Tuesday 30 April 2013

My First Essie Polish - Say Whaaaat!


In my April Glossy Box I received an Essie nail polish which I was really excited about as can you belive it I have never tried or owned one before. Essie is becoming a much more popular brand here in England now as it becoming more readily available in the highstreet in 'Superdrug' stores but they are slightly on the pricey side for me especially with the overflowing numbers I have of polishes as it is.

The colour I recieved my polish in is 'Bikini So Teeny' which firstly is one of the cutest names I have heard for a nail polish and it is a really beautiful colour. It is a blue toned lavender purple which is perfect for the spring summer seasons, it also has a very subtle glitter within it which isnt chuncky but slightly more than just a shimmer so when applied to the nails create a really nice sheen when it hits the light. As you can see in the picture below the colour does come out a little more blue when on the nails then in the bottle however is still a beautiful colour and this picture was taken 4 day into wear and had been through a big battle of house work and gardening with still very little chipping which I was really impressed with. I also like the fairly big brush it has as it makes it much easier to apply to the nails and the tapered edges really help to get a neat line really close to the cuticle for a nice polished finish.



Overall I was really impressed with this polish and the Essie brand, it has made me think that although it is slightly on the pricier side for me personally to spend on a nail polish that they are worth it as they have really beautiful colours and are great qaulity. I think this polish will be a staple for the up coming months and will get a hell a lot of use.
Have you tried or have any Essie nail polishes? Any recommendations of good ones?
Thanks for stopping by, bye for now.x

Sunday 28 April 2013

Derma-what-ica

I have had the chance to try out a couple Dermalogica products, mainly through samples within my glossy box and to be honest i'm pretty glad they we're samples as I really haven't be impressed. I don't think the brand or the products are completely awful and that no one should every buy any but I was just never wow'd or overly impressed.


Firstly I have a 'Clean Start Foaming Wash' I believe this may have come in a trio with a matching toner and moisturiser from the clean start range but i'm not entirely sure which shows if it did they were'nt great as I dont remeber a thing about them however on to the face wash. I mainly kept this in my shower for the days I had a quick cleanse whilst showering so it wasn't my daily cleanser choice. It is a gel like formula which foams nicely when worked in to the skin however i'm not over keen on the scent as it is a fairly strong citrus/ grapefruit scent which I think can be a little over powering for the face. I believe the 'Clean Start' range and this facial wash it aimed at the more combination/ oily skin types as it claims to cleanse deep into the skin and contains salicylic acid which is perfect for me and my skin however I feel it didn't do a great deal.


The second product I have from the brand it the 'Daily Microfoliant' now I have heard many positive reviews about Dermalogica and I beleive this is a popular product of theirs but again I really wasn't overjoyed. Now I love the idea of the powder 'exfoliant' turning into a creamy liquid when added to water however the exfoliant wasn't very exfoliating, now I know it shouldnt be overpowering as it is designed to be used daily but then I also felt that when it turned in to the cream that didn't do a great deal either and it just disappeared of my face and didnt feel like it did a lot at all. I persavered with it as I sometimes was unsure of the ratio I was meant to be using incase it was my fault and I was using it wrong but I have now used the entire pot which took a really long time which is great as it shows it goes a long way but i'm still not greatly impressed.

So sorry for the more negative post this time but everyone cant love everything right, do you like these or any other Dermalogica products? Let me know.
Bye for now.x

Friday 26 April 2013

Mini Boots Haul

Recently I popped into Boots while in my local town as I needed to pick up a couple make up things but seeing as they had one of their many 3 for 2 offers on their make up and hair care I ended up picking up a few extra things which i've been eyeing up for a while.


My main reason for needing my little Boots trip was to replace my face powder and bronzer as I am hitting pan quite badly and I dont think there is much life left in them. Currently I have been using the 'Rimmel Stay Matte Pressed Powder' I have this in translucent as I can sometimes find the coloured ones can be too dark for my pasty light skin tone. I like this powder as it is really light and soft on the skin and holds out well for keeping my skin matte however I do still usually need to top up of blot during the day. Along with this I also got the 'Rimmel Natural Bronzer in Sun Bronze 55' in the highstreet/ drug store shops I tend to struggle to find bronzers without any shimmer and although this does have a teenie tiny amount it isnt that noticable on the face and it is still great for using to contour too.

While at the Rimmel counter I also spotted the 'Wake Me Up Concealer' I have tried the foundation and enjoyed using it however had never thought to try the matching concealer as I was always happy with my 'Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer' however after seeing good review after good review I thought as there is a 3 for 2 offer on why the hell not! WARNING you will find this is how all shopping decisions tend to end with me.. a good but expensive way of thinking. The concealer seems to have less glitter/ shimmer within it than the foundation however still has a nice glow which obviouslys aids the anti fatigue claims for the product.

Whilst in Boots I had also wanted to look at sea salt hair sprays as I love the look of slightly messy textured hair and as summer is slowly on its way, very very slowly but thats beside the point and I had seen Zoe/Zoella mention the 'Toni and Guy Casual Sea Salt Texturising Spray' in one of her favourite videos so thought I would have a little look for it. Now the full size bottle is over £7 which is a little steep for me which could potentially be a product I didnt like or use very often, however round the corner I found the travel sized version. Now for some reason anything in a smaller version/ bottle is instantly attractive to me so it was straight in my basket, this little fella was closely followed by the 'Aussie 3 Minute Miracle Reconstructer Deep Condition' I wanted to try this after recently using up a mini shampoo and conditioner from Aussie and as it came in another cute mini travel sample it just flew straight into my basket. Im looking forward to trying these two out so will most probably have an update post on that soon!

Well theres my first little haul for you, hope you enjoyed it. Have you used any of these products or recently purchased any new products?
Thanks for stopping by, bye for now.x

Wednesday 24 April 2013

Grease Up Girls

Now the sun has finally decided to come and visit us here in England and the summer is looking like it will be on its way soon its super important that we make sure we keep our skin tip toped up with moisture. Now don't get me wrong I am also one of the people too who struggle to make sure I moisturise every single day, sometimes there is just something more important to be doing with that 10 minutes or there physically isn't that 10 minutes to even think about doing it. However if you want to have super soft and supple skin this is the only way your going to get it girls.


Personally I have found the thicker body butter moisturiser formulas are much more hydrating for the skin because of the much thicker consistancy however not everyone likes them and prefer a light formulation. A couple of my favourites include; a new one to me from my latest Glossy Box is the 'Nip+Fab Dry Skin Body Butter' this moisturiser has a thick cream formulation similar to the 'Body Shop' body butters but slightly lighter and feels really light and creamy on the skin and sinks in really nicely. Mine is in the Pistachio Sunday scent and although I wouldn't have picked this iout of the scents available it has grown on my as I have continued to use it. It has a distint nutty scent which I change my mind if I like it everytime I smell it however one thing I really like is that I can still smell it on my skin the next morning. Big points for that.

 
 
Another body butter I like it the 'Palmers Cocoa Butter Formula' this is a fairly popular moisturer brand however I believe more for the lotion formualtion which I also really like but I have been using the original solid formula. In the tub it is a solid.. well it is what it says on the tin... and as you warm it between your hands it turns into a really rich oil which feels really luxurious and hydrating on the skin. However as this is a very rich formula the oil does stick on the skin for a long while as it sinks in slowly which is great as it doesnt skin in so fast you feel its has done nothing at all. However it does mean you will feel a little sticky/ slimey for a little while depending on how much you put on so I prefer to use this after a bath and get into my pyjamas and let it soak in over night and you wake up with super soft skin. A great fact about Palmers moisturisers is the have a big target market for skin conditions such as marks and scars as it have a very regerative formulation which means as well as really hydrating you skin your helping even out the tone and texture too.

Another product I have loved using recently is the 'Sanctuary Body Moisture Spary' which similar to the Palmers butter provides more an oil for the skin which gives a great sheen and beautiful moisture too. This comes in a spray which makes application ridiculously fast however a little messier, if you have non carpeted floor beware things can get slippery. I really like this new form of spray moisturisers which although may not be as moisturising as the thick butters but by making it super quick and easy I think it is more likely that people will use this much more regularly which in turn probably hydrates the skin just the same. I have a full review on this moisturiser here.


So theres a couple of my favourite moisturisers at the minute which I find really keep my skin soft and hydrated and now girlies i'm afraid I have to say if you want to stop yourself from getting flaky or itchy dry skin this is one of the main factors that is going to help so pull your finger out and start slapping it on. One last note in this nicer weather one moisturiser you cannot use enough of is sunscreen, its really important to protect you skin against the sun as not only does it contribute to aging and cancer if you get burnt it bloody hurts!
Thanks for stopping by, bye for now.x

Monday 22 April 2013

Aussie Miracle Moist Shampoo and Conditioner

I recently purchased these on a slight whim as I was just looking for a small travel sized shampoo and conditioner to take swimming with me, I found these in the travel size section of my local supermarket and they looked the best of the little bunch on offer. I had never tried any Aussie products before although had heard many good things about them so was looking forward to giving them a go.

The first thing I noticed and my most favourite part of the product is the smell, they are literally the best smelling thing I have ever smelt, they smell really sweet like the old school black jack and fruit salad sweets, let me know if you remeber them.. best sweets ever.. and like 10p!!! This shampoo and conditioner are aimed for people with dry or damadged hair which I sometimes tend to get with the ends of my hair however never usually gravitate to this type of hair care normally. I was  really impressed with how they did make my hair feel, just after one wash my hair felt really soft and smooth. They are said to contain Australain macadamia nut oil and with the various hair oils on the market containing similar nut oils we know how nutritious and good they are for the hair which obviously helps to give the hair the hydrated and soft feeling.


I was really impressed with the products and loved using them and have already repurchased them to continue to use for travel purposes and will definatly look into some of the other Aussie products they have on offer. Let me know if you have ever tried any Aussie products and what your favourites are. All the Aussie products can be found on the Superdrug website here.

Thanks for stopping by again, bye for now.x

Saturday 20 April 2013

Empties #2


Well hello, here we are again with a few things I have used up the last couple of months which I wanted to share with you.. because i'm such a kind person like that.

First up welcome to the cleanser show, I seemed to have used up a whole lot of cleansers recently, I do like to swap and change my cleansers depending on how my skin is feeling so have a little bunch to share with you. First my favourite one of the bunch 'Dual Act' cleansing lotion from 'Temple Spa' found here this cleanser is slightly higher priced then I would usually choose to pay for a cleanser but I really did enjoy using it. This can both be used wet, so with water and washed of and also dry so just wiped over the skin with a cotton pad, the cleanser is a consitancy between a gel and a cream making it really soft and gentle on the skin but really helps the oil and congestion on my skin. My second one, also targeted for the more oily combination skin types is the 'Yves Rocher Gentle Exfoliating Cleanser' link this is much more of a gel consistancy with small exfoliating beads within it, unlike the Dual Act it created much more foam when worked into the skin and left the skin feeling really soft. Normally i'm not a huge fan of a daily exfoliant cleanser however this one is very gentle and gives a really nice feeling on the skin. Lastly the slightly less impressive cleanser from my bunch the 'Dermalogica Daily Microfoliant' now I know that some people love this and I have read many reviews on it but for some reason it just wasnt for me. I love the idea of the format how the powder turns into a creamy liquid when mixed with water and it did feel really soft on the skin however I felt it just didn't do alot for me and my skin so I wasn't that impressed. This can be found on the Dermoligica website here although you can probably find it on many other beauty sites too.


Next up I have two perfumes, firstly 'Kate Moss' obvioulsy by Kate Moss I have repurchased this perfume over and over for the last few years as it is a staple fresh and slightly floral fragarence, i'm awful at describing scents so thats pretty much all you going to get but it is a great one to chose if you want a more mature teen perfume. Another perfume which is great to move onto when looking for a more mature fragarence is 'Tommy Girl' by Tommy Hilfiger, when growing up this was always a favourite perfume for my sister so when I recieved this as a gift it really brought back memories for me being younger and always wanting to grow up and be like her. This perfume smells slightly deeper and more 'woody' than the Kate one but are both easy to wear are fairly long lasting too. Both of these fragrances can be found on the Superdrug website here.


Next a product that I use many of, cotton pads, this time 'Sainsburys Basics Cotton Wool Pads' for something like this I am always up for the basic and own brand ranges as they are super cheap and do the job in hand which for me is usually to use with my water cleansers which you can see a review on here and removing my nail polish. These are the standard round cotton pads however have now discovered large rectangular ones usually in the baby sections of shops and these are even better as I found that I can remove all of my make up with just one rather than 3 or 4 of the normal round ones. Finally my last empty is 'Bassetts Vitamins' in my pretty hetic and physical daily life and work I find it quite important to take some sort of vitamin supplement. Im much more of a chewy pastilles vitamin person as they taste just like sweets and i'm awful at swallowing pills. I really like the Bassetts vitamins as they come in so many different variety for what you would prefer/ require and all taste really nice!

So there we go for our second empties, what products have you used up the last couple of months? Anything you would definitly repurchase in the future?
Bye for now.x

Tuesday 16 April 2013

Rimmel Lasting Finish 1000 Kisses Lip Tint and Balm

Recently I have been all about the lip tints and stains on the market as it allowed me to introduce some colour into my make up with little fuss as it lasts 'most' of the day. Recently I purchased a couple Rimmel lip stain products which I had personally never heard of before but I believe have been around for a little while.


The 1000 kisses lip tints and balms come as a double ended product with the tint at one end in a felt tip like applicater and the balm on the other end. I quite like the idea of this formulation as you apply the tint to the lips allow it dry which takes no time at all and then apply a layer of the balm. I like this as it means you can always top up your lips with the balm throughout the day to keep them hydrated without having to disturb the tint and colour on the lips, plus the balm has a slight shimmer/ glitter to it which really brings out the colour of the lips.


On the slightly more negative side I did find that sometimes the balm didnt give enough hydration and that over some of my other tint and balm products it was more drying on the lips however still held a fairly good stain which lasted a fair amount of time and even when it did start to fade it was easy to top it up and reapply without making the colour look patchy or uneven.

top -140 Faithful Rose and bottom - 510 Kiss Me
Overall I was quite happy with these products although will probably favour the balm stain products such as the Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stains which you can see my post on here over these as I like them slightly more because of the application and hydration they give. I would love to know of any similar lip stain products you may of used or heard of.
Thanks for stopping by, bye for now.x

Sunday 14 April 2013

Iphone Apps

I have had my Iphone for a couple of months and have started to find apps that I constantly use and love so thought I would share them with you incase you had never heard of them, or share our love of them or hopefully get some recommendations back from you too of some that you love.

 
So first up the home page screen, so this mainly contains the normal apps that come with the phone such as messages, photos, weather ect. I also added a couple social ones which I use constantly as you can see Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. Then other than the rest of the boring ones my inner OCD freak enjoyed seperating the rest into nice little folders as you can see including social, games, random, photography, music and utilities. I find it so helpful having them in their own categories because not only does it save me flicking through pages and pages of different apps, everything is simple and together in their own little place.

 
As everyone loves a good game I thought I would share the ones I had on my phone and the ones I am constantly on. As you can see I have a few games that were really popular with everyone such as tiny towers which I was super addicted to, got to 43 levels. I have also been addicted to 4 pics 1 word.. as has everyone else in the world and I still pretty am although losing my patience a lot lot faster when im stuck. And my latest craze the Simpsons Tapped Out, now I know im slightly late on the bandwagon for this one but once I started I loved it and am still playing now and on level 11 :).


Lastly I thought I would show you into my little random folder as I think this might be one of my favourite ones. A little run through on the apps in here include my kobo app which is linked to my e-reader which currently has the Twilight series on at the minute, the App Of The Day, I love this app as everyday it gives you an app which usually would cost money for completly free sometimes they are a bit crap but occasionally you will find a little gem such as the WorkOuts and Sqauts Pro apps which I love to use for a bit of inspiration for working out. MyFitnessPal I heard about online from the likes of Carly Rowena and have used this non stop and really found it has helped me watch what im eating and helped me lose 10lbs since using it. Good Times :). A couple others includes Horoscopes which is always fun to have a little look at and see what the 'stars' are saying and Dream Moods, I do have the occasional strange dream so its fun to look up a theory on what it might mean but how true it is I do not know .. but its all a bit of fun.

Well I hope you liked this little insight into my phone I would love any recommendations on apps you may love or have heard of or other posts or videos about them too. Thanks for stopping by again, bye for now. x

Tuesday 9 April 2013

Sanctuary Spa; Body Moisture Spray

During a recent shopping spree I stopped off into Boots and found this little treasure. I haven't heard a great deal about any products on the market that provide a spray type moisturiser apart from a new Vaseline launch in America. However when browsing through Boots I found this spray and was really intrested in trying it out as anything that can speed up or make moisturising a little more fun is all great in my eyes.

This moisture spray is said to be ultra light conditioning oil spritz which it very much is, I wasnt sure what to expect when I first tried it as it looks like a water within the bottle however once sprayed on the skin a mist of oil is applied which is non greasy and lightweight but still goes a really long way. It also says it gives the skin an instant boost of hydration and healthy sheen, I again completly agree with this, obviously being an oil the skins feels instantly smooth and hydrated and it also creates a really beautiful shine to the skin without looking oily.

I was really impressed with how this moisture spray worked, for my body I only needed to use 2 sprays per arm and 3 on each leg and a couple for the chest and stomach too and with a little spreading and rubbing in the whole body was completed and moisturised within seconds. The full size bottle of this (150ml) costs £5.50 which I think is pretty good valuefor money as it will last you a super long time but what is also great is they do a smaller travel size bottle too which is £2.40 for 50ml which is great for travelling and also so you can test the product out before buying a larger more expensive amount of product. This moisture spray smells just like the rest of the Sanctuary Spa products not too strong but slightly woody and aromatherapy based and just delicious.. all of the Sanctuary Spa products including the Body Moisture Spray can be found on their website here.

Thanks for stopping by again, bye for now.x

Thursday 4 April 2013

Garnier Moisture Match Moisturisers


After seeing a number of different adverts on the new Garnier moisturisers I found they were offering free samples on their website here and a quiz to find the perfect match for you so I took the quiz and found my match which to no suprise to me was the oily/ combination one called 'Shine Be Gone. As a couple days past I had my little package slipped through my door and to my suprise not only had they given me the sample I had asked for from my quiz results but also 2 of the other moisturisers too!


The first one I tried was the one recommended for me and my skin type 'Shine be Gone', this comes in green packaging and also has a green tinted cream. However what did suprise me was when applied to the face it has a strange consistancy which feels uneven and just very strange on the skin at the first. I then read on the packaging that it is microspheres which cause this feeling and are there to help soak up any excess oil from the skin and provide a matte effect. I found during the day this moisturiser did help my oily shine throughout the day and I liked it so much I have already brought the full size version.


Next up the normal skin 'Protect and Glow' formula, this is also a standard cream moisturiser on the skin, nice and light and also contains an SPF 20 which is always good because even in the cold weather we have been having recently here in the UK you should always wear and SPF especially for the face although they are becoming more popular in facial products. It is also said to contain light reflecting pearls so not only so it protect you skin but it makes it look luminous too.


Lastly my third sample was the dull skin 'Wake Me Up' formulation which is actaully a gel moisturiser which I was very suprised to see and excited to try. On the skin it felt very smooth and cooling and again very lightweight. However because of my typical oily/ combination skin type I feel I wasnt the best judge on testing this and the previous formulation as they weren't for my skin type and any dewy look that may have been created on my skin I would not have notice as usually my 'glow' is cause by a nice layer of oil.. tasty!


So I really love the idea of these new moisturisers and some of the claims on some of the formulations are really good and would be great on the right skin type. I loved how not only do they send you the moisturiser for your skin type but a couple others too to try out and they are a good size to get a couple trys out of each. I would really recommend anyone looking for a new moisturiser to try these out especially if your unsure which one would suit you best. Well thanks for stopping by again, I hope you liked this little review, bye for now.x

Tuesday 2 April 2013

Coo Coo for Corals

You may have seen a slight repetitive theme when it comes to the colour choice of make up and products which I use and well if you haven't your not paying enough attention! DROP DOWN AND GIVE ME 20! Only joking.... but you must try harder :P Anyway getting on with it I am absolutely crazy, ca ca and coo coo for all things coral and orange and after seeing a similar post over on the beautiful Estee's blog here I thought I would share with you a few of my favourite coral/ orange products.


First up i'll think we'll start with nail polish as theres a few of them, its clear I have a bit of a nail polish obbsession too. I have three 'Barry M' polishes, from left to right: Coral, Papaya (Gelly effect) and Peach Melba. I really like 'Barry M' for their nail paints for both their colour range and qaulity.
 


I also have some other polishes from a variety of brands including 'Rimmel' in the colour Apricot Punch which is also one of their polishes that smells fruity when dry too, 'Temple Spa' in Lucca which is on the pinker side of the coral range although looks very pink in the picture and 'London Girl' in the colour 114, I always find it dissapointing when their isn't a cute name but this is a great neon orange.

 
Next up some lip products, from left to right 'Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain' in rendezvous, 'Missy Sport Dr Balm' in shade 03 and a 'MeMeMe Light Me Up Lipgloss' which I couldnt even find the shade name.. bad times. And finally the last couple of products to hop on my orange bus are my beloved 'Sleek' blush in 'Lifes a Peach' and my water bottle.. yes I had to have an orange water bottle too, its cute and you may see a future blogpost on this soon.

 
Well nice to see you again, bye for now.x