I Heart Cosmetics

iHerb.com and Under Amour Mini Haul

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah) — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 13:10:00 +0000

I Can't believe what a crazy busy week I have had, sometimes I wonder how I fit it all in! Well actually I don't really, yesterday I got in at 12, fell asleep at 1 and then was back up again at half six for work. There aren't enough hours in the day! I hope working hard now will reap the benefits later but I do realise my blogging hasn't been great so apologies for that.

The highlight of my week has been my two delivieries, my www.iherb.com order and my www.fitnessbox.co.uk order.

Iherb sell healthy food online and have lots of things we can't get here like Larabar's, Puffins, Blue Diamond products and what I really wanted which was some Stevia which is a natural sweetner and much better for you than the likes of aspartame. Above is my pic of my (mini) haul. I didn't want to order too much because of the weight as it increases the postage price. If you want to get $5 off your first order you can use the code listed in the sidebar.

Barbara's puffins are recommended by the girls on www.toneitup.com as a healthy altenative to breakfast cereal and since I love peanut butte I got some of them. Oh my they are delicious, super sweet but nice for a treat breakfast. The almond nut thins are so yummy, they sound weird but they are much nicer than rice cakes and would also be pefect to have instead of crisps or use if you are having people round as a base for some snacks. The vanilla stevia is fabulous and even the Cherry Organic Tea that they sent as a free sample was delicious. If you need things that you can't easily get in the UK then I would definitely recommend buying from here (and I am not affiliated with them or anything) I heard about the website from Laura at www.keepinghealthygettingstylish.com the order came within a week from the USA.

The other thing that made me happy this week was my new gym back from Under Armour. This is like my perfect gym bag in the world ever! They have thought absolutely everything through and given you every single type of compartment you could ever need, added to the fact that it is lightweight, has a funky zebra style lining and is stylish! I am so happy with this purchase and it was only £35 which is such a bargain for a fantastic bag. The little zippy compartment on the side can be used to store dirty clothes or wet swimming stuff separately or you can put a water bottle or an umbrella in there, or snacks if you want to keep them cold as it is lined with this silver stuff. The compartment at the front has a space for your purse, phone, keys and some small change so you don't need to take your handbag too. Overall this is a winner!

I want to do a little shop at Selfridges for the new Mac items and get my eyebrows threaded at blinc but I just don't seem to ever have the time or a long enough break at work to go. My eyebrows look like scary caterpillars!

Have you bought any nice workout clothes recently? Where are they from I need ideas!

Lynx Attract for Women Review

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah) — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 00:06:00 +0000

When I received the Lynx attraction sample I can't deny, I did think it was just a dodgy gimmicky product that I would be unlikely to ever use. Fast forward a couple of weeks but not only do I use it every morning, the girls in the office have borrowed it too and the general consensus is, it smells pretty good!

It has a nicer scent than those impulse style body sprays and the twist around cap is great for slinging in your handbag or gym bag so the spray doesn't just accidentally go off. The description of the scent is 'A vibrant colourful mixture of succulent fruit creates an enticing fusion while floral notes leave a feminine accord. 'Bottom notes of wood, musk and vanilla give the fragrance a sheer creaminess.'

Personally I thought it smelled like cucumbers, which I like, and it definitely smells fresh and clean so great for a post gym spritz.

I have to be honest I think the packaging is terrible, the A in a circle looks like a pair of boxer shorts! I think keeping the entire can pink might have looked nicer. I am not sure what the men's Attract version smells like but I do find it amusing that the 48 hour technology isn't mentioned on the women's can just the men's - I guess they are presuming that women do tend to wash at least every other day! Overall I think this is an 8/10 as it is a deodorant and a body spray in one, is cheap and cheerful and the can is quite large so it's good value at only £2.99 for one or at the moment £5 for two in www.boots.com

What do you think? Would you wear Lynx?

Neom Candle - New Scent - Happiness

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah) — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 07:00:00 +0000

I love a Neom candle, and have mentioned them a few times before. I was sadly unable to attend their recent bloggers event (I think the last event I went to way in May 2011!) but they have sent me through the info which was good of them, most pr's forget if you don't attend the event.

The new candly is called Happiness, I fancy ordering one just because of the name! I could use some happiness right now. The scent is described as 'A sparkling blend of White Neroli, Mimosa and Lemon is combined with natural fresh grass notes to create the awakening of spring.'

The massive 3 wick candle is priced at £37.50 and the travel candle at £13 which I think is the perfect size for a bedside table or mantle piece or just to try out the new fragrance. The candles in all of the scents would make gorgeous mother's day presents or for Easter for people on a diet or who can't eat chocolate. I think I will see if I can have one for my birthday, although it might be one of my usual 'self gifts' haha!

Until I try this one out, in which case I will of course review it, if you've tried it please do comment below and let me know what you think.

http://neomorganics.com/happiness-travel-candle.html

Snoxin Review - better than botox?

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah) — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 23:03:00 +0000

The first I heard of Snoxin was when I opened an envelope and it flopped out onto my desk at work. It is the sister product to Nanoblur but Indeed Labs. Impressed as I was initially by Nanoblur I couldn't use it long term as it contained so much silicone which makes my skin very dry.

Snoxin is the skincare anti ageing product vs the Nanoblur instant gratification product. Snoxin is the treatment that you would use before your moisturiser in the am and pm to treat the appearance of fine lines and It has the highest allowable concentration of anti-aging peptides however why does Snoxin therefore contain silicone too and quite a lot considering it's near the top of the list of ingredients? It claims to be 4x better than $500 serums but that's a bit of an empty claim when the $500 serum might also be crap?

Ingredients in Snoxin: Water / Aqua / Eau, Glycerin, Dimethicone, Cyclopentasiloxane, Sodium Acrylate/Acryloyldimethyl Taurate Copolymer, Butylene Glycol, Acetyl Octapeptide-3, Palmitoyl Oligopeptide, Palmitoyl Tetrapeptide-7, Dipeptide Diaminobutyroyl Benzylamide Diacetate, Isohexadecane, Cyclohexasiloxane, Polysilicone-11, Polysorbate 80, Polysorbate 20, Carbomer, Caprylyl Glycol, Phenoxyethanol

You can read the full information from Indeed Labs here http://www.indeedlabs.com/snoxin/ and there are also some pictures. The bottom line for me is, it contains so much silicone that it makes my skin dry - therefore making it look more liney rather than less! If you don't have a problem with silicone then by all means give this a go but I think Nanoblur is a better product and £10 cheaper (£19.99 vs the Snoxin's £29.99).

For long term anti ageing look for a true anti ageing product. I would personally stick to Retinol, Quercetin and Glycolic Acid products. Preferably from a well known brand with published clinical results. Dermatologists have recommended Roc and Skinceuticals products to me before for both Retinol (vitamin A) and Glycolic products and I like to use Korres's Quercetin and Oak moisturiser.

Monday ramble and update

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah) — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 13:48:00 +0000

In case you wondered the healthy eating is going fab! I am so enjoying eating proper food and not obsessing about protein all the time! Here are some of the foods that I have been enjoying this week.

Lemon and pepper quorn escalope with a big mixed salad of grated carrot, spinach,

mixed leaves, courgette and lemon juice 1 tsp olive oil as a dressing

Oatmeal cooked with almond milk and blueberries

2 tbs greek yoghurt and flax seed sprinkle

Grilled chicken marinaded in soy sauce and chilli

Whole grain rice and half a bag of spinach (steamed)

A wholewheat wrap spread with 1 tbs garlic houmous

quinoa, salad and kale

I have so much more energy and my undereye bags look better. Yay! I might even have enough energy to go through my stuff again and finish off that blogsale from the other week. I still have so much stuff!

Yesterday Matt and I went to the cinema to watch Woman in Black. I finished the film and though "that ghost is so vindictive"! If you've seen it, do you agree? I mean what a cow! After all that effort he made as well. I was a bit surprised that it was a 12a, must be some hardcore 12 year olds out there cos I was a bit scared haha! I like that it's an old school type of thing not full of blood and gore like maybe Saw but it plays on your mind and is really jumpy. Below is the trailer. Let me know if you have seen it or are thinking about it. I would probably watch it again so I could properly see all the bits where I had my hand over my face haha!

The film The Devil Inside was shown as a trailer before the film I was at and oh my, now that looks really freaky, it seems a cross between paranormal activity 2 and the exorcist. Now I like scary films but I think i'll pass on that one as I won't be able to sleep for a month! Good acting though as I was scared just from the trailer.

I like to take a yummy healthy snack and a bottle of water into the cinema as Matt sits munching popcorn and nachos so I am tempted to share them otherwise. This time I took some drench plain water and a flax 9 bar. Nom nom, cravings averted (and no rustling to annoy the other film watchers). 9 bars are my favourite mid morning or afternoon snack and flax is my favourite as Flax Seeds are a good source of alpha linolenic acid, omega 3 fatty acid. Most of the 9Bars are more than 57% seeds and coated with a lovely carob layer which tastes like chocolate but is dairy free. Carob contains minerals and vitamins too. All in all its lush.

I would love to try Larabars, Luna Bars and Think Thin bars but unfortuantely they are really hard to get in the UK apart from iHerb and I have already made my iHerb order this month to get some Puffins cereal and some Stevia. So it will have to wait unless I can find a kind soul to send me some larabars.

Do you like healthy food and scary films?

Urban Decay Naked 2 Palette Review

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah) — Sun, 12 Feb 2012 21:35:00 +0000

I am the very excited owner of both the first and second Urban Decay naked palettes and I must say, these are the two best palettes that I own. I love both and use both week after week. As you can tell from how battered the first palette looks! Here is the link to my review of the first palette http://www.iheartcosmetics.co.uk/2010/08/urban-decay-naked-palette-swatches.html

I can't honestly say which one is my favourite as I love them both, I would definitely buy both if you can afford them. I have used Urban Decay since I was a teenager, which is depressingly quite a while ago now I come to think of it! The pigmentation and application has always been fantastic and they do seem to generally have fixed the problems with glitter fallout that I used to experience, glittery cheeks doesn't look good when you are over 20 unfortunately (for me).

From the Naked 2 palette my favourite colours are Half Baked, YDK, Pistol and Suspect. Gorgeous!

I used Foxy and Tease for this, and Red Cherry lashes

The Naked 2 palette comes with a mini lipgloss which is gorgeous but so small I have lost it already and a brush which I think is a bit crap so I have no idea where I put that. Stick with your Mac 224 and 239 and you won't go far wrong. If you want a black shadow then definitely go for the Naked 2 palette.

The Naked 1 palette came with a double ended eyeliner which I lost as well, there's a recurring theme here...

I recommend both of these palettes 100% They cost £36 each and you can get them from Debenhams, House of Fraser. You can get the original Naked Palette for £32 from Beauty Bay.

John Frieda Full Repair Root Lift Foam - Fail

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah) — Sat, 11 Feb 2012 22:05:00 +0000

I love volumising hair mousse, spray mousse and well, anything that gives my limp hair a bit of a boost and some lift. I walked past one of those new product stands in Boots about a month ago and saw the new John Frieda Full Repair range. The range is based on the added ingredient Inca Inchi Oil which they say revives overworked hair, repairing the look and feel of damage from frequent heat styling and colouring, without weighing hair down. Hair is instantly transformed into full-bodied style with natural movement.

Well it doesn't, in fact it made my hair limp, sticky (and this was with less than half the amount of mousse I normally use) and dull. The mousse is far too wet to be able to give any volume, I tried it every day for a week and tried to use it when hair was sopping wet, damp, nearly dry and every time it looked the same. Such a shame as there is definitely a gap in the market for a fabulous low cost volumising mousse for limp hair that doesn't weigh it down.

If you want a fab mousse that really does give volume all of the below mousses are tried and tested and get 9-10/10 from me:

L'oreal TecNi Art Spray Mousse

Tigi Bed Head Spray Mousse - Queen For A Day

Tigi Candy Fixations Totally Baked Mousse

X Rated Beauty Adverts?

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah) — Sat, 11 Feb 2012 00:22:00 +0000

Is it just me or do you watch this clip and think a) what the actual **** has this got to do with beauty products? b) all I am really focussing on is that giant beard....

........is it me? Not quite sure what'll come next after this type of advert...someone fellating a mascara tube? Paha I am so prudey!

Monday - it always comes around so fast!

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah) — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 12:49:00 +0000

I've been doing well at my healthy eating and have had lots of yummy meals now. I tried Total's 2% Greek yoghurt which was delicious, I normally have the 0% fat one and then use sweetener but I figured it made just as much sense to simply have the 2% and not use the sweetener. It tastes so much nicer! I had it for a dessert with flaxseed sprinkle, raspberries and a teaspoon of thyme honey.

Then today I had a little bit of it on my porridge which I made with oatbran and a little light soy milk and five rasperries so it turned the porridge pink! Then I sprinkled over a tablespoon of the flax seed sprinkle - well that's what I call it - it's milled organic flaxseed from http://www.linwoodshealthfoods.com/

I've always wanted a tattoo in theory but never seen or thought of anything that I particularly liked enough to have on me forever, but I saw the picture above on pinterest and I really like it - what do you think? I don't know anything about tattoos lol!

Makeup wise I have been sent some L'oreal eyeliner and mascara to test out so hopefully the review will be up this week.

Hope you had a lovely weekend x

Keeping healthy and a little update

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah) — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 00:21:00 +0000

I went to the doctors and they have diagnosed Costochondritis which is a condition that causes chest pain due to inflammation of the cartilage and bones in the chest wall. Plus I have to go and have some further tests at the hospital just to rule out it being anything else.

I can't exercise and must limited all heavy lifting which is a right pain, I really hate not going to the gym to relax as it makes me feel so out of control and fat. I have decided for the moment that I need to stop doing any Dukan related diets, obviously taking from it the fact that you don't actually need to eat so many carbohydrates as are prevalent in most western diets, I rarely missed bread, couscous, rice or pasta and would be happy now with small portions and not at every meal.

I am instead going to focus more on how I used to eat, lots of vegetables, healthy fats, lean meats, fish and seafood, whole grain carbs and not to much gluten. Eating whole foods rather than processed where possible. I think I need to wean myself off eating so much red meat as well. I used to always just eat quorn! It's funny how I adapted so quickly to eating meat again.

Today's dinner - big salad with cucumber, carrot, 3 different types of lettuce and turkey which I grilled and then mixed in 2 tablespoons of low fat honey and mustard dressing while it was still warm

My main helpline when eating healthily used to be http://www.keepinghealthygettingstylish.com written by the lovely Laura, but I must admit with working and all the dramas that have gone on I haven't been reading so much lately so I am spending this afternoon sitting and catching up on my reading. She's even on the back page of my new Healthy magazine from Holland and Barrett! I've also bought the book Great American Detox Diet as it's about a similar vein of healthy eating and nutrition based so I should learn something too, it was the programme used by the guy who ate McDonalds for a month for the film Supersize Me to get back to his normal weight and body functions so I think it will be a good read. I only ordered it today so I shall see how I like it when I read it.

I bought a pack of Pukka's cleanse tea so I don't drink so much caffeine. I do love a cup of tea but it's more to keep warm than anything else. You can order them here http://www.pukkaherbs.com/tea-room/all-our-teas/cleanse.html I love Yamamotoyama sushi bar style green tea but I can't find any in the UK to order, my normal place has been out of stock for ages so I got these in the hope that they will wean me off normal tea.

A lovely snack I had was a chopped braeburn apple with cinnamon and a spoon of cashew butter. I quite like the cashew butter it was a pleasant surprise.

Oooh I am so excited for food right now, eating protein every meal was quite boring!

Philips Reaura Laser Skin Rejuvenation Sessions 4 and 5

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah) — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 23:34:00 +0000

It was a while since I did session three and if I am being totally honest with you it's because I don't really enjoy this at all. This skin laser is, if you will, the facial equivalent of going to the gym, not nice but necessary if you want results.

Since the third session my skin has been super duper dry as expected, I apply facial oil straight before foundation and it doesn't go on greasy because my skin has already absorbed the oil, now THAT is dry! I have been using Douvall's Argan Oil Moisturiser which I only just realised is Douvall as in ALICIA Douvall, former glamour model! Bit of an odd mixture but hey, it's a fab product so I am certainly not knocking her! She has collaborated with her 16-year-old daughter to create the new organic beauty multi-tasker which can be used to hydrate the skin, condition the hair, soothe problem skin and nourish the cuticles and I think it's great for my dry and flaky skin especially as it isn't being helped by this ridiculous cold weather. On top of that I have been slathering Oilatum's natural repair face cream and then Clinique's new BB cream SPF30. But still come the afternoon my face looks dry and dusty. I have to say if you had just started dating someone and using this at the same time they would probably start to wonder what was going on with your face. Most other people, work colleagues etc. are only really likely to ask why your face is so red (which is embarrassing) possible excuses are - I've been on a sun bed, I've just got back from holiday, it's really cold outside, I've had an allergic reaction...going for 'I've just lasered my skin' might make you seem a bit nutty!

Ow chihuahua!

Since I have been using the laser I haven't yet noticed the pigmentation dark speckles rising to the top of my skin and I haven't really seen any improvement in texture although my freckles seem less noticeable. As it seems to be in the dry and peely stage I am assuming that you have to get through this stage to show the new skin? I can't really comment on the effectiveness of this device after only 5 treatments but I really wish it wasn't so painful. I wonder if there is any way to purchase some sort of anaesthetic cream over the counter to numb the skin? As it burns while I am doing it then afterwards omg it is sooo itchy I feel like I need to scratch my skin off! If you know whether or not this is legal/available then please do let me know as I have lots of sessions left!

Let me know if you have any questions and if you want one yourself you can buy them here: Space NK

New Shellac Shades for 2012

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah) — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 12:06:00 +0000

The amazing CND Shellac will once again be coming out with a new set of colours for the new season. Released in the UK on Sunday 4th March at the Professional Beauty Show, Excel, London the six above new colours will be unleashed.

The six gorgeous new shades range from classic taupe to blinging silver and will bring the total Shellac shades to 36. The shade names are: Silver VIP Status, Gold VIP Status, Cityscape, Rubble, Dark Lava, Silver Chrome.

To find a CND Shellac certified salon, visit CND’s Salon Locator at www.cnd.com and if you are in the Kent/South London area then maybe I will be close enough to come and Shellac you, you can contact me via my beauty business here www.beautyretreatkent.com

Money can't buy you taste

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah) — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 23:30:00 +0000

I would have expect with stylists, managers, makeup, hair, specsavers etc. etc. celebs could refrain from attending an awards ceremony looking like something Mrs Mop would get out of her kit bag.

Apparently not....

John Frieda Precision Foam Colour Giveaway!

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah) — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 21:47:00 +0000

Thanks to suggestions from the public the John Frieda® Precision Foam Colour Range just got larger! With the addition of their new ‘Selected By You Shades’.

6 new shades ranging from Medium Burgundy, Medium Copper Brown, Dark Natural Blonde, Medium Ash Brown, Extra Light Ash Blonde and Luminous Blue Black created as a response to requests from the public.

Check out the lovely Nicola below from http://www.nicolavc86.com/ talking about one shade here

Six lucky women from across the UK, were the first to try out the new shades, and you can see the stunning results over at www.facebook.com/johnfriedauk

I have 1 of each of the new shades up for grabs, so there are 6 winners of this giveaway.

For your chance to win

Simply comment below with which shade you would like and either share the link to this post on twitter, facebook, your blog or any other social media outlet.

Obviously this is open to followers only.

This opens today 30th January 2012 and ends midnight UK time on 13th February 2012.

It is for UK postage only- sorry this was specified by the company not me.

Body Shop Chocomania

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah) — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 21:18:00 +0000

Body Shop's new Chocomania range is a great addition to their line and perfect for this time of the year when my skin is really dry. I don't really like any scents of the body butters apart from Shea butter as some of them smell a bit plasticy but this chocomania is actually quite similar to the shea butter scent with a chocolatey hint. This is definitely a good chocolate scent, it doesn't smell fake just nice and light.

The consistency is really nice as it is with all of the body butters, I always put mine on after a shower while my skin is still warm and I'm drying my hair and sometimes hair dry it a bit before applying so it melts slightly and rubs in quicker. I have an obsession with my hairdryer, but that's another issue.

I would definitely recommend this over all of the other body butter scents that body shop too and I would imagine the shower gel smells gorgeous as well. In fact I would give it 8.5/10 - the mark lowered slightly as I much prefer Korres' body butters as they come in a tube so you don't get butter under your nails.

I have to say I do find these 48 hour moisture and 24 hour foundation claims a bit weird. I have a wash/shower/clean much more often than these products would seem to assume, who cares if your moisturiser lasts 2 days if in that time you have had a shower and reapplied - is it just me? I don't want my foundation to last 24 hours either that is just minging! Wash your face people!

Anyway back on topic, I will be using this whole tub up no doubt, which is no mean feat when you have as much of a body lotion stash as I do. Buy at the Body Shop stores or here for £9 thebodyshop.co.uk

Do you like body butters or do you find it hard to bother to moisturise daily?

Choccywoccydoodaa butter provided for review by PR

Spring Cleaning Blog Sale

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah) — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 23:46:00 +0000

Spring cleaning meant yet more to clear out which equals another blog sale

- It is first comment first served based on comment time - please note I am now unable see blogger comments as Disqus is my comment provider which is supposed to take the place of blogger, I am only able to see these comment by logging into blogger and checking 'awaiting moderation' so best to email me if you can't use disqus.

- Please pay promptly within 24 hours of invoice

- Please leave paypal address below or comment and email me at iheartcosmetics1@gmail.com

Items will be despatched as soon as payment recieved and will be sanitised and bubble wrapped.

Postage is £1.50 first class to the UK and for multiple items if much heavier will be more. Outside the UK cost will be more, please be aware.

~~30ml Orgasm Illuminator - used 3x £6~~

~~30ml Eve Lom Intense Hydration Serum - used 2x £25~~

~~Nanoblur fullsize - used 4x £7~~

~~Fashionista Saturdays Purple Me Up Magnetism Nail Lacquer - used 1x - £3~~

~~OPI Nail Lacquer - Come to Poppy - used 1x £3~~

~~Sephora by OPI - Leaf Him - Usex 2x - £3~~

~~Girls with Attitude Double Take English Rose Lashes~~

~~Double Lashes £6 for all three pairs~~

~~Jemma Kidd Makeup School - Crushed Jewel Creme Duo #1 Lolite - New £8~~

~~Chanel Illusion D'Ombre with Brush - Used once - #84 Epatant - £12~~

~~Mac Eyeshadow in Shale - used 2x - £5~~

~~Rouge Bunny Rouge eyeshadow tantalizing lovebird - used 3x £7~~

~~Rouge Bunny Rouge eyeshadow veiled lyrebird - used 1x £8~~

~~Korres Eyeshadow in Bronze Brown - used 3x £4~~

~~Nars Duo in Surabaya - used 5x - £8~~

~~Bella Pierre eyeshadow in Cocoa - used 2x £4~~

~~Smith's Strawberry Lip Balm and Rosebud Salve - Brand New £4 each~~

~~Burt's Bees Super Shiny Natural Lip Gloss - used 1x £3~~

~~Mini Girls Meets Pearl unused £2~~

~~Edward Bess lipstick in Secret Desire - Used 4x - £6~~

~~Mac Cyndi Viva Glam Lipstick - Used 5x - £5~~

~~Good Luck~~

SpaRitual Spring 2012 Water Collection Undercurrent Sw atch

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah) — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 20:30:00 +0000

Today's blog post is a swatch of the gorgeous SpaRitual's nail varnish shade Undercurrent which is from the Water Collection for Spring 2012. The polish is a stunning super shiny cream cobalt blue and to show you guys! Not only are the polishes in this collection gorgeous but 20% of the proceeds from the collection are going to a great charity called Surge, if you want to learn more about them their website is http://www.surgeforwater.org/

The formula of the polish is great and the picture above is 2 coats with OPI's topcoat. I am not sure how long it would last, as I am using acetone on nail clients all the time I can't wear nail varnish for appointments but I was really impressed with the application and colour. If you've never used SpaRitual's polishes you can find them and lots of their other gorgeous products here https://www.sparitual.co.uk/ I have a bottle of the infinitely loving oil and OMG it is to die for! The polishes are vegan and cost £8.50.

Overall I'd give this 9/10. I have to say it was a bit odd using nail varnish it's been so long since I used one as I always use Shellac or Artistic Colour Gloss!

Polish provided for review by NSI

I have had the most awful day

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah) — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 21:55:00 +0000

I won't bore you with all of the finer details but there is no beauty post today. I found out my granddad has cancer of the blood and had an awful appraisal at work, you know one of those chats you have with someone and they start saying things and you think - is this really happening, are you actually saying these things? Am I in a parralel universe?

Well it was a day like that. If I drank much I think I would be drowning in a bucket of wine right now, unfortunately I have no wine so I just feel like shit :(

Current Obsessions

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah) — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 23:36:00 +0000

I have been so busy lately that makeup pics have been lacking for which I apologise. Proper reviews and swatches are to follow but here are some new things I have been obsessed with this month.

First up is one of the new YSL Voile de Blush's in shade no 2. This blush is the ultimate sheer wash of gorgeous coral colour for a bit of colour in your cheeks. This works well with all olive skin tones or if you love fake tan like me! The consistency is a gel and it is totally non sticky and so sheer and gorgeously easy to apply. Pricey but I love it soooo much! I want the other colours asap.

Clinique - Age Defence BB Cream SPF 30

I was sent this BB cream to test out and have it in shade 1 which is great for when I am not fake tanning. I have to wear a high SPF at the moment due to the laser treatments making the skin very sensitive to sunlight.

I have very dry skin and find this perfect. It gives a natural tinted moisturiser coverage that is sheer but evens out the skintone.

It has a very natural coverage

Shade 1

Please note it is a chemical sunscreen so check that the ingredients don't break you out at the counter before buying, try a little on the jawline. I love the coverage and I don't find it as greasy as other Clinique foundations although I don't think this will be that good on oily skins as it is meant as an age defense product and is therefore quite a moisturising feeling cream. I would definitely repurchase this and I prefer it to the Mac BB Cream. This BB cream has a thicker k consistency,and more coverage than a bog standard tinted moisturiser. I only neded a touch of concealer but my dark circles are huge. The finish is matte but there are optical diffusers in the product apparently which does give a more natural finish.
You can get it here on the Clinique website and it costs £25

Finding a perfect pump dispenser for liquid facial products

I really hate mess and wastage with facial products like liquid eye makeup remover and toner etc. So I decided to test out my Mac eye makeup remover in one of my pump bottles I use for my nail tech liquids...obviously I washed it in the dishwasher first to remove any chemicals. It works perfectly! Just pop your cotton wool circle onto the top of the pump, push down and the pad is saturated with the liquid but not too much so it is sopping wet. I love this!

You can get them on ebay or I get mine here > Pump Bottles I hope this is handy for you, you can use them for all sorts of things, even nail varnish remover just make sure to label it different to your cleanser bottle!

My teeth!

Holy cow these are some damn white teeth, obsessed! Have had so many people tell me they are going to go to smile studio in London to get them done too, are you going to get it done while it's £200 discount? Let me know! I'd love to post your before and after pics with mine.

I still have a few more sessions of the whitening at home kit to do too! Wy10 is such an amazing system and am so chuffed and grateful to Dr Chan and http://smilestudiolondon.co.uk/

So what have you been obsessed with???

Philips ReAura-skin rejuvenation laser session 3

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah) — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 18:48:00 +0000

If you read my blogs about my first and second sessions using this device then you may have wondered if I had yet managed to use the laser properly with one full time slot on each cheek AND my forehead. Well I am please to say that yes, I have finally managed to do it! I'll take a bow now!

It took approximately 6/7 minutes per section and my skin went just as red as before and I had the usual amount of stinging and pain. I do find it funny that the amount of people who have said to me 'ooh you shouldn't do it any more' or 'oooh it can't be good for you'. To be honest I just carry on as I was kindly sent this device and I agreed to review it and review it I shall as that is what I feel that my blog is about, trying products that I think people will be interested in buying to see if they are worth the money.

Since I have been using the laser, as the manual says, my skin has got quite dry and peely for the days after using it, not peeling as so that someone looking at me can tell, but when I put my makeup in the morning my BB cream looks smooth (I'm using Clinique BB cream as you have to use a high SPF) but a few hours later it has started to look slightly 'bitty' on close inspection and it's bits of skin starting to peel.

Now obviously I can't really comment on the effectiveness of this device after only 3 treatments but I personally think that I can see a difference in my skin and that my freckles seem much less visible. I am interested to see if they disappear completely. The annoying thing is that this treatment does make my face feel quite itchy, I have found myself rubbing at my face and had to stop myself but grr I just want to scratch! I shall continue to update each time I do a treatment. Next one is due on Sunday. Let me know if you have any questions.

Minx Nails for Sale

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah) — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 10:03:00 +0000

If anyone is interested in buying these they are £9 each inc uk postage (£3 for overseas postage) or £30 for all four inc Uk postage (£4 for overseas postage). Usually only available to nail techs but I realised that my collection was a bit tooooo big!

PayPal or bank transfer pls first come first served.

They are gold lightening, burgundy chrome orange chrome and pink and purple swirl. The one in the clear packaging is the older style packaging the black is the newer style.

Lynx Attract For Her

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah) — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 10:31:00 +0000

If you click on this link > Lynx Girls you can see a can of Lynx for girls/women which appears to have been released.

I wonder if the advert is going to be some girl covered with guys? Or in a supermarket with guy's clothes just magically dissapearing and oops they're in their underwear? I'm putting myself and Ryan Reynolds forward for THAT advert #justsaying ;P

What do you think it's going to smell like?

Slendertone System Male Arms

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah) — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 10:27:00 +0000

After I had such great success with the slendertone abs system that I was sent I wanted to have a look on their website and see if they had anything for arms because despite working out at the gym and using the machines, free weights and doing press ups my arms were still not as toned as I wanted when wearing strappy tops and dresses. I came across both the women's and men's versions of the system arms and decided to look into them as I wondered what the difference was.

The difference appears to be that while the slendertone system male arms targets the triceps and the biceps (front and back of the arm) the women's version just targets the back of the arm. For a roughly similar price I decided to go for the men's version. As I had the controller from the abs system I only had to buy the arm garment which was a very reasonable £32.

To use the arm system, as with the ab system you apply the sticky gel patches to the garment, plug in the controller and then place the garment on each arm ensuring there is a sticky patch placed on each tricep and bicep in the correct place. Pick your programme out of 10/12/15 minutes then your level and then away you go.

With this system the pulses from the slendertone mean that you should sit with your arms bent and chill out while the machine does it's thing as your arms move involuntarily, no eating your dinner - you would end up wearing it!

Here is an arm picture after using it for 3 sessions. Will try and update once a week. I am currently up to level 36 out of 100. They say that you need to use it for 4 weeks to show results so am looking forward to next month!

Do you have to fight against bingo wings? Any tips?

Had my teeth whitened yesterday

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah) — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 11:45:00 +0000

Full info and proper pictures to come once I have finished the home kit but omfg how white are my teeth already??!!!!!!

I had them done with Dr Chan and his 2 lovely assistants at smile studio London http://smilestudiolondon.com

I love them already!

Slendertone 30 Day Ab Challenge

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah) — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 22:30:00 +0000

The Slendertone manual has the 30 day challenge outlined that you follow for noticeable results in a month. I had a slight problem with following the programme to the letter as first of all I wanted to use it every day as it was my new fun novelty product but then once Matt was in the car crash, the slendertone charger had been in the car so the belt wore out of battery and I had to then try and obtain a new one online but then had to ask the slendertone people if it was ok to send me another one as I couldn't find where to buy one online. That took just over a week to sort out so obviously I then missed that week of using the belt delaying the 30 days somewhat and obviously with Matt having had the accident the review wasn't the first thing on my mind.

After I received the new charger I continued and followed the programme to the letter and, as the programme suggested, increased the intensity as much as I could. I got the the intensity of 59-60 and this is where I seem to have hit my plateau. I am not sure why, as the intensity goes up to a whopping 100 levels, but any higher than that and I am actually in pain from the force of the muscle contraction. Prior to using the belt I did 100 situps around 3 times a week so I don't know if perhaps that means my abs weren't developed very much and that is why I am still struggling with the intensity.

The 30 day challenge programme is well designed, even for someone without stomach muscle definition to start with. My stomach before was flat but I never had those lines down the sides of my abs or even a tiny hint of them. I did attempt to try and put the resistance up to 60 the first time I used it and I felt how I would imagine one of those people twitching on the floor after being tazered by the police would feel. So remember to be sensible and stick to low levels to start with. I would usually use the slendertone belt just before bed as this is really the only time I get at home to do it, in the mornings I only have 1/2 an hour before I leave the house and I couldn't get away with it during work hours.

So after a month do I feel any different? The answer is definitely yes. Of course I don't have a six pack or even the amazing ab definition that the woman on the box does but it is nice to be able to look in the mirror and see the shadow of the two lines down the side of my abs without having had to kill myself doing thousands of boring situps. The Slendertone System Abs doesn't claim to be anything that it is not, it is for stomach toning and of course this sort of thing works best in conjunction with healthy eating and exercise. I wouldn't even bother with this product if you are needing to lose a few stone as you do need to have a low enough body fat percentage to actually be able to see muscle definition through any fat you have. That's not me being bitchy but you will honestly waste money using this if you are quite big so I don't want to mislead anyone. This ab belt definitely helps speed along your ab toning in a really noticable manner.

My recommendations

Read the manual thoroughly even if you hate reading manuals

Buy replacement pads when you buy the ab belt, if you accidentally drop this on the carpet where your cat has been sleeping you render the pads totally useless immediately..... this may have happened to me

Do not let other people share the ab belt, you need to keep the pads at the best spot for you personally (everyone tries to 'borrow' the slendertone once they see I have one).

I definitely recommend this product in conjunction with a diet and healthy living as a great aid in ab toning. I will continue to use it as soon as my new pads come in the post and have recommended it to many friends.

Sadly while I do often get compliments about my figure and waist I am quite body conscious so I don't really want to post a picture of my stomach online, from many comments I get on this blog (obviously that I delete)people are pretty bitchy so I don't really want to needlessly upset myself as i'm a sensitive little sausage!

You can buy this from

Amazon http://www.amazon.co.uk/Slendertone-System-Abs-Toning-Womens/dp/B000PARO2M

Argos http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/9003905.htm

Or http://www.slendertone.com/