Lola Loves ♥

A couple of weeks ago I was lucky enough to win a beautiful necklace from the lovely Lori at Lola Loves.

I'm a huge fan of jewellery made from other bloggers, you always find something that's just that little bit different which is what I love most!

I received the Watering Can Necklace which is (as you can probably guess) a cute little bronze watering can with a pink flower next to it, the chain is roughly 47cm in length which is perfect for smaller charms.

If you haven't already seen Lori's lovely shop then you can check it out here. 

I think I'll be buying the Anchor & Flower Necklace or even the Swallow Bracelet which I've had my eye on!

Who's your favourite blogger to buy jewellery from?


Link me below :)

FOTD : Something a little different....

Hi everyone! 

I hope you've all had a good week and weekend...sorry I haven't been blogging as much recently, I'm so busy at work and the past couple of weekends have been pretty hectic too! 

I am hoping to squeeze in more regular posts...starting with my first FOTD post of the year! I'm fairly new to this kind of posts - do let me know if you'd like to see more of them :)

I was rooting through my make-up storage and came across a few samples I keep from magazines etc. and found a tinted moisturiser by Clinique, as I'm trying to make the very little I have left of my foundation last until pay day I thought this was the perfect excuse to try...

(Not quite sure what's going on with my face here! Also excuse my lazy-Sunday top! :P)

FACE

Clinique Moisture Surge Tinted Moisturizer SPF 15 in Shade 03

EYES

MAC Paint Pot in Bare Study (as a primer)

MAC Eyeshadow in Shroom (all over lid)

Lancome Hypnose Doll Eyes Mascara

LIPS

Chanel Rouge Coco Shine Lipstick in Liberte 46
(another sample I found in my storage!)

I found the tinted moisturiser lasted really well throughout the day, at first I wasn't sure if I looked orange when I first applied but after wearing this all day I am definitely in love! I think I'll maybe purchase a full size or try out the Liz Earle version for Spring/Summer!

Do you use tinted moisturiser?


What's your favourite?


Leave a comment below!

A Review : Liz Earle Healthy Beautiful Skin Gift Set

I was lucky enough to receive this lovely little set for Christmas, I've heard so many great things about Liz Earle products and this set seemed perfect for trying out some of the most recommended products.

The set contained :

Liz Earle Cleanse & Polish Hot Cloth Cleanser 50ml

1 x Pure Muslin Cloth

Liz Earle Instant Boost Skin Tonic 50ml

Liz Earle Skin Repair Moisturiser Normal Combination 50ml

This set was pretty good value for money and as a try-me gift I thought the sample sizes were very reasonable! There's nothing worse than buying a full size product and being disappointed with it!

Anyway, I have used all of the products in this set since I opened them and here's what I thought...

Cleanse & Polish Hot Cloth Cleanser

 (plus Pure Muslin Cloth)

This has got to be one of the most talked about Liz Earle products and after trying I can see why! I had no idea how AMAZING this product would actually be let alone how good it smells! I've never really used a "cleanse and polish" method for cleaning my skin - apart from the sample from a different brand I received in a beauty box - but this is something else! 

Within a few days of using this my skin had a healthy glow to it and after a month of using my skin is near enough clear - no blemishes at all, I could actually get away with not wearing any foundation if I wanted to. It's also a fantastic make-up remover, I was worried about putting this on my eyes but I have to say it's worked better than any other remover I have used. I will definitely be purchasing the full size when I have run out.

Instant Boost Skin Tonic

I haven't had a huge amount of luck with toners, a lot of them either make my skin sting and tingle and just don't feel as if they're really doing anything. I was pretty impressed with this toner....no stinging sensation after using was a good start (this product is alcohol free) but also it smelt nice too! My skin feels almost refreshed after I use it, I think I may have found the perfect toner!

Skin Repair Moisturiser

Normal/Combination

I probably don't need to tell you this as you may have already guessed - like the other products this smells gorgeous too! I found this moisturiser really nice to use, I didn't have to apply too much to my face and my skin was left feeling soft and smooth without that horrible shiny/oily look some moisturisers can leave you with. As much as I love the Clarins moisturiser, £30+ is far too much to spend on a moisturiser when something like this that costs roughly £18 does just the job if not better!

I think I'm pretty much converted to Liz Earle skin care this year! I will be purchasing the full sizes for these products and there's an exfoliator along with some other products I have my eye on too!

If you fancy trying out some Liz Earle yourself you can purchase from either the Liz Earle website or at John Lewis. Liz Earle products are free from animal extracts so suitable for anyone including vegetarians/vegans!

Have you tried Liz Earle before?

What are your favourite skin care products?

Leave a comment below!

Much love,

Blog Birthday #01

(source)

Today my little blog is officially a year old! I can't believe I've been blogging for a year already, I have spoken to so many lovely people and discovered more great blogs along the way!

I also want to say thank you to each and every one of you that follows, reads and/or comments on this blog :) I look forward to another year (and more) of blogging and I hope you'll all enjoy it too!

My giveaway closes this evening at 22:00 GMT, the winner will be selected via random.org and announced tomorrow evening.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

Much love, 

MAC Milan Mode

This is my second lipstick by MAC, after picking up Lovelorn through Back 2 MAC I decided I wanted another lipstick when I braved the Boxing Day sales.

I'm wanting to be a bit braver with my lipsticks so I opted for another "bright" shade.

This one is called "Milan Mode" which is another lustre finish lipstick...

This shade is described by MAC as a "sheer deep pink with a multidimensional pearl". When I first swatched this on my hand at the counter, I was a bit nervous of trying it on my lips as it was such a bright colour - not something I'm used to!

 But after applying it on my lips I was instantly in love with it - it wasn't one of those shades where I had to go away and think about it, I had to have it!

What's your favourite MAC lipstick?

Any shades to recommend?

Much love,

Feel Unique Beauty Box : January 2012

Yesterday I received this month's Feel Unique Beauty Box, which was a perfect opportunity to try out my new camera that arrived at the beginning of the week!

Here's what I received this month :

Lierac Coherence L.IR Infrared Lifting Cream 15ml

Dead Sea Spa Magik Salt Brushing x2 50g sachets

Caudalie Vinotherapie Nourishing Body Lotion 30ml

Phyto PhytoBaume Color Protect Express Conditioner 20ml

Green People Gentle Cleanse Make-up Remover and Cleanser 10ml

Lierac Paris Comfort Peel Wrinkle Smoother 2ml

At first glance I was a little disappointed with this box as there wasn't a huge amount of variation - just a lot of skincare products! After reading the "theme" for this month's box which is all about getting your natural glow back with brushing, cleansing and moisturising, I can see why I have such an amount of skincare products.

I'm quite interested in trying the Dead Sea salt brushing product, although it's probably not considered a "luxury" product I have heard great things about the range in general - especially if you suffer with dry skin in the winter months, which unfortunately I do!

I enjoyed the Caudalie face moisturiser in a previous box so I'm hoping I get on well with the body lotion as well. I've got generous samples as usual with my box this month so no complaints on that front.

I'm quite interested to see what next month's box brings, I wonder if it'll have some sort of Valentine's theme at all?

What did you receive in your beauty box this month?

Hope you all have a great weekend!

Much love,

A Review : Macadamia Natural Oils

Hi everyone!

Hope you're having a good week so far? Friday feels so far away for me, I'm hoping the rest of the week goes by quickly!

If you're a regular reader of my blog you may remember I purchased a Macadamia Natural Oils Luxury Travel Kit last month, you can see my original post here.
If you haven't heard of Macadamia Natural Oils before they are basically a professional hair care company that have a line of products that contain macadamia and argan oils which aim to help hair problems like frizz, dryness, damage etc. Their products are also safe to use on colour treated hair which is an added bonus!

So here's what I thought of the products I tried...

 Rejuvenating Shampoo & Moisturizing Rinse

I was half-expecting my hair to be at risk of being left greasy after using these two products as they contain oils but I was so wrong! Both products are light weight and I could tell a difference from the first use which is always a winner for me! My hair was noticeably smoother, less frizzy and so soft!

Nourishing Leave In Cream

I alternated between using this cream and the healing oil as I didn't want to put too much of the same product in my hair but this was a really nice leave in cream to use especially paired with the shampoo and conditioner above. My hair looked quite shiny after using it (not in the greasy way though the nice way!) and felt incredibly soft. I prefer using creams and sprays to an oil as it's a bit easier to control the amount of product you put in so this was a great product for me.

Healing Oil Treatment

This treatment claims to help reduce blowdrying time, my hair loves to hold water and is an absolute nightmare when it comes to blowdrying. I can't say I noticed a huge amount of time difference with blowdrying, but my hair hasn't been holding as much water as usual recently so that could be a sign of improvement! A little goes a long way with this product so I can see this lasting me quite a while.

Deep Repair Mask

Now this product is my favourite out of the lot! I used this over the weekend and mixed in a little bit of the heating oil treatment with it as suggested for an extra boost and all I can say is WOW! My hair felt amazing! It was as if it had never had a drop of bleach on it ever! My comb went straight through, when I dried it there was no frizz and it just felt so smooth. Out of all the products this is probably the one I would re-purchase if I could only choose one out of all them it. It has got to be the best hair mask I have ever used (trust me I've used a lot!).

Overall, I would say Macadamia Natural Oils have a good range of hair products for a very fair price. I found the products that worked best for me were the shampoo and conditioner and the deep repair mask. The healing oil treatment is nice to use but I'm still trying to get used to the idea of using an oil based styling product instead of a spray or cream. I might even try the spray version of the healing oil next once I've used the bottle up, I'll see how I get on!

I purchased the luxury travel kit from cheap smells which unfortunately doesn't seem to be available anymore but their individual products are and this is the cheapest place I've found them.

Have you tried any of these products before? What did you think?

What's your favourite TLC hair product?

Leave a comment below!

Much love,

NOTD - OPI Muppets Gone Gonzo and the Fairy Hobmother

This polish is one of the shades I really wanted from the OPI Muppets Collection and I was so gutted when it was constantly sold out in Sally's. Luckily I was able to pick one up on Ebay that wasn't too far off what I'd pay for an OPI polish normally...

The shade is called Gone Gonzo which is a beautiful aqua blue glitter polish. I've applied two coats of this as one coat didn't appear to be enough on it's own...this like most glitter polishes will no doubt be a pain to remove but as it's so pretty I think it's worth it! ;)

I was very lucky to be visited by the Fairy Hobmother from Appliances Online last week who loved looking through my blog - my Meals of the Week post was her favourite in particular - and decided to reward me with a £20 Amazon gift voucher in return for mentioning her Best Washing Machine. 

Thank you Fairy Hobmother!

I have been saving for a camera as I am currently using my Mum's so this voucher plus the money I got for Christmas has helped me purchase the camera online which I can't wait to receive!

If you would like the chance of a visit from the Fairy Hobmother all you need to do is leave a comment at the end of this post with a wish...who knows! You could be next :)

Hope you all have a lovely week!

Much love,

NARS Duo Eyeshadow : Kalahari

A few weeks ago there were a few discount codes flying around and when I saw a 30% off ASOS one I just could not resist making a cheeky NARS purchase!

I decided to pick on an eyeshadow duo as I'd got on so well with the one I got for my birthday back in June. After Google-ing a few swatches of the different shades listed I decided to go for Kalahari.

One eyeshadow is a rich gold with a beautiful shimmer and the other is a gorgeous chocolate brown. This is a bit darker than what I normally go for but I wanted to be a bit braver and try something different!

I decided to use the gold colour all over the lid as a "base" and used the brown in the outer corner of my eye and blended it in.

Like most NARS shadows I've tried, a little goes a long way so this duo should last me pretty well! It also has brilliant staying power - my eye make-up looked near enough the same in the evening as it did in the morning! I'm really pleased with this eyeshadow overall, especially as I picked it up for just £18.80 - bargain!

Have you used NARS eyeshadows before?

What's your favourite shade?

Leave a comment below!

Much love,

NOTD - China Glaze For Audrey

Ever since I saw Yu's post on this polish it has been on my wish list! I decided to make a cheeky purchase on Ebay after finding one for a pretty good price.

The polish is by China Glaze and the shade is called For Audrey which is the closest blue polish I have seen to the Tiffany boxes...

It's quite a thick texture compared to most China Glaze polishes, the first coat went on a bit streaky so I did need two coats for this polish despite the very creamy texture. It left a beautiful shiny finish though!

I still love OPI polishes more but I can't deny how pretty this colour is and it'll no doubt be a favourite for Spring!

I paid roughly £5.70 for this polish, unfortunately there aren't any other polishes under that seller but if you're looking on Ebay for this polish I wouldn't pay any more than £6-7 as China Glaze retails roughly around the £7 mark :)

Hope you all had a great New Year!

Don't forget to check out my giveaway which is running until the 22nd :)

Much love,