June Favourites

I've been in a bit of a blogging slump recently, I really enjoy blogging but I've struggled to find motivation to write new posts. I want to redesign the blog and change the name but I haven't got a clue what to do yet, so to get my head back into everything I thought I would start with one of the posts I really enjoy reading on other blogs, a monthly favourites! Although I have no idea where my camera is so please excuse my iphone photos!

Nivea In-Shower Body Moisturiser Skin Conditioner, Dry Skin - I really love this product! I hate putting on body moisturiser so I often just wouldn't, with this product you apply it in the shower after you have used shower gel, then you just rinse it off. My skin feels soo much better and I have been using it constantly, it's a decent price too at around £4 for the large bottle.

The Body Shop Mango Eau de Toilette - I absolutely love this perfume, Mango is my favourite scent from The Body Shop.

Hydraluron & Clinique Moisture Surge Intense - I bought Hydraluron when it first appeared on Caroline Hirons blog and I never really understood the hype, but when I paired Hydraluron with Clinique's Moisture Surge moisturiser it makes such a huge difference to my skin, I use this combination every week but also when my skin is feeling dry or unhappy.

Origins Ginzing Eye Cream - I got a little 5ml sample at christmas but only started using it a couple of months ago, I really think it brightens my eye area really well, you only need a small amount so it lasts a really long time!

Benefit Coralista Blusher - This blusher is my all time favourite blusher I have been wearing it constantly. 

L'Oreal Chrome Shine Eyeshadow in Rose Gold -  This eyeshadow is really pretty, it is very shimmery but at the same time is quite subtle.

Mavala Nail Varnish in Samarkand 305 - I love this nail varnish, I literally gravitate to any purple colour!

Elaine

Diorskin Nude BB Cream Review

I must have missed the buzz about the Dior BB Cream after it had been featured in a video by Lisa Elderidge, not sure which rock I was hiding under, but when I went for a mooch around the shops with Laura from Laura Bella she was raving about it so we went to the counter for me to get a sample to try it out. 

Dior have a range of BB Creams available but I got a sample of the Diorskin Nude BB Cream, there isn't a huge selection of shades available but the lighter shades really were a perfect match for my skin tone, which has to be a first for me when it comes to BB creams as I'm pale!

I really like the packaging of the cream, it appears to come in a squeezy tube but it actually has a pump applicator which is a definite plus for me, I did make a bit of a fool of myself when I was trying to get the tester lid off as I assumed it was a screw top, you would think after a minute of trying to unscrew it I would get the hint to just pull the top off but no, I'm not that clever!

The consisentcy of the cream is very much similar to foundation, but it's not too thick and doesn't have a watery or gel like feel. I found that it gave a light to medium coverage, but it definitely wasn't a heavy medium coverage it let the right amount of your natural skin show through. When I applied the BB cream it felt like I had to use a lot of my sample to get the coverage I wanted (which was light/medium) but I think it felt like I was using more as I had a sample jar with one of those little spatulars, I couldn't comment on how many pumps of the product I would need to use. 

I'm not sure the shade of the sample, but I think it's more than likely the lightest!

I absolutely loved the way this BB cream made my skin look, it made my skin look lovely and even with a natural luminous glow, if I could go by how my skin looked within the first hour I would buy it in bulk straightaway, but by the end of the day I found that the coverage had gone. My skin didn't look shiny when I wore this so that is a huge plus, but for a high brand BB cream I would want the product to wear a little better on my skin, I know I could always wear a primer with it but for a BB cream costing £25-£30 I don't want to.

I really want to love this BB cream the way everyone else does, but I can't justify spending that much money on something that isn't going to last 6 hours on my skin. I think I am going to get another sample to give it another chance but unless I find a miracle (cheap cheap) product to make it last I can't see my buying the full size product. 

I would really recommend going to a Dior counter to get it tested on your skin or to get a sample. Also the price of this BB cream varies online the cheapest place I have found it is at Escentual for £25.50.

Garnier 5 Sec Perfect Blur Primer Review

I did exactly what I have been telling myself off for when this product launched, I read reviews from other bloggers raving about it after sampling it before it's launch, so I instantly got it in my head that it must be marvelous and I have to have it, nobody's fault but my own!

So when it was launched I headed to Boots and bought it straightaway, it wasn't on offer which products sometimes are when they are first launched and at £12.99 it was a bit steep, but that only convinced me that it must be good, that was my strange beauty products obsessed logic talking!!

I got this home and hated it instantly, it was very disappointing! 

The primer has a very silicone feel to it, which normally I don't mind but when I applied my foundation over the top of it, my foundation felt a bit greasy and even though I always apply powder the greasy feeling stayed all day. I didn't notice any change in the appearance of my makeup at all it looked the same as when I apply foundation without it. When I got home I even tried it over the top of my foundation as a mid-day fixer but it still did nothing. 

I think this is one of those products that you are either going to love or hate, for me and my skin it didn't mix well but for others it obviously works well.

This has taught me a lesson not to get hyped up in a product launch!

Elaine

Don't forget to have a look at our blog sale, here.

The Body Shop Haul

I have a bit of a love hate relationship with The Body Shop they have such lovely products but they are a tad bit on the pricey side for me, but when you time it right they have some amazing offers online and in store. There have been a couple of things I've had my eye on, and I have been holding out on getting them in case there some discount codes! Recently they had an offer of 40% off and free delivery online, so I jumped at the chance to buy a few goodies at nearly half price!

So here is what I bought...

Mango Eau de Toilette - I love the Mango range! When I heard that they were releasing it as a fragrance I knew I had to have it, it's a small bottle than I thought so I can see me going through it pretty quickly!

Vitamin E Nourishing Night Cream - I have just run out of my Clarins Hydraquench moisturiser so I wanted to try a cheaper alternative.

Seaweed Ionic Clay Mask - I have wanted to try this for a while, I've heard really great things about it.

Ginger Anti-Dandruff Shampoo - This is for my other half who suffers from a sensitive scalp, so I might get him to do a boy review.

I also got a free sample of hair butter from The Body Shop's Rainforest collection which I'm looking forward to trying out.

Did you get any bargains in the offer?

Elaine

Paper Themes Vintage Invitations

Now that our wedding is finally booked, including our (and family) hotel and flights, I thought it was time to relax and have a bit of a break from wedding planning, but no, I was politely reminded that I needed to send out invitations and quickly so that guests had enough notice to get booked up.

I have no idea what I want our invitations to look like, I asked the other half and he just said whatever I wanted, which to some people would be music to their ears but to me it made me feel worse, I'm not creative I have no idea about design, the only ideas I had were that it had some sort of link to getting married in Greece without being too obvious. Surely I could type that into Google and hundreds of options would come up... nope!

So when I had the opportunity to have a look at some sample invitations* from Paper Themes I jumped at the chance. I received a sample batch of their vintage designs, which included a variety of invitation styles.

Truly, Madly, Deeply, Almond Eat, Drink & Be Married & Teal Vintage Damask

These invitations are really cute, I love the wallet design, it's not something I have come across often when I have been looking at invitations.

Ticket of Love Letterpress & I'm not sure the design name, I couldn't find it on the website

 These invitations are simple but effective, I really like the vintage ticket inspired font.

Vintage Rose & Beige Spots & Stripes

These invitations are more traditional in that they are like a card design, but they have a little wallet inside so that you can add as many or few cards of information that you require.

Wedding Lace Wedding Invitation

This style and design was my favourite, I love the luggage tag inspired invitation, I think this is a great way of getting all the information you need to get across in one go without the invitation looking too cluttered, and I am a bit addicted to lace at the minute so this caught my eye instantly.

I think the vintage styles have really helped me narrow down ideas for my wedding invitations, I really like the lace and teal damask invitations as they remind me of Greece without being really obvious.

Feel free to send me any links to wedding inspired posts!

Elaine

Don't forget to have a look at our blog sale, here.

*PR Sample

NE Lush Event and Wear Your Sunday Best - Part Two

After a great event at Lush in the Metrocentre (part one here), I had to rush to get back to town to meet my friend Sophie to head to the Newcastle Fashion week fringe event Wear Your Sunday Best.

The event was a brilliant vintage lingerie show, showcasing underwear from The House Of Seduction, it was a burlesque inspired fashion show/photo shoot.

Some of the lingerie was absolutely gorgeous, I'm not normally one to spend a lot of money on undies but they had some really lovely pieces, especially their 40's style swimwear! I've just noticed on their website they currently have an offer of 15% off when you enter the code NFW2013.

We were then treated to a performance from Scarlet Street, who are a vocal harmony group based in the north east, they were really amazing singing Sandman and their spin on Olly mur's hit troublemaker!

The venue was amazing, it had been decorated in the cutest lace bunting, and loads of vintage inspired bits and pieces, we all were given a complimentary teapot of pear cider and tea cups.

I had such a fun day!! It was great to meet some other bloggers and catch up with Laura, to learn about lush and get the opportunity to make some of their products, and then to have the opportunity to attend such a great Newcastle Fashion Week event! 

Elaine

Don't forget to have a look at our blog sale, here.