max factor lipstick in ruby tuesday

Hey everyone! Today's post is on some free lipstick I got with Special K. I don't know if you know but the brand often have offers on their products where there is a code on the inside of the boxes and all you have to do is enter it into their website in the hope of being a 'winner'. For example, in their cereal boxes there are codes to win a Nails Inc nail varnish in red of course. I got this lipstick, however, with their 'Red Berry' bars. I don't know how many boxes I went through but I finally won after a while and I was ecstatic! Who doesn't like winning? 

why do you do this to me blogger?! i'm sorry guys, it went this way of its own accord.

I just wanted to point out before I start the review that if you notice any redness/rawness around the corners of my lips on the pictures it's because I think I've had an allergic reaction to something. Unfortunately I think it's the lip tint from Lush but I'll have to wait and see. The colour is Ruby Tuesday and it is absolutely gorgeous. I've been wanting a purely red lipstick for so long but haven't found one anywhere that has been the right shade of red so I was really happy when I won this one. It's very soft and moisturising on the lips with a matte finish so obviously it's good to wear some Vaseline underneath as it does fall into the creases of your lips (which is noticeable on my lips, woops!). It's very pigmented too and you get full cover even on one swipe across the lip which is brilliant! I wouldn't say it has very good staying power and when I have worn it out it hasn't lasted the night at all. However I do tend to lick my lips a lot so that might be why. Anyway, I really do think the colour is amazing and makes your teeth look so much whiter which is always a positive! I don't really have much else to say apart from that I do recommend it for the colour and the texture because it's really lovely but there are probably other lipsticks out there that have better staying power. I also want to recommend having a go at all competitions you come across because you never know if or what you might win! I know I'm going to have a go at winning a Limited Edition Nails Inc nail varnish with Special K! 

no7 stay perfect nail varnish in pinky pure

So I've let the team down and have been slacking slightly on the blogging front. I haven't managed to do a post for you everyday of my holidays but the past few days have been spent catching up with friends/getting work done/sorting some stuff out with my parents so I haven't really had chance but I do have a quick little post for you now on some nail varnish I actually picked up before Christmas. 

(with flash)

(without flash)

(in the natural light/sun light)

If you go to Boots often, you will know that they often hand out £5 off vouchers for the No7 collection and I had one of these during my Christmas shopping trip to the Trafford Centre. So I popped along to see what I could get and the lady actually recommended some nail varnish because in the end it would only cost me £2 - bargain! I always love getting new nail varnish but I sometimes end up picking colours that I've already got so I went for one that I knew I didn't have. It was this gorgeous pale pink. I think I first started coveting a pale pink after I saw Zoe wearing one in her videos (i think hers was from topshop though) and thought it looked really gorgeous and girly. So Pinky Pure it was! I tend to contrast my nail varnish with my outfits so I thought tonight would be the perfect time to test the colour out as what I'm going to wear contains is all navy/black/grey so this will really stand out. I first noticed how good the brush was. It's pretty large so nearly covers the whole nail in one swipe and the handle (is that even what it's called? i'm talking about the bit above the brush that you hold to paint your nail...) is quite long/large so it's easy to manoeuvre. I'd say the colour is quite pigmented but you need a good few coats to get a nice opaque colour. Overall though I was really happy with the colour and I think it'll look brilliant in Summer with a tan or in Spring as it is a pastel colour. Obviously I don't know about chipping as I've just put it on but I will put a little 'addition' to the bottom of the post tomorrow to let you know how it got on. I also really recommend No7 nail varnishes. I first tried them out when a friend of mine bought me a set of 4 for either my birthday or Christmas (i can't quite remember) and I really loved them but then I never thought about buying another colour full size so I'm glad I have done now!

ADDITION! There was no chipping at the end of the night which was great and only minor signs of wearing on the tips of the nail on Sunday but only on my right hand as that is the hand I use the most. Chipping has started today but to be honest, I think it's pretty good going considering what I put my hands through in a typical day.

LATEST IN BEAUTY box #3

So guys, I'm doing pretty well with this 'a post every day' thing! Finally! Today's post is on my third Latest In Beauty box. Two out of the three samples are ones that I'm really looking forward to trying out and the other is something I probably won't get much use out of but I'll give it a go. I also received this ages ago but like the January Glossybox, I just haven't got round to posting about it but here you go!

The first sample I chose this month was the Lavera My Age Concentrated Lifting Serum and I actually got 4 sachets of it which was great but it was the product I wasn't that interested in. Pretty ironic eh? When I told my mum about this one she said she wouldn't mind trying it out so hopefully she'll have a try too. Even though I'm not exactly 'ageing' or showing signs of ageing, I wouldn't mind seeing if it did have an effect on me and it's always good to start young!

My second sample this time was the RENU Radiant Skin Peel. I'm sure you all must know now that I'm always on the lookout for new skincare products that promise great things so when I saw the opportunity to order this, I thought why not? I'm never optimistic of creams/masks that call themselves 'peels', however, as they never work do they? But even so, it might give good results anyway. The tube's quite small and so I assume I'll probably only get 1 use out of it, 2 max, but if it's good I might buy a full tube (looking at the information sheet i got in the box i do actually have a 20% off code).

The third and last sample was Moa's The Green Balm. I believe this was actually in one of the bigger sample boxes (i can't remember which one) so I was very excited to be able to order it. I'm not entirely sure what it's supposed to do but my information sheet says that it's "a 100% organic natural skin care balm with healing powers to soothe, nourish and renew dry, itchy skin conditions, bumps, bites, grazes and minor burns" which to me means 'a general helping hand'. I don't actually have dry skin, only if few places, but I do get grazes (all year round), bites (in summer) and heat rashes (quite often) so I think this will be very handy to carry round with me and use when necessary.

My fourth box has been ordered and should be on its way soon. I'm actually really excited about all the samples coming so I'll let you know if they live up to my expectations!

january 2012 glossybox

Wow, I haven't done a Glossybox post since last July. I have had a few more boxes in between that time but I just haven't got round to posting about them. I wasn't actually going to post about this one as I got it a while ago, anyone else who has received the box has already blogged about it and the February boxes have already been sent out so there should be another Glossybox post in the near future. But ah well, I thought I'd share my two cents with you anyway! Just a quick note, the weather today is GORGEOUS where I live and I took the pictures in my usual spot on the windowsill so the light is pretty bright in the pictures. I hope you enjoy though!

www.eyeko.com

My first product this month was an Eyeko Skinny Eyeliner in the colour Powder Pink. I've never thought about buying beauty items from Eyeko but I know it's a highly praised company so it's great to receive a full sized product from them in my box! I love the colour as well as it's not one I would usually go for. I've had a try of it and it's very soft and brightens my eyes up greatly! I'm looking forward to doing a full review for you and maybe get another colour.

www.davines.com

The point of Glossybox is to introduce you to beauty brands that you are less likely to have heard of so it is nice that they do live up to their aim and I did receive 3 products from 2 different brands that I'd never heard of this month. The first one was this Moisturizing Balm from Davines. It's a 3 in 1 product as it can be used on the face, hair or body. I'm very interested in seeing the effect it has on my hair as over the years, my hair has become very dry and the amount of split ends I have has steadily increased, unfortunately.

www.davines.com

Another product from Davines. This is the Authentic Cleansing Nectar. I believe that this is a hair and body oil shampoo (that's what it says on the back of the bottle) but I think I'm more likely going to use it as a sort of soap in the bath. I may give it a go as a shampoo though as it seems the right consistency. Ill let you know how it goes though!

www.boots.com (you can see the whole range there)

My fourth product is the FAB Gentle Body Wash and is another brand I've never heard of before but I am interested to try. I'm always on the lookout for a new cleanser or a product that will help my skin as I really do have bad skin so this was nice to get in my box. However, I've already read a post about the January Glossybox where the person who wrote the post got this product and they didn't speak very highly about it. But I'll definitely give it a go - I just hope it doesn't cause havoc on my skin.

www.murad.co.uk

Now, I have heard of this brand before, just never ever thought about buying something from them. But I definitely think that the Hybrids Skin Perfecting Primer (Dewy Finish) is a great starting product. I've never used a primer on my face before as I've never thought I've needed it but I really do want to give it a go. However, I don't actually wear make up much anymore, only on special occasions as I want to try and sort out my skin but when I do next wear foundation, I'll give this a try. One thing I'm unsure about is the fact it's a dewy finish. I already have quite oily skin so I don't know if this will just make me look more shiny. Hopefully not!

So I know this post is really late but I hope you liked my opinions anyway! I'll definitely do individual reviews on each product and a post on the next Glossybox. Also, I hope you can see that I'm managing to do a post everyday so far and I'm really hoping it will continue!

Today was just a typical Sunday in my household. Nice and relaxing. This morning I made some Easter cupcakes (picture here, from my Twitter) and then this afternoon my parents and I went for a walk to this big park near us called Dunham Massey. It's a really beautiful place to go for a walk. Afterwards we popped to a little farm shop and I got some giant belgian milk chocolate buttons and let me tell you, they are divine! I've had my dinner (not a sunday roast, however, instead some sweet and sour chicken, NOM) and so now I'm just watching Fantastic Mr Fox! The first time I've seen it and I really really like it so far! Anyway, here's to a good week!

LUSH valentine's day products

So today's post is going to be on the Lush products that I picked up last month for Valentine's Day. I haven't had chance to try all of them out, unfortunately, but I'll let you know what they are, what they smell like and other things like that. I'm aware that Valentine's Day was two days ago but this is the first time I've had chance to properly sit down and make a post. I hope you enjoy though!

I thought I'd just include the bag that I got last year when I bought some Lush goodies from London during the Valentine's Day period. Unfortunately when I went in the shop this time they didn't have the cute bags but I'll keep this one as a 'souvenir'!

a million kisses - £4.95

So, the first product I picked up was the 'A Million Kisses' lip tint. When I went into the shop the guy who had come to help me (now, is it me or are the people in lush extremely friendly? being the socially awkward person i am, it can be kind of intimidating, i'm not going to lie...), told me that all the ladies working in the shop that day were wearing this lip tint and I have to admit, their lips were looking a lovely shade of red. So I popped it in my basket without really trying it and it was only whilst taking these pictures that I really tested it. The results are brilliant! The colour is SO pigmented, it's of a creamy consistency and the smell is to die for! When I wiped it off with a face wipe, it didn't all come off (long wear time, wooo) and the smell stuck with me for ages. I believe it is supposed to smell like roses but I don't particularly like the smell of roses so that was a positive for me and I think other smells are very strong in this. I'm honestly so rubbish at describing smells so I don't know what to say but the first thing that comes to mind when I smell it is cherry (my mum also agreed with me when she smelt it).

leap frog - £2.75

"Drop this verdant frog into a nice warm bath, lower yourself in and relax in the bright green water for a sensual, soothing and surprising bath time!"

I missed out on buying one of these beauties last year so I was very excited to see they had come back again this year! I think it is extremely cute and such a nice twist on Valentine's Day. I really can't wait to use it in a bath and for it to hopefully turn my bath green but then again I don't want to use it! Ahhh, choices choices! It's got a very 'fresh' smell and a very typical soapy scent. Whilst looking on the website I read that it is supposed to release smells of jasmine and I think I can smell it a little bit but it's not very strong. I also read that although you search 'Leap Frog' into the website to get to the link, they are changing the name to 'The Frog Prince' which is why my packet says that.

love potion massage bar - £5.95

"A love perfume scented massage bar to enjoy with your other half. Simply melt the bar between your palms and massage liberally into the skin."

I actually got to try this in the shop and the guy made it look so easy to use. It made my arm so soft and creamy and lasted for a long time after I'd left the shop. Even when I pick it up now it melts slightly and makes my fingers oily. Luckily, I don't really suffer from dry skin but my elbows and knees can get quite dry so I think I'll definitely use most of this bar on those specific places. And on my feet as they do need pampering quite often! This smell is quite fruity (mostly citrus and apple according the website) and reminds me of shea butter which is always pleasant. I really really like this product and I'm really looking forward to using it more. It's also making me want to try out some of the other massage bars available.

magic mushroom - £2.45

"A fairytale mushroom for a magical bath, scented with strawberries and vanilla cream. Crumble under the running bathwater for soft, scented water mountains of fragrance foam."

Again, I think this is another product that has been around before and I was very interested in trying. I'm pretty sure it's supposed to be glittery but mine isn't very sparkly. Hopefully when I use it in the bath, there'll be more glitter inside! Again, it's got a fruity smell and the website says the main scents are strawberries and vanilla, making a strawberries and cream combination which is what I think I can smell. 

sweetheart hand and body soap - £5.16 (right, i can't find the price on my receipt and i can't find the link on the website...)

"Soap is sexy! Luxurious jasmine, mandarin and vanilla soap for silky soft skin."

I've never tried soap from Lush (strangely enough - i have bought some, it was the limited edition japan soap that raised money for the the earthquake but i have yet to use it...) and so I'm excited to give it a go! It's a gorgeous colour which, you know, isn't the most important thing but it's a nice addition. Like the label says, the smells are very vanilla-ry and the mandarin is quite strong. I can smell the jasmine slightly but I think the smells will really come out when I use it in my baths (as with all the other products).

On the way out, I also picked up the newest Lush Times. I really like this newspaper as it gives really thorough descriptions of their products and gives everyone an insight into how popular items are made. In this issue, there is also information about the products for Mother's Day and Easter which I am hoping to get my hands on too!

Back on the Valentine's Day theme, quickly, there were other products that I would have like to try but they were quite expensive and items that you would usually buy as gifts but I'll let you know the other products that were available:

• their new fragrance, 25:43
• love bug (which was actually a knot-wrap that included one of the products that i'd actually bought, i just really liked the fabric wrap)
• do knot disturb
• p.s. i love you
• lots of love
• chou chou...i love you (i'm not sure if i'd have actually tried these but if anyone knows what they are like, i'd appreciate your opinion)

So that concludes my Lush Valentine's Day products post. If anybody else got to try anything out, please link below or if you have any opinions, I'd love to hear them! I'll also be doing individual reviews on each of the products in the future so look out for them.