August favourites

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As I absolutely love these "favourites" posts I have been preparing and thinking about the content of this for over a week (sad I know!) and have come up with the following products.

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*Firstly, may I just say that product number one has been misidentified as something rude in the past, it is not, it is a hair product!* Right now that is out of the way, I shall begin:-

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Bed Head After Party which is a lightweight smoothing cream with a fruit medley fragrance. Gets rid of night before smells, and smooths fly away or static hair. Can be used on wet or dry hair. I prefer to use this on towel dried hair which I then leave to dry naturally and it creates lovely defined waves and absolutely no frizz whatsoever. The usual rrp for this is around the £9.00 mark.
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Garnier Fresh Essentials Grape Water Eye Makeup Remover is amazingly gentle, I wear contact lenses and I have experienced no irritation at all. It has a very slight scent which is so faint to even describe. It takes off every little scrap of mascara - I will definitely repurchase, it is the nicest I have tried. I think this was on offer in Boots for around £3.00.
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Estee Lauder Signature Hydra Lustre Lipstick in Pink Amethyst. This is from their Autumn 2009 Sensuous Gold collection, it is so creamy and luxurious on the lips would could be mistaken to thinking you are wearing a lip balm and not a lipstick. It is not drying at all and lasts for a pretty long time too. I will definitely be checking out some more of their colours, it is very similar in texture to my favourite YSL Rouge Voluptes. This was £16.00.

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Seche Vite Top Coat, this stuff is fabulous, I am so impatient when it comes to painting my nails, to the point where I have been known to remove my polish before it dries because I simply cannot be faffed to wait for it to dry! This eradicates this waiting, you apply this clear top coat to your polish, this can even be wet polish, and it pretty much dries instantly, leaving a great shiny top coat. This was about £8.00 from Boots.
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Benefit Creaseless Cream Shadow / Liner in Birthday Suit, I have been using this as an eyeshadow base, the texture is second to none, really creamy and easy to work with. I have tried Estee Lauder Doublewear Cream Shadows but not MAC Paintpots. This is much better than EL and I will be looking to get some more colours. The rrp is £14.00.
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What have been your August favourites?

A small haul

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So I picked up a few bits in Boots yesterday:-

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Boots Expert Build Up Removal Shampoo - This shampoo is amazing, I have Zoella to thank for her great blog post on this, which you can read here. I used it last night, shampooed twice and didn't condition. It has removed all of the horrid build up and left me with super soft shiny hair, which is full of body. I think this will fast become a weekly treat!

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Soap & Glory Spa Butter Up - This smells beautiful, it contains Cocoa Butter, Sweet Almond Oil, Shea Butter, Aloe Vera, Vitamin E, 5-Fruit skin smoothers and Grapeseed Oil and I am really looking forward to trying it..
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Garnier Pure Active Spot Roll On - Now I know a lot of beauty bloggers received this as part of their goodie bags for a recent Garnier event, and it has taken me a while to get on this band wagon. I bought it because I have a spot on my jaw line which is refusing to heal and I heard that this product not only kills the spot but helps to fade the mark it leaves. Please let me know your thoughts on this product.
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Finally, Maybelline Ambre Rose lipstick - Many people had been talking about this so I had to see what all the fuss was about! It is a beautiful colour, and cheap too, at the moment Boots have £2.00 off. So if you are after a new lipstick but on a slight budget, I would recommend picking one of these up.
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I hope you all have lovely bank holiday weekends (if you are in the UK!) and I will be uploading my August favourites within the next couple of days.

I came, I saw, I shopped!

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This is going to be a little haul post for you all. I have had this week off work as holiday and it has so far been spent being lazy and also shopping! Above is an overview of the bits I picked up at Bluewater and Portsmouth.
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Firstly, at Gunwharf Quays in Portsmouth I was so happy to learn that they had a Cosmetic Company Store, and even more happy when the MAC selection was across the whole back of the store and a stand alone stand! I was controlled however and bought two shadows in Tempting and Blanc Type. Tempting was from the Style Warriors collection (although a permanent colour) and Blanc Type I have had trouble locating, it wasn't in stock in two MAC counters I visited but they had tons at the CCS, has it been discontinued?
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Next, I was so pleased to find a Pret a Porter full size brush kit! As I'm sure you know MAC do not release full size brush kits, except for this one in 2006 and a Nordstrom (US) Christmas kit in 2008. It has 8 full size brushes (the lip brush was misbehaving and didn't want to be photographed!) including:- 187, 129, 190, 224, 219, 213, 266 and the very shy 316! It also came with a brush roll with pretty jewels, I was very happy to have found this.

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Finally, my last purchase in the CCS was Fix+ Rose. I have been dying to try Fix+ for a while now. Do you have any tips for usage?
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Earlier on this week I went to Bluewater and the House of Fraser Beauty Hall (I intended to go to John Lewis but their staff do not appear to give a flip about serving or helping) I wanted to try the Custom Blend at the Prescriptives counter for their new All Skins Mineral Liquid Foundation, however, the MA said that I was better off buying the shade off the shelf as she would only be mixing a colour very similar, she wouldn't be able to add an SPF to the Custom Blend and it would only be £24.00 instead of £45.00! Needless to say I went for the bottle off the shelf.

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The blurb on the Prescriptives website says the following:- "All Skins Mineral Makeup 16-Hour Wear / SPF 10 is an all-day liquid mineral foundation that stays fresh and lasts up to 16 hours, while helping protect with non-chemical UVA/UVB sunscreen. Our exclusive R.E.C. complex (Radiance Emitting Crystals--a unique combination of Amethyst, Rose Quartz and Calcite) gives skin extra luminosity, as if it were "glowing from within". Lightweight, buildable coverage lets skin breathe.-Suitable for all skin types, including sensitive-Long-wear. Water-resistant-Oil-Free. Fragrance-Free. Non-acnegenic. -Ophthalmologist/Dermatologist-tested."

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It sounds fab, I will be testing it out and giving you a full review shortly.
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Finally, a little freebie I was given for purchasing the foundation, it also included a lipgloss which was promptly stolen by my mum!

Review - REN Active 7 Radiant Eye Maintenance Gel

It isn't often that I find a product that I completely fall in love with, is a dream to apply and the results are amazing.

This one product is REN Active 7 Radiant Eye Maintenance Gel.

This eye gel is in the slightly higher end of the market and with an rrp of £17.50 for 15mls, it's certainly on the pricier side.

The premise of the eye gel is that it revives tired looking eyes, and is so light it can even be applied over your makeup.

It is nice and light and cooling on the eye area. I get slightly worried with gel formulations, in that they will be too firming and not moisturise but this product is not drying at all, and my eyes felt comfortable and revitalised.

It contains arnica and vitamin p both of which help in the fight against dark circles and puffiness. It also contains something called a Tyrosinase inhibitor which is derived from a plant called Wild Rumex which also helps to fade dark circles. Extracts from Sea Grass and Corn derived Hyaluronic Acid help to tone the eye contour, and also add moisture.

One pump of the gel is plenty for both eyes, and it was even gentle enough to use on the lids. It doesn't have a scent, which is particularly important in an eye product because sensitivity can easily occur when you use fragranced eye creams / gels.

The tube lasted me around 2 - 3 months and this was using it day and night, and my goodness did my dark circles begin to fade! I thought that nothing would help this much and put them down to being hereditary (thanks mum!) but low and behold a dramatic reduction.

I have used it both over and under makeup and no separation to your concealer occurs so you could easily pop the tube in your handbag and apply liberally throughout the day!

Alas I have now come to the end of my tube, and was actually quite distraught! I will definitely be re-purchasing and don't envisage myself wanting to try another eye product, not when this does all I need.

REN are currently doing free delivery on all orders placed online and you will also receive a free Neroli & Grapefruit Zest Body Wash too!

I really cannot recommend this product enough, if you are concerned about dark circles and bags then give it a try - it has helped to improve mine immensely.

MAC Haul and Eyeshadow Palette

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Being fairly new to MAC Eyeshadows, I have been wanting to add to my palette with some more colours. In particular I have been wanting some more matt neutral shades because the colours I already have either Frosts or Lustre's, and I have been looking like a glitterball lately, especially when I add an MSF or shimmer blush so I wanted to steer more towards he natural look. .
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After some careful consideration (blog and YT searches!) I decided on:- Brule, which is a matt creamy white, Era, which is a matt light caramel with a slight sheen and Expresso, which is a medium dark matt brown.

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I bought all colours in the Pro Pan's which worked out much cheaper and no fussy depotting ensued!

The colours themselves are just what I was after and I am really pleased. I took a bit of a risk ordering them online I know, because the swatches on the MAC site are notorious for being completely different from the actual product, but in this instance I did good.
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Here is a look at my palette as it stands now:-

If you have any recommendations for the colours I should get next please leave I comment, I would love to hear your favourites!

Top (L - R) Forgery, Brule and Era.
Middle (L - R) Sugarshot, Honesty and Satin Taupe.
Bottom (L - R) Dazzlelight, All That Glitters and Expresso.

As you can tell I am very adventurous with colour....!

I also bought Creme Cup Lipstick and Pretty Plush Plushglass (sorry my camera didn't want to take a photo of the Plush Glass on it's own, but it can been seen in the first photo).

My Everyday Makeup Routine

Apologies for the long (and rather picture heavy) post. I love seeing your everyday makeup routine, so here is mine:-

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Step one:-

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I wash my face with Neals Yard Orange Flower Facial Wash, then apply Avon Anew Alternative Day with SPF25 followed by Superdrug Natural High Eyecream, to create the perfect base for my makeup.

I also apply a Lip Balm like Burts Bees, to my lips.

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Step Two:-

I apply my foundation which is Revlon Colourstay all over my face using my Bobbi Brown Foundation Brush (much better than MAC's in my opinion) and then I use MAC Studio Finish Concealer under my eyes with my Bobbi Brown Cream Shadow Bush (yes I know it is a shadow brush but the MA recommended this to me for use with the Eye Brightener and it is brilliant for concealer!) I then follow with MAC Mineralise Skinfinish Natural and apply this with my Bobbi Brown Power Brush.
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Step Three:-

I define my Eyebrows with Rimmel's Eyebrow Pencil in Hazel and neaten them up with mu Ruby & Millie Eyebrow Brush.

Step Four:-

I use MAC's MSF in Perfect Topping to my cheekbones and down the bridge of my nose using my Bobbi Brown Blush Brush, for a dewy glow.

Step Five:-

I use Bobbi Brown Pink Sugar Blush to the apples of my cheeks using my MAC 109 brush.

Step Six:-

For shadow I use Bobbi Brown Navajo (bottom right) all over the lid, using the Bobbi Brown small Eyeshadow Brush.

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Step Seven:-
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Mascara is by far my favourite step! I use Rimmel Sexy Curves to lengthen and curl my lashes (two coats) followed by L'Oreal Voluminous to thicken my lashes (also two coats).

I then finish with MAC Powerpoint Eye Pencil in Industry along the waterline, concentrating on the corners of the eye.
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You may wonder what I do for lips, well as I put the Burts Bees on with my skincare, I usually wait until I am in the car and rummage for a lipstick in my bag! Most often it is YSL in Lingerie Pink or MAC Myth.

I hope you enjoyed seeing my routine, and I would love to see some of yours too!

Saturday Shopping

I had to pop down to the supermarket this afternoon and couldn't resist a quick look around the big Boots, and have a little haul:-

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I had been wanting to check out Maybelline's nail varnish offerings for a while now because recently I have been wearing sheer nude shades and they seemed to have quite a few lighter colours whereas other brands can focus on brights or darks.

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I saw these Forever Strong Professional polishes in Pink Whisper (Left) and Pink Shimmer (Right). They are enriched with Iron which in turn makes your nails stronger and they are designed to last for 7 days so I will keep you posted and do a review on them. Plus these were only £3.91 but two for £6.00!

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.Next, my mum kindly let me have her No7 voucher so I had a look at found the most gorgeous bubble gum / barbie pink called Sugar Syrup! I absolutely love No7 nail varnish, I have tried all the big names and it is the best quality, quick drying, nice consistency and long lasting. With the £5.00 off voucher I think this was £2.89.

I also picked up Seche Vite Dry Fast Top Coast because I am extremely impatient when it comes to waiting for polish to dry! I've heard lots of good things about it too. This was around £8.00.

Next up was the skincare section to look for facial wipes. At the moment I have been using baby wipes to remove my makeup but I was finding them a little harsh on my skin so wanted to look for an alternative.

Boots Botanics were having an offer, when you by the Eye Makeup Remover you get a pack of facial wipes free! I decided that this was too good an offer to pass up, not only is my current Eye Makeup Remover running low but I remembered hearing such good things about the Botanics one, that it rivaled the MAC one so I purchased. The Eye Makeup Remover was I think around £2.80 and the wipes worth around £3.50 were a freebie - what a bargain! I chose the wipes for sensitive skin.

I also needed to repurchase my HG Foundation Revlon Colourstay in Buff and I picked up a Burts Bees Honey Lip Balm too.

Last but by no means least I made it to the hair aisle because I needed some Conditioner and picked up some Herbal Essences which were buy one get one free.

I got Seductively Straight and Ignite My Colour, both because I liked the smell - regardless that I maybe could have done with a volumising one but hey ho!

So I urge you all to nip down to Boots this week, they have some fabulous offers on, and it all helps towards the Advantage Card Points!

Soap and Glory

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I am really pleased to have found these little gems lurking at the back of my drawer today. I believe these were part of a gift from Christmas which must have been forgotten.

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First we have The Righteous Body Butter, which according to Soap and Glory's website is:- "Smooth, creamy, and velvety. With skin softening shea butter and aloe vera to attract moisture, some folks think it's a bit addictive!" I personally think it smells very similar to Benefit's Bathina range so I am looking forward to trying it out.

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Second we have Flirtigo Body Moisturising Mist. "It has been said that sensible men have been driven to dizziness by this moisturising mist." Well what more can I say - I am definitely looking forward to trying this! :)

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Last but by no means least we have "Already a wildly popular pick amongst the 'love-to-scrub-up' club, this super-sized Soap and Glory Clean On Me shower gel has a bonus, built in body lotion, so you can get clean, smooth, sexy skin simultaneously." This also sounds great!
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It will be interesting to see if these products really do live up to the hype, so far I love the scent but we will see what the formulas are like, as I am quite fussy about my body products.

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Do you recommend any products from Soap and Glory?