. I've just bought a Botanics eye makeup remover which I am hoping will be just as good, if not better, as although I do like this Simple one, I still want to see if I find anything better.

Davine's Authentic Cleansing Nectar - I got this in my January Glossybox, so it may be quite familiar to some of you. It took me longer than expected to use this all up, so I think a little does go quite a long way and it lathers up nicely. Although you can also use this as a body wash, I opted to only use it as a shampoo. I can't remember why, I think the scent may have been more suited to a shampoo? I did like this, it left my hair nice and soft as well as squeaky clean, but I didn't love it, so I don't think I will be repurchasing.

The Body Shop Nutriganics RefreshingToner - This was one of my January Favourites, so if you read that, you'll already know I love this. Unlike most toners, it doesn't dry my already dry skin out further and instead actually leaves it feeling slightly moisturised. It did the job well of removing excess dirt/makeup/cleanser, closed my pores and left my skin very 'fresh'. This was only a sample size as part of set, but I definitely think I shall be buying the full size.

Johnson's Replenishing Night Cream - I really liked this night cream, it felt very light and fresh on the skin, yet it was still very moisturising. I found it sunk in very quickly, so it didn't all wipe off all over my pillow. the morning after using this, my skin felt very soft and hydrated, but not so much so that it ended up shiny-looking and/or greasy. I may repurchase, unless another night cream catches my eye.

Superdrug Tea Tree Spot Stick - I got this as part of 3 for 2 offer on Superdrug own make products and quite liked it. I've heard a lot of good things about tea tree, so thought this would be great to combat my blemishes. From what I can remember, it did calm my spots quite a bit, but not as much as other spot treatments have. I'm a bit 50/50 about this at the moment.

So that's it for my February empties! I'm also doing a 'project pan' at the moment, where I use up a bunch of beauty products before buying more, so hopefully these posts will be up at the end of each month, then maybe a giant haul if all goes well! haha.

What have you used up this month?

February 2012 UK Glossybox

2012-02-24T13:48:00.001Z

Hi Everyone! Monday morning I recieved my Glossybox for February and thought I'd show you all what I got in mine;

The Box

TOP LEFT: The Glossybox closed. BOTTOM LEFT: The lid removed, revealing some cards. RIGHT: The cards took out and the tissue paper unwrapped to reveal this months products.

As you can see, this months box is back to normal, no limited edition this month, with the usual pale pink colour scheme. The first little card I received was basically saying to visit glossybox.co.uk/mysterybox from the 24th Feb for something to do with a mystery box. I had a brief look this morning and it's something to do with Facebook and publishing 'clues' on the Glossybox wall. All my excitement for this mystery box vanished then, as I don't use facebook for blog related stuff, I only have my own personal one, which I barely ever use anyway. The other card was the standard one telling you information about the products in the box and the final giant card was info on London Fashion Weekend.

DuWop Venom Gloss in 'Buttercup'

TOP LEFT: The lipgloss packaging. BOTTOM LEFT: The lipgloss lid removed, showing the applicator end. TOP RIGHT: A close up of the shade label on the back. BOTTOM RIGHT: A swatch of the lipgloss on the back of my hand

'Combining subtle tinted lip gloss with DuWop's Lip Venom to create Venom Gloss'

Size/Weight - 0.17 fl. oz/5ml

Retail Price - £16/10.4ml

This is a really pretty gloss that smells amazing. The sweet scent reminds me of some Lush product, but for the life of me, I cannot remember which. I like the 'light shimmery champagne' shade I received, it's very 'safe' and I beleive it would be universally pretty on all skin tones. I also like the non-sticky texture of the gloss that doesn't feel super thick on the lips. I am however, not too keen on the fact that it stings and tingles my lips. I'm just personally not a fan of these 'plumping' lip glosses.

Dr Bronner Magic Liquid Soap

LEFT: The soap bottle. TOP RIGHT: A close up of the soap, with the lid removed. BOTTOM RIGHT: A close up of the label, listing ingredients, the product name, etc.

'A combination of organic extra virgin coconut, olive, jojoba and hemp oils, together with pure essential oils'

Size/Weight - 59ml

Retail Price - £1.99/59ml

I havn't used this yet, so I can't really say much about it. But I will say, that if you are a fan of organic products, then check out Dr Bronner's website, there's a huge range of organic products available. I must admit, I was quite suprised to see that the full size of this was just £1.99, but then realised that it was for this little bottle I received. But, they have a bunch of different size options for their products, ranging from this smallest bottle I recieved to a whopping 1 gallon!

Paul Mitchell Round Trip Liquid Curl Definer

TOP LEFT: The product. BOTTOM LEFT: A close up of the logo. RIGHT: A close up of the product with the lid removed, showing the pump dispenser.

'This liquid curl definer is fast-drying for enhanced curls in an instant..'

Size/Weight - 25ml

Retail Price - £12.95/200ml

I've tried this twice already and so far really like it, in fact, it's probably my favourite product from this months box (along with the next product). I have naturally wavy hair, but not nice, even waves, it's more like a huge head of a giant frizzy mess with random, different size waves and loose curls throughout. So I thought I would give this a go on my natural hair to see if it improved my natural messy waves. I believe it did. They were a lot more defined and the extra loose sections became much more like a nice wave/loose curl. They looked a lot more glossy too as well as being less frizzy and just plain looked a lot nicer. I love the smell if this product and it stays on the hair for quite some time, which I really like. I will definitely be having a look out for more Paul Mitchell products.

BM Beauty Pure Mineral Eyeshadow in 'Dusty Road'

LEFT: The product with the lid on. MIDDLE: The bottom of the eyeshadow, stating the shade and other info. TOP RIGHT: A swatch of the eyeshaodw on the back of my hand. I used no primer for this. BOTTOM RIGHT: The eyeshadow with the lid removed.

'Award winning pure mineral eyeshadow. Cruelty free and suitable for vegetarians and vegans.'

Size/Weight - 1g

Retail Price - £7/2g

I love the shade of this eyeshadow and although it is a very shimmery gold, I definitely think it is wearable for the day time. That may just be me though, as lately I am wearing more more daring looks during the day and at the moment certainly wouldn't mind sporting this shadow for day time. I have never tried a mineral eyeshadow before either, so am keen to see what they are like. From swatching on the back of my hand numerous times, so far it seems incredibly pigmented and nice and light on the skin. I think I will be having a look at more of these BM Beauty eyeshadows to see what other shades they have available.

Como Shambhala Invigorate Body Lotion

LEFT: The product. TOP RIGHT: A close up of the product with the lid removed. BOTTOM RIGHT: A close up of the company's logo

'A revitalising blend of essential oils that puts you in a perfectly uplifted mood.'

Size/Weight - 50ml

Retail Price - £20/300ml

I haven't tried this yet, so I can't really say much about it. It smells quite nice and from just applying some to my arm about ten seconds ago, it feels very light and sinks in incredibly quickly, if not instantly.

So that's everything for this months box. I must admit, I'm a bit disappointed with this months. I think it's because I have only been subscribed since approx November, so the majority of the glossyboxes I've ever received have been limited edition, special boxes; once for xmas and one for Valentines'. I mean, I like the products I received, but don't love them. I will still use them all up (unless something breaks me out) as my opinion could change and I could easily end up loving them all after some use. But I am still excited for next months box and am not so unhappy that I wish to subscribe. I'm just hoping that March's is a tad better.

What did you get in your February Glossybox?

Makeup Tip #27 - Glitter Fallout Rescue!

2012-02-20T16:37:00.000Z

If you have a bunch of fall out from using glitter on your eyes, simply take some tape, wrap it around something like a mascara tube, (ensuring that the sticky side is on the outside, not stuck against the mascara tube) and then roll it over your face where the glitter has fell. This should collect most, if not all, of the fallout, without interfering with your foundation.

I found this tip from pixiwoo, but am not sure which video it was mentioned in.

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

Bared Sphinx NOTD

2012-02-17T16:47:00.000Z

Hey everyone, hope you're all ok. So I thought I would finally paint my nails with a light, shimmery polish for a bit of a change, as I've been favouring darks a lot lately. Plus my nails are in really bad condition at the moment and have all just broke off (they are sooo weak!) so now they are short AGAIN! Ugh! So anyway, I didn't want to over-emphasise this with a striking polish, so settled for a light shimmery shade inside, as I still wanted some colour on my nails after having them clear all week, but nothing too in your face to attract my short 'blah' nails. If that makes sense?

Left: A close up look of my nails. Top Right and Bottom Right: Another two photos of my nails, with the 'Bared' polish bottle.

I used two coats of 17 Supreme Shine 'Bared' on all fingers, except both ring fingers, where I used two coats of 'Sphinx'. I also used the Models Own 3 in 1 Basecoat, Topcoat and Gloss for all of the above. I was originally just going to apply 'Bared' on each finger, but at the last minute decided to spice it up a bit with 'Sphinx', just to make it more interesting. Plus, I'm not allowing myself to buy any more nail polish until I have done a NOTD post with all of my nail polishes, and this way I've showed two in one - sneaky!

Top Left: A closer look at one nail with 'Bared' applied, along with the bottle. Bottom Left: A closer look at one nail with 'Sphinx' applied along with the bottle. Right: Both bottles of polish next to each other, 'Sphinx' on the right and 'Bared' on the left.

I really like the way it turned out, I think it's very pretty. Although, I do kind of wish I applied a third coat of 'Bared', just to make the pink pop a bit more. On a side note too, I really liked the brush of these, it was round at the end, which made it much easier to get a neatly curved line at the cuticle, which I sometimes struggle with when using a square brush. Also, the brush is quite wide, which made painting my nails much quicker, as the brush covered most of the nail in a single stroke.
So overall, I'm really impressed with these 17 Supreme Shine polishes and will definitely keep an eye out for some more.

Have you tried any of the 17 Supreme Shine polishes before? If so, what did you think of them?

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

My Recent Buys

2012-02-16T15:42:00.001Z

Hi everyone! I know you're all probably sick to death of seeing hauls on here, and to be honest, so am I. I wanted to not show a single haul for a while and then do a collective one. Something else I'm also doing is simply not buying any more beauty products, unless it's something I need, such as shampoo. BUT, my parents switched gas companys recently and as a thank you from the company, we received a bunch of vouchers that can be used almost anywhere; Wilkinsons, Boots, Superdrug, HMV, House of Fraser, Clintons, Debenhams, River Island, etc, etc and my parents gave me a couple to spend as I wish. Here's all the things I ended up getting, technically for free!

**For more information of things mentioned,. please read the image captions**

First stop was Superdrug, obviously!, where I finally got a hold of a few MUA lip products I've been wanted for a while, but were always out of stock;

Left: Swatches of MUA Lipsticks in 'Juicy' (left), 'Nectar' (middle) and MUA's Out There Plumping Lipgloss in 'Nude' (right). Top right: A closer look at 'Juicy', 'Nectar' and 'Nude'. Bottom right: All the products in the packaging.

I LOVE 'Juicy' so much! It's a stunning light pink shade that I can easily see replacing my current favourite lipstick, Bourjois Lipstick in 'Essential Rose' (pic here). Both of the lipsticks feel very creamy on the lips and thus, very moisturising, whilst still being nicely pigmented. So far, I've found they wear off nicely too. The 'Nude' Out There Plumping Lip Gloss really wasn't something I was interested in at first, but after trying 'Peach Shimmer' (pic & swatch here) and been incredibly impressed with that, I had to try another one. I settled on 'Nude', as it really is the perfect nude shade. Paired with the right lip liner & lipstick combo, this lipgloss can easily finish a perfect nude pout. I'm also blown away by how pigmented these Out There glosses are - they could easily pass as a lipstick. The staying power of these, so far I've found, is pretty impressive for a lip gloss. As for the 'plumping' side of things, well I really don't care whether it's plumping or not, I just love the shade, pigmentation and overall quality of these. The lipsticks were £1 each and the lipgloss was £2

That's all I really wanted from MUA, but because the vouchers will only give back a maximum amount of £1 change from a £10 voucher, I got some more things, just so I didn't waste money;

Top Left: MUA single eyeshadows in 'Shade 27', 'Shade 30' and 'Shade 28'. Bottom Left: The same shadows, in the same order, just with the lid open. Top Right: A very quick, random eye look I did using only these eyeshadows. It was very rushed, unplanned and I had no other makeup on, not even mascara, so it looks a bit weird, but I still wanted to show how these look actually on the lid. Bottom Right: Swatches of the same shadows, in the same order.

I have every single eyeshadow from the original MUA eyeshadow line, but am yet to purchase any of the new shades, so thought I would take this opportunity to do so. The shades I chose were 'Shade 27', 'Shade 30' and 'Shade 28', all of which are 'Pearl' finishes. I really like these very wearable shades, and just like the previous shadows from MUA that I've tried, they are super pigented and basically amazing quality for such a cheap price. I think I will get some more once I've done my whole 'no beauty buying' for a while. Each eyeshadow was £1

I also got another free 3 in 1 Extreme Contour Eyeliner, because I bought any MUA product, and the shade I chose was 'Smoked Plum';

Top Left: The eyeliner, with the lid removed. Bottom Left: The Top of the packaging, with the shadde clearly stated. Top Right: A silly swatch of this. I got a bit carried away. Bottom Right: The eyeliner lying next to the packaging.

I quite like these eyeliners, but don't love them. I haven't used them much yet to say my final opinion of them, but so far I think they are just ok. They just aren't pigmented enough in my opinion, the above swatch took a good few layers to get the colour that opaque, and even that is still pretty sheer. I also used this in that quick 'eye of the day' thing in the above image, I had it along my upper and lower lash line. This eyeliner retails at £1.50 (I think, may be £2.50), but I got it for free with any MUA purchase.

Finally from MUA, I thought I would try one of their Nail Quakes;

Left: A quick tester of the crackle polish over different coloured nail polish. Please excuse the mess of it, I was just testing it, so didn't bother making it look perfect or even to clean up afterwards. Top Right: The bottle of polish - MUA Nail Quake in 'Jailbreak'. Bottom Right: Another image of me testing the polish.

Ive never really been into the whole crackle thing, but just to use up a final £3 of my voucher, I thought I'd give a black one a go, as the only other I have is a white one, and I've always thought black crackle looked the best. I must admit, that after using this, I like the whole crackle trend a bit more. Still don't love it, just like it a bit better. I will be doing a proper NOTD post with this very soon though. This was £2.99

I used another one of my vouchers on Garnier's BB Cream in Wilkinsons;

Left: Garnier BB Cream in 'Light' both blended (bottom) and unblended (top). Right: Garnier BB Cream in 'Light', lying next to the packaging.

I wasn't really interested in this BB cream at first, back when there was all the hype over it, but a girl in my college class made me change my mind. You know when you see someone, and your like 'wow their skin looks flawless/that lip colour is stunning/her eyelashes are sooo long/!!', but you don't say anything to them because you don't know them that well? Well that was what happened to me. For a few weeks I couldn't help but notice how flawless her skin looked, and I was about to finally ask her what her big secret to prefect looking skin was, but then overheard her tell someone else anyway, so just went ahead and bought what it was - Garnier's BB cream. I've used it a few times and so far I really like this, although it is very dewy, even on my super dry and dehydrated skin. So if you have oily skin, I would keep that in mind and maybe steer clear of this. I haven't used it long enough, or that much at all in fact, to notice any improvements in my skin, but time will tell. This cream was £9.25

From Boots, I picked up some shakes and soups by Tony Ferguson and some face masks from Wilkinsons;

Top Left: Tony Ferguson 'Wildberry' (left) and 'Strawberry' (right) shakes. Bottom Left: Tony Ferguson 'Tomato' (left), 'Mixed Vegetable' (middle) and 'Chicken' (right) flavoured soups. Top Right: 'Fudge Sauna' (left) and 'Chocolate Masque' (right) face masks. Bottom Right: 'Fruit Smoothie' (left), 'Blemish Mud' (middle) and 'Green Tea Peel-Off' (right) face masks.

I'm not normally a fan of these weight loss shakes that you use to replace meals, just from past experiences. Most I've tried are just full of sugar and other rubbish, which defeats the purpose entirely. Either that or they taste vile. So I would rather just make my own, pure fruit and/or veg smoothies instead. That way, I know what's in them and whatnot. But, from looking at the back of these ones, I saw that these are loaded with a ton of different healthy vitamins and such, so my mam and I thought we would give them a go. We decided to try 2 shakes and 3 soups, rather than jump straight into buying the giant £40 starter pack. We are yet to try them, but I'll let you know if they are good. I also picked up 5 different face masks, which I love! I've used these for what seems like forever and each one I've tried has been incredible. 'Fudge Sauna' is one in particular that I remember being very fond of. I used the chocolate one the other day and LOVED it! It smelt so yummy, I was very tempter to lick my face. I loved how thick and mud-like it was too. I will definitely be repurchasing this one. Each of the Tony Ferguson sachets were £2 (I think) and the face masks were £1 each.

And finally, yesterday at the Metro Centre, I got the Naked 2 palette by Urban Decay;

Like many others, I was super excited about the launch of the Naked 2 palette by Urban Decay, after being so impressed with the first one. But although I was keen to know more about it, I decided to not even bother trying to get my hands on one, and instead wait until my original Naked palette had completely ran out. But, my mam kindly offered to give me the last £30 worth of those vouchers to go treat myself, seen as though most of the vouchers had gone on cat food and the fact that I couldn't afford to treat myself to anything nice like this. I originally planned on getting something from MAC, but was shocked to find that I didn't see anything I wanted from the MAC counter, so instead decided to get this. So I only paid £6 real money for this technically. How awesome is that?! Anyway, I am going to be doing a 'Naked 2 First Impressions' post, so I'll not bother with swatches and whatnot just yet, besides, I'm sure you've all seen them already!

So that's all for now, I promise no more hauls for a while now!

Have you tried any of these products? If so, what did you think of them?

Michel Mercier Detangling Brush Review

2012-02-11T15:39:00.002Z

Hi everyone, hope you're all ok! So today is yet another way over due post. I've really slacked with my 'to post' lists lately. You may remember me sharing with you all my giveaway win from Miss Holly back in November (post on that here). Well part of that giveaway was the Michel Mercier Detangling Brush, which Holly received a couple of from the company for her to review on her own blog (check out Holly's review here) and she gave some to her family, from what I can remember, and the other to me as part of my giveaway goodies, so I too could review it on my blog. I wanted to get this done asap, but still wanted to use it a lot before writing up my review, just to be fair. But then I lost it for like a month, then found it again, then forgot about the review, then lost it yet again, and so on. So now I do have it on me, and have for some time now, and have actually remembered about the review, I thought I bet this done now before I either forget or lose it again;

First off, I think it would be best if you knew a bit about my hair, after all this is a review on a hair product. So if you wish, you can read my haircare routine here, where I explain such in detail. But in short, it's incredibly thick, gets tangled very easily, is a frizzy mess and is naturally wavy-ish (but not nice waves, more like random 'blah' curls and waves). And if I don't keep up regular maintenance, you may as well say I have an afro. So now on with the review;

What is it?

The Michel Mercier Detangle You Day Brush is basically a detangling brush. It is used to help brush through knots and tangles in the hair with greater comfort, ease and far less (or none at all) pain. The difference between this brush and a regular brush is the different heights/levels of the combs on the brush head. An average hairbrush with have all the bristles/combs at just about the same height/length, whereas this detangling brush's combs/bristles are at varied heights (picture below)

Top Left: A close up of the brush head. Bottom Left: The entire brush. Top Right: The back of the entire brush. Bottom Right: A close up of the back of the brush head.

A close up of the different tooth levels. Please excuse the fact that mine is a bit dirty and wet, I had just rinsed it.

What the Michel Mercier official website has to say;

Image from www.michelmercier.co.uk

'As any woman (or man) will know, it only takes a gust of wind, a brief shower or a session at the gym to turn brushing hair into an ordeal. Tugs follow painful pulls, hair falls, and ends split. It really is no wonder that children flee at the mere sight of a brush!

Internationally acclaimed hair stylist Michel Mercier was first struck by these problems whilst brushing the hair of his 12 year old daughter who, like many other girls, would show visible discomfort during the process. Aware that this discomfort was not confined children alone, Michel set about creating a brush that would make daily brushing a more pleasant experience and less damaging to hair.

So What’s the secret?

After years of research into the brushing process, the innovative Michel Mercier brush was born. An exclusive patent involving 428 bristles positioned at different heights with a unique geometric distribution, the brush helps to disperse the pressure placed on the hair during brushing, resulting in easier detangling, reduced hair loss and breakage, and a far more pleasant brushing experience overall.

The brush is available in three color-coded models to suit different hair types: fine, normal and thick, so no matter what your type, thanks to this revolutionary brush everyone everywhere can ‘untangle their day’ with the Michel Mercier detangling hairbrush.

For those who know the pain of brushing, look no further. The Michel Mercier Brush works perfectly with all hair types, from dry colour damaged hair to thick European, Afro and Asian hair textures. Gone are the days of tugging until the brush handle breaks, it glides smoothly through wet or dry hair, curly or straight, and is even gentle enough to tackle hair extensions and real or synthetic wigs'

My Thoughts

I must admit, that sometimes my hair is so bad if I have been out all day in the wind or similar, that I can easily be left almost in tears when trying to battle the knots and tangles with my ordinary paddle brush. I also have memories from when I was younger of my mam trying to do the same with my hair, when I didn't have layers, so was much, much thicker. So I was eager to see how this brush worked with my unruly hair and if it got the job done, painlessly.

Thankfully it did, I was and still am incredibly pleased with the results it leaves my hair. I can now brush my hair painlessly, with much less effort than before. I have found that it does not rip any hairs out of my head like previous brushes I've used and also thanks to the design, the handle hasn't snapped off either. Another huge bonus I have found, which is also something Holly pointed out, is that my hair is much less frizzy than it normally is.

Furthermore, I also love that this brush comes in different styles and colours to suit different hairtypes - Pink for fine hair, green for normal hair and blue, the one I have, for thick hair.

Packaging

I really like the design, style and whatnot of the actual brush, but for some reason I feel the outer packaging could be a bit better. I mean, it’s fine the way it is, but the makeup junkie in me can't help but judge a product by it's appearance, as this is a pretty big point for me with my beauty products. I found the thin plastic broke and split quite easily.

Apologies for the big flash over the writing and the not-so-great quality, this photo was took when I first got this in poor lighting.

Price

This retails at £14.95. I think this is a reasonable price, as it does exactly what it says on the tin and is very durable - so far mine has not occurred any serious damage from the mass amount of times I've accidentally dropped it down the stairs.

Pros:

- Detangles knots and tangles effortlessly and painlessly

- Much less damage to hair compared to normal hair brushes

- Has a handle to make brushing more comfortable and efficient

- Comes in different types, to suit each hair type

- Nice design

- Very durable and sturdy
- Reasonably priced

Cons:

- Cannot use with heat (this isn't really a con for me personally, but for those who like to brush their hair whilst drying to style, this could be a con for you)

Conclusion

Overall, I really like this brush. I love how it gets the job done of untangling my hair with minor effort and no pain, I love the design/style, I love how durable it is, I like the fact it comes in different types to suit all hair types, I love that it leaves my hair much less frizzy, I love that it doesn't pull out lots of hairs like my old hair brushes do and I just simple feel better knowing that I'm not damaging my hair anywhere near as much when using this, compared to normal brushes.

Recommend? & Rating

I would definitely recommend this to others, especially if, like me, have very thick, unruly, knotty hair.

I rate this 9.5/10

Related Links

You can read up more about this brush from the Michel Mercier website here.

P.S. Another huge thanks to Holly for including this in with the other giveaway prizes, I love it and both me and my hair thank you so much for this! haha. Also, so sorry it took me so long to get the review of this up.

Have you ever tried this brush? If so, what did you think of it?

Quick Update - Under Construction

2012-02-09T19:57:00.002Z

Hi everyone, this is just a super quick post to let you know that I am hoping to make some big, big changes to my blog, so it will probably be all over the place and a complete mess for the next god knows how long. Hopefully I will have it all sorted soon, but I seriously doubt it :( The reason I'm changing things around is basically because I'm a tad bored of my current design and wish to kind of update it, so it's more interesting/pretty/fun/professional and a bit more 'me'. Some of the things I'm going to be changing are; colour scheme, fonts, layout, the way I show my photos, etc. Also, I hope to at some point find a way to do the following; a logo, new fancy header, a newsletter, custom url, signature etc. And I'm also going to be adding new series for posts and/or videos, as well as a new blog feature that will involve my readers interaction. I kind of know what I want my blog to be like, it's just finding a way to actually do the more 'advanced' things that is my biggest challenge, as I'm really bad at blog technical stuff! haha. So, I also have a question for you all;

How do you make your own blog headers?

I swear I can't create a good one myself for the life of me. Mine is currently just a powerpoint font! haha. So any help/advice or a name of the programme or anything you use would be very much appreciated :)

Again, hopefully everything will be sorted soon, but until then please bear with me.

Alice x

January 2012 Favourites (Plus Some From December)

2012-02-06T14:48:00.000Z

Hi everyone! I know I'm a bit late with this post (when am I not though?!), but I have basically been dragging it out until I got my video for this sorted. But just like I did with my Christmas and Birthday Haul, it was just too long and had too much going on in it. For example, background noise. So, I thought I would just do the blog post on this now as I don't want to leave it any longer, and if the video does go well, hopefully tomorrow, then I will upload that then.

Anyway, here's all of my favourites from January, as well as a few from December, as I didn't do a monthly favourites for December;

I'll start with skincare;

Snow Fairy Shower Gel - I'm sure you've all either heard/seen a ton online about this, so I'll not bang on about it too much. In short, I love the smell, the colour, the packaging, the feeling it leaves my skin when I use it as a body wash, the feeling it leaves my hair when I use it as a shampoo, etc. It is just amazing.

The Body Shop Nutriganics Facial Wash - I got this facial wash in set a set along with the toner, a day cream and night cream. They are all mini sizes, but still pretty good sizes in my opinion, and came in a nice little bag all for just £13 (click here to see the set). I wasn't too keen on the day cream and night cream, but I love the facial wash! It pumps out into a light foam, but once you start rubbing it in, it turns into a lovely luxurious feeling cream, that feels great on the skin. It's not overly fragranced, doesn't dry my skin out or irritate it in any way, and it does the job well of removing makeup and dirt. I love how my skin feels and looks after using it, and my face has never felt so clean from a facial wash, like it does with this one. I highly recommend this.

The Body Shop Nutriganics Toner - Another product from the set I've just talked about. I have to be careful with toners, as with me having dry skin, a strong or harsh toner can easily just dry my skin out further. That's the main reason why this is a favourite, because it leaves my skin feeling somewhat moisturised, soft and smooth. Just like the facial wash, it doesn't irritate and isn't overly fragranced. It feels lovely and light on the skin and removes excess cleanser or any makeup/dirt I may have missed from washing very well.

Superdrug Tea Tree Cleansing Pads - I got these basically because, and you're going to think I'm a right scruff when I say this, but with the bathroom getting refurbished about 2 weeks ago now, and for almost the full week from approx 8-5 they would be there working. So some mornings it was near impossible for me to get in the bathroom, and sometimes the water would be turned off, so I couldn't even wash my face and whatnot in the downstairs sink. Most mornings I had to brush my teeth with a bottle of water! So these pads were a lifesaver, so I could still cleanse my skin, but without the use of water. The white pads have a very strong smell of the tea tree and one side is slightly rough, so lightly exfoliates the skins, whereas the other side is more padded and smooth, to sooth the skin after using the rough side. These have really helped out whilst the bathroom was getting done, and I have noticed improvements in my skin - it's not so red, blemishes have gone down dramatically and I'm not breaking out as much anymore and they leave my skin very clean, soft and smooth. Although I am back to normal cleansing with water, I still use these usually at night before bed, as I just love the results I've gotten off them. Furthermore, they are super cheap and I got them on a three for two offer.

Soap & Glory Off Your Face Cleansing Cloths - I got these basically for the same reason as above, the whole bathroom thing. As with me not being able to wash my face some mornings, I also obviously couldn't shower or bath each day either. So I stocked up on these wipes whilst taking advantage of a 3 for 2 offer in Boots, as I knew I would be using a lot of them, just to keep fresh on days I couldn't get in the bathroom. I really love these and am mainly impressed with the fact that it removes all traces of my very stubborn waterproof mascara, that normally either doesn't budge at all, no matter what I use, or if I do find an eye makeup remover that gets rid of it, it takes ages to do so and there will still be quite a bit on my lashes. These wipes however, remove all traces much quicker without irritating my eyes. They remove makeup and dirt very well too, whilst leaving my skin slightly moisturised, soft and supple.

Now onto makeup;

Estee Lauder Double Wear Foundation in 'Ecru' - I got this for Christmas/Birthday and absolutely love it. I think a sample of this was in my last favourites post, so I'll not repeat myself too much. Basically, it has phenomenal coverage yet doesn't feel really thick on the skin or look cakey, stays put for hours and has a lovely dewy finish. It also doesn't dry my skin out at all, which is my worst nightmare for foundations.

Estee Lauder Double Wear Conclear in 'Light' - Another Christmas/Birthday present. I love this basically for the same reasons as I love the foundation; it has amazing coverage, doesn't feel thick, doesn't sink into fine lines around the eyes and stays put.

Bourjois Healty Mix Foundation in '52' - As much as I love my Double Wear Foundation, I eventually decided that it was a bit too much for me personally for the day time. So I went out in search of a foundation that still had great coverage, yet was light on the skin and a bit more natural, and settled on Bourjois Healthy Mix. Thankfully, it ticked all the boxes of what I was looking for and has fantastic coverage, with a flawless, slightly dewy finish, is very light on the skin - in fact so much so that it doesn't even feel like I'm wearing foundation - stays put for quite some time and is easy to work with. This is quickly becoming a new favourite of mine and have decided to use this foundation on days where I'm not going to be out for long and aren't going anywhere important or anything, and I'll use the Estee Lauder one when I know I have a very long day out, or am going on a night out or something. So I love them both, and will be using them for different occasions.

Maybelline Dream Touch Blush in 'Peach' - I've been loving this for months now, so I have no idea why I'm yet to include it in a favourites post. I simply adore the peach coral shade of this, it's my favourite colour in general in fact. It feels really nice and light on the skin, doesn't sink into pores, blends easily and is very buildable, like in the below swatch;

On the top is just one 'layer' of this (about the same amount as is on my finger is the previous image), which is how I normally wear it, so that it looks very natural, because I'm personally not a fan of very heavy blush. On the bottom is the blush built up quite a lot. So you can easily make the colour more intense if you wish. I also got the 'Berry' one of these, so you can click here to see that if you want.

I also thought I would start including a random favourite;

'Brisingr' By Christopher Paolini - This is the third book from the 'Inheritane' cycle, which is basically the Eragon books. Some of you may remember the rubbish film they did on this (trailer here), and well it is nothing at all like the film. The books are actually really good. So the reason I included this one in my favourites post, is because I finished not too long ago and just loved it. It had everything I want in a book, it's well written, has cliff hangers and twists and turns, interesting characters, action, romance, slight comedy here and there, etc. It is just amazing in my opinion, as are the previous two I've read. I'm onto the fourth and final one now, and am thoroughly enjoying that so far too.

Here's the back, in case you want a little read of it;

So that's my favourites for this month, as well as a few from December, hope you enjoyed and apologies for my rambling on again, I try to keep things short, but I just can't help it! lol

What are your favourites from January? And have you read any of the Inheritance cycle?

Alice x

Razzle Dazzle NOTD

2012-02-05T08:16:00.002Z

Hi everyone, hope you're all well! Just a quick Nails of the Day post for now, everything's quite hectic here at home at the moment, plus I'm super stressed out from trying to film my January favourites about five times and each tome failing! It's so frustrating! Anyway, I thought I would finally paint my nails with this Deborah Lippmann 'Razzle Dazzle' nail polish that I got in my December GlossyBox. I have no idea why I didn't use it sooner, as it's a stunning colour and would have been perfect around Christmas;

I used two coats as well as my Models Own 3 in 1 Base Coat, Top Coat and Gloss for all of the above. These photos really don't do this polish any justice, it's is so much nicer and more eye-catching in person. So apologies for that, I was in a rush taking these, as was about to go help with the tea and had to take them in artificial lighting too, with it being late at night.

I really love this shade and am so pleased to have this in my collection. I think I'll have a look out for some more Deborahh Lippmann polishes. 'Happy Birthday' has been a wishlist item of mine for quite some time now.

Are you a fan of Deborah Lippmann's polishes?

Alice x

January 2012 UK GlossyBox

2012-01-30T18:14:00.002Z

Hi everyone, hope you're all doing ok! So I received my January 2012 GlossyBox this morning, so thought I would share with you all what I got in it and my opinions on the products so far. I have also made a video of this, so feel free to watch that too if you want;

So here's the box;

If you are familiar with Glossybox, you may notice that the colour of this month's box is a much brighter pink than it's usual pale pink. Which I must admit, confused me at first...

Then I saw the card say 'Happy Valentine's Day!' and then I clicked on why! haha I'm not all here today! You may also notice in the above image that there is a few other changes for this months box; first of which is the sticker that holds together the tissue paper (which is usually black, not white) is a pink love heart, as oppose to the usual Glossybox logo sticker. And the ribbon around (which I tried my best to make it look as good as it did this morning but failed) is a grey shade, rather than the usual pink (I think).

Once open, I was greeted by all of these products;

You may also have spotted that the crinkly paper stuff inside the box is baby pink this month, instead of the black it normally is.

And for all the products inside;

Murad Hybrids Skin Perfecting Primer - Dewy Finish

'Oil-free primer ignites a radiant glow, powered by light-enhancing minerals.'

Size/Weight - 0.17 fl. oz./5ml

Retail Price - £29/30ml

Here's a closer look;

And a swatch;

I was really surprised that this primer actually had a colour to it, as all the primers I've ever tried have been either a clear gel or a white cream. So this leaves a very sheer coverage.

Here's how it looks on the back of my hand all blended in;

I quite like this so far, and love the fact that it doesn't further dry out my already dry skin, which is what almost every other primer I have ever tried has. I will have to try it a bit more to determine my final verdict though.

Davines Cleansing Nectar

'The authentic Davines formulas for the beauty and delight of every woman.'

Size/Weight - 90ml/3.04 fl.oz

Retail Price - £18.50/280ml

You can use this as both a shampoo and a body wash, but I chose to just try it as a shampoo this morning. It left my hair smooth, soft and much less frizzy than normal.

Davines Moisturizing Balm

'The authentic result of our commitment is a precious line of intelligent products, rich in natural ingredients.'

Size/Weight - 75ml/2.53 fl. oz.

Retail Price - £17.40/150ml

You can use this on your face, body and hair. I love multi-use products like this, but funnily enough don't actually have any =|. So I was keen to finally try one out. I used this on the ends of my hair and extra dry areas of my body, so my arms, elbows and knees. I followed the instructions and applied it to damp skin/hair and left for a few minutes before rinsing it off well. I really like the results it left. My hair feels smooth, super soft and just plain healthy, whereas my skin feel soft, smooth and lovely. I really love this so far, and can see it running out very quickly

Eyeko Skinny Eyeliner in 'Powder Pink'

'Get a handle on your eyeliner for precise definition and intense colour with long-lasting finish.'

Size/Weight - 0.8g

Retail Price - £9.50 per pencil

I really quite like this, the shade is very different from all my other eyeliners, which are all mainly black and it is quite creamy. Which is great for me, as I hate dry eyeliners with a passion!

Here it is out of the packaging;

And a swatch;

FAB Gentle Body Wash

'A moisturizing, irritant-free everyday cleanser ideal for even the most sensitive skin.'

Size/Weight - 2.0 oz/56.7g

Retail Price - £13/226.8g

I used this instead of my normal body wash this morning and am really pleased with it so far. Again, it left my skin soft, smooth, supple and feeling very refreshed and squeaky clean. Although I do not have sensitive skin, my legs sometimes do feel a tad sensitive and I used this on my legs this morning, and thankfully it caused no further irritation.

And a nice little surprise I found in the box;

A sweet! I thought this was just too cute. I love little extras like this in products, it just makes me feel that the company actually cares about it's customers and shows it by little surprises and bonuses every now and then.

So that's everything! Hope you enjoyed and if you have a video/blog post on your Glossybox for this month, then feel free to leave a link in the comments. I'd love to see it!

What did you think of this months box?

Alice x

First YouTube Video!! - What's In My Bag?!

2012-01-29T14:02:00.000Z

Hi everyone, hope you're all ok! So I have something exciting to announce today, or at least it's exciting to me anyway...haha. I finally did it and uploaded my first ever YouTube video! If you read my Christmas and birthday haul here, you may remember me ranting on that I tried many, many times to make that my first video but epicly failed because of a number of reasons. So because of that, I decided to do something quicker and easier; What's in my bag. So if you want to see my first video, then feel free to watch it below, or click here.

So here's my bag;

I got it from Matalan for just £10. Nothing fancy at all, but I like it, especially since it fits in my college file almost perfectly. I feel so poor showing this as my bag, seen as though I recently watched Fleur De Force's new what's in my bag video, here, and hers was a gorgeous Chanel Executive Tote!

And here's the main things I found inside;

*Sorry it's a bit blurry, I took these in a rush as soon as I got up*

My purse, which was from some random shop in Dalton Park, my makeup bag from Debenhams that I've had for years, An umbrella that I never use, a diary from a stationary shop in Durham, 5 year old eyelash curlers, eos lip balm that I won in Deb's giveaway (click here to see everything I got!), So...Brit Body spray and No.7 Enriched Hand and Nail Treatment both of which I won in Holly's giveaway (click here to see everything I won in that one!), Soap & Glory's Hand Food from Boots, Simple Hydro Mist from Superdrug, Burt's Bees Beeswax Lip Balm that was part of an Xmas set last year, Molton Brown Eau De Toilette which was also from Holly's giveaway win and Escada's Pacific Paradise mini Perfume.

All the things I just listed above were the main things in my bag. I also found a bunch of paper, a terry's chocolate orange wrapper, to-do lists, multiple packs of rennies, chewing gum, a Dermalogica product directory brochure, a slimming world brochure and 3 pens.

If you did watch the video, I hope you enjoyed it and didn't find it too boring, as I honestly thought it would be more fun than it turned out, but oh well, I'm not going to faff on recording it a million times like I did the first time. So this one will have to do! Any constructive criticism is very much welcome and appreciated, after all this is my first video, so I'm not exactly a pro at it just yet! haha.

Oh and feel free to subscribe to my channel if you want here, I have a ton of video ideas I hope to get done asap :)

Thanks so much for watching if you did!

What did you think? Would you watch more YouTube videos from me?

Alice x

Collective Haul - Boots, Superdrug & Debenhams

2012-01-27T13:57:00.001Z

Hiya everyone! So today I thought I would share with you all what I've bought myself recently. I kept going shopping every now and then and bought little bits and bobs each time, but thought it would be a bit of a super short, boring post if I showed you them there and then. For example, 'Hi everyone! Today I bought some face wipes, here's a picture below. That's all, bye!'. So instead, I thought I would wait and do a collective haul instead;

Here's everything I got;

Apologies for the not-so-great quality too, when I took these photos, I had awful lighting :(

First place was Boots, where I got Johnson's Daily Essentials Replenishing Night Cream for Dry Skin and Soap & Glory's Off Your Face Cleansing Cloths;

I've had these for a while now and have used the night cream each night since I got it and am pleased to say I like it. It feels lovely and light on the skin, yet quite nourishing and leaves my skin soft and smooth. It has a nice light smell to it too, which is great for me, as I hate products that are overly perfumed. And the face wipes are just AMAZING! They get the job done well of removing dirt and makeup, whilst still moisturising my skin and leaving it, again, soft and smooth. The other thing I love about these is the fact that it removes my incredibly stubborn waterproof mascara. I've tried all kinds of things to try and get it all off after a long day of wear and everything I've tried so far just hasn't done the job as well as these face wipes have. They are my new favourite face wipes now.

Also from Boots is Neutrogena's Intense Repair Lip Balm and Sally Hansen's Maximum Growth Nail Treatment;

I've ran out of my Johnson's lip balm that I use overnight, and couldn't find anymore anywhere, so this Neautrogena one was the closest I could find to it. So far, I do quite like it. It does what it says and moisturises my lips, but I don't think it is better than my all time favourite Johnson's one, but I haven't used it much, so hopefully I will like it better soon. As much as I love my Barry M 3-in-1 Base Coat, Top Coat and Nail Hardener, it's running out and is irritating the life out of me trying to get the polish out of the bottom of it. So I thought I would try a new kind of nail treatment and settled on this Sally Hansen one. I haven't had it long, so my opinion of it so far is a bit 50/50. So far, the Barry M one is still beating it. But I'll still use it until it's all gone.

Next from Superdrug, I got the Superdrug Tea Tree Spot Stick, Tea Tree Blended Oil and Tea Tree Cleansing Pads;

I honestly only really wanted the spot stuff, as I've heard great things about tea tree, plus this one was cheap so thought I would give it a go, seen as though my skin has been breaking out a lot lately. But because of the three for 2 offer, I thought I would try some more things from the range. The only other things there I was really interested in was the blended oil, which I haven't used much so really can't give an opinion of yet and the cleansing pads which I have used a lot and really like so far. My bathroom has been getting done out all week and they would start working at about 8 in the morning all throughout the day, so some mornings I couldn't get in the bathroom to wash my face like I normally would. Plus sometimes the water would be off, so I couldn't even do it in the kitchen sink. Gross, I know. So these cleansing pads really came in handy, as they don't require water. One side is slightly coarse, which exfoliates a little bit and the other is soft and smooth to finish off with. They leave the skin feeling super clean, smooth and very refreshed. I'm a big fan of these now, and am so glad I got them, with the whole bathroom dilemma and whatnot.

I also picked up some MUA products, the Professional Eye Primer and 3 in 1 Extreme Contour Liner;

I thought I would get two of the primers, one for myself and one for my college kit. And because you get a free 3 in 1 Extreme Contour Liner, I asked my mam to buy one of the primers and I got the other myself, so that I could get two free. Sneaky, I know! I haven't tried the primers yet, but have heard pretty good things about them. And Same goes for the liners.

Here's a closer look at the primer;

And the shades of liners I chose were as follows;

And a closer look of the liners; 'Auburn' is on top and 'Gun Metal' is on the bottom;

I also picked up 2 lip glosses whilst in Superdrug, MUA's Out There Plumping Lip Gloss and Barry M's Lip Gloss;

I really like both of these. The MUA one is super pigmented and is a lovely shade. The shade I got was 'Peach Shimmer'. And the Barry M one is also a stunning colour, but not very pigmented, it's much more sheer. The shade of that is '11'. I also spotted the new lipsticks by MUA and they are stunning! Especially 'Nectar', I wanted it soo much but there was none left. Typical!

Last thing from Superdrug was an Orabrush and then from Debenhams I got Burt's Bees Deep Cleansing Cream;

I've heard good things about the Orabrush, so thought I would give it a go. I quite like it so far. And the Deep Cleansing Cream from Debenhams, I just bought on a whim and am yet to try it, so can't really say much about that yet.

I also got a watch from Debenhams;

It's not great and definitely doesn't compare to my favourite Anne Klein one, but I just wanted a cheap, fairly plain one for college, that I wouldn't cry over if it broke or got covered in cream, which it probably will. Reason being, is that you have to stick to certain time limits for different treatments, and then more time limits within that treatment. For example, I need to make a facial last 60mins, and during which I have to make sure I have the mask on for ten, the steamer on for 7 and ozone (another type of steam) on for 2. And I was sick of running in and out checking the clock on the wall. So this cheap watch should really come in handy.

Here's what it looks like on;

Finally, here's swatches of everything mentioned;

From left to right - MUA Eye Primer, MUA 3 in 1 Extreme Contour Liner in 'Auburn' and 'Gun Metal', MUA Out There Plumping Lip Gloss in 'Peach Shimmer' and Barry M Lip Gloss in '11'.

So that's all, hopefully it wasn't too boring and actually made sense, I'm not all here today, I think I'm still asleep!

Have you seen the new MUA Lipstick shades? If so, do you love 'Nectar' too?

Alice x

Skincare Tip #2 - Start Early!

2012-01-24T10:03:00.000Z

Apparently, it's always easier to prevent something, rather than trying to stop it when it has already gotten really bad. For example - wrinkles. So invest in a good night cream as soon as possible and your skin will thank you for it in the years to come!

Alice x

Emerald Black NOTD

2012-01-21T18:16:00.003Z

Hi everyone, hope you're all ok! So I thought I would take a little break from my 'get as much stuff done today as possible' day (which mainly involved cleaning) and paint my nails with one of my new polishes from Christmas;

After what felt like an hour long debate with myself, I finally settled on Models Own 'Emerald Black' from the Beetlejuice collection (click here to see all of that set);

I used two coats along with Models Own '3 in 1 Base Coat, Top Coat and Gloss' for both a base and top coat;

I LOVE this so much! Not only do I think the dark greenish black shade is stunning, but the shine is just...WOW! I have not come across a polish with that much shine before! Or at least I don't think I have. 'Emerald Black' on it's own left a lovely shine, but the finished result with the 3 in 1 polish just amazed me. Maybe I just get overly excited over shiny things? haha!

Here's a closer look;

Also, please excuse my incredibly dry cuticles and hands, they have completely dried out after using so many different house cleaning products all day :(

Just like Pinky Brown, I love how in different lighting, the polish seems to change shades. Like in the below photo, which was in my kitchen this afternoon, it appears much more of a dark blue, as oppose to the dark green in the previous photos, that were took in natural light next to a bright window.

So yeah, I love this and am hoping it will stay on quite some time. I can't wait to try the rest of my Beetlejuice collection!

Do you get overly excited by shiny things too?

Alice x

20 Things Before 20 - The Results

2012-01-20T17:30:00.000Z

Hi everyone, hope you're all ok! So this is yet another way overdue post (I really need to get back into regular blogging, the amount of things I have to do when I come back after a 'little break' is unreal!). Anyway, you may or may not remember my 20 Things Before 20 post I uploaded back in October, if not you can read it here. Basically it was a post with 20 goals of my choice to accomplish before I turned 20. Now that the deadline has past, I thought I would share with you all how I actually did;

1. Loose 1 stone in weight.

Epic fail! I have no idea why I decided to randomly loose a stone over Christmas! The math worked out well in my head; I stated that if I lost something like 1 pound a week with an extra few pounds thrown in there somewhere, then I will have lost a stone by my birthday, quite slowly and safely. Well, I don't think I even tried! haha. Or if I did, I think it was for like a week and did make some progress, but with Christmas madness and working dreaded night shift, I never had the time, energy or will to continue. I thought I would just enjoy Christmas, pig out and not worry about something so silly as my weight. I am however, hoping to get back on track this year. Let's see how long that lasts!

2. Get at least 10 items from my wishlist.
I thought this would be pretty easy for me. I mean it's not exactly a challenge for me to go shopping for a bunch of different, mainly makeup, things I want! haha. But, I did calm down on buying things, as it was coming up to Christmas and was spending most of my money on other people's presents, plus the fact that I didn't know a lot of what I was getting, so I could have bought something, then received it again for Christmas. So I think I personally bought 2 things myself (Soap & Glory Love At First Blush and What's Nude Lid Stuff), and the remaining 8 things were received as Christmas/birthday presents.(you can click here to see that haul)

3. Dye my hair and get a hair cut
I originally planned to do this round about the same time, so I had a new cut/style and a new colour at the same time. But I ended up dying my hair pretty much straight away (pics here), and then that faded (it was just an at home semi-permanent) and then got my hair cut on my birthday, New Years Eve. I was going to dye it again, but just couldn't be bothered to be honest. So I did complete this challenge, just not how I intended to.

4. Finish my Eragon book
This was one of the challenges that I finshed quite quickly. Once I got into it, I couldn't put it down! I LOVED it! I finished reading it on 20th November and almost instantly started reading the second one, 'Eldest'. I felt like I just had to continue, as the ending did leave it on a bit of a cliff-hanger. I've now read the second one too and am almost half way through the third one, 'Brisingr'. I highly recommend these, they are a great read and you won't be able to put it down!

5. Finsh my 'Share My Experience' posts
In case you're new to my blog, these posts are basically my holiday photos. I basically put this on so that it would give me a bit more of a push to finish these, as I started posting them earlier in the year (well last year now) right when I got back from holiday, and then some reason stopped. I think it was because, from what I can remember, it extremely time consuming and I just couldn't be bothered anymore. So I did end up finishing them, although I did feel silly doing so, as I was showing sunny holiday photos when it was almost coming up to Christmas! haha.

6. Re-do and actually finish to 30 Day Challenge
I absolutely HATED this! I've tried doing this challenge before, and failed after day 10 or something, so thought I would give it another go, as it was irritating me that I had left it unfinished. Anyway, I did start but failed after day 23. I honestly didn't mean to, as was in such a rush to get to work, I didn't have time to get it up. I thought I would just do two the next day, but since I missed a day, I just couldn't be bothered anymore and decided to sack it all together. I just found it sooo boring! I've enjoyed reading other people's before, but doing my own was just horrible. I felt like I was being told what to post and when, which I didn't like. I like to blog about whatever I feel like talking about that day. Although I did hate it with a passion, it did however come in handy a bit whilst I was working night shift over Christmas, as I didn't have the time or energy to do my normal posts, so those quick challenge ones helped out there, so I was still posting something, instead of being MIA for a month. So yeah, I don't think I will be doing one of these ever again.

7. Post 1 LOTD a week
I failed at this too. I really like LOTD posts and really want to do more of them myself, so I thought I would try and do 1 a week. I honestly can't remember how many I actually did, if any. Actually, I think I did 1 - My Everyday Makeup. I honestly don't know what went wrong here, I think I may have just forgot it was a challenge =/

8. Post another 10 NOTD posts
I thought I'd make this a challenge, as for some reason, whenever I get a new nail polish, I have to share it in a NOTD post, unless of course, it is a top coat I bought or something. And I found a bunch of polishes that was yet to do a Nails Of The Day post with, so thought I would make it a goal. I failed however and only did 5. I think I could of got more done if I didn't stupidly bite off all my nails again.

9. Post something every single day for at least 30 days
I thought this would be good to go with my 'Re-do and actually finish the 30 day challenge' challenge, as I would be kind of 'killing two birds with one stone', but because I failed the 30 day challenge, I failed this, and there wasn't enough days left before my deadline to try again.

10. Re-organise all of my makeup
Another one I finished pretty quickly. In fact, I think it was the first one I finished. My makeup and beauty products always end up a mess, so I have to keep on top of it on a regular basis. But I left it for so long before I did this challenge, that everything was the worst I've ever seen it. My beauty items were literally all over the place!

11. Re-organise all of my clothes
Same goes for my clothes with what I just said about my makeup. But I HATE sorting out my clothes, it's just a faff on folding things, ironing, etc, whereas the beauty items are easier to move around and whatnot. I ended up putting this off each day and now still can't be bothered to do it. Bad I know, but coat hangers do my head in!

12. Sort out my side cupboard and find a use for it
Basically, I have this random side cupboard in my room that has a bunch of different random crap in it. It's a bit of a waste the way it is at the moment, and would like to clear it out and actually use it for something (extra space to store my clothes, shoes, makeup, etc). Just like the clothes, I just couldn't be bothered to faff on with it basically. Plus I'm yet to decide what I actually want to do with it.

13. Completely use up at least 10 beauty products
I can't believe I only used up 8! So close to my goal of 10, but still not quite there. I have now used up 10, but it is past the deadline, so I can't include those. You click here to see what I did use up.

14. Start my own MAC palette
Unlike many others, I was yet to own my own custom MAC palette, although I really wanted to. I like the idea of choosing the eyeshadows you want in it and think it's a great way to save space. Thanks to my parents getting me one for Christmas, I now have my own with 3 shadows to put in it so far, which are 'Cranberry', 'Satin Taupe' and 'Naked Lunch'. I also have 'Gesso' and 'Carbon', the only other two MAC eyeshadows I own, that I'm thinking about depotting to add them to my palette. I'm thrilled to have finally started my own and can't wait to fill it up more. Although, I'm having great difficulty deciding which ones to get. They all look amazing, but I want ones I will actually use. Any recommendations?

15. Teach the puppies a new trick
This was so fun to do! They already knew how to sit, shake and lie down, but I want to keep going on until they know a bunch of fun, and sometimes useful tricks. The one I taught them both was roll over. Like I just said, I will continue to teach them new ones, but at the moment I'm struggling teaching them more. I've been attempting the one where you get the dog to sit, put a treat on their nose and have them stay like that until you tell them to catch it. So far, as soon as I go near their nose with it, they practically chew my hand of! haha.

16. Post at least 5 more OOTD/OOTN posts
I would love to do more fashion related posts, but fashion tips and knowledge of such isn't exactly my area of expertise. So outfit of the day/night posts are as good as it's gonna get for now! But I failed this challenge, as although I had many I wanted to share on my blog, I just never had the time to take photos of it - I seem to always be in a rush out the door.

17. Make at least 10 more face charts
Although I'm not very good at face charts at all, I do like doing them every now and then to keep track of different makeup looks I've came up with. But sometimes I find them annoying and awkward to do and feel that sometimes I would prefer to do the look there and then and take a photo of it instead. Hence the reason I only completed 4 out of 10, as like I say, I only really do them when the mood strikes me.

18. Grow out my nails again
I long for lovely long (but not too long!), healthy nails, as oppose to my current uneven, short, weak and just plain 'blah' looking nails. And this challenge was going great for me, until I stupidly sat one night and bit them all down. I have no idea why I did it and I don't think I even realised, then the next thing I know, I'm back to square one with short, bitten nails. Then I started growing them out again and due to neglecting proper care, they become super weak and just broke off. So I'm now back to square one again, but this time I'm actually looking after them, so hopefully I'll finally reach my desired length. Plus, with me now starting real client sessions at college (I'm doing Beauty Therapy), it's vital for me to have nice nails. For example, say I'm giving a client a manicure, and they see me with bitten, unhealthy looking nails, well, it doesn't look very good.

19. Finish an xbox game 100%, achievements and all
Although I am a total beauty junkie, I still love my gaming! I do have a tendency, however, to leave games half finished, so I thought I would set this challenge to give me the added push to actually complete one 100%. I initially thought I would do this with The Sims 3 Pets, buts those achievements are incredibly awkward and time consuming, plus the fact that The Sims never really has an official ending, it just keeps going on and on! So I ended up completing Harry Potter Years 5-7 instead, which was much easier and quicker.

20. Post at least 1 tip a week
My blog used to be mainly tips when I first started blogging, but then I started doing more and more hauls, reviews, LOTD's, etc and somewhere along the line my tips fizzled out a bit. So I chose this challenge to, again, give me the extra push to post them more. However, I just lost track of what I posted when, so I kind of gave up in the end. I am now however going to definitely post them more, but whether it will be each week or not yet, I don't know.

Final result - 8/20 completed

Wow, I thought I would do better than that! Oh well, what's done is done! I might be doing a 21 things before 21 next, but am currently struggling to think of 21 goals. I have a full year, so I may make the challenges harder and/ore more time consuming, but I'm not sure yet.

Have you do one of these challenges before? If so, leave me your link, I would love to see it!

Alice x

My Christmas & Birthday Haul!

2012-01-15T11:56:00.001Z

Hi everyone, hope you're all doing ok! So I thought I would finally share with you all the things I got for Christmas and my 20th birthday, which was New Years Eve. I know it's a bit late, but I really wanted to make this into my first ever Youtube video, just because I thought it was an easy video to start with, as oppose to some kind of complex dramatic makeup tutorial. And I started trying to film this from new years day and I could just never get it right. No matter what I did something went wrong; either terrible lighting, cats running around hyper in the background, dogs running up and down the stairs, the toilet flushing and my dad talking to himself in the background (haha!), me being too nervous and quiet, or I just didn't make any sense and the video was just way too long. So as you can imagine, I filmed the same video an immense amount of times! Unfortunately, I gave in with making this haul my first video, so am going to film something else tomorrow instead. Anyway, I already had this post ready to go with the video I failed at, so thought it would be a bit of a waste to just delete it. So, without further ado, her is my main Christmas and birthday presents;

First up is my first ever order from e.l.f. I've heard/seen/read a bunch of different great things about elf, but have never actually got anything from there. So when I got an email from them, stating they were currently having a 40% off sale, I jumped at the chance to finally purchase the items I've longed for for a while. I mean, everything is already very affordable, but with that pretty impressive discount, I thought it was the right time to pile up my shopping basket.

Here is how everything came;

And without all the packaging I was left with the following;

Two cream eyeshadows in 'Smoke' (left) and 'Bronzed' (right).

I LOVE these! The shades are beautiful, they have a lovely texture and so far, it seems they are quite long lasting. Which really impressed me, considering most cream eyeshadows I've tried fade very quickly. I will definitely be purchasing more of these.

*Swatches of everything from elf is further down this post*

Next up is three of the Studio Matte Lip Colours. The shades I got were 'Coral' (top), 'Natural' (middle) and 'Tea Rose' (bottom).

All of the shades looked very pretty on the website, and I couldn't decide between the final three I narrowed my choice down to, so I ended up getting them all. I really like these and can definitely see myself getting a ton of use out of them.

Also, is two of the Eyebrow Treat & Tames.

I couldn't determine by the website which shade would be better suited for me, so I just got the two I thought would be best for me. The shades I got were 'Dark' and 'Medium'. I think 'Medium' is on the top.

'Blushing Rose' Blush and the Mineral Eye Brightener;

I thought I would finally try one of their blushes, after hearing so many great things about them. The shade I settled on is 'Blushing Rose'. I almost bought a ton of these, but thought I best not get two of everything, as I may not even like them. I was very wrong however, I love this blush. It's a darker shade than I'm used to, but that is what I wanted anyway; I'm a bit bored of just collecting the same light pink blushes over and over again. I also got the Mineral Eye Brightener, just because I was very interested and intrigued by it, so thought I would give it a go. So far, I do like it.

I also got a few tools - the Kabuki Face Brush, Angled Eyeliner Brush, Eyelash Curlers and Mini Eyelash Curlers.

I LOVE the brushes! The kabuki brush is ridiculously soft and just feels lovely on the skin. The Angled Eyeliner Brush makes winged eyeliner, the makeup technique I struggle most with, much easier. I still can't do it perfectly, but the results have most definitely improved. I'm a bit 50/50 on the eyelash curlers at the moment. The normal curlers feel really big, clumpy and heavy compared to my old ones, and I can't get them as close to the root of my lashes as I would like without nipping my overly round eyelids. The mini ones I'm unsure about also. They are quite difficult to work with and I find they leave my lashes with more of a harsh right angle throughout, as oppose to a nice, natural curl, even though I do walk them up the lash (curl them at the root, a little further up, and so on until I'm almost at the end of my lashes). So yeah, I'm not sure about these so far to be honest, but I will keep using them as I might just have to get used to these, considering I have been using my old basic ones for literally about 5 years.

Swatches of everything mentioned so far;

Top line, left to right - Cream eyeshadow in 'Smoke' and 'Bronzed', Studio Matte Lip Colours in 'Coral', 'Naural' and 'Tea Rose'.

Bottom line, left to right - Eyebrow Treat & Tame in 'Medium' and 'Dark', 'Blushing Rose' blush and the Mineral Eye Brightener.

Now for some more random things;

Estee Lauder Double Wear Foundation in 'Ecru' and the Double Wear Concealer in 'Light'. I love both of these too and am incredibly thrilled to finally have them. I also got the Jimmy Choo perfume, which I also love. I cannot describe it for the life of me (I'm rubbish at describing things, especially perfume), but I will say, it is quite strong, so use it sparingly. I also decided to finally try a proper brush cleanser and chose the MAC one, as I've been using baby shampoo for god knows how long. I really like this so far.

I also finally started my own MAC palette!

The three eyeshadows I got to start off my palette was 'Satin Taupe' (left), 'Cranberry' and 'Naked Lunch' (right). I also got the 'Bare Study' Paint Pot. They are all very pretty shades and also very popular ones, so I won't bother describing them, as I'm pretty sure you all either already own these, or have seen them tonnes before.

And some swatches;

From left to right, in the same order as pictured above - 'Satin Taupe', 'Cranberry', 'Naked Lunch' and 'Bare Study' Paint Pot.

Next is two Models Own Nail Polish sets. The top is the 'Beetlejuice' set and the bottom is the 'Pastel' set;

Although these were both on my wishlist, I really didn't expect them both, I honestly assumed I would just get one, so that was a very nice surprise!

Here's a closer look at the Beetlejuice set/collection;

From left the right - 'Golden Green', 'Purple Blue', 'Pinky Brown' (click here to see a NOTD post with this), 'Emerald Black', 'Aqua Violet' and a '3 in 1 Basecoat, Topcoat and Gloss'. I love these and am still debating which is my favourite. I know that Golden Green is my least favourite, but I still quite like it, especially since I own nothing like it.

And the Pastel set/collection;

From left to right - 'Fuzzy Peach', 'Lemon Miringue', 'Top Turquoise', 'Feeling Blue', 'Lilac Dream' and 'Pastel Pink'. I love all of these too and can see me wearing each of them religiously when summer comes round again.

And here's swatches of all of these in the same order as above, just to save myself from repeating the names of each of them.

My mam also had the amazing idea to sign me up to Glossybox! I was absolutely overwhelmed by this, especially since she stated that I will be receiving these each month 'until I decide to stop paying for them', in her own words. You can click here to see my post on these, as I don't really want to make this post any longer than it already is.

Next is this Moon Dust set by Front Cover;

Inside the book style packaging is 8 different loose eyeshadows/glitter/pigment things. That is the best way I can describe them! haha. You also get a brush, and 'Shadowbase' (basically an eye primer) and a page full of different ideas of makeup looks you can do with the things in the kit, as well as mini tutorials for each.

Here's a closer look, with the lids removed;

And some swatches;

Top row, left to right (same as photographed in the containers) - 'Doubloon', 'Burnt Carrot', 'Coinage' and 'Coal Hoal'.

Bottom row, left to right (same as photographed in the containers) - 'Saddle Brown', 'Lime Lime', 'Moondance' and 'Periwinkle'.

I did swatch all of these with the included primer underneath, just so the shadows had something to stick to and so I made less of a mess.

Here's a closer look of the primer;

And a swatch of the very pretty shimmery shade;

I love everything in this set and can't wait to create a bunch of different makeup looks with it. Hopefully you all liked the look of it too, as you might be seeing another one of these very, very soon :) *HINT, HINT!!*

Next is this Dorothy Perkins Bag;

I first saw this when shopping for holiday clothes earlier this year and instantly wanted it, but for some reason never actually got it =/ Then I kind of forgot about it until I randomly spotted it whilst shopping for some winter clothes. It was the last one their and at a ridiculously reduced price, so I my mam kindly got it for me and put it away for Christmas. I thought I'd keep it for summer, when I know I will be using it just about every day!

I also got a bunch of different jewellery;

If you've been following my 'Wednesday Wishlist' series, you may remember or recognise a few of these from one of those posts. They are all from Dorothy Perkins also, except for the huge aztec studs that were from Asos. I love them all and have again, been wearing them all over and over since I got them. Although, not at the same time, that would look silly!

Next up is two books; 'Brisingr' and 'Inheritance';

And if you've followed my '20 Things Before 20' post, you may remember that one of those goals was to finish reading 'Eragon', well I did that and loved it so much I quickly read the second one too, 'Eldest'. So my parents surprised me with the third one 'Brisingr' as well as the fourth and final one 'Inheritance'. I've already started reading Brisingr and really like that one too so far. I highly, highly recommend others to read these, they are amazing and nothing like the piece of crap film they brought out.

Also, a Bathing Delights Bath Set;

This was a complete surprise from a friend from college. I honestly haven't tried it yet, as I've been addicted to some Lush stuff I got for my birthday, but I'm sure I'll like them all. It's very rare that I dislike bath stuff. You get inside; Hand & Body Lotion, Shower Gel, Bath Milk and a really pretty big flower style loofah, which I forgot to photograph, as it's in the back.

I also finally got a new hairdryer;

I had my old one for literally about 5 years and it was starting to smell funny when I was using it and it would turn on and off on it's own - it honestly scared me. lol. So I thought it was about time I got a nice new one. I ended up settling on the Remington Pro Ionic Ultra 2200w hairdryer. I'm really impressed with this - it dries my hair much quicker than my previous one, doesn't smell funny, has pretty low noise and doesn't get really hot after a long use, like my old one did.

And last, but certainly not least, is a new camera!;

I wanted a new one, as basically my old one was rubbish. Plus I got this so I could finally start making YouTube videos, which has been a complete and utter disaster so far! It is good quality in my opinion, for both photos and recording videos. I'm super impressed!

So that's everything! Well, not really, I also got a few bits and bobs such as; a Yanke Candle, Lush goodies, clothes, vouchers etc. but it would be too long of a post to faff on showing every single item I got. I mean, it's too long as it is!

Oh, I just want to point out also, that I am in no way trying to brag or show off or anything, I just personally really like seeing these posts.

What did you get for Christmas/your birthday?

Alice x

Guest Post - 'Kick Cancer To The Curb with a New Look'

2012-01-06T12:14:00.002Z

Hi everyone, hope you're all ok! So I have something to share with you all today, that's quite different from my usual posts, but you've probably already figured that out by the title. Basically, when checking my email last week, I stumbled across a very touching one from a lady named Jackie Clark, asking if I allowed guest posts here on my blog. Now, if you're a long term follower of mine, you may have noticed that guest posts aren't something I normally do. I have no good reason behind this, other than the fact that guest posts have never really crossed my mind. And I was a bit skeptical at first (usually I just get emails from random websites that have nothing to do with my blog topic, asking me to put their link on my site or ten tonnes of spam), but Jackie's email really touched me and I just couldn't refuse her request to make a guest post. Here's part of her email, so you can see why and also to kind of introduce Jackie;

'My name is Jackie and I do outreach for the Mesothelioma Cancer Alliance, a leading web resource for mesothelioma cancer.

I have always had a passion for fashion - from shoes to makeup, nail polish to handbags, and everything in between! Coupled with that is belief that all women need to feel beautiful, no matter what circumstances they may be facing. Women are powerful beings and WE need to realize it! Sadly, many women are hearing those devastating words 'you have cancer.' Despite a cancer diagnosis, women can still feel beautiful in their own skin. Fashion is a wonderful way to feel strong and confident. I would like to share with your audience the rality of cancer and how women can say 'YES I have cancer', but I am no less beautiful than I was before my diagnosis.'

That one paragraph alone really hit home for me, that is until I read her article on the topic, now THAT is the one that truly hit home!

I'd really appreciate it if you took the time to read Jackie's article, it's simply incredible;

Kick Cancer to the Curb with a New Look

By: Jackie Clark

'For anyone, being diagnosed with cancer is devastating. For women, it is even worse because they know it means they will lose their hair and with the loss of their hair is the loss of confidence. Without confidence, women have a difficult time feeling beautiful, which lowers self esteem and quality of life. If there is one thing you know about defeating any form of cancer, including mesothelioma, it is that the quality of life of the patient is of utmost importance when it comes to treatment.

The healthier the patient, the better she responds to treatment such as chemotherapy. Yes, she may lose her hair but here are ways that she can feel more beautiful, confident and amazing while undergoing treatment for cancer. Despite a cancer diagnosis, women can still look and feel fabulous and beautiful by taking advantage of the latest fashions and styles designed to help women feel confident. After all, feeling confident is what makes women beautiful in the first place. No matter what a women looks like, if she feels confident in her own skin she will appear beautiful to the rest of the world.

One way a women can feel fabulous despite her cancer and treatment is to find a great pair of shoes. Nothing makes a women feel better than great shoes. Right now, the latest and greatest trends have women dressed in high heels with platforms on the front. A pair of shoes that scream "confident" will have sequins or shimmer or will be a shade so bright that others can't help but look at her with envy that she can pull of such a fierce look that makes her so fabulous.

Another way to feel fabulous is with a killer outfit. One of the most universally glamorous and flattering ensembles is the wrap dress. The wrap dress is flattering on virtually every figure from small to curvy and boyish to well endow. The wrap dress hugs a women's curves - or gives them the illusion of curves - in all the right places. Wearing something like that makes a women feel automatically more gorgeous because of its flattering nature.

Women should top off their look with new makeup. Splurging a little on a makeover teaches women how to expertly apply make up in the right colors and shades in a way that is subtle, sexy and flattering. It is hard not to feel fabulous and beautiful when a professional makes a women look like a movie star. Even the diagnosis of cancer and the aggressive chemotherapy that accompanies it isn't enough to make a women feel anything less than confident and beautiful in a great pair of shoes, a flattering outfit and expert makeup.'

Wasn't that amazing?! I just can't put how much I love this article into words! So thank you Jackie, for contacting me about this guest post, I am honoured that you wished to share something so powerful and touching on my blog. And thanks to my readers if you read her article too, feel free to leave any thoughts in the comments below.

Jackie is also on twitter @jackieclrk and has stated that if any of you have any questions for her, then feel free to send her an email at jclarkmca@gmail.com. For more information, you can also check out The Mesothelioma Cancer Alliance Blog. Plus, Jackie suggested I check out Heather Von St.James story there too. Her story is apparently unbelievable! I can't wait to have a good read through that once I'm finished with this post.

Again, a big thank you to Jackie and to all of you who read her amazing article.

Alice x

Giveaway Goodies From World Of Beauty!

2011-12-30T20:16:00.002Z

Hi everyone, hope you're all ok! So I thought I would share with you all the prizes I won from the lovely Deborah from World Of Beauty's recent giveaway. Before I start I just want to say that I'm not trying to brag or rub it in your face that I won. I just personally like seeing these kind of posts and I think they are an extra little way to say thank you to the person you won the prizes from. Anyway, here's everything I got;

First up is MUA's Heaven and Earth Palette;

I honestly already have one of these, but this one will really come in handy when I go back to college on the 3rd. We are starting the makeup unit, and this lovely little palette will make an excellent edition to my kit :)

Stila Eyeshadow in 'Jezebel'

I've never tried anything from Stila before, so I'm really pleased to have gotten this, so I can finally try something from the line. And thankfully I love it! It's a gorgeous shade (swatch at the end) that is very wearable, as well as being very pigmented and creamy. I can see myself getting a ton of use out of this.

Also, I was amazed at how big it is, it's friggin HUGE! Just look at the size comparison with the heaven and earth palette;

It's possibly the biggest eyeshadow I've ever seen!

MUA Primer and Liz Earle Cleanse and Polish Sample

I've been tempted to buy the MUA Primer for some time now, so I'm pleased to receive this also. I'm always on the hunt for a good primer that actually works without drying out my already dry skin, so this will certainly be getting put to the test. And I'm ecstatic to see a sample of Liz Earle's Cleanse and Polish too, as after reading an immense amount of fantastic reviews of this and the fact that I'm currently in search for the best products possible for my skincare regime, this will definitely be another product that will get a ton of use.

Models Own Nail Polish in 'Gold Finger'

I'm a huge nail polish junkie, so this stunning glittery gold polish will make an excellent addition to my collection. I think I may wear this tomorrow for New Years Eve (which is also my birthday!). Swatch of this is also at the end.

MUA Lipstick in 'Bare'

I've never tried any of the MUA lipsticks before and I have no idea why because I LOVE this! It's a beautiful, wearable shade that feels quite moisturising too. This will be getting an immense amount of use too and I think I will be going and buying some more MUA lipsticks, after being so impressed with this one.

EOS Lip Balm in Summer Fruits

Oh my gosh I was thrilled to finally get my hands on one of these! After all the hype over the EOS lip balms, I was determined to get my own, but for the life of me couldn't find a way to get a hold of one here in the UK. Thankfully, it lived up to my high expectations - it's moisturising, has lovely sturdy packaging, smells (and tastes!) incerdible and I just couldn't be happier with it!

Here's some swatches of the things mentioned above;

Top - MUA Lipstick in 'Bare'

Bottom - Stila 'Jezebel' eyeshadow

Models Own Nail Polish in 'Gold Finger'

so that's everything! Thanks you so much again Deborah for sending me these, I'm over the moon with everything and I know each product will get a ton of use. Which is a huge bonus for me, as I have a tendency of buying things and then just leave it to collect dust in my cupboard :/ Please check out Deborah's blog, World of Beauty, you won't be disappointed :)

Alice x

November & December Glossybox

2011-12-29T19:11:00.000Z

Hi everyone, hope you're all doing ok! So long story short, my mam signed me up to Glossybox as a Christmas/birthday present for me. How cool is that?! I've wanted to sign up myself for about a year now, but being unemployed, I thought it best not, as I cannot guarantee I'll have a certain amount of money in the bank at a certain time. I know it's only something like £12.95, but I could really need that one month for more important things. If that makes sense? Anyway, I assumed that the two boxes she handed me (the November and December boxes) was the only ones I was getting, but she said that she is going to continue purchasing them 'untill I decide to stop paying for them', in her own words. haha, so when it stops, I have no idea! I know it's quite late to show these, as everyone has already shown their November and December boxes, but like I say, I only got mine on Christmas and I'm too excited not too! (I've wanted to do Glossybox posts for ages!). Anyway, here's what I got in mine;

Here's the outer packaging of both November (left) and Decembers (right) boxes;

I may aswell go in order and show the November box first. Once I tore open the beautiful packaging (which I LOVE), I was welcomed by all these goodies;

Monu Line Smoothing Skin Perfector

'A weightless cream which instantly smoothes imperfections and enhances natural radiance as it glides onto the skin.'

Size/Weight - 50ml

Retail Price - £16.25

This sounds, looks and feels amazing!

Arbonne FC5 Cooling Foot Cream

'Moisturising, nongreasy foot crème hydrates rough, dry skin and soothes, cools and comforts tired feet.'

Size/Weight - 50ml

Retail Price - 180ml/£19

I really don't take care of my feet as much as I should, so this should give my neglected feet a nice little pamper :)

Serge Lutens L'Eau Serge Lutens and Serge Lutens Vitriol d'Oeillet Eau De Parfum

Size/Weight - Both 1ml 0.03 FL.OZ.

L'Eau Serge Lutens Retail Price - 100ml/£86

Vitriol d'Oeillet - 50ml/£78

I personally love little perfume samples, so I can shuv them in various bags of mine to smell good on the go. These are both ok, but I don't like them so much that I will go rush out and buy the full sizes.

Nail Rock Designer Nail Wraps

Retail Price - £6.65

'Nail Wraps are the new way to accessorise and embellish your nails! The new NAIL ROCK designer wraps are designed to last up to 7 days on nails and 8 weeks on the toes, with each at home nail wrapping treatment taking just 15 minutes to apply. Unlike polish they won’t chip or stain the nail and are quicker to apply as no drying time required.'

I am thrilled to have gotten these in this box, as I've wanted to try nail wraps for what seems like forever, but for some reason never actually bought any :/ I love the design I got too.

Dead Sea Spa Magik Bath Salts

'2011 Beauty Awards winner. Particularly beneficial in alleviating dry skin conditions as well as acting as a natural exfoliant, remarkably improving skin texture.'

Size/Weight - 250g

Retail Price - 1kg/£5.50

I'm pretty sure I've tried these in the past and did like them, but I think my mam is a big fan of these, so I will probably be giving these to her.

All information I just used (mini descriptions, prices, etc) was took from the Glossybox website, as for some reason I didn't receive one of those cards that tells you info and prices and whatnot of the products within your box. Which was a bit disappointing, as I think they usually have discount codes and stuff on. Oh well, I'll live!

Now onto the December box, which sported festive red packaging, as oppose to their usual pale pink;

Cargo Classic Lip Gloss in 'Serengeti'

'Limited edition gorgeous, wearable, travel sized glosses in CARGO’s new lip gloss formulation! Perfect pay off, great wear and high-shine without being sticky, this gloss is packed with a lip-nourishing botanical cocktail.'

Size/Weight - 0.45g/0.015oz

Retail Price - £10

I love this! It's a lovely pinky coraly shade with a gorgeous sparkle. Sorry, I forgot to take a picture of a swatch, but you will probably be seeing it in a LOTD post at some point soon anyway!

Deborah Lippmann Razzle Dazzle Mini Nail Varnish

'Razzle Dazzle is a dark raspberry sizzle glitter, long wearing, high quality nail polish from the Deborah Lippmann Collection perfect for the upcoming Festive season.'

Retail Price - 15ml/£16

Another product I am thrilled to see in these boxes. I've wanted to try the Deborah Lippmann polishes for a long time now (especially the ever famous 'Happy Birthday'), but couldn't bring myself to pay a whopping £16 for just a nail polish, especially since my current favourite Barry M nail paints are fantastic quality for just £2.99! So I am glad I have got the opportunity to try one out. I love the shade and can guarantee this will be a NOTD of mine very, very soon!

Deborah Lippmann The Stripper To Go Varnish Remover Mitt

'The Stripper To Go varnish remover mitt which will remove all traces of polish for all 10 nails in an instant. Such a ‘handy’ little travel tool you will wonder how you ever lived without it.'

Retail Price - £14

I really can't wait to try this out. I don't know why, I'm just a bit intrigued for some reason :/

Fab Essential Face Cleanser

'The Face Cleanser is a mild, nourishing cleanser that's ideal for all skin types, calms redness and reduces skin reactivity with regular use.'

Size/Weight - 28.3g/1.0oz

Retail Price - 141.7ml/£13

I'm in the process of trying to discover the best skincare products possible for my skincare regime, so this will certainly be getting put to the test.

Nouveau Lashes Noir Mascara

'Noir Mascara gives you gorgeous, jet black, luscious lashes in no time. Just one coat of the new waterproof and quick-drying formula is enough for a fantastic false lash effect. And once you've achieved your perfect lashes, they stay perfect—all day long.'

Size/Weight - 8.g

Retail Price - £14.99

With intensely impressive claims like that, this will definitely be getting put to the test as well!

Rituals Yogi Flow Indian Rose & Sweet Almond Oil Foaming Shower Gel

'This unique foaming shower gel gently cleanses your skin and leaves it silky soft & smooth. Squeeze a small amount of gel into your hand – in contact with water the gel transforms into a rich, relaxing foam.'

Size/Weight - 200ml

Retail Price - £6.50

I LOVE the smell of this and really can't wait to try this out.

So that's everything I got! I'm really impressed with Glossybox so far and am ecstatic to finally be signed up to these - so thank you so,so much again mam! I'm very pleased with everything I received in these boxes and love that they are all good sample sizes as well as a few full size products. I dread to think of how much all the items would cost combined at full size. I can't wait to see what's in next months box!

Also, if anyone wants a review on anything mentioned, feel free to let me know!

Are you a member of Glossybox? If so, what did you get? Did you like what was in your recent boxes?

Alice x

Pinky Brown NOTD & Some Christmas Photos!

2011-12-27T14:08:00.001Z

Hi everyone, hope you all had a lovely Christmas! So I thought I would do a quick NOTD post with a new polish I got for Christmas, which is from the Models Own Beetlejuice Collection;

I used two coats of 'Pinky Brown' and the Models Own Basecoat, Topcoat and gloss.

It really lives up to it's name 'Pinky Brown', as in certain light, like the above photo, it looks brown, but in others, it looks a lovely pinky-purple shade, like the below photo;

(sorry it's a bit blurry, it's the only photo I had that showed up the purple)

And then in other light, it appears a mixture of both, like the below image;

I LOVE this so much, I think the shade is just gorgeous and I don't own anything like it. It was a bit awkward to apply though, as it was a tad gloopy in comparison to my all time favourite Barry M Nail Paints, although it did dry incredibly quick, which is a huge bonus for me, considering how impatient I am.

Also, I thought I would share some photos from Christmas and Christmas eve. It was a quiet one for us, as we don't have a big family, me, Wayne (the boyfriend), my mam and dad just chilled out on Christmas eve, finished wrapping presents, watched a film and went to bed. Then on the day, we spent the morning opening prezzies, eating crap and then I had about a two hour long bath with some Lush goodies Wayne got me, had my dinner and then spent the rest of the day/night running back and forth from my bed to the bathroom. I have no idea what was wrong with me, but I randomly turned incredibly ill :( I think I may have just ate waayyy too much Christmas dinner, as I was fine until I had my dinner. So that kind of ruined Christmas for me a bit, but if I was ill from overeating, then it serves me right for being greedy!

Anyway, I was determined to find some cute little doggy Christmas outfits for Cassie and Stella, preferably an elf one for Cassie and a reindeer one for Stella, but everywhere was sold out. So my mam and I found these Santa dresses for little girls aged 3-6 in a random cheap shop in town for just 2 quid, so thought we would just get them. Surprisingly, they fit like a glove;

Cassie really didn't mind hers, she just sat there like this for a while, then just got on with playing with toys and whatnot;

Stella, however, was the opposite and wasn't a fan of the outfit at all! Don't worry, we didn't force them to wear these all night and day or anything, we're not that mean! We just took some photos, then took them off, so they had them on for like 5 minutes, if that.

My mam also baked a Christmas cake, and I had the task to decorate it, 'because I'm the creative one', was my mam's excuse. Well, here's what 'the creative one' came up with;

haha! I got a bit carried away! God it's really bad isn't it? lol Well I have never decorated a cake before, so I was having fun more than anything! Wayne's comment on my fantastic decoration skills was 'it looks like someones already ate it, pooped it out, and then that's what your left with'. Thanks Wayne!

Did you have a good Christmas?

Alice x

My Recent Buys

2011-12-23T22:01:00.000Z

Hi everyone, hope you're all doing ok! So on Wednesday I spent the day shopping with a friend from college at my local town and thought I'd share with you the things I treated myself to (it's Christmas, why not!);

First stop was The Body Shop, where both me and my friend I went shopping with, picked up the Nutriganics Skin Essentials kit;

It comes with four mini products of the following; (left to right in below image) Foaming Facial Wash, Refreshing Toner, Soothing Day Cream and Soothing Night Cream. I thought this was perfect for me at the moment, as I don't know all the stuff I've got for Christmas and have almost completely ran out of my skincare stuff, so these minis will tie me over until then. Plus for just £13, I thought it was great value for money.

Then in Superdrug I picked up some more nail polishes. I really only went in for a cheap orange one, just so I can do snowman nails for Christmas, as I don't own a single orange polish, but just couldn't resist the Barry M counter!

The orange polish I chose was NYC's 'Spring Street'. And the Barry M Nail Paints I got were (from left to right); 'Raspberry', 'Red Wine', 'Vived Purple', and because I spent something like £6+, I got 'Lilac Foil' for free! I love freebies!

Then in Boots my shopping buddy spotted some gorgeous 17 polishes, and again, I just couldn't help myself..

The two I bought were (again, left to right) 'Bared' and 'Sphinx'. And because I bought two 17 polishes, I got the 'Electric Disco' Kit for free, which included 'Risky Red', 'Nightshade' and 'Glitter Top Coat'.

Those three polishes all came in this little black sparkly bag along with a mini nail file;

And here's swatches of all the polishes I just showed, in the same order as I put them above;

I LOVE Vivid Purple and the two 17 polishes (the ones I didn't receive for free as part of the Electric Disco set). I'm not too impressed with 'Nightshade' though. When swatching, it was quite sheer and was more of a dark green than black in my opinion, but seen as though I got it for free, I can't really complain.

Anyway, I'm off to go wrap a few more Christmas presents. I seriously can't wait for Christmas any longer! I'm so excited!

Are you super excited for Christmas?

Alice x

Santa Nails!

2011-12-20T12:54:00.001Z

Hi everyone, hope you're all doing ok! First off, apologies for my lack of posts lately. Nothing important or exciting has been happening, I have simply just been incredibly busy working, sorting out Christmas stuff, etc. I am sooooo excited for Christmas! I can't wait! And I feel like a big grumpy Scrooge for not posting anything at all on here that's Christmas related. So, to get back into blogging again, I thought I would start things off with these Santa nails;

Bare in mind, that this is my first real attempt at any kind of nail art, so be kind! haha

I think they actually turned out pretty good - or at least better than I thought they would! Most of the eyes and whatnot ended up different sizes, but I didn't mind as I thought it made them look a tad cuter. My boyfriend, Wayne, claims they look like Lego characters! lol I think they actually do now too.

I thought I would flip one of the photos upside down, so at least you can see the faces the right way up.

Believe it or not, this design was actually Wayne's idea. I got inspired by all the Christmassy nail art on youtube and desperately wanted to do my own. Sharing my thoughts with Wayne, he randomly burst out with this Santa design. I just made it a bit more detailed by adding the rosy cheeks, glitter and the little lines on the edge of the mouth. See they are handy to have around at times! hahaha

All the polishes I used were;

- Barry M 3-in-1 Basecoat, Topcoat and Nail Hardener (only for a base)
- Maybelline Forever Strong Pro 'Ivory Rose' (2 thin coats, for Santa's face)
- Nail Essential's 'Classic Wine' (1 coat, just on the free edge aka the end of my nails, for Santa's hat)
- Barry M 'Matt White' (1 coat, applied over where the red and nude meet with a dotting tool, for the white fur rim of the hat)
- Pink Tease Black Nail Art Pen (used with the dotting tool for the eyes, and with the striper for the mouth)
- Pink Tease Red Nail Art Pen (again with the dotting tool to create the rosy cheeks)
- No.7 No.7 Ultimate Quick Dry Protective Finish (about two coats to finish)

So that's all for now! I hope to squeeze in a few more Christmas designs before the big day comes around. Although, I love this one so much, that I may try and keep it on for as long as possible!

Are you excited for Christmas?

Alice x

My Everyday Makeup

2011-12-11T19:14:00.000Z

Hi everyone, hope you're all ok! So I thought I would finally get this post up, as I've wanted to share with you my 'go-to' everyday makeup for a while now;

I really quite like this look, it's just easy for me to do and now that I'm so used to doing it too, I can do it very quickly if I'm in a rush.

And here's a close up of the eyes;

You'll have to excuse my uneven eyebrows, a friend from college is currently re-shaping them for me and at the moment, we thought it was best to let them grow out a bit before doing more work.

Products used:

Face;

- Collection 2000 Lasting Perfection Concealer in 'Light' under my eyes, blemishes and a scar above my lip

- No.7 Translusent Powder to set the concealer under my eyes

- L'Oreal True Match Foundation in 'C2 Rose Vanilla' and Revlon Colorstay Foundation in '110 Ivory' mixed together and applied all over my face and a bit down my neck

- Benefit High Beam - on the top of my cheekbones, bridge of the nose, chin, cupids bow, brow bone (and sometimes a little on the centre of my forehead, kind of the centre of my eyebrows and slightly above that)

- Sleek Contour Kit in 'Light' - The contour powder for my cheeks, temples, forehead, underneath my chin and jaw bone. And the highlight powder for on top of High Beam (except for the brow bone)

- I also sometimes take a tiny bit of NARS 'Orgasm' blush and pop it on the apples of my cheeks, blended back towards the hairline

Eyes;

(all eyeshadows mentioned are from the Urban Decay Naked palette)

- MAC Paint Pot in 'Painterly' all over the lid and any excess on my finger is took up onto the brow bone

- 'Virgin' on my brow bone, over high beam

- 'Sin' on the inner corners and tear duct

- 'Naked' almost all over the lid, slightly overlapping where 'Sin' ends

- 'Buck' on the outer v and crease, blended up towards the brow bone (but not actually on the brow bone)

- Max Factor False Lash Effect Waterproof Mascara in 'Black'

Lips;

- Bourjois lipstick in 'Essential Rose'

- NARS 'Orgasn' lip gloss

And that's everything! I feel so much better now I have this up, as I've wanted to do this LOTD post for absolutely ages now, but never had the time to take photos.

Do you have a go-to makeup look?

Alice x

30DC Day 23 - Favourite Food

2011-12-11T17:52:00.000Z

Hi everyone, hope you're all well! So today's challenge is to share your favourite food;

And well, I honestly eat almost anything! I'm one of them people that just LOVE good food. In fact, that's why I struggle with diets and whatnot, as I'm a huge food lover. ha. But out of everything, here's some of my favourites;

Chicken Burger and Chips

And just chicken in general. I practically live on chicken...in fact, there's one in the oven right now! haha.

Fish and Chips

(not forgetting the occassional side of mushy peas!)

I'm a big fish lover too, but I am quite picky with it. I hate going to restaurant/cafe/chippy or wherever looking forward to a good fish and it ends up tasting horrible; either there's too much or too little batter, too greasy, bones still in it, etc. It has to be perfect! lol

Fish in this white sauce stuff

It's not just the battered type of fish I like though, and not always with a load of chips on the side. I also love fish fillet/s in that lovely white sauce (which for the life on me, I can never remember the proper name of) with some veg and/or boiled taties on the side.

Just about all kind of sandwiches available

I LOVE sandwhiches! And almost every single kind availble; paninis, baguettes, white sliced, brown, wholemeal, ham, tuna melt, chicken, etc.

Chocolate

(all pictures were from Google)

I'm a huge chocoholic too. I can easily just sit and eat a giant bar of it to myself, as long as it's dairy milk, wich is my favourite.

So yeah, they are probably my faves. I could just sit here all night rambling on and on about all the food I like, but I don't think that's a good idea!

What's your favourite food?

Alice x

30DC Day 23 - Dream House Location

2011-12-10T22:10:00.000Z

Hi everyone, hope you're all having a great weekend so far! So day 23 is to show my dream house location;

(all photos were from Google)

And mine would probably be a super stylish apartment looking over New York City, kind of like the ones in the above pictures. How awesome would that be?! Although, seen as though I've never been there before, I would have to actually go and visit New York first, as after all, I may not even like it there! haha. I think Canada, London or a cute little cottage with lots of land would be amazing too. But at the moment, I just want a flat in Newcastle...doesn't really compare does it? hahaha

What's your dream house location?

Alice x