BEAUTY: The Glamour Spring Beauty Edit - an incredible offer!

 

On my birthday this beautiful box appeared on my doorstep - The Glamour Spring Beauty Edit. A box filled with beauty goodies to discover, try out and add to your collection. I love finding new products, especially discovering them in a surprise box like this one! This box is part of the most incredible beauty and magazine deal I've seen in a long time - for only £16.99 you get this beauty box AND a 12 month subscription to Glamour magazine. Overall it's worth £99 - so £16.99 is a bargain! 

You can get the deal if you click here.

 

I haven't tried any of these products out yet, so I can't offer any informed opinions on them yet but if any stand out I'll be sure to do a proper review on my blog. The box contains the following products...

Revlon Colorstay Gel Envy Nail Enamel

Revlon Colorstay Gel Envy Diamond Top Coat

Moroccanoil Intense Hydrating Mask

BeautyUK High Brow All In One Brow Definition Kit

Rimmel Oh My Gloss! Lip Gloss

Nuxe Creme Fraiche 24hr Soothing and Rehydrating Fresh Mask

Kiko Long Lasting Stick Eyeshadow

Model Co. Creme Rouge Cheek and Lips in Just Peachy

Sample of L'Eau Couture by Elie Saab 

Such a fantastic range of products, including a number of brands I've never tried before. I'm excited to give them a go!

Have you made the most of this fantastic deal?

Feel free to leave me a comment :)

Helen x

BEAUTY: LOreal Paris Infallible Matte Foundation

I wasn't going to write about one of the latest foundation released from L'Oreal, mainly because a lot of bloggers have done. But when my L'Oreal True Match foundation (£9.99 from Boots) had run out I decided to buy the L'Oreal Paris Infalliable Matte foundation (£6.99 from Boots) - radical I know. When I first tried this foundation I wasn't impressed to be honest, which I was surprised about because I'd read so many positive reviews on other blogs. 

For reference here's a quick update on my skin at the moment - it's a combination of dry and oily (thanks pregnancy hormones), my preference is a fuller coverage foundation and I tend to use the Eco Tools buffing brush to apply my foundation. 

Right, back to the foundation...It just didn't sit nicely on my skin, didn't have the coverage I was looking for and seemed to take forever to blend in. None of which are qualities I look for in a foundation. I also didn't like the tube it comes in, it made it hard to squeeze out exactly the correct amount of product - a pump is a lot easier. Due to the squeezy tube it felt like I was getting through the foundation extremely quickly and for around £7 I want it to last for longer than 3 weeks. Another negative of this foundation is the shade range, it's limited compared to some of the other L'Oreal foundation ranges. I have extremely pale skin naturally and struggle to find a foundation that doesn't make me look yellow or orange. The C1 Rose Ivory shade of L'Oreal True Match foundation was the perfect colour match, which seems to be a rarity on the high street. But I couldn't find a shade of foundation in the Infallible Matte range that matched quite so perfectly, I ended up with 10 Porcelan which is very slightly darker than I would usually go for.

Having said all this you may think I really dislike this foundation but for me it was one I learnt to love, rather than it be an instant love like I had with NARS Sheer Glow, L'Oreal True Match and Estee Lauder Double Wear. I actually really like this foundation now and have found that a number of the issues I had with it have disappeared, as my skin and myself get used to working with this product. I've learnt that I actually have to apply more of this product than I usually would to get the desired coverage. I would usually use 1 1/2 pumps of True Match foundation over my whole face but I've needed more like the equivalent of 2 1/2 pumps of the Infallible Matte foundation. This isn't much of a problem, except the product will obviously run out quicker. 

When it comes to blending the Infallible Matte foundation I've found that a combination of a lot of buffing with a buffing brush and finally blending slightly with my fingers creates a smoother, more flawless appearance. Again, a bit more work than was required with the True Match foundation, but completely workable. 

Overall I now like this foundation, it's not a new favourite, but it's nice for everyday wear. It's not cakey and you can build up a good amount of coverage, with a bit of work.

How did you get on with this foundation?

Feel free to leave me a comment :)

Helen x

BEAUTY: A dupe for Bobbi Brown Creamy Concealer?

Back when we were on our honeymoon in New York I nipped into Sephora with the hope of buying a new Bobbi Brown Creamy Concealer. It had been my favourite concealer for many years, the coverage was like no other I had ever tried. However as I began to wear less fake tan, ready for winter, the shade I had wasn't right anymore. Sephora have such a massive range of their own brand beauty products that I couldn't miss the chance to try a product of theirs out. I picked up their 8hr Wear Perfect Cover Concealer in the shade Light 13, which is very light and therefore perfect for my natural skin tone.

The texture of this concealer is so creamy and not at all cakey, which some can be when they have a higher coverage. The coverage of this concealer is outstanding, it almost makes my very dark circles under my eyes disappear and because it's light it works as a great highlighter for the top of my cheekbones too. The product seems to melt into my ring finger, I then dab it onto the desired areas and blend with my finger. I don't use a make up brush at all but that's personal preference really.

I would definitely say this is a great dupe for the Bobbi Brown Creamy Concealer and it's considerably cheaper. In dollars the Bobbi Brown Creamy Concealer Kit is $35 and this Sephora Concealer is only $15! I know it's not as easily accessible in the UK but whenever you next make an order I would definitely recommend adding this to your basket.

Which other Sephora own brand products have you been impressed with?

Feel free to leave a comment :)

Helen x

BEAUTY: A very disappointing eye make up remover...

Unfortunately I've got a negative review today of a product that really hasn't worked for me. Obviously with skincare it's different for each person but I've really disliked using the Boots Bontanics Soothing Eye Make Up Remover All Bright (£3.99) over the past month. In fact I've disliked it so much I have thrown it away and had to buy another eye make up remover and I never, ever do that normally.

There are a couple of things that resulted me in disliking this eye make up remover:


1) The way you dispense the product out of the bottle, it just pours out. There isn't a little hole to stop too much product coming out, so too often I'd end up with a greasy mess as the cotton pad I was using became completely saturated.


2) The greasy/oil nature of this product made it very unenjoyable to use. Prior to this eye make up remover I had been using the Nivea Daily Essentials Eye Make Up Remover (£3.59 from Boots), which had two layers of product, one of which was oily. However this didn't leave any oily residue at all, so was nice to use and didn't leave my skin feeling like it needed to be deeply cleansed. The Bontanics Soothing Eye Make Up Remover is so oily that it would sometimes blur my vision, as the oily residue stuck to my eyelashes. No pleasant in the slightest.


3) It didn't remove my eye make up. The one job it has to do and it fails. Not even non-waterproof mascara and eyeliner!


Overall I'm really disappointed with this product, as I'm sure you can tell. I won't be repurchasing it, neither would I recommend it.


Have you experienced any disappointing products recently?


Feel free to leave me a comment :)


Helen x

BEAUTY: Let's Go Lashes

False eyelashes are becoming more and more popular, the designs and methods of application are constantly changing and improving. During my university years I would wore false eyelashes quite a lot, they were my more social years. When I hit the working world the number of 'nights out' dropped significantly and I found I had fewer and fewer opportunities to really get dressed up. You know the drill: a long soak in the bath, candles, planning that glamorous hairstyle and make up look, applying false eyelashes, putting on a new dress, donning a new pair of heels you can barely walk in, a final spritz of perfume and your out of the door. The whole process would take a good couple of hours and I'd enjoy every moment of getting ready! So instead of letting those 'getting ready' treats become a thing of my distant university days, I have made a conscious effort to organise/attend events that I could indulge in a good 'getting ready' session. Christmas is a staple 'I'm going to put extra effort into my Christmas Look' and so starts the make up, dress, shoes, hair product, false eyelash hunt.

This year I stumbled across a brand of false eyelashes I hadn't heard of before Let's Go Lashes. They say that their lashes are easy and quick to apply. 

The range is vast, with a lot of different styles that would suit any occasion. I tend to keep my false eyelashes looking as natural as possible. Think 'my eyelashes but better'. Let's Go Lashes do offer some less dramatic eyelashes, which are ideal for day to night events like Christmas Eve/Day/Boxing Day. 

Personally for the Flirt 3 were slightly too long for me, I found that they would tickle just below my eyebrow. This is completely personal preference though, as my friend loves having longer lashes and would have absolutely loved these! 

Regarding the ease of putting them on, I didn't find them as easy as applying individual false eyelashes but compared to other strip lashes I've tried they weren't too bad. As with all false eyelashes they are always a little bit fiddly but nothing a pair of tweezers couldn't sort out! These were also incredibly light, you can barely feel them. Gone have the days when it feels like you have butterflies hanging on to the end of your weighed down eyelashes!

What kind of style eyelashes do you like wearing?

Feel free to leave a comment :)

Helen x  

BEAUTY: theBalm Mary-Lou Manizer

I know that the Mary-Lou Manizer highlighter from theBalm is already spoken about so much in the beauty blogging world but it really is  a top quality product. I was prompted to buy it after seeing Liza from Glambeautys using it in one of her YouTube videos. The only highlighter I had really used previously was the Benefit High Beam, which is a cream highlighter and therefore applied in a completely different way.

I ordered this from feelunique for £16, so it's definitely a pricey product but the quality is just outstanding. The pigment, oh the pigment of this product is just incredible. Never have I come across a product where a gentle press into the powder will leave the prettiest golden shine on your finger! You need the tiniest amount, trust me.

When I first got this product I used it like a 'normal' less pigmented highlighter - cue enough glittery shine to start my own disco. I use a No7 Mineral powder brush, dab it into the powder a couple of times (no swirling around the pan) and brush it along the tops of my cheek bones and down the bridge of my nose. I find that I get the perfect amount of highlight for me if I then apply a matte blusher over the top, using the same brush. It just makes the highlighter slightly more wearable for the day! I wouldn't bother at night. It's also perfect for highlighting your brow bones too. 

If you haven't tried this highlighter yet then you really should, it's incredible! In fact when we went away for my hen do my friend was so impressed with it she now has one too.

Feel free to leave a comment - I love reading every single one :) 

Helen x

BEAUTY: Daniel Sandler Watercolour Fluid Blush in Flush

I'm not quite sure how and when I came across the Daniel Sandler Watercolour Fluid Blusher but boy am I'm glad I did! I have been a fan of liquid blushers for a long time, as I always found that solely using a powder blusher would never last the whole day. I used to use the 2true Cheek and Lip Tint on my cheeks, before applying powder etc. I thought that it was the perfect cheek tint and I wouldn't find anything better.

 I was wrong. 

The Daniel Sandler Watercolour Fluid Blushers are incredible at creating a natural flushed look that really does last all day and a bit longer! I bought this with my wedding in mind but having never tried it before, it was a bit of a risk. I did the typical blogger research, reading blog post reviews, watching YouTube videos etc and decided it was worth the £14.50 splurge. 

I was then faced with the tough decision of which shade to choose, there were so many on the feelunique website. So once again I headed to the internet to look for swatches, I knew I wanted a fairly red/pink shade, as I like having rosy cheeks. After a lot of deliberation I settled on 'Flush', a pinky red shade. I'm so pleased with my colour choice, as I think some of the paler shades wouldn't have given me that rosy cheeks look I personally like. 

What I really loved about this product is it's texture and build ability. I pop some of the liquid onto the back of my hand and using my fourth finger I dab it in and apply in circular motions on to the apples of my cheek. It goes from a liquid to soft and powdery. Some days I'll then want to build up the colour a bit more, for instant on my wedding day I wore a couple of 'dabs' on each cheeks as I wanted it to show up on the photographs. 

Its just such an easy product to work with and he results really do last all day long, even stressful/busy days like a wedding day!

Feel free to leave a comment - I love reading every single one :) 

Helen x

BEAUTY: Laura Mercier Just Bare Mini Lip Glace Collection

When Space.NK.apothecary had a sale recently, I just had to have a quick browse before heading home from work. With brands like Laura Mercier, ByTerry and Rococo - there were some great bargains to be had.

I picked up this Laura Mercier Just Bare Mini Lip Glace Collection for £12.50, it's the perfect collection if you haven't tried the Laura Mercier Lip Glace's before, which I hadn't. You get a selection of nude shades, just in cute mini sizes.


The shades included are: Bare Naked, Bare Pink, Bare Baby and Bare Beige - a nude for every skin tone and style. I guess that was a slight downfall of this collection, the range of nudes includes brown shades and pink shades. Personally, I'd always go for the pink shades, so the brown shades were slightly wasted on me. Having said that, I did enjoy trying the brown shades and was pleasantly surprised, I still wouldn't choose them but I will wear these ones. Which type of nude do you prefer?

I've been looking for a lovely nude lip gloss to wear on my wedding day but after trying some cheaper brands I just kept being disappointed. The texture of the glosses would be sticky, not pigmented and didn't last any time at all. The Laura Mercier Lip Glace were almost exactly what I was looking for - the texture is creamy not sticky, they're well pigmented, as well as being buildable and they last hours not minutes. My favourite shade is Bare Baby (the second from the left in the photo above). It's pink but not too baby pink, it makes my lips look natural but better, if that makes sense? These lip glace aren't too shiny, so if you like a bit of shine on your lips then I'd recommend layering them with a shinier lip gloss.

All of these shades (except Bare Beige) are available in full size too from Space.NK for around £19.50 each.

Did you pick anything up in the Space.NK sale?


Feel free to leave me a comment :)


Helen x

BEAUTY EDIT: Long Lasting Products

Long lasting beauty products are vital for any special occasion, you don't want to spend ages doing your make-up perfectly only to find it sliding down your face a couple of hours later! I've trialled so many products in readiness for my wedding, as of course all of the beauty products I use on the day will need to withstand tears (of happiness hopefully!), heat, stress and a whole load of other things. It needs to look as good as possible in photographs yet not over the top in real life. It's a fine balance, which I hope I get right! I thought I'd share with you a range of long lasting products I've found, ranging from high end to drugstore, so there's something for everyone.

NYX Loose Pearl Eye Shadow in White Pearl

NARS Sheer Glow Foundation in Deauville

Rimmel Natural Bronzer Powder

Daniel Sandler Watercolour Blush in Flush

tarte Amazonian Clay 12-Hour Blush in Adored

2true Lip & Cheek Tint in Shade 2

Chanel Irreelle Ombre in 28 Camelia

Laura Mercier Mineral Cheek Powder in Coral

theBalm Mary Lou Manizer Luminizer

Laura Mercier Bare Nudes Mini Lip Glace Collection

 Benefit World Famous Most Glamorous Nudes Ever

Eylure Shape and Shade Brow Pencil and Tamer

Eye of Horus Jewel Amethyst Pencil

Maybelline Falsies Mascara Waterproof Black

Rimmel Scandal Eyes Waterproof Kohl Liner in Black

Rimmel Wake Me Up Concealer

NYC Browser Brush-On Brow Kit

Maybelline Super Stay 24-Hour Powder

Urban Decay All-Nighter Make-Up Setting Spray

byTerry Ombre Blackstar in Frozen Quartz

Maybelline Matte Maker Mattifying Powder

Bobbi Brown Creamy Concealer in Sand

If you know of any other long lasting make-up products then I'd love to know about them :)

Helen x

BEAUTY: Festival Make Up Look with GOSH Cosmetics

Festival season is approaching quickly; every year there seems to be more and more festivals to visit and enjoy! Personally, I've not been to loads of festivals but I love the 'festival look' for the summer months. I consider the festival look to be quite relaxed and quick to achieve, mainly due to the fact that getting ready in a tent is never an easy thing! You only want to use a small number of products (save that extra packing space for toilet roll and baby wipes!) to create a look that will look good through the day and into the night. Long lasting is key, as well as waterproof. You've probably seen many images of muddy Glastonbury - your make up needs to withstand the elements!

I created this make up look using only five GOSH Cosmetic products (available from Superdrug) and was seriously impressed at the longevity and pigmentation! I usually use 5 products just on my cheeks, so I was slightly apprehensive but was pleasantly surprised. To create a rosy cheek I dotted the pink lipstick on my cheeks and blended it with my fingers - it worked really well and good staying powder! 

The products I used:

^GOSH Illuminating Foundation CC Cream in 03 Sand* (£8.99)^

^GOSH Forever Eye Shadow in 05 Grey* (£5.99)^

^GOSH Velvet Touch Lipstick in 158* (£6.49)^

^GOSH Smokey Eye Liner in Black* (£5.99)^

^GOSH Waterproof Volume Mascara* (£7.49)^

The products in action...




This bright, sparkly turquoise GOSH Danielle Sea Me 633 Nail Lacquer* (£3.99) is perfect for finishing off the festival look! I love having a bright nail over the summer months and though I usually wouldn't go for a turquoise colour I really love this one. It's buildable too, one layer is quite sheer and after 2 layers you have a solid, bright colour.



Are you going to any festivals this summer?


Feel free to leave me a comment :)


Helen x



BEAUTY: nourish Golden Glow Toning Body Shimmer

Who doesn't like to have a healthy glow, especially during the summer months? A lot of you will be obsessed with highlighters for your face but too often the rest of our bodies will be neglected. There's nothing more flattering than a glowing décolletage but getting the balance right between glitter, shimmer and shade can be tricky.

Until now.

Nourish Golden Glow Toning Body Shimmer* (£25) is the most stunning shimmery, glowy, golden lotion that glides on to the skin beautifully and instantly creates such a flattering finish to the skin. I fell in love with this product as soon as I swatched it, it's honestly magical! Potentially best of all nourish products are completely cruelty free, as natural as possible and the Golden Glow Toning Body Shimmer is 77% Organic. It's pure goodness for your skin. I am going to put this beautiful product on my décolletage and down my arms for my wedding day for a stunning glow that isn't too much but still so effective. 

What nourish say about their Golden Glow Toning Body Shimmer...

'Light reflecting particles even skin tone, giving a smooth lustrous appearance and a naturally healthy sun-kissed glow. Golden resins of frankincense and myrrh, combined with a nutrient rich phyto-active marine extract, tone the skin, firming and boosting suppleness. With super-hydrating hyaluronic acid and tripeptides to stimulate the production of collagen, skin feels smoother, softer and has a refined, fresh appearance.'

^How beautiful?^

Feel free to leave me a comment - I appreciate every single one :)


Helen x