This Months Wish List...

Hello everyone :)

I just realised that its been a very long time since I did a wishlist post! There are so many things I want to buy right now too so I figured this was the perfect time to put pen to paper (or finger to keyboard) and get down a list of the main things I'm lusting after right now. Enjoy!

1. Models Own Speckled Egg Collection

How perfect are these for this time of year. I can't decide which colour I like best, so I've decided I need the whole collection. Plus Models Own have the 6 for £20 deal on which means I may have to take advantage! 

2. MAC Brush Cleanser 

Now, I have to confess that I do get a bit lazy when it comes to cleaning my brushes. I've read loads of great reviews on the MAC brush cleanser, and being a huge MAC fan already, I want to give it a go. I think it's only around £10 too so pretty well priced. 

3. NARS Final Cut Illuminator 

I was browsing through the 'Whats New' section of the NARS website and came across this. The site says this can be used all over the face or as a highlighter, and can be worn under, over or mixed in with foundation. It's limited edition too so if I want it I best be quick! 

4. NARS Instant Line and Pore Perfector 

I also came across this in the same section of the website, and this is also limited edition. Apparently it works to smooth skin and hide pours. The site says it contains Vitamins A, C and E for antioxidant protection, contains Hyaluronic acid spheres to plump the skin and fill in lines, and micro-spheres help to keep skin smooth. I don't fully understand all that, but anything that helps to smooth my skin and create a good base sounds good to me! 

5. BareMinerals Swoon Blush 

I love their foundation and finishing powder, but that's all I have tried by bareMinerals. As soon as I saw this, I thought it would be perfect to create a subtle pink spring time glow. Something natural and pretty looking. Plus, if it's anywhere near the quality of their powders, it'll be love instantly! 

There are probably 100 other things I could add to this list (not to mention what I bought this morning on my eBay splurge) but I think I can happily narrow it down to these top 5. 

What products are on your wishlists right now? 

Love to you all x

Technic High Lights (Benefit Dupe?)

Hello :)

Let me just say that I am a HUGE fan of Benefit's High Beam highlighter. However, I can't always justify paying that much for it, so when I saw that the budget brand Technic do one that looks almost exactly the same, I was desperate to give it a shot and see if it was any good. I picked mine up for around £1.50 on ebay (compared to around £20 for the High Beam)!  So you can see why I had to give it a try....

As you can see, they have pretty much tried to copy the look of the High Beam. The packaging looks ok, but isn't very good quality. I know it should matter more about the quality of the product itself and not so much the packaging, but it did bother me a little. 

In terms of how good the High Lights actually is, well, lets just say I was impressed. It's not quite as good as the High Beam, but then for £1.50 its not going to be. But it did work very well. 

It comes out a light pinky colour that's lovely and shimmery, it blends well into the skin, and works to give you a subtle definition by catching the light where ever you put it. I normally use it around the cheek bones, above the eye brow bone and a little in the cupids bow above the top lip. 

In terms of the lasting power, that isn't quite as good as benefit's either, but it also isn't a problem. With a good base, this lasts on my skin for around 6 hours which is pretty impressive for such a well priced product. It also doesn't smear and rub off your foundation when you apply it which i know is quite a common problem, for me at least, with liquid highlighters. 

Over all I'm pretty happy with this product. It's not quite as good as the more high end versions, but it works well, looks great, and lasts, so what more can you really ask for? I would tend to use this one every day and keep my beloved benefit for special occasions, and I will definitely keep my eye out for another one for when this runs out. 

What do you think? Have any of you tried this? 

Love to you all x

St Moriz Fake Tan

Hello :)

I don't know about you, but now that the weather is gradually starting to get better, I've found myself being drawn back to my fake tan. There are quite a few out there that I love, Baby B Browne being a recent favorite, but one that I always keep going back to, is the budget priced St Moriz. 

My favorite is the spray version, although it is available in a lotion and a mousse as well, but I find that I get a more even finish with the spray (although my bathroom floor doesn't like it too much!!). I buy mine from fragrancedirect.com for just £2.99, and I know you can get it quite cheap from feelunique.com too. 

My favorite thing about this is that you don't need to wait for it to develop to see what colour you will be. It sprays out a dark brown which then blends into the skin when rubbed with a tanning mitt to reveal a lovely golden bronze colour. I use the medium one, but it is available in light and dark too. 

You don't get an obvious fake tan smell either which is a plus. I mean if you put your nose to your arm and sniff you get a light biscuity smell, but it isn't too over powering like many I've tried. This probably has to be my favorite go-to self tan. I try others, but always come back to this. 

Thank you all for reading :) I'd love to know your fake tan recommendations? 

Love to you all x

Sally Hansen Super Shine Top Coat

Hello everyone!

Can I just start by saying that I have no idea whats happened to the weather today, but it's cold, rainy and miserable, and I am well and truly sulking! Thought I'd do a spot of blogging to try and cheer myself up :)

Today is a little review post on the Sally Hansen Super Shine Top Coat.I know this isn't exactly a new product, but I love the Hard As Nails top coat, and so when I saw this for just £2.50 online, I thought I'd give it a try to see if it was anything like it.

I've used it twice now, and I have to say that it really does do what it says on the bottle. My nails have never looked so shiny! It dries pretty quickly too, which is good for me as I'm known with being very impatient when it comes to letting nail polish dry. Oops! 

Before this, I was using a Barry M top coat, and with that my nails would stay pretty perfect for around 4 days, obviously depending what nail polish was under it. With the Sally Hansen one however, even when I tried it with a cheap MUA nail polish underneath, I didn't see any chips appearing until maybe the 5th or 6th day! I change the colour of my nails more often than that anyway normally, so this works perfect for me. 

My nails are in pretty good condition anyway, and so personally, I don't see any reason why I should go back to paying more for the Hard as Nails top coat when this does pretty much the same thing for less. If you want me to be honest, I'd probably say I prefer the Super Shine regardless of the price. 

Overall, I'm very impressed with this top coat! 

Thank you for reading, and as always all comments are loved and appreciated :)

Love to you all x

Anniversary Weekend

Hello :)

I know I don't normally do lifestyle or personal posts, but this weekend was mine and the other half's 2 year anniversary, and with the sunshine out all weekend, we had a really lovely time, and I just wanted to share a few of the pictures with you all.

On Saturday, we had a lovely lunch out, then went to The Deep in Hull, which is a big aquarium on the waterfront. I love going to look at the fish, and now they have penguins too!!

That night we had a lovely dinner at home and made cocktails! On the Sunday, we went for a walk around a local nature reserve and fed the ducks :) After that, we went out for lunch again and had a few drinks before heading to the music quiz at the local pub. We came home, watched a film together, then he ran me a bubble bath with all my Lush products. It was the perfect weekend! 

Thank you for reading, and the beauty posts will be resumed as soon as possible :) 

Love to you all x

Sleek True Colour Lipstick in Peaches and Cream

Hello everyone :)

As I have said many times before, I love Sleek's lipsticks. I have a little bit of an addiction to be honest! However the one I'm going to be reviewing today is in a shade completely different to anything I've ever tried before.

Now the sun has finally appeared, I've been trying more spring shades. As much as I love my reds and purples, I'm finally ready to move into the world of pretty summer pinks and pastels, and this could not fit the bill more perfectly.

The shade is called Peaches and Cream, which is a perfect spring/summer name in itself, but the colour is the real star of the show. It's a bright pastel orange with hints of coral in it, and it really does brighten up any outfit ready for spring. It has a lovely sheen to it too and is amazingly moisturising on your lips. I still put a layer of lip balm underneath, but you probably don't need to. 

The staying power is pretty good. I normally find the glossier lipsticks come off pretty quick, but this lasts for around 5 or 6 hours without rubbing off. I do touch it up more often than that just to keep the full effect, but again, you probably don't have to. 

Sleek's products are always very reasonably priced, and this was £4.99. A pretty standard price for a drugstore brand, and the quality is way above that. This is the 6th lipstick I've tried by them, and as much as I love them all, this has to be my favorite. 

I honestly can't find a downside to this product. I often find orangey shades difficult to wear, but this seems a bit more toned down while still being bright, and that somehow makes it very wearable for everyday. I can see this being a firm favourite throughout spring :) 

Thank you for reading! What are your favourite spring lipsticks? 

Love to you all x

Astor Volume Artist Modelling Mousse Mascara

Hello :)

As some of you may know, Astor is a brand that I have come to love recently. After picking up some of their lipsticks and nail polishes pretty cheap from fragrangedirect.com, I fell in love with the quality and value for money. So when I spotted this mascara for only £2.99, I had to give it a go!

Mascara is something I'm a bit fussy about. For me it's the most important item in my makeup bag, so I rarely deviate away from my beloved Clinique, but for that price I couldn't find a reason not to try it. Like with all my mascaras, I went for black, but they did have others in the range.

The applicator brush is rubber, with very short bristles. I thought this might make the product come out lumpy, but it doesn't. The product is very thick, but doesn't clump unless you put too many coats on, and with 2 coats I was pretty happy with the result. It didn't seem to add much length to my eyelashes, but did make them seem a lot thicker. This is a bonus for me, as my eyelashes are already pretty long, but very very thin. However if you were looking for a lengthening mascara then this isn't for you.

I love the sleek silver packaging, and the staying power of the mascara is pretty good. It doesn't flake when you've had it on a while, and the quality seems amazing for the price.

The only downside I have with this is that it took quite a lot of effort to take it off. It smudged everywhere and made a bit of a mess, so make sure you have a good makeup remover at the ready when it comes to bed time!

Thank you for taking the time to read this, and as always comments are loved and appreciated :)

Love to you all x

Sleek Face Contour Kit

Hello everyone :)

Hope you all had a lovely weekend in the sunshine! Up here in Yorkshire it was like summer yesterday so spent the whole day sat in the garden doing absolutely nothing. But now it's Monday and back to reality!

Today, I'm doing a little review post on the Sleek Face Contour Kit, which I have in Light. Sorry in advance for the pictures, I wasn't smart enough to remember to take pictures before I used it... Oops!!

Like I said, I forgot to take pictures before I used it, and I have used it quite a bit so sorry it looks a bit messy. And the marks in the lighter side are from a small dropping accident! Oops again! 

Now, on to the actual product. I love Sleek as a brand, especially their lipsticks, so I was expecting good things from this, and I have to say I wasn't disappointed. The bronzer half is a subtle matte shade, and even though I have a medium skin tone, the Light palette was a perfect colour for me. Any darker and I think it would have been too much. It blends well and doesn't smudge your foundation when you apply it. 

The highlighter is very subtle, but that's what I personally prefer so I was more than happy with it. But if you do like a stand out highlighter then this probably isn't for you. It's more like a slightly shimmery face powder. 

The lasting power isn't amazing, and I did have to top up after around 4 or 5 hours, but that's something I don't mind doing, and for only £6.50 I wouldn't expect a super long lasting product. 

As the Light shade palette suits my medium skin tone perfectly, I do think you would struggle to use this if you have a very light skin tone, however it might be possible with a light touch and a lot of blending. 

Overall, I am very happy with this product. The packaging is their usual simple black matte finish, and the little mirror inside is handy for when you're out and about, although for touch ups on the go you will need your own makeup brush with you. I always have a few in my bag but I know not all people do. 

The quality is exactly what you would expect from a trusted brand, and even when I dropped it on the tile floor in the bathroom, hardly any of the powder broke free which I find impressive. 

I honestly think I will repurchase this when I run out, although I expect it to last for a very long time! 

Thank you all for reading, and I hope you all get a chance to make the most of the lovely weather :) 

Love to you all x

Lush Easter Range

Hello everyone!

Sorry I've been away for so long, I needed to take a break from all things blogging and focus on my studying for a while, something I haven't had to do since I was about 18, so it felt weird, but now I'm back :)

Today I wanted to do a little post about the Easter range now in stores at Lush! I love Lush, and am always a huge fan of the Christmas range, but I've never really paid any attention to the Easter range. So, when my spending ban finished on Saturday, I popped in and treated myself to a few bits.

How cute are they?! I fell in love with the little Bunny bubble bar as soon as I saw it, and then had to get the Bunch Of Carrots to go with it. The carrots are also bubble bars. Then, near the checkout, I spotted the bright pink Fluffy Egg bath bomb, and it smells amazing... Just like Snow Fairy!! That immediately had to be added to my basket too, as I can't resist that smell. 

I haven't used the Bunny or the Fluffy Egg yet (the bunny is too amazingly cute) but I have tried one of the carrots, and loved it. I always have high expectations from any Lush product, and they certainly didn't disappoint. 

There are a couple more things in the Easter range that I want to try out as well, so may have to make a sneaky online purchase one night when the other half isn't looking. Oops! :) 

Have any of you tried the Easter range, and if so what are your favorite products? 

Thank you for reading, and I'm so glad to be back!

Love to you all x