Tuesday 30 April 2013

Alice in Wonderland Tea Pot Necklace

KrisXChi Vintage Jewellery

ALICE IN WONDERLAND PINK AND GOLD DETAIL TEA POT NECKLACE*






I am a huge fan of vintage and quirky jewellery pieces and often buy from independent sellers for something unique from all of the high street stores. I was so chuffed when I was kindly gifted this beautiful necklace from Kris X Chi Vintage Jewellery at the Brum Blogger Meet Up! Each blogger was given something from Kris X Chi which was chosen after she checked out our blogs - she gave us a piece of jewellery based on what she thought suited us and this is something I fell in love with, so she was spot on!

All of Kris X Chi Jewellery is handmade which is something I do prefer when buying jewellery - it shows how much hard work and thought has gone into your piece.

 I love the cute little tea pot - it is so me! 
It is on a 26 inch chain with gold and floral detailing on the little tea pot, it is so precious!
I love the little heart clasp too, it is so different to anything I have seen before.
I love the little bags too, so cute and vintage!

I have already looked online to see what other beauties they sell and have worked up a little wishlist in my head ready to buy!

You can buy from Kris X Chi in the marketplace on ASOS here and on their website.
You can also find their Twitter here.


xxxx

Saturday 27 April 2013

Birmingham Blogger Meet Goodie Bag

I had a fantastic time at the Brum Blogger Meet Up on Saturday, the girls did an amazing job! We were all so kindly given goodie bags to take home too, which was such a lovely and kind thing for the girls to organise for us!
Thank you Sara, Hayley and Chloe :)




Cant wait to use all of these lovely things!


Lovely little name tag on the bag! Cute touch!


Lovely goodies given to us after the talks by Benefit, Bodhi Skincare, John Lewis and KrisXChi





I won this beautiful set of Paperself eyelashes on the raffle!


Special Thanks to all of the companies involved! 
KissDr HauschkaWeledaBalm Balm,
Smooch CosmeticsKukeeTails.   


I really hope I haven't missed anything off, I don't think I have!

I have tweeted all of the companies to say thank you personally as I really do appreciate the kindness of them sponsoring the Brum Blogger Meet :)
I will be using and reviewing these lovely things very soon so do keep your eyes peeled!

BIG THANK YOU TO ALL OF THOSE LOVELY COMPANIES!

xxx


Thursday 25 April 2013

Nivea Express Hydration Primer

Nivea Daily Essentials
Express Hydration Primer
Dry & Sensitive Skin



Information:

 This product aims to moisturise your skin and to absorb instantly so that make up can be applied straight away. It aims to keep our skin feeling moisturised all day and to keep your make up stay put. It is contained in a 50 ml glass jar. It retails for around £5.05. This particular Primer is for Dry/Sensitive Skin.

Packaging:

As you can see, the product is held in a small little glass jar, with a pink lid which initiates what skin type it is aimed for. The box has information about the product which I have since thrown away.

Product:

 The product feels and looks like a light moisturiser. For me, it suited my skin type even though I have quite oily skin, I bought this as I have had very dry skin the past two months and it works great for me. If applying too much though it doesn't work well for me, so I would suggest using a small amount.

My thoughts:

For me, I had to use the tiniest amount of this primer every time I used it as it would make my face look super greasy. It applied nicely and made my make up stay on all day which is good. The only downfall which really struck me was that it was definitely not a product which absorbed instantly. Whenever I use it, even very lightly, I have to wait at-least 15 minutes before applying my make - up which is kind of annoying if you are in a rush! In general though I do quite like the product itself and would consider buying it again in the future.

You can purchase the primer from Superdrug.

Have you tried any of the new Nivea range yet?


Tuesday 23 April 2013

Birmingham Blogger Meet!

Last Saturday (20th April) I attended another Blogger Meet Up in Birmingham, organised by Sara, Hayley, and Chloe. The girls had been organising the meet up since the end of January, and they pulled out all the stops! 

We met at Starbucks at 12.45, where the girls then gave us a little quiz to fill out through out the day. It had a variety of beauty questions and a few general questions about Birmingham. I thought this was a really fun thing to do and got us all thinking!

Birmingham Based Beauty Blogger, Birmingham Blogger Meet Up


We then split up to grab something to eat, meeting back at Selfridges for a guided fashion tour around the clothing brands inside Selfridges with a bit of background information on them. It was an interesting talk and I was surprised at how many clothing brands were in Selfridges - I've never really looked at the clothes! Thank you to the two ladies (Apologises I didn't catch their names) that showed us around .

After the fashion tour around Selfridges, we split into little groups to go shopping. Our group ended up going into Superdrug, Lush and Topshop, and with it being an absolutely gorgeous day, we decided we would sit by the fountains in the fresh air for half an hour or so afterwards to chill out and chat. Me and Clare had met up beforehand and realised there was an event going on near the fountains for ST Georges Day by Heart FM, with live music, entertainment and attractions, so it was a nice add to the day. 


The lovely Tasha


Lovely girls Sarah and Clare



Me and my buddy Clare



At around ten to four, we then head off to meet the other girls at Bar Room Bar located in The Mailbox, where the girls had organised talks from Benefit, John Lewis, Bodhi Skincare and also KrisXChi Jewellery to get lots of information on their product lines which was great. Each of these companies very kindly gave each of us some of their products which was so, so kind of them! I am so grateful and appreciative of that.


Benefit They're Real and Fake Up


KrisXChi Alice In Wonderland Pink and Gold Detail Tea Pot Necklace
(The jewellery pieces were personally chose to suit us - how absolutely lovely is that! Spot on with me - I love anything cute, ditsy and girly)



Bodhi Skin Care Products



Lovely samples and a Liz Earle Body Lotion from John Lewis


       



A few of the bloggers at Bar Room Bar





Strawberry Daiquiri

After the talks, we were each given raffle tickets to hold onto until the end of the night and handed in our little quizzes from the morning! The people that answered the most correct won some amazing prizes! 
We all received something lovely from the raffle too, mine being these beautiful eyelashes. I love them, they have little bows all around them and they are adorable!
Paperself Eyelashes

We munched on yummy food (mine being the 6" Americana Pizza!) and sipped on cocktails, Sara's mum even made a cake! How lovely is that! I don't have a picture of the cake but it was in the same design as the Brum Blogger Meet Logo! I thought it was a lovely touch ontop of all the other lovely things the girls had planned it literally was the icing on the cake!



We were also very kindly given a goodie bag to take home full of oh so many lovely things.... I cant believe the amount we were given, I cant wait to start trying everything and share with you guys here on my blog all of these great things.
A big Thank You to all the brands involved and off course Sara, Chloe, and Hayley.

I had a great time on Saturday, I chatted to a few bloggers I had met before and some I hadn't so it was great to meet new people! It was a gorgeous day (not a rain drop insight!) and I really enjoyed myself. So much thought, hard work, time and effort went into planning and organising and lots of kudos to the girls as it was a fantastic day!









Thursday 18 April 2013

Stylight - Creating Style Boards To Suit You (the fun way!)


"STYLIGHT is the most adorable fashion community on planet earth
that lets you create stunning fashion mood boards
with your favourite photos, videos, songs, quotes and fashion finds."

You know when you are really after some inspiration for what to wear with that beautiful mint skirt you have your eye on but you just cannot find anything? 
Stylight is a website where you create your own fashion mood boards for pretty much any occasion.
You can search other peoples boards for ideas and follow them on your feed!
There are over 70 stores on Stylight with over 400,000 fashion items. You are bound to find something you like!
Stylight is a big online community which doubles up as a search engine for all our stylish wants, needs and wishes! This is something that really appeals to me as I love sharing and communicating with like minded people, finding inspiration from other peoples ideas in fashion and style, and also find it really helps me create the ideas in my head for looks and outfits much more precisely.

Below you can see a image of my feed on Stylight, where it shows all the users I follow, and show their latest boards they have created! I love looking at inspired outfit posts - and seeing how people have recreated their look from their boards!



My favourite though it to make my own inspiration boards for outfits - I am useless at putting outfits together so I love to make these to give me a helping hand!

Making your board
You can type in anything (for example, I typed in 'mint') into the search box and an array of different items from various stores that are suitable to your search queries will appear on your screen. 
You can even alter the price range, brand, colour and popularity in your searches!




Then, you just hover your mouse over your chosen item and 'heart' or save to your board. Simples!

Below, you can see my Mint Casual Outfit board! I love that you can see all of the items together, and that you can also add quotes, photos, videos and music! You can share your on pictures of you wearing the clothes or perhaps photographs of you in a similar, inspired outfit to give others inspiration!  Maybe you are trying to find an inspired look of your favourite celebrity  Upload a picture of them to your board and go searching! You could even add your own music to suit the mood of your style, and share with your friends!



By clicking on any item on Stylight, you can go straight to the shop if you want to purchase it, so it is pretty much like styling your outfit to perfection without even having to leave the house!


You can sign up to Stylight by clicking here.

What do you think of Stylight? Will you be signing up and making your own fashion mood boards?
Let me know if you do, I would love to see your wish boards!
Mine is zoeliannex if you were wondering :)
xxx


Tuesday 16 April 2013

Daily Face #1


Daily Face!
#1

Hi everyone, I am sharing with you the make up I am wearing today, which I have cheekily decided to name 'daily face'. I know, , I am so creative and hilarious (not!).
I will be doing these posts once or twice a fortnight, I have never been consistent with sharing OOTD/FOTD posts so hoping this will change soon with a new schedule for blogging set up!
I now blog every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday!

Products Featured in Todays Daily Face:

Nivea Express Hydration Primer
Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer in 1 Fair
Rimmel Match Perfection Foundation in 010 Light Porcelain
No 7 Natural Blush Cheek Colour in 22 Candy Pink
FCUK Bronzer (no name)
Collection Pressed Powder in 18 Ivory
MUA Proffesional Eyes Primer
GOSH Eye Shadow Palette in 001 Nude Passion
MUA Trio Eye Shadow in Pink Sorbet (brown shade)
Stila Fiber Optics Mascara in 02 Brown
Soap and Glory Thick and Fast Mascara
MUA Pro Brow Kit
Soap and Glory Smoulder Kohl
Soap and Glory Super Cat Felt Eye Liner
Maxfactor Lipstick in 510 English Rose




Let me know if you like these types of posts!

Saturday 13 April 2013

Essie Dupe for £1 - New MUA Nail Polish in Pistachio Ice Cream

MUA Pistachio Ice Cream - £1


Hi everyone! Quick post today, briefly talking about the new MUA nail polishes. Sorry about the instagram pictures, I have been having camera problems for a while now but thought I would pop this up anyway.

MUA have recently released a new line of nail polishes, and in there own words, have "new shades, new bottle and a new and improved brush!"

I have only used one of their older nail polishes before, but do agree that the brush on this new polish is slightly better. I really like the new bottle design too, I know it looks so much like the Essie polishes, I really think MUA are making their newer products look so much more nicer and they look more expensive than what they are.

The polish I chose was Pistachio Ice Cream, which has been dubbed as a good dupe for Essie Mint Candy Apple. I have never owned that polish but looking at reviews and pictures online, I would say the colour is very similar. 
As for the polish itself, I have had it on 3 days now and it has not yet chipped. Quite good for a £1 polish! I did find I needed 3 coats though to get the best colour pay off.

The new colours in the line are really lovely, spring inspired colours. I decided to just pick one as I am not much of a nail artist, infact I am useless at nails as you can see my nails are really short and messy!
I paired this with a lilac toned pink from Collection (2000) and a nude brown from Models Own. I thought it was very Spring - esque!

The link to their new Nail Polishes you can find here.

Have you tried any of their new polishes? 




Thursday 11 April 2013

April Wish List







1. 8 Aperture Turnstyle Frame, £25, Next 
2. Kardashian Leopard Print Purse £25, Dorothy Perkins
3. Single Leather Bracelet - Black £40, Pandora
4. Listography - Your Life in Lists, £8.27, Amazon
5. Ombre Print Mug £3, Matalan
6. Womens Dr Martens 8 Tie Boots in Patent Red £65 (sale), Schuh

I haven't really been lusting after much this month. The only thing I really want to get my mitts on is the Listography book. I have seen reviews of it and I think it sounds really interesting and something great to keep and be able to look back on in years to come. I think I am going to ask for it for my Birthday which is at the end of May, so I have something nice to keep and remember it by. I kind of want a new purse too, I put off getting a new one because I am so fussy when it comes to purses but I fell in love with this Kardashian Kollection purse from Dorothy Perkins, I love the leopard print. I have never owned anything from Pandora as I don't tend to wear gold or silver jewellery often unless it is a special occasion - I am more of a costume jewellery girl. When I looked at this leather bracelet though I just instantly liked it, as it is not too delicate and I could probably wear this every day. I love Dr Martens but find the price a little too out of my budget so it is usually just dreams of owning a pair but I have been toying with the fact these are on sale...in my size... but I just don't know if I would buy them. I do love them though. A really random and very affordable on my wishlist is this blue and white ombre mug, I think it is so cute and although I have millions of mugs I just really want this! I saw this Next turning photo frame online about two weeks ago and it is so cute, I really like shabby chic and love having photographs on show in my room. 

Anything you have been lusting after lately?

Tuesday 9 April 2013

Nivea Lip Butters in Caramel Cream and Raspberry Rose

Its no secret that I am a huge lip balm fan. I have so many I am sure I am backed up for life. Anyway, when I heard a few months back Nivea were bringing out some lip butter balms, I couldn't wait to try them. And coincidently I had entered a give away and luckily received both the Raspberry Rose and Caramel Cream Lip Butters!


Nivea Lip Butter in Raspberry Rose and Caramel Cream  £2.25* each
Available at Boots and Superdrug

As you can see, these Nivea Lip Butters are packaged in extremely cute little screw tin pots which are very slim and easy to travel with. Unlike most lip balms stored in metal tins, these are really easy to open! They are scented and they both smell beautiful. My favourite is caramel cream, it smells delicious and I am constantly licking it off my lips. Raspberry Rose smells quite floral and sweet, just like raspberries, whereas caramel cream smells.. well just like caramel! They are both moisturising on the lips, but I find caramel cream much more moisturising out of the two. Both of these products are sheer just like the majority of lip balms. The lip balms last a good 8 hours with my lips still feeling very moisturised and soft. 
I would buy these in future as I find them really moisturising and worth the hype.

Have you tried any of the Nivea Lip Butters?



Sunday 7 April 2013

My Lipstick Collection!

Lipstick Collection!



Hi hunnis, hope you are all well. I have been wanting to post a lipstick collection for a good while now, but I have just been pretty busy I haven't had chance to get round to it until now. My collection is not huge but I would say I do have a fair few lipsticks and I definitely do not need to buy any more! The lipsticks are mainly drug store but there are a few random ones in there too. I usually go for very similar toned lipsticks as you will see, there is a fair few muted pinks! 


MAC Lipsticks - M.A.C Red, Pink Plaid

These two are the only MAC products I own as of yet, and they are fairly recent purchases. M.A.C Red (Back 2 Mac) is a pure red which I knew I instantly wanted. It has a Satin Finish and is very long lasting. I don't own any pure reds and I wanted a good quality red so it would last through out the day. Pink Plaid is a very pretty pink which I find really wearable for every day. The finish on this lipstick is Matte which is probably my favourite finish on a lipstick. It is highly pigmented and I use this a lot.

MUA Lipsticks - L-R: Shade 3, Shade 7, Shade 9, Shade 12, Shade 14

As you can see I have a little selection of MUA lipsticks, as they only cost a pound each they are so easy to pick up and try out any old colour. My favourite of all five is the nude (shade 14) which is long - lasting and a beautiful colour. Shade 3 and 12 are lipsticks I picked out when I was feeling daring and haven't used very much yet as I am not confident enough to pull off a very bright pink lip. Shades 7 and Shade 9 I use quite a lot as they are really pretty and quite moisturising on the lips for such a tiny price tag. 

Jemma Kidd Make Up School Ultimate Lipstick Duo in 11 Rita, 12 Dolly

These lipstick duos are double ended and have a balm on either side. I don't really tend to use the balm to be honest. Rita is a very pretty dark nude and Dolly is a very 'dolly pink'. I like the colours but I was not impressed with the quality - Rita pretty much snapped off when I first tried it, and both lipsticks are very thin so I find it difficult to apply from the tube.

Natural Collection Lipsticks - Coral Shimmer, Rose Bud

I used to have a lot of Natural Collection lipsticks but they seem to have disappeared! I could only find these two which are both pretty colours. Coral Shummer is a very 'Salmon' colour which I adore, I am not brave enough for matte corals so this is quite a sheer coral (but is build-able for pigmentation). Rose Bud is a lipstick I bought a while back but hasn't really been used much. I find these products to break inside the tube after a short amount of time owning them, has anyone else found that?


Rimmel - L-R: Lasting Finish by Kate Moss in 03, Lasting Finish by Kate Moss in 08, Lasting Finish by Kate Moss in 19, Lasting Finish in 077 Asia, Lasting Finish by Kate Moss in 101

I am a big fan of Rimmel Lasting Finish lippies, in particular the Kate Moss range. The ones I own are all pretty much pink/nude tones and very moisturising  My least used one is Asia, I just don't tend to reach for this colour as its quite dark on the lips and I don't think it suits me very much, but is still a very pretty colour. 03, 08 and 19 are very pigmented and last for about 4 hours on the lips.


Maxfactor Colour Elixir in 610 Angel Pink, No 7 Moisture Drench Lipstick in 40 Pink Lemonade

Angel Pink by Maxfactor is a beautiful girl-y baby pink, which I adore, it is one of my favourites. It applies so nicely to the lips and feels so moisturising, if you want to see swatches click on the link to the blog post I have written previously as there are swatches and a full review on there. Pink Lemonade by No 7 is VERY moisturising, almost feels like a lip balm once on. I haven't used this as much as I had thought I would have, as it is so sheer and seems less pigmented than when I first bought it. It is very similar to my lip colour which is why I tend not to reach for it as much.

Soap and Glory Lip Stick in Perfect Day, Sleek True Colour Lipstick in 775 Liqueur 

I bought the Soap and Glory lipstick on a whim, and I have got to be honest that I have only tried it once. It is very dark on the lips and I am not quite confident enough to pull it off, so this may be given to my sister. It seems a nice product but it looks a lot different on the lips than when I swatched in store before I bought it. It is a very dark pink. The sleek lipstick is my go - to every day lipstick. It lasts well, and is a muted pink which adds a touch of colour to the lips. The formula of the lipstick is good as it lasts all day and does not cause any chapping or dry lips.

Barry M Cosmetics Lip Paint in 152 Vintage Rose

This is a gorgeous colour. Sorry the photo does not do it justice, the camera I was using kind of gave up on me towards the end! This a really deep pink berry colour. I adore this. This is the first Barry M lip paint I have ever tried and I must say it is very mositurising on the lips, I definitely recommend. 


Maybelline Baby Lips Lip Balm in 30 Peach Kiss, MUA Lip Boom in Its A Situation, Barry M Lip Lacquer Crayon in No 2

These products are not exactly classed as lipsticks but I thought I would add them here anyway. The Baby Lips Lip Balm is almost like a sheer lipstick so I thought I would include it here too. It is super moisturising, albeit not the greatest lip balm, I like the sheer peach colour to it. MUA Lip Boom is a very dark red, not moisturising, leaves your lips very dry, doesn't last very long, BUT is a beautiful colour. It is a deep red/almost purple tone. The lip gloss on the other side is quite nice alone, but I wouldn't usually put it with the lipstick.
The Barry M lip crayon is a product I wouldn't normally use as I have never really used many lip crayons or pens, but I love this. It is a bright, sparkly red which lasts really well and feels very creamy on the lips. I want to get more of these!

Soap and Glory Sexy Mother Pucker in Punch Bowl, Accessorize Diamond Sparkle Lip Gloss in Shade 1 Magical, Front Cover Lipgloss Duo

These are the only lipglosses I own, so I thought I would share them here also! Sexy Mother Pucker Lipgloss - I never understood the hype for this! I cannot stand this lip gloss, it is so, so sticky! I always hear great reviews about these lip sticks but I just find this ridiculously sticky I cannot cope with it on my lips for longer than 20 seconds. The Accessorize lipgloss is the complete opposite. Its not sticky at all, gives great colour pay off and looks nice on top of all of my muted pink lipsticks! The double ended Front Cover lipgloss (I cant find the name) is quite nice, a little sticky but bearable. I prefer the light shade as it is quite sheer, the bright pink is a little gloopy and I don't use it much.


That is it! All my lipsticks, I quite like my collection I just need to be a bit more daring and try and wear the colours I am wary of.
I have left links to my blog posts on reviews for each individual lipstick if you want to see a full review, swatches and to see what they are like on the lips.If you would like to see a review of any of the other lipsticks which I haven't already reviewed, do let me know and I will do that next :)

What is your staple lip colour?







Saturday 6 April 2013

Sleek iDivine Palette in Lagoon

Review and Swatches: Sleek iDivine Palette in Lagoon
Aqua Collection Limited Edition

Hi lovelies. Today I am reviewing a stunning eye shadow palette  by Sleek which I picked up a few weeks ago. I am a huge fan of Sleek i-Divine palettes and already own a fair few, I couldn't help but add this beauty to my collection.



Packaging and Information:

You can buy this palette for a limited time only in selected Superdrug stores or Superdrug online, the palette costs £7.99 and contains 12 eye shadows.  The packaging is in the normal sleek (heh) black case with a large mirror above. The palettes are very slim so are great for travelling. 

Pigmentation:


The pigmentation of the eye shadows is very high, as you can see from the swatches below. I really like the quality of these eye shadows as they are always long lasting and highly pigmented.



Swatches:


L-R: Sassea, Deep Water, Reflection, Emerald, Oyster, Black Pearl.

L-R: Pink Jewel, Sand Dollar, Underworld, Sea Shell, Night Sky, Ariel.


What are my overall thoughts?

I think the pigmentation of the eye shadows is really good. I like the selection of colours and think the names of the colours suit them well. The eye shadows stay in place all day and blend out very nicely. I have tried a few colourful looks with these eye shadows and I really liked experimenting with the pretty colours such as Ariel and Emerald. I think this palette would be ideal for someone that is adventerous or loves a lot of colour and mixing their make up a bit, and it is so affordable too if like me, you like to experiment but not quite sure to start. My fave ee shadow is Ariel, probably because its such a girly colour and reminds me of Disney's Little Mermaid which I adored as a child!
 I really like Sleek products especially their iDivine palettes as they are of great quality and such a small price too. I would repurchase this again if I was able to but unfortunately it is limited edition so I would get one quick if you are after one! If I were to rate it out of 10 I would rate this product 8/10.


Are you a fan of Sleek iDivine palettes?