I'm back with Max Factor Wild

Ok, ok, I know I haven't posted in agessss. I didn't quite realize how busy I'd be with work, and finishing uni, but now that that is finally all under control(ish) I wanted to return with new reviews and better photos to make up for lost time! So here it goes!

Max factor have just realized a new range called WILD. With 2 mascara colours, 6 gorgeous blendable wild shadow pencil colours and an incredible 13 Wild eye shadow pot colours, there is definitely something for everyone.

I got the Black mascara in this gorgeous luminous green packaging which has soft bristle fibres and a wonderful hourglass shape which really does help apply from root to tip, whilst defining eyelashes. What isn't to like? It is so easy to apply and has become a staple in my makeup bag, and clutch for nights out.

Then I picked up the Fierce Lime Wild shadow pencil, where should I start with that. Is it an eyeliner, an eyeshadow? Well no, actually it's both, and so easy to blend and smudge, the possibilities are endless. Even for someone who struggles applying eyeliner (honestly takes me half hour to get black liner looking presentable!

Before applying Max Factor Wild Mascara

After Applying Max Factor Wild Mascara

The collection is gorgeous, and being titled Wild, the names are all wild related with names such as Viscious Moss, Untamed green etc...

At £4.99 each, how can you go wrong! Are you going to go wild, and pick up more than one? I know I am!

Witch Blemish stick: It's Magic*

I came home to a small package today which confused me, as I don't remember ordering anything. When I opened it there was a little Witch blemish stick* inside, that Witch very kindly sent me after applying to be one of their Flawless Friend and not getting through. I thought it was really sweet of them to be honest, and I am so glad they did.

Tonight I am off to my friend Alice's 21st and so excited, but I did wake up with some spots and have been trying to avoid that before the party. The Blemish stick says that it gets to work instantly, and also fights bacteria that causes spots, but I am always sceptical that something is going to work straight away, but OMG it actually does. Within 10 minutes my spots were less red and less angry.

It says to dob on as often as required when blemishes first appear, and is great for all types but especially oily/combination skin, which is perfect for me.

The small 10g tube contains a turquoise balm that you just dab onto the effected area and let it do it's magic. It does dry a little strangely in that it goes whitish in areas, so I would advise doing this before bed and early in the morning so you can lightly wipe of the white after.

All in all I am so greatful to which for sending me this product, as it actually is magic and has saved me for the party tonight!

*Product sent to me

'Latest in Beauty' Box: Try before you buy

I have finally finished my third year at uni (not my final year) and decided to treat myself to a few little bits. I love coming home to lots of packages its like an early Christmas! Sad I know. I was particularly excited about this little 'beauty' that was waiting for me. Glamour have teamed up with Latest in Beauty to create this amazing box!

Everyone has been reviewing beauty boxes and the sense I have got is that they were great until they became so popular companies could start putting in normal products people weren't excited about. However, Latest in Beauty is not like this.

Latest in Beauty's website is great. Unlike other beauty boxes you know what you're getting, but once they're gone they're gone. Their policy is 'try before you buy' which is a better I think. It's great because it doesn't need you to subscribe, you can just buy when you fancy the products or have the money. 

It's £14.95 inc delivery, which is a little more than most boxes on the market which suck you in by the £10 price but it doesn't include the £2.95 postage. I personally think that paying an additional £2 it is much better value for money. It arrives in a cute black sleek box and the products are wrapped in a cream tissue paper with the glamour logo sticker on it. It's classic although I have seen some prettier boxes which are more colourful and 'pretty.' However it is just to store all the pretty products!

 

This specific box was a collaboration of latest in beauty with Glamour magazine with a value they claim of £65! It includes:

-Loreal Super Liner Gel Intenza (full size)

-Batiste dry shampoo (sample)

-Benefit the Porefessional (sample)

-Ginvera green tea exfoliating marvel gel (sample)

-Revlon nail enamel Coral (Full size)

-Jinnylash strip eyelashes (full size)

-The vintage cosmetic company tweezers

-Stila Lip Glaze (Sample)

-John Frieda Frizz-ease original formula (sample)

Have you heard of them before? Have a look here and see if anything takes your fancy. They do have other boxes available to try too! I personally, can't wait to test and review these products!

Prada Candy Je t'adore

I am not much of a perfume collector. I tend to find a couple that I love and stick to them. And Prada Candy's eau de parfum is one that made the cut, and is definitely a front runner as my favourite.

My bottle is 50 ml, and came from My bestest friend Jo for my birthday in december. To be fair I have only just started to run out so 6 months isn't too bad, and it came in a wonderful gift box with a body lotion, so what is not to love?

It came out in 2011, and you may have noticed the new Prada Candy L'eau being advertised, which I cannot wait to review. However for the moment I am more than happy with my Candy. It has a wonderful sweet and feminine scent, that I love, with warm caramel and vanilla undertones.

I find it very spring/summery and it always makes me feel like it's summer even though at the moment it clearly isn't!

It retails for anything £39 for a 30ml bottle to £55 for a 50ml bottle, and has a gorgeous scented body lotion available to match!

Have you tried Prada Candy?

OOTD: Neon Aztec

After having finished the majority of my exams, a few friends and I thought it would be a great idea to go out for a few drinks and have a nice girly evening. It was lovely to get away from the books, and dress up a little, and I am so in love with the Aztec trend at the moment and decided to team it with my new neon nail wraps too!

Dress: Primark £10

Necklace: Accesorize £8 ( featured here)

Nails: Primark Neon yellow nail wraps £1 reduced to 50p! (featured here)

I love it, and teamed it with a black jacket later in the evening, necessary at the moment, especially with these silly wintery nights in summer!

Hope you like it too!

How to add a blog button to your blog

It may sound so pathetic, but today after agreeing to do a blog button swap with the lovely Amy, I panicked. I couldn't figure out how to add a blog button and link to someone else's page. So i thought it may be handy for other bloggers who might be having the same problem. Here we go:

1. Go to the layout page, which allows you to add gadgets.

2. It will then take you to the add gadget, and layout page

3. When you get on that page, click add gadget. 

4. The add image. I have seen loads of people try adding at html but the best way I found is to add an image. It may say Picture on yours, it does vary from blog to blog.

5.When you click on it, it should say Configure Image.

6. Put whatever title you want, I put 'Some of my lovely Bloggers'.

7. Choose the image of your friends/advertisers blog button and upload it by choosing the file button. 

8.Then enter the link to their blog. Be careful that if you are copying it directly from the web address to delete one of the two https as I made this mistake!

9. And always make sure to save!!

Hope this helps and have fun adding blogs my lovelies!

Nail Wrap love for 50p

I have a confession to make. As embarrassing as it may be, I am a nail wrap virgin. I know, I know, but I was so sceptical about a nail sticker I shied away. That was up until my trip to oxford (yes, yes I go there a lot!) where I picked up these little beauties for 50p! I know, just 50p is a steal and as they were only a £1 originally  I really wish I had bought more as they were reduced. Plus this highlighter colour is so on trend, how can you go wrong!?

My first attempt!: Success I feel!

Anyway, if like me you haven't tried these wraps before, then quick! Jump on this bandwagon, because it is so easy to do. With the Primark ones you just have to choose the size you want for your nail, and trim if needed. Then warm up the wrap I just did it between my fingers, a bit like wax trips, place on your nail and trim off with a nail file. If you're nervous I would look up a nail tutorial on youtube, like I did!

Top Tip:
After placing the wrap on your nail, use a hair dryer over it for a few seconds then smooth, it helps remove any annoying air bubbles!

Simple Oil Balancing Moisturiser

I have to admit, I am in love. I know, I know, it is a strong word to use but when you know, you know right?

Ok, ok so it's not a guy, it's my new Simple Oil Balancing Moisturiser, part of their new oil balancing clear skin range.

I got this a few days ago, when my dad came to visit me at uni, and I was able to sneak a few bits in the trolley. +Claire Rebecca had mentioned it, and after realizing that with my new Bare minerals SPF20 Ready Foundation (review here) couldn't be used over my No.7 Colour calming cream.

As I have quite oily skin (unfortunately), I jumped at this product and as you may have guessed am in love. You only need the smallest pea size amount for your face, and although it comes out as a cream, it rubs in like like a gel.

For roughly £4 it is a steal, as you do only need a tiny amount and it has a 12 month suggested usage. Plus at the moment Boots has 3 for 2 on Simple skincare here! Bonus!

Have you used any of the new collection?

Body Shop beauty haul

Who doesn't love a little shop, and when it is unexpected well that's even better! So after a lovely meal with my neighbour and friend Sue, we stumbled across a pamper evening at the body shop. We just couldn't resist and were drawn in to the wonderful fruity smells of the body butters. So here is what I bought:

I love that it comes in this little brown body shop branded bag. It reminds me of a little old school lunch box plus it is environmentally friendly! Bonus! 

Camomile Waterproof Eye Make-up Remover

Nail File

Seaweed Ionic Clay Mask

Brow Definer Pencil -Dark Brown 03

On top of that I signed up for the £5 loyalty card that gets you 10% off and a little birthday freebie. Although it cost £5 I got the Peppermint smoothing Pumice foot scrub which smells well you guessed it Pepperminty and is divine, for free! RRP £7 so really it was an investment! Right?

And if that wasn't enough O2 moments had a £10 off a £20 spend so I got everything for £10 with a little product for Sue too!

Successful post exam beauty haul I feel!

Gelly Nails, what is all the fuss?

Everyone has gone mad for Barry M's Gelly nails, so I decided that of course I would have to try it and see what all the fuss was about. Having had gel nails for my birthday in December, I was well aware of their appeal. Gel nails claim to last up to atleast 7 days chip free, and I managed to go 5 weeks without them chipping! So when the cheaper gelly Barry M nail varnish came out I can understand why everyone jumped at them.

Now don't get me wrong, the colour, G14 Lychee, it is my favourite nude varnish. It is perfect for adding a little glitter too, or for that outspoken outfit. But, and that's the problem, there are buts.

The instructions say to apply basecoat before the varnish, which I did, and used the Barry M basecoat, which I love, but from there on in it was disastrous.

Firstly it takes aggggessss to dry. For me it took a good 20 minutes to dry fully, and even after that kept smudging.

Secondly it chipped within a day. I'd love to know what I am doing wrong as I have read reviews of bloggers saying they've been chip free for days!

And thirdly everything that touched my nails left an imprint. It was weird, and almost jelly like, (as the name suggests) but I am sure it wasn't supposed to do that. I didn't even have 2 layers on!

I have read many positive reviews, and don't get me wrong I love the colour, but I will be steering clear of the gellies and heading for my nearest salon.

Bare Minerals SPF20 Ready Foundation

My perfect foundation

Bare Minerals SPF20 ReadyFoundation

Finally it has come. The day when Bare Minerals offer a foundation with fuller coverage.

Although it may look like your traditional foundation it definitely is. It's a foundation, but uses solid mineral technology for fuller longer coverage, and is definitely has fuller coverage than previous mineral foundations I have tried.

When I saw that Bare Minerals were releasing a fuller coverage makeup, I was over the moon. Bare Minerals is a brand I have known for years, after my mum suggested we pop into debenhams and have a look. For someone like me, who can suffer from breakouts quite often, Bare Minerals offers the luxury of a lightweight foundation that is flawless and effortless. With it's swirl, tap and buff method,  it is easy to apply and is so lightweight it claims you can sleep with it on and not breakout. Although this is of course not advisable! 

So when they  released this SPF 20 Foundation, I couldn't wait to get my hands on it. I went into Debenhams in Birmingham but they were already sold out it had prooven so popular. Therefore I went to my trusted www.feelunique.com which had it at a discounted price of £21 instead of the £25 retail price.

Due to my pale skin, I am a R170 shade, which has yellow undertones, and is perfect for me. If you aren't sure what shade you would be have a look here for a range of their shades or pop into your nearest stockists to get a colour check. It applies on a smooth layer of powder, which can be built up to give you as full a coverage as you want. So even if you just want a thin foundation, this could be the product for you too! Very versatile.

When I got it in the post I ripped open the package and started using it immediately. However I didnt have their precision face brush so I used my Kabukki brush I had had from their previous SPF15 range. It gave me a good cover, but not as good as I had seen in the store, so I saved up and ordered their precision brush shown below, which I definitely recommend even if you have 100 brushes already. But that is for another review!

Use it as your foundation for any look and it will leave your skin look fresh, instead of a thick liquid foundation.

I hope you like it as much as I do!

Curl Tip #2

After a long shift at work, the first thing I want to do when I get in is have a shower and wash my hair. But as I always finish at 11pm ish going to bed with wet hair is not ideal, and I normally avoid it. However after last nights shift I caved, and wet to sleep with wet curls. Safe to say it wasn't the best plan I have ever had and woke up looking like a lion. 

Curls are best, in my experience, washed in the morning, nice and fresh. Sleeping on them leaves them to get fluffy and frizzy, as well as being quite knotty in the morning especially if you toss and turn in the night. 

If you just can't resist the temptation to fall asleep at the point where your curls are just a bit damp, be prepared to do a lot of work in the morning, or use a revitaliser spray. I use my Aussie leave in conditioner to reactivate curls, and my GHD's to tame my fringe.

Find my Aussie review here and give it a go!

Santuary Spa thermal mask

At the moment I am slightly addicted to face masks. With the oily skin I have quite often and acne, face masks are a great addition to any skincare routine, and theyre fun too! Albeit a little messy at times. So whilst  I was in the wonderful Oxford, visiting +Claire Rebecca  she suggested I try this little beauty!

Sanctuary Spa: 5 Minute Thermal Detox Mask

Sanctuary Spa are a company with years of experience, and I have to say personally I believe their branding offers a simple approach to beauty products which is sophisticated edge. However other than the boots Christmas gift sets I have never gone in to buy a specific product.

When testing this sachet from Boots, which is available for £3, I was surprised. As you apply it to your skin it really does what it says and become a thermal mask. It leaves the skin feeling smooth and tighter and only needs 5 minutes. Perfect for a little me time whilst revising! 

It is a grey coal colour which comes out as a thin clay layer, which is really easy to apply, and then remove with a warm flannel. It is definitely the easiest mask to remove, and as it doesn't harden like most masks I use, it doesn't leave you as a statue, but still has that firming effect.

The sachet provides a minimum of 2 applications which is a great way to test a product, and in reality I wish more brands did this to encourage buyers to try products and not be put off by the original price. I have managed to get 3 uses out of the sachet, as you really only need a thin layer.

I will be going to boots asap and buying the full size bottle which retails at £10.50 but with the summer 3 for 2 offers who knows what else I will be tempted by!

Why not give it a try?

OPI Are we there yet?

After my last triumph with OPI's gorgeous I eat mainly lobster, I have been really dissapointed with my latest purchase.

OPI's Are we there yet?

I originally chose the colour as it was so similar to my favourite I eat mainly lobster varnish. However the application of this varnish is much different. Bizarre right? It comes out so much thinner, and I needed atleast 3 applications before it was nice enough to wear out. I also, unlinke my I eat mainly lobster varnish, had to apply a top coat to make it shiny, which the other does without. 

Retailing at £11.50 OPI are on the pricy side, and normally I would say worth it, especially as you can get them online for less. However I wouldnt choose this colour again, and may even sell this one!

Tuttut OPI, I guess they can't get it right all the time!

Bye for now 

Exciting Delivery

So excited to get my gorgeous new delivery today!

Baremineral's Precision Brush

Looking forward to be reviewing this is the next few days! Don't you just love a new makeup brush?!

Keep your eyes open girls!

Beautiful beauty haul

For a mini revision break I popped over to Oxford for a lovely day in the sun with the wonderful +Claire Rebecca  However what started as a day for punting quickly became a day of wondering leisurely into all our favourite stores, swatching as many products as we could fit on our hand! Literally at one point I looked a wonderful rainbow of corals! After taking advantage of boots and superdrug's 3 for 2 I came back with this beautiful beauty haul! 

Sanctuary spa- 5 minute thermal detox mask

Look Beauty-fruit punch shade 4 lipstick gloss

Barry M-nail corrector pen

Collection 2000-Fix me up, long lasting makeup fixer 

Accessorize-sweet cheeks cream blush Rose

Beauty Uk- Baked Blush Rose rouge 

NYC- Colour instinct eyeshadow palette, 968 Cupcakes & Coffee

It was a wonderful day although my bank budget may not agree! Many reviews coming soon! 

New Advertising

I am really happy to announce that this month I am advertising with the wonderful Tattooed Tea Lady over at  http://www.tattooedtealady.com/

If you haven't already had a look at her blog you definately should. Her reviews are really in depth, and have a great personality to them, which makes for a great read, especially for those of us still in the midst of exams. Procrastination is key to getting through!

To advertise with her I had to create a blog button, and for those of you who know me, I'm more facebook than photoshop. So when my friend adam offered to create something on photoshop I was relieved. Phewwww, otherwise I was going to have to create something on paint! So this is what he came up with and I love it, as you may have noticed it is now my header for my blog too! Plus it really stands out on the Tattooed Tea Ladies blog!

What do you think?

Anyway if you haven't thought about advertising before I really suggest it. There are different packaged available with whoever you chose, but it is a great step forward for followers. Will let you know how I get on!

Curl Tip #1

Natural is best!

After washing your hair, leave your curls to dry naturally. It is key in my opinion to a frizz free curl. If you can avoid going out whilst its drying that is ideal. Weather always toys with the frizz of my curls, and is always so hard to predict. I know it may look messy at first but it is worth it! So step away from the hairdryer, and take some down time to relax whilst those curls dry naturally!

                                    

Lush's Angels on Bare Skin

I have recently become a huge fan of Lush and their all natural products. Every time I walk past one of their stores I am drawn in by the 'Lush smell,' (you all know what I am talking about!) So here is another of their products I have tried.

Lush's Angels on Bare Skin

 The original product is almost like a bitty clay. It claims to reduce redness and even out the appearance of skin tone. It is a wonderful all natural product with almonds and lavender oil, as well as gorgeous violet lavender flowers ground up in the product.

To use:

1. Pinch a small amount as shown above 

2. Add a bit of water

3. Rub in the water to form a thin paste

4. Apply to your face

On application it is a thin layer of paste, which smells divine, and resembles an oatmeal treatment. 

Retailing at: £6.25 per 100g

Available here : Lush Angels on Bare Skin

Are you a fan of Lush?

Barry M Bright Purple

Despite my looming exam tomorrow, I felt the need to post a new blog post today, after my lack of interaction this week. So here we go a gorgeous

Barry M- Bright Purple

This vibrant Barry M colour, is just one of many in the range. I got this one from the gorgeous +Claire Rebecca last year on her trip to visit me in Turin on my year abroad. 

The Barry M collection is one to which I have become a huge fan. Retailing at £2.99 how can you go wrong? I have a wide collection of about 20 now, and my new favourite is the gorgeous gelly nails paint.

Are you a fan of the Barry M range?