Thursday 25 October 2012

Sleek Life's a Peach Blush | Review

Bottom swatch is applied quite heavily, and above it is blended in

Recently, my blush collection has grown out of control, but this is one of my favourites of them all (and that is saying a lot).
Yes, it's a hideous bright orange in the pan. And if you're a fan of Sleek's blushes, you'll know that they're very pigmented. Luckily this blush is incredibly sheer so instead of looking like patches of you are turning into an orange, you'll just have a nice subtle glow about you.
I use a Real Techniques Blush brush to apply it, which is perhaps not ideal. I find the brush brilliant for working with blushes which are very pigmented, because it doesn't pick up too much product, and blends nicely. As this is very sheer however, you have to put a little more effort in. This works for me though, because I use this blush when I want to look like I haven't got any on, but magically have a peachy flush to my cheeks. How sly.

While I think the colour of this would look beautiful on darker skin tones, I don't think the colour pay off is great enough. While this shows up subtly on my pale skin, I think women who are darker would really struggle to have this show up at all, which is a shame because as I said, I think the colour in the pan would look beautiful on darker skin. 

I can't believe this is my first peach blush. While all of my pinks will always have a place in my heart, I think 'Life's a Peach' will have a place on my face for the foreseeable future. 

Available at Superdrug for £4.29

Friday 19 October 2012

Zara Woman Rose Gold Eau de Toilette | Review


I've never reviewed a perfume before, and I don't think I ever will again. My ability to describe scents is none existent. There's some sort of block between my nose, brain and mouth. I simply cannot manage anything beyond 'Sweet', 'Spicy' or.. 'Vanilla.' 

WHY AM I EVEN WRITING THIS?
1) I couldn't see any other review for it
2) It's incredibly cheap
3) I really like it.

I should probably just stop there.

I bought this because I didn't want to use my high end perfumes every single day anymore. It seems like a waste when they sometimes cost over £70 a bottle. I'd heard some good things about Zara perfumes, and when I was in their recently, they caught my eye. After smelling them all, I decided this one was my favourite (and most expensive at £15.99) and off I went.. to pay.

Description from Zara:
Oriental-floral: Magnolia leaves, green notes, orange flower, golden amber and musk.


I won't even try to butcher the description any more. I will say that it's very nice, lasts a good amount of time and is £15.99 for 100ml which is a BARGAIN!! 
I have taken to filling my Travalo with it so I can spritz on the go if I feel like I need a top up. A 100ml glass bottle is NOT an ideal addition to your handbag. Fiiinally, the bottle is so cute. It's Rose Gold (as the name suggests), which I didn't realise until I got it home. I know Rose Gold has been a big thing with people lately, so maybe it will appeal.
Sorry this has been a crap 'review' but to be honest, when I read words on a page describing a perfume, I don't get too excited about it. I definitely need to smell things in real life to get any sort of idea if I'll like it. So basically, if you're in Zara soon, I'd highly recommend checking these out, if you haven't before. They start from £5.99, which is very cheap. At first some of them smell overpoweringly of alcohol, but this does wear off.

Wednesday 10 October 2012

Dry Winter Lips | Favourite Products

This will be my fourth winter in Scotland, and it is pretty bloody cold. Like my skin, my lips get destroyed in the weather. But these are the products which I feel save my lips from become chapped horrible messes.

-Blistex Intensive Moisturiser- I apply this at night before I go to bed to hydrate my lips over night. In the morning they feel so smooth and soft. The reason I only apply this at night is because it can leave a bit of white residue, and I don't want to worry about that when I'm reapplying throughout the day. A lot of people dislike the smell of this, but it doesn't really bother me. £2.59

-Burt's Bees Lip Balm with Pomegranate Oil- I love three things about this product: 1) It does the job, it keeps my lips moiturised 2) It smells and tastes great and 3) The ingredients. Unlike the other two products here, Aqua isn't near the top of the ingredients, followed by a bunch of chemicals. The first three ingredients in this are Sunflower Seed Oil, Beeswax and Coconut Oil. Good stuff, and great for your lips. £3.69

-Blistex Lip Brilliance Blushing- This isn't exactly a necessity, but I added it to the list because it has a little bit of a tint to it, which sometimes you want. It smells and tastes stronger than the Burt's Bees lip balm, but is equally as nice. I have quite pigmented lips, so the colour doesn't show up brilliantly on me, but if your lips aren't a very strong colour, it would probably show up better. £2.59


If you haven't tried any of these products, I'd highly recommend them. I do have a lot of pot lip balms lying around, from Vaseline, Carmex and Blistex but with long nails, they're just impossible to use, so I'm 100% opting for sticks (is that the right word?) this year.

Thursday 4 October 2012

Haulin'



Because I've been such a crap blogger of late (damn you, dissertation) I thought I'd do a haul. Personally I love checking out other people's hauls, but if you don't, I'm sorry.

As a twist I'm going to show you everything I bought.. even the super boring items (except my salad from M&S, but only because I've eaten it).

-Maybelline Color Tattoo in 'Pink Gold'- First off, I really wish they'd change the name to 'colour tattoo.' Since they go to the effort to changing the shade name from the American one, I'd really like if they'd take the time to add in the 'u'. Am I being unreasonable? Anyway, I own three other colours, so I  picked up this one because it was shiny and new. I love it. It's just like 'Sin' from Urban Decay which is  one of my favourite eyeshadows. Yay! £4.99
-Real Techniques Blush Brush- After reading Fiona's brush post, I decided to grab one too. I've needed a new blush brush for a while, and didn't quite want to spend over £20 on a MAC or Japonesque one. This is so soft. Mmm. £9.99
-Macadamia Natural Oil Masque- I have wanted this for SO long. I don't know why. It's probably no different from cheaper ones which I own. Also.. Argan Oil is above Macadamia Oil in the ingredients. I feel like this is false advertising? Anyway, when I saw it in TK Maxx for £15 I snapped it up. It smells so good. And looks so pretty.
-Rimmel Stay Matte Powder- I've actually gone back to using powders recently, but hesitantly. I know this one is supposed to be amazing, and since it only costs £3.99, I thought why not? In fact, it was free because it's 3 for 2 in Boots.  The colour is 001 Transparent.
-Free BeneFit 'Sun Beam' in InStyle- I don't need this. I've never even wanted to try Moon beam. I'm pale and it's not summer, I don't think it will suit me. So obviously I picked it up. £2.50
-Mitchum Anti-Persperant- Umm.. everybody sweats? But nobody likes to smell... These smell good! 2 for £4
-Johnson's cotton buds- I cannot live without these. I constantly make makeup mistakes and these save my life. I refuse to use anything other than Johnson's because these are so strong and sturdy. I am a cotton bud snob. To me, these are luxury cotton buds. Can you get actual luxury ones? I don't think I'd be willing to buy them. These cost me 55p each, I got two.

So.. some exciting (well I think so) things, and some boring things.

I'm going to be popping my empties post cherry next. EXCITED.