I Love Lanolips!

For the past few months I have been using Lanolips products for my lips as a natural alternative to Vaseline. I wanted to use a more natural product because it's something I use all the time and its on my mouth so I guess I will ingest some. Although I love Vaseline and all of those little cute tins I decided to switch to Lanolips, although it is more expensive I can justify the price because it is a natural alternative and it delivers amazing results. It is currently £11.22 for a tube of this, click here to visit the Boots page to find out more.

Lanolips Original 101 Ointment

The original Lanolips 101 Ointment is fabulous! I use it on all dry or irritated skin, mostly on my lips but I have used it on elbows, cuticles and fingers, I tend to bite the skin around my finger nails I know its gross but its a bad habit of mine I'm trying to break and I find that using Lanolips on the worst areas overnight really helps them recover faster.

I currently own the Original Lanolips and the Lemon Aid Lanolips

In my Christmas stocking I got the Lanolips Lemonaid which I wanted for a while when I saw that Fleur de Force used it. I use the Lanolips Lemonaid as more of a lip gloss and more for during the day, I save my 101 Ointment for night time use and I always apply a little in the morning, obviously if my lips were really dry I would be using the 101 Ointment during the day as well.

"Rediscover the magic of lanolin in this heavy-duty, 100% natural ointment like no other. Lanolips 101 Ointment is the purest of pure wonder ointment, made with Lanolips' exclusive 100% Ultra Pure Grade Lanolin. Luxuriously creamy Lanolips 101 Ointment contains 100% pure Ultra Medical Grade Lanolin which literally melts between your fingers. This magical multi-purpose product has multiple uses such as extremely chapped lips, dry cuticles, dry, itchy skin, dry nasal passages and more. Suitable for even the most sensitive skin."

Overall I am so happy I switched to Lanolips, I use it every single day and I don't think I would ever go back to Vaseline, I also feel that with Lanolips it stays on better so it moisturises for longer. I would definitely give these a go if you're looking for a natural alternative or if your just looking to try something new out, this would also be amazing for those who suffer from dry or chapped lips, having a natural product may help your lips and skin heal better and improve their condition.

Natural Collection: Lash Length Mascara Review

The next Natural Collection Mascara I bought was the Lash Length Mascara in Black. This one sells for £1.99, I also bought it in a three for two offer which is on in Boots a few times during the year. Also with a lot of the Natural Collection Products you can buy three for £5.

"Natural Collection Lash Length Mascara creates smooth eyelashes by coating them thinly and evenly-emphasizing even the shortest lashes.  For stunning length and definition to your lashes use Natural Collection Lash Length Mascara." Click here to find out more about this mascara.

Natural Collection Lash Length Mascara

My bare lashes brushed with my MAC lash comb

With two coats of Natural Collection's Lash Length Mascara

My completed look

Overall this mascara didn't give my lashes the look I was after, I felt it clumped quite a lot and gave me an uneven finish. It added a small amount of length to my lashes but nothing amazing even though I applied two coats.

Standard Natural Collection Packaging

I liked the brush of this one but it didn't comb my lashes through very well which lead to clumping

Length: 2/5 This mascara didn't really add much length to my lashes, definitely not as much as it claims. Any length I did get I had to apply a second coat which clumped really badly and got all over my eye lids and was just a mess as the formula was too wet.

Overall Performance: 2/5 I don't think this mascara performed very well, it clumped a lot during application and when I was finished applying it, it still looked clumpy. I had to apply two coats to get any effect and this came with a lot of clumping, I think the style of the brush held a lot of product and didn't comb through the lashes very well. The brush is standard but slightly more point and all of the bristles are the same length gradually getting shorter, the bristles are quite tightly spaced together, I think this made the clumping worse because it didn't separate the lashes at all. The formula was too wet and during application it got all over my eye lids and below my eyes. Although the mascara didn't flake or smudge during the day my lashes did deflate after a few hours of application making them difficult to see at all, I prefer a mascara to hold my lashes in a curl all day, this is the first mascara I have tried that deflated at such a quick rate. It did come off easily with my normal make up wipes.

Volume: 2/5 Although this mascara doesn't claim to add any volume to the lashes, it gave me some volume to a certain extent, however I feel this may be down to the clumping and I would much prefer a smoother effect to my lashes.

Expense: 2/5 For £1.99 this mascara is well priced but for the price I paid and results I got I wouldn't use this mascara again and I definitely wont buy it again. It does get loads of great reviews on the Boots website and I'm sure this mascara works wells for some people, it just didn't work for me.

L.O.V.E RESULT
     8/20

The Body Shop: Coconut Body Scrub

Recently I bought this amazing body scrub from The Body Shop and I love it! It was £12.00 you can buy it here on the official Body Shop website. I also got money off in store that day as they had 20% off for Love Your Body Members.

You can see it is a creamy consistency with small exfoliating bits in it

The product smells divine, like coconut as you would expect."This exfoliating body scrub contains organic virgin coconut oil. It leaves skin soft and smooth, removes dead skin cells, stimulates skin microcirculation, leaves skin feeling soft and smooth, tropical coconut scent"

Body Shop Coconut Body Scrub

I am in love with this body scrub, I love coconut products because I love the smell and am a huge believer in the amazing properties coconut oil contains. This body scrub really leaves my skin feeling so soft and leaves no greasy/oily reside on the skin, I know some body scrubs are meant to be an oily consistency as it helps to moisturise the skin and I do like this but not when I have to have oily skin for the rest of the day therefore I use them more at night. I used this one this morning and my skin feels and looks great, it really cleans your skin and has such a gorgeous smell, I also think this will be great for before I use fake tan as It doesn't leave any residue on the skin and might prevent streaks and give a more even finish. 

The Body Shop does a few different scents in the same Body Scrub range and I can't wait to try more!

Natural Collection: Lash Build Mascara Review

A few days ago I bought some of the Natural Collection Mascaras, they were on three for two and I have some points to spend on my Boots Advantage Card. This mascara retails at £1.99 which is a great price, this collection is also often on a three for two offer in Boots. The first one I tried was the Natural Collection Lash Build Mascara in Black.

"Natural Collection Lash Build Mascara glides on smooth to build great-looking lashes. Perfect for those with sparse & short lashes. Natural Collection Lash Build Mascara creates thicker lashes for extra volume." Click here if you want to find out more about this mascara.

Natural Collection Lash Build Mascara

My bare lashes brushed with my MAC lash comb

With two coats of Natural Collection Lash Build Mascara in Black

My completed look

Overall this mascara was fine, it didn't really give me enough definition and volume despite applying two coats, however it did give me a really nice, soft natural look to my lashes and some people like this natural look so it would be great for those who want this look.

The packaging is standard and the same as all the Natural Collection Mascaras

The brush is very standard with lots of bristles and I found it held a lot of product but didn't clump

Length: 3/5 This mascara didn't add any length to my natural lashes although this mascara doesn't claim to be a lengthening one I did like the effect it gave my lashes, it defined them without clumping but I don't think this would be suitable for those with shorter lashes looking for length.

Overall Performance: 3/5 This mascara performed well to an extent, it didn't clump at all even while applying a second coat, I did feel that the second coat made no difference to the appearance of my lashes. The brush is very standard and is thicker at the bottom and peaks at the top, the brush held a lot of product which I though would lead to clumping but amazingly, it didn't. I found the consistency of the formula to be slightly too watery, I don't mean too wet because it wasn't I just felt that the formula was too thin and didn't make any difference when applying a second coat of mascara, however it did give me a nice natural look and this would be great if this was the kind of look you were looking for. It separated my lashes nicely which again gave a nice natural look to my lashes, fine for days I'm not doing much. The mascara didn't flake, smudge or transfer during the day and comes off easily with my normal make up wipes. Overall the formula just wasn't build-able which the mascara claims to be.

Volume: 1/5 Unfortunately for a lash building and volumising mascara this one just didn't deliver what was promised. I feel I didn't get any added volume to my lashes, close up in the photos above it looks decent but if you were further away you couldn't make out my lashes. Don't get me wrong I did like the natural look and I can use this look on days I don't make as much of an effort, but I think for a volumising mascara this just wasn't good enough for me, but if you just want to define your natural lashes or want a really natural look then it might be worth giving this one a go.

Expense: 3/5 For £1.99 this mascara is well priced, but the price I paid and results I got, I couldn't justify buying this one again, that being said I did like the look it gave to my lashes, it separated them and defined them giving me a lovely natural look and I will use this mascara again until I have used it up.

L.O.V.E RESULT
     10/20

 

 

Chanel Beaute Des Cils Mascara Base

Last week I bought the Chanel Beaute Des Cils Mascara Base because my Dior one needed replaced and I thought I would try a different one for a change. I never bothered with mascara primers before but I decided to try the Dior one about six months ago and now I think they are fantastic! They are great for days you need your make up to last longer and they really help to hold your lashes in place all day, some primers are also enriched with lash caring ingredients which is beneficial for the condition of your lashes. You can also wear some of these lash caring primers at night although I never have.

Chanel Beaute Des Cils

The Chanel primer was £24 which is expensive but I wanted to try it for ages and the Dior one I normally use is £23 so its not a huge difference in price for me, also because you don't need to use it everyday it lasts longer so you don't need to buy it all the time.

"Beaute Des Cils is the 'specific beauty care' for lashes to be used on its own or as a primer. Worn under mascara, it intensifies and prolongs the makeup effect. Applied daily, it protects and acts like a rejuvenating treatment thanks to its nourishing and fortifying formula. Watch your lashes grow stronger." Find out more here.

Without Chanel Beaute Des Cils

With Chanel Beaute Des Cils

You can see the consistency and how it really coats your lashes, after a while it dries clear however some thicker areas of the primer stay white so I wouldn't recommend using this on it's own during the day. After it has dried applying mascara is easier as I usually find I only need the one coat but if you don't let it dry fully I feel like you just wipe it off with your mascara.

Chanel Beaute Des Cils

Brush Applicator

Overall I do like this primer it's just I think I prefer my Diorshow one as I feel it gives better results and I prefer the brush of my Diorshow Maximizer because it really holds my lashes in place all day, I feel that with the Chanel one they do lose some of their shape as the day goes on, not a huge amount but enough to notice the difference between this and my Diorshow Maximizer. The Chanel one is really good though and I will use it up but the next time I run out I will go back to my trusty Diorshow Primer. I also feel that the Diorshow Maximizer gives my lashes a bit more volume than the Chanel Beaut Des Cils. These are the only two eye lash primers I have used so let me know what your favourite one is so I can try others.

The Body Shop's Vitamin E Overnight Serum-In-Oil

Recently I have been using The Body Shop's newest product, the Vitamin E Overnight Serum-In-Oil. I bought this in store in a set with my favourite moisturiser, the Vitamin E Intense Moisture Cream for £16.00 which was amazing because the overnight serum-in-oil is £12.00 alone and the moisturiser is also £12.00 alone so £16.00 for both of them was a bargain! I can't find this combination online and have only seen these sets in store as I think that's where they make them up but let me know if anyone finds them online, click here to find out more about the Vitamin E Overnight Serum-In-Oil.

Vitamin E Overnight Serum-In-Oil

I wanted to try this product as soon as it came out and when I finally bought it I couldn't wait to try it out. I love applying this at night as it feels really great on my tired skin and I usually use a dry oil on my face at night either my Trilogy Organic Rosehip oil or My Vitamin E Facial Oil also by The Body Shop. I didn't feel much difference between the overnight serum-in-oil and the regular facial oil but this serum-in-oil made my skin feel amazing. I did have similar results with my other regular facial oils, but I feel using this one gives my skin more benefit when I feel more tired, have had a long day or my skin is suffering from breakouts or dry areas. I guess what I feel from this product is that it is more of an intense treatment for the skin when I need it and I will continue to use all of these overnight facial oils because I love them all. 

I did think my skin looked more radiant after using this and it didn't leave my skin feeling greasy or looking shiny, which I know at night isn't really an issue but when I wake up in the morning I don't want to look a greasy mess so this overnight serum-in-oil is ideal for me. I think I will use this when I'm traveling, I'm going to Japan in April and this will really help replenish and hydrate my skin after long flights and changes in water and humidity. Overall I do like this product but I think because I already use similar product and have been for the past couple of years, I am used to the amazing effects facial oils have on the skin.

Tanya Burr Lip Glosses

Today my Tanya Burr Lip Glosses arrived from Superdrug! You can view her full range here on the Superdrug website. I have wanted these since they came out and I finally ordered a couple for £6.99 each which is a good price for a quality lip gloss. There is a great range of colours available and they all have the best names!

Tanya Burr Lip Gloss

The colours I ordered were, Picnic in the Park and Just Peachy, I just choose these colours from viewing the pictures on the website, from what I have heard they are really pigmented so I thought the colours would be true.

Left- Picnic in the Park, Right- Just Peachy

Just Peachy is a pale peachy, pink colour, I think it may be slightly too pale for me but I don't currently own a pale/nude pink lip colour so I'm glad I have this now to try out some new looks. 

Just Peachy

Picnic in the Park is my favourite of the two, I just love the colour its a brighter more coral, pink so its great for a fresh spring look.

Picnic in the Park

The glosses are a nice consistency with amazing pigmentation, the colour you see in the bottle is the colour that come off of the wand. It lasts as long as you would expect a lip gloss to last, especially a non-sticky one and because the pigment is so strong the colour lasts a lot longer on your lips and sort of stains the lips even when the gloss has worn off. I love Picnic in the Park it is just beautiful I am going to wear it all the time now and I can't wait to buy more of Tanya Burr's lip gloss collection! 

My New Favourite Soap: The Body Shop's Chocomania

I definitely prefer using soap to shower gel when I wash, although I do like some shower gels I feel that soaps give a better lather and I always feel cleaner when using a soap. I love Lush soaps and have been using various ones for the past couple of years but a couple of weeks ago I discovered The Body Shop's Chocomania Soap. I am already a huge fan of the Chocomania range, I use the body butter and the body scrub but when I saw the soap in a three for two offer in store I decided to buy some. They are £2.00 each which is a good price for a quality soap full of great ingredients but they were also on three for two, I don't know if this is a promotion they always have on in store as I usually shop online, that aside I would still happily pay £2.00 a bar without the three for two because I love them! Click here to visit The Body Shop's website to find out more about this soap.

The Body Shop's Chocomania Soap

This soap smells amazing, like chocolate and I'm a huge fan of chocolate scented products and love cocoa butter because its great for your skin, it also has small pieces of coconut shell which helps to exfoliate your skin. This is so much easier than using body scrub if you just want a gentle exfoliation, I use this mostly everyday, one side tends to be harsher at exfoliating, I think this is just down to the way we hold soap it does mean that the other side is softer and the little fragments don't stick out so much so I switch sides for a more gentle scrub.

The coconut shell fragments are great for exfoliation

The soap lathers up well and leaves my skin feeling clean and fresh, although the soap smells amazing this scent does not come off on your skin which I don't mind, I have perfume for that. The ingredients in this soap are great for your skin, I love using natural ingredients and this product gives me that plus more for such a fantastic price. This soap also lasts longer than the Lush soaps although I still love them, so I use this one for more everyday use as it is more cost effective. I also think this soap would be great for traveling, it can wash and exfoliate in one easy step without taking up too much space or weight, it is also less messy so I will be taking one of these to Japan with me in April and I can't wait!

Bourjois: Beauty'Full Volume Mascara Review

Yesterday I bought some Bourjois Mascaras, they were on three for two and I had birthday money to spend, one of the mascaras I choose was the Beauty'Full Volume Mascara in Black. It usually sells for £7.99 although I bought this in a three for two offer in Superdrug.

Bourjois Beauty'Full Volume Mascara

The mascara claims "Bourjois’ NEW innovative mascara has a Volumising mousse formula and a mega lash styling brush, to leave your lashes looking and feeling silky smooth and super stylish! The mega lash styling brush perfectly coats lashes and gives extreme root-lifting volume in just a few strokes.Lashes feel soft with a flexible hold without looking stiff! Its volumising mousse formula gives instant volume to lashes from the roots, and can be applied layer upon layer without any clumps so don’t be shy!" Click here if you want to know more about this mascara.

Bare lashes brushed with my MAC lash comb

With two coats of the Bourjois Beauty'Full Volume Mascara

My finished eye look

Overall I have to say that I don't really like this mascara because I felt it clumped too much and it made it so frustrating to apply. The first coat was nothing special, it really just defined my natural lashes but as soon as I started to apply a second coat I instantly regretted it, it just clumped so much!

The bottle is a bit chunkier than the standard mascara bottle, I love the colours

The brush is pretty big, it's a normal bristle style brush with lots of bristles of the same length

Length: 3/5 I really didn't feel this mascara added much length to my eye lashes, the length it did add was in the form of tiny little clumps which you can see in the pictures above. The formula was also quite thick so it kind of weighed my lashes down a bit. However this mascara does claim to be more of a volumising mascara so I cant expect it to give me drastic length, my lashes are naturally long anyway but it did define my natural lashes well.

Overall Performance: 2/5 Unfortunately this mascara really didn't do it for me mostly down to the clumping during application and the thick, clumpy look of my finished lashes. The brush is very standard but on the thicker side and it holds quite a lot of product which didn't help with the clumping problem. The formula is slightly too thick which meant that when applying a second coat of mascara it just clumped and took ages to apply it nicely which was annoying. It didn't really separate my lashes well but I think due to the formula being so thick it stuck them all together which gave me a sort of spiky lash look which I know some people like but it wasn't the look that I wanted from this mascara. Overall it was just too thick and clumpy to deliver a fanned out, separated and even result. The mascara didn't flake, smudge or transfer during the day and it came off easily with my normal make up wipes however I did need an extra one because the mascara was quite black and thick.

Volume: 3/5 I suppose this mascara did add volume to my lashes but only through a clumpy and annoying second coat, they still looked clumpy when I finished my makeup. I do know that some people like this sort of look though, a thicker, spikier lash look so I would give it 3/5 because although I didn't like this look personally on myself, other people may like it and it did give volume to my lashes. Plus it actually looked good in photos later from a further distance.

Expense: 2/5 For £7.99 this mascara isn't badly priced, but I feel for the results I got and the price I paid I wouldn't use this mascara again nor will I put it into my daily makeup bag. The formula really was just too thick and prone to clumping and left my lashes looking uneven and clumpy, not the kind of look I am after for my eye lashes.


L.O.V.E RESULT
     10/20

My Valentine...

Matt and I decided to have a quiet Valentines Day today, he was working all day so I made him a meal for coming back home, I say a meal, I really mean the Tesco "Dine in for Two" deal for £10. I just have some pictures of the day, my outfit for the night and the Tesco meal I so lovingly cooked. 

My Valentines Outfit

Matte Red Lips

Big Lashes and Red Lips

Red nails

I thought my favourite bag would be very appropriate for Valentines Day, I just can't resist a chance to wear it.

My Vivienne Westwood

The food we ate tonight was actually really good, the pudding was a chocolate sponge with a gooey salted caramel center and it was delicious!

Main

Dessert

I hope everyone has a lovely Valentines Day, and if your not big on Valentines Day then have a great weekend :D Unfortunately I'm working all weekend but I had a great birthday and Valentines Day!

Body Shop: Vitamin E Skincare Review

I have recently started using The Body Shop's amazing Vitamin E skincare range. My mum gave me a pot of their Vitamin E Intense Moisture Cream at Christmas because my usually combination skin was really dry with the cold winter. I was skeptical because usually "intense" moisturizers just make my skin really oily, but because my skin was so dry and flaky I decided to give it a go, even if it was just for a while to get it back to normal. Now I can say I have found my prefect autumn/winter moisturizer!

Firstly, I use the Vitamin E Intense Moisture Cream in the morning, you can find out more here. So even though this moisturiser is an intense one, it absorbs beautifully into my skin, I have combination/oily skin but this never makes my skin any oilier than usual, in fact I feel it helps it somewhat, even on days I wear only this with no make up, my skin never gets shiny. I really love this product and it is totally worth the money, I feel it really replenishes my skin, making it more radiant and healthier looking even without make up.

The Body Shop: Vitamin E Intense Moisture Cream

The consistency is quite thick and creamy but it glides on to the skin easily and skins in quickly without leaving a greasy residue. The smell is lovely, it just smells fresh and just what a moisturiser should smell like. It is £12.00 which I feel is a fair price because one pot of this will last you ages, you only need a small amount, but The Body Shop have fantastic offers on all the time and I am also a Love Your Body member which means I get 10% off all purchases for a year. Overall this moisturiser is my Holy Grail autumn/winter moisturiser, I wouldn't want to try another one as this one really protects my skin and has really improved the overall condition of my skin.

I have also been using the Vitamin E Eye Cream, I don't have any wrinkles around my eye area and my circles aren't that bad, so I think I just bought this because I wanted to try an eye cream and get into the habit of using one everyday. The skin around the eye area is more delicate than on the rest of the face and so I thought it deserved a little extra attention, it may not do much now but  hope in years to come I will be glad I decided to start using this.

The Body Shop: Vitamin E Eye Cream

This moisturiser claims to protect, smooth and hydrate the eye area while reducing fine lines, puffiness. Visit this page if you want to know more about this eye cream. It really does leave my skin feeling soft and have seen a slight improvement in my under eye circles although they weren't that bad to begin with.

The Body Shop: Vitamin E Facial Oil

At night I usually use Rosehip Oil on my face, but I wanted to try the Vitamin E Facial Oil which I use alternately. It sinks into my skin quickly although I wouldn't use this during the day as I feel on my skin it would make it too oily during the day. At night though it is perfect, I wake up in the morning and my skin looks rested, glowing and healthy. Even after I wash this off and put on my makeup I can still see the benefits shining through, it feels like it really penetrates into the skin and repairs and hydrates it which has a longer lasting effect which lasts for days after use. If I feel my skin is looking a bit dull or I'm feeling tired, have a break out or have dry patches, this facial oil really helps to repair my skin at a faster rate than normal. Learn more about this amazing product here.

I am in LOVE with this amazing Vitamin E rage by The Body Shop, it gives me really great results and I know at the same time it is caring for and protecting my skin. I will try more products from this range, I really want to try the new Over Night Serum and the Face Mask and when I do, I will review them too!

Feeling 22! My Birthday!

So today was my 22nd birthday! I have the week off but Matt was working all day today so my family decided to come and spend the day with me which was lovely. Today I just have some photos of my presents and my day in general. We had an Indian for lunch which is out favourite and because it was my birthday they gave us a plate of free poppadums! 

One of my favourite cards!

Some of the beautiful gift bags I was given.

My mum and dad took us all out for lunch to our favourite local Indian restaurant, we all had our usual favourite curries and we got to try a bit of each others, plus the service was fantastic!

Sauces for our starters

Vegetable pakora, my starter

Vegetable Karahi Curry

Chicken Tikka Masala

Yesterday Matt came home with a birthday cake, I'm never usually fussed with birthday cake now I live away from home but because mine and Matt's birthdays are so close together we decided we would share one.

My Birthday Cake

I have been spoiled for my birthday, plus Matt got me a new camera for my birthday which is just amazing and I can't believe how lucky I have been. My parents are also taking Matt and I to Japan in April to see my sister who lives there, I have never been before and we would never have been able to afford it otherwise so we are both so, so, so grateful and are so excited.

My presents!

Some new mascaras to try, plus look at the mug my sister got me, Bruce from Nemo!

Perfume and Body Shop stuff

My parents got me this beautiful Papyrus birthday card, I thought it deserved some extra attention because my mum couldn't wait to give me it.

Beautiful envelope

My Mum said she bought this because it was like me and my sisters

And it pops up!

My mum kept this in with the card, I thought it was beautiful

I have had such a lovely birthday and got to spend it with the people I love most in the world and that is better than anything. I really miss my family and its hard living further away from them, ok it's only just over an hour on the train, but when I see them waving goodbye to me and walking the opposite way down the street I always want to cry because I already miss them so much. Even thought I'm 22 now I still feel like I need my family close to me and I miss them all the time. But this year my parents are moving to the same city as me because they love it so much, so I'm really excited about that. Tonight when Matt gets home we are just going to sit and watch a film and eat some birthday cake!