Friday 31 July 2009

FOTD with Body Shop Shimmer Cubes

As you know I was sent some items from The Body Shop to try. I have been using these Shimmer Cubes for about a week now and I have to say that they are amazing. The colour payoff is great, they last all day when applied on top of a good base and there is no fallout.


I have looked at these many times in The Body Shop and always passed on them. For one they are very expensive (£15.65) and for two the word "shimmer" kind of put me off. I'm a bit old really for too much shimmer but actually these aren't as shimmery as they sound iykwim. I would say they are on a par with Mac's frost finishes.


These are the shimmer cubes I was sent - Shimmer Cubes Palette 06 and each individual cube has a name. Starting from the top left we have 01 Honeycomb, 02 Dark Chocolate, 03 Marshmallow and 04 Choc Chip. My favourite from this palette is 01 Honeycomb and that is what I have on in my FOTD pic. It really goes well with my blue eyes and helps them stand out.



I have applied it on top of my HG eyeshadow base - Estee Lauder Doublewear Stay in Place Eyeshadow Base. These pics were taken towards the end of the day and the eyeshadow is still fresh looking.


What The Body Shop says about these


"This product contains:Marula Oil - Is a very effective moisturiser that also helps to condition the skin over time. Also provides essential fatty acids that help to repair the skin's moisture barrier, thus helping to restore moisture, smoothness and suppleness. Provides women in areas often struck by famine and droughts with the rare opportunity of regular work and income.
-
-
Marula oil comes from the marula tree, native to Southern Africa. The oil is rich in oleic acid, essential to the maintenance of healthy-looking skin. The Body Shop trades with the Eudafano Womens Cooperative in northern Namibia, which helps women in rural communities who have very few opportunities to earn money. The trade with our company has helped more than 750 women and their families to benefit from this traditional, yet underutilized natural resource."

The fact that these help women have regular work and income would make me consider buying these again.


At £15.65 I originally thought these were expensive but when you think that that is actually less than £4 per shadow then it actually is good value for money. Much cheaper than a Mac eyeshadow and I have bought plenty of them lol.

These shadows can also be used wet which makes them very versatile as more dramatic looks can be achieved this way.

Overall I would recommend these eyeshadows to anyone. They apply very easily and blend well. I am in love with mine at the minute:) Have you tried Shimmer Cubes? What do you think of them?

Next Goodies

I'm back from my holidays and had a fab time. Thanks for all the lovely comments. Today I treated myself to a few nice things in Next.
First I got these really cosy slippers. It's been raining really badly here all day and has got quite a bit colder. I actually put the heating on for the first time in ages. It really is cosy slippers, pjs and dressing gown weather lol. Anyone who wants to go out in that is mad. The slippers are very comfortable and cosy and I love them. They were £8.
Then I saw this cute bracelet. It is very much "me" if you know what I mean. It consists of 8 separate bracelets with a charm on each. You can wear as many or as few as you like. I love wearing them all and they make a really nice sound on movement. They were a bargain at £7.50.
I also got a couple of lip balms. One strawberry and one mango. I'll report back on how I like them. Have you tried any Next lip balms?

Sunday 19 July 2009

Holiday Time

I'm off on holiday for a week from tomorrow:) I'm really looking forward to the break. I won't be able to post again until I come back. Take care and I'll be back at the end of July with lots of new ideas:)

John Frieda Frizz-Ease Dream Curls Curl Perfector Review

I have a very slight kink in my hair and almost all my adult life I have wished it was dead straight. The amount of curl in it wasn't enough to get excited about so I have been obsessed with having it straight. Occasionally I would be sucked in by a product that claims to enhance the natural curl but have always been disappointed by the results. Until now that is:)



Whilst shopping for mini bottles of stuff to take on holiday with me I spotted this range from John Frieda Frizz-Ease. Here we have Curl Around shampoo and conditioner (which I haven't tried yet) and the spray on Dream Curls Curl Perfector with heat shield.

The claim "Transforms wilted waves & curls into sexy salon- inspired spirals."








The result:











I have to say I am over the moon with this stuff and can't wait to try it in combination with the shampoo and conditioner. I have never had curls like this with so little effort. This is the perfect product for the lazy girl in me:) I haven't tried this yet with a hairdryer and diffuser. This has been achieved by sprayng the product on, combing through, tipping my head upside down and scrunching, then leaving to dry naturally.


I have had people ask me have I had my hair permed!! This is the best find I have had in a long time and if your hair has a bit of a kink/wave then give this a go. It's awesome!!


Have any of you tried this? What did you think of it?

Swap Goodies from Jassydevil

Recently I arranged a make up swap with my Youtube and Blogger friend Jassydevil. You can check her out and subscribe here:

http://jassydevil.blogspot.com/
http://www.youtube.com/user/jassydevil

She is fab and I was so happy when I received my parcel. It came really quickly too:)

Here is what I got:

Ambre Solaire Sunscreen SPF 50. She heard me mention in one of my videos that I found it hard to get such a high SPF so she very kindly sent me this. I'll hopefully be able to use it next week on holiday (if the good old British weather lets me lol).

Essence eye shadow duo and a blusher. These are both lovely and of a brand I have never tried before. She also sent me an Astor mascara. I have heard of this brand but have never tried it before either.




This really cute tin of lipglosses. These are gorgeous and I just love this tin. This is perfect for throwing into my handbag to give me a choice of glosses. Often I'm in a rush in the mornings and leave my lips until I'm in work so this is perfect for that. The only downside of this is that I have to keep it away from my 4 year old daughter. She would absolutely love this:)




Next I got some Essence French Manicure tip guides. These are such a cool idea and great for achieving that perfect french manicure:) I also got the Essence concealer trio palette. This is amazing and I had seen this on a YT video and thought I'd love to try this. And now I can:) Also in this pic is the closed ligloss tin and finally an Essence toe nail polish. I didn't even know that such a product existed. This is really amazing stuff. Really pigmented and it does exactly what it says on the bottle. It claims to give good coverage with just one coat and here is the proof. How awesome is that? I have on a base coat followed by one coat of this and I was amazed at how well it covered. Added bonus that I love the colour. Blue is my favourite colour:)




Thanks Jazz for all my lovely goodies. It was great fun doing this swap:)

Monday 13 July 2009

Ding Dong Avon Calling

Avon is a brand from which I own lots of stuff but very rarely use any of them. I decided it was time to use some of this stuff up. I'm always after something which makes me look better but not heavily made up so when they released their Magix Face Perfector I was busting to try it. I managed to resist until they brought out the tinted version.

The Blurb

"Light-as-air tinted gel-powder for a naturally flawless, matte look, without foundation. SPF 15".

How could I resist this?

BEWARE THE NEXT PIC IS FREE FROM ALL MAKE UP!!

The before pic:-



The after pic:-




I think there is an improvement and I am happy with this product.

I am wearing the tinted Magix and have set it using Rimmel Stay Matte powder. I have used an Avon blusher (it's not available in the current brochure). I have nothing on my lips and no mascara. Just a slick of the Body Shop's clear lash and brow gel on my brows.

Have you tried Magix? Tinted or original? I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Saturday 11 July 2009

FOTD

I haven't worn "proper" make up in a while. With this lovely summer we've been having it has just been too hot and I've only been wearing tinted moisturiser, cream blusher and some cream shadow set with MSF natural and a slick of mascara and some gloss.



Today however was dreary looking from the start and rain was forecast so I thought I should wear "proper" make up again.





I am wearing:



Face

Mac Select Tint NW20

Mac Just a Pinch Gel Blush

Mac MSF natural

Mac Well Dressed Blusher



Eyes

Mac Amber Lights on lid

Mac Antiqued in crease

Mac Vanilla as highlight

Clinique Black Honey Gel Eyeliner

Mac Moon's Reflection on my lower lashes



Lips

Mac Hue



As you can see there is a bit of a Mac theme going on there.


Have you been lazy with your make up in this hot weather?

The Body Shop Camomile Gentle Eye Make Up Remover Review





I was sent this as part of my goodies from the Body Shop to try. I have to say I do like this stuff. I have never used it before but I liked the sound of it from reading other people's blogs.



Here's what it says on the bottle



"Float away the day with refreshing rosewater to gently cleanse and dissolve eye make-up. Also conditions lashes so they feel soft and silky"



It does a good job of removing all my eye make up including mascara and I don't have panda eyes in the morning. Result!! With lots of eye make up removers I find that I am left with panda eyes in the morning so I'm very happy that this works so well.



Prices start from £2.90 for 60ml. I suppose that is quite expensive but well worth it in my opinion.



It smells really nice too!!



The only negative I have to say about it is the lid. It comes with the bog standard Body Shop lid with the flip up part and then a little hole for the product to come out. I'm not a fan of these lids for this type of product as I find it hard to control the amount of product that comes out. The easy solution is just to remove the whole lid instead of flipping it open and this is how I use it now.



So have you tried this stuff? What are your thoughts on it?

Friday 10 July 2009

The Body Shop Shower Gel and Body Butter Review





I was lucky enough to be sent some Body Shop samples so I thought I'd start with some products that I have already been using.



I was sent some Moringa Shower Gel and as I already had the Moringa Body Butter I thought now would be the time to try them together. Last winter I fell in love with a Body Butter and Shower Gel but sadly it was limited edition and I only had bought one of each:( Time to find a worthy replacement.



I absolutely love both of these and I love the effect of the scent when you use the 2 together. I find that with the shower gel only the scent does not last long but with the body butter it lasts much longer. Last winter I loved loved loved having a shower or bath at night, slathering myself in my fave body butter and getting into my pjs. The smell lingered on the bed sheets and pjs for a few days after and I loved doing this so much. I have been doing this lately with the Moringa pair and the effect is just as good. This is one of my favourite forms of relaxation after a long day.



The shower gel starts at £2.40 for 60 ml and the body butter starts at £4.85 for 50ml. To be honest I think the shower gel is a bit too expensive for every day use so what I do is finish the bottle, then use a cheaper one for a while and then come back to the Body Shop one when I have bought a new one. The Body Butter is totally worth it and I think they have a sale on at the moment so they can be picked up pretty cheaply right now.



The best thing about the Body Butter is it's moisturising properties. This stuff is amazing and it's why I keep soming back to it. I suffer from very dry skin on my hands in winter. So much so that I can actually bleed around the knuckles on the backs of my hands. Add this to the constant handwashing I have to do both at home and at work and also the fact that I am too lazy to apply hand cream every (or even some) time and the fact that I hate the feel of washing my hands too soon after applying a hand cream and we have a problem and probably the reason for the bleeding.



Last winter I discovered a cure for this. I religiously applied my body butter every morning after a shower. I didn't use any other hand cream throughout the day and I still washed my hands as often as normal. I didn't specifically put any body butter on my hands but I rubbed in the little bits that get caught between my fingers, onto the backs of my hands. I swear this was the best thing I ever tried. I only had about 2 episodes of really dry knuckles all winter which is a miracle for me. Prior to this I would have had a couple of bleeding knuckles per week. Not pretty and sometines painful. If any of you suffer with dry hands I recommend this to you. Give it a try and see if it helps.



What are your favourite Body Butters? Do you like them?

Natural High



Natural High is a skin care range available at Superdrug. I was sucked in by the promise of "an instant radiance to my skin". I don't know about you but I am on the eternal search for a product that gives me the right amount of radiance without looking like a disco ball. I want the youthful, glowing skin that this type of product says it will deliver.

And I want it at this price (it's around £3). I don't want much I know lol.

So I thought I'd give this a whirl. I'm also on the lookout for something that will make me look more alive than dead on a nightshift and I thought this could be it.

It goes on well and smells divine and it does look ok on the skin as long as you avoid bright light. There are pieces of glitter in there and they catch the light like nothing I have ever seen before. I was in bed after trying this on a nightshift (I know my big mistake here was going to bed with this still on but hey I was wrecked) and as I was lying there in the afternoon debating with myself whether or not it was time to get up I spotted some patches of light on the ceiling. They were moving like the light you get when the sun hits your watch and you can bounce it all over the walls and ceiling. I tried to figure out what thery were. It was a very bright sunny day and I couldn't work out what was causing this phenomonon. I put my hands over my face and hey presto they were gone. I removed my hands and they came back!! I couldn't believe that there was enough glitter on my face to cause this!!

Why do cosmetic companies think that looking radiant and glowing = glitter!!!

Needless to say I have not worn this again but I do hate wastage so I'll probably use it up at some stage.

So have any of you tried this product? Have you already found the product that makes you radiant withoug being glittery? If so then spill the beans here:)

Friday 3 July 2009

Call the Makeup Police

I thought it would be interesting to find out what other people's "beauty crimes" are. I have a few which may be horrifying to some so if you are of a delicate nature then look away lol!

My biggest "crime" is using mascara way beyond the 3 months and probably even way beyond 6 months!! I don't see a problem with this as long as the mascara hasn't dried up and is still usable. I don't often have more than one mascara open at a time but each one seems to last a really long time for me. I only apply one layer normally and I don't wear it every day so it can last for ages. I have never had an infection from doing this.

I also use my clear lash and brow gel for longer than 3 months. I know this can be kept for longer if you only use it on brows but I actually use it on both brows and lashes. Shock horror!! Lol!!

I use all make up past it's use by date. I can remember the days when make up didn't have the use by time guidelines on them and am therefore of the school of thought that if it looks and smells ok then it probably is. I think these dates are just a way of the cosmetic companies getting us to part with even more of our hard earned cash. Anyway it takes me ages to use stuff up and if I were to throw everything away as soon as it's date was up there would be an awful lot of stuff to throw out.

Check out my video on my really old lipsticks.




So what are your make up crimes? Do you use make up that is past it's best? Do you keep using your mascara until it has dried up? Do you sleep with your make up on? Spill the beans here:)

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