Baby Lips

The cold weather is upon us. Days and nights of harsh winds, blistering cold rain and hopefully (but not like last year) some snow. This is the time when your skin really takes a hit from the weather and if you're like me your lips end up so chapped you end up spending too much time picking skin off your lips, not a pretty sight and it can be quite sore too! I'll end up sticking to my trusty carmex for when stuff gets really bad, but for now I've found a new obsession.

Maybelline baby lips

These seem to be a new craze at the moment. They are super hydrating lip balms with the promise of up to 8 hours hydration. I don't think it necessarily lasts for 8 hours but it's still pretty good. There are 6 different ones to choose from. I currently have the Peach Kiss:

This smells amazing. Something like a sweet I used to have when I was in school.. I just can't remember the name of it. It might be Tooti Frooti's. This one doesn't leave any colour stain that I can notice, but my lips are quite dark naturally so might show up on others. I bought this one from Superdrug for £2.99 but they're on offer 2 for £5.

I also have the pink punch:

This one smells a tiny bit like raspberry, it's subtle, but really nice. This one, unlike the Peach Kiss does stain my lips a bit. Don't be scared off by the barbie pink colour, it's a very slight hint of pink that it adds. I bought this one at Asda for an introductory price of £2.50.

I think these are amazing little lip balms and I have actually been using them really often and at such a cheap price they're worth it!

This is the whole range and can be bought from most stores selling make up.

I love the fun colours! I may have to buy up the rest of them, I'm bound to lose at least one at some point. In fact I'd lost the Pink Punch before I started this post, total scatterbrain!

Taking the plunge..

You may remember a few posts ago I did something about the hair colours of autumn and was talking about dying my hair ginger. Well after many weeks of umming and ahhing I actually went and bought some dye today!

Here's the stuff. I bought the Loreal casting creme gloss in Amber number 645. I've never actually used casting creme gloss before but I have used Loreal so I figured it'd be fine. The only thing I found particularly worrying about this brand was that you had to wet your hair first before applying it. I'm really used to the 'apply to dry, unwashed hair' dyes. 

This is the colour as it's dying. I was really scared at this point as it actually comes out purple. As in really plum purple. The whole way through the application and waiting time I was panicking I'd end up with purple hair, which don't get me wrong I probably wouldn't have minded but wasn't what I was going for! If you've dyed your hair before you know the drill; apply all over and leave to develop for the stated amount of time (although I always leave it on ten minutes more as my hair can be stubborn!). 

Aaaand this is how I ended up. Thank god it's not purple. It strangely washes out orange.. very confusing. Anyway, it's no where near what I was hoping for, I wanted something a lot more ginger than this has turned out but I suppose it's a good platform for next time. The conditioner and dye smells really really nice but for some reason the Loreal treatments never make my hair as smooth as the Clairol Nice 'n' Easy. I have a random streak of blonde on the right hand side, not sure how that happened but it looks kinda cute! Hopefully next time I will be more orangey!

Hope everyone has a great Saturday :)

September GlossyBox

Last month I was scrolling through Facebook as usual and saw a Birchbox advertisement. I hadn't heard of beauty boxes before and was pretty interested in the idea of getting 5 possibly full size samples  every month. I spent hours reading reviews of Birchbox and Glossybox and decided that Glossybox looked like it would have products I'd actually use, so I thought I'd give them a go.

You receive one box a month for £10 plus £2.95 P+P which is a pretty reasonable price considering the contents!

This box is the London Fashion week edition. I love the Union Jack flag on the box and the little pictures on the tissue paper just give it a real unique feel to it. Plus the box is a real good quality so it could be used again for storage or something (probably a place for my ever growing eyeshadow collection).

Onyx eye liner from Be a Bombshell Cosmetics

Full size $14 (which is about £8.85)

This is actually the full size eyeliner which already has nearly added up to the price of the whole box. It's a felt tip liner and I must say, I don't use these very often as I'm quite partial to the gel liners, but I was quite surprised. I haven't actually tried it on my eyes yet as the box came at stupid o'clock this morning and I haven't done my make up yet. But it's quite a fine point and it's easy to create a straight, un-smudged line as you can see in the swatch picture. 

Would I buy it? Probably not, as I've never thought that felt tip liners last long enough compared to the gel ones, but it is a pretty good product.

Original nipple balm for lips from Dr Lipp 

Full size £11.50 for 15ml

This is only the sample size of about 3ml (so about 2ml actual product 1ml air) but you don't really need a lot of it. This is 100% natural and according to the leaflet, can be used on anything from lips to burns and even as last minute shoe polish! The product itself is quite sticky but a little goes a long way. You wouldn't want to be slapping this on like gloss. I've had it on for about an hour now and I can still feel it and my lips do feel less chapped. 

Would I buy it? Maybe, but at £11.50 a bottle it does seem a little expensive. Depending on how well my lips react to it by the time I've finished the sample, I may purchase it in the future. Although it is only an in store kind of purchase and stockists are available on the Dr Lipp website (link above)

Eyelure pre-glued lashes 

One set - £5.06

Another full sized sample! Well, it would be a bit hard to only give you a mini sample of eyelashes really, wouldn't it? Again as the box came so early I haven't actually tried them yet but I'm very optimistic. The reason normal eyelashes don't stick to me as my eyelids seem to react to the glue and they just fall off, so these pre-glued lashes will be a god send. 

Would I buy it? If they stick to my eyes, then definitely! 

Elizabeth Arden Untold perfume from  Debenhams

Full size £48 50ml and £69 100ml

Obviously I didn't get a full sized sample of the perfume (Glossybox can only be so generous!) but I love the fact it's actually in a small bottle, not that stupid little swab where you can't actually tell if you like the smell or not. It's just so cute! And I think this will actually last me quite a while as it's a very classy scent, something only used for special occasions. I'm rubbish at describing fragrances but the leaflet says it has a fruity introduction with a radiant floral heart. It's such a nice smell! It's a tiny bit like Victoria Beckham's intimately for her which I lived off of when it first came out. 

Would I buy it? I would love to! But the price of perfumes is extortionate nowadays, so I think I'd only be able to get it if I had vouchers or wouldn't say no to it as a christmas pressie.

Toni&Guy Hair meet wardrobe Classic shine & gloss serum

Full size - £7.19 for 30ml

This is another full sized product! It's the limited edition serum from Toni&Guy for frizz control with lightweight shine. This sounds like a pretty good product for me as my hair is quite static when first dried. You just rub 1 or 2 pumps into blow dried hair, running your fingers through the lengths and avoiding the roots. I apologise it's another product I haven't actually tried as intended but I have squeezed a bit out into my hand and it smells lovely. Bit like the smell of walking into a salon when all the products and serums hit you (in a good way though..) It's a clear oil like product and I am a tad scared as oils make my hair particularly greasy.

Would I buy it? Well, considering my hair's fussiness probably not as I tend to waste quite a lot of money on hair products I never end up using.

Also I received A Glossybox magazine 

This is their first magazine and features interviews from Angela Scanlon ('one to watch' blogger, tv presenter and writer on Vogue's list), a two page spread of A/W 13 trends and 24 hours in the life of designer Mara Hoffman. 

All in all I'm pretty darn pleased with my first Glossybox and definitely will not be cancelling my subscription just yet! In total (not including the samples) the contents of the box cost just over £20 so already double the price of the box in the first place, so quite reasonable!

Check back next month for the review of my October Glossybox, which I'm hoping might have some sort of Halloween theme as I love Halloween!

The A/W edit: Coats of winter

Well I woke up this morning to grey skies and am currently sat here typing this to you in my jamas with a blanket wrapped around me. I think it's safe to say it's getting colder! After this late summer, I'm convinced we're going to end up skipping autumn altogether and go straight into winter. I've see quite a few bloggers out there doing weekly posts so I thought I'd jump on the band wagon with my top picks for different items for autumn/winter every week. This week - coats. I have realised that my wardrobe only consists of thin hoodies, summer jumpers, and a couple of blazers; not the sort of layering up you want over the next couple months! So I've had a lazy but productive morning of scowering the internet and my most used sites to find some coats. I'll do a splurge and save on each item, just in case you fancy treating yourselves! 

1.  The leather

Left: Save - River Island £45

Right: Splurge - Religion @ Asos £190

I actually do have a leather jacket in my wardrobe that I got from Matalan last year (trust me it's a great jacket) but I've got down a couple sizes since then so I need to invest in a new one. Leather jackets are one of those amazing wardrobe staples that will go with anything and can be dressed up or down. I do love the Religion one, mainly because of the print, but I just don't have £190 to spend on a jacket even if it is 100% pure leather. :( If only!

2. The biker

Left: save - Boohoo £30

Right: Splurge - Missguided £48.99

Okay so the Missguided jacket isn't exactly a break the bank kind of price, but still. I just love the colour blocks and the suede look to the grey. I think this jacket would go great with most items and again like the leathers can be used with any outfit, as long as it's not too grey. The Boohoo jacket caught my eye because of the on trend stud detailing and also because pastel colours are still huge for autumn and winter so you'll be bang on trend in this one!

3. The parka

Left: Splurge - Topshop £95

Right: Save -  Boohoo £38

Yes Boohoo again, I love online brands, less chance of people wearing the same thing as you. I've wanted a parka jacket for ages. Me and my friend spent our town's summer festival lusting after every one we saw and they seem to be everywhere! The Boohoo one is affordable, great style and not too long, which I have found can be an issue with quite a lot of them I've tried on. The Topshop one, although expensive looks so so so warm! The borg lining is actually detachable so if you are prone to getting a tad hot and sweaty while wearing coats (like me) then this would be the coat for you. Again its a great length, and I think this khaki colour goes great with the acid wash trend that's been quite big this year.

4. The mac

Left: Splurge - Warehouse £85

Right: Save - Missguided £58.99

I know that neither of these are particularly cheap, but I've been lusting after this Missguided jacket ever since it went online about a month ago. It comes in three other colours as well and I love the leather sleeves, just breaks it up and stops it from looking so plain which can be an issue with black macs. I also love the fact it's got kind of a biker style to the fastening and ah I think I'm going to have to buy it.. just unfortunately isn't in stock in my size at the moment! Onto the splurge one, I don't really shop at warehouse, but I love this mac too. I don't necessarily love it for £85 but I think the style and belt detailing gives it a bit of a unique feel.

Well there's week one! Going to be keeping an eye out for bags over the next week so check back next Tuesday for my edit! 

Good morning bright eyes!

When I was younger, we used to live in the lovely little town of Caerphilly in South Wales, but as we moved a little late in the school year the only school places we could get were in Newport which is about a 45 minute drive each way. This meant many years of getting up pretty darn early to drive to get to school on time. This and the fact I have a nearly three year old who refuses to sleep past half 7 or 8 in the morning (I really should learn to go to sleep earlier!) unfortunately seems to have left me with permanent dark circles under my eyes. I've never really tried any sort of eye cream before, thinking god I'm only 20 I'm too young to start on all the creams! But it's got to the point where concealer's not really covering it and my eyes do feel quite puffy in the mornings so I gave in and went trawling the shop for a nice cream. I guess now I'm past my teenage years I should accept the fact I can't stay up til 2 in the morning and still wake up at 7 fresh as a daisy! 

I didn't really want to buy an expensive one as I didn't know how well it would actually work. I found the Good Things Bright Eyes eye cream in Tesco for £5.99. (it can also be bought at Boots for the same price).

The bottle is pretty small, only 15ml, but you barely need any on so it will probably last quite a while. It's got a lovely smell as it's made from raspberry and Lychee extracts, which are supposedly super fruits. Going to have to try eating a few more of these, it's gotta be good for you! The best thing about this product for me, is that it's free from any harmful chemicals which is great for my sensitive skin. I've only used it a couple of times, I am notoriously lazy when it comes to taking my make up off before bed, something I really need to rectify as I used to have a pretty good nighttime skin care regime. But the times I have used it, it has made my skin feel very awake and refreshed which has got to be a good sign, and it has removed the puffy feeling in the morning.

I've also seen that they do a Instant dark circle concealer cream as well, which I might try out as my concealer is on it's very last legs, been scraping the sides of the bottle for about a week now. Hope everyone had a great weekend, I'm just off to take Tayla to the farm before she starts nursery tomorrow! They grow up too fast :( Will post a couple pictures on tomorrow's post for anyone who wants to have a look, have a great Monday :) 

Oh and just a quick thank you to all my regular readers, (you know you are) for getting me to over 1000 views :D 

Food for thought Friday

I am a total fashion and beauty junkie, there's no denying it, but I also love cooking. There's something about creating a meal from scratch, it tastes so much better to me than pre-cooked packaged food. Plus it's always good to know what's going into your meals. A couple weeks ago, or days, not entirely sure, I posted about my healthy eating day and someone suggested I post some recipes so thought I'd let you in on my dinner for last night :). I would do 'what I ate today' food posts quite often, but I don't know if that's really what people want to read when they find my blog and also I don't tend to eat lunch that much as it's not my thing so would pretty much just be dinner! Either way, I hope you like my recipe, which was found online and tweaked a bit.


The recipe: Homemade bolognese!

(okay I made this for just me, but with a little more pasta it would definitely do two as I didn't finish it)

Ingredients:
1 tbsp olive oil
250g extra lean beef mince
1 carrot
2 large cloves of garlic
1 1/2 teaspoons basil
2 teaspoons mixed herbs
1 18.7cl bottle red wine
1 onion, cut up into chunks
100g passata
200g tinned chopped tomatoes
200g tagliatelle

(optional - garlic bread and parmesan)

Method:
1. Fry the olive oil in a large frying pan, then add the crushed garlic and onion and fry off until softened. Add the mince and cook through until brown. (this is how it looks at this point)

2. Add the red wine and leave to boil, stirring occasionally until it's reduced in volume by about two thirds. Then add the carrots, chopped tomatoes, basil and mixed herbs and stir all in together. Cover and leave to simmer on a low heat for about 10 minutes (it said an hour and a half online, mine would have been burnt to a crisp by then!)

This is before covering :)

3. Turn off the heat to the mince and cook the pasta according to packet instructions. Then add the pasta to the mince mixture and stir to coat. This is where I added the passata, just because there wasn't really any sauce at all. I'd recommend tasting the sauce before you serve as mine could have done with a little more herbs. 

And voila! I'm sure it'd taste just as nice with spaghetti, I just fancied a change :). 

Let me know if any of you do try this and what you think, and if there's anything else you would like to see me cook (for a change from the beauty and fashion) then leave me a comment and I'll be sure to try it out! 

Facing the fear

With a blog title like that, I bet you were expecting something like rock climbing, conquering heights blah blah blah, but that's not what I meant I'm afraid! Sorry if this disappoints :) Now, I'm all for trying new things and would never say no to a sample, but I have a fear of.. what for it.. tan. Yep, I admit it, I'm scared of fake tan. I dye my hands, can't apply it properly, apply too much or apply too little, whatever I do; it never looks how it should and whatever could go wrong, will. It's come to the point where I find it way way easier to just live with my ghostly pale legs. I know I could get a spray tan, but it just seems like a waste of money and I always think I'm going to come out resembling Ross from friends. And just in case you've been under a rock for many years, this is what I mean:

This is not a good look for anyone. 

Anyway, getting on to the point of my post, I'm an avid Cosmo reader, and I got a free sample of the Nip+Fab 365 Body Glow Fix clear tanning gel in the August issue. I know this was a couple months back, but I only just found the bottle last night when I couldn't sleep (never drink cranberry red bull before bed..)

Here is the bottle, quite a good sample size if I'm honest, although out of the 55ml, a quarter of that is probably air. Nip+Fab isn't actually a brand I've heard of before, but I thought I'd face my fear and just try it out. Oh the things boredom and inability to sleep will make you do.

As it's a clear gel, I was quite relieved that I wouldn't end up with that horrible stained look on my hands. Yes I know I could use a mitt, but I don't attempt tan often enough. It does have a weird smell to it; kind of fruity mixed with something I can't quite put my finger on. But the smell doesn't last long so not really a big worry. One thing I didn't like about it, is that it was quite sticky and that feeling did last about an hour, especially at the back of my knees. It doesn't seem to transfer mind you once it's on, as I have white covers and they were (thankfully) still white when I woke up!

This is the finished result. I don't think my legs are actually this long, I'm only 5'5 after all.. I didn't put much on as I didn't want to be too dark. The bottle says 'sun kissed glow' which I do actually agree with, my legs do look a bit 'sun kissed'. I did only use it on my legs, so can't comment how well it works on the rest of your body, as I thought I can cover them up if it goes horribly wrong! 

Don't know if you can see properly, but it did still streak near my knee. This is probably my fault as I'm such a tanning amateur, but all in all it wasn't a bad result! Funny smell aside I would recommend this product for a subtle tan, and I might just finish off the bottle. I don't think this sample has completely conquered my fear, but I definitely would try it again. 

The full size bottle is 200 ml and is £9.95 from Asos. You can buy it from Boots too, but their silly website is down at the moment :(.