Lush Face Mask || Cosmetic Catastrophe...

I think this has become my new favourite mask! 

I hinted that I wanted to try this and my best friend got it for me for Christmas!! 

It's called Catastrophe Cosmetic, and the name alone made me think it would be great for my skin as I wear make up everyday.

 The ingredients in it are; Calamine Powder, Talc, Irish Moss Gel. Blueberries, Glycerine, Almond Oil, Rose Absolute, Chamomile Blue Oil, Sweet Wild Orange Oil, Limonene, Alpha Isomethyl Ionone & Perfume. 

I know that blueberries have a lot of antioxidants in and chamomile is very calming so I knew this mask would be great for my blemish prone, oily skin. 

I have been using this once a week this month and I absolutely love it. 

I apply it in the evening after I have taken my make up off.

Once it's been on my face for around 10-15 minutes and dries to a powdery consistency, it is very easy to wash off (the blueberries start falling off after around 5 minutes). 

It leaves my skin super soft and slightly powdery feeling, I can also feel that it has an instant calming effect on any breakouts or redness I have going on.

Some people don't like the powdery feeling but I love it as my face gets pretty oily in my t-zone and I do like my face to feel normal once in a while.

Overall definitely one of the best face masks I have used in a long time and am going to get more of these in the future!

Which Lush Face Masks have you tried? Any that you suggest for me? 

Hope you enjoyed my post! 

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Memebox || Global #18...

A few months ago I started hearing about the Korean based Meme Box and I knew I wanted to try it. The thing that is different about this box is that it isn't a subscription box. This is just a box you buy and each box has a different theme; make up, skin care or hair care etc.

I got the Meme Box Global #18 where you get surprise Korean based beauty/skin care products.
It cost me $23.00 (£14.00) plus $6.99 (£4.00) standard shipping, which comes to under £20.00 and it says you will get between 4-8 full sized and deluxe sample products.

This box came in a bright pink with pale pink tissue paper inside. 

Here is what I got in this box, what they are and what they're worth.

The first product is the 3 deluxe sample sizes of Derma Lift Aqua Rich Cream, each is 15ml adding up to 45ml. The full size is worth $42.00 (£26.00) for 50ml. I'm guessing they did it this way as the full sized was too big for the box and was easier to ship this way. 

The cream itself is actually pale blue, which surprised me and has a lovely sweet clean fresh scent. It absorbs well into the skin and feels very hydrating. 

The next product I found very curious, I haven't used it yet as I've not needed to. It is a 'touch up' type of pen which has moisturising oil in it and a silicon brushed tip. It is called the Extreme Shield Master and is used to take care of dry patches of skin on the face. This is worth $46.00 (£28.50) for 2.2ml of product. 

I have oily skin so don't suffer from dry skin, I may use it on dried up blemishes, if not I shall gift it to someone who could make more use out of it.

I have been using this next face cream almost every night. Having oily skin I only ever put super hydrating, cream based products on my face at night. Dr. MJ's Bee Tox Control Cream says it's a repairing and renewing cream with extracts from bee venom, tea tree leaf water, rosemary and calendula. 

I find that, for a cream based product, it is quite lightweight and absorbs really well into the skin and doesn't leave a greasy feeling. Full sized product of 55ml worth $50.00 (£31.00).

On to my next curious product, a shower jelly that you put in a fine mesh sack (called a bubbling net) and rub on your body.

When I first saw this I thought how on earth is it going to work, but having used it a few times it lathers up nicely, is super gentle and doesn't have a strong scent. The jelly it quite solid and you scoop it out and put it in the sack given, then you wet it and wash with it. 

Afterwards I put the jelly back in the pot so it doesn't stay wet and go soggy. It is worth $6.00 (£3.70) for 100g.

This next product I have given to my boyfriend's mother as she uses hand cream ever day. I don't use hand cream as I don't like the feeling and don't suffer with dry hands. It does smell very nice and I'm sure it's doing it job. This is 60g for $2 (£1.20).

I haven't tried this next one yet but an quite excited to. They are called Point Pads and are point specific face mask treatments. You put the pad on the part of your face you want to treat. They are in a sealed sachet which has a liquid that they are soaking in. It says it's formulated with pineapple extract, vitamin E, hyaluronic acid and natto gum. You leave it on for 10-15 minutes, remove and then pat the excess liquid in. 

This is the cheapest item in here but I'm sure it's going to be a lot of fun to use. Worth $1 (£0.60) and you get a few pads in the sachet.

I am really pleased with my box and will definitely try another one in the future. They have many options on their website but do go out of stock quite fast as they are very popular. 

I got around £91 worth of products in a box which costed me under £20 including shipping which in my books is pretty darn amazing.

I know this was a pretty lengthy post so thank you if you stuck around and read all of it!!!

Have you tried any boxes like this recently? Link any relevant blog posts below so I can have a read.

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Katy Perry Perfume - ...

I love sweet smelling perfumes and cats so when you put them in the same product & on sale I just HAD to buy them!

Apparently I have a thing for Katy Perry perfumes, my first one shown in these pictures, the Killer Queen in it's amazing jewel shaped bottle. I got mine at the airport last year and was about £20 for 100ml, but you can get it in Boots but a bit more expensive than I got it for.

Killer Queen

Top notes - Dark Plum, Wild Berry and Bergamot.

Heart Notes - Red Velvet Flower, Rainbow Plumeria and Natural Jasmine Sambac.

Base Notes - Cashmeran, Natural Patchouli Heart and Liquid Praline.

I wanted to expand my Eau De Parfum collection so found myself on the Amazon perfume sale where I found Purr & Meow. Just look at the amazing glass cat-shaped bottles which both come with a charm on their collar. The thing I love about Eau De Parfum's is that they do last so much longer than an Eau De Toilette.
My trick is to also spray it onto my scarf and the scent stays there until you wash it. Another trick I got informed about was to spray a little bit on your hair and the scent lingers all day long.
I got both of these 100ml parfums for around £15 each in the sale, definitely worth it and will last me forever!

CATS ... YAY!!! 

Meow

Top Notes - Tangerine, Pear, Jasmine and Gardenia.

Heart Notes - Honeysuckle, Lily of the Valley and Orange Blossom.

Base Notes - Amber, Vanilla, Sandalwood and Musk.

Purr

Top Notes - Peach, Forbidden Apple, Gardenia and Green Bamboo.

Heart Notes - Jasmine, Pink Freesia and Bulgarian Rose.

Base Notes - Vanilla Orchid, Creamy Sandalwood, White Amber, Coconut and Musk.

I am super happy with my purchases, they are all sweet musky scents, stay on all day long & look amazing on any dresser.

What are your favourite perfumes? Link any relevant blog posts below.

X

NYX || Doll Eye Mascara...

I have always found it very difficult to find a mascara that I love. There has only ever been one Mascara I have always gone back to, Rimmel Volume Flash in Waterproof black!
Recently I have been on the hunt for any other mascaras I love as much as that one.
I found this pin on pinterest where this amazing lady has tested 100 mascaras and photographed each one. Here is the direct link to the page!

When I look at mascaras I always try and keep them in an under £10 price range and I always go for waterproof as they hold curled lashes better.

I am very much enjoying this NYX Doll Eye Waterproof mascara, I managed to find it on sale for £6.50. It has great black pigments and holds my curled lashes all day long. I found it easy to apply with it's curved brush and separates lashes well. It is also very easy to remove, I am currently using Nivea Facial Wipes which are super soft and have my favourite Nivea scent.

Below you will see before & afters using two coats of this mascara on curled lashes.

What is your favourite mascara? Link any relevant blog posts below.

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January Wantable...

I am always super excited when my Wantable box arrives each month! I usually end up impatiently tracking it's progress as it ships from the US to my front door! 

You can read about my December Box here!

This month I got 4 full-size products most of which I am quite happy with!

First product I saw was this wet/dry diamond shadow from Vincent Longo in the colour Concerto. I've never had an eye shadow that has been able to be used wet before so was pretty excited to get this. 

I love the colour and have tested it both dry and wet. 

It's really blend-able when it used dry and you can get really clean lines when using a fine brush and water.

To get this look I used the shadow wet with my Zoeva 322 Brow Line Brush to achieve this super fine flick. I wanted to create a softer winged out liner look, compared to my normal black flick. 

In this look I also used the liner you see below on the water line, just to add a pop of colour to this subtle look. (($24.00-£14.90))

This brings me to the next product I got in my box, a Navy Eye Liner. I love this colour I think it's great for adding subtle colour to most make up looks. As much as the name suggests it is Navy I find it to be more of a dark teal blue colour. You can find swatches below. (($18.50-£11.50))

This next product I wasn't too happy with and very much doubt I'll be using it any time soon. It's a lip gloss in a pan in the colour Henna. First of all I'm not a great fan of the colour and secondly it's super sticky. I like my lip glosses a silky sticky texture and not one where it feels like it'll glue your lips together. Swatch below. (($14.00-£8.70))

And my last product I have used once and is a great mascara by Lord & Berry. Even though it is a great mascara I like my mascaras to be waterproof as it holds curls better. 

I will however be giving this to my friend who uses non-waterproof mascaras and am very sure she will love it. I find the formula really easy to use and applies nicely, it's really black and stays on all day. I also really like the super sleek packaging. (($23.00-£14.25))

Here are the swatches of the products. At the top is the Navy eye liner, left is the lip gloss and to the right is the diamond shadow used dry in the middle and swatched wet on the far right.

I will only be using 2 out of the 4 products received in this box but I'm not disappointed. I still love the fact you get full sized products and love giving presents so there won't be any wasted products, apart from maybe the lip gloss. 

This time I got around £50 worth of products in a box that cost me £30.

I will be skipping next months box as I'm going to save my money, but I'm sure it'll be back again in March!

What new products have you tried recently? Leave me your blog links in the comments.

X

Hair Dying Session(s) || Brown Ombré...

Ever since I was able to I have been dying my hair various shades of the rainbow. Just over a year ago I decided I wanted to grow my hair again, after having had a pixie cut for a long time. And through growing my hair I knew I had to keep it healthy which meant not dying it as much so I chose to go back to a 'natural' colour. I put natural in inverted commas because I very much doubt I will be going properly natural ever as my hair is a very boring mousey dull dark blonde. 

To save money (plus it was on sale for around £7) I bought this Dye by L'Oréal which I thought is quite genius as it is re-usable; and as I only usually want to dye my roots I thought this was the perfect kit for me. 

For the first time using it I did dye most of my hair just to get some even colour going, not that it mattered as I was going for an ombré look anyway. It's cleverly made, with 2 sections in it the tube that simultaneously squirt out the 2 different mousse products at the same time. And it comes with a detachable bit at the top which you can clean after every use. 

Here is my before and after using this hair dye, in real life it looked a lot darker than I thought it would but I love the colour just the same.

And then to refresh the ombré I had failed at before (I had previously bought the wrong kit for my colour hair) I bought this Extreme Ombré kit by L'Oréal. 

Instead of using the brush provided I just used my fingers and chose sections of hair that I wanted lighter. I started at the tips only and then after 10 minutes I worked more product up those strands. I then also took some tiny strands and covered them so I would have some highlights blending everything together. I left the product on for around 45 mins, didn't use a timer as I forgot, so I just estimated and kept checking how light the tips where getting. Here's what my hair looked like before the ombré, during (how I applied it) and straight after I washed my hair. 

And here is the final picture, my hair air dried and naturally curly. I think it turned out pretty good, compared to last time when I tried it and barely lightened my hair. 

I think it's a very good kit and definitely adds some life to hair that's all one colour. 

I'm hoping I only need to do this once and that when I dye my hair again I shall only dye the roots, keeping the ombré effect. This also means I won't damage my hair by lightening it too many times.

I may buy some blonde toner (like this Directions pot) to get rid of some of the brassiness but for the time being I do like how warm it is; I think it gives my pale skin some life. And if I'm feeling like I want bright colours back again I will use the Directions semi-permanent colours as they are conditioning and have an amazing range of bright colours.

What have you done to your hair recently?

X

Rimmel London || Provocalips...

I bought these because I had originally bought the red shade for my sister for Christmas. I then got a bit jealous that she had kiss-proof lip colour and I didn't, so I went and bought myself two of the eight shades that Boots had to offer. At the moment I am loving dark lips and I find there are very few shades that I think suit me. I have Play with Fire (red) and Kiss Fatal (purple) both of which I love and have tested out a few times each. 

They are double ended, one is the super pigmented liquid lipstick type end and the other is the moisture restoring clear finishing layer. I have found the tips very easy to use and great to shape your lips however you feel like on the day. I do warn you though once it's on, it is on all day; unless you have oil based make up remover with you. So my advice - less is more, apply it slowly and evenly as you can always add another layer after the first has set. 

Above I did swatches on my hand, the first picture was taken as soon as it is applied, still glossy and the second picture is after a minute or so when it has set to a demi-matte tacky layer.

Here are swatches on my lips, to the left is Play with Fire; a deep but bright red and on the right is Kiss Fatal; a dusky rose purple. I applied two thin coats of colour and the clear top layer. I think they have a really nice consistency but without the topcoat are quite drying and very sticky. 

It says on the Boots website - 'Prococalips delivers hi-impact 16hr endless colour with a delectably glossy finish. It's kiss-proof, food-proof and transfer-proof, only coming off when you want it to...incredibly lightweight and flexible and adapts to the movement of your lips.'

I have tested their longevity and in work I applied the lip product in the morning, wore it all day until I took my make up off before bedtime. It stayed on through eating lunch and dinner, the only part that wore off a bit was on the inner part of my lips. I have also found if you retouch more than twice, layering on top of the previous layers, it can start peeling on the inner lip and get annoying - I kept chewing it off like I had chapped lips. 

Apart from that I absolutely love it and if you don't layer too much, you can have perfect, kissproof & comfortably coloured lips all day long. It definitely lives up to what it declares.

What do you think of these two colours, have you tried them? What is your favourite long lasting lip colour at the moment? 

X

Paul Costelloe || Purse & Handbag...

I love going into TKMaxx and looking at their handbags & purses.

About 3 years ago I bought myself a Paul Costelloe purse in the sales and I still absolutely love it. It has lasted this long and not broken or even got scuffs on it. The only thing that has worn off is a bit of the gold on the lettering. And the quality I have seen with this purse made me want to expand my collection of Paul Costelloe, so a handbag was on my Christmas wish list.

My darling father took both my sisters and me Christmas shopping (brave man) after Christmas and I found this b-e-a-utiful handbag, which he very kindly bought for me! This is the first expensive handbag I have ever owned and I love it so very much. I wanted one big enough to fit my packed lunch box in for work, amongst the other many, many items ladies have in their handbags (lots of lipsticks).

As they are both made from good quality real leather I know they will last me a long time!

What are your favourite handbag brands? Any favourite item you received for Christmas?

X

Christmas Sales Haul...

As you all will know, there are many Christmas Sales going on, so I thought I would share what I have bought.

The first place I wanted to go was Boots, as I saw they had some fun things in their Christmas section and it was all up to half price. 

I really like sweet scented perfumes so naturally I thought - 

"Hell yess, I want to smell like sweets!" 

- and inevitably went for the sweetest perfumes/body sprays they had. 

They came as sets; the Hello Kitty Body Sprays and the Jelly Belly roll on perfumes were around £4-4.50 each after the half price deal. 

I found that the Hello Kitty Body Sprays don't last long but they do smell good and I cannot complain as they were cheap plus you get a pretty decent amount in each bottle.

These Jelly Belly roll on perfumes are much stronger in scent and the fact they are compact means they easily fit in your handbag for perfume touch ups throughout the day. I really like the berry ones (Blueberry, Strawberry Jam & Raspberry) and the Vanilla one. The ones I'm not keen on are Chocolate Pudding and Cappuccino. 

The next shop I 'accidentally' fell in and bought a few items in their 50% off sale was Lush. And who can't resist going in and getting your nostrils filled with every sweet smell imaginable. 

 I bought 2 small shower gels, one called Rose Jam which I'm sure you can imagine smells like the name, super sweet jam. 

The next was Hot Toddy which is very Christmas based and smells like a spiced, mulled sweet wine.

The last product I vaguely remember reading or seeing it somewhere but have forgotten if it was a blog or on YouTube - The Santa Baby lip tint - This is definitely more than a tint, you get pretty full on bright red lips and it smells like a cola bottle sweet.

Here's a swatch on my lips, excuse how messy it is but I did it in pretty bad lighting. Just to show how amazingly pigmented it is. The one minor drawback is that it does stain your finger but I don't mind about that. It is matte and is very long wearing, it only came off a bit on the inside part of my lips whilst eating.

The last shop I bought a few items in was Accessorize. I couldn't resist buying a few pairs of cute socks at 50% off, dropping them down to around £1.75 a pair. I also got a pair of silver studs and some silver hoops. I didn't take pictures as I'm sure you know what they look like. Real silver earrings for around £4 in the sale.

I do hope you enjoyed this post as much as I did roaming around the sales.

What do you think of my findings and have you bought anything in the sales yet? 

Bloggers link your blog posts below so I can have a read too!

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