Saturday 29 December 2012

Soap and Glory | No Clogs Allowed Self Heating Detox Mask

No Clogs Allowed Deep Pore Detox Mask, £11 link
 This mask is amazing! There is no other way to start this post off other than saying that. So, now that is out of the way, I’ll get down to the specifics!

The full name of the product it’s called On This Face, There are… No Clogs Allowed Super Self Heating Deep Pore Detox Mask.  Now that mouthful is out of the way, I’ll tell you what this claims to do!

The mask supposedly contains 1 Minute Hot Poreclear Technology! I don’t really know what that is, but it works I can tell you that. I’m not sure it does anything in a minute but after leaving this mask on for about 5 minutes, my pores a clear and look a little reduced! I have terrible trouble with clogged pores and this is the only this that can clear them out properly.

You’ll know you have this on right, when you are “blue in the face”. The mixture is initially white, but the exfoliating beads within the product are blue and once you’ve give your face a good scrubbing; the mixture turns a blue colour. The so called exfoliating beads are not exfoliating at all. The do create a little texture within the mask but nothing particularly rough. They do disintegrate when you rub it, which turns everything blue. It looks quite strange when it's on but it works amazingly well. 

At that point you can wash it off and feel refreshed (and you really do feel refreshed) or you can leave it for 3 – 5 minutes (the suggested time) and have a reasonably deep clean!


The sponge is a little crappy, but it works for a while. I just tend to wash it off my face like anything else (with my hands). So, the sponge is no selling point but THIS IS AMAZING! I would recommend this to anyone (as long as your skin is not too sensitive because it can be a little abrasive). It's not that it's rough in texture or anything like that but it does heat up quite a bit and deeply cleans your face.
Thursday 27 December 2012

Original Source Mint and Walnut Super Scrub

Two facts need to be stated before we get into this post:
1) I love a good body scrub. I’m always on the search for new now, no matter how good the previous one was I always think I’m going to find something better!
2)The Mint and Tea Tree Original Source Shower Gel is my all-time favourite shower gel! It makes me feel super clean, cool and refreshed and it doesn’t dry out my skin at all!

Those facts might help you understand my love for this product! 


Original Source Min and Walnut Super Scrub, £2.50 link

This beauty was just sitting in the depths of Tesco warehouse or wherever they get your online shopping from when I put in a food order a couple of weeks ago! It was just awaiting my tender loving care, so I snapped it up for the great intro price of £1 and some random stranger shopped and sent it off to me with my potatoes and veg!

**Quick side note: Who doesn’t want that job? I would love to be the shopper that picks the stuff for other people! I love the shopping high, and you would get it without the pay-out. My cousin does it, and I’m close to begging her to swap jobs with me because mine is so shockingly shit (excuse the language) **

This Mint and Walnut scrub is totally vegan and it packed with 6898 crushed walnut shell bits! It’s got the fabulous mint scent from the shower gel just slightly less intense and the walnut don’t dissolve on contact with the bath water. That is the only reason I detest sugar or salt scrubs, I want the exfoliants to last not dissolve! It’s  totally abrasive enough for my liking, so it might just be love! I’ll let you know when I have used it some more!

This leaves your skin feeling clean and refershed and slightly cold after you have used it. It's great for use in the mornings when you need something to really wake you up. It's like the nice version of a bucket of cold water being chucked over you, in a totally good way.  
Saturday 22 December 2012

Miss Sporty Studio Lash Mascara

Miss Sport Studio Lash Mascara, link

I think there a few versions of this mascara, and whilst it doesn’t specify the differences on the packaging, from what I’ve seen online I have the Instant Volume version. It’s meant to lift lashes by 70% and make the up to 60% longer. I’m not one for these stats though because I can’t fathom how you can measure that but I can say that this mascara does lift lashes and makes them look longer. Whether that’s by 60/70% I don’t know.

Miss Sporty say it has “zero clumps” but I would have to disagree with it. If you don’t wipe you brush a little before using it, it can clump on your lashes. Also, if you coat your lashes to many times it can clump big style. But, with 2 coats, and a little wiping it’s awesome. 

They also claim its “smudge and smear proof” which I would agree with but I’ve never really has a mascara smudge or smear on my before.  It does take a little while to dry which is a little which can be an issue. Especially if you’re like me, and the moment you put mascara on you need to sneeze. It’s pretty common that I end up with mascara all around my eyes because I’ve shut my eyes to much too fast.




They market the wand as a “next generation applicator” which is a little much. It’s a nice wand, and I love that it’s plastic because that’s what floats my boat but I wouldn’t say it’s next generation. I love the tapered tip but I’ve seen it before. 

Overall, it’s a great mascara. It’s especially great considering it’s only £2.99. It’s just as good as some mascara’s I’ve paid £10-£14 for, and better than any MAC one I’ve tried.
Monday 17 December 2012

Revlon ColorStay Foundation (For Normal/Dry Skin)

Who hasn't heard every opinion under the sun about Revlon ColorStay? I was a little unsure if I should write this review, because I'm sure you've heard it all before. This foundation has to be the most popular drugstore foundation in the blogging world, so all has been said but I decided to throw my own two cents into the mix. 

This foundation is a very full coverage foundation, and it can look cakey but if you find the right way to apply it, it can be amazing. I've tried every which way to apply this and the best ways for me are with a damp beauty blender sponge or with a stippling brush. The beauty blender gives a more natural look, where as the brush gives a heavier look. I like both, and use the natural one for daytime and the heavier one to amp it up for night time. 

No matter which way I wear it, it does last. It's very rare that a foundation claiming to last upto 16 hours actually lasts that amount of time but I can put this on at 8 in the morning and it will last until at least 10 at night.

I love it's versatility. I can use this as a concealer on a BB cream day, or as a full coverage foundation on those bad skin days. I can also mix in a pump of highlighter like L'Oreal Lumi Magique Primer or Soap and Glory Hocus Focus and BAMB you have a nice coverage foundation with a nice glow.
The only thing I hate is the packaging. I love foundations with a pump, and this doesn't have one. You have to pour it out, and I always make a mess with it. The bottle gets grubby, the foundation gets everywhere and I feel like I waste some because I always pour out too much. 
Sunday 16 December 2012

MUA Eyeliner Pencils

MUA Intense Colour Eyeliner Pencils, £1. link
Malt Chocolate, Royal Blue, Snow White, Forest Green, Gold Nugget and Turquoise

MUA, or Makeup Academy, is a fabulous brand that you can get online or in Superdrug stores. Unfortunately, it's only available in the UK. Anyway, it's great quality stuff for amazing prices. My most recent love from this brand is the intense colour eyeliner pencils. They are just as good as some of the more expensive brands I've tried and they are only £1 a pencil.

They offer two types of pencils that are both just as good as each other. The Intense Colour Pencils are shimmery or matte, whereas the Intense Glitter Pencils are full of glitter.  They are both really well pigmented and reasonably soft too. They don't quite glide on like Nyx Slide on pencils or anything like that but they don't cause any hurt on the lids anything like that.

Snow White, Royal Blue, Gold Nugget, Forest Green, Turquoise and Malt Chocolate
The best colours that I have are gold nugget and forest green. They are both beautifully pigmented and I feel like I could wear them every day, where as some of the both colours are a little brighter and are more for special occasions.
I would say that the worst colour is the snow white shade. Its not as pigmented as the rest of the shades. It's still an amazing white eyeliner for the price, but it's not as great as the others.   only really got it for use on the water line and it doesn’t show up on the water line at all.

I think the sharpeners on the lid show that it's a slightly cheaper product because it's not the most ascetically pleasing but it's really handy. It's also really nice to have a sharpener on hand all the time. A sharpener alone would cost more than the pencil itself and I use the for almost all my pencils simply because it's the only one that I don't loose. 
Saturday 15 December 2012

7 Blogs You Must Read

 I don’t know about you, but I’m always on the search for new blogs. I love reading the different opinions of fellow bloggers, and getting to know some amazing people is a big bonus! I wanted to share the love today, and have picked out some of my favourite blogs to recommend to you all.
 
Zoe (or Zoella)
http://schoee.blogspot.co.uk/
You know this girl, right? You cannot be a reader of beauty blogs and not know who she is. Her blogs is well written with posts that are informative and just all around brilliant.
Louise (or Sprinkle of Glitter)
This blog is amazing! Much like Zoe (they are great friends!) the posts are written amazingly well, informative and all around entertaining. Louise not only blogs about beauty and fashion, but life as well which makes the blog all that more fabulous.
Sophia (Tattooed Tea Lady)
I love this blog. This is one of my more recent finds but it’s great. The blog has all the things you look for, with added personality and brilliance. Along with great posts, the blogger (Sophia) is a great tweeter and interacts with us all!
Jodie (Jodie Win Yan)
This is one of the blogs that I have found most recently. The blog is super cute, and just something that I want to read! 
Becky (Beckys Makeup)
I can’t even remember how I found this blog but I’m so glad I did. It has a great mix of posts, a lovely blogger behind it and is just all around fab! I’m sure you all already follow her, but if you don’t I would seriously recommend checking her out!
Kia (Make Me Up Kia)
I found this blog through the #bbloggers, and I’m so happy I did! Kia is a lovely girl, with brilliant posts on everything you could ask for. It’s honest, informative and has great pictures to back it all up! My only wish is that she blogged a little more, but you can't have it all. 

Terri Lowe (Hello Terri Lowe)
This is a great blog, and another one I found through the #bbloggers. It has a wide variety of posts that are all well laid out, honest and good to read. The blogger (Terri) also has a killer dip dye that I’d love!
Friday 14 December 2012

Topshop Lipstick Review

Topshop Lipsticks in Innocent link Pillow Talk not online Rio Rio link and Hazard link.
If this is the first time reading my blog, you haven't heard me go on about how much I adore the Topshop makeup line. Well, I do adore it and the lipsticks are my favourite second only to the cream blushes. I've had quite a few shades but only had 4 when I was photographing things for this post! These are my favourite colours anyway. 

The lipsticks are very comparable to higher end lipsticks that I've tried, and are so much cheaper. They are only £8 a tube but they feel so much more expensive. The packaging isn't cheap plastic, but expensive feeling metal. The twisting mechanism is well done because it works for one (unlike ELF) and it doesn't feel like it's going to break. The colour is also nice and I don't feel stupid pulling it out on the tube and applying it. I'm all for bright pink packaging but it can make me feel like a kid sometimes. 

The formula of these lipsticks is amazing. They aren't full of shimmer and sparkle which I adore. They glide on the lips really easily, and last a really long time. The darker colours last a little longer than the lighter colours but I find that true with almost any lipstick/lip product. They leave a nice natural finish on the lips that isn't to glossy or shiny or too matte. They describe it as "satin" and "velvet" which I suppose is true. They swatch beautifully, and are really pigmented. Even the lighter shades are nicely pigmented, and beat out a couple of light MAC shades I've tried. 
Wednesday 12 December 2012

Avon Super Extend Extreme Mascara & Super Shock Max Mascara


 Avon Super Extend Extreme link and Avon Super Shock Max link


I got these mascaras in a magazine a couple of months ago. I’m not normally one to buy the same magazine over and over for the free gift but I got two of the same one for these mascaras because I adore them. I first got the Super Shock Max and loved it so much I wanted to try the others. Sadly I could only find two of the three that were on offer but I’m glad I got these because they are awesome.


The Super Shock Max mascara claims to give “15x the volume” and “does not clump” and it’s true. I’m not sure the 15x bit is exact but it gives my lashes an insane amount of volume without fear of clumps. The wand is super fat with fine bristles all over it which add volume but are fine enough that they separate lashes so there are no clumps.
It’s super black too. I have really blonde eyelashes so I love a really black mascara because it really frames my eyes and this is the perfect colour. It’s really black and it coats my lashes easily. It doesn’t take forever to put on, and even thought the wand is huge it’s not too hard to get the smaller lashes.


The Super Extreme Extend is essentially the lengthening mascara in the Avon “super” range. It comes with a plastic wand again and quite thick for a lengthening mascara but it works. It’s not exclusively lengthening, because it adds volume too. It adds length to all my lashes, and just enough volume for me. It’s a day time mascara for me, because even though it says it doesn’t “clump” it does when you try to add to many layers. It doesn’t flake or smudge thought which is a huge bonus!
They are both just awesome mascaras, and ones I would recommend. I think they are more suited for daytime looks but if you want one for a more night time look pick up the Super Shock Max.
Monday 10 December 2012

Top 5 Scents For Her

Beautysets - top scents for her
1) Lady Million by Paco Rabanne link. 2) Taylor Swift Wonderstruck link. 3) Diesel Loverdose link. 4) Britney Spears Fantasy Twist link.5) Boss Nuit link
1) Lady Million 
Heart Notes: Neroli, Orange Flower & Arabian Jasmine
Top Notes: Bitter Orange & Fleshy Raspberry
Base Notes:Honey & Vibrant Patchouli

I adore this fragrance. From the moment it came out I've been lusting after it but for some reason I just haven't picked it up yet. I always think of warmth when I smell this which is weird but it's just a lovely winter fragrance, that smells of yumminess. It's described as a glamorous fragrance which is totally true and it's a great perfume that works from day to night.

Diesel Loverdose 
Heart Notes: Liquorice & Vanilla
Top Notes: Mandarin & Star Anise
Base Notes: Dry Woods

This is a new discovery of mine, but I'm sure that it's been out for a while.I got a little sample of this and used it up pretty quick. It's a nice and popular scent that I've found most people like or love. It is a floral scent but I'm not normally a fan of floral scent and I love it. It's a modern floral, not 'old lady' floral that can put some people off.

Taylor Swift Wonderstruck
Heart Notes: Hawaiin White Hibiscus, Honeysuckle, Mimosa Flowers and Vanilla Whoopie Pie
Top Notes:Freesia, Green Tea, Apple Blossom, Raspberry and Dewberry
Base Notes:Amber, Sandalwood and Peach

I adore this! Not only is it by the gorgeous Taylor Swift, but it also smells gorgeous. I would say this is one for the younger woman out there but if you like sweet smells this is for you. It's not quite as sweet as something like Britney Spears or anything like that but it's a nice sweet scent with just a hint of floralness to it. There is a bit of a fruit punch in there too.
Boss Nuit 
Heart Notes:White Flowers, Jasmine and Sensual Violet
Top Notes: Aldehydes and Peach
Base Notes:Crystalline Moss and Creamy Sandalwood

This is my new favorite perfume, and it totally on my christmas list. The bottle is nice and sleek, and the scent is amazing. It's not to floral, or to fruity. I think it would be great for both the younger and older woman. It's a great combination of floral and fruity scents without wither ebing overpowering and the scent just screams femininity, to me at least.
Britney Spear Fantasty Twist 
Fantasy Twist is a bit different from the perfumes above, simply because you get two for the price of one. This is a combination of the two most popular Britney fragrances, Fantasy and Midnight Fantasy. You get half a bottle of Fantasy, and half a bottle of Midnight Fantasy to use individually or to mix and match.  




Fantasy:
Heart Notes: Jasmine Petals and White Chocolate Orchid
Top Notes: Red Lychee, Golden Quince and Kiwi
Base Notes: Musk, Orris Root and Sensual Woods

Midnight Fantasy:
Heart Notes: Night Orchid, Freesia and Iris
Top Notes: Framboise, Black Cherry and Plum
 Base Notes: Amber, Musk and Vanilla 

 Both of these scents are really sweet and super fruity. They have some floral notes but the sweetness kind of takes over it all. They are scents for the younger person in my opinion. Fantasy is more of a day time scent, with Midnight Fantasy being more of an intense scent for the night time.
Sunday 9 December 2012

Top 5 Scents for Him




1)      Diesel Only The Brave
*Base Notes: Amber, Leather and Ceaderwood
*Top Notes: Lemon, Mandarin and Coriander
*Heart notes: Labdanum heart, violet leaves and rosemary.

Overall: This has a strong feel to it and has the woody and oriental scent to it. If you cannot tell, I like those scents but I think they are great on a man. It’s not to bad a price, but it is heading to the top end of the prices in places like Superdurg.  

This can be purchased alone in the 35ml size at £29.99 link, and the 50ml size at £38.50 link. If you are considering getting this as a gift, or in the 50ml size it would definitely be worth picking up the gift set which is £38.50 and you get the 50ml EDT and a 200ml Shower Gel in the same scent as the EDT, link.  

2)      One Million
*Base Notes: Leather and Amber
*Top Notes: Fresh Fruit, Blood Mandarin and Peppermint
*Heart notes: Masculine Flowers, Rose and Musk

Overall: This scent is woody and oriental.  Specialists say that the scent is daring, irresistible and seductive. It’s at the higher end of drugstore perfume prices, but it’s worth it.

You can purchase this in two sizes in places like Superdrug  and that is 50ml (£36.50, link) and 100ml (£49.99, link). As with the Only The Brave, you can get this in a gift set that is exactly the same price as the 50ml spray EDT and you get the 50ml EDT as well as a shower gel, link

3)      Quorum
*Base Notes: Amber, Musk & Leather
*Top Notes: Bergamot, Lemon & Cumin
*Heart notes: Juniper, Jasmine and Pine.

Overall: This is my little unconventional pick of them all because not many people know about it. It's pretty uncommon on the shelves of places like Boots and Superdurg and I only rarely see it on the shelves of Savers. I usually head online to purchase this of my dad. It's a beautiful scent that is described as 'masculine' and has an overall woody scent. It's quite a nice spicy, warm scent if you like that. 

I found this on Amazon and the best prices I found were as follows. You can get the 100 EDT for £10.40, link. They also do an aftershave version of this in two sizes which are £9.25, link, for 100ml, or £6.07, link, for the 50ml. The best gift set I found was one that contained the 100ml aftershave and the 100ml EDT for only £15.99, link
 

3)      CK One
*Base Notes: Musk
*Top Notes: Bergamot
*Heart notes: Green Tea

Overall: This is a citrus scent, which is what makes it a unisex scent; at least it does to me. It defiantly is unisex though, and I know men and women who wear this. It’s a fresh scent that leaves you feeling refreshed. It’s defiantly iconic and it’s been gaping strong since 1994.

You can get these is a range of different sizes but as far as I know you can only get EDT, rather than EDP or aftershave. All of the ones that I have seen come in a spray bottle too. For the 100ml you can get it at £29.99, link. The 50ml EDT spray is £22.50, link. The gift set is a great buy even if you are buying this for yourself because it's the same price as the 50ml EDT and you get the EDT as well as a 100ml shower gel, link


2)      Joop Homme or Joop Homme Wild
Joop Homme
*Base Notes: Amber
*Top Notes: Orange Blossom
*Heart notes: Cinnamon

Overall: This is also a woody and oriental scent, and the specialist say that it has a sensual masculine feel, and that it’s slight provocative. The adverts for this defiantly say that about it the scent. It’s a great bottle and a great price.

You can get this in a range of sizes and you can choose between the aftershave or a EDT (a slightly longer lasting scent). The 75ml aftershave is cheaper than the EDT at £27.50 a bottle, link. The EDT in the same size, 75ml, is £38.50, link, but it does last longer and I prefer this one. If you want a gift set, you can get the 75ml aftershave as well as a shower gel for the same price as the stand alone 75ml aftershave27.50, link). 

Joop Homme Wild
*Base Notes:Woody Blond Tobacco
*Top Notes: Pink Pepper
*Heart notes: Absolute Rum

Overall: This is oriental scent much like the original but it does differ from the original quite a lot. It has a sexy feel to it and I find the overall scent really appealing. It’s a great bottle much like the original and the price is just as great.

These comes in sizes very similar to the original Joop. The aftershave in 75ml is only £26.99, link. The 75ml EDT is £37.99, link, and the 30ml EDT is £20.99, link. If you want the gift set you can get the 75ml EDT and a shower gel for the price of the 75ml EDT alone, at £37.99 link