Future Posts + A Little Bit Of Summer!

Heya Lovelies!
Just a quick little update post from me today. If you're from the UK you'll probably, like me, have spent the last few days basking in the glorious sun. Sun, in England? I know its normally a myth but the weather is just plain gorgeous! So with my week off work I've been spending my time having a good ol' catch up with the bestie and relaxing in my slightly fail paddling pool! I say fail, because its one of those that "inflates itself", well it does if its on a flat surface... So mine is nicely propped up by a lounger. But it does the job!
 

I thought I'd also take today to talk about things I'm planning to do in future with the blog. I'm planning to carry on both my Recent Rediscoveries and my Top 5 posts and work my way through a lot of my unloved collection, that way you get a chance to see products that may not be the current hype, but are good, old favourites. And after a little request I'll be doing an updated storage post too, as it has drastically changed since the one i posted back in the first few months of blogging.

But what I'd love to know is, what would you like to see?

 
What posts interest you the most? And if there any any specific topics, brands or products you'd like to see covered? I really appreciate every single person that reads my blog and would love you to have some input.

Of course I'll still be buying the things i like and sticking to what i love, but if you lot can point me in the direction of new goodies or things i may not have considered, thats great!

Hope your all enjoying the fabulous sun!

xox

Chinovi Cosmetics - Haul & Review!

 Ello Lovelies!

If you've seen my latest haul post you would of noticed the goodies i picked up from Chinovi Cosmetics, well I've finally given them a fair trial and thought it was about time i reviewed the beauties. I used a few shades in my last FOTD post which you can see here.

Chinovi Cosmetics as a relatively new indie cosmetics company, and so far I'm thoroughly impressed! The website is really user friendly and easy to navigate and has soooo many shade choices to choose from, it took me a good while to narrow it down to just eight! I opted for the clam shell sample size which are priced at an extremely reasonable $1.25 and hold a very generous amount of product. The only downside is that with me being clumsy its VERY easy to spill, but a minor downside in my opinion.

My package arrived in a little over a week, which is pretty damn good for shipping from the USA and had some of neatest packaging i have ever seen! Everything was neatly packaged in baggies, with an extra baggie sample (which i forgot to photopgraph, doh!) and my order came with a small selection of American sweeties, which was a lovely (yummy) touch! Postage and packaging is also really reasonable at around $5 to the UK.

Now, onto the shadows!

 Party - Speechless - Nude Pearl + - Smoke Out

 For a little over a dollar that is a LOT of product. I can see myself getting a good 10 uses at least out of these before i repurchase full sizes of a few. Yep, I'm already sold on full sizes of Nude Pearl + and Smoke Out. Those two make the easiest day time smokey eye combo, i am slightly obsessed with them! I seriously need more taupey browns in my collection...

  Party - Speechless - Nude Pearl + - Smoke Out

Cool Runnings - Dream - Tree - Fun Day

 

I'm such a sucker for greens and i've been lusting over a shimmery lime green and yellow for quite some time now, so Cool Runnings and Fun Day have sated my obsession for now. I won't try and describe colours too much, because frankly, i suck at it, but as usual the pictures don't do these justice. They are gorgeous!

 Cool Runnings - Dream - Tree - Fun Day

They are all so pigmented, soft and blend beautifully, i am REALLY enjoying using them. My go to colours this week have been exactly the same as my last FOTD (lazy, i know) I've been loving it that much! Think i may have to place another cheeky order to try out a few more neutrals!

You can check out Chinovi Cosmetics here!

Whats your favourite shade?

xox

FOTD: Chinovi Neutrals

So i have finally gotten around to playing with my Chinovi Cosmetics goodies from my recent haul, hurray! And lets just say, i am not disappointed! But i wont go into that as my next post will be my full review and swatches, I'll just share a quick FOTD with you lovelies!

I've been on a real neutral kick lately, even my Naked palette is getting a bit of love, although on a whole its still far too warm for me. After swatching my new Chinovi shades i fell in love with a couple and have finally found a day time, smokey, neutral combo that doesn't pull too warm on me, yay! Just as per usual, ignore the brows, I've still not mastered those...

Eyes:
MUA - Eyeshadow Primer
Fyrinnae - Pixie Epoxy
Chinovi - Smoke Out
Chinovi - Nude Pearl +
Chinovi - Speechless
Elf - Black Liquid Eyeliner
MUFE - Smoky Lash
Mac - Fling Pencil

Face:
Estee Lauder - Double Wear Foundation
Bare Minerals - Blush (shade update later)
Nars - Laguna Bronzer
Inglot - Makeup Base

Lips:
L'occitane - Lip Balm

They were a dream to apply and such an easy look to do that i think this will be getting a lot of wear over the next few months. Also, I've managed to finally get my skin somewhat clear, I've changed a few things in my routine, like using non abrasive exfoliators and adding a few drops of tea tree to my toner and my skin is seeming to LOVE it! But again, another post on that soon!

What are your favourite neutrals?

xox

First Impressions: Haus Of Gloi

IT SMELLS LIKE HEAVEN!
*ahem*

Just a quick post for you all today as i felt i REALLY needed to share the love on some new products I'd purchased recently. Now, its too early to give a full blown review, and I'm planning on placing another order and reviewing them all together, but i just had to share.

Haus Of Gloi is a handmade, vegan, 100% cruelty free, independant bath, body and fragrance company. And i have completely fallen in love. I'd been hearing about them online recently through a Facebook group I'm in and after reading the scent descriptions i knew i had to have some. So i placed a little order (after a lot of debating over scents) for two of their Pumpkin Butters. They arrived safely in little over a week which is great considering they are a USA based company. Firstly, even the little thank you note smells amazing. My Mum reckons it smells of coffee, my nose picks up more tea and smoke (but in a gooooood way), either way, it smells beaut! And that's just the card! 

Satyr
"Absolutely fiendish creature! And quite frolicsome: Italian blood orange drizzled with blackened vanilla." - A little different than i expected but the scent lingers on the skin all day and smells magnificent!

Twice is Nice
"Sweetest offerings of opulence! Buttery sugar cookie, with shavings of creamy coconut and topped with toasted almond slivers!" - Smells exactly like the description, but not in an overly sickly way.

Twice is Nice is definitely my favourite out the two. To me it smells like almondy, coconutty, sugary shortbread, ooooh how good i am at descriptions. BUT I CANNOT STOP SNIFFING IT, IT IS HEAVENLY! They are such complex scents that smell a lot pricier than they are. I also received a sample of their perfume oil in Beguiled, which has now got my lusting over a full size of it... and the Pumpkin Butter. I am in LOVE.

As first impressions go, this has got to be one of the bests!

Have you tried any of the Haus Of Gloi scents?
If so, recommend me a few! Not that i need encouraging!

xox

Recent Rediscoveries: MUFE HD Foundation

Ello lovelies!
This has got to be one of the top, if not the most hyped about foundation on the Internet and since picking this up at IMATS earlier on in the year has pretty much sat in my collection unloved. I'm a bit of a floozy when it comes to foundations, i love them and having a perfect base is my top priority when it comes to makeup. So needless to say i own a good few, so with my spending ban i decided to hook a few oldies out and give them a fair test.

In the UK Makeup Forever isn't the easiest to get hold of, it is available from Guru Makeup Emporium online but at £29.95 a pop, I'm not sure i would of taken the plunge at that price. So i jumped at the chance to pick this up for a far more reasonable £18 at London IMATS in February. When i first tried this many months ago i couldn't really get on with it, i was into applying foundation with my F80 and i just couldn't, for love nor money, get it right. So when i went back to try this out i went for the good ol' fashioned fingers application, and unsurprisingly it worked much better!

Now from the hype online i was a little disappointed with the coverage, its light - medium at best and if you suffer with uneven skin tone / ache / blemishes you'll probably still have to use concealer. For me, this would be a day time foundation purely because of the coverage, i prefer my Double Wear for nighttime because it covers most things and i KNOW its not going to budge.

Its a very "natural" looking foundation and to me feels lovely and moisturising on the skin. I don't feel the need to set this as its not overly dewy but not completely matte, and it works beautifully with creme blushes and highlighters. I know i always say this, but i really do wish I'd hooked this out my collection sooner. I've worn it every day for the past week (Sorry Nars Sheer Glow!!) to work as i love the very little effort involved in applying it.

Face:
Makeup Forever - HD Foundation - Shade #110
Collection 2000 - Lasting Perfection Concealer
Makeup Forever - Smoky Lash Mascara
Stila Convertible Colour - Petunia
L'occitane - Lip Balm

Overall its a really lovely, light, day foundation. Would i buy it again? At regular price, probably not. But at IMATS price, yes! Now i need to stop being a foundation hoarder and stick to one for more than a couple of weeks. But I've recently discovered they now sell Dr Jart BB Creams in Boots?!! My bank balance hates me...

Whats your "go to" foundation? 

xox

Spending ban... What spending ban?!

Hiya Lovelies!
So about that spending ban...

Everyone needs a little treat now and then so after working way more than i have done over the last year and having much less fun than usual i thought it was about time to buy a couple of new "necessary" bits and bobs. So i thought I'd share my little collective haul from the past month.

GHD - Glossy Back Straighteners
I've needed a new pair of GHD's for quite some time now as mine were reaching their 7th birthday and not really performing like they used to. I really begrudge paying a ton on hair care items so the thought of spending around £100 on a pair of these wasn't really a happy thought. I found these beauties for £84 on Look Fantastic, although i cannot find them again now they were a lot cheaper than the same style on other websites. Win!

Banana Boat - Aloe Vera Gel
I spent my Boots point on this so it doesn't really count as breaking my spending ban. I wasn't going to include this as its really just boring sun care, but as its the run up to my holiday, buying things like this puts a big ol' grin on my face. Also on smelling this it brought back memories of my last stay in the USA. So a lot of smiles from a pretty boring buy!

New Look - Sunglasses
Another little holiday buy! Something about these screamed CUTE and Hello Kitty at me so i HAD to have them. Its not often i find sunglasses in a flattering shape for my face that are this cute! New Look had a BOGOF promotion on their sunglasses so i got two pairs (the second not quite as cute) for £4.99.

Origins - Drink Up Overnight Mask
So this little beauty has been doing the blogging rounds so i wont go into too much detail until i get round to reviewing it. But after seeing all the "What i take travelling" videos and posts this product really intrigued me. For some reason I'd had it in my head that Origins was SUPER pricey, I'm not one to spend £40 on a cream even though I've been lusting after some of their Mega Mushroom range for quite a while now. So when i found out this was £20, 100ml and perfect for my skin type, i just had to have it!

Chinovi Cosmetics - Minis
If you've read my blog for a while you would know i have a soft spot for indie cosmetics. I think a lot of indie brands have something special due to the time, effort and creativity that goes into their products. Chinovi is a relatively new brand and after seeing Beauty's Bad Habits swatch post i knew i had to order some. The website is SO easy to navigate and my goodies arrived within a week, preciously packed with some added American sweeties. ADORABLE. I cannot wait to review them!

China Glaze - I'm Not Lion
After reading Powdered Almond's post on I'm Not Lion i had to have this polish, right this second! I literally ordered it within two minutes of reading the post. It is one of the prettiest polishes i have ever seen. Its an absolutely stunning champagney, beigey glitter with multi coloured flecks, god i suck at descriptions. Simply put, its gorgeous, go check it out!

IPhone 4S
Another one that doesn't count towards my spending ban since it was an upgrade. So i have now jumped on the iphone bandwagon, so at some point in the near future, when i can work it all out (god i feel old), expect some Instagramming from me!


So that's it! A bit of a modest haul from me for now if you ignore the GHD's *slaps wrist*

Have you bought anything naughty lately? Feel free to link in the comments!

xox

Nars Sheer Glow Review & FOTD

Ello lovelies!

Its taken me a LONG time to do, but finally i've gotten round to doing this review. The main reason being my love / hate relationship with this product, which I'll get into later!

I picked this up maybe two months ago at a Space NK, i was REALLY looking forward to being able to see this in person as we don't have one locally. The assistant was nice enough to try it on for me, after battling to get my doublewear off and her applying a smidge too much bronzer i decided i LOVED the finish. So off i skipped with my pretty (expensive) new foundation. We were having a heatwave at the time so we waddled down to the beach for an hour which was lovely! I did have an allmighty shock when i got home and discovered that it really wasn't just a smidge too much bronzer, but i looked pretty tangoed, cringe!

Here's what Nars have to say about it...

"A glowing, satin-finish foundation with sheer and buildable coverage. Replete with skincare benefits and the NARS Complexion Brightening Formula, skin is hydrated, more luminous, softer and smoother. Used daily, Sheer Glow Foundation improves skin brightness, radiance and texture. For normal to dry skin types."

So i've been using this on and off since i purchased it and yes, it is ever so slightly too dark for my skin tone, but blended out its really not that noticeable. The first shade was SO yellow on me it was unbelievable. So this is where my love / hate relationship started... Some days i absolutely LOVED the finish... some days, well not so much. Applied with a damp sponge it gives what the name would suggest, a sheer, glowy finish which i really love.

I had a few fails when trying to apply it in other ways, using a buffing brush it just looked too obvious and even slightly cakey on my skin. Using fingers it applies with much more coverage, not sheer or glowy at all and can be built up to more of a medium coverage without going cakey and more is a bit hit or miss on me. Using fingers is definitely the option of choice if you want / need more coverage. Until the past few weeks i'd be using different primers and i've found that Benefits Porefessional works best for my skin, it makes it SO much easier to apply and actually makes the foundation last quite a lot longer throughout the day.

So that really explains my slightly undecided view on this product. If I'm looking for something quick and easy to slap on, this isn't it for fear of cocking it up. But if i've got a little more time to work with this has been my foundation of choice, using my fingers to work it into the skin. With that method I'd agree with Nars on that it's satin finish, not completely matte, but certainly not sheer or glowy in the slightest as the name suggests. But with its downsides i am enjoying using it and managed to get a few snaps of me wearing it shopping the other day below!

Face:
Nars - Sheer Glow - Monte Blanc
Nars - Laguna Bronzing Powder
Benefit - Erase Paste
Milani - Coralina BlushElf - HD Powder

It’s such a hyped foundation and an expensive one at that, would i buy it again? Erm.... probably not? I say probably because if i manage to have a eureka moment and learn how to apply it properly every time i probably would, although i really dislike spending £30 on a foundation. But if not, it’s a bit too much hassle for me, I'd much rather repurchase my Double Wear or get a new sneaky BB cream, or two.

Have you tried it?
Did you love / hate it or are you still undecided like me?

Nars Sheer Glow is available online at the Nars UK and online and in Space NK stores across the country.

xox