January Glossybox 2012

Hi everyone, so finally this months Glossybox came and for those who aren't sure what it is, it's a monthly box that gets delivered to you with samples and normally a full size product for you to try.  You do have to pay a monthly fee for this but what I love about it is you aren't tied in for 12 months or anything, it's just a month by month contract!
Anyway here's this months valentine's day box and it's contents.

This month it was a very pretty pink box that even had a sweet inside but unfortunately I ate the sweet before I pictured it, ooops!

Four luxury size samples and one full size product were inside this months box.

FAB Gentle body moisturizer
The card I got in my box said body wash but it was moisterizer I got and this is scent free, parabin free and has no badies in!  It wasn't a thick moisterizer and sunk in nicely (although I have only tried it once)!

Clarins Extra firming day cream and extra firming night cream
I was surprised to see these in the box, I don't know why but it was a pleasent surprise.  They smell lovely and I have tried a couple of Clarins products but as I am still searching for a great night cream these will certainly be used.

EYEKO Skinny eyeliner
This was this months full size product and I love trying new eyeliners.  This was lovely to apply and although I only had yesterday evening to play with it I like it so far, a party I'm at this weekend may give it a true test run!

MURAD Hybrids skin perfecting orimer-dewy finish
This was the product I fell in love with first in this months box!  I have been wanting to try more Murad products and this made me eek with delight!  I love trying primers and am quite hard to please when it comes to them but I have to say so far I am loving this!  Again I have only used it last night to see how it felt on my skin then again I have it under my makeup and oh my goodness, it is so far one of the best primers I have used.  I know I can't really judge it fully yet but I am excited about this product soooo much!

Thanks for reading, what was your favourite product this month and what products would you like to see in the Glossybox in the future?

Rimmel wake me up foundation review

Hi everyone, I love trying different foundations and am always excited to try one I never have before and when I walked into Superdrug last week and saw the Rimmel stand I had to buy this foundation.

(Appologies for the lighting, it is sooo dark today!)  The bottle itself is a nice shape and it says it is spf15 which is always a plus.
The bottle has a nice clean pump top and it is very easy to dispense the amount you need.

The foundation itself is a medium to thick consistency and easy to blend out.

It provided good full coverage and there are a few shades to choose from, plus it didn't budge all day, what more do you need!

Verdict:  Oh my goodness!  I have found my new goto foundation!  I love this foundation!  Right from how easy it is to blend, the consistency to the great coverage!  Does it really wake your skin up?  YES!  My skin definitely looked really healthy and glowy and even seemed to shimmer in a good way in certain lights.  If you need a real pick me up for your skin and need good coverage and lasting power the get to the shops now!  I love this product and it has replaced my normal high street foundation now, sooo happy I brought this!

Beauty tip for Tuesday

Hi everyone, I thought I'd start putting a random tip or homemade beauty treat or something I thought you may find useful up every Tuesday as I always find things like this interesting myself.
So today I thought I'd share a little money saving tip and alternate for shaving foam.

I do use shaving foam sometimes but a product I think works a little better for me and leaves my skin very very smooth is hair conditioner.

I use the cheapest one I see in the supermarket and use it as a shaving foam.  It works just as well and leaves my skin very smooth and I would highly recomend giving it a try.
What are your beauty tips and tricks?  Thanks for reading x

The Secret book review

Hi everyone, firstly I'd like to appologise for the lack of postings, I still have this worse than a cold but not quite flu thing and to be honest it's driving me mad!  I have no energy at all so haven't been out and about as much as usual so haven't had time to try many new products.  What I have had time for is reading so I thought I'd post a review of one of the books I go back to again and again and have re-read this last few weeks.
The book is called The secret.

This isn't a self-help book however it is great for motivation and reminding you to be grateful for things.
I first read it when I was in a place where everything was trundling along nicely and I was perfectly happy but lacked a bit of drive for my ultimate goals and I found this book really really helped.
I won't give too much away but it is a fantastic book for when little things aren't going right or someones getting to you.

As I said before I'm not giving too much away but I will give you an example of something that has stuck with me from it.
The mirror.  I have heard this theory before but phrased differently and it is basically referring to if someone has an issue with you it is them them reflecting an issue they have onto you and vise versa.  A great example was this lady I knew really got under my skin and it made me look at the reasons why she did.  One if the main reasons was she was always coming accross as if she was the perfect Mother and was always saying about crafts and things she had done with her children and it annoyed me soooo  much.  After reading this section on the mirror I took a long hard look at why this annoyed me and it was because I'm always afraid of failing my children and not doing enough with them and that I'm not the perfect mother and that is why it annoyed me!
Sounds strange when I say this back but that must have been the root of it and when I speak to her now she doesn't bother me as much!
You have to really read it to really get the gist and to learn the secret (I'm not giving it away!), but if you need a little motivation and help with achieving your goals and letting go of stuf then this is a great read and I would say read it even if you don't as there are lots of life lessons in there to and it has changed my way of thinking.
Thanks for reading.

Maybelline dream nude airfoam review

Hi everyone, I absoloutly love Maybelline and their foundations and when I read about the dream nude airfoam I had to have it!  It appears to have been an instant sucess as my local Boots had sold out almost instantly!

It comes almost in a mini shaving foam bottle and has the same colorings and design as most Maybelline foundations. 

Before you use it you have to shake it and believe me I found I had to shake it well as the first time I didn't and it came out stripey!

So I shook some more.

Much better!
I expected it be light and it was!  It sunk into my skin no problem and sunk it very quickly.  My skin felt nice after, but I wasn't expecting much coverage and I got little more than I expected.  It did wear very well though.

Verdict:  Shake well before use, light coverage but a product that is non-oily and wears very well.  I will be sticking to my ususal foundation as this didn't provide enough coverage for me, but it is a lovely product and if I felt I could get away with such a light coverage I think I'd be converted.  Another great foundation from Maybelline but not for me.

Which foundation? Lacura and Miss Sporty review

Hie evryone, I decided for the second part of my which foundation reviews I'd review very 2 very affordable products and they are.

The first product I'll be looking at is the Miss Sporty Light Energy Radient Look foundation in 01 Light. (Available in Suerdrug)
This product has a light-medium consistency.

The reason I first purchased this foundation is I had read in a magazine someone had written it reflected the light that well they didn't need a seperate undereye concealer, I did need a seperate one, however the product did reflect the light well and gave me a nice complexion.
It only provides a light-medium coverage.

It did blend nicely with a bit of work though!

Then I've been using Lacura beauty Mineral Foundation in 11 Transparant. (Available in Aldi)

I was doubtful of this foundations capabilities for some reason, but at the very low price it was too hard to resist!
This is a medium consistency.

I found I had to blend this one out fairly quickly, but it did blend really well.

I was very pleasently surprised by the coverage this foundation provided and how lightweight it felt on my skin.

Verdict:  Both foundations were so well priced, only £3.49 each!  The Miss Sporty one I enjoyed because it did give a nice fnish, however it didn't last long and the coverage was too light for my complextion.  The Lacura one I liked because it provided a better coverage and lasted a bit longer.

The winner is................................

The Lacura minerals foundation provided a good coverage, lasted well and it was a minerals one so should be better for the skin.  I like the price, the shade and smell of this foundation!  I feel this is a brilliant foundation for under £5 and I like to use this quite a bit!

Neutrogena wave review

Hi everyone, I have wanted the Clarisonic forever so when I saw this product

I was intrigued! (It is a Neutrogena wave but because I brought it at  discount store it was labelled Timesbeauty!) It was a vibrating cleansing tool that I'd looked at before in a high street shop and it retailed at £9.99, however this was substantially cheaper in a local discount shop so I brought it!
It comes with the handset and a months supply of normal pads. (You can purchase extra pads and blackhead pads on the high street.)

The end is velcro so the pads just stick when you press them on.

The first few times I used it the pads kept slipping around and I got little velcro scratches from it!  This was not the handsets fault but mine as now I have been using it for over a month I have got the hang of it and this doesn't happen anymore!

The handset itself is fairy small and easy to hold (it has never slipped out of my hand which I thought it may being fairly small!).  It has two speed settings on it and can be set to normal vibrate or super fast vibrate!  I've been using the normal speed and tend to cleanse first and use this as a second cleanse every night.  I use it for 2 minutes in total, 30 seconds on my forhead, 30 seconds on my chin and a minute on my cheeks and nose.
The first few times as I stated before the disc slipped, I was unsure if it was any good, but now I love it!
It really takes off any last scraps of makeup and dirt on my face and I have had clearer skin recently and it makes my skin feel lovely after I've used it.

Verdict:  If you want something very purse friendly that gives your skin an extra deep cleanse and a nice glow I would get this.  It may take a few uses to get the hang of but stick with it.  It has not disapointed me and I love it now.

January Feel Unique beauty box review

Hi everyone, I hope the first week of the new year treated you well, I received my feelunique January beauty box today so thought I's share the contents with you. 
I am registered to two other beauty boxes however one of them isn't doing a box this month so I thought I'd try feelunique as I have wanted to for a few months but thought two boxes was enough, I may well change one of my subscriptions after this trial!
Here is the box:

It is differebt to the other boxes, for one it came by normal post and the design is different, it has a drawer like design and opens like a drawer which will come in handy I think!

Here are the contents:

The first product is Lierac Creme Mesolift which is an anti-aging Radience cream. 

The packaging is nice and the product isn't too thick in consistency.

I do not like the smell of this!  It says it is a cocktail of citrus, but to me it smells funny!  It may be my skin it reacts that way with but I may pass this on to someone who appreciates the scent and will enjoy the product.  It's a shame because it seems like a really good product.

Next there was an extra bonus sample of Lierac Comfort Peel. 

This wasn't on my description sheet so I will have to research into this before I make any claims on what it does, however I'm resuming it's an intense mask/skin peel (as the name suggests!!) so I love face products and skincare so this excited me!

Then I received Dead Sea Magik Salt brush x2 sachets!

The last few boxes I have receiced I got Dead Sea Magik products so I may well have a good pamper session with them all.  This product has coconut oil and vitamin E and says it is best used with a body brush for improved rejuvinated skin.  This will be good for when the warmer weather comes as a prep for your skin.

Next up is Caudalie Vinotherapie nourishing body lotion. 

This isn't very thick and has a nice texture and smell.  It sunk into my skin easily and absorbed in no time.

A nice light cream which I will use when I go away in a couple of weeks.

The next product surprised me as normally when you receive conditioners you get the shampoo (unless it's an intense leav in/treatment) but I just got a conditioner!  It was the Phyto PhytoBaume color and protect express conditioner.



This smelt nice and I will give it a try when I next have my hair colored (I'm choosing a shade so any nice light suggestions would be great!)

Finally I think this was my favorite product of the box this month and it was the this works clen skin for the face.

It is a non-drying natural cream face cleanser for all skin types.  You can use it morning and night and it says on the bottle it has rosehip and olive oil in it.  This smells beautiful!  I am really into rosehip oil and any natural oil scented products lately so this ticked all my boxes!  I've eyed up the brand online a few time so this will be great to try.

That was all my products this month, I hope you enjoyed reading.  Please don't forget to follow my blog and on twitter.

Thanks for reading 





High street favorites 2011

Hi everyone, I'm sorry I haven't posted for a while I have been a bit poorly over the Christmas period and still am not fully recovered yet but I'm getting there!
I had to look through a lot of products to find the products I went back to again and again throughout the year as it's easy doing monthly favorites as they are normally so fresh but to remember what I liked in Febuary 2011 wasn't so easy, but I found the products I have used again and again and are great value for money too so I hop you enjoy reading them.

Here are my high street makeup favorites and I won't go into too much detail about them as most of them I think I have at some point but they are:

Maybelline 24 hour superstay foundation, recently reviewed and I love it. (Link: http://babybeautybargains.blogspot.com/2011/12/which-foundation.html)

Garnier BB cream, I used constantly over summer and have reviewed it. (Link http://babybeautybargains.blogspot.com/search/label/BB%20Creams), I'm looking forward to using this again hopefully in summer.

Revlon photoready concealer, this comes out great on camera and I have grown to rely on it daily!

Elf mineral concealer.  I mentioned sometime ago I was playing with mineral makeup and this product is one I have already repurchased.  I use it to set my undereye concealer and the photoready concealer and it gives real extra coverage, you could use it alone for great coverage it really is that good and I recomend it.

ELF eyebrow kit.  I wanted to try all the HD brow kits going and tried this one first and haven't tried any others as this did a great job for enhancing my eyebrows and I love the finish of it, this has become a part of my daily routine!

No.7 intense volume mascara, this is my goto daily mascara and it gives me lovely volume without being too over the top for daytime.  I discovered this by accident but if you like a good mascara but more subtle for the day then I would get yourself this.

Clinique high impact mascara.  This is for the days I want a bit more oomph in my eyebrows, it is very black and non-clumpy and looks fab!  I got this as a trial sample but will probably buy the full size in the next month.

Maybelline one by one volume express mascara.  I think Maybelline do the best mascaras on the high street and this one didn't disappoint me at all!  I love using this and feel my lashes are really long and defined whenever I use this, another massive recomendation!

L'Oreal blush in True Rose, at first I wasn't sure on this but the more I use it the more I liked it.  It is perfect for my skintone and I use it pretty often.

ELF studio blush in Tickled Pink.  I have swatched this (http://babybeautybargains.blogspot.com/2011/10/elf-haul.html) and really love this blush.  Again it's another staple and perfect for us English roses!!

ELF 32 piece eyeshadow.  I am a huge fan of this and it is amazing how many looks you can create with this, it has matte shades, shimmery shades and a really lovely gold glitter shade, I'd be lost without this recently.

That's most of the highstreet makeup, now for nail polish and I don't think it is any surprise but my all time favorite high street polish it

Rimmel pro (this shade is beige babe and not my favorite shade but an example!)  This applies amazingly and dries fast and most shades I have found really oppaque.  I can't rave enough about this nail polish, amazing!

Then we have skincare, here are my favorite skincare products.

I will start with the tall pinky bottle and that is the Body Shop Natrulift softening cream cleanser.  It smells divine and is a lovely consistency.

I have gone back to this again and again this year so much that even the smell brings back memories from early on in the year!  I have the first dreaded signs of ageing and this does smooth and soften my skin beautifully.  I'm using this at the moment.

As you can see I have just started another set of tubs of this and this is the Bodyshop brazil nut body scrub and body butter.  I love the smell of these and use them when the weathers a little colder as I feel like they are lovely and rich and a real treat for my skin.  They smell almost cocoa butter like and are just divine!!

This product shocked me a little and it is the Lacura (sold in Aldi) moisterising eye cream.  I use this every night and it really does an amazing job of moisterising my eyes and hopefully will do some good in these early signs!  It's really resonable and I prefer it to some creams I have paid 5 times that amount for, a great buy!

This is the only hair product I'm putting on here as I rotate my haircare so much so my hair doesn't get too used to a product, but this I used again costantly through the summer and is a great product to have for those days you want a hairstyle but quite frankly can't be bothered!  This is Umberto Giannini scrunch jelly.  All you do is to damp hair work a small amount through then scrunch!!  I then spritz with hairspray and keep scrunching for the next 30 mins and voila!  My friend and husband told me it's how they love my hair the most so that must be a great product and for minimal effort, fantastic product!

So that's all my 2011 products, I hope they've been interesting or useful and I hope you enjoyed reading.  Speak to you soon, thanks for reading x