Mother's day

Hey lovelies,

Just a quick post to let anybody struggling for mothers day gifts know about the deals on Groupon today.. If you're in the Yorkshire region there is an amazing deal on for a 'Mother & Daughter Photo Shoot' in Leeds for only £15, saving you 90%! Amazing and an absolute bargain! I've bought 2 of these, one for my mum and one for the step mum. The offer allows up to 6 people to be in the shoot which is fantastic if you want a family picture to treasure. I thought this was a really special gift, really thoughtful and beats smellies and chocolates by a mile!

I had a good browse on the Groupon website to see deals in different cities and it appears there are a lot of similar ones on now due to it being Mother's day on sunday.. Hope this helps anybody that might be a bit stuck for ideas!

xxx

7 Deadly Sins TAG.

1. GREED - What is your most inexpensive beauty product? What is your most expensive? 

Inexpensive- I have a few eyeshadows from MUA that cost a measly 99p each, I don't think a cheaper beauty product exists?! The MUA eyesahdows are pigmented enough to be able to build up a good colour and for the price, there really isn't much you can complain about.
Expensive- I feel like saying a palette would be cheating here... The single most expensive product I have is my Chanel Vitalumiere Aqua foundation, definitely not cheap at £31 a bottle! However, I love this product so much I am willing to spend my hard earned pennies on it.

2. 
WRATH - What beauty products do you have a love/hate relationship with? What has been hardest to find?


Mascara. I do realise that most people that read this will be like, "whaaaat?!", and I don't blame you, it is odd. BUT, I find  most (important, most.. not all!) brand new mascaras can be an absolute bitch to apply, they almost feel too 'wet'. I often find mascara is a lot easier to apply and has a much better finish when it has been used a couple of times and a bit of air has been pumped into the tube. Note, I also hate dry, clumpy mascara.. Hard to please some may say..

Hardest to find product, definitely my original Urban Decay Naked palette. I was so so sooo desperate to get my hands on this when it first came out and it had sold out EVERYWHERE. After months of searching I finally stumbled upon one in a Debenhams store. I could not have been happier and it has been a happy love affair ever since. I've seen so many people that have done this tag saying they found Chanel's 'Soleil Tan De Chanel/Bronze Universal' the hardest to find but I found it in no time at all when I finally caved and decided I needed it in my life.


3. GLUTTONY - What are your most delicious beauty products?
Most delicious beauty product has to be my l'occitane Honey and Orange Body Butter. It smells soooooo yummy! Feels amazing, smells amazing. End of. I also have the soaps in this scent and I love them. L'occitane products in general always make my mouth water, the almond shower oil is also a firm favourite of mine.


4. SLOTH - What beauty product do you neglect due to laziness?


I used to be really bad with my evening skincare routine and often neglected the 'toning' stage of 'cleane, tone, moisturise' but I've finally found a routine that suits me and unless I'm reaaaally tired or maybe had one too many I tend to stick to it. Gold star for me.
5. PRIDE - What beauty product gives you more confidence?
This is a really tough question! I think I'm going to have to go with perfume. A spritz of a nice perfume always makes me feel more feminine and sexy and I love that certain smells take you back to different times or remind you of different people. As sad as it sounds, the thought that somebody might smell something one day and think of me makes me feel quite special. A very close second is mascara, I love how it can instantly open your eyes and make you look more awake.


6. 
LUST - What attributes do you find most attractive in the opposite sex?
As everybody else has said.. What on earth does this question have to do with beauty?! I really don't go for a man in guyliner if that's what it means.. Anyway, back to the subject, I absolutely love a guy that can make me laugh, is smart and can hold a decent conversation whilst looking at my face and not elsewhere. Physically, strong arms (not huge, just nice and toned and a bit muscley) and a cheeky smile always get me. I can't resist a cute smile and a little wink. Not a seedy wink though. A cute one. Does that make sense?



7. ENVY - What item would you most like to receive as a gift?
Again, perfume is always a nice gift. If somebody can pick out a scent and think it suits me, that's lovely. Even if I don't actually like the smell, I still think the thought behind it and the effort that goes (should go!) into choosing a perfume is really special.

So that's it, the seven deadly sins tag. I quite enjoyed that, if anybody knows of any other tags I should do, let me know!

I tag all of you beauties!

Until next time...

xx

Apricot Punch.. NOTD

Today's NOTD is Apricot Punch by Rimmel which is from the 'I love lasting finish fruities collection'.

This shade is a bright, coral-y orange colour that looks gorgeous on. It's a really summery colour that I just had to crack out as soon as I saw the sun shining on sunday morning. I bought this polish last year and wasn't really taken with it but when I tried it again I realised that I actually really like it. I own 2 of the I Love Lasting Finish polishes and am quite looking forward to expanding my collection and trying a few more of the juicy colours this summer.

Unitl next time...

xx

No, I will not buy anything today. Window shopping only...

Famous last words.. "I won't buy anything." Yeah right, Meg! I can barely walk past a shop without going in and the thought of going shopping and not actually spending anything is a mystery to me. However, I promised myself I wouldn't spend a penny but would join my friend for a bit of moral support on her little spending spree.

My friend and I had a nice wonder around our town, making stops at the usual places - Topshop, River Island, New Look.. And that is where I saw them, the beautiful wedges I had seen the London Beauty Queen blog about. As soon as I saw them I knew I wanted them, but in which colour? They were both so pretty! In the end I caved and bought both pairs, tan and black. At £16.99 each and with my friend's student discount card.. It really would be rude not to, no? The wedges are a lovely soft mock leather and the perfect heel hight for day or night. Low enough to last a full day shopping but high enough to give you that little bit of 'oomph' we all like on a night out! I think these shoes are going to look fab in summer, especially the tan ones, with a tan (Ou est le St Moritz?). I really do love these wedges, they're pretty, versatile and inexpensive, I really do think I'll get a lot of wear out of them.

I also noticed a half price jewellery stand in New Look and I can never resist having a good rummage through sale items, you never know what you might miss otherwise! I didn't see a great amount of nice jewellery, the stand was practically empty but I did manage to scout a few bargains. I ended up buying three rings and a necklace all for £9.50! The leaf design ring was only £1.50, the pictures really don't do it justice, it looks so much better in person. The other two rings, were both £2.50 and as you can see, one of them is actually a set of five. All of the rings are adjustable in size which I really like as it means I can adjust them to fit different fingers at different times. The necklace cost me £3 and I am in love with it, it looks so pretty with the pastel coloured beads, and I really like that it looks like two necklaces when actually it's just one.

We then walked onto Boots where my friend decided she needed some new makeup, eeek. I somehow managed to stop myself admiring all the pretty coloured lip glosses and shimmery eye shadows and instead decided I would have a little look at the No7 counter and if I saw anything I really really wanted I could use one, and only one of my £5 off vouchers to purchase something. After a very long chat with the lady behind the counter, going through the pro's and con's of me buying it, I bought the Vital Brights limited edition lipstick in 'Blossoming Pink' and I am SO glad I did, it truly is one of the prettiest lip colours I think I've ever purchased. Without the £5 off voucher it would have cost me £10 but I obviously got it for £5.

I also bought myself a new facial exfoliator in Boots as I new I was running low on my current one. I bought a Boots Botanics Smoothing Face Polish that contains Cranberry, Cupuacu (I won't insult you by pretending I know what that is. A plant of sorts, I presume.) and Almond oil. I like to exfoliate a couple of times a week but this face polish is suitable for daily use as it is very gentle. The exfoliating grains aren't harsh on the skin and feel as though they are buffing away dead layers of skin rather than feeling like they are dragging them (and a few healthy layers!) away. This has a creamy texture which I really love as most exfoliators I've tried tend to have a foamy consistancy and I am yet to meet a foaming product that doesn't make my skin feel like the Sahara Desert. My skin can be very sensetive to some products and I am always a little aprehensive about trying new ones but I have been quite pleasantly surprised by this one, it has left my skin feeling smooth with none of that irritating exfoliating redness or tightness. At £5.10 it really is a bargain for such a good quality product.

Our final stop off was Debenhams where.. drum roll.. dun dun dunnnnnn.. I finally caved and bought the Naked2 palette from Urban Decay. I have been arguing with myself non stop about buying this palette - do I really need it? Will I use it? Is it just overkill on the original? But then I thought, "Megan, if you didn't really want it, you wouldn't have been thinking about it for the past 3 month. And it's only £32 today whereas it will usually be £36." I was sold. Yes, a lot of people will argue that it is no different to the original, but it is. It's a lot cooler toned than the original and in my opinion is a lot more versatile in that it is great for creating a subtle day time look but it also has the darker, more dramatic colours to create a strong evening look. I often find the original palette can be a little too shimmery for daytime. I have fallen head over heels for this palette and feel I can totally justify spending money on it. Plus, my mum borrows all my makeup too and she loves it.. If mum doesn't tell me off for it, nobody else can either!

As you can probably tell from this post, I have terrible will power and I am very good at persuading myself (and others for that matter!) to do/buy things. The way I look at it is, I earn my money, I pay my bills, it's up to me how I spend the rest!

Until next time...

xx

NOTD Beige Glamour

Today's NOTD is Bourjois So Laque Ultra Shine nail polish in shade 27 Beige Glamour.

This is one of my favourite polishes for a simple but glam nail.

"Oooh, you look really fresh faced!".. Rimmel Wake Me Up Foundation

I mentioned that I'd bought this product in a beauty haul that I posted yesterday (see that here) and thought as it's a relatively new product I would do a review on it. I bought this in Boots for £8.99 along with a few other bits because all Rimmel cosmetics are on 3 for 2, the perfect time to go and stock up! Boots are also giving away their £5 off No7 vouchers at the moment too so if there's anything from their range that tickles your fancy, go take advantage of that! I believe the same offer is also running at Superdrug, I suppose it just depends which store you want to gain points on your avantage/beauty card from!

What they say... "Wake up and glow! Finally, your new beauty partner that keeps up with your fast paced lifestyle. Introducing new Wake Me Up Foundation from Rimmel London. Rimmel's first liquid foundation that instantly reawakens skin with a healthy, radiant glow.
It's time to wake up - the light, smooth texture glides on easily to give a 100% pore-less and flawless complexion. Spoil yourself with SPF15 sun protection and illuminating radiance pearls for a natural glow. A peptide formulation helps increase our skin's elasticity and vitamin complex also leaves you looking healthy and fresh. Your skin will bounce back to life - even if your body is thinking otherwise. No longer do you have to face fatigue in the mirror. Immediately eliminates visable signs of tiredness so skin looks rejuvenated. Also, minimising signs of premature ageing. Wake Me Up works just as hard as you - staying put for up to 10 hours and giving you a natural, medium to full coverage. So even if you've had a few hours sleep, you can look radiant and younger.
Let last nights late bedtime be a secret. Discover beauty sleep in a bottle from Rimmel London."

What I say... After recieving a small sample of this in a magazine that was waaaaay too dark for me, I decided to make a purchase because I did like the texture and feel of the foundation on my skin. I'm going to start by mentioning the shade range, it's not huge. Basically. I know there is a LOT of posts and hype around high street brands and their shade ranges but I won't go into that. There is 6 shades in this foundation, I bought 100 Ivory which it the palest one with shade 303 True Nude being the darkest. I will say if I was any paler it would be too dark for me and it does have a slightly orange tone to it which won't suit everyone, but if it is applied and blended well I feel it looks good on me.

Initially I felt the foundation was quite thick when I first pumped it out of the bottle, however on application it does seem to thin out into a lighter consistency whilst still giving a good coverage. I usually apply my foundation with either my Real Techniques buffing brush or a flat foundation brush but I found it much easier to blend this with my fingers for a much more even coverage. Like many others, this foundation does cling to dry patches so if you do suffer with dry skin it most likely won't be the one for you. I have normal/combination skin that can get a little dry occasionally but I found a good exfoliator was enough to smooth my skin ready for this foundation.

I've heard a few mixed reviews about this foundation with some poeple saying it appeared sparkly on their skin. I didn't find this at all, the foundation definitely has a pearlesence to it but didn't look sparkly or give me the look of a vampire extra in Twilight.. I never agree with the long lasting claims of foundations, this lasts on me for around 8 hours with powder, it does of course depend what you're doing whilst wearing the foundation, if you're sat around not moving much it will obviously last a bit longer. I fully agree with the claim of letting last nights late bedtime be a secret after having an extremely late alcohol fuelled night and the next day my friend saying "Ooooh, you look really fresh faced!". Result!

Overall I really like this foundation and would repurchase it, the bottle is hygenic with a pump dispenser and feels nice with a sleek glass bottle. A great daytime foundation if you like a medium, buildable coverage and a dewy skinned look.

All pictures taken with just the foundation, no setting powder over the top. The only other products I am wearing are a little bronzer, mascara and eyeliner. The second face picture was taken in bright sunlight, hence me looking a little orange!

Until next time...

xxx

Beauty Haul

Hey guys!

I was out shopping for a few essentials the other day and had absolutely no intentions of buying anything I didn't specifically *need*. However, both of my beauty 'go to' shops (Boots and Superdrug) seemed to have plenty of tempting offers on and I couldn't resist popping a few extra bits into my basket! I also had a bit of an online splurge last week and bought a couple of items from my favourite online beauty stores Feel Unique and Cheap Smells.

Rimmel 'Wake me Up Foundation' shade 100 Ivory £8.99 - I recieved a small tester of this in the March edition of Glamour magazine and as expected the shade was far too dark for me but I still tested it just to see how the texture of it was and how well it applied and how it looked on my skin. I obviously liked the feel of the foundation - I wouldn't have spent nearly £9 on it otherwise! A full review of this foundation will be up tomorrow so keep your eyes peeled for that one!

Rimmel Stay Matte Pressed Powder in Transparent £3.99 - I've heard so many great things about this finishing powder I decided to pick it up as soon as I realised that ALL Rimmel cosmetics were on 3 for 2 offer at boots. I got the transparent one as I think coloured powders can look a little chalky on the skin if they aren't a perfect colour match, although if you did want a coloured powder there is 7 different shades to choose from. My initial reaction to the product has been so far so good, sets foundation nicely without giving an overly 'powdered' look and although the product is called 'stay matte' it doesn't completely matify the skin and I find my 'dewy' foundations still show through. I would say it is more mattifying in that it gets rid of any oily type shine so if you were looking for a matte look you would probably want to invest in a matte foundation too.

Rimmel Lasting Finish Lipstick in 086 Sugar Plum £4.99 - I own a few different shades of these lipsticks and love them but have been looking for something a little more daring for nights out, I find it quite difficult to find a bright shade that suits me due to my natural colouring (Red haired, fair skinned) so I never rush into buying bright coloues but after testing this I had to have it. It's a gorgeous pinky/purple colour that looks gorgeous on, stands out but not so bright that it looks ridiculous, I think it will look amazing with my Bobbi Brown Pink Raspberry Rich Colour Gloss layered over the top.

No7 Vital Enlightening Highlighter Powder £13 - Now I really wasn't planning on buying this product, I recieved a £5 off No7 voucher with my Rimmel purchases and ended up using it straight away! I had been admiring all of the new Floral Brights limited edition spring collection from No7 and took a particular fancy to this highlighter. At £13 though, I thought it was a little too expensive for an impulse purchase on a thursday afternoon, however when the nice lady at the till gave me the voucher I thought "Why not?!" and ended up buying it for £8, a price my purse is much happier with! The nice lady then gave me another £5 off voucher that I think I'll be using on one of the limited edition Floral Brights lipsticks.

Carex Protect+Plus Hand Gel 99p - I know this isn't exactly a beauty item but I felt the need to share it with the world! I think hand sanitizer is a staple in most girls' handbags and I am no exception. Due to my mums job we always have little bottles of regular alcohol hand gel hanging around the house but on this particular day I had completely run out of the one in my bag and felt a little bit lost without it so into Superdrug I went and I found this had been reduced to 99p. I wasn't expecting anything special, it is only hand sanitiser after all but I have to say I'm seriously impressed with it! The smell isn't unpleasent in anyway and actually has quite a soft hand wash type of smell to it rather than the typical alcohol smell that I absolutely hate but put up with for the sake of good hygiene! It also feels quite nice on the hands, I find alcohol rubs can be a little drying but this doesn't seem to be drying my hands out at all, so if you're out buying a hand gel I'd recommend trying this!

Melvita Rose Floral Water £13 - A friend told me about this product and it really appealed to me but after reading about it on feel unique  was a little sceptical about it. It claims to help prevent the appearance of wrinkles, which at 20 years old is not something I'm particularly worried about, I obviously want my skin to look good as I get older but anti-ageing products aren't at the top of my 'must have' list. I did however still buy the product as all the other claims that were made about it appealed to me and I have to say I haven't looked back since. I've been using the water morning and night for about 2 weeks now and I can really tell the difference with my skin, it is really moisturising, so much so that I now skip applying moisturiser on a morning which also helps keep my foundation on longer as moisturiser can sometimes cause it to 'slip away'. The smell of the product is lovely, I don't usually like rpse type smells but this is quite delicate and doesn't seem to linger for a long time.

Orly 'Rage' £3.95 from Cheap Smells - I've seen soooo many reviews and swatches of this nail polish so decided to buy a mini bottle of it, I did a NOTD post on it the other day so for more detail on it see here. I buy a lot of my nail polishes in mini's as it's cheaper and they're far more likely to get used up than bigger bottles that get gloopy after a while.

Until next time...

xxx