Monday 12 September 2011

Going With The Flow.

I feel that I haven't posted in absolutely ages so here I am typing away with no idea what I'm going to write. How about a proper introduction into who I am, what I do, and what I love? Yep, let's give this a shot.. So I'm a 21 year old Sales Associate who lives in a small city which doesn't have a lot to offer- apart from a Cathedral, The Docks, a bit of shopping and most importantly, friendly people and a nice amount of greenery! I personally love the outdoors and love scenery. When the wind stops blowing I may just visit my local hill and go for a walk- sounds like a good plan! I know it's cliche but I love spending time with my family and friends- You gotta make the most of the people you love and care for right? 
As I mentioned above, I'm  a sales associate for the next 3 months and then I am leaving my job to go on holiday for a month- yep that may sounds ridiculously crazy- but it's not what I want to do for the rest of my life, and I suppose being jobless when I return is going to motivate me into looking and applying for new jobs- in the fields that I want to go into.
Hmmm.. let's go onto my family.. I am one of five and I absolutely LOVE having a big family! I couldn't settle for anything less! I'm the middle child and I've got 2 older sisters and 2 younger brothers. As a child, I used to be a 'tomboy' I enjoyed my childhood- going out every day riding our bikes and when scooters were the big craze, riding those, oh how can I forget my roller blades? they were amazing! Going off at a tangent but I can't believe how much things have changed in a few years, for instance my little cousins don't really play outside anymore! it's all about the Nintendo's and computer games and other consoles.. I'd never trade my childhood outside activities for that. Anyhoo.. I might just end this here and write a 'Part 2' when I feel in the mood too.
Hope you're all having a fabulous evening. :) ♥

Thursday 1 September 2011

MUA- Heaven and Earth Palette: Review & Swatches.

I'm sure there are plenty of reviews on this product, but I thought I'd do my own- never hurts to have too many hey. ;)

So I purchased this at the beginning of August and didn't actually use this until a couple of days ago for Eid. (reason being it was Ramadan and I feel a little demotivated to wear more than eyeliner) (Oh and I will be doing an Eid blog post when I get the canon back from the bro in law) but anyhoo, the review is what you all want..

So this palette cost me just £4.00- and it was free delivery too which is an added bonus! (my local superdrug don't stock these palettes or any of the professional range- only the £1 items unfortunately otherwise I'd be purchasing more from their range)

 This palette comes with 12 shimmery neutral shades. 
There is 9.6 grams of product in this palette.

 Swatches for the top row from left to right.
(no primer was used when swatched)

 Bottom row. Left to Right.
(no primer was used before swatching)


Now, as mentioned above, I wanted to do a proper review- and when I say proper review, I mean I wanted to really put this to the test. A couple of days ago, my Eid celebrations took place and my dress was simple, so I wanted a neutral eye and this palette was perfect!
I was a little worried that the eyeshadow wouldn't last for very long so I used my Urban Decay Primer Potion and it stayed on for HOURS! I applied my make up at around 9ish in the morning and then got home at around half 11 in the night and the eyeshadow was still looking good! It wasn't as 'tidy' as when I first applied it, but it lasted a longer time than I thought it was going to- a lot of the credit does go to the UDPP I must admit, but non the less. I still love this palette!
The packaging isn't great- but it's an inexpensive product so i'm not complaning!

All the shadows are shimmery- so if you don't like shimmery this is defiantly not for you. However if you do then I'd recommend it to you in a heartbeat! Grab this if you ever see it in your store or click here to see it online.
Ps. they have other palettes too!

 This palette gets a THUMBS UP.

Hope you all enjoyed ♥

Monday 22 August 2011

Summer Besties Tag.

What are your favourites:

1) Lip products?
Oo.. for the summer, I'm loving Barry M's TMLF. It's green in the tube and once you apply it one your lips it turns pink according to how much alkaline you have apparently so (i think). ♥

2) Blushes?
It's not just my summer favourite, it's an all time favourite- it's the No 7 one in Coral Flush.. as the name suggests it really is just a flush of colour but a gorgeous natural colour. (I have hit pan- you can see the tiniest bit of metal- eeek! exciting!)

3) Nail polish/products?
This list is gonna be pretty long.. here goes..
I'm loving: mememe polish in Laura (the orange one), George polishes in Buttercup Shine (yellow one) and Cloudless Sky (blue one), Rimmel London polish in Green Grass (green one) and Maybelline polish in Raspberry Punch (the pink one).

4) Liquid face makeup?
I don't actually own and liquid face makeups- not a foundation girl.. yet.
Oh wait.. if the Benefit High Beam counts.. I love this stuff!

5) Powder face makeup?
Again, I don't own powder face products- not a powder girl either.. I like to let my face breathe. (while I try and get rid of my acne scars and bumps)

6) Hair products?
Naked Shine treatment with coconut and Shea butter, Batiste Dry Shampoo & Aussie Leave in conditioner.

7) Eye products?
From left to right.. Maybelline Volume Express Mascara, Benefit Eye Bright, Loreal Carbon Liner, No 7 Eyeliner in Green, Eyeko Line and Shine (Electric Blue and Teal) and Urban Decay 24 7 Eyeliners in Yeyo and Zero.

8) Tanning products?
I don't use tanning products.. Don't need it, I'm naturally brown skinned. :)

9) Accessories?
My gladiator Sandals from Primark and my flip flops from George. 
My flower reef from Primark- so pretty and summery.



10) Clothing Items?
Maxi skirts from H&M- even though it's black- it's amazingly airy haha.
and sheer material clothing and of course dresses!

What are your favourites for this summer?


Friday 19 August 2011

Storage Ideas : Earings and Necklaces.

Organisation is a must when it comes to ensuring you use every item that you have.. well for me anyway. If I can't see it, I most probably won't use it.. and that's why I think this is the best storage solution for my earrings and necklaces- and hopefully will give you some ideas on ways to store your items.

All you need :
  • Cork Board (you can buy these from supermarkets or stationary stores.. I recently remember seeing them at Tesco and Wilkinson for around a pound- Bargain)
  • Drawing Pins (these can be brought from the same places that you can find the cork board)
  • Earrings & necklaces (even bracelets)
  • Trinket


This is how I've organised my earrings.. they did used to be in straight lines but I actually prefer them a little wonky. I hung my cork board onto the side of my shleves with some strong wool.
These are a selection of my necklaces and I've just hung them from the bottom of the cork board as you can see.
I keep the backings of my earrings in this little trinket that was given to me as a gift.

    Hope you all enjoyed. ♥

    Thursday 18 August 2011

    August Glossy Box 2011 : Show & Tell.

    First things first.. Glossy box is a monthly subscription of £10 a month (£12.95 from September) where they claim to send 5 high end luxury samples straight to your door. It's great as you can discover new products in the comfort of your own home. (A similar concept to the Birch Box which they get in America)  

    After receiving the e-mail confirmation from Glossy Box I knew the box was on its way.. usually it takes about 2 days for it to come to my door and I've actually stayed up to open it and of course write up this blog! (I had work early morning and need a nap as I've only had 3-4 hours sleep last night) Anyhoo here goes (ps. excuse the bad camera quality.. haven't got the Nikon today)

    Furthermore.. i won't be able to give reviews as I haven't tried or tested them yet- sorry..

     
     I did take individual photos of the products because the focus was awful :\ 

    But I do hope this photo shows everything I got...
    1. KMS California : Hairstay Style Boost - This acts as a primer for your hair which I think is going to be rather interesting to use! I may see what it's like on its own first and then use it with other products! This is a full sized product and retails for a whopping £13.40.
    2. AHAVA : Mineral body lotion -  this is part of their new skin care range and claims to hydrate, nourish and protect the skin. I received a 40ml product- retails for £19.80 for a 250ml bottle. To receive 10% off on the Mineral Body Lotion just visit www.Ahava.co.uk (expires 31st August)
    3. Rebel Nails : Nail Wraps - This is great as it comes in different sizes- sure to fit anyone's nails! They are meant to be easy to apply, long lasting and kind to your nails! They aren't meant to chip, fade or wear which I think, if it really does last I may just get myself a few more of these! This particular one that i received retails for £7.99. To receive 15% off visit www.rebelnails.co.uk (expires 1st December)
    4. Murad : Time Release Blemish Cleanser - This retails for £29.00 for a 200ml bottle. I've googled this product and the reviews are great! Can't wait to try this badboy out! :) You can receive 33% off and free delivery with the code MURADGB when you visit www.murad.co.uk (expires 10th September)
    5. Danial Sandler : Baby jet mascara - This mascara retails for £12.80 the wand is absolutely tiddly! I've already got mascara on today so will definitely be trying this out tomorrow! (You can use the voucher code DSGB10 to receive 10% off and free delivery when you visit www.beautique.com)
    All in all, this box totals up to a lot of money and I really do believe Glossy Box and proving to be very good at what they do! If you want to receive this box all you have to do is visit their website and join for monthly subscriptions at http://www.glossybox.co.uk/

    If you want more in depth reviews of any of the products do let me know and I'll see what I can do! :)

    I hope you enjoyed and if you receive the lovely Glossy Box- what did you receive?

    Saturday 13 August 2011

    DIY Nail Polish Stand.

    My nail varnish collection has accumulated quite a lot and until now, I haven't stuck to one storage system.. at first they used to fit into a little storage box, but it got bigger, so I had to move it- I lined them up on my shelves- but then my collection got bigger so I put in in a huge cardboard box, but that idea didn't work at all- it was difficult finding the nail polish that I wanted. So I decided to get a little creative and get my DIY mode into gear and as nail polish stands are just a tad too expensive for what they are- I decided to make my own!

    My parents brought my sister some shelves that she decided not to use and didn't want. So I decided to convert the shelves into a nail polish rack. (with a little help from my dad)

    I didn't take photos step by step as it was a little difficult- but the photos I've taken hopefully show the basics of what I used and how I created my nail polish rack/stand.

    What you need to create your own nail polish rack :
    • Pieces of wood (I converted a shelf- but I'm sure you could get strips of wood from DIY stores like B&Q)
    • Screws
    • Screw Driver
    • Drill
    • Drill bits (not sure what you call them- that's where my dad came in)
    • Butches (those plastic things you put into the wall when you're screwing something into the wall)
    • Hammer
    These are the shelf pieces I used- I only ended up using 2 'slabs'.. i will probably have to make another one though. :\
    So with another shelf 'slab' I took apart the strips of wood with a hammer as this was the easiest way to get them off.
    This is what it'll look like half way through the 'pulling off' process..
    After a bit of measuring to see where I wanted the levels of the shelves, my dad screwed them into place with a cordless drill.
    My dad also added 2 strips to the sides to secure it a little more and then drilled the stand onto my wall-  I decided to place it near my desk as it'll be a lot more convenient especially when I want to do different nail art designs on each of my nails!
    So this is what it looks like with the nail polishes. LUCKILY all of my nail polishes fit on the shelf.. I will have to make another one very soon if I carry on buying more polishes! 



    I organised the polishes in order of brand- cause i thought that'd be the best way to do it- instead of doing it in colour order- would have looked a little mumble jumbled!

    I hope this gave you guys a few ideas as to how you'd want to store your polishes!

    Hope you enjoyed! ♥

      Friday 12 August 2011

      Easy Method To Remove Nail Polish.

      Only recently have I started used this technique, and I've only started using it ever since I purchased my Wilko's own brand nail polish remover- I want to tell you now- it's not a very good remover when you're just rubbing it on your nail with a cotton ball or tissue.
      However, even with the worst nail polish removers.. you can get rid of your polish super easily!

      All you need is:
      • Nail polish remover (I used Wilko's own brand)
      • Foil
      • Cotton Wool Balls

       3 simple items you need.

       Step One : Rip a cotton wool ball into 2, drip some nail polish remover on the cotton wool ball- make sure they're not overly soaked.. and then cover your nail with it.

       Step 2 : Rip of little pieces of foil and wrap the cotton balls so they're secure and won't fall off.

       Step 3 : Leave them on your nails for at least 5 minutes.
      When you're removing the foil+cotton combo- just SLIDE it off.
      The picture above just shows what your nails and the cotton ball will look like- pretty cool how it keeps the print in tact! :D

      Hope this helped. ♥

      Thursday 11 August 2011

      Leopard Print Nail Art Tutorial & How To.

      For me, wearing nail polish reflects the mood I'm in.. if I'm feeling happy I'd paint them with bold colourful colours- and to be honest with you, you will very rarely see me with just one colour on my nails. I just LOVE designs. Of course it's a little challenging doing it on my right hand- times like these when I wish I was ambidextrous!

      Well the nail design I'm going to show you is pretty simple and fun and one of my recent favourites- I'm sure it'll be yours pretty soon too!

      All you need : 
      • White Polish (I used 'Natural White' by George)
      • A few colourful nail polishes of your choice (I used, from left to right (ish) in one of the pictures below- 'Green Grass' by Rimmel, Sure Promise- 'Blue', 'Yellow' & 'Purple', 'Princess' from the Girls Aloud collection and 'Laura' by MeMeMe)
      • A dotting tool (I brought these off of eBay for really cheap) (you can use a toothpick, the end of a hair grip)
      • Back Nail Polish (I used Rimmels 'Black Satin')
      • A top coat (I used Sally Hansens 'Mega Shine Extended Wear Top Coat')
       Let's get down to the tutorial..

      Step 1 : Paint all of your nails white- I did 2 coats to get that solid white colour.

      I used this sized dotting tool..

      ... And with these colourful nail polishes...

      Step 2 : You want to create RANDOM dots- don't put them into perfect lines! And you don't have to use every colour on every nail.

      Step 3 : With the smaller end of the dotting tool, you want to outline the dots with a black nail polish. Now, you don't want to do a full circle around the dots, instead you want to do 2 lines around it- 2 semi-circles without joining them up!

      Step 4 : Apply a top coat and you're done! :D

      Let me know if you try this nail design out.







      Monday 8 August 2011

      Waterfall Braid Tutorial - Wear it Down or Up.

      Hey Girlies. Today I'm going to be showing you how I do the waterfall braid.. It was a little difficult taking the photos myself, but I hope it helps! My hair is super dark, so it may be a little difficult to see in comparison to lighter hair- I am going to explain it word to word to the best of my ability! :)

      Good Luck! & here it is..

      Important : Arm position! I know you may not think it's important, but this is the best and easiest way that I found. Place one arm round the back of your head and the other in the front (as shown in the image below).

      Click on the images to make them larger- that way you'll be able to see each step better! :)

       Step 1 : Grab a section of hair and split it into 3 sections.

       Step 2 : Braid the hair a couple of times.. (2 full braids)

      Step 3 : To the top section, add some 'new' hair and braid into the middle.

      Step 4 : Drop the bottom section (make sure not to add this piece back into the braid- this is what creates the 'waterfall effect'!)

      Step 5 : Grab a 'new' section of hair that you haven't already used in the braid.
      Then braid the new section into the middle.

      You want to carry on doing this... So lets repeat it.. add a new section of hair to the top section and braid that into the middle.. Then drop the bottom section, grab a new piece of hair, and braid that into the middle.. keep doing this until you get to...

      The back of your hair should look like this.

       Step 6 : You want to just braid downwards and secure it with a rubber band (preferably the same colour as your hair, but i only had a yellow one, so I used that).

       So this is the finished look!

      Now, I personally prefer to wear my hair up when it's hot and humid, so this is what I've created- and it's easy!

      You start off with the waterfall braid..

       Step 1 : Gather your hair

       Step 2 : 'Roll it' towards your head. Start at the ends of your hair, rolling it upwards and inwards.

       Step 3 : Secure with hair grips and secure any stray hairs or bumps that may have popped up during the process.

      Voila.. your hair should look like this! :)

      Hope you enjoyed and found this helpful! ♥

      Saturday 30 July 2011

      July Glossy Box : My Thoughts.

      It's the end of July, so I thought I'd better write up this blog post before August arrives- I cannot believe how fast this year is zooming past us! I'll just give you a brief description as to what the Glossy Box is.. it is a monthly subscription of £10 a month (£12.95 from September) where they claim to send 5 high end luxury samples straight to your door. (A similar concept to the Birch Box which they get in America) (yes I have copy and pasted this line from my June Glossy Box post, but I hope I'm forgiven ;) )

      With the July box, I must admit, my expectations were pretty low, I felt that they may have been a one trick pony by sending a full sized Nars product in their first box (in May). But, and there is a big BUT.. I was SO pleased with this months box!

      I'm going to get straight down to the nitty gritty and show you what I got in this months box..

       The first product that caught my eye was this Weleda Pomegranate Regenerating Body Oil (100ml), mainly because it was a full sized product! I personally have never heard of this company, but they've been around for a whopping 90 years! Their motto gives more of a reason to fall in love with their products- "In harmony with nature and the human being" what's better and more satisfying then using an all natural product that treats their employers and suppliers well? 
      I really should talk about the product itself shouldn't I? When I think of oil, I think of my previous experiences with applying oil onto my face (Extra Virgin Olive Oil) now everyone knows Extra Virgin Olive Oil is good for the skin, however it leaves a greasy feeling. Whereas this product doesn't leave any greasiness at all! And best of all, it smells great and keeps the skin hydrated and feeling cared for! This product is a treatment that's meant to help with the aging process, I honestly can't give you a verdict on this as I'm only 21.
      You can purchase this product from Feel Unique for £19.95 for the 100ml bottle. And I'm sure there are other places you can purchase this product from!

       EEEKKK!! That was my reaction to this product! I was well and truly happy to find an Illamasqua product in this box, this is the Illamasqua Pure Pigment in Conquer. I've heard of this brand quite a lot but have always been adamant to purchase it as they're sooo expensive! This pure pigment can be used wet or dry: but it does give more of an opaque and gorgeous result when applied wet! I haven't used this on my eyes yet as I haven't had an event to go to, but I will be using this soon! Oh and i absolutely love the colour! One of my favourites!
      This product can be purchased from the Illamasqua website/Debenhams/Selfridges for £15.50.

       The 3rd Item I received were 2 Etat Libre Parfums. Again, with this brand, I've never heard of them (to be honest, I'm not a huge perfume fan, I only own a handful of bottles) These samples remind of Lush stores! You know you get that scent of all the products mixed in- well that's what this perfume smells like to me! It is a little too overpowering for me, but I do think I'll make the most of it (I'll just use a tinsy winsy bit at a time)
      I'm not too sure where you can purchase this product from- Sorry!

       The 4th product is the Xen-Tan Deep Bronze Luxe, Weekly Self-Tan. Firstly, I need to say, I don't need to use fake tan, as you can probably tell, I'm brown already, so I don't see myself using this product at all! I may just give this to one of my paler friends who'll benefit more from this product!
      I believe you can purchase this item from House Of Fraser or their official site.

      And lastly, we have the Ciate Nail Enamel in Beach Melba. I do love receiving nail polishes as I can add to my collection without feeling guilty! I heard of this brand when I read FleurDeForce's blog post on her nail of the day and thought it was a beautiful colour! I have started to love the light pastel colours and this is great! I even think this'll be great for a DIY french manicure! Maybe I'll try that soon!
      These nail polishes can be brought from their official website for £9.

      All in all this box was fantastic! I absolutely LOVED the products Glossy Box sent me! My sisters are even thinking of subscribing after this box! And pound for pound, this is probably the most cost effective box!

      PS.I hope you enjoyed the read. ♥

      Pss. I'm not affiliated with Glossy Box nor any products mentioned. Opinions are my own and super honest. ♥

      Sunday 10 July 2011

      Mascara Reviews: The Good & The Bad

      It's 20:45 and I fancied blogging about something that may be helpful to those trying to find a good mascara.
      For me, it's hard to find a mascara that actually does your lashes justice- or one that you are absolutely happy with and one that you will want to repurchase again and again.

      So today I'm going to be reviewing for you 5 mascaras- 4 Rimmel ones and a Maybelline one. (because they are the only ones that I currently own- minus an MUA clear mascara which I will be reviewing in my MUA make-up review/swatch blog post soon)

      Before I go through the products, I do want to say this: everyone's eyelashes and preferences for mascara are different, so just because I may 'like' or 'dislike' a mascara doesn't mean another person will have the same opinion as me. And I suppose I should tell you what my eyelashes are like: they are curly (I don't need eyelash curlers) and longish (thank god).

      So here's the juicy part:

       Starting with my least liked product- Rimmel's Lash Accelerator mascara. The wand uses traditional bristles with a twist (not shaped traditionally). It apparently has 'lash growth complex' which make your lashes 'longer': so I purchased it, used it for a week and surprisingly, I do THINK my lashes looked a little longer. However, the formula is just too watery/thinner consistency than my other mascaras and doesn't really make my eyelashes look thicker, just makes them look like thin spider legs- definitely not a good look for me! This mascara now sits in my makeup draw as I don't use it anymore.
      The Verdict: I would not buy this product again.
      Score: 2/5

        Next up is the Rimmel 1-2-3 Looks Mascara. Well my first impressions of this mascara weren't good to say the least- I used it once, didn't like it, so I didn't use it for a while. And then randomly I decided to use it again and was actually quite impressed with how it made my eyelashes look! The wand has a pretty small 'head' and has traditional bristles. This mascara spread out my lashes and made them look natural (with a bit of volume). I think this mascara is good for anyone who already has naturally long lashes and just wants that 'extra kick'.
      The Verdict: I would not buy this again.
      Score: 3/5
       
       Here we have the Rimmel Max Bold Curves Mascara. This product had the exact same first impressions as the 1-2-3 Looks one: I didn't like it. And it actually has the same story I just realised- So I won't bore you with writing practically the same thing as above and I'll just go straight into the verdict and score...
      The Verdict: I would not buy this again.
      Score: 3/5

        Here we have my favourite mascara!! The Rimmel Sexy Curves in Intense Black. This mascara has a very different wand- it has silicone bristles and it's basically 3 balls attached to one another.. and to be honest with you, I wasn't expecting anything from this mascara. However, it makes my eyelashes look fuller, thicker AND more 'volumous'! What more could you want?? This mascara makes my eyes look more wide awake and bigger and it just does so much that I can easily say that i would DEFINITELY recommend this mascara to anyone and everyone. Oh, and you always know when a product is doing you justice when you receive lots of compliments while wearing it!
      The Verdict: I would definitely buy this product again!!
      Score: 5/5

       The last and the most recent release is the Maybelline One by One mascara. This brush is a very comfortable sized brush- the bristles are made from silicone. Well this mascara comes second in my mascara review! It claims to give you 'lashes you didn’t know you had, clean, clump-free volume, instantly!' and it does exactly that! I love it when a product does 'exactly what it says on the tin'! 
      The Verdict: I would repurchase this product!
      The Score: 4/5

      Ps. I hope you all enjoyed. :) ♥
       
      Pss. I am not affiliated with any of the products mentioned above.