So here is the blog I promised about the contents of my Lush Lucky Pack.
Sorry the last entry was a bit rushed...literally bought the bag in my lunch break and snapped it at work for you!
For those of you who are not familiar with Lush they are basically a handmade, natural (as can be) pampering shop where you can find such delights as bath ballistics, shower jellies and just the most adorable stuff for making yourself feel yummy!
They don't test anything on animals and you will find a good range of products for vegans too. They are also very good with limiting their packaging and using essential oils in all of their products.
So that said and done..on with the contents!
In my £15 Lush bag I got 4 Xmas gift boxes which included the following items:
1 x Chocolate Santa Bath Ballistic (used this already..sooo good!) 1 x Twinkle Bath Ballistic 1 x Shimmy Shimmy glitter massage bar (THE SMELL IS DEVINE..sweetness!) 1 x Charity Pot cream 1 x Nutts Massage Bar (OMG amazing after the bath!) 1 x Honey I Washed the Kids soap 1 x Karma Soap 1 x Olive Branch Shower Gel 1 x Gold, Frankincense and Beer shower jelly 1 x Too Drunk Emotibomb
I think that's it!
My absolute fav I think has to be the Nutts Massage Bar. I am SO lazy when it comes to moisturising my body so these massage bars are great for just rubbing onto the skin and massaging in. Read more about this bar here
I've been purchasing things from Lush for over 10 years now and I still get excited when they release new products. Admittedly you have to get use to the smell of the store as it's like a mushroom cloud bomb inside your nose i.e very strong on the sense of smell! But! once you're over it you will discover the most amazing and wonderfully unique items....such as "Angels on Bare Skin" facial cleanser which I will tell you about next week..I want to get the new "Hell's Angel" first so I can write a blog comparing the two!
This week has been a bit of a hectic one so I apologise for the lack of blogs this week in advance. I've barely had any time to myself and today I was suppose to be going to Bikram Yoga but thankfully my best friend pulled out!
SO today I thought I would write about make up brushes.
I know there are a lots of you out there who know your 222 from your 208 but am sure there are are also those of you out there who don't!
I'm a very big fan of make up brushes...perhaps it's my art background where a Windsor & Newton brush was always the better bet from your standard WH Smith one...*ponders*
Same goes with make up brushes. A good quality brush makes all the difference in your final masterpiece!There are a ton of brushes out there and it can be overwhelming but my preference is of course Mac brushes! I know some might argue that Shu Uemura make the absolute BEST brushes but I bought a few on a trip to Japan and whilst I love them I wouldn't buy them here in the UK because they are SO expensive!
Anyway I am trying to keep this list down to about 5 because brushes do cost a bomb and whilst there are brushes for this and that...I think the following are the absolute for a staple collection.
1)Eye Shading Brush (round shaped) Mac number 239 This is perfect for just loading eyeshadow onto the lid, blends wonderfully and great to use wet with a mixing medium...
2)Tapered Blending Brush Mac number 222 Perfect for blending in the crease, blending two colours together, super soft and an absolute must for smokey eyes...
3)Kabuki Brush I own two, a Bobbi Brown one which I was given...it's a staple item for anyone using powder foundation i.e mineral. I also have a MUFE one for my HD powder. It's super soft but so flipping expensive. Am sure there are cheaper alternatives out there!
4)Angled Eyeliner Brush Mac number 208 This is a very soft brush perfect for using with gel eyeliners like Fluid Line by Mac. Definitely worth every penny as it makes applying eyeliner so much easier and the texture and feel is so superior over cheaper, harsher, I'm-going-to scratch-your-eyes-out types.... 5)PENCIL BRUSH Mac number 219 Please, if you are going to do smokey eyes....get this. Those spongy ones are NOT worth it. In the long run if you want smouldering, delicious, come-to-bed eyes then a 219 is definitely for you. I use it to smudge my eyeliner on my lower lash line and I also use it for "highlighting" the inner corners of your eyes to make them bright and perky! I love pencil brushes so much I have several on the go as they are so versatile. Click here to visit the Mac Store
I've taken to perusing other beauty blogs this month...WHOA there are so many out there!
I'm particularly impressed with Lollipop26's blog which I stumbled upon whilst researching eyelash growth stuff. Her lashes are to die for!
I'm all but ready to ditch the Talika and move straight onto Enormous Lash after reading her reviews , but for the sake of good experimenting I shall endure and persevere...although I am so wretchedly impatient to see results! ARGHHHH!!!!
Anyway here are my lashes today...there hasn't been anything siginificant to report back bar the fact that my lashes do feel nicely conditioned and not so dry. I have your typical oriental lashes...straight, straight and STRAIGHT. It infuriates me most of the time as I have to resort to Waterproof mascara to keep them curly after I've used my curlers.
Someone at work mentioned eye perming so I might partake in that...SCARY! I just hate upkeep in anything...I'm bad enough at getting my hair cut every 2 months let alone getting my eyelashes permed.
Which is why I resorted to not getting false nails etc as I hate appointments! I seemt o have mastered the art of the One Week Manicure so will post a blog on that soon :)
Last week I purchased a few items from the Mini Bourjois range. What first enticed me in were the tiny pots of loose eyeshadow, I think there were about £2.80ish and the pigment is really impressive.
I prefer using loose eyeshadow even though at times it can be a nightmare. Reasons being is mostly because I can work with them in either dry or wet form plus they just seem work better for me.
Anyway...So the colours I bought were as follows:
number 2: this is a gold/cream shimmer colour, perfect as a highlighter in the corner of your eyes, great for just brightening your eyes up and giving them that wide awake feel.
number 14: great for smokey eyes and giving that wonderful smouldering, sexy look...think Hayden Panettiere, Kate Moss, Sienna Miller, smokey eye look.
I also got the teeny tiny version of their 3D glosses in Nude Brun Poetic. I really like this colour for an everyday look, plus it's not sticky and doesn't taste too bad either.
I got these in Boots as they were doing a 3 for 2 offer..although it wasn't advertised...only found out about it when I went to pay!
SO! I've been told about this product called "Talika" which is suppose to make your lashes grow thick and long.
To be honest I'm not sure I believe it despite the claims and yadda yadda...but I can return this if I don't like it before 60 days so really...there is not much to lose.
See...my eyelash obsession has always been there, but even more so as my bf has the most amazing lashes...I mean they are BAMBINO like...and to top it all off the git has these amazing hazel toffee coloured eyes...swine so doesn't need them. *huge sigh*
I want them so so much. You have no idea.
SO I decided to try this Talika Liposils stuff out which promises growth in 28 days...we shall see....I'll take a photo tonight for you guys and update every week so we can see it's progress.
AM UBER skeptical...at £20 though it's a hell of a lot better than the other products in the market at the moment so hey! Fingers crossed!
I am also considering getting my lashes permed as they are straight lashes from doom....again I see another blog coming up on that one too.
Right so I thought today I would write about the stuff i carry in my bag....things I simply MUST have in my bag.
So here are the contents of my make up bag:
Benefit's Benetint I love this product because it just gives a wonderful natural blush to the cheeks and it doubles up as a lip tint which lasts forever. I'm not heavy into blusher and prefer the natural pinched cheeks look.
Benefit's highbeam, Lip plump and Oh La lift This was taken from that kit called "The Realness of Concealness". I like the dinky sizes and they are really quite useful items to have in your staple every day kit, esp the highbeam.
Benefit's Bad Gal eyeliner This is just a simple black eyeliner. It does the job but you can get the same effect from a Barry M kohl eyeliner at a fraction of the price.
Mac Slim Shine "Nude" My everyday STAPLE lipstick. I don't wear an awful lot of lipstick although you would be forgiven if you saw my lipstick drawer! This lipstick is a cross between a stick and a balm and perfect for very day. My only issue is it disappears so so quickly!
Bad Gal tinted lip balm I love this lip balm. It tint's the lips so well and the taste is rather morish too...gives a decent tint as oppose to the vaseline rose balm...
Clinique Line concealer I love this and I love it even more because I bought it with my Boots points so cost me nothing. It's just fab for that emergency fix me up...so need it in my bag.
Chi Silk Infusion Enough already, I've spoken about this too much! YOUR HAIR NEEDS THIS.
Jean Paul Gautier Perfume Enough said.
The make up bag is from Cath Kidston...I LOVE her stuff...got this bag in the sale for a bargain £4! WOOOO! cheers me up big time!
I'll do a blog on my "go to BF's" make up bag if you want....oh my that is truly something else....
So it looks like this cold miserable weather is going to be sticking around for some time. *grumble*
Unfortunately this is not good news for skin and hair (especially of the long variety) so I thought I would make a short blog on my favourite must have items to get through the cold chapping weather!
1) Liz Earle Superskin Concentrate (£16.50 for 10ml) This smell is incredible. It's like a divine elixir for the skin. High in vitamin E which is derived from Rose Hips, it's perfect for giving your regular moisturiser a helping hand and great for softening and nourishing the skin. You basically roll it onto a clean face and then massage the oil in before applying your regular moisturiser. I use this at night for a delicious treatment. visit the website here
2) Estee Lauder Day Wear Plus (£29.36) I have been using this moisturiser for about 10 years (OMG!!!) I'm 29 for those of you who are nosey. I've never been one to stick to a product as I am far too flippant when it comes to new releases, but as my skin is quite sensitive I've stuck to this as it's perfect for me. Smells yummy too.click here
3) Carmex lip balm (£2.60) An oldy but a goody...and cheap and cheerful too! Sod 8 Hour Cream, this is the business if you want to tackle chapped lips and keep them kissable. Website here
4) Chi Silk Infusion (approx £8 from Sallys) I love this serum because not only is it light and non sticky, it makes your hair feel incredible. There's something about sealing your locks with a barrier against the cold weather that I really like...if I don't use this in the cold my hair is a mess :(
5) Waitrose Baby Bottom Balm (approx £2.50) I read about this in a magazine a while ago about how lot's of women were using this as a moisturiser. Hmmm it's a bit too much like a balm emollient to me so I can't say what it's like as a face moisturiser. BUT! I can say that it's a wonderful hand cream.
6) Pied de Pepper from Lush (£6.12) This stuff smells amazing! It's like chocolate cinnamon and it's warming for your tootsies too. I love this so much that I slather it on as a hand cream and spend the rest of the day sniffing my hands like a weirdo...website here
OK so anyone who knows me will know that I have a long term relationship with glitter. Oh I love it so...SO SO SO much...I think it all started when I first saw a photo of Gwen Stefani in a No Doubt Kerrang gig review and she had amazing glittery eyelids.
I remember trying to copy her style and tottering off to Boots to purchase Urban Decay's "Polyester Bride". It was the best I could do with my part time student wages :)
Anyway...SO yes...I have been in love with glitter for as long as I can remember and I've tried everything including the Urban Decay glitter eye liners (eeep!Made my eyelashes fall out from everyday use) and thought I would let you know which ones I have been most impressed with.
First up and best out there has to be the Mac Glitter. I'm talking about the "reflects" range...OH my golly gosh! If your experience with glitter has been that it's harsh and doesn't stick to the skin then get your mitts on some of these babies! They are perfect for adding some twinkle and I especially love "Reflects Very Pink", "Reflects Gold" and "Reflects Teal".
I use mine mostly for my eyelids but they also work really well over lipgloss, esp the Reflects Very Pink!
To get it to stay in place I use something tacky, I use a Pop Beauty Glam Jam shimmer (was useless as a shimmer as it had no pigment in but perfect for sticking glitter!) and dab it gently to the area I want to stick the glitter to. Wait a few minutes and then dab the sparkle on with my finger tips.
The one thing about Mac Glitter is that it's around £11 a pot and you can only get it from a Mac Pro store unless they are doing a special in the standard stores. You can get Reflects Teal in any mac store right now as it's part of the CHILL range and limited edition. I HIGHLY recommend this product. Go get!
Which leads me to Pop Beauty glitter.
I LOVE their glitter set. LOVE LOVE LOVE it. What's even better is the price. I bought my set in Top Shop when they use to have a stall there but you can get it from ASOS herefor £11.75. You get 10 small glitter tubes which will last you FOREVER. Whilst they are more obvious glitter colours they are still fantastic. I especially love the fushia colour as it's very similar to Mac's Reflects Very Pink.
I think I might do a tutorial over the weekend on what I can do with this kit to give you a bit of an idea...maybe? I haven't even edited the first video I did yet!
Anyway POP website is here (I have no idea why the set is £24! on here)
Find your closest Mac Pro store here (They might do mail order not sure. I always like to visit them)
Quick blog today as I've been trying to film a semi decent tutorial all evening *huge sigh*. It's not easy!
I recently saw an advert for a skin care range called "Amie" which is for "young skin". I liked the tag line of 95% of the product being derived from natural fruit and botanical ingredients so decided to give one of their cleansers a go. PLUS what with all this credit crunching times I am trying to find a cheap an cheerful cleanser and at £4.95 it's a bargain!
I decided to try the NEW LEAF SKIN EXFOLIATING POLISH...it's a gentle exfoliator which is recommended for 3 times a week (but me I like a good scrub so use it every day).
I have to say when I smelt it it didn't smell very natural and this kinda had my alarm bells ringing "ARGH PREFUME SMELL = ALLERGY FOR SENSITIVE SKIN!" It kinda reminds me of that Paul Freeman shampoo you can get in the States...almost coconutty with some floral whiff for good measure...*ponders*
But *phew* I have to say it's been about 2 weeks and my skin is looking ok so far! Fingers crossed it's going to stay that way... This exfoliator is a very gentle one, but still does the job nicely and removes the dead skins cells. (I really don't like those scrubs that say they "exfoliate" but really does jack). It doesn't lather but a little goes a long way and I didn't feel like it dried my skin after so that's extra brownie points!
Ok...So I thought I'd carry on with my hair theme and get the hair stuff out of the way.
I just found out that Aussie hair products now test on animals. This REALLY sucks as I love their long hair shampoo and 3 minute miracle products...*sigh*
I am trying to make a very conscious effort to research each product I use and make sure that they are not tested on animals. Another of my new years resolutions.
Anyway...as mentioned previously I have long fine hair. The products I simply cannot live without are as follows:
Tigi Bed Head After Party I LOVE this product. I use it everyday on dry hair....it's just a very delicious hair necessity! It's a lightweight cream so half a pump is enough for my hair to help fight frizz, make it silky soft and smell gorgeous! If you haven't tried this before, your hair NEEDS this. It's about £15 from the hairdressers but you can purchase it from this Ebay store where you can get 2 for the bargain price of £12.99!
CHI Keratin Mist I really love CHI products and this product is no exception. My bf has a 'Sally's hair and beauty supplies" store near his home so I often frequent it to see what products they have. This product I use after I've towel dried my hair...spray this baby in and let it get to business. It's basically a leave in conditioner that's light and strengthens, protects and softens your hair...well that's what they say! I like it because it's a nice top up to my wash out conditioner...just an extra boost!
CHI Silk Infusion Oh GOSH! Where Do I start with this one?! It's the perfect hair serum! You know how most serums are really sticky and you can FEEL them in your hair? This one when applied is super lightweight (LOVE for fine hair) and once it's smoothed in it just makes your hair so so silky! I always feel like it's good to use serum in long hair to protect it from the elements too. I've used many many different types of serum over the years and this one is my LOVE.
Anyway...I've got a butt load of other products I could write about, most notably the Rusk bargain set I picked up last month, but I think I shall leave it at that for now. I might do a review video on that one...maybe?
Ok...So one of my New Year's resolutions (the shallower one), was to try and pay my hair a bit more attention than it's use to...i.e BRUSH it and just pamper it and appreciate that considering it's so so long, it's actually in a semi good condition for it's age!
First off a heads up on my hair.
It's long...way past my shoulders but not yet at my waist.
I also have a weakness for dying it...red...any shade of red, and as many of you may know...red is probably the worst colour to dye your hair for maintenance!
So yes...this year I have decided to pay it a little bit more attention.
My new hairdresser has recommended an AMAZING hair dye for me. I don't ever get my hair dyed at the hair dressers...it's just ridiculously expensive and I don't have the time or patience to sit and wait for them to dye it for me. So i confess to being a fan of the bad bad home hair kit and then spend 2 months afterwards trying to re-moisture my hair etc etc.
Anyway...the home hair dying kit I was recommended is called "Naturtint".
It's free of ammonia so has no horrible smell and it's not tested on animals like most hair dyes.
I admit I was a bit dubious when I tried it but my word! I have never dyed my hair before and have it feel BETTER than before it was dyed. It's SO SO shiny too and I've had plenty of compliments about it which is a big surprise for me. A lady in Top Shop said "WOW your hair! It's amazing. What hair dye is it???!!!"
It's nice to get compliments no?
The deep conditioning treatment you get with it is really moisturing too.
I LOVE LOVE LOVE this dye.
So far I have tried "Fire Red" and accidentally "Light Copper Chestnut" which was quite dark to begin with but has turned into a lovely rich warm red.
You can purchase Naturtint from "Holland & Barretts"..click here
If you live in London check out the Wholefoods store as they have a good colour range.
Anyway...if anyone decides to give it a go let me know how it turns out...Hope you like it and just remember. What may work for me might not work for you...but I hope it does all the same!
Ok this is going to be a rather all-over-the-place first blog BUT(!) I thought...new blog...must must write a semi decent(?) introduction.
Why have I decided to start up a make up blog? Hmm well mostly because the current credit crunch is killing my obsession with Japanese fashion and I can no longer afford super kawaii clothes (miss u so Emily Temple Cute!)
and yes...well...as I don't have any desire for any fashion here in the UK (this might change)...I decided to root back to my uni days and delve into make up again....rediscover old friends, behold the stash of colourful pretty pretty pots of magic wonder!
Hmmm yes...anyway...
A few things you should know...I don't like animal testing. *shakes head*
So I hope someone can benefit from my finds and whatever I decide to babble about will be useful and insightful to you *points*. I will be writing reviews of my finds and possibly doing some tutorials if there is any interest and I get over my camera shyness!
Anyway...before this turns into an essay I shall leave it here.
I am currently obsessing over hair products so next blog will be about that.x
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