Review- Garnier Micellar cleansing water

Hey lovelies, 

Some of you may remember I bought this cleansing water from Superdrug a couple of weeks or so ago now, and ever since I have used it morning and night to remove my make-up before giving my skin a thoroughly good cleanse with my hot cloth cleanser.Curiosity aside the main reason I was so excited to use a cleansing water was so that my muslin cloths would no longer end up looking like panda bear Halloween masks for kids after every use!

Thoughts...

Application...

Simply squeeze the cleansing water onto clean cotton pads and swipe over face, neck and eyes to remove make-up and general grime.

The recommended amount of product is 2ml per cotton pad that's if you are aiming to get the 200 uses stated on the bottle, I suppose the amount you need to use will depend on the kind of day you have had and how much make-up you have on and will vary accordingly, I am way too 'bottle squeeze happy' though and have generally been using around 6 or 7 pretty heavily soaked cotton pads to remove all traces of make-up.

Scent...

Completely fragrance free, it really does feel like you are applying pure water on your skin.

Suitable for...

All skin types even sensitive.

Price...

£4.99 for a huge 400ml bottle... nice!

Packaging...

Clear plastic squeezy bottle with pink accents...not the chicest of packaging but super cute, I like it!

Availability...

So far the only place I have managed to find this is in Superdrug stores, strangely it doesn't appear to come up on stores online or the Garnier website?

Overall verdict/repurchase?

I am really enjoying using this product!I love how gentle it feels on my skin while removing my make-up and a massive plus for this is that it passes the 'eye sting' test with flying colours! (seriously I literally squoze a fully soaked cotton pad in my eye and it didn't sting!) I have such sensitive eyes and so using an eye make-up remover, wipes and a cleanser usually results in them getting really sore and watery.I couldn't make this a comparison post against other micellar water cleansers because I haven't tried any other brands but I am definitely converted to them after using this one, I would really recommend trying this one out especially because of the price and I would definitely repurchase!

Are you a fan of cleansing waters? 

xxx

Wordless worth the hype #2

MAC Face and body foundation.

<3 <3 <3 <3

xxx

Rock your colour with Rimmel finishing touch glitter top coat!

Hey lovelies,

I'm so in love with this glittery top coat from Rimmel's new top coat palette range that I had to pop up a quick post about it to show you it in all its glory!

I had a feeling when I picked this up last week that it would be one of those polishes that looks like nothing overly special in the bottle but would be quite something on the nail (I also did a sneaky swatch to confirm my suspicions) and I was right it's such a beauty! The polish itself is basically a clear top coat with a ton of fine multi-coloured glitter running through it, and it gives a different effect on whatever manicure you are currently sporting.

Over Nude nails it gives a subtle sparkle (Barry M nude)
Over Red tips it gives a festive golden glisten (Nails inc St James)
and over darker polish you get a really cool holographic disco effect (Rimmel salon pro Punk rock)

You get a good, even amount of glitter with one coat but I'm a two coat kinda girl, so I've been going for the extra coat for maximum sparkle! Also because the glitter is fine, even with two coats I find it takes a lot less elbow grease to remove than chunkier glitter polishes, which is a massive plus especially around Christmas time when nothing but glittery tips will do!

Available at Boots and Superdrug for £4.49 and I just spotted it this morning on ASOS for £3.59 (link)

xxx

Soap and Glory 'The Yule Monty' is a comin!

Yep! You know? The biggie, the one we expect to see (or not depending on how quick the ladies in your town are!) adorning the 'star gift' shelves of Boots every Christmas time, Soap and glory's bumper box of treats this year is in true S&G fashion cheekily named 'The Yule monty' and as usual it is on offer for less than half the £60 RRP for just £27 from this Friday 13th December while stocks last. 

Sooo what's in the box??

Sugar crush body wash

The Righteous butter body cream

Heel genius foot mask

Hand food hand cream

Peaches and clean face cleanser

Thick and fast super volume mascara

The scrub of your life body buffer

Butter yourself body lotion

Sexy mother pucker lip plumping gloss

All packaged up in a limited edition Jonathon Saunders print bag (not gonna lie I do not have a clue who he is...oops!) 

It's worth pointing out also that all of the products are full sized, so you wont be disappointed to find any sneaky mini's thrown in there!

I've had the different variations of this gift set for at least the last three years and I have always been really happy to receive it as I love, love, loveee Soap and Glory! I'd definitely recommend this as a gift option, it would also be an idea to split it up and make up a few different mini gift sets to really get a bang for your buck!

Will you be picking this up?

xxx

Superdrug haul!

Hi di hi! 

As it's coming up to Christmas I wasn't expecting to be using the word haul around here at least until the end of the month, but Christmas means cold weather and cold weather means dry skin, dry skin means sadness and that's just not allowed at Christmas time, it's the law right?

Oh the guilty conscious, you would think I had just dropped a fortune in Chanel...

...unfortunately not, but I did pick up some nice bits and pieces.

-Superdrug Brightening hot cloth cleanser 150ml

I started using this when my last Liz Earle cleanse and polish ran out, I really like the whole cleanse and polish method when it comes to cleansing my skin and I can't say that I noticed a great deal of difference between the two in terms of what they do for the appearence of my skin, I actually prefer the smell (and price) of this one so I shall continue to repurchase it.

-Garnier Micellar cleansing water 400ml

I got so excited when I saw this! A new contender to be a drugstore bioderma dupe! I've never actually tried bioderma but the whole cleansing water concept has always held my curiosity so I shall keep you posted as soon as I have given this a try.

-Garnier moisture match
24hr hydrating moisturiser-Dry to very dry skin 50ml

I wrote a full review on this earlier in the year (here) I love it, my skin loves it, and although it is always reasonably priced it was on offer for a teeny £2.98 today so my purse now loves it too!

Also I was in the market for a new mascara....dry,clumpy lashes actually make reindeer cry, and don't let me get started on what happens to them when you pass up a 3 for 2....(Oh for goodness sake what is my life??)

-Rimmel Glam eyes Day 2 night mascara

 Nothing new here, I remember there being a massive hype around this when it first came out either last year or the year before, I can't keep up, I didn't actually give it a go back then and wasn't really planning to pick it up but then I spotted the 2 nail polishes and grabbed it to make up the 3 for 2...

-Rimmel Salon Pro Kate Moss 711 'Punk rock'

Around 2 years ago I was obsessed with a NARS nail polish 'Galion' was it's name, I speak in the past tense, it is still available but as much as I have ogled it on line and stroked it in Space NK that one time, my nails are pretty rubbish so I have never justified forking out £14 for it and always had my eye out for a dupe, this my friends is the dupe! A dark 'stormy' grey with an undertone of purple, this picture does it no justice it is actually the polish dreams are made of  (well my very strange dreams anyway ;)) 

-Rimmel Finishing touch glitter top coat

Who can resist glittery nails in December? This is one of the 3 new topcoats from Rimmel a clear base laden with fine Gold and multicolour glitter I swatched this sneakily in the shop, (naughty and not advised especially in certain branches of Superdrug where you will be made to feel like a reprobate for doing so!) and it has to be the most perfect sparkly yet subtle finish for festive fingertips!!

So that's it no more spending for me, the word haul is now banished from this blog until Santa has been and gone, but do let me know if you are guilty of buying yourself pre-Christmas treats (It will make me feel lots better!)

xxx

Bags and Bleach...

...Week in instagram...

I spend every weekend at my boyfriends house, I always pack light for this...
Add my handbag and a bag for my laptop and taking the stairs is a no go!
Perfect weather for a walk, crisp and sunny!
Mother gifted me her unwanted nail polishes, nice!
Amazing sky on the way to the Sheffield Xmas market
The original beauty blogger lol!
Gorgeous Xmas tree cupcakes at Bob's family Xmas get together
Greasy fringed selfie courtesy of finding my Nars deep throat blusher hidden at the bottom of my kit bag.
Latest purchase.... I will complete this ombre!

I'm getting quite addicted to doing these posts, admittedly my life isn't always the most exciting but it's the small things in life that count, I think that's why I love Instagram so much, it allows you to celebrate the little things in life! God bless you Lo-fi (My current filter bff)

Happy Friday beauties!

xxx

MAC 'Snob' dupe

 *Dammit thurrrs fluff on my lipstick!* 

As you can see I haven't just bought these baby's home, both have lived in my lipstick drawer for quite some time, I rarely wear snob as it is so cool toned I find it hard to pull off and to be honest the only reason I bought it was because I was in Harvey Nichols for the first time and it seemed fitting, oh the logic!

 The Rimmel lipstick (101) is another cool toned Barbie pink, it doesn't have the vanilla-y delicious taste of MAC, it's more a fruity taste, or the satin finish of snob, it's a little more matte (I like both) but the fact that it is just those couple of tones warmer and those couple (or ten) pounds cheaper makes the 101 my personal favourite of the two and it makes a regular appearance in my make-up bag which must be the reason it's collected the most fluff. More logic right there! I'm full of it tonight ;)

What are your favourite drugstore dupes?

xxx

Bourjois "Iconic Glam" kit...

...Free when you spend £15 or more on Bourjois cosmetics at Boots.
4 full sized products worth £29
-Volume glamour max holidays mascara
-So laque ultra shine nail polish in 'Rouge escarpin'
-Effet 3D lip gloss in'Rouge democratic'
-Smoky eyes eye shadow trio in 01 'Gris dandy'

 So Boots happened to get in my way on what should have been a quick dash for milk this morning, as usual I didn't really need anything, I was only 'having a nosey' but the free gift with purchase offers are rife at the moment and this one from Bourjois was way too good a deal to miss out on! It's such a fitting box of treats for the festive season with everything you would need to create a Christmas party Make-up look, and the products are full sized! I picked up a new bottle of healthy mix foundation, a cream blush in 'sweet cherry' and then quickly swiped the last of these off the shelf before somebody else beat me to it. 

I thought I would get this post up pretty quickly to give you a heads up, so I haven't had a proper chance to test out the products yet, apart from the effet 3D lip gloss (in a different colour) I haven't tried any of these products from Bourjois before so I am looking forward to giving them a whirl! I will keep you posted!

xxx

The Christmas TAG...

Evening all, so it's December! Official giddy Christmas knickers on as of yesterday!! wooooooo!!

*calms self*

I spotted this TAG on Rosy's Blog a week or so ago, it has been sitting patiently in my draft posts awaiting the beginning of the month ever since. I think it's such a cute post to do to celebrate the build up to Christmas and get everyone in the festive mood! 

1.Do you prefer a real or a synthetic tree?

You can't beat a real tree can you? Fortunately I spend half my time at my own house and half at my boyfriends so I get to have 2 trees, Bobby gets the thrill of doing the pine needle pick up throughout the festive period while I have a lovely mess-less synthetic beauty!

2.You're in a coffee shop it's December, what do you pick?

I'm a Costa girl all the way, my fave is either a toffee nut latte or a gingerbread latte, although I tried the honeycomb hot chocolate last week off their festive menu and that was pretty special, let me tell you! 

3.What's your favourite colour scheme for decorating the tree?

I like to have a white and silver scheme but I like to have a mixture of different random ornaments as well, like cute little birds, gingerbread men and candy canes.... a bit of a shabby chic mash up if you like.

4. Giving or Receiving?

Definitely giving, I love it when you finally get to see everyone's reactions to what you have got them, I'm impatient when it comes to this though so I tend to do my shopping last minute or I'd just want to give them all out early! 

To Mince pie or not?

To mince pie all day long, in fact all year if possible! 

6. What's Your Traditional Xmas Lunch?

My Mum always cooks the traditional roast turkey with all of the trimmings, she also makes the most amazing home made (Jamie Oliver) mushroom soup for a starter which I'm really looking forward to!! On a side note a friend of ours has booked a table at a local Indian restaurant for Xmas dinner which I think is such a cool idea, I'd be down for a lamb tikka masala with pigs in blankets on the side!

Along these lines...think chunkier legs and a happier face :D

7. Christmas Day Fashion?

If I stayed at home for Xmas day I would be quite happy to spend the day in my PJ's, but because we go to my parents I will probably be wearing Black skinny jeans as always (the top button will be popped by 5pm) and a cozy jumper on top. 

8. What's Your Favourite Christmas Song?

I have never liked Mariah Carey very much (and I don't know exactly why!?) - but "All I want for Xmas" is my all time favourite Xmas song!... Or anything the babe that is Buble sings around the festive period is good!

9. What's Your Favourite Christmas Film?

Elf.
"Santaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa! I know him!"

      "What's a Xmas-gram? I want one!"

      "Buddy the Elf, what's your favourite colour?"

These lines just make it the best Xmas film ever!

10. Open Presents Before or After Lunch?

As soon as we wake up! It's too exciting!! 

My mouth is literally watering at the thought of mince pies now!!

Do let me know if you have done this TAG already so that I can read your answers, and if you haven't then I TAG you!

I also TAG..

Charli

Yu

Lisa

xxx

Buttons &Bulldogs...

...Week in instagram pics #2...

*Yorkie buttons are the best, and big enough to write messages on!!

*Miley moo dishing out the sly eye and looking freaking adorable!

*Boiler breakdown saw me and Ben escaping our ice box of a flat and staying the night at Bobs.

*A blast from the past photo shoot, a Gypsy themed editorial...sooo Autumnul I love these pictures!
*The quote of my life!
*Bob getting his farmer boy groove on.
*'Xmassed up' Bobs bedroom.
*Psycho selfie!
*Chloe Croft London silk French Bulldog cushion a surprise pressie from Bob <3 (link)

I hope you have all had a great week!
Happpppppppyyyyyyy Friday!!
xxx

Drugstore basics- How do I choose the right foundation?

I'm presuming that if you have landed on this post then you are among the many women that walk into drug stores across the land and feel overwhelmed by the vast selection of cosmetics on offer, it is overwhelming, the cosmetics industry is super massive and growing all the time sometimes it would be nice, like most things in this day and age (ooooooh how old does that make me sound?? eek!) if things would pause, let us take a breather and catch up with it all. That's not going to happen though so I'll talk more generally about foundation, a tricky one to get right at the best of times, but throw in different finishes, formula's and a bunch of letters and numbers, it can be enough to make your head explode.Too dramatic??

Things to bear in mind when shopping for foundation.

These 4 things will work as your basic guide to picking an everyday foundation.

If you wanted a foundation for a specific occasion or one that will give you a specific quality to your skin then you would look at different factors, this is just the basic knowledge you need to be equipt with to begin.

1.Your skin tone- fair, medium,dark.

So that you know which section of the colour spectrum you should be looking at to begin with.Of course there are many variations within each tone...

2.Your undertone- cool, warm or neutral

  So that you pick a foundation with the correct base colour for your undertone

(The quickest way to check this is to look at the veins on your wrist if they are blue then you have a cool undertone, you have a warm undertone if they are more green, and if there is neither more green or blue then you have a neutral undertone.)

For example you could have fair skin but a warm undertone so you would want a pale colour foundation that is yellow based rather than pink.Those of us with neutral undertones should pick colours that have a balance of the two.

Just as a side note even if you have a cool undertone do steer clear of foundations that are overly pink based (fortunatley there aren't too many now a days!) as they never blend into the skin enough to leave a natural finish.

Test shades on your jawline in as natural a light as you can you will want to pick out the shade that best blends with your chest/shoulder colour.If you are stuck deciding between 2 shades pick out the lighter shade as you can always darken it with bronzer.

3.Your skin type normal, dry, oily or combination.

So that you pick a foundation with the formula and finish that is most beneficial to you regarding the application, longevity and overall look of the foundation you choose.

Generally, foundations aren't labelled up to specify which skin types they are most suitable for. Revlon colour stay shades do come in normal/dry and combination/oily however I can't think of another drugstore brand that specifically state skin type suitability on their foundation bottles.

4.Coverage 

This is personal preference all the way!

Ones to check out!

Normal-dry skin types

 Bourjois Healthy mix serum £10.99

Bourjois Healthy mix £9.99

Rimmel wake me up £8.99

Maybelline fit me! £7.99

Oily/combination 

Loreal True match (great shade range) £9.99

Revlon colourstay £12.49

Rimmel match perfection £6.99

Garnier nutritionist BB oil free miracle skin perfector £6.66

Bourjois 1,2,3 perfect £10.99

I really hope I explained this clearly and this was helpful to some of you!

Do tell me your drug store faves!!

xxx

Seventeen Stay pout lipstick

Saintly

Its complicated

Top- Its complicated
Bottom- Saintly

Stay pout is a new addition to Boots' Seventeen range, I went out and unintentionally stumbled upon them a couple of weeks ago then bought the two because I already had one thing in my basket and it was 3 for 2 across all make-up (still is!) you know the drill... 

Stupidly of me and not something I would recommend to anyone (I don't for one minute think that you would) I bought both of these without swatching them. Why?? Well um there were no testers out on the stand I liked the stickers underneath and had way too much faith...yes I should know better.

Cut to a very disappointed me sat in the car with two very frosty (least favourite lipstick finish ever)

pinks instead of the beautiful nude and raspberry shades I had hoped for.

So I sound like I'm having a right bitch about these, I'm not I just think it's funny to share what a dumb ass I was in my shade selecting process. So for the purpose of giving you a bit of a review I have been trying them out.

Firstly the pigmentation is great, so it's a good start! They are a long wearing formula so I was expecting them to be more on the matte side and possibly quite drying, not the case here, they apply really smoothly and feel so moisturising, the Shea butter in them lends a hand to this which is great at this time of year when dry lips are rife! As I mentioned before going off on a standard tangent, the formula is long wearing Seventeen don't claim  X number of hours but I've found they last a good 7 hours, wearing off evenly into a subtle stain which I like.

Altogether a really good lipstick for the price (£4.59) I'm definitely going to check out the other shades, there's 15 in total so the chances are if there are some testers out that I'll find some I like ;) 

xxx

Festive inspiration- 5 Xmas mini beauty sets (under £20)

You can't go wrong with a good mini kit as a stocking stuffer at Christmas, they're just a great way to try out new products without committing your cash and brilliant as stocking stuffers what with them being all small and that. 

I check out asos every year for these mini beauty kits around Christmas. Wow how sponsered does that sound?? Its not FYI. I just like it ok. ;) There's actually a surprising amount of great stocking fillers for under £20 so I've picked out my top 5 with a little bit of something for everyone's beauty tastes in mind.

1.Benefit limited edition "how to look the best at everything" make-up kit £15-18 (depending on shade) link
2.REN mini's gift set £15 link
3.Percy and Reed Va-va-voom volume mini zip lock bag £15 link
4.nails inc Best dressed nails mini polish collection £16 link
5.Benefit b.right 6 piece skincare set £12.50 link

xxx

Something & Nothing....

...a week in instagram...

1.Shopped- Barry M Matte nail paints...yes!
2.Wore the shade "crush" and loved it!
3.Liked my outfit then failed at being able to take a picture without blinding myself!
4.Who's bored of seeing Costa coffee pics?
5.Found my favourite picture of my boyfriend in my phone-*instagrammed* shh though he'll get a big head!
6.Bunnies rockin geek glasses!
7.Winter spice bleach? who buys this? Me evidently...
8.Sunrise out of my living room window while enjoying my (mini gingerbreadman-less) coffee.
9. Autumn nails wrapped up with these 5 mini OPI polishes.

I hope you have all had a great week!

Happy Friday!

xxx

All used up! Beauty products

I love reading empties posts, funny that considering I don't think I've ever done one here myself huh? I find them the most useful posts when it comes to deciding on products that I might be thinking of buying. Lets face it there are a lot of glowing product reviews out there of what people are loving right now, but an actual empty bottle, tube, container or whatever else we "hoard goo" in is always a good sign that a product has been really, truly well loved or at least given a thorough go through it's paces enough to say why it isn't worth bothering spending your money on.

Here I have a mixed bag of the two...

Sebastian potion 9
An all round leave in styling treatment that can be used to create texture in dry hair or soft movement when applied to damp hair. It's quite a hyped up product among hairdressers that I know, but one that I have never fallen in love with, it's just never really done anything noticeable for my hair.The one thing I do love about it is the smell, oh my God, you know when you have that "hairdressers" smell on your hair? That! But I would rather spend the 20 odd pounds getting a good blow dry to achieve that than buy this again.

Alien by Thierry Mugler.
I almost have no words. This perfume to me is perfection in a bottle and I don't just throw the word perfection out there willy nilly oh no! I have repurchased this twice a year (Or my Mum has kindly bought it for me!) since my very first magazine tester of it, which I remember vividly... Lunch break, Elle magazine, 2008...sad but true! It's has quite a heavy woody scent that would normally lead it to be considered night time fragrance but it also has a freshness to it which makes it so unusual and versatile, I wear it day and night and would bath in it if I was queen!

Dove Summer glow nourishing lotion medium/dark skin with soft shimmer particles.
I've always got an empty bottle of this lying around it's my go to tan.It's marketed as an everyday moisturiser with gradual tan but I find that just one application gives me the nicest most natural bronze colour which is noticeable within around 4 hours. On my skin the colour fades after 3 days so I find myself using this twice a week to maintain it.
This particular one with the shimmer particles I won't repurchase because it is just way OTT glittery and I really don't like to see obvious pieces of glitter on my skin. I've already been and repurchased the regular non shimmery one though.

Rimmel instant tan air brush effects-Medium matte.
This was the first instant wash off tan I've ever bought, Although I've heard good things about the Rimmel instant range, even my boyfriend had a bottle...(New years eve, dressed as a woman,what a card!) the thought of wash off tan has always filled me with fear...Spray and go...what if it rains? I just imagined myself walking into the pub looking like a piece of badly varnished wood. But I was curious....alongside the good reviews, the 24 hour streak free claim on the bottle settled my anxiety enough to buy it and I've found it to be great to have around for quick fix tan emergency's!

Beauty so clean conditioning brush cleanser.
The thought of brush cleaning actually made me yawn just now haha! I either use this or surgical spirit to clean my brushes I have surgical spirit in my kit for spot cleaning and I use this at home for general cleaning, either this or hand soap and water. I love it because it has a spray pump and contains alcohol the two combined magically speed up the whole tedious process.

Collection-lasting perfection concealer-Medium 3
There's not a lot to say about this,that hasn't already been said. It's the high street darling concealer! I love how it conceals all imperfections without that cakey chalky ugh that even some higher end concealers dish out and its less than a fiver! I've already got a couple of back ups.

NARS Sheer glow foundation-Fiji
Another bottle has bitten the dust! I think I might bore you if I write anything about this, I'll definitely bore myself! I've done a full review here and mentioned it so many times it's silly.<3.

Are any of these favourites of yours? Anything you've tried and wouldn't repurchase?
Let me know.
xxx

Home- Thrift shoppin'

What, what?? OK I'm sorry for being such a massive cheese ball but that had to be done! 

Something a bit different from beauty today, I hope you don't mind.It's still beautiful in it's own way because it's charitable and all! 

Thrift shopping or 'mooching around the charity shops' if you don't want to Americanise another term, is something I do on the days that I'm broke after my direct debits come out and need a shopping fix, today was one of those days.

If you are familiar with charity shops you will know that there is always a little tiny home ware section usually pushed towards the back of the shop, that at first glance looks like it houses all of your grandparents old junk but look closer and if you can be bothered to pick through the Barry Manilow memoribilia and hideous china dolls you can usually pick up some really cool/unique things to decorate your house.

Tea light holder- 50p Not the best example of a unique find as I just spotted an Ikea sticker underneath it, ha!-Currently burning Yankee Midsummers night. 

Blue glass jug £1- I like jugs I have no plans for this as yet, it'll probably end up housing a fake flower of some sort.

Glass tray 50p- I didn't even have to go and check the price because evidently I am the blogger equivalent of the girl who keeps the stickers on underneath her shoes!

The same glass tray- I haven't decided weather to keep Jewellery in it or soap type products...

Books- I bought these from a charity shop a while a go, they were either £1 or £2 each I tend to use nice books as decor, either on my dressing table or TV stand so I do judge them by there covers, naughty I know!

5 piece photo frame- £2.50 I have looked at getting these kind of distressed, held together with rope photo frames for my bathroom for a while now and never got around to actually buying one so I was super happy to find this one like brand new. I hammered it into the wall as soon as I got in using my trusty Allegra boot heel/girl hammer.
I just need to think of a theme for the photographs, or is it a new trend to have 5 pictures of a barbed wire fence? Let me know!

I'm pretty pleased with my little haul I spent £4.50 (not including the books) and still got the shopping buzz minus the buyers remorse!

Do you spend much time popping tags in charity shops?

xxx