Love of the Moment: 17 Nail Polish

So, I wen't to my fav Boots store yesterday. It's one at a retail park and therefore big and spacious, but more importantly, quiet and always well stocked - a far better shopping experience than the Boots in the city centre. I had originally wen't in for one thing and came out with several more, including these lovely nail polishes...

17 Lasting Fix Nail Polish in Mint Choc Chip, Parma Violet and Orange Soda.
(I also bought Lemon Sorbet, but unfortunately left it at my boyfriends house!)


I love these bright and pastelly colours, especially Mint Choc Chip and Parma Violet :) They apply easily too and seem like they will last a good few days without chipping. Also, they are only £2.99 - not bad at all ;)

x

Lippie Love of the Moment: AVON Ultra Colour Rich Extra Plump Lipstick in Dazzling Pink

My Mum & I are Avon Representatives - something we do as a sort of hobby ever since I started it when I was in high school. We therefore from time to time find little gems amongst the brochures offerings. Like this lippie...

Avon Ultra Colour Rich Extra Plump Lipstick in 'Dazzling Pink';


My Mum ordered this for herself and as she had been raving about it I had to try it out. It was then, in a matter of seconds of it touching my lips, I found myself ordering one too.

It is a great every day lipstick in a beautiful pink colour that is not too in-your-face and seems to really suit my skin tone (for you non pink fans they have several other lovely colours in this lipstick too). The main beauty of this lippie is that it adds volume to your pout whilst providing a lovely rich colour. It has two layers to it - the outside layer being the rich shimmery colour and the inside containing the plumping formula. It slightly tingles on the lips, which according to Avon means its working away at "increasing circulation to improve lips’ fullness," but the tingling is not excessive. I have sensitive lips/skin and unlike some other lip plumpers I don't find this harsh at all. I don't think it greatly largens the lips but it defenitely gives them a lovely plump boost and with it being a sheen lipstick with slight shimmer throughout it makes them look slightly glossy and healthy. Also noteable is the smell...I love the smell of this - sweet and minty, yum! :) Lastly, it contains SPF15, a crucial factor for this time of year ;)


If you have got your hands on an Avon book I would recommend ordering this from your local representative. It is usually £7.00 in the book but often there are deals on so keep your eyes peeled for a little bargain! :)

x

Love of the Moment: Chanel Summer 2010 Makeup Collection

Love the amazing bright summer colours of Chanel's Summer 2010 Makeup Collection. Especially the bright poppin' pink lipstick :) and oh how I would love that excuisite turquoise 'Nouvelle Vague' polish...


Summer beauty.

Product Love: Simple Kind to Skin Purifying Cleansing Lotion & Soothing Facial Toner

From a young age my mum has spoken several words of wisdom to me, and one thing that she told/taught me (that I am ever thankful for) was to cleanse, tone and moisturise every day to keep my skin happy. Boy was she right! I stuck by her advice and I believe that doing this really does make a difference for me. Also, she has got pretty amazing skin so I hope that is indicative of how this tip will pay off in the future! I have tried different ranges of cleansers & toners over the years from drugstore ranges to the more extravagant (always choosing sensitive ones for my skin type,) but for the past year I have been using an inexpensive range that I feel pretty content with.

The Simple skincare 'Kind to Skin' Purifying Cleansing Lotion and Soothing Facial Toner has been my recent cleanser and toner of choice. I have sensitive skin which is quite dry in areas and therefore requires "kind" products, and like the name of this Simple range suggests, I find these to be very "kind". You can buy these from most drugstores, I pick these up either from Superdrug, Semi-Chem, Bodycare or from the Supermarket for about £2.99 each (not bad!).

To start off, the cleanser contains Pro-Vitamin B5 which is said to restore, soften and smooth, along with this it contains added moisturisers and is pH balanced which is important. It is mild and creamy, not harsh at all, and purifies my skin gently leaving it feeling cleansed and moisturised. It certainly removes any left over makeup from my face along with oil and general dirt and pollutants from the day (as I can see this on the cotton wool pad afterward). I squeeze a decent sized blob of the cleanser onto a cotton wool pad and wype this over/into my face, followed by an application of the toner which I dowse on another cotton wool pad, and again, wype over my face. With cleansers I suppose it is personal choice on how to use them. You can go with this method, or you can apply it to the face like you would a moisturiser and then wash off with luke warm water.

Onto the toner... this leaves my skin feeling so refreshed! Some toners feel quite harsh and almost nip my skin, but this does the job gently and just slightly tingles in a lovely clean feeling way. This is probably down to the fact that it is 100% alcohol free, contains soothing chamomile, and again, is pH balanced so it is not harsh or drying like some toners. It contains Witch Hazel which is said to help tone and tighten the pores and from using this I definitely think my pores have benefited. After these two steps I then moisturise.

Overall, I really think doing this has such a positive impact on my skin and I would recommend trying this particular cleanser and toner, which I feel works in harmony with my skin - gently and effectively - keeping it super happy :)

Oh and lastly, I also have the Simple Kind to Skin Conditioning Eye-makeup Remover which I would also recommend.


Plan to try their moisturisers next...

Love of the Moment:: Soft Jewellery

Spotted some great "Soft" jewellery in the fashion mags recently and it seems as though this trend is catching on the high street too! I was browsing the jewellery stands in TopShop and Accesorize and spotted a few lovely pieces, but after asssessing the prices I realised that I might as well make my very own soft jewellery peices using ribbon, strands of scrap material and old broken fashion necklaces that I somehow still have in my jewellery box. I might even possibly end up creating something pretty and unique at little cost :) Keep tuned for my creations!

Also, it looks like I couldn't be more on trend! ;) Elle.com on Soft Jewellery...

"From woven chiffon to braided rope, fabric jewelry is the season's must-have accoutrement"

http://www.elle.com/Shopping/Elle-Shops/Summer-s-Soft-Jewelry

x

Product Love: C.O. Bigelow Rose Salve

I am a great fan of C.O. Bigelow Products. Every time I go to the US I stock up on my fav goodies from this brand, with the Rose Salve and Mentha Lip Shines being at the top of my list... :)

And so, today I show you the C.O. Bigelow Rose Salve.

This little gem has been keeping my lips and cuticles conditioned for a long time now and as I just cracked open a new tin from my stock pile reserves I thought I should devote a lovely little blog post to it here.

The C.O. Bigelow Rose Salve is a multi-purpose balm for the lips, cuticles, elbows, knees, basically any dry areas of the skin! It contains rose extract and smells absolutely gorgeous - of sweet roses! It is a wonder for my cuticles and comes filled into a cute little tin which I keep in my bag at all times for a quick soothing skin fix. It is a light creamy pink and appears quite sheer on the lips, but this is more about conditioning over sparkle or pigmentation.

Retails at $5.50 but the past few times I have managed to get things on offer saving me some pennies :)

Would like to try out their Rose Water Tonic (below) next (Boy, am I glad I am going to the US soon!)




Anyone else like C.O. Bigelow? I think I will post soon about their Lip Shines (my favourite every day glosses.)

Not so in love with at the Moment...

It was only a few days ago that I included the E.L.F. Warm Bronzer as one of my "Product Loves of the Moment..."

Boy is it amazing how short lived 'Product Love' can be :-p Look what has happened...!

Although I do like the E.L.F. Bronzers (I have their Warm Bronzer & Golden Bronzer) and I think they are a good cheap alternative to some of the more expensive brands E.g. Bobbi Brown's Shimmer Bricks, it seems as though the powder inside is not greatly pressed into the pan and therefore tends to crack and crumble into pieces after a week or two of use.

This very thing happened to my E.L.F. Warm Brozner this morning (as pictured above ^_^), creating a horrible mess! And this also appears to be starting to occur with my E.L.F. Golden Bronzer too... Not so ideal.

I understand that E.L.F. is a cheaper brand and are not SO focused on quality, but I would not expect for this to happen to both of the bronzers that I have purchased from them... Maybe I just got unlucky with faulty picks :(

I have come up with a little genious recovery plan though which I will be blogging about soon!



Anyone else experienced this?