So Glamour have done it again..benefit freebies

So as the title suggests glamour magazine have well and truly excelled themselves yet again, every year they seem to release three benefit freebies within the monthly magazine around this time of year last year it was the likes of posietint! this year the choices are that gal primer, the porefessional and bad gal lash mascara, i didn't pick up the mascara because im not a fan and find the formula quite messy, however after purchasing confessions of a Concealaholic last year i have been an avid fan of that gal primer, with an almost bubblegum sent, lovely texture and one of the only primers that seems to help my makeup last i couldnt help but pick it up (too be honest i may pick more up, naughty naughty), i also picked up porefessional, ive been using this primer for the past month or so and still dont know what i think of it, so expect a review when ive decided. 

the awesomeness of benefit minis is that they last absolute ages, and for what would in reality be £30 worth of stuff if all bought together, £2 for a cheeky freebie and a good read is fab in my eyes!! 

have you picked up a glamour mag?? if it makes you feel better theres three different covers aswell ;) 

Thinking in floral, NOTD

 Hello lovelies i hope your all well! so with all the Cath Kidston esque nail art flying around the blogosphere and with two new models own nail art pens at hand, i decided to have a go at some floral nail art. to be honest its not the best but for a first attempt im pretty pleased with it, the effects were definitely better on my toes (apologies for those who hate feet), as the white behind the flowers on my hands looks somewhat like fried eggs ;). I used Essie mint candy apple as the base, i then made little squiggles with a white nail art pen and then swirled pixi pirouette and a pink nail art pen together to create the flowers and finished off with little green dots for the stems!! Even if there not the most floral looking nails i love the pattern that's been created none the less!!

Have you had a go at floral nail art?

Maxfactor Flipstick Colour Effect- Boreal Mauve

 Hello lovelies i hope your all well!! now i dont actually know the reason behind this purchase, i think it was a bit of a whim purchase, having had it in my possession for just over a month, its somewhat gone unloved.however today i decided to finally put it to the test.

the idea behind the max-factor colour effect flipsticks is that one shade has a creamy rich colour while the other is lighter and pearly, perfect on their own but once combined creates a lovely separate shade. On top of this the lipsticks are thinner than the usual lipstick and because of this theres room to  create your own look, such as having your upper lip one shade and the lower lip the other its entirely up to preference. The flipstick i chose was boreal mauve, more for the darker shade than anything else. and to be perfectly honest i dont really know why ive neglected this, after properly swatching this i definitely think it will have more use. for around £6 flipsticks are really good value for money and in reality your paying for three shades (bargain) aswell as being pretty pigmented, however my only qualm is the cheapy packaging, however it is sturdy enough!! 

Have you tried flipsticks?? what did you think??

an Essie NOTD

 So the other week after a meal to celebrate the handing in of the dreaded 'd' word (im still having nightmares over whether everything's right haha) my friend convinced me that it was a good idea to take a trip to boots, how wrong was she, i only went in because she wanted to purchase a lip balm, however i left with two Essie polishes, my friend with foundation, and with her mothers boots discount card i was rather smug with myself. After posting the above picture of the Essie display i couldnt stop admiring all the lovely shades, and after continuously adding shades to my basket from ASOS in the past and forever removing them, standing face to face i just couldnt resist any longer (and i mean come on i had discount aswell).

So the polishes i left with were the infamous mint candy apple and tart. these polishes completely live up to the expectations i had and then some, with just one coat they were opaque and with a pretty large brush application is completely easy and streak free. At around £8 these aren't the cheapest polishes on the high street but my word they are totally worth it with gorgeous packaging and a range of shades. Tart is a gorgeous pastel peach/orange colour and i think mint candy apple just speaks for itself!! i think i may just have to avoid boots a little more after their newest addition to hit the shelves!!

have you tried Essie polishes? what did you think?

Nail Polish Collection (part 2)

Hello lovelies, hope your all having a fab weekend!! so heres the second part  of my nail polish collection, you can see the first part here!!..as i mentioned in the previous post by no means at all am i bragging in anyway, these polishes have been collected over a long period of time or have been from magazine freebies!! i hope you enjoy....

l-r: Revlon gold coin, revlon facets of fuchsia, missguided mystique, missguided missfit, collection 2000 scarlet, collection 2000 swizzles, collection 2000 blue hawaii 

l-r: ciate wait until dark, h&m corall summer, h&m pink summer, h&m on ice, h&m pink skies

wait until dark is the only ciate polish i own, but without a doubt has to be the best magazine freebie ive had, as for the h&m polishes they have uber cute packaging and are amazing quality for about £2ish each 

l-r: evie mai miscellaneous colours, elf purple pleaser, elf party purple 

l-r: max-factor disco pink,17 pink grapefruit, 17 knockout red, china glaze for audrey, claires (unknown), oldschool rimmel polishes

l-r: peach melba, nail effect 314, bright pink, fuchsia, one upon a time, red glitter, raspberry

Barry M are probably one of the cheapest and best value for money polishes out there. with a range of shades and finishes they always seem to have the shade needed to go with that special outfit or fancy dress theme haha

So how do you store your polishes?? send me a link to your nail polish collection posts id love to have a snoop ;)??

Sleek Rose Gold Blush, is it really a dupe for Nars Orgasm?

 Hello lovelies, i hope your all well!! so i recently managed to get my hands on the much sought after Sleek Blush Rose Gold, and all i have to say is i absolutely love it. Iv'e heared many similarities between this gem and Nars Orgasm, which is my go to blush, so i thought id compare and see!! 

 In terms of packaging and size they are both comparable, with the sleek black packaging with a mirror within the lid, but is this as far as the similarities go??

as you can see from the pictures above although similar i would definitely not call these blushes dupes although both share the same gold shimmer, orgasm is very much pink toned and rose gold is more peach toned, however both are lovely, and in all honesty rose gold is just as pigmented, maybe more so than orgasm, for a fraction of the price. 

Altogether although not a dupe, rose gold is a similar alternative for those who dont wish to fork out the £20 price tag for Orgasm. 

Have you tried either of these blushes?? what did you think??

My Benefit Brow Bar Experience & brow Zings Review

 Hello lovelies, i hope your all well!! my eyebrows have always been something ive not been happy about, when i was about 13 i stupidly over plucked one of my eyebrows so they have never matched, fed up with how they looked i decided to finally visit a benefit counter after hearing rave reviews from friends to finally fix my unruly brows once and for all!! so you may wonder why ive never taken this step before? well although i have a slight mishap on one brow, i am a larger brow lady which i love, and have always feared having them extremely over plucked to a horrendous shape, but after seeing the lovely results on friends i decided to put my trust in a benebabe. And if im honest im glad i did!!

 the lovely MUA in question was totally not pushy, down to earth and did a brilliant job, she explained how i would have to try and grow my brows out to fix my little mishap and has banned me from plucking my brows except for stray strands until my next visit, however through waxing, tinting and plucking she shaped my brows wonderfully and finished the look with benefit brow zings, i was completely happy and still am. I was apprehensive about having my brows waxed because ive never had it done before but in all honesty it was alot less pain free compared to conventional plucking. The shape has stayed put and ive noticed my brows have grown a lot less than usual which is a plus due to the waxing!! would i go back again? yes i totally would infact im going back in two weeks time, but i would only want the benebabe who did it before as she was all for big brows, i dont know how another would have treated my accident such as over plucking it etc. 

So onto Brow Zings, after seeing the results after the benebabe applying this, i decided that i needed it, but in all honesty although i really like it, its no different to the elf brow kit which i think is just as good for the fraction of the price. However i do like how it comes with two applicator brushes and little tweezers, its an ideal compact for on the go!!

Im really tempted in the future to have HD brows, but for now im pretty happy with the results i have received, have you had your brows tamed at benefit?? what did you think??

My Everyday Skincare Routine

 Hello lovelies i hope your all well, so i have seen quite a few lovely people do this post in the past, and being the nosey and recent skincare fanatic i have recently become i decided to show you guys mine. For a long time my skincare routine was somewhat tedious and boring, and after a bout of bad skin during a very stressful uni time full of deadlines i decided enough was enough and chose to invest in some decent skincare that both suited and helped my skin. After about a month or so i can see a massive difference with how my skin both looks and feels. My skin type if you were wondering is combination oily, with dry patches around my nose and cheeks and oily patches around my chin and forehead, so heres what I've been using daily....

Morning..!!

Purity one step facial cleanser- this is probably the only step that i will religiously do daily, my cleanser of choice is philosophy's purity one step facial cleanser, i love how this leaves my skin feeling fresh and squeaky clean after use, aswell as carrying a rather lovely scent. like most philosophy products this is slightly hefty at £8 but for the teeny amount that is needed this will last a rather long time.

Caudalie beauty elixir- My next step is this baby, and i will put my hands up and say that this is my faviourite part of my skincare routine, after a few spritzes on my face i feel wide awake and fresh faced, i think the wide awake bit may be due to the amazing scent, in all honesty it feels like a waft from a steam sauna in a spray haha

Benefit 'its potent' eye cream- this is a recent addition to my routine but im liking it so far, i apply a little of this under my eyes, so far im liking it but i wouldn't say ive noticed any dramatic changes just yet 

Liz Earle skin repair light moisturizer- i finally use the Liz Earle skin repair moisturizer for combination/ oily skin, aswell as smelling uber scrumptious, it leaves my skin feeling hydrated but not greasy like many moisturizer's do. 

Night...!!!

Bioderma- i use Bioderma of an evening to remove my makeup, and i have to agree with the hype that surrounds this product, i apply a little on a cotton pad and with just a swipe or two, all traces of my eye makeup is removed, which leads to a happy, panda free face ;)

Liz Earle cleanse and polish-i then use this along with the muslin cloth that the cleanser comes with, which helps to remove any remaining traces of makeup 

Liz Earle instant boost skin tonic or Caudalie beauty elixir- depending on how i feel i will use either of these as my next step,  i use the Liz Earle instant boost skin tonic when i want more of a deep clean, this has a lovely tingly effect and leaves my skin feeling thoroughly clean, on more of a lazy evening i will use Caudalie, as its obviously less effort to apply 

Benefit 'its potent' eye cream-i will then apply this as before 

Liz Earle skin repair moisturizer- and the same

Once in a Blue Moon 

Bio Oil- i have hyperpigmentation around my cheek area, aswell as chicken pox scars on my forehead, so i will use this every now and again, i should probably use it more but its rather oily on my skin 

Elemis Fruit active rejuvenating mask- i use this beauty once a week and i bloody love doing so, this mask smells absolutely amazing, and leaves my skin feeling deep cleansed.

soap and glory fab pore hot cloth cleanser- Before i fell for the charms of purity and my cleanse and polish, this was my go to cleanser, but i just feel it doesn't really work for me, however that being said i will use it now and again in the shower just to refresh my skin. 

Sudacrem- When i have breakouts (usually around ahem that time of month) i always revert back to this, i hate the smell and i look like a ghost once ive applied it, but for around £2 for a pretty big tub this will quickly reduce the appearance of spots. 

So whats your everyday skincare routine, if you've done a post please send me the link id love to see :) 

Maybelline THE FALSIES volume express Mascara

If you usually read my posts (ugh that sounds so big headed) then you'll know that i am always on the quest for a new and better Mascara, when it comes to mascaras, i am the first to admit that im rather fickle and will use a certain one till something 'better' comes along. For a while my go to mascara of choice has been Revlons grow luscious mascara, and i definitely cannot fault it, but i will admit when i saw Maybelline THE FALSIES volume express mascara was on offer in Tesco a while back i couldnt resist making a cheeky purchase. I had heared rave reviews about many of Maybellines Mascaras, from both the beauty world and friends, so i was excited about trying this, and well what can i say i definitely was not disappointed. I absolutely love it. The brush is somewhat curved which i though would be a problem to start with but it actually makes the mascara better, first you apply mascara using the curved edge of the wand followed by the straight edge. I am blessed to have reasonably long lashes, so length is not something i tend to look for in a mascara, but they seriously do look longer, what i do however look for is volume and this baby certainly gives lots of it. 

In the month or so that i have had THE FALSIES in my possession, if i try another mascara, i still find myself going back to this, its pretty long lasting, never seems to clump my lashes together, and gives me the volume aswell as length that i desire, of course i will still no doubt seek for better, but for now this mascara gives me what i want and then some. 

Altogether i really cannot fault this mascara from the packaging, to the wand and the price is pretty reasonable, i paid around £5 due to the offer, but i think it usually retails around the £7 mark 

Have you tried the falsies mascara? what did you think??

MAC Hey Sailor, Refined Gold Bronzing powder Review

 So this is the final product that i purchased from the MAC Hey Sailor collection, and to be honest its my faviourite out of the three products i splurged on. 

MACs hey sailor is based on the vintage pin up colours, which means lots of bold colours and quirky packaging. I absolutely love the packaging for the bronzer which is incased in a blue and white sturdy compact, with a mirror inside (added bonus) , whats not to love!! 

refined golden is an absolutely gorgeous bronzed brown with lots of golden shimmer, this lovely was previously released in a past MAC summer collection, and i can see why they have re released it.

a gorgeous colour, fit for the upcoming summer months (whether that's summer months with plenty of hot weather we will have to see). Refined golden would be good as both a bronzer aswell as being used for contouring due to the buildable colour, after road testing it friday night i would definitely say it was love ;) 

MAC Hey Sailor Touch of red nail lacquer, Review

 Hello lovelies, i hope your all well. So this is the second purchase i made from the Hey Sailor Collection, and being the nail polish fanatic that i am this was an obvious choice, with cute packaging and a gorgeous red colour, i had high hopes for this polish after purchasing and loving a polish from last years summer collection, but ive got to be honest im not a fan!!

 yes it is a lovely red, but described as a creme polish i found the consistency to be watery! Touch of Red needs at least three or four coats to look opaque. I love the finish of this polish but  for £9 when there are cheaper and similar alternatives out there such as models own and Barry M, i wouldn't jump at the chance of repurchasing this

Have you purchased a polish from the collection? what did you think?