Category Archives: beauty

The Dark Side with Essence

12th November 2016
If you follow me on social media, especially over on instagram you won’t fail to have noticed that I’m going through a bit of a lipstick phase right now. I’m on a real kick of trying out new shades and going bolder and brighter than I ever have before and loving every minute of it. I’ve also been dipping my toe in to the dark side too, a real step out of my comfort zone and recently my brand of the moment- essence sent over a selection* of vampy favourites to encourage me on my journey.
I’ve made no secret of the fact I love essence mascaras more than many a more expensive brand. Their “rock ‘n doll” mascara (£2.80) promises amazing volume with an eye-opening effect and it really doesn’t disappoint. I don’t know how they manage to make such good mascara for such a bargain price but I’m not complaining…this has become a part of my regular eye makeup army.

I’m not very experienced in the world of lip liner although given my recent lipstick lovin’ I probably do need to get better acquainted. At £1.50 for a long-lasting lipliner I really don’t think you can go wrong by picking up a few from essence and I found this really easy to reply, true to it’s word it didn’t budge all day.

The 2 in 1 matte lipstick and liner was the real star of this package for me, so much darker than anything I have ever worn before (shade 05 more is more) and I was a bit apprehensive before applying it but once on I loved it! This was slightly more drying than other matte products I’ve used but it was nothing a slick of lip balm couldn’t fix and at £2.50 I’m really not going to fall out with it. A great introduction in to the world of dark colours.

Finally another shade of my hands down favourite product from essence- their gel nail polish. This is a colour called “wild and free” and is a dark grey/black with a hint of green. I’m hopeless at painting my nails but couldn’t resist a somewhat shaky manicure with this as soon as it arrived. I got a good three days (minus a top coat) out of this with zero chips and at £1.60 per bottle you just can’t beat it.

How do you feel about a more vampy makeup look for day time? I did feel a bit dressed up rocking this to a blood test appointment, but at the same time it’s winter now, time to do away with the pretty pastels and embrace the berry tones for a few months at least!

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This post contains gifted items.

Posted in beauty, brands I love, make up, nails

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Gift Inspiration: Burt’s Bees and Tangle Teezer

03rd November 2016
When it comes to Christmas shopping one of my favourite things to search for and buy is stocking fillers. Building up the perfect bundle of gifts for a friend or loved one gives me great pleasure and today I am featuring a couple of items that would be just perfect for the beauty lovers I know (including myself) and will hopefully serve as inspiration for anyone else in the midst of their shopping too.
First up I bring you the new and limited edition Ginger Spice Lip Balm from Burt’s Bees* (£3.99). The abundance of gingerbread flavoured products at this time of year fills me with joy, I’m currently addicted to gingerbread men and this lip balm manages to embody the scent of my favourite baked good perfectly whilst delivering the excellent TLC one would expect from a Burt’s Bees product. As with all of their lip products this is 100% natural, super moisturising and contains no parabens, phthalates, SLS or petrolatum (and uses recyclable materials in it’s packaging too). As these are limited edition I fully plan to stock up for the next few months and I strongly suggest that you do too, be it for yourself or as a gift.
Second up are some goodies from Tangle Teezer* who kindly sent over two of their compact styling hairbrushes- the Hello Kitty edition and Lulu Guinness lipstick print one. Tangle Teezer is pretty much the only hair brush brand that I use these days. Having really thick hair with a tendency to curl and then knot these are the only brushes that have managed to de-tangle my locks without wreaking havoc in the process. The compact stylers are perfect for popping in to your handbag for sorting out hair nightmares on the move. I kept the Hello Kitty one for myself and gave Mum the Lulu Guinness one and although I can’t speak for her I can confirm mine has come to my rescue several times already.

I think these would make a lovely gift for a hair/beauty obsessed friend and there are so many colours and designs available that there’s bound to be the perfect colour or print for everyone. The compact stylers cost £12.50 for a plain design and £13.50 for the designer ones.

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*post contains PR samples gifted for blog consideration*.

Posted in beauty, christmas, inspiration, review

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Jazzing things up with Pimps & Pinups

30th October 2016

Up until now I’ve managed to resist the trend for adding pastel colours to my hair. I did have a brief foray in to ombre a few years ago but the ensuing damage of a DIY bleach job was enough to put me off attempting it again- that and not wanting to commit to anything permanent. All of the temporary fixes I had come across involved yet more peroxide and knowing I’m somewhat phobic of hairdressers (although I did brave a cut and colour last week, yay!) I decided it was in my best interest to just steer clear.

That was until I was introduced to Pimps & Pinups and their high voltage hair pop paint (available from their London salon and on ASOS).

*products c/o Pimps & Pinups*

These sprays have a unique wet to dry formula and come in seven intense shades (I managed to fail to picture the blue and green ones, oops!). You simply spray these on to your hair- either directly or in to the palm of your hand first and wait literally seconds for it to dry. These are non-permanent and take to any hair colour, from icy blondes to deepest auburns. They are also rain resistant and stain proof and simply shampoo out, damage free.

Now, I have experimented with coloured hair sprays in the past including ones which claim to take to any hair colour and have been less than impressed with the results. I was slightly dubious that these could live up to the hype but always willing to be proved wrong I used Panther Pink and Purr Pull to colour the ends of my hair.

temporary-hair-colours
As you might have gathered by now I am somewhat inept when it comes to my hair so the result isn’t the neatest it could be but as you can see the colours did indeed take and this was with just a small amount of product. Because it dries so quickly the colour could easily be intensified by adding another coat or two on darker tones.

The only issue I had with these paints was going it alone (also explains the dodgy selfie) as things did get a bit messy (although it must be noted that not a trace is left on our white bathroom suite). I think that with a helping hand, or even a steady hand some really spectacular effects could be produced. As promised the colours washed out really easily although it did take a couple of washes to get the last traces of purple out!

On the whole I think these are fantastic, and at £7.99 per colour aren’t going to break the bank either. I’m looking forward to using them again especially in the run up to the festive season where it’s always fun to experiment with bolder looks. They are also an excellent way to test out if a certain bold colour will suit you before taking the plunge with bleach and actual hair dye.

What’s the wildest colour you’ve ever dyed your hair?

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Posted in beauty, hair, review

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A Skin Care Wishlist (save my skin!)*

25th October 2016
Every year around this time my skin goes haywire. It starts as soon as we have the heating on for any length of time- all of a sudden my skin becomes tight, sore and dry and my eyes itch. I’ve also been suffering from break-outs thanks to stopping the pill and letting my body readjust so I’m in a serious need of a skin care overhaul. I’m on a very limited budget right now so have been stocking up on high street staples like Simple but having seen that Charlotte Tilbury is now stocked by House of Fraser I decided to check out their skincare and as such have ended up with a bit of a wish list of some old favourites I wish I could afford and some new to me products (that I also wish I could afford!)
The Charlotte Tilbury Goddess Skin Clay Mask (£45, eek!) particularly caught my eye even though I’m not usually a mask kind of girl. Wether it was Charlotte’s eloquent product description or the promise of baby soft skin I’ll never know but this is something that I would definitely like to try. Likewise with the Magic Cream (even more eek at £70). Anything that claims it can work magic on my tired and dull complexion has instant appeal to me.

I’ve never been the best at looking after my skin, perhaps because in my younger years I was always very lucky and didn’t suffer with acne or any other teenage skin complaint. I’m paying the price now though as I’m noticing lots of fine lines and wrinkles around my eyes especially so Estee Lauder’s advanced night repair and Kiehls powerful wrinkle reducing eye cream both seem like worth additions to my slowly expanding skincare army.

The last two products on my list are to hopefully combat the break outs. Clinique has always been my fall back brand for skin care when money allows and I’m yet to meet a product of theirs that doesn’t work for me. I definitely want to get my hands on their clarifying lotion sooner rather than later, and at £16.50 it’s not beyond the realms of possibility. I’ve also been putting strong consideration to caving in to the hype and saving up for a Clarisonic Mia for that added cleansing boost.

Talk to me about your skin saviours, both high-end and high street. What’s on your skin care wish list?

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Posted in beauty, life, shopping, wish list

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Gift Guide: Garden Pharmacy

17th October 2016

Ok, I really can’t hold off any longer, the official gift guides are beginning properly. I like to think of myself as an organised person and I like to be ahead with my Christmas shopping. Figuring I can’t be alone in this (the ever increasing crowds of people in the shops being a huge giveaway) I’m taking the plunge. Click away if you’re one of those who can’t even begin to think about gift buying until the start of December…

I was recently sent a couple of items from Garden Pharmacy to review and given the vast array of beauty and fragrance products they sell I thought I’d combine my mini reviews with a little list of other items that I think would make for wonderful presents. They currently have some good offers on many of their products meaning you might just manage to bag yourself a bargain in the process.

The first item I was sent was this beautiful tin of Steam Cream. This stuff has been around for a fair few years now but somehow passed under my beauty radar. To be honest I think I was put off by the presence of lavender which I often find over-powering but having now actually had the chance to both smell and use these cream I can see what the hype is about. I’ve mostly been using it on my hands which suffer dreadfully when the weather gets colder and it’s working wonders. The gorgeous packaging (of which there are many variations available) means it makes a beautiful girly gift too.
The Selfie Powders Palette palette from Too Faced (currently only £24.00) has been an item of intrigue to me since it first burst on to the beauty scene. This trio of powders are designed to be instagram filters for real life providing either brightening warmth, a bronze glow or a cool ethereal light. It took me a while to brave using these, I feared yellow and purple streaks all over the shot- actually these blend wonderfully in to the skin and do give an added edge to my every day makeup. I’ve been getting so many more compliments on my skin since I started using these!
And now for a few other items that have made it on to my beauty christmas list- hopefully providing a little inspiration to help you along your way (or enabling a self indulgent spending spree in which case I am sorry!)

Here | Here | Here | Here | Here

Happy Shopping! Let me know if you have any specific gift guide requests…

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*Post contains affiliate links*

Posted in beauty, christmas, gifts, review, shopping

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