Which foundation???

Hiya everyone, I get asked a lot which foundation is the best on the high street and to be honest the price of high street foundation is rising and rising and so it is worth taking the time to find the right foundation for you.  I use a lot of high street brands on a day to day basis and there are some amazing foundations out there.  Here are a few I've been testing recently.

There are a few more for me to review however I haven't used them enough yet to give totally useful feedback so I will do this in groups starting with the 3 super stay varieties and they are Maybelline super stay 24 hour, Revlon colorstay and Rimmel's lasting finish 25 hour foundion.

Firstly I don't feel any brand can say 24 hour stay foudation, however they aren't bad.

This is Maybelline's super stay 24 hour foundation and I have spoken about this before and how I love this!  I am quite a pale shade of this in the winter and even in the summer I only use their sand shade (I am not a fan of fake tan on my face so prefer the English rose look!!). 

This is a just under medium thckness in consistency and very easy to apply.

It blends really well and has an incredibly high coverage and really took me by surprise the first time I used it.  This foundation lives up to the super stay name on the packaging and did not budge!  I didn't reapply this at all during my day and I love this foundation. 
Verdict:  Great coverage, lasts really really well and has a nice variety of shades.

Next up we have Rimmel's lasting finish foundation.  This has a very clean pump on top and again is fairly blendable and easy to apply. 

It's a similar consistancy to the Maybelline super stay 24hr and again has a good shade range. 

Although this went on nicely, it didn't have as amazing coverage as Maybelline but still was fairly pleaseing, however it didn't last as well but still stood well throughout the day but needing slight touchups later on.

Verdict:  Nice pump, nice shades, medium coverage but didn't last as well.

Next up is Revlon colorstay for normal/dry skin.  I have to say I really dislike the top of this bottle as it has no pump.

It is also very thin in consistancy and so is very messy on the bottle top!

I liked the range of colours the best I think and it applied very nicely, however after a promising start I was dissapointed at it's lasting power.  It basically didn't live up to my (perhaps too high) expectations!  I really wanted this to last but it didn't last any more than any normal stay foundation!

Verdict:  Good shade range, awful bottle and a little dissapointing in staying power.

And the winner is........

I can't fault this as a day to day foundation, lovely coverage and staying power and if you are out looking for a new foundation I highly recommend looking into purchasing this.  It's brilliant!
Thanks for reading



I want you back for good!

Hi everyone, as a beauty fanatic I'm always trying new products that come onto the market, however we all have our go to and favourite products and I'm no different!
As much as I enjoy playing with new fads and trends I like my comfort products as it were, so recently I seem to be leaning back to some real favourites and staples especially for winter so here they are, the products I want back in my regime for good!

There are 5 products that I realise I can't be doing without and have dug them back out again! Working from the top left they are.

The first is probably my most used foundation and I used a darker shade a bit over summer but in the winter it is my perfect pale shade and offers great coverage.  It's the Maybelline super stay 24 hour foumdation and my winter shade is 005 light beige (I know I'm pale!!).  Flawless coverage and a good shade range, for me it is a winter must have and very reliable.

My next product is L'Oreal Touche Magique and they don't have shade names so you have to take your empty one when you go to repurchase but for me it has been the best high street under eye concealer and really reflects the light and really lightens the undereye area.  I believe this has won high street awards and I am on my third tube so it is an excellet product!



The next product I go back to time and time again and that's Rimmel Lycra pro nail polish.  (The shade above is Urban Purple)  The only reason I stray from this polish is the colour range isn't great but it is lovely to apply, lasts ages and has a lovely finish.  I wish they did more shades but wouldn't want them to change the formula so am happy with the staple colours they do and hands down this is my favourite high street polish ever.
The next product I haven't actually purchased a full size yet but it is the benefit high beam.  I love this pearly highlighter, it goes on lovely and has a really nice pearl sheen to it.  Great for a healthy look and lovely on a night out too.
My last product is something I've used for nearly 3 years and go back to time and time again and that is NYC cheek glow in central park pink.  This is a very reasonably priced blush and may need building up a bit if you want a deeper colour, however once on this stuff does not shift!  It lasts hours so is great with rimmels super stay and is a suit all shade (apart from very dark skin tones).  I would recommend trying this as it's great for adding glowyness to your cheeks this time of year.

Thanks for reading, I know it looked like an essay today but I have had so much on I haven't had a lot of spare time to take too many pictures but I will be back in a few days with a new post and hope to include tons of visual stuff.

Thanks for reading x

Most used/most wanted November

Hi everyone, I can not believe how fast this month has gone, as I write this I am looking forward to having a piece of chocolate with my breakfast every morning for the next 25 days!
This month has been a strange one with the products I've been using as the weather changes every minute and I've been going to the gym a lot more so it sometimes feels pointless doing too much to my hair or face if I'm going to the gym a few hours later!  However on my days off from the gym I have been enjoying my makeup and hair products and finally my hair is long enough to really play with again! 
There aren't many products here as I'm planning another post on a lot of the products I've been using but here goes anyway!
The first product if Lush's ocean salt.

This is an amazing face scrub, I was warned by the lovely shop assistant that I should give it a good mix before I used it as it has large pieces of salt in and she was not joking!!

This was before I mixed it, it is quite a thick consistancy and smells almost alcoholic (it does have alcohol in it though!!), I didn't think I would like this and kept putting it back but ended up buying it anyway and I love it!  I use it once sometimes twice a week and my skin just feel fabulous after using it, really clean and well exfoiated-a definate re-purchase!
The next 2 products are ones I received in the monthly beauty boxes and I have used constantly.

They are the dermalogica age smart lip renewal complex and  Rose Petal salve.  I am a huge fan of lip products and the dermalogica lip renewal is a really thick consistancy and I used it twice a day and it is sadly all gone now but it will be on my Christmas list as it felt like it lasted ages and I loved it.
The Rose salve is still in my handbag and I put it on throughout the day and although it is very similar to vaseline (just a lot nicer!) it is more luxurious and just fabulous!

The next product I wanted to do a full blog post on so I won't say much about it yet, but it is the neutrogena wave.

I brought this from a discount store so it isn't actually branded neutrogena however it is the same one you see in big high street pharmacy stores and the exact packaging but with times beauty instead of neutrogena!

I have wanted the clarisonic forever, something just keeps holding me back.  Every review says it is amazing and people can't live without it now but I just can't seem to buy it yet and I'm not sure why.  This seemed like an alternitive and in most high street pharmacy stores this retails at £9.99 with the refils retailing for £5.00, however at the discount shop I got this in it was £1.99 so I had to get it!

You get a packet of pads for a month in the package and they sort of velcro to the main handset and I have to say after getting the hang of this (I will explain more in a full review) I love it!  It has made me think twice about the clarisonic and I may hunt one out after Christmas, loving this.

Most wanted.

1)  Still wanting Mac's paintpot in Let's Skate gggrrrr I need this!

2)  Neil's Yard Laveder cleanser, I' going to order this in the next week, looks lovely.

3)  Lush candycane soap.  I just brought a few bits in Lush and saw this on the way out, maybe next time!

4)  Some new blusher, not sure which ones yet but nice Autum/Winter shades-any recomendations?

That's all for now, thanks for reading

Revlon Facets of Fuchsia

Hi everyone, just a quick nail of the day for you.

This is a deep purple with different size purple glitter in and they range from very small to some rather large cirsles of glitter.

I used my rimmel supershine topcoat and had to put 3 coats of facets of fuchsia on as well, although it still could have done with a forth!  This is why I'm not a huge revlon fan as I find their polishes need sooo many coats however they do some really pretty shades so it this one was worth it.

It felt a bit like I was looking into the galaxy at times when I was staring at my nails, it's very pretty and a polish I'm sure I will use again very soon.  Speak to you all soon.

Free nail of the day!

Hi everyone, I recently wrote about free nails inc polish with Glamour magazine so I had to have it!  I brought it in the shade Tate which was a deep red and it is quite nice.  I put one coat on to start with and I really had to put a second on but as I went to get the polish back out the drawer I spotted another free polish I got with an ELF order I recently placed and I got their Golden Goddess polish with in the mystery box so I had to put this over the top as I thought it'd be christmassy and I really am getting excited for the festive period!!  Here are the finished results.

As I said before I really should have put on a second coat of Tate however it looks fine with Golden Godess over the top with one coat of each.

I love my free polishes!  A couple of people have already complemented me on my nails today so a great freebie I think!

Thanks for reading.

Champneys at boots review

Hiya!  As I said before I love Champneys and really felt pulled to buy the range when it hit boots stores a while ago, so I have brought and tried a few different products and thought I'd tell you all about them.

These are the products I currently have and have already used up 2 shower gels and a bath soak!  I will start on the top row from left to right and tell you a bit about the product and what I think about it.
Top row from left.
Spa indulgance mediterranean bliss body hydrator with olive leaf, fig milk and green tomato.  I will admit to just smelling and sampling this on my hand for now as I'm running down my old moisteriser first, but it smells delicious!  I can't wait to give it a go, it's rich and I imagine will be really luxurious to use.
Relaxing dream bath lavender and patchouli.  I'm already on my second bottle of this, the smell is unbelievable!  I have had a stressful year to say the least and this has been my saviour at times, I think I may be an addict to sniffing this as sometimes I just crave sniffing it!  My advice, run a steaming bath, add this and shut the door and realx!  I would recomend buying this if you buy nothing else from this range.  It is a must for bath lovers!
Spa skin conditioning cleansing milk.  I'm almost halfway through this bottle and I do enjoy using this and it is great for cleansing, however at the price (£10) I feel I could get better, but it is a nice product.
Spa skin gentle toner.  I purchased this as I thought if I was going to be reviewing the skincare range I should work with all the products and even though I'm not a huge toner fan, I like this!  Weather it is that all the products work well together but it definately makes my skin feel very, well toned and ready for moisteriser after, I do like this more than I thought!
Spa facial illuminating eye cream.  I have used this about 10 times as I brought it later than the other facial range and have gone back to my old eyecream already!  It is pleasent however not a real standout product for me.  It comes out almost like a concealer and didn't seem to do much for my eyes so I switched back!
Spa indulgance oriental opulence bubble heaven with silk proteins, ylang ylang and patchouli.  This was a gift and was I thrilled with it?  Oh yeah!  This is a very thick creamy consistency and has a real shimmer look to it.  The only thing I really don't like about this product is the bottle!  I love how it looks and I love it's big and glass so looks good in the bathroom, however when I go to pour it takes so long to come out because it's so thick that when it does it sort of gloops out in a huge blob and sinks so is difficult to make bubbles unless you blast it with a shower attachment, however it does smell lovely and make a really luxurious bath.

Bottom row from left.

Spa skin rejuvinating night cream for normal to dry skin.  I love this product!  For the first time in ages I have noe dry patches on my face and the moisteriser does not make me break out!  You need such a small amount and it feels soooo good!  I have finally found the perfect night moisteriser for my skin hooray!  I will definately be buying this again and again and again!
Spa treatments relaxing pillow mist.  If you are a lover of lavender and the bath soak I spoke about earlier you will love this!  It smells not like fake lavender they use in some bath soaks and things but of real lavender.  The smell on your pillow or wherever you choose to use it is lovely but not overpowering and doesn't last too long so you wouldn't feel the need for fresh air if you were sleeping on a pillow sprayed with this, again another product I am addicted to!
Spa treatments overnight hand therapy.  This comes in a lovely glass pot with a little pair of gloves which you put on after the handcream overnight.  This is a real treat for the hands and I really recomend this at this time of year if like me you are prone to really dry hands over the winter.  It would also make a lovely gift for someone too.

I also have tried and run out of 2 of the shower gels.  A citrus one and a mint one for when I'm run down and I loved them as well.
If you are buying these products from boots on the 3 for 2 for yourself or gifts the 3 I would recomend are the relaxing dream bath, the hand cream and a shower gel as you can't mix and match with the facial range.
If you were going to try the facial range for the cleanser, toner and moisteriser it will cost you £20 at the moment and I really feel it is a great price for the quality of the products.
Also look out for their christmas gift range as they have some lovely gift sets at the minute.
(n.b I do not work for Champneys and have brought all the products with my own money and am not payed for the reviews or sent any samples from Champneys themselves, the opinions expressed above are all my own.)

Most used, most wanted Oct/Nov

Hi everyone, this is a post about my most used products for October and the products I want the most in November, so here we go.

First up is the Clean and clear morning burst face wash, I love this, it really makes my skin tingle in the morning and is kind of shimmery so looks pretty too!

Next is the ELF browkit, I was so jelous of everyone who got the HD brow kit in their glossybox as I didn't get that months and I have been using this and I am so happy with it, it definately has changed my look totally just by using this product, couldn't do without it anymore!

I have a little bond with champneys products as it was the first spa I ever visited and remember how much I loved the experience so when boots started stocking their facial range I kept resisting as I have so many half used cleansers I really wanted to use mine up first, however they then went on 3 for 2 and I resisted a bit longer and finally gave in!  This smells very spa like and I did buy the toner, eye brightener and night rejuivinating moisteriser too and I have to say I love them all, my face feels very clean and the moisteriser has really hydrated my skin so finally a patch I had by my nose has gone, hooray! 

I got this in last months bouidor privey box and it is never far away from me this month!!  I love it have been using it all the time and will definately repurchase once it has run out, I love it!

I have been using this perfume non-stop as I find on my skin it lasts well and smells gorgeous, I normaly get hooked on a scent for a while and then change as I love smelling different!  This bottle I will be repurchasing though as I have been so pleased with it.

I've not been using much makeup this month as my skin needed a rest and it is looking the best it has in a while so I thought I'd retry ELF's mineral range as it has sat in my drawer untouched!  I have to say I could be converted to using mineral foundation as it looks fantastic!  It didn't provide enough coverage for bad days but does have more coverage than I imagined and doesn't look cakey either, I really want to try bare minerals now as I think I may get converted (until the next miracle foundation comes out!).  I think ELF is a great way to try different things and the mineral range was very well priced and I'm pretty sure I got it in their 50% weekend ages and ages ago!

Most Wanted!

Sorry about the alignment, I can't get it to aligne back to the left (oh the teething problems of a blog!).  Here is my most wanted for November.

• OPI Muppets collection-I really want them all!
• Nicki Minaj for OPI in pink Friday-this shade looks incredible
• Mac paint pot in Let's skate from their snow and ice collection, looks gorgeous for winter
• A decent home hair dye!  If anyone knows of any great brunette shades PLEASE let me know as I have decided not to go to the salon for colour anymore but am struggling to find a great home dye.

So that's it for this month, when I get my camera back I will add a photo of my most used products as I ad to use internet found images and think sometimes you ge a better view from someones home taken image so hopefully that will be added soon.  What is your most used/most wanted products lately, I'd love to hear.

Thanks for reading

Elf berry pink nail varnish review

Hi everyone, this is a really quick post about ELF's berry pink nail varnish.

This was as described on the bottle a berry pink!  It is a bit shimmery and not very pigmented so it required 3 coats, however the finished result was nice and I was quite pleased with it.

This is the end result with a topcoat.  It lsted a couple of days before being destroyed by chips!  A nice shimmery and quite christmasy colour.

The Saturdays Fashionista Magnetism nail lacquer review!

Hi everyone, I decided to purchase these as the colours looked exactly what I was after, however when I looked at the price I was a little disappointed as they are £6 each and then you have to buy the magnet which is another £3!  So probably worth getting a 17 polish and using the magnet from that, howver they were on 3 for 2 promotion so I couldn't resist!

As you can see I purchased Una's and Frankie's lacquer!  Una's is called Ego greena dn Frankie's is Notorious silver, I will be showing you Una's Ego Green.

The polish was very pigmented and a gorgeous colour after one coat and I could have got away with one coat but chose to do another to follow the instructions properly, then while the 2nd coat was wet hold the magnet above the nail and the pattern appeared. 

I was a bit jubious at first as I couldn't see the pattern very well, however once it had dries I could see the pattern well and was left with a great 3D effect, I have to say I love it!  It was quite a matt finish however was shimmery with that, I din't put a topcoat on this as I didn't want it too glossy and liked the finish and it has had very little chipping after 24 hours which for me is remarkable!!

I love the ego green colour and am so excited about trying the notorious silver version this week, I would highly recomend this product as it was so pigmented and I love the colour and actually want to try them all! 

October Boudoir Privé box

Hi everyone, for those who aren't already familiar with Boudoir Privé boxes, you pay a monthly fee and the lovely people there send you a monthly beauty box full of lovely sample products and believe me I look forward to it every month!
So here is this months.

I really was not dissapointed, I felt like a little girl on her birthday when I opened it and explored the products!
Here is what I recieved.

• Cetum illumnating mask and creme de lite
• Korres quince body butter
• Leonor Greyl Huile de Palme
• Memo Paris perfume sample
• Full size Rose & co Rose petal salve
• Full size Studiomakeup Liner styler pen in black

The first product I tried was this perfume, I am fussy with perfume and hate overbearing, too grown up scents!  I was really pleasently surprised with this scent as it was grown up but really gorgeous!  It was very sophisticated and kept the scent for a long time without being overbearing.  I have been using ths every day and am getting upset it's running out so I may be tempted to buy some for special occasions and evening meals out!

This is the Leonor Greyl Huile de Palme, now having recently had an awful haircut in which the lovely hairdresser took way too much off and messed up my layers I am now having to grow my hair back and as it looks awful down I have to leave it up, so I am saving this product for when my hair grows a little and I start abusing it with my dryer, tongs and straightners again as a treat!  I am super excited about his as it smells absoloutly delicious!

This is the rose petal salve and this has nt left my side since I received it!  I love, love, love it!  I have been using it mainly on my lips and I did use sme around my nose as the dreaded cold got me and I will definatly be repirchasing this when mine runs out-gorgeous thank you Boudoir Privé!

These are the Cetume illuminating mask and creme de lite.  This was another product I was delighted to recieve and I have to say I love them both and oh my goodness will be buying soon!  They did brighten my skin and my friend even complemented me on how glowing I looked that day so that sold it to me again!  Thanks again Boudoir Privé!

This Korres quince body buter is lovely and a real treat for my weather bashed body!  It is lovely and rich and has a lovely scent to it, please I love this months box, I am buying most things again!

This is the studiomakeup liner styler pen in black.  I have heard so many wonderful things about this product and other reviews have said it's one of the best liners they have used so tonight I am giving it a whirl and am sooo excited to be using this.

So that is it for this month and I have to say it was such an amazing box, I am counting down til next months and hoping it is just as amazing!  Thanks for reading x



Leighton Denny Babydoll

As I said previously I recieved a full size Leighton Denny polish in babydoll in my October glossybox.

I was super excited to try the polish as I have heard about Leighton Denny polishes before and not too long ago watched them being sold on QVC and really really wanted to try them.

The varnish itself seemed very thin and I needed 3 coats of it to get a really good colour.

The colour babydoll itself is more a salmony pink to me and looked quite nice on although I'm not convinced I would have chosen that myself.

I put 3 coats plus a topcoat on and when I woke up the next morning on one of my nails the polish had folded back on itself and I had to peel it off like I did on the nail varnish made for children!

It wasn't long before the rest f my nails followed and it didn't last 24 hours!  This maybe because I was going on holiday and had to load my car and drive etc, however none of my previous polishes have peeled quite like this one did. 

I would like to try one more colour and give this range of polishes a good go, however my first impressions weren't what I expected and I was a little dissaopinted.

October Glossybox, Yey!

Hi everyone, I have to confess I get really excited about my Glossybox each month and this month was no exception, so I will get to it and show you this months!

Sorry the pictures upside down, I appreciate you bearing with me while I get the hang of all the settings!

Again really well presented and a birthday like feeling when I opened it. 

The first two products were Dermalogica Age Smart Multivitamin Thermofoliant and Multivitamin Power Recovery Masque.

They smell very spa like and I am so excited about trying these two products as my skin needs a good pick me up lately and I feel these may help!  I will post a review as soon as I ahve given them a good try.

I then had Leighton Denny Expert Nails colour and care in Babydoll.  This is a fairly pale pink but not particually nude pink, it's a bit deeper.

I have wanted to try Leighton Denny nail polishes for a while as I keep hearing good things about them lately and saw him on QVC!  It really is spring/summer shade but I will give it a go very soon and let you know.

The next product again I was super excited about was the Stila smudge stick in Moray.

Stila is a brand I have been wanting to use and is about to make a comeback so I am really looking forward to using this and it says it's highly pigmented and delivers intense, vibrant colour with staying power and so this is going to be a hit with me if it delivers (and I'm pretty sure it will!).  I will keep you postedon how I get on.

Then I had a few sample frangrences from Robert Piguet, they were Fracas de Robert Piguet, Visa de Robert Piguet and Calypso de Robert Piguet.

To be honest from the bottle these smelt like not my sort of perfume, however I am going to try them on my skin for a day and pop the little bottle in my handbag and see how I go as I know perfumes smell very different on different skin so another exciting product as I love finding new fragrences.

The final product was a bonus product, again I was so happy with the product and it was Dermalogica Age Smart Renewal Lip Complex and this came within a little black beauty bag.

I am ALWAYS applying lipbalms and butters and anything to keep my lips nice and moist so when I first tried this I loved how think and rich it was, it had real staying power and my lips felt lovely with it on.  I'm going to keep this by my bed and put it on every night as it was a real treat for my lips and when it's gone I may well be tempted to buy the full size product.

That was it for this months glossybox and I'm already excited about my next one!  Speak to you soon.