April Wishlist

This feels like the longest month so far this year, especially in the old bank account. Never mind, its pay day next week and I have already spent the large majority of it in my head. Obviously there are items on my April wish list which will never be bought but a girl can dream... 

Its quite a nice eclectic mix of "stuff" including beauty products and fashion, as well as books, DVDs etc... Its entering wedding season once again and I have a few to attend this year (not as many as last year thank goodness) and I thought item 8 would be a perfect summer wedding outfit - not to long, not too short, bright enough that it embraces the brights of summer, but not too bright that says you're trying too hard.

I am possibly the last person in the world to see bridesmaids but am desperate to see it, as well as read the follow up books to the hunger games after seeing the film and reading the first book in the trilogy and absolutely loving both! These will definitely be bought for the Summer hols!

I have some serious amount of boots advantage points after many months (perhaps years) of saving, so I am going to treat myself to my first and long awaited bottle of Miss Dior. Perhaps I will even have enough left for the new Chanel vitalumiere aqua compact - yes seriously I have that many points. I have never tried vitalumiere aqua despite being a Chanel foundation addict and as my prolumiere stocks are slowly dwindling I am beginning to feel brave enough to venture out into the new wave of foundations on the market.

The Marc Jacobs watch is a thing of beauty and I really didn't get the whole rose gold craze that seems to be coming to an end, but am thankful a new more chocolaty, more espresso coloured trend in watches seems to be emerging... I think its much easier to wear for all skin tones and easier to match to other accessorise than rose gold, not to mention I think it actually looks a bit classier. Whether I will ever have enough money to afford one is another matter. Fingers crossed for the lottery tomorrow X

1. Cushions - John Lewis £15-£25 

2. Chanel Vitalumiere Aqua Compact - Boots £39

3. Bikini - Topshop £32

4. Bridesmaids DVD - Amazon £7.49

5. Marc Jacobs watch - Asos £250

6. Friendship Bracelet - Asos £6

7. Playsuit - Topshop £35

8. Dress - Karen Millen £140

9. Miss Dior Eau de Parfum 50ml - Boots £60.50

10. Books - Amazon and Amazon £3.99 each

11. Dress - Philip Lim

12. Sandles - River Island £50

13. Neom Candle - Look Fantastic £37.50

What will you spend your money on when you get paid?

Essie - Lovie Dovie

So I love white chocolate and I love pink nail varnishes - put them together and you've got a match made in heaven! I purchased this nail varnish a while ago and have worn it a lot as I absolutley love it! It was only a matter of time before I shared the lov-(ie) dovie.

With Flash

Without Flash

Delicious Treat!

You can get away with one coat with this colour but two coats gives it that extra opaque candy pink tone that is so pretty and perfect for Spring's pastel trend.

Beauty Bay have a brilliant range of Essie nail varnishes retailing at £7.75 for 15ml, cheaper than both OPI and Ciate, not to mention there is fruit inside the white chocolate so they're not too naughty. 

Its oh so SLEEK!

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One Night Stand!

I travel with work a lot... and when I say a lot I mean a couple of days every week so compact packing is an essential skill in my life. Quite often I stay in hotels with very little (if any) entertainment surrounding so I have to make sure I have everything I need to keep my skin, hair and body feeling good. For this reason I have become a bit of a master at packing, especially my toiletries which is usually the most bulky item in my luggage.

Here are some pictures from a recent one night stay in Dublin. I flew (obviously) so my luggage was limited, therefore so were my beauty products. I will exhibit my very organised and limited make up at another time but this post is about travel toiletries only.

I hope this inspired more of you to gather those travel size samples the next time you are offered them. They really can prove handy!

2 plastic containers on left contain day and night moisturiser and Bioderma

In my Travalo I currently have Marc Jacobs 'Daisy'.

Morrocan oil decanted into a plastic container as I don't have the small version.

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Skincare haul review - Dual liquid eye make-up remover

I thought I would choose to review the simplest product in my most recent skincare haul first just to ease us in before we get to the more 'sciency' products.  The first product review is an absolute staple in my skincare routine as well - literally, I panic when I run out and have repurchased more times than I can remember therefore I feel it my duty to spread the word...Garnier! Or more appropriately, words... Soothing 2 in 1 make-up remover.

 

The Garnier Soothing 2 in 1 make-up remover from the Simply Essentials range is by far the best eye make-up remover I have ever used (apart from Bioderma which arrived yesterday but that's for another day)! It is fragrance and alcohol free so very gentle and kind to your eyes while leaving your skin clean and fresh. Its oil/cleansing water formula removes heavy duty make-up like bobbi brown long wear gel eyeliner and waterproof mascara with little effort, and the best part - Its only £2.99 for a 200ml bottle!

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I use it by shaking the bottle vigorously which allows the make up removing oil and cleansing water to temporarily mix together. I then pour some onto cotton pads and hold on my eyes for 10-20 seconds. This allows enough time for even tough make up to dissolve and then I just sweep cotton pad and make-up remnants away leaving my skin clean and fresh looking - and more importantly feeling.

Unfortunately I ran out of my Garnier '2 in 1' a few weeks ago, stupidly caught away from home without any and was forced to visit a Boots in a train station in search of my hero product, of course to find that it wasn't stocked in that branch - criminal. This forced my hand into trying something new in the hope it would work just as well.... It didn't.

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The No7 Beautiful skin Cleanse and Clear Eye Make-Up Remover looks very similar in that it is a dual liquid product containing an oil type substance and a cleansing water. The problem isn't in the make-up removal itself it does this pretty well although not as well as the Garnier product, however this I could have dealt with. What I couldn't deal with was the horrible, greasy, oily feeling on your skin it leaves behind. My skin didn't feel fresh and clean at all, which surely defeats the purpose of make-up remover. This product is also £7.75 for 100ml so the value for money category can't even be beaten by the No 7 contender.

I have in the past tried the similarly formulated Lancome Bi-facial Eye Make-up remover and I remember being impressed although have not bought any recently or indeed since that first purchase and therefore feel it would be unfair to compare with Garnier and No7. At £20 for 125ml it is certainly for those feeling more flash with the cash and like the more luxury branded products. However I feel it unnecessary to spend that much on eye-make up remover, especially when I am going to clean my face afterwards and then apply several lotions and potions. I just want an eye make-up remover that does its job and doesn't cost a fortune.

There are lots of these oil/water duo eye make-up remover products on the market and I have only tried a small minority of them but am totally sold on the Garnier one and don't feel the need to look any further. If you do however, here are some others widely available.

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Have any of you tried any other dual liquid eye make up removers you can recommend?

Skin care junkie - Moi?

Finally its pay-day, and for me, with this comes a weekend of shopping! I am in the market for some new skin care at the moment. I have finished 3 different cleansers in the last 3 weeks and am almost out of moisturisers so am very much in the market for some new skin beauty's. I therefore hit the shops and here is what I bought - some would say I got a bit carried away...



Instead of reviewing all products in this blog post I will be going through each product individually in different future posts allowing all the information to be digested as well as giving me a chance to try them out.

Until then here is a list of all the products I purchased and rough pricing

• Garnier 'Essentials 2 in 1 Make-up remover' - Boots (£2.99)


• Garnier 'Caffine eye roll on' - Boots (£9.99)


• Avene 'Extremley gentle cleanser' - Boots (£8 in 3 for 2 deal)


• La Roche Posay  'Toleraine dermo-cleanser' - Boots (£11 in 3 for 2 deal)


• La Roche Posay 'Physiological Micellar solution' - Boots (£11.50 in 3 for 2 deal)


• Caudalie 'Vinoperfect radiance serum complexion correcting' - John lewis (£44)


• Rodial 'glamtox night' - Harvey Nicols (£90)


• Rodial ' Brazilian tan airbrush' - Harvey Nicols (£9.95)


• Rodial 'Crash diet' - Harvey Nicols (Free - usually £75)


• Liz Earl 'Cleanse & polish Hot cloth cleanser' - John Lewis (£23)


• Liz Earl 'Instant Boost Skin Tonic Spritzer - John Lewis (12.50)


• Origins 'A Perfect World Moisturiser' - John Lewis (£32)


• Origins 'Starting Over Age-Erasing Eye Cream With Mimosa' - John Lewis (£26)


• Butter London 'Nail varnish' - Harvey Nicols (Free usually £12)


• Elemis 'Exotic Monoi Moisture melt body oil - Harvey Nichols (£30)

Easy Nails Rock!

Before I delve into the details of my latest beauty discovery I thought it was necessary to give an update on the performance of the Neom candles I wrote about in my last blog post.

Straight out of the box they look and smell divine. Lit for a few hours however, supposedly allowing the scent to permeate my house, or even my living room and they are not so great. I have almost finished one of the two candles I purchased and only once has my boyfriend come home from work exclaiming “oh it smells nice in here” to which I found myself responding “does it?” I have struggled to notice any scent at all from it which means either my sense of smell is extremely bad (which could be a possibility, in which case I need a stronger candle) or the smell is so subtle that you only notice it when you have been on a smelly train for a hour and then walked through a bustling city for 10 minutes subjected to car fumes, restaurant odours and cigarette smoke – and if that is the case...you can keep the subtlety and give me Yankee candles any day!

Now I know that the smaller candle pots are known for their lesser perfume content or in Neoms case less essential oils but for £13 per 75G I was expecting something a bit more obvious for my money.

If you have had success with the larger Neom candles please let me know, as until my confidence is restored in Neom candles or I have to start taking smelly public transport to work in order to notice the subtle hints of Ylang Ylang and Patchouli in my home I am sticking to what I know best and can afford, a big ole jar of Yankee for £16.



On to things more pretty and polished now – check out my latest beauty find, and I know I may be slightly behind the nail fashionistas around me on this one but better late than never! I have very difficult and troublesome nails. While they are soft and bendy and therefore rarely make it more than a few mm above the end of my finger tip before they break, they also split really easily and therefore nail varnish is extremely prone to chipping with a home manicure lasting about 2 days before the glossy coloured varnish looks dull, old and tacky looking.

The new instant manicure nail strips popularised by Nail Rocks heat activated transfers are the best thing I have ever tried on my nails. I used the brand nailease which is a no heat required sticker for your nails meaning gels and awkward doubly thick overlays can be a thing of the past leaving your nails looking AMAZING while feeling natural and you can still fasten your own shirt and jacket buttons – Hoorah!

I have a few nail rocks packets in my collection which I am yet to try as I fear the heat requirement may make them slightly trickier to apply. I have also recently purchased one from the Mylene Klass collection in Boots in the quirky love heart design meant for Valentine’s day but I just couldn’t bare to part with my gold black glitter zebra print design yet.



In each nailease packet you get 20 self adhesive nail strips which you simply stick to the nail and file down meaning no dry time unlike nail polish or a shellac/gel manicure. The 20 strip packet means you should also be able to get two uses out of each packet and at £5.99-£6.99 per packet a potential 3 week manicure saves you a fortune compared to the astronomical price for other professional manicures.

With over 45 patterns and colours including the French manicure option you are not restricted in choice and of course if you become proficient in application you may feel brave enough to venture into the world of heat activated strips which again increases your options.

Feel free to elongate their life span too by applying a topcoat. I didn’t with my fist application as I was at a friends house who unusually didn’t have a clear varnish for me to borrow but I did with my second and it has definitely lasted longer. My preferred choice is Sally Hansens Insti-dry and this is what my nails look like after 12 days, also bear in mind that I wash dishes every day and frequently spend my spare time lounging in the Jacuzzi at my local gym which should affect the life span of my beautiful nails, it certainly does with regular polish, but not with nailease.









So far 5 random people have commented on my nails saying how amazing they look and that’s not bad for 12 days of wear.

My next sought after patterns will be the French manicure , pink black polka dots and blue floral design although the limited edition Meadham Kirchoffs version for Nail Rock Topshop look absolutely adorable and I will certainly be purchasing while stocks last for my more braver days.

You can find nailease at:

http://www.nailease.co.uk/nail/gold-black-zebra-glitter

You can find Nail Rocks at:

www.topshop.com

www.nailrock.com