May Glossybox 2015

Good afternoon my lovelies and what a gorgeous one it is at that! I just love that warm summers sun I could quite happily spent all day just relaxing in the sun I'm just hoping it lasts for a rare week off work next week. So it's that time of the month again when a little Glossybox treat turns up on my doorstep which I thought I would share with you all. Recently I have re-discovered my love for blogging again maybe it's the warmer and sunnier weather that has given me that energy kick, who knows. Last months box was my favourite so far in particular the nude nail polish and the Lord and Berry lip crayon. The theme for this months box is preparing for the summer months ahead of us all.

Enchanted Eyes Dual Ended Eye Wand By MeMeMe
I think that this must be a new product as it doesn't currently feature on the MeMeMe website and it isn't one that I have been aware of seeing before. It is a dual ended cream eyeliner which features two metallic blue shades. Now blue eyes have been the Spring trend this month however, it hasn't been one that I have embraced if I'm honest. Having green eyes I don't think that blue eye make-up suits me, I feel as if it makes me look slightly psychotic. Don't get me wrong I have totally embraced yellow clothes with tops and jackets recently I now have a very strong and fond love for yellow but blue eye make-up is just a no, no for me. It's a shame as I know I won't use this product. Having said that if the shades were neutral brown tones then I would be all for this product as I love the size of the eyeliner. It's a nice chunky size to get a thick line without being too thick that you look as if you have two giant circles around your ryes. One shade is a lighter turquoise shade whilst the other is a darker azure blue. If you are one for bold and colourful eye make-up then this would definitely be a product for you. These are priced at £6.95 which I think is incredibly good value considering you get two large eyeliners.

Aloe Vera Ultra Moisturising Gel By Etre Belle
I have a strong feeling that this next product is going to be essential over the next few months. I personally love aloe vera, it feels really fresh and nourishing on the skin and also very soothing. This feels like a luxury product to me, which I'm hoping it is going by the price of £15.93.  This is a moisturising gel that you can apply specifically to your face and neck in the evening to sooth and moisturise the skin, especially if you have been exposed to the sun a lot that day. I think it acts a bit like an after sun moisturiser except in a gel form. Etre Belle is a new brand to me but like I said previously it feels like a luxury product to me that will become an essential in my skin care routine over the summer months. Aloe Vera is perfect for those of you with sensitive skin as it is very gentle and natural so you wouldn't need to worry about irritation from using this product. I think this is going to be a firm favourite of mine so I am dead excited to try this one out.

Towel Off Shampoo Foam By Zerreau
Now this is a bit of a strange one for me. You all know your usual shampoo for wet hair or you have your dry shampoo well this is a new form of dry shampoo which is expected to be a new craze. To use this product you massage the foam generously into your hair to release grease, dirt and oil. Whilst soapy, towel dry your hair and you are good to go. It is basically a cross between wet and dry shampoo - wet shampoo without the water. This sounds very exciting to me so I am looking forward to trying it. Again this product is from a brand that is new to me but that is the great thing about Glossybox, it exposes you to new products and brands helping you to branch out your beauty knowledge which I need a lot of encouragement to do as I can very easily get stuck in my ways. I love the scent of this one, it smells of fresh apples it honestly smells incredible I hope it leaves your hair smelling that fresh. It reminds of the smell of a fresh glass of apple juice I could quite happily spend all day smelling this product. I've always said there needs to be more apple scented products in this world. If you are interested in trying out this new form of shampoo you can pick this up for £7. 95 which I think is a pretty reasonable price.

Intimate Perfect Skin Concentrate By SASS
This is one of those beauty products that isn't as fun to talk about like make-up or moisturisers. It's more of a 'what I call' "useful" product that isn't glamorous but still essential. This product is applied to the skin after shaving or waxing to help sooth the skin. It also claim to reduce hair regrowth and it contains exfoliating ingredients which will exfoliate your skin to reduce ingrown hairs. I am really excited to try this product, it smells really fresh similar to that of Aloe Vera and it comes in a cute little box. It has the feel of a luxury product to me. As it is a concentrated moisturiser you only need to apply two pumps to the skin after waxing or shaving but you can also purchase serums, moisturisers, gels and mists from the same range so the choice is endless for you all. You can pick one of these bad boys up from Boots at £12 so a little pricy so I'll be interested to see if it is worth that extra bit of money compared to your standard moisturisers.

Lipstick By Collection
The last product in this months box is a lipstick by Collection in the shade Pink Rose. This is part of their Field Day lipstick range which is the perfect pink spring shade. This lipstick has a matte finish to it yet it still looks moisturising so I'm hoping that it won't be too drying on the lips. I would describe it as a bright dusky pink shade that is easy to wear and would suit most skin types. I personally haven't tried any of the lipsticks from Collection before so I'm excited to try this one to see how it compares to other lipsticks from highstreet brands. I'll be honest with you I'm not over whelmed with the packaging on this one, it definitely has a hughstreet look to it, it almost reminds of children's lipstick that they use for dressing up - that sounds harsh I'm sorry. I like the smell of some lipsticks but this one does smell slightly artificial to me. However, although I don't sound over whelmed by this product, I have recently been converted to a lot of Collections products such as their eye palettes and their ever so famous lasting perfection concealer so I haven't written this one off just yet. Collection is a lot more affordable so you could pick one of these up for £2.99 which is very cheap for a lipstick so if you're on a tight budget then you should check this one out.

I hope you enjoyed this blog post my lovelies, let me know in the comments which products you would like to try or if you have tried any and what you thought of them. There are lot's of new products to try here so I will let you know how I get on with these and if there are any gems that you need to look out for, thank you for reading and I hope you all enjoy the weekend, it's almost here.

Naked 3

Good afternoon my lovelies and a happy Friday to you all. I have a special blog post for you all today you're in for a treat I think it's gonna be a gooden. I have been saving this blog post for a while for when I had the time to put a lot of effort into it as I believe a product like this one deserves the time and appreciation. I adore Urban Decay. It is a high end make-up brand so more pricy then your usual high street brands but oh boy is it worth the extra money. For starters can we all just take a minute to appreciate the beautiful packaging of the Naked 3 palette, I mean come on it's summer so who doesn't love a bit of rose gold? I love neutral make-up so the Naked collection from Urban Decay is ideal for me. There are three large eye shadow palettes from the Naked range all featuring 12 shades. Naked is composed of neutral warm tonne shades, Naked 2 is composed of cool tonne neutral shades and Naked 3 my favourite of the bunch has 12 rose gold neutral shades combining a range of pinks and browns. I was lucky enough to receive the Naked 3 palette as a gift at Christmas and I am still in love with it. I love it so much I don't wear it on a day to day basis for work as I feel the shades are too special for that so I save it for weekends or if I'm going out or doing something that day. Does anyone else do that when you have an item/product you particularly love you don't use/wear it as you don't want to ruin it or waste it or is it just me? Urban Decay have also brought out the Naked Basics and Naked 2 Basics palettes which are mini versions of the larger palettes and are composed of 6 shades. You can check out my post on the Naked 2 Basics palette by clicking here. The fact that there isn't a Naked 3 Basics only suggests to me that there will be one soon, well I like to hope so anyway.

The Naked 3 palette is composed of matte, shimmer and metallic shades ranging in tone. It also comes with a duel ended eyeshadow brush fitting in with the gorgeous rose gold packaging. One end is used for applying the eyeshadow and the other end for blending the eyeshadow when contouring. The good think about Urban Decay is that they actually bother to provide a proper brush and not one of these pathetic sponges that you often get in high street products and to be honest they might as well not bother as I only throw them away and use my own, I just can't deal with the sponges they don't 'pick up' the eyeshadow and they are frankly useless to blend with. So my advice kids is ditch the sponge brushes and invest in some proper eyeshadow brushes they will last a lot longer and provide a better result.

Also within this box of dreams are four samples of Urban Decay eye shadow primers. Primers are designed to smooth pores and allow make-up to last for longer. I personally don't bother with eyeshadow primer on a day to day basis but if I was going out in the evening then I would to help stop my eyeshadow smudging, disappearing or creasing.

Original - The classic primer which is invisible

Sin - Adds a shimmering champagne shade, perfect for a night out

Eden - A nude matte shade

Anti-aging - Claims to reduce wrinkles after usage for 8 weeks

Like I mentioned previously I love the rose gold packaging of the Naked 3 palette. I also love the design and the metal palette makes it appear like a paint palette which fills me with excitement. It takes me back to painting in primary school when you would use the water colours in the long palettes. It feels firm in the metal packaging and not flimsy it really annoys me when products are in cardboard it is just a no, no in my eyes. The cardboard only breaks and looks tatty leaving you with bits of product lying around. It also comes with a large mirror which makes it a really useful handbag essential or if you're away and lacking a mirror. You won't be able to miss much with the size of this mirror. Another think which I love about Urban Decay is the fact they name their shadows. I don't know why this matters so much to me but I just think it's the personal touch that counts. But say if you ran out of one shade it's useful knowing the name as you might be able to re-purchase it as a single shade.

Strange - A matte ivory highlighter that you can use in the inner corner of the eye or to highlight the brow bone. I always think a highlighting shade is essential in every palette.

Dust - A metallic baby doll pink shade

Burnout - A warmer tone version of Dust with less shimmer a more wearable everyday baby pink shade.

Limit - A pale matte rose gold shade, this would be perfect as a base all over the lid.

Buzz - Another metallic pink shade although with a warmer tone to Dust, this would look gorgeous for an evening spring make-up look.

Trick - A metallic gold, the only pure gold in the palette which is an essential for me. Although I think of this palette mainly for the Spring/Summer, this would look gorgeous in the Autumn with a dark berry lip, perfect for Bonfire night. This has to be one of my favourites.

Nooner - The final matte shade in the palette, this is another rose gold shade which is the same tone to the outer packaging. It is very wearable and could be used with any shade in the palette.

Liar - Bold statement coming kids but this has to be my favourite shade in the palette, whoa there. It is a gorgeous pink champagne metallic shade which is the true definition of a rose gold eye shadow in my eyes. It could be used day time or evening and still look gorgeous.

Factory - Another firm favourite of mine, this is the only pure brown in the palette so an essential in my eyes. I would describe it best as a shimmery chocolate brown that would be perfect for contouring with in the outer corner of the eye. You could adapt this for any look whether you went with more golden brown eye make-up or a more pinky look it would easily blend with both.

Mugshot - Another favourite for me, this is a gorgeous metallic oyster champagne again similar to Factory it would blend nicely with browns or pinks so very wearable and an essential in this palette. I could think of so many gorgeous combinations you could create using this one. It is so pretty it would also look pretty just applied all over the lid on it's own.

Darkside - I find this shade really hard to describe, it's a dark grey with many undertones including purple and brown. This would be perfect to use for a smokey eye by applying this to the outer corner of the eye and blending it out. You can also use it as an eyeliner.

Blackheart -  It pains me to say this but this is the last shadow in the palette but it's a gooden. It is a gorgeous dark purple with golden shimmer. I probably wouldn't use this during the day but this would look gorgeous for an evening eye make-up look and you could blend it with Trick, Factory or Dark side to emphasise the gold shimmer. Again similar to Darkside it would look good as an eyeliner to define the eye if you wanted a heavier eye make-up look.

I hope you enjoyed reading this post my lovelies, if like me you are a fan of rose gold shades then I would 100% recommend this palette I wouldn't be without it. Having green eyes myself I find rose gold pinks compliment my eyes as they contrast the green which makes my eyes stand out more. But to be honest with you these shades are so gorgeous they would suit every eye colour. My favourite shades would have to be: Trick, Liar, Factory and Mugshot.

Let me know in the comments if you have tried this palette and what you thought of it. I would also love to know which are your favourite products from Urban Decay, enjoy your weekend my lovelies.

New L'Oreal Infallible 24 Hour Matte Foundation

Hello my lovelies, new product alert for you all, and it's a foundation so you wouldn't of thought that, that would be on my blog now would you. When it comes to foundation I am like a broken record in the fact I will only stick to the Maybelline Dream Matte Mouse Foundation that everyone and their mother would of tried it often tends to be peoples first foundation. Sometimes I get comments on my blog when I mention it when people say 'oh that was my first foundation I have't worn that for years not since I was last at school' well guess what kids I'm still wearing it and loving it may I add. Now if you follow my blog regularly then you will know that I have majorly oily skin to the point where I can only where matte foundations. Otherwise I am left looking sweaty and oily after 5 seconds and I find my 'face' rapidly shifts in a southernly direction after a couple of minutes - it isn't my best look I'll be honest. I am jealous of people who can achieve that natural dewy look with their foundation without looking oily as sometimes I feel like the minority with not being able to wear most foundations. I'm almost getting fed up of typing it but that is why I stick to my mouse foundation as I know where I am with it. It is easy to build up and as I am conscious about my skin - dark circles, blemishes and spots you name it. I am after a high coverage foundation without looking cakey which is like hunting for a needle in a hey stack.

Recently I have read a lot of blog posts raving about this new liquid matte foundation and I won't lie but I was convinced and tempted. I have previously tried many a liquid matte foundation and normal liquid foundations but I haven't found liquid matte foundations to stay matte and I also feel very caked in make-up, I didn't like the feel of the foundation on my face, it felt heavy and I was conscious it was there. I have vowed to not bother trying new liquid foundations and to just give up, stick to what I know and save some money.

After reading a blog post by Lily Melrose and feeling spontaneous I picked it up in the shade 10 Porcelain and do you know what I am now slightly in love with it. It has completely changed my look on trying new foundations and it has shown me that I can wear liquid matte foundations. It is high coverage yet I didn't need a large amount as it is highly pigmented. It blends really nicely into the skin leaving it feeling silky soft and I wasn't conscious of it being there and I often forgot throughout the day that I had foundation on. I find that it stays matte all day and I didn't need to worry about powder touch ups throughout the day to reduce shine. Like a lot of foundations it claims to last 24 hours - whether it does or not I don't know I would guess none of these foundations last 24 hours maintaining their full coverage but who wants their foundation to last 24 hours? If I go out in the evening I always remove my day time make-up and start a fresh as I find it looks cleaner and it's also probably more hygienic and better for your skin. I found that this shade is the perfect shade for my skin. It almost feels lighter to wear then my mouse foundation. I think I will be wearing this foundation throughout the summer as I love the light feel that it provides. When I apply this foundation I have been using the Real Techniques Stippling Brush to buff it into my skin. I'm sorry to those of you who love these but I don't understand how people can apply their make-up using foundation brushes. Maybe I'm using it wrong but I just find that they leave foundation looking streaky and unblended.

The foundation is priced at £7.99 which is good value for a high street foundation especially from L'Oreal and being one with such high coverage. I would highly recommend that you try this, especially those of you with oily skin it will transform your make-up routine.

April Favourites 2015

Hello my lovelies, it's that time of the month again which means another monthly favourites post is due. I can't believe how quickly the year is going, it only seems like yesterday that I was writing blog posts everyday for blogmas and we're nearly half way through the year already I wish time would slow down. I have loved April, the weather has got sunnier and warmer and I have also discovered a few new beauty gems this month.

Vanilla Brûlée Shower Gel By The Body Shop
 This was part of the Christmas range from The Body Shop. I was lucky to receive so many pamper products over Christmas that I am still using them today and I will continue to for many more months which is lovely as it makes Christmas last longer as it's a continual treat throughout the year. Now vanilla for me varies from different brands sometimes I love it or other times I find it too sickly sweet. I think I prefer vanilla scents which are similar to natural vanilla, similar to vanilla essence of pods that you use during baking and oh my that is one of my all time favourite smells I love it so much I always use extra when baking I probably get slightly high from constantly smelling it. I have also been working my way through the body butter of this scent which I am also currently obsessed with. Although I find that the shower gel smells slightly different to which I do just prefer. The scent is a combination of vanilla and honey and the shower gel smells exactly the same as a creme brûlée if you closed your eyes you would honestly think it was one. It feels creamy and luxurious more so then other scents from The Body Shop and it leaves your skin feeling silky smooth and smelling gorgeous. I almost don't want to use it as it was limited edition and sold out now. This always happens to me, the limited edition scents are always my favourite and as soon as I discover them they get discontinued.

Glazed Apple Hand Cream By The Body Shop
This surprise, surprise was another limited edition scent from The Body Shop and what a surprise it is also discontinued now. Sorry this probably isn't a useful blog post for those of you wanting to go out and try new products but hey ho. Bold statement I know so hold onto your socks kids but this has to be my all time favourite scent from The Body Shop, it is up there along with Strawberry and Peach and many others including the Gingerbread scent from Christmas 2013 which left me traumatised when it didn't return last Christmas. My hands have recently been getting really dry. I don't usually suffer too bad from dry skin but this month I have noticed myself needing hand cream about four times a day. I have been taking this hand cream with me to work as it's just handy and the perfect hand bag size. I absolutely adore apple scents I don't know why The Body Shop haven't brought one out until now it's just such a classic. Saying that it isn't fresh apples I would describe it more as sweet apple, slightly sherbety almost. I am just addicted to this smell and I am gutted that this hand cream has nearly finished. When I first picked this one up I loved it so much I got two so I'll be fine for at least another month or so. The good thing about the formulas of the hand creams compared to The body butters is that the hand creams are less viscous and soak into the skin faster where as the body butters are more creamier and can leave you feeling slightly sticky. This means the hand cream soaks in quickly leaving you able to carry on and get things done during the day without leaving you sat there stuck with sticky hands.

Visibly Clear Pink Grapefruit Daily Face Scrub By Neutrogena 
This featured in a post I wrote earlier in April when I picked this up after a rather expensive beauty shopping spree. This is probably a bad thing to admit but until now I never used a face wash in the mornings I just relied on a flannel and water, please don't judge me. I think it's because I always saw face washes as quite time consuming but I am now trying to take better care of my skin and I saw this on an advert and thought that it would be worth a go. What could be better then a refreshing daily face scrub to remove dirt and dead skin cells whilst reducing the appearance of spots and blackheads, it just seemed like the ideal product. The fact it smells like pink grapefruit is an added bonus as I just love the smell. I find it really refreshing and it leaves my skin feeling revived and invigorated which helps to wake me up in the morning. I usually exfoliate my face once a week but this is just a light face scrub to use everyday which also leaves my skin feeling really soft afterwards and it makes my foundation appear smoother and it feels softer to appear. When I first used this product I had a bit of a spot outbreak, embarrassing I know, but I think this happened as it was clearing out all the dirt that had been clogging out my pores. I don't want to tempt fait or anything but recently I do feel that my skin feels a lot clearer, smoother and my black heads appear to have been reduced. I am really impressed with this product and I will continue to use it during my every day skin routine. You rub a small amount onto your face after wetting it and then wipe it off. I tend to do that using oval cotton pads that you can pick up cheaply from many drugstore shops such as Boots or Superdrug in the UK. This product is very affordable and I just think that I've done my skin some good by using it.

Scented Nail By Models Own 
I have always wanted to try the scented nail polish range from Models Own. I know I may be two/three years behind the times here but I'm never one to miss a trend and it's better late then never. There are seven pastel shades available and I picked up two: Apple Pie (pale green) and Blueberry Muffin (pale blue). Yes, they do smell like the names suggest of apple and blueberry although saying that do blueberries really have a smell? I'm pretty sure they don't but the reason these nail polishes appeal is more to do with the fact they are gorgeous shades. I have become obsessed particularly with the shade Blueberry Muffin and since wearing it for the first time I have worn it every time that I have painted my nails since. To me, Spring screams pastel shades and these pastel nail shades are perfect. I love pastel shades as I think they look feminine and subtle and they also make you look slightly tanned. Blueberry Muffin is a gorgeous pale blue with almost lilac undertones. I's a nice thick and creamy formula and although it is a pastel shade I find that I only need two coats when I apply it. I love Models Own polishes but like I said I never see them in stores and I would prefer to see nail polishes in reality before ordering loads online. These are of really good value and you get a large amount of polish in the pot so they should last you a long time even if you are using the same shade for weeks on end. The smell is an added bonus but it is more about the colour for me personally.

24 Hour Cream Eyeshadow By Bourjois 
The last item in my favourites is a cream eyeshadow from Bourjois in the shade Petale De Glace. It is a really pretty pale iridescent pink shade with shimmer to it. It is the perfect highlighting shade focussing towards the inner corner of the eye. I find that this really helps to brighten my eyes which are suffering majorly from dark circles at the moment and looking a little worse for wares. I apply this using my ring finger as a base over my eye lids - once all over and a second time focussing towards the inner corner for a nice contoured effect. I then apply powder eyeshadows towards the outer corner of the eye which tend to be neutral brown shades to contour with. I love pink eye shadows as I find they help to emphasise my eyes and like I said brighten them as I have green eyes so they oppose each other and draw attention to the eyes. I really like the formula of the Bourjois cream eyeshadows. I used to thing cream eyeshadows would just slide off my eye lids but they have a more powder formula once applied to the lids so the eyeshadow stays in place. They are really easy to blend and you could apply them on their own if you're in a rush to give you that bit of colour as they are very versatile. They are also really affordable and one eyeshadow pot will last you for years. I have been using mine pretty much everyday for months now yet you still can't really tell that I've used it. I would highly recommend you check these out as they are really light wear and therefore ideal for the upcoming summer months.

I hope you enjoyed reading this blot post my lovelies and that you all enjoy the May bank holiday off. Let me know in the comments if you have tried any of these products and what you thought of them. I would also love to know what products you have loved this month and would feature in your monthly favourites.