Monday, 10 March 2014

Brand Focus | Benefit Sampler Sets

Hands up who loves Benefit?? I do I do I do! From their cute packaging and one liners to the actual products itself I would have to say Benefit is one of my favourite high end brands. Now we all know the curse that comes with amazing high end brands is the price and sometimes it just seems a little too much for a product that might end up not working well for your skin. That's why I love these little beauties that Benefit have come out with at Boots.



First up is Full Glam Ahead. This set contains a sample of Stay Don't Stray, High Beam and Bad Gal Lash. I've previously tried Bad Gal Lash and High Beam so these were a bonus but what I really wanted to try was the Stay Don't Stray. I've only used it a couple of times but so far I love it.


Next is Coral My World which has Coralista and Sun Beam, two products I haven't tried before. Coralista is the box blusher I wanted to try the most after owning Sugabomb and Thrrrob. Sun Beam, I haven't been too interested in but we shall see.


Finally is Tan About Town, containing Some Kind-A Gorgeous, Hoola and Bad Gal Lash. Again Bad Gal Lash I've tried previously but the famous Hoola bronzer I've wanted to try for a while. I think I'm a tad too pale for the Some Kind-A Gorgeous at the moment as it's in medium but I will definitely try it out in summer.

These sets at a bargain price of £9.50 are such a good idea if you want to try out the products before splashing the cash. I would definitely recommend them so make sure you keep an eye out at your local Boots as they pop up from time to time, usually in the queue by the tills!

Have you tried any of these sets before??



Wednesday, 5 March 2014

2014 Oscars | Best Dressed

I guess by now there are probably a million and one posts on the Oscars and what we are most interested in...the fashion! But I thought what the heck I'll show you all my favourites. And the Best Dressed at the 2014 Oscars goes to...


Sandra Bullock wearing Alexander McQueen


Kerry Washington wearing Jason Wu


Jennifer Lawrence wearing Dior


Idina Menzel wearing Very Wang

There were so many amazing dresses at this years Oscars and to be honest I haven't seen a lot of "Oh god, what was she thinking?" dresses. I love how a lot of the dresses were quite plain with not a lot happening on them, sometimes the plainer the better in my book!

The men all looked very dapper in their suits, my two favourite were the following...



Leonardo Di'Caprio wearing Armani



Zac Efron wearing Calvin Klein

Who were your best dressed at the 2014 Oscars?

Monday, 3 March 2014

February Favourite Blogs


Wow, this year already feels like it's flying by. It's already March and soon enough it will be summer (and my birthday!!!). I thought I would do another post on my favourite blogs to keep up with during the month of February.



First up is Laura over at Belles Boutique. I've been a long time follower of Laura and have loved her blog for what seems like years. It's so exciting to be following her pregnancy journey and can't wait to see her little man when he's born. Her photography is amazing and the content keeps me coming back for more everytime.



Next is Zoe NewLove. Again another blog with amazing photography, nice clear shots really draws me in and makes me really listen to what she has to write. I especially love her reviews. They are trustworthy and definitely make me want to add a few items to my future shopping list.



Finally is Adrienne aka the ever so popular The Sunday Girl. What I love most about her blog is her reviews (can you see a running theme on what I love about blogs here?). She puts so much detail into them and although very full of information it's not boring, which can sometimes happen with a lot of content!

So there are my favourite blogs that I loved reading during February. Be sure to go check them out and follow if you aren't already!

Who have you liked reading last month? Leave a comment so I can go check them out!!



Thursday, 27 February 2014

Wishlist | Skincare



I've only lately just got serious about my skin care and am in the midst of trying out different products and brands. There are so many products out there both high end and drug store so I thought I would show you all what skin care items I'm lusting after at the moment.

Philosophy Hope In A Jar Moisturizer - £10.00/£34.00
I've have recently tried other Philosophy products like their Purity Cleanser and absolutely love them. I've also heard so many good things about this moisturizer and tried it on the back of my hand and love the texture. It is pretty pricey so preferably would like to try out a sample before I splash the cash.

Origins Drink Up Intensive Overnight Mask - £22.00
I only own one other Origins product, there amazing Spot Remover and I absolutely love it. Again I've read so many good reviews for this product and I am still baffled and amazed at a mask you keep on overnight so am very intrigued to try it out.

Vichy Idealia Life Serum - £29.50
Vichy is a brand I've never tried and never even knew about before I started blogging. I've seen this new serum of there's everywhere and was intrigued to read up about it. It claims clinically proven efficacy on skin exposed to daily excesses: overstressed, pollution, uv overexposed, unbalanced diet which sounds exactly like what I need.

L'Oreal Revitalift Magic Blur Finishing Cream - £12.99
Oh L'Oreal, coming out with another genius product. L'Oreal is a brand I hold close to my heart through their makeup and their skin care. So when I tested this product out on my hand (I got shown to try it on the skin between your thumb and point finger) I was amazed by the results. This is definitely on my next shopping list!

Have you tried any of these products? Did you like them or were they disappointing?




Monday, 24 February 2014

Tag | The Blogger Made Me Buy It



I don't believe I've done a tag on my blog as of yet (please do correct me if I'm wrong!) so when I saw this particular tag pop up I thought I would have a go at it. It was created by Danniella over at Famous in Japan and it's actually been really interesting to not only read other peoples responses but to see mine and a few I had to really sit there and think about before typing out my answer.

1. Who are your most influential bloggers?  Who are the ones that you really rely on for reviews and swatches?
There are so many great beauty bloggers who give amazing reviews but the ones that stick out to me are Adrienne aka The Sunday Girl who is great to go to if you want to know what's new and what's going to be released soon and also Saundra also known as The Black Pearl Blog has really good in depth reviews.

2.  Do you buy a product solely as a result from one review from your favourite bloggers, or do you look for more reviews from others?
I definitely look at more then one review, and I try to find reviews from bloggers with different skin types to see how it faired on each.

3. What is your most favourite item that you have ever bought as a consequence of blogs?
I would say my Urban Decay Naked Basics and Urban Decay Flushed palette but I didn't buy them so I would have to say Sleeks Rose Gold Blush. I wanted it for ages after I had seen so many people blog about it but it was always out of stock and finally I got my hands on it and wear it near enough every day!

4. What is your least favourite item that you have ever bought as a consequence of blogs?
Definitely the No7 Cleansing Water!! It was back when all the drugstore/high street brands started releasing their versions of Bioderma and so many people raved about it! Let's just say I didn't even use a quarter of the bottle I disliked it that much!

5. Name 5 products you have bought recently as a result of blogs.
Mac Pro Longwear Concealer (I re bought it because I started seeing it pop up on blogs!!)
Garnier Micellar Water
Revlon ColorBurst Lacquer Balm
La Roche Posay Effaclar Duo
It's A 10 Miracle Leave In Product (Thanks to all the blogs across the pond!!)

6. Have you ever given into blogger hype?  If so, which hype?
There's not anything in particular that I given into (still waiting to buy the naked palettes!!) but probably Micellar Waters and Maybelline Baby Lips and Baby Skin.

7. Have you ever avoided blogger hype?  If so, which hype?
Again nothing I have purposely avoided just haven't managed to try yet due to funds! Bioderma being one of them.

8. Is everything you buy based on blogger reviews or are there some items you buy without checking out a review?
There is definitely stuff in my collection which I've just bought either because I've noticed it in store and have become very intrigued or I've really wanted to buy it for a while without seeing any reviews on it!!

So there you have it! I don't really think people actually tag others to do it (no one tagged me if that is the case!) but if they do then I tag all of you!

If you have already done this tag, leave me a link in the comments so I can check out your answers!!





Saturday, 22 February 2014

Review | L'Oreal Skin Perfection 3 in 1 Purifying Micellar Solution


As you can see from the above photo this is going to be a positive review! I'm going to go way back to when I first started trying out Micellar water's, I HATED them! I felt they did absolutely nothing for me and didn't clean my face properly. I wrote a Product Fail post on the No7 Cleansing Water I tried. I am so happy to say that I've finally found the one, the perfect water cleanser I have fallen in love with!!

You will have probably already seen a lot of posts about the L'Oreal 3 in 1 Purifying Micellar Solution but I had to write my own review, its become my holy grail cleanser and it deserved a blog post just so we can all bask in its glory! I buy mine from my work as it's tax free so I get a few pence off (every little helps right!) but it's widely available from Boots or Superdrug for £4.99 and it's currently 3 for 2 in Boots so if you know you love it go snap it up!!

To use I just apply some to a cotton pad (I like to use the exfoliating cotton pads) and in circular motions swipe across my skin. I like to do my face in halves so I usually use two cotton pads and then sometimes if I've been wearing heavier makeup I'll use one more to just go over my entire face. It really is like magic water which dissolves all traces of makeup even really stubborn mascara. I do use a separate eye make up remover which I will do a separate post about. What I also love about this beauty is it's 3 in 1 status. Not only does it cleanse your skin leaving it feeling soft and clean it also acts as a toner and helps keep your pores unclogged. Although I use my Elemis Balancing Lavander Toner (I've already done a review on it) I do like the fact it's added into the cleansing product itself.

Overall I am 100% happy with this product, I've gone through about 6/7 bottles of this and actually have no negatives about this little wonder! Saying that the beauty blogger in me became intrigued with the below product...


Yes, as a beauty blogger I feel it's my duty to try out the latest fad and when the Garnier Micellar Cleansing Water came on the scene well I had to see if it lived up to my holy grail product. I'm currently road testing it so look out for a future review!!

Have you tried the L'Oreal 3 in 1 Micellar Water??



Wednesday, 19 February 2014

OOTD | Lets Go To The Beach

So this is probably like my second attempt at making my blog branch out more to other things other than beauty. So please do let me know in the comments if you want to see more of these types of post. In my last post you will see I took a trip to the beach with my family and whilst we were there I thought I'd spontaneously take some OOTD pictures.






Vest Top - Primark
Stripe Top - Primark
Black Cardigan - George @ ASDA
Jacket - New Look
Skinny Jeans - Primark
Canvas Shoes - Primark
Bag - Primark

This was the perfect outfit for down the beach. Although it wasn't that windy (you're protected by the cliffs) I stayed nice and cosy and was completely comfortable for the long walk we did. The only thing we didn't comprehend was the after effects of the stormy weather we had last week. All the pebbles were across where you walk so these shoes weren't the best choice but I powered on through (or over the pebbles I guess!).

A bit off topic but I just want to put it out there. I'm not 100% happy with the way I look (body image problems) but I am getting more comfortable with taking full body pictures so please do let me know if you want to see more of these posts as it's definitely helping me with my confidence!

What's your perfect outfit for a walk along the beach?