Travel Series: Carry On Bag!

Whenever you go on a plane you always need to have that little bag of goodies to keep you occupied throughout the flight. I'm feeling a bit un-organised and haven't actually found a bag to take on the plane but I do know what I'm going to put in it! (hooray!)

The things I will be taking are: My passport and purse, for obvious reasons! A book, a lip balm (with spf!) my camera, I was taking the picture on my camera so I just put the little pouch I put it in instead. My travel sickness tablets (boo!) a pen and the book at the back with tinkerbell and peter pan on it, which is my blog book that I write all my ideas and notes in, just in case I think of anything while I'm away! Always thinking of you guys ha-ha! 
Can't believe I'm on a flight at 8am tomorrow morning! Means I have to be awake at like 6am, complete madness! 

(I typed this post up on Saturday morning and scheduled it to post on Sunday morning because I'm at work so I'm hoping this works!)  
Xx

Travel Series: Wash Bag!

Part 2 of my little travel series! This is what I am taking in my wash bag.

so what's in my big gold wash bag? 
I am taking my clinique 3 step facial cleanser, foaming wash and moisturiser, clean and clear oil free make up remover, a hair band to push my hair back, deodorant, hairspray, hair brush, toothbrush, tooth paste, cotton wool pads, skin tablets and a Victoria secret body splash! 
Looking at it all laid out it looks like I'm taking a lot of stuff, typical girl over packing everything, oops! 
Xx   

Travel Series: Make Up!

I am off to Chicago on Monday and in the spirit of travelling I thought I would do a little travel series of posts. First up, the make up!

So the make up I am taking in the bigger bag is a hand sanitiser, my basic face make up (foundation, powder & matte powder to prevent oil), a blush & benefit high beam because I switch between them sometimes. As well as Make up remover wipes and the little pot at the front which is my rimmel primer, see here to see why its in there  (essentials!). For some reason I forgot to include the eye shadows in the picture but I'm taking my Naked pallet and my MUA pretty pastels pallet and an eye primer!

 In the smaller bag I put my brushes. The ones I am taking are my foundation, flat topped powder brush, my big powder brush, blush brush, concealer brush and 3 different sized eyeshadow brushes. Typically I would put this bag inside the bigger bag and then put the make up on top so its all kept together! I am thinking about taking my sephora brush cleaning wipes just to wipe them over during the week. 


Xx

Halloween Giveaway! WINNER

My Halloween Giveaway has now finished! Congratulations to Imogen from ImogenRoseBeauty !! 

Thank you to those of you that entered, do not worry if you didn't win there will be plenty of opportunities and giveaways, promise! 

Well done again Imogen, Enjoy your prizes! 

Xx

Clinique Free Gift (with purchase)

I got an e-mail last week from Debenhams as part of the beauty club informing me of the clinique offer running at the moment. When you purchase two items from the clinique counter, one must be a skincare product, you get a free gift. I must say this is one of the best free gift packages I've had from Debenhams. Before I show you I'd like to point out that this offer is exclusive to Debenhams I believe, I checked Boots and House of Fraser and neither were offering the gift. 
I went in today and picked up a clarifying lotion as I was out as well as a blusher brush which is sooo soft! Then I got this: 

So if you buy two items you get all of this, for FREE! In the make up bag you get an eyeshadow quad, facial soap, lip smoothie, mini dramatic lash mascara, all about eyes dark circle cream and an anti-ageing cream. Personally I think that's pretty awesome for a free gift! This offer ends on the 29th October (I believe) so if you are liking what you see get yourself down to your local debenhams clinique counter and bag you free gift. 
I am not affiliated with debenhams or clinique, I just saw this offer and wanted to share it with you all! 
Let me know what you think of the gifts! 


HALLOWEEN GIVEAWAY FINISHES TOMORROW MORNING, GET YOUR ENTRIES IN ASAP. CLICK HERE TO ENTER. 
Xx

Top Tips Part Two: Oily Skin

This is part two of my Top Tips series (obviously char, it says it in the title) and today I will be talking about the things I do to prevent oily skin.

I got oily skin from using one product, bio oil. It was so hyped up about removing acne scars and I was desperate to get rid of mine so I used it for about two weeks then realised what a mistake I had made. I had never had oily skin before then and bio oil ruined that, looking in the mirror all I could see was shine, I could feel the oil when I touched my face, it was horrible. Safe to say I haven't touched it since! Now this is just my experience with it and I am not saying that you shouldn't use it if its working for you. 

I discovered my holy grail of setting sprays in debenhams one day. The Urban Decay 'De Slick' setting spray (£19) which you spray on before you apply a primer and again when you have finished all your face make up. It seriously helped to cut down on the shine and oil (horray!) The next thing I worked into my make up routine about a month ago was the Rimmel 'Stay Matte' powder(£3.99), I lightly dust this over my face with my ELF powder brush (£3.50) concentrating on my forehead, cheekbones and chin. Bye Bye shine & oil! Of course those things wont banish the shine all day, everyday, so for those moments when a little shine creeps up on you I always have an ELF clarifying pressed powder (£1.50! Bargainus!) and a small powder brush (Primark £1.50) to dust the shine away! 

If you have any questions please let me know, I am more than happy to answer them! 

TWO DAYS LEFT ON MY HALLOWEEN GIVEAWAY, ENTER HERE! :)

Xx

October Glossybox!

It's that time of the month again, no not that one.. or the monthly favourites one. Its GlossyBox time!

Here is the contents of the box. The theme this month was "Six Pack - The GlossyBox to end any beauty drought" 
This months products were:
- Dermalogica Age Smart multivitamin thermafoliant (?)
- Dermalogica Age Smart multivitamin power recover masque
- Leighton Denny nail polish in baby pink
- Stila smudge stick in moray
- 3 x Robert Piguet eau de parfums samples
- Dermalogica Age Smart renewal lip complex
- Dermalogica beauty bag
This month came with a fair few products and looks like an over all good box. I'm excited about trying the nail varnish and the perfume samples. Check back for a full review of all the products mentioned once I have had a chance to try them all out! 


THREE DAYS LEFT ON MY HALLOWEEN GIVEAWAY, CLICK HERE TO ENTER :D 
Xx

Top Tips Part One: Dry Skin

This is part one of my three part blogging series of Top Tips for different skin types. The first part is my little tricks and tips on controlling or banishing that horrible dry skin! This is not me, in any way, saying you MUST do these things, its just a little bit of advice. 

The products:
My top 3 products I use to combat the dryness are E45 cream, Liquid foundation and Rimmel Primer. When I discovered the rimmel primer I was like "OMGTHISISPERFECT!" it has the consistency of a moisturiser so when you apply it it feels like your skin is getting a little bit of moisture instead of a silicone formula which I found just made my skin worse! Using a liquid foundation as opposed to a powder will help cover any dryness by covering the dry patch instead of exaggerate it by clinging to the dry areas and not blending properly. Finally E45 cream, I will pick this over any facial moisturiser any day! Not only does this moisturise, it soaks in super quick and can help to reduce any redness caused. 
A couple of other things to take into consideration are when washing your face try not to use any harsh exfoliants that could aggravate your skin and cause it to become even drier. If you drive a lot or spend a lot of time in the car try not to have the aircon blaring at your face as it will dry your skin out, much like being outside in winter! However, if you live in the UK you will know you wont have to worry too much about aircon and more about it actually being cold!


I hope you enjoyed this and found it useful. Let me know what you think and if you want to see more. 
Thanks! 
5 days left for my halloween giveaway! Enter HERE! 
Xx

CNL: Pink & Sparkle

As you will gather as you get to know me a little better, I love all things pink and sparkly! So why not paint my nails pink and sparkly? obviously had to be done :) 

The varnish's I used were the ELF nail polish in berry I believe , I applied two layers of this colour as the base colour and two coats of a sparkle polish from a set I got for Christmas last year that have no names on them (sorry) to make it, well, sparkle. 

Unfortunately the picture does this look absolutely no justice as it looks a lot better than that! honest. I'm doing Sports Massage as part of my course and was told today I have to cut my nails short, just when I had got them to a good length! Arrrgh! Very annoying but hey ho, they will grow back :)

Don't forget lovelies my Halloween giveaway is still on going, click HERE to check it out and enter! 

Xx

Make The Most of Your Make Up!

Don't you hate it when you squeeze those make up products in the tubes but nothing comes out? Another product empty, binned and off you head to the shops to buy yourself some more. Well stop! They probably aren't as empty as you think. I have discovered a way of getting more than you think out of those squeezable products and I am going to share it with you!
You Will Need:
-Your squeezable tube
- Scissors
- Small pot
- Something to scrape (knife, maybe?)

I used this trick on my Rimmel London primer. All I did was cut it in half and scrapped out  all the product on the insides into a little pot. The pot and scraper thing I got was from a little travel set but I know you can buy the pots separately in Tesco, Superdrug and Boots I believe.

I was so surprised by the huge amount of primer around the edges of the tube which would never come out when it was squeezed! Imagine just throwing that away? Seems like such a waste when you see how much is actually there. Madness! 

As you can see there is near enough a full pot there of primer that I have managed to scrape from the sides of the tube. That will last even longer then I thought and (if I hadn't already purchased another tube) save some money! You could do the same with a concealer or foundation or any product in a tube you can cut to make all your make up last that little bit longer then you had previously thought!

I hope some of you found this helpful! Don't forget I have a little Halloween Giveaway on right now so check that out HERE to enter for your chance to win!

Xx

Halloween Giveaway! [CLOSED]

So you may be thinking "why is she doing a Halloween giveaway now? its not till the end of the month!" well, I am starting this giveaway now because I am away in Chicago at the end of the month with my lovely boyfriend therefore I wont be around closer to Halloween and I really wanted to do a giveaway so I am doing it now. Okayy! 

Here is what I am giving away:

You could win a set of 60! nail stickers, a blood red nail varnish, 2 smokey MUA eyeshadows (grey & brown) and some yummy pumpkin chocolates. Of course, as with all of my giveaways I will be throwing in a couple of extra surprises because its always fun finding things you didn't know you had :)  

THE RULES:

- One Winner
- UK ONLY

- You MUST be following me, this is specifically for my lovely followers only!

- To ENTER you will need to leave a comment below answering this question "If you could dress up as anyone or anything on Halloween who would you be and why?" 

- Include your e-mail in the comment so I can contact you if you win! 

- START: 10th October 2011

- FINISH: 20th October 2011

GOOD LUCK LOVELIES! 

Xx 

Furry Friend TAG!

I thought I would do something a bit fun today as I over come this mild case of bloggers block! I saw this tag on Blair Fowler's otherjuicystar07 youtube channel, you can watch the video here! and I thought it was a fun little post to do so here goes...

1. What is your pets name? His name is Jasper.
2. What kind of pet is it and what breed? He is a dog of the Shih Tzu breed 
3. How long have you had your pet friend? About a year, maybe just over a year.
4. How did you get your pet? I begged my parents for the last 18 years of my life and one day my mum said she'd quite like to get a dog so we did!
5. How old is your pet? He is one in human years
6. What are some quirky things about your pets personality? He's very affectionate. He has his mad moments where he runs around like 100 mph which are hilarious to watch. 
7. What does your relationship with your pet mean to you? He is a family pet but he's like more mine then anyone else's so he's obviously my favourite :)
8. What are some of your favourite past times with your pet? I don't really have any as of yet.
9. What are nicknames that you call your pet? J'Dawg, Jasperrooney, Jay. 
I hope you found this slightly interesting! If anyone has any recommendations of TAGs or posts you would like to see then please let me know, I'd be more than happy to do them :)
Xx

September Favourites!

I can't believe its October already! It will be Christmas before we know it. As it is now October its time for me to tell you about the things I've been loving in September. 

So this months favourites are: The Naked pallet, Rimmel Stay Matte powder, Rimmel Colour mousse eyeshadow, Topshop Nail varnish, Rimmel primer, feather earings. 


The Naked Pallet: see here for my massive rave about how amazing this pallet is!
Rimmel London stay matte powder: The colour I use is sandy beige. I honestly recommend this to anyone with oily skin because it contains natural elements that reduce shine perfectly!
Rimmel London colour mousse eyeshadow: Colour is Glitz, very neutral colour with a hint of pinky brown. Could be used as a base or on its own as a lid colour. very pretty and easy to apply.
Topshop Nail varnish: Heart of Gold. beautiful metallic gold colour, not too heavy on the glitter so comes off fairly easy. I would pair it with a neutral colour for daily use or wear alone for a night out.
Rimmel London primer: It looks like a moisturiser, feels like a moisturiser, works like a primer! Its the perfect thing for anyone who is prone to dry skin (like me) highly recommend this! 
Feather earrings: Feathers have been really in this year as have feather extensions, these earrings from primark are a way of getting the extension look without having a feather permanently in your hair. love love love them for only £2.50!  

Because Food favourites are fun too! I've been munching on doritos with onion and garlic dip a lot this month! yum yum yum! 
Xx

My Skin Story

Turns out I inherited the worst skin genes from my mum and dad! I never ever used to wear make up so my skin was so nice, until that time where a girl becomes a woman and everything went downhill, rapidly. From the age of about 15/16 my skin went from bad to ACNE. Believe me when I say I tried EVERYTHING to banish those little spotty buggers but nothing ever worked. My skin was at its worst 2 years ago when my face was covered in acne, I hated the way I looked, I had zero confidence, no matter what products I tired they wouldn't clear up, whatever make up I used I just couldn't cover them, It was then I decided something just had to change. I asked my mum if I could go and see my doctor to find out if he could do anything. Sure enough he had my lifesavers in his prescription list! HALLELUJAH!! 

I started off with erythromycin tablets which I still take twice a day (one in the morning and one in the evening) as well as a solution that I put on my face before I go to bed, It stank and made my eyes sting but that's the price you pay for beauty!. I used the two together for about a year and I've never been so impressed! My skin had cleared up about 70% in just one year of using them. Half way through last year I stopped using the solution and just took the tablets, took my make up off every night and found a foundation with SPF in it (helps with scarring) and everything got better from then. Although the spots had gone I suffer from a little scarring so I took another trip to the doctors and he gave me a cream that essentially acts like a chemical peel, over time. I used it for around 2 months on different parts of my face and it seemed to work. It wasn't until about a week ago when it went a bit odd. I managed to get a small bit of the cream on my neck and it became inflamed and the next day it began to peel like I had been burned badly by the sun! My face completely dried out, it felt like every last bit of moisture had been sucked from it. safe to say I am no longer using it! 
Right now I'd say my skin is around 85% clear, I have break outs when I'm due on but I'm taking my tablets everyday, I've finally found a skincare routine that works (more on that later) and I have my confidence back! I can look in a mirror and think you look nice today, not you look disgusting always.

I'd like to say to anyone who has similar skin to me that it will get better in time, you will get your confidence back. Love yourself for who you are and not who you think you should be! You are beautiful! 

Xx