Bare Minerals Remix Trend Mini Review (plus a few extras!)

Hello!

So the other day I got to go to the BareMinerals Spring 2013 Seminar which shows us what new products we'll be getting throughout the first half of the year and also lets us have a play with a few of them too! We do other bits as well, which are all counter manager related (paperwork stuff...) and a few other bits (free lunch/free costa coffee all day are my particular favourites!) Anyway, the thing I was most excited about was the new Remix Trend that we have coming out on the 15th of February (I think....we get told dates a lot but they are always subject to change!) Now then, I know loads of people were excited about the Ready compact foundation but somehow the pretty colours were more exciting to me! I managed to get a few sneaky pictures and swatches of one of the eyeshadow palettes too but not a lot else unfortunately....Anyway, on with the Remix...

Picture taken from the BareMinerals USA Site

So the collection is made up of 3 new lip colours, 2 eyeshadow quads, a blush, a bronzing mineral veil, a bronze radiance, a blue mascara and then a mascara and eyeliner in limited edition packaging.

I like that this collection actually comes with a bit of everything this time round! And I LOVE the blue packaging!! So freaking nice! So, let's look at everything individually...

3 Loud and Clear Sheer Lip Colours in Amped Pink, Tangerine Trance and Berry Remix - These look so bright in person....but don't actually have much colour payoff at all. The are a translucent gel formula so are more like a very lightly tinted lip balm. They feel really nice on and do give a tiny bit of colour but I was a little disappointed on the colour payoff (I do love a bit lip colour!) These will be £15.00 each.

2 Ready Eyeshadow Quads in The Wild Thing (Blues) and The Next Big Thing (Neutrals) - These are just as pigmented as the other Ready eyeshadows and have the same anti-ageing properties too. I personally absolutely fell in love with The Wild Thing as the colours are super pretty. The Next Big Thing was a bit blah for me really, but I think that's because I really want to get more colours and less neutral palettes in my personal collection! TNBT palette is very pretty with the two neutral colours having very good payoff but the other two are less extreme than I expected. TWT palette was completely different to how I imagined it to be from the pictures (swatches down below!) These will be £29.00 each.

Blush in The Natural High - This is SO pink! The colour payoff is amazing and you only need a tiny amount for a nice pop of colour. This will be £22.00.

Bronzing Mineral Veil - This has got an SPF 25 in it and is very pretty. It gives a nice healthy glow without being too intense. I think people might go a bit crazy for this one to be honest! This will be £20.00.

Bronze Radiance in Secret Radiance - This is packed with colour and shimmer. A tiny bit will go a really long way but will make a lovely highlighter for anyone lucky enough to tan easily this year! This will be £19.00.

Flawless Definition Mascaras in Black and Aqua Blast - The black one is the normal flawless definition mascara but in limited edition packaging. The Aqua Blast one is BEAUTIFUL! It's not like a bright 80s blue but more of a teal blue and I just think it's gorgeous. I love the normal FD mascara so will be very tempted with the Aqua Blast one! These will be £16.00

Round the Clock Eyeliner in Midnight - This is another normal product with limited edition packaging. I really love the RTC liners as they have such good staying power and are so pigmented too! I personally can't use them on my waterline for some reason (everyone else seems to be fine with them on their waterlines! So jealous!) but on my top lid they are fab! This will be £13.00.

A quick little shot of my place at seminar! I love how amazingly well done the tables are every time I go! (Obviously we all resisted peeking in the bags until we were asked if we'd looked! Then all hell broke loose! Haha!)

Here is The Wild Thing palette! I had to be super sneaky when taking this picture! One of the area managers was sat behind me and went "Love it that much Robyn??" I explained about my blog and she went "....alright...one sneaky picture!" and winked at me! Haha! The blue packaging seriously wins me over! Plus look at that branded BareMinerals pen in the foreground...classy! (At least I can tell if someone has stolen my pen at work now! Haha!)

Swatches of The Wild Thing palette. These are literally one sweep swatches. How amazing are those colours?! The lightest one is super pretty and is multitonal so it changes in the light!! I'm literally in love with this palette! Whilst there I naturally asked if I would get this on my counter (I'm a mini counter so we don't get everything...) and the answer was....no I don't. I was so disappointed!! But I'm going to London on the 17th of Feb and will be going into the Covent Garden Boutique to grab this palette and the Aqua Blast mascara (if they still have any...I'm hoping they won't be rammed with customers!) I might try and swatch a few of the other bits to show you guys if you want to see what any of it looks like before buying it! Let me know!

On to the bits that were in our bags on the table! I was SO surprised to find the new Precision Face Brush in there but also super happy! I have the travel version of this (which can be seen towards the end of this epic post here) and I love it, but I was thinking of getting this when it came out as I liked how nice it was to use...so getting it in the bag was such a good surprise!! It's SO freaking soft and gives such flawless coverage. Love it! We also got given the new Multi Wrinkle Repair Serum which feels beautiful and is proven to reduce forehead, eye and mouth wrinkles (along with a few others!) by 80% after 4 weeks continuous use! And then finally we were all colour matched and got given the Ready foundation in our colour too! Amazing!! Now then, I went and brought this last year in Selfridges (see end of post here) so I didn't really need another one as my one still has LOADS left in it, so I asked out lovely trainer Rachel if I could possibly take one in my Mum's shade instead and she was absolutely lovely about it! Now then, I know with the Ready Foundation, you really do need to be matched even if you already use the original foundation, but I took a risk and grabbed the one in the colour my Mum is using at the moment. Hopefully she'll like it! When this comes out in March, they will have numbers rather than names to stop people just buying the same colour and being annoyed if it looks different on them!

Ready Foundation - Out beginning of March - £25.00

Precision Face Brush - Out beginning of March - £24.00

Multi Wrinkle Repair Serum - Out now! - £38.00

Little shot of the Multi Wrinkle Repair Serum. I love the design of this bottle for some reason!

Here's the bit of blurb on the back for you guys to read yourselves!

And here is what the product looks like. I'm not going to lie...I had a little giggle about what else it looks like (but I hear that softens you face too.....Haha!!) But I've used this a few times and it feels so lovely on your skin! I've got my Mum on the case and might try and persuade her to let me take a few close ups of her wrinkles and then get her to use it for 4 weeks and see if we can see the difference...if she'll let me of course!!

So what do you guys think of the Remix Trend Collection?? Any bits you'd like me to swatch on the 17th? I can post them on twitter on the day if any of you want me too? Anything there that you don't really like the look of? Let me know in the comments as always!

Until next time,

xoxo

Boots Bargain!

Hello!

So today I popped into Boots with one of my friends and discovered I had just over £6 in Boots points! I decided to have a little look round and see if there was anything I fancied/would actually get some use out of. I really wanted to get the new 17 mascara (with a free eyeliner at the moment!) but I don't need it and I wouldn't use it so it was pointless buying it! I also looked at the nail polishes but again, I don't NEED anymore for the time being so I continued to browse.....We popped upstairs to look at fake tan bits and discovered my local Boots still has a few bits left from Christmas! There's nothing majorly exciting left really but then I found this little set snuggled away at the back...

An fcuk set that contains: a dairy, body wash, whipped bodycream and bodyspray. There were about 4 or 5 of them left and as you can see, they were originally £14 but with the 75% off this little set came to £3.50!!! I've been meaning to get a diary as I need to be able to write my work times down properly rather than on bits of till roll that I keep losing! I was going to pop into Paperchase to see what they had but last year I ended up getting a tiny diary that kept annoying me! This one is big, but not too big and fits perfectly in my small bag. It'll be so handy to have so I can stop putting things in my phone and then forgetting about them until after the day! The other bits were a bonus but I'm not really keen on the smell of them to be honest, so I may well pop them on eBay (every little helps right??) 

I love how this diary has a little popper on the outside to keep it closed and has the classic gold edges so it looks super fancy! It's got a pen holder on the side as well so I might pop into Paperchase for a fancy pen to keep with my fancy new diary! I also really like the fact that it's got a small part for each day but then a sort of notes section on the opposite page too. As I said, this came to £3.50 which meant I could use my Boots points (plus get a breakfast bar for tomorrow - I'm going to a seminar in London for work so will be on a train to London in the wee hours of the morning! and pick up the new Boots magazine too) So basically....I got this for free! I managed to get so many points by using the Boots TreatStreet toolbar when doing some shopping before Christmas as it automatically tells you when you can collect points on websites that you're using (plus you can get bonus points sometime too!) I think this is great as I shop in Boots quite a bit but also shop online too, so if I can get Boots points on places like eBay etc then why not collect extra points wherever I can!

So what do you think of this little bargain? Do any of you use treatstreet already? What do you think of it?

Until next time,

xoxo

Comparison: Highend Vs Highstreet Red Lip Products

Hello!

So I decided to do this sort of blog post last night when I was trying out a new way to style my hair....obviously I couldn't get the full look without doing my makeup at 8pm in the evening right?? (I call this use of my time "snow madness" I've literally not left the house in 3 days now. I'm so bored!!)  Anyway, I put on my beloved Estee Lauder red lippy and decided it wasn't quite what I wanted....so I delved into my case of stuff that I just don't use much anymore, but still totally love. 

Quick Sidenote: This is the one curse of working on a makeup counter I think. I literally can't wear anything but BareMinerals on a day to day basis, and whilst I love BM products, this does mean that a lot of stuff that I love gets neglected, only being used for "special occasions" (or on nights when I'm trying out new looks obviously...) My Naked palette literally hasn't been used in 6 months now I don't think, which is annoying as I love it so don't want to gift it on to someone but I never get to use it! 

So, I delved into my beauty case of goodies and fished out my MUA lipstick in Shade 1 and was completely overwhelmed with how good it looked and how it was exactly the right shade of red for that look! So I had a little look around in the case and was a little shocked to discover that I had a rather large range of lip products that I had forgotten about! I also discovered that I had a range that went from highend to highstreet...hence this post! I always really like posts when people compare highend and highstreet because I find it really interesting how some products can come out on top when they only cost £1 or something crazy like that! I'm going to try and keep this short by not reviewing each individual piece in full, but just by giving you swatches and opinions on my personal favourites...(we'll see how this goes!)

From Left to Right (swatches in the same order as products above): 

Estee Lauder Pure Color Vivid Shine Lipstick in Forbidden Apple - Beautiful deep red but packed with shimmer. More of a night out look. Very good staying power though and minimal bleeding.

Dior Addict Extreme in 536 Lucky (sample size) - Quite a pinky red. Not great colour payoff either really. Wouldn't buy the full size.

Barry M 121 - Was given this by a friend who never wears red lipstick, which was good because it's way too orange toned for me, so I'm glad I didn't buy this myself! Colour payoff is great but just WAY too orange. I look like the Joker with this on!

ELF Mineral Lipstick in Cheerful Cherry - Non-drying, non-bleeding almost perfect deep red. Very impressed!

ELF Lipstick in Posh - Almost identical to the other ELF one, just cheaper packaging! 

Natural Collection Lipstick in Cherry Red - I love this lipstick colour as it's a little bit brighter but still a deep red if that makes sense? It's a little drying though so lip balm is needed.

MUA Lipstick in Shade 1 - This is amazing for one whole pound!! It looks really similar to my Estee Lauder one, just without the shimmer. Lip liner is very much needed with this though as it's really soft but bleeds LOADS if you're not careful!

ELF Luscious Liquid Lipstick in Cherry Tarts - Eh. I really liked this once, but I'm more about the bold colour at the moment. Maybe I'll fall back in love in the summer. It's stickier than I remember too.

17 Berry Crush Lip Stain in Smokin' Hot (I think - major downside to this one is that the colour name is on the plastic wrap and not on the product at all!) - I loved this when I first bought it but after two uses I was just angry with it. It's good for popping over lipsticks to lock them in though....which is something I guess!

Winner: Highstreet - MUA Shade 1 for a perfect deep red shade for me! For a pound I was SO impressed with how this lipstick felt and lasted on my lips, especially when I would say it was comparable to the Estee Lauder one! The only thing the Lauder is better at is not bleeding AS much and I'm happy to shove a lip liner on first for a perfect deep red shade thanks! - Special mention to the ELF ones too as they have great staying power, but the shades aren't exactly what you see on the website so go careful!

Sometimes I like to a balm over the top of my red lipstick and sometimes I like it to be red toned so I can change/enhance the colour of the lipstick a little bit so I have a handful of balm/glosses to do such a thing...

Left to Right (Same as top to Bottom in above picture):

Maybelline Shinylicious Fruity Gloss in 804 Raspberry - Brought this YEARS ago (tut tut I know!) and it's still fine, but a little bit too sticky for me.

Natural Collection Tinted Lip Balm in Raspberry Rhumba - I'm not sure if they still do these anymore but I do like the feel of this as it isn't sticky but the colour pay off is pretty good too. Possibly a bit too pink for me  and the smell/taste of this is a bit gross.

Clarins Dynamic Red Lip Balm - This was a free gift with something a while back I think but the girl at work found a stash of them in her cupboard....and we're allowed to take 2 samples home per week...and as this is marked "not for sale" on the back, it technically counts! (Quick note, no, we aren't allowed to take anything marked for testers!) The photo above does it no justice at all as it's actually a deep red with very fine shimmer in it. Completely enhances any red and adds the bit of glossiness I want without leaving my lips sticky! Smells lovely too!

Winner: Highend - Clarins Lip Balm is a real winner for me...makes any drying lipstick perfectly fine for my lips and gives a great deep red colour to all my lipsticks! Makes my lips look and feel kissable!

So what do you guys think? Am I missing any perfect Reds from my collection? Any highstreet red lip balms you can recommend? (I think the Clarins one was limited edition! Nooooo!)

Until next time,

xoxo

Daily Routine: Step Five - Night Routine

Hello!

Firstly, I hope you've all been...urm..."enjoying" the snow this weekend! I've been snowed in and had to call work with the cliche of "hey...so I can get out of the driveway let alone the village..." but apparently it's been absolutely DEAD in town and shops have been told by the police that it's better to close and go home whilst it's still light, rather than stick around and be completely stuck! I can tell you that snow days are no fun when you can't go anywhere at all and are suffering with a kidney infection anyway! I kinda hope I can get to work tomorrow (targets to make yeah?) but considering it's still a mild blizzard outside, I don't see that being very likely! (As I had to save this and return to it on Saturday, I can tell you all that no, I did not get into work today. The road outside is like ice and although I possibly could've gotten in....I probably wouldn't have been able to get home. Not cool.)

Anyway, enough about snow, on with the post! So this is the last bit of my main daily routine, the nightly ritual!

Cleanse:

• bareMinerals Purifying Cleanser and Superdrug Cotton Wool Pads - Now then, you can use this at night as you would in the morning...dampen your face, rub one to two pumps of this onto your face and then rinse off....but we all know I'm fairly lazy with most things, so if I can cut a corner in my routine, I will! I brought this spray bottle in the 99p store but you can pick them up in places like Boots and Superdrug too I think. I pumped 32 pumps of cleanser into it (don't ask...I've got a thing about the number 32 for some reason!) and then filled it up with warm water. Give it a shake and then put a few sprays of this onto the cotton wool pads and it takes off all my makeup in a gentle way but also cleanses my face really well. It's absolutely great for eye makeup removal too I found and there isn't any residue and no need to tone afterwards either! BOOM! Laziness at it's finest! (Side note: I only seem to use the Superdrug Cotton Wool Pads now because I found that they are the only ones that don't fall apart, but equally don't feel like it's the thinnest bit of cotton wool on the world. Am I the only one who has a cotton wool pad preference??)

Moiturisers:

• The Body Shop Aloe Soothing Night Cream - I'm in the process of using this up but I think I'll repurchase when it's run out. I really like the fact that although it's thicker than the day cream, it doesn't feel heavy. It absorbs quickly and leaves my skin feeling nicely hydrated.
• The Body Shop Coconut Beautifying Oil - I'm using this instead of a serum at the moment as my bareMinerals one has run out! It's ok and my skin does feel really smooth in the morning but I wouldn't replace my serum with this for the long term!
• bareMinerals Pure Transformation Night Treatment - I literally can't even explain how much I love this product! It's the final step in your night routine and it's a powder that you buff all over your face. It's got the highest concentration of Active Soil Complex in it, which basically brings any impurities out, makes your skin smoother and helps to bring new skin cells to the surface making your face feel hydrated and plumper. I've seriously seen so much difference in the appearance of the pores on my nose, which is where I used to be most paranoid about blackheads etc, that I honestly can't live without this product in my life anymore! The only downside is that it's £45 for one pot. I mean that pot will last you ages...but still...it's a lot of money to fork out when you're working part-time! They do this in 4 colours but as I'm not fussed about people seeing me without makeup on, I have the shade "Clear" (the others are Light, Medium and Tan) 

A quick look inside the bareMinerals PTNT. That brush is so god damn soft!! I'd say the major downside to this packaging is that you can't see how much you've got left. That always annoys me as then you don't know when you need to buy more!

Body Moisturiser:

• Johnson's Body Care Dreamy Skin Cream - I featured this in my "probably shouldn't have brought" series because I always forgot to use it. I've been making a huge effort to remember each night as a) I love the smell, b) I think it helps me sleep better and c) it makes me skin so freaking soft! The smell to me is just really comforting and just makes me feel like "yep...bedtime now!" which I think helps me relax a bit more as I'm trying to drift off to sleep. I've had this for a while now so I don't actually know if they still do it or not...I'll have to have a look in Boots next time I'm in there!

So that's the end of my daily routine series! What do you think of my night time routine? Anything I'm missing? Anything you want longer reviews on? Hope you're all having a good day and not having to go out in the snow!

Until next time,

xoxo

Daily Routine: Step Four - Haircare/Styling Products

Hello!

So to continue with my daily routine series, this is the haircare and styling products I use before heading off to work. I have quite a few of them but I tend to vary what I use depending on the day/what kind of look I want to go for.. I have super short hair so it's a little silly having LOADS of products as I literally blow dry my hair for about 2 minutes before it's dry and don't have any need to straighten it either.

• Charles Worthington Front Row Sea Salt Spray - This is really good for giving the top part of my hair some beachy waves. It smells good too. I think I got this on a 3 for 2 or something as I would've brought a cheaper one I think. 
• Bumble and Bumble Texture Creme - I got this about a year ago and liked it...then stopped using it for some reason. I recently started using it again and remembered why I stopped using it. It makes my hair feel really dry and I don't like that at all. I gave it to my sister though who loves that kind of look/feel so at least it's not wasted I guess!
• Redken Color Extend Spray - I got this in a She Said Beauty box but have only recently started using it. I think it has been helping my coloured hair stay the right colour but I wouldn't buy this one again if I can get something cheaper I think.

• VO5 Extreme Style ReWork - This is my favourite hair product as it's just fab at giving my hair some scrunched up "style" without making it feel dry at all. I've got two because I lost one, brought one, then found the other one!
• VO5 Extreme Style MattClay - This is for days when I don't want a super hold for my hair. I like the look it gives but I've not overly keen on the feel of this product in my hands. 
• Eco Freako Cherry Almond Texturiser - I brought this at the same time as the Bumble and Bumble stuff and I actually prefer this...it does a very similar thing to the B&B one but doesn't make my hair feel dry at all.
• Not Pictured - VO5 Wax - I keep losing this pot so I don't know what it's actually called but it's just a basic wax that I really love for when I want a more slick look. It's got really good hold but doesn't look waxy if that makes sense?

• Fish Defining Spray Wax - This is handy for days when I'm not fussed about hold but just want something to give me a bit of definition. For lazy days!
• L'oreal Elnett Satin Hairspray - This was my go to hairspray after my Fudge Membrane Gas ran out. Gives really good hold and give my hair a bit of shine.
• Lee Stafford Firm Hold Barnet Spray - I got this in the 3 for 2 when I was buying the purple shampoo  and conditioner. It's SO good but you have to be careful with how much you use because I have, on occasion, had days when I can literally lift all my hair up like a wig almost (to the amusement of my work mates!) I love the smell of this as my very first hair product was a Lee Stafford spray wax and it makes me think of being younger! Haha! This is now my go to hairspray and I would re-purchase this again and again as it does exactly what I want without making my hair feel horribly crispy!

So there are my daily haircare products. Any styling products that you guys can recommend for super short hair? I was going to post a picture of my hair here but the only one I have is me after work, looking absolutely bedraggled with now lip colour on (which makes me look a bit dead) Plus my hair is all over the place because I've changed and put a hoody on, thus making it look like none of these products actually do anything! Haha!

Until next time,

xoxo

Daily Routine: Step Three - Makeup

Hello!

Right, just to quickly start....I'm going to point out that I don't use all of this stuff on my face all at once, everyday....but as I work for Bare Minerals, I have amassed a few of their products (there was a discount staff sale a few weeks ago and I picked up a few sets for dirt cheap!) and thought I may as well just show you all of the products that I use in different combinations daily during the week. Also I won't be doing little reviews of each one because it'll take forever and I kind of want to do longer reviews of most of these products instead. Everything in this post is in the order that I tend to usually put them on my face in the morning.

I'm keeping my Bare Minerals stash in a basket that my friend put my Christmas presents in this year. It's not super practical but it works at the moment! Everything else in in the Beauty Box that Mr What's His Name got me for Christmas (my birthday?) last year. I need to figure out a new storage situation before my next allocation arrives as it will be properly over flowing then! (Bonus points for spotting my Superman Lounge Pants in the bottom corner. One day I'll master the true art of blog photography....)

• Face of Australia Face Base Primer - This has both Vitamin E and Chamomile in it which helps to strengthen skin and help protect it against free radicals. I got this as part of a blog swap and I like the way this feels more like a moisturiser than a normal primer. I also figure that using chamomile and vitamin E on my skin can't hurt whilst it's in a crappy mood right?
• Bare Minerals Prime Time Sample Size - I like how you only need a tiny bit of this to help even out skin tone and minimise the appearance of pores. I like that it feels like I have a super smooth base for my foundation. I'll be honest, I don't use either of these everyday as I constantly forget to put them on. Maybe I should put them in my skincare box instead?

• Bare Minerals Original SPF15 Foundation in Fairly Light - I finally moved on to my full size pot of this from the sample size I had from the starter kit! This is my exact match foundation, which is really nice. I like how I can go really light, medium or heavy with this and not feel anything on my face. 
• Bare Minerals READY SPF20 Foundation in Fairly Light - I brought this a while back in Selfridges (it's an exclusive to them) and I do like it....but I don't love it. The colour isn't quite the same as the loose powder but it's not so far off that it doesn't look right on me. I just....don't love it as much as the loose powder for some reason.
• Bare Minerals Stroke of Light in Luminous 2 Sample - This is a great under eye brightener! It's quite soothing but just me a little bit of brightness without being too much. 
• Bare Minerals Correcting Concealer SPF20 in Light 2 - I like this concealer but I just don't find myself using it on a daily basis. My foundation, used with a concealer brush, does as much concealing as I think I need to be honest.

• Bare Minerals Faux Tan Matte Bronzer - This is my ultimate favourite bronzer that I have ever used ever in the world! It gives me a nice hint of glow or can be built up to look like fake tan on my face (but somehow still only using a tiny bit of product) I like using this on my arms to give them a hint of colour without having to actually fake tan.
• Bare Minerals Warmth Bronzer - This comes as standard in all the get started kits that Bare Minerals do. I like the colour but I feel that FTM is just a bit easy to use for my super pale complexion.
• Bare Minerals White Hot Palette - I got this as a Christmas present from Bare Minerals (lucky I know!) and, although out of all the Christmas sets, this isn't the first one i would've picked, you really can't complain about free makeup! The reason it's in with the bronzer section is because it contains the READY bronzer called "The Skinny Dip" which I was thinking of getting anyway as it's handy to have a solid bronzer for days when you have no time in the morning but still want to look a little bit alive! The blush in it is super cite too and the other bits are always a bonus!

• Sleek Storm Palette - I actually use one of the eyeshadows in this with a Bare Minerals brow brush for my eyebrows. It's the exact shade of my brows and works just as nicely as any other brow product I've tried. I would like the BM loose brow powder but just don't really NEED it at the moment as this does the same job (For reference - it's the colour that is second left from the bottom right corner - the deep brown colour)
• ELF Eyebrow Kit in Medium - I use the powder in this for days when I can't find my Sleek palette - it's always falling out due to it's size! I like the powder but the colour is a little bit too light for me I think. I have seriously dark eyebrows for my complexion! I never use the wax anymore as I hate the look after I've used it.
• Bare Minerals Primer Shadow in Copper Penny - I've actually not used this properly yet as I've not really had the chance to sit down and try it to it's full potential. I really love the colour of it though and will be eager to try it out when I have the time!
• Bare Minerals Round the Clock Liner in 1AM - this eyeliner is jet black with a silver sparkle to it (limited edition of course...) and I love it on my top lid. It just adds a tiny bit of something without being a complete glitter liner. I can't wear this on my waterline though as it stings like a bitch unfortunately. Other people seem to have no problem with it though (even other glasses wearers) but I'm just special in that way!

• Bare Minerals Loose Eyeshadows in: Celestine (glittery light brown), Soiree (shimmery khaki green), Ell-If-I-Know (deep shimmery sea blue), Cupcake (shimmery light pink), Whisper (very light shimmer pink), Twig (deep shimmery brown), Flawless Diamond (glittery champagne) and Smokey Diamond (glittery deep brown) - I like how all these shadows are SUPER pigmented but stay on all day. I've had no issues with creasing unless I wear them for over 12 hours (but then I think I'd get creasing with all eyeshadows over 12 hours right?) and I utterly love the colours so much!
• Bare Minerals Flawless Definition Mascara and Flawless Definition Curl and Lengthen Mascara - I love both of these as they don't irritate my eyes, don't drop during the day and don't take 3 hours to take off. The normal one just gives my lashes a bit of definition without going OTT with them and the Curl and Lengthen one makes my lashes look pretty damn incredible I think! Used together these are amazing for nights out and insane looking lashes!

• Bare Minerals Loose Blush in Laughter - This is a really nice coral toned blush. A little bit goes a long way and it really warms my face up I think.
• Bare Minerals Rose Radiance and Rose Diamond Blush - These are a little more of a shimmer blush but both have a great colour for me. Not 100% sold on the shimmer but I'm trying it out a bit more to truly make up my mind on it.
• Bare Minerals Loose Blush in Allure - This is a really subtle pink blush and I love it. It's exactly what I was after for work. I also use the pink blusher in the White Hot palette for days when I'm in a rush.

• Bare Minerals Champagne Diamond Radiance - This is a beautiful highlighter but a little bit goes a long way, so you need to be careful and build it up instead of just whacking it on to your face!
• Diorskin Nude Shimmer in 001 - I brought this a while back and I'm in love with it. I use it practically everyday as a subtle highlighter that just makes me feel a bit better about myself!

• Bare Minerals Mineral Veil and SPF25 Mineral Veil - These all came in various sets so are all the smaller sizes, but this means I don't need to get a full size one any time soon! As far as I can tell, these are all the same except the SPF25 one has...well..and SPF factor of 25 in it (always handy for Summer!) These are simply brilliant. They are a translucent powder that helps to absorb excess oil throughout the day. I like the fact that I can top it up during busy days (Saturday's at work can sometimes be manic!) to stop the shine from being so insane on my forehead. I'm really tempted to get the READY Veil so I can keep it in my bag without having to carry a brush too, but I can't really justify it when I have 3 loose ones!

I seem to have amassed quite a few lip products from Bare Minerals in the last few months as well! These aren't all of them as I gave a couple to my Mum because they weren't the right kinds of colours for me (all ones that I got in sets) so this is actually a condensed version of my lip colours by Bare Minerals!

• Pretty Amazing Lip Colour in: Moxie (light pink), Allure (pinky rose colour), Pizzazz (deep berry pink) and Ambition (bright pink) - I really like the formula of these and the colours are intense. But if you put them on with your finger it's more of a lip stain. I'll review these for sure later!
• Bare Minerals Natural Lipgloss in:Sourdough and Heartcake - I love the feel of these glosses and I like how moisturising they are. Considering I was a "I don't like Lipgloss" girl before this job, they must be good!
• Bare Minerals Buxom Lipglosses - I would name all these and say how much I like them, but it's best to just direct you to my review of them here.

So that's my lot of makeup for everyday work use. I do try to use other stuff I have on days when I'm out but not at work or for nights out but I have so much Bare Minerals stuff now (and more on it's way) that it seems a little silly not to use it when I like it so much. So what do you guys think? Too much makeup for one person?? Anything there that you'd like full reviews on? Or are you sick of my waffling for the time being?! I'm think of starting youtube videos instead so that it's easier for my to get stuff done and they have full reviews on my blog instead of long waffling posts like these but I'm not 100% sure that I can cope with listening to myself, let alone other people! What do you think??

Until next time,

xoxo

Daily Routine: Step Two - Face/Body Moisturisers

Hello!

Hope everyone is enjoying 2013 already (I've not been at work so far this year and have another day off tomorrow. so I'm really enjoying it so far!)

So here is step two if my daily routine. This is the bit I do directly after the shower (well, after towel drying etc) I've included both my face and body moisturising routine because if I do all these steps separately then it'll end up being some sort of epic, year long set of posts! (It's only since starting this that I've realised how much I actually do in the morning before I head out to work. Not sure how I get everything done in 45minutes a lot of the time!)

So firstly, I keep all my "day" stuff in one box. This way I find it a hell of a lot easier to remember to do everything and not miss steps out (like using a body lotion....I always miss the body lotion otherwise!) I'm currently using a Body shop box as it's super sturdy but with a clear panel so I know what's in there. 

• Estee Lauder Idealist Sample and DayWear Sample - I recently used these after stopping a while back, and I've recently remembered why. The Idealist smells great and it seems like a good product but the smell indicates some sort of citrus product in there and having done some research, it's Grapefruit... Now then, I'm going to tell you a little story about grapefruit....man, I LOVE grapefruit! It's one of my favourite fruits to eat (without sugar please)....but grapefruit does not like me. At all. It burns my mouth, makes my heart feel like it's full of acid, makes me feel really sick and gives me the most horrendous headache (same with oranges, lemons, limes, kiwi, pineapple etc (pineapple is my FAVOURITE and repays the favour by stripping my mouth of skin too. Thanks P.) so you get the picture right?) So anything with grapefruit in tends to not be great but won't generally kill me. However, the Idealist just makes my skin tingle a lot more than I am comfortable with. DayWear has this overwhelming cucumber scent to it. Again, this one just makes my skin tingle and it makes it feel unmoisturised. Not a fan. I really need to take these out the box and give them to someone who will get some use out of them! (Any takers? Idealist is a 7ml sample, probably about half full and DayWear is a 15ml sample and is probably 2/3 full! First come, first served....if anyone wants my cast offs of course!)
• The Body Shop Coconut Beautifying Oil - I brought this recently as a bit of an impulse "it's free" kind of buy and I've mainly used it as an overnight hair/face oil, which works quite nicely I think. I did use a tiny bit on my very dry skin this morning though as a test of how greasy it might make my skin look, and i have to say, I'm really impressed so far. The smell of this one wasn't quite as I was expecting but I like it so far. I've not had it for very long though so we'll see how it goes!
• Dior Face Mask Sample - I actually don't know which mask this is, which isn't very helpful is it now? My friend Toyah put a sample of the mask for very dry skin into a little Dior pot for me to take home and try a few weeks back. I really liked this and the smell of it is really nice too. Can't say I saw a massive improvement in my skin but it certainly helped a bit. Not sure I'd get the full size one though, just because it didn't help enough for me to warrant paying the full size price!
• The Body Shop Aloe Soothing Day Cream - This has been my staple face cream for about a year now. It's more like a lotion in texture and smells ok (not great, but then again, it's not over powering either) I used to absolutely love this cream as it absorbs quickly and made my skin super hydrated etc, but recently I've found that it's just kind of doing it's job...but not as well if that makes sense? I think my skin needs something extra at the moment. I'm going to try the Bare Minerals SPF 20 Moisturiser next (as I can get it on my allocation, so why not right?) so we'll see if that's any better.

All in all, my face moisturisers are a little bit of a fail for my skin right now! 

• Bare Minerals Blemish Remedy - This is a powder skin treatment for...well, blemishes obviously. I got this on my allocation in November and have been using it ever since. I like that it has a little bit of a concealing property to it but also that it naturally helps with breakouts and helps prevent future ones from forming in the same area. I used to suffer with multiple breakouts in one area, which would bother me so much and then I'd pick at them in frustration (lovely) but since using this I haven't had that problem at all. This also claims to minimise pores too but I've not tried it for that really so can't say if it works or not. I use this morning before makeup and at night after cleansing if I have a particular bastard of a spot on my face!
• The Body Shop Coconut Lip Butter - My lips get quite dry during the winter so this is an important step in my routine in the morning. I think most people don't think of moisturising their lips if they get that tight feeling on their face after a shower. Most people use a lip butter or equivalent during the day but i find that moisturising my lips straight after a shower just helps to keep the moisture locked in and makes my lips feel nice all day. I love the smell/taste of this one and it doesn't make my lip colour slide off either which is a bonus!

• Dove Invisible dry Deodorant - This is a nice, non-stinging deodorant that works quite well I think. My only issue with this one is the "anti-white marks" claim. I ALWAYS have to make sure I've put my work clothes on (black dress/t-shirt) on before this otherwise I get those dreaded white lines on them! If anyone has a full-proof non-white marks option then please let me know!
• The Body Shop Coconut Body Butter - This is a small version that came in a set I brought myself on Christmas Eve (with the lip butter) and I really like it. It's much thicker than my other body butter, which I actually prefer. It smells lovely and leaves my skin feeling so god damn smooth and soft too! Plus I love the matte packaging. It just feels nice. Think I may invest in the bigger version when I'm done with this.
• Dior Svelte Reversal Gel Sample - Again, the lovely Toyah gave me this sample (in a Body Shop sample pot!) after we'd had a laugh about how weird it smells! She then proceeded to tell me what it was suppose to do and I knew I wanted to try it! It does kind of smell like on old doctor's surgery, but I've noticed quite a difference on my legs from using this (it helps smooth, tone and help break down fat cells!) over the last few weeks - this is my second sample pot. I'm very tempted to buy this full size to see if it'll continue to help or not. I know I need to eat healthily and exercise too (started and started!) but this seems to be helping too so why not keep using it?
• The Body Shop Moroccan Rose Body Butter - This was free a while back and it's a nice body butter. I'm not the hugest fan of the smell anymore but it's not hugely over powering so I'll be able to use it all up. It's a lot less dense than the Coconut one though so I'd rather have that than this one.

I do have other body lotions that I haven't included as I don't use them everyday (Garnier 7-Day Intensive Body Lotion to name one...) but I will be trying to use them up before buying any more as I seem to have started to hoarde body lotions and it's just ridiculous and bad for my bank balance too!

So that's my step two. What do you guys think? Too much stuff again?? Anything you'd like more in depth reviews on? (and before anyone asks....yes I can waffle more about these items!)

Until next time,

xoxo

November/December Empties

Hello!

Firstly, HAPPY NEW YEAR!! Hope everyone had a great night and that you're all enjoying the first day of 2013!

So I've decided to try and save up my empties a little bit so that it's not just 3 items per post, but also so I can feel like I've achieved something with using up a few more products...and making it look like I've used up lots too! Haha!

Hair Products:

• Alberto Balsam Coconut and Lychee Shampoo and Conditioner - I think I had this in my empties last time....which shows how much I love it! It's cheap, doesn't make my head itch, makes my hair feel clean but soft and, best of all, smells delicious! I'm switching this up with my Lee Stafford shampoo and conditioner for bleached blondes at the moment so my next two bottles will last longer I guess.  Would I buy again? Yes....and I already have!
• Tresemmé Intense Smoothing Masque - My Mum brought a whole bunch of these when they were on offer and kindly let me use one last night to give my hair a little bit of extra nourishment. Because my hair is so short, I actually only needed a small amount of this so my Mum actually used it up this morning. It smells ok and did make my hair feel very soft but I haven't noticed a huge difference really. However, my Mum has quite frizz prone hair and found that this really helped her hair a lot. Would I buy again?  probably wouldn't but I think my Mum would. Any ideas for hair masques for short, dyed hair then I'd appreciate it!

Body Products:

• St. Tropez Body Polish - Again, pretty sure this was in my last empties post! I really like this body scrub as it's got really fine particles in it so I feel like it's really smoothing my skin a lot. It smells nice but isn't over whelming. Would I buy again? I basically have 4 bottles of this in my drawer....so yes. If I see this in my local TKMaxx for super cheap then I will always pick up a bottle (or two!)
• The Body Shop Candied Ginger Body Scrub - I picked this up in the Body Shop online sale a while back because I'd read good things about it and love the smell of Ginger.....however this was not for me at all. Firstly, I had issues with the fact that it was a pot in the shower. Ever time I used it, water would always get in! Annoying! Secondly, the smell was not like ginger at all. To me it smelt like cheap, store branded cola/cola bottle sweets. The consistency was ok but it didn't really feel like a proper scrub to me. Would I buy again? No. The smell alone was enough to put me off. Good job it didn't cost me much at all!
• The Body Shop Mango Shower Gel - Another one that was on my list last time I think! I bloody love the smell of this and really like how it leaves me feeling clean and leave a little bit of scent on my skin too. Would I buy again? Hell yes! I already have one bottle waiting to be used....might need to get another as a back up just in case!
• Natural Collection Mango and Papaya Body Scrub - I LOVE the smell of this! It's just amazing! The product itself though is a little strange. It doesn't foam (which is fine) but it doesn't really seem to stay on my skin long enough to do anything. It falls off or is washed away so easily, which is kind of frustrating. Would I buy again? Probably not.

Other Products:

• Gillette Venus Razor - I always used to use disposable razors until I got this. It's so much easier to use and feels much much nicer when I'm tired and can't be bothered to use any form of shaving foam. Would I buy again? Yes. I brought one the other day to replace this one as it was cheaper than buying a box of blades and I'm dirt poor at the moment! I will be buying the blades instead when I get paid!
• Pearl Drops Part Sparkle Toothpaste - I got this in poundland as I've always wanted to try Pearl Drops toothpaste.....can't say I noticed any difference in the whiteness of my teeth....but then I don't think my teeth are horrendously yellow or anything! I'd be interested in trying this again after I'd used some teeth whitening strips to see if it kept them sparkly white! (I may not have yellow teeth but that doesn't mean I don't want them a little brighter!) Would I buy again?  Possibly depending on the other whitening toothpaste choices out there. (Sidenote: Please ignore the dust on the rim of the cap! I literally finished it up just after my last post and clearly just chucked it to one side and did not check before taking the photo!!)
• Pure 3 in 1 Make Up Removal Wipes - Another poundland purchase (think it's 2 for a pound) I'm trying to keep to my good nightly skincare routine as my skin goes mental when I use wipes for more than one day. I do like these ones though as they cleanse, tone and moisturise and never leave my skin feeling dry or tingly. Would I buy again? I tend to keep one pack (or two for that price!) in my drawer for emergencies/days when I'm so damn tired that I just can't process how to do my nightly routine (although I honestly haven't used these in almost 2 months!)
• Oral B Pro-Expert Toothpaste - This was a sample I ordered because...well...I like free stuff. I'm always up for trying new products so samples are really handy. I really wasn't sure on the taste of this toothpaste at all but it did leave my teeth feeling extra clean. Would I buy again? Probably not as it's nice but not great. My favourite will still be White-Glo for now!

So that's my lot of empties for two months. Pretty pleased with using up a few bits that have been around for what seems like forever (hello Natural Collection scrub....) and it's also nice to have a bit of room in my baskets in the bathroom! Anyone else feel good about finishing bits up? Hope you've all had a great start to the year!

Until next time,

xoxo