Halloween Look

Just thought I'd do a quick post showing you my Halloween look I wore last night.  I went on a ghost walk around Bristol and then for a drink.  I didn't dress up and I wasn't in character, but I decided that as Halloween is one of the few times of the year that you can really go wild with hair and makeup, I'd experiment with a creative look.  As ever, my camera washes out the colours - it was much more dramatic in real life, honest!

I'd had my false eyelashes applied earlier from Shu Uemura, so I had to work around them.  First of all I primed my eyes with UDPP.  Then I used a silver base from my Revlon Precious Metals eye quad, and put No. 7 Perfect Eye Mouse in Pewter on top.  For my crease colour, which I extended upwards way beyond my crease, I used Psychodelic Sister from the Urban Decay Book of Shadows III.  In the inner V and to define my crease, I used a black sparkly colour from the Coastal Scents Warm 88 Palette, and a tiny bit of pure black in the very inner V just to add final definition.  I used a white colour from this palette for a highlighter.  Underneath the eye I smudged Rockstar from the UD BOS III.

For my brows, I used a No. 7 pencil.  I thickened and extended my Shu Uemura liner using Mac Blacktrack, used Mac Smoulder on my waterline and put on more mascara (Chanel Inimitable Intense).

Whoops - wonky lip liner!  I did sort it out later!

I used a No. 7 lipstick, but I can't remember the name, with my Illamasqua liner.  I think I used Prestige blusher.

I didn't dress up, but I did wear a leather-look top I bought in the Next sale for £8 - bargain!  I thought I'd rock up my look a bit!

Did you do any special hair and makeup for Halloween?

Thanks for reading! xx

I'm a Very Lucky Girl!

I feel like I've not been around much over the past few days - it's mainly since I've been really busy, rushing around the place, and not had a chance for any proper blogging.  I even missed Strictly last night (I caught up this morning...).  Anyway, there's no Sample Sunday today as I forgot.  But I thought I'd do a post about what a lucky girl I've been recently.  Over the past couple of weeks I've won not one, not even two, but three giveaways!!!  I feel really lucky, and also slightly guilty about it!  I  might not enter any more for a few weeks in case my lucky streak continues - leave some booty for everyone else!

First up, I won a voucher for a complimentary eye lash corner flare application at a Shu Uemura counter from the lovely Jessica at Blogger Fae Glasgae.  Jessica is a Scottish blogger who mixes make up and beauty with games reviews and art.  You should go and check out her blog!

I was really pleased to win this, so I headed down to the Shu Uemura counter at Harvey Nichols yesterday hoping they would be able to fit in my application.  Even though I turned up at lunchtime, without an appointment, a great sales assistant took the time to do my lashes.  She decided that a corner flare wouldn't work with my eyes, so selected a pair of proper falsies - bonus!  As I only had foundation and concealer on, she blended in my lashes with eyeliner for me - all for free.  She didn't even try to flog me any products!  This was a fab giveaway to win, as it included a free pair of Shu Uemura lashes, good for 15-20 applications apparently!

I know this looks a little odd without the rest of my makeup, but I was planning very dramatic Halloween makeup, so I thought I'd get my lashes done whilst I was in town to save me the hassle of doing them myself.  I didn't want to walk around town in the middle of the day with full Halloween makeup on either, so I put it on later on top of the falsies. I will show you my Halloween look soon!

The second giveaway I won was from the fabulous Emma at Computergirl's Musings.  This is another great blog, full of honest comment and reviews that I regularly read.  This is definitely a blog to follow, so go and do so right now if you haven't!

Emma sent me some lovely bits including some Aussie hair products, a Mac nail polish in a fabulous colour, two lipglosses (one Jemma Kidd), an eyeliner pen and lots of other samples and booty!  This was definitely a treat to receive and I'm really looking forward to using the goodies!

The third giveaway I won was a load of Dove goodies from fantastic Jo at Beautylicious Love.  Jo is a very popular blogger, and one of the first I followed.  She always writes interesting pieces from high end to drugstore, and from familiar brands to new and emerging products.  If you've not seen her blog yet, where have you been?!  Go and look at it immediately!

I received some really nice goodies - a Dove shampoo and conditioner, a firming cream, a hand cream and a pot of moisturising cream.  All very gratefully welcomed onto my bathroom shelves!!!

Thanks to all three lovely ladies Jessica, Emma and Jo for your generosity!  If there is one thing about blogging that I really love, that's what a generous community we are!

Prestige - My Biggest Lashes Mascara Review

Hi all.  I thought I'd do a quick review of a product I've been using for a few months now and really liking.  It's My Bigest Lashes Mascara from Prestige.

The mascara costs £5.99 in Boots.  I'm sure that I paid around £10 when I bought it - perhaps the price has come down since then!  It's cased in a funky, bright pink tube, and it has a traditional style, bristle wand which I rather like.

I've really enjoyed using the mascara.  It certainly gives my lashes volume and length, if not a curl (but I have to get my lashes permed to have a curl as they are dead straight, so that's not the mascara's fault).  It was a rather wet formula at first, and quite heavy.  Only one coat was needed to give me the length and volume I required.  However, it has dried up after about 3 of months of use.  It's now rather clumpy and dry, so it's time to replace it.

It's also a really dark black colour.  My lashes are multi-coloured and appear to have blond roots, so if I don't get a lash tint, I really need a good colour to cover the up.  My Biggest Lashes fits the bill perfectly.

I've found it lasts pretty well throughout the day, without any touch-ups, and doesn't tend to flake or run.  It's not waterproof though, so no good for going swiming, or out in the rain.

For the price, I've been impressed.  This stands up well against more expensive products and I'm pleased to have had 3 months of use.  It's definitely worth checking out if you're looking for a reasonably priced mascara that adds length and volume.

Thanks for reading! xx

Winner of Barry M Instant Nail Effects - The Winner

Hi ladies.  I'm pleased to announce that the winner of my mini giveaway for a bottle of Barry M Instant Nail Effects is...

The lovely Vintage and Cake!  Well done girlie!  Check out her blog as well - it's lovely!

If you get me your details quickly, I'll pop it in the post tomorrow - hopefully in time for Halloween!

Thanks to all who entered!  xx

The Beauty Diet Update and New Spending Challenge

I’m still going strong with my beauty diet, where I’m trying to use up my old products that take up space in my bathroom and elsewhere, and stretch out products that I’m running out of to save money.

Shower Gel/Bubble Bath

My challenge with this was to not buy any more shower gel until the end of November.  I’ve used up all my shower gels, apart from some of my Neals Yard shower gel, and all of the Hello Kitty one.  There’s loads of Hello Kitty in there.  So, I’ve decided to extend this challenge, and not buy any more shower gel until Christmas.  That would mean an entire year without buying any shower gel, as all I’ve used this year were Christmas presents, or shower gels I already had lying around.  Even the Hello Kitty one was bought for me from my boyfriend when he was stranded in Hong Kong.  This would really be an achievement, as I shower twice a day usually.  And I’m sure I’ll be getting a load more at Christmas.  I have on order The Sanctuary set which is on offer at Boots at the moment, which does include a shower gel.  However, I’m not planning on using this until the new year, so it doesn’t count!

Face Wash

My aim was to not buy any more face wash until the end of January.  I’ve got most of a bottle of Nivea left, a teeny bit of Neutrogena which I’m eeking out and using as a face mask as well as half a bottle of Shiseido Tiss Oil Off.  I’ve also accumulated a face wash from Clinique as part of a Bonus Time Deal.  So I’ve still got loads left.  I intend to make the Tiss Oil Off and Nivea stretch until the end of January – I’ll see after that how long the Clinique will last.

Facial Scrub

I had aimed not to buy any more scrub until the New Year, and I’m well on track for that.  I still have most of a Clean and Clear Exfoliating Daily Wash left, as well as the Warming Scrub and the Blackhead Clearing Scrub left.  I’m focusing on using up the Blackhead Clearing Scrub, as it is terrible.  It’s clearly the worst scrub for my skin that I have ever used.  It doesn’t seem to be disappearing though, despite using it daily!  It looks like there’s exactly the same in the tube now as there was when I took this picture back in August!  I really want to use it all up by the end of November, so I can move onto the other scrubs.

Shampoo and Conditioner

My challenge was not to buy any more shampoo until the end of October.  I’m just about to meet that, finishing off a small bottle of L’Oreal shampoo I found when I did my beauty audit.  I’ve got enough left to last me until the end of the week, and I’ve got the new Liz Earle shampoo on order for when that finishes.

I had also planned to not buy any conditioner until the end of January.  I’ve still got 2 ½ bottles of Timotei left, so there’s not really any problem meeting that challenge, as I have a couple of deep conditioners left as well.  But I have bought the Liz Earle conditioner to go with the shampoo - I’m only planning to use it once just to try it out, before going back to the Timotei.  I do like the Timotei conditioner, and in the past I’ve stocked up when it’s been on offer, as it suits my hair.  However, I am looking to try some new products, so I just want this stash gone!

Samples

 

I think that my sample stash is finally starting to diminish.  I thoroughly recommend doing the Sample Sunday idea to help you use up your stash (I know you’ve all got one)!  I’ve found some interesting products, and some terrible ones!

Moisturiser/body cream

I’m still using up my body moisturisers.  I’m down to some of the dregs, although there are still a few left, mainly fake tanning moisturisers (I’ve been pale all this year), and glittery/shimmery ones which I don’t tend to use very much.  I should just about have enough to last me to Christmas, and will probably get a load more then.  As I said in a previous post, I’ve finally moved all the remaining ones to my usual beauty storage to free up the hamper I’d had them all stored in.

I’m currently using Peace Be Still Balm by Temple Spa as my facial moisturiser and loving it, as well as the Body Shop Vitamin E Night Cream, and Clinique Moisture Surge on top.  I’ve got a couple of samples of moisturisers, but not much more.  Nevertheless, I don’t intend to buy any more facial moisturiser until Christmas.  I think I have enough left to last me until then!

I hadn’t originally included these in my Beauty Diet, but they are now!

Make up

I’ve totally blown all my makeup targets.  Every time I set a new challenge or target, I totally blow it!  Nail polish is my worst offender – I’ve got all the hottest shades, some of which cost A LOT of money and have only been worn once.  Others haven’t even been worn! 

I’ve decided that I will not be buying any more make up or polish until 6^th December, which is the date the Beauty Bloggers Christmas Weight Loss Challenge also ends.  I will review my makeup spending.

Perfumes

No update on my perfumes really – I’m trying to use up the cheaper ones and ones that I like least, but I don’t have any targets set really.

New Spending Challenge

When I originally started doing this, the plan was to help my finances which have had a bit of a battering recently.  Surprisingly, my finances are not on too bad a footing at the moment.  But, Christmas is coming, my car needs new tyres and a headlight, I’m in need of a haircut and I have some big events in December that will need some cash.  I've a couple of big holidays planned next year to save up for as well. So I still need to reign back the spending.

So my new spending challenge is to not spend any money on cosmetics, beauty products, or anything related until 6^th December, other than by using a £10 note I currently have in my purse and about £7 worth of Boots points I've accumulated.  This includes things like toothpaste, shaving gel, anything really!  This is a tough challenge, but one I need to do to save my wallet from a battering.  I’m making my lunch every day for dieting purposes, as well as to save money, so I’m not tempted to pop into Boots at lunch, which is helping. You’ll be hearing no excuses from me.  This is a total spending ban (apart from the £10 and Boots points which are for emergencies). 

As I have some Liz Earle stuff and The Sanctuary set on order, these are already paid for and are outside the challenge.  I also need to book a haircut, but I might wait until my November wages for that, and I have a Brazilian Blow Dry booked and paid for already.  But anything else is banned! I’m also including all clothes in this.  I’ve recently bought quite a few new clothes which I will blog about over the next few weeks, so I don’t need any more.  

It’s less than 6 weeks – can I do it??  Of course I can.  I’ll keep you posted!

Thanks for reading! xx

CLOSED! Tuesday Mini Giveaway - Barry M Instant Nail Effects

NOW CLOSED

Hi ladies.  I popped into Superdrug today (as you do) and picked up up a bottle of Barry M Instant Mail Effects - perfect for Halloween I thought.  They were on offer - two polishes for £5 - so I thought I'd get another one for a mini giveaway, as I know they have been flying off the shelves and not that easy to get hold of!

The lid looks really dusty - I promise I'll dust it for the winner!

So this giveaway will be open until tomorrow night (Wednesday 27th October) at 9pm, when I'll pick the winner from Random.org.  All you need to do to win is to be a follower of my blog, and post a comment below saying "Enter me, my nails need some Barry M".  Make sure that your email address is viewable on your blog, or post it below.

You can get a second entry by tweeting about the giveaway, including @bristolbeauty in your tweet, so I can count your tweet.

I'll email the winner straight away, and if you get me your details quickly, you should receive it in time for Halloween!

Good luck!  Thanks for being my fabulous followers!  xx

Hair of the Day!

In a new departure for me, I've decided to do a Hair of the Day (HOTD) post.  I have very thick, wavy hair, which I've been growing long for about 6 months, after having a shortish bobbish hair style for the past 10 years.  I'm growing it long as I want to experiment with different styles and my shortish hair just couldn't cope with it!

My hair is now finally long enough to start to play around with different styles.  This one is inspired by a piece about Cameron Diaz's hair in November's In Style at the Knight and Day premier in Barcelona.  Cameron's hair was styled into a side bun, so I attempted to recreate the look myself.

Picture Source - from  The Huffington Post (of all places!)

I started with my hair naturally dried, with no straightening, as it is naturally big (too big if you ask me).  I then pulled it into a loose side ponytail at one side of the nape of my neck.

I lightly back-combed the ponytail, but not too much, and then used hair pins to tuck over some of the ends of the ponytail to create the bun look.  I kept it messy, as I was looking for an effortless look.  In the In Style article, Cameron's hairstylist says that they wanted her hair to look like a flower, so they twisted the end of the ponytail round back on itself, and pinned that up.  My hair wasn't long enough to do this, so I improvised.

It only took me a couple of minutes to do and I was quite pleased with the result! Nothing like Cameron's and far more messy, but my own twist on the look. I got a couple of compliments, so I was happy!  It's really hard to photograph the back of your head, so sorry about the pics!

Thanks for reading. xx

The Beauty Blogers Christmas Weight Loss Challenge - Weigh In 2

It's the second week of the Beauty Bloggers Christmas Weight Loss Challenge.  Our aim is to lose 7lb by 6th December.

This week my weightloss is -3lb!  Not sure how I managed that!

The Bristol Beauty Blog -1lb, -3lb = -4lb
Fudge Smoothies -1lb
Who is She??? -4lb, -4lb = -8lb!!!  (Gold Star for you!)
Margaret - STS
Behind the Shoes -1lb, - 2lb = -3lb
Real Girls Beauty -0.5lb, -1lb = -1.5lb
Stacey @ The HQ of Beauty -0.5lb, -1.5lb = -2lb
Leanne @ Obsessive Cosmetics Disorder -3.5lb, - 3lb = -6.5lb (Silver Star for you!)
Gidders1 (via Twitter)
Sweet Like Jelly - sts, - 2lb = -2lb
Lucy Duckett -1lb, - 2lb = -3lb

So far, we've lost a combined total of... 31lb!!!  or 2st, 3lb.  Fantastic achievement in just 2 weeks!

I started off the week really well, but it's gone downhill over the weekend - it usually does!  At least I'm being good during the week.  This week I'm planning to go walking every lunchtime, as I've been a bit slack doing that recently. 

Good luck girlies!  xx

Sample Sunday - Glutton for Punishment

You may remember a few weeks ago I tried a Tresemme shampoo and conditioner and hated the shampoo in particular.  I then felt I had been a little unfair, as I had a mixed bag of comments - some people loved it and others hated it.  The reasons why I felt it was unfair, was because my hair was absolutely covered in products as I'd done my Burlesque hair the night before.  My hair was crisp with mousse, serum and super-strength hairspray.  My shampoo doesn't usually have to contend with this, so I was a bit harsh to judge the Tresemme one.

So when I was contemplating my Sample Sunday today, I spotted another sample of Tresemme shampoo (although a different one), and thought I would give it another go, in the interests of fairness.

This shampoo is designed specifically for blonds - I'm a die-hard brunette - but I didn't let that put me off.  I'm unlikely to emerge from the shower with golden locks from one sachet of shampoo am I.  The packaging says that it contains chamamile, not a scent I'm overly fond of.

So I used this Tresemme shampoo, and I still don't like it! It was better than the other Tresemme shampoo sample, but only marginally.  I found it difficult to foam, even though I used the entire sachet, I didn't like the smell - it smelt like chemically-enhanced chamamile - not nice.  At least the smell hasn't lingered.  This time, the shampoo didn't knot up my hair, which was a big improvement of the previous sample.  It rinsed out OK (considering it didn't really foam up), but my hair didn't feel in as good a condition as I would've liked, slightly dry and straw-like.  I used a deep conditioner to make my hair feel better.

I conclude that I don't like Tresemme shampoos, and I will be avoiding them in future.  They just don't work for me!

In a little update on my gushing praise for the Body Shop Vitamin E Night Cream I trialled last week, I'm still liking it.  But, I've found that it doesn't work as a day cream at all!  I wore it on Monday and Tuesday, and although my skin felt great, my makeup slid off, even using primer on Tuesday.  I also felt my skin was starting to have a mini break-out.  I switched to using it as a night cream only, and my skin has calmed.  I still love it, but only as a night cream.

Thanks for reading!  xx

And the Winner is...

Hello ladies.  I've totted up the entries, both as comments and tweets, plugged the entries into Random.org, and now I have a winner of my 100 Followers Giveaway....Drumroll

The winner is... Pink Pom Poms!

Well done lady!  I'm just about to email you for your address, and then your pressies will be winging their way to you!

Thanks to everyone who entered, and to all my lovely followers! xx

Murad - A Substitute for Botox? Hmmm - Inconclusive!

You may remember that about a month ago I was given £61.45 worth of Murad goodies by my Mum, after she bought an airline bag at a car boot sale (she wanted the bag) for £1 – and they just happened to be inside.  I had 7ml of Intensive Wrinkle Reducer (worth £35), 6ml of Intensive Wrinkle Reducer For Eyes (worth £24) and 3.5g of Energizing Pomegranate Lip Protector SPF 15 (worth £2.45).  I’d never heard of this brand before, but after seeing the prices of full size products, I thought I’d trial them out – I was expecting great results.

According to the Murad website, the Intensive Wrinkle Reducer is:

            “... a scientific breakthrough that achieves intense resurfacing without the irritation normally associated with this process. Clinically proven to delivery consistent and cumulative results - the longer you use it, the better you will look.”

And the Intensive Wrinkle Reducer for Eyes is:

“Specifically formulated for the delicate eye area, reduces the appearance of crow's feet, improves skin firmness and illuminates the eye area for a more youthful appearance.”

The Murad website talks about The Water Secret, something to do with "Cellular Water".  Now, I'm not a scientist, but I am a failed biochemistry student (I lasted 2 years before dropping out), and I have some concept of basic scientific principles (I did, afterall, pass my exams in both years of study).  I'm not sure what "Cellular Water" is, but it sounds suspiciously like BS to me... but then I rarely believe the outlandish claims these products make, so I could be wrong.

So I’ve been using these two products for a month now, and I’ve just run out of the Intensive Wrinkle Reducer and I’m nearly out of the Intensive Wrinkle Reducer for Eyes – there wasn’t much there for the cost of the products.

My experience of using the Intensive Wrinkle Reducer has been mixed.  Firstly, you don’t need very much of it.  I first squirted 5  pumps of the little tube onto my fingers – it didn’t look like much, but a little goes a long way.  5 pumps was way too much.  I found that 2 pumps was enough to totally coat my face with the cream.  It’s quite a thin consistency, not like a cream at all. I’ve been using it as a serum before applying moisturiser.  I wasn’t hugely impressed with it.  For a start, I’m used to a more moisturising serum (my usual is No 7 Protect and Perfect Intense), and the Murad one certainly isn’t.  It sinks in quite quickly, with no moisturising properties that I could detect.  As the weather has got colder, it’s meant I’ve had to up the moisture level of my moisturisers, to properly protect my face from the cold.  It is also quite astringent and was slightly stingy on application, although not too uncomfortable.  My skin didn’t get used to the stinging, but I learned to expect it. 

The Intensive Wrinkle Reducer for Eyes was another matter however.  Again, a little goes a long way (although not quite so far as the serum).  But this was more of a cream formulation, more like a traditional eye cream, and it felt very moisturising.  It’s totally got me into using a daily eye cream (something that I’ve been a bit hit or miss at before).

Both products have a very faint smell, that could be described as slightly chemically.  This didn’t put me off at all – it was VERY faint, and didn’t linger on my skin.  I’m not going to review the lip balm here, as, well it’s a lip balm!  It balms your lips!  I’ve not really been using it very much anyway, so I’m not really in a good position to judge.

From the claims of various website, I could expect to see up to 33% reduction in lines in 4 weeks (with up to 45% reduction in 12 weeks).  So, here are the before and after pictures, with no makeup on. I apologise, as I seem to have some sort of mono-brow thing going on, especially in the 'Before' pictures.

Before

Before

After

After

Before

After - I think this looks worse, if anything!

Before

Before

After

After

I’m not sure if you can see a difference at all.  My issues with lines are in my brow furrows, minor crow’s feet and under my eyes.  I think there might be a difference with the crow’s feet, but I’m not sure about my brow furrow.  What you do think? Can you tell at all? 

At the prices of these products, I was hoping for dramatic results (or maybe not, as then I’d have been considering forking out £150 for not very much product).  They certainly haven’t done that.  I suppose, Botox is still on the cards then...

Thanks for reading!  xx

Reminder of my 100 Followers Giveaway - Ending Soon

Hi - just a little reminder that my 100 followers giveaway ends tomorrow night at midnight.  You can enter it here.  Hurry for your chance to win!

Thanks for reading! xx