November Favourites

End Of November already, I cant believe how fast the month has gone.
Right thats the obligatory opening line sorted, lets get on with what I have been loving this month.

My Skin has been getting back on track. By no means is it clear but the hard sore lumps have died down and instead I'm left with slight marks from the healing skin and a scattering of open pores. I dream of perfect skin but at the moment I feel grateful that it has eased up a little.

I put this down to Neutrogena Spot Stress Control cleansing lotion, Johnsons Clean and Clear face wash and Sudo creme.

Yes I know essentially this is an arse cream but its bloody good. Its anti septic and its healing. It smooths down any redness and helps my spots to heal quicker.

Make up wise I have been loving Maybelline colour Tatoo in barely bronze. Im not a massive eyeshadow wearer but this gives me a no fuss look that lasts ALLLL day!

Other then the eyeshadow the only things to have pleased me are a few lip products.
Mac lipgloss in Boy bait is my perfect milky nude.
Revlon Lip butter in Creme brulee is an easy option for colour and moisture.

With my hands being looked at more often (mainly by me) I have been extra vigilant with the hand cream. I bought a hand cream from The Body Shop called ginger sparkle. The packaging displayed a happy go lucky Ginger bread man on the front so I was fully up for a sickly sweet smell. This however is fresh as in a lemony ginger concoction. It also moisturises pretty well.

I have started a few new products recently so once I have given them a fair shot I will be sure to let you know what I think.

These are: Garnier body oil, Makeup Forever HD foundation, Makeup Forever HD powder and A TOM FORD lipstick in bruised plum.

Look out for these coming soon!

Vegas Face

Apologies for the silence but I took a little trip to Vegas last week. It was my first time and I was expecting pure sleaze. However I was pleasantly surprised. I guess you could find boobies if you really wanted to but I never saw any!!

I also came back ENGAGED! wahoo.. expect some manicure pictures with bling.

Now on to the actual make up chat.

I had taken a shite load of makeup to Vegas and I don't know what I was quite thinking.. Show girl maybe? I literally packed a different look for each night, false eyelashes included. In the end I stuck with a variation of one look.. lots and lots of gel eyeliner.. Winged out and with as flawless skin as I could achieve. Some times I added a contoured eye crease and some times some strong brows.

One thing that I would say is that I piled on the make up during the day simply because I had the time too. No children = A long bath and a half decent foundation routine.

So my Vegas saviours are:

Firstly a half decent moisturiser. The desert is bloody dry. If you don't have dry skin then you certainly will by the time you leave. Bearing in mind I have semi oily spotty skin I was so dry.
I found that a water spray is also helpful.

Lip balm is a must. Air conditioning is a bitch

A nice long wear budge proof foundation.. I recommend Estee Lauder Double wear. Days merge into nights and you may not want to leave the bar to go fix your make up.

Maybe just a little glitter for night time. I chose Collection 2000 eyeliner in Rock star.

Now I'm back I'm certainly in the Christmas mood. The decorations are going up at the weekend! whoop.

Garnier Olia..... My Experience!

Hi and Happy Hump Day!

I tried the new Garnier Permanent hair colourant today...The all singing all dancing oil formulation, and what did I think....Meh!

Before I ramble on about what I thought of the product here is the spiel that Garnier have issued;

"For the first time in home colour, oil does more than condition, it boosts the colouring process"

"A new era begins with Olia – the first oil-powered permanent home hair colour. Contains 60% oils with natural flower oils and no ammonia."

"The drop-shaped bottle fits perfectly into the palm of the hand, allowing for controlled application. Velvety cream texture and a luxurious subtle fragrance, Garnier has helped transform the colouring routine into a new beauty ritual."

What first drew me to this hair colour was the fact it largely used oil. I have been using oil (Decleor) on my face for about 5 years now and I enjoy every aspect of using it, apart from the price. So when this big hype surrounding oil began about a year ago I really got hooked. You can buy an oil for anything these days, Your nails, hair, body, face and generally I like them. 

So there I was in boots, I knew I was going to use this particular brand but I wasn't sure of the colour. Don't ask me what happened but I asked my boyfriend to pick a colour for me and so he did.... 31.6 DEEP VIOLET!! Yes Purple!

I'm fairly brave and in all honesty I was eyeing up this colour a few weeks ago... anyway the next day (Today) I decided to give it a go and well I cant say its worth all the hype. My hair had changed colour but it certainly didn't look like anything like it should of. It looked more like a very very deep brown, borderline black. In some lights you could notice the purple, but not as much as I would have liked. I blamed the lack of intensity down to the fact that this product contained no ammonia. So how about the fact that it is kinder and has all these wonderful oils? Well it certainly hasn't made an impact on the condition of my hair. 

I think the idea was there and Garnier are certainly making the most of the oil hype but it failed to deliver what it was intended for. As for the application process you can tell that Garnier have put some real thought in. Black gloves are a nice touch as, is the thin nozzle dye applicator and admittedly dying your hair without that ammonia smell is greatly appreciated. However these factors aren't enough to win me over.

Since this afternoons disappointments I have purchased Schwarzkopf Live XXL in Mystic Violet and hope that this will provide me with that blast of colour I want.

Let me know what hair dye and colour you guys use/recommend.

xx

Go Get Glamour (UK)

Hello...
Until recently I wasn't quite sure who I was saying hello to. If you have read my previous posts you would know that I'm relevantly new to this wonderful world of blogging. However, I recently took the time to play with my settings and noticed a little section called "Statistics" and oh my golly gosh was I delighted.
Now don't get me wrong I don't claim to be an international blogging sensation and I know my figures are tiny compared to most. But I was so touched that over 1300 people have taken a look at my blog and that they come from all over the world. It truly made my day!! If you have the time, please feel free to drop me a comment saying hi. I would love to hear from you!

Now onto more important issues
You must go get Glamour Magazine (December UK issue) they are giving away full size nails inc polishes. I picked up Glamour Glitter and I love it.. It looks like a little bottle of Christmas and even feels like an early present. So, Thank you Glamour very much x

October Favourites and Disappointments!!

Hello,

I hope you had a great October...

Starting from this month I am going to post my hero products and also name, if any, the products that disappointed me..

October has been a TERRIBLE skin month for me. My face has resembled braille at the best of times and small creators at the worst!! I have tried so many different products and ways to cover up and to be honest I haven't felt happy with anything. The best I can do is hide behind my hair and hope it looks worse to me then anybody else.

I put this breakout down to my hormones, At the beginning of the month My baby was 3 months old and any one that has had kids will know that all that surplus hair you acquired falls out as your body is letting go of the last pregnancy/baby hormones. i think this imbalance in hormones has certainly made an impact on my skin.

So with all that said lets start with what have been my heroes!

1. Chanel Perfection Lumiere (30) I have loved this to even out my skin tone, knock out all the red in my skin and to also make my appearance child friendly. When I first got this I wasn't keen at all. It didn't sit right on my skin and made me look like a dry old prune. I now pare this with a moisturiser and the end result is much better, much more velvet as opposed to old prune!

2. Mythic Oil This has done me proud. Perfect for smoothing my hair down and giving my hair a shiny sleek finish and although I don't believe it helps in the restructure and internal health of my hair, it does give me the swishy hair feeling.

3. O.P.I (Lincoln Park at Midnight) I have mentioned this before, its a different variation of that classic Rouge noir colour. But it has been the nail colour i have opted for the most.

4. La Roche-Posay Hydra phase Intense. I cannot have a creator face and big fat eye bags at the same time so I have been making sure I'm a good girl with the eye gel application. This has ensured that the skin around my eyes is a smooth as is possible for me.

5.Loreal Super Liner (intense black) I have been trying to achieve the perfect cat flick eye this month and although this smudges I can get the perfect shape with this felt nipped liquid eyeliner. What I then tend to do is go over the top with my Maybelline gel eyeliner to really seal the deal.



So I guess this leaves us to the rather tricky subject of what really disappointed me. Lets start by saying that when I first bought this set I had complete and utter faith that this would be the stuff to save me. I had once tried the Murad Vitamin C face wash and although it was a trial size it worked wonders for my skin. It cleared up all my blemishes and left me, dare I say it, Glowy?!?

So when I saw this set on HQHair.com I thought this has got to be the stuff!!

 

Unfortunately this was not the "stuff". If ever there was a time for a product to really show me what It could do, this would be it. I mean an Acne treatment kit for a girl with enough zits for her and her five friends!! Unfortunately this kit did nothing to improve the look of my skin and some days I even thought my skin looked worse. I saw better results by smearing Sudo cream on my face.

There was also a face wash in this kit which I used up in the vain hope of clear skin. All it did do was leave my skin looking like I had, had a reaction. Very red/purple and inflamed. I do feel really disappointed with this kit as I had so hoped it would help with my skin but it was not to be. 

So my quest for clear skin goes on, I am seriously considering taking up the harsh method explained by Gossmakeupartist and using a whole barrel of Benzol peroxide on my skin.. or as my friend Jodie calls it...Mental Peroxide!!

My Lash staple!

I'm from Essex. I wear eyelashes
Let's get that out there to start with. Being from Essex I think I'm more then qualified to talk about sticking something to my lash line to enhance my flutter.

I have tried professionally applied lash extensions and offerings from MAC, Ardell and Eyelure to name but a few brands. I have tried the double layered lashes (hard work), single bunches, super natural pre clued strips and bottom lashes ala Kim Kardashian.
I have also tried all variations of coloured. You get the picture?!

I generally favour Eyelure lashes for a few simple reasons:
1) easily available
2) inexpensive
3) most "models" have a slim band

Let me tell you I have found my dream lash in Eyelures 151

They are perfect! Naturally lengthening and thickening, they have an organised randomness to each hair which I feel gives a more believable result. The lashes are longer in the centre giving a wide eyed look as opposed to longer at the outer eyed for that feline look.

Since wearing my first set three weeks ago I have been on the hunt for another set and hadn't been able to find them until today! Let's just say I took full advantage of the boots 3 for 2 offer!

Xx

Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure

I had spotted the Complete Salon Manicure nail polish in Boots and Superdrug before but with so much choice of nail polish these days I've never actually picked one of these up. However whilst in Asda last night I saw a small modest stand selling about 10 of the available colours from this range. My basket contained apples and baby milk at this point and needed glamming up, so in it went.

I decided to go for a classic milky pink, 160, shell we dance.

This nail polish claims to be five in one
~Base Coat
~Strengthener
~Growth treatment
~Colour
~Top coat

It also claims to be chip resistant and for nails to still be shiny for up to 10 days.
I love the idea of this and to make application even speedier the brush is double thickness meaning one swipe should cover the nails.
The finish is very nice and it does deliver on what it promises although I did have to apply four coats to achieve an opaque coverage.
Day one and my nails are still chip free.
Praise the lord, time will tell whether this lives up to the chip free 10 day claim.
Overall I think this is a lovely polish and I will certainly be checking out the other shades in this collection.
xx