Living Nature Eye Shadow Duo - A Review For My Pure

My second My Pure review this month is of a make up item. My experience with 'natural' make up brands has been a mixed on some things I've loved, some things just haven't cut the mustard. This time I decided to try a different brand so I chose something by Living Nature. Founded over 20 years ago in her native New Zealand by Suzanne Hall Living Nature rapidly became New Zealand's most popular natural toiletry and cosmetic brand. Highly respected worldwide for their purity Living Nature's products are created by using natural ingredients, they contain no synthetic ingredients and are both animal product free and they aren't tested on animals.

The product I chose was an eyeshadow duo - the compact comes boxed in a grey / black textured box

The compact itself is made of a carboard material and inside it features an inspirational message - mine in this case was "Breathe"

As with most eyeshadow compact you get two little foam applicators, they aren't bad if your in a hurry, but I personally prefer to use a proper brush - there was a choice of 5 duo reflecting all of the most propular colour groups, but the duo I chose was Beaches.

Made using natural minerals from the Earth this is a  proper neutral duo, it contains a light peach / pink based nude, and a slightly darker brown based nude. Both of the shades as you can see are really well pigmented.

They were also super velvety soft and blendable. My one complaint was that because they were so soft you did get a little bit of fallout. Here are a few examples of what the duo looks like on - the first set of pictures show how soft and a barely there these shadows could be

and the second picture shows the dominance of the darker shade - don't worry though this is still a soft wearable duo

I have to say I really liked this duo the colours were soft, pigmented and above all wearable. My only small gripes are with the fallout and maybe over the cardboard packaging which would start to look a bit tired after a while. Never the less if your looking to move into the natural make up sector you could do a lot worse than buy this duo, I now have the Ferns variant in my sights. The Living Nature Eye Shadow Duo in Beaches retails at £14.99 for 3g from My Pure. Any questions please ask x

(The Living Nature Eye Shadow Duo in Beaches Was Provided By My Pure For Review Purposes)

Sigma F80 Flat Top Kabuki Winner

First of all I'd just like to say a huge thank you to everyone who entered my recent Sigma giveaway - I really appreciated all of your entries and I really enjoyed reading all about your favourite blushers - there are definitely a few I am going to be checking out :) I had 58 entries and I used Random.Org to pick my winner - which was

Number 18

which was

missdazed

If you can email you details to pootle28@hotmail.com I will pass your details onto Sigma so they can send out your prize.

Don't worry if you didn't win this time though I have plenty more giveaways planned including a biggie for when I reach 500 followers :) Oh and if your interested in Sigma brushes keep an eye out for a few reviews on the Sigma brushes I own x Thanks for entering and thanks to Sigma for providing the prize.

It's Monday So What Does That Mean....

Goods and Bads that's what :)

Bads

• I've put all the weight back on that I lost I am starting again today - I feel pretty disheartened about the whole thing if I'm being honest - my doctors said it will be hard for me but I really need to give it my best shot I am the heaviest I have ever been :(
• Mummy Lou is still battling her illness demons shes has been given some inhalators and some medication but she is still suffering from partial deafness :(
• ME sucks - I have had pain for the last few days particularly in my back and my hips :(
• Money or lack of need I say more - I could really do with a holiday but spending money on everything but means it's very unlikely
• Blogger - you are crap! it still isn't letting me leave comments and I have problems uploading pictures today
• Camera trouble - my camera is being shall we say erratic the battery compartment needs taping shut and now it's refusing to focus

Goods

• Blogging - I am rediscovering my love for blogging again - I have lots of ideas for posts and I am trying to keep it more focused on beauty and fashion don't get me wrong I am still going to do the odd personal post or post about other things I just feel I need to find a specific place in the blogging world
• Talking of my blog I hope you have noticed my pretty new header - designed by the lovely Liloo - It's so cute and I think I describes my blog better than my old one x
• Parcels and Goodies - yes I know I have just whinged about my lack of finances and I will definitely be getting back on track next month but I am waiting for lots of lovely goodies I have a few haul posts planned which always excites me - a few won't come till June now but they will still be counted as May spends ;)
• You guys :) huge thanks to my new followers, and huge thanks to everyone who has purchased from my blog sale there are still a few bits left, and providing you pay today I will post tomorrow x Also a huge thanks to everyone who entered my giveaway the winner will be up later tonight xx

So that was where I'm at today - I have a few posts planned for this week including 2 reviews, a May Summary, and some haulage. See You Then xx

Sigma Giveaway Now Closed

Hi Guys
Just to let you know my Sigma giveaway is now closed
Thanks for all your entries - I will announce the winner tomorrow x

Blog Sale Update and Giveaway Reminder

Hi Guys

Just to let you know that my latest blog sale update is now live :) Included in this listing are a few MAC products including some new items, some ELF, Eyeko, NYX and more - click here to check it out. I know there are a few issues with commenting on blogger at the moment so only if you can't manage to leave a comment and your interested in buying something send me an email to pootle28@hotmail.com with Blog Sale in the title saying which items you would like, the country your in and your paypal email address

Just a quick reminder too that you just have till 6pm tonight UK time to enter my Sigma giveaway - click here to enter - again only if you can't manage to comment send me an email to pootle28@hotmail.com with the words Sigma Giveaway in the title, make sure you include the answer to the question, the name you follow me with, and an email address. I will enter your names to the list in the order I received the mails when I draw the winner.

Hope your all OK with this any questions drop me an email or contact me on twitter xx

Lovea Bio Guava Toning Body Wash - A Review For My Pure

It's the end of the month so that means it's time again for a couple of reviews for My Pure. I am really enjoying reviewing products for My Pure it's given me a huge opportunity to try new and more natural brands. This month I chose a make up item (review to come soon), and a body wash from French brand Lovea.

The product I chose was Lovea Bio Guava Toning Body Wash. I've really came to enjoy using Lovea's products and this product was no different. Made to Lovea's philosophy of being paraben free, silicone and dye free, free of artificial ingredients, and certified organic, this body wash contains lots of plant based ingredients such as Aloe Vera.

Packaged in the bright yellow we have come to expect from Lovea, the recyclable plastic bottle features a white flip top cap and the product dispenses easily with an little squeeze.

The product itself is a thin transparent gel -  unlike the squeezy tubes that Lovea use in their other products (see here for an example ) the gel doesn't flow out of the bottle unless you squeeze it which means you only use the amount of product you need and you don't get any wastage- a definite improvement in my my eyes!

The body wash it self smells gorgeous very summery and a bit citrussy, it's very refreshing without being to stimulating. Despite the lack of too many chemicals this body wash foams surprisingly well, giving a lovely soft scented foam that cleanses without drying and rinses away easily.

I have to say since I got my cast off I've taken advantage of the fact I can have baths again big style so in the interests of you fellow bath lovers I popped some of the body wash under running water and voila gorgeous soft, creamy delicately scented foam :)

Again I have to say a product by Lovea has impressed me this is a really nice gentle, reasonably priced Summer shower and bath gel :) Lovea Bio Guava Toning Body Wash retails at £4.99 for 200ml for My Pure.

(Lovea Bio Guava Toning Body Wash Was Provided By My Pure For Review Purposes)

Erm How Can I Put This.......? Haul!!!

I apologise guys I really don't know what to say but believe it or not I have a bit more haulage for you. On Tuesday my mum had to take her car for it's one month service ?? why I really don't know surely it doesn't need servicing after just 4 weeks ! never mind I joined her on a little trip to Durham. The garage isn't in the city centre it actually in between two retail parks on the outskirts of Durham - yup I said it retail parks!
Durham City Retail Park isn't that exciting mainly PC World, B&Q and Argos, but Dragonville is much better :). We didn't go to Tesco this time instead we headed straight for some proper shops - first up TK Maxx. I mentioned this TK Maxx on one of my previous Durham days but this one is so orderly it's untrue, it's super tidy and the rails aren't stuffed full. On my last visit I complained about the lack of shoes in larger sizes but this time it was much better - Mummy Lou was kind enough to buy these babies for me to compensate for the pile of things she bought lol - they aren't the most attractive beasts but they are so comfy

Birkenstocks! or more precisely Silver Madrid Birkenstocks I already have a white pair with two straps (Arizona?) and they are soooo comfy I love them - they were £22.99 but they have an RRP of £39.95 :)

As I say Mummy Lou bought me these because she bought loads of things for herself, she also bought herself a few things in Matalan but nothing really appealed - I did however pop into Peacocks :) This shop is really coming into it's own with me lately they have some lovely things especially in the fashion jewellery line :) . First up I got this super cute earring set - with having 4 piercings in each ear I often like to wear hoops in three of my holes and a little stud in the bottom one and these certainly fit the bill.

 Try as I might couldn't capture them on camera so I've borrowed the pic from the Peacocks website - you get a pair of tiny daisies, a pair of tiny butterflies, and some opal type crystals

I also got these dangly earrings daisies again - these are very similar to some rings I own from Primark

and I got this faux jade stone ring - this is very similar to a Primark / River Island one that I wanted some time ago love this :)

and finally from Peacocks I picked up another make up item - this is the get the smoky look kit from Evie Glam

This little kit contains 2 eyeshadows, and a mini khol pencil and mascara

It was only £4 :) I will doing a full review of this product as well as the other items I've recently purchased from Evie Glam for my Budget Beauty series so don't forget to look out for it x

That was my haul from Durham but I got him just in time for a delivery from Home Delivery Network  - the outer parcel was soaking wet with grey / black raindrops  clearly visible on the red plastic, it was delivered in a bit of monsoon maybe with a bit of volcanic ash added urgh!!
Anyway the contents of the parcel was perfectly fine - it was from River Island - can you guess what was in it? Yes it was an item from my wishlist - the polka dot and pansy scarf :)

I absolutely love it is much longer than I thought almost pashmina a like and it can  be worn in loads of different ways - bad pic of it just draped around my neck :)

Another item kind of sneaked into my backed a pair of cute Henry Holland socks that were in the sale :)

So that was my haul - I am waiting for a few online purchases which I will update you on as they come but you can expect to see some Milani, some Color Club, some H&M, some L'Oreal HIP, and maybe cough cough some NARS and some Daniel Sandler eek I have spent soooooo much money this month I've stopped counting June will definitely be more frugal I promise. In an attempt to earn a bit of cash and sort out my overflowing drawers and wardrobes I have spent the afternoon sorting out my wardrobe I am nowhere near finished but I have already fill a bin bag full of things for ebay, so don't forget to keep any eye on my sidebar for more ebay updates → I will also be updating my blog sale at the weekend again there are a few bits left and reduced from the last update so don't forget to have a look x I have a mountain of coat hangers to clear off my bed so I better stop rambling and get to it x Any questions as per usual leave me a comment x Next up a review I promise x

A Very Small ASOS Haul

Hi Guys
I am not doing a Good and Bads post this week I am feeling a bit crappy and don't want to bombard my blog with negativity instead a tiny baby sized haul for you from ASOS - I had a few Diet Coke codes left so I decided to utilise one and spend some of my birthday money. First up a bits of an essential - this quite little tree style earring holder

At the moment I am trying to sort my jewellery out a bit and I needed some more storage for some of my dangly earrings - this is really cute and is the same creamy colour as the other earring holder I have from Debenhams. I will post some pictures of it filled when I finish getting my bling sorted. I have long promised you a jewellery storage post and I promise I will do it for you as soon as I can

My second and last item was a little one from NARS - My NARS desire has been rapidly increasing over the last few weeks so I thought I'd try and stem it a bit by buying a little eyeshadow duo

I eventually went for Exotic Dance from the new Summer collection. As much as a liked the must talked about Dogon, I think I will probably get more wear out of Exotic Dance - a metallic white with silver sheen and a metallic gold

So that was it a suitably mini haul looking forward for the rest of the week feeling ill not withstanding I have a few posts planned including at least one review so don't forget to keep checking back x Oh and hi to all of my new followers I hope you stick around xx

Sigma F80 Flat Top Kabuki Review and Giveaway - CLOSED

Hi Guys
Over the last few month you may have noticed a few changes in my blog layout and the appearance of some Sigma banners. Well a few months ago I became a Sigma Affiliate (you can read more about the programme here ) I am a huge fan of Sigma brushes the quality is really impressive, the prices are sensible and the customer service is first class. I have quite a few of the individual brushes This post is the first in a little series where I am going to review all my Sigma brushes for you :)

As a Sigma Affiliate I was very kindly sent the F80 Flat Top Synthetic Kabuki Brush to review for you. As you can see all Sigma brushes come beautifully packaged in a mesh/chiffon bag, which also contains a very sweet compliments slip and often a little leaflet telling you more about the brushes.

The F80 is one of Sigma's synthetic brushes, from their Sigmax line. Brushes in this range feature the exclusive Sigmax filament, which is specially designed to apply both powder and liquid products without the products absorbing into the brush fibres. This is so important when you use a brush to apply liquid foundation - they can often be very difficult to wash - not this one even just running the brush under the tap, removes the majority of products without any build up or stickiness.

The F80 has a flat top, and has super dense, but soft short bristles, which are perfect for buffing both powders and liquids in to the skin. I've given this brush a thorough workout and tried it with lots of different mediums. First up liquid foundation - this brush performed really well whether used to apply the foundation from scratch or after initial application to buff and blend the product in. As I say it was easy to clean afterwards and there was no shedding which you can often get when you use a brush with liquid products

I also used it for blusher / bronzer /highlighter - in a word fabulous - the brush picked up the product easily and it was easy to use and easy to place the product in exactly the right place and of course it goes without saying it's a great blush for blending product in - you certainly won't get an stripes with this brush :)

Next up loose face powder and mineral foundation. As you would expect this brush is great for blending loose powder over the t-zone, for covering a whole face however with either loose powder mineral foundation I personally prefer a slightly bigger brush, don't get me wrong this is a great brush and did the job perfectly will, it's just personal preference.

All in all this is a great multi use brush, you name it if you need to use a brush on your face you could probably do it with the F80. This brush retails for $16.00 which at the moment works out at less than £10.00, a really good price for such a versatile brush. For more information and to order please check out the Sigma Website .

However as part of the Affiliate programme Sigma have very kindly provided my with an F80 Flat Top Synthetic Kabuki Brush to giveaway to one of my lovely followers

The giveaway is open worldwide!!

Be a follower of my blog -I will be checking

Leave a comment letting me know what your favourite blusher is and you email address
Only one entry per person please I will delete multiple entries

The giveaway will close on 29th May 2011 at 6pm UK time

The winner will be drawn using random.org

That's everything - if you have any questions or comments which aren't competition entries please don't hesitate to ask - for this post only if you have a question please email me on pootle28@hotmail.com with Sigma in the title to avoid any confusion with giveaway entries x Thanks for reading and good look

(The Sigma F80 Synthetic Flat Top Kabuki Brush Was Provided By Sigma For Review and Promotional Purposes - Sigma Are Also Providing The Giveaway Prize)



BYS Free Eyeshadow Palette Swatches

Hey Guys
Just another quick post from moi x I've had a request for some swatches and more info on the BYS palette I showed yesterday which was free with Top of the Pops magazine :)

The palette comes in a strong cardboard packaging and features 9 eye shades and a small sponge applicator

The top row of shadows are described as Pretty Eyes - from left to right - first up a peachy nude pink shade, then, then a brighter more neon pink - this isn't scary tho just fresh and pretty for summer and finally a darker pink shade

The second row is called Bright Eyes - from left to right - first up a minty turquoise shade - pale duck egg blue shade this is quite neutral toned, next up a bright blue turquoise very like MAC Electric Eel, and finally more of an aqua tealy turquoise

The row is described as Party Eyes - the three colours are perfect for creating a smokey eye look - from left to right - an off white colour, a lovely mid grey and finally a very dark charcoal grey

I hope this was useful for you - the shadows as you can see are really pigmented and they are really soft too and don't drag on your skin. I am actually really impressed for a magazine freebie and for such a cheap brand. If you like the look of this get a move on as the new issue of Top of the Pops magazine is out next Wednesday. Any more questions please ask x

Primark Opia Snag Free Hair Bands - A Product Review and Rave

This is a bit of a strange one in my Product Rave series but it's one that full deserves the praise it's going to get. I have longish, thin hair but I have an awful lot of it, so my hair actually appears to be quite thick  -I love wearing my hair down when its straightened and preened to perfection but this is England we got rain and lots of wind which isn't really where it's at for long swishy hair so I tend to tie it up or back.
Long gone are the days of scrunchie, yes I remember wearing loads of scrunchies in the one ponytail! so now I use a rather more respectable plain black or brown band, with an occasional sparkly bobble or bright colour. Stretchy ponytail bands really are a must but they can be quite damaging to the hair, the metal bits of the bobble have a tendency to catch and pull on the hair.
In the last few years or so new type of bobble has hit the high street, snag free, metal free, ouchless bands - I love these bands you can sleep in them and most important they don't pull or tear the hair when you take them in and out. There is always a negative though and with these bands it's the price averaging around £2.00 for a pack of 12 or less - that isn't so bad but when you have a little black and white furry cat that thinks bobbles are there to play with, and chew into pieces then it becomes a bit spendy



On a recent trip to Primark however I discovered their own version of the snag free bobble

For just £1.00 you get around 30 black, snag free hair bobbles (The packet says 30 but I got 34 bobbles in my last packet). You get two sizes of bobble a thicker band and a thinner band

The thinner bands admittedly aren't that strong but if you have children ,fine hair, or your only tying back a small amount hair these would be great - In both packets I've had you get slightly less of this thickness x

The thicker bands are my favourites and you generally seem to get more of these ones - the packet pictured contained 18 of these, they are strong enough to hold back all of my hair at once and they seem to last quite a while without fraying or bagging.

Just a little pic to show you how effective these are on my hair length and thickness

I think these bobbles are really good for the price, they don't pull or drag and above all they actually keep the hair in place. I've used them on both wet and dry hair with great success and no damage. I've bought a couple of packets of these now and I won't go back to buying the more expensive brands there is simply no need these ones do the job perfectly well. Primark Opia Hair Bands retail at £1.00 for 30. Any questions please ask x

Superdrug, Peacocks and Boyes Haulage

Hey Guys
I know I said I would be laying off on the haulage front but I did pop to a local town this afternoon with Momma Lou - the appeal of this town - Superdrug :) Now I am free from the restraints of Project 10 Pan I wanted to go and play with make up for a bit lol First up this Accessorize special offer set

I'd seen this online but not in store. This store doesn't actually sell the Accessorize make up line but they had these sets of three Accessorize full sized eyeshadows for only £1.99 - they should retail at between £2 and £4 each! They had two sets to chose from - Mine contained

3. Truffle - a gorgeous bronze / taupe

10. Soft Pink - a gorgeous shimmery oyster pink

16. Sage - a gorgeous golden sage green
Swatches - From L - R - Truffle, Soft Pink, and Sage

I am soo happy with these - the are so pigmented and super soft - my larger Superdrug didn't have these so it's worth trying smaller stores, they also have the sets online but you can't choose which one you get.

I also picked up one of the new Dream Touch Blushers by Maybelline - these are gorgeous and creamy the only thing is the stand was a mess, and they were all mixed up so I picked one I liked the look of the only thing is the colour names aren't on the packaging so I don't know which one it is - why have Maybelline done this?

Anyway by course of elimination this is maybe Peach but I'd need to see it alongside Berry to make a true comparison - whatever I know that's not much help but it is super pretty :)

I also picked up two of the new Beauty UK Lip Lust glosses in No. 4 Sweet Sixteen (Top) and No.6 Oh Baby (Bottom) I am going to do a full review of these in a new series of posts I'm planning to do so no swatches at the moment x

I also picked up a copy of Top of the Pops magazine, yes I know I am not 12 but they had an interesting make up free gift.

For only £2.99 you got a BYS Eyeshadow Palette which has 9 colours which surprisingly is really pigmented

You also got a silver glitter liner, and a black and a jade pencil liner

I've only tried a couple of BYS bits in the past (my local chemist often sells bits) but as well as  being super cheap they all seem to be ok for the money, I have a lovely striped bronzer which alas they don't seem to make any more but if your keen on trying some super cheap make up you can get a 25% discount on BYS cosmetics @ http://www.makeup.uk.com/ just enter the code TOTP25 X

I also popped into Boyes - this is a shop that just seems to be in the North of England and Yorkshire - it sells all sorts of bits and pieces including health and beauty, clothing, craft, kitchenware etc I bought a couple of nail polishes W7 Limited Edition Earthquake Silver Shatter and LA Colors Color Craze Nail Polish in Static Electricity

I also popped into Peacocks to buy some undies - and for the first time I noticed the Evie Glam Make Up Range - it was on 3 for 2 so I bought a few bits which I will review for you hence no swatches in this post - first up the Blue Eyeshadow Quad - although it only has one real blue in it and a Mink Nail Polish

and a Blusher which seems a pretty peach / pink shade - look out for a review post coming soon x

So that was my haul some good bargains and a few reviews to come x Any questions or if you would like reviews of anything I hadn't mentioned please let me know x Next up a rave and review xx