Benefit They're Real #mascaraofthemonth

My mascara of the month has to be Benefit's They're Real mascara. Believe the hype, it is amazing!

Brush type: plastic

Colour: black 

Price: £19.50 full size 

Decleor Hydration Skincare Starter Kit

Okay, so after watching Lily Pebbles' Then and Now video with her school friends I've been obsessed with how pretty Keisha Lall is! She's has perfect skin, which as an international model, is quite important! She owes it to her mother, Satya Lall who engrained a skincare routine into her life from a young age (around 15 or so). Her mother, a facialist, also swears by Decleor's range of skincare products.

So me, the keeno beauty tryer-outer(?!), decided to buy the starter kit (as OMG these products are expensive full size...although I did see the Decleor mattifying toner at a reasonable price in Costco the other day...).
Anyway, I've tried the kit and instantly I am in love! These are so gentle, creamy and just feel so natural. However, I would say that the scent on the creams and serum is quite strong - herbal/flowery scents.

I'm definitely splurging out on the full range of Decleor hydra-floral range as soon as I can!

Clinique Blemish Solutions Mini Kit

Included in this mini kit is a deep clean soap bar, clarifying lotion and blemish solution.

I bought this off eBay in a mad rush to find a blemish treatment for my post-exam face. My caffeine and sugar fuelled body had formed constellations on my cheek and between my brows. 
Anyway, an eBay seller was selling these kits for around £11 and I thought that was reasonably affordable and I had wanted to test the Clinique blemish treatments myself.
Now what I hadn't realised is that this didn't include the gel (which I wanted to try most of all). But I stuck to the routine for a few weeks and unfortunately saw no great results. I found that the soap bar was very drying and didn't feel very "deep cleansing" at all, and that the toner/treatment weren't special and actually very chemical smelling. Overall, my spots were not treated and my skin has been the same ever since!
So maybe it was certain types of spots that this works best for, or this was just not the right product for my skin, being very dry and sensitive etc. However, when I get the chance I would like to try these again, including the blemish gel which I've heard good reviews on.
I haven't had much luck with a lot of blemish treatments, including La Roche Posay effacular duo and the new effacular duo +. Also, the Vichy Normaderm gel which was the weirdest one, and not cheap either! The only one that I have found to work most of the time is the Balance Me Congested serum.

Any recommendations would be much appreciated, so please feel free to comment below - thanks x

(Controversial?) Hourglass Ambient Lighting Palette Review

Back in stock - permanent line in Space NK

Top to Bottom: Dim light, Incandescent light & Radiant light. 

I really didn't know if this was worth the money or not - people have been raving mad about it for months now! But I caved and bought it when I saw that it was back in stock as a permanent item in SpaceNK.

When I opened the SpaceNK package and tore through the packaging I lifted a really sleek, heavy palette and opened it up to see three very delicate powders in front of me.

I swatched them and was very excited to try them out.
However, I tried out each one on different parts of my face generously, and barely noticed a thing :(

(Dim light as nose and forehead highlight, Incandescent light as a brow and cupid highlighter and Radiant light as cheekbone highlight). 

These are actually so subtle that I can't see anything dramatic or amazing happen, as so many had said in blogs elsewhere.

So then I tried each one as an all over powder, and still had the same "meh" results. 

Now I wonder if everyone was just following the trend by raving about these....hmm...or maybe I'm using these in the wrong way?

What do you think? Comment below if you have any suggestions on how to improve my thoughts on this palette.
I would love to see a blush palette from Hourglass though! Those really do look lovely x

Too Faced Natural Eyes Palette (Quick Post)

This is pretty much has the same review as the Too Faced Chocolate Bar palette that I reviewed yesterday (minus the chocolate smell).
These are blendable, smooth and moderately pigmented, leaving a great subtle day or night look. Needs a primer to stay put, but that's probably a must for most eyeshadows for me personally.

Another amazing product from Too Faced x

Cheeky little haul! 25.6.14

So I've been at my parents house for nearly a week and had to go to town to grab a few essentials. Then this happened:

I know I shouldn't do this, but I couldn't help myself - so let me try to justify these purchases!

Okay, so firstly I bought three Topshop Gloss Inks. My local Topshop in the Midlands doesn't sell much make-up, and I've been dying to try something from their range as I've heard wonders about their products (namely their lip and cheek products). I went for staple red, pink and nude colours (whose names I have forgotten already) but a full post will be up shortly! Also, my student discount helped to bring the cost of these down, as for £8, these are very small!
I then went into Boots and wanted to pick up some face wash, as I stupidly hadn't bought any with me. I stopped by the Sanctuary Spa section and saw a mini of their purifying face wash and thought I'd give it a try. I've said in previous posts at how much I've wanted to try Sanctuary Spa face products, as I've loved every body product I've tried so far. I've heard other beauty bloggers talk about the 5 minute face mask too, and as my skin is still recovering from exams I thought to give the thermal detox mask a go. Apparently this really heats up and has great, deep cleansing results. Full reviews will be up shortly for these as well, and hopefully a new haul when I buy the full size versions!

Topshop Gloss Inks RRP £8.00; Sanctuary Spa mini face wash RRP £2.99 and 5 minute detox mask sachet RRP £3.00.

Too Faced Chocolate Bar Palette

Firstly, this palette smells divine! Honestly, love having this on my eyes. In short, the shadows are mostly pigmented, smooth and very blendable. There is a little product fall-out in the palette, but it's not too much for it to be a problem. Definitely needs a primer though, otherwise it doesn't last very long on oily lids and creases like mad. However, for a natural day look or subtle night look, I think this is a great all-rounder.

Definitely worth the investment, especially as a chocoholic!

Le Volume De Chanel Mascara (picture post)

A quick picture post, but my main comments would be that the mascara is more for lengthening, rather than volumising lashes. I was really impressed by the length I could achieve with this brush actually, and that there was minimal clumping! Great mascara for the instant "wow" factor, but probably a little pricey for me.

Colour: Noir (black)

Brush type: Plastic

RRP £25 (available at House of Fraser). 

*Sample product requested from website in late 2013. 

Eyeko skinny mini liquid eyeliner

So in a previous Feel Unique haul I was given the option to choose a free sample, and I decided on the Eyeko Skinny Mini Liquid Liner: a black, felt-tip liner. NB: I actually got a full size sample with the June edition of Glamour! I've never tried an Eyeko make-up product, only their eyelash curlers that I got in a Glamour Beauty Edit box a while back.

First thoughts were: great - a mini eye-liner for my handbag!
It's cute, super small and nice packaging. But what I found was (as I'm a total noob at applying liquid liner) the pen wasn't long enough for me to grip properly (which was solved when I got the full size version). I do prefer a felt-tip, because liquid eyeliners are scary and I'm seriously not that good at stopping my hand shaking - even with the pinky resting against my face! And I'd rather not stick bits of tape on my face every day....
The colour pay-off was okay- not too intense, but not too faint. The only problem being that it smudges like anything! I was disappointed to find that when I got home after wearing it for around 4/5 hours, that it had transferred to parts of my eye that didn't need eyeliner! ><
So, verdict is - sticking to the Rimmel Scandel eyes. Sorry Eyeko :( x

Too Faced Beauty Bloggers Darlings

Contents:
Chocolate Soleil Matte Bronzer
Better than Sex Mascara
Primed and Poreless Skin Smoothing Face Primer
Shadow Insurance Eye Shadow Primer

Thoughts:

Firstly the bronzer is matte and can therefore great for contouring. It's smooth and blendable - plus it smells of chocolate! Lovely product and probably would try the full size once I hit pan with this one. However, the small compactness of this makes it great for the handbag.

I like the mascara, but clumping is a bit of an issue, especially when I like to look as natural as possible. However, it's brush gives a very nice effect and lifts and adds volume to my lashes.
The eyeshadow primer is also fantastic, and is probably as good as Urban Decay's primer potion!
The face primer is also good, but I haven't tested it as much as I would like to, as I'm saving it for trips away.


Overall, a great tester kit, available at Sephora :) x

Color Show Crystallise Nail Polishes

Shades: Nearly Black and Red Excess 

I like these, as they feel ridgy and textured, but unfortunately the shiny top coat doesn't stay shiny, and the nail dries to a matte finish - which I guess is just as good!

I won't even start talking about top coats and chipping though - working part-time in a supermarket changes everything!
All in all, they are a nice addition to the Colour Show range :) x

Guerlain Météorites Perles and Météorites Perles Base Collector

Hey big spenda'!
Yes, I decided to splurge out on a few luxe items - fully justified by the fact that I have a few weddings coming up this summer and want to look my best!
Anyway, a promo email showed the Guerlain meteorites at Feel Unique and they looked so so pretty that eventually they won me over - especially after their promo vid. and a few good reviews.
I then saw the primer and thought why not - so that was added to the basket!
A few samples later and the order was sent. It arrived and I couldn't wait to try them!
Firstly, the primer - looks SO sleek and definitely looks and weighs expensive. It pumps out a semi-orange semi-transparent liquid with little shimmery particles inside. From the images you can see that it smooths out clear and shows a very subtle sparkle. However, under my makeup I barely notice it, and I can't say that it increases the longevity of my make-up either.
I was quite disappointed with the pearls actually, because the container was so pretty, but then you open it up (removing the puff) and you see half a container of semi-crush pearls. Disappointed indeed.
I tried swirling it in the "G" shape they recommend on their video and noticed very little difference.

A nice thing to note is that both products smell of the sweets "Fizzers"! It's so nice to constantly smell that on your face ^_^
Overall, probably not a very wise decision on my part, but who knows, maybe after a little more use these products will change my look dramatically as mentioned by other reviewers - here's hoping! x

Available at Feel Unique here

Latest in Beauty June 2014

Contents:

• Burts Bees lip balm
• Perricone MD No Foundation Foundation 
• L'Occitane en Province divine cream
• Sanctuary Spa body polish

No Foundation Foundation swatch

It's a pretty cool selection of samples that I wanted to try. Firstly a Burts Bees lip product - how have I not tried one of these before! It's a staple item and a good one to keep in my purse. I also added the L'Occitane divine cream because I had a small sample ages ago and I remembered loving it, but I didn't want to splash out on the full size product, so this is going to be a rich, nourishing travel moisturiser for me. Then there is the Perricone "No Foundation foundation" which is almost like a BB cream, in that it suits a broad spectrum of skintones and blends out to even skintone quite nicely. Again, it's going to be added to my travel essentials. Lastly, the Sanctuary spa body polish - I literally just bought this to use as a travel body scrub. I haven't tried Sanctuary Spa face products before, only their body products and so far I'm loving them. I've also heard great reviews on their thermal mask, but for now I'm interested to see how this product fairs.

Update 22.6.14:
Using the body polish from Sanctuary Spa before shaving my legs makes them feel incredible smooth! This has worked better than any other body scrub I've used - seriously smooth! The consistency of this scrub is actually creamy and has little micro-particles that you can barely feel (but work so well!)

Make your own Beauty Box at Latest in Beauty x

NARS lip products (Picture Post) ASOS

Birchbox June 2014

So here is my first Birchbox!
My box arrived, and I initially thought it was quite a large box for the small samples I was expecting. However, I opened it up to find a smaller box...and inside that was a few leaflets and the bag full of goodies!
(Great for the environment I know...)
Anyway, inside the World Cup themed box was:
1. Beauty Blender and soap
2. BirchBox keyring
3. Naobay radiance body lotion
4. Caudalie day perfecting fluid SPF15 (broad spectrum)
5. TheBalm's how 'bout them apples cheek and lip balm/tint sample
6. OPI nail lacquer sample

I honestly couldn't believe how expensive the Beauty Blender actually is - around £26 for a small sponge and soap? I prefer using my fingers to blend foundation and dislike a heavy coverage. However, a beauty blender (which I tried off eBay for 99p) is quite nice and does give a nice medium coverage, even though it's a workout for your hand and wrist!
The rest of the items I have yet to try, all being new brand products to me. However, it's a great box and I've heard a lot of good reviews from Birchbox subscribers, so i'll be interested to see next months' box for sure! x

*Birchbox discounted to £7.95 with a code from WhichBeautyBox

17.6.14 Deals and Offers

•  50% off sale at Net-A-Porter 
• Look Fantastic are offering 15% off on Nuxe products for 48 hours only 
• Latest in Beauty have free delivery and a free gift with code NEWLIB14, when you spend £10 of more
• The Selfridges sales begins tomorrow - online at 7am and in store at 8am
• The Body Shop 40% off coconut body butter plus all non-sale products with code: 14669 
• Buy any 2 Caudalie products at Birchbox, get a free Caudalie tote bag with code: SHOPCAUDALIE 

Enjoy! :) x

Graze Boxes 17.6.14

Above: Breakfast Box
Below: Chocolate box

I think most people are familiar with Graze and their food boxes - delivering snacks to your house or work for £4 or free/discounted through various promotional schemes.
I have tried these before, but not the specific boxes: breakfast and chocolate.
The breakfast box contains 4 individual portions of various oatmeal-based breakfast cereals. All of them look nice and these are especially great for grabbing and taking with you somewhere, whether it's to Uni, work or on a trip.
The chocolate box is similar - 4 portions of different chocolate containing goodies. These are good sized portions and reasonably healthy, even though they contain chocolate!

Overall, would definitely recommend these, but make sure you order in advanced, or set up a subscription on their website, in order for your box to arrive in good time! x