Dove Summer Glow Lotion

Hello lovelies! I'm not really one to use fake tanning products, so this is unusual for me! Naturally my skin is fairly pale, and I don't mind that so never before have I fake tanned. However, it is now summer (apparently) and I'm not going away this year, so I thought I would try out this product and see how I liked it. I bought the Dove Summer Glow Lotion rather than an actual fake tan because this is said to "gradually build a beautiful tan" and I didn't want to use it to the extent that I looked I had been on holiday for weeks, I just wanted a natural glow.

  When I first applied this product I was scared that I would end up looking streaky, but that didn't happen! I was also worried about turning out orange but even after the first time I applied this product I noticed a difference in the colour of my skin, it had a more bronzed (not orange!) look, but it was still very natural. I have only been applying this product every few days as I don't want to look too tanned, as I have said, I just like my skin to have a natural glow.

  One thing I don't like about this product is the smell - I apply it in the evening in the hope that when I shower the next morning and apply body butter the smell won't show through so much. Also, I only apply a very light layer over areas such as my elbows and knees as they can turn out a lot darker than the rest of the body.

  Overall, this product has changed my views on fake tan completely, and it is now one of my must-haves for the summer!

  

Dove Summer Glow Lotion.

Glamour Magazine Benefit Sample Reviews #1: BADgal Lash Mascara

Hey guys! A little while I posted about Glamour Magazine's free sample of one of two Benefit primers and a Benefit mascara, I wrote about my first impressions and promised full reviews - well here is the first review!
  In my previous post I wrote about how I like the size of the wand on the mascara and the way the mascara smelt. I had high hopes for this mascara, I really wanted to like it but when I tried it out I can't say that I was wow-ed by it! I would describe the mascara as 'all right' - I would happily wear it out and it looked okay but I don't think I would go into a store and spend £16.50 of my money on the full sized product. I did try to really like this product, but I just found that it didn't do much for my lashes apart from maybe add a little bit of length. Although I have to say, it is not at all clumpy which I think is a definite up-side!
 

HAUL: Clutch Bag, Makeup, Nail Polish and Shoes!

Hey guys! I have been a busy little shopping bee this week, and I know my purse isn't thanking me for that, but I could not resist (some things we're essential, I promise!).

  My first two purchases were two cute Essie Nail Polishes which, when I saw them, I just had to buy them! The pink colour is called No Pre-Nup, it is a pretty sheer pink. The second colour I bought was called Mint Candy Apple, I think this will be a gorgeous colour for summer.

  I then went and bought Bourjois Volumizer Mascara after hearing Tanya Burr (pixi2woo) rave about this, and I can tell you, she's right! This mascara is amazing! I also bought a Natural Collection Eyeshadow in Crushed Walnut to wear through my brows, it was cheap (£1.79) but it does the job well. Also, in Boots, I bought the Soap and Glory Smoulder Kohl Eyeliner in Cocoa Bean - this is a really nice eyeliner and it was only £5.00, very reasonable in my opinion!

  I also bought a clutch bag and a pair of shoes to wear out this Thursday night (see, I told you some things were essential buys. Haha!). The clutch bag was from New Look, it is called the Grey Envelope Clutch.

  The purchase I am most excited about, though, is this pair of shoes from Office, they are called 'A Starry Night Black Kid Suede' I ordered these on-line, luckily they still had my size left when I ordered them but they now only have sizes 7 and 8 left. I love these shoes! They remind me a little of Kurt Geiger's Gen Heels. I might post an OOTN with these shoes and my new bag on Thursday night, let me know if you would like to see that.

Thank you for reading! :) 

My Favourite Clinique Foundations!

It is no secret that Clinique is my all time favourite brand for foundations, I have worn Clinique foundations pretty much since I started wearing makeup, I just love them! Here I am going to talk about my three favourites.
  When reading this it may be useful to bear in mind that I have an oily skin type which is very much acne prone - thanks to this I do have some acne scarring on my skin so I like my foundation to have a full enough coverage to cover these, but I also need my foundation to stay as matte as it will on my skin - which does get oily throughout the day. I apply all my foundations with a No. 7 Foundation Brush.

 1. Clinique Anti-Blemish Solutions.
I have this foundation in the colour 03 Fresh Neutral - this was my foundation last summer when I had a lot more colour in my face, so it is way to dark for me at the moment!
  I was recommended this foundation by a lady on the Clinique counter when I was going through a fairly bad breakout stage in about August last year. The name 'Anti-Blemish Solutions' immediately drew me in.
  This foundation almost immediately became my new every day foundation, it has a good coverage (I would say medium) and it isn't too dewy so my face never looked ridiculously shiny whilst wearing this. Obviously I am too pale to wear this foundation right now, but during the summer I will definitely start wearing it more often.

I know this foundation looks absolutely disgusting - sorry about
that - you can see it has been well worn by me!

2. Clinique Even Better.

I have this foundation in the colour 02 Fair (this colour suits be a lot better than the Anti-Blemish Solutions - ha!). I do really like this foundation, it gives a really good coverage - maybe slightly fuller than both of the other foundations in this post - but it still doesn't look at all cakey on my skin.

  I can only wear this foundation when my skin is having a bit of a drier day than usual - if I wear it on a 'normal' skin day it will make my skin look far too oily. I think this is a shame because it gives such a good coverage and it looks really nice on my skin (before it starts to get oily, obviously). If you have a drier skin type I would definitely try this foundation out! 

 3. Clinique Superbalanced Makeup.
I have this foundation in the colour 27 Alabaster. I love this foundation, it is my current everyday foundation. When I bought this the lady on the counter told me that this foundation has a fuller coverage than the Even Better, but I disagree, I think this is slightly more sheer and natural looking, but at the same time it still covers up everything that I want it too.
  This foundation controls my oily skin very well - I still have to powder and touch up during the day but I expected nothing less. Once I have finished this bottle I will definitely repurchase it. I think out of all the three foundations I have spoken about, this is my favourite! I have used this almost every day since I bought it. Even on a slightly warmer day when I want a more natural looking foundation, I will mix this with tinted moisturiser and it looks just lovely. And when I am having a slightly 'dry skin day' this looks really nice mixed with the Even Better foundation. It is just perfect!

If you have any recommendations for foundations that are or aren't from Clinique please leave a comment telling me about them below:). The next Clinique foundation that I plan to try out is their new Stay-Matte Oil Free Makeup - have you tried this?

Even Better, Superbalanced, Anti-Blemish Solutions.
(Some of these may look to dark for me, I was matched for all of them
 but some of them were purchased in warmer months when I was tanned.)

NOTD. Clarins 203 Bordeaux.

Dark red isn't the most summery colour, I know (although - summer visited England for three days then left again) but I absolutely love the colour of this nail polish so I painted my nails with it anyway. When a first coat of this polish is applied the colour is a light, pretty red - completely different to the deep red wine colour you are left with after applying a second coat.

I didn't even know Clarins had a range of nail polishes, is this normal or have I been living under a rock?This nail polish is the only Clarins nail polish I own - this definitely needs to change soon! Any recommendations for other colours I should try? Comment below if  there is!

Obviously, Clarins isn't the cheapest choice of nail polish, but I think a brilliant alternative for this particular colour is Red Black by Barry M, I love this polish equally as much!

Benefit Freebies! Glamour Magazine.

(Sorry about the terrible lighting in this photo - there wasn't much natural light left when I took it!)

Hello all! I am not one to usually read magazines, but when I heard that Glamour (£2.00) were giving a free sample of either Benefit BADgal Lash Mascara, The PORE Fessional Primer or "That Gal" Brightening Primer I thought I better go and buy myself a copy, although, I ended up buying two copies because I simply could not decide on just one sample! I picked up a sample of the BADgal Mascara and the PORE Fessional Primer. I haven't tried these products out yet, but I thought I would write a post on my first impressions and then post a review on both products when I have tried them out!

 So, lets start with the mascara, I am interested to try this as I have heard mixed opinions on this product. Personally I really like the wand on this mascara, I like that it is quite thick and also that it is fibre not plastic as I do not get on with plastic wands! Another thing I quite like about this mascara is the smell - odd I know. I'm excited to use this product, I will post a review on my views once I have tried and tested it!


  The second sample was the PORE Fessional Primer. On Benefit's website they claim that this primer is the UK's best selling primer, so I have high hopes for this product! The reason I chose this primer and not the "That Gal" Brightening Primer is because I already have quite an oily skin type across my face so I don't feel I need anything that will brighten my complexion. After I had swatched this primer on my hand my hand was left feeling super soft and lovely, so I hope it will leave my face feeling the same way! This product, like the mascara has a lovely smell - my only worry with this is whether the scent will cause my skin to break out, but I will let you know how I get on in my review which will be coming soon!

Have you tried either of these Benefit products? What did you think? Tell me in the comments below!

Reviews coming soon :)

This or That Beauty Tag!

Hey guys, so earlier today I read Ashley the Fashion Guru's This or That Beauty Tag and thought it would be nice to do one of my own! Here it is...

MAKEUP.
Blush or bronzer: Bronzer.
Lip gloss or lipstick: Lipstick.
Chapstick or lip butter: Lip Butter.
Matte or sparkle eye shadow: Matte during the day, sparkle in the evening!
Eye liner or mascara: This is a hard one, but I am going to say mascara.
Gel, liquid or cream eye liner: Probably gel.
Foundation or concealer: Definitely foundation.
Liquid or powder foundation:  Liquid.
Neutral or colour eye shadow: Neutral, I'm not brave enough to go mad with colour on my eyes!
Pressed or loose eye shadow: Pressed.
Waterproof or non-waterproof: I am not overly bothered by this, although, if I had the choice I would buy waterproof.
Brushes or sponges: Brushes - no question about it!!
Powder, cream or liquid highlighter: I very rarely use a highlighter, if I had to choose I would probably say cream.

NAILS:
OPI or Essie: Essie!
Acrylic or natural: Natural.
Bright or dark: Depends what mood I am in, usually bright colours though!
Matte or shiny: Shiny.
Glitter or no glitter: I love a bit of glitter!

BODY.
Perfume or body splash: Definitely perfume.
Body lotion or body butter: Body butter.
Body wash or soap: Body wash.
Self tan or not: No - I have come to accept being pale!

Lets Talk: Lip balm!

Hey guys! As I said in my previous blog post I suffer from quite dry lips. I am forever trying out new lip balms to see what works best and what doesn't. In this post I am going to discuss what I think works and what doesn't - this is only my personal opinion though! I will start from my least favourite and work my way towards my favourite.

1. Nivea Caregloss & Shine - When I purchased this product I assumed from reading the packaging that it would provide moisture for my lips as a lip balm does as well as looking glossy on my lips. Although this gave my lips a very glossy effect I didn't find that it provided any moisture for my lips as it claimed on the packaging. Sorry Nivea :(
2. Vaseline Lip Therapy - I can't deny that I do absolutely love Vaseline and I always have to have a tin on the go. The reason its so low down in my list is because although it moisturises my lips it simply isn't my favourite! The moisture it provides doesn't seem to last as long as my top three choices!
3. Burt's Bees - This is one of the first lip balms (apart from tins of Vaseline) that I have ever reached the bottom of. Some of my friends have told me they feel the Burt's Bees lip balm leaves a greasy feel on their lips that they don't like, but I don't find this at all! I find it really moisturising and the softness it creates on my lips lasts a long time too!
4. Cherry Carmex - The first thing I love about this lip balm is the fact it has an SPF 15, I always remember to protect my face and body with SPF but never my lips, but when I have my Cherry Carmex on me there is no forgetting. I like the tingly sensation this gives my lips when I first apply it, and I like the smooth texture it leaves on my lips when it has sunk in. This is my second favourite lip balm!
5. Blistex Intensive Moisturiser - I have nothing bad to say about this product! This product also has an SPF, it isn't as high as the SPF in the Cherry Carmex but nevertheless it still has an SPF 10. I apply this before I go to bed at night and when I wake up in the morning my lips are as soft as velvet, and the moisture seems to last all day. I only have to re-apply lip balm a couple of times a day - and that is not like me at all! This is definitely my number one lip product ever! If you have dry lips, buy this!!  

Revlon Lip Butters

 Hello guys! I have been hearing a lot of good things about the Revlon Lip Butters recently, so I thought it was time I got my hands on on of my own. I decided to buy the colour 001 Pink Truffle.
  I am known to suffer quite badly with dry lips but this Lip Butter is so moisturising! I love the formula of the lipstick and also how the colour doesn't transfer solidly onto your lips, it is quite sheer. This, for me, makes it very wearable. My only regret with this product was my choice of colour, I now wish I had gone for a brighter colour such as a bright pink or red - I guess that could be an excuse to go back and buy another one though, right?

Soap & Glory Righteous Body Butter

Hi guys! So, if you know me, you will know that I absolutely love Soap & Glory for anything from shower gel to hand cream - I love the way their products look and smell. So when I got my hands on their Righteous Body Butter I cannot deny I felt a little excited. I had high expectations for this product, as soon as I opened the tub I noticed that 'Soap & Glory' smell and my expectations where already half met - and I hadn't even applied the product onto my skin yet!

    That evening I applied the Righteous Butter onto my skin for the first time, I really liked the consistency of it, it was rather thick and very moisturising. I don't like it when body moisturisers leave a greasy feel on your skin, but this body butter does not do that at all! Although it's really thick it sinks into the skin fairly quickly but still leaves behind the gorgeous smell of the product, so much so that I rarely feel I need to wear perfume after applying this as the smell seems to remain on me all day.

    On the lid of this product it claims that the body butter is a 'very dry skin formula' and I cannot argue with that, I can imagine that even on the driest skins it provides moisture for the skin. If you're looking for a new body moisturiser then I can't recommend this to you strongly enough!       

Barry M Glitter Nail Polish

 Hey guys! As your typical girlie girl, I am into anything pink and glittery, so when I was shopping in Boots the other day, I let out a little squeal of excitement when I saw Barry M's Pink Iridescent Glitter Nail Paint! As soon as I picked up the bottle I was intrigued by how pretty it looked, so I straight away went to the till and bought it.

  The minute I got home I painted my nails with it, at first I was a little disappointed with how little the pink showed through, but after I had put on a second coat I felt quite satisfied. The pink still didn't show through intensely although that isn't at all what I expected in the first place, I think the nail polish made my nails look pretty and girlie - a perfect shade for summer parties.

  I am glad I purchased this Barry M product - recently I have been neglecting my Barry M nail polishes and using a lot of Topshop ones in their place - but buying and wearing this has made me remember how much I like Barry M nail varnishes, I will start wearing them more often!!

MAC Patisserie Lipstick.

It may surprise you that I had no MAC products in my make-up bag until just a week or two ago! I was shopping in town with my mum and decided it really was about time I purchased my first MAC product, so that is exactly what I did.

  I knew that I wanted to buy either a lipstick or an eyeshadow, and after having a look at MAC's collections of both of these items I decided I wanted a lipstick, but nothing too bright and exciting. The lady on the counter was very helpful and put a few different colours and formulations onto my lips so I could see what suited me best. In the end I went for a Lustre in the colour Patisserie. I didn't want to go for anything too exciting simply because I knew that I would get a lot more wear out of a more natural colour.

    I really like this lipstick, I know a lot of people are put off buying MAC lipsticks because they are slightly pricey, priced at £13.50, but personally I think they are worth every penny! They aren't at all drying on my lips as a lot of lipsticks are, the colour lasts all day and the colour transfers well onto my lips. I will definitely be going back to MAC in the near future too see what other products they have to offer!

Patisserie by MAC - £13.50