Dolce Vanity | UK Beauty and Lifestyle Blog

BeTrousse UK Box Giveaway

2012-05-26T05:00:00.000+01:00

Win your own BeTrousse box to try out !!

Just last week I mentioned BeTrousse launching in the UK, the full sized product monthly box that is buy whenever you please - no subscription necessary.

Here's your chance to win your own box to try for free :

ENTER BELOW

Good Luck!!!

You have to be a UK resident. -sorry!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Beauty Comes in All Sizes

2012-05-25T15:00:00.000+01:00

Waif to Curves

via Tumblr

Living in this day and age it's hard to not feel under pressure when it comes to our image. I too feel it - don't like the look of this & that. I'm currently in my own battle of the bulge in a few places and a lot of times I thought, how much easier would it be to throw down some ££s [albeit thousands of those lipsuction cost is a huge investment] and let a DR. have his way and suck that fat away and leave the rest to me.

Currently it's not an option, not that I'm anti, it's because maybe there's more of a cheaper, easier way - maybe a little longer but it's healthier and with less risk.

Eliminate white starch - This one is ever so hard for me as I adore bread & pasta but I do know one thing - it leaves me BLOATED and that feeling and look isn't pretty.
Avoid Stress - Erm well yes I'd love to be centred and in the zone and I have heard that stress can contribute to weight gain...maybe that's my main problem!
Water VS Diet Soda - Water will win hands down. We all know that our body is 75% water, it keeps us hydrated which maintains muscle tone which increases the body's fat burning. ( I remember reading that ice cold water helps to burn fat - never tried it myself sensitive teeth and all that jazz )
Weight Training - I've been told this by plenty of souls. It's not body building but it tones your muscles like no other .... I should join a gym!
Being realistic - I know losing weight is hard but there are alternatives to try.

I wouldn't call liposuction the easy way out cos I'm sure for a lot it's really the last resort and it's important it's important if this is the case to find a board certified liposuction professional and find out all the ins/out of cosmetic surgery.

Or do what I'm doing and ditch the pasta and pick up the kettlebell :)

Hippy on my Nails

2012-05-25T10:00:00.000+01:00

Gone tie-dye trippy

Past three evenings I've attempted water marbling nail art - it's not as easy as it looks!

Yesterday I decided I'm going to try it one more time practice makes perfect right!? Every attempt is one step closer to self perfection. Well mine wasn't self perfection but it appeared better than my other attempts.

I think my number one thing is trying to get a pattern so my nails currently resemble a tie-dye shirt.

Illamasqua Naked Strangers

2012-05-24T22:37:00.000+01:00

" The deeply and darkly alluring exists alongside ethereal shimmering brilliance." -Alex Box

If you follow Dolce Vanity via FaceBook, you would of seen I was drooling over this collection the other night. I love golds, blacks & purples together they just compliment each other so well! When I saw Illamasqua's new collection on Pinterest - was love at first sight.

A place where alter egos are laid bare and naked flesh is a source of unashamed inspiration. In this delicate tipping point between intimacy and pleasurable detachment, we revel in the unknown; exploring the distance between pure Monogamous, gilded Faithful and uninhibited Swinger. Exposed nude tones, adorned with rich licks of gold, leave you gasping for more. Don’t restrain yourself. Unless, of course, you enjoy it.

PRODUCTS

BLUSHERS (£16.50)

Naked Rose (Powder Blusher // Neutral Beige Brown)
Zygomatic (Cream Blusher // Naked Pink Brown)

LIPGLOSSES (£13.00)

Stranger (Intense Pigmented Lipgloss // Platinum Gold)
Intimacy (Sheer Lipgloss // Nude Pink Brown)

NAIL VARNISH (£13.50)

Monogamous (Creamy Flesh Pink // Matt Finish)
Faithful (Coppered Metal)
Swinger (Glistening Platinum Gold)

If you are a registered member of Illamasqua.com, then you can exclusively have the opportunity to buy the Naked Stranger Nail Varnish from TODAY before anyone else.

You can also view Illamasqua's latest nail tutorial - starring Rebecca Jade who is the master behind this nail creation! Rebecca is the nail artist of choice for Rita Ora, Lauryn Hill, Beth Ditto and Georgia May Jagger! Amongst this her work has been featured in POP, Russian Vogue, Sunday Times Style and Wonderland magazines.

Globally available from 31st May 2012

GLOSSYBOX - ANNIVERSARY EDITION

2012-05-24T18:55:00.000+01:00

The month of May is GlossyBoxs' 1st Birthday!! What did this special May box hold?

Happy Birthday GlossyBox! If I'm to be honest, I haven't been pleased with the boxes since the Christmas edition! Ever so hit & miss with me but.....BUT...let me tell you May changed that! Looking forward to actually USING these products myself instead of giving them to others or putting them into boxes.

PACKAGING

The paper that wraps around the shredded paper and products is now a very light peachy colour that has illustrations of mascara, nail polish, lipstick, cupcake and a compact & more with a sticker labelled one to represent their first birthday. [I hope they keep this paper!]

1. ELDORA False Eyelashes 2. NOBLE ISLE Summer Rising Bath & Shower Gel 3. BERBER OIL Hair Treatment 4. APIVITA Express Beauty with Cucumber 5. LOLITA LEMPICKA Si Lolita & Lolita Lempicka {GlossyBox Ballon & Compact Mirror}

ELDORA :- My friend Rella LOVES Eldora eyelashes, she recommended me one pair ( I forget now lol ) so it's nice to see this in the box for me to try myself. I have #B167 these handmade lashes are thick and don't have that plastic feel or sheen to them. From £3.90 visit ELDORASHOP to view the range.
NOBLE ISLE : - The smell of this takes me back to when I was younger, I just cannot pin point what product but it has a light, fresh scent that's very easy on the nose *places in the bathroom* Visit NOBLEISE to shop.
BERBER OIL :- I will use anything that has traces of Argan oil in like this one contains. It smells like glacier cherries ... just reminds me of Summer ( which thankfully we are finally getting ) very sweet, it claims to nourish and condition dry damaged hair. Should come in handy if my hair ever gets back into a bad state.
APIVITA :- I was sent back in February a load of products from APIVITA that still needs reviewing next week but their products are FANTASTIC! Love just knowing I have something extra from them to use. This is an intensive hydration mask with the oils of jojoba and avocado oils that I will be using this weekend!
LOLITA LEMPICKA :- *inhales* Beautifully Si Lolilta smells more musky where as Lolita Lempicka is more floral & sweet.

This box has made me want Summer to stay even more with these scents. I'm hoping from this box onwards I'm excited to view my box :)

You can join GlossyBox here

Did you enjoy your box this month?!

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Orly Passion Fruit Swatch

2012-05-23T08:23:00.000+01:00

Neon Daze

Neon coloured Orly shade, that dries matte and is just fantastic for the bright days we are suppose to be looking forward to in the UK.
I took the chance to swatch this in the sunlight so you can see how vivid Passion Fruit is.

This colour took me back to when I was in primary school and some of the girls would use highlighters on their nails - literally my mind went back to those days. That's how I can describe the brightness!!

Passion fruit is a pink but has an orange undertone. I've been wearing it since Saturday now and I quite liked how my nails reminded me of a holiday along with the nice weather today.

Price : £5.00
Purchase : Orly is available at Boots or visit their official OrlyBeauty website

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Victoria's Secret UK Stores Opening Dates

2012-05-22T16:46:00.002+01:00

Love Pink?

Source

I remember first hearing the UK was finally going to open up a Victoria's Secret located on London's Bond Street {New Bond Street and the corner of Brook Street}. All we knew was it was going to be next summer which is now this summer.

July 25th to be exact.

With July 26th seeing the store opening at the Westfield in Stratford, word is Angels are meant to be in town for the opening.

[truth be told, I just want me a robe *shrugs*]

Are you excited for the opening or will you be attending ?!

BeautyMD

2012-05-22T09:13:00.000+01:00

Combining beauty news, cosmetic surgery information and expert advice from top surgeons!

BeautyMD is an new website that has just launched that features topics from Beauty tips for our face shape, helping us get the best out of our face! Migraine sufferer like myself? This article relates botox as a possible help for us.

Did anyone see the piece on the 'girl who has Britain's most beautiful face' but what makes a face really beautiful? The way our features align on our face or is it down to just taking care of ourselves and diet?

Topics on cosmetic surgery, find out about the top procedures that people are having done it breaks it down into sections to let you know if this is the best surgery for you! Let's you know all about recovery time, roughly the cost and what to expect!

The site is fairly new and is still growing, but check it out BeautyMD.com

Omorovicza BB Cream & Mist Review

2012-05-21T19:55:00.000+01:00

Mineral Cosmetology? ... The waters of Budapest, BB Cream!!!?

If there's one thing I like about blogging it's discovering new brands and Omorovicza is just one of those. Founders Stephen & Margaret de Heinrich met in the beautiful city of Budapest, Stephen being drawn back there to explore his roots and Margaret (an American) was in the city after being brought to the capital on a diplomatic posting.

While the two were bathing in the ancient thermal baths they were amazed and noticed how the mineral-rich healing waters had on their skin both being fascinated by the natural powers of these minerals they saw the potential for a skincare range, leading to Omorovicza

I was kindly sent two products by Margaret and I was interested in what this mineral cosmetology was all about and how it could benefit my skin. As I am probably like a few of us sceptical when trying new products maybe not for their slogan or advertised notions of how well they could benefit us and we'll end up looking like the models advertising them but allergic reactions/breakouts as who wants to get their skin to a fabulous contented place and end up breaking out cos of a new product - I for one don't.

Complexion Perfector BB SPF 20 & Queen of Hungary Mist

Let me talk briefly on the two products :

Complexion Perfector BB SPF 20

BB creams have the 'IT' product of Asia for so long, I remember reading about BB creams from 2008 when I first started out and always wondered what on earth are BB creams ? Now the UK in the last year have jumped onto the band wagon. Blemish Balms when first created were for highly sensitive skins and were developed for post laser scars and reduce the appearance of redness. The on the market version is great for acne prone skin and sensitive skin - doubling up as skincare and makeup it gives us the benefits of skincare with even skin tone and the makeup benefits with covering dark circles/spots and other blemishes so how did I get on with Omorovicza version of BB.

Scent : I find that out of the two products that I have by Omorovicza they have this fresh, light smell. Not strong or overbearing but a relaxing soft scent.

Shade : When I first saw the BB bottle I thought, this is going to be way to light for me. The only other BB cream that I have is the 17 BB Cream that was in my Cosmopolitan Blog Awards bag from last October that I haven't bothered much with. Putting it on my skin I thought 'Alright this isn't giving me much 'colour', I'm going to look whitened' Once it settled into my skin it didn't look much different it more so adjusted to my skin.

Looking closely at the cream they looked to have very small glistening glitter like particles (below)

Coverage : After I allowed it to settle into my skin, I was surprised at how my skin looked fresh and even. I have nothing on but the BB cream ( nothing eeek )

Blurbs from their official website :

Hailed as the “Swiss army knife of the beauty industry”, our new Complexion Perfector BB SPF 20 is a moisturiser, foundation, sunscreen, concealer and anti-aging cream all-in-one!
This BB cream leaves skin flawless, sheer and even, whilst hydrating and protecting it from UVA/B rays.

This BB cream does not contain silicone but here's the benefits that they do carry :

A Potent form of Vitamin C boosts the production of collagen and elastin, reduces free radical damage and boosts cell turnover.
White lupin energises and revitalises.
Ruby crystal minimises the appearance of fine lines and imperfections
Mineral Cosmetology a patented mineral delivery system, leaves skin firmer more supple and younger looking.

50ml bottle available from their official website.
Purchase here
Price : £80

Queen of Hungary Mist

This is a face mist that has such a soft, light smell. I love to spritz this after coming out of the bathroom onto the face, neck and collarbone just to have this sweet smell around me! Lately I've been quite busy and feeling ever so run down but this spray is a nice pick me up scent and like most will spritz MAC Fix + or Evian water spray I'm using this!

Queen of Hungary mist is a skin toner that I even use after I've done my skin routine. It's inspired by the Queen of Hungary Water, the worlds first recorded perfume, formulated for Queen Elisabeth of Hungary in the 14th century.

Orange blossom, rose and sage waters purify and tone.
Apple pectin provides long lasting hydration and restores suppleness.
Although Hungarian thermal waters are the inspiration for the entire range, it is in this product that their powers are most evident.
Mineral Cosmetology, a patented mineral delivery system, leaves skin firmer, more supple and younger looking.

[excerpt from official website]

100ml bottle available
Purchase here
Price : £46

To read more about Omorovicza and to view & shop more of their products visit their official website :- Omorovicza.com

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Aloha Maui

2012-05-19T09:39:00.000+01:00

Sometimes you want to feel miles away, even if it's just represented in a nail colour!

I mentioned Nailtiques in a post back in January and this week I decided to throw on Nailtiques - Protein Nail Lacquer in Maui.

Something to help those grey skies seem not so bad when gazing at these pink undertoned red nail polish.

PRICE: £10.95

PURCHASE : Beauty Bay

Do you have a favourite rainy day nail colour?

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BeTrousse

2012-05-17T14:27:00.000+01:00

First Beauty Box with Full Sized Products?!

BeTrousse is a beauty ~~box~~ kit based in French giving us beauty with a French touch.
They have just recently launched with the UK BeTrousse.co.uk and it's kits include products and brands of cosmetics, health and hygiene. Each month BeTrousse offer themed Beauty Kits with full sized products. You are able to choose products that suit you best.

There is also no fixed monthly subscription you buy the monthly box whenever you feel you would like to. Ranging from £27 - £30 ( keep in mind these are full sized products, no samples ) Their French website have been around for 5 years and offer beauty news and free product testing.

Let's see what was in my kit :

Voulez-Vous : Warming Body Oil 10ml
Laboratories Forte Pharma : Turbolslim Chronoactiv 28 tablets
BYS Cosmetics : Lipstick Chocolate Sparkle
Allo Nature : Organic Hand Sanitizer 75ml
Sentara : Bio Relaxing Intense Balm Eye & Lip Contour 15ml

I can't swallow tablets .... well not big ones anyway!

BYS Cosmetics : When I hear 'Chocolate Sparkle' I of course think cocoa/chocolate and glitter. I'm not afraid of colour on my lips - mid range browns - maybe I am so I was A LITTLE apprehensive when I lip swatched this.

The pigmentation is quite good and it's not a drying lipstick either it didn't feel as if when I rubbed my lips together I was rubbing as if I had no teeth - the colour it grew but I don't know if I would personally wear it but who knows - stranger things have happened.

Voulez -Vous : .......coucher avec moi ce soir? "This warming body oil reads : Apply Oil of Temptation onto the body. A playful breath will give a soft feeling of warmth; the charm of the kisses will tenderly act upon the skin of your partner, leaving a natural and pleasant taste. The pleasure will be there..." - guess I'll be breathing on myself lol the flavour of this is pina colada wonder how nice it tastes.

Sentara : This claims to plump and immediately soothes eye and contour the lips. The 3 powerful plant extracts 'the inca inchi, the acai and the natural silica' help to restore radiance and elasticity to the skin.

Thalassine seaweed has an "organic-relaxing" effect which smoothes facial expressions and reduces muscle tension - ( oh looks like I do need this ) It also has ingredients that help skin damage, fine lines, wrinkles, blood circulation, and circles.

Allo Nature : You already know I'm an Aloe Vera nut and a citrus freak both combined - heaven on Earth. I always keep a hand sanitizer in my bag because you just NEVER know. Everyday we're touching places that who knows touched and then eating, touching ourselves - you get my drift right? - be safe. [sounds like an advert for something else]

Turbolslim Chronoactiv : In simple terms a food supplement. I've never ever used food supplements before and these come with a day tablet and a night tablet :-

Day Tablet - helps burn calories using ingredients of natural origin ( green tea, green coffee)
Night Tablet - limits fat storage during the night whilst firming skin tissues thanks to Oxylia Total, sea collagen and elastin.

They claim the proven efficacy is that the effects are felt in the first 15 days of use. Hmmm...sceptical maybe? You ever used a food supplement before?

Maybe the only thing I'm not a fan of is the customised 'shoe box' but I guess with them being full sized products need a bigger box - guess I'm use to the smaller ones but I think that would be the only thing I'd personally change.

There will be a BeTrousse giveaway coming up in the next week or two for your chance to see the box for yourself :)

In the meantime visit the website at :

BeTrousse.co.uk

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Models Own Smokey Eye

2012-05-14T05:08:00.000+01:00

Models Own 3 Steps to the perfect smokey eye

Maybe not 3 steps exactly but more or less you have most your look in this one trio palette:

I haven't worn a smokey eye in a long time mainly because at times I feel it's too 'heavy' for my face and I have to be in the mood, so since it's been a while, I decided to use this Models Own palette I was kindly sent...so 3 steps let's see how I did...

Using the palette on the lid I used the light grey/silver all over into the crease
The crease I used the deeper grey
The outer V and lower lash line the black

I had to dye my eyebrows back for some reason light they just didn't look full enough for me oh and my roots were coming through - oh eyebrow roots!

FACE :

VS Primer
Bourjois Healthy Mix Foundation #54

CHEEKS :

Sleek Blush - Suede

EYES :

Models Own Smokey Eye Kit [shop]
Models Own Pro Liquid Eyeliner [shop]
AVON Supershock Eyeliner - Black
Eylure Girls Aloud False Eyelashes [Nicole]
Sleek Lash Out Mascara - Black

LIPS :

Missguided LipSplash - Caramel

PR SAMPLE

Lip Smacking Colour Mixing Tutorial - Request

2012-05-11T21:21:00.000+01:00

I was asked by Penelope from Penelope's Beauty Obsession how I created the colours in my Lip Smacking Colour Mixing post. I agreed to show her because it's a reader request, I was also feeling a little blah and struggling to do anything today I have a few FOTDs that need creating but *sighs* I copped out and this seemed a little simpler.

As I said before I used 5 colours Sleek MakeUPs Pout Paints "Peek-A-Boo, Pin-Up, Cloud 9 & Peachy Keen" & OCC Lip Tar "Grandma"

Unfortunately it's all about ratio. Some colours can be made on a fluke others a lot more easier, it can be quick or time consuming but none the less you can create so many different (unique) colours for less money.

Of course this goes back to pre-school and our colour making skills - what colours make what and if we make certain colours what could they blend into!

Image heavy post, tried to make it compact - let's go :

Equal drops of Pin-Up & Peek-A-Boo
Mixing these gives us a Deep Purple
Add Cloud 9
This gives us a lighter shade but darker than Lilac adding Peek-A-Boo on the side and using the remainder of what's left on my brush gives us a Tropical Sea Blue
Add Cloud 9 onto that gives us a Pale Blue
Yet adding more Peek-A-Boo will almost give it a Turquoise shade.

Peachy Keen
with Peek-A-Boo
Gives us a Dark Green shade
Using OCC Lip Tar Grandma
With the remainder of the green on the brush gives us a Maroon.

Now let me give an example of colour ratio :

The purple in the middle was created by using all 4 colours you see before it but in the second image you can see that the purple comes out a lot more lighter, obviously because one colour -most likely the white - was used just a little bit more.

Hope this helps :)

Summer Styles

2012-05-11T13:38:00.000+01:00

While we're waiting on Summer we might as well get prepared!

The weather lately may be all doom & gloom but don't you find shopping for Summer can get you in that mood for walks in the park, breaks away and just all around feeling happy?

Zalando have summer dresses for all budgets. I often like to browse through Zalando sometimes I find items that I can't get anywhere else at a great price! ( I'm in love with that first dress in the image...think I may have found my June wedding outfit) You can shop summer styles on Zalando too.

Not sure what to wear for the upcoming Summer trend? Vogue magazine have a guide to "What to Wear" while Glamour Magazine have 100 Summer Dresses to help us shop.

Taking a flashback to one of my Style Icon posts featuring Kourtney Kardashian even though she is looking cute pregnant right now, I always love seeing her dress in the warmth.

What will you been wearing this Summer ?

Disneyland Paris PT.2

2012-05-10T19:45:00.000+01:00

It was all rain & grey skies on day one but day two was surprisingly warm

Being in England the last month and a bit have been nothing but rain and let's scratch that most of this year has been miserable weather and I was kind of hoping to escape that even if it was just over the waters slightly, no could do on day one but day two started off a little dull but warmed up, clear skies, sun and heat!

After breakfast we decided to line up for Crush's Coaster being one of the longest lines to wait for it was best to get to that ride first.

We also headed over to a Toy Story Parachute Jump ride but while in line for about 20 - 30 minutes it broke down so we went and got a fast pass for Tower of Terror and visited Rock n Roller Coaster again :

Had to get the photograph of the RHCP's signature - love love lovvve them!

Now if memory serves me correctly after here we went and queued for nearly 2hrs to take a photo with a Princess ... lol I'm the worst person to stand in queues in a claustrophobic place but I managed [ don't have the images as of yet as Rella has them ]

Back over to Tower of Terror and onto Lunch at Rainforest Cafe :

onion rings & pasta w/ garlic bread!

After filling myself up after lunch we decided to walk it off and venture around Sleeping Beauty's Castle...even with it's own Dragon in the basement, fancy that!

I have this secret thing for stained glass windows, I'm not sure if it stems from childhood with Church but I love looking at them - slightly in awe of a story within a window frame.

Walking into some gardens ....

Then onto another ride and a spot of shopping and take away for our journey back home :)

- tell you something wondering around Castles and Princesses makes you [ okay I meant me ] want to find ~~your~~ my Prince Charming ....

xoxo

Lip Smacking Colour Mixing

2012-05-10T00:37:00.000+01:00

I think it shows sometimes that I am an only child...

With all these shades I used 4 Sleek Paint Pouts and 1 OCC Lip Tar. Only used the lip tar in about two of these lips but the rest are all Sleek MakeUP.

The image above I had on my instagram - those of you who are following will know - I said it was my 'Barbie' lip, come out a lot brighter on my phone but I still love this colour.

Yeah sometimes I like to just sit down at my table and just make colours [making all these colours makes me wonder why]

Mixing black, blue, yellow, green & white...you too can make a cool gradient effect for the lips - maybe not one for the everyday slot.

EDIT : The shades I used were : OCC Lip Tar - Grandma, Sleek Pout Paint in Pin Up, Peek a Boo, Cloud 9 and Peachy Keen.

What do you think of my first time doing gradient lips?

Sleek i-Divine Ultra Mattes V2 Darks - FOTD

2012-05-08T18:56:00.000+01:00

I liked the Bright lights but maybe I am a Dark room girl :)

I couldn't help myself but to see if my local Superdrug were stocking the palettes early. I was lucky enough to recieve the V1 Brights palette to see what to expect but after falling in love with the texture and colours in that one I knew this one had to go in my collection too.

Aren't these colours just lush!

You've probably seen these colours and name already but for my OCD sake of completing a blog post here they are [again?!]

TOP ROW : ORBIT - INK - HIGHNESS - NOIR - DUNE - PILLOW TALK

BOTTOM ROW : THUNDER - MAPLE - FLESH - PAPER BAG - VILLIAN - FERN

For a weird reason I'm liking the name pillow talk for the white *shrugs* - I'm a simple gal.

On to skin swatches for you ladies with similar skin tone as me :

Today's FOTD using this palette :

FACE :

Beverly Knight Primer
Bourjois Healthy Mix Foundation #54

CHEEKS :

Sleek Glo Face & Body Highlighter - Bronze Baby
Sleek Blush - Suede ( contour )

BROWS :

Sleek i-Divine Matte V2 Darks - Paper Bag

EYES :

Sleek MakeUP i-Divine Matte V2 Darks Palette
Flesh ( lid ) Orbit & Ink ( crease )
Sleek MakeUP Eau La La Liner - Tonic* ( waterline, upper lid & lower lash line )
Eylure Girls Aloud Eyelashes - Nicola

LIPS :

Sleek MakeUP Lipstick - Barely There
Missguided Lipsplash - Caramel

Which palette will you be getting ?

Disneyland Paris PT.1

2012-05-07T09:23:00.001+01:00

Never as a child had I visited DLP so for my Birthday this year I did

I went over to France with my friend Rella via the Eurostar (my first time) amazed at how fast it is and quite a smooth journey after getting off the Eurostar we boarded another train that takes us right next to the park unfortunately we was greeted by rain while my mum tells me that back home the weather is dry - we took the rain with us boo hoo.

We had a little incident with the hotel being that our reservation had come in late so they transferred us to another hotel which we couldn't get into our room until 3pm as it wasn't ready, sorting ourselves out in the hotel lobby we left our bags there and boarded the shuttle to go to the park.

Our Minnie Mouse inspired nails

Main Street USA

Sleeping Beauty's Castle

Being that it very wet it kind of put a dampener on things as who likes to be wondering around in the rain!? After catching lunch we went and hit some of the rides...

Space Mountain
Tower of Terror
Phantom Manor
Pirates of the Caribbean
Rock 'n' Roller Coaster
Peter Pain's Flight
Pinocchio's Daring Journey

On the Peter Pan Ride - that broke down while on it

Inside 'Tower of Terror'

This ride is amazing :

Pirates of the Caribbean

Sleeping Beauty Castle

Disney Dreams 10pm Show ( story w/ fireworks displayed on Sleeping Beauty castle )

It was such a nice experience to go - with minor hiccups on day one. A lot of on the go food due to the time even though the park is open until 10pm. Time just flies by!

I must say I did expect the characters to be walking around the park but they have a parade daily and certain times for meet and greats in locations with some and also to take a picture with a princess.

Ah to be a big kid :)

Week in Photos

2012-05-06T20:49:00.000+01:00

My life on instagram this past week

Cosmopolitan drinks on my birthday, Nandos bday dinner (veggie burger yum), Skull bracelet from my Princess Rella, The Avengers cinema ticket, Lip Boss Lip Tattoos (review this week), My Winnie the Pooh inspired nails, Eurostar ticket to DLP, My Candied Apple with the Sleeping Beauty Castle in the background, Peter Pan Ride that broke down while on it, DLP Castle at Night, Mr & Mrs Sink (except it was two Miss') Rainforest Cafe lunch (onion rings & pasta w/ garlic bread), Earl of Sandwich Tuna Melt Mmmm, New Ombre hair :) woop woop, Cosmopolitan Blog Awards Nominations open...! {nominate here}

[follow me on instagram: laalaamonroe]

Sleek i-Divine Ultra Mattes V1 Brights - FOTD & Review

2012-05-05T20:33:00.000+01:00

Bright make-up doesn't have to be loud!

My post on this may be over a week late but I first broke the news to you in this blog post that Sleek were to launch two new palettes, purely consisting of a matte texture.

I was sent the V1 Brights palette. At first I looked at these colours and thought 'Wow!!' they do take you a back in all it's bright glory and you may wonder what could you do with them now if your not very adventurous it is possible to get a look out of this that can look - mild and everyday wearable.

TOP ROW : CHILL - POUT - SUGARLITE - DRAGON FLY - PUCKER - BAMMI

BOTTOM ROW : CRICKET - BOIT - STRIKE - FLOSS - CRETE - POW!

I have to just point out it's hard for me to find ANY yellow eyeshadow that appears well on my skin..as bright as I want it...this yellow swatch so far has made me fall in love.

First 6 swatches were done on top of UPP - Eden the others were done on top of a concealer.

One thing you may have noticed that's different with the palette is the way the shadows themselves are presented. Sleek always previously had the criss cross "wafer" effect to them :

This is the 'Au Naturel' palette

Without them it does make the eyeshadow feel softer and the brush does glide over them - not that it didn't before mind. Just I know some people like myself can be quite anal regarding 'change' with designs on some products. It was something I noticed first off but I can deal with it.

Colour pay off - of course with Sleek as always is a winner and for a drug store brand it once again holds their own against others and high end brands!!

- Now I need to get my hands on the dark version next week - clear winner in my book - any chance of a nude matte palette maybe?!

Now onto the look I done using mostly Sleek products :

Mr DeMille, I'm ready for my close-up

Face :

Good Things Miracle Matifing Moisturiser
VS Primer
Bourjois Healthy Mix Foundation #54

Cheeks :

Sleek MakeUP Blush - Suede* ( contour )
Sleek MakeUP Blush - Pan-Tao ( apple )

Brows :

Sleek MakeUP Brow Kit - Dark

Eyes :

Sleek MakeUP Ultra Mattes V1 Brights Palette*
Floss ( lid ) Pucker, Pout, Sugarlite & Strike ( crease )
Dragon Fly ( lower lash line )
Sleek MakeUP Eau La La Liner - Tonic* ( waterline & upper lid )
False Eyelashes HKCenterKK

Lips :

AVON Glimmerstick Lip Liner - Pink Bouquet
Sleek MakeUP Lipstick - Candy Cane
AVON Glazewear Extreme Lip Gloss - Pale Pink Shine

[FOTD has been a long time in coming right?!]

Now don't forget these launch on 9th May 2012

Price : £6.49

Available at : Superdrug & online at SleekMakeUP

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Bumble Bee Nail Art

2012-05-05T11:16:00.001+01:00

Bzzzzz....Seeking the honey!

Before my DLP trip I decided to do nail art inspired by Disney. Winnie the Pooh has been my favourite character since birth [my first teddy was a homemade Winnie the Pooh] so I couldn't get the face down to a T because I was using my left hand so I settled on a bumble bee seeking the honey.

Nail Polish Used :

Barry M - Ice Cream
AVON - Sunshine
W7 - White
Born Pretty Nail Art Pen - Black

Sometimes just doing something on the nails can brighten up your day by adding a few bits of art. It was tricky doing the bumble bee with my left hand but steady does it!

I wanted to break it up by adding one nail with yellow so it didn't all look the same..I have blue to represent the sky and yellow to symbolize the sun.

Ickle Bockles

2012-05-04T18:58:00.000+01:00

One night or 5 nights..We can never part from our nightly & morning needs but lugging around full sized bottles? No can do...

This is my biggest pet peeve. I hate whenever I am going away and I need to pack my routinely bottles especially when they are large, oddly shaped and pretty pointless to lug about but having travel sized bottles is the easiest thing to invest in.

Ickle Bockles are a brand that specialise in products that are easy for us to take with us while away or to decant our favourite products into bottles.

For me this was perfect for going away as it saves me room and allows me to take even more stuff in a smaller bag.

I was kindly sent products from them :

Travel Size Toiletries

Shampoo [shop]
Conditioner [shop]
Chocolate shower gel [shop]

Travel Size Essentials

Lip balm [shop]
Toothbrush & Toothpaste [shop]

Travel Size Bottles

100ml Lotion Pump [shop]
125ml Screw top Bottle [shop]
100ml Flip Top Bottle [shop]
60ml Spray Bottle [shop]
30ml Pots (2x) [shop]

My essentials managed to squeeze down. Could have my toner, moisturiser, perfume, face wash, cleansing oil and not pictured but my coconut oil in a 30ml pot. [two bottles on the left are only ickle bockles] Sometimes we're lucky and already have some of our products that are small and compact such as I do with my cleansing oil & soap.

If I was really to bring all I needed compared to what I took with me....

compared to it all decanted and compact for my wash bag :)

A lot more easier and lighter to travel with and if you end up losing something at least you have the full sized original at home.

Ickle Bockles Official website

When you travel do you decant your products or travel with full sized ?

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Hey, Hey, Hey, Hey, What's Happenin' ?

2012-05-04T12:47:00.000+01:00

It's been a little while.

Poor Dolce Vanity it's been a slightly neglected [need a middle ground] been slightly busy the last week and half.

Celebrated my birthday last week Saturday I'm technically 24 but 21 - your face reading that is exactly how most of my friends & family's expressions have been when I said that. Only 21 twice!
On top of that I went Disneyland Paris for a couple of days.
Finally got my ombre hair - D.I.Y all the way - I chopped a good inch & half off too boohoo.

There's a few blog post that need to be written up too

Review on Sleek i-Divine Ultra Matte Palette - Brights.
Review on Ickle Bockle
Review on Agadir Argan Oil
NOTD
Birthday & DLP
Skincare Update

TGIF ? I feel like my week is starting today ... 236 unread emails in a couple days - unreal.

Plus the John Frieda giveaway is still going ....... check it out here

How y'all been ? & hello new followers *waves*

April GLOSSYBOX

2012-04-30T21:08:00.000+01:00

The Natural Box

It's the end of the month and last week I received my GLOSSYBOX for the month. April was Earth month and GLOSSYBOX decided to do their part and decided to support brands who believe and help the environment by using natural ingredients and packaging - even this months GLOSSYBOX was 100% biodegradable.

Something different...

So what was included in my box this month :

Monu Professional Skincare -Enriched Body Cream
Philip B Drop Dead Straightening Balm
INIKA Cosmetics Certified Organic Eyeliner
Figs & Rouge Lip Balm
Caudale Vinosource SOS Thirst-Quenching Serum

Personally you know I'm a lover of organic / natural products. So personally I enjoyed having this box and finding an organic make-up company.

The lip balm & eyeliner are full sized products featured inside my box this month. The lip balm has peppermint & tea tree! I wonder if this will make my lips plump(er)! I've liked the Inika eyeliner how soft it feels!

Unfortunately I don't feel I will use the straightening balm - just because hair products I am generally fussy about. The body cream does contain vitamins A, E & B5 - I may decide to take this along with me on my trip this week actually as it's small and doesn't take up much room and I will see how well this holds up for me.

What I love about organic products is that they do 90% of the time smell fresh which makes me feel even more refreshed and good that I'm using friendly products.

Did you like this months Glossybox ?

If you would like to sign up to GLOSSYBOX, you can do at the GlossyBox website.

[I'm slightly behind on blog posts due to my birthday over the weekend - thanks for the love on twitter & facebook ♥ not to mention shattered!]

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John Frieda Precision Foam Colour Giveaway

2012-04-27T07:58:00.001+01:00

Giveaway with 5 Winners!!

Precision Foam Colour Salon Blends is the first profesional, multi-blended home hair colour collection from John Frieda.

This is a bespoke collection of five professionally pre-blended shades developed alongside the experts to allow you to achieve the next level of salon quality colour in your own home as if a professional has mixed these shades together.

As easy to use as a shampoo, foam hair colour covers those hard to reach areas effortlessly without the fuss, mess, drips or staining that normally occur with home colouring.

I have 1 of each to giveaway

Salon Blends Lightest Cool Almond Brown
Salon Blends Dark Cool Pearl Brown
Salon Blends Light Amber Brown
Salon Blends Dark Caramel Blonde
Salon Blends Light Bronze Brown

[UK RESIDENTS ONLY!]
Closing Date : 11th May 2012
One Winner for Each Colour Will Be Chosen & Contacted within 48hrs of the win

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a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Dolce Vanity | UK Beauty and Lifestyle Blog

BeTrousse UK Box Giveaway

Win your own BeTrousse box to try out !!

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Beauty Comes in All Sizes

Waif to Curves

Hippy on my Nails

Gone tie-dye trippy

Illamasqua Naked Strangers

" The deeply and darkly alluring exists alongside ethereal shimmering brilliance." -Alex Box

PRODUCTS

GLOSSYBOX - ANNIVERSARY EDITION

The month of May is GlossyBoxs' 1st Birthday!! What did this special May box hold?

PACKAGING

CONTENTS

Orly Passion Fruit Swatch

Neon Daze

Victoria's Secret UK Stores Opening Dates

Love Pink?

BeautyMD

Combining beauty news, cosmetic surgery information and expert advice from top surgeons!

Omorovicza BB Cream & Mist Review

Mineral Cosmetology? ... The waters of Budapest, BB Cream!!!?

Complexion Perfector BB SPF 20

Queen of Hungary Mist

Aloha Maui

Sometimes you want to feel miles away, even if it's just represented in a nail colour!

BeTrousse

First Beauty Box with Full Sized Products?!

Models Own Smokey Eye

Models Own 3 Steps to the perfect smokey eye

Lip Smacking Colour Mixing Tutorial - Request

Summer Styles

While we're waiting on Summer we might as well get prepared!

Disneyland Paris PT.2

It was all rain & grey skies on day one but day two was surprisingly warm

Lip Smacking Colour Mixing

I think it shows sometimes that I am an only child...

Sleek i-Divine Ultra Mattes V2 Darks - FOTD

I liked the Bright lights but maybe I am a Dark room girl :)

Disneyland Paris PT.1

Never as a child had I visited DLP so for my Birthday this year I did

Week in Photos

My life on instagram this past week

Sleek i-Divine Ultra Mattes V1 Brights - FOTD & Review

Bright make-up doesn't have to be loud!

Bumble Bee Nail Art

Bzzzzz....Seeking the honey!

Ickle Bockles

One night or 5 nights..We can never part from our nightly & morning needs but lugging around full sized bottles? No can do...

Hey, Hey, Hey, Hey, What's Happenin' ?

It's been a little while.

April GLOSSYBOX

The Natural Box

John Frieda Precision Foam Colour Giveaway

Giveaway with 5 Winners!!