Body shop wonder.

The body shop.
The last time I entered into my local body shop I was nearly balled over by how strong the smell was. This was, nearly 5 years ago now - give or take. The same shop is now being renovated so we have no body shop currently. But walking past the empty shop, I realised that I've never actually bought anything from there. I've always wanted to but I never known what. I've decided that when the brand new shop is up and running, I'd like to make a little trip inside and have a look and dabble a bit.

Has anyone bought from their local body shop? What sort of products would you suggest?

MAC Select Moisturecover

MAC Select moisture cover

Near the end of last year I decided to get a whole new range of make up, after huge reviews I decided to make a trip to MAC. During my time there I finally realised how dark under my eyes are. This means that I do look tired quite a bit lot of the time (although, for most of the time I am actually quite tired...). This isn't the most attractive look and not something I want when I'm going for a night out. So here walked into my life the Mac Select moisture cover. This is brilliant and it's now part of my go-to pieces when I look worse for wear. This makes me look awake and makes my eyes look a lot brighter. Of course with MAC in mind comes a price tag at £14.50 per tube it can be quite a pinch. This has however lasted me quite a while. Can find the product here. Yet with this all in mind, I won't be repurchasing this.

Has anyone else tried this or tried something similar with a different brand?

How dirty.

Just after the christmas period there was a Lush sale online. I had a little bit of a look round and ended up getting some of my BELOVED Snow Fairy. However I was very limited on funds and wasn't able to buy anything else of the reduced Christmas selection. BUT, what I did decide to buy (because it was something I required!) was this; Dirty shaving cream.

When I finally got it through I was a bit.. unsure of how it was going to work. I'm very much used to the foamy sort of textured shaving cream etcetc. Instead this is a sort of liquid/creamy texture (clue was in the name really). I was also sceptical at the size, considering that this little baby set me back roughly £6ish. I was however, pleasantly surprised. The smallest amount of product would go very far. I only had to dip in twice to cover both of my legs completely. It then goes across the skin creating a semi-see through layer which not only protects the skin from the razor but, prevents it from going all red (I have sensitive skin & have this problem constantly after shaving). Sometimes my skin feels dry after shaving but again, I had no problem with it. The smell is actually lovely and it has left my skin feeling very protected and smooth.

I will most definitely be repurchasing this product when I run out of it. But I'm sure that wont be necessary for another couple of months.

S&G

I so so so want this. I have heard so many good things about this. I will be seeing if I can get my hands on this soon enough. 

Christmasss.

It's nearly here, it's really really close. I can almost smell it. Although, that could be just the pretty candles I have burning, but that's neither here nor there. This is usually my most favourite time of the year. I'm naturally a very family-orrientated person. This year I haven't really bought many presents for people, but that hasn't bothered me. I'm SO excited for my Ma to see what I've bought her and very apprehensive about the boy opening up his presents. But hopefully all will go well.

I know that I'm getting so MAC make up as my mum slipped up this year, in fact, I seem to know what I'm getting from my mum & not by choice. Hello new clothes, hat, make up & high-heels! I've already started to think about her birthday present, she's going to be 59 & after my Dad's huge 60th I feel the need to treat her. After seeing some comments on both here & twitter, I've decided to book her (& myself of course!) in for a pamper day! It's not till May, so it's giving me something to look forward. The main reason for booking so early is because there's a special deal on the Clarice website (here) during December. Hello lovely 2-4-1! But there's also a special Mama & daughter day! That will be her start off gift, I might get her some jewellery, perfume... The difficulty with my mum is that her skin is super sensitive, so a lot of make up and other beauty products are a no go. HOWEVER, I will be seeing if I can find some stuff from Lush, but I highly doubt there will be anything there suitable. I just feel that this year has been a very difficult one not just for me, but for my mum. It means a lot that I will be able to treat her. I'm not sure what else to get, she's so hard to buy for!

But for now, I'm hoping she will just enjoy her Christmas presents - a day trip to spend with some wild birds. She LOVES bird, so there we go. Seemed perfect.

So the Christmas tree is finally up, outside lights are a go - tinsel is everywhere. Presents all bought & wrapped. WITH 10 DAYS STILL GO. I feel that I have achieved my goal this year.. Buy in advance.

How's everyone else's shopping experience going? Any suggestions on the birthday present front? :)

Beauty Haul. Uno.

I intended this month to be a gentle month money wise. But after today, that clearly will not be the case. Three days after payday and I've already hit the shops. I justify this because I need these things. *cough*. ANYWAY.  My first point of call was next, with Autumn literally on our doorstep I figured it was time to buy myself a new jumper/cardigan. My mum pointed this beaut out to me.

It's lovely and warm, the texture is just so comfy. I sometimes find that some knitwear can make my skin itch, but I didn't seem to have any sort of reaction when I tried it on. The best bit was that I bought it in the size down than normal! Which I hope means that all these trip to the gym are FINALLY paying off. 

I finally took up the courage to go to a makeup counter to get myself some new make up. I've been putting it off for weeks, knowing that it was going to cost me a bomb and the fact that I get a little nervous when someone gets up close and personal with my skin. However, the lady that served me was really lovely and helped me out with getting the products that is best suited for my skin colour and type. This picture indicates how amazing my skin looked after she had finished applying the foundation, concealer and blusher. I don't really wear a lot of make up, but when I do on a day to day basis I want it look natural. I'm not a fan of wearing foundation that is a shade too dark and leaves a line of the side of my face/neck. But that's just down to personal opinion. Either way I bought makeup that was close to my skin type. The concealer is just fantastic. The genes in me, means that I naturally have dark circles under my skin - whether I'm tired or not. I also have quite narrow eyes, so I have to be careful with the amount of eye liner I wear. So as the picture demonstrates I have no dark cycles! My eyes look a lot bigger and brighter. I just look healthy, which is a bonus considering I'm just getting over my cold. :) 

  

The last place I visited was boots for some new shampoo for my hair. I generally without fail, go for Aussie shampoo. It just seems to improve and keep my health nice, shiny and heathy. As I walked in I noticed that there was a sale, 3for 2. YES. Perfect timing. I bought my normal Aussie products for my hair which I love. However, usually when I go to the gym (I try and go 3/4 times a week), I literally have to wash my hair every single time. My hair is extremely important to me. I have tried very hard not to get into the habit of washing my hair every day. I hate greasy hair with a passion. With this in mind, I've always bought every day shampoo by Aussie for obvious reasons. But felt that it was maybe time for a small change (and a slightly cheaper option). After many recommendations on bbloggers, I have decided to try out the VO5 revive me daily. I hope that this shall be as much of a success as I have been informed and will be testing it for the first time tomorrow after work :D 

 I also bought this, Vo5 treat me right for my hair; mainly because there was the 3-4-2 offer on. So will see how this goes :) Has anyone else tried this product?

Hope everyone else has/is having a lovely sunday :)

Pass me the butter...

I'm not going to lie, I love Lush's bath bombs. In fact, if I could get away with it I'm sure I would have a bath bomb ever. single. day. No joke. I haven't been able to afford any lush stuff in months, so at the beginning of August, when I got paid I went straight into lush. I bought two things: 

1.) Dragon's Egg - Release the beast (Colour change; glittery; uplifting). I bought it for the fact that it sounded amazing, but when I popped it into my bath I had completely forgotten that it had glitter in it. Well, when I stepped out of my bath I looked like a glitter ball and so did my bed the next morning. So I guess, yes, it did deliver on improving my mood. It also smelt delicious too and my skin still smelt lovely the next morning alongside the glitter. I would definitely use this product again, maybe before a night out. To give that sparkly edge. Maybe.

 2.) Butterball - Fizzy Vanilla Musk Bomb. (Both photos). One of the main reasons I bought this was the fact that it had the words 'cocoa butter'. I could literally eat the stuff. Smelt absolutely GORGEOUS. As you can see it had some extras involved which surprised me as it buzzed around my bath. When I stepped into my bath I could already feel how it'd made the water feel, almost silky. It almost made my skin feel super smooth and continued to do so for a while after. 

I love everything about lush. To it's political stance, to it's forgiving packaging to the fact the products always live up to expectations. Will 100% be going back to buy these again.

Review - Face mask #no1

One of my favourite pass times is relaxing with a good face mask. More than usual, me and my skin get on so decided to treat it, I bought this on a whim whilst in Asda, waiting to be served. Pretty sure it cost less than £1.50 so nothing that will break the bank.

I always try and find the peel off types, not sure why but I have preference for those type of face masks. I actually think I've bought these ones before but a long time ago and whilst using this I remember why I haven't bought it in a long time. The packaging in which the product comes makes it pretty difficult to get the liquid out unless you cut right down to the bottom. I was hoping that a little squeeze on either side would push it open, but it's fair to say that all it did was squish everything together and make it in possible to see how much I had left; unless I got both hands dirty.

I did this a couple of nights ago and from what I remember there wasn't much of a nice smell to it. Which I was disappointed about. The liquid/syrupy stuff was easy to apply once you had managed to get it out of the packet. Left on for 20 minutes, some other areas needed 30 minutes & then I got fed up with waiting. Peeled off easily. Left my skin feeling very smooth that day and the day after. So for that it worked quite well.

Would I buy it again? Maybe. It's something I would buy providing I couldn't find anything else. Has anyone else tried this?

Nails :)

Not going lie, even from a tiny kid at primary school, I have always loved nail varnishs & the look of a french manicure. Although I have never been a very girly girl in my teens, I feel like now I'm starting to become more like that. Getting more involved with make- up and so on. But nails, I just I LOVE them. Pretty nail varnish has always been a bit of a soft spot & shoes apparently, that's a very recent development. ANYWAY. I thought I would do a little review on the nail varnish I bought recently.

It's by Rimmel, and claims to have a professional finish & anti-fade colour system. The second photo (neither of which is very clear, but I hope you get the idea), was taken after two weeks of applying the nail varnish. It hasn't chipped or faded really at all.
I'm a lazy nail looker-after, so I generally keep a varnish on for a long time until it's needs to be reapplied or taken off. This is usually after a week, so an extra week additional time is a very positive outlook for me. I would definitely recommend, if like me, you don't have much time to work on your nails & want a quick & affective nail polish :)