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Sunday 24 June 2012

Everyday Faves!

I was sat this morning browsing through my basket of make-up thinking about another post to do. And then it hit me, a casual everyday make-up blog. Here are a few photos and descriptions of the products I use regularly.

1. No7 Colour Calming Primer 40ml at £11.00

So I always begin with primer, although the primer I use isn't necessarily primer. It is No.7's Colour Carming Primer, the standard size is 40ml and you can get it from Boots on the No7 stand. It's in a small green squeezy tube container, which does make it slightly difficult to get the last remaining drop out of there. And if your anything like I am you cut the end off and everything gets slightly messy!

You have to be careful with this product as you can see, the product inside is very very green. Therefore all you need to apply is less than a pea size, else wise your whole face ends up bright green and you end up representing Shrek, which is never good!! If this product is used correctly it is very effective. If you have very red pigmented skin, like mine, you will worship this product. The only problem is, the product never really sets into your skin, so if you rub it 'in' too much it starts rolling up into tiny balls, which isn't very attractive either! So a very tender product to work with, but once you've mastered how to do it, it suddenly becomes a very very favorite item.

2. Garnier Caffine Anti-Dark-Circle Eye Roller 15ml at £10.20

I cheated a bit, this is one of two concealers I use. But I've used this for about a year. It acts as a 2 in 1, it claims to moisturize your eye, refreshing tired looking eyes (hence the caffeine bit) but also claims to cover dark circles. Yes. I agree. This product was fab for that. The downside is it is only available in 4 different shades, very fair, fair (this is the one I used), medium and dark.  You apply the product under your eye whenever dark circles appear, and use your finger to pat in or use circular motion to run the product in. But this product is a godsend to those who suffer bad with dark circles!



3. Collection 2000 Lasting Perfection Concealer £1.99!

I love this concealer, its actually a new purchase as of a month ago, but it's been a regular product in my make-up bag. At such a low price, how can you go wrong?! I've found it at the cheapest in Morrison's for £1.99. I couldn't be more impressed. In fact I might go back and bulk up! The applicator makes it easy to apply to your skin. There's simply nothing I can say bad about it. It comes in four shades, numbered 1 to 4. I guess 3 is most popular as I couldn't find any of it on the stand! So I chose no. 2 and it works like a gem. I am one happy customer.


4. Rimmel London Match Perfection Foundation £8.99


I made this little cheeky purchase up in Liverpool. I wasn't impressed by it to begin with. Since it claimed to adapt to skins tone and texture, it just looked orange! However, given the summer begun and my face tanned slightly, the foundation actually gave off an airbrushed flawless look. Maybe not a product for use every day, but sure goes for those nights out, as the product is slightly thicker and heavier on your face. 


It's available in 5 different shades, I use 201. So maybe I'll have to find a new product for winter :)

5. No7 Exceptional Definition Mascara £12.50


Again I cheated, well, I use this one for my bottom lashes, and another for the top ones. I have a tester bottle for my bottom lashes as the brush will get those corner lashes. But I find this product is great for defining lashes. Not separating them out to create a gappy look, but a nice evenly spread product. It offers length without the clumpiness. And although it's not waterproof it doesn't smudge. I cant say much more about this as I am a happy customer.


6. LOreal False Lash Telescopic Mascara £10.99


This is my fave mascara of all time. Lengthening, voluminous and darkening. It's sweet but suculantly sexy. I really couldn't go a day without this product, and I will be highly disappointed if LO'real decide to discontinue it. Not waterproof but again acts as though it is. Very short and simple but sweet description but I LOVE THIS PRODUCT! :)



7. The Body Shop Born Lippy Pot Lip Balm - Raspberry




I got this product for christmas from my brother's partner. She is very good at picking these things out! I had a set of all the flavours, but the Raspberry one stuck out. It lasted on my lips, didn't feel greasy like normal ones do and the flavour was lush! I couldn't help but lick my lips, the thing is the product stays on too :) A pretty happy purchase since. And at only £2.00 a pot it is completely worth it.




So there you have it, my daily products. :) Please link me up with your fave products, I'm always keen on learning about new products or products that have been around for ages, and are bit of dark horses.

Anyway's thanks for reading guys and leave a comment.

xoxoxoxox

Update on Fake Bake Spray Tan

Just a quick update on the Fake Bake. And mega apologies to the rubbish quality, photo below. Unfortunately yet to purchase a proper camera and my iphone camera's being pants too.

So I don't think you can see the full effects of the tan but if you were here you'd be able to see it's not dingy and awful orange. I have had at least three comments asking where I have been on holiday to! :) So result. I strongly recommend this tan. Also please excuse my hair, just gotten out the shower!!


Saturday 23 June 2012

Fake Bake Spray Tanning

So I am pleased to tell you all I did it!

First impressions, the Salon looked lovely, a black and silver theme, maybe 6 chairs, not a large place but just big enough. I was greeted by one girl at reception, politely. I sat down in the waiting area. You could just feel a great atmosphere, employees and customers chatting away.

 I was taken through to the tanning area, which was a small room with the pop up tent thing to stand in and once I was ready the lady come in and started tanning.

At first I was shocked. Ha, it was very dark! But as the days gone on, I quite like it! There's no biscuity smell like there is to others. I was quite impressed. The customer service is brill and the product was great. So I am impressed!

Here's the before and after photos!

Before

 (Sorry guys, ignore the play button, some plank here forgot to take a before photo but managed to making a video!) Also looking really tired due to late night, early morning combination!

After

 
Looking really grainy in the after photo, I dont know if this is due to the 'FaceTime' camera I used on my phone or if that is how to the tan looks on camera at the moment. Hopefully it'll look better tomorrow when I am allowed a shower! I will keep updating with better and better quality photos to show you the process.

In total it cost me £15.00 which I think is a bargin to be honest. The place I went, I will list it below, reccomends going once a week, but if you maintain the tan correctly it will last up to 3 weeks! (Also depends how many showers you have ;) Ha!)

The place I travelled to is called... The Salon in Skegness. They do all sorts of different things, such as nails, hair, tanning, massage, you name it, they do it. So far so good! Impressed :)


xoxoxoxoxo

Friday 22 June 2012

Hola to the Fake Bake!

I have been really sceptical about fake tanning for years, whether its lotion, moose, sun beds or spray tans, I've always been really cauisous about the idea. But actually, on a trip to Liverpool to visit Jake's family, not that long ago, Jake's sister had just been for a spray tan, and I am not lying when I say she looked pretty dam good. This got me thinking, she is blonde as well, maybe a spray tan might just go down well...
However, as much a I try go into a salon for it, I end up turning away. Just the thought of being bright orange scares me. But I refuse to let it get in the way, I look like a milk bottle and this needs to end. But tomorrow it all changes, I have booked in at a Salon for a full body spray tan for 11:15am tomorrow! I am nervous, excited, scared. :)

Has anyone else had any experience with spray tans?

I will let you all know how I get on!

xoxoxoxoxo

Thursday 21 June 2012

War of the Beauty Boxes!

Within the last year you may have noticed a whole host of beauty boxes have launched.

A beauty box is basically a month subscription fee in return for a number of products you can try. They range from anything beauty related, tweezers to nail varnish and everything in between too. They are a great way for people who are maybe a bit hesitant at trying and spending the money on new products to explore the range that really is out there. You certainly always make your money back on the products that are inside the cute boxes.

Glossy Box
By: Glossy Box
Price: £10 + £2.95 p+p


I really did not get on with this box, I found there were too many age products and only being 18, I hope they weren't trying to tell me something! As time went on I was less and less fascinated by this box and found it more of a chore to open. I didn't look forward to seeing what was in the box each month. I also found there customer service horrendous, e-mailing and no reply, but then again that's probably what to expect with a bigger company of beauty boxes. On the other hand, there were a huge range of products to explore and you always got a different brand. Another up side was that they do a men's version! Which I am pleased about and it is differnet, I've actually gotten Jake a box and he was fairly impressed himself, as far as blokes go.

The packaging is cute, however predictable, a pink box, with black paper inside and a matching pink ribbon. 

Amarya
By: Amarya
Price: £10.00

First impressions were great, great products, good sizes and high quaility. I couldnt wait for the next box, well it was until I found out the products aren't tailored to your skin colour, which I found the other boxes would e-mail around or you selected on your page on the website, what size colour you were, hair colour, skin type or eye brow colour, which really personalised the boxes. I was let down by this when I recieved a very dark shade of foundation, it certainly didnt go down well with a milk bottle like me!

Carmine
By: Carmine
Price: £10.00 + £2.75 p+p
Ha, those of you who follow me regularly will know how much I really loved this box. A beautiful sleek black box with a green interior, it was super different. You would get five products, normally full size and you would certainly get your money back on the products inside. You were always e-mailed before hand to ensure the shade was correct for you, and having so many subscribers to the box, I believe that was a really good service and commitment. Well that was until they 'joined forces' (got brought out) with Glossy Box. Really disappointed.

So the verdict, I am a hard person to please. Although I've heard very good things about 'SheSaidBeauty' box, apparently the same as the other beauty boxes, however the price is just £9.00 including p+p, but the longer your subscription, the cheaper it gets! Another way to get me hooked is a bargin :) I believe I might just subscribe to this beauty box and I'll keep you on the down lo' of how things get on. Hopefully I will be blown away! 

Much love xoxoxoxox








Wednesday 20 June 2012

Carmines Sold Out!

Well. You all have permission to tell me off.

I was a VERY commited buyer of the Carmine, from the very first box I was blown away, great products, great service and a fantastic design. It was a million times better than other boxes I had tried, it felt almost like a relief.

I did many'o reviews of the products that came in the boxes, I was a highly impressed customer! However, I do admit, I unsubscribed for a few months, as I did let my blogging slack, as most of my life once I went into full time work, so I was off the radar.

Yesterday, I went to sign back up, I went onto the website, no website, I went on to the Twitter, no posts for 80 days! Confused... I hit the Internet, to be told SOLD OUT, more like selling out!

This must have happened around the 21st of March, unbelievable. I have tried GlossyBox and I can tell you I am not the most pleased customer.

I am very disappointed with Carmine too for selling out, maybe if it wasn't bad finance, it was inconsiderate. I feel now Carmine was more about making money, (which as a person, I understand this is a mega thing in business) but I always believed they were a great company, and ALOT of people liked them.

So I am a very sad girl this afternoon. :(

Bye bye little black box.

xoxoxox

2 in 1: Gellish and Magnetic Nails!

So I am sat here at my desk at work writing a blog post, hopeing my boss doesn't catch me! But I just had to share my experience with Gelish nails!

Very very similar to Shellac, but claims it lasts up to 3 weeks, instead of Shellac which only claims 14 days.

Basically, the nail tech puts like sticky label around each finger, and then coats on a mixture of a lotion and a powder to form a kind of gel which goes over the nail and the sticky label, to create longer, stronger and more lush looking nails. The nail tech then continued to paint the new magnetic coloured nail varnish over!

This was simply a special nail varnish, that the tech then uses a special magnet to create the effect below. I loved this to begin with, but now I've had them done for a few weeks, I'm not really a fan. I feel the same as I did with the Barry-M cracked nail effects, however you do it, it always looks the same.

Not to mention, I walked into a discount cosmetics store and they had on the counter a cheap version of the nail varnish but did the exact same effect!

Let me know of all your experiences, wether professional or self done.

Many thanks xoxo

Tuesday 19 June 2012

Collection 2000 Lasting Perfection Concealer

Hola revolution in a tube! Ok. Maybe not quite that, but it certainly is a dark horse.

Not that I have ever used much of Collection 2000's make up, but I was recommended this little beauty by a friend and was I impressed or what!

Such a thick creamy concealer applies smoothly and forms perfectly on your skin to hide those annoying teen spots or those dark circles around the eyes. I was well and truly impressed by the colour selection, allowing choices of 6 different shades. (I use no. 2 light). The wand is comfy and easy to use and apply. Absolutely no issues with the product!

It claims that it lasts 16 hours, that I am not sure about, but mind you I don't believe I would even have makeup on 16 hours!

On the bonus, I picked this gem up from Morrisons! at only £1.99! You can't go wrong.

So girls get down to Morrisons and get buying, you won't regret ;)

Monday 18 June 2012

Hello Kitty

So we've moved in, we've got the furniture, we've got the cars sorted, we've got our jobs on the move, what was left to do? Get a couple of pets to complete the house!


Photo's wont upload correctly, boo to the laptop!

Hehe, so after a bit of search on a few sites, I found these two! They were two 7 and a half week old kittens, cross between Bengal and Tabby, they were cute as buttons. Literally tinier than my hand. We actually only originally went for one but as the story goes we came home with both.

They are both un-named at the moment, so can anyone think of any purrrr-fect names for these two little ones? :)  Let me know!