November favourites

These are some of my favourite products this month:

Soap and glory the righteous butter

The colder weather means that I've been taking longer and hotter showers which can leave my skin dry. This yummy smelling body butter has done a fantastic job of moisturising my skin leaving it soft and smooth. It sinks in really easily (more so than The Body shop coconut body butter) so there is no horrible greasy afterfeel.

Lush Christmas eve bubble bar

I'm loving Lush products recently and this bubble bar was no exception. It deserves its own review but I love it for giving me a much needed relaxing bath at the weekend.

Superdrug natural high anti-ageing eye cream

As you know I suffer from really bad dark circles so a good eye cream is essential. This light cream has definitely improved the appearance of puffiness around my eye area and I think I can see a slight improvement in my dark circles. Its really easily absorbed and is the perfect base for make up.

L'oreal studio secrets smoothing resurfacing primer

This mousse primer does a great job of minimising the look of pores. Whenever I use this my skin looks and feels so smooth and any make up that I apply looks 10 times better as a result.

MAC selectmoisturecover concealer

This month I've found myself reaching for this almost everyday. It helps to conceal and brighten my dark circles and because its a liquid concealer its easier to apply and doesn't settle into any of my fine lines.

I'd love to know what your favourites of the month are so link me to your blogpost or leave me a comment below.

Using everything up- November

This month has gone by so fast, I can't believe that it'll be December tomorrow! But on a happier note not long until Xmas now :)

This month I've finished:

Asda essential care soft white handwash

Toni and guy detox shampoo

No 7 cleanse and care eye make up remover

Lush grease lightning sample

B Natural energising facial scrub

Qtica hand repair balm

This has been another slow month for using up products, and I'm getting really tempted by all the exciting new products in the shops, especially Lush but I'm determined to stick with it and I love that feeling of satisfaction when I do finally finish something. And spending less on toiletries means more money to spend on clothes and make up!

Superdrug get the look competition

Superdrug are currently running a competition where you create your favourite party look for the festive season using up to 6 products from superdrug.com.


The winner will win a variety of prizes including 2 tickets to the UK elite model final, a hair and make up shoot, a Revlon cosmetic box and lots of Gosh products. The second and third prize consists of the Revlon cosmetic box, lots of make up and other goodies. There are also prizes for the 5 favourite customer looks, with each winning £25 worth of Gosh make up and 3 Barry M nail paints.


For more information about the competition and the prizes click here. Good luck!

Review - Lush seanik shampoo bar

Product: Lush seanik shampoo bar


Price: £4.53 for 55g

What they say: Softening sea salt shampoo with jasmine, mimosa and orange blossom. Many of our planet's most potent nutrients come from the deep blue sea. Lush has them brought ashore to create an ocean blue Shampoo Bar with protein-rich, softening Irish moss seaweed, Japanese nori seaweed and sea salt to leave your hair soft, nourished and full of body. We could have left it at that, but that's just not our way. We added lemon oil for extra shine, and the exotic far eastern fragrance of mimosa and jasmine to bathe you in the heady scent of tropical flora.

What I think: Another great product from Lush. I got this as part of the Freshers box and I love it.

I simply rub the bar about 5 times around my head and it lathers up beautifully. It leaves my hair feeling clean, soft and shiny and it isn't drying at all, although I always condition my hair after shampooing. My hair didn't feel like it had more volume after using this but I do have very fine hair and I've yet to find a product that gives it more volume. Like all lush products it smells gorgeous and this has a fresh oceany scent although I wish the scent was stronger so that it would linger in my hair after rinsing.

Lush claims that shampoo bars can last as long as 3 bottles of liquid shampoo and having used this I can definitely see why. You only need to use a little bit each time so the bar will last for ages as long as you dry it properly.

Rating: 9/10

Would I repurchase: Definitely

Blog awards

I've recently been nominated for 2 awards by some lovely bloggers (sorry its taken me so long to do this post).

xcharleymOox and Sinead both nominated me for the I love your blog award:


And Lisa-Jane has tagged me for the Kreative bloggers award:

Thank you so much girls, I really appreciate you nominating me for the awards. Please check out their fab blogs if you haven't already done so.

Instead of nominating some bloggers for these awards, I'm going to pass this onto all of my beautiful readers as a thank you for reading and commenting on my posts.

Also don't forget to enter my Xmas giveaway here if you haven't already done so x

Wonderbra ultimate strapless party

A while ago I came across a competition to win tickets to the Wonderbra ultimate strapless party, so I entered then completely forgot about it. So imagine my surprise and delight when I got an email telling me that I'd won 2 tickets!


The actual party was at Punk in Soho on Thursday and on Wednesday wonderbra kindly send us 2 bras to wear to the party as well as the actual invite. I had a mini panic about what to wear as I don't own any strapless dresses but I realised I could just hide the straps on my coral dress and wear that.



On arrival we were greeted with 2 cocktails (the passion fruit one was yummy) and throughout the night we were treated to a marvelous selection of finger food including salmon bites, filo wrapped prawns and Krispy Kremes as well as free drinks.


After we'd had a chance to relax they put on a fashion show with lots of gorgeous strapless outfits from Asos, and I've included photos of some of my favourite ones. There was also two lovely ladies who were offering makeovers to the guests.


On the invite they promised us special mystery guests who turned out to be no other than Miss Frank from this year's Xfactor!


All in all it was an amazing night and wonderbra did everything to make us feel glamorous and spoiled. They even gave each of us a fab goody bag to take away at the end.

My make up for the night:
Face:
Loreal studio secrets smoothing resurfacing primer
MAC select moisturecover concealer
Loreal touche magique
MAC mineralize skinfinish natural
MAC blushbaby and springsheen blush

Eyes:
Clinique colour surge eyeshadow duo in victorian pink
ELF brightening eye colour in drama
Maybelline liquid definer liquid eyeliner
Chanel inimitable mascara

Lips:
Carmex lipbalm
Natural collection clear lipgloss

Beauty icon- Eva Longoria

Hi Ladies

I thought I'd do a few posts about celebrities who's make up looks I've been inspired by. Eva Longoria always looks gorgeous and I love her signature look of flawless radiant skin, flushed cheeks, smoky lined eyes and glossy lips. It looks beautifully polished and brings out her features without looking too made up and can be toned down for an everyday look or glammed up for a night out.

Here are some my favourite looks:

Looking naturally beautiful

Sexy smoky eyes

Looking glam with smoky eyes and nude lips

Bronzed and beautiful

Well defined eyes with glossy red lips (my favourite look)

What do you think of Eva's beauty style? Who are some of your beauty icons?

MAC cremesheen lipstick in creme d'nude

I've always been a lipgloss girl but since I've started blogging I've really gotten into lipsticks, and a nude lipstick was at the top of my list. I tried several high street nudes but they all gave me the concealer lips look which wasn't very attractive. I was originally going to wait until my makeover to buy a MAC lipstick but my lovely boyfriend kindly said he'd treat me to a one when we went shopping on Friday :)

Without flash on left, with flash on right

As usual I was really indecisive and spent ages in store trying on different shades and trying to decide between them. In the end I narrowed it down to Creme d'nude and Hue but decided to go with this one as it was more pigmented than Hue and several bloggers had recommended this to me.


My lips are really pigmented so on me its a gorgeous peachy pink colour thats perfect for an everyday look and as the name suggests its very creamy with a slight glossy finish. Like all lipsticks I find it a little drying but nothing a that a bit of lipbalm underneath won't solve.

I'm really impressed with some of the lipsticks in the shops and this is probably the start of an expensive new beauty obsession, I'm already thinking about buying Maybelline Amber rose!

Christmas giveaway

I've decided to do a giveaway as a way of saying Merry Christmas and also to say a big thank you to my followers.


The prize contains:

Soap and glory massage glove

Soap and glory mini clean on me shower gel

Almay nearly naked foundation sample

Small clear nail varnish

Cacharel amor amor EDT sample

The Sanctuary warming charcoal detox mask satchet

To enter:
- Be a follower of my blog
- Leave a comment saying 'enter me' and what your top beauty tip is ( I thought it would be a fun way for everyone to pick up some new tips)
- For an extra entry post about this on your blog and leave me a link to let me know
- UK entries only (really sorry if you're an international follower)

The competition will close at midnight on 15th December and a winner will be picked at random. The prize will then be posted asap and hopefully will arrive in time for you to pamper yourself for Xmas.

Good luck!

Nails Inc Victoria

I just wanted to do a quick post about how impressed I am with this nail varnish.

I got this with Glamour magazine and wasn't too impressed initially as it needed two layers so kept smudging but its been a week since I painted my nails and its only chipped a tiny bit on 2 nails!


Its not too clear from the photo but there is a tiny chip on my index and little finger on my left hand.

I'm really impressed that its managed to last 5 days without any chips and even then the chips are really small and barely noticeable. Its the longest I've worn any nail varnish without having to remove it.

I would definitely recommend this nail varnish, especially as its only £2 with Glamour (which is always a good read anyway).

Review- Superdrug natural high anti ageing eye cream

Product: Superdrug natural high anti ageing eye cream


Price: £3.91 for 15ml (but look out for their regular offers)

What they say: Anti-ageing eye cream naturally high in...
Organic Jojoba Oil increases skin softness and suppleness.
Red Hibiscus tones and helps reduce the appearance of puffiness.
Gingko Biloba detoxifies, revitalizes and improves firmness.
Grapeseed Oil rejuvenates and restores.
Dermatologically tested. This rejuvenating eye cream helps tone and firm the under eye area, reducing the appearance of wrinkles, puffiness and dark circles.

What I think: I think this is a really good basic eye cream to have. Its a light cream that feels very refreshing when applied and does a good job of moisturizing the eye area. It sinks in straight away with no greasy afterfeel and is noticeably more matte than my Nivea eye cream. Recently I've noticed that my eyes have become more puffy than usual but since using this the puffiness has definitely improved. I suffer from really bad dark circles and this product has helped to improve them a little bit, although I still need concealer. Unfortunately I've not noticed an improvement in the appearance of my fine lines.

I like that the cream comes in a tube which makes it easy to control how much product to use and also is more hygienic as I'm not constantly dipping my finger into a pot.

Rating: 8/10

Would I repurchase: Most probably

Your blog is better than ice cream award

Thank you Missy for nominating me for this very cute award.


I'm going to pass the blog onto these lovely ladies:

Sadie @ Butterfly wings

Sinead @ Dainty Dollymix ( who is currently doing a giveaway on her blog, see picture)

Laura @ Laura Alexandra

I also want to say Hi to my new followers and a big thank you to everyone for following and commenting on my blog. I read every single comment and really appreciate you guys for taking the time to read and comment on what I've written. If you have any requests or suggestions please let me know x

NOTD

Glamour is my favourite magazine although I try not to buy it too much but a free Nails Inc varnish was just too tempting to resist. I love the whole dark nails look so I went for Victoria, which is a gorgeous dark vampy red colour, perfect for winter!


The actual nail varnish, although a gorgeous colour is quite thin so I needed two coats , which was a pain as I kept smudging it before it dried so ended up doing one nail 4 times! Even with 2 coats the colour is not completely even and some parts of the nail is darker than the rest but luckily isn't too obvious unless you look very closely.

The actual nail varnish is worth £10.50 but you can get a choice of 4 colours from Glamour which retails at £2.

What a bargain!

I had the day off lectures today to revise for a timed essay tomorrow which of course ended up with me procrastinating on Twitter and Blogger, but whilst I was on Twitter The Body Shop tweeted that their Vitamin E moisturizer was half price today. This is my Mum's favourite moisturizer and I remember her telling me that she was running low and could I pick some up for her next time they had it on promotion.


So after eventually getting through to her on the phone we decided to order 6 pots. At the moment they have 2 other promotions on their website: if you spend over £10 you get a free cocoa butter creamy body wash (worth £5.85) and if you spend over £25 you get a free coconut shimmer body butter (worth £9.76). As my order was worth £25 I knew I qualified for a free body butter so I was really pleased when I got to the checkout and discovered I received both the body butter and the body wash free with my order.


To make it even more of a bargain I found a code online for £5 off a £25 spend, making my order just £21.40 and free delivery as well.


So after all the promotions and discount codes I managed to get £42 worth of stuff for £21!

The discount code I used was DHAD000749 but there is also DHAD000298 for 15% off any order.

Review- Lush love lettuce fresh face mask

Product: Lush love lettuce fresh face mask


Price: £4.95 for 75g or £6.45 for 75g online

What they say: An effective, exfoliating face mask which gives normal to oily skin a softened smoothed and radiat glow. Polishing almond shell is balanced by the skin softening qualities of almond oil and seaweed gel. With soothing lavender essential oil and the cleansing, tightening action of Fuller's Earth, you'll feel fresh in no time. Apply to clean skin, avoiding the eye area. Leave for five to ten minutes, then rinse with warm water massaging gently. Keep chilled.

What I think: I really liked this facemask. The first thing you notice when you open the pot is the lovely herbal smell which made it seem really fresh and natural.As you can see from the photo its a thick paste with lots of exfoliating granules in it. When I applied it to my face it slowly dried, tightening as it did so, so you can really feel it working. Its got lots of exfoliating granules (too much if anything) so you can give your skin a good scrub afterwards. Personally I felt that there were too many granules and would have preferred a smoother mask but thats just me being fussy and I ended up gently exfoliating then washing the rest away or using it to exfoliate my hand and arms.



I also found it very good at drying out and calming any spots I had. I had 2 really obvious spots on my skin which I couldn't resist picking, which of course made them red and inflammed. In desperation I applied a blob of this and straight away it looked less red and by the next day it was much less obvious.

Like all the other fresh facemasks it needs to be kept in the fridge and has a use by date. The use by date is normally a few weeks after purchasing and personally I really struggled to use up all the product before it went off and I ended up freezing some of it.

Rating: 8/10

Would I repurchase: Yes definitely, although I'd like to try a few more fresh face masks first.

Top 3 products for under £5

I was tagged by the lovely Daisy to post about my top 3 products for under a fiver each.I've blogged about some of my favourite beauty bargains before so I'll try and choose products that I've not mentioned before so it doesn't get repetitive.

Haircare

Herbal Essences conditioner, £3.37 (the image is from google as I'm trying to use up my conditioners before buying more of this)
My favourite haircare item would have to be Herbal Essences conditioners. I have quite long hair so conditioner is essential for smooth and shiny locks. I love the fact that there are so many different ones to choose from and they all smell absolutely gorgeous, especially the fruit fusion ones. They do a great job of conditioning my fine hair without weighing it down and whenever I use them I'm left with smooth, shiny and gorgeous smelling hair. They are often on offer at Boots so its even cheaper!

Skincare


Simple hydrating light moisturiser, £3.42
For a while my skin was playing up really badly and reacting to every single moisturiser except Clinique DD lotion, but I didn't want to pay nearly £30 for what is a pretty basic moisturiser, so I was really happy when I discovered this one. Its a lovely light cream moisturiser that melts into my skin and leaves it hydrated and radiant without looking greasy. Although its not oil free I've not had any problems with spots and it seems to keep my combination skin nicely in balance. And as its designed for sensitive skin so there are no perfume, colour or harsh chemicals which could irritate the skin.

Make up


Maybelline line definer liquid eyeliner, £4.99
This product makes it so quick and easy to line your eyes. Its a pen style eyeliner so you can literally draw the line on. To get a thin line I use the tip of the pen and if I want a more dramatic look I'll use the side of the pen to get a thick line. Its very pigmented and long lasting so there's no need for touch ups although it is easily removed using a make up remover. I brought this nearly a year ago and theres plenty of product left and its not dried out at all. This has definitely become a make up essential for me!

For more beauty bargains check out an earlier post I did with some of my favourite products: Beauty bargains.


I'd love to see what everyone's favourite bargains are so I'm going to leave it open and tag anyone that wants to do this :)

Lovely blog award

I was nominated for this award by Dainty dollymix, Hannah Babey xo, Juicygirl, Sparkles and lipgloss and Thisiscaz. Thank you so much girls, I really appreciate it.


The Rules:
1. Add the logo to your blog
2. Link to the person from whom you received this award
3. Nominate 7 or more blogs
4. Leave a message on their blog, letting them know





I'm going to nominate the following blogs for this award:
Lou lou land
Beauty babble
Live.Laugh.Love
Pink makeup love
Princesa Livia
Butterfly wings
Zoella

Westfield purchases

I actually brought these over a week ago so this post is long overdue!

I had originally planned to go shopping with some friends but something came up at the last minute and I couldn't make it. However I really needed some retail therapy after working on my essay all week, and luckily my boyfriend needed to pick up a few things so we ended up going the next day. Here's what I got:

Peachy pink long t-shirt (Topshop)


Dark Baxter skinny jeans (Topshop)


Dark green suede heels (Topshop)


Deep purple heels (Barratts)

We didn't get there until 2 hours before the shops shut so I wasn't able to browse many stores, but judging by how much I got it in those 2 hours it was probably a good thing. However there's so many nice things in the shops at the moment and a lot of my clothes need replacing as I've had them for so long so I might go back tomorrow and do some more shopping.

Hope you have a good weekend!

Current MAC collection and your recommendations?

I was introduced to MAC 2 years ago by a flatmate and pretty much fell in love with the brand straight away, although I only allowed myself to buy a concealer as I didn't need anything else plus it seemed a little expensive at the time. Over the last 2 years I've brought a few more items and this is my current collection:


L-R
Mineralize skinfinish in medium
Select cover up concelaer sample in NC25
Sheertone shimmer blush in Springsheen
Select moisturecover in NC30
Sheertone blush in Blushbaby
Studio finish concealer in NC30

Let me know if you want reviews or swatches of any of the products above.

I also own the 209 eyeliner brush, the 195 concealer brush and the 187 duo fibre brush.

For my birthday my lovely friends got me a £25 MAC voucher as part of my present. The idea is I'd go for a makeover then I can put the £25 towards some product purchases.


The problem is that I have no idea what to get, I've discovered a lot of good high street make up brands recently and a lot of the things I would have previously brought from MAC I now buy from Boots. So I would love to hear what your favourite MAC products are. Please leave me a comment if you have any recommendations/suggestions.

Thanks in advance :)

My favourite beauty websites

Handbag beauty
A magazine style website with lots of beauty tips, expert advice, product reviews, news on the latest products to be released, celebrity beauty and lots of interesting beauty articles.







Money saving expert
A regularly updated website that lists all the latest beauty deals and freebies ( for example free vouchers, magazine freebies, sales and beauty offers). Also the website lists other offers such as 2 for 1 restaurant deals which I use on a regularly basis (GBK being my favourite :D )





Boots
The online shopping website for Boots. Most of the products sold in store can be found on the website, which is really useful as I can find out more about products that I'm interested in and also how much they cost. A lot of the toiletries I buy are often on offer and the website lists all the current offers so I can check before I go shopping.




Make up alley
A fantastic website with thousands of reader reviews
on make up and toiletries. Each product is given an overall rating and %repurchase rate as well as a written review. Although everyone reacts differently to a product this website helps you to get a general idea about whether it is any good or not. I always try and read the reveiws on here before I buy.





I also found this webpage from Specktra so useful when deciding what MAC blusher to buy as they are all swatched so I can see what it looks like when worn and also I can compare them so I don't end up buying one that is similar to one I already own.


What are your favourite beauty websites?