Treat Yourself Tuesdays

Hello my lovelies!

Today, I'm just going to do a little post about my new idea... Treat Yourself Tuesdays! I mentioned it on twitter earlier, and basically all it is, is one night a week that you put aside to pamper yourself. Today, I had a pretty stressful hospital appointment, and as I was walking out I noticed a Superdrug next door. I could see the makeup and I knew it wasn't going to end well, but as I walked around swatching lipsticks, I had an idea. Tonight, I was going to treat myself to a night of pampering. The idea stopped me from focusing on what I was going to buy, and instead, what I was going to do. I mean obviously I purchased a couple of things, but I did pretty well. One of the things I bought was an MUA Palette, and one thing I will do tonight is have a play about with it, create a few looks, swatch all the shades, and then I will do a review post on it. I love doing things like that. I've also had a lovely bubble bath and gave my hair a little treat, and tonight I will be painting my nails, and giving myself a little glow with my first fake tan of the year. I'm excited about this :) It is definitely going to become a tradition!

Reviews on what I did buy, including the MUA Undressed Palette and a lovely lipstick will be up shortly. As well as the Pantene Pro-V Shots which I tried for the first time today. Thank you for reading, and I hope you all can get on board with Treat Yourself Tuesdays! 

What do you like to do to pamper yourself? 

Love to you all x

Rimmel Stay Matte Liquid Mousse Foundation

Hello everyone!

Hope your'e all having a lovely weekend :) Today is a review post on Rimmel's Stay Matte Liquid Mousse Foundation (quite a mouth full!!) and I have to say it's a pretty good one!

I don't normally buy matte foundations, and love the slight glow that my Wake Me Up foundation gives me, but as I was standing in Boots looking for my usual, I decided to try something new. I've read a few good reviews on this one, so decided to put my skepticism to one side and buy it.

The main thing I was worried about with a matte finish foundation was that it would be too dry and cakey. But it wasn't. The formula is very thick and it gives a very full coverage. I like this in a foundation as I have quite an uneven skin tone on my cheeks that I like to be covered, but if you're a fan of the barely there look, this isn't really for you. Saying that, it doesn't feel too thick and heavy on your skin, so you get that rare balance of coverage and a light weight feel. It's not as light as, say, a BB cream, but it's better than I was expecting.

Because of the unusual texture, I do find you get a better result when applying with your fingers and blending rather than with a brush, but it would probably work well with a good sponge too. Also, as it gives such good coverage, you only need a small amount, so I'm expecting it to last pretty well too.

There didn't seem to be that many shades to choose from, so I was testing them for a while. The skin colour on my face is completely different to on my hand, that's why it doesn't look a good match in the pic but it is on my face, and in the end I went for 201 Classic Beige. It seemed to be one of the darkest in the range, but I don't know if that's true or if they didn't have many out (its only a tiny shop), but it suits my medium skin tone perfectly. I think if you had very light or dark skin you would struggle to find a good match.

The foundation lasts on my skin for ages which is good, and still looks reasonably fresh at the end of the day which is a huge positive for me.

Overall I love this foundation. I think I paid £5.99 for it too which is a very reasonable price for a foundation that looks like it's going to last me a while. I wouldn't recommend it to someone with really dry skin, as it may exaggerate dry patches, but even then with a good thick moisturizer underneath I'm sure it would be ok.

Anyway, thank you for taking the time to read this, and any comments are as always appreciated! Have you tried this foundation? If so what did you think?

Love to you all x

Leibster Award!

Hello :) Well, yesterday I was nominated for a Leibster Award by the lovely Beautiful Things. I am a huge fan of her blog lookinglovelyyy.blogspot.co.uk so was over the moon when she told me she had nominated me! I would definitely suggest you check out her blog! The Leibster Award, for those who don't know, is designed to help bloggers typically with less than 200 followers get more recognition and connect with each other. Such a brilliant idea! 

The Rules: 

You must link back to the person who nominated you 

You must answer the 11 questions given to you by the nominee before you

You must 11 pick nominees with under 200 followers to answer your questions 

You cannot nominate the person who nominated you 

You must let the people you nominate know they have been nominated 

The Questions Given To Me: 

1.What is your favourite magazine?

-- Vogue! I love reading Vogue, and am always excited when it comes through my letter box every month. 

2. Does anyone know you blog?

-- My other half knows (as I am always taking the laptop to blog/read blogs or taking pics in the middle of the room) and a couple of friends know from twitter. My family don't though. 

3. What do you most like to read on other peoples blogs?

-- I love wishlist posts, although that means I'm always adding new things to my wishlist! 

4. What do you like to watch on telly?

-- I don't watch that much TV to be honest. If I do, I'm not hugely into girly programs and prefer detective shows like Dexter, Elementary, Hannibal and The Following.

5. Do you support any sports team?

-- Not into watching sport at all. I'm often subjected to football by the other half, but I wouldn't choose to watch it. The only thing I watch are the England games, and that's just because I feel like I should! 

6. How often do you blog?

-- I try to blog as often as I can, but life often gets in the way. I aim for 3 posts a week, but it's usually more like 2. 

7. What is the proudest moment of your life so far?

-- The happiest and most proud I have ever felt was when my best friend gave birth to her beautiful daughter :) Can't believe that's nearly 2 years ago now! 

8. Do you have any pets?

-- No not anymore :( Often look after my sisters little dog, but would love my own. Either a puppy or a house bunny.

9. If you could change one thing about your self what would it be?

-- The fact that I struggle to completely relax. I'm stressed out most of the time, which doesn't benefit anything! If I took a deep breath and relaxed more I'd probably get more done. 

10. Favourite make up brand?

-- This is a tricky one! I LOVE Clinique and Benefit, but can't always afford to shop there. So my go-to drugstore brand is probably Rimmel. Love their Wake Me Up foundation and the Appocalips range is amazing. 

11. Do you prefer a bath or shower?

-- A lovely bubble bath :) 

I Nominate: 

forvanityssake

lifeandbeauty94

lovelaceybeauty

cazmosworld

youfounderin

pinkfrenzymissl

lillymint

surelychar

lusciouslane

whyhellobeauty

the-wallflowerrr

My Questions To You:

1. What is the most exciting thing you have ever done?

2. When shopping, where do you normally head to first? 

3. Name one item in your make up bag that you own way too many of? 

4. Who, if anyone, is your style inspiration?

5. How much time a week would you say you put into your blog?

6. What made you start blogging?

7. What is the most expensive impulse purchase you've ever made? 

8. What is your favourite type of music?

9. How did you meet your best friend? 

10. Where in the world do you most want to visit? 

11. What would you say is your best feature? 

Thank you so much again to Beautiful Things for the nomination, and to all those nominated, I can't wait to read your replies :)

Love to you all x

Murad Gift Set Review

Hello everyone :)

Well, its nearly the weekend, and I know that I'm not the only one who is stupidly excited about this!

Tonight, I thought I'd give my skin a little treat to say sorry for the late nights and makeup filled days that have come from being back in my normal routine. Way back in October last year, I bought this little set from feelunique.com containing sample products by Murad. The set contained a 3.7 ml tube of Rejuvenating Lift for neck and decollete, a 3.5 ml pot of Hydro-Dynamic Ultimate cream for eyes, a 10 ml tube of Oil-Free Sunscreen and a small sachet of Pomegranate Exfoliating Face Mask. All these 4 products also came in the cutest little cosmetics bag which has now become my travel makeup bag :)

(image from feelunique.com)

This is sold as the summer gift set (shows how long ago I bought it and have only just got round to trying it), and is now only £6.99 in the sale! I only paid £9.99 for it though so that's not too bad. The reason I bought the little gift set version is because I have never tried any products from Murad before, so wanted to give them a test before I plunged for the full price versions. 

I only got round to testing them a week or two ago, as they somehow slipped into my 'to test' pile and its taken me this long to get round to it. Oops! However, I am loving them! I haven't had much use from the Rejuvenating Lift Serum, but as I don't yet have a problem with loose skin so I don't think it's targeted at someone my age anyway, however it is a lovely thick non-greasy formula.

The sunscreen I've put on a couple of times in the morning underneath my makeup, but again, it is a product I'd get a lot more use out of in summer, however this again is a lovely light formula with a light floral scent, so is actually working quite well as a day cream underneath my makeup. 

The mask and the under eye cream however, are amazing! The sachet of face mask came with around 2 uses in it, so both me and a friend tried it together. That way I got to see how it reacted on her slightly oily skin, as well as my sensitive skin. It is marked as an exfoliating mask, however it is super smooth in texture with no bits which I wasn't expecting. It's clear, rather thin and liquidy and you rub it into your skin like moisturiser. Leave it to dry for 10 - 15 mins and then wash off. It leaves skin smooth, hydrated and feeling really clean. It worked just as well on her skin too. What more could you ask for? 

The under eye cream (which comes in the cutest little pot, which would be perfect to keep and re-use for home made lip balms) is also brilliant. It's thick but not greasy, and leaves skin feeling really healthy and well nourished. After a couple of uses, I also noticed that the skin around my eyes was a lot brighter and firmer. However the full sized product is around £50, which is more than I normally choose to spend.  But now I've seen the gift sets in the sale, I might buy a couple and stock up on my samples! It will also be going on my birthday wish list :)

The link to the set is here.

I am loving using this set, and even though it is branded as the summer essentials kit, it is helping to keep my skin bright and well hydrated in the cold months of winter, so I'd say it is perfect for all year round. 

Have any of you tried any Murad products? If so what did you think? 

Thank you for reading, and as always all comments are hugely appreciated. 

Love to you all x

Lush Haul

Hello my lovelies!

Sorry that I haven't posted in a while, just been trying to settle back into life after the holidays.

Earlier I posted a picture on twitter of my Lush online order, and it was such a good order that I thought I'd do a little haul post on it! When they get delivered I will do a couple of review posts as there's 2 things in there that I've actually never tried before!

The items I ordered were:

•  Blackberry Bath Bomb - £2.46
• The Comforter Bubble Bar - £3.75
• Amandopondo Bubble Bar - £2.29
• 100g Small Flying Fox Shower Gel - £4.13 
• Bubblegum Lip Scrub - £4.58
• The Sacred Truth Fresh Face Mask - £4.96 

Is it me, or do the prices seem really random? Or have I just never noticed this before? Anyway, the Blackberry Bath bombs are a favorite of mine, and I've even tried them and loved them from other brands! This one smells amazing, and is really good at helping me to unwind. Very relaxing. I usually save them for a Friday night after a very busy week.

Again, the Comforter Bubble Bar is a popular favorite. Sweet smelling and extremely pretty. There's not much I can say about this, other than it's great, and if you haven't tried it yet, you should!

The Amandopondo Bubble Bar is one I never really hear people talk about. It's got a very light fragrance of rose and lemon, and just smells really clean. It's also VERY pretty (like most things from Lush) with a little rose bud on the top of it. I only tried it for the first time a week or so ago after getting one as a gift, and am already back to buy another one (it hasn't run out yet, I just thought I'd stock up).

Next, the Flying Fox Shower Gel is one of the things I've never tried, that's why I only bought a small one. I've loved every shower gel I've tried from Lush, so I doubt I'll be too disappointed. Plus , I do love anything with honey in it! Will review when I've tried it :)

The Bubblegum Lip Scrub is another popular item, along with the Popcorn one. I have to say, I prefer the Bubblegum to the Popcorn, as I prefer the sweet sugary smell and the bright colour.

The Sacred Truth Face Mask is another one that I have never tried. To be honest, I've never tried any of their face mask range. I don't know why, but I always just seem to go straight for the bath and shower products and that's it really. I love a good face mask, and I'm really excited to give this a go! It contains wheatgrass and fresh papaya, so I'm pretty sure my skin is going to love it. I hope it smells as good as it sounds.... nice and fruity!

So that's my recent Lush haul, and I can't wait for it to come! Will post pictures and reviews as soon as it arrives and I've tried my new items! Ordering this was the perfect little mid week pick-me-up after a stressful and rainy few days.

Have any of you tried these, and if so what do you think? All comments welcomed and appreciated.

Thank you for reading...

Love to you all x

My 2014 Goals

Hello my lovelies :)

The plan was to upload a review post today on some of the things I got for Christmas. Today has been a very dark day and I struggled for ages to get the lighting right in the pics, only for them to appear even darker when uploaded to blogger. I don't want to do a half-hearted attempt at a post, so it has been drafted for another day when I can spend more time working on my pictures.

So for now, I thought I might as well get on with my goals for 2014 post. This is one I've been meaning to write since New Years Eve really, but wasn't 100% sure on what it was exactly that I wanted to achieve this year. 2013 was a mixed bag for me. On the downside, I spent a large part of the year really ill and being treated by a bunch of different doctors at the hospital, but on the plus side, it was also the year that me and my fiance got our own place, and the year I started my blog. These two things have made me so happy that I'll still class the year as a success.

As for 2014, I don't want to put too much pressure on myself to make it perfect and amazing. As long as me and my family are healthy and happy, I am happy to face whatever it throws at me. But I do think it's a good idea to have something to work towards, so here goes:

Personal Goals: 

1. Try and eat healthier. Not a diet or anything, just try to eat more fruit instead of living off cookies. Also drink more water.
2. Write a book. I've always wanted to do this, but it's seemed too big a task to face. This is the year I will finally attempt it.
3. Take more pictures of family moments. My photo taking is often limited to blogging or nights out, and I want more of the time I spend with my parents, sisters and nephew to be captured in photos.
4. Set a date for my wedding. Me and the other half have so many ideas on what we want, but haven't got round to picking a day. It will be picked this year, hopefully for next year :)

Blogging Goals:

1. Have more variation with my posts. Try to include some OOTD posts, or even some tutorial posts.
2. Leave more comments on other peoples blogs. I read so many and LOVE them all so much, but I often forget to comment, and I know how much it means to me when people take the time to comment on mine.
3. Greatly improve my photos. Should be a bit better now I have my new camera and I'm not relying on my iPad camera!!!

So there we go, that's what I hope to achieve in the year to come. I've read a few peoples blog posts about their goals for 2014, but love reading them, so feel free to leave links :) and.... i'll take the time to comment :P

Love to you all x

2013 Beauty Favorites...

Hello everyone, and happy New Year!!

Hope everyone had a great NYE and are now having a good start to 2014.

I can't believe how quickly 2013 went. It was such a busy year, and the year in which I started my little blog! It was also the year that I really got into trying a testing a lot of different beauty and make up products, and there were definitely a few that really stood out to me. I did a post on this at the end of Nov, and will put the link to that (here) however since then, I've been thinking about it a bit more, and have a couple more products that I feel deserve a special mention from the past year.


1. JASON soothing 98% Aloe Vera gel 

This is a really light weight moisturising gel, which I find perfect for those times when you just need a light touch of moisture to your skin. For those good skin days, I use this, and it helps my skin feel fresh and clean. It's also great in summer to help combat the effects of the heat. It costs between £4 and £7 depending on where you buy it from. I bought mine from feelunique.com a while a ago, and they have a great range of other JASON products too. It's been a staple of mine since I bought it a few months ago. 

2. Tresemme Platinum Strength Leave In Conditioner 

I bought this product around Sept/Oct time when it was on offer in my local Tesco store. It retails at between the £5 and £6 mark, which is pretty standard for Tresemme products, and for that you get 125ml of the product. It is a leave in treatment that you use after you've washed your hair, and it is supposed to make hair look healthier, claiming to revive up to 2 years worth of damage. My hair is in pretty good condition anyway, but I definitely noticed a difference in shine after a couple of uses. The product smells lovely, and is thick and creamy but doesn't make hair greasy. You also only need a little bit of the product (I have long hair and run it through 2 thirds, and I use 2 pumps at a time) so it lasts for ages. I love it. 

3. Clinique Sparkle Skin Body Exfoliating Cream 

I first tried this last January when I got a small tube of it in a sample kit containing 4 or 5 skin products. After trying it, I had to go out and purchase the full sized version. It's an all over body exfoliating cream, great for elbows and knees, that not only leaves skin feeling smooth, but also cool and clean. You get a light tingling feeling after using it which I love. It's great to use for a quick brighten up in the shower when skin feels dull, and I also found it brilliant to use before using fake tan, as it really does leave skin perfectly smooth. It costs £22.50 from Clinique, which does sound a tad pricey, but it's so concentrated with beads and works so well that it lasts a long time. Mine lasted around 6 - 7 months. 

So there we go, I just wanted to add those few products onto my already existing list of 2013 beauty loves. Hope the new year has started well for you all, and if any of you have done any best of 2013 posts, please link them in a comment as I'd love to check them out. 

Thank you for reading. 

Love to you all x