Outfit and Face of the Night

Sorry this post is a little late, I wore this for a night out on Friday. This was my first night out of the year and probably in about 6 months. Wasn't feeling brave enough to go for a skirt/dress so I opted for a simple but hopefully cute harem pant combo, I was in two minds about this outfit, even now looking at the pictures I still am!

The harem trousers are about 2 years ago from New Look, at the time they were the only harem trousers I thought suited me, unfortunately with the weather the way it is I don't get to wear them much, but I have had some inspirational ideas for winter looks with them so I will try it out and get back to you!

The top is actually a 'dress' from H&M, I love the lace detailing on the shoulder. It is far too short and sheer for a dress so I tucked it in and with my flower belt from Primark and my nude wedges, outfit complete! It was the first time I wore my wedges which were so comfortable! I wanted to match the belt and shoes and I think this worked well and will definitely be my combo in the summer.

For my makeup I went for my favourite NYX One night in Morocco palette. I love this look and it’s so easy to achieve with the eye shadows even for a lazy applicator like me! I’ve included pictures in two different lightings for the full effect.

So did I pull it off? Not too mean though please! :-)

Nails of the week - Barry M

Having had interviews last week I opted for a classic french manicure, so this week though I wanted to take advantage of being able to have bold colours and nail designs opting for Barry M’s bright pink polish and nail effects on top. I have featured the nail effects before but it does look that much better over a brighter polish.

I have noticed that my nail effects polish is starting to get a little thick (mostly at the top of the bottle) so I am not sure what I can do to remedy that so as not to affect how it works. I have found to get the best result you need a thin layer of polish being careful not to overlap on the larger nails.

The use of a little research…...

This was originally going to be a very different blog post, after a lovely trip into London to visit the V&A, I couldn’t resist having a look in Harrods. I love the food court and just the general feel of departments stores although I have never brought anything! Of course had a wonder around the beauty department and came across this product…..

Bliss: pore-fector gadget. The new must have gadget, using low level vibrations to ‘power-wash pores and eliminate impurities like dirt, oil and debris’. The proof apparently is in the toner which ‘goes on clear and looks cloudy after use’.

The results from testers seem very convincing:

100% felt the tool cleansed their pores

88% felt the tool left skin deeply cleansed and fresh

82% felt that their pores appeared less prominent

Now just for a bit of background, I have 4 skin issues I am trying to tackle

1- Dry skin

2- Breakouts

3- Scarring

4- Blackheads/clogged pores

So going just on advertising this seems perfect, of course there was no way I was going to hand over £127 without a little research. On my tube journey back I was pretty convinced that I would be purchasing this over the DermaNew Microdermabrasion kit (and I know I have mentioned how much I love microdermabrasion/exfoliation) since the bliss tool implies that it targets blogged pores specifically. The woman at the counter tested it on my hand and it didn’t feel too harsh although I can imagine that it could be if you pressed hard enough (which I am sure anyone with blocked pores probably would!) Something the sales woman said that did worry me though (which I haven’t seen recommended anywhere else) is that it can be used over spots to ’squeeze’ them out, that doesn’t seem like a good idea in terms of spreading bacteria and of course risk of scarring.

Anyway, having come home it’s only taken me about 10 minutes of searching two websites to decide I will not be purchasing this. Makeup alley is great for customer reviews of every beauty product you can think of, with an average score of 1.5 out of 5 and another blog where the tester didn’t notice anything other than the skin looking a bit more refined there was no way I was going to spend £127 on this. The DermaNew is in fact a lot cheaper and I imagine I will end up buying that.

I do love the combination of technology/science with beauty and healthcare and there are a lot of these tools which I and many others would highly rate, but as with all these things there are always ‘bandwagon’ items which come out. Additionally I am always on the hunt for a bargain, and this may seem in contradiction with some of the beauty items I will end up talking about, but the fact is, of course there is always a mark up and profit element to these things but particularly with these 'fusion tools’ (ooo I made up that term!) I can see the value in the theory and practical making of the science behind them.

So my conclusion is, always do your research. We have so much information out there available for us for anything and everything, so there is no place for impulse buying and believing in a sales pitch.

Another Primark Haul!

I know two blog posts in one day, but I’m feeling energetic! I had 2 interviews this week, and with the prepping for those, along with the early starts to the day and the driving I was pretty exhausted, so thats my excuse for not posting anything sooner. I have had time to try out some more face masks though and had a few brain waves for future posts so do look out for those.

If you do watch my YouTube videos you would have seen my mini haul/interview outfit video featuring a few of my Primark goodies.

If you didn’t though or do want to see this is the link; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e1QKAjsQC7M

I did feature a skirt in here, which I showed without having tried it on, and although I still love it, it just doesn’t suit me, so it has been returned and replaced with a few other finds.

I already featured this top in my video. It’s a beautiful, sheer, loose fit top. Dusty pink with capped sleeves and dots all over, with a gathered/elasticated waist. This fits perfectly, and I’m looking forward to styling it since I haven’t owned anything like this previously.

I replaced the top with a t-shirt, it reminded me of a vest top I wore to death as a teen with a big tigers face on it. Again its sheer and actually has a hole in the back (I have no idea of the proper styling/fashion term for that!) I want to wear it now, so I plan on putting a long sleeved t-shirt underneath to keep me warm. It has a patchy sheer effect (again not sure of the proper term) but hopefully the picture illustrates that well.

Lastly, accessories! I love the belt, there are two colours available, I opted for the beige but there is black too. I really like that the poppers are hidden away underneath the flower. I have no idea how I will be styling it but I look forward to the summer and the chance too.

I also picked up a oversized army print scarf, thinner fabric than I usually go for but this will strictly be for styling rather than warmth.

Jewellery wise I went for the ‘Love’ necklace, which has a sparkle covered ‘L’ with the ‘O’ made of a peach flower. I love that pastels are in this season. It’s very pretty and a noticed that it is, in my opinion a nicer ‘dupe’ of a necklace in New Look which has a darker flower and a few extra dangles from it. In fact I noticed a lot of similarities between New Look and Primark jewellery, a lot of pieces similar to those in my last Primark haul.

There was also a flower necklace which looks very effective from far away, the petals portion is actually a fabric. Finally, I picked up the stud flower earrings for my sister although I imagine I will be removing a few!

I FOUND IT!! My perfect doubled fingered ring

I have been searching for the perfect double finger ring ever since I saw them come out whenever that was. I hadn’t loved anything, and things I did like I walked away from and never thought twice of again…… my test for if I REALLY want something.

So very randomly I came across the perfect ring yesterday in Aldo, and YAY! the last one was my perfect size…….only doubt point…..the price. £10. For many that seems like nothing, but its a lot more than I normally allow myself to spend on costume jewellery. So I walked away and wondered if I may in fact at a later stage come across something I love that much more. I found myself thinking about it in other shops and having checked the usual suspects for jewellery, new look, river island, topshop etc (sad right!), I decided if I went back to Aldo as my last shop before heading home and it was still there, then it was meant to be and this was the ring for me………..and well you know the result of that now.

It fits me perfectly, I love the way it covers the majority of my two fingers, I’m wearing it now and it doesn’t obstruct my finger movement at all. I just can’t stop staring at it! haha. It’s a beautiful tarnished gold colour, hopefully the images do the detailing justice.

I’m very glad I found it and can add it to my collection and finally give up the hunt until the next must have hits me!

Babyliss Waving Wand Look

If you read one of my previous blog posts then you would know that I ordered the Babyliss waving wand at a bargain price. Arriving this morning I tried it out immediately and these are the results…………..

I even felt inspired to model a bump-it and a flower headband with the look today.

First impressions…... I love it! The look is unique to that of a curling wand. I know I want to have more of a play with different thicknesses of hair etc before I give my final review, but so far so good.

** 19th March 2011 Please see here for full review. 

Montagne Jeunesse Renew You Microdermabrasion Mask Review

The Montagne Jeunesse Renew You Microdermabrasion Mask is a exfoliating mask designed to give you visibly looking younger skin since it contains a ‘rich complex of natural anti-ageing’ ingredients.

Generally I love face masks (see last post) and exfoliators so as a combination for me this is perfect. The mask comes with two chambers, stage 1 being the exfoliator, containing mild fruit acids and microbeads which you gently massage over your skin for 2 minutes following your usual cleansing. You then leave the masque on for 10-15 minutes (I generally always opt for the longer time). You then rinse off and apply the second chamber, containing a post-perfecting cream.

This is my second purchase of this, each sachet lasts for around 3 uses, and although it recommends 2-3 times a week of usage, generally I only used it once a week. However I love this product and potentially using it as suggested will only give a better result. It has no real smell and the microbeads are not too harsh. When leaving it on your face it does not really harden and is easily washed off. Your skin then feels so smooth and you can visibly see a difference from the first use with your skin appearing brighter, ‘cleaner’ and clearer. I experienced no drying effect after using, and the moisturiser sunk in well to my skin and added to the smooth and soft feel. I think I will always continue to use this product in my routine. I never brought it as an anti-ageing product, more to add with reducing acne scarring and redness of my skin. However, I use multiple products to help with this so I could not say that the benefits I have seen I can attribute to this alone.

Overall I have nothing but praise for this, I think the only negative would be having to be careful with storage after first use since you will not use it all in one go, but that is only because I was searching for something to say!

Bargain of the week!!

I mentioned in another post that I think amazon is a great place to pick up some beauty buys, in particular hair styling tools. I previously managed to nab the herstyler big curling wand for £20, now retailing at about 3x the price. It is a bit random how the prices go up and down, but this week having had it in may basket from way before christmas, the Babyliss waving wand was down from £27 to £21 when retailing in boots and eBay for £30plus. For me it was just what I needed to push me to buy and finally get my hands on this.

No pictures I’m afraid (yet) as I only want to feature my own, but basically the reason this appealed to me far more than other wands claiming to create waves was that the shape is more oval and angular than a traditional wand, which I think will give me the wave I desire!

I will of course review and post pictures of the results when it does arrive, in the mean time if like me you had been thinking about this its definitely the time to buy.

‘Till next time xx

Nails of the Week - Courtesy of Diet Coke Again!

I gave my nails a few days off from polish last week, but decided to go for the 3rd colour of the nails inc. promotion I brought.

Heather grey, a muted lilac which was very difficult to image for an accurate representation! I can’t decide if I love it or not, took 3 coats to get a good finish, it seemed to be a bit tacky and potentially streaky but I don’t know if that was just me being lousy with the application.

What did you go for this week?

Face Mask Junkie!! Montagne Jeunesse Haul

I love face masks and doing home facials, nothing for me says ‘chill time’ more than sitting in my room with a face mask on watching tv shows.

Just to show my latest purchases, I love the Microdermabrasion (renew you) exfoliator face mask by Montagne Jeunesse, however it is a bit hit and miss as to whether you find it in the pharmacy or supermarket so I ordered directly from their website along with a few other goodies I wanted to try.

I will do a review of the microdermabrasion mask in a separate post just to keep this short and sweet (I’ll try to put the link here!)

Other than that I ordered, the overnight moisture mask, which has 3 separate applications. I have used this before since I have very dry skin. Simply, you place the entire sachet on your face and leave on overnight where it vanishes away, using every other night.

I also ordered the whitening mask, really just to see if I can find a cheap mario badescu version! Again you apply overnight, rubbing the cream into selected areas. I imagine once you have opened it, the contents will be good for multiple uses (expect a review!).

Finally I ordered the sensuous spice mask, which along with other favourites comes as a 100g tube, advertised as being good for up to 10 applications. I am hoping this will be similar to a mask I love from Body Shop. Both these masks contain cinnamon and warm up on the skin. I saw great effects with the Body Shop version so again I am hoping this will be a cheaper alternative.

Please come back for reviews on all these products and please let me know below if you have tried any, or what your favourite face masks are.