Wipe away the day...

I picked these up on a whim while in my local Sainsburys as they were on offer for 99p!!! I wasn't on the look out for anything like this, as to be honest cotton wool has always done me fine. But for under a pound i thought they were worth a shot.

Basically the Kleenex facial cloths claim to be softer than cotton wool, which i am therefore thinking better for your skin. They can be used for a handful of different things including cleansing, toning, removing make up and also removing nail varnish. I have been using them for about 2 weeks now an i must say i much prefer them to cotton wool. 

The clothes are super soft and very absorbent, and fold out to be much bigger than cotton pads meaning one does me for cleansing and another one for toning (they can easily be halfed if needed). The only problem i have found is that with my make up remover (one of them halfy halfy oil based ones) it just doesn't absorb and sink in at all... the product just literally falls of the wipe so for that i have been using cotton wool still. 

I believe they are still on offer at Sainsburys for 99p, the normal retail price is £1.99 - so more expensive than cotton wool but still not exactly breaking the bank.

(I have actually enjoyed using these so much that i have stocked up on like 5 packets while they are on offer!! - uh oh hoarder).

x x x

All the way from the U-S of A #part2

As you may have seen in my previous post my boyfriend has just recently got back from America... He brought me back a few AWESOME gifts that i thought i would share :)

There was a Macy's bag and also a Sephora bag - these gifts were already getting a thumbs up from me haha!!! I have already written about what was in the Sephora bag HERE, so now for what little goodie awaited me from Macy's:

My all time favorite foundation, which is of course Estee Lauder's Double wear (stay in place make-up). This product is so so so talked about, with about a 50-50 split of people who love it and cant live without it & those who hate it and would never use it again. Think of it as the marmite of foundations if you will. I, of course am 100% a lover of it.

I am the shade 2N2 FRESCO (01). I got matched up as this shade by the lovely Estee Lauder MUA and i would say she was spot on. If you ever are taking the plunge for a high end foundation i cant stress enough the importance of either getting your skin tone matched up or trying a sample to see if it really is for you.

This is my 3rd/4th bottle of double wear, so i really know its love as i have never repurchased any other foundation this much. 

So why do i love it so much? 

Its thick and the coverage is unreal... i mean so far i haven't found anything this cant hide. I don't have bad skin by any means but i get the odd blemish and i have scars from previous ones. I also have large pours around my nose and this magic stuff just smooths over everything leaving my skin looking smooth and flawless. Its also oil and fragrance free.

Why do so many people dislike it?

Its thick... plain and simple. Its pretty full coverage and some people (the lucky devils) really don't need that. I can see why some people dislike it, but i actually like the flawless, covered look it gives. Some people also say that it gives them 'ghostface' is photos and certain light (due to the SPF), but hellllllo i am pale anyway so cant say i have ever experienced this. Most people also complain about the packaging, and i will agree with the 'haters' on that. Don't get my wrong i love the thick glass bottle with gold accents, it screams luxury (and when i'm forking out £26 a pop i want luxury) but it doesn't have a pump so getting the product out can be difficult, and i do feel that when your nearing the end of the bottle a lot gets wasted.

In the winter months i rarely stray away from this foundation, but now we have hit summer and some freakishly warm weather, i do find my skin sometimes needs something lighter and a chance to breath. On these days i obviously still want coverage, so i find that using a minimal amount of this as a sort of concealer on blemishes and 'those' areas works really well with a lighter foundation on top.

I love it, and can see myself repurchasing it forevermore. 

it retails at £26.50 for 30ml HERE

(he picked it up in Macys for around £35 which works out about £22 i think)

 x x x

All the way from the U-S of A

So my boyfriend has just been for Florida for 2 weeks, and i must say he excelled himself with the presents :)

Imagine my face when i saw this little bag being unpacked ^^^

 & inside was this little beauty!

It is of course the infamous Nars blusher in probably the most talked about shade - orgasm (risque name i know, but i actually quite like that about the brand as it makes them stand out).

Orgasm is described as peachy pink with a shimmer - may i add the most gorgeous golden shimmer ever!!! As with all Nars products, i love the packaging and yes it will get grubby etc but i love the whole look of them. I cant wait to wear this, especially if this glorious weather keeps up as i think the shimmer will be perfect.

You can buy Orgasm here for £21.00

but he picked it up in America for $28.00 from Sephora, which works out around £17-£18!!

Boy did good!!!

x x x

All that glistens...

So after hearing so so so much about MAC mineralize skinfinishes (MSF) i finally took the plunge. The shade i picked up was 'Soft and gentle'.

MAC describe MSF's as: A luxurious velvet-soft powder with high-frost metallic finish. Smoothes on: adds buffed-up highlights to cheeks, brows, anywhere on the body: provides an ultra-deluxe polish to the skin.

(sorry about the lighting in the photos, i had to use artificial light to show the shimmer off).

This product is available in 2 shades, Soft and Gentle (shown above) which is described as a gilded peach bronze and Golden deposit which is described as a soft reflective golden-bronze. I chose soft and gentle as it was best suited to my skin tone (aka. as pale as snow).

It is a really lovely product and i feel it adds so much to my make up. I simply apply it after my setting powder, before my blusher, to the apples of my cheeks and a tiny amount under my brow bone. It applys so nicely with it being so finely milled, no big chunks of shimmer here but i do make sure to take extra care when buffing it in, to ensure it looks natural. I find that it makes you look glowing and much more alive, and also helps to make pores look flawless. If i have any dry skin when using this product i make sure i moisturise first, or avoid them if they are really dry as i find the shimmer makes them stand out more - which is not a good look!!!

This retails at £21.50 for 10g of product. It will last you ages as a little really goes a long way.

If you are thinking about purchasing this i would 100% say go for it, as i love using it and have used it every day since i bought it. Always a good sign, it gets a huge thumbs up from me!!!

x x x

Glossybox - The birthday one.

So this month see's the one and only Glossybox celebrate its 1st birthday!!!
Happy birthday Glossybox :)

The theme of this box is the 'anniversary box', which i had high hopes for :)

The tissue paper was changed to this gorgeous pink and black cosmetic print which i thought was super cute, and made it that extra bit special. The ribbon says 'anniversary box' and the little sticker which is normally the glossy box crown was changed to a 'one' sticker which all added to the feel of the box.

What i received:

1// Glossybox balloon - 100% useless to me but i still thought it was a lovely touch, and fitted with the theme of the box perfectly.

2// Noble isle - summer rising bath and shower gel (75ml sample)

This smells lovely, all fresh and summery. I had never heard of the brand itself but it is a new British brand which claims to be inspired by 'the natural and cultural riches of the British isles'. I think the thing i liked most is that is it a British company, that is trying to stick to its roots.

A full size 200ml bottle retails at £20.

3// Lolita Lempicka - Eau de Parfum (0.8ml sample)

I actually really like this scent, and i am normally very picky indeed with perfumes. It is very sweet, yet not sickly. The packaging that the full size perfume comes in is also absolutely beautiful - but very expensive. This scent is described as 'An enchanting floral, clear and sensual, a heady nectar of licorice flower' and i love it!!! 

I normally don't really enjoy getting perfume samples in these boxes as i feel they are a bit of a cop out, but i am glad i have had chance to sample this one as i have seen it over and over on blog posts this week and was intrigued by the beautiful packaging.

A full size 100ml bottle retails at £65.

4// Si Lolita - Eau de Parfum (0.8ml sample)

Once again the packaging for the full size scent is amazing, not quite as beautiful as the original scent ^ but not far off. Sadly i'm not a massive fan of this scent,  it smells quite peppery to me. I mean its not awful or anything, its still quite pleasant but just not my cup of tea. The scent is described as 'The secret spicy freshness of sweet pea'.

I must say that i much prefer getting perfume samples in these boxes when they are in a proper spray bottle like these two, i hate those fiddlely tubes you sometimes get where you have to pour the fragrance onto your skin - loads gets wasted but these are much better.

A full size 100ml bottle retails at £63.

5// Aptivita - express beauty with honey moisturising and nourishing masks (2x8ml sachets)

These masks exclude synthetic ingredients, and replace water with green tea infusion to enhance antioxidant action - or so they say! The ingredients include honey, olive oil and wheat proteins and exclude paraben, silicone and propylene glycol. 

Leave the mask on for 10 minutes and it claims to hydrate skin, improve its elasticity and leave it soft and supple.

These sachets are full size and retail at £3.50 for two.

6// Osmo - Berber oil hair treatment  (10ml sample)

This is another hair oil to add to my collection, but i must say i do enjoy using them!!! They make the ends of my hair look so much more healthy and it feels like your giving your hair a treat when applying them. This one uses Argan oil and claims to help dry and damaged hair, reduce hairs drying time and achieve glistening shine.  It is only a small sample but with these oils a little goes a longggggggggggggg way!!! 

I also think this smells like Harribo sweets?!? just me?

A full size 100ml bottle retails at £19.99

7// Eldora - false eyelashes in D157

I mean i like false eyelashes as much as the next girl, but these ones are slighly unwearable, i would have much preferred some simple, normal, black ones. The ones i received are actually a nice shape but have gold glitter around the tip, and will look a bit OTT. I think i might save them for something big where i can pull these off without looking like Jordan, maybe NYE or something :)

Other than that they seem good quality and i have actually used this brand before and have no complaints.

They retail at £3.90 which is actually quite bloody cheap!

8// Glossybox mirror - i thought this was a lovely little touch and absolutely perfect for popping into your bag :) Great idea.

I must say i wasn't blown away by this box, especially considering it was their birthday one. I thought they would have pulled out all the stops for that one. I mean it's not a crap box its just run of the mill... if it wasn't for the packaging i really wouldn't have guessed it was their anniversary. 

I am excited to try the hair oil and the face masks but the rest didn't really stand out to me, i have seen that some people received some HDbrow products - now that i would have been more than happy with.  I would probs give this box a 6 out of 10... the mirror and tissue paper saved it slightly ;)

What did you receive?
Were you chuffed? or indifferent like myself?

x x x

Wishlist #4

1//  Cream and animal print top

2// Black shopper

3// Cross ring

4// Purple pumps

5// Rose gold watch

6// Sunglasses

7// Studded shorts

8//Shopper bag

9//Studded shoes

10// Heart blouse

11//Nail wraps

Pay day needs to hurry itself up!!!!

x x x

p.s. Sorry for being a bit AWOL for the past week, no real reason - i just didn't really have anything to blog about...so, i just didn't!!!

Got a load of new products recently though so loads more posts coming soon - back to normal service don't you worry!!!

Sweet dreams are made of this...

Bit of a different post today, nothing beauty related but a product i am relying heavily on at the moment so i thought i would share.

This is the TISSERAND 100% natural sleep roller ball which retails at £5.25 (10ml).

I do some crazy shifts at work, which can mean some days my alarm is set for 3.30am and others i can be doing a night shifts, meaning my sleep pattern changes alot. I find that when i know i have to be up super early (cough cough more like middle of the night) i just cant switch off, and spend hours tossing and turning counting down the hours until that dreaded alarm.

I picked this up from my local Boots store, not really expecting much from it but hoping it may help to relax me, making sleep slightly easily. And boy am i glad i did!!!

It claims to 'calm and soothe', using pure essential oils. Its a roller ball which means its quick and easy with no mess, you simply just roll it onto your pulse points and let it do its magic. As you would imagine with a sleep product it of course includes lavender but it also has bergamot, ylang-ylang, and jojoba oils. 

I find that it really works for me... & i honestly didn't think it would. It just relaxes you making sleep easier, i have also started using it on normal nights when im not up at silly o'clock just because i feel it makes my sleep less restless and i feel like i stir and wake less.

For the price i think this is a great product if your having trouble catching those Z's!!!

Its 100% natural, vegan friendly & not tested on animals - all good to know, AND Tisserand state 'our products contain only pure essential oils, NOT synthetic fragrances' which gets a thumbs up from me.

x x x

A good scrub...

Aapri exfoliating facial scrub cream £3.99 (150ml)

For normal and oily skin.

I picked this up in my local Body care, but i think its one of them brands that you can find almost everywhere as it has been around for ages!!!

I was after just a really simple scrub, one that just did the job no messing about, and that is exactly what this is.

What they say "Aapri Exfoliating Facial Scrub Cream is formulated with natural apricot exfoliants and enriched with Aloe Vera, Vitamin E and Apricot Kernel Oil to deep cleanse and remove dirt, grease and dead skin cells. Its deep exfoliation aids the natural process of dead cell removal and helps resurface the fresh and radiant skin."

What i say - I like it. It is nice and creamy which makes it really easy to work with and it smells lovely. I like that its not too harsh on your skin, and that it doesn't feel like its scratching your face or anything. Afterwards my skin feels smoother and super cleansed & also looks brighter and much more healthy.

It does state to be for normal and oily skin types, but i would say as long as you use a good moisturiser after it could be used on dry skin aswell. If you have sensitive skin i would maybe give this one a miss as the grains may be abit too much.

For £3.99 i think this does the job really well. I know there is some more expensive super dooper scrubs on the market, but if your looking for something purse friendly but still effective then this gets my vote.

x x x

Expensive taste

SK-II skin signature 

Exclusive to Harrods £127.00 (80g) mine is a 15g sample from the Harrods edition Glossy box.

Yes you read that price right... 127 of your finest English pounds for a moisturiser?!? Madness.

That being said i find myself reaching for it over every other moisturiser that i own, and its almost completely gone now :( 

I love it, it is so silky and just sinks into your skin leaving the face feeling super smooth. Its really thin meaning its perfect for day time wear. It is also colour and fragrance free so no baddies there, but still i am just not understanding the pricing.

Don't get me wrong i love beauty boxes and adore being able to try new and exclusive things, but i like to try things with the intention of if i like it i can purchase a full sized product. Now, thanks to glossy box my skin loves this little baby, and once that little dollop has gone, then its hasta la vista cya never!!!

I also cant help but wonder if my love for this is simply because i know the price??? It may all just be a placebo effect and my little crazy mind loves it because its high end and therefore 'must' be the  bee's knee's. Has anyone else tried this??? What are your thoughts on it???

x x x

(while on the Harrods website i found this little bargain... what the actual hell)

My Week #4

1// Getting ready to go out

2// Gin <3

3// Essie in my local boots - yey!

4// My new fave product (MAC msf soft and gentle)

5// Best bacon sandwich ever

6// Disney Thursdays

7// Man v food

8// The result of a good night

9// My new vans :) <3

10// Cause were the three best friends....

11// Best hangover cure known to man

12// Gowwwwwjus haha!!!

Hope you have all had a fab weekend :) as you can see mine has been mostly filled with gin, friends and food - those weekends are the best.

x x x

MAC Dame

MAC - Satin powder blush

in DAME

£17.50

Dame is described as a sophisticated blue pink. But don't let the word blue put you off haha, i mean who wants a blue face?!?

Its a lovely pink shade with a slight shimmer to it... In the pan the shimmer seems to have a purple sheen to it which is where i imagine they get the blue tones from, but it doesn't transfer like that to your face. With blue undertones you would expect this to be quite a cool tone, but on my (snow white) skin the shade is actually warming and doesn't make me look washed out or pasty which is a big thumbs up from me.

I really like the formula, its so soft and super easy to blend.

This is actually my first MAC blush and i am now wondering why o why i put off buying one so long... I can see myself picking up a few different shades in the near future :)

At £17.50 MAC blushes aren't cheap, but they are great quality with a great shade range. A little goes a long way so they will last you ages too. 

If anyone can suggest a nice MAC blush for pale-ys like myself let me know :)

Thank you!!

x x x

Wishlist #3 All things beauty

1// Caudalie beauty elixir 30ml £9.90 Feel unique

2// Various Essie nail polishes £7.99 Superdrug

3// Estee Lauder advanced night repair 30ml £41.00 Estee Lauder

4// MAC lipstick 'Angel' £13.50 MAC

5// Urban Decay naked 2 pallete £36.00 House of fraser

6// Stila convertible colour for lips and cheeks 'Petunia' £16.00 ASOS

7// Paul and Joe pearl foundation primer Bonbon £23 - currently sold out everywhere :( wahhhh!!!

8// Paul and Joe eye make up remover 100ml £13 ASOS

9// Real Techniques starter set £21.99 BOOTS

x x x x

Nails: Going dotty

Purple // Gold by Giles at Newlook

Black // Models own nail art pen

Topcoat // Kiko gel look finish

x x x x

GOLD by Giles - Eyelash curler

I picked this up from the new GOLD by Giles make up range that launched this week, simply just because i could do with a new one. 

It retails at £3.99.

I cant say i was expecting too much from this with it being a cheap price point but im far from dissapointed. It does the job perfectly and doesn't feel like you are pulling your eye lashes out which is always a bonus!!!

The down fall is that it doesn't come with a replacement rubber strip like most do... so once that's been over used thats it. Awh well, for under 4 quid you cant ask for too much i suppose! 

x x x

GOLD by Giles - Nail polish

I picked these nail polishes up from the new Gold by Giles make up range at new look. I really loved the colours!!! They don't come with names for the shades so im afraid i cant tell you that.

They retail for just £2.99 and seem like good quality. 2 coats should do the trick for full coverage :)

Have you tried any of the Giles polishes before??

x x x

GOLD by Giles - Buff

So last week saw the launch of the second GOLD by Giles make up range exclusively for Newlook & this one looked impressive. 

I picked up this eye shadow quad in the shade 'Buff', it retails at 3.99.

I really like these shades as there not too 'in your face' but still a nice splash of colour.

I was really suprised by the quality of these eye shadows... They are really creamy and really pigmented. The colours are lovely and all have a slight shimmer which looks really nice.

Cant go wrong for the price i reckon!!!

x x x

GOLD by Giles - Scandal

So last week saw the launch of the second GOLD by Giles make up range exclusively for Newlook & this one looked impressive. 

I picked up this eye shadow quad in the shade 'Scandal' & it retails at £3.99,

I liked this one as it was earthy shades that will be really wearable day to day.

I was really suprised by the quality of these eye shadows... They are really creamy and really pigmented. The colours are lovely and all have a slight shimmer which looks really nice.

Cant go wrong for the price i reckon!!!

x x x

GOLD by Giles - Blush

So last week saw the launch of the second GOLD by Giles make up range exclusively for Newlook & this one looked impressive. 

I picked up two blushers, a pinky one in the shade 'Angel' and the bronze one in the shade 'Goddess'.

These retail at just £2.99.

This is the shade 'angel' and i actually quite like it. Its a lovely pink colour and has a slight shimmer meaning it has a bit of a highlighting affect to it. 

This is the shade 'Goddess', and i would actually say its more of a bronzer than a blusher?!? 

Not for my skin type at all but it is a lovely colour, and has a shimmer too it also.

Im impressed by these blushers, they are really nice quality. Super soft and easy to blend. The colour pay off isn't massive at first but its buildable.

On the down side, they include the shittiest brush i have ever seen, ever.

x x x x

If you like what you see and enjoy what i ramble on about a little vote HERE would be so so so appreciated! xxx