Real Techniques Makeup Palettes

I have just discovered these makeup palettes from Real Techniques, the makeup brush brand from Sam and Nicola Chapman. I'm glad they have branched out to makeup as they have a full set of makeup brushes out and then released travel brushes so I wasn't sure what else they could bring out. I have quite a collection of their brushes already so I may buy these palettes to increase my collection! 

Each palette contains four eyeshadows, a gel liner, a highlighter, a blush and two lipglosses. I don't usually like palettes with glosses/shadows etc in but they have made the glosses in their own mini tubes instead of being with the eyeshadows, thank god! The palettes are called 'modern natural' and 'night owl' and are available on the Real Techniques website for $25 each with shipping to other countries. They are limited edition though so hurry!!

The return of the Glossybox!

Yes you've guessed it, I gave in and renewed my subscription to Glossybox. I just couldn't hold out any longer! I thought I would leave it a good few months before getting them again but I missed the emails telling me my lovely box was on its way and then the excitement of receiving it and finding what was inside. I signed up for another 6 month subscription and will then look around again at other beauty boxes that are available, just to see if I'm missing anything :). 

This month I received quite a varied and useful box. 

The first thing I picked out the box was the MONU Spa Warming Ginger Massage and Body Oil. Now being a Beauty Therapist, I use a lot of different oils for massage etc and I'm really intrigued by the warming element of this one. Ginger is not my favourite scent in the world but this is actually quite pleasant and not overpowering at all. From reading the back of the bottle, it says it turns into a milk when water is added so it would be useful for massaging tight areas and then washing off in the shower afterwards. I really look forward to trying it! 

Two useful items I received are TRESemme dry shampoo and a lip brush by Emite Makeup. In the kit these go! I'll be interested to see if any hairs fall out of the lip brush, very annoying! 

One for the holiday bag- SunSense Daily Face SPF 50+ invisible tint finish. So from the name I can assume it's more like a tinted moisturiser with sun protection added. This will be really useful for me for holiday and I'm saving it for when I go away as it doesn't have a lid on it so I can't test it even if I tried! 

I'm so glad I have renewed my Glossybox subscription and can't wait for next months to arrive as apparently it's going to be a good one! And it's the last one before my holiday so I hope I get some good products! 

What did you get in your box? Are there any better beauty boxes out there that I should look at instead? 

Xx

A few beauty bits..

Hi guys hope you have been enjoying the sun (if you're in the UK). I have been trying to be out in it as much as possible and spent the weekend at a farm watching the lambs and piglets being born, then went for a 7k run which definitely blew away the cobwebs! Today I popped into my town to do a few jobs and ended up picking up a few things that I shouldn't have, as usual! I had seen a pair of flip flops in New Look a few weeks ago and really wanted them but thought I would wait and see if they got more stock in as I'm really picky with shoes. When I went in today, I saw the same pair and still loved them more than the others so I ended up buying them. They were £24.99 but I will wear them to death as I needed to throw out my 2 year old pair of flip flops that had definitely seen better days. The old ones are similar to these ones but when I sit them side by side, I can see how worn and old they now look compared to the brightly coloured new ones. 

I popped into a shop called Savers which is a cheaper version of Boots or Lloyd's Pharmacy. Here I picked up a new Rimmel Stay Matte Pressed Powder in Transparent- I have this in my personal and professional makeup kit. I find it makes my makeup stay put longer and is easy to use for touch ups through the day without adding any colour or dislodging the makeup. 

I needed a new mascara so thought I may as well buy a Rimmel one while I was there. I'm a bit clueless when it comes to mascaras, having had eyelash extensions on for years and so I get easily overwhelmed with all the different ones. I settled on the Scandaleyes Retro Glam in extreme black on the recommendation of my sister so I will be interested to see how good it is when I put my makeup on tomorrow morning. 

The most exciting purchase I made was the Schwarzkopf got2be Volumising Styling Powder which I had been wanting to try since seeing Pixiwoo use this or a similar one in one of their YouTube videos. It's a little pot with holes in the top, a bit like a salt shaker. You can either dust this at the roots of your hair and rub in to create volume or shake some into your hands and dust through. I'm really looking forward to trying this for my next evening out! 

Have you tried any of these products? What do you think? 

Xx

Sanctuary Sensuous Body Soufflé

This product has been around for ages and I have used it on and off but only when I receive it as a gift. Not because I don't love it but because it's just not on my go to list of body products I buy myself. I first used products from the Sanctuary range when I was given a set years ago and this was one of the products along with the sugar scrub, who doesn't love one of those!? There's nothing better that having a hot shower and exfoliating all the dead skin cells off, or layers of fake tan if you're anything like me, and following with a body cream. It's fair to say I have a ridiculous amount of body lotions and potions in my house varying from L'Occitane and Tesco to a huge Soap and Glory obsession, many of them being gifts. I think I will always come back to this one though, it smells nice (the usual Sanctuary fragrance) and it soaks in incredibly well. Don't get me wrong, I really enjoy using luxurious creams that stay on your skin that bit longer but when you have to share a bedroom with 2 cats, one being long haired, I would end up looking like one of them- covered in hair! Don't worry this is a very temporary thing, I don't always confine my cats to our bedroom and in my defense they love snuggling on my bed so it's not all RSPCA necessary! 

Now back to the topic in question, sorry I tend to ramble on! As well as the smell, I really like the texture. It is described as a soufflé (clue in the name) and that's exactly what it is. It seems sort of air whipped although mine is nearly empty and isn't as light and fluffy as when I first opened it but I suppose that is to be expected. 

So overall, a great body cream that does exactly what it says on the tin and leaves my skin feeling soft with a hint of the aroma still lingering after a few hours-bonus!! 

Xx

Elizabeth Arden Eight Hour Cream The Original

This has been a favourite of cult beauty addicts for years but I have only just got my hands on this much loved tube. Now I don't know what I was expecting but I was taken a bit by surprise when I squeezed some of the cream out into my hand. Its a lot thicker than I thought I would be, which isn't necessarily a bad thing as it is great for burns or cracked lips and hands. I tend to suffer with eczema a lot so I will definitely be giving this a go and also will be donating it to my boyfriend who has chapped and very rough hands. It's like holding hands with a block of sandpaper and actually hurts me if he rubs my arm so I will be interested to see if it manages to help him. The downside to this product is the smell. I'm very particular when it comes to fragrances of beauty products or perfumes and I didn't realise this would have such a strong smell. This however is just my opinion, it's loved by many people so I may just have a sensitive nose! I shall persevere and see how I get on! I did receive this as part of a gift set for Christmas that also contained a day cream, hand cream and lip balm, all of which I am currently using and loving. 

Does anyone else use Elizabeth Arden? I'd love to hear what you think of the products

Xx

Awful Blogging and Getting Old!

How bad have I been at doing my blog recently?? The answer is very bad!! I have no worthy excuses other than time has passed me by and it's suddenly the last week of March, whoa where did that time go?? I feel like i will soon be 30/40/50 in the blink of an eye so I'm trying to do as many things as possible to create memories to look back on. I've been a bit nostalgic recently, thinking back to being 18/19 and having what I consider to be the best years of my life so far. You know when you had it so much easier back then (probably didn't feel like it at the time) but I had so much fun going out drinking/partying and hanging out with my friends every weekend not worrying about money and bills! Obviously I had a job in the week, I didn't just mess around all the time but the days seemed longer and I almost seemed busier. We are hopefully moving into our first home together in the next couple of months so I have been going through our boxes that are in storage to get rid of things we have had for years but no longer need, which of course meant I found lots of old photos that I didn't know much about. At the time of taking them I never thought to write on the back of them the year and location etc so now I find myself wanting to buy photo albums to put them all in- a sure sign I'm getting older!! You really don't want to see my list of boring things to buy for the house but I shall be adding albums to it! I'm also thinking of starting another blog, a sort of online diary of what I get up to day to day and things to remember/ positive thoughts/memories for me to look back on. I figured it may help other people too? What do you think? Do you like to read about things like that? 

IMATS 2014

IMATs is the International Makeup Artists Trade Show and is held in London, LA, New York, Vancouver, Toronto and Sydney and I am planning to go to the one in London in June. I really wanted to go last year but I was a bit slow on the uptake and i was too late by the time I realised it was on. Boo hoo! I've been obsessed with makeup for years and years and being a Beauty Therapist and Makeup Artist, I am always on the look out for items to add to my kit (and just use for myself!). I recently looked on the list of brands that were there last year, as this years list is yet to be released, and I am so excited to go! Hopefully the same people will be there this year or just some of the lesser available ones so I can get my hands on their products. Looking through the list, these catch my eye-

Bobbi Brown, Mac, Inglot, Makeup Forever, Eye Candy Cosmetics, NARS, NYX Cosmetics, PAM

Crown Brush, Royal and Langnickel 

Eldora False Eyelashes

Makeup Artist Magazine

Tickets cost £40 each and the show runs from Friday 27th to Sunday 29th, with the Friday being for Pro card holders only. It is held at Olympia in London which is so easy to get to as it has it's very own train stop. I might drag my boyfriend along as he can carry my bags and maybe buy me a few things! :) 

Xx