Long, Short or Choppy?

…..decisions, decisions!

xxx

FOTD: Sunny Saturday

Hope everyone is enjoying the sunny weather today, whether you’ve spent it in the garden, in the park or in a beer garden (which would have been my choice!)

the sun must have sent me a bit dolally as I thought I’d be brave and share my FOTD with you all. I went for a coppery, lightly bronzed look today. Given the fact that I’m as pasty as a Cullen, my bronzed is probably a lot less tan-tastic than other peoples idea of what bronzed should be but here it is……

What I used

• Maybelline Dream Creamy Foundation in Nude
• MAC MSF Natural in Medium
• MAC MSF in Redhead
• Maybelline Dream Sunglow Bronzer in Light/Medium
• Too Faced Shadow Insurance
• Barry M Dazzle Dust in 44 Bronze (all over lid)
• 17 eye shadow in Yeah Baby (highlight)
• Natural Collection eye shadow in Asteroid (crease)
• Urban Decay 24/7 liners in Lucky (lower lashline)  and Zero (waterline)
• GOSH Velvet Touch eye liner in Bananas (inner corner)
• Maybelline The Colossal Mascara
• Urban Decay Brow Box in Honeypot
• MAC TLC in Feelin’ Good

I tried to take a close up of my eye but unfortunately my photography skills aren’t up to that much yet!

Hope everyone is having a lovely weekend

xxx

REVIEW: Skin Therapy Eye Make Up Remover

No fancy names here, but then what can you expect from 79p? Yes you read that right – seventy nine pence. Although I’m a sucker for a bargain I don’t make a habit of picking up my skincare in Wilkinsons (though they do sell other brands at bargainous prices), however I was about to be late for my spinning class and I realised I a) had no eye makeup remover, and b) had exactly £1.17 on me. I popped into Wilkos expecting to come out with some paint stripper-esque baby wipes but lo and behold I spotted this beauty. Naturally I picked it up and left the shop feeling very pleased with myself for getting eye make up remover AND a Twix for the princely sum of £1.17.

So onto the review. The packaging is nothing special, I'd prefer a pump dispenser than the hole-in-the lid which you get but again, its 79p, you can't expect too much!

The product is very much water-like, its runny, clear, and is fragrance-free. I generally prefer liquid/oil based eye makeup removers as I find gel ones a bit slimy and cream ones leave too much residue. It promises to gently moisturise with conditioning agents, though I'm not entirely convinced by this claim. I didn’t notice any moisturising qualities what so ever, but then if you want moisture buy an eye cream!

So onto the burning question…..is it any good? I'd say for 79p, yes. It shifts my daily eye makeup (currently Max Factor Lash Extension mascara, UD 24/7 liner in Zero, Too Faced Shadow Insurance and whatever eye shadow I happen to have picked up), though I'm doubtful that it would do a job on anything heavier than that.

Would I recommend this? For my gym bag, yes - for 79p you can't really go wrong! But if you wear heavier make up than that described above I'd probably say save your pennies and go for something like Boots No7 Dual Action Eye Makeup Remover which is my usual staple. Having said that, its such a bargain that its not the end of the world if you buy it and don't get on with it. Plus you'll have enough cash left to buy another (much needed) lippie!

xxx

Slightly Belated 100 follower giveaway - CLOSED

Here it is – my not-so-long-awaited 100 follower giveaway. Thank you to all of my lovely followers, I do read all of my comments, though I can be a bit slow at replying to them and appreciate each and every one of you!

Without further ado, lets get to the good stuff – THE PRIZE!!

The giveaway winner will win everything pictured above. I decided to make up the prize of some of my favourite products, and hopefully there’s something for everyone.

One lucky winner will win:

• FCUK Make-up bag (perfectly handbag-sized)
• A bottle of St Moriz Instant Self Tanning Mousse
• Lush Snow Fairy Shower Gel
• Collection 2000 Hot Looks Nail Polishes in BMX Bandit and Siren
• Urban Decay Heavy Metal Glitter Eyeliner in Midnight Cowboy
• Boots Extracts Almond Body Butter
• Boots Natural Collection Moisture Shine Lipstick in Apple Blossom

Obviously all products are brand new and have never been used!

The Rules (Thank you to the lovely Rhamnousia who let me pinch her watertight giveaway rules):

• Follow this blog and be an active blogger, either in the beauty or fashion community.  This giveaway is to say thank you to my genuine followers. Its not for the 2000 people who will suddenly decide to follow me because they see the “G” word then disappear back into the ether. Obviously I welcome new followers, but I’d rather those followers had a blog and/or had something to say and aren’t just in it for the ‘free lunch’ so to speak.
• For 1 entry: Leave a comment below telling me what your favourite type of blog posts are (e.g. reviews, FOTD, OOTD, Hauls)and of course, the obligatory "enter me".
• For 2 entries: Post on your blog or tweet about the giveaway
• For 3 entries: Have a link in your sidebar about the giveaway

If you post about my giveaway on your blog, tweet about it or link back to it, let me know so that I can give you your extra entries

This giveaway will be open for 3 weeks from……………….NOW!!(Closing on 30 April at midnight)

Good luck ladies!!

xxx

Middle-aged Post Alert – My Kitchen

Yes, its yet another off-topic post….

Now you’ll probably know that I’m a bit middle-aged and there’s nothing I like more than watching UKTV Food and pottering about in my kitchen. So I thought I’d share a few pictures of my beloved kitchen. There are a few things I’d still like to change, but it’s just about getting there now. Not quite sure how I managed to talk the Mr into the hot pink (I think she was up to his ears in circular saws and decking at the time) but believe it or not he’s grown to love it – result!!

I tried to do this as a 360 degree tour round my kitchen, only I’m waiting on my new sink so I omitted that area as it’s not finished (we do have a window – honest!). I’ve gone for a slightly kitsch/retro theme as you can see (I’m still waiting for my Dualit Kettle/Toaster combo though *hint hint Mark*)

Enjoy…..(or not, as the case may be)

So that’s my kitchen! Don’t worry, normal service will be resumed soon :)

xxx

REVIEW: Aussie Dual Personality part 1: Curl Definition and Soft Feel Serum

One of my staple hair products is serum – I’m never without the stuff! I use it both before and after styling to tame the frizz and eliminate any flyaway static-y bits of hair that I always seem to have. I’m a bit of a Paul Mitchell devotee, and have always used Super Skinny serum, which I absolutely love. I recently went away for the weekend and somehow forgot to pack serum, so in a mad panic I picked up this Aussie product in the supermarket. I think that it cost me about £4.50 for 75 ml which is slightly cheaper that the Paul Mitchell product (£14 for 150ml). To be honest I’ve not really tried all that many Aussie products, in fact the only one I can remember using is the ubiquitous 3 Minute Miracle but I was drawn by the name of the product – since having shorter hair I’ve been dabbling with curls instead of the poker straight hair I’ve had for as long as I can remember. I’m quite impressed by this product and will probably use it alongside my Paul Mitchell staple so I thought I’d do a little review on it.

The serum claims to revive and separate each curl, giving  defined but bouncy locks with a soft feel. Ever the cynic, I was a bit dubious about the statements made but I’m happy to report that the product lives up to most of them.

The Serum contains  Australian Jojoba Seed oil which acts as a  built-in conditioner aid for your hair – which is definitely a bonus when you have slightly straw-like bleached locks like mine.

The product is clear (as expected) and slightly runnier than the Paul Mitchell product (which is the only other serum I’ve used) but this doesn’t cause me any problems. Oh, and it has the standard Aussie scent which I happen to love.

I prefer to use this on dry hair than wet as it makes my hair feel beautifully soft and shiny. When used on wet hair it gives plenty of definition but not so much softness. Having said that, its a great product for putting on your hair and leaving to dry naturally if you can’t be bothered with drying and straightening.

The Verdict? I’m not going to abandon Paul Mitchell yet but I’ll definitely use this product when I want curly locks or I’m giving the straighteners a rest.

xxx

Spring Wishlist....

I’m starting to think that maybe I should rename this blog as its evolved from being purely a beauty blog, but as you can tell I’m not too imaginative when it comes to blog names so for the time being at least I’ll leave it be!

As I’m still trying to scale my make up collection down to a manageable size I’ve been more into clothes shopping than make up shopping in recent months, and at the moment I’m absolutely loving Oasis! I’ve only ever really bought from Oasis during the sales, but at the moment there are so many new items I want to splurge on! I thought I’d share a few of my current objects of desire through the wonders of Polyvore, so here goes……

Spring wishlist by BrionyLou featuring Oasis

Which is your favourite store at the moment?

xxx