Avon + Peacocks Goodies

I placed a little order with my local Avon rep a couple of weeks ago - my goodies came this afternoon :) The main thing that I ordered was the Skin So Soft Soft and Fresh Replenishing Dry Oil Body Spray

I always take some of this on holiday - it is brilliant for keeping the mosquito's, and flying things away - they don't seem to like the smell hurray:) It's also really moisturising and leaves your skin with a nice sheen.
I also ordered one of the new Color Trend Shimmering Lip and Cheek Balm in the shade Icy Petal - This is a lovely pink colour - I love this type of product they are really easy to use and they are so versatile



In my brochure the Color Trend products were on buy one get one for a pound so I got a Gemstone Liquid Liner in Diamond - a lovely shimmery silver shade


Me and my mum popped up to Matalan this afternoon to have a look at summer clothes but it was so crowded and all the good stuff appeared to be long gone bar if you were a size 8 or 10 which neither me nor my mum are. So we headed home stopping to pick up a new Argos catalogue on the way and to have a tiny look in Peacocks - there was some nice stuff but I just got a couple for pairs of jersey shorts (pics from Peacocks )


I'm not a million percent sure about the colours but they should got with most of the sun tops that I own - any colour pretty much should go with white, and I am picturing the mint ones with white, yellow or black. It's so hard to find jersey shorts in a longer length - I have a few pairs of the short, shorts but I'm not feeling overly body confident at the moment so I wanted a few pairs of longer ones, just in case. My New Look order also came so I'll try and show you some pics of my order tomorrow xx

Bye July

Another month is over and yet another spending disaster eek News of my holiday gave seemed to allow me to go crazy I stopped counting at £81+ eek never mind I do need a few more bits for my hols but I am going to keep trying in August.
Trimming my stash has gone so, so this month I finished 12 items

Clear Beauty Deep Cleansing 3 in 1 Facial Wipes - 25 Wipes
Boots Botanics Soothing Eye Make Up Remover 150ml
Eyeko Glitter Body Lotion 250ml
Soap & Glory Clean On Me Creamy Clarifying Shower Gel -75ml
The Body Shop Rich Plum Body Butter 50ml
Lovea Bio L'Argan Shine Shampoo 200ml
Veet In Shower Hair Removal Cream 150ml
The Body Shop Sweet Lemon Body Scrub 200ml
Butter London Powder Room Nail Polish Remover
Pro Strong Pro Quench Barrier 2.7g
Soap & Glory Spa Peachy Cream Big Butter 300ml
Leighton Denny Renovate 10ml

I have a few items there or there abouts including my GOSH Primer which has about 1 application left in it and some Lemon Cheesecake body wash which has about 1 use left in it - so hopefully August will start well. Make up items are another story just when you think something is nearly finished it turns into the magic porridge pot of a make up item i.e. never ending!
So that just about sums July up - must do better in all areas - I'm definitely going to keep at it though fingers crossed I can do better on my spending diet this month especially since I am going to the Metro Centre next week -eek not a good start
I also have another challenge this month and that is to wear more colour on my eyes i.e. not neutrals, browns, or beiges - I started well with my purples yesterday so we'll hopefully see me stepping out of my comfort zone more in August :)
Thanks for all your comments and support of my challenges despite the fact I have the willpower of a slug xxx

Hot Off The Press MAC / Rodarte

Well, they didn't let us down - MAC has agreed to donate their entire global profits from the MAC / Rodarte collection to the newly formed "Women and Girls of Juarez Initiative" You can read more from the lovely Temptalia here We did it!! A huge thanks all round to everyone who did a blog post or signed a petition, and particulary to the ladies that got us motivated - we proved that it's always possible to make a difference -Thank You

NOTD - A Hint Of Summer

Well it seems at the moment the weather can't make up it's mind what it wants to do. It's pretty warm today but it's more on the humid side than the pleasant side and it looks as though it's going to rain argh Never mind I painted my nails last night in a colour that makes me think of summer, it's the perfect combination of bright pink and coral, perfect with a tan. The colour is question is Boots 17 Fast Finish Nail Polish in Pink Grapefruit - alas I'm not sure that this is a permanent colour I got it one of the recent 17 freebies but I imagine it will be pretty dupeable - enjoy x

MAC Rodarte Latest

Hello Ladies and Gentlemen too, yes there are a few of you of you out there ;) I am sure you have all read the latest on the MAC Rodarte collection. MAC have agreed to change the names of the offending products and donate $100,000 of the profits to relevant organisations. Is this enough, I'm not convinced $100,000 dollars is enough for a such a large and successful company (lets not forget MAC is part of the Estee Lauder empire). I also think MAC could do more to raise awareness of the situation in Juarez similar to what they with Viva Glam. If you agree with me please sign this petition here - we've already shown we can make a difference, lets see if we can make a bigger one xx

A Little Haul

I popped to my nearest small town with my mum today so she could get her passport photos taken - £5 it costs now eek. I had a few parcels to post today so I went with her and managed to pick up a few goodies whilst I was there. I've done a video for You Tube but I thought I'd show you here as well :) As well as a few bits for gift and swaps I got some bits from Boots, and Superdrug. First of all I got some Veet In Shower Hair Remover Cream - I really like this for when I can't be bothered to wax, it's so simple and takes less than 5 minutes. I also picked some more Botanics eye make up remover, and some of the orginal formula Damask Rose Skin Tonic, some Flight Ear Plugs, and some Gold Shimmer Batiste :)

I also got a Hello Kitty Superstar pack from my local newsagents - yes I know a bit juvenile but so cute you get a little trinket box keyring / phone charm, a little paperclip, some mini stickers, and some large stickers :)
I also went to the Factory Bargain Shop - I love this shop it has bits of everything it - they actually had some nice summery clothes :) I got this skirt from a brand called Kushi - it a lovely pale blue crinkled cotton, with pale blue sequins on the pleats. I think it would be good for day or evening so it definitely going in my suitcase


I also picked up another pair of jersey harems this time in Navy, I already have a couple of black pairs and some charcoal ones coming from New Look I love these for this times of year they are soooo comfy

So that's more spends down the drain, whoops a diddle never mind it's nearly August I can start again lol

Sleek Circus Palette and A Giveaway - CLOSED

Your probably sick of posts on the Sleek Circus palette but just in case your not I thought I'd show you mine :) The Circus palette is the latest limited edition release from Sleek, like all the previous palettes it contains 12 fabulous eyeshadows, only this time it's a mixture of matte and shimmery shades, in red casing


As per usual all the colours are really pigmented, the mattes especially the white and lilac maybe less so, but if you like bright colours this is a good palette to get - I am really going to try and be more adventurous with colour this summer I promise ;)
Anyways my lovely mummy was kind enough to order me the circus paletter but not being very internet savy we ended up with two palettes - whoops! If you remember rightly I also told you a few months ago I won a Sleek competition on Facebook to win the entire collection of Sleek palettes, well I already had a few palettes so instead of sticking them on ebay I am going to give you, my lovely followers a chance to win one.
I have 5 palettes to give away, as well as Circus you can also win Acid

Graphite

Safari

or Curious

These pics are of my palettes, the ones you will get are brand new and have never been opened. There will be 5 winners receiving one palette each. All you need to do is to tell me which palete you would like to win, and tell me the perfect product you are still looking for and why, for example mine is a pore minismiser because nothing on the market ever seems to work. You must be a follower to enter (I will check up on you). You can enter more than once to win a different palette but you must therefore leave more than one comment - I will be picking the winners by writing down the palette names and in order of posting the names of the people who wanted to win them, and then I will be picking the numbers via random.org. I will post abroad and erm I think thats about it. I will keep this giveaway open for one week - it will end at 6pm BST.
Once again thank you all for following and thank you so much for your lovely comments, you really have lifted my spirits during some tough times x

A Clothes Haul Or My Spending Diet Is Broken But I Do Have A Good Reason - Honest

OK I promised you a haul so I guess your wondering why I have seemingly abandoned my spending diet this month after promising to stick at it and not go mad. Well the truth is I'M GOING ON HOLIDAY - whoop, whoop OK I'm not going until October but still woot woot. My and my mum had pretty much decided to have a staycation this year but we have both been so down about things lately we decided a nice break was something for us both to look forward to. The summer looks as though it's possible going to be a wash out, I mean how cold was it yesterday I spent the afternoon at my godparents and I was literally shaking with cold - It's July not January!! Anyway in October we are heading off to sunny Cyprus - I have been loads of times before and I love it - we've been to the hotel before but they have had a 6 million euro refurbishment over the winter so we can't wait to see what its like - Sunshine,Halloumi, and Feta bring it on.
Anyway providing I can manage to lose a little bit of weight my holiday wardrobe is pretty much sorted - I probably have enough swimwear, tops, flip flops and stuff to last me a life time, but still a few little bits have caught my eye :) First of all dresses I really wanted a plain black maxi dress and I recently saw this on boohoo

It's so nice its made of a lovely jersey fabric, with silver ring detailing on the strap - I am picturing it with some black flip flops, and maybe a long silver flower necklace I have - it's really simple and really easy to dress up and better than that it was only £15 - they had a lovely cobalt blue one which I fancied too but they don't seem to have that any more :(
I also showed some more ruffled top love with this beauty - exactly like the ones I got from Dorothy Perkins but it's in black and has a lovely white / cream removable corsage - that was £15 too

You know me I also love anything with New York in the design so I also got this grey vest

and these cute navy shorts

I pretty much have enough clothes now I think to pick a holiday wardrobe from but we'll see the only things I definitely want now are maybe a pair of grey jersey harems, some tan accelerator Maui babe or zhuzh , and maybe a media case for my ipod and earphones so expect these to pop up in some hauls in the near future along with maybe some other purchases....No this month has been an abject fail but I'm going to try harder come August as I am going to need to save if I want any spending money - so onwards and upwards I'm going to need some serious willpower for both that and to lose a bit of weight eek what have I done ;)

(all pics taken from boohoo.com)

A'kin Jojoba & Lavender Light Conditioner - A Review From My Pure

At the end of June I received my second review parcel from the lovely people at
My Pure containing two lovely products to test. I'm a bit late to it this month so I'll try to get both reviews up over the weekend starting here. One of the items in the parcel was the A'kin Jojoba and Lavender Light Conditioner. I've already talked about A'kin in a previous review for My Pure but this fabulous Australian based brand prides itself on using organic, natural predominantly botanical ingredients, free from sulfates, parabens, silicones and other nasties, and that is certainly the case with this conditioner

A clear ingredients listing shows the presence of extracts such as Avocado and Jojoba oils both of which are excellent at providing moisture to improve the condition of your hair and scalp. It also contains lots of aromatherapy based oils and plant extracts such as Lavender, for healing and normalizing hair and skin, Geranium which is again anti-bacterial and also calming, and Rosemary which as well as being anti-inflammatory is also often used to promote shiny hair. Again A'kin have chosen their ingredients carefully for this light shampoo for normal, fine and oily hair

The bottle itself looks quite rustic, and the product dispenses easily from the flip cap with a little bit of pressure. The conditioner itself feels light but creamy

I applied to my hair after washing and lightly towel drying. It applied easily right through my colour treated hair from root to tip (if you have oily hair A'kin advise just to apply the product to the ends). I then left it for a couple of minutes before rinsing

It rinsed out easily leaving my longish hair tangle free, soft and smelling amazing. This product really does have a lovely smell the combination of the floral extracts of lavender, rosemary and geranium are particularly evident. Mummy LouLou also tried this and I have to say even as self confessed conditioner hater she loved it - she said that hair coarse, colour treated, curly hair felt softer and not as though it was coasted in anything (probably due to the lack of silicone in this product, something which is included in a lot of hair conditioners). I think this is a really nice daily conditioner - it smells nice, and does the job whether it would be suitable for very dry hair I'm not convinced you would probably need something a bit thicker but it's nice for use on normal hair, and it's even gentle enough to be used everyday. The A'kin Jojoba & Lavender Light Conditioner is available from My Pure for £7.49 for a generous 225ml

(This product was provided by My Pure for review purposes - this has in no way affected my viewpoint - this is my opinion and mine alone)

Lip Combo Of The Moment

I just thought I'd show you my favourite lip combo of the moment - a gorgeous shimmery nude featuring from left to right - Boots 17 Mirror Shine Lipstick in Nudist Peach and Smashbox Lipgloss in Luminous - enjoy x

Nails Of The Day - Nails Inc Diet Coke - London

Like them or loathe them nude nails are here to stay - From the true nude mannequin hands look to beiges, taupes, and minks - the nude, neutral or barely there nail is surely on it's way to becoming as classic a look as a red nail or as a French manicure.

Although this is pretty rare colour I thought that it was one that was worth showing you for the reason be that it's not that original and it should be pretty easy to dupe.

Nails Inc Diet Coke in London, as the name would suggest is a collaboration between British nail giant, Nails Inc and the famous fizzy drink.  The promotion is exclusive to Boots, and you get a free full size, exclusive Nails Inc polish when you buy 2, 500ml bottle of Diet Coke. There are 4 shades to choose from and each one is named after one of the fashion capitals of the world.

As I say the one I went for is London and it's one of the super wearable nude beige, mink shades. Nails Inc polishes can be a little bit inconsistent on occasions but this one was pretty decent.

With careful application you could probably get away with one coat, the coverage really is that good, but as per usual I went for two.

It has a nice glossy, even finish, and even without a good top coat, the wear time was still decent, with only minimal tip wear

If you're a Nails Inc collector you may still be able to track this polish down via some internet auction sites like ebay but it's more than likely that it's gone for good. If you like this type of colour though, you can find similar shades at all price points by brands such as Rimmel, Models Own, and Barry M. Personally though my own particular favourite polishes in this colour family, are Porchester Square also by Nails Inc, and Supermodel by manicurist to the stars Leighton Denny, 2 polishes that are steadily becoming classic in their own right. Are you a fan of nude beige nails? Let me in the comments x

MAC and Rodarte - Life Is More Important Than Make Up

Unless you've been living on Mars, over the last 24 hours you will have seen an increasing number of posts in your feed concerning MAC's collaboration with fashion design duo Rodarte. The collection scheduled for September release has subsequently ruffled quite a few feathers and rightly so - the two companies concerned have obviously been extremely naive, or just plain insensitive- who knows. To be honest I'm not going to say much more I don't feel I can add anything to what has already been said so passionately and eloquently by so many of my fellow bloggers. All I would like you my readers to do, if you haven't already is read at least one of the relevant posts on one of these fabulous blogs - all of these bloggers and many more besides have taken time out of their lives to speak about something that we, and anyone else with any sort of a conscience should feel strongly about - it's not about make up anymore, it's about peoples lives!

mizzworthy
British Beauty Blogger
bangsandabun
Lady Of The Lane
Big Fashionista
Vex In The City
So Far So Chic
London Make Up Girl
Lillian - Funny Face's Place
Get Lippie
London Beauty Queen
makeuploveer
Just Nice Things

A Taste Of Things To Come - Models Own NOTD

I just thought I'd show you the nail polish I've been wearing over the last few days to go with my neutral toned make up and clothing. I decided on Models Own Nude Beige - one of the greige / taupe colours that are so popular at the moment





I've realised that I actually have quite a few colours like this now so probably tomorrow now I will be putting up a little comparison post similar to what I did with the mint green polishes, showing you all the beige, greige taupe style polishes that I own x Any questions please let me know x

OOTD - In The Nude

Well I made it out of the house for once ;) my mum had a hospital appointment this afternoon so we had a little drive around the north east. My mum's hospital appointment was in Washington - her consultant was really pleased with her progress but she does have some swelling in one of her legs which may need antibiotics but everything is looking good ;) We then headed towards Durham and went to Sainsburys - I was really surprised actually how good the clothes selection was I was really tempted by a few bits but I stayed strong, then we went to Boots on the retail park which was a different story whoops a diddle - more on that to come ;) Anyway I quite liked my outfit today it was quite simple but I think the accessories really made it x





Today I Wore

Indigo Jeggings - ASOS
Longline Nude Vest - Top Shop
Stud and Ruffle Detail Nude Pumps - Primark
Nude Quilted Chain Bag - ASOS
Pale Pink Stone and Faux Pearl Chandelier Earrings - Primark
Pastel Floral and Butterfly Ring - Boots