Teeny boots haul!

Now that it's getting a bit warmer and the suns coming out a bit more I've decided my skin needs a break and that I don't want to wear my foundation every day.

So after a bit of blog reading, youtube video watching, and googling I decided I wanted to try a new BB cream. I've used the original Garnier BB cream when it first came out and really enjoyed wearing it but it didn't agree with my oily skin and my face was one big shiny mess at the end of the day.

So, after more researching I chose the Dr Jart rejuvenating blemish balm. The packaging makes this product look very expensive, which it kind of is at £21.99 for 30ml! However, to may delight when I went to boots to purchase it it was on offer for a third off so only cost me £13.99! Haven't used the product yet but my first impressions are that it's slightly grey but I'm sure a bit of powder will correct that!

My other goodies were just the Collection 2000 lasting perfection concealer in '1 Fair' and '2 light', this is about my 4th tube of this stuff and I'm still loving it! I now get the lightest shade for under my eyes and the slightly darker one for blemishes. Finally I repurchased Rimmel's stay matte powder in the shade '003 Peachy Glow', another cheap and cheerful favourite of mine!

Thanks you for reading!
Emily xx

Christmas goodies 2012

Christmas goodies 2012

I have been absolutely loving reading everyone's "what I got for Christmas" blog posts so i thought I would do my own. If you see these kind of posts as showing off or whatever please do not read on... However if you enjoy them, like I do, then enjoy! :-)

From relatives I got a mixture of books and make up but mostly money & vouchers which is always nice for the January sales! From my parents I was extremely lucky to receive a Marc by Marc Jacobs handbag, (specifically the 'too hot to handle' tote in black), a hat/scarf from topshop, Cheryl Coles autobiography, body shop treats, umberto giannia hair kit, a onesie, and more little bits! From my amaaaaazing boyfriend I received an iPad 3, a mulberry scarf, a jack wills jumper and wax lyrical candle!! My boyfriend is a typical boy when it comes to buying girls presents, so the fact he thought of getting me a candle and picked it all my himself was really sweet :-)

After Christmas I went to centre parcs with my boyfriends family which was really good fun, we even went to the spa where a lovely spa lady showed us how to use a variety of elemis products, I now want their entire skincare range.. Oh no!


I hope you had a nice Christmas and New Year!

Instagram post #1

My first Instagram post!

Every time I see one of these post I want to do my own! I started instagram about 8 months ago because I'm constantly taking silly photos on my iPhone I thought it was perfect for me! So heres my first instagram posts.

First Row:

A cow shaped scrubbing brush from Matalan (uni essential) ♥ My new Sony Vaio ultrabook to use at university ♥ A pretty red flower ♥ A collage of our center parcs lodge that I'm staying in at new year.

Second Row: An email from the Radisson Blu in manchester ahead of my weekend away with my boyfriend ♥ A collage of my university I will be attending in September (yes i like collages) ♥ A cute table decoration I made ♥ Another collage of our room at the Radisson, such an amazing view!

Third Row: A 30ml bottle of Chanel Chance en tendre, my favourite perfume at the moment ♥ A silly picture of a cat ♥ a few presents from my parents for getting my A level results ♥ My favourite, pink champagne!

Forth Row: Raspberry sourz and lemonade ♥ Our bali bed that we rented on holiday this summer at the Sensatori tenerife (aka the most amazing hotel in the world) ♥ A collage of a day trip to Edinburgh to see my friend perform in the Edinburgh fringe, we walked all around the shops, went to TGI fridays and then watched the performance at the Jury's Inn hotel ♥ On a recent night out my friends bought a "devils brew" cocktail from a local cocktail bar, its basically every spirit in the bar all in one drink, the smell made me feel drunk!

Do you have instagram?

Thanks for reading, Emily xx

TRESemme haircare haul

TRESemmé haircare haul & first impression.

 

On a recent trip to Tesco to get bits and bobs for university I noticed that it was 3 for 2 on all TRESemme products. I bought 6 (two of the blow dry lotion, one for me and one for my mum) and here are the five different products that I bought.

TRESemme, Liquid Gold restorative complex, Argon Oil
Perfecting treatment 75ml RRP £6.99

Firstly the Argon Oil, I've wanted to try out an Argon Oil for a while, I spotted Kerastase's Lumiere liquid from their Cristalliste range and thought it sounded ideal as its formulated for fine, longer hair. However there was nowhere local for me to buy this product and it has a hefty £16.50 price tag! So I thought I'd buy something a little cheaper to try first, in case I don't like Argon oils altogether. This Tresemme product stood out to me because the packaging is lovely and very luxurious feeling for a cheaper product. The product itself smells amazing and has a thin oily texture. The instructions suggest that you use one pump through damp/dry hair from the mid-lengths to the end, so I think this 75ml bottle (the only size they offer) will last me a long time. I'm really looking forward to trying this product!

TRESemme, 24 hour body, blow dry lotion 250ml
RRP £5.39 

Second is the Blow Dry Lotion from the 24 hour body range. This is my 3rd bottle of this product, I use it after a shower before I dry my hair by spraying it allover my hair focuses more on the roots. I then dry my hair using a regular hair dryer on a medium heat setting and a round vent brush. This product does what it says and adds volume to my hair, however it is not a magic potion and I think drying my hair using a vent brush does add to the volume just as much. I do notice when I haven't used this product as my hair seems limper and this is my 3rd bottle so its definitely worth a try if your looking for something to add volume. One thing I don't like about these products is the packaging as it plastic, there probably isn't any other packaging this product could have but I just dislike thin plastic packaging.

TRESemme, salon finish extra hold hairspray 500ml
RRP £4.79

Third is the Tresemme Salon finish hairspray in the strength "extra hold" (4/5). This product isn't from the 24 hour body range which was an accident by myself, as it has the same colouring as this range (black and pink) I thought this was the hairspray that went along with the other products. However, I now realise there is a specific hairspray for the 24 hour body range, Oh well! Anyway, the hairspray comes in a huge 500ml can so I think it will last a long time. I chose the extra hold version as I only use hairspray when I go for a night out and therefore want my hair to last all night. The smell of this product though is horrible, I find this with all Tresemme hairsprays they seem to have a off putting alcoholic smell which just isn't nice! However, this seems to disappear after you've put it on so it doesn't matter too much.

TRESemme, 24 hour body amplifying mousse 225ml
RRP £4.00

Forth is the Amplifying Mousse from the 24 hour body range. This is my 2nd bottle of this product, I use it after a shower while my hair is still quiet wet by pumping out a handful of foam then scrunching it into the roots of my hair. I then comb through my hair to try and spread the product down through my hair and blow dry as I do when using the Blow dry lotion (above). This product claims to add voluptuous body and bounce which i believe it does! I use this primarily for nights out as apposed to every day and it does add a lot of volume to the hair and makes it appear fuller and thicker! This product comes in a large 225ml can and I find that if you don't use it for a while the mousse stops plumping out as a foam and just comes out as a runny gloup which isn't useful! I don't know if this is just this product or all mousse's as I've only ever used this one.

TRESemme, Instant refresh, volumising dry shampoo
200ml RRP £4.69

Last but not least is the Volumising dry shampoo for fine to oily hair. Since discovering dry shampoo I've been an avid user of Batiste, however having brunette hair the white powdery residue left with this product is just a nightmare! I have used their brown hair version but find it makes my hair really sticky and unmanageable. I bought this because of the 3 for 2 offer as I think it's quiet expensive for 200ml of dry shampoo. This product does have a really nice smell, a lot nicer than any of the Batiste ones. It seems to soak up oil very well without leaving any sort of white powdery residue which is great, this product is also formulated to add volume (there are other dry shampoos in the range that do other things) which is always a plus when you have fine hair. I'm really excited to start using this product properly!

 

Have you ever used any of these TRESemme hair products? What did you think?

Thanks for reading! Emily x

How much is your face worth? tag

"How much is your face worth?" tag & mini review of each product. 

 

Here is the "How much is your face worth" tag and a mini review of each product. (I'm not a makeup artist or anything like that! Just my opinion for how each product worked for me).

Since I started working at my local Debenhams I've been obsessed with makeup and everything to do with makeup! I don't actually work on a makeup counter, just womenswear, but I always find an excuse to go and look at all the new products out on the counters! However, I do not have bottomless pockets therefore my daily makeup routine is a mix of high-end and drugstore products!

So to begin...

Primer

I've recently rediscovered this Smashbox, photo finish light, oil free primer after rooting through my stash of products while packing for university, so I've decided to use it up as there's only a little left. As I have incredibly oily skin (boooo!) so I find oil free products really work at helping my makeup last longer! The texture of this product is amazing, very silky and smooth, it works really well however I think I prefer Benefit's porefessional. This cost me £25.00.

Foundation

I came across MAC studio sculpt a couple of times and finally purchased it, in the shade NW15, in Manchester airport on my way to Tenerife this summer. I love the gel like consistency of this foundation, as I don't have great skin and like a medium-full coverage foundation however I don't like it to look like I have a lot of makeup on. I'm really enjoying this foundation and will be repurchasing it when it runs out! One tip for this foundation is to apply it with a sponge rather than a brush, as it seems to exaggerate the brush strokes. This cost me £24.00.



MAC Studio Sculpt foundation in NC15

Concealer

Another MAC product, bought on a recent trip to Selfridges, MAC's select cover up in the shade NC20. I've not had many giant spots recently so haven't really been using a blemish concealer (MAC's studio fix for me), I use the select cover up for dark circles under my eyes, I think this concealer works, however its not amazing and I won't be repurchasing it. (However, a little goes a long way so I think i'll have this tube for a while, which is always a plus). This cost me £14.50.

Powder

My bargain beauty product!! As I've mentioned I have oily skin so this Stay Matte powder by Rimmel caught my eye in Superdrug. I bought this powder first in the "translucent 001" shade as I just wanted something to reduce shine. However, I find even though this has no colour it makes me look pale? I don't know how this happens but it does, so recently I bought the same powder but in the colour "peachy glow 003" and this doesn't seem to give the same ghosty effect! This cost me all of £3.99.
Bronzer

It may seem excessive, but I use three different bronzers, some times I use a little of each, Hoola by Benefit allover my face, NARS laguna for contour and 10 by Benefit as a highlight around my eyes/temples. If I'm in a rush I will just put Hoola on as I love the colour, I may be alone when I say this but I much prefer the colour of Hoola to NARS laguna, I just find NARS laguna gives a bit of a dirty muddy colour compared. Hoola and 10 cost me £23.50 and NARS was a gift from my dad when he went to America with work, however online it costs £25.
Eyebrows

This is my most high-end product that I bought recently on a trip to Edinburgh to see my best friend perform at the Edinburgh fringe. It's the Tom Ford Eyebrow sculptor in "espresso". I saw this on a blog post but can't for the life of me remember who's it was. Anyway, while I was in Harvey Nichols I just couldn't resist. As I'm going to university soon I've started to think I need to buy handy, portable makeup as I will be travelling home (4-5 hour train journey) a lot. So the way this product had a wax based eye brow pencil, sharpener and eyebrow comb all-in-one I thought it was perfect! I haven't had this product long however I am absolutely loving it! It's so easy to use and with it being wax and me having oily skin it seems to last longer than a regular khol pencil! This cost me £32.00. (Expensive I know!! But it was a little beauty splurge after my hard work during my A levels).
Mascara

This is the sample size of Clinique's High Impact mascara in black. I got this sample in a company magazine I believe a while ago. Like the Smashbox primer I found this while rooting through my un-used beauty products and decided to use it up before buying another full sized one. This mascara doesn't give amazing volume but it grabs every single lash and fans them out amazingly! It's fine as an everyday mascara, however I find myself adding Bobbi Brown Extreme Party Lash if I'm going out just to add a bit more darkness and volume! This cost me nothing as it was a freebie, but it would usually cost me £16.
Eyeliner

This is a Lancome kohl eyeliner in black. This was in a Christmas set along with Hypnose mascara and is therefore sample size and I don't know exactly which one it is (sorry!). This is a great mascara for getting a simple, black kohl line and seems to last a long time without smudging. This cost me nothing as it was a freebie!
Lipstick

The lipstick I use is from MAC, a glaze in the shade "HUE". This seems to be a blogger favourite and I must say I really like the colour, I'm not a vibrant lipstick wearer during the day and I think this is the perfect nude shade, not too nudey so it make you look dead but still gives you a blank canvas look. This cost me £14. (Sorry theres no picture of this or the lipgloss, it's been deleted from my phone!)
Lipgloss

The lipgloss I use if from Dior in the shade "265" and was very kindly given to me as a birthday present by my boyfriend. It's a lovely pinky peach colour with lots of sparkle. The sparkles are really obvious up close but not as obvious from far away, which i prefer. I put this on top of MAC's hue or wear it alone, depending how I'm feeling on the day!

After totting up the total, my face is worth: £223.49. This is pretty shameful as I don't have a full time job, however a few of these products have been in my makeup bag for a while and are therefore investment pieces!

Do you use any of these products? What do you think? How much is your face worth?

Thanks for reading, Emily x



Whats in my bag? tag

"What's in my bag?" tag.

 

I've always wanted to do one of these posts. I've only really seen these done on YouTube, however I don't have a YouTube and I'm stuck for things to write on my brand new blog so here we go the, "Whats in my bag tag".

 

Firstly, the bag. This was a big purchase that I made this summer while in Edinburgh, specifically the Mulberry shop. I've wanted a mulberry handbag for agessssss, since I started watching programmes like Made in Chelsea and surfing the Selfridges website I've had a lust for a designer handbag in my life. This summer was my 18th birthday, so I was very lucky to receive some money from my family, friends and boyfriend. I collected all my money together and aimed (it was never going to happen) to keep it in my bank, saved away for starting university, but I saw this online and was surprised at the price (for a mulberry) and was also taken by the cute little zip pouch that came inside. Then it came to seeing it in the flesh, it was so pretty and the leather is just so soft. It's also a tote designer so rather flimsy (which may put some people off) but I wanted something that was really lightweight so it seemed perfect for me, so i caved and spent £325 on one handbag... yes I will regret this one day. So here is the bag.. It may not look like much but its my little mulberry bag and I love it, no one I know has it and its just so cute, its not easy to see on the picture sorry but the handles are little plaits (aww).



The Mulberry Dorset Nappa Tote in Black.

So, back to the tag!

I emptied my bag out and took a picture of everything that was inside.

Top Left

Very glamorous Extra chewing gum in spearmint and 15p (oooh moneybags).

Top Right

Various cards, these are kept in my purse (below) but I thought they were interesting enough to have a separate photo. There's my bank card, gym card, various store cards, blockbuster card, student discount card, Debenhams staff discount card (with a hideous picture), topshop voucher and a cute little picture I keep in my purse of me and my boyfriend in the pool on our first holiday (cheeeeesey).

Bottom Left

My passport, as I am now 18 but haven't learnt to drive and can't part with £50 so don't have a provisional license to use as ID (very annoying). A cath kidston 10% off card, MacDonald's vouchers and 25% off voucher for New Look.

Bottom Right

Various lip products, I only seem to carry lip products in my handbag! MAC lipstick glaze in "HUE", NARS lipgloss in turkish delight (not a massive fan), Vaseline rosy lips, a nice change from the original vaseline and the body shops limited edition cranberry lipbalm, I don't really wear this just had to buy it because it smells devine!

 

Top

My beautiful Micheal Kors purse, I believe this is the "Jet Set zip around" in Vanilla. My dad bought this while he was in America but they gave it to me as part of my 18th Birthday present as it was quiet expensive. I was a bit worried at first having a white purse, as I thought it would get dirty straight away however it seems to have stayed white!

Bottom Left

These need to be taken out of my handbag really, as winter is on its way, however these are a Ray Ban's lookalike from Primark for all of £2, I find aviators suit my face shape so I bought this pair in gold/brown and silver/grey and they've come in very handy on holiday and the few hot days we got in the UK! I bought a similar pair from Topshop last year for £14 but they started to loosen and were basically rubbish quality compared to these which are half the price!

Bottom Right

Surprisingly I only had 1 receipt in my bag/purse, this is from a Tesco trip me and my boyfriend made to get some lunch, quiet a healthy lunch too!

Whats in your bag?

Thanks for reading, Emily x