Bare Escentuals Buxom Lashliner....and a P10P fail!

Unless you've been living in a cave, you have probably seen Makeup by TiffanyD's video on Bare Escentuals Buxom Lashliner (if you have been living in a cave, you can watch it here). After watching it, I knew that I must track it down! The problem being that it's a Sephora exclusive, here's what Sephora say about it:-

"Lash addicts beware: Buxom Lashliner is highly habit-forming. This may look like just a liner, but it's also a thickening and conditioning treatment that instantly takes the appearance of your lashes from hardly any to very many. This mineral-rich, paraben-free, whipped gel formula glides on like a liquid liner and dries to a long-wearing smudge proof eyeliner. The formula is made with natural ingredients, including vitamins A, C, and E; Honeysuckle; Jojoba Oil; Soy Protein; Tourmaline; and Biotin (vitamin B), which support healthy lashes. In one fluid stroke, you can fill in the base of your lashes—making them appear lusciously longer and fuller. This product is ophthalmologist tested and safe for contact lens wearers. The result: Healthy, lust-worthy lashes that have no limits".

What this product is formulated WITHOUT:

- Parabens
- Sulfates
- Synthetic Fragrances
- Synthetic Dyes
- Phthalates

Research results:

- 88% of women agreed Buxom Lashliner stayed put all day

- 76% of women claimed Buxom Lashliner made their lashes more dramatic.

I was on a mission. I checked all the usual suspects online until I found a lovely lady on eBay who specialises in Bare Escentuals products (check her store out here). I asked her whether she would be able to get this eyeliner for me and she kindly obliged!

I ordered the colour Suede (dark brown) from her, the other colours they do are Leatherette (black), Blue Velvet (cobalt blue with blue micro glitter) and Sequins (black with silver micro glitter).

I will let you know how I get on with it, and have taken some "before" photos to get the full effect.

Sadly this means I have failed Project 10 Pan.  I think that this was exceptional (lol!) circumstances though, I mean as any makeup addict will of course agree, I HAD to have it! Anyway, I will be continuing with P10P regardless of my blip, and I promise I wont be buying any more makeup until I have completed it - promise!

Some products I am itching to try...

I thought that I would just share with you all some products that have interested me and that I would love to try. Maybe you hve tried these also or something similar and can let m have your opinions:-

Redken Satinwear Blowdry Lotion

"Transform hair to silky luxury. Protective heat-styling lotion helps reduce friction and breakage for a faster, easier, stress-free blow-dry. Through Redken's exclusive Bonding System, ceramide and xylose sugar, hair is restored, conditioned and protected".

RRP £14.25 but I have found it online for £12.15.

I am really excited to branch out and try some of these types of products after my good experience with the Charles Worthington one mentioned in my January Favourites. One of the main reasons is to gradually ween myself off my hair straighteners and another thing is that I find that these kind of products make my hair feel much thicker (lack of flattening from GHD's!) and generally a whole lot healthier.

Redken Real Control Intense Renewal

"Super moisturising mask transforms the texture of high maintenance hair by providing intense moisture and discipline. Detangles, prevents breakage and helps reinforce extremely dense, dry hair".

RRP £19.55 but again I have found it online for £16.65.

Chanel Pro Lumiere Foundation

"Luminous even-toning semi-matte foundation, a flawless complexion in any light. Stretches like a canvas that forms a veil of light on the skin. The material "reshapes" the skin, the color adapts and the density adjusts depending on the desired effect".

RRP £30.65

YSL Ombres Duolumières in Golden Pink / Precious Bronze

"Featuring contrasting duos that work perfectly together, these shadows combine colour and luminosity to dress the eyelids with vibrant hues. Thanks to an optical smoothing effect, each shade fully expresses its intensity and radiance".

I would like to branch out into different brands and I love the quality of YSL lipsicks so am excited to try their eyeshadows, and it's so easy when to have a duo.

RRP £27.00

Estee Lauder Pure Colour Long Lasting Lipstick

"Pure impact. Pure luxury. Pure emotion. Pure Color. Intense, long-wearing colour creates maximum impact. High fashion shades with medium-to full coverage. Luxurious formula pampers, comforts with Vitamins C and E plus natural moisturisers. Delicately fragranced with a delectable fresh fig scent".

RRP £16.50

I am excited to try some of the colours such as Vanilla Truffle, Candy and Pink Parfait.

What are you wanting to try this year?

January Favourites

It’s finally the end of a very long horrible month (no money, rubbish weather) and I am so glad! Here are a pick of my January favourites, there’s a little bit of high end and a little bit of drugstore.

Origins Clean Energy Cleansing Oil

I had to include this because I fear it wont last another month! I absolutely love this cleansing oil, I prefer it to the MAC cleanse off oil, which is what I switched from using to this. It is so gentle and leaves my skin completely clean but not stripped. It does not aggravate any redness on my cheeks and it makes my skin glow. I have no hesitation in recommending this to anybody. Once I have finished this bottle I will be going back to my MAC version, which has been stashed away, so I will let you know whether my opinion still stands about the Origins being superior.

Neutrogena Pure Glow Daily Warming Scrub

I have had this scrub for a while now and have never mentioned it before. It’s quite a thick textured scrub which you apply to a wet face and it heats up on contact with the water. Now I don’t know if the warmth has anything to do with it, but it is a great scrub. You’re not left chasing granules around your face or constantly rinsing them off of your washcloth, they seem to dissolve in water it appears and so it rinses off really clean from your face and leaves your skin super soft and hydrated.

Revlon Illuminance Crème Shadow in Precious Metals

I have been using these more and more frequently of late. I love that you have quite four good colours altogether in a compact so it’s nice and quick in the mornings.

Bobbi Brown Customised Eyeshadow Quad - Bone, Navajo, Antique Gold and Sunset Gold

I have been loving this quad of shadows this month, over the Revlon crème shadows. My most used colours are Bone and Antique Gold, and I love the ease of the pallet, you simply buy one from Bobbi Brown and fill it with their shadows, no messy de-potting the shadows are designed to be clicked out of their individual pans and added to a palette. The palette has holes underneath so that the names of the shadows show through and you can even add a Bobbi Brown blush or lip quad, it’s totally customisable!

Mac Zoomlash

I am in love with this mascara at the moment, I have a review to follow :)

Benefit Boing Concealer

I have been trying to use this up along with my BB Creamy Concealer and I have to say I am really enjoying using it. I think in the past I applied it too thickly and didn't get on with it but I have been applying it very sparsely with my BB concealer brush and patting it in with my ring finger, then adding more if necessary and it has been working great.

Charles Worthington Super Sleek Straightening Balm

I accidentally stumbled across this in my local Sainsburys and had never seen it before. It's a gel like consistency contained within a pump (yay for foolproof application!) and honestly it makes my hair so straight and smooth I barely need my GHD's.

What have been your January favourites ladies?

Products I am using at the moment...

I love this tag, so here are the products that I am using at the moment, I have tailored it slightly:-

Foundation  Mac Studio Fix Fluid (a P10P item!)

Concealer Bobbi Brown Creamy Concealer inWarm Ivory (a P10P item!)

Powder  Bobbi Brown Translucent Powder Compact

Bronzer   Bobbi Brown Illuminating Bronzer in Aruba

Blush  Bobbi Brown Powder Pink (a P10P item!)

Lipgloss  Mac Lipglass in Underage (a P10P item!)

Lipstick  Mac Hue

Lip Balm  Korres Lip Butter in Guava or Kiehls Coconut Lip Balm

Eyeshadow  Mac Retrospek, Benefit Creaseless Shadow in Birthday Suit

Eyeliner  Mac Feline Eye Kohl or Stila Kajal in Onyx

Mascara  Mac Zoomlash (a P10P item!)

Brows  Mac Era applied with a Laura Gellar angled brush

Makeup Remover  Origins Oil Cleanser or Simple Mango Facial Wipes

Face Wash  Origins Never a Dull Moment

Facial Moisturiser  Liz Earle

Eye Cream  Kiehls Creamy Eye Treatment with Avocado

Facial Exfoliator  Neutrogena Healthy Glow Warming Scrub

Shower Gel  Lush Snowcake or Philosophy Coconut Body Wash

Body Exfoliator  Philosophy Coconut Scrub

Body Moisturiser  L'Occitane Body Butter

Deodorant   Dove

Shampoo/Conditioner  Redken Glam Blonde

Serum  Organix Coconut Breakage Repair

Leave in Conditioner  TIGI Rockaholic

Heat Protector  Dove Heat Defence

Perfume  Victoria's Secret Secret Garden Body Mists in Love Spell and Pear Glace or Nina by Nina Ricci

You may have noticed that from the products I am using it seems like I am rather partial to coconut, well you'd be right, and here are some of my favourite coconut products:-

Kiehls Lip Balm in Coconut  Basically coconut flavoured Vaseline in a squeezy tube.

Philosophy Coconut body scrub and wash   Smells like coconut cream pie.

Organix Coconut serum   A fairly new addition but smells divine and leaves hair looking very healthy.

Body Shop Coconut body moisturiser   Smells lovely, not as rich as the body butter which is also a favourite.

Do you like coconut? What are you favourite products?

American Cream : Review

Image taken from Lush UK

Dubbed by Lush as "a double-strength conditioning cocktail. American Cream was inspired by a vision of 1950s US milk bars, bright red-leather-and-chrome, neon-lit cafes, where teenagers would meet and drink frothy, fruity, thick, creamy milkshakes. Our fruity, creamy conditioner is what the girls would have used to make their hair soft and strokeable before going out on a date, dressed up in their bobby socks and circular skirts. The scent of honey, vanilla, strawberries and oranges is so sexy and sweet that dates can't stay away. If your hair gets a bit messed up, American Cream makes it easy to brush through and smooth out again".

Avaliable in 100, 250 and 500 ml sizes (priced from £3.80 to £12.25).

First things first, I really do not like the smell of this conditioner. To me it doesn't smell anything like milkshakes! If anything it smells quite musky, and if I don't like the smell of something then it's pretty much downhill from there on, unless of course it gives amazing results.

In my opinion this conditioner does not give amazing results. I don't have particularly dry hair, but this makes it feel like cotton wool, it's horrible. I know that obviously I am used to having silicons coating my hair but hey I would rather that, which I am happy with than having nasty candy floss hair!

Have you tried this conditioner? What do you think?

On another note, this Blog has reached 200 followers! Thank you all so much. I know many other Bloggers have thousands of followers but it's never been about the numbers for me, I am just pleased that you enjoy my mumblings!

My Haircare Routine

I was inspired by Tali’s post on her hair care routine, to show you mine, the kind of products that I use and how I use them.

When I was little my hair was a very light blonde, we’re talking up to the age of about 10 maybe and gradually my natural colour has darkened to a dark golden blonde in the summer to light brown in the winter, so I have highlights at a salon to get it to the colour it is now. I usually go every 5/6 weeks which is probably not ideal but my hair is quite resilient and grows very quickly, so it’s needed. In the summer I don’t go nearly as often and the sun seems lightens it naturally.

The texture of my hair is fine, but there is lots of it. In it’s natural un-styled state it is wavy, verging on frizzy, which is not attractive! I wash it every other day, usually in the morning and I dry it upside down with a hairdryer to get some volume and straighten with the GHD IV styler. In the summer I often scrunch my hair dry with mousse or some type of curl enhancer to get the beach wave look.

So that’s what my hair is like so now onto some of the products that I use.

First up Shampoo and Conditioner:-

I tend to stick to the same products because I have found these give me great results, the shampoo is use is Redken Glam Blonde and conditioner is also Redken Glam Blonde. I usually, every other wash, swap the conditioner for Redken Glam Blonde Platinum Enhancer as this counteracts any brassiness. If I need an extra boost I also switch my shampoo to Aveda Blue Malva (sorry no photo of this), but this can be a little drying but ok for a once a week shampoo. It’s great for getting that true blonde look, with no yellowy or brassy tones. I also like their matching conditioner but I haven’t used it lately.

 

Treatments:-

 

For a deep conditioner, I’m a bit lazy and rarely do this but if I do I use Redken All Soft Heavy Cream, or I also like Tresemme Heat Defence Treatment (which I don't have at the moment) and find when I have used this my hair takes 20% less time to dry using a hairdryer (I have no idea why!). I also sometime spritz on some of Redken CAT Treatment when I have just washed out my shampoo, before I condition. It is a protein treatment so you need to use a conditioner afterwards or your hair will be super knotty. You are supposed to use this and leave it in, but I never have time so I just spritz it on, do something else like shave my legs for a minute, wash out and condition. Another thing when I have conditioner on my hair I like to brush it through with a paddle brush that I keep in the shower (more on this type of brush later) because I find it helps to distribute the product and lessens the likelihood of knots.

Leave in Products:-

Having said that my hair can get very knotty so I after I have towel dried, before I brush it, I always use a spray leave in conditioner, at the moment I like one by Tigi Rockstar but in the past I have used ones by John Frieda but I do favour the Tigi ones, I prefer the scents and I don’t find they leave any nasty residue on my hair. Next I brush my hair with a Paddle Brush from Aveda, I know that you’re not supposed to brush your wet hair but I have been using one of these since the age of about 13 when my mum first bought me one and my hairdresser says my hair is in great condition so I must be doing something right! It would take me forever to detangle my hair with a silly comb. I have lots of these dotted around, I have one in the shower, one in my car, one at work, and two in my bedroom. They are essential in my opinion, I never brush my hair with anything else, even the tiny brush in my handbag is pretty redundant. You can by these pretty much in any drugstore but my favourite is definitely the Aveda one, it lasts a long time and is great quality, but I also like Body Shop’s version too, this is the one in my shower. After I have brushed my hair after spraying the leave in conditioner, I then move on to a heat protector. I didn’t used to use one but I now believe that it is one of the essential products, especially if you are straightening you hair. I use one by Dove, I love this as it’s affordable and smells great. Then I move on to drying my hair and straightening.

Other products worthy of a mention:-

Tresemme 24hr Body Hair Spray, love this, smells great works brilliantly and is affordable. Batiste Dry Shampoo, another essential, not always needed but great to have just in case, I like the Blush scent

Review : Bobbi Brown SPF15 Tinted Moisturiser

One of my favourite products of all time is Bobbi Brown's SPF15 Tinted Moisturiser, which doesn’t get enough recognition, in my opinion. Dubbed by Bobbi Brown as "the perfect alternative to foundation for a more casual look"  I have been through countless tubes and it has got my skin through a nasty bout of spots a couple of years ago and it still suits my now more normal/dry skin. It costs £26.00 for a 50ml tube which honestly lasts forever. They cater for more pale skin tones than say Laura Mercier’s TM, ranging from Alabaster, Extra Light Tint, Light Tint, Light to Medium. Medium Tint, Medium to Dark Tint, Dark Tint and finally Deep Tint. But whatever you do do not check the swatches on Bobbi Brown online, they are not accurate -  Alabaster is not white like the swatch!

It's quite a lightweight but substantial texture, its nowhere near as runny as say their Skin Foundation which I really don't care for. It blends super easily (I always apply it over my usual moisturiser) whether you use a foundation brush or fingers. I like how it feels nourishing on the skin, whilst I don't belive it imparts tons of moisture, it does seem to protect my skin and it never feels dry. Once it's adjusted onto the skin is doesn't feel too sticky or greasy, but be aware a pea sized amount really does your whole face quite adequately, don't overdo it or it may well end up a little tacky to the touch. I do sometimes set it with powder, on my t-zone just to avoid any unnecessary shiny moments, especially in the summer months, as far off as they may seem.

The coverage is great too, it’s sheer but buildable, covers what you need, but letting your skin breathe at the same time. I found it ideal for my spot prone skin as it isn’t heavy (although I don’t believe it‘s oil free, so this could cause a problem to some). I've never personally suffered from any blocked pores or breakouts with this and in fact it really helped through my bad skin days, and comforts my skin during the cold winter months.

What's your view on Tinted Moisturiser?