The Body Shop Strawberry Body Mist

A few months ago I took my car to the garage to get serviced, (this will get relevant I promise) when I finally picked up my car they had give it a (quick) clean and sprayed a strawberry carpet freshener  The more I drove my car the more I grew to really like the strawberry scent, I don't normally like strawberry scents as they seem really artificial, but I was converted.

I went on a hunt to find a strawberry perfume or body spray but most smelt very artificial especially Boot's Natural Collection strawberry range, but The Body Shop strawberry body mist  was perfect, the scent is more natural and less 'chemically'. 

I have been obsessed with it since I bought this and use it everyday, it has encouraged me to experiment with fragrances more as I normally stick to sweet fruity scents. 

The body mist is £12 for 100ml, if you subscribe to The Body Shop's emails they always send through really good discounts.

Elaine

La Roche-Posay Hydraphase Intense Masque Review

A couple of months ago escentual.com were running an offer of 20% (ish... I can't remember) discount on French pharmacie brands, as I had just come back from Paris I was a bit obsessed with pharmacies so took full advantage of this offer, you can see what else I bought here.

La Roche-Posay Hydraphase Intense Masque caught my eye as I have dehydrated skin so I was looking for a product to help keep my skin nice and soft especially in the winter. 

La Roche-Posay: When skin lacks water it can seem dull and sallow. This velvety fresh gel-cream delivers high performance hydration for dehydrated, sensitive skin. An intensive formula that will plump up the complexion with moisture, ensuring that it glows with health and appears more uniform.

The Hydraphase Intense Masque is enriched with two unique ingredients: La Roche-Posay Thermal Spring water, a natural anti-oxidant to sooth and calm the skin, and hyaluronic acid fragments to infuse and retain water in the skin for optimal hydration.

La Roche-Posay actually have a dehydrated skin section on the escentual.com website, which I think is really helpful if your new to investing in skin care, as I was.

The mask has a cream consistency and can be used weekly, now the weather has gotten a LOT colder I will be using this mask twice a week and will definitely be using this after any other cleansing or radiance mask to ensure my skin stays hydrated. 

The mask is unscented and is suitable for sensitive skin.

The directions say to apply a generous layer and leave for 10 minutes, but I often leave it on for longer and have no problems. I really love this mask, it makes my skin feel extremely soft and hydrated even when I only leave it on for 10 minutes, I have tried Origins Drink up Mask which is an overnight mask and I much prefer this one.

I bought the mask for £10.56 and it normally costs £16 for 50ml, which may seem a bit pricey but I definitely think that it is worth it, when I double checked the price on escentual.com I noticed that there is another offer on and you can buy this at the moment for £13.60!

I will definitely be buying this again I have had no problems with it at all, and I would happily recommend this mask to anyone not only if your skin is dehydrated.

Elaine

TK Maxx Finds!

It's officially December now so I have fully embraced my Christmas spirit and went a bit mad downloading Christmas songs on iTunes, so you can have the vision in your mind of me singing away to 'it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas' as I wrote this! You lucky lot!

TK Maxx is fast becoming one of my favourite places to visit when I'm shopping in town, it is always full of bargains on branded cosmetics, skin care, candles... but it is not that often that you find the same bargain product in more than one TKMaxx, so I have learnt when I find something I just buy it or I always regret it!

When I was rutting through all the cosmetics I came across quite a few NYX eyeshadow pallettes, New <id cosmetics, too faced and Jemma Kidd products.  All at really decent prices, I got a highlighter from New <id and a smokey eye kit from NYX, I also got a cute Christmas candle as a treat. 

I got this i-Shimmer for £5.99, it's a double ended highlighter with a brush.

It wasn't until I got home and tried out the highlighter that I realised there is no really need for the brush at all and it is probably the reason it is being sold off cheaply in TK Maxx!

The colour of the highlighter is a really pretty pink shimmer, but it is very subtle, the consistency of the highlighter is very light and more of a cream to powder feel. I just can't understand how you would need the brush as it is very easy to blend. I guess it gives a good gimmick to get people's attention... like me! To be honest this is just an OK product so I'm pleased I didn't spend too much money.

I have never bought any NYX products before but I know through reading blogs they are a good quality brand. TK Maxx had quite a few mini palettes and they also had a big neutral palette too.

I was drawn to this one as I'm trying out a grey smokey eye rather than wearing browns/neutrals all the time and this cute palette was only £5.99.

I was really impressed by the pigmentation and quality of the eyeshadows and will definitely look out for other NYX products in the future

I got this really cute Christmas candle for £3.99 too, it smells really nice, I love cinnamon candles around this time of year, it was soo nice I got my mam one too.

Have you found any bargains lately?

Elaine

Sleek Brow Kit Review

It seems like high street brands are going brows crazy at the minute, MUA, GOSH and Look Beauty all have launched their own brow kits this year. I've never really been that into my brows, I know Rachel was obsessed with her Benefit Browzings (RIP) before it was stolen, but with all the brow kit talk on blogs I have been experimenting and became a bit obsessed with getting my own brow kit, I have used a brow pencil but I didn't really like it.
I had my sights on the new brow kit from MUA but every time I went into Superdrug they never had any left no matter which day/time I went in, and I really have no patience so I bought Sleek's brow kit in light, at £8.50 it is more expensive than MUA but I definitely think the quality is worth the price.

The kit includes shadow, brow wax, teeny tiny tweezers, a powder brush and angled brush, I have to be honest I will never use these tweezers but they are very cute!

At first I wasn't sure whether to get this due to the limited colour choice, as most brow kits are one fits all, but with Sleek they have different shade options to buy so you can find the kit that best suits you. 

When I want to have more subtle brows I only use the powder so that it is more of a natural filler, when I want to experiment with a more dramatic brow look I either just use the brow wax or mix the powder and wax together to get a darker colour. 

(L - R) Powder - Wax


I have been really impressed with the kit and the different brow looks you can create with only two shades, I think it helps that you can pick either a light,medium or dark kit. 
The colours are really pigmented so you don't need to apply a lot of layers to get the colour you want, and I have found that the powder/wax lasts all day. If you do want to take the kit with you just in case the packaging is compact so it will fit in every bag!

I have really enjoyed using this brow kit and would definitely repurchase. 

Elaine

Winter Favourite: Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Stain in Crush

Sorry for the lack of posts recently, I am really struggling to get good photo's due to the dark nights, so I'm relying on having enough time at the weekends and the weather being good enough to take decent photo's! 

I'm trying to create some sort of light box/background out of a shoe box to help with photo's, I'll post a picture on twitter to show how I got on, it sort of looks like I've attacked a shoe box with scissors and sellotape at the minute... might end up a disaster but worth a go!

I have managed to get a few photos taken on Saturday. So I'm finally back to blogging as usual...

Now that the autumn/winter has arrived I decided it was time to change up my make up look, and for me the easiest way to do this is to experiment with my lip colour. I'm not normally one to try bold makeup or follow makeup trends that closely, but this changed when I became obessed with reading beauty blogs and  I have been really inspired by other bloggers so I try to be a bit bolder with my lip colours, and buying one lipstick (or two...three...ok sometimes four) is the easiest way to keep up with trends/seasons.

 I've had my eye on the Revlon Just Bitten stain in 'Crush' ever since they were released in the summer, it is the perfect berry autumnal shade (swatch below). 

I already have 2 other stains in Honey and Rendezvous, I have to admit that when I first bought them I wasn't overwhelmed and thought they were nice but very so-so, but after a few months wear I have really changed my mind as they are such easy to wear lip products and would probably have more if there was a wider colour range, at £7.99 they are a bargain too. You can see the swatches for Honey and Rendezvous here.

So back to crush... 

I absolutely love this colour, and would encourage anyone who wants to try a berry lipstick/stain to buy it. The colour itself is quite purple which is unique compared to the huge selection of autumnal reds on the high street, the colour does oxidise slightly darker on your lips, but you can build up the colour which is great if you are starting to experiment with lip colours. 

The colour lasts for about 2-3 hours max before you need to reapply, the longevity is pretty much the same as the other stains I have. 

Crush is exactly the same as the other stains I have from the range in that the balm feeling on your lips doesn't last very long about 20 minutes, but it is moisturising compared to liquid (felt tip like) stains that can be quite drying. 

The only negative is when the colour wears off it does leave a purple stain behind which is slightly more vibrant than the berry colour, I personally don't mind it all but some people might, if you aren't sure you could test it on your hand and see how it wears.

I have recommended this to friends and would definitely repurchase. 

What is your favourite autumn/winter product?

Elaine