Tuesday 30 July 2013

MUA Matte Perfect Shine Control Foundation & Loose Powder Review

Hi Guys, 

Today I am going to review the MUA Matte Perfect Shine Control Foundation in shade fair & MUA Matte Perfect Loose Translucent Powder in shade translucent. The foundation comes in three shades, Fair, Natural and Almond and the powder comes in only Translucent. This means that it will match any skin tone as it contains no colour.
The foundation doesn't have a very large selection of shades and therefore would be difficult for some people to find a perfect match. It cost me £2 and I was weary when purchasing it as cheap foundations can sometimes make my skin break out, although it does state on the website that it has been designed for the most sensitive of skin. The shade I chose was a perfect match to my skin tone and I am very fair, it also didn't break me out which was my main concern. The foundation claims to be the perfect blend of skincare and makeup and although I don't agree with this statement I do think it is a very good foundation for the price. When you put it on the back of your hand it does feel quite sticky and thick but this does not translate onto the face! On the face, the foundation is very lightweight and not cakey at all, it is very easy to apply, which I love about a foundation! The coverage is fairly light but can be built up to a medium-ish coverage. I would use this foundation as a day to day product but not if I was going on a night out. As for the matte finish, well... I have combination skin and can be quite oily at times and although it does apply matte and lasts for a couple of hours (with a powder to set it) it did not keep my shine at bay for the whole day and I did have to keep applying the Matte Perfect Loose Powder. Combined with this, the shine was under control but I think if you do suffer from oily skin then you will definitely need to keep a powder with you to touch up throughout the day! The foundation did however last all day (combined with powder touch ups) and didn't slide all across my face.. this is without using a primer. So... I would certainly recommend this if you are looking for a cheaper foundation. 
The loose powder is a great product!! The key is to just apply the right amount else it can look as though you are wearing a mask... If you get this right though, the finish is brilliant and it does keep the shine at bay! It is a very finely milled powder which means it dissapears once applied and absorbs any oil/shine without making you look like you have powder on! Although it says it is a setting powder and will last all day, I used it every few hours to top up as I do have quite oily skin some days. It is very sheer and lightweight, which means that you don't even feel as though you have any on! It is brilliant for those days where you don't want a really heavy make-up look. It retails for £2.30 which is a steal! 

Overall, I think both these products are great for the price and they are certainly worth trying if you are looking for budget products and don't mind having to touch up every couple of hours. 

Laura

Monday 29 July 2013

Crown Brushes




Hey Guys, 

I have recently been looking for some new make-up brushes - I thought it was about time I treated myself to some good quality brushes that will last well! The main ones that I was looking for were eye shadow & eye liner brushes. I do already have quite a few different types of eye brushes but none that I would class as being good quality. I did also purchase a few other brushes as I couldn't help myself!

I have heard many good things about Crown Brushes in the past but I have never got round to ordering anything before now! 

The first thing I noticed once I logged onto the Crown Brushes web page was how easy the whole site is to use! I don't know about you, but, if I can use the site then I am more likely to place an order than if I have to play around for ages looking for things! Everything is organised into the categories of brushes and they really sell every brush you could ever imagine!!! They really do have something for everyone! From starter brushes for as little as 99p to professional brushes that pro make-up artists use! They do individual brushes or brush sets, they also sell make-up palettes, accessories & disposable make-up tools, so seriously, whatever you are looking for you are sure to find it on this site! 

Crown Brushes are known for their high quality products at amazingly reasonable prices and I just cannot wait for my order to be delivered! Another positive is that postage is only £2.99 and I have been told that the delivery is very very quick! 

I will be doing a full review on the brushes once I receive them. I already know that I won't be disappointed though! 

Here is a list of the brushes (and links) that I have purchased:

B23 Square Fluff - A square fluffy shadow brush used for application & blending - £2.19 
BK30 Badger Blending Fluff - A round fluffy brush used for application on the lid & blending - £3.39
BK17 Deluxe Round Angle Stippler - Angled brush for blending - £4.79
BK38 Deluxe Crease - Used for blending or for light application across the lid or socket - £3.69
C139 Stiff Tapered Crease - A stiff tapered brush used for crease work - £3.09
C160 1/4" Angle Liner - An angled brush for applying eye liner - £2.39 
BK41 White Taklon Square - A flat brush used to line and define the eye - £2.39
C105 Tapered Blush - A blush tapered blush brush for shading & highlighting - £5.39
C104 Angle Blush - An angled contour brush - £5.79
CLS150-0 Flat Taklon Camo - To be used for concealer - £1.00

The brushes I have chosen are from a mixture of different ranges, although, I would say that most of them are the low-mid range so brushes can be found cheaper or more expensive than the ones I have picked out.

If you would like to take a look at Crown Brushes then please take a look! I am sure you will fall in love with the products just as much as I have :-)

OR why not click the advert at the top of my blog :-)


Laura







Resuming Reviews Tomorrow :-)

Hey Guys, 

Thought I would share this quote with you:



Just thought I would do a quick update for you all. I am currently very poorly at the moment and for the past few days I have been really down so therefore I haven't been online. 

Anyway, I just wanted to let you know that come tomorrow I will be resuming my reviewing. 

I have come up with a schedule for posts :-) I am going to do review posts on Tuesdays, Thursdays & Saturdays. On a Sunday I am going to do a general blog post including my current wishlist, items I've bought in the week, disappointing items from the week and my favourites of the week. If this happens to fall on the last Sunday of the month then these will become monthly items :-) I hope you like this format and if there is anything you would like me to review or write about then please let me know :-) 

I would love to hear from you so please comment, follow me on Bloglovin and Twitter and say Hello :-)


Laura
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Wednesday 24 July 2013

Herbal Essences Beautiful Ends Review

Hi Guys, 

Today I am reviewing the Herbal Essences Beautiful Ends - Split End Intensive Protection Mask which is a rinse out weekly treatment to help protect your hair from split ends and breakages.
I bought this product as my hair is fairly long and was feeling dry and the ends were starting to split - mainly due to the sun! I thought that this would be perfect as a weekly treat for my hair throughout summer. I don't regularly use a hair mask as my conditioner alone usually does the job but I thought it was time for a summer treat and I have been noticing a difference since the sun has been shining.


The product comes in a large 200ml tub and when using a palm size weekly I think this could easily last 2-3 months on long hair, obviously longer if you have shorter hair. I have been using it for a month and I have looked forward to my weekly hair treat each week.
The scent is raspberry as stated on the tub which smells AMAZING!! So fruity and fresh. It also contains silk extract to make your hair ultra smooth. I expected it to weigh my hair down and make it feel as though I had a lot of product in it but it doesn't. My hair felt lovely and smooth and very soft after using and although I haven't noticed a huge difference in my split ends other than them being a little less brittle, I do think this is a very good conditioning treatment.Maybe I haven't noticed much of a difference because I don't have many split ends as it is.



What better time to buy this product.. The Herbal Essences range is currently on offer at Superdrug for £1.87 - and to make it even better Superdrug are offering free delivery on all online orders until 30th July! 

Laura
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Monday 22 July 2013

Right Guard Xtreme Dry Review




Just a quick review on a new Anti-Perspirant I bought the other day. It is the Right Guard Xtreme Dry 72hr Protection in Ultra Cool. 

I have never used Right Guard before and I only opted for this one as it was on offer from superdrug. I tend to purchase whatever Anti-Perspirant is on offer at the time. 

I must say that I didn't expect this to live up to the 72hr claim and who needs it to?! .. I mean, who doesn't wash for 72hrs and need to reapply Anti-Perspirant unless your stuck in the middle of a field at a festival? And no Anti-Perspirant lasts on me without reapplying throughout the day.

Anyway.. I am pleasantly surprised as no deodorant or Anti-Perspirant has ever done what this has for me!! I tend to sweat quite a bit - not smelly sweat but sweat all the same and have to reapply deodorant or Anti-Perspirant at least 3 times a day to stop it. This is wonderful - not only does it stop me sweating but I didn't have to reapply once and I felt fresh all day!!! It claims to last for 72hrs but like I said before - who needs it to last that long?! However, it certainly did the job for 24hrs!! 

The other plus points for me are that it is alcohol free so no nasty stinging after shaving and the fragrance is beautiful! It is a really fresh cool scent that lingers - adding to the totally fresh feeling that lasts all day. 



I will definitely be re purchasing this and for me to say that is a big deal as like I said I'm not usually fussed and I just buy what's on offer!! 

I could not recommend this product more! I can see this is going to become a holy grail product for me! 

Let me know your experiences with this product.. Can you recommend any other holy grail Anti-Perspirants?! 

Laura 
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Latest Beauty Sales - Sharing Is Caring!! :-)




I've been researching the internet for new products to buy and whilst I have been browsing I have found a few sales that I thought I would share with you all :-) After all.... sharing is caring :-)

The Body Shop are offering a whopping 40% off orders & free delivery when you spend over £5!! All you have to do is enter the code 40SHOP at checkout to take advantage. They are also selling 'The Original Body Butter' for a discounted price of £6.50 to celebrate it's 21st birthday!! 

Fragrance Direct is offering 10% off all orders by entering code VCODE10 at checkout. As far as I can see there is no minimum spend required to take advantage of the offer. I love using Fragrance Direct. They have some fantastic products at super low prices! 

FeelUnique.com are offering 10% off all orders plus free delivery when you use the code FEELVCCOUK - This website is more for high end products but once again they have some fantastic products! Certainly worth a look :-)

Elemis are offering up to 6 free gifts with purchases from £60 to £75 - For 3 free treats, spend £60 and enter 3TREATS at checkout. For 4 free treats, spend £65 and enter 4TREATS at checkout. And for 6 free treats, spend £75 and enter 6TREATS at checkout! The free treats are brilliant products and if you spend £75 to get 6 treats, they are worth £72!!! 

Avon currently have a summer sale and are offering up to 75% off sale items! They have some great items in the sale, makeup, hair care, skincare and body products! You could go absolutely wild :-)

Avon Summer Sale 

Boots currently have a number of items for £1 - products range from shower gel & deodorant to baby food & wipes. They are also offering selected fragrances at 50% off. And.. don't forget you'll get your boots points too!! Definitely worth taking a look if you have 5 minutes.

Debenhams currently has a beauty sale and they are offering up to 50% off selected items! They currently have DKNY Red Delicious perfume half price at just £30 for 100ml! What a bargain. 

My final beauty sale of the day is at Crabtree & Evelyn - They are offering a free tote bag with orders over £30 - enter BAG at checkout. And they are offering free delivery on all orders with the code REPLENISH. The only problem is that you can't use both offers together :-( 



Let me know if you have noticed any sales recently and if you have got any beauty bargains recently!!

Laura 
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Twitter

Just a quick update to let you know that I now have a Twitter account :-)

@LaurasBlogs  - Please head over and give me a follow and a tweet :-)


Laura
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Sunday 21 July 2013

Barry M Gelly Hi- Shine Nail Polishes

I have wanted to try these polishes for ages and I just never got round to buying them!! Anyway, I finally purchased 3 and I am in love!!

The three shades I purchased were - Pomegranate, Greenberry & Guava. (From L to R) 


I have only tried Pomegranate and Guava but I can already tell by looking at the bottle that I am going to adore Greenberry! 

At the moment I have Pomegranate on my finger nails which is a bright red shade - I don't normally wear bright colours on my finger nails but there is just something different about this colour! I used one coat and no top coat, however I did use a base coat as advised on the back of the bottle. Due to it being bright red, I can imagine there would be a lot of staining if no base was used. The polish glided on, although a little thicker than normal polish. There were no brush strokes or dragging and I found it very easy to apply. The finished result is just spectacular! The colour is highly pigmented and the shine is unbelievable, it's better than what you can achieve with a top coat sometimes! I have had it on for a week now and have had no chips! I am highly impressed. The photo below does not do this colour justice!


I have Guava on my toes at the moment which is a beautiful teal colour. The application and finish was just the same as Pomegranate. I really can't get over how super pigmented these colours are after just one coat! Once again, the shine is incredible. This colour is a classic toe colour and perfect for summer! 


As mentioned above, I haven't actually tried Greenberry yet. But.. I am sure I will love it as much as the other two colours. Greenberry is a bright green/turquoise and again I think it is a perfect summer toe colour! I can't wait to try it out! 



Overall, these polishes are a must have for any nail polish fanatic. They are super easy to use and come in a fantastic range of colours! All of the colours are super pigmented so you only require one coat and because they are Gelly they don't require a top coat! Perfect for a quick manicure! I will definitely be buying more colours from this range!! 

Laura
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Organic Surge Splurge :-)

I recently purchased a few products from Organic Surge. And... I have to say I am absolutely loving all of them!! :-)




At first, I didn't like the smell at all, but now I love it!!! 

The daily moisturiser is my favourite product - it is so rich and creamy and leaves your skin feeling so smooth! 




The gel face wash is also brilliant , it leaves your skin feeling so fresh and clean but doesn't leave it feeling dry in the slightest!




I also bought a cream cleanser which I must say is one of the best cream cleansers I have ever used! I like my cleanser to take off all my makeup including my eye makeup (mainly due to the fact that I'm lazy) - I don't want to be using 1000 different products if I can get away with using just one and this is perfect! It even took off my waterproof mascara in one swoop! No messing about. Once again, it leaves your skin feeling super smooth and doesn't leave any residue behind once you've washed your face with a flannel and water. Using a cream cleanser also encourages you to wash your face afterwards so this gets a big thumbs up from me! 





There are many positives to using Organic Surge products, the main one being that they are all Organic :-) another is that you only need the tiniest amount of product so I can see the items I have purchased lasting me ages! 

I can honestly say that I will be purchasing all of these products again :-) 

Laura
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A little treat for myself..


Since I've been poorly I have found new obsessions in skin care and nail polish.

In this post I am going to talk about my new OPI nail polishes :-) 

I bought 3 colours - Tickle My France-y, Gouda Gouda Two Shoes & Are We There Yet? - I love them all but my favourite out of the 3 has to be Gouda Gouda Two Shoes from the Holland collection, it's a dark rosy kind of pink/mauve colour that's slightly muted, it has a gorgeous copper shimmer effect which really makes the colour very pretty! I needed two coats of this and a top coat and I found that it lasted over a week without chipping, which for me is excellent! 

Gouda Gouda Two Shoes 

I am yet to wear Tickle My France-y - but from looking at the colour in the bottle I think I will really like it. It's what I would call an everyday colour. Very nude but more than enough colour to brighten up your nails!! (this picture is from google images just so you can see the colour)

Tickle My France-y (google images pic)

I wore Are We There Yet on my toes and what a wonderful toe colour it is!! This colour is from the Touring America collection. It's a very bright, summery colour that is orangey/peachy with a hint of shimmer. I absolutely love it as a toe colour and can see it becoming my go to this summer :-) Like the other polish it lasted over a week without any chips using two coats and a top coat. This would have lasted longer but I fancied a change of colour :-) I must comment that the consistency and the applicator brush of both the polishes I have tried are brilliant - the polishes go on lovely without streaking/leaving brush strokes and are so easy to apply.


Are We There Yet? ^v


Off the radar..

So I haven't posted in a few months and that's all down to this stupid pain that still hasn't gone away unfortunately :-(
I have had yet more tests including 2 cystoscopies - one under GA and one under local - to make matters worse after the cystoscopy under GA, which was my last procedure, I am now in double the amount of pain than I was before :-( 
The doctor has decided that I have Interstitial Cystitis, which is a chronic condition that unfortunately cannot be cured. They can attempt to treat the symptoms which they are doing at the moment but it is anyone's guess as to what will happen and when the pain may go away.. If it does! I'm hoping that I will get relief shortly as I have been in agony for too long now and I would like to get my life back! The thing is that with IC it can come back at anytime and also go away at any point. I don't like the not knowing! I just want to feel better!! 
Most people look forward to their days off from work where they don't need to set an alarm or have any routine but me.. I'm looking forward to setting an alarm, early starts, wearing my uniform and being back at work!!!! 
I am going to try blog on a daily basis now.. If nothing else, it takes my mind off things for a short while :-) 

The picture below was from one of my many visits to hospital... I woke up to a bandaged hand and thought they'd operated on my hand!!

Laura 
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