New Year's Eve Nails

If you are tired of all the glitter that has been around this Christmas here's something not quite so glittery for New Year's Eve.  Just to add an elegant touch of sparkle to your night.

What I used:

Boots 17 Base Coat

Collection 2000 Nail Polish in Silver Incas and

Seche Vite Top Coat

And here it is:

A simple but elegant silver tip.  Just enough to add that little touch of glamour but not OTT.

As you can see from the pic my hands are in need of a little TLC.  That will be my first beauty project of 2012.

I've nothing special planned for tonight but whatever you are doing make sure you stay safe and stay with your friends.  Have a great night and I'll see you back here in 2012.

xx

Goodbye My Pretty

Today I finished my 2nd bottle of a firm favourite.  It does feel great to get through 500ml of cleanser and move on to a new bottle.  I do love the feeling of using stuff up:)

I am, of course, talking about my all time favourite cleanser Bioderma Crealine H2O.

This stuff is, apparently, a cult favourite with models and was brought to my attention on YouTube.  The only down side is that it is not available in the UK but is available from a close neighbour, France.  I bought mine from a French website here.  The website is in English and I'm unsure if they now have a UK base as their prices are in £ rather than Euros, as they were when I bought mine about a year ago.  I'll not be trying their website out just yet as I still have 2 bottles in reserve.

Have you used this stuff yet and do you like it?

I hope you all had a lovely Christmas and have a Happy New Year xx

Hitting Pan Again!!

A couple of days ago I hit pan on my beloved Mac Patina eyeshadow.  It's so satisfying to see that little bit of pan peeking through.  It really makes me feel I am giving my makeup the love it deserves.

If you look really closely you can see an teensy weensy bit of pan showing on the Patina.  It is the shadow on the bottom right of the palette.

What have you hit pan on lately?

Boots and Boots Haul

The snow has arrived in Britain!!  Yesterday afternoon it went from being nice and sunny to a major snowstorm within the space of about 20 minutes.  Luckily, as I live near the coast, it's never quite as bad here, so when I got up this morning there was only a slight covering of snow which had frozen solid.  It took me ages to defrost the car.  A major pain when going anywhere in a hurry!!

So, taking the weather into account, I put on my cheap Ugg like boots from last year.  I knew they didn't have much life left in them but I was determined!  However, after stepping in a huge puddle at the filling station, I realised that they had even less life left in them as my feet got slowly wet.  Yukky!!  As I was going to the shopping center anyway I decided to have a look for some replacements.  I spied myself a pair of Sketchers that had good sensible soles on them and looked like they could withstand more than one winter.  And with the price already reduced and a further 20% off I was intrigued.  So I tried them on, paid for them, and am now showing them some love.  Here they are:

They have fur on the inside and can be worn with the top folded over, as above, or not, as below:

They have really nice buttons on the outside, which are lost from view when the top is folded over.

And here is a view from the back, just to prove that they are really Sketchers:)

These boots were originally £65 but today with the extra discount and the 20% off I got them for £44.  I was very pleased with myself:)  I bought them in Barrats.

And as I was in the mood for Boots I made a quick visit to Boots the Chemist.  I needed a new 17 nail polish in Risky Red.  As you know from my YT videos it is a firm favourite of mine.  Boots had an offer on 17.  When you bought 2 products you got a little sparkly purse free.  The purse contains the nail polishes of the season.  Of course, knowing my luck, one of the free polishes was Risky Red.  So now I have 2.  The free polishes are smaller in size though.  They are 8ml instead of 10ml.  There is also a free nail file in the purse.  Perfect for me as I always break nails when I am far away from my nail file, so this one can be with me at all times!!

I also bought a 17 nail polish in Woo Me to get the freebie.  The polishes that come in the purse are Risky Red, Nightshade and a Glitter Top Coat.  Perfect for the party season.

I also bought some Neutrogena hand cream.  This was also on offer at £2.50.  It's the perfect friend to hands during this cold weather.  My hands are always very dry and do suffer during winter.  Hopefully this will help to keep them nice and soft.

What winter purchases have you made?

Face of the Day

This is my current favourite every day make up look.

It consists of:

Face:
Nars Sheer Glow in Mont Blanc
Benefit Hello Flawless Powder in Shell
Benefit Sugar Bomb blusher

Eyes:
Foundation as a base
Mac Shadestick in Taupographic
Benefit They're Real Mascara
Mac Coffee Eye Pencil
Mac Charcoal Brown Eyeshadow on brows

Lips
Mac Bare Slimshine

I have also stopped straightening my hair just as much and am enjoying my little bit of a wave:)

This has fast become my staple every day look!

What is your current favourite every day look?

I hope you are all having a relaxing weekend xx

Breakages - The Bane of My Life

Recently I've had a couple of nail breakages. It's so annoying as one minute I have beautiful, long nails but in a split second that can change and often does. Mostly I break them on the car door. I have a habit of not holding the handle firmly enough and my hand just slips off, normally catching a nail. This is no friend to my nails!!

Here is the current state of my right hand.



It's not pretty. It's really at the point where I should take all my nails back to the same length. Although, as my index and middle fingers are very short I will probably leave this task for a week or so.

I had been planning some nails videos but these too will have to wait. Ho hum.

Do you cut all of your nails back when some break? I normally wait for 2 or 3 to break before I do. What is your number?

28th Day Giveaway Winner and New Giveaway!!

Congratulations to Leah!!

For the current giveaway make sure you follow my blog and leave me a comment below to let me know you want to be entered in this giveaway.

Good luck!!

Perfect French Manicure at Home

Top tips to help you get that perfect french manicure at home which will save you time and money. 

Face and Hair of the Day

I haven't done one of these posts in forever.  Today I decided to let the wave free in my hair and it's the first time I have in probably about a year.  I do like it but it requires more maintenance for the upkeep of it.  The lazy girl in me loves my straighteners as once my hair is straight I can go for about 3 days without further washing.  Score!!

Now for the makeup.  I'm not loving facial photos any more as now I see how old I am getting!!

The years are catching up with me!!

Products used:

Face:
Clinique Repairwear Laser Focus Foundation in 01
Benefit Rush Hour on cheeks with Benefit Coralista on top
Rimmel Stay Matte Powder

Lips: 
Clinique Long Last Lipstick in 27 Soft Bloom

Eyes:
Painterly Paint Pot from Mac
Vex eyehadow from Mac
Patina Eyeshadow from Mac
Estee Lauder Sumptious mascara in black

I love this eyeshadow combo at the minute.  What is your favourite eyeshadow right now?

28th Day Giveaway - Win Sleek Makeup!!

I have decided to hold a small giveaway on the 28th day of each month.  This is my first one and I and also running it in conjunction with my Youtube channel.

I will be announcing the winner on the next 28th Day Giveaway video.

This month I am giving away 2 Sleek Pout Polishes, both brand new and sealed.  The colours are Pink Cadillac and Electro Peach.

Sorry about the upside down pics but Blogger is refusing to show them the right way up.  You get the idea:)

To be in with a chance of winning you have to be a follower of my blog and leave me a comment below to let me know you want to be entered.

For an extra chance of winning go to my Youtube channel and subscribe (if you haven't already) and leave me a comment on this video.

The competition is open to everyone.

Thanks for entering and good luck!!

Current Skincare Routine

I thought I would share with you the products I am currently loving for my daily skincare routine.

Firstly we have the cleansers:

They are from left to right:

Yes To Cucumbers Soothing Daily Gentle Facial Cleanser.  Yes, it's name is a bit of a mouthful but the cleanser itself is lovely.  I use this every morning in the shower.

Bioderma Crealine H2O.  This is my night time cleanser.  I don't use water for cleansing at bedtime and this is what I reach for the most.  I have to have it shipped from France which is a bit of a pain but it's great for removing all traces of makeup including eye makeup.  It even removes the tubing mascaras that are supposed to be only removed with water.  I bought mine from here.  I usually buy 2 or 3 at a time to save on the hassle.

Yes To Cucumbers Soothing Natural Glow Facial Towelettes.  Again a bit of a mouthful but these are what I reach for when I want to get to bed in hurry.  They remove all traces of makeup, including eye makeup (but not tubing mascara) really quickly and thoroughly.

Both the Yes To Cucumbers products were sent to me for review purposes and can be bought here.  I will definitely be buying more of these.

Now the toner:

It is the No7 Soft and Soothed Gentle Toner for Normal/Dry skin.  As you can see I have almost finished this bottle.  I am fast becoming a fan of the No7 skincare.  It works and it is totally affordable especially when they have their 3 for 2 offers or the £5 vouchers.

Next we have serums:

From left to right is Estee Lauder Advanced Night Repair.  Sorry the lighting isn't great on this one.  I use this every night at bed time.  I have yet to buy a full sized version of this but I'm running through all my sample sizes at a rate of knots.  This is scary as this serum does not come cheap!!  You can view it here.

In the mornings I use the No7 Protect and Perfect Beauty Serum.  I bought the 200ml bottle of this and I am also currently using up a sample size of the Protect and Perfect Intense Beauty Serum.  Both can be viewed on the Boots website here.

Next we have eye cream and lip balm.

I have been loving the Skin Science Bio Active Eye Contour Complex Cream.  Again, this was sent to me for review purposes.  I will not be repurchasing this because of the hefty price tag £75.00!!  But I am loving it and making sure I get the full benefit of every last drop.

My lip balm I am reaching for most at the minute is Elizabeth Arden Eight Hour Cream Lip Protectant Stick SPF 15.  I love this stuff and as you can see from the picture I am almost done.  It can be purchased at Boots too here.  I think I'll be trying the sheer tint version next.

Finally the moisturisers:

Again from Boots No7 from left to right Protect and Perfect Night Cream and Day Cream SPF 15.  I love both of these creams, a little goes a long way and as I mentioned previously they are great value when Boots have offers on them.  Unfortunately though, now that they have launched Protect and Perfect tailored for different age groups, I am now using the wrong ones.  I should be using the intense version of these.  That will have to wait until I have used these up though.  They can be bought from here.

What are your current skincare favourites?

Current Nails

My nails are in pretty good shape at the moment.  So I am taking full advantage of the situation and I am sporting a french manicure.

I'm pretty sure I will have some breakage soon though.  This is about as good as it gets and my thumb nail on my right hand has already given up the ghost.

Not to worry though.  That's what I love about nails - they will always grow back!!

What are you wearing on your nails at the moment?

RIP Nars Sabrina

As you can see from the photographic evidence below, my Nars Sabrina has met with a messy end.

 I am sad about the loss of this lovely lip balm, but I'm afraid that it is now beyond "normal" use.  I am going to have to perform a depotting exercise on this in the very near future.  If I don't, I am afraid that on pressing it to my lips it will fall off and land on the floor, being completely lost to me forever:(

As you can see from the next picture it is decidedly wonky!!

However, it has had a good life and has been well loved.  Here is another picture to prove that:

It has been well reduced in the tube.  I am sad though that this item is no longer avaiable:(

Have you ever loved and lost a discontinued item of makeup?

Today I Hit Pan............

........................on my Bellapierre Mineral Foundation.

There is something huuuuuuugely satisfying about this and now I'm looking forward to revealing more lovely pan tomorrow.

What have you hit pan on lately?

Have a lovely weekend xx

Yes To Cucumbers Soothing Natural Glow Facial Towelettes Review

I'm not a huge fan of facial wipes as I don't feel like they do as good a job as a proper cleansing routine.  However, they do have a place in my life as I keep them handy for those times when I'm too tired to do a proper cleanse.  

These wipes are lovely.  They are large enough to only need one to remove an entire face of makeup.  They smell really nice, exactly the same as the Yes To Cucumbers Soothing Daily Gentle Facial Cleanser that I reviewed recently (here).  They were even able to remove all traces of mascara (not waterproof) which is no mean feat for wipes.  I normally find that I'm a bit panda eyed in the morning after using wipes.  

Also, when I'm finished with the wipe, I use a clean piece of it to give a quick wipe around the sink.  I really make sure that I get my full value out of them.  This will probably only be appreciated by the more mature reader lol.

These wipes cost £4.99 which is quite cheap for wipes I think.  I know of several brands which aren't as good but are more expensive.  They can be purchased from feelunique.com here and there is currently an offer on the Yes To products where if you spend £15 on them you get a free Yes To Carrots C Me Smile Lip Butter (which I haven't tried but sounds lovely).  We all love a freebie thrown in:)

I have said in the past that I don't buy skincare online but for these I would make an exception.  They are fast becoming my favourite wipes!!

These were sent to me for review purposes.

I hope you are all having a lovely day xx

Estee Lauder Double Wear Stay In Place Gel Eyeliner

I spotted these yesterday at my local Estee Lauder counter.  I couldn't help myself and just had to have one.  Eyeliner is currently one of my favourite makeup items and even though I need another eyeliner like I need a hole in the head, I bought one.

The colour I got is Stay Midnight.  It's a beautiful blue colour.  It's a little bit lighter than navy blue (which is what I would imagine a Midnight blue to look like) and it's absolutely beautiful.

It comes in the standard sized little pot that gel liners come in and it has it's own brush.  This one is a straight edged brush and therefore quite practical to apply the liner with.

I swatched it and like my last gel liner (No17) I was disappointed with the intensity of the colour.  However, this time, it was more difficult to remove.  It did not remove easily with a wet finger and I removed it with a wipe when I was taking off my day's makeup.

This one is a little bit more expensive though.  It costs £15.50.  I think I'm going to love this one.  I am already thinking about what other colours in this I "must" have.  You can check it out on the official Estee Lauder website here.  There are only 3 colours available here but my local counter had at least another 2, possibly 3 so definitely worth a swatch or 2 before you buy.

Have you tried any of these liners?

Free Boots 17 Gel Liner

Boots 17 is a range of cheap cosmetics which are aimed at younger people.  That is teenagers and early twenties.  However, the range is (mostly) really good and as it's so cheap it represents excellent value for money.  For that reason I think its range of customers goes way beyond its target.  It's a great way of trying new colours/trends at a fraction of the price and if you don't like/suit it then it's no big loss.  It is always following the latest makeup trends and is an excellent first port of call if you want to too!!

They also do really good gifts with purchase and are really worth a look then.  Currently they are offering a free Falsifeye gel liner with a purchase of their new mascara - Falsifeye.

The mascara costs £6.79 which is quite expensive for this range.  However with a free gel liner thrown in for that price I was willing to overlook it:)

The gel liner comes in the same kind of little pot that all gel liners come in.  It also comes with a little liner brush.

When I swatched it I was quite disappointed with the intensity of the colour.  It's not a true black black.  It seems quite wishy washy and I was able to remove it with a few wipes from a wet finger.

That said I am not a huge fan of true black eyeliner on myself.  It can be very harsh so in that respect this could be the perfect black for me.  However, I am concerned about it's staying power.  Only time will tell.  I will not be trying it out properly until my next day off.  I do not want any make up faux pas in work!  Watch this space for an update.  I will also be reviewing the mascara when I've tried it out.

I hope you all had a great weekend xx

New Aromatherapy Associates Skincare Sets

Aromatherapy Associates is a relatively new brand to me but so far I'm loving what I've tried.  They are quite expensive though so a great way of trying out some of their amazing skincare is with their new skincare sets.  I was sent one of them for review purposes.

The one I have is the Anti-age Introductory Set (yes I definitely do need ant-age now lol).  There is also an Essential Sincare Introductory Set.

Both sets come in a box with a cosmetic bag.

The Anti-Age Set  comes with :

"The complete collection of natural, award winning anti age skincare in a versatile size.  Presented in a classic cosmetics bag the set includes the renowned Overnight Repair Mask (5ml), Instant Skin Firming Serum (5ml), Fine Line Face Oil (3ml), Intensive Skin Treatment Oil (3ml), Rich Repair Nourishing Cream (5ml) and Rich Repair Eye Cream (3ml).

The highly effective results driven collection helps slow the aging process and leaves skin looking plump, firm, radiant, youthful, supple, whether you are on your travels or at home."

I love all the items in the bag but I do have a definite favourite.  As the products are quite expensive to buy individually I would be forced to choose only one for repurchase.  I would go for the Fine Line Face Oil which costs £41.50 for 15ml.  This is a lovely oil with a beautiful smell and a little goes a long way.  I love using this at night and I feel the smell of the oils makes me sleep much better.  Maybe that's just me but I always wake up feeling more refreshed after using this and the smell is just wonderful.  I do feel that my skin does look better for it in the morning.  I also love the Intensive Skin Treatment Oil which is also beautiful  It costs £39.50 for 15ml.  These oils can also be used in the morning but I feel that they are best left for night time use only.  I'm not sure how makeup would sit on this and I'm sure I would find it hard to stay awake with this on during the day lol.

Currently Aromatherapy Associates are offering 3 free sample sizes from a selection at checkout with every order.  You can check out their website here.  Both the sample sets cost £30 each and I would definitely recommend one of these sets as a great way of trying their products.

If you are going to try any of these products in their full size version I definitely advise trying out one of the oils.  These are little gems and your skin will thank you for it.

Aromatherapy Associates is also available from leading hotel and destination spas worldwide.

Have you enjoyed any of these products?

More Magazine Freebies

The August 2011 edition of InStyle magazine has some Body Shop freebies up for grabs.

You can choose from a black mascara or 2 eyeliners. I chose the 2 eyeliners. They are black and French navy.

The mascara is worth £10 and the liners are worth £16. The magazine costs £3.70 so is definitely worth picking up.





Get these quick as they are sure to be snapped up fast!!

Jergens Naturals Aloe Soothing Body Moisturiser with Cucumber Review

I was sent this product for review purposes.  I have never used any Jergens products before and was quite excited to receive this.  I was sent the Aloe Soothing Body Moisturiser With Cucumber to review.

It comes in a tube of 200ml.  It is able to stand on the lid making all the product much easier to remove and therefore making you get the most out of the tube easily.  When it is almost finished you can cut the tube in order to completely use it all.  Hey, you might as well get your money's worth:)

It is a milky white lotion and it's not too thick but also not too runny.  It has a lovely consistency.

It is readily absorbed into my skin.  It has a clean, fresh smell with a hint of cucumber.  I have been using this most days for about 4 weeks now and I love it.

It normally costs £4.99 from Boots but at present Boots hals a half price offer on selected Jergens products.  This being one of them.  You can check it out here.  These items are also available in Superdrug.

This is a lovely summery body moisturiser and when I need to I will be repurchasing and trying other Jergens products.  I'm only sorry that I didn't try them sooner.

What is your favourite Jergens product?

Current Favourite Eyeshadow

My favourite eyeshadow of the moment is All That Glitters by Mac. It is a gorgeous golden colour and goes well on blue eyes. It helps bring out the blue although it would look great with any eye colour.

I have been using it on its own for a quick every day look. One sweep over the lid, just up to the crease, using a Mac 217 and I'm
good.





I have it in pot form.





And a quick swatch.





Pretty isn't it?

What is your current favourite every day eyeshadow?

Free Benefit Makeup With Glamour Magazine

The July issue of the UK magazine Glamour has some Benefit freebies in it. This now seems to be an annual event. This is the 3rd time now that I have got Benefit makeup free with Glamour.

This year they are giving away small, sample sizes of 3 of their cult faveourites. You can choose between Benetint, Posie Tint or High Beam. I have chosen Posie Tint as I already have the others. The bottles are 4ml sized. This year is disappointing as in previous years they have given away full size products. However, a freebie is still a freebie and the magazine itself only costs £2 so it's definitely not to be sniffed at. Together the 3 products are worth £28 so that makes each one worth around £9 each. If you want you can pick up all 3 for the princely sum of £6.





This issue of Glamour is on sale now and has sold out very quickly in the past. So if you want a great opportunity to try these beauties for yourself then get down to your local newsagent straight away!!

Why Does My Nail Polish Go Dull?

Jergens Naturals Feel Fantastic Skincare Experience

Jergens Naurals are running a campaign on Facebook.  You can check it out here.  All you have to do is "like" the page to get started.  They want everyone to join in the experience together and come back each week and share the experience.

This is a great opportunity to be part of this experience.  So what are you waiting for?  Get over to Facebook, check it out and get "liking"!!

Click here

Yes To Baby Carrots Gentle Foaming Shampoo and Body Wash Review

This was recently sent to me for review.  I have to say that my kids had a ball road testing it for me.  My kids are slightly older than the age range that this is for but that didn't stop them enjoying it!

What the company says:

Pampering is not just for diaper changes! Yes To Baby Carrots 100% Natural Gentle Foaming Shampoo & Body Wash pampers your little bundle of joy as it cleanses, nurtures and softens their delicate hair and skin. Go ahead, dress your baby up in that bath foam hat and beard, it's all-natural, safe, and super cute!

• 100% Natural
• Tear-free & Hypoallergenic
• Petroleum, SLS & Paraben Free

As I mentioned in my previous post on the Yes To Cucumbers Soothing Daily Gentle Facial Cleanser review, the fact that this is Petroleum, SLS and Paraben free is a big big plus for me.  When my kids were only babies I tried my best to keep all the nasty chemicals away from their precious new skin.  This product lets you do that with ease.  It's also tear free and hypoallergenic, both of which are very important for your precious bundle.  

It comes in a 300ml bottle with a pump applicator.  On the pressing the pump you get this gorgeous foaming product coming out.  It really is lovely and great fun too!!  My kids had a great time giving themselves beards and pretending to be Santa.  Not very seasonal I know, but hey kids don't care:)

It is suitable for body and hair.  My kids only used it on their bodies as I think they would need something more heavy duty for their hair.  It is ideal for a baby with that gorgeous baby, fluffy hair though.  Perfect that you only need one bottle at bath time.  I'm all for anything that can make life easier!!

It costs £8.99 for 300ml.  I think that is a reasonable price and would definitely repurchase if I had a baby to use it on.  It's a great fun, bath time product and definitely worth trying if you have a little one.

It can be purchased from feelunique.com who still have an offer on and you get a free Yess To Carrots C Me Smile Lip Butter when you spend £15 on Yes To Products.

It can also be purchased from biggreensmile.com  for the same price.

Yes To Cucumbers Soothing Daily Gentle Facial Cleanser Review

I was sent this a while ago to review and have now been using it regularly for about a month.  I do like to make sure I have given products a good road test before reviewing them.  It's only fair to:

1. You, my lovely readers
2. The product
3. The company
4. Me!!

This comes in a tube(95g), like most soapy type cleansers.  It is a lathering cleanser and is to be applied to a wet face and massaged gently in a circular motion avoiding the eyes.  Then it should be rinsed off with lukewarm water.

On re-reading the instructions I have realised that I make a huuuge mistake with this every time!! And that is that I don't avoid my eye area.  I am pleased to report that my eyes have not suffered in any way but obviously this is not recommended and undertaken entirely at your own risk.

I am most definitely a soapy cleanser in the morning type person (as I cleanse my face in the shower and this is the most convenient way for me) and I use either a creamy cleanser or my Bioderma at bed time.

I love the smell of this product, it's very fresh and light.  There is a faint hint of cucumbers off it but not in the same way as other cucumber products I have used.  I would describe this smell as "soapy cucumbers".  It is lovely.

It lathers up well on my skin and I find that I don't need as much of it as I do with other cheaper cleansers.  However I do need slightly more of it than I would with my more expensive foaming cleansers.  This product definitely sits quite happily in the middle.  

I think it is priced accordingly.  Not too cheap and not ridiculously expensive.  It can be bought online at feelunique.com here for £8.99 and free delivery.  Currently they are offering a free gift when you buy any 2 Yes To Products.  Definitely worth checking out.

This product is designed for sensitive skin.  It contains 99.6% natural ingredients, Dead Sea Minerals and most interesting for me is that it is Petroleum, SLS and Paraben free.  Having used other SLS free products in the past (mostly baby products as I was trying to go SLS free for my kids) I am very impressed at how well this stuff lathers up.  Other SLS products do not lather like this.  In fact, I have always found their lack of lather has put me off repurchasing.  I'm definitely someone who needs to see the suds to feel like the product is working.  It's probably all in my head but I'm sure a lot of us feel the same way.  

This is one not to be missed if you are allergic to SLS (sodium lauryl sulphate) or indeed you just want to cut it out of your life.  It has been linked to cancer and a lot of people now actively keep it out of their lives.  

Would I repurchase?

This is the biggy for me.  I would repurchase if it was more readily available in somewhere like Boots or Superdrug.  I just don't think of buying skin care online and that probably won't change.

I think this product (and company) could benefit enormously by being more easily accessible.  Especially in these times when people do think more and more about what they put on and in their bodies.  I'm sure there is a huge market place out there for this type of product, just waiting to be tapped into.

Maybe in the near future we will see the Yes To range being available in Boots.  I'm keeping my fingers crossed!!

Who Knew?

That the business of fixing GHDs was so HUUUUGE or that it even existed?

I certainly didn't, until my hairdresser told me that GHD themselves would fix them.  I was telling her my sorry story of my husband dropping and breaking mine and she gave me this wonderful information.  As soon as I got home I checked the GHD website, only to be disappointed that, as mine were old (GHD3s) they were not repairing these any more.  

Not to be beaten I started Googling (how did we ever manage before Google etc?) and found a repair service locally.  There are lots of services out there that will repair them for £20.  All you have to do is send them off to the relevant company and they will fix them and return them.  I decided to go locally as this would mean a more speedy repair.  I emailed the guy late on Friday night and didn't expect to hear anything until the Monday.  However, when I got up on Saturday morning he had already replied to my email.  A sure sign of a great service me thinks.  I then phoned him to arrange a time and find out the exact location of his shop.  He gave me excellent directions and we agreed a time of 11am that same day.  

Off I went, slightly nervous that he might say that my precious GHDs were unfixable or that they were fake.  I had purchased them on eBay but I was quite sure they were genuine.  That didn't stop the doubt creeping in though.  I found the shop no problem and went in.  He took a look at them and told me that he had an arm that would suit but it was cracked.  It wasn't cracked all the way through though and he had repaired it and stuck his sticker over the top.  He had them fixed in a couple of minutes and charged me £10.  And voila .......

........ precious GHDs live to fight another day.  They are in great working order again and I am very happy with the result.  It was much better to spend £10 than to have to spend in and around £100.

My GHDs are 7 years old and I hope to get another few years out of them yet.

If you are unfortunate enough to break your GHDs too then definitely check out the repair services that are available everywhere.  Definitely worth it to save a few quid and much better for the environment too:)

Estee Lauder Gift With Purchase At Boots

Yet again I have been sucked in by another Estee Lauder gift with purchase.  I just love them!!

This one features a bronzer, blusher and highlighter set which is not available anywhere else.  So as you can see I just had to have it:)

To get the gift I bought a Bronze Goddess Shadow Stick Duo in Gold Bronze and the Soft Clean Moisture Rich Exfoliator.

The shadow stick duo is gorgeous and here are the swatches.

Such pretty colours that will enhance the blue in my eyes.

The gift consists of the bronzer, blusher and highlighter trio, a mascara, a lip liner (Spice) and lipstick (Tiger Eye), a make up remover, a sample of Advance Night Repair and a Time Zone moisturiser.

The trio consists of Nude Rose Blush, Bronze Goddess Matte Bronzer and EL Signature Shimmer Powder in Gold Pearl.  Here are swatches in the same order as above:

They aren't the best swatches but you can get the idea.  I'm going to have great fun playing with this!!

The GWP is available exclusively at Boots from now until 28th May 2011.  Definitely one worth picking up.