Tuesday 11 March 2014

Collection Shimmer Shades Blushalicious

BARGIN ALERT!!!!!! If you love a good money save then this is the perfect thing for you.
I was just shopping in Morrisons and as always i got attracted to makeup isle. Im never really looking for anything specific i just like to look when this spotted my eye. I love a good blush and with a price tag off £4.19 i couldn't resist.




The packaging is simple, a clear plastic shell so you can see whats inside it. The blush has 4 different shades in all matte. The swatch is when i mixed all the colours together, i think the pigmentation is really good for the price of the product.. This is how i have been wearing it all of the colours together but if you wanted to you could just chose one shade to wear. 
This has been a daily wear for the last month for me i think it gives you a really healthy glow. Perfect as the weather getting a little better out there this is 100% in my makeup bag for my holiday next month.

Have you picked up any good bargains recently?


Wednesday 26 February 2014

Holiday Wish List

holiday wishlist


So i go on holiday to the dominican republic in like 6 and a half weeks and I'm so excited. 2 weeks lying on a beach in the sun, could life get any better? i think not.
So to prepare myself for the holiday me and mum are going sheffield shopping for clothes and maybe a little bit of makeup (lets face it we all know i can't help myself)

Ive made a wish list of things that I think will be essential to my holiday packing.

1. Escada Sunset Heat Perfume - My friend Luci loves these perfumes (fact she loves any perfume) and i must admit she smells good all the time, i think on holiday you need a smell that will instantly remind you of being in the sun and away and this just does that.

2. Liz Earle Cleanse and Polish - My favourite hot cloth cleanser ever and the light weight packaging will mean i don't have to worry about the weight in my case too much, I'm currently out of this and can't wait to repurchase.

3. Liz Earle Instant Tonic Skin Booth - Well of course i need the matching toner for the cleanse and polish i have a little of this left already but i will deffo be out by the time i go away so will need to repurchase.

4. Misguided Jacalyn Twist Bandeau in Acid Green - Now I'm not to fussed where i get a bikini from but i love the colour of this one from misguided, bright green is my favourite colour and i find myself drawn to it all the time so a lime green bikini is on the checklist.

5. Ted Baker Bow Cosmetics Case Large - I have one of these but a small version and i love it, i think ill need the large on for holiday as i struggle to get my stuff in it when i go to a friends to get ready for a night out now. I love the style of these plus i think if anything heaven forbid leaks in the makeup bag it won't go all over my clothes.

6. MAC Candy Yum Yum Lipstick - Ive been eyeing this up for agessss but never gone for it mainly because its been winter and it is defiantly a summer colour. Who doesn't want a bright pink lipstick for holiday? This and my recently purchased morange are going to be my staple holiday colours i can just tell already.


Are you going anywhere on holiday this year? Any holiday staples i need to know about? Leave them in the comments below :)






Tuesday 25 February 2014

PROFESSIONAL BEAUTY EXCEL 2014

So its drawing to the end of february, spring is on its way, new trends are coming in and its time for........ PROFESSIONAL BEAUTY LONDON *dances around excitedly*

For anyone who doesn't know what professional beauty is its a trade show in Excel London to launch the newest trends ideas and products in the nail, beauty and tanning industry at a lower cost. Lots of well known brands such as Elemis, Clarins, NSI, OPI, Orly, Fake Bake, HD brows and many more. 
I know that members of the public can go for a price but couldn't tell you how much I'm sure its around the £20 mark. Fortunately as I'm in the business i get to register for free tickets one for myself and one for a guest (i always take my mum)

Heres a few pictures so you can see what its like, they aren't great quality as it was so busy there wasn't enough time to stand and get a picture with out someone walking in front of the camera or barging you from behind ha.










Ive been to the show a couple of times before and mainly pick up bits for work like new acrylic coloured powders, brushes, paints etc its always really hard to choose when your there as there is so much choice but in the end i went for a mixed pack of gold/bronze glitter powders blue toned glitter powders and a pack of pink and mint pearlised powders, and i can't wait to be able to use them on some of my clients.

As you can see from the bottom photo Frankie Essex from TOWIE was there promoting her hair piece range, it was nice to see her actually demonstrating how to use her products as a lot of the time you get people from these reality shows just making general appearances at their stands. Aswel as Frankie Essex i also saw Amy Childs, Vicky from Geordie Shore and Jenna and Nicole from the Valleys. Im really not the stop and get a picture with them kind of person otherwise i would have had pictures to show you.

Along with shopping for nail stuff i noticed on the list of stands that was going to be there NYX was there now i was excited to go to this stand as I've never tried anything of theirs because as far as i knew you couldn't get NYX over here but my friend told me the other day the next actually stocks it. 
The stand was PACKED!!! I literally had to fight my way to look at colours and that resulted in just throwing at least 2 colours of everything in my basket and also meant i spent a lot more then i should have on makeup when i came to shop for work things *buts hands over face* but oh well life goes on right?! 
I will do a separate review on my purchases from NYX sometime this week with swatches (probably very poorly down) and opinions.

Overall i had a lovely day out with my mum and we stopped in oxford street topshop for a quick browse before we got the train home but thats a whole other blog post.


Did you go to Professional Beauty this weekend? Have you been in the past? Let me know.

Wednesday 19 February 2014

Bunny Cake Yankee Candle

As we all know i am addicted to yankee candles and i have made an effort to not buy any recently, but as i was in the middle of buying 21 presents for my best friends 21st (post coming soon) i just came across the yankee candle isle to buy one for her and couldn't help buying one for myself *put hands over eyes*


Im a sucker for a new scent and this easter special drew me straight in. I got the large size candle as thats the only size they had and as far as i know its the only size they have it in. Yankee has brought out 2 scents this easter Bunny Cake which is above and the other is called White Chocolate Bunnies. Bunny Cake was released last year and has re appeared this easter i never smelt it last year but heard good things about it. White Chocolate Bunnies is new i believe, it is a new take on Chocolate Bunnies which was released a couple of years ago which as you can imagine has a rich chocolate smell.
However Bunny Cake is not as sweet as you think, its sweet but fruity at the same time and the main things that come out in the smell is coconut but not to overpowering. I love it and have not stopped burring it since i got it. Im not to into the really sweet sickly smells but this has just the right balance for me and i love love love it. 

Have you tried any new yankee candles recently? 

Thursday 13 February 2014

Limecrime Poisonberry Lipstick

A girl can never have enough lipsticks in my opinion, i love them and I'm a girl who loves out there shades. I watch a lot of beauty bloggers on youtube like we all do and recently i was watching a love it or leave it video by Nicole Guerriero all on Lime Crime Lipsticks.

Its not a brand you can buy in the UK so i thought id have a look on ebay (its amazing what you can find on there) and i came across some Limecrime lipsticks and i picked up the shade "posionberry" for i think £22.00 which i think is quite expensive but as you can't get them in the UK i was prepared to pay that little bit extra.


Now firstly i have to say about the packaging as its my weakness, if anythings packaged beautifully i have to get it. The shape of the actual lipstick is the same kind of shape as the MAC ones that bullet like shape although they are slightly bigger then MAC ones. The colours of the packaging is a pinky/lilac with a silver metallic unicorn on one side and the words lime crime the other. It looks so pretty i just want to stare at it haha.



Limecrime lipsticks also resembles MAC lipsticks in its smell they smell almost identical. The colour i chose is called "posionberry" and its like a deep purple metallic i would describe it in MAC terms as  a satin finish not completely matte but not as creamy as an amplified finish. The colour goes on your lips lovely but you need a couple of layers to build the colour which think is a good thing as you don't always want to go for a really dark lip. The lipstick has an amazing staying power and doesn't go patchy of bitty like i find a lot of lipsticks on me go after a few hours at work and a couple of cups of tea, it just starts to fade colour a little but still looks beautiful.


 One of the things about lime crime lipsticks they are completely vegan friendly which appeals to a lot of people they also come in some very out there colours for if your feeling daring for example a mint green colour and a yellow one also some lovely light colours i have my eye on one called cosmo pop. Unfortunately for me I'm going to have to keep an eye on eBay to get my hands on one or wait till january when I'm hopefully going to new york (i think i may have to buy the whole collection while I'm there) 

Have you tried any lime crime lipsticks?


Wednesday 12 February 2014

Slimming World Recipe #2

Homemade BBQ Pulled Pork 


So I'm still going strong on my slimming world and have now lost 9.5lbs, over half a stone i also have weigh in tomorrow so hopefully will have lost a couple more. Im feeling loads better in myself and went shopping Milton Keynes yesterday and fitted in a smaller size which made me very very happy and also made me want to keep going on and not give up. 

Todays recipe is BBQ pulled pork, i loveeeee pulled pork and its mainly what i choose on a menu when i go out for dinner so to be able to eat it at home felt very naughty like i was indulging in a very bad dinner but it was completely syn free (all you fellow slimming world people will know how good that is) its actually really easy to make i can't say I'm experienced in cooking but since joint slimming world I've tried a lot of things. 

Ingredients 

1.5-2kg shoulder of pork all fat removed
5 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp of Mustard Powder
500g Passata 
3 tbsp Balsamic Vinegar
2 Cloves of Garlic, crushed
3 tbsp of sweetener
Salt and freshly ground Black Pepper


In a small bowl, mix passata, Worcestershire sauce, balsamic vinegar, mustard powder, garlic, sweetener and seasoning. Transfer to a small pan and simmer for 15 minutes, or until the sauce thickens



Meanwhile, trim and remove all visible fat from the pork and sear all sides in a hot frying pan sprayed with low calorie cooking spray. Transfer to a roasting tin lined with aluminium foil and pour the sauce over the pork making sure all the meat is covered. Cover with the foil and bake on 160°C/140°C Fan for 4-5 hours.









Remove the pork from the oven and place on a cutting board. Allow the meat to cool for approximately 15 minutes, then shred into bite-sized pieces using two forks.



It tasted soooo good i actually impressed myself a little haha. There was also enough left for lunch the next day. Have you made any nice recipes lately? 

Sunday 9 February 2014

A Bittersweet Week

I no i haven't posted that much this week but thats because this week has seriously been like an emotional roller coaster for me and I've trying to been dealing with everything in my own way.

I started the week with having to say goodbye to a friend who i was good friends with at school, he got diagnosed with a rare form of cancer in 2012 and sadly last week he lost his battle at just 23. Its was such a surreal experience going to a funeral of someone so young and the amount of people that turned up was over whelming. It was bitter sweet seeing everyone from school who i hadn't seen in ages and I've decided i need to make more of an effort to see people from school and catch up as you never know whats just around the corner.

On a brighter side my friends Jade and Freddy welcomed their beautiful baby boy Noah into the world.. finally, he was a week late and weighed 7.1lbs. He is sooooo cute and was luckily enough to go round and see mum and baby yesterday and have cuddles with Noah.

Its been my weekend off work this weekend and mum suggest we go and have a mooch round Milton Keynes which only means one thing in my head... MAKEUP!!!! We don't have very good counters where i live so have to make the most of it when we go over to MK heres what i got.




Mac Fix + 
Mac Morange lipstick
Mac 217 blending brush
Mac Vanilla pigment
Bobbi Brown blondie pink lipstick - from the new uber pink collection
YSL Pure Chromatics quad in 19 and 20


The Bobbi Brown lipstick and the YSL pink toned quad is actually my mums but i thought they were so pretty i had to share them with you. I will do a review on my YSL quad when i have used it a bit and experimented a little. At first sight i love all of the things i got I'm interested in experimenting with pigments more and as I'm going to London on tuesday i may treat myself to some more.

Have you used of these things? Any tips on pigments? Let me know.

Tuesday 4 February 2014

Tanya Burr Lipgloss

So one of big beauty bloggers Tanya Burr who i have read and watched for ages lipgloss and nail varnish range dropped last week on www.feelunique.com
I was just browsing the collection and a lipgloss just happened to fell in to my basket and checked itself out *hands cover face*

So Tanyas released a collection of 12 Lip glosses and 10 nail polishes all in lovely colours that she has created and named really cutely herself. Like an example a nail polish called "be bright, be happy" which is as you can tell a bright pink.

I went for a lipgloss as even though I'm a nail technition i rarely use normal polish and use more gel polishes. I had a tough time deciding what lipgloss to go for as swatches on a computer screen are never going to give you a really good idea of what they will look like in real life.

In the end i went for a colour called Smile, Dream, Sparkle which looks on the computer screen a darker pink with a glitter running though it i ordered it thursday evening and it came monday morning which i didn't think was to bad.




Packaging is lovely standard square lipgloss tube, transparent at the bottom so you can see the colour and a black lid. On top of the lip there is also a pink heart which is a cute touch. It has a nice applicator like a doe foot one but it more flat and when you turn it to side it looks like a fish ha, I'm describing it in my head but its not translating on the keyboard.




Right so let me tell you the smell of this is AMAZING!! Sometimes i can think that lip glosses can smell weird and a bit bland but this is like the best smelling lipgloss i have ever smelt in my life. The only way to describe this is strawberry haribo or strawberry starburst. Instead of putting it on my lips i could just smell it all day.
It goes on small and lovely and the glitter in it isn't grainy and you can't feel it on your lips which i think is a big plus as i hate it when you can feel the glitter in them. Its not to sticky but i think its hard for a lipgloss not to be

Next i no my swatch is poor (any tips on making them better gladly taken) but the only thing wrong in my opinion of the lipgloss is i wish it was more pigmented looking at the gloss in the tube i thought it was going to come out quite vibrant but as you can see from my swatch its quite a subtle pink, still lovely i was just hoping for a bit more pigment from the swatch but like i said earlier its hard choosing one when you've never seen an actual swatch.

Well Tanya Burr congratulations on your range I've been wearing my lipgloss all day and i love it, a big thumbs up from me.

Have you been tempted into buying anything from tanya's range? let me no what your thoughts on it are?



Friday 31 January 2014

The Hunt Is On.. Rimmel Stay Matte

Im always on the hunt for the perfect base, i don't have a run to product in foundation and i normally have about 5 on the go that i like to swap and change between. So while browsing in boots the other day i picked up this Rimmel Stay Matte foundation. I like the idea of my face being quite matte on a night out as the lights and heat make your face glow within a matter of hours.


Rimmel stay matte is advertised as a liquid mousse foundation. I like the packaging all though its quite hard to get the right amount out, sometimes you don't get enough then try to get more and then get way to much. As you can see in the picture above it is quite thick in texture and i have paired it next to a normal liquid foundation so you can see the difference.
It feels quite nice as your applying to the skin lightweight and not to cakey and it defiantly makes you face have that matte look.
As for staying power i wasn't that impressed, i used this on a night out and had to reapply powder throughout the night and just generally to work and don't think it lasts long at all. It makes the skin look dry and patchy in areas after about 3 hours even when you don't suffer with dry skin (my skin is combination with oily t zone)
I remember when i used to buy dream matt mousse as a teenager (was the in thing back then) and it did the same thing back then on my skin so it might be just my skin that mousse type foundations don't get on with.

So i think i can check this foundation on my list of what not to use, do you have any foundations that you love and wouldn't use anything else? let me no the hunt is still on.





Sunday 26 January 2014

No7 Beautiful Skin - Hot Cloth Cleanser

I love using a hot cloth cleanser, i love the way it feels on your face and my all time favourite is Liz Earl cleanse and polish which i no a lot of beauty bloggers also rave about.
Well i had come to the end of my bottle which is very sad and where i live we don't have a Liz Earl counter booo :( so i had planned to order another offline but last sunday i went for a mooch round boots (as you do) and came along this No7 hot cloth cleanser which was only £9.95 and i had a £5 off voucher which made it only £4.95 so i just had to get it and try it out BARGIN ALERT!!!




So for anyone who's not familiar with a hot cloth cleanser you put some on your face then use your fingers to circulate it round your face all round and over you eyes and end up looking like a panda from your mascara ha then you put a muslim cloth in hot water and gently remove the cleanser from your face which will cleanse and remove your make up at the same time. Genius.

First thing i noticed on opening this is how big the bottle was 200ml is quite big and all for the bargain price of £4.95 i couldn't believe it. I like its a pump bottle then you can manage how much you need easily. I also like the way its see through ask you no when your about to run out and can make sure your prepared to have some more.



As you can see from the picture one pump gives you quite a lot of product and its defiantly enough to use on your whole face. In texture it feels really hydrating maybe a little bit oily in fact.
its really easy to make just the one pump spread all over your face and removes eye make up so easy. Leaves the skin feeling so refreshed.

I recon this is a great alternative to Liz Earls Cleanse and Polish and i will be using it all up before deciding whether repurchase or go back to my lovely faithful cleanse and polish. Also the price tag is a lot friendlier and with a No7 voucher its even better my advice is get a voucher and go and grab one now!




Wednesday 22 January 2014

Slimming world Recipe #1


Sticky 5 Spice Gammon


As I said the other day this year I'm trying to get fit and healthy and i have joined slimming world this year and have found that some of the recipes are absolutely amazing and i don't even feel like I'm on a diet half the time, i had my second weigh in yesterday and lost 2 pounds so that 6 all together nearly  half a stone YAYY! so I'm going to share with you my favourite ones. This week is sticky 5 spice gammon which is so so tasty.


This recipe serves 4 and the whole recipe is 4 syns which when you share it out between 4 of you its only 1 syn which is perfect when your allowed up to 15 a day.

Ingredients2 tsp Chinese 5-Spice powder
4 x 175g gammon steak cut into bite-sized pieces (remove all the fat first)
Frylite or other syn-free cooking spray
2 red chillies, deseeded and finely sliced
Finely grated zest and juice of an orange
1 level tbsp of runny honey
100 ml of chicken stock
2 tbsp dark soy sauce
Egg noodles to serve





Most of the time I'm only making this for me and my mum so i half the ingredients and leave the chillis out as mum doesn't like spicy things. Boring i know. 






Method
1 – Cook the noodles according to packet instructions


2 – Sprinkle the 5-spice powder over the gammon pieces.
3 – Put a few sprays of frylite into a wok or large frying pan.
4 – Cook the gammon over a high heat for around 2-3 minutes until the edges are slighty browned.


5 – Add the soy sauce, honey, red chillies, orange zest and juice and stock and simmer for 4-5 minutes or until the sauce becomes sticky and the gammon is glazed and golden (with slightly burned edges if you like that sort of thing).




6 – Serve straight away with cooked egg noodles, and any pan juices poured over.









I can't even describe how amazing this tastes, i would easily eat this like 3 times a week.
Ive got a feeling this week for slimming world is going to be tough, even though I'm going to bokwa (post coming soon) and body attack. Tonight i am going for my friends birthday meal at a gorgeous Italian which is cheese and carb galore. One of my friends going is also on slimming world so were hoping to help each other make sensible choices when eating. Wish me luck!!! haha.


Have you got any slimming world recipes to share?

Monday 20 January 2014

Miss Dior

Since about the middle of last year I've had a thing about perfumes, it all started when i went to Bulgaria in june and had a browse round the airport and picked up a couple as we all know duty free is a must when going on holiday.
I always have to save not just spending money for a holiday but spending money for the airport.

Ive had my eye on Diors "Miss Dior" for quite a while but it comes with a hefty price tag which i just couldn't justify to myself, every time i went to the airport id save enough money get there and decide to buy 2 perfumes instead of just 1 for the same price.

So i was opening my christmas presents and could not believe it when i opened a bottle from my auntie and uncle. I was completely stunned and couldn't thank them enough.




I love the packaging it comes with simple yet so cute. The bow on the lid is such a cute touch.
On the back of the box it says "Captivating Egyptian jasmine draped around Indonesian Patchouli. The elegance of a sensual floral Chypre." I am rubbish at describing smells but i would say its a really grown up smell and it deffianantly lasts along time. If I've put it on in the morning then i still get people by the end of the day asking me what I'm wearing.
Its fast becoming my favourite perfume.

Did you get any nice perfumes for christmas I'm going on holiday in april so another airport splurge is happening would love to know some recommendation to get?


Sunday 19 January 2014

IM RUBBISH!!!

I haven't blogged in 6 months in far to longggggg. Sometimes life just gets away with me, I've had work, holidays, weekends away, more work then christmas.
i know its no excuse but i promise this year I'm going to try and blog maybe not everyday but at least twice a week..

Even though were only 19 days into the new year i feel my life turning a new corner, i have joined slimming world thanks to my mums amazing achievements last year in it, she's lost so far 3 stone 8 pounds and looks absolutely amazing and as i have some weight to shift i thought it was the ideal place to start.

Ive only had 1 weigh in so far but i lost 4 pounds and was very very happy. Since joining I've cooked the most I've propably cooked in my entire life so i will be sharing some of the yummy recipes I've been enjoying!

Of course I'm still totally addicted to makeup but am trying to curb the spending as much as i can, i say that even though i managed splurging a lot in boots today!! OPPS but i just HAD to try the maybeline "baby skin instant pore eraser" as I'm a masssssssive fan of Benefits "the porefessional" and it has been rumoured to be a great dupe for it. More on that when I've put it to the test!.

I also have a MAC masterclass coming up on the 11th of feb in London which i am majorly looking forward to. I am going with a colleague from work not sure what to expect as it was only £29 from wowcher but i recon it should still be a great day out if any of you have been on one of these courses id love to know how it is and what to expect?.