LUSH - Let The Good Times Roll - Review

Hey lovelies!
Lush skincare and I have had a love / hate relationship over the years. Skin Drink used to be my all time favourite moisturiser before discovering Oilatum, then i had a series of disasters including a really nasty reaction to their Serum Bar, Full of Grace. So my skincare routine has been Lush free for quite a while now up until a month or so ago when i picked up a few bits, including this little beauty.

I believe this product was from their Christmas collection, but due to its popularity is has now become permanent.

Let The Good Times Roll is described as a "gentle facial wash", which to be honest, i feel is a little misleading, gentle facial scrub may have been a more apt description. This is my second tub as I've been using this as my daily facial exfoliator, and I've been loving it! The exfoliant part is lovely and fine, not at all coarse or scratchy and exfoliates like a dream. The oil in it also means unlike a lot of other facial scrubs, it doesn't dry out my skin, but it doesn't leave it feeling oily or greasy either. Just the perfect amount of scrub and hydration.

I feel the chunks of popcorn in it are a bit novelty and i just tend to pick those out when i find them. But it smells AMAZING, i don't like that they've compared it to the Popcorn lip scrub (because i think it is VILE) because this buttery popcorn scent is gorgeous and nothing like the hideously salty lip product. And like it promises, the scent does linger on the skin which i really like.

For normal to dry skinned lovelies i would wholeheartedly recommend giving this a bash. If you are on the oilier side, I'm not too sure it would work for yo, but at around £6, its not too expensive to experiment with. This product alone has restored my faith in Lush skincare products and I'm definitely up for picking up a few more! I'm actually back to really enjoying their toners!

You can check this little gem out in store or on the Lush website here.

Whats your favourite Lush product?

xox

Christmas Gifts, the Beauty Bits! + Boxing Day Sale

Ello lovelies!

Hope you all had a fabulous Christmas! I had a lovely one and thoroughly enjoyed spending time with the bf and the family, but with all the good food I'd be suprised if i can fit through the door by the end of the week the amount of cheese and crackers I've consumed, ooops! Present wise, I've spoilt rotten this year. I was absolutely over the moon with everything i received and i had to say the boyfriend did an absolutely AMAZING job! So i thought I'd leave out the smellies, chocolates and other bits and bobs i got and share with you the beauty goodies!

·  Disney Scented Candle

·  Large Yankee Candle - Red Velvet (ERRRMERRRGERRRD. I love my boyfriend)

·  Lush - Bubblegun and Mint Julips Lip Scrubs

·  Too Faced - Sweet Indulgences Palette

·  Elemis Papaya Enzyme Peel Mask

·  Disney Villians - Nail Polish set, eeee!

·  Clinique - Bold Eyes To Go (Soooo excited to try Bottom Lash!)

·  Urban Decay - Smoked Palette

·  Urban Decay - Naked Basics Palette

·  Mac - Soft and Gentle

·  Lush - Snow Fairy (and a whole load of other lush bits not pictured)    

And if that wasn't enough...

 

Oh Manifesto, why you smell so good? I knew i was getting this bad boy as i did the majority of my Grandmas shopping! Its a more sophisticated scent that i usually go for, but its beautiful!

Since my trip to the USA i have been bitching every time i spotted Marc Jacobs Dot after regrettably passing it up at the airport. Apparently men do listen! My lovely other half got me a mahoosive bottle, bless him!

Now on to the sale stuff...

 

 I am one of those weirdos who checks online on Christmas day to see what offers are on and there were some corkers! After spotting all the (out of stock) ridiculously discounted perfume sets a few days after Christmas last year i was determined to snag a bargain this time round. So with my Christmas pennies burning a whole in my pocket off i went to town pretty early Boxing Day morning. Diesel Loverdose was reduced in Superdrug to £19.99 from around £40 and Especially Escada down to £15 from £32... score!

Boots wasn't as impressive as they were only offering a third off their sets (last year it was half price). But at £13.33 i couldn't resist these, plus i had enough points for one so it really was a bargain. Fantasy, although i am not a Britney fan, is one of my all time favourite scents. And I'd been eyeing Wonderstruck for a while, again not a Swift fan but it does smell amazing.

Think a no buy is in order now...

Did you get any beauty goodies? Or pick up any bargains in the sales?

xox

FOTD: Baby Its Cold Outside

Hey Lovelies!

Its officially two more sleeps until Christmas, eeee! I'm a tad bit excited if you can't already tell. I had a bit of a pamper day Saturday and decided to try out quite a few of the new goodies i picked up lately. And after battling with my camera trying desperately to capture the AMAZING Lit glitter i used, this was the best shot i could get, it does not do it even nearly enough justice. I also gave my Dinair airbrush system another bash, its definitely not perfect but i was pretty happy with the end results. Its really easy to go from not being able to see it to BAM too much, I'll get the hang of it eventually. I plan to do a full review on most of the new products used in this soon and hopefully *fingers crossed* be able to get a decent picture of the glitter, it is absolutely STUNNING.

Eyes:
MUA - Eye Primer
MAC - Vanilla, Omega and Phloof! Eyeshadows
Lit - Clearly Liquid Glitter Base
Lit - Champagne Wishes Glitter
Elf - Black Liquid Eyeliner
Makeup Forever - Smoky Lash Mascara
Anastasia - Brow Powder Duo

Lips:
YSL - Rouge Pur Couture The Mats Lipstick in 203
(I may actually be in love with this lipstick)

Face:
Darling Girl - About Face Velvet Gel Primer
Dinair - Airbrush Foundation
Laura Mercier - Secret Brightening Powder
Mac - Sculpting Powder in Sculpt
Mac – Lightscapade
The Balm - Frat Boy Blush  

(around 50 shots of my eye and this is the best i could get... boo!)

I've found three new products that I've fallen head over heals for; The YSL lipstick, Lit Glitters (need moar now) and my Dinair system. So needless to say i am one happy blogger right now.

Have you tried any of these products?

Hope you all have a wonderful Christmas!

xox

Last Minute Stocking Stuffer Ideas! ASOS

Ello lovelies!

So Christmas is only a week away, eeeee! I love to shop online for most of my Christmas presents and its getting to the last few days of online shopping before the big day. This post is in no way affiliated with ASOS but they have become one of my favourite online stores to shop for beauty and today is the last day for free shipping! (paid next day is available up until the 23rd) On top of that, if you're a student you can snag 10% off these beauties with an NUS code. So if you've still got a few goodies to pick up, here's my picks for last minute stocking stuffers!

1. Models Own ASOS Exclusive Nail Polish - £5

2. Benefit 6 Piece Skincare Set - £10

3.Bare Minerals Ready Eyeshadow Quad - £29
4.Korres Lip Butters - £7
5.This Works Silent Night Sleep Balm - £10
6.Illamasqua ASOS Exclusive Lip & Nail Duo - £21

7.Nars Blush - £21

So that's it! Are you super organised for Christmas or are you a Christmas Eve shopper kinda gal? Let me know!

xox

MUA - Pro-Brow Ultimate Eyebrow Kit - Review

Ello lovelies!

You may remember many moons ago when the Glossybox featured the HD Brow Kit in one of their boxes and the beauty world went crazy for it! I never had a subscription so i watched videos and read blog posts green with envy. Since the initial fuss i've heard less and less about the product, probably due to its £20+ price tag, so i was chuffed to bits to see a high street equivalent in the MUA Brow Kit, priced at a mere £3.50.

It's no secret, I'm a big MUA fan. Since their release a year or so ago they have been constantly releasing new and exciting products, with teeny weeny price tags. So when they had their 35% off (as if it isn't cheap enough already) sale i jumped at the chance to pick up a few new bits.

The kit comes in one shade, which is probably the only downside. I do wish they'd released it in one or two more shade ranges, but you never know, they may well do in future. It contains 3 powders, two brow colours and a highlight and a wax for fixing those odd unruly hairs! As a nice little extra it also contains a little double ended brow brush for application, which isn't great but is perfect for on the go, and lastly a little pair of mini tweezers which is always handy!

Being so fair, the lighter brow colour is the one i reach for although it is a smidge too warm for me. I can't actually use the two other powders, the darker of the two is just too dark and the highlight, for me, is again far too dark for that purpose. Saying that I'm still going to be using them as eyeshadow (i severely lack neutral mattes) rather than my brow to save waste. They apply evenly just with a bit of fallout, which for the price point, I'm not complaining about.

Overall, if you fit the shade range this is a nifty little product to have. I just wish they'd bring out a few more colour ranges as i feel lighter and darker browed lovelies may have issues with this. Would i buy it again? In this colour, probably not... But I'd be happy to see it in a lighter, cooler toned option in the future!

You can check it out at your local Superdrug or online here!

Whats your favourite brow product?

xox

The worst attempt at a no buy... ever!

... I am terrible.

So i splurged on an airbrush system... ooops! And what makes it worse is that I'm so behind on uni work I'm having to stash it away till Saturday! Aaaaaaaah! So looking forward to learning to use this little beauty!

xox

Not another haul?! Debenhams, Boots and Superdrug bits and bobs!

Hey lovelies!

So I've been going a little haul crazy lately...

I just can't Christmas shop without buying things for myself... I try, but it never seems to happen. So i thought I'd share with you the bits and bobs I've picked up lately but don't seem to fit in any other haul. I've pretty much finished my Christmas shopping now (as my bank balance breathes a sigh of relief) and am firmly putting myself on a low-buy for the next few months, which will inevitably fail on boxing day, but oh well!

Optimum - Super Antioxidant Grape Eye Cream

   Well over a year ago i did a little review on quite a few products from the Optimum range. I have trouble finding eye creams that don't sting my eyes like a bitch so as this was half price and i remembered enjoying it i thought I'd give it another bash!

Tanatomicals - Holy Grail for the Deathly Pale

Got to admit, the name sold this little beauty to me. Since my trip to the USA I've been mourning my long since faded tan and being "deathly pale" I'm pretty damn scared of fake tanners in general. So far, i am loving this little beauty! I'm trying out a couple of sunless tanners at the moment and will probably do a little series on the good, the bad and the orange in the new year! 

Estee Lauder - Advanced Night Repair

Biggest splurge ever... I'd been lusting after this little beauty for a while and with a combination of Boots online coupons i managed to get around £12 off my big Christmas order which included this. At around £55, it wasn't cheap but I'm really enjoying using it!

 

Olay - Instant Hydration Eye Cream

30+... Ooops, I'm still using it! Another half price Superdrug little bargain.

YSL - Rouge Pur Couture Glossy Stain #14

Another splurge! I was really after their Matte Lipstick in 202, but annoyingly my Debenhams doesn't stock that range yet. With my £15 of beauty points burning a hole in my pocket i just had to pick it up and i am sure glad i did. I'm not gunna go into detail because this little gem is going to be my next review.

Are you just as bad as me at Christmas shopping?

xox

A little update! ♥

Heya lovelies!

Long time no post! Its been over a week since my last post so i thought I'd post a little update for y'all. As you can probably see, I've hurt my foot, quite a lot. I managed to sprain my ankle before leaving the house for a night out, then cleverpants here decided to "drink through the pain"... Yeah, don't do that... So its resulted in a very, very sore ankle and me looking like a bit of a tit on crutches!

On the plus side, i do have a LOT of posts lined up for you lovely lot including a few more naughty hauls (i know, i need to stop!), some reviews of some pretty darn good products I've been loving lately and maybe even a little tag post. I just have to heal a little before i can waddle around and get some photos done, which hopefully will be done by the end of the week!

Thanks for reading!

xox

Boots Soap & Glory Haul

I love Soap and Glory.

Boots had some extra points offers a little while ago and i just couldn't resist picking up a few Soap and Glory bits! These were also three for two, so even more of a bargain. If i had some sense, i would have waited for the large sets to be a Boots Star Gift, but i have no patience! But, if you love Soap and Glory, keep your eye out for the large £60 gift sets as the last week before Christmas they generally go down to around £25, less than half price!

Hand Food
Everyone loves a good hand cream. I'm probably on my fourth or fifth tube of this little gem. It has the lovely traditional Soap and Glory scent and keeps my hands soft and hydrated. One of my holy grail products!

Wish Upon a Jar
A bit of an impulse buy… I'd heard Miss Budget Beauty rave about it and as there was three for two i thought, why not? I'm not keen on the scent of this one; it’s a chocolately orange scent... But then again I am probably one of the few people in the world that hate chocolate orange! I've seen no big changes so far, but I’ll do a full review at the end of the 28 days.

Original Pink Eau De Parfum
I love the Soap and Glory scent. It smells a lot like Miss Dior Cherie and for £16.50 is a LOT cheaper. It doesn't last as long on the skin, but for around a quarter of the price, who cares?

Make Yourself Youthful Serum
Again with the chocolate orange scent, ugh. Another impulse buy, I'd been considering starting to add a serum into my skincare routine for a while now and thought this was a relatively inexpensive way to start. To me, it feels more like a light cream than a traditional serum. Again, I'll review this fully after I've given it a good old bash!

Clean On Me Shower Gel
The only shower gel I've purchased in nearly two years. At around £5, yes it’s not the cheapest one, but it’s a whopping 500ml so lasts me a good two to three months, making it excellent value for money. It like most of the other products has the traditional Soap and Glory scent i love. A little goes such a long way with this too, i love it!  

I think that will be it for Soap and Glory splurges for a while. But i fully intend to take advantage of the Boots Star Gift offer next month!

What’s your favourite Soap and Glory product?

 xox     

My Month In Pictures

Heya Lovelies!

I'm pretty new to this Instagram business but i thought I'd give a new sort of post a whirl. I'm no genius when it comes to taking photos, I'm pretty much the opposite. But i thought I'd share some of the months favourite snaps with you lot!

 

1. Zoya Ivanka

2. Rearranging my indie cosmetics stash

3. USA goodies! ♥

4. Wagamama's pud

5. My fur baby Star

6. Perfume lusting

I'll be trying these sort of posts out on a monthly basis to start with, but if you'd like to keep up to date with me on Instagram follow katiexlou.

Do you have Instagram? Leave a comment with your user name!

xox