Sunday, 5 August 2012

Sunday Update/My Week In Pictures


First series of The Hills on Netflix/My baby eating a cracker!
Glitter tipped false nails/Homemade Victroia Sponge  for mums birthday/Jillian Michaels 30 day shred/Cinema to see Ted!!/Night out at Bingo - Won £140 :)


This week has been quite eventful, it was my mums birthday on Thursday so I baked her a cake and took her out for Sunday dinner this afternoon. One of her friends bought her a game of bingo as a present so 4 of us went on Tuesday and I won £140. Cant complain about that!

The rest of the week has consisted of me starting 30 Day Shred for about the 5th time, taking pictures of my doggy Daisy and watching the first series of the Hills on Netflix. On a side note, if you rewatch that series - how different does Heidi look?! wow lol.

I also went to the cinema on Wednesday to see Ted when it first came out. One of the best films ive seen all year. I wont give spoilers but the funniest bit is right near the end when his mouth goes funny :).

As for this coming week, all I plan to do is sort out my graduation in September and carry on looking for full time employment.

What have you girlies got planned?

Saturday, 4 August 2012

Lacura (Aldi) Duo Eyeshadow In Orchid

Hi girlies, have we all had a lovely Saturday? My day consisted of cleaning food shopping and doing the 30 day shred!

Trivial you may say but no. As we know Aldi is famed for its moisturiser and for some snake bite serum but today I picked up a duo eyeshadow in the colour Orchid. My mum happens to go food shopping there every week and each time I walk past the miniscule make up section I always swatch things on the back of my hand.

Today I caved and picked up this beauty...


This eyeshadow cost £1.99 and theres always loads everytime I go to Aldi so I dont think theyll run out anytime soon.

I havent had time to use it so this is just a quick first impression. I like the packaging its plastic but has a mirror effect. It will obviously get extremely smothered in finger marks but when its all shiny and new I cant resist it! The plastic is also quite sturdy and doesnt feel as though its going to snap at the hinges anytime soon.

When you open the lid youre greeted by a mirror which is a surprise as for something so cheap you dont expect much :)

It comes with one of those sponge applicators, I probably wont use it but they always work perfectly fine.

In terms of the colours, they seem to be finely milled and although a little bit shimmery there is no huge chunks of glitter which is a bonus. The picture of my fingers shows just one swipe (technical!) in the product so first impressions tells me that colour pay off is good.

The two colours in this Orchid Duo (there are three other colour combinations) are a champagney/creamy colour which seems good for inner corner highlighting and another colour which is hard to describe. In the pan it seems to be a plummy colour, on my fingers in this picture its a charcoal grey colour and on my arm it reminds me of the Maybelline Colour Tattoo in On and On Bronze - although ive never swatched the Maybelline, im just going from pictures ive seen on other blogs.

It may be a difficult colour to define but I can imagine that this would make a great smokey eye or be a really pretty colour when patted into the upper or lower lash line.

Im really looking forward to using it and I cant wait to feature it in FOTD posts :)

Have you tried any Aldi beauty products?

Friday, 3 August 2012

Review: Superdrug Gradual Tanning Lotion

It feels like ages since Ive done a review. I was thinking of things I could post about and this popped in to my mind.

Summer is always the time for faking the tan (and staying safe in the sun) but with the weather as unpredictable as it is at the moment it is even more likely that people will want to fake the tan and look like theyve just jetted back from the Bahamas - oh how one can dream!

There are two main kinds of tan on the market. The instant tan (St Tropez and St Mortiz) and the gradual moisturising body lotion with a hint of sun kissedness.

Today Ill be reviewing Superdrugs own addition to the market. This was released afew months ago and I purchased it relativly soon after it was launched. If my memory serves me correctly it was £1.99 so it hardly breaks the bank!



This lotion claims to be a gradual tan body lotion and comes in one suitable for light to medium skin and one for darker skin tones. The two photos show what the label looks like and the one on the right shows the colour of the lotion when it comes out of the bottle (excuse the mess - you dont actually go this colour!)


Smell

I havent really smelt many fake tans and tanning lotions but the infamous biscuit smell is something that nobody wants to pong of when they tan.

This isnt biscuity when its first applied, its got a slightly fruity smell and I actually quie like it. However I put this on before a night out and when I woke up the next morning I did smell a bit like a Rich Tea although it wasnt that noticeable.


Application

This applies really smoothly, it is really moisturising and if applied regularly I think it would eliminate dry patches quite effectively. The only downside to application that I can think of is that as it is white and the colour doesnt show up straight away you have to be really careful when applying it. Who wants pesky white patches, certainly not me! When I did apply this I unfortunatley was a bit rubbish on my feet and my toes were a bit patchy!


Result

The result of this is what really surprised me the most. Many gradual tanners ive seen tell us to expect results after about the third application. Not this one, Nuh Uh. As ive said, I put this on before a night out and I was slightly browner when I got in the taxi and by the time I was awake the next morning I was so tanned. It really was very noticeable and if im honest not in a very good way. The final result was a bit orange and because of this I think youd have to apply it really sparingly (maybe I whacked too much on, who knows?!)


Now I know what result I got from using this, im not actually sure if I would repurchase. You cant go wrong for the price and if you were more experienced in fake tan application then the result might be better.

I used St Moritz the other day and the application and result with this was a lot more professional so im a bit sat on the fence as to which one is better.

Overall I would give this product a 3/5 with some room for improvement!

What kind of fake tan do you prefer or are you pale and interesting?

Thursday, 2 August 2012

OOHH little blue bird (twitter)

I am on twitter...new to this stuff!


FOLLOW ME?!?




Top 5 Thursday: Asos.Com

Oh Em actual Gee where has this week gone, I cant believe that its been a week since I did the last top 5.
This weeks edition comes courtesy of Asos.Com, I dont really buy much from here but im always lusting!
Image 1 of Hearts & Bows Boyfriend Checked Shirt

Hearts and Bows Boyfriend Checked Shirt - £27.99

I love this, its made from pure cotton flannel so I can imagine itll be really cosy when autumn and winter draw in. I love th contrast between the maroon, navy and white and I love how baggy it is on the model. Maybe buy a size up?


Image 1 of Mango Cable Knit Cardigan

Mango Cable Knit Cardigan - £34.99

Ive been into cable knits for about two years now and one thing I dont have in my little collection of comfy knits is a cable knit cardigan. This ticks all boxes and it looks super snuggly :)

Image 1 of Sugarhill Boutique Foxy Chiffon Shirt with Contrast Collar

Sugarhill Boutique Foxy Chiffon Shirt With Contrast Collar - £42.00

Cute foxes, 'nuff said!

Image 1 of ASOS Wool Mix Space Dye Pom Beanie

ASOS Wool Mix Space Dye Pom Beanie - £12.00

I love pom pom hats. I dont own a hat in this colour so this is the top of my lust list. £12 is really affordable as well.


Image 1 of Oasis Fran Ankle Boots
Oasis Fran Ankle Boots - £68.00

Simple and classic and with a comfy stacked heel for added extra daytime height. Price is a bit off putting, is it worth it?


Top 5 for this week, whats your favourite piece? Anything else youre wanting this week?
























My Blusher/Bronzer Collection

Ive been meaning to do this post for a while. I dont own many blushers and bronzers - well 4 to be precise but I feel that this is enough, ive got most of the colour options covered and this suits me fine!


(Each swatch corresponds with the blush in the same place in the picture above)

First up is the famed peach melba by Natural Collection. This is a lovely peachy pink colour and adds warmth to the cheek without making them look too red which is a problem I suffer from. Staying power is good and the price is very reasonable - 4/5

Secondly is an MUA blush in shade 1 (I think). These are a pound so the price front scores well. I like the colour on my hand but with my facial redness this has the tendency to make me look a bit like a lobster. This is so pigmented so I cant complain in that area. This is a great blush but just on my skin and with a heavy hand it looks a bit too much - 3/5

Coming up third is an MUA Bronzer. Again this cost a pound, and you get so much more product in comparison to the blush. These last me ages so Ill be stuck with this for the rest of my life I think! Again, this has a great colour payoff but you need to use a lighthand unless you want to look like an ompa loompa. This isnt an orangey tone and i just a lovely matt true bronzey brown colour - 4/5

Finally is this unbranded blush that Ive had for about ten years. I got it in those sets that you used to be given at christmas as a little girl (know which ones i mean?!). This was my first blush and its up there with the Natural Collection one. I cant fault it on colour payoff but it is slightly less long lasting than the Natural Collection. This is a great plummy colour andI havent seen another like this in a long time. Thumbs up from me - 4/5

As you can tell, all of these ive marked at around the same mark and this is because I cannot really choose between them.

The one thing is that these are all powder blushes and so I think I need to invest in a cream one, any recommendations?