Ins and Outs June 2010

I know everyone is saying it but I just can't believe that we're already halfway through the year- where on earth does the time go to?! I like doing these little In and Out posts each month and I love reading ones that other people have done so, if you're interested, here's mine for June.

Ins

Sunshine- I am of course loving the sunshine and the ability to wear summer dresses and not take a cardie out with me. Admittedly it's a bit warm for working in and going to Court in a jacket is a bit of a pain, but I'm sure it'll cool down again soon so I'm making the most of it while it lasts.

Holidays- As you're all aware, I'm a little excited about my holiday. It's only 3 more sleeps to go (big kid that I am) and I cannot wait to get some time with my lovely boy.

Free time- Speaking of my lovely boy, he's finished his exams! Hopefully all that hard work will have paid off and he'll pass with flying colours. For now though I just want him to chill out and get a decent break and worry about all that later.

Simple eyes- A combination of hayfever and high tempatures mean I cannot be arsed to anything more than do a simple wash of light eyeshadow with a bit of liner and mascara every day. But I've been playing with my Urban Decay liners, alternating between Zero and Flipside so sometimes I have a little pop of blue.

Clear Skin- Maybe I'll jinx myself by saying this but...*whispers* My skin's looking really good at the moment. I think it might be the Avene moisturiser I'm using because not much else has changed. If it is, I am stocking up on Avene products and never using anything else.

Coral Nail Varnish- Most people seem to agree that this is the perfect shade of polish for summer and my tootsies are currently rocking Nails Inc The Hurlingham which looks fab peeping out of my peep toe sandals.

Outs

Tea drinking- It's just too flipping hot. Much as I miss my daily cuppa (or 5), I'm now drinking mainly water, which come to think of it probably has a lot to do with the clear skin. Must keep that up.

Trousers- My attempts to "shape up for summer" have somewhat stalled and I am a good few pounds further away from fitting into my suit trousers. I don't think I've worn trousers to work since October and I only fit into them then because of the weight I lost when I had swine flu. I'm going to need to get back to it when I get back from Menorca so look out for more exercise/diet posts soon.

Lipgloss- I can't stand anything sticky and faffy on hot days so I'm foregoing lipgloss and, to be honest, most other lip products. As long as I have a slick of lipbalm with SPF I'm a happy girl at the moment.

So a far few more Ins than Outs which has to be a good thing. If you've done one of these posts recently, make sure you link to it in the comments so I can have a nosy!

And because I don't like posts without photos, here is one of my favourites. I don't have a scrap of make up on but having been in the sun for 5 months while I was travelling, I had enough of a tan not to care. Just looking at the piccie makes me feel all relaxed and summery.

Product's I'm Using June 2010

Here's what I'm using at the moment.

Haircare

Shampoo: Neutrogena Clean Balancing
Conditioner: Avon Advance Techniques Colour Protection
Styling products: Toni and Guy Heat Defence Spray, John Frieda Frizz Ease and Pantene Ice Shine Hair Spray

Skincare

Shower Gel: Impulse Be Mine Shower Gel
Body moisturiser: Boots Extracts Milk and Almond Body Butter
Deodorant: Sure Woman Cool Blue Roll On
Fake Tan: St Moriz
Cleanser: No 7 Hot Cloth Cleanser
Exfoliator: Clinique 7 Day Scrub
Moisturiser: Avene Rich Compensating Cream and Boots Cucumber Eye Gel
Spot Treatment: Body Shop Tea Tree Oil

Make up

Primer: Sheer Cover Base Perfector
Foundation: Revlon Colourstay in 150 Buff or Lancome Hydra Zen Teinte in 2 (tinted moisturiser)
Concealer: Benefit Boi-ing in 01 and 02
Powder: MAC MSF Natural in Light
Blusher: MAC Dollymix with MeMeMe Poppy Tint
Bronzer: Rimmel Sun Shimmer Bronzing Compact Powder in Light Matte
Highlighter: Collection 2000 Shade & Shine in Golden & Gorgeous
Eyeshadow base: Urban Decay Primer Potion (UDPP)
Eyeshadows: Muchness and Eat Me, Drink Me from the Urban Decay Alice in Wonderland palette
Eyeliner: Urban Decay 24/7 liner in Zero
Curler: None
Mascara: Max Factor 2000 Calorie
Lipstick: MAC Chatterbox
Lipgloss: Revlon Coral Reef
Lip balm: Avon Vitamin E Lip Balm
Nail Colour: Rimmel Purple Reign on fingers and Nails Inc Diet Coke New York on toes

NOTD Rimmel Purple Reign

I picked this up in my recent Bank Holiday haul and finally had the time to try it out.



I really like the colour, it's quite a blue purple and it has a lovely subtle shimmer running through it. It was a bit wishy washy after 2 coats though so I added a third. Athough I wouldn't say it dries in 60 seconds, it was pretty quick and doing 3 coats of it wasn't a problem.

In one way i'm impressed with how it's worn. This picture was taken after 2 days wear and it's not chipped which is rare for me with posher polishes, let alone a Rimmel £3.49 cheapy. But the tipwear was quite incredible. I did this before bed and woke up to pretty much the tipwear you see in this picture. Very odd. I did use Seche over the top (as I always do) and I know that it sometimes shrinks the polish but I've never known it do it to this extent.



Rather annoying really. I love the Precision brush and find that it does make application much quicker on my wide nails but it still takes more than 1 stroke, more than 1 coat and definitely more than 60 seconds to dry.

Monday's Good Stuff

Hey there chaps, how's it going this week? I hope everyone's had a great weekend. I'm once again in a chirpy, chipper mood- writing a list of happy things on a Monday is a great mood lifter!

1) The sunshine we've had over the last week has made things sticky and uncomfortable at times (mainly when I have to be in a jacket at Court) but oh it puts me in such a lovely mood to wake up to it. Don't you just find it so much easier to get up in the morning when the sun is peeking through the curtains? It's times like these that I wish we had a bit of garden though so I can sit outside, living in a flat sucks at this time of year!

2) I shan't say too much about sport this week but suffice to say I am still being entertained. England's must win match against Slovenia was nail biting but thankfully sucessful which at least took us to the knock out stages. I won't say much at the Germany game save to say it was pitiful. Highlights from Wimbledon have to be the crazy Muhat v Isner game that was eventually decided by a 70-68 fith set. I'm now all about the tennis!

3) I go on holiday on Saturday! That's only 4 more days of work until I can finish getting packed up and head off for some (more) sun! I have lots of posts scheduled so you won't be going without your daily dose of me, I'm sure you'll be glad to know. I'm sure you'll notice a holiday flavour to the posts and I'll be trusting you all to be nice as I'm not going to be moderating them. How will I cope with no internet access?!

4) Mike has his exams tomorrow and Wednesday and then they are over, whoop whoop! The poor thing has been revising for a couple of months now and is desperate for them to be over and I sort of am too. Our flat has been covered in revision material. I feel like I'm showering in a text book.



I spend most of my time confused about what it all means and it's on all of the doors in the flat.



Bless him, he's been sitting himself down in the hall and reading it back and testing himself to see if he can remember it all.

5) I'm (slightly over) excited to get my hair trimmed on Friday. It's grown brilliantly recently (as I posted about on Thursday) but needs a trim to get rid of the split ends and make it super duper gorgeous again. Is it weird that I'm excited about it? I'm not getting it coloured or anything but I'm looking forward to it being neater and swishier (totally a word btw).

And here comes the usual question, what's everyone feeling good about today?

The 10 Minute Work Face

There are many reasons why you might not have very long to put your face on in the morning. Maybe you don't get long in the bathroom, maybe you have kiddies that demand your attention, maybe you put your slap on when you're on the tube. Or maybe (like me) you end up dawdling about in the morning, regardless of the time you get up, and always have a tiny slot in which to make yourself presentable.

I have something in the region of 10 to 15 minutes, but I thought that The 10 to 15 Minute Work Face didn't sound as catchy. The following has not been precisely timed. Lists that say "Foundation- 30 seconds, concealer- 15 seconds, blusher- 10 seconds" make me feel like I'm in some sort of a race and freak me out. I will not be indicating how long this "should" take, I only say that this is what I can do when I'm pushed for time.


(Not including the Sleek palettes as I couldn't work out how to fit them in!)

These are the products that I usually reach for the in the morning. When I'm pressed for time, it's unwise for me to start experimenting so I stick with what I know looks good.

So I start off by sanitising my hands and then I apply a small blob of primer and work it all over my face. I then use my fingers to apply Revlon Colourstay over my T zone and then over cheeks if I need it. Then a dab of Boi-ing under my eyes and over spots, before dusting over the top with MAC MSF Natural.

I'm sans fake tan at the moment so I dust my Rimmel Bronzer over my cheeks, nose and forehead before applying Coralista to the apples of my cheeks. I then dust a little Collection 2000 Shimmer and Shade over my cheek bones to highlight.

Onto the eyes, which I keep simple as I am without skillz. I apply UDPP and let then dry before using a natural shade from one of my Sleek palettes (I have Original and Storm) for the lid. I usually just use one shade and the ones I use most often are shown below. I tend to stick with the shimmery shades.


The Original Palette.


The Storm Palette.

I then line my upper lashline with Urban Decay 24/7 liner in Zero or the Collection 2000 liquid liner in brown and apply a couple of coats of Max Factor 2000 Calorie mascara. (If I'm in a mega rush I skip the liner. My hand shakes when I get stressed so it just ends up looking dreadful.)

My go to lippie for finishing this off is MAC Chatterbox, or if I'm really rushing at this point I'll use Revlon Coral Reef gloss instead.

After drafting this post, I timed myself to do the whole thing and it took me just over 9 minutes, so I wasn't far off when I said 10!

How long do you spend on your makeup in the morning? Do you tend to stick with tried and tested products and styles or do you mix it up? Please spill!

GOSH Love That Ivory! Waterproof Eyeshadow

The GOSH Love That Ivory! Waterproof Eyeshadow stick was one of the cheap as chips bargains I picked up a few weeks ago from the Superdrug bargain bin and only cost me £1. I hadn't really tried anything from GOSH (apart from the Rainbow nail polish) so I took this as a sign to pick some things up.



I thought that this waterproof eyeshadow would be a good base for other colours, as well as using as a brow highlight and in the inner corner of my eyes.



It's a twist up stick with quite a bit of product although I can't find out how much.



As a base it works quite well. It won't be replacing my usual Urban Decay Primer Potion but it stops my eye shadows creasing and the neutral colour means you can put any shade over the top.

I like it and I certainly didn't waste £1 on it, but would I buy them at £6 each, their full price in Superdrug? I don't think I would. I suppose I might end up with one if I partake in the usual 3 for 2 offers that Superdrug run on GOSH, but I'm not in a rush to pick up any more.

12 Questions Tag

I spotted this on MyButterfly63 (whose blog is fab, go check it out if you don't already follow) and she tagged anyone who wants to do this. I'm a nosy so and so and love these kinds of posts so I thought I'd post this for you all the have a gander at.

12. What shoe size are you?
I'm a 7, but as I'm 5'9'' I need to have big feet or I'll fall over.

11. Where do you work?
I work as a trainee solicitor in a high street firm in Chesterfield. Hard work but worth it as I qualify in October after working towards this since I decided it's what I wanted to do, aged 14.

10. Favourite piece of clothing you own?
I'm not too sure. *Thinks really hard* I have a turquoise Monsoon dress that is super cute and a pair of coral and gold heels from DP that I am a bit obsessed with but to be honest I'm not massively fussed by clothes. I'd rather spend my pennies on make up if you hadn't guessed.

09. Your favourite blog?
Eeek, so many to choose from! I don't want to offend anybody because I love all the blogs I follow and I'm not just saying that, but I adore Lipglossiping for her fabulous photos, I've recently started reading Second Skin which I LOVE and I have a bit of a soft spot for A Beauty Junkie in London as it was the first beauty blog I stumbled across and got me into all of this. Thanks for that Jen!

08. Do you have any pets?
I don't no. I'd love a dog though.

07. How many siblings do you have?
I have a younger brother who is 2 years younger than me and is a great brother. I feel like the little sis because he takes very good care of me. Check out this post for a lovely piccie of him.

06. If you could live anywhere, where would it be?
Hmm, well there would have to be sunshine. I'd like to move to Australia for a while at some point but my absolute dream would be to live in NYC and have an apartment overlooking Central Park. Thankfully my boyfriend shares both of these dreams so who knows what the future might bring!

05. What were you doing before this?
I am flicking between the Nigeria v South Korea and Argentina v Greece games and chatting with my boyfriend- multi tasking you see!

04. Your favourite food?
A good lasagne is unbeatable in my books. I could eat lasagne at Gino's restaurant in Lincoln forever and be incredibly happy. And fat.

03.Do you have a middle name?
It's Anne.

02. Your favourite websites?
Well, I spend a lot of time on Twitter, Blogger and other people's blogs. Oh and Statcounter too, I like to see if you lovely people are reading these ramblings!

01. Who will you tag?
I'm tagging anyone who wants to do this themselves. Just make sure you comment below so I can check out your answers.

Ooh I enjoyed that! Do you guys like reading posts like that and finding out about people? If you do, I'll have to do a Random Questions sort of post and tell you other (hopefully interesting) things about me.

Lee Stafford Hair Growth Treatment - After

I first posted about this treatment back in April and eagle eyed reader may have noticed that I have now gone through not one but two post of the stuff as they have appeared in my Project Bathroom update posts.

The fact that I've used two pots is a good indicator that this is impressing me in some way. But why, I hear you ask?

Well, my first impressions were correct. This doesn't weigh my hair down even when I used it every wash and that impresses me as this is a product that you apply to the roots of your hair. Also, my hair has never been in such good condition. Although it needs a trim now, I haven't been for one since 27th March which is almost 13 weeks and unheard of for me. When I first started writing this post, I said that my hair was looking dry but having looked at the most recent picture, it really doesn't look it. Judge for yourself of course in a minute when I eventually show you the photos. Anyway, I did use up the second pot around the end of May (I think) so I need to pick up another.

I also find the treatment easy to rinse out and really the only complaint I have with the product is the tub it comes in. It's difficult for me to scoop out the amount I need and get the lid on without slopping it everywhere, whilst I also stop it filling with water. As with anything that comes in a tub, I would prefer this in a tube.

I've kept you reading for this long and I'm sure you wanna see results now, so here we go.

First up, this was my hair on 4th April.



This next picture was taken on 9th May.



I purposely used this dress for my pictures because the pattern makes it easy to measure any growth and I have indeed had my ruler out! In these first 5 weeks my hair grew 1 and a half inches which is just short of 4cms and practically unheard of for me! You can see why I ran straight out and bought another tub.

This, most recent, picture was taken on 23rd June.



A little more growth- I'd say about half an inch which is about a centimetre and a half, but I think that it's slowed as I haven't been using it for the last few weeks. Having had a proper, "scientific" look at how this has benefited my hair has really made me realise what a good job this has done.

As well as the length generally, I was hoping that this stuff was going to help me grow out my fringe nice and quickly so I wouldn't spend too long in that horrible, in between stage. As I said in my last post on the treatment I forget to take a picture of the front of my hair when I started but it looked like this anyway.



I had a side sweeping fringe and by the time time I had used up one pot of this stuff (again, on the 9th May), my hair looked like this.



(Taken at work when I had to use my friend's camera. Apologies for the "I wanna kill you" face!)

I was so impressed that my fringe grew out so quickly. Obviously this was the annoying in between stage, after 5 weeks of growth, but I carried on using it and on 23rd June (after a further 7 weeks) this is what the front of my hair looks like.



It's grown loads more and I can pull it all back and tie it up with minimal help from hair grips. You'll be glad to know I don't go to work like this!

Depending on how quickly your hair grows you may be thinking "Hmm, what a lot of fuss about nothing," but for me this has been great and it wouldn't have grown half as quickly without it.

I was sceptical at first that it'd be worth the £6.99 price tag. I don't spend that much on hair products generally but this has not left me disappointed, so I'm off back down to Boots to pick up another. This lovely product is going to have a place in my bathroom for some time to come.

Has anyone else tried this or anything else in the Lee Stafford range? I had some recommendations for the Lee Stafford Beach Babe Sea Salt Spray when I posted on Fructis Spray so I'll be going to have a look at that.

My MAC Giveaway Prizes

I can't lie, I have been wanting to write this post for ages. I posted a couple of months ago about the fabulous giveaway that I won over on Amrita's blog and I'd anticipated having this post up much sooner. Why has it taken so long? Bloody Royal Mail of course. But boring postal issues aside, I'm pleased to say that my prizes have arrived! Even the fact that the postman knocked on the door at 7.45 on a Saturday morning didn't worry me! (I'll be napping this afternoon though, just so you know.)

So just to recap, the prize was a blusher, eyeshadow, pigment, lipstick and lipgloss of my choice and all from MAC! What a fantastic prize!

I chose Pinch Me blusher, Prinze Bronze pigment, Antiqued Eyeshadow, Please Me Lipstick and Loud and Lovely Cremesheen Gloss. Some I'd had my eye on for ages and some were more spur of the moment choices.





And some swatches for you...



L-R Pinch Me, Pink Bronze, Antiqued, Please Me and Loud and Lovely below them.

As I haven't had any MAC lipglosses or pigments before, this is tres exciting and I can't wait to have a play with them. Thanks again Amrita!

NOTD 17 Parma Violet

Another summery polish that I am in love with!



I know that I really like a polish when I can't stop looking at my nails and that is certainly the case here. I liked it in the bottle (well I did buy it, so that's not a huge surprise) but it really pops when it's on my nails. I think that's because it's got quite a lot of pink in it. Blue toned lilacs are cool and this a bit more zingy.

The above picture was taken after 2 days, with a coat of Seche Vite on top. There is moderate tipwear but no chips which is impressive for me as everything chips on me- to find that a £2.99 polish lasts this well on me is awesome sauce.

I have already skipped out and bought Lemon Sherbert and quite like the look of Orange Soda as well. Has anyone else been wearing these Candy Collection nail polishes?

Fructis Beach Look Spray Review

I'm on the look out for a decent spray to make the most of my natural waves for the summer. Next up to try was this Fructis offering.



A little closer up shot.



Now before I go and give you my thoughts on this, it probably makes sense that I tell you what I'm looking for from this kind of product. I have thick hair so I'm not looking for it to be volumised and it's naturally wavy so I'm really just looking for those waves to be accentuated without getting frizzy.

So now you know that, what does this Beach Look Spray claim to do?

"Garnier Fructis Surf Hair Beach Look Spray is ideal for creating windswept textured hairsytles with strong hold and a matte effect, as if you've spent the day at the beach. Its formula with fruit micro-waxes helps to texturise the hair without weighing it down, gives long lasting hold and a matte effect."

I take issue with the long hold claims. I find that this drops pretty quickly, usually by mid morning, and although it looks OK, I think it could do with a bit more of the micro-wax gubbins in it to avoid the early drop.

At only £2.39 for 150ml it wasn't an expensive mistake but nonetheless it didn't achieve what I wanted it to. I already have the VO5 Extreme Style Surf Spray which I had recommended to me to try next and I also plan to use the empty Fructis bottle to make up my own as I could really do with finding one that works well before I go on my holiday in a week or so.

I'm off in search of a "recipe" for a home made salt spray but if you have any tips or know any great products I need to be trying, you know where to comment!

Monday's Good Stuff

Hello and Happy Monday to all you lovelies. I hope you all have fab weekends and are enjoying sunshine if you have some where you are. I had a lovely chill out weekend and didn't get up to very much apart from a couple of cinema trips, seeing my lovely friend and a bit of blogging, but that's exactly what I needed.

So, onto the things that are making me happy at the moment...

1) A bit controversial perhaps, but my first one is The World Cup. Yes, England are difficult to watch (to say the least) and may not even get past the group stages, but I am still loving having so much football on the TV. There have been some shock results so far (Germany being beaten by Serbia, Italy being held to a draw by New Zealand, France not yet managing a win and Spain being beaten by Switzerland to name a few) but doesn't that make it all the more interesting? Even if England don't stay in the competition for very long, I will still be glued to the TV throughout the tournament to watch the drama unfold.

2) To add to my sporting excitement, Wimbledon has started today, and what a start it was. I couldn't watch the first game as I was working (boo) so I can't wait to see the highlights of the Federer v Falla game, it was epic! I may be a lazy bum, but I love watching sport on TV, if you couldn't guess.

Image Credit: Google Images

3) I go on holiday a week on Saturday and am stupidly over excited about this. If you follow me on Twitter (@PrimpsandPreens- come follow me if you don't already) you will no doubt have picked up on this already. I have pretty much everything I need now, apart from some books, and I just want to get packed and get on that plane.


Image credit: Weheartit.com

4) I had a fabulous time at Alton Towers with my Dad last week and despite the fact that I struggled with motion sickness for a day or so afterwards, I'm really glad I made the time to go. I don't spend very much time with my Dad, he works far too hard, and so it felt great to spend the day with him. We also had a good chat about weddings and what Mike and I have planned and it's got me thinking about starting some planning, and I have no doubt that once I start that, it will feature in future Monday's Good stuff posts!

5) As I've already mentioned, I saw my friend Laura on Friday for a catch up, a bit of football watching and some dinner at Frankie & Benny's. It was awesome to see her as we don't do it enough and the only thing that could have made it better would have been if England could have blooming scored a goal...or two. I love having girlie catch ups and it's made me want to do this a lot more often, so come back soon gorgeous girlie!

Image Credit: Weheartit.com

(This isn't us, wish I looked so pretty!)

So, that's my (slightly sports heavy) Monday's Good stuff for this week. And you know what I'm going to ask now. What's everyone feeling good about today? Spill please!

I'm so excited! And I Just Can't Hide It!

I love my new beach bag and getting it, and all my other gubbins, ready for my holiday has made me so excited that I might pop!

So tell me, where are you off to on your jollies this summer?

Collection 2000 Shimmer and Shade

You might remember seeing one of these in my bank holiday haul post recently. The fact that I was picking up my second probably tells you I like these quite a lot, and I am planning on getting the third one (Pink Me Up) to complete the set.

But I'm getting ahead of myself. Here we have Golden & Gorgeous on the left and Just Peachy on the right. It's pretty obvious which one I had first, right?



Now these are described as blushers which they are definitely not. The two I have (I'm still looking to get Pink Me Up and so I can't comment on that yet) are highlighters and can only be used for that purpose. I wouldn't start slapping these all over my cheeks for fear of looking like the dreaded disco ball. Although each pan contains 3 shades that are supposedly used for contouring, blusher and highlighting, they're all shimmery and fall into the highlighting category for me. Not that I mind, having bought these as highlighters.



Swatched, Golden & Gorgeous looks quite orange and Just Peachy looks very chalky. Thankfully I find both to be very wearable. I wear Golden & Gorgeous when I'm wearing a bit of fake tan or bronzer and Just Peachy for my more natural days.

Both pick up shade that forms the larger flower and the background of the pan quite well although the flowers are made up of more crumbly powder. It's not really possible to use a single shade though, I find that once I've swirled my brush around that it mixes the colours together, but the colour that it produces is very pretty in both cases. I think that Just Peachy could be too light for a lot of skintones. I'm NW15 and it suits me, but if you're much darker skinned then I'd steer clear.

I'm not gonna fib to you and say that these are a good replacement for my nearly dead and much loved Bobbi Brown Shimmer Brick. They aren't as pigmented and I still prefer the gorgeous range of shades that you get in Shimmer Bricks. However, if you're looking for a cheap powder highlighter you could do a lot worse than these and, as I say, I will be picking up Pink Me Up soon. These are £3.99 from the usual Collection 2000 stockists. The packaging is basic but sturdy; quite OK for the price.

Is it just me or has Collection 2000 stuff got a lot better recently?

Today's FOTD

Another lazy weekend, another lazy weekend FOTD for you.



Face

Revlon Colourstay in Buff
Benefit Boi-ing in 01
MAC MSF Natural in Light
Rimmel Sun Shimmer Bronzing Compact Powder in Light Matte
Benefit Coralista Blusher
Collection 2000 Shimmer & Shade in Golden & Gorgeous

Eyes

GOSH Waterproof Eyeshadow in Love That Ivory! as a base
Urban Decay Oraculum from AIW palette over lid
Sleek Storm palette top row, third from right in inner corner
Sleek Storm palette bottom row, far left in outer V
Collection 2000 Fast Stroke Eyeliner in Brown
Max Factor 2000 Calorie Mascara

Lips

MAC Myth
MAC Blankety over the top of Myth

I don't look so washed out in real life, in the picture you can barely see I have any blusher on at all.

I've been practising with liquid liner and I am getting a bit better with it, but I'm still not going to show you close up pictures. I love the way it defines my eyes though and hopefully with a bit more practice I'll be happy to show you.

I hope everyone is having a lovely weekend. What are you upto today?

Benefit/Flake Lipgloss - Fresh Squeezed

So you've heard me say a time or two about the Benefit lipsticks and lip glosses that I've won. I'm a little glutton and didn't stop eating Flakes until I had my mitts on all 6 and I have already posted about Flirt Alert, La La Land and Do Tell. I really should get my act together and do a post on Wild Card soon.

My lip glosses arrived a couple of weeks ago and it should tell you something that I haven't posted about them until now, they aren't exactly exciting.

Here we have Fresh Squeezed on the left and Life On The A List on the right.



Fresh Squeezed is more noticeably shimmery but there is a little running through Life On The A List as well. In the tube, I really like both of these shades.

Unfortunately, although these are pretty, they aren't very noticeable when it's on my lips. I wore Fresh Squeezed on Sunday as I favour a neutral look on weekends and I thought it would be light and pretty.



I wore Life On The A List to work on Monday.



Neither gloss is very pigmented which is even more obvious in the swatch picture below, but Life On The A List seems particularly pointless, at least on my lips. I like Fresh Squeezed a bit more and will probably use it a bit.



These are not my favourite lip glosses but then they aren't my least favourite either. I didn't find them sticky and the packagaing is much nicer than the old Benefit lip glosses. Far more attractive to carry around with me. Also, the wand makes for easy application. It's a doe foot applicator but shaped in a way that fits really nicely onto my lips. Again, much better than the wands on the older, Her Glossiness glosses that Benefit did. Those wands were tiny.



Benefit seems to be a love or hate brand for many people. I'm somewhere in the middle. I think Benefit make very good concealers and powder products; Boi-ing concealer and Coralista blusher are two of my favourite products. But the lipsticks that I've had from them have been underwhelming and I can most definitely take or leave their glosses. I already knew I wasn't a massive fan of their lip products and they were free so I suppose I can't complain, but it's a shame that none of these freebies have impressed me.

Have you had any luck with the Flake promotion? What are your favourite Benefit products?

Dear Batiste, I love you

I got to thinking the other day about my number on, wouldn't be without,
product and it has to be Batiste dry shampoo.



I only discovered this gem 6 months or so ago and I'm kicking myself that I didn't realise how great it was earlier. I used to get up for work at 5.45 am and wash my hair every morning before leaving to commute to work at 7.15 am. Had I started using this stuff I would have managed to wash my hair half as often and had loads more time in bed! At least I know now hey? I've lost count of the amount of time I've bought it since.

At the moment these two, Blush and Tropical, are my favourites but I should probably check out the Brunette version as it'll be easier to brush out the white residue. I don't find it too difficult to get rid of it (even with the darker hair colour at the moment) but anything that makes life easier has to be a good thing.

Has anyone tried the brunette or black versions?

Project Bathroom Update

It's 3 weeks since my last update and I'm still going strong. I don't think I've bought any new products in the last few weeks. *Thinks really hard* Nope, apart from face wipes, deodorant and facial moisturiser that I've replaced as I've used them up, I've been very good since my last update.

So, onto what I've used up in the last few weeks.



Lee Stafford Hair Treatment (FS)
L'Oreal Perfect Clean (FS)
Olay Eye Cream (FS)
Boots Bergamot shower gel (FS)
TBS Papaya Body Scrub (FS)
Sanctuary Creme Souffle (FS)
Toni & Guy Conditioner (FS)
GHD Conditioner (FS)

Not a bad effort eh?! It was a slow start this time but then I managed to use up Bergamot shower gel, TBS body scrub and the Toni & Guy conditioner in the same shower and then used up the last of the Sanctuary Creme Souffle and the L'Oreal Perfect clean the next day. I'm glad I did as I was starting to worry that I was just going to be showing you a picture of a single eye cream.

And, as ever, here's what's left (as before, FS stands for full size and M is for miniature.)

Facial Skincare

Clinique 7 Day Scrub (M)
Boots Cucumber Eye Gel (FS)
Garnier Moisturiser x2 (FS)
Mir Skincare Trial Set (M)
No 7 Hot Cloth Cleanser (FS)

Shower gels/soap

Impulse shower gel (FS)
Lush Soaps- Sandstone (making good progress with this one), Honey I Washed The Kids, The Godmother
1 unidentified soap- I think it's Sanctuary

Body Skincare

Elle McPherson Body Scrub x2 (M)
Elle Mc Pherson Body Wash
Clinique Smooth Delivery (M)
Boots Brazil Nut Body Scrub (FS)
Boots Coconut Body Butter (FS)
Boots Almond and Pistachio Body Butter (FS)
Boots Cocoa Nut Body Scrub (M)
TBS Papaya Body Butter (FS)
TBS Peach Body Butter (FS)
Sanctuary Mandular Body Scrub (gift size)
Avon body Moisturiser (FS)
Nivea Body Moisturiser (FS)
2 Aveeno Body Moisturiser sachets
Dove Gradual Tanner (FS)
Nivea Gradual Tanner (FS)
St Moriz Self Tan Mousse (FS)

Haircare

Charles Worthington mousse and straightening cream (M)
Charles Worthington Takeaways Shampoo and Conditioner (M)
Umberto Gianni Shampoo and Conditioner (FS)
Umberto Gianni Blow Dry Cream (FS-and this thing is massive!!)
Neutrogena Clean Balancing- 2 shampoos and 2 conditioners
Biolage Intensive Conditioning Treatment
Dream Hair Shampoo and Conditioner (FS)
Dream Hair Shine Spray and Intensive Conditioner (M)

You can see that I've started using my last shower gel from my stash now so I have something that I'm allowed to go shopping for, woo! I don't think I'll be stocking up though, I'm really enjoying seeing my stash dwindle so I will just buy one (or two if what I like is on offer) and use it up.

Looking ahead and what I think I'll be finishing next, I predict that in the next update I will have got through the Clinique 7 Day scrub, Garnier moisturiser, No 7 hot cloth cleanser, Lush sandstone soap, Impulse shower gel, a bottle of the Neutrogena shampoo and maybe the St Moriz tanner. As usual, I'll do another update in a few weeks time. Has anyone else been doing something similar?

Boots Extracts Bergamot Body Wash

I've been finishing up quite a few products recently as I've been tres good and sticking to Project Bathroom and I thought I'd do a few reviews on some of these bits.



First up Boots Extracts Bergamot Body Wash. I got this in a large set of Extracts products in the after Christmas sales along with body butters, body scrubs and bath cream, so cheaply that I figured it was a great time to check out a new brand. As I recall I paid about £10 (in Boots points anyway) for £25 worth of products.

The Extracts range uses organic and Fairtrade ingredients in their products of which there are 33 in the range, all of which come in at £7.50 or under. I started off trying out the range with the Bergamot Body Wash which contains Organic Bergamot Oil and Fairtrade honey.

I'll deal with the plus points first. I didn't need to use much on my shower puff to get a good lather up, enough to do my whole body. I didn't find it drying at all and it's also a good substitute for shaving gel on my legs as well. I don't often use a shaving gel so I'm always on the look out for a shower gel which can be used for this. And it goes without saying that it's a bonus that it contains fairtrade and organic ingredients. I also like the tube; it's easy to open and dispense the right amount when I'm in the shower.

In fact the only downside for me is the fragrance. It's not unpleasant and I used up the whole tube up which shows that I'm not adverse to it. The bergamot scent is a clean, fresh fragrance which is fine but it's just not what I usually go for. I prefer something a bit more fruity or sweet fragranced in the morning so I will check out the other body washes in the range.

They also come in Almond, Mango and Cocoa Butter which all sound delicious. They are available in miniatures of 75ml for £2.50 and full sizes of 200ml for £4.00 although they often seem to be on offer and you can get them for less than that. In fact there's a third off lots of the Extracts range at the moment so I'll be picking up the mango one for my holidays as it's only £2.67 at the moment.

Has anyone used any of the products from this range before? What did you think?

Monday's Good Stuff

I know I say it every week, but where does the time go?! It seems about 5 minutes since I did last week's Monday's Good Stuff! But this week has been another great week I'm pleased to report and, as usual, there are a few good things going on at the moment...

1. I didn't end up going to Alton Towers last week so number 2 in last week's post is kind of null and void. But, hey ho, I'm going tomorrow (weather permitting) and I still can't wait. Please keep your fingers crossed for good weather tomorrow!

2. Again, in a bit of a repeat of last week, I am still absolutely loving the work that I'm doing at the moment. I'm looking forward to going in to work every day and getting really varied experience which is great.

3. Seeing our friends Phil and Rach on Friday night was awesome even though I drank too much cider and lost my phone- what a liability! I think next time we meet up I should remain sober; we don't see them often enough and I need to remember that I really can't hold my drink.

4. We are now one week closer to Mike finishing his exams and going on holiday shortly after. I can't wait for him to get his break and I'm so excited about going away! I posted about how excited I was on 10 May when it was 7 weeks to go and now there is less than 3 weeks to go. I'm about ready to pop with excitement now!

5. And last, but by no means least- I'm still so thrilled that I hit 100 followers on Friday! At the time of writing this there are 106 of you lovely, fabulous people and I think you're all fab! Thanks again!

And because I don't want a naked, pictureless post, I've found some pretty things that are making me happy today.









All images from Weheartit.com

Did you all have a good weekend and how was your Monday? What's everyone eeling good about today?

NOTD Revlon Minted

I've seen this on various blogs and really liked it but I wasn't in a rush to pick it up when it came out. I don't often wear green or blue shades of nail polish and I didn't think I'd get much wear out of it, but I picked it up in Boots' 3 for 2 offer regardless. I thought that it could work quite well with a tan and I'm glad I bought it.



With flash



Without flash

Pictures show 2 coats with a coat of Seche Vite on top.

I found it a bit difficult to get used to wearing at first. It's so light and felt a bit like weaing Tippex on my nails, but after a few (chip free, woo hoo!) dayts, I got used to it and now I'm rather enamoured. In fact I took it off when it chipped after 4 days and put it back on again without swapping to another polish, which is something I never do anymore- I have too many that I want to try out.

Given how well it lasted on my polish repelling nails, I will be sure to check out other Revlon polishes when I'm next hauling. I have my eye on the Classic Cherries In The Snow and Plum Petal. Any recommendations?

Re-review Olay Aqua Physics Eye

I first reviewed Aqua Physics Eye back in February when I'd been using it for 3 weeks. At that point I was impressed with it, but I thought I should come back and re-review it after finishing the tube.



Back in February I had a few fine crows feet lines starting to form, as well as fine lines under my eyes. The crows feet lines were mainly noticeable when I smiled but they remained slightly visible when I wasn't.

I have used this cream every morning and evening (save the odd time when I've forgotten) since early February so firstly I'm impressed by how long this tube has lasted. A tiny dot has been enough to apply to each eye and it is a lovely light product; it sinks in really quickly which is good if you want to apply it before putting makeup on in the morning.

But mostly importantly, I'm thrilled with the results. My crows feet lines are non existent now. When I smile there is obviously some movement in that area, but the lines don't stay visible when I stop smiling- result.

I said in the original post that I'd probably try something else after this but I won't be. I'll be going out and buying this again now that I've finished the tube because I think that this is a great product for around £10. I orignally picked it up because it was half price, but given that the 15ml has lasted me 4 and a half months, I'm more than happy to pay the full RRP next time. There may well be better, more heavy duty eye creams out there that I'll get to in time, but this appears to be quite enough for me at the moment.

A Workday FOTD

I'm not known for my make up skills so I don't often play up my eyes for work for fear of looking like a fool. I only have 15 minutes or so in the morning to get my face on so there's no time for slip ups so I stick to what I know. And that's a simple eye and bright lips.

This past week saw me wearing this lip combo a few times.



I look oddly pale in this picture despite the fact I have been fake tanning and was wearing bronzer when this was taken.

Face

Sheer Cover Base Perfector primer
Lancome Hydra Zen Teinte in 2 mixed with Clinique Gentle Light Makeup in 01 Candle Glow
Sheer Cover Concealer Duo in Light/Medium
MAC MSF Natural in Light
Rimmel Sun Shimmer Bronzing Powder in Light Matte
MAC Dollymix blusher
MeMeMe Beat The Blues Sun Beam

Eyes

Urban Decay Primer Potion
Sleek Eyeshadow from Original Palette, lemon across lid with pink over the top as pictured
Urban Decay 24/7 eyeliner in Zero
Max Factor 2000 Calorie Mascara Black



Lips

MAC Impassioned, two coats then blotted down
Jemma Kidd Lipgloss Fuchsia

Although this gloss is good on its own, it looks incredible over Impassioned which on its own is a tad too neon for work. That's not to say I haven't worn it to work, I am yet to come across a shade I don't feel I can wear for work, but I love finding lipstick/lipgloss combinations that mean I get extra wear from my favourites.

What are your facvourite lipstick/gloss combos?

100 Followers?!- Thank you!

When I started this blog back in January, I had no idea how much I would love blogging. I had been reading a few beauty blogs for a couple of months and decided that I would try it for myself and that's turned out pretty well I'd say. I have been a busy blogger since and somehow managed to churn out 170 posts since it all began back on 10th January.

And I love it! There is no better feeling than coming in from work tired and sometimes grumpy (OK, quite often grumpy. If you know my in real life you'll know how true that is) to see your lovely comments on my posts. It really makes my day to know people are reading this.

And now I have 100 people who are interested enough in what I write to hit the follow button! I'm actually did a dance when I saw that I was on 100 and I'm beaming as I type this post, it's such a wonderful feeling.

In the tradition of reaching such a lovely number, a giveaway will follow but to be honest with you I haven't decided whether we will celebrate this milestone straight away or whether it will be a little belated. I am off on my holidays soon (I'm sure you've heard!) and so moneywise this is not be the best time for me to pick out some prizes that are worthy of you gorgeous people. I hope that doesn't seem stingy, or ungrateful. Also, if I wait until later in the summer I can get my lovely brother to bring back some lovely things from America!

Again, thanks so much for bothering to read my ramblings. If I could afford to I'd send you all lots of lovely pretty things to say a great big thank you- you are a wonderful bunch!

NOTD 17 Sphinx

The amount of NOTD posts I'm churning out at the moment might be indicative of the fact that I have TOO MANY NAIL POLISHES. But do I stop buying them? Do I heck.

At least this shade, bought a month or so ago, is finally getting some wear. This is 17's Sphinx, a beautiful muted gold shade that is ridiculously wearable.



This was only £3.49 and I got 2 days from it before it chipped which is really good for me, my nails seem to repel polish, and I think it looks great, especially for a cheap polish.

I have probably said that I don't like peachy or pinky nude polishes because they bore me so this is as neutral as I go. It's a great shade to go with pretty much any colour of outfit, or when you want to look more discreet and groomed.

What are you favourite neutral shades?

Benefit and Glamour Freebies

(I love Lily's hair and makeup on the cover- she looks gorgeous!)

As I said the other day Glamour are giving away 3 Benefit products with the June issue; Eye Bright (RRP £14) It Stick (RRP £17) and Bad Gal Eyeliner (RRP £14) worth a total of £45!

Of course I popped to the shops today and picked up 3 copies so that I could have all 3. I love Bad Gal anyway and, along with Highbeam, I've had always had one on the go since I first bought it aged 17.



I'm really looking forward to trying out It Stick (a lovely creamy concealer) and Eye Bright (a pink pencil for making you look more awake) and may well post on them when I've had a chance to play.



I would ask if any of you have picked these up but it's a fair assumption that you have at least one of these now. I know there have been a ton of posts on this offer and many of you already know about it, but I thought I'd post on it on the off chance any of you haven't heard about it yet.