My Skin Story #2 Sarah from Adorebubbles

Click here to head over to Sarah's blog and learn more about her!
Next week's featured blogger Kat is  from Beauty Embraced

Click here to check out Sarah's skin crush Joolie18's Youtube channel.

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Giveaway Update.

Hi ladies, just a quick one today to update you about a giveaway I ran recently.
I had some emails from you guys saying that you were unable to enter on my blog.
I discovered the reason to be some html coding from raffle copter.
Have any of you had a similar problem before?

Anyway I feel like it's unfair to announce a winner as so many of you had problems entering.
Instead I will be running a new giveaway in a few weeks time with some different prizes too!

Sorry for this guys!

Happy Saturday!

My Skin Story #1 Me!

Hi ladies,

I'd like to introduce you to my new blog series - My Skin Story.

I've been working with a number of great bloggers to bring you this series dedicated to skincare!

Next week's featured blogger is Sarah from Adoreabubbles!

If you enjoyed this post or would like to take part just leave a comment and I'll be in touch!

Basic smokey eye - any colour and any eye shape!

Hi ladies!
If there's one make up related question my friends always ask me it's how to do I create simple smokey eye?

There are tones of make up tutorials for a smokey eye floating about but today I am going to show you how I learnt to create a basic and easily adapted look.
This tutorial can work for any eye shape and with any combination of colours,

With just a bit of practice and experimentation you'll have it nailed in no time!

So what will you need?

• 3 or 4 colours (preferably the same colour in different shades) ranging from light to dark.
• A small precision brush ( a pointed eyeliner brush or lip brush work great!)
• An eye shadow brush to pack on colour.
• A round fluffy brush to blend.
• A brush of your choice to highlight the tear duct and browbone
• Eyeliner
• Mascara

Before we start I just want to explain to you something about pallets - the colours are placed next to each other for a reason!

Take 4 colours which are next to each other for an easy combination of colours.

Lets get started!

The colours I've used are:

Urban Decay Zephyr - Tear Duct - Highlight

Urban Decay Crystal - Inner corner - Lightest

Urban Decay Gunmetal - Middle - Medium

Urban Decay Oil Slick - Outer corner - Darkest

Start by drawing the outline of where you're going to place the shadow.

Take your medium colour and your precision eye shadow brush to draw an outline of where you are going to place the shadow with your eyes open.

Where you draw your line depends entirely on your eye shape.

You can go as high or wide as you like.

By mapping out your shape like this you gather a basic idea of what the shape is going to look like.

Keep trying for your ideal shape because at this point it's easy to just wipe it off and start again.

When you're done it should look something like this:

Next you need to start applying your colour.

If you are using 3 colours (excluding the highlight) then section your eyes into thirds and place your lightest colour on the inner third of your eyelid.

If you are using 4 colours (excluding the highlight) then section your eyes into quarters.

Then take your medium colour and place on the next section of your eye.

If you are using 4 colours (excluding the highlight) then apply this also in the next section along.

Lastly add your darkest shadow to the outer corner, staying in the line you created earlier.

Now starting from the inside of your eye and moving outwards take your blending bush and create small circular movements to blend the colour.

You can either blend all of the shadow or just down the area where the colours are side by side depending on how dramatic you want to go. 

(all over blending gives a less dramatic look).

At this point you can play around with the shape of your eye shadow to create a bigger or blended look.

Now you are going to apply your highlight to the tear ducts and brow bone using a new brush.

Use any brush you like or favor.

Now if you are happy with the shape of your eye shadow line your lash line, tight line and waterline.

You can also line under your bottom lash line to join the darker eye shadow or use the darker shadow colour with your precision eye brush.

I'm using Urban Decay's 24/7 liner in Perversion

Finally add mascara and false lashes if you wish.

I'm using Urban Decay's Supercurl Curling Mascara in Black

And the finished look ..

This look can be easily adapted using different colours and can suit any eye shape.

As you get more confident you can experiment with a wider range of colours and more shades.

If you have any questions just ask!

Disclaimer

I am not a professional make up artist and these are just t tips.

This is not the only way to create a smokey eye, but the way I find easiest and most adaptable.

This is not a sponsored post, all products were purchased with my own money.

Too good to be true: counterfeit cosmetics!

So my boyfriend told me yesterday about something he had watched on T.V lately and I didn't actually start paying attention until he mentioned MAC.
What he was telling me was that the show was about investigations into people selling counterfeiter cosmetics.
I already knew that this was rife. Everywhere.
But what he said next really shocked me.
These counterfeit cosmetics contained chemicals such as mercury!
Now I'm no chemistry whizz but I know mercury is extremely harmful!

Where are these counterfeit good being sold?
EVERYWHERE!
From markets to ebay!
As a rule I only buy cosmetics from places where I can be sure they are 100% authentic.
However I do own a 'MAC' eyeliner that I know is counterfeit so it went straight in the bin as soon as I saw the program!

In future, please remember that if something like this seems to good to be true. It probably is!
I now actively avoid buying products on ebay being sold under 'buy it now' and exercise caution when bidding on items which appear to be genuine (i.e. someone bought the wrong shade and is selling it so it wasn't a complete waste of money).

To check this out for yourself just click here.

Have you had any experiences with fake cosmetics?

Skin Care Giveaway!

Hello Ladies!

I have some very exciting news for you today!

I'm hosting my first giveaway!

This giveaway is in celebration of my new skin care guest blogger series!

This week I am publishing the first installment of 'My Skin Care story'. These posts will be published on a Saturday and I've got some great guest bloggers lined up for you!

The products I'm giving away are all essential to my newly updated skin care routine.

So without further a do!

The great drug-store products I've included are:

Simple Kind to Skin Deep Cleansing Face Mask

Neutrogena Visibly Clear 2-in-1 Wash & Mask

Superdrug Simply Pure Aqua Hydrating Eye Gel

Beauty Formulas Deep Cleansing Pore Strips

The rules of this giveaway are:

1. Entries can be gained in 4 ways:

Be a GFC follower (mandatory)

Leave a comment telling me your favorite skin care product (mandatory)

Tweet about it!

Blog about it!

2. The winner will be announced in one week! (16/10/12)

3. I will contact the winner within 48 hours of the giveaway closing.

If they do not reply within a further 48 hours another winner will be chosen

And that's it!

Pretty simple right?

Do what are you waiting for?

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Please note this giveaway is UK only

August & September Empties.

You may or may not have noticed that in August I didn't do an empties post.
I had hardly any products to show you but over the month of September they have accumulated greatly!

I've decided to use up a lot of my products that were half full or less because I'm terrible for switching up my products before they're finished.

So first up is body products!

Tesco Soft & Smooth Hand & Body lotion - I only use this on my hands and have for years. I find that it's the only hand lotion that works for me no matter what else I try!

Nair hair removal cream - This is just the original formula and I really didn't think much of it. I prefer the newer options and probably wont re-purchase this unless I can't get any thing else.

Impulse Magical Glamour shower gel - I really love this scent! I got about 4 gift sets with this in at Christmas and only now am I finishing them all up! I didn't find this shower gel particularly moisturising , but as a shower gel - it did it's job!

The Pink Cow A Very Quiet Body Scrub - I love love love this scrub and it smells ridiculously amazing! It's got a really gentle coconut fragrance and works fantastically  However it leaves a horrible residue in the bottom of the bath (but what body scrubs don't?).

Ayuuri Body wash in Sandalwood - I loved this shower gel (and so did my boyfriend). The scent is very uni sex and a little goes a long way! I received this in a Glossy box and know that you can get it in Tesco.

Sure Long Lasting perfection deodorant - pretty boring really, just an armpit spray. It's nothing revolutionary but it's not awful either.

Nivea Invisible protection deodorant - really not a great product, i mean it didn't stain my clothes but it was so moist, and that's not what I want from a roll on!

Hair care products.

Dove Intensive repair mask - This is a product I was trying to use up and only got one use from it (I'd already used the majority of it). I wouldn't label it as an 'intensive care' product but it was ok. There are much better products for a similar price.

Charles Worthington mineral hair rescue - you know I love this product ... I don't need to go into too much detail .. but it's amazing, I highly recommend it!

Lee Stafford Treatment for hair that never grows past a certain length - I picked 3 of these up when boots were having a 3 for £12 offer (I basically got these for half price!). They are good as a mask but I'm not really noticing a difference in growth (but that's a whole different blog post).

Uniq one all in one hair treatment - This is a sample product I got form a beauty box and I really like it. I've used it as a leave in conditioner as well as an all over mask - just a shame the sample was so small!

Wilkinson heat protection spray - For just a pound this product does it's job just as well as more expensive alternatives.

Charles Worthington moisture seal conditioner - I loved this conditioner, but I am a conditioner whore, I'm always trying new brands! I would 100% re purchase this product!

Fragrance

Karl Largerfield Sun Moon & Stars -I wore this all the time from about when I was about 12-15 and it always brings back great memories! I got one squirt from it last week as it was practically empty!

Ghost - Another fragrance I wore as a teenager and loved!

Marks and Spenser Butterfly EDP - This was a gift for Chistmas and I wore it all over the new year period and again have such good memories associated with this scent (is any one else like this?). It's such a light and girly scent and the perfect size to carry in my bag!

Skin Care

Tesco Cucumber Cleansing wipes - my usual wipes. They get the job done and are only 99p!

Tesco Sensitive cleansing wipes - I picked these up because there were no cucumber wipes in the shop and I was in desperate need! I didn't like them as much as the cucumber ones.

L'Oreal Dermo expertise eye make up remover - My favorite make up remover - I get through this stuff so quickly!

Taaj Make up remover - (this has a fancy french name but it's make up remover!) I loved this product and its on par with my L'Oreal make up remover. I received it in a Jolie box but have yet to find a UK retailer!

Mac makeup brush cleanser - Not really skin care but I thought I'd chuck it in this part anyway. It's a good brush cleaner but I probably won't buy it again as it's a bit pricey for what it is.

L'Ooccitane D'angelique hydrating Creme - A fantastic product! I loved using this. The only down side was the smell. It has a very herbal scent which I don't like but  it made my skin feel amazing!

Nail products.

Elagant Touch nail polish remover -This polish remover was excellent but I felt like it really damaged my nails!

NYC top coat, Grand central station - My Favorite drug store top coat! It dries fast and gives a great finish!

Do you use any of these products?

What are your opinions on them?

My 'IT' bag for Autumn 2012!

Now that Autumn is finally here I am all over faux leather and studs!

So the Hunt for the perfect bag this season commenced!

I had my heart set on the Zara Bucket bag and was considering adding a few studs to it, but it's sold out everywhere so I had to look for something better!

On a trip to Matalan I found this beauty!

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At only £16 it snatched it up!

It's the perfect size for me as it fits my uni notebooks in and all the crap I carry around with plenty of space to spare.

The studs are gold but the buckle has a slight rose gold tint to it.

The strap is brilliant as it's about 2 inches wide which means it doesn't cut into my shoulder when the bag is heavy.

The strap isn't ajustable which is one down side but it falls at my waist (which I thought was a strange length at first) but I find it really comfy to wear that length.

The ends are also studded to which I think makes it look far more expensive that £16.

The bag also has a zip fastening under the top flap which makes it extra secure.

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Also available in nude and rose gold.

What is your Autumn must have bag?

Autumn Colours: My trend picks

I love love love Autumn (and you're probably going to see A LOT of Autumn related posts from me in the near future).

I love the weather of Autumn, the fashion and the colours!

So today I'm going to talk about my favourite colours for Autumn 

(which also happen to be pretty in style right now!)

Maroon

I will be wearing a lot of maroon - as my alternative to black - it goes well with all of the other colours in my autumn palette!

Navy & Royal Blue

Having light coloured skin and blonde hair I think any shade of blue always looks nice on me and I can't wait to fill my wardrobe up with pieces in these lovely jewel tones.

Mustard

I never usually go for and shade of yellow but I've taken the plunge this year and can't wait to start experimenting with this colour as I just find it so interesting.

Khaki

I'm a huge fan of green and think plain khaki clothes are a great way to wear this season's military trend for those of us who are a bit shy of full on camo!

Grey

My neutral colour for the season. Last year I wore a lot of brown but I'm preferring grey right now because it's lighter and works well with the next colour.

Pale Pink

This colour is great for some girlyness and is autumn's answer to summer's nude. I've got my eye on a pale pink cable knit jumper that I think will look so cute with grey trousers!

What colours will you be working into your wardrobe this autumn?

Hair Product haul!

One area I seriously lack in when it comes to beauty products is hair stuff!

I don't really try a lot of hair styling products and tend to get stuck in my ways when it comes to hair care products.

So earlier this week when I was getting fed up of 'second day hair' I popped to the shops to pick up some new styling products to see what was available and what I could do whit them.

So without further a do!

Going back a while now I picked up this Lee Stafford Treatment for Hair That Never Grows Past A Certain Length.
It's a protein based treatment which aims to strengthen hair follicles and speed up hair growth.
I picked up 3 pots of this in Boots. They were running a 3 for £12 offer (I have no idea if it's still running). But I thought it was a fab deal as these retail for £7.99 each it worked out that I got these for half price!
I've been using this for almost 3 weeks and have made my way through one pot already! I want to use this for a bit longer before I give you guys a review!

I finally picked up the Schwarzkopf Got2b Guardian Angel Heat Protection Spray. I feel like this product has been blowing up in blog land recently and I've heard such good reviews that I thought I'd give it a try. I got it in savers for about £2.50, which is a lot cheaper than every where else I've seen it.

Also in savers I picked up this Pro:Voke Touch of Silver Intensive Treatment Conditioner which is a purple conditioner. Purple shampoo and conditioner works wonders on blonde or grey hair so I decided that at £2 I'd give it a go. Now I don't have fair blonde hair (it's actually quite dark blonde) but I have been using the John Frieda Go Lighter spray and thought this conditioner might help with intensifying my blonde.

I'm a big lover of John Frieda products and have been for years so I decided to give the Shape and Shine Flexible Hold Hairspray and the Dream Curls Styling Spray a try! I'm not really a fan of the traditional aresol hairspray and think this liquid alternative will be a lot easier on my hair (it also smells pretty nice!). I'm also looking for some new products to help my crazy natural hair look a bit more polished so I grabbed the curl styling spray too. These cost £2.50 each in savers.

Another John Frieda Frizz-Ease product I purchased is  this Miraculous Recovery Intensive Masque. I bought 3 of these from Tesco at £1 each. However Tesco are currently running a 3 for 2 offer across their entire hair care and styling department so I payed £2 for 3. This is another product which claims to strengthen hair to protect against breakages and since I've been noticing some breakages amongst hair on the top of my head I'm actively seeking to strengthen my hair. This is a wash out treatment.

I'm sure you're all aware of the new line of products from VO5 in this pretty pink packages. These were also included in the 3 for 2 offer at Tesco and I treated myself to Plump it Up Weightless Mousse, Give me Texture Tousled Style Spray and Give me Texture Dry Texturising Spray. This cost £3.49 each. I find it really hard to find a reasonably priced mousse which doesn't leave your hair crispy and I'm hoping this mousse won't let me down! I have tried the old formula of the tousled spray and really did not think much of it but since they have changed the formula I thought I could only be for the better! I've never seen a dry texturising spray before and actually have high hopes for this product as it just makes compete sense to me - as a dry spray it wont moisten your hair leaving it looking unstyled.

I asked my Mum to grab me a leave in conditioner when she went shopping and she picked me up this Vitapointe Leave In Conditioner for £1.50 in Tesco. I've never heard of it before and Mum tells me that it's quiet an old fashioned product that has been around for years and 'older ladies' tend to use. I thought I may as well give it a try because if it's been around for a long time it must be doing something right!

And finally I needed a new conditioner as saw a new product from Tresemme', Keratin Smooth Keratin Conditioner and thought I can't go wrong for £2.50 from superdrug. I always used to use Tresemme' as a teenage but I've always hated the smell. I stopped using it because I had extremely thick hair and found that all Tresemme products just gave my hair too much volume (first and last time you'll ever hear a beauty girl complaining about too much volume to her 'do!) but since then the texture of my hair has changed a lot and it's now a great deal finer. I've seen a lot of new products being bought out by Tresemme' recently and have decided to give them another chance!

So what hair products have you been buying lately?

Have you tried any of the bits I've bought recently?

What are you're favorite products and what would you recommend?

Autumn 2012 Make up Trends

A change in seasons means the introduction of new make-up trends!

I am a big fan of finding out the new trends for cosmetics which are generally born out of fashion week!
Now we are all aware of the way fashion week works - the start of spring gives us Autumn/ Winter trends and vise versa and with London Fashion Week coming to a close I've decided to take a look back to last fashion week and have a look at the make up trends!

So without further ado!

Berry Lips

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This is a trend that rolls round year after year and 2012 has been no exception.

When aiming for your perfect berry lip the idea is to make your lips appear as if you've just bitten into a bunch of blackberries.

I love the look and think it look fantastic on light and dark skin tones.

The contrast on a pale face make you look super sophisticated and on trend where as berry lips on a darker skinned person adds a subtle hint of glamour.

Multi-Toned Eyes

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This futuristic look adds a different dimension to eye make up looks than the usual smokey eye.

Its the new way to do glamorous eye make up and finally allows that bit of adventure into out make up bags!

Jason Wu used emerald green as the main colour for this make up look on his catwalk this season.

Fresh & Natural

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This is another look we see year after year throughout each season.

However the look for Autumn features more on 'the English rose' look. Flawless skin and a flush of colour to the cheeks. 

Whilst flushed cheeks are a sign of broken capillaries from cold weather a spot of blusher gives a much healthier look to the face.

Smokey Brown

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This is a look that I have been wearing so much for the past few months and don't plan on stopping any time soon.

However I think I will incorporate some of the other new trends we are seeing in order to bring the look up to date and give it a new lease of life.

It is such a versatile trend and can be taken from day to night really easily.

The morning after make up

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This trend looks pretty intimidating to me! 

It's based on the concept of not removing last night's make up and featured heavily on the runway with the likes of Louis Vuitton, Jean Paul Gaultier and Marc Jacobs. 

Whilst the run way look is not something I'd go for, a more of a smudged look on the lower lash line is the perfect compromise and I can't wait to try it out.

Vibrant eye liner

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This is a trend we saw back in spring 2011.

It's back again with a vengeance!

Go for bold patterns in bold colour for a bang on trend look. I personally cant wait to try this look with blues and greens!

Which is your favourite make up look, and if any, which will you be trying out over the next 3 months?