Korres Mango Butter Lipstick

I love a lipstick but can sometimes find certain brands to be to drying and unforgiving on my lips and so I feel I need a product with added moisturising benefits - enter Korres. 

The word butter in the title screams moisture and with a high shine finish (another favourite of mine - if you have dry lips, matte finishes are not your friends!) I knew I had to get my hands on this product. 

They have a few shades available, however I selected shade 12 frost pink -  which is a gorgeous satin light pink. 

 

The consistency of the lipstick is smooth and creamy which means it applies like a dream. It glides onto lips, providing a slick of sheer colour and gloss. 

The formula feels moisturising upon application and remains like this - it doesn't dry out as the day goes on. 

The shade of this lipstick on the lips is subtle and sheer, but I like it this way. Its muted, understated and delicate which is perfect for your daytime look, yet it wouldn't look out of place on a night out with smokey eye make up. 

I find myself reaching for this product regularly on days when I want to add a splash of light colour to the lips yet also when I need to pamper them and provide much needed moisture.

 swatch in natural light with no flash.

 swatch with the flash on.

have you ever tried any Korres lip products?

Three Day Weekend....

 

This is a  product  (and brand) you may/not have heard of - I certainly hadn't, and only stumbled upon this product whilst flicking through the duty free magazine onboard a flight! I was intrigued by its description in the mag, and pondered for ages whether to buy it or not. Eventually I decided to take the plunge and ordered a bottle from feelunique . 

The product itself is a moisurising gel which promises intense hydration for 24 hours and also to add a healthy glow to your face without the need for self-tan, and let me tell you, it was definitely the latter aspect of this product which intrigued me. 

While I do try to embrace my paleness (mostly because I can't be bothered with the upkeep of maintaining a fake tan 24/7), I can't deny that it really would be nice to have a healthy glow to my face - just to take the corpsey edge off!

The product works by stimulating your skins melanin production (the natural pigment found within your skin which causes tanning), which in turn causes your face to get a sunkisseed glow, without sunshine and false tan. Application of this moisturiser should be daily, and results should be expected with 1 week, although the website does state that results vary by skintone and your skins natural ability to produce melanin, therefore I think people with olive skintones would really benefit from this product.

So, what did I think of this product? I actually found this product rather pleasant to use. The texture is a gel which is light and refreshing on the skin and so I enjoy using this product in the hotter, summer months (or on holiday since hot, summer months don't really exist in the UK!) when I feel my usual moisturiser is too heavy. 
I wouldn't say the moisturisation abilities of this product are intense enough to last 24hours, I applied morning and night and found my skin to be comfortable. I think if I had applied it less, my skin may have felt tight and dry. 
But the big question is, did I notice a colour change?! Well...yes and no. I wouldn't say the colour change was so noticeable that people would comment, yet it was noticeable to me. My face just looked healthier, more glowy and fresher - like I went for daily morning walks! 
Like I mentioned earlier, the results are based on your skins own ability to produce melanin, therefore people who take tans well would probably experience a greater colour change. 

I'm happy to continue using this product throughout the summer months due to its refreshing texture and I will definitely take it on my summer holidays. I think when I take it abroad I will notice more of a colour change, as my daily sun exposure will be higher. More sunshine = more melanin.

I probably would recommend this product to people, as darker skinned people will get quite noticeable results, and as for us pale girls, it takes the edge off your whiteness, and just makes you look healthier. And healthy can never be a bad thing!! 

have you ever tried any tan activators/extenders like this?

Frizzy Lizzy

 

Today I'm going to be discussing a product which aims to eradicate the dreaded enemy of us curly haired ladies.....The frizz! The product in question is the Lee Stafford Dehumidifier Spray from the Poker Straight collection. 

The product packaging is typical of the Lee Stafford range, a bright pink can with the distinctive barcode and text. I like the branding of this range as I think it stands out when on the shelves and grabs my attention. 

I decided to invest in this product when I made a pact to myself to try and stop using as many heated styling tools on my hair in an attempt to strengthen my hair, as I feel it to be quite damaged/dry and brittle sometimes. I also want to cut down on the amount of time I spend taming my hair, I feel I should try and embrace my curls rather than fight them...(its a battle I am losing anyway so I may aswell hold up my little white flag..). However, just because I want to love and accept my curls, doesn't mean I need to welcome the frizz that comes with them, and so thats where this product steps in!! 
After I let my hair dry naturally (eeeeeeeek!!) I spray this liberally all over my head and I find that it helps to smooth any static or flyaway strands, and somehow, miraculously , removes the frizz! I don't know how it does it, but you can literally see the frizz fading as you spray. Once I've sprayed this all over my head, and ruffled my hair, I am good to go. It's not hard or crunchy like a hairspray/mousse or gel and it adds a  glossy finish to my hair which is a bonus as I sometimes find curly hair can look a bit lacklustre. 
Don't be thinking though that this is just for curly hair, oh no sir! This is for anyone who suffers from attacks of the frizz! If I ever do straighten my hair, a skoosh of this over my finished style acts like a barrier from the elements and stops me fretting about my hair! 
This spray is perfect for use in the UK with our unpredictable weather, and also perfect for use abroad when the hot, humid weather mucks up your hair and your regular hair routine! I honestly couldn't be without this now. 

have you ever tried this product before? Do you like Lee Stafford products?

Haulin' at Zara

Evening all! What a glorious day its has been - I'm all sunned out and sufficiently burnt so I'm happy! 
Apart from the glorious weather, what also makes me happy is the fact that my floral Zara pencil skirt which I have been drooling over for ageees finally arrived in the correct size!! *happy dance...*

Keep reading for further info regarding my skirt fiasco...

I haven't ordered from Zara online before (in actual fact, I haven't bought anything from Zara before, but to be fair, there isn't one nearby to where I live...) so I was pleasantly surprised to see how beautifully packaged my order was...serious brownie points!! 

The only thing I knew about Zara via word of mouth, is that the sizing can be quite bizarre. With this in mind, I dutifully checked the size chart provided on the website, measured myself and I settled on a size M on the skirts and an S on the tops. 

Diaster :(

The skirts were far far too big (tops were spot on though), and with Zara's fickle return policy (has to be to store or a courier comes to collect it) I was disheartened to say the least! But I perservered, went back online, requested a return via courier and ordered both skirts again but in a size S. 
When the goodies arrived this time, the tribal/aztec printed mini fitted me (happy days!), yet the floral pencil skirt was still too large and I had to repeat the courier return, reorder online process. 
Eventually, the skirt arrived in an XS and it fits like a glove! 
Therefore, I would like to advise anyone who has easy access to a Zara store to just buy from there instead of online, and avoid this whole hoo-haa!! My second piece of advice is if you are keen on buying the floral pencil skirt - downsize to get a good fit! 

 All in all, despite the carry on, I love love love my purchases and cannot wait to wear them this summer! 

I'd be interested to hear any online shopping experiences you've had? What do you think of Zara's clothing?!  

Moroccan Oil

Today I'm going to be looking at the cult hair care product which is Moroccan Oil. The hair oil market is now saturated with products and with brands such as L'Oreal, Lee Stafford and even Primark jumping on the bandwagon, choosing one can be as difficult as selecting a mascara!! 

So with all these cheaper alternatives around, why did I settle for the original Moroccan Oil? 

Firstly, not to be a brand snob, but Moroccan Oil is sooooo well known (unless you've been hiding under a bridge for years?!) and sometimes when selecting a product for the first time (yes I was a hair oil virgin!), you need to go with a reputable product/brand. 

Secondly, although Moroccan Oil is more expensive, sometimes you get what you pay for. I sometimes find that cheaper brands (although they do the job just aswell), don't last as long and buying expensive can work out cheaper in the long run. 

With all this in mind, I took the plunge and bought Moroccan oil from FeelUnique. I selected the 'Light' variety as I have blonde hair and I sometimes find moisturising treatments can turn the blonde dull + dark. 

Moroccan Oil is golden nectar and my hair loves it! Seriously, my parched ends drink this stuff up like water! I pump 2 squirts into my hands, rub then together and then rub my hands through my damp hair and then proceed to blowdry/straighten my mane. Not only does the oil nourish my damaged hair but I also think it speeds up drying time (always a plus!) 
As well as using the oil pre-blowdry, I also apply on dry hair (to the ends) before bed, much like you would apply a moisturiser to your face, and when I wake up in the morning, I have soft, easy to tame hair. 

Despite its multipurpose use, and my heavy handed application. I think this product will last me a long time and when I run out...hells yeah I will repurchase!

Bourjois Flower Perfection Primer

Long gone are the days when (after moisturising of course) foundation was the first product you applied to your face when starting your make up regime. These days, in order to fully prepare your skin for application and to provide maximum staying power, you need to apply a primer. 

A good quality primer should smooth the skins surface, blur fine lines, mattify the skin and basically provide a blank canvas for you to work with. 

There are various primers available on the market and it can be quite daunting to pick the one which satisfies your needs and remains within your budget. I've played around with primer quite a lot as during my working day I don't really have the time to reapply powders/blushers and so I have 2 primers which I would happily grant holy grail status too (more on them later). 

The Bourjois flower perfection primer is one which I experimented with when 1 of my HG primers (smashbox btw) ran out and I wanted to try and find a cheaper alternative. After sampling a few products on my hand in my local boots, I settled on this Bourjois one as the texture on my skin after application appeared to be very similar to my Smashbox one. 

This primer is OK, in that it decreases shininess on the face and definitely makes the skin feel smoother but I just don't feel it has the staying power of my beloved Smashbox primer. It's also quite a small pot (another gripe I have with it as I much prefer the pump bottle which the smashbox primer is packaged in) and if you want staying power, a little doesn't seem to go a long way, therefore I feel this will be used up quite quickly if you apply primer daily like me. 

Sometimes (not always), this primer seems to make my foundation 'ball' up which my two go-to primers do not. 

All in all, this primer is OK and I will continue to use (I have actually started using this under my eyes to try and stop concealer settling in my fine lines), however once this runs out, it will be no loss to my make up bag and I won't repurchase. 

Rimmel Stay Matte Pressed Powder

Helllloooo lovely ladies!

Sorry for the delay in posting, been down in England the past few days without laptop access - buuuut I am back now, ready to go and raring to blog... 

Today I am going to be reviewing a product which has been a firm staple in my make up bag since my teenage years : Rimmel Stay Matte Powder in the shade 'Transparent'. 

I haven't been completely loyal to this powder throughout my make up years, I've dabbled in Maxfactor, Collection 2000, Clinique and Loreal yet this is the powder I always return to  - infact, this is the only face powder which I have finished! With all the other face powders I have experimented with, I usuallu throw in the towel halfway through and returned to Rimmel. Why though? What is it about this powder which keeps drawing me back?! 

Well the price definitely helps! This little gem retails for £3.99 at Boots - very purse friendly! And for a whopping 14g of product, you really can't complain! And most of all, its like Ronseal - it does exactly what it says on the tin! 
It mattifies skin without caking and leaving an undesirable powdery finish. It doesn't make me orange no matter how heavily handed I apply it and it doesn't disturb my foundation/blush application. Perfect! It also doesn't clog pores which is a big YES for my spot prone skin. 

Look - look at the colour of that!! Perfect for pale skin tones...it will never make you orange! 

Any downsides to this product? 

The packaging probably lets it down a touch as its not very travel/handbag friendly. All it takes is for the lid to pop off and uh - ohhh, the powder will crack and break up but for £3.99 this is not a high end product, therefore I shouldn't really expect high end packing... should I? And the packaging definitely does not stop me from repurchasing time and time again. 
Another downside (although not for me personally), might be the lack of dark shades available? I think the darkest tone they do is called Warm Beige and its not mega dark, therefore darker skinned ladies may struggle to find a good match with this product, however for us Snow White girls, it's a god send! You really can't afford to not have this in your make up routine...

May Wishlist...

In this post I thought I would share with you a few things I am lusting over atm...hopefully my bank balance will allow some of these beauts to make their way into my life.....

I don't want for much do I? :) 

Lets start from the top left + work our way around...
First we've got the printed mini skirt from Zara. I love the aqua and blue colours together as I think they look lovely and summery and this would be a perfect addition for my upcoming summer holiday!


Then we move onto a pair of nude sandals which are also from Zara. I've been loving the minimalistic look of high heeled sandals lately and I think this nude pair would make a good addition to everyones wardrobe, as the neutral shade means they will go with everything and anything!! 

Next up is a floral crop top from my dear old friend Mr.Topshop. This again is very summery and would look great with high waisted denim shorts. 

Another Topshop number, these black floral print high waisted shorts are beaut! The floral print makes them summery however the dark colour means they won't look out of place paired with black tights, which is perfect for our, ahem....'summer' and it also means they will be a great transitional piece and could be worn through to autumn/winter. 

Yet another topshop piece with this floral corset dress. The fitted tip and skater style skirt  make this a great holiday buy for when you've indulged in 1 to many Tequila Sunrises and need to hide the belly bloat! Plus the pattern is uber cute :) 

Next up is makeup I have been lusting over foreveeeer! It's Liz Earle's sheer moisture tint which I think will be perfect for summer weather when you don't want anything heavy on your face. The shade range is rather limited however according to online reviews the pale shade is perfect for us whities...score! 

Ahh Benefit Bella Bamba! One of the few Benefit boxes I haven't added to my collection however I am dyiiiing to! I love a pink blush and after looking at various swatches online this looks like it won't disappoint! 

I heart Xen Tan and this facial tanner is at the top of my holiday list! My face sometimes takes a tan, sometimes it doesn't - my skin is fickle that way! However this light gradual tan helps out when my face decides it wants to be a pain! 

Then we have a jacquard playsuit from Topshop which I think looks very unique and a great summer piece! 

I'm a pencil skirt newbie but this looks like a gentle way to break me in as I LOVE florals. This is from Zara :) 

*almost done* 

Next up is 2 skincare products available at boots - Soap + Glory Hocus Focus, a brightening blurring lotion and Palmers gradual tan cocoa butter. This lotion smells heavenly, adds a subtle glow and provides intense moisturisation...perfect! 

Sorry for the text heavy post, but I hope you enjoyed reading my rambling wish list! What are you lusting after? 

No 7 Mineral Perfection Loose Blusher

Afternoon!! How is everyone's Tuesday going? *almost midweek yaaay!* 

Now, I'm sure everyone can remember their very first blusher? The one you wore every single day, religiously! My go-to blush was Boots No 7 Natural Blush in the shade 'Soft Damson', which I would describe as a soft dusky pink. 
As my blush collection has expanded, poor old Soft Damson has lay neglected in the depths of my make up drawer, however one day whilst browsing the No 7 counter (with a £5 off voucher lurking in my purse), I noticed this loose blush in yes, you've guessed it, Soft Damson. I bought it hoping to restart a love affair with an old friend...

The packaging in pretty typical of No 7 products, sleek, no-nonsense and straight to the point. This blusher also comes with its own brush which I have rendered useless as it sheds like crazy (massive pain in the bum) and its quite hard to control the product with it, therefore I prefer to use my real techniques blush brush. 
I'm usually such a klutz that loose make up products are typically not my friend, however this has actually remained largely in the pot thanks to the protective casing inside which helps trap the majority of the product. Clever bigwigs at Boots! 

I realise now that this is a terrible image to try and show the protective casing as its hidden underneath all the blush! However I had done this so you could see the colour :) There are methods to my madness ... kind of!

The blush is highly pigmented, much more so than my pressed blush and so a light hand is required and you must tap off any excess product in order to ensure an even application (easier said than done). 
The colour itself is pretty much the same as its compact counterpart, a dusky pink, however I have noted that wear time seems to be less and within 4/5 hours of wear it can become patchy, and this never happened with the pressed blush so I can only assume its to do with uneven product distribution on my blush brush? 
All in all, I probably wouldn't repurchase this particular item however it did remind me why I wore my soft damson blush as  the colour is very natural on my skin tone, therefore my other blush is no longer neglected and has made its way back into my make up bag! 

Clean + Clear Persa Gel 10

Happy Sunday girlies!! 

Hope you have all had a lovely weekend? Mine was nice and chilled, just what I needed after a few hectic ones! I finally got round to seeing iron man 3..and it was epic! Loved it, so if you haven't seen it already I suggest you head down to your nearest cinema and spend a few hours in the company of Robert Downey Jr....

Anyhoooo - lets get down to blogging!! Today I am going to be discussing not a make up item but a treatment for all us 'problem skin' ladies! I present to you - Clean + Clear Persa Gel 10 :) This gel is widely available in the US (I got mine from amazon.co.uk) however, acne creams/gels in the UK tend to favour Salicylic Acid as there spot vapouriser whereas the US favour creams based on Benzoyl Peroxide. 

Now this cream is very effective at getting rid of those pesky 'under the skin, I ain't ever gonna turn into a whitehead' kinda spots...very effective. The high strength (10%) of Benzoyl Peroxide essentially 'burns' away the zit and flattens it which makes it far easier to cover with concealer - Benzoyl Peroxide is also anticbacterial so it kills all the nasties harbouring undernead the skin. The gel is white in colour and is a good consistency, its neither thick nor watery and it rubs into the skin without leaving a residue. 

Make no mistake though when I tell you this stuff is Powerful, with a capital P. Please do not be tempted to rub this all over your face in attempt to kill off any lurking spots as you will wake up in the morning looking like Samantha from SATC when she had a chemical peel. This stuff does cause your skin to go red and dry however its nothing a little heavy duty moisturiser can't cure e.g. 8 Hou Cream or Bio oil. 
I also would only apply this once a day, maybe only every other day if you are new to benzoyl peroxide as you need to let your skin adapt to it, and only at night as it can potentially react with sunlight. 

This gel is definitely not for the faint hearted and I would only recommened it to sufferers of cysts and severe spots.

Soap & Glory: Thick & Fast Mascara

Hello lovelies! 

Another day...another blog post! Currently sitting at work shovelling an Activia yoghurt into my mouth when I got the the urge to post to my blog...random I know, but my English teacher always taught me to 'set the scene...' 

Today I am going to review one of the many Soap & Glory products available, their Thick & Fast Mascara. Soap & Glory started out with moisturizers and cleansers, became known for their quirky retro packaging and we all knew it wouldn't be long before they ventured into the make up world...

Tah-Dah - here it is in all its glory!

This mascara claims to give 'Super Volume'....do I agree? Emmm...well in a word no...but thats not to say I didn't enjoy this mascara! Whilst it didn't provide my lashes with the mega volume I lust after, it did coat them well (no clumping) and it didn't flake over my face throughout the day. 

I think this is an OK day-to-day mascara when you're rocking bare-faced chic...you know, the 'I totally woke up looking like this' look. 

I also liked the wand, as it had a brush head. In todays modern mascara world where there are numerous plastic applicators its nice to comb a brush through my lashes...no tugging yay! Application is nice and smooth although it can be hard to reach those teeny corner lashes. 

All in all, I probably would not purchase this again as I feel there are much more effective mascaras available however I wouldn't actively stop someone from buying this. All in all - a decent day to day mascara for a minimalistic, natural look.

you can find this mascara at Boots online or by raiding your local boots store...provided they have a Soap and Glory stand!

Body Shop Tea Tree Foaming Cleanser

Good Afternoon my pretties!

Today I am going to be reviewing a product which I absolutely adore, and it will remain a permanent fixture in my beauty routine until something better comes along!
I suffer from what I would call 'problem skin.' My face can be all super dooooper and clear then next morning..BAM!!!! My face looks like the surface of the moon :(
I've wasted ridiculous amounts of money trying to keep the cysts at bay but everything I tried just seemed to exacerbate the issue, until I found this...My Holy Grail cleanser.

This stuff is special! Its a foam cleanser (bonus for us dry skinned ladies) and the fact that its tea tree and not harsh chemicals like Benzyl Peroxide or Salicylic Acid mean its not overly drying on the skin..but you still get results! In fact, studies have shown tea tree oil to be just as effective as Benzyl Peroxide at dealing with blemishes but with few side effects....score!!! 

  It lathers up well and leaves you skin feeling refreshed and clean, but not tight - fabulous! Tight skin after washing can sometimes mean the cleanser used has been to harsh.
It smells of tea tree, an off putting scent for some but I've grown to love it as I associate it with clear skin!

This cleanser is available from Body Shop and comes in at £5.00. Body shop also regularly participate in 3 for 2 deals so you perhaps pick up another Tea Tree Range gem...or pick up your favourite Body Shop product. 

Do you have a holy grail cleanser? Have you tried this Body Shop range? 

Gosh Smokey Eyeshadow

Hello lovely ladies! 

Today I am going to be reviewing a product I purchased on a whim whilst browsing the counters at my local superdrug. 
Back in my late teens (17/18/19) my signature going out look included a very smokey eye using a variety of silver, deep grey and black *gulp* eyeshadows..and I thought I looked the business. Turns out I didn't...*sadface*. 
When I look back at pictures from that time in my life, I genuinely cringe at how awful the smokey eye looked...it didn't flatter my skintone, didn't make my peepers sparkle...all it really did was make me look like a young girl who had gotten loose in her mothers makeup! As I got older (and wiser??) , I began to take a more neutral approach to my eye makeup and began experimenting with the browns, golds, champagnes and found them to be much more flattering on the eye...thats where this palette comes in....

This cost £7.99 from Superdrug and I thought it would be a nice addition to my expanding neutrals collection....meh, I got that one wrong!! 
I'm not gonna lie, I don't particularly like this pallet and I think its been on my eyes a grand total of, erm....once!! 
The very first stripe is barely pigmented (or maybe its just my snow white skin..?) so it's pretty much useless, I may aswell swipe a bare finger across my lids! And secondly, the colours are all matte :( I find matte eyeshadows quite hard to work with as I find them rather unforgiving and harsh...not my cup of tea at all unfortunately - but hey! if you like a matte eyeshadow, this palette could be a friendly addition to your make up bag! 

look at that left swatch....hardly anything!! :( The other shades don't look as matte on these swatches, but trust me, they are! Maybe it's just my glowing skin? HA! I Wish! 

Last but not least you don't even get an applicator with the palette (say whaaaat?!) luckily I have my own stash of trusty brushes but still, a girl expects an applicator! 

Right well I'm going to love you and leave you's before I turn into a right negative nelly about this palette...and nobody likes to listen to a moaner, but at least I am being honest...right?!

Benefit Coralista

Well, well, well...everyone raves about Benefit boxed blushes whether they are talking about the powders appearance on the skin or even just the dinky packaging which Benefit has become associated with...and its about time I threw in my 2 cents aswell! Lucky you's....

The blusher I am going to be reviewing today is the world famous Coralista! This is described by Benefit as "coral blush for a tropical flush! This shade cheers up every skin tone in seconds"...Big claims from such a little box....

can it live up to its claims...?

But Coralista definitely delivers, well for me anyways. I find the colour warms up my alabaster skin without looking to obvious and adds a healthy dose of shimmer for a dewy look but not too 'glitterball',  making this blusher ideal for day or night time use. It has a decent wear time (around 5-6 hours) and doesn't become patchy throughout the day (score!). 

The packaging is girly and very Benefit, however it doesn't withstand much wear and tear within my handbag or make up bag and the box can end up looking tatty ... See my above pictures for evidence! 

Aside from the packaging getting a bit 'rough around the edges', do I have any other gripes with Coralista? Weeeeell, yes I do actually. Number uno is definitely the price, £23.50 for a box of blush is extortionate, lets not beat around the bush here...that being said, you do get a decent amount of product for your dosh and I've had my blush for around 5/6months and I see no sign of the pan, therefore when you spread the cost over the length of time the blush will last you, its pennies really (I really need to stop justifying these splurges..)

This is rather heavily swatched - there is less colour payoff when blended or applied with a brush

My final issue with Coralista isnt't a personal one as the colouring works for me however I feel that this wouldn't work as well on darker skin tones due to the fairly light pigmentation of this product however if you are darker and you rock Coralista, let me know and I will take this last remark back! 

Coralista retails at £23.50 and is available from Boots, Debenhams, Benefit...and a host of other places! 

Right, I'm away to put the kettle on before I write an epic novel here.....*must stop blabbering..*