Category Archives: review

reasons I am not a beauty blogger

24th June 2012
A few weeks ago find-me-a-gift.co.uk got in touch asking if I’d like to review a couple of makeup products.
I love makeup, a few years ago I went through a phase where it was my “thing” and built up quite a collection. Since then I have shamefully become lazy and fallen out of the loop so I thought this might be a good oppurtunity to get some of that love back. I think this post proves I still have a long way to go!

Apologies for the shocking photos that are to follow (reason number one why I am not a beauty blogger/you should always read your camera instructions)

 


I was sent The Balm Makeup- Hot Mama Blush/Eyeshadow, £14.99 which is a gorgeous rose gold colour hideously portrayed by my less than amateur photographing. The colour payoff on this is amazing and as a pale girl the colour really compliments my complexion; as an eyeshadow it doesn’t work for me, the pink makes me look like I have sore eyes, but I am confident it will look stunning on people who wear pink eyeshadow well and the texture is a dream.

I also recieved The Balm Bronzer Powder Compact- Betty Lou Manizer, £17.99. Reason number two why I am not a beauty blogger is that I have never in my life tried Bronzer before; I am infact scared of it.
As with Hot Mama the texture of this is a dream, an utter dream, and the colour pay-off is impressive; the photo above is one gentle finger swipe worth of colour! It was trial and error getting this to work for my beyond the pale skin but with a light hand and some careful buffing I think I managed admirably for a first attempt

 (And here’s reason number three why I am not a beauty blogger, the faces!)

I think both of these products will really come in to their own once I have had the benefit of some Spanish sun to lessen the bright whiteness of my skin; most of the time I love being pale, but sometimes I find it really, really hard work! That aside I really rate these products, and the colour payoff, retro packaging and luxury feel makes them worth every penny of their price tag.

Have you tried The Balm before?

And PLEASE PLEASE give me bronzer/general makeup advice!

xxx

Posted in beauty, review

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Hung out to Dry

11th June 2012

Fellow kitchen geeks, this post is for you! Last week I was contacted by All Tea Towels inviting me to take a look at their site and offering me two tea towels of my choice.

The name is self explanatory; this is a shop that specialises in tea towels, from the traditional to the not so traditional. I love spending time in the kitchen and spend far too long fawning over gadgets and accessories to brighten it up, so for me, this post was always going to be a winner!

I chose the Tunnock’s Tea Cake Wrapper towel and the Caramel Wafer Biscuit one too. I grew up on these treats and still enjoy them a lot (Tea Cakes are my guilty pleasure!) I love the bold red and cream look of these towels and they feel really high quality…I’m actually pretty excited to do some washing up! The towels came really quickly and beautifully packaged which always earns bonus points for an online store.

Take a look at All Tea Towels for yourself,
which one would you pick? Next on my list is this one!

xxx

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Book Review: What I Wore Today

30th January 2012

I was so excited when I was sent the press release for Gemma Correll’s latest venture “What I Wore Today”. Due to be released in March at a RRP of £9.99 this super sweet journal style book gives you the chance to doodle yourself in to a style icon. I was also offered the chance to review a copy of the book, and whilst I’m not going to reveal my lack of artistic talent by showing my doodles, I WILL give you a preview of what to expect!

I do apologise for the awful photos, for some reason I find it really hard to photograph books decently (maybe one day I’ll invest in a decent camera and learn how to use it!)

This really is a lovely book, and as well as giving you a chance to document outfits, there are hints and tips for dressing for the seasons and lots of places to unleash your inner fashion designer.

And for those who don’t know much about Gemma and her work, here’s a little bio:

“Gemma Correll is a freelance illustrator, coffee drinker and sometime ukulele player, based in deepest, darkest England.

Gemma has exhibited her work in galleries and shop windows around the world and her artwork has been reproduced on everything from placemats to t-shirts to umbrellas.

She has also had her work published in various books, annuals and magazines and has undertaken commissions to paint murals on the walls of pubs and shops in the UK and the USA.

Gemma’s artwork has been described as ‘the perfect combination of ugly and cute’, which she takes as a compliment!”

As well as all this Gemma also maintains a blog:

What I Wore Today…in Drawings
(http://whatiworedrawings.blogspot.com/)
is a Flikr pool and blog with over 2,200 members and growing. It has been covered in Grazia, Uppercase and Neet magazines, as well as numerous fashion blogs.

Is this a book that’ll be winging it’s way on to your Amazon wishlist? Will you be placing a cheeky pre-order?

I really think you should!

Posted in books, review

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hair heroes

21st January 2012

My hair and I have a love/hate relationship. I love the colour…but that’s about as far as it goes, or at least, it did. This year (although only a few weeks in) I seem to have finally found some miracle products and tools that really work for my thick, wavy and often frizzy locks…and finally I’m starting to enjoy taking care of my hair and feeling satisfied with how it looks.

1. Osis by Schwarzkopf hair body style and care spray was promptly stolen by my Mum who has done nothing but rave about it since. A woman obsessed when it comes to her hair, she usually uses multiple products to get the effect she wants. Since using this she’s stopped that, this, she says is all that she needs, and after pinching it back one morning, I’d be tempted to agree. It’s non-sticky and helped tame my hair in to submission without it getting frazzled or totally flattened.

2. Schwarzkopf Professional BC Bonacure Oil Miracle Oil Finishing Treatment is quite possibly my hair saviour. I’ve only used it twice and already my hair is much, much softer to touch and straightens much better. I have an oil aversion, it’s a standing joke with people who know me, so I was hesitant to say the least to give this product a chance…but sometimes it pays to take a chance, I wouldn’t be without this now, and even the price tag (£15.99 on Amazon) won’t put me off.

Both of the above products were sent to me for review, but this hasn’t affected what I’ve written. I’m not one to easily give praise to hair products; especially as many don’t make a difference to my locks, so please believe me when I say these are EPIC!

Stockist wise, you won’t find these in Boots or Superdrug, but a bit of google searching will find you the full range with varying prices.

3. Hair straighteners. Before these Corioliss C1 pro irons came in to my life at Christmas I fully believed that only GHDs would work on my hair, and I wasn’t prepared to spend that kind of money on the part of myself that I hated most! My Mum had a pair of these back in October and raved, so I caved in and let her get me some. CONVERT! No more spending an hour trying to get semi-straight hair. Ten minutes and I am fully presentable if I want my hair tied up…a little bit longer and I can rock my hair down without looking like a mad professor. Anyone looking for a GHD alternative would do well to get these. We got mine from here which seemed to offer the best price.

What are your hair miracle products? Does anyone else share my general hair hatred or have you learnt to love what you have?
xxx

Posted in hair, review

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sloth like days

27th November 2011

Primark jumper dress, primark tights, converse c/o Sarenza…pretty much the only option when one is full of cold and on the first day of a much needed week off.

The most effort I put in to anything yesterday was washing my hair. That and hunting down a gingerbread man in Waitrose (with no success)…I did manage to stock up on my current favourite breakfast though, taking full advantage of the 2 for £3 offer on Dorset Cereals gingerbread porridge.

Porridge and gingerbread fans MUST try this, available in selected Waitrose stores and online…it has real pieces of gingerbread in it and is so perfect for these colder mornings; a proper cuddle in a bowl!

Has anyone tried it yet? What is your favourite winter breakfast?

Views on last night’s x-factor? I gave up half way through and switched over to Casualty!

xxx

Posted in food, outfits, review

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