Glossybox | January | 2020

Hello!

So although the delivery of the first 2020 Glossybox was a bit disappointing...the box definitely wasn't!

To sign up to GlossyBox Click *HERE*
If you sign up this month they have unfortunately SO
LD OUT of this box but they are doing a Mystery Glossybox use the code NEWYOU to get it for just £7,

I normally receive my Glossybox within the first week of the month but there was an issue with the delivery for some people this month, but as usual Glossybox were quick to let me know that there was an issue and when it would be arriving. 

Januarys box was themed "Sleep and Refresh". I was really happy with this box it had some lovely products in which I will most definitely get some use out of!

1 | BYBI Strawberry Booster | RRP £12

This was the product I was most looking forward to. I love a serum and this one sounded and looked lovely! It is used to hydrate your skin - which in this horrid UK weather my skin is in need of! For some reason I thought it would smell like strawberry or have a sweet scent, which it doesn't - it has no scent at all. It does however make my skin feel super soft and look radiant.  I look forward to continuing to use this and let you know what I think of it. 

2 | Basic Beauty | Tweezers | RRP £15.50

Not much to say about this product! I can always do with a new set of tweezers, I don't know what happens to mine they disappear! I currently have a set in my dressing gown pocket, make up bag and bedside drawer but you can never have too many - haha! 
These are a cute baby pink colour and have the slanted tip which are great for getting those fine little pesky hairs!

3 | ModelCo Clear Brow Gel | RRP £14

I was glad to see this in the box as I have just ran out of my Browcote eyebrow Gel. I use clear brow gel everyday to set my brows into place. I don't think you can really go wrong with a clear brow gel so I am sure I will be using this from now on to replace the old one!

4 | BeautyPro | CBD Oil Infused Mask | £5.95

There is nothing I love more than a good sheet mask. This one looked interesting, there are so many beauty products now that are infused with CBD Oil. I done this mask last night and was quite amazed with how good my skin looked after doing it, I have red cheeks which nothing really seems to fix but my redness was considerably calmer after doing this mask, my skin also felt lovely and soft. It had quite a herbally scent to it which I wasn't particularly keen on but it was bearable, and I'd definitely do it again considering the results. It has made me want to go and get one of the CBD serums to see if they do the same!

5 | Kueshi Double effect Make up remover | RRP unknown

This one was a bit random, when i was reading the card that you receive telling you about all the products I noticed this wasn't on there, in fact it was a completely different product, but then I received an email explaining the mix-up. I am actually glad I received this instead of the product on the card as one of my new years resolutions is to stop using face wipes and go back to the whole cleanse, tone, moisturise routine. I used to always do this routine, then when I had children and had less time I got stuck in the routine of grabbing a face wipe and taking m make-up off that way! Now I am starting to age :( I have started to take better care of my skin! So this product will be great to try. It's also one of those products that separate into two colours which my inner-child finds highly satisfying!

6 | NAKD Bar | Salted Caramel 

This is not for me Haha! I am all for trying healthy alternatives...but this is not my cup-of-tea! I tried palming it off to my daughter but she looked at me in disgust! I will stick to my Graze flapjack - they are delicious! 

Haul | 2018

Hello, and I should probably say Happy New Year....as my last post was that long ago!

I'm still trying to find time to blog between working and looking after my daughters! I really miss doing it so after buying a few new bits today I thought I would do a spontaneous little post! Two children are definitely harder than one - sounds obvious but with my first one being such an angel she fooled me into false pretences...my second daughter is the complete opposite and I no longer get a second to myself! As I am sat writing this she is tugging at my top repeating "Mummy"!

As always I ran out of multiple products at the same time! Why does that always happen?! So I had to go and purchase some new things! A couple of these are my Holy grail products whilst the other two are completely new products that I am willing to risk placing on my face and I will update you with my findings!

 1 | Collection Lasting perfection | Very Fair (New shade) | £4.19

This is an oldie but a goldie! I love love love this concealer, I have tried many different concealers over the years including MAC, Bobbi Brown and Estée Lauder. None of them compare to this! This has high coverage and it lasts all day! I was happy to see they had brought out a lighter shade, I always used to buy 01 but this is a shade lighter so will be perfect for covering my mum eye-bags! At £4.19 you can't go wrong!

2 | Rimmel Stay Matte Powder | Translucent | £3.99

This is my other Holy Grail product! I don't use an awful lot of powder as I do have dry skin but I always sweep a bit of this on my T-Zone. This is all you need in a powder! I do wish they'd adapt the packaging of this though. The plastic lid always ends up cracking, which then leads to the powder smashing. 

3 | Milani | Conceal + Perfect 2-in-1 Foundation | 01 Creamy Vanilla | £13.00

Now this is a completely new product to me. I have always used Estée Lauder Double Wear, but as I went to order my usual I thought " you know what, there has to be something that's cheaper" I just couldn't bare spending £30 on it, every time I buy it, it goes up by £1 i'm sure! I read and watched numerous reviews online and after watching some I was convinced I needed to go and buy the Jouer foundation which is dearer that double wear haha *Facepalm I dragged my finger away from the buy button and settled on this! Glass bottle (Tick) good colour range (Tick) PUMP (Tick) I am really hoping this is as good as it looked on reviews! I will update you when I have tried! 

4 | The Ordinary High- spreadability Fluid Primer | £5.50

I'm not going to lie. Why did I buy this? You may ask! My answer would be the packaging made me do it! I know its not everyone's taste but I LOVE "The ordinary" packaging. I needed a primer and this looked like the best value, I think the packaging makes it look a lot dearer so when I saw it retailed at only £5.50 I was amazed! It comes in a Glass Pipette bottle with very simple packaging. I haven't yet used this but after putting it on the back of my hand I like the feel of it! It makes my skin feel super soft!

Baking | Reindeer Biscuits

Good Evening! 

So I decided to do a bit of a different blog post today, one that doesn't involve beauty....I know bizarre right, but I have really been enjoying reading more lifestyle type of blog posts recently like Hannah Maggs, who does beautiful posts about her son Grayson. 
So when I was doing a bit of baking with my daughter the other day I decided to get the lights and camera out and take some pictures. I generally dislike baking with a 3 year old as it's normally messy and what your trying to make usually comes out nothing like you intended! I decided to try and relax and just let her make as much mess as she wanted....and it ended up being a lot of fun and after some slight modifications to the icing when she had gone to bed - they didn't look bad at all!

We just used a standard biscuit recipe as my daughter is extremely fussy and doesn't like gingerbread...or anything that's not plain really! 

Ingredients:

• Flour 300g
• Butter 250g (softened)
• Caster sugar 140g 
• 1 Egg Yolk
• 2 Tsp Vanilla extract

These are so simple to make - 

Mix the butter and the sugar. Add the egg yolk and vanilla extract and beat to combine. Sift in the flour. Get your hands in there and combine it all together. I then put it into the fridge for 30mins or so. 

I didn't want to have to go out and buy Christmas cookie cutters especially for this so I found a clever trick on-line, upside down gingerbread man cookie cutters = reindeer 
heads! 

L'Oreal Infallible Foundation | Review

Hello my lovelies!

I have been trying the L'Oreal Infallible Foundation for a couple of weeks now so I thought I would do a little review on it!

What L'Oreal say | 

"High coverage longwear foundation that hides the appearance of fatigue and blemishes.

Now with Hydrating Hyaluron Comlex the 24HR non-stop formula is touch-proof and stays fresh for lasting comfort." 

What I say | 

I would say it is a medium coverage, it's definitely not as high coverage as Estee Lauder Double Wear, but it does cover redness and blemishes well. It is quite hydrating which is good as I have quite dry skin. 24 hours is a long time to claim that it can last for...who wears their foundation for 24hours!? I would say this lasted about 5 hours before it needed touching up. I felt like this foundation needed a lot of blending, I tried many different ways of application before i found the best was to use my Real Techniques Expert Face Brush, but even with that I felt it needed a lot of blending, as it just seemed to sit on the skin, it took a lot to make it set. I wouldn't say it was "touch proof" as I say it felt like it just sat on top of the skin. It did make my skin look flawless and it felt very light on my skin. The finish is semi-matte with a nice glow, I found it did sink into my pores so tried applying it with a primer which seemed to help. It wore of of my nose and forehead quite quickly, so when I applied the next day I powdered my T-zone which helped considerably. It comes in 8 colours - which are all quite light.  Overall I will wear this as an everyday foundation although I prefer my Rimmel Match Perfection, and I'll continue to wear my Double Wear for special occasions. So I am still to find my high street Holy Grail Foundation! :(

Gradual Tanning Cream | Review

Hi guys, I've recently been trying out some gradual self tanners, I used to use them when I was younger and when I saw they were on offer the other week I thought I'd give them a go again.

Johnson's Holiday skin | Fair to medium | £5.25

What they say |

"Gradually builds a beautiful, even tan. Subtle, fresh fragrance. Blended with naturally moisture-rich avocado & starflower extracts"

What I say | 

I'm not keen on this one I find that it's a very orangey shade. It has a bare-able scent but not a nice one! It says on the bottle "absorbs easily to avoid staining" I felt like this was quite thick and didn't sink into the skin quick enough, I tend to put tan on before going to bed so want something that sinks in quickly! It says "A beautifully even tan will develop after 3-4 applications" I found the colour showed within 2 applications but it wasn't a "beautifully even tan"....I'd say more of a streaky orange tinted tan! Over all I didn't like this gradual self tanner and won't be using it in the future...unless I decide I want to look like an umpa lumpa! 

Dove Summer Glow | Medium to dark | £5.25 (currently £2.62 at boots)

What they say | 

"moisturises your skin whilst gradually enhancing your natural skin colour. So now you can have a beautiful summer glow all year round."

What I say |

I am really enjoying this. It has more of an olive-y colour as opposed to the Johnson's orange! It sinks into the skin quickly whilst still being very moisturising. It doesn't go streaky or patchy. It has a fairly nice scent...well as nice as a inexpensive tanner can have! I didn't mean to pick up the medium/dark option but I am kind of glad I did now as I think the light one would have been too light. Over all I love this gradual tanner and have already got a second one for back up!

How I apply |

I use my Soap and Glory Sugar Crush Body scrub, mainly focusing on my elbows, knees and ankles. Then every other night before bed I apply the Dove Summer Glow all over rubbing in thoroughly. On the nights that I don't apply the gradual tan I apply Vaseline Intensive Care Cocoa Radiant, Vaseline say "Heals dry skin to reveal its natural glow" I don't know if this is true but I find it really hydrates my skin and helps to stop the tan from going flaky. It sinks into the skin quickly and makes my skin feel really soft in the morning. Also I love the cocoa scent! 

High Street Foundations....

Hi Guys, sorry about the lack of post these past few months. I have been moving house so haven't got round to posting....but i'm back! 

I have been trying out many high street foundations these past few months so thought I would do a little review on them. I think finding an affordable foundation that is good is very difficult, and when i'm going out somewhere special I still grab my NARS Sheer glow or my Estee Lauder double wear but I have been trying to wear an affordable foundation for every day use.

1| Bourjois Paris Healthy Mix Foundation | No51 Light Vanilla | £9.99

I was drawn to this foundations after reading many good reviews on it. Here is what Bourjois say about the foundation:

"Give your skin a radiance boost and leave it looking flawless for up to 16 hours! Bourjois’ new Radiance Reveal Healthy Mix foundation is enriched with a fruit therapy formula to enhance your complexion.

• Apricot for radiance
• Melon for hydration
• Apple to protect your youth

It is also enriched with crystalline pigments to even out the complexion while letting in the natural light for that healthy looking glow."

The first thing I like about this foundation is the scent, as the ingredients include apricot, melon and apple you'd expect it to have a nice scent which it does! I wouldn't say it lasts for "16 hours" but it did last a relatively good amount of time probably around 7 hours before it started to go a bit patchy on me. I would say the coverage of this foundation is light to medium, it feels very light on the skin and felt moisturising which for me as I have dry skin is great!

As for the packaging its not fabulous but as a high street foundation you don't expect it to be, but it does have a pump which is always a bonus. Overall I like this foundation, it would be a perfect summer foundation but it has no SPF!

2| L'OREAL true match | Nude Beige | £9.99 

I bought this foundation from America and am not sure that the UK version has the same ingredients. I know it has a different bottle here in the UK.

L'oreal say

"Formulated with Precise Match™ Technology so you can control coverage and fine-tune it. Ultra-pure formula contains no oils, fragrances, or pore-clogging fillers, so all you see is beautiful, radiant, flawless skin. With Vitamins A and C, wheat germ and grape fruit extract to keep your skin nourished, protected and healthy."

I really didn't get on with this foundation. It clung to dry patches, wore off within a few hours, wore off of my nose almost immediately. I think if you had oily skin this may work for you but for me it just didn't.  I found that it accentuates pores even after trying primers it still did this. Plus it had no pump which is always a downfall.

2. Rimmel Match Perfection | Ivory | £6.99

Rimmel say: 

"Light perfecting radiance foundation.

Traceless coverage for perfectly flawless skin under any light.

Lasts all day. SPF 18"

This foundation is the cheapest of the three and is definitely the best! The coverage is amazing for a high street foundation, at first I thought as the consistency was quite runny the coverage wouldn't be great but it is and it's definitely build-able. It leaves a slightly dewy finish - which I love. I prefer to apply this with either my fingers or a damp beauty blender, it leaves a really smooth finish and doesn't cling to dry patches and pores like the L'oreal. Overall I really like this foundation and it has become an everyday foundation for me. Also it has a pump!!

Tag | The Blogger Made Me Buy It!

1. Who are your most influential bloggers? Who are the ones that you really rely on for reviews and swatches?

I Love Tanya Burrs Blog she is my favourite Blogger I also love FleurDeForce, Kandeejohnson and Zoella. 

2. Do you buy a product solely as a result from one review from your favourite bloggers, or do you look for more reviews from others?

I tend to look at more than one review before purchasing an item. Saying that if one of my favourite bloggers highly recommends something I will tend to add it to my list! 

3. What is your favourite item that you have ever bought as a consequence of blogs?

Probably the Rimmel Wake Me Up foundation, as if I hadn't read so many great reviews on this I probably wouldn't have even noticed it in the shop. Its a great affordable everyday foundation.

4. What is your least favourite item that you have ever bought as a consequence of blogs?
 

Thankfully I don't really own any products that I dislike. 

 

5. Name 5 products you have bought recently as a result of blog. 

Urban Decay Naked 3 Palette, benefit boi-ing concealer, L'Oreal true match foundation, bourjois healthy mix foundation and caudalie beauty elixir.

 

6. Have you ever given in to blogger hype? If so, which hype?

The collection lasting perfection concealer but I don't regret giving in as its now my all time favourite concealer!
 

7. Have you ever avoided blogger hype? If so, which hype?

HOURGLASS Ambient Lighting Powder mainly because they are so expensive but also because I don't have a nearby counter to have a look at them. 

8. Is everything you buy based on blogger reviews or are there some items you buy without checking out a review?

If I am thinking about buying something I will look up reviews before going out and buying it especially if it is an expensive product.  

I don't normally do tags but I thought this one was fun. I TAG everyone that reads this! if you do this tag share your blog link in my comments I'd love to read some!

Benefit Boi-ing Concealer

Hello My Beauties!

I recently purchased the benefit boi-ing concealer from Birchbox. I won a competition on their Instagram and received £50.00 to spend on their online shop. I have now been using this for a few weeks so thought I would give you my opinion on this product. I have to apologise in advance for my pictures my DSLR camera has broken :( so until I can afford to get it repaired my pictures will have to be taken on my Iphone.

 

I decided to get the concealer in shade 01 light as I wanted to use it on my dark circles so wanted a very light shade as I am fair anyway.

I found the colour perfect and the coverage great. I did have a problem with it creasing under my eyes which I was quite disappointed in as on the description it says "This award-winning concealer camouflages dark circles, shadows and discoloration without creasing or fading."
As I said the coverage was great and definitely covered my dark circles which is great as you can imagine with a hyper 2 year old my dark circles are definitely a problem! The product didn't last all day but it lasted a good 7 hours I'd say which is fine by me as it lasted a whole shift at work without me having to touch it up.

Overall I think this concealer is good but not great, I think I may actually prefer my collection lasting perfection concealer and at about quarter of the price I think I'll stick to that one!


 

MAC Eyeshadows | Review

Hi Guys,
Sorry again for the lack of posting. Over Christmas and New Years I was on Holiday in Florida and have made it my New Years resolution to start blogging again!  

It was my 21st birthday in December and I was given a present that I have wanted for a long time. My sister bought me 2 MAC eyeshadows, I have wanted to try these eyeshadows for such a long time as they are so highly rated in the blogging community. She bought me Naked Lunch and Sable. 

These are two great colours that go beautifully together. You can wear these everyday but you can also make a lovely evening look with them. 
The quality of these shadows is amazing. Creamy, highly pigmented, build-able with great lasting power. I am so happy with these that I am now desperate to expand my collection!

Naked lunch is a great colour to use all over the lid. It is a shimmery rose gold colour. I sometimes use this on its own for a natural day look but I tend to add Sable through my crease. 
Sable is a bronze-y plum colour.I feel like this colour can be paired with lots of other colours and would suit all complexions.  

LUSH....

Hi Guys! I want to start this post by apologising about my lack of posts recently. My camera broke then I had laptop issues! My camera still isn't working so I am going to continue using my Iphone - so please excuse the quality of my pictures at the moment!

I popped into town yesterday. I was trying to think of brands that I can get hold of in my small town that I haven't used before. This is what brought me to LUSH. Although I have popped into LUSH before I haven't ever bought myself anything, to be honest the only things I have purchased in there have been their £5.00 secret Santa giftsets for presents!

When I went into LUSH I was immediately approached by one of the sales assistants. She was so nice and she started chatting away before asking me what I was looking for. I told her I wanted to try one of their fresh face masks, she then asked me what type of skin I had after explaining that I have dry skin she advised that their OATIFIX face mask would be the best for my skin. She put some on my hand before washing it off with warm water.
I then noticed their make-up, being honest I didn't know that LUSH sold make-up. The sales assistant went through some of the colours with me and explained that each colour is named by a positive word. She asked me to look at all of the colours and choose one which stands out to me the most, I said the liquid lipstick in DECISIVE, this is a lovely pin-up girl red. 

When I went to the till to buy the OATIFIX face mask, the store assistant very kindly gave me the DECISIVE liquid lipstick and she also gave me a sample of their 9-5 face cleanser. 

Overall I had a great experience in LUSH and I am looking forward to trying these products to learn more about the brand. 

MeMeMe | Long Wear Satin Lip Cream | Berry Crush

Hi Guys! Another Lip stick post today. I was going through my lipstick collection the other day and picked up this lipstick that I have never used and I realised how much I like it. 

This is one of the MeMeMe Long Wear Satin Lip Creams and this is in colour 02 Berry Crush. I really like the colour of this, it is a fushia pink with blue undertones. These lip creams are really pigmented and last on your lips for a good 3-4 hours which isn't bad considering they retail at just £8.50 (currently on offer for £6.50)! 

These are enriched with Shea Butter and vitamin E which means that they are really 
moisturising and made my lips feel super soft! They are also slightly fragranced which means 
they don't have that nasty cheap lipstick scent/taste!

I also love the packaging of these lip creams, they come in a box and each one has a different
goddess on it. The lipstick itself feels more expensive than it is it comes in a black
matte tube. 

You can purchase these on the MeMeMe website, they don't have a massive choice of colours 
but the colours they do have are lovely! 

Maxfactor | Colour Elixir Lipstick | Pink Brandy | Review

I recently purchased this lipstick whilst browsing around BOOTS for some hair products! Does anyone else do this? Go to a shop for something specific and walk out with something completely different and without what you originally went in there for! 

Anyway, I picked this up because I recently noticed that all of my lipsticks are bright colours and I didn't have many subtle summer colours. This immediately stood out to me as I don't have any Maxfactor lipsticks and it is coral which is my all time favorite summer colour! I think the packaging is really nice and makes it look more expensive than it is, I really like the way it  has the colour on the bottom as when its in my lipstick stand I can see the colour easily.





MAXFACTOR SAY "Instant fabulous colour. Actively moisturises for smoother, fuller lips (vs bare lips). A blend of 60% emollients, conditioners and antioxidants including vitamin E." The product itself is super moisturising almost like a balm and it doesn't have that cheap lipstick smell/taste (HOORAY!) I also feel it does make my lips look fuller. The only downside of this lipstick is the colour doesnt last very long when I wear this i feel like I need to be re-applying every hour which would bother me if it was a high-end lipstick but as this retails at £7.99 (and I used my boots points to buy it!) it doesn't really bother me as I think the colour and hydration of the lipstick is brilliant.

I definitely think I am going to try some more of the colour Elixir range I would be interested to try one of the more vibrant colours to see if the colour stay is any better on those.