Balance Me Shine On Tinted Lip Salve

I received my Balance Me Limited Edition Shine On Tinted Lip Salve in the colour Sheer Raspberry, in a recent copy of Glamour magazine. 

I have a silly amount of lip balms, lip salves and tins of Vaseline located around my house, car and handbag and am never particularly bothered which one I use. However, this Balance Me Lip Salve has really impressed me and I have found myself reaching for it on a number of occasions throughout the day.

Not only does it add a tint of red to the lips, it is also glossy (but not sticky) and very hydrating. 

The Lip Salve contains essential oils, no parabens, sulphates, petroleum mineral oil or silicones. It really feels like its not just sitting on my lips, but is soaking in to the dry patches and making my lips much softer. With other lip products, I find my lips end up peeling once the product has soaked in and I'm back to square one again, but the Balance Me product definitely has improved the softness and has stopped the peeling process.

I'm almost 3/4 of the way through the Lip Salve and have already decided that I will re- purchase this product.

Bourjois Bronzing Powder

I picked up the Bourjois Bronzing Powder in my rather large recent haul, and now that summer is finally here, I've been able to use it a few times.

I have never used a bronzer before, but having watched recent YouTube Video's it seems to be a staple in most people's make-up bags. I have always had my reservations about bronzer, I am pale skinned and was worried I would make myself look far to un-natural if I used it.

My first attempt

Oh my goodness, is the first words that spring to mind! I tried to contour my face, surely not that hard to do? Well, yes it was. I applied the bronzer underneath my cheekbones, ran it down the centre of my nose then applied some to my temples. I know the Bourjois Bronzing Powder is supposed to resemble and smell like a chocolate bar, but it really looked like I had rubbed a real bar of chocolate all over my face. I tried frantically  to blend the bronzer in, but I made the problem far worse. Out came the make-up remover and the bronzer was put to the bottom of my make-up bag.

I have since tried using the product a few more times and have had a little more success. If I could offer any advice it would be to only use a very small amount on your brush and just keep experimenting with it. I have decided to leave the contouring to Kim Kardashian and co, but aim for more of a sun kissed look instead.

I picked up the Bourjois Bronzing Powder at my local Boots  where it is currently selling for £6.99

MAC Cremesheen in Lavender Whip

The MAC Cremesheen in Lavender Whip is my first ever MAC lipstick and was a purchase purely based from watching Lisa at Spaceysno1girl who had picked up some items from the MAC Baking Beauties Collection. I have always been a massive fan of lavender/lilac shades and instantly fell in love with the colour.

The formula of the lipstick is nice and moisturising. The pigmentation is great, the colour you see in the bullet is really what appears on the lips, although it can be built up to a more intense finish.

I know that it's not available to buy anymore, due to Baking Beauties Collection being limited edition, but I'm hoping to find a cheaper high street dupe, so will keep you posted on this!

Origins Drink-Up Intensive Overnight Mask

The Origins Drink-Up Intensive Overnight Mask (see here) is a product that I have seen raved about on countless blogs and Youtube channels. 

I spent many weeks thinking about buying it, but the price tag always put me off, then I watched Lily Pebbles from What I Heart Today speak so highly about it again and how she recommended it to people with dry skin, so I was sold!

The Overnight Mask contains Plant Glycerin, Hyaluronic Acid and Apricot Kernel Oil which quenches the skin, leaving it feeling highly moisturised, refreshed and replenished. I find the mask such a lovely product to use, I actually enjoy putting it on, smelling the fruity scent and the feel of it on my skin. All the rave reviews are spot-on and I can understand why it has a massive hype around it. 

If you suffer from dry or dehydrated skin, it really is worth looking into buying this. I have never found any other product that leaves my skin as hydrated and soft as the Drink-Up Intensive Overnight Mask does, a definite 10/10 for me. 

L'Oreal 3 in 1 Purifying Micellar Solution

I have heard all about the Bioderma Crealine H20 and the positive reaction that most people have had towards it, but due to the cost and limited availability of the product in the UK, decided to try out the L'Oreal 3 in 1 Purifying Micellar Solution as it sounds like it could be a similar product.

This solution claims to be "as gentle as water on your skin but acts like a make up remover, toner and skin soother all in one"

It works by dissolving all traces of make-up and drawing out excess oil and impurities from your skin. it contains no alcohol or perfume and is suitable for all skin types.

What did I think of it?
I followed the instructions on the back of the bottle, which say: apply using a cotton wool pad onto dry skin. Hold over lashes for a few seconds then sweep away. No need to rinse or rub.

• I found that it took several cotton wool pads before all my make-up was removed (although I do not wear much make-up, so this surprised me a little)
• My skin felt clean and fresh
• My face began to feel tight after a few minutes of use and my eyes began to water.
• The next morning, I noticed that I still had traces of eye make-up on, although the last cotton wool pad I had used the night before was clear.

If I were to have cleansed my face properly after using the product, I guess I may not have noticed these issues, but I really wanted to trial it out so I used it as a one step clean before bed. I am surprised that my skin reacted to the solution, considering that it is supposed to be suitable for all skin types so for this reason I would not re-purchase it again.

I would be really interested to hear if you have tried the 3 in 1 Purifying Micellar Solution.

What do you think of it? Has your skin reacted to the solution?

Caudalie Beauty Elixir Review

I have seen the Caudalie Beauty Elixir discussed on many beauty blogs and have seen it spoken about in Youtube Video's but to be quite honest, I never was too sure what it actually is used for and whether it would make any difference to my skin.

Whilst shopping in Space NK a few weeks ago I decided to bite the bullet, risk looking stupid and ask someone! I was informed that the Elixir contained many essential oils such as Peppermint, Rosemary and Orange Flower and that a spritz to the face, either before moisturising or during the day when the skin was looking dull, would give a boost of freshness and would brighten the complexion. I have used essential oils on my skin in the past and was intrigued to give this a go.

I found this to be a lovely cooling spray, it definitely does seem to brighten my skin and I have found it useful both underneath my moisturiser and as a pick me up throughout the day. The scent of the product is very fresh and floral and I actually quite enjoy the cooling feel it brings to my face.

I would recommend this product as a luxury item. I don't feel that it is a necessary step in my skincare routine and I use it purely as a treat rather than for any specific benefit.

If you are looking at purchasing this, I would recommend trying out the smaller 30ml bottle (£11) before you invest in the 100ml bottle (£32) .

YSL Rouge Volupte Shine

Ok first things first, I need to be 100% honest with you - I bought this product purely for the packaging. I have been eyeing it up for months but could not quite part with the cash, then a couple of weeks ago an email dropped in my inbox saying that Debenhams had a 20% discount day and it was all the encouragement I needed to finally make the purchase.

I chose, after swatching pretty much every colour in the collection, to go for Shade 9, Nude In Private. 

Nude In Private is a pinky nude colour, it has a gorgeous fruity scent and applies well to the lips giving a glossy, highly pigmented colour. It feels like (and smells like) you're wearing a lip balm leaving lips feeling hydrated and soft. The colour does wear off after a couple of hours, but this seems to be the case for most lipsticks I use.

Yves Saint Laurent are a company owned by L'Oreal so it would be interesting to see how the L'Oreal version of this lipstick compares in terms of the formula, but for me, the luxurious look, feel and smell of the Rouge Volupte Shine is a definite winner and I'm so pleased I finally made the purchase.

Estée Lauder Experience

I was in Debenhams the other day browsing the make up counters as you do, when I was approached by an Estée Lauder Beauty Advisor. She asked if I would like to be colour matched for their foundation range and because this was something I had been considering only the other day, I jumped at the chance!
First she took off all my make-up with a cleanser, she then toned and moisturised my face before getting her charts out. She discussed my skin type and asked what I was looking for in a foundation and to be truthful, I didn't really know myself, so she talked me through all of the Estée Lauder ranges explaining how they worked and I thought that the Double Wear Light seemed perfect for me as its a light- medium, but build-able coverage with SPF 10 and (I was told) it would last up to 15 hours. The Advisor thought I would be the lightest colour, Intensity 1.0 as I have very pale skin, but she tried the two lightest to be sure and told me that the perfect one for me would sink in to my skin so much so that I wouldn't be able to see it. Once she'd applied the two, she showed me the effects in the mirror and it was obvious that the lightest shade was the definite colour for me. She told me that I had a cool skin tone and that would be helpful to know when buying blushers and lipsticks in the future.
We discussed how best to apply foundation and I was really impressed with, how although we spoke about the Estée Lauder brush range, she did not push me to buy any. She asked if she could finish my look off and applied some concealer, blusher and lipstick. I was so impressed with the foundation and I could tell by the way that it sat on my skin, that this was by far the best foundation I had ever tried ( there was no product sitting in my dry skin patches at all) so I delved straight into my purse and bought it! I was also given a sample mascara and concealer which I have enjoyed using too.
I have only ever had experiences before where I have felt pushed to buy or have come away with colours that are far too dark for me, but can happily say that my Estée Lauder experience was really positive and they are a brand I will go back to time and time again, in particular the Advisor I saw was so lovely and informative that I will seek her out on my next visit for further advice. My one and only complaint would be the packaging of the foundation, considering that it cost £27.50 I would have expected a glass bottle and not a plastic tube!

GlossyBox Review April 2013

I had to talk about this months GlossyBox purely because of the gorgeous box that the goodies came in!

Designed by Pearl Lowe, the box has a vintage feel to it and it makes a nice change to the usual pastel pink boxes that subscribers receive every month.

The packaging is always so nice, I hate to open it!

This is SunSense, a daily face SPF of 50+. It is an Australian product that I have not heard of before. The usual size of the product is 75g and retails for £18.50 but we were given a 10g sample. Due to the lovely English weather we have, I have not had to use this yet but will hopefully try it over the next couple of months. The one downside I have noticed so far is that the packaging is a break off lid so even though there is more than one applications worth in the sample, I will not be able to put the lid back on to re-use.

  

The Model Co cheek and lip tint which is a full sized product of 10ml, retails for £15. The tint is a berry coloured gel which gives a subtle colour to the cheeks and to the lips. It has a strawberry jam like scent, the only downside to the product is the remaining stain on my finger! 

This is my first ever Essie product and I'm so pleased to receive it as I've heard great things about this brand. This is another full sized product at 13.5ml and retails for £7.99. I was given the shade Nice is Nice which is a lovely pale lilac colour.

The Nip + Fab Pistachio Sundae Body Butter is a 50ml sample, the usual 200ml size retails for £9.95. I do not usually like the scent of Pistachio but I really like this fresh nutty smell and found it cleared up a dry patch of skin after one application. I have a huge stash of body butters but once I have got through those ones, Iwould re-purchase this.

This Eau de Parfum is So Elixir Purple by Yves Rocher, the full size of 50ml retails at £44 but the generous sample we were given was 5ml. It contains Tuberose, Vetiver and Patchouli and gives off a floral-woody scent. I really like the scent and think I will use the offer provided with GlossyBox to get the full product at a discounted cost.

I am very happy with this months GlossyBox and for the monthly cost of £12.95 including postage and packaging this was another good month in terms of products and value for money.

Models Own Fruit Pastel Collection Review

My boyfriend recently bought me the Models Own Fruit Pastel Collection after I spent 20 minutes raving about how nice they looked on the website, I think it was his way of getting me to shut up!
The Fruit Pastel Collection arrived within 3 days which I was really impressed with, I also discovered a free nail buffer had been sent with the set so it was off to a good start already.

Not only does the Fruit Pastel Collection contain 5 beautiful pastel colours, but they are also scented. Each polish has a little 'scratch and sniff' sticker on the top of the bottle but some of the scents were already noticeable without me scratching the sticker.

The 5 colours smell as their names suggest, of the following delicious scents:-

Apple Pie - a pale minty green colour

Grape Juice - a pretty lilac colour

Banana Split - a soft yellow (I'm not a big fan of yellow polish, but this colour is my perfect yellow)

Blueberry Muffin - a sky blue colour

Strawberry Tart - a milky pink

The polish applies nicely but I did find that I needed to put on a good two coats, some nails I put on three coats, just to get an opaque look, but all in all I was really impressed with the look of my nails. I was still aware of the scent on the nails three days later, but my sister was not so impressed by the fact that the polishes were scented and asked what the point was as I was going to be the only one sniffing my nails, she did not take me up on my offer to have a smell!!

Liz Earle Skincare Routine

I have been using the Liz Earle Cleanse & Polish Hot Cloth Cleanser for 2 months now and can agree 100% with its countless fantastic reviews, that it has worked wonders for my skin.
I suffer from very dry skin, no matter how much moisturiser I slap on, the tell tale signs of cracks and (I call them) scales on my face, soon appear. I must admit I've always been one to flit between products and have never really kept up a good skincare routine either.
As soon as I started using the Liz Earle Cleanse & Polish Hot Cloth Cleanser it immediately had an impact on my skin. I massage the cleanser into my face (including my eyes) and neck, then I use the Muslin Cloth that is provided to polish off the cleanser, removing any traces of make-up and clearing away dead skin cells. It feels very gentle on my skin, I don't feel any tightness that I have previously felt with other products and would recommend this to anyone with a similar skin type.
I follow up with the Liz Earle Instant Boost Skin Tonic. I sweep this over my face with a cotton pad and I feel so clean, refreshed and hydrated afterwards. My skin feels so soft that I am almost tempted to finish there, but instead I use my Liz Earle Skin Repair Moisturiser suitable for Dry/Sensitive skin and concentrate on the very dry areas in particular my cheeks and forehead. This moisturiser leaves my skin silky soft and hydrated all day long, I no longer need to re-moisturise a couple of hours later.
This has been a really good purchase for me and I am so happy with my new daily routine it is something I will stick with long-term and am reluctant to try anything else now I know what suits my skin type. I have also purchased the Liz Earle Intensive Nourishing Treatment Mask which is recommended for people with dry skin and I use this once a week to keep my skin at its best. I may not be able to rid myself of dry skin but I can keep it at bay!

I ❤ Spring Tag

This is my first ever Tag post, but I've seen quite a few bloggers/ youtubers doing this so I thought why not have a go myself?

1) What is your favourite Spring Nail Polish?
I don't have a particular favourite polish but I love to paint my nails in pretty pastel colours in the Spring. I used my Models Own Fruit Pastel Collection this week, all five polishes are a lovely shade and I couldn't choose between them, so I settled for one on each nail. They are also scented which adds a really nice twist!

2) What is your must-have lip colour this Spring?
My favourite at the moment is Jemma Kidd Ultimate Lip-duo in the shade Juliet. It is a lovely pinky-nude colour and looks really pretty.

3) What is your favourite Spring dress?
This dress is on my wish list, I think its really pretty and perfect for Spring although in this country I will need to wear a cardigan over it! It is the Oasis Bird Print Skater Dress from ASOS, currently priced at £55.00

4) What is your favourite flower?
At this time of year, my favourite is definitely the Daffodil which for me is the epitome of Spring!

5) Favourite Spring scarf/accessory?
I have recently ordered this gorgeous butterfly scarf from Next and can't wait to wear it!

6) What Spring trends are you most excited about?
I'm not really one for fashion, but I suppose it would have to be pastels which seem to be in fashion every Spring!

7) Favourite Spring candle?
Its another one on my wishlist. I recently was in The White Company and fell in love with their Wild Mint Candle, but at £60.00 it may have to stay on the wishlist for a while!

8) Favourite fragrance for Spring?
I tend to wear the same three perfumes all year round which are Gucci Rush, Jimmy Choo and  Giorgio Armani Code, although I do try others I always make sure that these three are in my collection.

9) What is Spring like where you live?
This year, in the UK we seem to have continued through Spring with Winter weather, only last week we had snow! Usually we would hope for the start of some sunny days by now so hopefully this is just around the corner.

10) Whats your favourite thing about Spring?
I love seeing the flowers beginning to bud, baby lambs appearing in the fields and of course the Easter Bank Holiday weekend!

11) Are you a Spring cleaner?
Yes! I really look forward to giving my flat a really good Spring clean every year. For some strange reason it makes me feel uplifted!

12) Any plans for Spring break or an upcoming holiday?
In the UK, we have a four day Easter Bank Holiday Weekend, but because I'm signed off work at the moment following knee surgery that I had in December, it hasn't felt any different for me this year! I am planning a holiday abroad for September which will be exciting.

Avon Nailwear Pro+ Review

I was browsing through the recent Avon brochure and came across a new range of colours in there Nailwear Pro+ collection, I have always been a huge fan of their range of nail polishes so looked forward to experimenting with this new selection.

The nail polish contains acrylic gel for added strength. Avon state that the Nailwear Pro+ has 12 days of lasting colour, 10 days of shine and a nick-resistant finish. The bottles contain 12ml of product.

I selected two colours; 1) Sweet Pea Dream - which is a creamy peachy colour with a finely milled gold glitter running through it. One coat gives a delicate nude colour but a second coat gives a more peachy tone and 2) Blue Water Lilies - which is a sky blue colour, again dusted with a finely milled gold glitter. It can be used either as a one or two coat polish depending on how you prefer, I personally like it both in a pale or more concentrated colour, I really go on the mood as I'm painting my nails or whether I am trying to match it to compliment a specific outfit.

The range has a good selection of colours, there are pastels, brights and nudes to choose from. The consistency is nice and  it has a wide brush so you can coat your nails in two strokes (if you're an accurate painter, more likely three or four strokes if you're anything like me!) What I'm most impressed with is how long the colour lasts without chipping, as I write this it has been on my nails for ten days and there are no chips whatsoever. I purchased these polishes when they were on offer for £3.49 each, but they usually sell for £6.00 each.

This is a range I while be purchasing from again and as I have seen other tempting colours, I'm sure it won't be long before I do! Have you tried this range of polishes? What do you think of them?

 

Mini Superdrug Haul





My goodies!



I treated myself to a few items from Superdrug recently and after hearing so many good reviews on MUA (Make Up Academy)  I decided to try out their Pro Pallette Undressed and a Lipstick in the shade 15 Juicy.

Make Up Academy is known for its affordable and high quality products. Having browsed through the website, I was amazed at the amount of products they currently sell and the range of colours they stock. This brand, until very recently was completely unknown to me but after trialing these two products, I am very impressed.

The Undressed Pallette contains 12 eye shadows in natural colours of nude, taupe, bronze and grey. Two are matt colours whilst the others have a little shimmer in, these will be perfect for creating the smoky eye look.

 .

The Lipstick is a coral colour which initially I felt may be too bright for me (I usually stick to nude colours) but after trying it on I was suprised that it actually suited me. It has a nice creamy consistency that glided on well

I also decided to try the Barry M Nail Paint in the shades Ruby Glitter and 291 Cobalt Blue. With an offer of two nail varnishes for £5.00, it was too good to refuse.

 

The colours are both gorgeous, I particulary love the Ruby Glitter which is a clear varnish with speckles of red and black glitter. One coat gives a subtle effect but by building it up or using on top of another colour, it would create various pretty looks.

I can't believe it has taken me all this time to discover MUA and Barry M but I will certainly be purchasing from them again shortly. Not only do they provide excellent value for money but the quality of the goods could rival some from the higher end lines.

You can find these products and many more here www.superdrug.com

See you soon xx