The Beauty of Ebay!

I have a love-hate relationship with Ebay, I love how cheap it can be, but hate how many fakes are on there.  My biggest tip is to use sellers that are recommended to you.  And also, when buying branded products expect it to be fake, I always ask myself 'would I pay this amount if I knew this wasn't the real deal?'  If the answer is yes then there's no tears when my 'Mac' lipstick breaks within 2 days. 

However, there are some little gems to be found floating around in that big Ebay pool.  The first is seller coastalscentsuk the name gives it away really.  Best customer service I have ever received and also no duty and delivery charges from the US.  I purchased the Coastal Scents 22 brush set and as far as I'm concerned it is the real thing and I've been on their website http://beautystore4u.co.uk which, if were fake hopefully would have been closed down by now.

I am a big fan of lashes, my own, other people's and false ones.  These eyelashes are probably the biggest money savers for me, 20 pairs for £3.99 (+postage and packaging) and I love them.  The band is not at all flimsy and used with Eylure glue you cannot go wrong. I've gone out, come back in and accidentally fallen asleep with them on and they did not budge an inch.  There are all different styles and can also be sold as a single pair or in sets of 10.  Also suitable for contact lens wearers.

A trend that was sort of going round on YouTube was the UV Nail Curing Lamps, mine cost me £9.45 and saved me loads in not having to get my nails done professionally all the time.  I think this is a good little gadget if you've got some spare money, but it can be waste because the gel nail varnish can get pretty pricey.  I would recommend to start with, buying just a gel top coat and then in time, if you wish, to buy colours in order to get full use from the lamp. (And then the genie will appear, no, wait, wrong blog.)

Lastly, these caviar beads are a new find of mine.  Who needs £18 Ciaté caviar when you can get 40g of beads for £1.99? (+postage and packaging)  Saying that, I haven't tried them out properly yet so the final effect may alter my view.  I'll keep you posted on how they fare with a nail of the week coming soon.

Thanks for reading, But sshh remember... it's a secret
x

GlossyBox - July

As most of you probably know GlossyBox is a subscription service that issues you with a box of products each month.  The products can be a mixture of high end and drugstore, normally of sample size but sometimes there are full sized products too.  I want to mention that I am not affiliated with GlossyBox nor an ambassador for the company.

I'm sure a lot of people are aware of the disappointment that was the June box last month, and as my first ever beauty box you can understand why it was too painful to blog about.  Also, the reason I am only blogging about this now is because I have been receiving my boxes at the very end of the month so I sort of already know what's coming my way before I open it. Stupid me being so nosey with other blogs. Anyway, I thought I would show what I received last month in the festival box.

HD Brow Kit

If I remember correctly this was featured in nearly a year ago in September's Glossybox and the whole beauty community and their mother loved it. I too am a big fan, not only because my brows look amazing and stay put all day, but this handy little palette can double up as an eyeshadow quad.  Mine is in Foxy which is the brunette version, quite handy, but I do have to mix the darker and the lighter brown shades together to get my perfect brow colour.

Monu Golden Glow
This looks a little scary as it is bright yellow but claims that with Shea Butter, Vitamin E and essential oils it can leave moisturised, natural-looking tan within 3-5 hours. I might be brave and try a little on my face to see what glow I can get from this. I hope this works out well, I'll keep you posted on how I get on with this. 

Clynol Enrich Colour Shampoo
Firstly, I'd like to point out this is shampoo for coloured hair, I keep my natural hair so this is when you can tell GlossyBox doesn't read the beauty profils which is a little disappointing. However, this product smells lovely and claims that after 30 washes with this shampoo, 99% of the original colour intensity will remain.  This shampoo will also leave hair with 'diamond-like' shine and resist again damaging and fading.

Jelly Pong Pong Cosmetics Lip Frosting
This is advertised as being a lip and cheek product, I actually think it's slightly too thick for a cheek product and could be quite cakey. But as a lip product this smells and feels great on the lips, not the longest lasting product on the market but I really enjoy using this. Due to this being a multipurpose product it comes in a tube which can be a bit finicky when using as a lip product as too much product comes out. I can live with it though.

Elizabeth Arden Visible Difference Skin Balancing Line.
I was impressed with the Elizabeth Arden products in this box. The trio of Exfoliating Cleanser, Skin Serum and a second sample of the Lotion was giving as a bonus product, I'm going to take that as an apology for last months box.  I am yet to try these properly but they look great and I feel GlossyBox has started to redeem itself. 

I can't wait to see what next month has instore.
If you wish to subscribe visit the GlossBox site here!

Shopping My Stash - August

I am on a mission to try and use more of my products, I hope to rediscover some favourites and also save some money by going on a mini spending ban! GOOD LUCK!  Anyway, I have chosen four products that I plan to use as much as I can over the coming month. I've set myself a target of at least two of these a day.

NYX Cream Blush
I am slightly cheating because even though there is only one pictured, I am including any NYX cream blushes, I have five shades so plenty to choose from.  Cream products are good for summer months as they are light on the skin and very rarely do they become cakey on the skin.

ELF Lipsticks
Ok this is the last one I'm going to cheat on, again I am allowing myself to use all shades that I have.  To be honest, I don't know how I'm going to style out Natural Nymph as this is my least favourite lipstick out of my whole collection.  These are good everyday lipsticks, though I find that some of the shades can enhance dry cracked lips.

Natural Collection Bronzer
I am currently loving the duey bronzed look, one swirl of bronzer and I think I'm Mila Kunis.  This bronzer works well on a matte base because it gives a nice glowy finish without looking like a discoball.

No7 Amazing Eyes Pencil
I have decided to add this to the mix because I actually don't wear eye liner, or very occasionally, and I have been eyeing up the Pixi eye liners.  The rational part of me managed to take control and not pay £11 on something that I will try out once and never let see daylight again.  So this is a prime example of me trying to discover my love for certain products.

Today I managed 3 out of the 4, not bad, I left out cream blush as I wanted a shimmery blush to go with the bronzer. (I might not have thought this through as well as I'd hoped)

Thanks for reading, but sshhh, remember it's a secret

x

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Mascara Collection and Mini Reviews

I have a small obsession with mascara, for years I've been on a quest to get the longest, fullest lashes possible.  I am so envious of people with naturally beautiful lashes, because I have the priveledge of sporting the shortest, shubbest lashes going.  Also this list is not necesarily in the order of most favoruite to least favourite, however, the ones to the right are slightly less used.

Benefit Bad Girl mascara

The first thing people notice is the large wand, and yes for my small eyes I would have thought that this would be a nightmare. I was pleasantly surprised with my first high end mascara, and more so after a week so it wasn't quite as wet.  Instantly lengthens and slightly fills out the lashes I probably wouldn't buy this full size version again but when Glamour magazine were including a mini sample a couple of months back I did snap it up for £2.

Maybelline Mascaras

For a long time Maybelline was my favourite brand for mascara, when I found out there was a new release on the high street, I would be the first one buzzing about the makeup stand. The ones I would by again are Falsies, and Colossal.  One by one, im not a big fan of the plastic brush and this is by no means a bad mascara, but personally I prefer the result of the others. 

Comb Mascaras

For people with small eyes like myself, mascaras that have a comb-like wand are a godsend to us. To give the effect of bigger or rounder eyes the lashes should be made longer preferably in the centre of the eye, rather than volumising or fanning the lashes at the end as this makes them look smaller and longer. L'oreal Telscopic and No7 Extreme Length are perfect examples of how to achieve long clump-less lashes, even as the mascara dries out.  I'm one of these people that use lots of different mascaras in order to get the finish I want.  I would use various volumising mascaras to add some depth and then finish off combing my lashes through with either combing mascara. Writing this post really makes me want to get the new telescopic mascara because probably all in all this is my favourite type of mascara because it captures all the lashes and leaves a very natural looking lash so can be used to create a simple daytime or more dramatic night time look.

Voluminous Mascaras

These types of mascaras work best for larger eyes as the volume elongates them and really makes big eyes pop.  My favourite from the bunch is the Max Factor False Lash Effect, again a large wand which could lead to panda eyes if you're not careful.  I overcome that by getting into the habit of putting my mascara on my bottom lashes before the top ones, this way when I tilt my head back I don't get a line of mascara at the top of my eyelid.  My least favourite is between Maybelline Volum' Express and 17 Ultimate Volume, neither for me make a lot of difference on the lashes and can transfer easily onto the skin.

Thanks for reading... But Shh remember, it's a secret

x

Better than Chanel for £3.99?

The perfume Mademoiselle by Chanel has been very popular and at £62 for a 50ml bottle, it seems it's not cheap to smell good. Or is it? International supermarket chain Lidl decided to rival the French brand by selling their own Suddenly Madame Glamour for only £3.99 per 50ml bottle.

Now everybody loves a dupe but does it really match up to the quality of Chanel? A blind test was carried out and the result showed that an amazing 91% not only liked the Lidl's version but actually preferred it to their £62 rival.


I, like other people, would ordinarily prefer to say I wore a branded perfume rather than one off of a supermarket shelf, however, the love of a good bargain is too much for me. I would now actually yell about how I get the same, if not better, for 15 times less than I would at a chanel counter.


Chanel

• Packaging is beautiful and I prefer the colour of the perfume
• Longer lasting and stronger scent
• Brand name

Lidl

• £3.99 (Can buy 15 bottles to one of Chanel's and still have some change left over)
• Softer scent but 91% of people preferred it
• Easy to find - Supermarket

Ding Ding, round one to Lidl I think. but which one would you buy?

But sshh remember, it's a secret!

x

£100 Asos Challenge!

In the past couple of days I've seen a few of these posts pop up, so I thought I'd join in too, discountcoder has the details of the challenge.

                                                              Dress £45, Rimmel Lipstick £5.49, River Island Clutch £15, Earrings £4, Shoes £21

When I first had a look I didn't know what type of outfit I was going to create, but I did know I wanted a classy, elegant look.

This dress is beautiful, I know some people have gone for more versatile pieces, but I love that this isn't a dress that everyone has in their wardrobe.  However, the rose gold colour really sets this outfit off and is a really popular colour at the moment.

I thought because the dress is so striking I would go for simple accessorises that wouldn't steal the limelight, yet still have the sophisticated edge that I wanted.
Makeup wise I liked the idea of a red lip to add a small pop of colour onto the face.


Total Spent = £90.49 (I never have money left over, success)

Thanks for reading... But sshh remember, it's a secret
x

Monthly Favourites - June

June has been a very busy month for me and these are the products that I have reached for the most.  In May I decided I wanted to try and sort out my skin care routine because I do sometimes neglect my skin and dare I say it, I don’t always take my make-up off before I go to bed.

Therefore, I’m going to start with my favourite of my skin care routine.  My daily moisturiser is La Roche-Posay Hydreane Light  which I love, not just because it works and my skin feels better than ever, but the consistency is perfect which, for me, is very unusual for a light moisturiser.   Normally I find them a little bit watery and don’t feel they actually work, whereas with my La Roche-Posay you can feel it settle into your skin and notice a difference.  The other thing I love about this cream, is the smell, hands down the best smelling cream I own, when I open the bottle I forget I bought this from Boots for £14.30, so luxurious and fresh, but not strong so that it lingers after its been applied to the face. 





Second moisturiser is Garnier Intensive 7 Days Daily Body Lotion with calming HONEY for Sensitive Skin. This moisturiser claims that it will keep your skin soft for 7 days, after applying it for 4 weeks, my skin felt hydrated after just a few days.  The lotion absorbs really quickly so there’s no need to hang about before getting dressed, and has a lovely honey smell which lasts for hours.  There are five different variants for a range of skin types which all have their own fragrances.  I use my body butters religiously but my Garnier body lotion, for the moment has definitely taken their place at only £4.99 for 400ml.

I’ve used exfoliaters on and off for years but mainly before I fake tan to remove any dry or dead skin cells.  But recently I’ve been using them just because I love how they leave my skin so smooth and I think my shower gels are more moistening after use especially on my arms.  I can’t decide which body scrub I prefer out of Soap Glory Flake Away and Cocoa Butter Cream Body Scrub both work so well to transform your skin to be so silky smooth which I haven’t found in other scrubs.  I will be doing a more in-depth review on these products as well as other Soap & Glory and Body Shop products.

This is definitely my favourite product of this month and maybe even of the year so far  L'Oreal Rouge Caresse Lipstick, I stumbled upon these on the Boots website and saw these had a high rating and good reviews so next time I was out shopping I picked up one in Sweet Berry.  Sheer but buildable to create a pop of colour, these just glide on so softly they leave you rubbing your lips together, maybe that’s just me.  Light weight and moistening I ran back and picked up 4 more, slowly I want to buy all of the different colours because since buying my first Caresse lipstick, I haven’t used any other,  including forgetting about my MAC lipsticks and I would always choose these over the Revlon Lip Butters.  As much as this pains me to say it, this would not be fair if I didn’t point out one small criticism.  You do have to reapply these more often than many other lipsticks which for some people will be a big no no!  But I actually don’t mind this, the application of these lipsticks will never get old for me I love this product and would recommend to anyone.  At the moment Superdrug is doing 3 for 2 in L’oreal products or £7.99 each from Boots.

 Next, a brush, Coastal Scents Flat Top Kabuki Brush which I purchased from Ebay in the 22 Brush Set and is by far the best brush I’ve ever tried for applying foundation.  I know everyone keeps saying about the Samantha Chapman brushes but since using and falling in love with this brush the immediate need for the Real Techniques brushes has, for now, been suppressed.  When I use this brush I get a flawless base, whether I use a light coverage or a fuller coverage foundation, and due to this I'm starting to come round to thinking that it is the brushes that make a high quality makeup look.  Saying that, this brush proves that you don’t need to throw £30 at a MAC counter for one brush, you can pay half of that and achieve the same beautiful effect.  Probably the softest brush I own and when I went back and used my ELF Powder Brush, I couldn’t believe how rough it was I have been completely converted.  The only downside to this brush is that where it is so dense it sucks in a lot of product into the bristles so a waste of product, however, I slightly dampen the ends to stop it absorbing my foundation.

Eyebrow pencils are another product that when I use get into the habit of using powder I completely forget how good and precise a pencil is and Rimmel Professional Eye Brow Pencil is one of the best I’ve used.  The dark brown colour I use is not the perfect colour for me but the brush on the end just adds to making a more natural filled in brow.  This month I don’t even think I’ve picked up my normal ELF brow set that I have used day in day out for a good year or so, and think the pencil application is quicker.  Sometimes this pencil makes me wish that I could just change my eyebrow colour whenever I wish, just so I could collect all the colours of these pencils.

I have a love-hate relationship with doing my nails, I love what they look like afterwards, but it’s hard for me to find the time to sit down and do my nails.  I also get really impatient waiting for my nails to grow to a normal length so I use false nails and these Boots French Nails are brilliant to pop on with Nailene Ultra quick glue and you’re good to go.  Due to the fact I have been gifted with weirdly small hands, I use the extra small pink nails and think these give a beautiful nature look to the nails.  The longevity of most false nails depends on lots of different factors but mainly how you treat your hands.  For example someone who works with their hands a lot or their hands are constantly in water the nails are more likely to come off easier than someone who isn’t heavy handed and take care not to knock or weaken the nails.  Another thing is the glue that is used, Boots own nails glue I definitely would not recommend, however Nailene Ultra Quick Nail Glue which is only £2.80 and even though the bottle is little it will last a very long time, it’s really strong and as the name suggests, very quick drying.  False nails normally last 5 days without any coming off at all, but when one or two do I reapply them and they last another couple of days, then I remove all of the nails.

Thanks for reading... But shh remember... It’s a secret

x

Makeup Haul

This is just a quick haul but I got some bargains so I thought I’d share my finds with you. Firstly, Boots is doing 3 for 2!!! Say no more!

Boots

Boots False Nails Clear & Glue 200 Pack - £8.50

Nailene Ultra Quick Nail Glue - £2.80

Collection 2000 Illuminating Touch Concealer - £4.99

Barry M Instant Nail Effects Nail Paint - £3.99

Superdrug

MUA Heaven and Earth Palette - £4

MUA Mosaic Blusher English Rose -£2.50

MUA Lipstick in shade 2 & 15 - £1 each

MUA Face Primer - £4 (not pictured)

Beauty Base

L.A Colors in Merlot, Grape and Blue Lagoon – 99p each

I went back to Boots again.. the offer was too good not to

Boots
Barry M Nail Paint in Blueberry and Peach Melba - £2.99
Barry M - Instant Effects Nail Paint - £3.99
Maybelline Forever Nail Polish - £4.09
Rimmel Moisture Renew in Vintage Pink, Diva Red and Fancy - £6.29
Collection 2000 Lasting Perfection Concealer - £4.19
Boots Moisturising Nail Polish Remover Pads - £1.50

Disclaimer: I am not in any way trying to ‘show off’ all products were bought with my own money but I have chosen to do this post because my blog is all about sharing good deals that can be found on the high street.

Thierry Mugler Limited Edition

A few weeks ago I was walking through House of Fraser minding my own business and there, right in front of me stood a limited edition perfume stand.... I have never been so happy to have my path blocked by anything in my whole life!
So yes... I can confirm those two words that all Thierry Mugler lovers want to hear... NEW RANGE!
Well I say new range, there are two new perfumes and one aftershave, however, there are the 'aqua' versions of our favourite smells.

As you can tell they are Alien Aqua and Angel Agua, in very similar bottles to the originals.  You're probably thinking 'Aqua, well that just means its watered down so the smell isn't as strong' ... these have different fragrances to the originals, I think fresher and not as pungent.  Alien Aqua is now my favourite scent, I love it! 


The men's aftershave is A* Men Pure Shot, I'm not a big fan of the bottle, whereas I love the women's ones above.

Anyway get down there and sniff away because I know there are discounts going on at the moment :)
xxx

Dry Shampoo Review

This is a fairly new idea but is becoming very popular very quickly.

It was a friend that introduced it to me has she had a small tin in her car.

“You spray it into your hair and it stops it from being greasy.” ...

 That is what happens, but I wasn’t exactly convinced to be honest.  And yes I know it’s called dry shampoo but I my first worry was ‘oh no I’m not putting some sticky gupe on my hair’

However I did try it out and various other forms, and now if I know I’m staying at someone’s for more than one night... my dry shampoo comes with me :)

Does it remind you a little of spray paint? Shake it you’ll see what I mean

There are many brands, you’ve probably heard of 'batiste' as they have the widest range of dry shampoos but there are others such as tresemme, toni & guy, lee Stafford Charles Worthington and also boots and Superdrug have their own brands too.  So if you don’t like one version try another one I’m sure there’s one out there for you somewhere.

I think this is the best hair care idea in a while... it makes my hair look fresh and feel clean.  I use it when I don’t have time to wash my hair in the morning so I can go out and not feel like people are staring at my greasy hair.  I probably use this twice a week even if I’ve washed my hair the day before I sometimes just give my roots a volume boost... I warn you now, it can get addictive. 

A downside that I find with some versions is a faint white/grey chalky look to where it has been sprayed.  This might not bother some people as it depends on how much you use.  Many of these brands have brought out colour versions, for darker hair and blonde hair, these are the ones I use, so I get the same clean effect but without the white powder on my head.

Tresemme have actually gone one step further and have released a foam version which is brilliant when you just want those extra minutes in bed in the morning.  As it’s a foam rather than a spray, I would describe it as that it works just like a shampoo but without the shower because unlike dry shampoo it does actually make your hair damp.  This means you can blow dry your hair into your style and personally I think the volumising foam really adds body and feels like you have just washed your roots. They smell great too.

How to use

Apply to dry hair (obviously) I normally pick up small random sections of my hair, shake well before use and spray close to the root. Between each section I give the can a good shake.  DO NOT USE LIKE HAIR SPRAY! That’s when that chalky look starts to happen. You don’t have to cover all of the hair, mainly sections of the top of your head and lower section if using the volumising one.  Leave in for 15 – 20 seconds without touching then massage in and work it around the scalp.  This process takes no longer than a few minutes.

I highly recommend dry shampoo because it is a real time saver!  As I have said, try various different brands and versions as some are aimed at certain hair types and all smell different so don’t let the scent of one put you off!

Price

(For average size bottles, other are available)

Batiste:  £2.99 – £3.99

Tresemme:  £4.38

Superdrug own: £1.75

Others Mentioned: Around £5 - £6

MeMeMe... Yes Yes Yes!

As this is a new blog I thought I’d start by sharing a brand that is new to me that I recently stumbled upon.  Mememe cosmetics, yes it did seem familiar but I couldn’t picture any of their products or anything about them so I decided to have a nose around their website.

I was so SHOCKED!  How had I never seen this before?  My first impression was ‘this reminds me of benefit’ by the overall style of everything and as I started looking through products I couldn’t believe it, not did it only have the classiness and packaging like benefit... but it was a fraction of the price!

These are the lovelies that I purchased

I had to double check if this was an online brand or if you could get it in high street shops and that’s when I realised I had seen their products before but mememe must have had a recent makeover because nothing caught my eye as I looked on Superdrug’s site nothing looked the same as it did on the official mememe site... I presume it’s only the packaging they’ve changed not the actual products but I would order from the official website just to be on the safe side.

Anyway back to the review...

I thought I’d start small so only ordered 3 pieces, and the coral blush me! automatically become my everyday blush.. I love it!  The colour pigmentation is lovely and yes I know I keep saying it but to me it is a mixture of benefit’s CORAlista and sugarbomb blushers but cheaper!

The highlight beat the blues in Sunbeam I got as it looks like an exact dupe for yet again another benefit product high beam, and if applied correctly is amazing BUT I find that most of the time it just smudges my makeup and doesn’t leave a nice highlighted finish as I expected.

The long wear satin lip cream in china rose, a nice nude shade, firstly the colour was not what I expected it to look like, however I do like the colour and have the same in an ELF lipstick so it was a bit annoying that I already had it but at least I like it. This is not the most nourishing lipstick in the world but the colour does stay on your lips so I just apply some carmex before and viola your lips but better!

Mememe have recently started a monthly catalogue that offers good deals and discounts, so if you are a fan then remember to sign up!