Beauty Storage Before & After!!

I dream of owning a Carrie Bradshaw style walk in wardrobe, with a wall of shoes, bags and a beautiful French dressing table, but until we win the Lottery, I’ll continue dreaming!!

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We have a spare room which would be a perfect room for girly goodies but at the moment is a super boring office for my husband, filled with books, a desk, computer and a map of the world......are you still awake? Ok....sorry!

The wardrobe/floordrobe is a whole other issue, so for now I’ll stick to the beauty side of things!

So our bedroom was looking super messy with all my makeup, skincare, body care and all other beauty products a girl simply has to have!!  Makeup bags full to the brim,  Glossy Boxes full of nail polishes, skincare and samples, larger boxes and bags filled with bodycare and haircare!

One Morning Graeme was moaning about my obsession with beauty products and my ever growing collection taking over the room.  I massively hinted that I’d love a dressing table, but in the meantime I just need some decent storage!

We have a little cubby hole opposite our bed which housed a TV. We never watched tele in bed so I suggested moving it and having my own beauty area there!

Our bedroom is pretty unisex, it’s deep purple and cream, but I didn’t care if my beauty area didn’t match the room. It was my only girly area (that sounds rude!) and I wanted it to be just that......Girly!!

I’d seen these mini chest of drawers from WHSmith on a few blogs and just thought they were gorgeous and a bargain at £9.99. So I’ve divided up all the makeup I currently use into Face products, eyes, lips, cheeks and the bottom drawer holds lashes and other bits and bobs.

I got two of the matching documents boxes to put my haircare and tanning products in. They were £3.99.

My makeup brushes are stored in these tea light holders from The Range , and only £1.99 each! I think they are really pretty!

I’ve kept my favourite nail polishes in two Glossy Boxes, and the bits I use when doing my nails, remover, files, nail clippers etc in a cute tin from TKMaxx which was only £1.99!

I don’t own as much skincare as I do makeup, so that’s just where it needs to be, in the shower room, bathroom etc, night cream is on my bedside table!

The rest of my products, which I don’t really use, but can’t bare to throw away, I have stored in Glossy Boxes under my bed! I’m such a flippin hauder!! 

It’s a far cry from a walk in wardrobe or dressing table, but it’ll do!.......For now!

Oh and here is my lovely Dad putting up my mirror!

.....My hero!!!

GHD Smooth & Finish Serum Review

Last year GHD introduced their new range of styling products. I was recently asked to review the Smooth & Finish Serum. I don’t think you can get better than a pair of GHD straightners and I love their Sea Salt Spray, so I was a little disappointed that the serum just wasn’t for me.

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The packaging is very sleek, stylish and good quality, which looks great sat with all my beauty products.

Unfortunately the product itself just didn’t do it for me. I felt the texture was too heavy, even for my thick hair. GHD describes this as a ‘lightweight serum’, however for me it left a coating on my hair which weighed it down and looked greasy. I think this product would be better suited to very thick , coarse hair, however if you have fine hair I’d steer clear!

It’s also pretty pricey at £14.95, so this is not something I’d repurchase. I’ll definitely stick to my John Frieda Frizz-Ease Secret Agent Perfecting Cream at only £5.49!

www.ghdhair.com

*PR Sample

I need my LUSH Fix!!

My Lush Jar is running low, I only have the dregs from my Christmas bits!

So on Saturday when I met up with my blogging besties Stacey & Laura for TOWIB, we grabbed a bite to eat at Nandos, then Laura and I had a little wander around Covent Garden.

Oh course we had a browse in MAC and Space:NK, but I’m trying to curve my makeup spending, yes I desperately want Angel Lipstick but I have a gazillion lippies!
So instead we made our way to Lush, we both needed a Lush fix!!

I picked up a Space Girl, Lush describe these smelling of Grapefruit and bergamot, but to me it just smells of Palmer Violets!! Gorgeous!!

I also picked up a comforter, this one smells of Ribena and calpol.....my childhood in a bubble bar! Lush say ‘the Comforter wraps you in a fluffy pink blanket of blackberry bubbles to keep you safe and warm’.....lovely!!!

And then quite possibly the best Lush product EVER, the Dragons Egg bath ballistic! It is so fragrant, bursting with citrus scents which linger in the air long after you’re out!! You can get a good two baths out of this ball. When I first ever used this, I had a pleasant surprise!!

I chucked the ball in to my running bath, it fizzed and rolled around creating a milky moisturising foam which smells divine! As the ball is so big and seemed to be bobbing around for so long, I decided to take it out and save it for another bath!

I couldn’t wait too long, the next day I was eagerly waiting the kids bedtime so I could relax in the bath. As soon as I started running the water I threw in what was left of the Dragons Egg, it was still coated in the delicious smelling white coating with a pop of pink and orange coming through, but after around 10 seconds it cracked open to reveal a vibrant golden filling which smelt amazing!!! When I immersed myself in my hot golden bath it felt so luxurious, the water was now a beautiful shimmering orange colour which smelt amazing, it was....well.......LUSH!!

With my Dragons Egg, some pampering products and a glass of red wine....I was in heaven!!!

So my Lush Jar is looking a little fuller, but I may have to drop some hints for Valentines Day tomorrow, I'd love the Lush Legends Gift Set!........Ha at £100 I'll be lucky!!

Make Up Academy Love Hearts Collection!!

Wednesday night was the launch of the MUA Love Hearts collection, it took place at the very cool  Fruitbox in Piccadilly.

The stands and tables were adorned with sweets, cupcakes and macaroons! It looked (and tasted) gorgeous!

Most importantly though, was the new Love Hearts collection dotted about the room. Sweets and makeup....what could be more perfect?!?!

Love Heart Nail Varnishes

UR FAB & U & I

The nail varnishes come in 6 luscious shades, 3 pastels and 3 brights, the limited edition packaging has the cute Love Hearts logo on the lid! The colours above are nice but I wanna get my hands on the pastel purple shade LOVE U 24/7, it's gorgeous! And they're a steal at only £2!!

Love Heart Lip Balms

I LOVE love love these lip balms. They are moisturising, have a gorgeous hint of colour and are super glossy! Don’t they have the cutest names?! Only £2 each!!
I have Sugar Lips, Sweet Kiss and Kiss Me, I love them all but Sweet Kiss is my fave!!!

We were then introduced to the new products in the MUA Professional range.

3 in 1 Contour Pens

These contour pens are nothing like I’ve seen before, they are fantastic! Use the tip for defined looks around the waterline or the full length for a full eye contour look. These pens are so soft and easily glide onto the skin due to the angled edge rather than a point which most eyeliners have!

In the photo above I have Black, Smoked Plum and Sea Blue. I love them all!!

They come in 7 gorgeous colours and are only £1.50!!

Glitter Nail Quake Polishes

Red, Sliver, Gold, Green, Blue & Pink

Ok, I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, I’m not a fan of crackle polishes.  But these come in such stunning colours, I’ve gotta give them a go! I’m looking forward to trying them out!  My favourite colours are definitely the Pink and Blue!! Only £2.99.

Out There Plumping Lipglosses

If you want sexy, luscious, full lips.....on a budget, this is the way to go. They are super glossy, leave your lips tingling and come in the most beautiful colours!!! I think these are my favourites!! Only £2....crazy!!
I have the shades Peach Shimmer, Shocking Pink, Pink Sugar and Nude. All the colours are gouregous but my favourites are Peach Shimmer and Shocking Pink!

Pro BB Foundation

MUA are also bringing out a BB cream, the cheapest yet at £4!! Ok, so I only felt it on the back of my hand, but it felt so velvety and had a good coverage! I’m really looking forward to trying that when it launches in March!

It was so great to see the super talented Karla Powell, she is the head makeup artist for MUA, I know I’ve gone on a lot about Karla on here, but she’s amazing!! I got to have a little chat with her, it was great to catch up!

Here's Karla with the fabulous Zoe from TheLondonLipgloss

Here’s some of Karla's work for the Love Hearts collection!

So what do you guys think of the new collection??

I can't wait to get playing!!!

I've gone RED.....Before & After!!

So last Thursday I took the plunge and went red!!  I’d been so excited up until 10 minutes before my appointment. Suddenly I felt anxious, but I’d been thinking of going red for a while and didn’t wanna back out!!

So, what do you think??

It’s a little darker than I wanted, and not quite Poppy’s beautiful colour but I’m getting used to it!

I’m quite excited to experiment with new colours, apparently I need to avoid pinks, which is a shame as I would say 70% of my lipglosses/lipsticks and blushers are pink!

Well, that does give me a great excuse to go makeup shopping!! (Which I’ve started) Like I ever need an excuse!
I have taken some fab tips from Daniel Sandler and Karla Powell, I messaged them both prior to getting my hair done, asking for a little advice.

Daniel suggested I should use less pink shades and more peach or earthy/gold/bronze tones.

Karla advised I avoid pale foundations, which could result in washing me out. Wear rich purple shades on my lips, she also said peach and copper tones should flatter my new look!

 In the photo above  I’m wearing Bourjois new ‘Light’ eyeshadow in No2 Frosted Blue, MAC khol in blooz, MUA blusher in shade 6 which is a plum tone and Bourjois Sweet Kiss lipstick in Rose Cachemire, a nude peach shade,  with a little FashionistA Plumping Lipglaze in Coral Couture on top!

 I’m wearing my usual base of MAC studio Fix foundation in NW25, Collection 2000 Lasting Perfection concealer  in  Light,  BareMinerals Mineral Veil, BareMinerals Warmth Bronzer and Daniel Sandler Jumbo Jet Mascara on my lashes.

I actually have a lot of natural/earthy tones, so I thought I'd just try something completely different on my eyes which is why I played about with the frosted blue shade, it's a very subtle soft blue and I quite like it!

Next on my list are some plum and deep purple lip colours like Karla suggests! Love the look of the Kate Moss Rimmel lipstick in no4, it’s nothing like I’ve ever worn before!!

You can find Karla & Daniel on Twitter!

Have you recently gone for a drastic hair change?

Glossy Box - Valentines Edition!

The much anticipated Valentines Edition Glossy Box arrived yesterday morning, after waiting longer for this months box I was so excited to rip it open. I resisted my urge to take a few pictures of the beautiful packaging!

The last two boxes have been a themed colour, Decembers box was festive red and the Valentines box is a gorgeous hot pink! I love the way the Glossy Girls wrap our little boxes of loveliness, the products are carefully placed on pretty pink crimped stuffing, wrapped in white paper, a little sliver bow and a cute little pink heart holding it together, oh and yummy pink and white rock sweet.

Ok so what did I get?......

Eyeko Skinny Eyeliner

Glossy Box say – Get a handle on your eyeliner for precise definition and intense colour with a long lasting finish.

This eyeliner glides on like a dream, I got a soft green pencil, it’s not a colour I’d usually wear but I’m going give it a go!

Orly Nail Lacquer in Ruby

Glossy Box say – Orly, the top Californian brand, offers an infinite range of colours.

I love this colour so much, it’s a gorgeous red wine shade. Its so wearable, a great winter shade!

Weleda One step Cleanser & Toner

Glossy Box say – Weleda One Step Cleanser and Toner is a handy two in one pack ideal for travel.

This looks interesting, I am so guilty of very rarely using toner, so a 2 in 1 is a great idea, I’m looking forward to trying it!

FAB Gentle Body Wash

Glossy Box say – A moisturising, irritant free everyday cleanser ideal for even the most sensitive skin.

This looks quite nice, due to being gentle and for sensitive skin, it has a very delicate fragrance, I do prefer a body wash with a bit more of a scent to it! I’ll give it a go, but it’s not something I’d repurchase.

Murad Hybrids Skin Perfecting Primer – Dewy Finish

Glossy Box say – Oil-free primer ignites a radiant glow, powered by light enhancing minerals.

Any products which claim to give me a radiant glow or brighten my skin are always going  to get my attention, I also love a dewy finish over a matte look, so I’m excited to trying this.  It’s slightly tinted rather than clear like most primers, which looks like it’ll give a tiny bit of coverage.

I do like the products in this box, although it was a slight anti climax. There was so much hype about it, so I was a little disappointed there was only one full size product. Although Glossy Box do advertise it as 'A mix of 5 exciting miniatures' . I think we've been spoilt in the past with 2-3 full size products some months, so you sort of expect more than 1, well I did. However you (I) can't really complain at paying only £10 for the products. Anyway, enough of sounding like a spoilt brat, I am looking forward to all of these products, especially the Murad Primer and the Weleda Cleanser/toner!!

x x x