March Favourites 2014

Hi Beauts.

We've reached the end of March already which can only mean one thing: monthly favourites time. I've actually been loving quite a few products this month, a lot of which are new things to me.

Here we go: 

* Nspa melting gel cleanser - I have a full review here if you'd like to read what I thought, but in a nutshell this is amazing. It's a gel like fae wash that turns into a cleansing milk when it comes into contact with water. This melts away every inch of make up and leaves the skin soft and radiant

* Nspa mango shower gel - One of my all time favourite scents is mango. This shower gel has to be the strongest scented shower gel I've ever used! It smells amazing, lathers amazing and leaves my skin smelling gorgeous

* MUA eyebrow kit - This eyebrow kit is my every day eyebrow product but there has been one shade in particular I've been loving - the warm toned colour. I've been using this shade as a transition shade for my eyes and it has worked perfectly at allowing other shadows to blend and warming up my eye looks

* Primark P.S Love felt eye liner pen - A new product to me and one that is super easy to use and extremely pigmented. I have a full review here if you'd like to know more about it. But this could actually be my new favourite eyeliner

* MUA Lash Boom mascara - Again another new product to me and one I have a full review on here. This lengthens, separates and adds volume to each lash without any clumping. Not to mention it has a pretty funky wand

* Barry M matte nail paint in 'Espresso' - I have enough nail polishes to last a life time, but eventually caved and picked this one up. I wasn't sure how much I'd like a matte nail polish, but I really enjoyed using it. It was definitely matte, super opaque and long lasting

* Barry M Gelly Hi-Shine in 'Sugar Apple' - This, in my opinion, is the perfect nail polish for spring, and is the best mint green I've come across. As with all Barry M Gelly Hi-shines, this is so glossy, smooth to apply, spigmented and lasted pretty much all week. If you're on the hunt for a mint green, look no further! 

Thats it for my March favourites, what have you enjoyed using throughout the month? 

Stacey x

Superdrug coconut oil

Hi Beauts.

I've always had really long hair, and although it is in good condition, I feel like it could do with a little pick me up every so often.

One product that is a huge hit with beauty bloggers, is coconut oil. I never knew where I could get my hands on this little wonder until I made an online order a few months back with Superdrug, and spotted it for only £2.29.

If you're unsure as to what coconut oil is, it is a solid chunk of coconut oil that melts when warmed and reruns to it's solid form when back to room temperature.

It has so many uses from a hair treatment, to body oil, to a shaving oil to a hand cream just to name a few. I only use mine as a hair treatment, but I am pretty intrigued about the other uses for it.

I've had this pot now for a good few months and I've been using it twice a week, and have to say I've noticed a huge difference in the condition of my hair. After each wash, I'm left with soft, smooth and more manageable hair, not to mention shiny and more healthy looking.

To use this in it's liquid form, all I do is fill up the bathroom sink with hot water, place the tub (with the lid still on) into said water and leave for around 3 to 5 minutes. Hey presto, you have a hair treatment.

Because I have long and quite thick hair I tend to use quite a lot, and only ever apply to the ends of my hair - they're what need the most love.

After applying, I plait my hair or tie it up in a bun out of the way and leave for 1 to 2 hours before rinsing it off and washing as usual.

I'd highly recommend giving this a shot to anyone who is looking to treat their hair. It's inexpensive, and works so amazing at keeping my locks luscious.

Have you tried coconut oil before? 

Stacey x

Nspa Melting cleansing gel review

Hi Beauts.

After using a few products from the brand Nspa, and loving them, I couldn't wait to try out more.
One thing that I had on my wish list for the longest time was their melting cleansing gel.

If I'm honest, before reading a few beauty reviews on this cleanser, I had never heard of a melting cleanser before. So obviously I had to pick this up and give it a whirl. 

As with all Nspa products, this has a number printed on the label, indicating which step of the skin care routine it should be used. 1 is cleanse, 2 is exfoliate, 3 is treat and 4 is moisturise. This melting cleansing gel is number 1 in the routine.

I like to remove all of my eye make up with a make up remover first, as this does say to avoid contact with eyes. Once all of my eye make up is removed, I wet my finger tips, apply a small amount of the gel to them and then apply in circular motions on my face.
This definitely melts away all of the days make up and leaves not a trace behind. I always double cleanse, using the Nspa hot cloth polish afterwards, and there's literally nothing left behind to be removed. It is such a quick and easy product to use, and comes in handy on those nights where you can't be bothered to take off your make up but know you have to.

This has such a strange consistency. It starts off as a gel in the tube, then when rubbed together turns into a milk and once rinsed away it feels like an oil - strange but amazing.

I have to say, Nspa has well and truly stolen my heart when it comes to skin care. I refuse to use anything else!!

What are your favourite products from the brand?

Stacey x

P.S Love felt tip eyeliner

Hi Beauts.

Two of my Holy Grail products have to be both the MUA extreme felt liner and e.l.f's waterproof liquid liner pen. They're both easy to use, extremely opaque and budge proof. And unfortunately both just happened to run out around the same time. 
I had intended to repurchase the MUA pen as it was easier to get hold of than the elf one, but I spotted Primark's very own version - P.S LOVE - and for £1.50, I thought it was worth a go. 

I can usually tell straight away whether or not I'll like a product, and after using this the first time I loved it. This has to be the easiest to use from the 3 I've tried (MUA, elf and this one)
 When I swatched it on the back of my hand I noticed that the tip wasn't flexible, which is what I usually look for as I find them easier to use. 

However, my opinion soon changed when I applied a thin line and flick to my eye. It took one quick swipe of the pen to get an opaque, straight and perfect line! I normally draw the flick then create a line along my lashes and join the two, but with this liner I was able to start from my inner corner and apply the whole thing in one go. 
As with the other two liners, this is super opaque and doesn't budge at all. I applied a swatch to the back of my hand and barely gave it time to dry before I tried rubbing it away. It dried pretty much instantly and didn't smudge at all.

I never really thought about trying out Primark's make up in the past, but if this eyeliner is anything to go by I can't wait to try out more!

Have you bought anything from the P.S Love range?

Stacey x

Models Own: Pukka Purple

Hi Beauts.

As far as nail polish goes, I don't think I need another bottle for well, forever to be honest. However I always seem to manage to pick up the odd shade every now and then when I'm shopping. 

One that I've had my eye on since, I want to say last summer? Is Models Own Pukka Purple which is part of their fluorescent line. 

Purple is my favourite colour and this one in particular looked so pretty sat there on the shelf that I could resist no longer.

 I want to say the shade is a royal purple? It's not light and bright and it's not too dark, it's kind of a medium purple and it's a beaut. I have other models own nail polishes but the ones I have are glittery so I wasn't too sure how opaque this one would be.

 Well let me tell you, very! I applied one coat and I would have been ready to rock, however I'm a bit of a weirdo and always apply 2 coats whether I need to or not. It's such a smooth and easy polish to apply, the pigmentation is intense and it seemes to dry pretty quick too. I've never been one for wearing a base and top coat (naughty naughty) and usually find that my polish chips within 2 days. However, this little bottle of heaven lasted 5 days before chipping at all...without a base and top coat! How amazing is that?

 I've looked up swatches of the other shades in this collection and definitely think more may be making their way into my basket. I'm so impressed with this, if you don't already have it I urge to to pick one up!!

 What shades do you have in your collection? Any others I need?

Stacey x

Recent purchases

Hi Beauts.

It feels like forever since I actually bought any make up. In all honesty, t probably wasn't even that long ago! I popped into town yesterday to pick a few bits I've had my eye on for a while, so thought I'd share them with you.

Superdrug

* MUA Ever after matte palette - £4.00. 

* MUA Intenses kisses in 'Sealed with a kiss - £2.00. 

* 2True Be clear 4 in 1 powder - £1.99

* Beauty UK simply define brow pencil in 'Dark brown' - £1.99

Tesco

* Barry M Gelly Hi-Shine in 'Sugar apple' (2 for £6.00)

* Barry M matte nail paint in 'Espresso' (2 for £6.00)

Primark

* P.S Love 8 shade day eye shadow palette - £2.50

* P.S Love this eyeshadow and concealer brush - £1.00

NYX

* Matte finish setting spray - £8.00

Have a great Sunday Beauts

Stacey x

MUA Lash Boom

Hi Beauts.

When it comes to mascara, I'm so picky. I like it all: length, volume and separation, and I think it's very rare to find a mascara that lives up to all three. MUA are one of my favourite brands for many reasons; they're inexpensive, great quality and they're cruelty free.
 Quite a while back now, they released a mascara called 'Lash boom' and for some reason I didn't buy it (I usually grab their new releases as soon as they hit the shelves) However, the time came to chuck my old mascara out and buy a new one, so I figured why not give this one a go? 

If I'm honest, the first thing that attracted me to this was the wand. There's a sticker on the on the lid with a small picture of what the wand looks like. Now I'm not usually one for plastic or spiky looking bristles because I'm very likely to poke my eyeballs out with it, but this one intrigued me. 
The Lash Boom wand is kind of like two wands in one. It has a ball like half and a slimmer half, which I found so much better than the usual mascara wands. 

The slimmer end allowed me to apply an even amount of mascara to each lash and was easier to use along my bottom lashes. The rounder end allowed me to apply more product to the outer corners and added a little extra volume. I think I've mentioned in a mascara review before that I usually find mascaras too wet when I first open them, so I like to leave them for a week or so. On first application I found the consistency of this to be perfect, not too watery and not at all dry. 
Now, does this live up to my high hopes and give me length, separation and volume? It sure does! Even after only one coat I can see a big difference, after two I'm ready to take off. 

There is only one very small issue I have with this, and that is removing it. It isn't as tough to take off as some mascaras I've used in the past, but it's a bit of a pain. I have to use soap to get the majority off and then use a make up remover to remove the last little bit. However, because it's such a great mascara I'll let it slide.

This retails for £3.00 and is available from Superdrug, and MUA online.

Have you tried any of MUA's mascaras?

Stacey x

Superdrug intensive hand cream

Hi Beauts.

No matter what time of year it is, I suffer from dry hands. Obviously in the winter they're ten times worse so I end up going through countless tubes of hand cream. 

I'm never too fussy which one I pick up as long as it's aimed at dry skin. I placed an online order a month or two back with Superdrug and popped their intensive hand cream into my basket to try out.

 I've used it for around a month and now and absolutely love it, it's made a huge difference to my hands. The first time I used it my hands were pretty bad, seriously dry and cracked (TMI?) so I slathered this on and within 5 or 10 minutes they were no longer sore and were really soft. The cream only took minutes to soak in which I like, I'm so impatient when it comes to lotions and potions drying, and it left a really pleasant weak scent behind. My hands are now super soft and back to their youthful looking selves, I highly recommend giving this a go if, like me, you suffer from dry hands. It smoothes and soothes dry skin within minutes, dries  fast and is only £1.49 for a 75 ml tube (and it's cruelty free - this is a must for me)

Have you tried any skin care products from Superdrug's own brand?

Stacey x

Happy St Patricks day!

Hi Beauts.

Today I wanted to do something a little bit different as it is indeed st Patricks day. So instead of a product review or haul, I wanted to share a make up look I created using some sleek and MUA products.

Here's the look I came up with:

Here's what I used:

MUA 'Undressed'

Sleek 'Vintage Romance'

Sleek 'Garden of Eden'

Step one: Apply a base of your choice. I used NYX jumbo eye pencil in Horse Raddish in the outer half of my lid

Step two: Appy a mid toned brown to the crease. I used Shade 3 from MUA's Undressed palette. Applying this shade helped blend the other shadows and created a transition colour

Step  three: Apply a light shimmery green straight on top of the green NYX pencil, I used Evergreen from the Sleek Garden of Eden palette. Then apply a gold to the inner half of your lid, I used Meet in Madrid from the Sleek Vintage Romane palette. And lastly, a dark matte green shade to the outer third and blend into the crease. For this I used Tree of Life from the Garden of a Eden palette 

Step Four: Along the lower lash line, match the shadows to the ones used on the lid - gold in the inner third, light green in the centre and dark green in the outer third

Step five: To complete the look I applied P.S Love felt liner pen from Primark, and two coats of MUA's Lash Boom mascara

And that's it, look complete and ready to celebrate St Patricks day

Have a great day whatever you're up too

Stacey x

Gosh Click 'N conceal

Hi Beauts.

You may remember me mentioning that I picked up two concealers on my quest to replace the one I had been using before, one being the Along Came Betty 'All concealed' kit and this one, the Gosh Click 'N' conceal in Light.

The writing has rubbed off already

Unlike the Along Came Betty one, this concealer is a liquid and comes in pen which I really enjoy using. I bought this in light to use as an under eye concealer, and it's light enough that it conceals and highlights the area. I'd say it has a pretty meduim consistency which makes it a medium coverage and that is perfect for me, I don't want anything too heavy under my eyes. 

Once set with a powder this stays put pretty much all day and doesn't crease at all. I think because this is in a pen form it makes it easier to apply and create that triangle shape to highlight your under eye area. I do apply this using the brush but blend it out with my finger, as using the brush to blend causes the product to move. 

To get product out, all you do is click the top two or three times and enough concealer is released to use on both eyes. When I first bought this, I did have to click it quite a lot to allow the product to move down the pen and through the brush. When I picked mine up, I spotted 2 other shades in medium and dark, and a corrector shade in green, I definitely think I'll give one of the corrector shade a go too, they seem like a great idea. This is available from most Superdrug stores for £6.99.

What's your favourite product for under your eyes?

Stacey x

Sleek: Garden of Eden palette

Hi Beauts.

One thing I really don't need to add to my make up collection is eyeshadow, I have a ridiculous amount and always seem to reach for the same shades and palettes. 

However once again Sleek suckered me in with their Garden of Eden palette and I just knew that it was one I couldn't pass up. 

I only have one other eyeshadow palette from them, their Vintage Romance palette and I love it. The colours are gorgeous, the pigmentation is amazing and they blend like a dream. 

The thing that attracted me to the Garden of Eden palette was the selection of colours. I have hazel eyes and two of my favourite colours to wear are purples and greens, which is exactly what this palette contains. Again like all sleek palettes, you get 12 shades, a double ended sponge applicator and a rather large mirror which makes them great for travelling.

 Instead of all shimmer or matte shades, this beauty has 9 shimmers and 3 mattes which I love. There are 5 purple shades and 5green shades, and 2 brownish shades. Each shadow is named after things to do with Adam and Eve:

The pigmentation is once again amazing, there is very little fall out and they blend out great. There is definitely at least one shade that everyone will like, me? I like them all!! This is perfect for those of you who have brown, green or hazel eyes and want a little pop of colour. 

What's your favourite Sleek palette?

Stacey x

B. Micellar water

Hi Beauts.

Removing make up can be such a chore, I for one never find it fun. I basically want to remove every trace as quickly as humanly possible, so I went on the hunt for some new products that would make the task a little quicker.

A new product to enter my skincare routine is B. Micellar water.

I have tried other micellar waters and liked them at the time (now I'm only using cruelty free, they're black listed :p) so figured I'd try this one and see if it could replace an eye make up remover I used to use. Nobody wants to be scrubbing at their eyes, so I wanted to find something that would basically melt away my eye make up with very little effort, and I think I've found it.

The big test for me was the removal of my waterproof liquid liner. I dropped a small amount of this onto 2 cotton pads and gently pressed them onto my eyes, I left them for around 30 seconds and took them off. Not all but the majority of my mascara and eyeliner came off, so I ever so gently swiped over my eyes to remove the last of the products. This didn't sting or irritate my eyes at all, I don't have sensitive eyes, but sometimes eye removers I've tried in the past can irritate a little.

 I must admit, when I first bought this I didn't think you got much bang for your buck because the bottle is quite tall and thin. I also thought that this would be an open top bottle, but it's not. It has a plastic cap over the top with a small hole so you can control how much product you want to use. 

I've used this every night for a few weeks and I haven't used a huge amount. Appearances can be deceiving! I've tried this to remove the rest of my make up too, before doing a proper cleanse, and I only need 2 cotton pads to remove everything. It's such a great product for removing any and all make up in my opinion, and I'd say it would be fine for even sensitive skin types too. 

 Superdrug currently have the B. Make up and skincare range on offer.

What do you use to remove your make up?

Stacey x

Nuxe Rêve de Miel lip balm

Hi Beauts.

Since getting back from Paris a couple of weeks back (can I go back now please?!) I've suffered from really dry lips. I'm not sure if it was being on the plane or the weather, but something happened which left me unable to wear lipstick for a good while - cracked lips and lipstick? Mmmm not a good look. 

I'd heard a few things about the brand Nuxe from watching YouTube and reading blog posts, and one product in particular seemed to be the top of everyone's list - their Rêve de Miel lip balm. 

 I'd been trying all of the lip balms and lip conditioners I had in my collection and nothing was working, so decided to bite the bullet and give this a whirl. A lot (most) people who'd tried and loved this said because it was such a thick formula, it was best used as a night treatment rather than through the day.

 So the night I bought it I applied a small amount and hit the hay. Upon waking the next morning, I noticed that instead of the usual dry skin I'd been waking up to, my lips looked and felt really soft. I wanted to try out for myself whether or not I could wear this through the day, so after doing my usual skincare routine, I applied a very small amount of this and then carried on with my make up. I'm not sure if it's because I used a tiny amount or not, but I didn't find it too thick to wear alongside my make up. Granted I wore it alone and not under a lipstick or lipgloss, but I had no problems with wearing it through the day. Another thing I noticed when using this, was it gently exfoliated my lips. As I was applying it, it removed the dead skin (nice visual for you there) which made my pout even smoother. I wouldn't say this has an overpowering scent, but you can definitely smell a little bit of lemon in there which I love. I mean, who isn't a fan of citrus scents?

This has now become a major part of my morning and evening skin care routine, and I couldn't be without it!

Have you tried this, or any other products from Nuxe?

Stacey x

Barry M flawless finish matte foundation

Hi Beauts.

The main thing I have trouble with because of my skin type, is finding a good high street foundation. And it's even harder now that I only buy cruelty free products. Way back last year Barry M released some new products, one being their flawless matte finish foundation. 

When it was first released I didn't really think of picking it up as I was enjoying using the foundation I already had, so pretty much overlooked it. 

However, Barry M is cruelty free and I was on the market for a new foundation so decided to pick it up and give it a go. The flawless matte finish foundation comes in 5 shades, ivory being the lightest and the one I went for. 

I will say that although this is light, if you're super pale then I don't think this will be one for you. I'm quite pale, however my chest is a little darker so I can get away with using this. 

However Barry M do a white foundation which is for mixing into darker foundation to get your shade, so maybe that would be worth looking into. 

I usually go for a full coverage, or a buildable medium at the very least, as I have a few scars on my chin and I have quite a few freckles which I'm not overly keen on. I'd say this is a light to medium coverage and can be built up to a higher medium and even not full, with no caking up.

I find this to apply and blend better when I use my fingers as opposed to using a brush or my beauty blender, and I get a better coverage doing it that way. I was expecting this to dry pretty much straight after applying (as it's a matte) but it's still pretty tacky. However it doesn't look dewy and once powder is applied it's matte. My face did stay shine free throughout the day with and without a primer, however I did lose a little product on my chin and nose which are my 'trouble' areas. All in all, I'd say this is a foundation that's definitely worth checking out if you have oily/combination skin. And for £5.99, I'd say it's a pretty great buy!

Have you tried this? What's your favourite cruelty free foundation for oily skin?

Stacey x

Along came Betty Br-Wow kit

Hi Beauts.

Let's talk brows today ladies. When I was younger I had what I like to call caterpillars stuck to my face, they were HUGE. So, stupidly, I let two of my best friends pluck them for me and oh boy did they have fun! I went from having caterpillars to centipedes - neither is a great look. 

Luckily over time they pretty much grew back (not back to caterpillars may I add) and I was able to tweeze them into a shape I liked. 

Over the years I've bought various products to define and fill them in, and a few weeks ago I bought the brow kit from Along came Betty which I've been using pretty much every day. 

I much prefer powders to pencils because I think they give a more natural look. This little kit comes with 2 shades - a light and a medium brown, a highlight powder and a dark brown wax to set those bad boys, as well as a spoolie and angled brush. 

I'd say the lighter brown would work well with any blonde girlies and the medium brown is perfect for medium brown hair. The wax, I've tried and didn't love to be honest. It's a little warm toned fr me, and in all honesty I never really like wax products that come along with these kits. I do use the highlight though as a browbone highlight which is great as it's a matte shade which makes it even better. This isn't overly pigmented so is perfect for anyone new to defining their brows or new to using a powder, but it's pigmented enough to make a difference. 

 I think this is great little kit, it's compact so it's easy to travel with, it comes with a brush and spoolie, there's a wax and highlight and two brow shades to choose from - what more could you need? 

Stacey x  

Empties #1

Hi Beauts.

Time (eventually) for me to post my pretty loooooong and first empties post of 2014. Grab your cuppa, this may take a while......

* Tesco Deodorant - I first picked this up because it's the only deodorant I could find that was cruelty free. After using this once I'd found a favourite (weird to have a fave deodorant I know) it smella amazing and does the job. REPURCHASE? Already have, I'm now onto my third RECOMMEND? Yes

* S&G Body spray - I'm a massive fan of S&G, mainly the scent of their products, so when I spotted this on the shelf I couldn't resist. However, I was disappointed. It doesn't smell like the sweet candy scent that most of their other products smell of, it has more of a vanilla scent to it. REPURCHASE? No. RECOMMEND? Yes if you like vanilla scented products, No if you want the sweet S&G scent

* Nspa body spray in Raspberry -A while back I won an nspa gift set on twitter and this body spray was part of that set. I loved this because it was so easy to chuck in my bag and spritz whenever I felt the need. I loved the smell too, so refreshing and it'd be perfect for summer. I do prefer the liquid type body sprays to the aerosols too as I feel you get more bang for your buck. REPURCHASE? Yes. RECOMMEND? Yes

* Superdrug shampoo & Conditioner - Again, these were the first products I found which are against animal testing. And to be honest, I'm not one for fancy hair products anyway, as long as they clean my hair, I'm good to go. Theae did just that. They didn't leave my hair extra shiny or smooth, but they left it clean. REPURCHASE? Yes, however I've just picked up some from Tesco which I want to try out. RECOMMEND? Yes

* Batiste tropical dry shampoo - Always an essential and always a repurchase. This is something I use if I haven't had time to wash my hair, and it smells amazing. REPURCHASE? Absolutely RECOMMEND? Absolutely

* Nspa shower gel - Another product in the Nspa gift set I won, and another body spray I love coco butter so knew I'd like this. The formula was like that of gelly, the scent was amazing, lathered brilliantly and left my skin so soft. It made a great bubble bath too! REPURCHASE? Yes RECOMMEND? Yes

* Nspa scrub - Last goodie from nspa, this time their shower scrub. I very rarely use scrubs if I'm honest, but when I do I like them to do three things: Smell nice, have enough but not too much, particles and leave my skin feeling soft. This one did all three. REPURCHASE? Yes RECOMMEND? Yes

* MUA extreme felt liner - I've used this pretty much since the first day it was released and I still love it. It's very black, opaque and waterproof. It's also really easy to use because the tip is quite flexible. REPURCHASE? Yes RECOMMEND? Absolutely

* e.l.f waterproof eyeliner pen - I'd ran out of my MUA liner whilst in NYC so picked this up to see if I'd like it. And like it I did. Like the MUA liner, this was highly pigmented, waterproof and easy to use. This on had a slightly finer and firmer tip which I found made it easier to create a thinner line and wing. REPURCHASE? Definitely RECOMMEND? Yes

* Barry M flawless matte finish foundation - I bought this when I decided to stop using products that were tested on animals, and this was the only foundation I could find that was matte. I usually go for full coverage to hide my freckles and scarring on my chin, however this one was more of a light to medium but could be built up to full. I actually really enjoyed using it and found it to feel quite lightweight on my skin which I like. (Full review to follow soon) REPURCHASE? Yes. RECOMMEND? Yes 

* Along came Betty Fix Me - My new all time favourite product ever. This was a god send! It was basically a mattifying primer in stick form. I'd apply this to my T-zone and blend in with my fingers. It kept my skin matte throughout the day, my make up didn't budge all day and I just can't rave about it enough. REPURCHASE? I already have 2 back ups. RECOMMEND? ABSOLUTELY!!

Phew that was a lot of empties!! Let's see what I can use up next.

Stacey x