August Glossybox

August's Glossybox was International Superstars and included products from all over the world. 

I have to say that as I started writing this post I realised that I left a product out of these pictures, the Alessandro Pro White nail varnish was tucked away safely in my nail varnish draw where it has become a staple. I use it under my nail varnish to prevent my nails from discolouration and to protect them from flaking. 

The DHC Deep Cleansing Oil removes makeup like a dream, however if removing your eye makeup with it you have to be prepared to smudge black all over your face as this can be a bit messy. You massage this into your dry face with dry hands, which seems strange but it is fantastically effective. 

The All for Eve balm has become a handbag staple, its a lovely little product for using on dry lips, I also use this on and areas of dry skin. It has quite a strong herbal scent, which I love but others might not. 

Once again I found another great product in Lipcote, its fab! Just a quick layer over your lipstick, keep your lips parted for a few seconds ad voila!! Your lip colour stays on all day and doesn't flake or bleed. 

I have mixed feelings about the Glossybox lipstick, its a nice consistency and I do like the packaging however the colour is a little bit 'mature'. I have very pigmented lips, they are naturally quite red so although I cant wear very light lip colours I think this is pink is a bit too dark. 

And finally, the crappy product - Vera Valenti eyeshadow palette. Oh dear. First of all this came with one of those crappy eyeshadow applicators that went straight in the bin, secondly the selection of shade was something I would personally never choose - browns (okay I like browns) and greens (words cannot describe the hatred). But worst of all the quality of these shadows is appalling, as you can see from the swatches they are not only poorly pigmented (I had to dig my fingers in the product to get the colour you can see above), but also very very chalky. 

Apart from the eyeshadows I really loved this Glossybox, especially the Lipcote and Eve balm. 

Hair Care

You may have noticed that I have a lot of hair, it comes below my bust after two years of growing. Its also pretty damn thick and subsequently takes a long time to wash, dry and style. I have used a lot of products over the years, from mouses and serums to sprays and creams and have finally learnt what actually works with my hair. 

I try to use the least amount of hair products as possible, I find that the more products I use the worse my hair gets - it becomes flat and crispy, not desirable. 

Naked Shampoo and Conditioner - this is my favourite shampoo brand, they are 97% natural with no parabens nor are they tested no animals. I use a mild shampoo and a nourishing conditioner as my hair has a tendency to become dry and frizzy. These products smell delicious and natural, the smell stays on your hair after washing but isn't overpowering at all. 

Lee Stafford I Hate My Hair The Day Its Washed - this is great for hair that is limp and frizzy after being washed. It adds texture and shine, preventing those days when your hair just wont sit right. I spray this liberally on wet hair before blow-drying.

 V05 Smooth It - This is a great product for adding shine whilst protecting the hair from heat. If you get a bit carried away with this spray it can look like you have slathered lard on your head, when used with caution this product is great. I often spray this onto my natural bristle brush and then brush the product through my hair to distribute it evenly. 

One Palette, three looks.

The Urban Decay Naked 2 is a staple of my makeup routine, with twelve beautiful shades you can create so many lovely looks, here are three of my favourites.

1. Smokey Silvers - this is a great sultry evening look, very sparkly and dramatic. I pack verve onto the lid, and then taking a fluffy brush I blend pistol through the crease, adding extra definition by using a small amount of blackout on the outer corner and blending this into the crease colour. I then take these  colours under the eye with a small angled brush - the black on the outer third, then pistol then verve. I finish the look with plenty of liquid eyeliner, black liner on the waterline and lashings of mascara.

2. Sultry Purples - this is a more toned down look, still great for evenings and can be worn by the more daring in the daytime. I run tease across the lid before packing YDK onto the outer corner and buffing busted into the crease. I run busted under the bottom lashes but keep the waterline clean. I do my signature cat eyeliner and once again add lashings of mascara.

3. Golden Browns - I wear this look all the time, its a great daytime look and really emphasises the colour of my eyes. I use bootycall as an inner eye hi-light and then place chopper all over the lid, blending it out with foxy. Snakebite adds definition and shading through the crease and in the outer corner. I then take chopper under the eye, keeping away from the inner corner as the hi-light really opens up the eyes. I keep the waterline and bottom lashes bare as this allows the golden shadow to stand out. Once again eyeliner and mascara finish off the eyes.

L to R: verve, pistol, blackout, tease, YDY, busted, bootycall, chopper, snakebite.

Five Favourite Brushes.

In a world where makeup brushes can set you back up to £30 its important to know what you are buying and the quality of the brushes that are on the market. Although a lot of the time the rule 'you get what you pay for' does apply, you can pick up some great quality AND affordable brush sets. That being said, here are my five favourite makeup brushes. 

1. Real Techniques Buffing Brush - this brush is a god send to liquid foundation users. By 
using this is small circular motions you can really work the product into the skin thereby creating a flawless and natural finish. You can also build more coverage where it is needed by in effect pushing the product into the skin. This brush is only available in the core set for roughly £20, however apparently the expert face brush is just as good and can be bought separately if you dont want to fork out of a whole load of brushes. 

2. Real Techniques Blush Brush - once again I dont use this brush for what its designed for, but sometimes in life you just have to break the rules! This is a great big, fluffy brush perfect for dusting powder over the T-zone without disturbing foundation. You can buy this one separately for around £10.

 3.Space NK Blush Brush - I use this brush for contour and bronzer. The flattered shape means its perfect for applying colour under the cheekbones. This is such a good quality brush, the bristles are so soft and dense. Although this brush does come with a hefty price tag, £28 I really do recommend it. 

4. Urban Decay Double Ended Brush - this is a hybrid brush, combining the Urban Decay Shadow Brush and Crease Brush. It comes free with the Naked 2 and I presume with the original Naked palette also. I love double ended brushes as they are all you need for creating a simple daytime look and you can therefore chuck them in your makeup bag when going out and know that one brush will do you just fine. 

5. Real Techniques Eyeliner Brush - the perfect brush for your gel eyeliner this brush is the ideal thickness, allowing you to create a neat, thin line or a thick an dramatic cat eye. I also really like the length of the bristles, they make is so easy to do your eyeliner in one sweep as opposed to lots of little movements. Once again this comes in one of the Real Technique core kits for around £20.

Pussy Cat Nails.

A while ago I bought two sets of nail stickers off ebay (seller Janchristie). This is only the second time I have used them, and although they are quite delicate and therefore time consuming to use they do look great. 

All you need is a pack of stickers, nail scissors, tweezers, a pale nail colour and a clear nail varnish. Its really important to have a pale base as the stickers wont show up on anything too dark or too bright. I used Rimmel's Caramel Cupcake and Sally Hansen Maximum Growth. 

1. Paint nails with base colour and leave until completely dry - if the nails are still slightly damp the nail varnish will smudge and it will be ruined. 

2. Cut around the sticker, trying to keep close to the image but allowing a little bit of room for you to peel the image from the backing. 

3. Take your tweezers and carefully separate the sticky front layer from the backing, this can be really irritating, but be patient. 

4. With your tweezers place the sticker on the nail, smoothing it down carefully to ensure that the sticker dosent crease or get air bubbles underneath. 

5. When you are happy with the position of the sticker apply a thin coat of clear nail varnish over the nail to seal the sticker, this will keep it in place and mean the nail will last longer. 

You can buy all different kinds of sticker, from tabby cats to pugs and flowers. I personally like the effect of having a sticker on either just the tumb or ring finger, however if you wanted a more playful look you could put one on each nail, or even alternate between different stickers on each nail. 

Cleaning My Brushes.

Once a week I wash my most used brushes. I find that brushes used on liquid products specifically (foundation, concealer etc) get dirty super easily. Also, because I occasionally get spots I find that it is really important to clean my brushes to remove any bacteria that could be spread all around my face - causing even more spots. 

So here are my dirty brushes, I find that the hardest ones to clean are my eyeliner brush and my concealer brush. With both of these the product gets really deep into the bristles and therefore they require more attention than others. 

For each brush I take a small amount of Johnson's baby shampoo in the palm of my hand and gently swirl the brush around, running it under the water (never holding the bristle end up as this causes water to get in the handel) until the water coming off the brush is clean. Im about to buy some special brush shampoo as this does the job perfectly. The shampoo is really gentle and therefore doesn't cause the dye to run but does manage to remove all of the makeup. Furthermore the shampoo smells really good! 

Its super quick to clean your brushes this way, it probably takes about five minuets or less to clean a big handful. After I've cleaned them I warp them in a clean towel and leave them to dry gradually, I never put them near a heat source (like a radiator) as this can damage the glue and then you suffer from wobbly brush disorder! Like this they probably dry in a few hours, which is fine if you do your brushes in the morning after getting ready and then leave them through the day. 

Everyday Face.

Im a creature of habit and once I find makeup I like I end up doing it every day. On a day to day basis I prefer soft and natural makeup that is relatively quick and easy to do. 

Preparation: Fist of all I make sure my skin is really clean by cleansing with my Nivea cleanser and then using my Clinique Acne Solutions toner. I then moisturise with my Clinique Superbalanced Gel. 

Base: I use my Mac Face and Body Foundation in C1 and buff this into my skin with my Real Techniques Buffing Brush. This gives a light but seamless finish, this foundation is a good colour for me in summer, however in winter I do mix it with some of my Illamasqua Light Liquid foundation in 2. After my foundation I use my Collection 2000 concealer under my eyes, around my nose and on any blemishes and blend this with the Deluxe Crease Brush. These two products both feel light and natural on the skin and definitely dont look 'cakey'.

Cheeks: Over my T-zone I brush Rimmel Stay Matte powder in translucent with my Blush Brush to ensure I dont look too shiny. I then take the Contour Brush and apply Rimmel's Santa Rose blush on my cheeks for a very soft, pretty pink glow. 

Eyes: I use my HD Brows kit in Bombshell alongside my Brow Brush to fill in my brows, some days if Im feeling lazy I do miss the step as you cant actually see all of my brows because of my fringe. However, everyday I do use a Rimmel Glam Eyes liquid eyeliner to create a cat eye, with this I use my Este Lauder Sumptuous Waterproof mascara to give me really defined lashes. I use a few layer on my top lashes for quite a dramatic look and then a tiny amount on the bottom lashes just to define them slightly. 

 Lips: Lastly I use my Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain in lovestruck. When applied heavily this gives a lovely bright lip, but if you just dab the colour on to the lips it leaves a lovely pink flush which makes the lips look healthy and kissable. 

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Hot Rollers.

A few weeks ago I picked up these Revlon Hot Rollers in an attempt to find the perfect way to archive big, bouncy curls. The set is pretty cheap, I picked mine up for about £20 from Amazon, and is really easy to use. 

You simply plug them in and turn them on, when they are hot the red dot on top of the central roller turns white. They do take a little while, maybe 10 minutes to get hot but they are perfect to plug in whilst you do your makeup, dry your hair or have a shower. They are very hot when they heat fully, so if you are very sensitive when it comes to heat you can always use them before they come to the highest temperature. 

There are three different sized rollers, small, medium and large, you get 18 rollers in total - six of each size. The large ones are best used around the crown and top of the head as they give the most volume and softest curls, whilst the smaller sizes give tighter, more defined curls. I find that on my whole head of very long (just below the bust) and thick hair I use about 15 rollers, however this will vary depending on the style of curl you want. 

You get little clips with each roller, which have one curved side and one straight. You simply slip these over the roller, pushing the straight side into the hair at the base of the roller. Although these pins do work well on the small rollers I find on the larger rollers they tend to be a bit rubbish as there is too much hair to be secured my the small pin. However the large rollers dont completely fall out, they just feel slightly loose. Im contemplating buying 6 bigger clips to use on the large rollers, but if your hair is mid-length or short these ones will be fine for you. 

I really love the look of my hair after using the rollers. Its much softer and more bouncy than when I curl my hair with a wand and therefore it looks much more natural. I do brush through my hair with a natural bristle brush when I take the rollers out to break up the curls. I then turn my head upside down and give my hair a quick spray with hair spray to ensure the curls stay in all day - just dont over do it and make them crispy! 

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Henna.

I've hennaed my hair a couple of times in the past, always using Lush's Cacca Marron, a dark chestnut colour. I've loved the results as it adds a warmth and depth to my dark hair. However for summer I fancied something a little different, so on my last trip to Lush I picked up six blocks of Cacca Rouge. 

Initially I was slightly concerned about the bright red claims however I was reassured that over my dark brown hair the results wouldn't be too shocking.

Anyone who has used Henna before will know what a disgusting process it is. Firstly you have to melt the blocks made from natural plant extracts and mix the disgusting stuff until it has the consistency of un-whipped double cream. Its best to apply Vaseline around the hairline to prevent skin staining and then using gloves you slather the hot mixture all over your hair (this takes a while and is best done whilst wearing old clothes that you dont mind ruining). Then wrap your head in cling-film and an old towel and leave for three whole hours!! Washing the henna out is an interesting battle, get in the shower   be patient and just keep washing and when you can tackle it with a wide tooth comb. Your hair will smell of the henna for a couple of days, but its not noticeable unless people are sniffing your hair! The henna leaves your hair so soft, shiny and healthy. 

Before

After

Although it is a bloody palaver I really do recommend using henna on your hair, its so much better than chemical hair dyes and for those searching for the perfect warm chestnut tone or dark red will find their dream hair colour in the form of a smell green block from Lush! The colour last quite a long time, however it does depend on how often you wash your hair and how long you leave the henna on for. I would advise using colour preserving hair products as you really do want to preserve the vibrancy of the initial colour. 

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July Favourites.

This is officially the first edition of what will now be regular 'monthly favourites'. I am officially pulling my socks up when it comes to blogging and shall ensure that I do at least two posts a week. Lately I've been lacking inspiration, however the way to improve my blog is definitely not sitting on my bum thinking about it but rather sorting my self out and getting on with it.

I've tried quite a few new products over the past month and have definitely found some great things. In my July Glossybox I received a HD Brows Kit in 'Bombshell' which has served as a saviour, it allows me to enhance my natural brow shape and use a combination of colours to create a really natural look.
I've also jumped upon the bandwagon and tried the Revlon Kissable Balm Stains, mine is in Lovestruck and my god do I lov it. Im not a big fan of bright lip colours, however this is just lovely! The formula is great as it doesn't feel too try, nor too heavy on the lips.

Revlon Kissable Balm Stain in 'Lovestruck'

I also added to my Real Techniques brushes (I already have the two core sets) with the wonderful Blush Brush. I love all of these brushes, but the blush brush is so wonderfully soft, its great for a sweep of bronzer, a soft blush or finishing a look with powder. In addition I picked up the Sleek Ultra Mattes pallet in dark. Im so impressed with these shadows, for the price they are amazing! I find it really hard to find drugstore completely matte shadows but these are wonderful, Sleek also do a bright matte palette, however personal I find these more neutral shades much more 'me'. The matte shades can be used to make a subtle daytime look, I like using the brown, purple tones and grey shade as they are all very muted. 

 A few of my favourite shades from the palette

I spent a week of July on holiday where finally my summer clothes could leave my wardrobe and I could get some much needed vitamin D. It was so nice to not have to think about layers and warmth, and just pop on a pair of shorts and a crop top, this Silence and Noise cream lace top was perfect for hot days and evenings, it has a deep V in the back which makes is really sexy and means it looks fab when your hair is in a high bun. However it was a big shock when I came back to England and realised I could no long wonder around in a bikini and little top! In my state of fashion confusion I picked up these American Apparel Easy Jeans in the really light wash, they totally cured my fashion block. They are not only so comfy and flattering but they are also very easy to wear; you can just throw on a cute top and cardigan and then (sadly necessary in England) a leather jacket.

After coming back from holiday the pressure of the 'beach body' has no longer been ensuring eat well and watch my weight and therefore I have transformed into a major piggy. My food favourite of the month has to be Eat Natural Bars, all the flavours are amazing, however these almond, apricot and yoghurt ones are delicious. They deliver the perfect sugar kick without being full of calories and bad stuff. And OH MY GOD the brazil nut, cranberry and dark chocolate bars, well they are so good I could happily eat a whole box. 

July Glossybox.

Last month's box came just after I got home from holiday, which was annoying because this box was a 'festival' box and was therefore full of summery, lightweight and speedy products which are ideal for sun-seekers. But hey-ho I can still enjoy last month's lovely in the beautiful English sun (if only...)

The stand out product this month was the HD Brows brow kit. I've been lusting after one of these for months, I've struggled to find a colour ashy enough but these are just perfect. Although the palette is actually 'Bombshell' and is therefore designed for blondes, but the combination of colours still works perfectly with my hair colour. The four different shades allow you to build a more 'multi-dimensional' look. 


I also really like the Jelly Pong Pong Lip Frosting. This can be used on both lips and cheeks for a lovely pink glossy finish. Although Im by no means the biggest fan of lip glosses this isn't too stick so it gets a thumbs up. On the cheeks it gives a soft sheen and a light colour, although at first it is quite tacky on the skin it does feel better after a few minutes. 

When I first saw the Monu Gloden Glow gradual tan I was a bit cautious. However I applied it in a small patch on my arm and a few hours later was shocked by the colour. It developed quickly and instead of looking ridiculously orange as most do on my pale skin, this looked very natural. Shame about the full size price though!! 

I also received a Clynol Salon Exclusive Enrich Colour Shampoo which is perfect timing as I just coloured my hair with Henna and want to ensure the colour stays vibrant. I have been using the Aussie colour protecting products but it will be nice to try out a more luxury brand. 

Lastly the box also contained a sample of Elizabeth Arden Visible Difference Skin Balancing Lotion. This is light weight formula with SPF 15, so its a great summer product for those with great skin who have the confidence to go bare faced out in the sun. I cant stress the importance of using products with SPF in summer, I speak from experience. Having really pale and delicate skin on my face I have learnt the hard way that you must put suncream on your face (I have the mistake of missing out my face to thank for millions of freckles) and, ideally a special product designed for the face as many normal suncreams can irritate the sensitive skin on your face, especially around the eyes and mouth. 


I also received small samples of Elizabeth Arden Visible Difference Exfoliating Cleanser and Optimising Skin Serum. i have to say that I havent used these yet as firstly, Im stuck in my ways with my skin care routine and secondly Im not a big fan of sachets of samples and I have to admit they usually end up in the bin. 

Loved the July Glossybox, the HD Brows Kit was a stand out product as it is such a wonderful product  and is great quality as the shadows last all day, 

Turkey!

I have recently returned from a week spent in the beautiful Turkish sunshine with the boy and thought I would share some holiday pictures. 
We had such a great week, filled with laughs, messing around in the pool, watching desperate housewives and drinking too much wine and too many cocktails!