November Loves, Lusts and Letdowns

Hi Lovelies

I'm gonna make this a regular feature on my blog, a round up on some on the products I've used this month for your viewing pleasure :)

Loves

Vichy Dermablend Corrective Foundation

I've not been very well towards the end of this month and it definitely shows on my skin, combined with the change in the weather I've had a couple of break outs and overall my complexion was just a bit blah! I've ordered myself a whole new skincare routine from Eve Taylor so I'm hoping that will be just what my skin needs to revive itself – review to follow. However, I'd thankfully picked up Vichy Dermablend Corrective Foundation sometime in the summer but hadn't needed anything full coverage at the time so plonked it in the draw with my other foundations (that's 10 by the way!) until a time came when I needed some face camouflaging action. The foundation itself is super pigmented, easy to apply, blends beautifully with my Elf power brush and gives full coverage, no concealer needed! I have the shade 25 nude and it's definitely gonna be my go to foundation for bad skin days. Vichy say this foundation lasts for 12 hours and I'd agree with that, there is also a Vichy setting powder available but I just set mine with my regular Elf or MAC powder and find it lasts just as well. Don't be put off by that fact that it's full coverage, when applied it doesn't have that 'cakey' affect but just works brilliantly to even out your skin tone, this can also be used as a concealer if you prefer not to apply full coverage to the whole of your face. Vichy Dermablend Corrective Foundation is available from Boots and priced at £15.50 for a 30ml tube, the only down side of this product is the lack of colour range! With a measly 5 shades in the range unfortunately there's not gonna be one to suit everyone but I do think it's worth it if there is one for you.

Marc Jacobs Oh Lola!

The Mr bought me a mahoosive 100ml bottle of this for my recent birthday, he is good! :) I have previously had Marc Jacobs Daisy and Lola so although I hadn't smelt this one yet, I knew I'd love it. And I wasn't disappointed. It's beautiful, described as a 'fruit floral' which is what I always look for in a fragrance it has notes of vanilla, pear, strawberry, peony and rose. It is definitely a softer scent compared to it's older sister Lola but I love it, and just look at that pretty flower! Now what fragrance shall I hint about for Christmas?

Lusts

Jemma Kidd 'Light as Air Foundation' and Dewy Glow All Over Radiance Cream

Where to start? The only downside of reading so many beauty blogs is that my wish list seems to only ever get longer. This month Vivianna from Viviannadoesmakeup fame has been waxing lyrical about Jemma Kidd 'Light As Air' foundation. It sounds perfect; medium to full coverage, light and long lasting. I don't own any Jemma Kidd products but have done a little research and apparently the radiance cream is the original Jemma Kidd cult product so now I definitely need that too!

Sigma Kabuki F80 Brush

A well renowned tool in the beauty world I'm sure you've all heard the hype about this brush. My tool kit, although extensive, definitely needs updating and where better to start than with this? (This may have changed from a lust to a purchase, along with a couple of other brushes, due to a Black Friday free postage code!)

China Glaze Blue Year Eve and Snow Globe

I tend to stick to a french or neutral polish on my fingers, but when the Christmas season rolls round like many other girls, I can't resist a bit of sparkle! I was kindly treated to the new OPI Rainbow Connection polish by a very lovely friend for my birthday, it's just glittery goodness! But I fear this had just fuelled my sparklefest. I think Blue Years Eve would look soo pretty tipped with Snow Globe, as if you've just dipped your nails in snow, but better, because it's glittery! And to top it all off it comes with an actual snow globe!

Letdowns

The Body Shop Scrub and Butter Cream

When I was a student (FYI: I still think of myself as being so, even though I left uni three year ago!) I worked at Lush. While I was there I gained a whole new respect for fresh, organic, cruelty free products. Even after leaving, and giving up the amazing staff discount, I stayed true to a lot of the products and still recommend them to friends. Whilst at Lush The Body Shop was considered a bit of a taboo, there's a whole history behind it that I wont go into but I've pretty much never bought anything from The Body Shop since they use to sell that squidgy playdough soap and those little bottles of perfume oils. My body pampering consists of either Lush Buffy body butter followed by Vanilla Dee-Lite lotion or Soap and Glory Flake Away teamed with the Righteous Butter. However I'd used up my stash of all of these, (this has never happened before as I'm a bit of a bulk buyer!) and with dwindling funds and a tonne of Body Shop discount codes flying around I figured I'd give them a whirl. I ordered the coconut body scrub and butter and the candied ginger scrub and butter and don't like either. Firstly neither of the coconut products smells anything remotely like real coconut! It has this horridly chemical smell, so much so I couldn't bring myself to use it. Secondly the candied ginger scrub (which smelt slightly less like chemicals) is lacking in scrubby bits, what use is that? I've passed on the candied ginger body butter to The Mr; he is to blame for the decline in my body products, he's a closet moisturiser! But even he asked when we can have the others back. So there you have it, perhaps there was a reason I left my purchases from The Body Shop in the 90's, they most definitely should have stayed there along with my crushed velvet flares and quilted satin bomber jacket *shame face* :)

Lots of Love xxx

25th Birthday OOTD and FOTD

Hey Lovelies!

I hit my quarter of a century milestone on Friday so to celebrate me and a couple of my uni besties hit the town last night. Cue fake tan and lashes aplenty! I'd been looking for a lace dress for ages, there was a big lace trend last year and I always admired everyone elses dresses but I just didn't find what I was looking for. However, this year after several trawls round the shops and a £325 order from ASOS (thank god The Mr doesn't read this) I found my perfect lace dress which I do think is a fab investment to my wardrobe, you can't go wrong with an LBD can you?

The Dress

I absolutely love the scalloped neck and hem line on this dress, it's uber flattering and the perfect length for me. It's also super comfortable, some of the cheaper lace dresses feel scratchy but this was lovely and soft.

Katie Lace Dress ASOS £45

Sequined Shoe boots Evans last year

The Make up

Day to day I play it pretty simple with my make up but when I go out I take every opportunity to doll myself up to the nines. Although maybe too much for some the eyelure 145's are my holy grail of false lashes for evening use, they're just so perfectly fluttery I feel like if I batted my eyelids too quickly I may take off!

Face

MUA Primer

 

Concealer Kit

Chanel Mat Lumiére in Naturel mixed with Elf Shimmering Facial Whip in Citrus

Elf High Definition Powder

Sleek Contour Kit in Light

No 7 Sunkissed Bronzing Pearls

Collection 2000 Shimmer Shades Blushalicious Blusher

Eyes

Christian Eyebrows Kit (full review here)

Elf Eyelid Primer in Sheer

MUA Heaven and Earth Palette

MUA Felt Liner in Black

Eyelure 145's

Max Factor False Lash Effect Fusion Mascara in Black

Lips

Barry M Lipgloss in Strawberry Milkshake

L-R: Shelli, Me, Leanne

We had a great night, lots of jager bombs, dancing and making up stories about how we knew each other to random men who believed every word of it, even when we told them me and Shelli were scuba divers!

Lots of Love xxx

Seche Vite Ultra V and Glamour Nails Inc polish.

Hello Lovelies!

So I wondered into Sallys the other day to pick up a few of my regulars. Seche Vite being top of my list as I was getting to the end of my last bottle and anyone that uses this top coat will know just how vital a part of your manicure routine this little bottle is. Just for those of you not in the know, Seche Vite is an ultra fast drying topcoat, it penetrates the layers of your regular polish to provide you with a smudge free manicure in less than a minute. Not only that but it stays glossy and chip free for at least a couple of days, which for me is nothing short of a miracle. Sounds impossible? Try it, you'll never look back! The only drawback is that you must remember to wrap your tips because as Seche Vite is so fast drying you run the risk of shrinkage.

So there I was about to reach for the bottle when another Seche Vite box caught my eye, I own a couple of other polishes in the Seche Vite range, Seche Rose and Seche Base, both of which I love but this looked very different! A black bottle? UV topcoat!

Seche Vite Ultra-V

Now I must admit my first thought was, do I really need to it? A strange questions for a self confessed beauty addict perhaps but I was happy enough with my current topcoat and could I be bothered to cure my nails with a UV lamp after I'd got so use to my 'seche and go' routine? Curiosity got the better of me and alongside my old reliable I purchased Seche Vite Ultra-V. Having never tried a UV topcoat before I got home and did a little research online, I read promises of 'mirror like shine' and 'no chips for a week'. NO CHIPS FOR A WEEK?? It sounded too good to be true!

So along with my new bottle of Nails Inc Piccadilly Circus courtesy of Decembers issue of Glamour magazine I sat down to give my rather sorry looking nails some TLC. A bit of cuticle work, nail shape, then Seche base and 2 coats of Piccadilly Circus later, I was ready for the Ultra-V experience. A quick pro-tip if you want a professional looking manicure leave a small gap all around your nail bed when you apply your polish, if you find this tricky apply your polish as normal and then do yourself a favour and invest in some CND nail fresh and a decent brush, swipe around your cuticle and remove all traces of polish. The Seche Vite Ultra-V product itself is easy to apply, for some reason I was expecting it to be thick but I would say it's actually a thinner consistency than my normal Seche Vite Clear, but as many of you will know it has a tendency to thicken up pretty quickly. UV lamp ready and waiting I followed the instructions and popped my hand under for 3 minutes, waiting to be dazzled by my glossy nails.

Now, I'm not going to lie and say that I could see my reflection in my nails, however there was a definite sheen in comparison to my uncured hand. There was also no shrinkage which I was pleased about as I didn't make any extra effort to wrap my tips, but the biggest thing for me was how smooth the UV coat made my nails, similar to the effect you get from gel or airbrushed nails, they just looked immaculate, I couldn't stop admiring them, which FYI looks a bit strange to other people when your sat smiling at your own hands! Any who, shineyness aside what I was really looking for out of this was staying power, chip free power to be precise.

After Seche Vite Ultra-V

On day one I had some very slight tip wear but this could have been my own fault for not wrapping my tips! This picture in the daylight really gives you a good idea of the colour, I'm really pleased to add it to my ever extending polish collection, it's described by nails inc as a 'dark pink cerise', I'd describe it as warm aubergine but that's just cause I like relating everything to food! :)

Day One

However day 3 roll around and then came the dreaded chip! Right on my ring finger, combined with the ever growing tip wear, it was time to take the polish off. I can't say I was disappointed, I realised that besides a french, I'd never wore a color on my nails for this long and I was starting to get pretty bored of it. So for me the Seche Vite Ultra-V experience lasted 3 days, however I can definitely say the extra minutes curing were definitely worth it for the immaculate finish and from someone who can chip their nails in as little as a few hours, 3 days was pretty good.

I've also since used my Seche Ultra-V with my dashing diva tips and can safely say my tips stayed on for a whole week without lifting or peeling, one important thing to remember when you apply this is not to go all the way to the cuticle, if the polish makes contact with your skin it is easier for water and oil to get underneath and cause the polish to lift away from your nail bed.

What do you think? Are you tempted to try a UV topcoat, have any recommendations for me?

Lots of Love xxx

Boux Avenue

Hello Lovelies!

So it's not strictly beauty related but I couldn't resist sharing this with you...

I first heard of Boux Avenue through Victoria's Vintage blog and then realised it had popped up on the blog radar some time ago, where had I been? I was intrigued to find out it was actually owned by Dragons Den favourite Theo Parfitis and the aim was to deliver a traditional service, with high quality items that were not only a great fit but that also add a helping of glamour to your boudoir. I couldn't resist the idea of getting a lovely glossy box filled with tissue paper wrapped prettyness in the post so been as they have a sale running and you also get a free pair of underwear with every bra, well it would have been rude not to. I went for two pretty lacey numbers, reduced from £20 to £8! Free underwear too, and being that all knickers were on 3 for 2 I ended up getting two bras and three pairs of underwear, delivered, for an amazing £19. I was already patting myself on the back for money well spent.

And when my parcel arrived I wasn't disappointed. I have found that for me the bra's run true to size, I was blessed/cursed (delete as appropriate) with some rather sizeable boobs and never really believe the store size guides until I try the bra on myself. However, at that price and with free returns I figured it was worth a try, and I'm so glad I did. I placed my order on Sunday night and received my parcel at half past seven on Tuesday morning, the lace print pink tissue paper and scented rose petals are such a lovely touch and it really does feel like you're getting something special. A bit more exciting than my usual bra buying routine; traipsing into M and S, scouring through rails to find the right size and hoping you won't see anyone you know when you decide you'd like something a bit more risque than that seamless t-shirt bra. 

my beautiful parcel

Boux Avenue cater from a modest 30A to a more voluptuous 40H and bras are priced between £12 and £28. They also do a beautiful range of nightwear, swimwear and gifts.There are still lots of gorgeous items on sale and the 3 for 2 underwear offer is still on so I highly suggest you get yourselves over there and have a look. As well as the website they also have several stores based around the UK where you can pop in for their expert bra fitting service and if the picture below is anything to go by, why wouldn't you?

Boux Avenue Store

Lots of Love xxx

HD Brow Cheat

Hello Lovelies!

So I can't seem to walk past a salon without seeing a poster for a 'new' HD brow treatment. Being a brow gal myself I was curious at first as to what it could be. The answer to my eyebrow dreams at long last? I found out the rather extensive treatment involves various stages of plucking, tinting, threading, waxing and filling. And costs somewhere in the region of £30 per treatment. Woah! Being a beauty therapist myself I recommend eye treatments every 4-6 weeks so I was already calculating the yearly cost of a HD brow!

Now let me give you some background on my brows...after years of over plucking my eyebrows were left somewhat uneven. I longed for thick, full, sexy eyebrows to perfectly frame my face but unfortunately naturally it was just never gonna happen. A couple of years ago I put down the tweezers and picked up the eyebrow pencil, and while this temporarily and literally filled my eyebrow void, it just wasn't what I was looking for. I've experimented with various brow kits, benefits brows a go go and Elf's Studio Brow Kit to name a few, and more pencils than you can imagine but then I came across what can only be described as my holy grail of brow products. The Christian Eyebrow Kit. I picked it up at the Beauty UK Show back in May and I've never looked back since.

So what is it? Well the kit itself contains a mirror, a double ended brush to apply the product and brow colour of your choice, they have 8 different shades to choose from so one to suit most hair colours; I'm irid brown. The brow colour comes in the form of a highly pigmented powder, you get a decent 3g and I can safely say I have used mine every day since I bought it and I still have plenty of use left in it! Now the absolute beauty of this product is that it comes with a set of 3 stencils; thin, natural and thick. To apply the product I like to first give my eyebrows a comb through to make sure they're neat and lying flat, then you line the stencil up with your eyebrow, the aim is to get as much as your natural eyebrow in the stencil as possible. Next give the big end of the brush a good swirl around in the powder, tap off any excess and whilst holding the stencil in place run the brush over your eyebrow; I find I get the best application by going back and forth across my brow and then making small circles with the brush over the top to build up colour. Then remove the stencil, blot with a tissue, repeat with the other brow and voila your done, hello perfect brows! This may sound like a lengthy process but I assure you it isn't, this takes up no more than 3 minutes of my everyday make up routine and stays in place without smudging for the whole day. If you prefer a less defined look you can also use the brow colour with the fine end of the brush to freehand your desired brow shape.

Without kit, still a bit patchy in places, not as thick as I'd like them

With Christian Eyebrow Kit, defined, thick, sexy brows :)

Please excuse the pic below, it's of an old kit that didn't have the double ended brush, my kit is so battered and bruised after being throw into many over night bags and really wasn't photo worthy!

Christian Eyebrow Kit

Now when I first picked up this kit I was going through the painful process of growing my eyebrows out, anyone that has ever had to endure such a task can sympathise! What this kit allowed me to do was fill in the areas of my eyebrow that were still waiting to grow whilst also giving me a template to tweeze around, brilliant if like me, you struggle to maintain an even shape on both brows. I started off on the thin stencil but have since graduated to the thick one now that my brows have been given the chance to grow. I can now even say that without the kit, my once thin, gappy, sorry looking brows are actually not that bad! They're still a work in progress but these things take time! Did you know it can take upto a full year for your eyebrow to grow back properly! Back away from the tweezers! I think HD brows are great for photos and I change the shape of mine depending on how I'm feeling!

Bit of freehanding with Christian Eyebrow Kit

The brow kit is available to purchase from Izabelle Hammon at a price of £22.12 plus VAT and I would say it easily lasts 6 months plus. Compare that to a £30 HD brow treatment once a month and you have yourselves a beauty bargain! They also retail a professional kit containing all 8 colours which I will most definitely be purchasing in the near future. What do you think, are HD bows your thing?

Lots of Love xxx

Hello Blog World

So tomorrow (Sunday) I'm finally gonna get this show on the road. Have been mulling over what my first post should be and decided it had to be one of my favourite discoveries of this year. Check back tomorrow to see...until then xxx