the dangers of beauty blogging

Currently being unemployed I have to consider each of my purchases carefully, even lots of items at a few pounds each eventually add up. Although I have always read blogs, with the whole process of starting my own and posting regularly, I catch more of others blogs that I was already following, as well as finding more great bloggers. Of course with this comes a bigger wish list of products I want to try and buy!!

I won’t start to list them since I will only upset myself (yes I am being overdramatic) but my main reason for saving at this time, is that at some point in the next 2 weeks I plan on heading to the Ideal Home Show as well as the Vitality Show. For any of you which have not heard of these they are both consumer shows essentially, with various companies pitching up stalls and showcasing their products along with tempting special offers, overall they are just really fun days out with the opportunity to see and try new things and sometimes be a bit pampered. The Vitality Show is predominantly aimed at women with health and beauty being the overall theme, whereas the Ideal Home Show (as implied in the name) covers the home overall, furniture, carpets etc as well as (kitchen/electrical) gadgets and more recently beauty and fashion. I have managed to get some very unique pieces in the past at great prices, for example, pashminas from an Indian seller who came especially for the show, and other scarves which I haven’t seen anything similar since.

I also purchased my Miche bag last year at a great price and hope to see them again this year to add some covers to my collection. I have also picked up other very unique handbags.

At the vitality show I also picked up what has become my favourite night out purse as well as loads of beauty products from both big named and smaller London based sellers. The bargain for me at the vitality show last year was 4 Bourgeois products for £12!!

I feel this post has been a little like a Simpsons episode, starting with one point and ended on another completely. Of course I always planned on storing the pennies for these two events but the temptation to pick up other things is that much more having seen so much I want!!

Let me know if you have ever been to either of these shows and your thoughts, or if you have already been what to look out for!

Weekend Away!

Just a quick post to let you all know I will be away this weekend so I won’t post anything before Sunday!

I am only going away for 2 nights and I would say 70% of what I am taking is cosmetics!!

Hope you all have a lovely weekend and I’ll be back soon :-)

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! :-)

Favourite Online Beauty Sellers

Since I am always on the look out for a bargain I have managed to compose a list of different online retailers who I have found to have great product selection as well as good pricing.

This is in no particular order.

1. http://www.love-makeup.co.uk/

I discovered this site whilst desperately looking for a UK based seller of NYX products. The range of NYX and other brands such as Sigma, Michael Todd, Mac and other high-end brand products on offer is extensive and the pricing very reasonable. Whenever I have browsed the site there have always been products on offer and I emailed them recently since they are very close to where I live and they are opening to the public next month! Also in the same contacts section you can request products for them to get in stock, although not having tried this I am not sure how they do on that.

2. http://www.justbeautydirect.co.uk/

I found this website when I was searching for cheaper Smashbox products. They also have a whole range of other brands. The pricing is cheaper than buying directly or from a department store, but still falls in the more pricy of the websites I am naming. With regard to Smashbox, they offer foundation samples for £1, giving you a chance to test before you fork out for the whole thing. They were very prompt with delivery when I ordered, and they always seem to have offers for free gifts with purchase.

3. http://www.amazon.co.uk

Might be a surprise to some but I have always found great deals on hair styling tools on amazon (they even have the odd beauty products on there). Worth having a quick browse before deciding where to buy, and a lot of the time you can get free delivery or its very cheap.

4. http://www.qvc.co.uk

This is on the list purely for their 30 day money back guarantee. It is the only place I know of where you can buy something, use it and send it back without even having to explain yourself, great seen as you don’t have the opportunity for colour matching when it comes to cosmetics. They also have some great deals where you can get a whole selection of products for very good value. The range of brands is extensive and they also sell hair styling tools and products and nail polishes.

I hope this is helpful to someone. Let me know your thoughts and experiences if you do go ahead with any purchases. I’ll be sure to update this post with any other useful websites!

Lush Products Review

I love the philosophy behind Lush and therefore always wanted to try them, so armed with a 10% off voucher I hit my local store. I was more interested in the face products, initially drawn to the fresh face masks and was soon chatting to a very keen employee. She performed an entire facial routine on my hand (following a quick chat about my skin type and concerns (dry, breakouts, blackheads)) consisting of;

1. 9 to 5 orchid oil cleansing lotion,

2. Fresh Farmacy (sic) bar

3. Oatifix Fresh Face Mask

4. Eau-Roma water

5. Full of Grace serum bar

5. Skin’s Shangri La moisturiser

Unfortunately there are no pictures to accompany this post, since I have used all these products for over a month now and they don’t look very presentable

Well after all this I brought all items apart from the toner and moisturiser, as well as buying the shower/emotibomb, in the ‘up you get’ scent.

The cost was still pretty high even with the 10% discount but generally these organic/natural products are, and I have been using most for well over a month and they should still have a few more weeks use.

First off was the shower bomb, which had a lovely scent and I believe that is it’s only purpose, so at £2 a use I can’t imagine I will be repurchasing this too often!

At the store I was told that the 9 to 5 should be used as a pre-cleanser to remove make up and oil before using the fresh farmacy or other soap/cleanser. As a makeup remover I wasn’t too impressed it didn’t remove very much and I had to repeat at least twice before I was happy to move on to the fresh farmacy. The smell of the product isn’t to my liking although it is not offensive. I also didn’t like the feeling on my skin after wiping away, it was almost itchy, so I definitely couldn’t have used this alone without washing my face again after. So I can safely say I will not be repurchasing this one. My sister uses and swears by the Ultrabland cleanser used in a similar way to the 9-5 so I may well be swiping a pot of hers to try that out.

Fresh Farmacy is advertised as an ‘cleansing chamomile and calamine bar for troublesome skin,’ this was given to me since I complained about my monthly breakouts. Also added are rose, tea tree and lavender oils all known for their skin calming properties. Tea tree is also known for its antiseptic and antibacterial properties. I do like this soap apart from the fact that I find it a bit drying so maybe if my skin wasn’t so dry this would be better. I don’t know if it really has helped with breakouts although I can’t say my skin is worse following its use over the last 2 months.

The fresh face masks are suitable for use if kept in the fridge for 3-4 weeks after purchase, in this time I only ever used it twice mostly because it was such a messy formulation to work with. The result is soft, smooth, hydrated feeling skin, the process of wiping it the mask off acts to gently exfoliate. However, I also had oat particles all over my clothes from initially putting it on my face and then anything which fell off in the 10 minute treatment time which was a big off-putting factor. I didn’t like the smell, but my mum and sister really liked it. I know the other fresh face masks have different consistencies so I will definitely try one of those since I do apply face masks 2-3 times a week but just didn’t get along with this one.

Finally the full of grace serum bar, this is probably my favourite product of all I brought. The smell took some getting used too I think that was the portobello mushrooms used for its antioxidant properties. This serum is designed again for soothing properties, although they do have another which is more suitable for oily skin. You just let the serum bar melt slightly with the heat of your hand and smooth over your face, alternatively, massage into the skin. The lush website suggests that you can use this before a fresh face mask, but I have used this daily since I brought it after cleansing and before moisturising.

I hope this small review was helpful for some. Lush has great customer service and they are very willing to provide samples of products if you ask for one. I think its just going to take me a little longer to find products I love and that are suitable for me. Let me know your experiences either with these products or any other Lush products, I would love an idea of what to try next!

Safe Cosmetics

So I’ve abandoned this blog for too long and really want to put in the time and energy deserved to get the best out of it, a topic really struck me today that I wanted to share and give my opinion on.

Via twitter I found this article; http://www.aolnews.com/2010/07/21/how-safe-are-your-cosmetics-new-bill-wants-to-find-out/

I think the video explains the key issues very well and I am so glad to learn that cosmetics are going to be assessed and potentially regulated more. It seems crazy that in this day and age we have ignored the toxins we are exposed to in our daily bath/shower routines when the awareness of healthy eating and exercise is at a high. I believe that the number of regulated compounds in the UK and EU is higher than America, but hopefully this law will only serve to set the ball rolling for greater research and regulation.

Thankfully, the makeup industry has clocked onto this idea of green cosmetics, with brands such as bare minerals, bella pierre and micabella offering foundations clearly listing 3 or 4 ingredients as well as mineral based eye shadows, lipsticks and even mascaras. They have always promoted that these are ’so pure you can sleep in them’. I personally love the mineral makeup, although my education into them was by accident actually buying a product heavily advertised as mineral but not pure in any sense of the word. I have since found out that you only need to have 10% or so of minerals to call yourself a mineral product!

Call me cynical but I believe that the root issue here not touched upon in the video, as with most things in the world is cost. Both the consumers cost that of the producer. As I write I have subjected myself to a two fold cleansing process, followed by serum and moisturiser, topped off with a bit of sudocream to rid myself of hormonal spots. Although I have been aware that a lot of the products I am using are potentially toxin filled, I am not in a financial position to buy from green producers, who for reasons I cannot understand sell there products at extortionate prices (and they aren’t that easy to find either!) I assume the reason my drug store products are so affordable is the cost of these cheap toxic components.

With the rates of cancers and allergies rising, I am really happy to know that hopefully in the not so distant future I can look forward to buying products which will if nothing else not increase my risk of developing cancers and chemical intolerance. Hopefully I can update you on this soon.