July Favourites!

 To be honest, this month has been pretty lazy! Although with that in mind I still have over six weeks until I hopefully start uni so I cant see myself getting any better anytime soon. The heat over the past month has also meant I've been wearing less make up, meaning I've featured just two make up items this month! 

Superdrug's Mango & Papaya Body Butter (£3.69/200ml) - I've raved about these body butters so much over the past two months but I just really like them and feel they're great if you need something to nourish the skin at a good price (they're often half price or buy one get one free too!)

REN Hydra-Calm Global Protection Day Cream (£27/50ml) - This is kind of a cheat favourite since I've only used it a few times - But I love it! I just feels lovely on the skin and you dont need to use a huge amount, although with that in mind I'm not too sure I could part with £27 for it!

Vera Wang Lovestruck (£48/50ml) - To be honest I'm rubbish at describing scents so I wont even try, but this is just something always find myself coming back to despite my collection of fragrances. I really want to try the floral rush version too!  

Organic Surge Blissful Daily Moisturiser (£8.49/50ml) - I brought this for just over £2 in Organic Surge's big sale last month and have fell in love. Hopefully I will review this at some point because it's a great product even at full price.

Essie Neo Whimsical (£7.99/15ml) - I've really fallen for Essie polishes this month with my favourite being Neo Whimsical. It's just beautiful on and stays chip free for ages! Again something I need to review soon.

Benefit Lady's Choice Lipstick (£14) - This baby may be on it's last legs but it's my perfect nude! I also spotted that these are currently half price on Benefits website (may have to buy a back up)

Collection Waterproof Skylash (£1.00) - I picked this up in Poundland the other day and have worn nothing else since. To be honest this performs better than my favourite benefit mascara yet cost me just a pound! Bargain! 

July Empties!

This month didnt see my using up many products, which will hopefully change next month since I'll be rushing to use them up intime for Uni to save my lugging a bunch of half empty products half way across the county.

Herbal Essences Bee Strong shampoo and conditioner samples - I quite liked these and actually ended up buying the big 400ml bottles since they were half price. They're not the best hair care products I've used but far from the worst and a decent price when on offer. Plus the big Herbal Essences bottles tend to last me ages which is always a bonus!

Toni and Guy Cleanse Shampoo for advanced detox (£5.99/250ml) - This has lasted me since the Christmas sales which I think is pretty good. I used this about once every 1-2 weeks to get rid of any product build up and felt it did a great job - I'm likely to pick this up again!

Naked Shine Glossing hair treatment (discontinued) - I picked this in Poundland and thought it was a great product, I'm a little gutted I didnt stock up as this is a lot harder to get hold of now but it lasted me well.

Skinetica anti blemish treatment* (£9.99/80ml) - I actually finished my full sized bottle of this although seemed to have misplaced it so photographed a sample instead. I love this stuff however I've noticed that the Skinetica website has reduced the size from 100ml to 80ml meaning users are missing out on a whole 20%! Lucky I've came across this website which is selling 100ml for £8.25 including shipping, which I will be using from now on.

Murad Aha/Bha exfoliating cleanser (£34.00/200ml) - This has one or two uses left so I figured I'd throw it in anyway. I really liked this product just not enough to spend over £30 on it, although I think I'll have a look at what else the brand has to offer.

Superdrug Coconut & Shea Butter Body Butter (£3.69/200ml) - I think these are great and have raved about them way too much in the past month! Expect to see these body butters pop up again very soon!

The Body Shop Lemon Body Butter (£13/200ml) - I love Body Shop body butters and picked this up for just £3 in the sales. It's not my favourite scent in the world but I loved wearing it of an evening in the Uk's recent hot weather as I found that the citrusy scent was a massive help in stopping me from being bitten in the night.

What have you finished this month?

Back to skincare basics...

I'm a big lover of skincare, so much so that I have an overflowing stash of scrubs, masks and cleansers. I've tried so many products and treatments but I find my skin always looks at it's best when I simply Cleanse, tone and moisturise every night. Although I still find myself reaching for my face scrubs, washes and masks when I'm in the shower or my skin feels like it needs a pick me up, I just feel like nothing comes close to these three steps. I start by removing my make up with my Bioderma which allows me to get the most of my actual cleanser. My current one is this gentle cleansing lotion from Organic Surge which I apply with my fingers, I then use a cotton pad to wipe the majority off before following up with Naked's Up tone girl gentle toner. Once I'm done with that I use my Organic Surge blissful daily moistiriser which I've really come to love, I picked this up for just over £2 but think its worth its full price of £8.50 -  the packaging is great too! Together these products leave my skin feeling clean, soft and clear which is all you can ask of a skincare routine really.

What's your preferred method of cleansing?

Mango & Papya Body Butter

Last month I posted about my love for Superdrug's Coconut and Shea butter body butter, I loved it so much that I picked up another in the Mango & Papaya scent and figured It would only be fair to give this a post too. As I've mentioned before these are my favourite alternative to The Body Shop body butters which don't come in cheap at £13/200ml whereas these retail at £3.69/200ml (currently buy one get one free!). Personally I find that the only difference is the texture, and like TBS butters this smells great, leaves the skin feeling moisturised and doesn't leave you waiting around for hours before getting dressed! I feel like the texture of this is a lot thinner than any body butters I've tried from TBS, but in a way I quite like that as it allows this to go a lot further. 

Overall I really like these body butters although I do find myself favouring the ones from the Body Shop just that little bit more. When considering the price difference I'm probably more likely to pick one of these up again. Although its worth noting that the Body Shop have had some amazing sales lately - I got a 200ml Lemon, Raspberry and Passion Fruit for just £3 each!

Undress your skin Foundation

I'm a big fan of MUA, So when their 'Undress your skin illuminating foundation' launched I was quick to grab a tube, although as I mentioned in my Shopping my Stash post it was something which I completely forgot about until recently. Personally I really like the packaging of this and find the design allows it to really stand out in my make up bag as the tall and skinny tube is unlike anything else I own. I also spotted that this contains 35ml of foundation as opposed to the normal 30ml which is always a bonus.

I have the lightest shade Porcelain which I adore since it's pale enough for my skintone which is pretty rare on the highstreet, previously I was using a Dainty Doll one which is designed for pale skin so I'm pleased to see that this is only a tiny bit darker at a fraction of the price. Generally I find my illuminating foundations tend to be quite sheer, so I was pretty surprised when I discovered that this offers medium level of coverage which is easily buildable to full. It really gives skin that 'flawless' look and actually covers most of my freckles which surprised me a lot since most of my foundations tend to leave them on show (For reference I'm a big lover of sheer foundations and BB creams)

Overall I really liked this product and think it is a complete bargain! While it offers more coverage than I'm used to, It really helps achieve that flawless look and it will be a definite staple for nights out and events I feel I need a bit more make up for! You can pick this up for £5 over at Superdrug or half price on MUA's website.

Punk Bouquet Body Scrub

I love a good scrub, So when I finally had the chance to visit the & Other Stories store way back in May I was sure to treat myself to one. After sniffing all of the scrubs on offer I ended up buying the Punk Bouquet body scrub which was my favourite. Initially it was just the amazing scent which drew me in to this product, although I literally have no idea how to describe it so I'll leave that down to add & Other Stories who describe this scrub as 'a Smoothing sugar scrub that polishes skin to a silken texture and leaves it lusciously scented. Tiger orchid and dewy lotus flower are entwined with nutty almond and sweet tonka beans, overgrown by tree moss and topped with a splash of tangerine'. But its not just the scent which makes this product a complete winner, the texture is spot on and while I felt this was perhaps thinner than scrubs I'm used to (such as S&G's flake away), It's by no means watery and is jam packed with scrub practicals which really allow you to work into the skin and get amazing results.

Although its ridiculously cliche a little of this really does go a long way, and you find you need the smallest amount to cover a whole limb. This is probably down to the foam it creates as LFA explained in her post. While it's a little smaller than similar products on the market at 250ml, It really does last well and I'm not even done with half of this after two months of frequent use! At just £7 I think these are well worth a sniff next time your near the London store, I know I'll be back!

Revlon Top Speed nail polish: Royal

 When it comes to nail polishes Revlon are one of my go to brands, not only are they long lasting and quick drying, you can find a fantastic range of shades for under a pound if you shop around. Royal is no exception to this and has quickly become one of my favourite polishes, it's hard to believe I paid just 99p on Fragrance Direct! Topped with my Seche top coat this resembled a gel manicure, only messier because of my shoddy paint work!

Have you tried Revlon's nail polishes?

My top five highlighters

I love a good highlight, so much so that over the past year I've gained quite a collection of them. Today I thought I'd share with you guys my favourite five which cover a whole range of prices, shades and textures. So I'm pretty sure there's something for everyone in my oversized collection.

Benefit Sunbeam  (£19.50)- I got this liquid highlighter free in a magazine and it quickly became one of my most loved products. As it is quite dark, I didn't expect to like this against my pale skin but I love it! Unlike most of my other highlighters this is a warmer toned product and just gives off a lovely sunkissed glow. You only need a few dots of this so I imagine it will last a good while yet. Although It is on the more expensive side so I think I see myself trying the me me me version before I repurchase.

Topshop Sunbeam (£10.00)- This long lasting powder gives skin a lovely glow, unlike some of my others I would say that this is more obvious on the skin which is great if you really want to enhance your features although on more natural days I'd probably give this one a miss. It looks great on the skin and pretty in your make up bag so this is worth a swatch if you're near a Topshop. 

MUA Undress your skin Highlighter (£3.00) - I think this is probably my favourite of the bunch, for such a low cost product it performs so well. Not only does this powder look great it adds a subtle glow which lasts all day. I only have a bit of an issue which the packaging which snapped pretty quickly although for just £3 it's something I can overlook. 

Chit Chat Highlighter (£1.00) - It's hard to believe how cheap this is! This liquid product is my go to natural highlight and it just gives the loveliest soft glow which really helps to enhance your features. A complete winner in my book and well worth a try!

Benefit That Gal (£22.50) - Strictly speaking this is a primer, although it can be used on top of your foundation as a highlight to give skin a subtle glow, It's not one I see myself paying £22.50 for although It's worth picking up one of these mini samples if you can as It is a lovely product.

What's your favourite highlighter? 

DIY two ingredient facemasks!

 A while back I was contacted by Ecomarket.com a great little site with a load of Eco friendly products for sale. They offered me a recipe for a DIY face mask which not only looked stupidly easy to make, it also contained just two ingredients which help to keep things really cheap.

All you have to do is take two tablespoons of oats along with one banana and mash them together, you can also add other things depending on your individual needs such as adding honey for its anti-inflammatory and anti-bacterial powers. Once mashed you simply apply to the face with your fingers - this can be a little tricky at first although personally I found the best method was simply to pat on. I half expected this to just fall off although once in place the mask simply stayed put and started to stiffen after around five minutes. 

I left this on for around fifteen minutes and then washed off to reveal more moisturised and healthy looking skin, It will definitely be a while before I splash out on an expensive mask again! Whats makes this even better is that you literally need the smallest amount, I had loads of mask left over. I really want to thank Eco Market for this idea, I really cant wait to create more masks! Although if you're a little lazy you may want to take a look at their range of organic masks, I personally have my eye on this Berry Blast one - It sounds yummy!

Have you ever tried DIY masks?

What's in my bag: Summer Edition

The last time I did a 'What's in my bag' post was nearly two whole years ago, So I figured it was about time to update that especially as the contents of my bag seems to have changed drastically since the UK was hit with this sunny weather. This week I've found myself ditching the umbrella to make room for a few sunny essentials including this cooling spray from Poundland which has been a complete god send, this Nivea sun cream which hasn't let me down yet, and this Lancaster after sun from my Selfridges Summer Beauty Box. I also have a few all year round essentials such as my purse which was a gift from a friend for my birthday, my iphone, Jurlique hand cream which I got from What's in my handbag, my TBS hand sanitiser, Compact mirror, Primarks version of the tangle teezer and my little make up bag which includes a few products that I like to have just incase.

Inside my little make up bag I have my collection concealer for touch ups along with my Rimmel Stay Matte powder to set them using my Japonesque powder brush which isn't pictured. I also have my Miss Sporty Dr Balm which I think is a great little product and the current lipstick I'm wearing 17's Purple Haze. Finally I have a They're Real mini in case I feel the need to add to my lashes and a little Taylor Swift perfume.

Whats in your bag?

Poundland Haul!

I cant visit my local shopping center without popping into Poundland. Over the past year or so they seemed to have really upped their game, offering an amazing selection of beauty brands. Today's visit didnt disappoint and for just £5 I feel I got a great range of products! I cant say no to a nail polish (especially when they're just a pound each!) so ended up with a grand total of three including, OPI's Black Shatter polish, Sally Hansen's Hard as Nails polish in Wet Cement and Revlon's Minted. I'm a big fan of all three of those brands so was over the moon to find these polishes, Especially the OPI one as I've only ever tried one polish from them which I loved! Next I picked a Sunset Duo blush & Bronzer from Milani which I don't believe we have in the UK so I'm excited to try this out! Finally I thought I'd try one of my favourite mascaras in the waterproof formula since it was only a pound compared to its retail price which is around five, If you haven't already I'd strongly recommend trying Collections SkyLash/Scraper mascara, I love it just as much as Benefit's They're Real and Max Factors Clump defy! 

Have you found any bargains lately?

Pound finds: Brit Rocks Nail Art

I love nail art although the trouble is I'm pretty rubbish at it, so when I saw these nail art stickers which boasted to be 'easy to apply' in Poundland I figured I'd give them a go. For just a Pound you get 12 Strips of sticker which you can cut down to suit your nails, In other words you get a good few uses from each one, Talk about a bargain!

Inside the packet itself you get to choose from a total of five designs which are predominantly influenced by chains, something which I've seen a lot of with nail art lately. But what I love most about these is how simple they are, you simply cut what you need from the strip, place on the nail then remove any excess before stealing into place with a top coat. Here I've paired the sticker with Essie's Neo Whimsical.

Have you ever tried nail stickers before?

DIY Galaxy Nails with LFA

A few months ago I couldn't log into blogger without seeing a Galaxy print inspired nail art tutorial so when one of my close friends who blogs over at Love from Angelic  offered to paint my nails I knew exactly what look I wanted her to try since I'm useless at doing nail art for myself. What surprised me about this look is it isnt quite as complicated as it seems and it just three simple steps you'll have amazing nails. All you'll need is a good top and base coat, a black, white, pink and purple polish along with cotton buds and tooth picks to make the process easier.

1) Firstly you take any old black nail polish to form the base for this look and leave it to dry. Although personally I'd recommend a base coat first to avoid staining. This black from colour culture is particularly ideal because of the little sparkles withing it which add to the look although any finish will do.

2) Next preferably using a cotton bud to gain extra texture pat a diagonal strip of white nail polish across the nail and leave to dry (the messier the better!), you then want to take the purple polish and start to pat this around the sides of the white polish to create more depth and finally with a bright pink repeat this patting process.

3) With a nail art polish like this one from 17, add white dots to the nail to represent stars, or if you don't have a polish with a thin nail brush simply use a toothpick to gain the same effect. Finally seal all that hard work in with a good topcoat to insure polish wear is prolonged.

So there you have it, Quick and easy galaxy nails! Have you tried this look?

Shopping my stash

Lately I've been buying more products than I've actually been using, which isn't the best idea especially when you're room is as small as mine. I find that products are easily forgotten about and left to one side as newer ones take their place, so today I figured I'd 'shop my stash' and give those products some love.  The first thing I wanted to start getting more use out of is this cream blush from Dainty Doll in the shade Orange County Girl which I've raved about in the past. Although when I got the powder version of this shade I started to use that more as I favoured the finish. As this is a cream product it's ideal for summer, and as I own both the powder and cream version I can use them both together to create a longer lasting look which is ideal when the weathers nice. Next up is this Sanctuary Spa Body Milk Spray, while I think the product inside is descent enough the packaging just irritates me and its pretty hard to spray unless its at a certain angle meaning that rather than spraying directly to my skin I find myself spraying to my hand first which kind of defeats the purpose of the product in the first place. I remember how excited I was to try MUA's Undress your skin foundation,  although to be honest I don't think I've ever actually worn this foundation yet! It claims to give an illuminated look which I always love , so I have high hopes for this one! While I love a good nude lip there's something which draws me to these 17 Berry Crush lip stains, yet they've literally been left in my 'to photograph' pile for months! Summer seems to scream to me bright lip so I'm looking forward to using these. I use way too much heat on my hair, so I'll be digging out my Bumble and Bumble Surf spray as an alternative throughout the summer (Since with the weather as of late its getting too much heat from the sun as it is). Finally I'll be making the most of my favourite highlighter Sunbeam which I actually lost for a while so I'm happy we're reunited, It just gives a lovely glow and will be perfect for the summer months.

Have you 'shopped your stash' recently?

Free Balance me with Glamour

When it comes to magazine freebies Glamour seem to do it best, not only is the magazine just £2, they manage to team up with some pretty amazing brands including Nails inc, Benefit and Percy & Reed. Admittedly when I saw that Glamour were teaming up with Balance me once again I was excited, last years collaboration saw me picking up three copies of the magazine, and this years offerings didn't leave me disappointed! Readers have the choice of Balance Me's Super Toning Body Wash (worth £9), Pure skin face wash (worth £11), Moisture-rich face cream (worth £13) and shine on tinted lip save worth (£12). Personally I went for the body wash and lip balm as I haven't tried any body products from Balance Me yet and I loved the lip balm from last year. I brought the face wash last year which I'm still yet to open and will probably go back for the face cream at some point.

Will you be picking up a copy of Glamour?

Free Eyeko with Marie Claire

I figured today I'd make this post nice and short since i'm guessing 95% of you will want to go and make the most of the sun, unless you're one of the few like me who cant stand the heat - I  blame it on being pale! This months Marie Claire magazine is offering readers a free Eyeko Skinny Mini Liquid eyeliner! In case anyone is wondering its 1.2g which according to the magazine is worth £8. The magazine itself is normally priced at £3.80,  but in selected shops it appears to be £2.50 -  this seems very random and these shops appear to range from newsagents to supermarkets. Personally I found my copy for £2.50 in Co-op, I'm really happy with this product and see myself getting a lot of use from it!

Will you be picking up this months copy of Marie Claire?

NOTD (Featuring Revlon and Essie)

When I saw these two pretty polishes in my latest fragrance direct order I knew they'd go perfectly together. Essie's To buy or not to by is a beautiful lilac shade which in the bottle has a subtle blue shimmer running through it, although unfortunately this doesn't translate to the nails. Despite this it's still a lovely colour on the nails which I'm likely to post about separately as this NOTD doesn't really allow you to see the shade on its own.

After a couple of coats of To buy or not to buy, I added one coat of Revlon's Popular which is this really unique sheer pink with different sized running through it. These photos were taken a couple of days after I painted the nails, hints the small chips starting to appear!

What do you guys make of this nail look? Not bad for a £3 spend! 

The Body Shop Eye Colour

If there's one thing I love its a bargain, So when I saw that The Body Shop was selling a selection of eyeshadows for just £2.50 each I jumped at the chance - Especially since on top of that they were offering a 40% discount and free shipping on a £5 spend making these shadows just £1.50 each. I picked up two shades Granite and Conker. Despite the fact that its ridiculously hard to photograph, I quite like the packaging of these and think allowing users to see the shade through the packaging without actually opening the product is really practical, the lid could also double as a mirror which may be useful on the go.

First up is my favourite of the two Conker, It's just a beautiful soft shimmery shade which I love to wear all over my lid. Not only is it amazingly pigmented, this is an absolute dream to blend and I'm so pleased to have it in my collection. Granite is more of a matte brown with a little hit of shimmer, although I find it to be less pigmented than Conker I prefer to wear this on the crease of my eye and have to say I think it looks great when paired with Conker! With my MUA eye primer, both still looked great after eight hours wear which I think is amazing when you consider I paid just £3 for the pair!

You can still grab a range of eye colour shades here for just £2.50, I also spotted that they had a range of 'eye shimmers' for £2.00 here.

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Rimmel Stay Matte Powder

In the past I've raved about my MUA pressed powder, but after a while I found that it was beginning to look orange on me and since I used the lightest shade anyway It was time to find an alternative powder to set my make up with. There aren't many bloggers out there who haven't raved about Rimmel's stay matte powder, so when it came to picking a new one this was my first choice. Not only was it cheap and cheerful at just £3.99, it also comes it a transparent shade which is perfect for someone who doesn't want to add any extra coverage or colour to their face. I find that this looks really natural on and seems to keep my make up in place for longer without looking cakey, although It's worth noting that I have normal skin and I'm not too sure how it would work on those with oily/dry skin. The only thing that annoys me a little is the packaging while its really practical the plastic top isn't exactly the strongest material in the world and I already seem to have a few cracks after just two weeks. But overall I think this is a wonderful product and one well worth considering if you're in the market for a new pressed powder. In other news I just joined She Said Beauty and would love if you could come follow me on there since I'm pretty clueless about what I'm doing!

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