Product Road Test #1

Having a sort out of my make up station over the weekend reminded me just how much stuff I seem to acquire and store without actually using, especially since I've been subscribed to Birchbox. To try and keep this under control, each month I'll be doing a product road test, trialing 4 products (predominantly Birchbox items) where I will include a make up item, skin care item, hair product and an additional random beauty product. At the end of the 4 week trial I'll post a " To buy or not to buy" review post with thoughts on whether or not the products worked for me.

In this first installment I'll be experimenting with:

The Green People Intense Repair Shampoo, Caudalie Vino Perfect Radiance Serum, London Butterflies Bath salt scrub and the Calvin Klein Delicious Pout lip gloss in Sparkle. I've already used these a few times this month, with a mixed bag of thoughts, so stay tuned to find out more! :)

Festival FOTD

 

With Autumn officially upon us and the festival season almost drawn to a close apart from the lucky ones still partying away at Bestival and Outlook over the next few days it seems the ideal time to reminisce about my festical experience this year. Camping at festivals isn't usually my thing, largely due to the ever-so reliable British weather, but this year I finally gave in and joined my friends at Creamfields... and oh boy was it amazing!!. I'm so terrible at taking selfies but managed to actually get few and thought I would share my festival face of the day with you guys.

 

 

My festival face basics included: MAC Studio Sculpt Foundation, Benefit Boi-ing Concealer, Garnier Eye Roll-on, the original Naked Palette, Seventeen Instant Glow Shimmer Brick in Gold Bronze, Maybelline Colossal Volume Mascara, Bourjois Liquid liner and when it came to lips I alternated between a Calvin Klein Lipstick in Ethereal and a Rimmel Lip Lacquer in Luna. Other items I used to jazz things up included a Wet 'n' Wild white glitter pot, Body Shop shimmer diffuser, Startgazer neon paints in pink and orange (not pictured), a Hair FX Hair Chalk in Pink and Ardell lashes in 105 (applied after the photo was taken).

 

 

And here is the finished product:

 

 

We enjoyed the festival so much that we've already got tickets for Creamfields 2015, keen much?!? Although a whole year away I am already very excited :)

Which festivals did you go to this year? Would love to know what you thought!

 

 

Love You Long Time

 

Seeing as I missed the boat for favourite products of 2013, I thought I would do a round up of my favourite and most used product over the past 12 months or so. Many of these have been on the scene for years and years and will always have a prime spot in my makeup bag.

 

 

 

 

Miscellaneous products

 

Batiste Dry Shampoo in Cherry. Batiste is a trusty old friend, always there to save the day, especially when you’re having a bad hair day. Great for on the go kind of girls, perfect to freshen up your hair and give it a bit of a boost.

Soap and Glory Rich and Foamous Body wash. Smells amazing! This is perhaps one of the nicest body washes I have tried in a very long time. It lathers really well and smells like almonds, with a hint of vanilla.

Rimmel SunShimmer fake tan. Fake tan for me tends to be very ‘hit and miss’ and this has definitely been a hit. If applies fairly evenly and the colour selection is just perfect, definitely more bronze toned rather than orange. This particular one is in the shade Fair Matte but my all-time favourite is Light Shimmer.

 

Eyelure false lashes in 145. Eyelure lashes are some of my absolute favourite, so many styles to choose from and the glue is brilliant. MY favourite at the time usually alternate from 140 and 145, but for the majority of the past 12 months 145 seem to be taking the lead.

Calvin Klein Euphoria perfume. Amazing! Highly recommend you try it!

Jelly Pong Pong Blush brush. Purchased at the Clothes Show, many many years ago, this lovely brush finally made it into my make up bag, ready for everyday use. It is really soft and perfect for applying blusher evenly. 

Bath and Body Works hand sanitizer in Mojito. Cannot describe how lovely this smells! Gutted there isn’t a Bath and Body Works in the UK… I would probably be in one every day!

 Eyes and Lips

MUA Palette in Undressed. Priced at an absolute bargain price of £4, I initially did not expect much but was pleasantly surprised with the great colour pay off from all of the colours in this palette. This would be a perfect product for someone who is just starting out in make up and wants to expand their collection.

 Maybelline 24 hour colour tattoo in Turquoise forever. Beautiful colour intensity with amazing staying power (even without primer!).

Bare Minerals eye shadow in High style and snazzy. Absolutely amazing eye shadows wit brilliant staying power. These can be worn just as a mineral powder but I prefer to apply them slightly wet for an added boost of colour intensity.

 

MEMEME Eyesweep eyeliner pen. Perfect for drawing thin lines, especially in the inner corner of your eye. Would highly recommend! 

Soap and Glory Thick and Fast Mascara. Absolutely loved this in 2013. Having only really associated Soap and Glory with lotions and various bath and shower products, it was nice to expand my collection and try some of the cosmetics in the range.

Rimmel Colour Show Off Lipstick in 020 Shake up pink.  This is an oldie but goldie, such a pretty Barbie pink colour and lasts reasonably well.

Pomme Granate lip balm from H&M. This is an absolute gem! Bought on a whim one cold, cold evening in Boston, this lovely lip balm has saved by lips from the brutal American winds.

 

 

 

NOTD: Calvin Klein Splendid Color Nail Polish

Slowly working through my bargain beauty steals from the Fragrance Direct website, I've finally got around to properly trying out this Calvin Klein splendid colour nail polish in the colour Silverstreak, which is a beautiful shiny silver.

 

 

 

 

Although the colour is absolutely beautiful I was slightly disappointed with its longevity, or should I say the lack of. I generally struggle with finding good nail varnishes, as I seem to be very chip-prone with whichever brand I use ... but I was disappointed that I noticed a chip the day after application.

I gave it a few more chances and achieved slightly better results. Whether it is just me or this particular nail polish, but unfortunately we didn't bond as well as I would have liked. Or maybe I need a better top coat? I don't know. Although disappointed, I haven't ruled out trying more of the nail polishes by CK, as I do love other products in the cosmetics range.

Have you tried any of the Calvin Klein nail polishes? would love to know how you got on!

 

Oh my WOW ... Fragrance Direct Haul

 

Over the past few weeks I have discovered the wonderful fragrance direct website! But seriously, where have I been all my life? If you haven't yet discovered this gem, Fragrance direct (.co.uk) stocks well known brands of make up, skin care products and perfume/aftershave at a discounted price.

I got a little over excited and the next thing you know I ended up with ... 45 items in my basket! Dangerous! After some careful deliberation and a reality check, as hard as it was, I tried my best to whittle this down to a reasonable number. When my parcel arrived (much sooner than I anticipated -brownie points) I felt like Christmas had come early. Most of the items I purchased were priced at £1.99, with the most expensive item priced at £3.99 which was the OPI nail lacquer, but hey what a bargain! And the cheapest (I think) was the little brush and the Rimmel liquid liner at only 99p.

 

 

Here is what I got:

 

 

 

Eye Candy false lashes in 003 and 007

 

 

Calvin Klein delicious luxury lipsticks in Cream Rose and Ethereal

 

 

I think I was a little over excited with the CK range as I also got the delicious truth lipstck in the shade Retro and the delicious pout lipgloss in the shade Sparkle

Rimmel Moisture Renew lipstick in 220 Pink chic

 

 

 

Maybelline Colour Sensational popstick in 030 Pink lollipop

Maybelline Colour Sensational lipstick in 832 Kiss pearl

 

 

L'Oreal Studio Secrets eyeshadow in blue eyes 284

Calvin Klein Tempting Glimmer creme eyeshadow in Bare silk

 

 

Bourjois Intense shimmer loose eyeshadow in 27 Sparkling blue

Maybelline Eye Studio mono in 412 Lagon blue

 

 

Rimmel Glam eyes liquid liner in 008 Aqua glow

Bourjois Khol and Contour eyeliner pencil in 13 Argent creatif

Dainty Doll eyeliner pencil in 004 Shake your tail feather

 

 

 

Essie nail lacquers in Pear and Desire which is a bright orange shade and We're in it together which is a sparkly pale pink.

 

 

L'oreal Colour Riche nail polish in Saphyr Lurex

O.P.I nail lacquer in I'm all ears

Calvin Klein splendid colour nail polish in Silverstreak

 

 

and finally, two very cute Bourjois mineral matt brushes

I have only sampled a few of the products so far and I'm very happy with my purchases. I would highly recommend Fragrance direct as you can find some absolute steals and even though I only paid for the standard delivery (5-7 days), my order arrived a few days sooner that expected so that was a nice surprise. My only issue however, was that the colour swatched provided on the website, in my opinion, are not fair representations of what the actual shade of the product looks like, so I would just be careful and double check the items at other retailers (if those products are available elsewhere).

 

Have you bought anything from Fragrance Direct? Would love to hear what your favourites were :)