Showing posts with label Beauty. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Beauty. Show all posts

Sunday, September 14, 2014

W7 Make up Review

Recently I have been trying out a few products from the W7 make up range so I thought that I would do a quick review of a few of my favourite products as not only are they reasonable priced the range also does some great dupes on items of more expensive brands. 

W7 Chunky Bronzer- I've been wanted to try a bronzer stick for a while as they are great for contouring and for giving you the perfect cheek bones. I've had my eye on a the NARS Bronzing Stick for a while but at £30 I just couldn't quite justify buying it. So when I came across the W7 Chunky Bronzer I just had to have it! At £4.95 it is a pretty good dupe of the NARS bronzer and definitely does the job of defining your cheek bones. 


Angel Eyes- I don't wear eye shadow much but I love the neutral colours that this eye palet has, they really help to give your eyes a little pop and add a bit of glamour.


  
City Slicker Eye Make up Remover- I absolutely love this! A lot of eye makeup removers that I have used before by other brands I haven't really liked. This is mainly because they were quite oily making my eye lids and lashes feel greasy after and often irritated my eyes. However this eye remover isn't oily at all and takes off my eye make up like a dream! One quick splash on a cotton wool pad and a quick wipe on my eyes and my make up is removed.

Have you tired any W7 make up recently? Let me know what you think!

Peace and Love
G. x

Friday, August 29, 2014

W7 make up range

So excited to try out all the goodies I got from W7 today, especially the 'The Honey Queen; honeycomb blusher! 
W7 can be found in Next, Peacocks, Savers and TKMaxx!



I'll pop up a blog post and tell you my favourites once I have tried and tested a few. 
Thank you Aqua PR. 

Peace and Love
G. x



Wednesday, August 27, 2014

Barry M; Autumn Collection

Eeeeek, so here they are the new Barry M colours for Autumn! Who else is loving them?! Can't wait to get my 'nails' on the green and orange! 




What's your favourite colour? 

Peace and Love
G. x

Friday, August 8, 2014

Muji Make up Organiser

Oops! Haven't been on my blog in while! 

So here's a quick post on a make up organiser I bought today! 

I've been wanting a make up organiser for ages and have been popping into home sense (the home ware store owned by tkmaxx) in hope that I would find something there but unfortunately although they had some they didn't have big enough to fit my makeup collection! 

Anyways, so my friend Beth told me about Muji, there aren't many around where I live and although I had walked passed one before I have never stopped to look in. I looked on there website prior to making my trip to Guildford and saw that they had some acrylic boxes, these vary in size and shape. 


I went for the 5 draw acrylic boxes, £24.95 (they also give student discount, so I got it for (£22.50) it is clear which is great they means it looks smaller than it is on my shelf and also makes it easier to see what compartment each make up type is in, e.g all my skin products, eye products etc...      
 



So if you are looking for a make up organiser check Muji out! 


Peace and Love 
G. x

  

Wednesday, June 4, 2014

Collection Does it all Mascara

This is just a quick post on my recent purchase of Collection Does it All mascara.


As I have mentioned in a previous post, I am off travelling soon and therefore wanted to buy some cheaper makeup products, incase I loose anything etc. 

I normally wear No.7 Expectional Definition; Black £13.50 Or Benefit BAD gal lash; Black £16.00. Therefore I wanted to get a good mascara that was under £10.


So I popped into Boots (I love collecting points in Boots and always treat myself to something a little expensive when I have enough points) and had a scan of the Maybelline section and then moved onto the Collections section where I spotted the Does it all Mascara. Collections states that this mascara has a five way formula; curling, volumizing, lengthening, long-wearing and conditioning. I really like the brush also as it is similar to the No.7 mascara and allows you to apply mascara evenly across your eye lashes aswell as giving them a great length. 

The only issue I have with the Collection mascara is that it is hard to get off with just my normal make up remover with is a little annoying as I don't want to take a load of facial products with me.

So bloggers if you're looking for a cheaper make up product then check out this Collection mascara! 

Peace and Love
G x  


Monday, June 2, 2014

'Maybelline Brow Drama Sculpting Mascara'

Hey bloggers! So guess what! I've found a dupe for the Benefit 'gimme BROW' which is 'Maybelline Brow Drama Sculpting Mascara' - £4.99. Although it's definitely not as good quality as 'gimme brow' but it's the closest product that is out there on the beauty market at the moment.
Maybelline Brow Drama comes it 3 colours, deep blond, medium brown and  dark brown. I have dark features so I chose the dark brown. Like the Benefit gimme BROWS, this product has a small mascara style brush on the end of it which allows you to brush the product through your brows. Unfortunately I think that the brush is a little to big at the end and therefore can make precision a little difficult and the gel does feel a little heavier on my brows than the 'gimme BROW' gel. However for £4.99 rather than £17.50 all in all it does the job and is the ideal product for me to take travelling with me! 



(Please excuse the state of my brows at the moment, but hopefully from the picture you can tell that my right brow is fuller looking and darker however still looking natural) 

So if your looking for a cheaper alternative to the Benefit gimme BROWS then check out this Maybelline product! 

Peace and Love
G. x

Friday, May 30, 2014

Benefit- 'gimme BROW'

First thing to say is £17.50 for a product that is as big as my thumb!! 
But let me just say it is bloody brilliant! 

I went a bit crazy the other day in Boots as I had a couple of vouchers and loads of Boots points to spend and this is one of the products that I picked up. I did a blog post about brows about 6 months ago and I am still as big of a fan as I was then.

Brows brows brows! They are a feature that can make or break you, they help sculpt your face and definition is vital. 

When I treat myself I like to look at the Benefit counter, not only is the packaging gorgeous but they also do great products that all have they own special bit of magic in them that other branded products don't. After a little look I picked up the 'gimme brow', I was a bit reluctant at first as it is honestly tiny and therefore the price seems a bit crazy but after speaking to the lady on the beauty counter she managed to sway me into getting it. 

(right brow showing after, left brow showing before)

The tiny little almost mascara like brush is great for precision and the fiber gel gives the impression that there is more hair than there was before. Not only is it water resistant but it also provides you with the most natural looking brows. It comes in two shades, light/medium and medium/deep, I went for the medium/deep as I have dark hair and like my eyebrows to be dark and compliment my other dark features.


(Both brows complete!)

As it is so expensive I am a little reluctant to use it everyday, so if any bloggers out there have a dupe that is as easy to use at the gimme brows, preferably with a mascara style brush to, then please comment below!

Peace and Love
G. x





Mac Studio Fix & Mac Pro Longwear Concealer

When it comes to choosing a foundation, my worst nightmare is either wearing the colour or getting a foundation that isn't the right consistency for my skin. I have mentioned in a post before that I have an everyday foundation and then a more expensive going out foundation that I only really wear on special occasions.

I previously wore Estée Lauder double wear 2.0, but then recently I haven't been a fan of how it looks on my skin, it almost starte

d to melt off my face! So a few weeks ago it was my 21st so I thought its time to treat myself to my some new foundation. I'd heard a lot of good things regarding the Mac Studio Fix from work collegues and beauty bloggers so off I went to the Mac store (Westfield; Stratford).

I'm always a little bit anxious when I go into Mac as all the beauty technicians are gorgeous looking with there make up all done to perfection, but actually it turned out that I was was pleasantly surprised! I signed up to get a colour match and got introduced to the beauty technician called Channon, she was lovely and made me feel at ease, complimenting my complexion and sounding generally interested in my opinions. She asked me what products I was interested in and then grabbed a selection of colours she thought would match my complexion. Channon then started applying two foundations one to one half of my face and the other to the other half- this was so then I could see the difference and see which one I preferred (one was a NW- neutral warm and one was a NC neutral cool).

I chose NW20 as I thought that it was a great match and the foundation looked dewy on my skin almost as if it was glowing and it felt lovely and lightweight that my skin still felt like could breathe. I also mentions to Channon that I was interested in the Pro Long Wear concealer that again I had seen reviews about. Pro Long Wear provides great coverage for under the eyes however it is a lot thicker consistency so you really don't need much. The only thing is that because it is very think is can make your skin look a little dull but by adding a finishing powder this helps to buff it up a little and give an all over equal finish. 

Channon then finished off the rest of my make up by applying blusher etc... So I looked decent enough to continue with my shopping for the rest of the day! Which I thought was a nice touch, as it really showed how the technicians connected with you on a personal level. 

In total I spend £41 on two items:
Studio Fix fluid NC20- £22.50
Pump for the Studio Fix fluid- £4*
Pro Longwear Concealer NW20- £15

*I wasn't made aware of the extra charge for the pump till I was at the till, however it does mean that you are less likely to waste exess and it means it is easier to know how much you need for coverage (I use my full pump squirt and a half) 

It is far to say that I absolutely love my Mac products and will definitely be popping in again to grab some more products. If your looking for a new foundation I would definitely recommend popping into Mac.  


Peace and Love 
G. x



Monday, January 27, 2014

January Beauty Haul

This haul is from January (I know it's a few days late) but I just haven't had a chance to sit down and blog recently. So in the month of January I bought myself a number of new beauty products and also rebought some of my all time favourites which I wanted to share with you all. I got them all at my local drug store either Superdrug or Boots, they were all on special offer at the time and that is probably why I went a little bit crazy. 



St Ives; Invigorating 
I absolutely love this face scrub and it always leaves my face feeling fresh and glowing without fail. There are a number of different variations of the product, all with element to either exfoliate, renew and firm or help with blackheads and blemishes. My favourite is the St Ives; Invigorating, the small apricot particles rubs against your face, deep cleansing and exfoliating removing dull, dead skin cells to instantly reveal smooth, soft and radiant skin. I got this product from Boots it is one of my more expensive beauty products that I own costing £4.29, however I love the feel of my skin after I have used it that I think it is definitely worth the money. One thing that I was gutted about after I had bought it from Boots I then popped into Superdrug and  found out that it was on offer for 1/2 price in there! I was so tempted to return my Boots one but I couldn't be bothered with all the hassle, but now I know to always check Superdrug first! 


Freederm: Gel
When I was 13/14 I suffered with pretty bad acne on my forehead, of course one of the reason for this was because I was going through puberty and all of those other normal bodily changes but also I partly blame it on the fact I used foundation at such a young age. I used to cover my face in Miss Sporty liquid foundation and it distroyed my youthful skin. I used different clearasil products but none do them seemed to do the job, then my mum found a new product called 'freederm' although they now do lots of different products the one that I used was a gel, it is quite expensive with it costing £9.69 for a 25g tube. The treatment is designed to be an anti inflammatory for spots, the ingredient nicotinamide that it contains is clinically proved to help with this. 

I used the gel every night for probably about 3 months and it helped my skin a lot, not only did the gel help to get rid of the spot but also helped with any scars that were left on my forehead. I recently came across this product again, it was on offer in Superdrug and therefore I thought that I would get it as although luckily I have grown out of getting clusters of spots (touch wood) I do still get the occasional one or two spots and Freederm is the best and fastest treatment that I know to eliminates those annoying buggers.



Simples Eye Make up remover 
I am pretty lazy when it comes to taking off my make up at night, however it is my golden rule to make sure that I remove it before I goto bed, no matter how intoxicated I am after a night out. I normally just use a baby lotion and cotton pads to remove my make up, although this does make my skin feel a little bit oily, I always rinse my face with clean water and then use toner and cleanser afterwards. My mum is alway telling me to be more gentle with my skin, especially my eyes; under your eyes (bags) and your eyelids as this are where your skin is the thinnest on your face and therefore prone to wrinkles and those dreaded spider legs creases by the sides of your eyes. Anyways when I was in Superdrug I saw that 'Simples' had most of their products on promotional and one that caught my tee was the Simples make up remover, I can't remember the price of it at the moment but I think on offer it was just under £2. I first used it after a night out when I wear a lot more eyeshadow, mascara! eye liner etc than normal. Although it does make my eyes feel a little bit oily, the substance makes my mascara slide off easily and allowing me not to wake up with panda eyes in the morning. Again I always wash my face after with clean warm water to get rid of any substance that remains. 



TRESemme; salon touchable feel- ultra fine hairspray
I'm not really a huge hairspray users, again I only mainly use it on a night out to set my hair so I don't turn up to the club with the wind swept look! I only really bought it as it was on offer, 2 for £7, and considering the bottle is the biggest you can get is I thought it was a pretty good deal. The other one I gave to my boyfriend as a stocking filler, so he won't ask to borrow mine everyday, he uses more hairspray than me! The hairspray is ultra fine and therefore doesn't leave my hair feeling sticky or heavy filled with hair product. TRESemme are definitely one of the best and there products never seem to let me down. 



 Baby lips- 
I am a huge fan of Baby Lips and I just can't get enough of it, I have even got a load of my friends into it! I already had the Cherry Lip which has a slight tint to it. Although I really like it as it means if I don't want to put on lippy the balm still gives me some colour, I wanted a balm that I could wear over any of my lipsticks and it not affect the colour of it. So I decided to go for 'Intense Care' instead and it works wonders leaving my lip moistured for hours. If you haven't got a baby lips make sure you get on the bandwagon ASAP! 


Anyways my lovely bloggers, I hope you have gained a little insight into some of my latest beauty product buys. I'm always looking for a bargain! 

Peace & Love
G. x

Sunday, December 15, 2013

Sleek Lipstick

Earlier this week I went on a beauty haul in super drug and boots and ended up getting a few new products aswell as some old favourites. I am going to go a blog post after this one on all of the products that I got but first up I wanted to do one just for one of the products that I got. 

I was first introduced to Sleek make up a month of so ago, by thebeautycrush and her video 'Boyfriend does my make up tag' on YouTube. One of the products she used was the Sleek contouring kit, I've been teaching myself to contour for a while but can never seem to get it right or    have the right products to do it. So off O went to Superdrug to try and get this contouring kit (I got it btw). While I was looking for this I saw that Sleek did loads of great lipstick colours, but unfortunately all the colours I really wanted were all sold out! So off I went on my beauty haul and saw the Sleek make up range in Superdrug as I was shopping and thought that I would check it out. 

Unfortunately they still didn't have all the colours available (I've noticed that Superdrug aren't great at keeping there stock filled up) however I did find a lipstick titled 'Cherry' which is a very dark red colour, which I personally think is a great colour for your lips in the Autumn/ Winter. 
All lipsticks at £4.99 which I think is a pretty decent price and I was happy to pay this. Although like I mentioned before there wasn't a huge range of colours available for my to purchase the range of colours that Sleek do is pretty big and ranges from your nudes and pinks to your reds and purples. This element is one of the reason I think that they are a great dupe for MAC lipsticks with the cheapest MAC lipsticks being £15, Sleek is a great alternative. 

Below are a few pictures of some Sleek dupes that I think work well as a alternative to MAC. 

MAC                         SLEEK
Flat out Fabulous       Amped
Creme d'nude           Baby Doll
Hang-up                    Vamp
Russian Red              Vixen

MAC 

SLEEK

Peace & Love
G. x

Thursday, October 24, 2013

Boots; Beauty Advent Calender!

Product Name: Beauty Advent Calender
Avaliable at: Boots
Price: £30

I am already pretty excited about Christmas but now I am even more excited! I was on Instagram the other day when I came across the Boots Beauty Advent Calender and I had to find out what it was, so basically it is an advent calender but instead of getting a peice of chocolate for every day in December you get a beauty product! -I am actually finding it hard to contain my excitment!

Although being priced at £30 it is pretty expensive when comparing it to your normal chocolate calender which normal is priced at about £2-£6. It is said to hold goodies that are worth up to £65 altogether, from brands such as Soap & Glory, Nails Inc, Paco Rabanne, Juicy Couture, Rimmel, Mavala, Umberto Giannini and Many More....

Boots Description:
'Wake up every morning to a new beauty treat and fill the month of december with gorgeous gifts to pamper yourself from head to toe.'
 
I can't wait to get my hands on one!
 
Peace and Love
G. x

 

Wednesday, October 16, 2013

House of Holland; Get Nailed

I've been wearing my new stick on House of Holland nails for the last 4 days now and I love them! Basically they are false nails designed by Henry Holland, the founder of the designer brand House of Holland. 

For the last 3 months the only colour I have painted my nails is white, I don't know why but I just think they look chic and make your nails look wow! When I came across these bad boys I just had to have them. 

The whole set cost me £9 which I don't actually think is too bad, considering to get a good set from Boots or somewhere it normally costs you about £6.50. I got mine from Urban Outfitters, but I'm pretty sure that you can get them elsewhere to. 

As you can see from the picture they are white with a black outline, in pack you also get some black stickers letters A-Z and symbols such as ! and #. I didn't know what to put on mine so I just used the # on my thumbs to make them a little more interesting, but to be honest you can write whatever you wish, the example they gave on the box was YOLO but something like LOVE or PEACE would be quite cute I think.



Over the past 4 days I've only had to re-glue 2 of them which I am really pleased about, considering I have done a fair bit of washing up and washed my hair which may have caused them to go a little soft and fall off but it didn't. 

What's In The Pack?

-24 Nails (10 sizes)
-Nail Glue
-Letters and Symbols (2 x all Consonant and Symbols 3 x all Vowels)
-Nail File
-Instruction Leaflet

They do a few other designs but these where my favourite and I have even had a fair few people ask me where I got them done which is pretty nice considering I just did them myself. I even had one friend ask me if they could take a picture of them so they could ask they're nail person to do them in the same style!

So grab yourself a set and add some Henry Holland to your life! 

Peace and Love
G. x

Friday, September 6, 2013

The Perfect Brows

For the past 4 years my eyebrows have been a big part of my life. I've always had quite big, bushy, dark eyebrows (thanks mum) and over the years have tried a number of different strategies to try and tame them. 

When I was about 16 I first got my eyebrows waxed and although it did the job they weren't nicely shaped. Then about 3 years ago I was introduced to a small salon near me that did eyebrow threading for £4! So I thought why not give it a go... and I haven't looked back since. 

Threading is by far the best method, they make your eyebrows look defined, sleek and perfectly shaped! Plus I love that fresh feeling I get once I have just had them done. 

However it is only in the past 18 months that I have also started to filled in my eyebrows with make up; again this just makes them more defined and really makes this feature stand out on your face. My usual routine to fill in my eyebrows is to gently stroke on a few strokes of my brown eyebrow pencil- I always use brown as black can sometimes come across being a little too harsh (MUA- £1! dirt cheap!) on them and then smudging it in with the smudger on the end of my eye liner (no.7 about £7) this routine literally takes me 2 minutes to do so it's pretty handy when I'm in a bit of a rush. 

A few of my friends use the Benefit brow kits 'brows a-go-go' £27.50 or  'brows zing' £23.50' both products look really good, however I myself just couldn't part with that sort of money even though I do love my brows. 

I have managed to find a dupe of these with MUA called Pro Brow Kit! Which only cost me £3.50. Inside the kit there are 4 options to choose from, a mini pair or tweezers, an angled brush, and the whole kit also doubles up as a little compact mirror. There are two brown shades, I'm guessing one for darker eyebrows like mine and one for lighter eyebrow. First you apply your preferred shade with the angled brush by sweeping as much as you wish through your brows. Secondly there is a highlighting shade which can be used to define under your brow and erase any stray particles from the eyebrow shadow you have just used. Finally there is some holding gel, you only need a tiny bit of this and again you kind of sweep this on your brows. This gel is meant to set your brows and also give them a more natural and gloss finish. 


Overall I think that this a great dupe and is definitely worth the £3.50 that it cost me. Although when I am in a rush I will still use my original routine when I am going out and have more designated make up time I will use my Pro Brow Kit by MUA. 

But like my mum always says to me 'eyebrows should be sisters and not twins' meaning they will never be exactly the same. 


Peace and Love
G. x

Tuesday, September 3, 2013

Maybelline; Baby Lips



So what's all this hype?

In the beauty blogger world Maybelline; Baby Lips has been the talk of the town. 

Maybelline- Baby Lips is a moisturising lip balm with SPF 20 which supposedly keeps your lips moisturised for 8 hours. Over the past week or two I have read a load of reviews from other bloggers about this Maybelline product that has come over from America.

I recently read one particular review of the product by the lovely Nuala from dolleduplondon.com  and that's what gave me the final urge to go out and get one of these Baby Lips, lip balms. So into Boots I went, I already had an idea that I only wanted to get one as Nuala had pointed out that although they are good, there is no need to get all 6 variants that Maybelline have to offer.


These are.... 
-Pink Punch,
-Peach Kiss, 
-Grape Vine,
-Cherry Me, 
-Peppermint
-Quenched

Peppermint and Quenched are clear lip balms whereas all of the rest have a slight coloured tint to them.


In my local Boots all of the colours available so it was up to me to take my pick on which one and being £2.99 they are pretty cheap and definitely worth a try. I chose 'Cherry Me' which has a Cherry coloured tint to it- how ironic! I always love to have some colour on my lips and I'm really into my cherries and raspberry colours at the moment so it was the perfect option. As soon as I put it on my lips I could feel the moisture, although if you apply too many layers your lips can feel a little greasy. 

Baby Lips is the perfect solution for when you are at work or if you are in a situation where you can't re apply lippy for a while. This is perfect for me when I am at work as I never get time to re apply my lippy and I always end with a horrible line around my lips by the time it is lunch, but with Baby Lips and its ability to keep my lips moistured for hours on end this won't happen!  




Peace and Love
G. x



Tuesday, August 20, 2013

No7 Airbrush Away Primer



Name: Airbrush Away
Brand: No7
Make up: Skin (Base)
Price: £19.50
Rating: 9/10*

For the last 3 years I have been a huge fan on No7 make up and all of the make up in my make up bag is of the No7 brand, this is mainly because my Mum used No7 and therefore that is how I got introduced to it. I was introduced to this amazing beauty product by my Mum, she had bought some No7 products and has got a free No7 make up bag which contained some mini samples including a waterproof mascara, lip gloss, eyeshadow, night cream and a mini No7 Airbrush Away Primer. I had been saying to myself for a while that I had wanted to get myself a primer to use as a base for my foundation as prior to this I had just used a Nivea moisturising cream as a base but I thought it was about time to get a proper primer. 

So about the product... when applying the primer I just put 5 little dots on my face; the middle of my forehead, my chin, my nose and both cheeks and then slowly swept it over my face with my index finger (this finger applies the least pressure to your skin) covering my face evenly. Instantly I felt the effects of the product, my skin felt amazing and silky, almost as smooth a babies bottom! I couldn't believe the effects that a few dots of this product had had on my skin and how much my skin was glowing. Although I did feel that I had to use more the product that I had expected in order to cover my whole face, I think this is purely down to the consistency of the product and how much my skin absorbed it.

Next it was time to apply my foundation (No7 Beautifully Matte Mousse Foundation; £12.95) I apply my foundation with brush (Mac 130 Short Duo Fibre Brush; I got this as part of a set but individually they are £30.00.) My foundation took to my face perfectly, with the primer allowing my brush to gently slide on my face beautifully and I believe allowing my foundation to cover my face more evenly. 

Although the price of this product is pretty pricey and I honestly don't think I would have been introduced to it if it wasn't for the sample my Mum had given me, I do believe that I will re-purchase this product when my mini sample runs out as it definitely makes my skin feel beautiful and soft.


Check out this video to!



(*all ratings are my own personal opinion, I am comparing them to other products I own/have used)


Peace and Love
G. x

Thursday, July 18, 2013

Pucker Up with Coral Lips!

It's time to pucker up Girls!

So we have been bless with this beautiful weather for the past 2 weeks now! However when the weather is this hot I find putting on make up such a chore and I instantly feel yucky as soon as the sun shines onto my face making my complexion look sweaty and shiny- not a good look. 

In regards to eye make up I have been only wearing a coat or two of mascara as not only does it smudge everywhere as soon as I sneeze due to my dreaded hay fever! ...but I am also really enjoying the sun kissed fresh look of summer. 

As all my friends already know I am a huge fan of lipstick and will not leave the house without it being lacquered to my lips! Whether it be pink, bright red, chilli red, raspberry or coral, it is a must and instantly brings colour and happiness to my face and I never feel I am complete without it. 

About 5 years ago their was a huge hype for wearing foundation on your lips with a dash of clear lip gloss. However I personally was never been a huge fan of having foundation covered lips on myself. I feel that it really washes me out and I look too dull- normally peoples preferred tone of lip colour for the Sun Kissed look is foundation coloured lips. 

However I have found a new adaptation for this! I have a new found love for Coral! I absolutely LOVE it! It is so summery and lifts your lips instantly making them as kissable as ever as well as adding to popular pastels that are around at the moment.

There are a lot of make up ranges out there that provide Coral as one of their lipstick options, but I personally use No.7 Coral Rose 'Drench Moisture' £9.50

Not only is the colour beautiful but it also leaves my lips feeling moist and soft and most definitely puckered up and ready for that special kiss. 

Go on try it!

Peace & Love

G. x