A cheeky skincare and body haul...

If you follow me on Instagram, you might have seen the photo I posted yesterday of my bags of goodies from the Harvey Nichols Beauty Bazaar. I made a list at the start of the month of beauty products I desperately wanted to get my mitts on and since Friday was pay day, I could finally justify taking a little trip to town (braving the horrendous snow, I might add) to go and spend some moneys.

Now as I mentioned in yesterday's post, I'm something of a Youtube beauty channel addict and I'd say that the majority of things purchased yesterday were down to one blogger in particular. Step forward Anna. I pretty much want to buy every product she's ever spoken about ever, and since she frequently sings the praises of Origins Drink Up Intensive overnight mask, that was top of my list of things to buy once pay day came around. I think my skin has been suffering from the weather recently and going from the freezing cold outside to the central heated inside hasn't been doing it any favours, so I figured a really intensive hydrating mask could be a big help. When I got to the Origins counter however, the very helpful lady told me that they were giving away a free gift if you purchased two products. Perfect - just the excuse I needed to convince myself that I should probably definitely have a nosey through the exciting Origins shelves and buy more stuff.

I stumbled across the lovely Brightening Musts set which contains a full size tube of VitaZing, a 30ml tube of Modern Friction and a little pot of GinZing all for just £26 and just knew that I had to have it! Since the VitaZing on it's own normally costs £27, I thought that it was pretty flippin' bargainous! I'm not sure about other Origins counters, but if you're in Liverpool, get down to the Beauty Bazaar pronto and snap up one of these sets!

Of course, because I'd purchased two items (well, technically four), I got my free gift, which consisted of the Plantscription serum (15ml) a super pretty headband with Swarovski crystals on it (so unnecessary but so cute) AND a full size Starting Over moisturizer which normally costs £38! All for free! Origins, I think we're going to be good friends...

I think I might actually give the moisturizer to my Mum, because I'm THAT nice and also because I'd already purchased the This Works Perfect Skin Super Moisturizer (another Anna recommendation...) before I went to Origins. I feel like I'm constantly on a search for the perfect moisturizer - so I'm hoping that this, which seems like a good all rounder (it's actually a moisturiser and a serum in one) could be the one for me.

Finally, I left the Beauty Bazaar and headed over to Boots to grab a couple of slightly more budget beauty buys. Firstly the Botanics Rejuvenating Bath Elixir (which, yes Anna has also spoken about before... this is starting to get a bit embarassing...) plus a pair of oh so glamourous exfoliating gloves. Even though I use a body scrub regularly (currently it's Soap & Glory's Breakfast Scrub, which I have to stop myself from trying to eat every time I use it because it smells that AMAZING), I think a good rub with a pair of these gloves can be a big help when trying to slough away all of that nasty dead skin, as well getting the blood flowing (not really sure why that's important, but it definitely is). I think they cost about £3 so they're very purse-friendly.

So that's everything. I'm ridiculously excited about trying everything out, and maybe even doing a couple of reviews once I've had a bit of time to use it all properly! Ooooh don't you just love new things!!!

Have you tried any of the products above? What did you think? Got any other Origins recommendations for me? I fear this may become a bit of an addiction...

Products of the Month - May 2012

This is probably the most organised I've been with a monthly favourites video in AGES!

Products featured;
Moroccan Oil Intense Curl Cream,
Sleek i-Divine Palette in Au Naturel,
Maybelline Illegal Length Mascara, 
Topshop Nails in Waterlily, (not currently available on the Topshop site)
Angelica Nail Colour in Heartbreaker, (can't find this online so it must only be available from Primark)
Tokyo Milk candle in Let The Eat Cake,
Dove Summer Glow Moisturiser for Fair to Normal Skin,

Je voudrais s'il vous plaît - clever beauty tools

There seems to be more and more clever and exciting beauty tools and gadgets being released all the time and, quite frankly, I want them all. Now. Please. Here's a few that are currently at the top of my wish list (note, some of these aren't actually newly released products; they've been out for a while, it's just that I've only recently released how much I need them in my life.)

Curlformers I think some people would see these as completely pointless, but I reckon they look like fun. I suppose they'd fall into the same category as bendy rollers, but instead of wrapping your hair around them, as you would with a roller, each curlformer is actually a curly tube that you thread your hair through... it's hard to explain. Tanya Burr used them in a video so it's probably best you go and watch that if you can't picture what I mean. They'd probably be quite time consuming, especially if you have a lot of hair, but I like how you can get different sizes in a pack, to create different types of curl and they'd be a lot more hair-friendly than using heated rollers or tongs to get the same effect.

Clarisonic Mia If you've never come across one of these before, it's basically an electric toothbrush...for your face. The Clarisonic is a clever little device that you can use morning and night as part of your cleansing routine. The idea of brushing your face may seem mad, but I've read some very positive reviews on this, with people saying that their skin has never looked better and the Clarisonic really does remove every single molecule of dirt. It has a timer in it so that you only actually use it on your face for sixty seconds, and every ten seconds it makes a beeping sound to tell you to move onto another area of your face. See? Clever!

Tangle Teezer Not a new product at all, but something I've just never gotten around to buying. A Tangle Teezer is a special kind of plastic hair brush that is designed to gently de-tangle and smooth hair without damaging it. I'm sure I'm not the only one who has this problem, but pretty much every time I comb my hair after washing it, loads of it seems to fall out. It is natural to lose a certain number of hairs every day, but personally I'd like to keep that number to a minimum! Because the Tangle Teezer is so gentle, you're less likely to pull out a lot of your hair when you use it. This is another one that has fantastic reviews - it's right at the top of my list.

Real Techniques Core Collection I mentioned this in my Christmas wish list post too, but I really want some lovely new makeup brushes and these ones are designed by the genius that is Samantha Chapman, so they're bound to be good. To be perfectly honest, I'm not even that fussed about the other brushes in the collection, I just really want to get my hands on the buffing brush (the big flat-headed one in the pic) and you can't buy it separately. When I had my Illamasqua makeover, the lovely makeup artist told me that he always buffs foundation onto the skin with that kind of brush, rather than use a flat foundation brush, as you end up with a much better finish. I have to say, my foundation looked flawless and lasted really well after he'd applied it that way, so I'm dying to give this a go.

Enrapture Encode Totem Styler Ok, so it may seem silly to include curlformers and a curling iron in the same wish list, but I just think that this is an absolutely genius gadget. Unlike other curling tongs, the barrel of Encode Totem Styler is split into three different sections, each with their own heat control, meaning you can create lots of different curls and waves. For example, you could set the top part of the barrel on a low heat, then the other parts on a higher heat to create a loose curl at the top of your hair with a tighter curl at the bottom. The possibilities are endless!

Travalo Again, not really a new concept, as perfume atomizers have been around for years, but the Travalo is so dinky and cute! Last year I had a really handy solid perfume from Lush that I could just toss into my bag without worrying about it breaking but there's no way I'd take the same risk with my current perfume of choice - Illamasqua Freak. Joe bought me it for Christmas and I've been wearing it all the time, but the bottle is so gorgeous (and it was expensive!) so I never take it out with me for fear of it smashing. This means I can't top up my perfume throughout the day and I'm one of those people whose skin just seems to absorb scent - I can never smell it on me! A Travalo is the perfect solution - tiny enough to chuck in my bag, plus it re-fills really easily, so I could just keep decanting some Freak into it and keep my lovely big bottle safe at home. Excellent.

So that's my beauty gadgets/tools wish list done and dusted - I think the Travalo and the Tangle Teezer are the two things I'm most likely to purchase first, as they're the most affordable; some of the other items on the list are quite pricey and will have to be saved up for a special occasion...

Is there anything on the list you like the look of? Or have you got some other clever beauty devices in mind? Share the love and tell me!

Illamasqua Transformation

Can't believe how late this post is! If you watched my Products of the Month video for October, you will have seen me talking about my Illamasqua 'transformation' that I had done at the new Liverpool store. I thought I'd share some photos as you can't really see the makeup very well in the video. It probably would have made sense for me to post this straight after I posted the video, but I never do things sensibly... ah well, better late than never, right?

In the same way you do at MAC, you can book in for a makeover at Illamasqua that costs £30 but is redeemable on products (ie you pay £30, they do your makeup and then you get £30 worth of products), however, in the week or so after the new Liverpool store had opened, they were doing makeovers, or 'transformations' for free. Since I never, ever get my makeup done professionally, I decided to book in for a half hour session one Saturday afternoon. I had my makeup done by the very lovely Patrick (who also did my eyelashes at the launch event) who had a quick chat with me first about what I wanted. I told him I was going out that evening, so the makeup could be quite dramatic, but I hadn't actually decided what I was wearing so it needed to be in colours that would go with most things. We decided brown would be the best option and Patrick got to work...

To be honest, I wear browns and golds quite a lot anyway, so was a little bit worried that Patrick might end up doing something similar to what I'd do myself, which would have been a bit pointless; I wanted a completely new look. Fortunately, I got just that. I never ever wing out my eyeshadow as much as this, and I never wear that much shadow under the eye either. I also tend to stick to very light/neutral colours on my eyelid and usually only use darker colours on the outer corners, however Patrick went quite dark all over, then used some lovely shimmery pigments over the top of the shadow, which I loved.

He also used the new Illamasqua Skin Base Foundation, which is amazing and left my skin looking flawless. I don't normally feel the need to wear foundation - I currently don't own a single bottle of the stuff - however, now that the weather's so horrible, I feel like my skin needs a bit of extra help and I'm very tempted to buy some Skin Base when I've got some spare pennies.

As my appointment had been quite early in the afternoon, I was a bit worried that it wouldn't last right through to the evening, but I was pleasantly surprised. Patrick had used a primer on both my eyes and skin which helped everything to last for ages. The lipstick and lipgloss that Patrick put on me lasted a couple of hours then I had to apply some of my own before I went out in the evening, but I think that's to be expected really; lip products never last very long on me anyway.

Even though I was under no obligation to purchase anything as it was a free makeover, I couldn't help but leave with a little something.

Illamasqua Pure Pigment in Ore

This is one of the products that Lucy and I went bananas over at the launch event - it's a very gorgeous browny/goldy/khaki-ish colour (don't I describe things brilliantly?!) that would be very flattering on any eye colour and is exactly the sort of shade I love. Also, I don't think I can emphasise how sparkly this product is; I own shimmery and glittery shadows and pigments but honestly, this is just something else altogether! As soon as the light hits it, it just glistens! So beautiful, I LOVE IT!

The top one was blended, the bottom was patted on with an eyeshadow brush

I've probably said it before, but I HATE doing swatch pictures, so apologies that this isn't great, but I did take loads and this was the best of a bad bunch. I honestly don't know how some beauty bloggers have the patience to swatch every item they review - it takes such a long time to actually get a good photo! Anyway, the sparkliness isn't actually showing up enough in this picture - imagine that level of sparkle multiplied by about a thousand. It's amazing. The Pure Pigments cost £15.50 each, which may seem a bit much (especially when my beloved Sleek palettes cost about £6 and you get twelve colours in them), but it is such a lovely product so I think you can justify that kind of price for an occasional treat. Plus you do get a lot of product and a little bit goes a long way, so I've got a feeling this will be in my makeup bag for ages.

All in all, I'm so glad I went and had a transformation - it was so fun having someone else do my makeup and give me a look I'd never do myself and I received some lovely compliments that evening! I think there's a good chance that any money I get at Christmas may just go on another trip to Illamasqua!

Have you ever had a makeover? Would you do it again? Are you keen to experiment with makeup or do you tend to stick to the same looks?

War paint against Mediocrity

If you watched my most recent video, you will have seen me talking about the new Illamasqua store that's just opened in Liverpool. I was lucky enough to be invited to the launch event for the store and had a lovely evening that mainly consisted of playing with some of the most beautiful products I've ever seen.

I have been aware of Illamasqua for a while, mostly from reading about it on blogs. It's only been around for the past three years so it's still a relatively new brand, but it has become well known in the beauty community as a brand that takes risks, both with the products it releases (green lipgloss anyone?) and the incredibly beautiful, theatrical images it uses when publicising new collections. In the words of M&S, this is no ordinary makeup brand! It's a brand that embraces being different, standing out in a crowd, putting as much colour and sparkly stuff on your face as is physically possible and being bloody fabulous. This is a brand that has been missing from Liverpool for far too long.

The event took place in the new Illamasqua store (which, if you're from Liverpool, is in the Met Quarter) and was a super-glamourous evening featuring flamboyant performers, yummy cocktails and fabulous free lash and lip treatments. I was excited to meet fellow Scouse blogger, Lucy, of Lalalucy, as I've been reading her blog for a while now and it meant I wasn't just wandering around on my lonesome all evening!

Oh so many pretty colours...

The store is absolutely packed full of gorgeous things to look at; I was like a child in a sweetshop! Lucy and I spent a lot of our time just moving from product to product, sticking our fingers into pots of sparkly things and going "oooh!" The lovely Illamasqua team were constantly on hand to demonstrate all of the different products and explain more about the brand. After practically drooling over the amazing display of lashes, we were treated to a lash application of our choice and Lucy and I, being serious magpies, went for the gorgeous Decadence lashes, which are decorated in tiny little crystals.

Lucy and I with our amazing lashes!

Also, did I mention that ALEX BOX was there?! Argh! For some reason I didn't expect her to be there, so when I saw her in the store, all green and fabulous, I got a bit star-struck. Also there was the MD, Joseph Corré, (Vivienne Westwood's son - seriously, how awesome is this brand?!). Both Joseph and Alex just looked far too cool for me to actually go up and speak to, but I did shoot a few awe-filled glances their way, which I'm sure they appreciated and weren't freaked out by at all...

After a quick speech from Alex, thanking everyone for attending, (any time Alex, any time) there was a performance by La Fleur Mecanique, which was basically a very beautifully made up lady dancing inside a big mechanical flower; very intriguing! This was to celebrate the launch of Illamasqua's new perfume, Freak, which has definitely made my Christmas list (the bottle has a SNAIL on it!).

Myself, Lucy and Hayley, who looked after us all night.

What a fab evening! As we were about to leave, we were given ridiculously good gift bags - I would have been happy with just my sparkly lashes! Here's what was inside...

Bronzing Duo in Glint & Writhe, Illumine Oil in Pulse and Intense Lipgloss in Femme

Lashes in 017 and Decadence (these are the ones I had on at the event - they're reusable so I was given the box to keep them in once I'd taken them off. LOOK HOW SPARKLY!)

I can now officially say I am in love with this brand. I was so impressed, I went back to the store the following Saturday for a 'transformation' (makeover). Will probably do a separate post on that soon (I bought something amazing). I now have a list as long as my arm, of products that I desperately need in my life!

What do you think of Illamasqua? Got any products to recommend? Are you jealous of my lashes? You should be ;)

All photos courtesy of the Illamasqua Facebook page, apart from the one of me and Lucy and the ones of my goodie bag, which are my handiwork.

POTM - October

Believe it or not, it's actually a whole year since I did my first ever Products of the Month video! Doesn't time fly when you're having a laugh?! This month's video is a bit of a short one as I really haven't bought much new stuff of late. Also, I don't understand why the quality doesn't look as good in this video as it has done in previous ones. I swear, technology is trying to slowly kill my soul...

Products featured;

FCUK Polished Sugarscrub
Garnier Fructis Curl Definition Styling Mousse
Sally Hansen Salon Effects Nail Polish Strips in 340 Girl Flower

Right, off to catch up on last night's TOWIE. Apparently it's a dramatic one. Has anyone heard about the Liverpool version, Desperate Scousewives? I'm preparing myself for a whole world of cringe...

Winning

So this is a post I've been meaning to do since about 1986...

Way back in August, the very gorgeous Dani, of polkadani, had a giveaway on her blog. And you know what? I flippin' won it! I never ever win blog giveaways so it was a really lovely surprise when an email landed in my inbox informing me that I was the lucky winner! The prize was a really gorgeous pocket watch pendant from Urban Outfitters and a MeMeMe lip and cheek tint.

Winning. Now I know what it feels like to be Charlie Sheen...

If you're not familiar with MeMeMe, it's a brand that's quite Benefit-esque (but much cheaper) and is available in Superdrug. I've used one of their blushers before (which I reviewed ages ago here) but had never tried the tints so was excited to give one a go. Dani was actually kind enough to let me choose which tint I'd like as MeMeMe do two different ones; Pussy Cat, which is a dupe for BeneTint and Poppy Tint, which, you've guessed it, is a dupe for Posie Tint. As I've been LOVING the mini Posie Tint I got with Glamour magazine a while back, I went for Poppy Tint and have been really impressed with it. I'll be honest, I tried to photograph some swatches of it alongside Posie Tint, just to show how similar the two are, but my camera was having none of it and I just gave up out of sheer frustration. I do however, now have two lovely pink smudges on my hand which will not budge. Excellent.

Here's a close up of my pendant, it's so pretty and ornate! I've worn it loads since I got it; I'm really enjoying clicking the little button at the top to make the door open to check the time! It makes me feel like a Victorian gentleman. I just need a monacle now...

So a very belated THANK YOU to Dani for my prizes - I love them both!

Have you tried any MeMeMe products? What did you think? Also, should I get a monacle???

Purple-tastic

So, I have had yet another ridiculously long blogging absence, even though I'd promised after the shambolic effort I'd put in in September, that October would be much better. In actual fact it was worse. I. AM. CRAP.

Ah well, I think we all go through these good blogger/bad blogger phases - sometimes, for a variety of reasons, you just don't manage to get down with the blogosphere like you should. Anyway, I'm back now, with absolutely bloody loads of posts planned, so let's forget about the past and move on.

I'm currently doing an internship at a beauty spa in Liverpool, which I'm loving; it's exactly the sort of thing I want to be doing as a career - online marketing, PR, social media etc but specifically in the beauty industry. Anyway, I've had a few complimentary treatments since I've been there (hot stone massage is A.MAZ.ING) and this week I decided to try out a Shellac manicure. If you've not heard of it before, Shellac is a nail system that lasts for up to two weeks without chipping. It's produced by CND who do lots of lovely nail products and are used by salons worldwide. Shellac is applied like a normal nail varnish; there's a base coat, then the colour, then a top coat, however, the difference is that each time a layer of the product is applied to your nails, you put your hand into a special UV lamp which sets the product, making it completely chip-resistant.

If you're a regular reader of my blog, you'll know that I change my nails quite frequently - I must have a very short attention span as I tend to get bored with the same colour after a few days, so while I thought that Shellac was a good idea, I didn't really think I could hack having the same colour on my nails for two weeks. Recently though, I've been getting so sick of my nails chipping really quickly - I think it's down to the Sally Hansen topcoat I'm using (it's rubbish), so I thought I might as well bite the bullet and try Shellac. Also, I went to an Illamasqua event last night (I'll do a separate post on that at some point over the next week), so I wanted to make sure my nails were looking lovely for that.

I had my nails done on Tuesday evening and it probably took around 35/40 minutes. The other great thing about a Shellac manicure is that there's no drying time; normally once your nails have been freshly painted you have that really annoying period afterwards where you can't touch anything or they'll smudge. With Shellac there's no waiting around at all - the product is applied, treated with the UV lamp and you're ready to go. AMAZING!

As it's still a relatively new product , there's only about thirty colours in the range at the moment and most of those are reds and pinks, however, six new, edgier colours have been released recently, including a turquoise and a slate grey. I decided to go for one of the new colours, Purple Purple, as I loved the shimmer running through it and thought it was the perfect unusual shade for the Illamasqua event.

Purple Purple - sooo pretty!

It's been two days since it was applied and so far there's absolutely no sign of chipping and my nails still look as glossy and perfect as they did on Tuesday. So far so good! I'll keep you posted on how long this lasts (and whether I manage to stick with it for the next two weeks without getting bored...)

Products of the Month - August (and July)

Ok, so originally my Products of the Month for July was meant to have two parts because it was too long for one video. I published the first part here but never got around to doing the second part, so this is Products of the Month for July Part 2 (Franki Returns) and Products of the Month for August all rolled up into one horribly edited little package. Hurray!

Products featured;

Collection 2000 Cream Puff Lip Cream in Powder Puff
Barry M Nail Paint in 318 Peach Melba
Oilatum Natural Repair Face Cream
Benefit Posietint
Schwarzkopf got2b 2 Sexy Collagen Hairspray

I'll be uploading a 'birthday haul' video in the next day or so, so keep an eye out for that. Yes , that's right, two videos BACKTOBACK! I'm a video-making-machine!

Products of the Month - July

Finally, finally uploaded this video to Youtube. I really enjoy vlogging but it is SUCH a faff at times! I actually filmed this right at the beginning of August but when I uploaded it to Youtube it was removed straight away for being too long (by a minute and a half grrr!) - why can't I upload videos that are longer than 15 minutes but other people can??? Anyway, I decided to have a go at editing it down, rather than filming it again so I downloaded some video editing stuff and then spent about five hours editing (would have been so much quicker to just film the video again...) Anyway, here it is, in all its glory... well actually, it's just the first part, I've still to film a second part because I've got loads of lovely products to talk about.

I've never edited a video before so if it's a bit jumpy in places, that'll be why - hopefully it's something I'll get better at...actually hopefully it's something I just won't have to do again because it took far too long.

Products featured;

Topshop Skin Glow in Light
Veet Hair Minimising Body Moisturiser
VO5 Miracle Concentrate
Sanctuary Polishing Hot Cloth Cleanser
Barry M Nail Effects in Pink Fizz

I hope everyone's had a lovely weekend, I've been mainly chilling today, had some time to catch up on returning blog comments and read some blogs, which is nice. As I mentioned in my last post, I went to the Jacques Townhouse yesterday and had such a good laugh, I wish I could have stayed there all evening. I'll do a full blog post about it soon, but if anyone is in/around Liverpool over the next few days, I'd really, really recommend going - you can register for tickets here.

The best things in life are free

As someone currently on the tightest of budgets, I find myself constantly justifying even the most basic purchases and convincing myself to only buy products that are reduced, on offer or just very cheap. I've gotten used to this, but every now and then, I still get the urge to leg it into the John Lewis beauty department, grab as many beautiful things as I can get my hands on, and stick them all on my credit card, all the while shrieking and laughing like a madwoman. Fortunately, I normally manage to fight this urge and have been pretty darn sensible lately. (NB It is my birthday at the end of the month and it's likely that a significant portion of birthday money will be spent during a burst of the aforementioned madwoman behaviour...).

Recently though, I've managed to get my hands on quite a few lovely things, without actually having to spend any money at all. No, no, I've not taken up shoplifting, don't worry, I've just been taking advantage of freebies. You're probably already aware of this, but Lush will give you a fresh face mask for absolutely nothing if you bring back five of their black pots! Last week, after finishing off my big tub of Dream Cream, I realised that I'd finally managed to acquire five pots, and headed to Lush, ready to grab a freebie.

Since I'm STILL being plagued by the little blocked pores around my chin, I decided to go for something really deep cleansing, in the hope that it'd shift the buggers once and for all. The guy in Lush recommended Cosmetic Warrior, so I snapped it up, handed over my pots and off I went, happy in the knowledge that not only had I just gotten a face mask that normally costs about £5.50 for nil points, but also, that I'm being a good recycler and that is very important.

Contains garlic, tea tree oil, honey and eggs to name but a few. Does not smell pleasant. I'll do a review at some point soon.

Later that same day, I randomly ended up going back into town to meet some friends, but as I got to town a bit early, I went into Superdrug for a nosey. Thank goodness I did because I then picked up my second excellent freebie of the day! I noticed near the entrance of Superdrug, there were lots of lttle makeup stations set up, each with what looked like a goodie bag next to them. I was obviously intrigued by this (gotta love a goodie bag) and as I went for a closer look, one of the girls who worked there asked me if I'd like to go to the Superdrug Beauty School? "DO I?!" I thought, "HELL YEAH IF I GET A GOODIE BAG... what is it?" The girl explained that basically I just had to sit at one of the booths and let her instruct me on how to apply makeup to recreate a specific 'look'. Easy. So I did. The look I had to to recreate was called 'Pop Lips', which consisted of bronzed skin, defined lashes and a bright coral lipstick - right up my street! I had to use Miss Sporty products, which I've not used for years, but I was pleasantly surprised, especially by the lipstick, which I think was called Bubblegum and was a lovely sheer pinky coral. The class took about ten minutes and I think was probably aimed at younger girls who aren't used to wearing makeup - the other two girls doing the class at the same time as me were both 15... I felt a bit silly when I told them I was 23... but ah well, any opportunity to mess about with makeup is fine with me!

I was really impressed with the goodie bag I got at the end of the class; while it is mainly just Superdrug's own brand stuff along with some samples and vouchers, they're all items I'd actually use, plus I literally had to do nothing to get it, just play with makeup for ten minutes!

Products in the goodie bag included a Nail Shaper, Delicious Body Spray (which smells lovely!), Dry Shampoo, Miss Sporty Disco Tech UV Topcoat, The Little Pink Tin lipbalm, Self Heating Smoothie Mask and a Self Tan Applicator Mitt, as well as samples of the new VO5 shampoo and conditioner and Vera Wang Lovestruck perfume, plus loads of money off vouchers. Not bad eh?

The Superdrug Beauty School is happening in larger branches of Superdrug all over the country - you can see the full list of participating stores here. It looks like the next class will be using 2True products, which I've never tried before, so I'm tempted to go back!

Had any good freebies lately? Has anyone else been to a Superdrug Beauty Class? What did you think?

Love is strange...

Eeeep! I feel like my blog's taken a bit of a back seat in the past few weeks and I really wish this wasn't the case! I've always said that one super power I'd love more than any other is the ability to stop time and this applies now more than ever as I'm ridiculously busy. If anyone knows where I can get myself a Bernard's Watch or even a Time-Turner, please let me know!

Anyway, I felt like getting a bit creative on Thursday night when I had a rare couple of hours to myself so I decided to jazz up my nails. I'm not sure whether you can tell, but the blue nails you can see in the photos are actually falsies. I never, ever wear false nails but as these ones are so short, I thought I'd give them a bash (they were actually given to me free along with some Eylure lashes at an event in New Look a couple of months back). They're Elegant Touch Limited Edition Matte Nails in Mint Green (although I really think they're more blue than green...)

Once I'd stuck the false nails on, I realised they looked a bit too plain on their own so I rooted out all of the decorative bits and pieces I bought on eBay ages ago and got a bit carried away with the nail glue. I'm sure I've mentioned her before but Selina from The Flying Saucer always has amazingly decorated 'kawaii'-style nails and these were very much inspired by her.

I wish I'd had the good sense to decorate the false nails before I stuck them on, as it all got quite fiddly (and gluey) and using your left hand to pick up tiny gems with tweezers is really bloody tricky! Gem Fatale had a really good Tuesday Tip a couple of weeks ago that suggested using a cotton bud with some sellotape around the end to hold a false nail in place while decorating/painting it and if I were going to do this again, I'd definitely use that method. Got there in the end though and I'm really pleased with how they turned out, plus I've had loads of compliments on them, which is always nice :)

The one thing I would say though is that they snag on everything! Every time I try to do my hair, one of the bows will catch in it and so paranoid that they're going to pop off! Selina, how on earth do you cope?!

[Elegant Touch Limited Edition Matte Nails in Mint Green, Glitter - Models Own Juicy Jules, bows, gems and flowers all available from this eBay seller]

"...and I dance, dance, dance and I dance, dance, dance"

This is the Sleek haul video I promised a while back when I posted about my order with the Sleek 50% off voucher code.

Featuring;

Contour Brush

Pan Tao Blush

ONE Finishing Powder

Eye Drama Mascara in Black Out Waterproof

High Shine Lipgloss in Sweet Sixteen

Paraguaya iDivine Palette (click here for my review of this)

This is a scheduled post as I'm away on holiday (again)

Violent Lips

Special thanks to my gorgeous friend Lydia for bringing the subject of this post to my attention!

I may have said this before, but one of the things I love most about the beauty industry is that there's always some amazing new product to get excited about. Whether it's the latest 'it' nail polish from Chanel are another fabulous MAC collection, there's always a buzz surrounding something. While it may not be good news for our bank accounts that Estee Lauder have brought out a new 'miracle' foundation or skincare product, it certainly is fun to lust after such things.

One of the things I've noticed though, in the past couple of years, is that these new products are becoming more and more "out there". I suppose this is down, in large part, to celebs such as Katy Perry, Beyonce and Lady Gaga, whose theatrical/quirky/fabulous approaches to fashion and beauty constantly challenge the 'norm', while inspiring their fans to embrace the fun side of hair and makeup. With the huge increase in popularity of nail art, multi-coloured hair dye and even temporary tattoos, it's clear that we're in the middle of a beauty revolution! For once, it's not just about lash lengthening and skin perfecting, it's about having fun, being different and getting creative!

Jessie J's spikey lips in the Do It Like A Dude video, Katy Perry sporting Russell Brand nails and multi-coloured hair streaks and Beyonce's leopard print eyes and nails in the Kitty Cat video

The latest in a long line of fun new beauty products is Violent Lips; temporary lip tattoos that are available in designs such as polka dot, leopard print and stripes...

Violent Lips, from what I can gather, are pretty much exactly the same as traditional transfers. Using guidelines on the back of the design, you have to cut the transfer so that it matches the shape of your mouth and then hold a damp cloth against it so that it adheres to your lips. Cool eh?

They come in packs of three and retail at $14.95 per pack, although there are some currently on sale on the Violent Lips site for $9.99. The company ships internationally and some of the designs are also available in the UK at Harvey Nicholls for £12. I've read some reviews online and the general consensus is that they're tricky to apply - it's difficult to get them to line up perfectly with the corners of your mouth and you have to make sure that your lips are stretched when you're applying the transfer, as otherwise it'll crease. They also flake a bit, I guess in the same way a normal temporary tattoo would after it's been on for a while. However, most reviewers have also said they love how the tattoos look as they're so different to any other lip products that are currently available. What I like about Violent Lips is that there is such a huge range of designs, so you can go as subtle or as whacky as you like. They're perfect for a night out or a party, though I'm not sure I'd want to wear them for longer than a few hours, as I'd imagine a temporary tattoo on your lips would be quite drying. That being said, I definitely want to give them a go! I've got my eye on "The Coral Cheetah" in particular...

Violent Lips in The Coral Cheetah, The Rainbow and The Black and White Stripes

So what do you think? Will you be trying them out? And what other crazy beauty products would you like to see next?

Things things glorious things

I pretty much never do 'haul' posts, mainly because I very rarely go on massive shopping sprees that would warrant a haul post (oh woe is me...) but also, on the rare occasion when I do buy a lot of stuff, I've usually opened all of the packaging/cut the labels off/put it away before I actually remember to take a nice picture. Anyway, I'm off to Portugal in a week (I'm going to the Optimus Alive Festival - it's going to be AMAZING!) so I headed into town on Saturday to pick up a few things, and for once, I actually remembered to take a photo when I got home.

What I bought;

Boots Essentials Cucumber Cleansing Wipes - I use these almost obsessively as a) they're VERY gentle and b) they're always on offer (three for £3). I had been using Johnson's wipes which I've definitely used before, but I seem to have become a bit allergic to them as I've been suffering from really sore, dry skin around my eyes and forehead and they're the only things that might have caused it. So back to the old reliables it is!

Oilatum Natural Repair Face Cream - I've talked about this before, in fact, tons of people have talked about it before, so I'm sure you're already well aware of this product. Even though I'm still LOVING my Clean & Clear Dual Action Moisturiser (mentioned in my recent vlog), I've been feeling the need for something a little more gentle due to my aforementioned dry skin attack. This stuff does the job nicely.

Lee Stafford Treatment For Hair That Never Grows Past A Certain Length (catchy name, eh?) - I've heard so much hype about this and have been desperate to get hold of it. I really want to have ridiculously long hair, like a mermaid, and while my hair does tend to grow fairly quickly, I also lose quite a lot in the shower/during brushing. The treatment claims to strengthen hair follicles, which means they stay "anchored to your scalp" (that's actually what it says on the tub) better and therefore don't fall out as easily. I've only used it twice so far, so haven't noticed any massive changes yet, but Im keeping my fingers crossed. Also, it smells heavenly. I got it for £5.99 instead of £7.99 as Boots are currently doing £2 off Professional Haircare vouchers. Score!

17 Lasting Fix Nail Polish in Tropical Island - I didn't need another nail polish. I know I didn't and you know I didn't. But there was an offer of a free concealer pen with any 17 purchase so I got excited. I still haven't fully lifted the makeup ban, but I figured that getting two products for the price of one was a good plan, especially when I needed a concealer anyway and the concealer on its own would have been more expensive. I've been wanting a really bright orange polish for ages as I think its a great summer colour and this one is almost there, though it's not quite bright enough for me. I want obnoxiously vibrant nails! You can't see in the photo, but it has tiny flecks of gold running through it, which is pretty, but not noticeable unless you look very closely.

17 Hide & Chic Eye Brightening Concealer - This was the free concealer. I've only used it once or twice but so far so good; it's just a typical highlighting concealer - it has a brush/pen applicator like Touche Eclat and a creamy, blendable consistency. May review this at some point in the future when I've used it a bit more.

Ambre Solaire Clear Protect Transparent Body Protection Spray (SPF 20) - I just started writing my reasons for buying this, but it turned into a bit of an essay, so I think I'll save it for another post. This was about £6.50 in Wilko's, which is one of the cheapest prices I've seen for sun care.

25 Allura Emery Boards - bought these in Poundland, I always need nail files so this seemed like a good idea. I'm actually pleasantly surprised by these as not only are they different shapes and sizes (the mini ones are ideal for your handbag) but they also have different levels of courseness (not sure if that's the techincal term, but you know what I mean, don't you?) some are really course for nail re-shaping while others are finer, so are better for tidying the edges. Not bad for £1!

Turquoise tribal-style ring - I've seen these rings EVERYWHERE lately, so when I spotted this one in Primark (£2.50!) I had to have it. Love a bit of turquoise.

New sunnies - I never, ever buy expensive sunglasses as I almost always lose them or break them and I just don't see the point. I really liked the ones I took to Lanzarote but the lenses are really badly scuffed and scratched as I've had them for about a year now. I can only really wear over-sized sunnies, as I've got such a massive face. I really like the Wayfarer and aviator styles but whenever I try them on, they just look ridiculous. The size of the sunglasses MUST be proportionate to the size of the face. It's a scientific fact.

Skinny belt - Think this was £1. I love the colour and I think skinny waist belts like this add a really nice detail to an outfit. I've got a black vest-tunic-dress thing that I can't wait to wear this with.

Pink and brown satchel - Normally when I go on holiday, I spend a lot of my time at the beach or pool so I'd just buy a big beach bag that can hold a book, suncream, money and lots of other "essential" bits and bobs, but as I'm going to be at a festival this time, I figured a heavy shoulder bag wouldn't be the best plan. I only really need my suncream and money, maybe a lipbalm etc, so this little bag is perfect. Plus, it's pink!

So that's everything - mostly cheap and cheerful stuff, which is good. Right, off now to watch the final episode of Made In Chelsea - I hate to admit it, because I said I wasn't going to watch it, but I've really gotten into it. I love Ollie!

Are you off on holiday this Summer? What are your Summer essentials? Why can't it be Summer all year round?!

It ain't necessarily so

While I know that it's perfectly normal for bloggers to post photos of themselves on their blogs (indeed, a lot of blogs are made up solely of photos of the blogger), those of you who are regular readers may have noticed that I very rarely do this. This isn't because I'm particularly self-conscious; I just feel that there's more interesting things for me to write about than 'what I wore today'. That's not to say that I don't like seeing what other people wore (those of you who do post photos of yourselves, please don't see this as a criticism, because it's really not!) - there are loads of bloggers whose outfit posts I love reading - Gem, Fritha, Emma plus tons more, but, quite frankly, I just don't think that inundating you all with photos of me would make this blog a more interesting read.

I do think though, that outfit photos can be a big contributing factor to blogs becoming successful. I guess what it comes down to is that we're all a bit nosey - we like to see what other girls our age are wearing and where they shop etc. Plus, personal style blogs can be great inspiration; I can't tell you how many times I've seen items on other blogs and then gone out and bought them myself. I can't help but wonder if my blog would be more popular if I posted outfit photos? I'd be interested to know what other people thought about this; those of you who do write blogs, how do you feel about outfit or 'face of the day' photos? Do you do it? And when you're reading other blogs, do you like seeing lots of outfit/FOTD posts? Let's get a discussion going on this one!

The reason I've been thinking about all this is because today, shock HORROR, I am posting a photo of myself! Foundation-free-February is coming to an end, and while Dani has done quite a few posts on how it's going and what she's been doing to makeup-wise to combat the lack of foundation, I feel like I've not really embraced the challenge as much as she has. So, without further ado, here is my foundation-free face;

(still in my pyjamas)

This is the makeup I wear daily - lots of mascara and eyeliner, some concealer and highlighter under my eyes, a bit of blusher and bronzer and (I think) Rose Vaseline. I've never really had particularly problematic skin; I do get the occasional blemish and have a big patch of blocked pores around my chin that I just can't shift (grrr), but apart from that, the main reason why I'd choose to wear foundation is to even out my skin tone - as you can see from the photo, I have quite a few freckles and a bit of sun damage here and there (probably from being a naughty sunbed user when I was a teenager). To be perfectly honest, I can't say I've noticed a great deal of difference in my skin since starting the challenge; the blocked pores are still there and I've currently got a spot on my cheek, so maybe this suggests that foundation isn't actually guilty of causing skin problems? Even so, I'm sure my skin has appreciated going without a daily layer of foundation for the past few weeks. Also, I haven't missed foundation much and I've kind of gotten used to not wearing it now, so I think I'll probably just stick with my new routine and not bother with it unless I really feel I need it. All in all, a positive outcome I'd say! Do you wear foundation daily? Reckon you could go without it? Try it, I dare you!

Slightly weird photo I know, but I completely forgot to photograph this nail art so this is the only image I have. You can't really see, but some of the leopard spots are actually different coloured rhinestones! I got really inspired by Selina's fabulous nails and bought some rhinestones, bows and flowers on eBay a little while back. They were from Hong Kong, so took over two weeks to arrive, but they're here now and I'm very excited! Expect lots more crazy nail art in the future, both here and on my nail art page!

The Brow-zy Chaperone

You know what really bothers me? People who don't understand the importance of eyebrows. I know it may sound weird, but eyebrows are EXTREMELY important when it comes to having a successful face. I mean, ok maybe they're not as important as eyes and lips and nose and skin and all that other nonsense, but a pair of rubbish eyebrows, in my opinion, RUIN a perfectly good face.

I am obsessed with eyebrows. Whenever I see a person with overplucked or weird-shaped brows I want to give them a good telling off and confiscate their tweezers, but I refrain from doing so for fear of being known as 'Insane Tweezer Stealing Eyebrow Girl'. I don't want that label. They might ban me from planes.

While I'm not sure what their 'official' evolutionary purpose is, aesthetically, brows serve to frame your eyes (and, you know, separate your forehead from the rest of your face). Therefore, attention should be paid to them! Sadly, for some reason, a lot of people seem to think that as long as you've plucked your eyebrows into some kind of uniform shape, and they both vaguely match, you've done a good job. If you believe that then all I can say, Grasshopper, is that you still have a lot to learn.

You can probably get better advice from some kind of eyebrow expert, but I think the main things to remember when it comes to shaping your eyebrows are;

- Only pluck stray hairs from underneath the brows, don't pluck above them.

- Some people mistakenly believe that eyebrows should begin where the eye begins, this is so MASSIVELY wrong. Sure you should pluck between your brows to avoid a monobrow, but they should start at either side of the bridge of the nose, no further out than that.

- While quite a lot of people go for the whole 'tadpole' look, ie a big bit at the beginning and then a really thin 'tail', it's actually better to keep brows at a similar thickness throughout.

- It varies from person to person, but the arch, that is, the part of the eyebrow that goes up, should start at the outer edge of your iris.

Still, if you choose to pluck your eyebrows yourself rather than get them done professionally (which can be expensive), accidents can happen. We've all done it; gotten a bit pluck-happy with the tweezers and before you know it you're caught in a permanent state of shock and/or terror, like Sweep from the Sooty Show;

Now I love Sooty and the gang, but this abusive behaviour is just unacceptable.

Fortunately, if you have overplucked, you can at least rest safe in the knowledge that eyebrows eventually grow back, so put your tweezers away, make friends with your eyebrow pencil (in a similar colour to your hair, not an insanely dark one) and just keep reciting this mantra;

thin is not always good, less is not always more.

Pammie, take note.

Anyway, over the past couple of years, countless designers have featured strong brows in their shows, so if there was ever a time to ditch your tweezers completely, it is NOW.

Balenciaga Spring 2008, Chanel Spring 2010, Cavalli Fall 2010

Prada Fall 2010, Dior Spring 2010, Valentino Spring Couture 2008

I LOVE these images! Brows brows brows! If you're still not convinced, why not browse through the brows (ahahaha!) of these beauties, who've still gone for a more natural, fuller brow, but have kept them a little more groomed;

Idina Menzel, Rachel Weisz, Jennifer Connelly

However, if you really want to talk about seriously MASSIVE, unruly and downright sexy brows, we need to a take a little trip back in time to the 80s...

Madonna

Julia Roberts

Brooke Shields, perhaps the most iconic brows of all time. Wow.

Of course, huge, bushy brows like the ones above aren't for everyone. While they can look great, it's also worth bearing in mind that there is a very fine line (about as fine a line as Pammie's brows) between looking like Brooke and looking like these people;

Oscar the Grouch, Benicio Del Toro and Sam the Eagle

Right, I'm done waxing lyrical about such highbrow matters. Take my advice, motherpluckers, and thread carefully. Tweezey-peasy.