Cupcakes and Cherries

Monday Summary 001

2012-01-30T17:50:00.001Z

Victoria from the wonderful blog, Lily Loves Lola introduced a lovely idea of writing 5 good things every week in her Monday Summary. I have decided to try and do this idea too as it's easy to post about beauty all the time, and sometimes it's nice to read some of the more personal stuff and to have these posts to look back on. Let me know if you are doing these posts too!

Heart shaped cacti at Ikea

My 5 good things:

1) Living in London. I'm sure most of you know but I moved from Surrey to Clapham in London in October and am so glad we made the move. Yes, rent is expensive but it is so worth it to be living in such a great capital city. I want to make the most of living here so if you have any recommendations of places to visit and things to do let me know!

2) A new cousin. Last week my Uncle and Auntie had a gorgeous baby boy called Walter George. He is so cute and teeny tiny and I cannot wait to meet him!

3) Titanium - by David Guetta and Sia. Can't get enough of this song!

4) Walking. As I live and work in South London my commute is an easy one. Last week I decided to start walking to work so I treated myself to Spotify premium, made myself some playlists and power-walk the half an hour journey. I may arrive at work a bit of a hot mess but I feel so much better for doing it. If I walk to work every day I will be doing 10 miles every week and when the evenings get lighter I'm going to start walking home too.

5) Family-time. This weekend I went back to Surrey and had a lovely weekend seeing the family and hanging out with Charlie. We went to Southampton on Saturday and I made the most of West Quay shopping centre and bought 2 pairs of jeans and some sale items from Zara. Also spent a lot of time in IKEA. The rest of the weekend was spent chilling, watching Bridesmaids and catching up on blogs.

January Favourites: My Top Three

2012-01-28T21:06:00.000Z

♥ Estee Lauder Double Wear Light - this foundation was too light for me in summer but now we're into the depths of winter (although evenings are getting lighter- hooray!) my skin is at its fairest and so this is a great match. Even though it's the light version of Double Wear I do find it a little heavy and so mix it with this sample of MaxFactor Lasting Performance- I love the results. It lasts all day long and makes my skin look flawless without looking like I'm plastered in foundation.

♥ MAC MSF Natural - I've already raved about this powder in my post here so won't rabbit on about it again. In a nutshell; best powder I have ever used.

♥ Benefit Cha Cha Tint - this came in my wonderful goody box from Benefit at the Diet Coke Get Glam event a couple of weeks ago. I've never been that interested in the Benefit 'tints'. I tried the small bottle of Posie Tint when it came free in Glamour magazine but wasn't very impressed. However at the Benefit event it was applied properly and I realised I needed to be more generous in my application to get the best look. I do like Posie Tint but the real favourite for me is Cha Cha Tint. It's a gorgeous coral-y colour and gives a lovely healthy colour. I just dot three 'brushes' on my cheeks and then blend in. Lovely!

L'Oreal Paris New Eye Products

2012-01-24T19:43:00.002Z

Today, L'Oreal Paris have launched the new Cheryl Cole advert (view the ad here) and with that launch they are releasing three new eye products- False Lash Telescopic Mascara, SuperLiner Gel Intenza Eyeliner and SuperLiner Perfect Slim Eyeliner. All will available from February.

False Lash Telescopic Mascara (RRP £10.99)

L'Oreal say: "Say goodbye to false eye lashes and open your eyes to see things in a totally different scale with new L'Oreal Paris False Lash Telescopic Mascara'. With one stroke of the brush lashes are provided with a lengthening false lash effect"

I do like the original Telescopic Mascara although it's not one of my favourites (I love L'Oreal Voluminous) and after a quick try of this today I'm not overly impressed. Saying that, sometimes I find mascaras work better once they've been opened a few days!

SuperLiner Gel Intenza Eyeliner (RRP £8.99)

L'Oreal say: "This new creamy eyeliner is available in a make-up artist favourite glass pot with a professional style brush. Featuring an ultra smudge-proof, highly concentrated pigment, the liner gives a deep, bold colour result and last for up to 24 hours"

As soon as I saw SuperLiner in the name of two of the new products I was extremely excited. The SuperLiner liquid eyeliner is my absolute favourite liner and has been since I started using it back in 2010. I'm looking forward to trying this gel liner- I have been neglecting my gel eyeliners in favour of the SuperLiner so maybe this will turn me back to gel!

Superliner Perfect Slim (RRP £6.49)

L'Oreal say: "In one steady stroke, this superfine eyeliner accentuates the shape and contour of the eye with its 0.4mm tip. Providing the ultimate stylish and intense sweeping line, this accurate liner gives optimum control thanks to its grip zone hold"

The SuperLiner Perfect Slim will be available in black and RRP is £6.49

I tried this this morning and oooh, I really like it. As with the SuperLiner liquid liner it's really easy to apply and gives a lovely black line. You can easily wear it thick or thin and can build it up to how you like it.

Are you going to be buying any of the new L'Oreal products?

Benefit 'They're Real' Mascara giveaway - winner!

2012-01-23T19:31:00.000Z

Thanks to everyone who entered my Benefit giveaway. The favourite Diet Coke can design by far was the Romantic- my favourite too!

The giveaway winner is......Carmen xo. Congratulations! I will be sending you an email shortly and the mascara will be on its way to you soon!

MAC MSF Natural

2012-01-20T18:44:00.001Z

Today I am posting with a lot of love for MAC's MSF (mineralize skinfinish) natural. I have been using this face powder for a few years now, however a few months ago it ran out and I decided to buy a cheaper powder from Rimmel- their Stay Matte Pressed Powder. It was OK but nothing special and so I ended up just skipping powder completely.

Before I attended the L'Oreal event in Mayfair I popped to Selfridges and bought the MSF natural again. I have tried it in a few shades- light plus, medium plus and my latest is just medium. As soon as I applied it after buying I realised that I am never going without this powder again! It is the best powder in the WORLD.

It applies so well and makes your skin look so lovely- almost airbrushed yet still natural. I have also worn it on its own and it works really nicely on just bare skin. It may seem pricy at £20.50 but oh so worth the money. This is definitely a staple product for me, and will be for a long time.

John Frieda launches YouTube haircare channel

2012-01-19T19:25:00.005Z

John Frieda has recently launched a new YouTube channel with a focus on step-by-step hair tutorials and you may recognise some of the bloggers featured (hi Sabrina!).

John Frieda say:

"The John Frieda© Haircare Experts are proud to announce the launch of a brand new YouTube channel. To mark the occasion, the professionals behind the John Frieda© Brands will host a series of easy to follow videos showing a range of stunning hairstyles. Eight ‘Style on Demand’ have been created, hosted by top John Frieda© stylists Jake Davies and Giles Robinson. They share industry secrets enabling women to recreate a variety of beautiful on-trend styles for 2012. The bite sized videos are designed to empower hair conscious women, giving them the confidence to try new looks and styling techniques. The videos include styles for both day and night. Sessions include mastering classic retro curls to create an elegant 1940's screen siren look and producing a stunning celebrity inspired halo plait. To keep up to date with the latest styles visit the John Frieda© YouTube channel here."

I've been having a look through the tutorials and they are fab and look relatively easy to recreate. I think my favourite look is this messy updo which I may try soon. Let me know if you have tried any of these tutorials!

If you would like to win the Benefit 'They're Real' Mascara make sure you enter my giveaway here- winner will be announced on Sunday!

iHeart Breaking Hearts

2012-01-18T19:24:00.000Z

My Dad sent me the link to this new product and I had to share it. My Dad is a product designer (you can see his work here) and his business partner used to teach the girl who came up with this idea.

iHeart Breaking Hearts are clever biodegradable eating utensils that come in the shape of hearts- simply snap to break them apart and use them. Cute!

Diet Coke and Benefit Get Glam Event

2012-01-13T19:33:00.006Z

Last night I attended an event to celebrate a collaboration between Diet Coke and Benefit. I was invited to the Benefit store in Spitalfields where Benefit's Head Make-up Artist Lisa Potter-Dixon introduced us to the new 'Get Glam' Diet Coke cans. We were shown the three make-up looks that run alongside each can design and also had the chance to have a mini-makeover to try one of the looks (I chose the romantic look).

Everytime you buy a can from the 'Get Glam' collection you receive a £5 voucher code, redeemable on purchases from the Benefit website. The collection highlights three seasonal looks and each design features a female face in striking silhouette with a hot lipstick palette.

♥ Romantic ♥ Fashionista ♥ Rock Chick

You can watch step-by-step tutorials for each make-up look which are available on the Diet Coke 'Get Glam' Facebook App (available to download here).

When we left we were given the most amazing 'Get Glam' gift...

So beautiful, generous and will also be very handy to use as storage after I've emptied it!

Giveaway
*closed*

As I bought the Benefit 'They're Real' mascara over Christmas I thought I would give the one in my box to one of you lovely people. You can read my review of the mascara here.

♥ To enter, comment below with your favourite Diet Coke Can design- Romantic, Fashionista or Rock Chick.
♥ You must be a follower

♥ UK only
♥ Giveaway will end at 6pm next Sunday and winner will be picked using random.org

L'Oréal Paris Hair Expertise Event

2012-01-11T18:31:00.004Z

Yesterday evening I was introduced to the latest hair range from L'Oréal Paris. After work I hopped on the tube to Bond Street, was lured into Selfridges for 10 minutes and then arrived at Mayfair House to meet the lovely L'Oréal PR team and of course, the new products.

L'Oréal say: "L'Oréal Paris Hair Expertise Ever treats hair like cashmere and gently bathes it in luxurious high foaming creamy shampoos and rich conditioners concentrated in caring ingredients which envelop the hair. Aromatic oils energise the senses for a true at home hair experience"

It was therefore very apt that I had a very luxurious wash and blow dry using the new products. There are three hair programmes in the collection; EverPure for coloured hair, EverSleek for frizzy hair, and EverStrong for fragile, brittle hair. I went for the EverPure shampoo and conditioner- specifically the EverPure Colour Care & Volume (there are three different varieties- Colour Care & Volume, Colour Care & Smoothing, Colour Care & Moisture).

The shampoo and conditioner felt gorgeous on my hair- indulgent yet very light. The big selling point of this new range is that it's non-sulphate. I'm sure most of you are sulphate-savvy but if not, I understand it as sulphates being the chemicals which make your hair lather (and probably do some other stuff too!) and are not meant to be the best for your hair so this is a really good quality for the range. Even better is that the shampoo still lathers- traditionally non-sulphate shampoos don't lather and I hate this when washing my hair. It just doesn't feel 'washed' enough!

I love the scent of the shampoo- really fruity and just generally delicious. I wasn't so keen on the conditioner scent which seemed quite different to the shampoo (strangely) but the head massage that I enjoyed took my mind off it! After my hair wash I was treated to a lovely blow dry. I wanted volume and I definitely got it. Cue pose-y photo taken on my iPhone for you...

I expected this range to be only available in salons but it will be launching in places such as Boots and Superdrug very soon! I will find out the exact launch date and price details soon but I believe the products will be between £5-£7. Thanks L'Oréal for a fantastic evening!

Review: Benefit 'They're Real' Mascara

2012-01-09T18:59:00.002Z

Product

Benefit 'They're Real' Mascara

Price

£18.50 - Boots

What does it claim to do?

"It's the mascara that's beyond belief! This jet-black mascara lengthens, curls, volumises, lifts & separates lashes for a spectacular "out-to-here" look. " - Boots

What do I think?

I hadn't heard or read much about Benefit mascara's until 'They're Real' came along. Their new mascara had a great reception- so much so that it's sold out in at a lot of counters. All of this hype embedded itself in my head and when I saw it in Boots I just had to buy it.

First impressions of the mascara are very good! I really like the packaging and the wand is an interesting one with a little ball on the end. The mascara itself is a lovely glossy black and it applies really nicely- it definitely lengths, separates and gives a nice curl. It doesn't give as much volume as my MUFE Smoky Lash but I am still impressed.

The main negative for me with this mascara is how difficult it is to remove. It takes me ages and does put me off using it every day as I can't be bothered with the effort of scrubbing it off- and losing lashes in the process!

Would I re-purchase?

No. I really like it but don't feel its worth the extra cost.

Christmas Gifts

2011-12-30T14:44:00.013Z

♥ Kenwood kMix Almond Hand Mixer ♥ Marc Jacobs Daisy Eau So Fresh Refillable Purse Spray ♥ Small Dogs Can Save Your Life - Bel Mooney ♥ Glamour Magazine Subscription ♥ Swarovski Angelic Pierced Earrings ♥ 2012 Cath Kidston Diary ♥ Doo-Wops & Hooligans - Bruno Mars ♥ Bridesmaids DVD ♥ Urban Outfitters Jewellery Stand ♥ Salter Aquatronic Electronic Scales

Here are some of the lovely presents I received for Christmas this year. I love seeing what other people have got for Christmas and don't usually do 'present posts' but I thought I would share a few this year. I've been given some Christmas money which I'm mostly going to be saving but Chris and I did spend some on a Kenwood Food Processor and a Cookware Juicer- loving kitchen stuff at the moment! What was your favourite present this year?

Remington Pearl Hair Curling Wand

2011-12-29T11:00:00.000Z

Earlier this year I was asked to help judge the category for 'Best New Beauty Appliance' for the UK Beauty Awards (see the winners here) and the Remington Pearl Hair Curling Wand was one of the beauty tools I was asked to judge.

Before using this I used my Babyliss Porcelain Conical Wand to curl/wave my hair which I still really rate, but seems to have been pushed aside in favour of the Remington option.

I absolutely adore this curling wand (and just conical wands in general really). It's so easy to use and only takes me 5 minutes. My hair also stays wavy all day long which is fab. I have tried the more traditional curling tongs in the past and any curls just dropped out in minutes- however after using the conical wands my hair stays all day long. I usually spray with hairspray but I've forgotten to do this numerous times and it doesn't make much difference to the curl longevity.

Whenever I use this to curl my hair I always get comments on it- last week a colleague asked me to send her a link to it and she said three people in her team were going to be buying it. I should be getting commission!

I curled my hair this morning so thought I'd share some pictures of it just after using the wand. I usually just curl the very ends.

Cue pose-y picture (which I haven't done in a long time!)...

During the day the curls drop into a really lovely look. The only photo I have to show this was taken at our work Christmas party so excuse the Elf outfit!

I really recommend getting a curling wand and I love the Remington Pearl Wand. It's currently only £20.49 from Boots.

Liz Earle New Botanical Shine Treatment

2011-12-27T11:00:00.000Z

I hope everyone had a fantastic Christmas and Boxing Day! Today I've got an exciting new product from Liz Earle to share. As you probably know, I'm a huge fan of the Liz Earle Botanical Shine hair range and they are a staple in my bathroom so it was with great excitement that I read about the new hair treatment they are launching- their Botanical Shine treatment for frizzy, coarse or very dry hair.

The Liz Earle team have worked closely with their in-house botanist and technical team to create the Botanical Treatment especially for customers who suffer with this hair type. Botanical ingredients have been carefully selected to target each area of concern and to ensure hair is left healthy-looking and ultra-shiny.

The treatment is used after shampooing your hair (obviously with the recommended Botanical Shine Shampoo) and you can either leave for 10 minutes or 30 minutes before rinsing (30 minutes for an extra boost).

I am taking this back to my parents house this Christmas to give it a whirl- my Mum complains about her frizzy hair so she'll be able to help me review it. If the product is as good as the other Liz Earle hair goodies then I'm sure it won't disappoint.

The Liz Earle Botanical Shine Treatment is being officially launched on the 3rd January and you can sign up online to receive more information about it.

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-25T18:00:00.000Z

Christmas Countdown - My Christmas Day

2011-12-24T10:00:00.000Z

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Happy Christmas Eve everyone! I can't believe how quickly December has gone. When I was little the lead up to Christmas went so so slowly and I'd be rushing it away. Now I'm older life just seems to be whizzing by. I love hearing about how people spent their Christmas as children. Christmas is still brilliant but it was so magical back then. On Christmas Eve my brother, sister and I would be jumping around the house, listening to Christmas songs and jumping on the beds (much to my Dad's dismay- the dust, the dust!). As we were so excited for Christmas Day we would get ready for bed super early and if we were lucky we'd get a little Christmas Eve present before bed. We would get some sherry, a cookie and a carrot together for Santa and his reindeer and put them in the hall (the next morning there would be crumbs left, and half a carrot on the plate).

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The real fun would begin when we tried to get to sleep. It was impossible. My sister would be out like a light but my brother and I would just be so excited that it would take us hours. It is only now that I appreciate how it was even worse for our parents who were so exhausted and had to wait for us to fall asleep so they could fulfil their Santa duties. Morning would finally arrive and we'd wake up at about 5am. We had to wait until 7 to wake up our parents but they came up with the ingenious idea of putting a present (always a book) on the end of our beds that we could open and read until 7 finally arrived. At 7 we'd drag our sacks full of presents into their room and open them on their bed.

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After sack presents we'd have a nice breakfast that was never appreciated when we were little as we just wanted to OPEN MORE PRESENTS. We'd then have our presents from under the tree and Mum and Dad would open theirs. The long wait between breakfast and Christmas dinner would be filled with playing with our new toys, watching Top of the Pops Christmas Special and eating lots of chocolate. I love how all rules go out of the window at Christmas- anything goes! After Christmas dinner we would play lots of fun Christmas board games and then watch some of our new videos whilst Mum and Dad napped. We'd then have a light tea of crackers, cheese and probably more chocolate. Sometimes Mum would bring out a sneaky present for each of us that she'd held back- it was always a great end to the day.

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Writing this post has made me feel so Christmassy and also want to be little again so I can go back to the old Christmas days! This year we'll be spending the day with my Nana. My Mum will probably wake us up (if you'd told me that when I was 8, I would have been shocked) and we'll open our presents in the living room. The traditions generally stay the same- chocolate throughout the day, the big Christmas dinner- although it'll be us joining in the afternoon napping! We still play games like the Wii, Cranium and Articulate and have crackers and cheese for tea. You never lose the Christmas traditions!

Christmas Countdown - Lovely Advent Calendars

2011-12-23T10:00:00.010Z

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Christmas Countdown - Christmas interiors

2011-12-22T10:00:00.009Z

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Christmas Countdown - Most Memorable Present

2011-12-21T10:00:00.000Z

As much as I love getting presents now, the most magical were the ones I received when I was younger. Some of my favourites have been a ballet tutu, a huge basket full of stationery (yes, I was a stationery geek and still am) and a cabbage patch doll.

My most memorable present however, has to be the present I received when I was 11 or 12.

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A little hamster! I had been out with my parents a few days before and they'd been looking at hamsters for my sister Jess. I was looking at them and really really wanting one but for some reason I didn't ask for it- I think I thought it was too late for extra Christmas presents. On Christmas morning we opened all of our presents from 'Father Christmas' and then went downstairs for presents from Mum and Dad. In the living room there were two rotastak cages with hamsters inside for Jess and I! We were so ridiculously excited but had to tone down our squeals so not to terrify the hamsters.

So that was when Minty and Fudgie were brought into our lives. My hamster Minty lived for 3 years and had a fantastic Rotastak cage. It was such a pain to clean out so most thanks go to my parents for helping with this not-so-fun part of having a pet!

I would love to know your most memorable Christmas presents! Do share.

Recent buys

2011-12-20T18:11:00.000Z

I went back to my parents a week or so ago for the weekend. On the Saturday we went to Gunwharf Quays in Portsmouth to do a little shopping so thought I'd share the few items that I purchased.

Cath Kidston glasses case (£8) and keyring (£2.50)

To compliment my Cath Kidston pen case and wallet!

MAC Florabundance Lipglass (£8.75)

I was so happy to find this in the CCO at Gunwharf. I bought it ages ago and it was my favourite lipgloss ever- but it disappeared into one of my bags and I never saw it again. A common theme with all lipglosses that I own!

Just Go With It & Eclipse- 2 for £10 at HMV!

Christmas Countdown - Favourite Games

2011-12-20T10:00:00.000Z

Our family play a lot of games and at Christmas time, even more games. We bought a Wii last Christmas and spent most of our time playing Mario Cart, Sports Resort and Just Dance 2.

I wanted to share our three favourite board games to play. Would love to know yours as am always on the lookout for more fun games to play!

Christmas Countdown - Christmas Trees!

2011-12-19T10:00:00.001Z

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My 2011 Beauty Winners

2011-12-18T16:00:00.000Z

Last year I posted about my 2010 Beauty Winners and thought it was a great reflection of my favourite beauty buys over the year. So here are my best beauty products for 2011...

Skincare

Make-up Remover
Bioderma Créaline H2O cleanser (review)

Cleanser
Liz Earle Cleanse & Polish Hot Cloth Cleanser (review)
*Same as 2010

Moisturiser
Embroylisse Lait-Crème Concentré

Make-up

Foundation
L'Oreal True Match Foundation

Concealer
Collection 2000 Lasting Perfection Concealer

Powder
MAC MSF Natural
*same as 2010

Blush
MAC Well Dressed

Eyeshadow
MAC Patina
*same as 2010

Mascara
MUFE Smoky Lash (review)

Eyeliner
L'Oreal Superliner

Lipstick
Boots 17 Mirror Shine Lipstick- Beehive

Lipbalm
By Terry Baume De Rose (review)
*same as 2010

Haircare

Shampoo
PRO:VOKE Touch of Silver Shine Shampoo Weekly Treatment

Conditioner
Liz Earle Botanical Shine Conditioner (review)

Styling Tool
Remington Pearl Wand

Christmas Countdown - Present I always asked for

2011-12-18T10:00:00.006Z

Mr Frosty was actually mentioned on the radio last week. According to a survey this was the present that most children asked for for Christmas but never received. I completely agree with this as I puta Mr Frosty on my Christmas list every year but it never ever arrived on Christmas Day. My Mum hated the thoughts of the colourings in it but it just looked like THE BEST THING EVER to me.

Christmas Countdown - Present Ideas

2011-12-17T10:00:00.012Z

There are so many lovely Christmas presents that you can buy in the shops and online. It can be overwhelming. Magazines and blogs are handily filled with gift guides for every person you can think of and websites make it easy for you to filter to price ranges and type of gift.

I love choosing gifts for people but my favourite presents to buy/create are the personalised photo gifts on sites such as Snapfish and PhotoBox. I have done these sorts of presents for all occasions- a photobook for my Grandad's 80th, a mug for my Dad's 50th, a calendar for my Mum, even a jigsaw for a Christmas present. I've just seen that PhotoBox now does photo iPhone covers which is another great stocking filler.

If you want a special present that family members would love I really recommend having a look!

Both images taken from Snapfish

Innocent - Shake the Tree

2011-12-16T18:17:00.003Z

Innocent have recently relaunched their very cute little festive game called 'Shake the Tree' which I wanted to share as everyone likes some festive fun. It's a very simple game to play, I wouldn't even call it a game really, but everyone wins a prize so its definitely worth giving it your attention.

All you have to do is 'like' the Innocent facebook page here and you will be granted access to the Innocent Tree which has been sprinkled with festive magic. You then click/shake the tree and an array of colourful presents will fall from the leaves- just pick the one that you would like to open and you will be told what you've won. Everyone will win a prize! Gifts range from a new iPod Touch, Kindles, Christmas hampers, free carafes of innocent OJ and lots more. I have just played and won £1 off a carafe of their OJ- I imagine this will make up the majority of the prizes but please let me know if you play and win anything else!