Oooo Knickers

I know that when you think of M & S you might not necessarily think that they would be your first point of call when it came to buying underwear. However, I think they sell some fantastic stuff it’s just a case of if you’re in store actually having a good look for it or you can go for the easy option and get it online. Shopping online at Marks and Spencer now also has the added bonus of free store delivery, all you have to do is pop in a pick it up. This can also be done next day delivery if you order before 12 pm (noon).

 Whilst I was browsing the other day I noticed this offer of 3 pairs of knickers for £10. I thought that this was a really good price so went ahead and placed my order. When I picked up my order I was really impressed with the quality of the knickers. They look good and fit nice and comfortably.

 There are many designs to choose from in this 3 for £10 offer I just thought I would show you some of the designs that I really liked. In fact I might just have to place another order!



Review: ELF Mineral Eye Shadows

Left to right: Dreamy, Sweet, Glamorous, Socialite



Elf cosmetics are one of my favourite sites to buy things from. Some of the pieces that they stock are amazing value for money, these mineral; eye shadows are a perfect example of that.

Left to right: Socialite, Glamorous, Sweet, Dreamy

 As you can see from the photo the eye shadows are really pigmented and really pop. The 4 colours that I have are part of the more shimmery range but you can get matte colours. I have tried the matte ones before and they are just as good.

 The shimmer catches the light beautifully and gives off more of a metallic look rather than being over glittery. This makes them great for wearing both during the day and on nights out.

 When used with a primer the colours are really long lasting and they blend easily with other products to create different looks.

 There is a vast range of colours on the Elf website of this product and for only £3 I don’t think you can go wrong.

NOTD: Barry M 'Cappucino'

 One from my Superdrug haul. Another lovely shade from Barry M which I am certainly not dissapointed with. Sometimes I think it can be difficult getting the right shade of brown polishes but this one looks fabulous.

Mini Haul: Superdrug

Barry M lipstick - Dolly Pink

Barry M nail paint - Raspberry

Barry M nail paint - Cappucino

Elemis - Super Boost Moisturising Serum

 Just a little haul today that I thought I would share with you guys. I'm a big fan of Barry M nail polishes, I haven't used their lipsticks before so I am looking forward to giving this a go. I am most excited about the Elemis Serum, my skin has become a bit dry lately so hopefully this will help with that. I will do full reviews on the serum and lip stick at some point so keep checking back!

How I clean my makeup brushes

 Now I know you can buy fancy brush cleansers and that this probably is not the way you are advised to clean your makeup brushes but I thought I would share how I clean my brushes.

 All I use is simple baby shampoo. The one that I am using at the moment is this one from Tesco:

 It is so much more affordable than brush cleansers and the fact that it is gentle enough for a baby’s hair means that it is nice and gentle on brushes.

So in order to get my brushes nice and clean all I do is squirt a little bit of the shampoo onto the brush then massage in with my fingers and rinse with warm water. You will probably need to repeat this a few times. I do this until the water runs clear and hey presto clean brushes.

                      



Review: Avon Glimmerstick Eye Liners

Left to right

Glimmerstick Blackest Black, Glimmerstick Diamonds Smokey Diamond, Glimmersticks Diamond Sugar Plum

The Avon Glimmerstick eyeliners are one of my most used cosmetic items as they are so versatile and can be used to create a variety of looks.

 The liners themselves are a really creamy texture and remind me of crayons. They are the perfect choice if you do not like the tug of using a pencil liner and if you are not a fan of liquid liners.

 The colours glide onto your lid and water line easily and are really pigmented. You can see the purple shade ‘Sugar Plum’ is just beautiful.

 Day to day I would use the plain black shade on my lids, it has great staying power and generally lasts all day.

 The ‘Smokey Diamond’ shade is one which I just recently purchased and already think it’s great. It is the perfect accompaniment to a smokey eye look or it is just right if you are creating a look which needs liner but not the boldness of a dark black.

 There are many other colours in this range and they are good value for money. Often they can be found on half price offers in the Avon catalogues for just £3 which is a fantastic price for the product that you are getting. Keep your eyes peeled!

NOTD: Barry M 'Mint Green'

 I really like this shade from the Barry M nail paint range. I think it works well in the sumemr due to it being a pastel colour but also looks nice in these frosty winter months.

Room 101

 I really like watching Room 101 on the BBC and thought it would be fun to think about and write what I would put into Room 101. So here it goes……..

1. Sea Gulls

 I absolutely hate sea gulls! I swear they go out of their way to torment me. I have had one land on my head and steal my doughnut and last year whilst I was in Cornwall one tried to bully me into giving it my pasty. I was not having any of it and ended up running away, that Rhubarb and Custard pasty was mine! And I swear they are getting bigger, in Cornwall they were like giants, very dinosaur-esque. They are greedy, nasty bullies and they would definitely be the first thing I would put in Room 101.

2.Word Verification

Basically as many of you may know when you want to leave a comment on certain blogs or buy items online quite often you will be asked to type in two words. This I do not have a problem with, what I do have a problem with is where on earth do they find these words!? When the writing is all blurry and the words are words that no human being has ever heard of I find it incredibly frustrating. It’s especially frustrating if you are using your phone and it proceeds to change the random words into some other completely random word. Grrr

3. Mess

 

 I consider myself to be quite a tidy person, I'm very pro-clean and like things to have a place. One thing I absolutely cannot stand is mess, dirt and people who do not clean up after themselves. It drives me up the wall!

 I don't understand why people can't take 10 seconds to have a quick clean for example wiping down work top surfaces. Why not just get it over and done with rather than letting the food sit there being all gross. Don't get me started on bits of food in butter, oh my days, it completely grosses me out and I throw the butter away. Why would I want bits of marmite/toast etc all over my nice sandwich, yuck!

Well that’s my little rant over, what would you put into Room 101?

New Sparkly Phone Case!

A couple of weeks ago while I was browsing the old Twitter-verse I saw that a business I was following were going to have an auction in the evening. That business is called AllThatSparkles. Now I’m a girly girl and love sparkly things, hence why I was following this business in the first place.

 The auction came and I decided I would bid on a nice new sparkle phone case. I won the phone case for £1, yes you read correctly £1!

The phone case arrived very well packaged and it looked just as fabulous as in the photos. All the bling is stuck on by hand and it is a great quality case.

 Everyone who loves a bit of bling go and check her out. She makes all sorts from unique phone cases, to ipad cases, to shoes, to photo frames and even pet food bowls.

 If you cannot tell I absolutely love my case. I love the colour, the bling, the design, everything. I highly recommend having a browse through some of her other bits as there are some great bits and pieces if you are looking for unique gifts or even if you just want to treat yourself. Now I may not be able to afford diamonds so it will have to be; sparkles are a girl’s best friend.

Click here to find AllThatSparkles on Twitter
Click here to find AllThatSparkles online

Review: St Ives Apricot Scub

 I have been using the St Ives Apricot scrub for quite a long time now. It is one of the staple pieces in my beauty routine which I constantly repurchase. The scrub that I tend to purchase is the blemish fighting variety. It is designed for oily/blemish prone skin, I do not really have oily skin but I am prone to having small breakouts here and there and this helps to prevent that.

 The product comes out of the tube very creamy and has a lovely, refreshing but subtle apricot scent.

 As I massage it into my face I can feel the grains gently massaging my skin and giving a really through cleanse. Some exfoliating products that I have used in the past I have found to be too harsh as I have quite sensitive skin but this one from St Ives is just perfect.

 ‘Effectively lifts away surface oil and dirt that can lead to blackheads and blemishes’. This is a statement that I completely agree with.

 As soon as I wash the scrub off of my face I can notice a difference. My skin has an instant glow and looks refreshed. It also feels nice and soft.

 I use this scrub 3 times a week; Monday, Wednesday and Friday. I find that if I have set days for doing certain things then I am less likely to forget. I think that using this 3 times a week is just the right amount in order for it to be effective.

 As I said before I have been using this scrub for quite a while now. It helps my skin to look better, I have less break outs than what I used to and my skin feels better.  It is no wonder that St Ives are the UK’s number 1 scrub brand.

 What face scrubs do you use?

January Sales Bargains Still To Be Had!

 This is just a quick post to show you guys some of  the sale stuff that I have found still floating around on the internet. All of these items were still available at the the of writing this post., just click the product names to be redirected to their sites.

1. Maxi Dress  was £49.99 Now £6.69 - £17.89 price ranges across different sizes

2. Peach Jeans now £8.99

3. Jane Norman Dress was £55.00 now £27.50

4. Batman Jumper now £13.99

5. Betty Jackson Eye Palette was £14.00 now £4.20

6. Burts Bee's skin care set was £19.98 now £9.99

7. FCUK Perfume Set was £34.00 now £16.34

I hope you enjoyed this post x

Review: Berber Hair Oil

 I received this hair treatment in a Glossy box months ago but I have been putting off using it for all that time. Why? You might wonder. And the reason is, I absolutely hate the thought of putting anything oily in my hair. It might seem strange but because my hair is quite thin I worry about products ‘clinging’ to it and making it looks greasy and flat. However I decided to bite the bullet and give it a go.

The oil has a lovely smell to it, quite sweet but not too sickly. When I poured it into my hands I was quite surprised as it was a thicker consistency to what I had imagined.  I do not use hair products like this when my hair is dry just because of personal preference so I tried this on damp hair. I distributed it through my hair and it glided effortlessly through. I then combed it through with my absolutely massive pink comb (Wilkinsons) and began to dry.

When I was drying my hair the brush was brushing through seamlessly as if there was no product in my hair at all.

The results were fabulous. At the moment the ends of my hair are quite dry, my own fault I need to get my hair cut. Anyway, my hair felt so soft from root to tip. And it looked healthier, more nourished and glossy. My dry ends even looked and felt better.

 After using this product I don’t know what I was so worried about. I love the results and even though I got this one in a Glossy box I would buy it again. At around £6.00 for 10ml I think it is a pretty good price considering I think the bottle will last quite a long time.

 What hair oil treatments have you tried?

 

Review: Elf Mineral Lipstick

Runway Pink         Natural Nymph



 A little while ago I purchased these lipstick from Elf's mineral range. I didn't know what to expect as I hadn't purchased any lip products from Elf before but I was pleasantly suprised.

Natural Nymph        Runway Pink



The lipsticks themselves are very creamy and pigmented. On the Elf website they are described as being hydrating which to a degree I agree with but I would not use them purely as a hydrating product, I will leave this to the job of a good old lip balm.

This is Runway Pink when it is being worn. It looks quite glossy and is a lovely neutral pink shade. The Natural Nymph is a very light shade. They glide really easily onto the lips and the colour does last a fairly long time however it does need touching up throughout the day.

 I love the fact that there are no added nasties in this lipstick in the form of no parabens, no preservatives and no chemical dyes and that is is 100% mineral based. It is currently £5 which I don't think is a bad price at all for a mineral beauty product.

 There are 9 different colours to chose from in this range

 To sum it up I think this is a really good product. The colour choice is great, the quality of the product is fab and the price is even better.

Elf Mineral Lipstick

Work Wardrobe: Matalan

 A couple of weeks ago I had to buy some smart clothes for a very important work thing I had to attend *yawn*. Any way I decided I would buy something new so off I popped to the shops.
 I saw this peplum dress which I thought was perfect and after trying it on it had ticked all the right boxes. Im not the tallest of people at 5'3 so sometimes find it difficult buying dresses which aren't too long but this one is just right. At the time I thought that it was a bargain at £15, now it has gone down to just £10! I got mine in black but it is also available in grey and various stripe designs.

 The dress is well fitted but not too tight and feels comfortable. I think it is one of those pieces that can be worn for different occasions as well so is a great bargain.
 Next onto shoes.........

These gorgeous nude shoes were just £14. They are not too high so are easy to walk in and are comfortable if you are wearing tights. I tried them on bare foot and they rubbed a bit but I am not brave enough to go out in a dress and not wear tights anyway. The lighting in the photo is not too great and the shoes look a bit yellow, they are more of a nude colour in real life like the top photo. 

 I did not purchase the bag in store when I saw it as I already had a bag I could use and wanted to save my pennies *sigh* however I do think it would go with the outfit nicely and costs only £12.

Peplum Dress

Nude Shoes

Quilted Bag

NOTD: No7 'Cheeky Chops'

Since its cloudy and miserable outside I decided I would paint my nails in 'Cheeky chops' from the Boots No 7 Stay Perfect range. Its a beautiful coral-pink colour which I love. Although it is more of a shade for summer I think it is a nice pick me up, what do you think?

Urban Decay Dupe

 As I was searching online for the Urban decay naked eye palette to purchase as a treat for myself I came across several posts about this product, the MUA pro palette undressed from Superdrug. It has great reviews and everyone was saying it was a perfect dupe for the Urban Decay palette. So I had a choice, I could spend around £35 on the Naked palette or take my chances on the £4 Superdrug dupe, I decided to go for the dupe since at £4 it was an absolute steal.

As you can see the shades are extremely similar to the ones that you get in the naked palette.

I love this palette and cannot believe that it only costs £4. The shadows glide onto your eyelids so easily and are really creamy. The pigmentation is great especially on the shimmer shades which catch the light beautifully.

 The shadows are long lasting as well. If I wear them with some primer they will last all day, which for 33p per eye shadow I think is amazing.

 I have found that it is easy to create a variety of looks with this palette as the colours are universal both for evening and night time wear with the matte and shimmer shades. They also work well to create smokey eyes as the colours blend well together and can be built up to create a very professional look.

 This is a gem of a product and one which is now a staple piece in my makeup bag. When I have used it up I might try the Urban Decay palette just because of the hype but then again this does the job perfectly and is everything I need in an eye shadow set. If I was to recommend one beauty product that I have tried in the last year this would be it.

 I love makeup dupes so if anybody knows any more I would love to hear about them.

Affordable Brushes from ELF

When I first started watching Youtube makeup tutorials a few years ago I used to love the looks that the guru's were creating and wanted to do them myself but didn't have the right tools.

 All the guru's would use Mac brushes and I thought it would be a bit much to buy those as my first brushes considering how expensive they are.

 That is when I saw these on the Elf cosmetics site. In the set you get a Blush Brush, Foundation Brush, Brow Comb & Brush, Eyelash & Eyebrow Wand, Eyeliner Brush, Concealer Brush, Eyeshadow Brush, Smudge Eye Sponge, Lip Defining Brush, and Flawless Total Face Brush. For £12 this is a complete bargain, not to mention I bought them during one of Elf's 50% off events making the set just £6!

 The brushes are of a really good quality and they come in a nice black roll out bag to protect them. The bag also has extra pockets in so you can put any other brushes or tools in.

 I have had this set for perhaps a couple of years now and I cannot recommend it enough. If you are looking for your first brush set, a gift for somebody or just want some extra brushes for yourself you can't go wrong at £12.

Tip: Sign up to Elf's newsletter to find out when they are doing their money off events

Elf cosmetics 10 piece brush set