Tuesday 30 July 2013

Collective Haul


Hello bloggies, hope you're all having a good week so far :) Can you believe it's nearly August?! I know I can't! 2013 is flying by. On the plus side, August is holiday month for me which I cannot wait for! Are you going/have you been on holiday this year?

Today's post is a collective haul. Beauty bits and bobs I've picked up from various shops (mainly Boots, Superdrug and Tesco) over the last couple of weeks so thought I'd stick them all into one haul. If you'd like me to do an individual review on anything mentioned in this post, just let me know in the comments.


VIVO Baked Blush - in Shade 1 'Peaches and Cream'
...



Lasting Finish By Kate Lipstick in Shade '08'
...

Collection Primed & Ready Smoothing Make-Up Primer
...

Collection Illuminating Touch Brightening Concealer in Shade 'Naked 1'
...

Rimmel London Salon Pro Nail Polish by Kate in 'Britpop'
...

Girlz Only Dry Shampoo (Brown Hair)
...

Nice n Easy Foam Hair Day in 'Dark Brown'
...

Barbara Daily Nail Polish in 'Lolly Bliss'
...

So, what goodies have you picked up recently?
Have you tried any of these products?

Thanks for reading. x

Sunday 21 July 2013

Ren Skincare in Red Magazine

I had a tough time deciding what magazine to treat myself to this month. There was a few different ones with some great free gifts. Marie Claire are doing a free Eyeko Skinny Mini Liquid Eyeliner in their August issue while InStyle Magazine are giving a free Rituals Perfection Volume Mascara. I will most likely end up picking up one (if not both) of these magazine for the gift as I don't want to miss such a great deal but for now I went for something else.

Ren Clean Skincare set in Red magazine.




I have recently booked a holiday with my friend to Palma Nova (leaving late August) so I am completely holiday on the brain right now. This month's Red is the 'Travel Special' which is probably why it caught my eye. I've also been getting a lot more into skincare recently, so thought the sample-sized skincare set would be great for travel which is why I opted for this.

The products are all for 'normal' skin and the set includes:


  • Rose Cleansing Gel (15ml)
"A rose infused facial cleansing gel that will leave your skin thoroughly cleansed, refreshed and soothed. To use: Gently rub between hands. Massage onto face. Rinse off with warm water."

  • Vita-Mineral Day Cream (10ml)
"A moisturiser formulated to leave skin optimally hydrated and looking beautifully healthy, energised and radiant. To use: Gently massage onto clean face and neck until absorbed."

  • Revitalising Night Cream (3ml)
"To use: Massage gently onto face and neck until absorbed."


 Have you tried any of these products?

Thanks for reading. x

Monday 8 July 2013

Half-Year Beauty Resolutions

So, the first 6 months of 2013 have completely flown by. I never really set myself any resolutions at new year so I thought I'd set myself some 'half-year beauty resolutions' for the second 6 months of the year. I had planned to post this right at the end of June/on the 1st of July but that would require being organised and that is one thing I am definitely not. Better late than never...

1. Always carry out my skin care routine

No matter how tired or just plain lazy I am, I really need to stop hitting that snooze button (many, many times) and get up and give my face a little TLC. My skin will thank me.

2. Moisturise morning and night

Same as above. I usually do in the morning but my skin is still generally quite dry and I want to make sure I moisturise it every night too. I do notice a difference when I actually bother to do it, so I really should make an effort to keep it up. I may even have to invest in a night cream (any excuse to shop). Any recommendations?

3. Cut down on the amount of heat I use on my hair

...and when I do use heat, use protection ;) when I was at school, I used to straighten my hair pretty much every day. In the last couple of years I've gt better at cutting down the amount of heat I use (this is mostly due to the fact I used to work in McDonald's so had to shove it in a bun and wear a ridiculously sexy hat so there was really no point making any effort). I now work in a more office-y job so can't get away with this but I still want to continue using as little heat as possible for obvious 'hair health' reasons.

4. Get regular hair cuts

I hate the hairdressers. Being an awkward person it is not an ideal situation and it is not one I enjoy therefore I avoid it as much as possible. As well as that, getting regular haircuts can actually add up to be quite expensive but it really has been far too long since I last got a hair cut and I need to try and get into the habit of getting them more often to keep my hair in as good condition as possible.

5. Don't over-wash my hair

I used to wash my hair ever day. In the last few months I've mostly cut down to every other day but there are some times where I still wash my hair two days in a row.

6. Eat more healthy and drink water

I don't think this one really needs much explaining does it? A healthy diet is beneficial in so many different ways and can help improve skin, hair, nails... everything really! I particularly want to cut down on the amount of fizzy juice I drink and drink more water (well, maybe diluting juice...)

7. Get more exercise

Recently I've been getting more into exercise so I want to keep this up and build on it even more. I've been walking to and from work everyday but have also been doing a few different work out routines. There are some great ones on YouTube (which are ideal as they are obviously free). My friend and I have also been enjoying a few long walks with my dogs recently near where we live and may try and build up to a jog soon (we'll see how that goes).

8. Tidy room, tidy mind

This one may seem a bit random and not exactly 'beauty' related but it actually is! I definitely get a better sleep when my room is tidy compared to when it is messy. This obviously leads to less eye baggage and zombie-like states and makes getting ready in the morning a whole lot less stressful!

9. Always use a base coat

I am always wearing nail polish but I usually just use a normal clear polish as a base coat or skip this step all together. I need to get myself a proper base coat to avoid staining my nails. It will also help to protect and just keep them in an all-round better condition.

10. Always take off my make-up

Most of the time I do stick to this one but there is the odd occasion where i'll wake up with my eyelashes all stuck together and black panda eyes and realise I accidentally fell asleep with my make-up on. Beautiful. As I'm sure you all know it is so bad for your skin to do this so my skin usually breaks out afterwards. No matter how tired I am or even if I'm been on a night out I will try and always take my make-up off.

Can you believe that's us half way through 2013?
Will you be setting yourself any 'half-year resolutions'?

Thanks for reading. x

Saturday 22 June 2013

Weekend Away Haul

Hey bloggies :)

Last weekend, I went away for a couple of nights with my best friend to a quiet little town in the Scottish borders. We stayed in her caravan while we were there and it was a lovely trip. I've been there with her once before a couple of years ago and it was nice to go back and see the place again. We only had one full day there, but luckily the weather was lovely and we spent most of the day exploring the town and checking out the cute little shops. While I was there I picked up a few things - mostly in small gift or charity shops. The nice weather also meant that I got to take some nice outdoorsy pictures of the items I bought!

First I'll start off with the make-up things: 




Burt's Bees Tinted Lip Balm 'Rose', Gift Shop - £5.99

There was a few different shades available and I was between getting this and another shade called 'Hibiscus' which is a sort of dark pink colour. As you can see from the picture, the colour comes out quite sheer and on the lips just gives a natural boost of colour while doing the job of a normal lip balm. The colour lasts surprisingly well and it's great for an everyday product as it does 2 jobs in 1 which makes it super quick and easy.




Pure BB Cream 'Light', Semichem - £1.99

Despite the recent craze, I have never actually tried a BB cream, but when I saw this for only £1.99 I thought I might as well jump on the bandwagon (although a little late). Although I got it in the shade 'light' my annoyingly pale skin still makes it look a little too dark in the picture. I haven't properly tried it yet but I'm hoping when I do the colour will be alright if I just use a little bit. I was surprised when I did this swatch on my hand at how far a tiny bit of the product went. 


Next, I just got one piece of jewellery:



Spiked Bracelet, Charity Shop - £2.99

Spiked jewellery seems to be everywhere at the moment and I just really liked this. I got it in a charity shop called the British Heart Foundation but it wasn't a second-hand item handed in by someone it's actually from the range of jewellery the sell brand new so you could probably get it if you have a BHF shop near you.


And finally I got a few things for my bedroom:



Jelly Belly Candle Tin 'Toasted Marshmallow' - £2.99 

I thought this little candle tin was so cute and it was on sale down from £5 to £2.99. My friend is always getting Jelly Belly air fresheners for her car and they always smell amazing. Although this candle scent is called 'Toasted Marshmallow' it kind of reminds me of popcorn. The smell is quite strong but I think it smells delicious and I definitely want to try more of these as there are a lot of different scents available.



Skittles Candle 'Framboise', Semichem - £1.99

I have never seen Skittles candles before but since they were so cheap I just couldn't help myself. They had lots of different fruity scents but since the walls in my bedroom are pale blue I thought I'd go for the blue one which is raspberry scented.



Wooden Key, Gift Shop - £2.50

I know this is a bit random but I just thought it was really cute. I love little things like this to display around my bedroom and I think this wooden key on a rope would look quite cool hanging from a door knob or something. I haven't decided yet exactly where I'm going to put it but I'm sure I'll find a place for it.




Glass Leaf Bowl, Charity Shop - £1.99

I found this little glass leaf shaped bowl in a charity shop and I thought it would be good for keeping jewellery, probably mostly rings, in.



Sweet Bon Bons Tin, Gift Shop - £1.99

In a little gift shops there was loads of these little tins and I just thought they were so sweet (get it?). There was lots of different designs but this was my favourite and, as I said earlier, my room is pale blue so I thought the pale blue in the design would tie in quite nicely with that. I just thought it was so pretty and has a kind of 'retro' look to it. I'm not sure what I'll keep in it because it is quite small but I was thinking it might be good for earrings.



Silver Tray, Charity Shop - £2

In another charity shop I got this big silver tray which I am going to put on my dressing table. I'm either going to display perfume or candles on it. By the way, it was surprisingly hard to take a half decent picture of this item because it is kind of mirrored so I kept getting glare from the sun or the reflection of my camera/ surroundings so apologies that you can't see the pattern on it that well!

So, that's everything I picked up on my weekend away and I had a great time!

Have you picked up any little treats recently?

Thanks for reading. x

Saturday 15 June 2013

Rodial Fake Tan in Elle

Hey bloggies :)

I hope you're all having a good weekend. Today I have my monthly magazine post. My magazine of choice this month is Elle which comes with Rodial Brazilian Tan Tinted Self Tanning Gel. I have very pale skin and have never really been into using fake tan. I've used it a couple of times for special occasions but, to be honest, I can never really be bothered with the upkeep of it. Since it's coming into summer now (although it is raining here today) I thought it would be nice to try a self tanning product.





In Elle you get a 58ml sample. The full-priced product is £35 (150ml). There are three different shades available - clear, light and dark. When I first saw 'clear' I immediately thought it would be a bit pointless. I knew with my pale skin I didn't want to go straight for 'dark' so I went for 'light'. Since buying it I have found out that 'clear' is a gradually building tan which apparently leaves you with a 'natural sun-kissed glow'. If I'd known that at the time I might have gone for this shade but I just think the names a bit strange and it meant I never really looked twice at it.

"Rodial brazilian tan™ Light gives you an instant rich glow that develops into a natural golden tan in 4 hours. Its lightweight gel-like formula dries quickly and evenly without blocking pores."

The gel comes out a sort of caramel colour. I haven't properly used it yet but I did try a little bit on my arm and it blended in really nicely. I'm gonna try this later after I've showered and exfoliated and I hope it will be a great summer product to give a natural sun-kissed look.

Have you tried this product?
What's your favourite fake tan?

Thanks for reading.

Tuesday 4 June 2013

NOTD: Sinful Colors Verbena

Hey bloggies :)

Today I thought I'd share this quick little post with you - my first 'Nail of the Day'.

Sinful Colors 'Verbena' - 2 coats


This nail polish is from a brand called Sinful Colors in the shade Verbena (954). Since we are now in June and having lovely weather here in Scotland at the moment, I am feeling all summery so wanted to go for a nice bright and colourful shade! Sinful Colors polishes are a great buy. They have a wide range of colours available and are a total steal for just £1.99 in Boots. I have picked up a few different polishes from this brand and have been really happy with them all. The brushes are quite thin which I personally prefer as I find it easier to apply the polish and the consistency is not too thick and gloopy so it goes on nice and smooth. See the Sinful Colors website here.

Thanks for reading. x

Wednesday 22 May 2013

Lush Goodies

Hey bloggies :)

I hope you're all having a good day! Today I thought I'd share a little Lush haul with you. I ordered these online from the Lush website and they arrived about a week ago so I have been using most of them for the last few days. I think this is only the second or third time I've actually bought products from Lush. Last time I just got a couple of bath bombs. This time I actually didn't buy any bath products (I don't know how I managed to buy from Lush and not get any bath stuff) but here's what I did get:



Happy Hippy Shower Gel (500g) - £10.75


Okay so I know that is a ridiculous amount to spend on shower gel but... I... wanted it. It's a really nice product. It has a nice fresh and zesty smell and is definitely a good one to use in the morning to wake you up a bit. You can also use it on your hair and apparently it works well but I'm yet to try that. As much as this product does the job and is a nice shower gel, it is just that - a shower gel and in my opinion it's quite dear for what it is. Bear in mind though that I got the biggest bottle (500g) and it will last me a while. You can also get it in 250g for £6.25 or 100g for £3.25 so if you wanna try this but are reluctant because of the price, you could go with one of these first.


Lemony Flutter Cuticle Butter - £6.25


I am constantly putting on and taking off nail polish, biting, picking and peeling my nails (I know it is disgusting) and all this has left them in pretty bad condition. I have decided to eventually try and stop neglecting my poor nails and start treating them a bit better! My nails and cuticles are pretty dry right now so I decided to go for this cuticle butter as I've heard a lot of good things about it. As well as cuticles you can use this on dry skin - particularly specific areas like your elbows so that's good. You can't beat a little multipurpose product!


Grease Lightning Spot Treatment - £5.95


I recently had quite a bad skin break out for some reason. Luckily, my skin is generally quite good if I just stick to my basic skin routine. I wanted something though for when my skin isn't at its best so I could really target any problem areas and get rid of them as soon as possible! I was between getting this and the Tea Tree Toner Water but in the end I went for this (obviously...) but let me know if you have tried that. I haven't actually had the chance to try this out since I got it because my skin has been alright but I suppose that's a good thing I haven't needed to use it!


Mint Julips Lip Scrub - £5.25


My sister recently had the Lush Bubblegum Lip Scrub and I kept stealing ("borrowing") it from her. I love lip care products but have never actually owned a lip scrub before. They don't seem to be a very common product in shops like Boots and Superdrug (or am I just totally missing the lip scrub section?) but I really wanted one. I love mint lip products so went for Mint Julips which is mint chocolate flavoured. It smells amazing and does a great job of getting rid of any dryness on your lips, leaving them feeling soft and smooth. A product like this would be perfect in winter when the cold weather can leave your lips feeling dry and flaky.


What's your favourite thing from Lush?
Have you tried any of these products?
Thanks for reading. x

Tuesday 14 May 2013

Benefit They're Real in Elle

Hey bloggies :)

First of all, sorry I haven't put up a new post in over a week. I've just been busy with work and other stuff (like sleeping...) but I'll really try to keep up with regular posts. Working full-time and being a lazy teenager is a very bad combination! To get back into the swing of things, I thought I'd start off with this month's magazine post. This month we have the June issue of Elle which comes with a free sample size tube of Benefit's They're Real Mascara.

 

 
 
The magazine itself is £4, which personally I think is quite a lot compared to some other magazines. It's not a magazine I would tend to go for but when I saw the gift was this mascara I grabbed it straight away. I've only tried one of Benefit's mascaras before - Bad Gal Lash (which I also got free in a magazine!) and I absolutely loved it! I find Benefit products to be of great quality and with gorgeous packaging. The full size of this product is 8.5g and retails for £19.50. In Elle you get a free 4.0g tube. I haven't tried it yet, but I have heard a lot of good things about it and was actually considering buying it, so I'm glad to be able to try it out first.
 
Have you tried this mascara?
 
Thanks for reading.

Sunday 5 May 2013

Boohoo Wishlist

Hey bloggers :)

So the other night, as usual, I was doing some online window shopping on boohoo.com. I've ordered from boohoo a few times before and have mostly been happy with what I got. I do think boohoo is a little hit-or-miss though. Luckily, right now it seems to be a 'hit' for me as I found lots of things I want (not so good for my bank balance). Also, apparently I've got a thing for the colour blue at the moment cause pretty much everything I've picked out is blue! Here are 6 pieces I hope to get my hands on soon:


1) Chloe 3/4 Sleeve Printed Playsuit - £20

This first item has everything I love - it's a playsuit, blue, polka dots and 3/4 length sleeves. As I mentioned in my last wishlist post, I love playsuits and I feel a lot more comfortable wearing them than dresses (since it's usually windy here) but I actually only have a couple. Anyway, I really love this one and think it could be quite dressy or also be made to be quite casual depending on what you wear it with.

2) Lorna All Over Paisley Folk Print Playsuit - £25

And here we have another playsuit with a good sleeve length! I love the pattern on this. It's a bit unusual and different from anything I already have and I love the colours too. I'd probably wear this on a night out rather than for casual everyday. I also really like the necklace shown in the picture but I'm guessing it doesn't come with that!

3) Kylie Pocket Front Printed Solid Waistband Dress - £20

And yet again, I like the sleeve length! I think the dress is a really nice shape. It looks kind of loose fitting and comfortable. I like that it has a colourful pattern without being too in-your-face and the black band in the middle helps to break it up a bit. I'm not sure if it comes with the belt shown, but I would definitely wear a belt with it to give it a bit more shape.



  4) Lilly Dip Dye Cap Sleeve Skater Dress - £15

I love this dress! I have seen a lot of dip dye around recently but I actually don't own any. This dress is definitely a more casual item. It's so simple and I think it would be great to chuck on in Summer.

5) Lori Collar Pearl Buttons Floral Shirt Dress - £20

This dress is available in navy and white. The belt is not included but I think the one shown in the pictures goes really well and ties it all together nicely, so if I was to get this I would wear a similar belt with it. I love the collar and think the floral pattern is so cute for Spring and Summer.

6) Ally Patch Pocket Denim Shirt - £18

This denim shirt is available in blue and pink. As I'm sure you can tell I've shown the blue one here. I do really like both and was debating which one to feature in this post, but I went for blue as I think I would get more wear out of it. I like it closed as shown in the picture, but I think I'd also wear this open over something. This would give you an extra layer to keep you warm in summer when it's still a bit chilly (which it usually is in Scotland) but it a lot lighter than a cardigan or jumper.


Overall, I really like Boohoo. I don't tend to use it for 'everyday clothes' if that makes sense. It's more the kind of place I would buy clothes that I'm only going to wear a few times - like for a night out or for going on holiday or something. They have some really great pieces and they seem to be getting new stuff in all the time to keep up with the latest trends and styles. The quality isn't always the best, but for the price I think it's reasonable. As you can see, most of the pieces I've shown are around the £20 mark and I'd say that's a kind of average price for the website. I'd definitely say they're worth checking out.

What do you think of these items?

Thanks for reading.

Note: Pictures do not belong to me.
All pictures in this post were found on boohoo.com.

Tuesday 30 April 2013

Superdrug Haul

Hey bloggers :)
 
A couple of weeks ago I went a wander on my lunch break from work and just happened to end up in Superdrug (oops). I picked up a few things from MUA and 2 True. Since my little shopping trip, I have lost my receipt but I wanted to include the prices in this blog post for you, so have taken them off the Superdrug website. When I bought this stuff, MUA Pro products were on 3 for 2 (which I think is still on so hurry!) so I did get one of them free! Here's what I picked up:
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
2 True products are on a permanent 3 for £4.99 deal (or £1.99 each) so I also got the 2 True Expert Eyebrow Pencil in Shade No. 1 (the only shade) but because I've lost my receipt I had totally forgot I'd even bought this until now so that's why there's no picture included.
 
Have you tried any of these products?
If so, let me know what you thought of them in the comments.
 
Thanks for reading.