Beauty Blog Link Love

Angie from The Beauty Belle has shared a post comparing the Real & Fake UD Naked 2 Palettes and where the similarities between the two ends when it comes to swatching the shades.

 Helena shares her perfume collection and how each perfume brings back good memories, each with a complete description of what it smells like.

Lola has started the Project Pan 10 and shares which ten products that she's dying to hit pan on and use up.

Ever wondered how to fake flawless looking skin? Alice shares how to with only three products to give the apperance of flawless looking skin.

Have you been lusting after Benefit's Porefessional but been put off by the price? Rebecca-Louise shares a much cheaper alternative by VIVO.

Laura from Call of Beauty shares her thoughts on five raved about skin care items and sees if they are really worth the hype.

Georgia has finally discovered the Kate Moss for Rimmel Lipsticks and has fallen head over heels for them.

The No Concealer, Concealer by Perricone MD has been widely talked about in the blogging world and Becky shares her two cents about it.

Have you got blonde hair and are currently after an intensive conditioner treatment? Well Charlotte has reviewed the Toni & Guy Deep Conditioning Mask for Blonde Hair which will be right up your street!

Emily has been converted to a Lush Ocean Salt Facial Scrub Lover and how her skin feels so smooth after using it.

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Rozalyn is holding a Christmas Giveaway where the winner can pamper themselves over the festive period! Up for grabs are S&G Righteous Butter, S&G Hand Food, S&G Scrub of Your Life, Kate Moss for Rimmel Lipstick in 101, Maybelline Lipstick in Midnight Plum, Barry M Nail Glitter in Pink Sapphire & Aussie 3 Minute Miracle!

Kerys is celebrating reaching the 10,000 page view milestone and is holding a giveaway to say thankyou! Up for grabs are a MUA LipBOOM in It's a Situation, MUA Nail Constelliation in Scorpio, MUA Nail Varnish in Plum Noir and a gorgeous handmade hand chain from Azure Boutique! All these goodies come packaged up in a cute little faux white leather makeup bag!

Chance by Chanel Eau De Parfum

I seem to have acquired quite a few perfumes over the years, some of which I save for those special occasions whether it be a wedding or a night out somewhere. Chance by Chanel* is one of those perfumes that I save for those sorts of occasions, especially because it was gifted to me from my Grandma as she doesn't need perfumes as she works on her own ranch. I refused it at first purely because it's a very extragavant gift, more so as it was brand spanking new. But when she said that if I didn't take it she would throw it in the bin, I took it and I haven't looked back.

Chance comes packaged in a luxurious pink and gold box with embossed writing which looks adorable amongst my other perfumes. The bottle itself is very circular, which has a reflective metallic strip runnining all the way round. The cap itself has Chanel imprinted on it and is made of the same reflective metallic materal as the strip which could do some hefty damage as it is rather heavy, especially for a lid.

Chance is described as a constellation of scents, warmed up by Absolute of Vanilla, where Absolute of Exotic Jasmine and Iris are more pronounced. A mysterious alchemy accentuated by the intensity of the White Musk note. It's the unpredictable balance that continually surprises, apparently. You can definitely smell the white musk and absolute of exotic jasmine and iris!

If you're thinking about getting a loved one a perfume for Christmas this year, then you should definitely consider Chance by Chanel. It's the perfect muskier floral perfume which is sure to delight anybody who receives it at Christmas, as I know I would.

Chance by Chanel can be bought from any good perfume retailer for as little as £44.50 for 35ml and as much as £87.50 for 100ml.

NOTW Hallucinate Utopia

After having my nails bare for a few days, I thought it would be about time that I painted them. I settled on Models Own Utopia as I just can't seem to get enough of this colour! The shade seems to intensify and get darker the more it's own (which seems to happen in my case) which just makes this particular colour one of my top favourites.

Hallucinate is a nail varnish that I got from America, it's by Wet n Wild and it's in their Wild Shine range. Hallucinate isn't like any other glittery nail varnish as it's a hell of a lot thicker and takes forever to dry as it's so thick and gloopy. It's packed solid with multi coloured glitter which is sure to compliment any colour.

The Body Shop Aloe Lip Care

You know the annoying moment when you get to the till and the woman behind it says that it's three for two, so you have to go back and grab something just to get it for free? Well I did that, in Charlotte's Airport over in America back in July. I can't remember what else I bought in the Body Shop that day but I do remember getting their Aloe Lip Care for free. I included this in my Looking after your lips is just as important as looking after your skin post so I thought it would be about time I reviewed it.

The packaging is what you can normally expect from a lip balm - it's a squeezy tube applicator which means that you can run the risk of applying too much in some cases. I find that some squeezy tube lipbalms are a little too hard to squeeze to get it out however this is just perfect, with one squeeze and the lip care is oozing out! It doesn't say too much about what the product is on the packaging, apart from the fact that it's Aloe Lip Care, it's for sensitive skin and it conditions and soothes very dry lips. I've never noticed a lip balm being created for sensitive skin as since when do people have sensitive skin on their lips? 

The scent of this is rather quite unique as I really cannot put my fingers on it. It smells rather floral but in a good way with a slight hint of strawberries. The texture however is something else - it's a lot thicker than Carmex and a lot more stickier than a lip gloss which I'm sure many people wouldn't be keen of. It does however soothe your lips and makes them a lot more conditioned ready for lipstick application. But I don't think it goes as far as getting rid of chapped lips as it takes a long time for it to be asorbed meaning that it can quite easily be rubbed off the lips as the day goes on. The taste unforunately is nothing like how it smells, it tastes rather disgusting and leaves a weird after taste. So I wouldn't advice licking this off your lips!

Overall, I do really like the lip balm for what it does as I like to apply this at night and when I wake up in the morning, my lips feel really moisturised. But I personally don't think it's a lip balm for the day time use as it's far too sticky.

The Body Shop Aloe Lip Care is £5 ($9.50) and can be purchased from any Body Shop.

FOTD

The Body Shop Tea Tree Pore Minimiser

Soap & Glory Kick Ass Concealer in Medium

Collection 2000 Lasting Perfection Concealer in Medium 3

Rimmel Wake Me Up Foundation in Ivory

Collection 2000 Sheer Loose Powder in Translucent

Collection 2000 Shimmer & Shade in Just Peachy

VIVO Baked Bronze in Healthy Glow

Lacura Lip balm

After the day out to London yesterday, waking up this morning was torture - I so wanted to spend the day in bed and fall back asleep but I had to get up. I even had to force Liam out of bed as well - as he wouldn't get up either. We've both been recently addicted to this game on our phones called Extreme Road Trip 2 where you have to do tricks in order to save petrol and get as far as you can whilst collecting coins and petrol cans on the way - it's very addictive.

Today at work wasn't that bad. I spent the morning practilly tidying up the bins so I was in amongst the dust mostly. I couldn't stop sneezing! I'm really looking forward to tomorrow as my dad's girlfriend is moving on and I finally get to meet her two cats, Sarah and Bailey. We're all a little anxious about how her two will react with our cats as we've also got two cats. I'm sure I'll keep you all updated!

Maybelline FIT!me Foundation in 115

Before Maybelline released their FIT!me range over here in the UK, many UK bloggers including myself lusted over their products, in particular their foundation. On my trip to America back in July, I managed to pick one up from Walmart. Unforunately unlike over here where we have colour guides, Walmart didn't have any so I had to choose by eye which shade and I think I picked up a pretty good match.

 

The foundation in the FIT!me line comes well presented within a sturdy glass bottle with black accents. Unlike the UK version which has a built in pump dispenser which prevents waste from dispensing too much, the US version doesn't have a built in pump which is a disaster as whenever I use this foundation, I always end up pouring far too much on my hand which is very wasteful. The idea behind the FIT!me range is that it's makeup that fits you. It contains no oils and no waxes which in sense is no nonsense.

As I'm in the light to medium skin category (depending on the brand of foundation) shade 115 is a good match to my skin tone.The foundation itself is a light textured liquid which offers medium to high coverage but it can be a little tricky to blend in, particularly if you have any dry patches then I suggest that you try dampening your brush before application. I personally like to apply my Mattifying Gel and then use my RT Buffing Brush with this foundation and it blends in like a dream. The coverage of this leaves my skin looking and feeling natural whilst not being heavy at all on the skin.

L-R Swatched, blended in lightly, blended in fully.

As you can see, it blends in almost perfectly with my skin and this is definitely a foundation I turn to when on days I'm wanting a natural coverage which covers up most of my blemishes. This is definitely a foundation worth investing in! I'm tempted to pick up the concealer next.

You can pick Maybelline FIT!me Foundation, powder and concealer from any Superdrug & Boots. 

Day trip out to Chelsea FC

*I would just like to point out that I am no way a fan of football nor do I support Chelsea FC*

For those of you who don't know about me, I'm training to be a plumber. So for two nights a week, I go to college to learn the trade. I currently have a Level 1 NVQ in Plumbing so I'm currently studying for my Level 2 NVQ which is a lot more harder - as it contains exams and not just coursework like the first year. The college that I go to have never arranged a day trip out until todays' where many top names in the plumbing industry would be meeting at Chelsea FC for a two day convention. There were roughly 100 or so stalls there, all very informative and giving out a lot of freebies.

Unforunately, as I'm only a student and not yet a fully trainer plumber, I didn't have a clue what most of them were advertising and trying to sell but I did know that they were all pretty darn good. There was this one stall whom I can't remember the name of but they had invented a clip on tool belt which looked really good which is something that I may consider investing in when I'm finally working in the trade.

After walking round the entire of downstairs, then mooching upstairs to the other floors, we finally got to have a tour round Chelsea grounds which was pretty interesting. Did you know that in Chelsea's own dressing room/whatever is called, they all use Molton Brown products and that when they get back in from playing a game, there is a brand spanking new D&G suit waiting for the players in the lockers? Nope, neither did I.

Overall, it was a very informative day and I definitely got enough pens to last me for the next five years or so.

MUA Pro-Brow Ultimate Eyebrow Kit

Like with many beauty bloggers, I spend quite a while on my eyebrows; shaping them until they are perfect. However sometimes, I can get quite tweezer happy and am left with an eyebrow with a slight gap in some cases. When MUA brought out their Eyebrow kit back in September, I was very eager to get my hands on it but it was only until now that I parted with my pennies as my nearest Superdrugs are constantly sold out of it.

The MUA Pro-Brow Ultimate Eyebrow Kit comes packaged in MUA's standard black professional packaging. However I do find that this is very travel friendly which is ideal for a beauty blogger on the go. It's also very practical as it comes with a decent sized mirror, a pair of blunt-ish slant tweezers which is ideal for plucking a stray hair or two and a duo ended stiff slanted brush. It contains everything a girl could need for getting her eyebrows in perfect shape whilst on the go!

The kit contains two eyebrow shades which are two different shades of brown, a matte highlighter which could double up as another eyebrow shade for those with very light eyebrows and a setting wax. The idea behind it is that you use either one of the brow shades or mix them together to create a custom blend, apply it over the brows and set them with the settling gel, then using the highlighter shade to highlight the brows for a lift. The shades are very well pigmented but they do tend to produce quite a substantial amount of powder to fall out however they do apply with ease and blend into the skin without any problems at all. Once set with the gel, they last for roughly 6+ hours before any sign of fading can be noticed.

L-R is Darker shade swatched, lighter shade swatched and highlighter shade swatched.

I really do want to love this but I just find that it's a little too dark for my liking as I can only use the darkest powder because the lightest one does nothing and when mixed together, it doesn't look right. I also find that in some lights, when I've used this, my eyebrows have a slight red tone to it which doesn't look at all attractive. I've even found the wax to be rather flimsy and even Natural Collections' Lash Care Mascara in Clear can do a far better job of holding my brows in place. The reason why I haven't included a picture of what my eyebrows look like is because I'm sure I'll have a FOTD up soon where I've used it so you can get an idea of what it looks like. If I don't use this as an eyebrow kit, I'll probably use the three shades as eyeshadows instead.

Lacura Concealer

Concealers are one of those products that I always seem to fall for, especially when they claim to reduce the appearance of blemishes and dark circles. I prefer buying drug store concealers rather than high end as if it doesn't work for me then I know that I haven't spent a fortune on it. In my quest of finding the perfect concealer, I've tried Lacuras' which is the infamous dupe for YSL Touche Elcat that I always seem to go back to.

The Lacura Concealer comes packaged in a nice box that does look quite professional and luxurious, especially for Aldis' standards. The concealer pen itself is very sleek - a metallic looking pen with a brush applicator. With just one click, it comes oozing out (unless you're about to try it for the first time then I would recommend getting a pin and stabbing it through the nozzle which is hidden in the brush). 

"With the light-reflecting micro-pigments of the Lacura Concealer Pen shadows, lines and fine wrinkles around the eyes are concealed, pigment disorders are covered and surface irregularities of the skin are balanced out."

Unlike many concealers which offer a variety of shades, Lacura's concealer comes in two shades; Savanna and Cashmere. I've picked up Savanna as it has pink undertones which is ideal for my skin tone. The texture of this is rather light (especially when compared to MUA's Brush-On Concealer Pen) and I find that it blends into the skin within seconds with ease. I find that you have to be quick when blending this as it dries quite quickly.

 L-R is swatched and blended in.

In terms of reducing the appearance of dark circles, I think it does an alright job at it. It makes the skin under your eyes look a lot more radiant but it doesn't hide the apperance of dark circles completely. However when it comes to concealing blemishes, it does a good job at it, especially when it's those dreaded red scars left from spots. All in all, it is a good cheap concealer which does the trick but it does nothing to hide spots. It also claims to be an ideal eyeshadow base which is handy to know when you've ran out of eyeshadow primer. I will continue purchasing this as I find that it's perfect for making my skin look a little more radiant on days when I'm not wearing any foundation.  

Blog Sale!

Ever since I've had a job, I've always bought things that I dont necessarily need.

They always end up worn a few times and then never worn again.

I've decided to sell some of these items that I have barely worn this past year to make room for new ones. It is a shame that they are not getting worn by myself but atleast they'll be going to a new home. :)

The rules:

-First come, first served basis.

-If you would like to buy an item, please state what item/s in the comment and also with your paypal address so that I can send you an invoice.

-P&P will be listed seperately. If you are buying more than one item with the £3.00 P&P, then please add 30p for each additional item.

-I am not responsible for damage in transit and I do not accept returns.

-UK only!

Items will be sent out on either a Thursday, Saturday or Tuesday!

This will be running for a week and will be removed on the 20th of November! Any items not sold will be put on eBay!

Enjoy!

 Primark Blouse - Size 14

Label has been cut out due to making my neck itchy!

This would fit a petite 10/12.

£5 + £3 P&P

 A X Paris Top, Size 8.

This fits sizes 8, 10, 12 & 14!

£5.00 + £3 P&P

 ASOS Pink Twisted Back Top, Size 12.

£8 + £3 P&P

  Primark Blouse, Size 14.

Would fit a size 10/12.

£4 + £3 P&P

  Primark Blouse/Dressy Top, Size 14.

£4.50 + £3 P&P

 River Island Top, Size 10.

Would fit a size 8/10

Bought in January during the Christmas sales for £10!

£5 + £3 P&P

Primark Pleated Blouse, Size 14.

Would fit a size 14/16

£4.50 + £3 P&P

 Pauls Boutique Hi Low Baggy Long Sleeved Top, Size L

£7 + £3 P&P

 Superdry Lumberjack Hoodie

RRP £60!

£27 + £6.50 P&P (Will be sent First Class Recorded/Signed For!)

Superdrug Mud Therapy Aloe Vera Deep Cleansing Mud Mask

I've never been too fussed about face masks, especially mud based ones. I don't like the whole concept of getting my fingers all icky and spending ages trying to get the residue off. However, since upping my skin care routine, I find it necessary to push myself to applying one twice a week. I really don't like the single use satchets as they're not that good value for money in the long run and it works out far cheaper to buy a tube as you get so many uses out it. I decided to bite the bullet, face my fears and purchase a mud mask. 

 "Superdrug Aloe Vera Deep Cleansing Mud Mask, with natural mineral benefits of Dead Sea mud, naturally detoxifies and remineralises. This clay based mask containing hydrating and soothing aloe vera with help promote a cleaner complexion, leaving skin softer and rejuvenated."

Since having quite a few tubes of face masks which need using up so I quite like applying a lot to my face and I find that this Aloe Vera Deep Cleansing Mud Mask fits the job quite nicely. As it's a mud mask, it's very thick and creamy which feels cold on first application. I tend to use a clean foundation brush nowadays instead of my fingers to apply this as this can get very messy! I just paint it on, all over my face and leave it on for about 15 - 20 minutes or until it's dry. I then get a wet flannel and wash my face with it and this leaves my skin feeling so soft! It makes my skin look a lot more radiant and definitely a lot more perkier than pre face mask. I wouldn't say that this is very deep cleansing as I do sometimes feel that my face needs a good wash afterwards with my face wash but it does go as far as ridding my skin of impurities. I've used this face mask about five or six times so far and I'm not even half way so you're definitely getting good value for money!

You can purchase this face mask along with two others in the Mud Therapy Range for £2.59

MUA BB Cream in Medium

Like with many people, BB creams are slowly started to creep their way into my make up routine and I often favour them for days when I feel that I don't need a lot of coverage. I've tried quite a few and I think it's safe to say that my favourite by far is 17's BB cream. After seeing MUA's BB cream looking a little unloved in my drawer, I thought that it was about time I reviewed it.

MUA offer six shades in total which range from Light to Dark with a few rose shades in the middle, which is rather refreshing unlike other brands who only offer two shades or so. Keeping with the theme of the packing, MUA's BB Cream is presented in a black squeezy tube with the now very recognisable silver font which distinguishes it amongst other brands. Like with many BB creams, this is very easy to dispense the product as with one squeeze, it comes oozing out.

Unlike most BB creams, this one unforunately doesn't have any SPF which may be a wrong move for MUA if they wanted to keep with the modern day trends. So with that in mind, if you're going to be using this abroad, make sure you apply sunscreen before application! I have the shade Medium (as I bought this way before they released three more shades) and I find that this is not as orange based as many BB creams in Medium. It's actually a pretty good match to my skintone, just it needs to be warmed up slightly with a little bronzer here and there.

 L-R is Swatched & Buffed in

"Inspired by Asian Beauty Balms, our brand new MUA BB Foundation is a full coverage foundation containing a multi-functional formula that conceals, brightens and evens out skin tone for a perfect complexion"

MUA's BB Cream is very thick and creamy which does require a few minutes more to buff in fully. I would say that the coverage of this is pretty much medium as it does provide just enough coverage to conceal small blemishes however it does nothing to conceal large pores as it just glides over them instead of sitting in them. In terms of wear, with the use of a primer and a pressed powder, it lasted about 7/8 hours which is pretty good going. I wouldn't say that this brightened my skin tone but it did definitely even it out which made my complexion look better.

The only bad thing I have to say about this BB cream and I'm not sure if I've got a faulty tube, but the product does not stop dispensing - it's constantly oozing which makes me wonder if it's travel worthy as I wouldn't want to take this on holiday to discover that it oozed out over everything during the flight.

You can purchase this from Superdrug and MUA's online website for a measly £4.

Beauty Blog Link Love

With Christmas just round the corner, Gemma-Louise has put together a rather helpful Male Christmas Gift Guide.

Sophia settles the debate between MUA's Eye Primer VS UD Eyeshadow Primer Potion.

 Gemma Button shares her lip care routine as well as her top picks for lip balm.

  Ever wondered how to maintain your platinum blonde hair? Well Robyn May shows how along with what products she uses.

Are you a big fan of Burt's Bees lip products? Then Charlotte Elizabath shares a limited edition product that you simply don't want to miss!

Emily Grace shares her love for the Models Own Wonderland Collection (and why everybody needs a lot of glitter in their lifes)

Remember when every UK beauty blogger wanted the Maybelline FITme foundation in their life? Well now that it's finally been released in the UK, Beth shares her thoughts about it.

Jasmine shares her drag queen inspired look for this week's makeup tag.

Wanting to know what lip colour to wear for A/W12? Jessie shares her top four favourites.

Danielle is a total impulse buyer and shares five products that she will always repurchase time and time again, despite the impulse buys along the way.

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Lola is holding a Christmas Giveaway where the prizes up for grabs are all Burt's Bees!

Kerys is holding a giveaway to celebrate a major milestone of 10,000 page views where you win a bundle of MUA goodies.

Alex is celebrating reaching 200 followers and is giving away a ton of goodies!

Boots Vitamin E Gentle Eye Cream

I've never been fussed about using an eye cream as I always thought that I'll start using one when I get wrinkles which I've now come to realise can happen at any age. Whilst in Boots last month, I picked up Boot's own branded Vitamin E Gentle Eye Cream with SPF 15 and I've been using it every day since.

It claims that it can reduce the appearance of fine lines, puffiness and dark circles within four weeks due to its light and easily absorbed formulation with its daily moisturisation with antioxidant protection, and I completely stand by its. claim - I started noticing a difference by the second week and my dark circles do definitely look not so dark anymore. It's improved my skin's texture around the eyes and it feels a lot firmer as the skin used to be quite loose round there. 

I dot seven even sized dots around the dark circles under my eyes and using my ring finger, rub them in gently until they're all gone. Within a minute or so, it's all absorbed into my skin which is thanks to the light, non-greasy formulation of this eye cream. This contains 15ml and I've hardly made a dent in it so I can definitely see this lasting for quite a long time.

You can pick this up from any Boots store nationwide for £2.54

MUA Brush-On Concealer Pen

Like many beauty bloggers, I seem to have an awful lot of one product i.e. twelve foundations, four primers etc etc. I have roughly fourteen concealers, not including backups, which I'm slowly making my way through. Back in June, I purchased MUA's Brush-On Concealer Pen and I thought that it would be about time that I reviewed it.

MUA have two shades of their Brush-On Concealer Pen which comes in either Light or Radiance. I have the shade Radiance which I find it just right for my skin tone however both shades may be too light or too dark for others. The packaging is very sleek and chic which hints slightly that the concealer itself is much more expensive than it right is *cough* £2 *cough*

The concealer has a built in brush and to activate it, you simply twist the bottom of the pen several times upon first use (once or twice if you've already used it before) and the product comes through the bristles of the brush on top. I personally found that on first application, twisting the bottom several times was just not going to cut it. I found myself digging a needle into the little plastic tube which is hidden in the brush to eventually release the product - and even then it suddenly came flowing out which I didn't find particularly good.

The texture of this is nothing like any concealer I've ever come across - it's very thick and gloopy, almost like a very thick foundation. It's also very heavy, especially when using on under eye circles which MUA claims this is perfect for as I found that it took a while to blend it and even when it is blended in, it looks very cakey. Despite this, I think it's much better suited for very slight colour imperfections as it sorts the colour out just fine. However, I would most definitely avoid using this on a blemish at all cost, at it clings to the spot and the skin around it which makes the spot look more enlarged than it actually is. I found the scent of this very intoxicating - it's a rather artificial old lady's perfume scent which lingers around for quite a while after applying it.

L-R is Swatched, blended in light and blended in heavily.

Some people may like the full on, cake like coverage but I personally believe that there are more better concealers out there, especially the Collection 2000 Lasting Perfection one. If you're looking for a cheap concealer, then I would suggest avoiding this one at all costs and perhaps looking into Natural Collection's range of concealers which are only a few pence less than this one!