St Tropez Gradual Tan Mousse Review

Hairtrade.com is one of the UK's leading online retailers of hair extensions hair care and beauty products. Today I am reviewing the St. Tropez Gradual Tan Mousse (120ml) which is available from Hair Trade for £13.99 here.


I tend to go through phases where I am either embracing pale, or loving the sun kissed look. I am a bit of a fake tan hoarder and  I am forever on the look out for my 'holy grail' fake tan.

I find that my arms and upper body take extremely well to the tan and I have no problems, but my legs are a nightmare. I am not sure why but they seem to repel fake tan and very few brands I have tried work well on them. St. Moriz is a no-no for my legs, they look like an orange zebra when I use this budget brand. This is where St. Tropez comes in, sometimes, sadly for my wallet, higher end really does mean higher quality.

Review...

The mousse comes nicely packaged in your standard pump-style bottle. I find it to dispense the perfect amount to allow you to control how much you put on. I use two pumps for each arm and four pumps for my legs (see above).

The mousse is a joy to use, I have owned the lotion in the past and for me, the mousse wins hands down. I have mentioned that I am a fake tan hoarder/expert, and I have used every technique under the sun to apply it, from mitt to bare hands. My favourite method is to use disposable gloves. As I am so pale, I need to use them for a gradual tan too or else my hands may end up a little orange.

The mousse sinks in and dries very quickly so you are free to get dressed and go about your business quickly, without having to wait for your tan to dry. It has a lovely floral smell to it which I love. After about an hour I did detect a very slight smell of biscuits  but nothing too bad and it was gone when I woke up the next day.

After one application I was left with what I would call a 'winter glow'. I was very nicely subtly bronzed. I was pleased with the result and would have left it at that for winter, but as I was testing this product for my blog, I decided to go for the full on bronze.

I used the product again for the second night in a row and woke up a darker shade of tan, and then after the third application I was fully bronzed.

I found the colour to look really natural, no orange here. I also had no streaks whatsoever and to my absolute delight my legs were perfect!

I would thoroughly recommend this gradual tan to anyone, especially those who have a problem like me with applying it without it going streaky. It lasted a full week on me after application and faded nicely with a little help from exfoliation.

Do you love or loathe fake tan?

Gem x

Jack Skeleton Nightmare Before Christmas Nails

The Nightmare Before Christmas used to be my favourite film ever. I used to watch it over and over when I was younger, I think I may have been going through a phase haha. I loved Jack, so when I came across this YouTube tutorial by CutePolish, I had to have a go at it myself.

These nails are perfect for today, Halloween and I love them!

What nails are you sporting this Halloween?

Gem x

Avon Advanced Techniques Moroccan Aragan Oil Leave-in Treatment Review

I love Avon, but I don't really read much about their products on other blogs. I bought this hair oil when it was on an introductory offer. I had it for £3, which I think is a bargain.  I also got the masque and shampoo & conditioner so keep an eye out for those reviews coming soon.

Firstly, a little background on my hair type...

I have thick and straight shoulder length hair. It is highlighted, and I have been doing so since I was 13, so that is over 10 years! My hair isn't in too bad condition considering, but it is not shiny or soft by any stretch of the imagination. I would say it is borderline dry, and slightly heat damaged from my straighteners and blow drying on a high heat.

The Review...

The oil comes nicely packaged in a pump-style bottle, which pumps out just the right amount of product. The amount you get (30mls) is a not a lot, but as you only need a small amount, it will last you a long time.

I have tried a few hair oils now (thanks Glossybox) and this one is on the thicker side of things, so I rub it in my hands to warm it up and then distribute through my hair, concentrating on the ends. I use two pumps for my hair as it is thick, with normal hair I think you could get away with one.

The product smells amazing, and the scent sticks around on my hair for a while too. The results are great, my hair is smoother and much less frizzy. Used with the shampoo and conditioner the results are even better.

I also use this oil as a pre-shampoo treatment and it is absolutely great for this. I just applied a liberal amount to dry, unwashed hair and left for 30 minutes. I then washed and conditioned my hair as usual and then applied a small amount more to my towel dried hair. Well, the results were amazing. My hair has never looked in better condition! I definitely recommend trying this, if like me your hair needs a little TLC.

Another way I use this oil is to create a sleek pony tail. I just use a small amount through the hair in the pony and it leaves it looking really smooth and sleek. It really is multi-purpose!

Overall, a great hair oil for people on a budget. I have not tried the original Moroccan Oil, so I cant compare the two unfortunately  but this one works great for me. I see no need to spend £30+ when I can get great results for a fiver!

You can order this oil from Avons website or through a representative (like I did). It is usually £5.50, but is currently £3.50 on offer.

Have you tried this?

Gem x

NOTD: Glitter Chevron Tips

I came across this lovely nail art tutorial over on Company Magazines website. They look really cute and effective, and are so simple to create. I decided to bling mine up a little and use glitter instead of another colour nail polish. I used about 3 coats of glitter polish to get this opacity.

They looked better in real life. I think I need to invest in a better camera as this seems to be the same for all my nail art pictures.

Are you currently sporting any nail art at the moment, or have you come across any cute turorials? I need some more inspo :)


Gem x

Halloween Nail Art: Cute Frankenstein

If you are a regular reader of my blog, you will know of my love for cute nail art. So, why should my Halloween nails be any different?

 I was thinking of doing gory nails, like the ones that look like dripping blood, but I am such a wimp these probably would have freaked me out! I was browsing Halloween nail art ideas on Google and came across a few blogs who had done these cute Frankenstein design on all the nails, but I decided to do two franks and the rest of my nails like stitches.

I love them and I love Frank, he's really cute! I will definitely be sporting these nails come Halloween, there's no doubt!

What are you painting your nails like for Halloween?

Gem x

Vivo Cosmetics Matte Lipstick - WOW Pink Review

Vivo cosmetics are a budget cosmetics line that is quite similar to MUA. They are in Tesco stores and also online, and provide quality make-up at a great price.

I love going into the large Tesco near me and having a browse around their beauty department and the VIVO stand is one I usually head to first. I spotted that they had a new lipstick shades out and that they were matte. There are three new matte shades, a bright pink, a very deep plum and a neutral colour. I chose the bright pink as it was just amazing.

Its called WOW pink and is a bright blue toned pink. It applies brilliantly and the colour is very opaque. I find that if you do not blot, the finish is not truly matte. However once you have blotted, it is matte.

My pictures do not do this colour justice, I highly recommend you go and check out this colour in Tesco for yourself. I am in love with it, its just so pretty :)

As it is a matte formula, it is also long lasting. It even survived a meal and only required a small touch up!

Have you tried this yet?

Gem x

NOTD: Wild Cherry - Bargain Autumnal Nails!

Before I started beauty blogging, I had always been wary of dark nail polish and steered clear, opting for more neutral shades. I have become a lot braver with colour recently, I have been sporting darker lips and now nails.

I love these nail polishes from Tesco. They are mini and priced at 99p each, but the quality is actually great and they last longer on me than some high end brands. This colour caught my eye as it looked a little like Essie 'Bahama Mama' that I have been lusting over. Bahama mama is more of a plum whereas this is more a burgundy. It has a slight metallic sheen to it but it inst too noticeable.

The formula is great, I used two coats but you could even get away with one. It lasts great on my nails and when sealed with a top coat it is even better.

All About Nails is Tescos own brand nail polish, so is only available in stores, and costs only 99p


Gem x

Benefit That Gal Brightening Face Primer - Review

I got this primer a few months ago when it was a freebie in Glamour Magazine. I loved it and I ended up with three of the little samples.

I don't tend to use a primer everyday, I would rather have 5 more minutes in bed than spend 5 minutes longer on my make-up and have doing my make-up in 5 minutes down to a tee. I use this primer when I am having a dull skin day, usually after a really bad night sleep due to a teething toddler.

It really does brighten my complexion and give the illusion that I have had a little more than 4 hours sleep. I really love Benefit products for a tired day, Eye bright is another great product. 

A small amount of this pink, strawberry scented cream is all you need to create a lovely glowing base for your foundation. It would also work great alone, I need a foundation as my skin is terrible at the moment.

I find my foundation goes on a lot smoother and more even with this underneath, and my skin has a healthy glow look to it, even with foundation on top. I don't think it makes too much of a difference to the lasting power of my foundation and I wouldn't think it would be great for those with very oily skin. The Porefessional would be a better choice there. 

The application is more like a moisturiser and feels lovely on the skin, much more enjoyable than the Porefessional which I find feels slightly uncomfortable on application.

Overall this is an amazing primer for when your skin needs a little pick me up. It would be great for people with dry skin as well as normal skin. I found it does not react with my sensitive skin, which is a huge bonus.

I really want to buy the full size of this, so will be saving up my pennies and hopefully I will be the proud owner of this soon :) 

Gem x

NOTD: Ice Cream Nails

Hello, a quick nail post from me today :)

These Ice Cream inspired nails are so simple to do. I painted my nails in ice cream colours and let them dry. Then I used a dark brown polish and a hair grip to create dots and then joined them all up to look like melted chocolate/chocolate sauce. I used a small paint brush to create the dots to look like sprinkles! I think they look pretty cute.

Gem x

OSIS+ #RoughVSmooth

Immediate PR is running a competition with Schwarzkopf OSIS+ called #RoughVSmooth and I was lucky enough to get the chance to take part.

I am one of the 12 lucky bloggers who are creating a rough look using the Schwarzkopf Rough rubber paste (There are another 12 who are creating a smooth look using OSIS+ Dry Conditioner). It is a texture paste, which gives your hair a subtle matte effect and strong control. The paste smells amazing, and is easy to work with. At first touch it does actually feel like rubber but once you scoop out a small amount and warm it up a little with your hands it turns into the more familiar paste.

The prize: two VIP tickets to go see Nicki Minaj at the O2. Amazing, right? When it comes to her fashion, makeup and hair, Nicki Minaj never plays it safe and always has a more out-there look. With that in mind I chose to do a messy up do, which for me is out of my comfort zone a little as I usually like to play it very safe when it 

So here is my look:

The do is really easy to achieve, heres how I did it:

1. I curled my hair using my Babyliss Pearl curling wand
2. I parted my hair into two sections and added about a pea size amount of OSIS+ Rough Rubber to each side. I scrunched and tousled my hair until I got messy, beachy type curls. My hair ended up looking like the picture above.
3. Using a clear rubber hair band I put my hair into a side pony.
4. I pulled a little hair out of the front to frame my face and add to the messy look
5. Then, using hair pins I pinned my hair into the messy up do. There is no science to where you place the hair as the messier the better, do what you think looks good.
6. For the final touch add a bit more OSIS+ Rough Rubber to the pinned hair and scrunch.

I love the finished look and will definitely be creating it again. It is perfect for the upcoming party season and would look great jazzed up with the addition of a diamante hair clip. I found the Rough Rubber to hold my hair amazingly well, and even after two days my curls were still present. A first for me as my hair doesn’t hold a curl very well at all!

P.S the lipstick I am wearing in the pictures is of course, MAC Viva Glam Nicki Minaj :)

Gem x

September Favourites

I know I say this every month but....Wow, how quickly did the last month go? I cant believe we are now in October. I am looking forward to Halloween, expect a few Halloween related nails and make up on the blog! Also bonfire night and Disneyland Paris at the beginning of November.

So here are my Favourite products for the month of September;

Denman Strawberry Scented Brush: I won this brush in a giveaway over on http://www.alaurentoherself.com/ and have been using it everyday since I got it. I was using a brush from Primark before this one and there is a huge difference. I leaves my hair smoother and tangle free in less strokes. The best thing about this brush though is the smell. It smells amazing, like strawberries and Cream. 

Bourjois Flower Perfection Foundation: Over the summer I have been loving Garnier's oil free BB cream but now that the weather is a little colder I have been favouring more full coverage for my base. I love this foundation as its matte, yellow toned and lasts pretty well on my slightly oily skin. I don't need to wear a powder with this so its great for my 5 minute face routine in the mornings. 

Amie Radiant Dawn Exfoliating Daily Wash: I really enjoy using this scrub. It does exactly what it says on the tin and leaves my skin looking really radiant and lovely and smooth. I love the fact that they only use few ingredients and it is suitable for sensitive skin types like myself. However it is scented, luckily I didn't react to it but it is something to bear in mind if your skin does. It also has a great price point retailing at only £5.75

Amie Skin Shield Daily Moisturiser SPF15: As with the Exfoliating wash, I love the fact it is suitable for sensitive skin and it has a purse friendly price. I love the scent of this moisturiser and it leaves my skin with just the right amount of moisture.

Stila Dry Shampoo: This shampoo is a lifesaver in between washes. I like to wash my hair every other day so this is great to revive second day hair. I find the scent lovely and the powder is finely milled so it blends into the hair really nicely. 

So there are my favourites, what products have you been loving this month?

Gem x

MUA Eyebrow Palette Review

I love MUA cosmetics. Their products are so affordable and great quality and I cant recommend them enough. I was so excited to see that they had brought out an eyebrow kit I just knew I had to get it.

My eyebrows are not my best asset. They are sparse and quite thin, I would love gorgeous thick brows. I like to fill my eyebrows in, and before I bought this kit I was using a light brown eye shadow to fill them.

The kit comes with a dark brown, a light brown, a highlight and a brow wax. It also includes a little double ended angled brush and a mini tweezers. So handy!

Since my hair is blonde, I use the lightest colour to fill my brows. The powder is a good match for me and lasts pretty much all day. I think the dark brown will come to use as an eye shadow for me.

The highlight shade is a bit of a fail for me. It is matte and has an orangey tone to it. I am quite pale so it would look really strange on me if I used it as a highlight. It may work better for those of you with a darker skin tone than me.

My eyebrows are quite sparse so aren't unruly in the slightest. I did try using the wax and I found that it didn't really do anything for my brows except make the shadow on them appear darker. I think it could work well for someone who has unruly brows though.

I love the packaging and the size of the mirror inside the compact is great. I love the little brush and tweezers. I find they work great for me although when I am at home I will be using my Too Faced angled brush with the kit as it is such an amazing brush for eyebrows.

Overall, this is a great eyebrow kit and a great price. I would recommned this to everyone. Even if you are not dark brunette or blonde. You can mix all the colours together to get your perfect brow shade.

The Palette retails for £3.50 and is available from Superdrug and MUA cosmetics website.

Gem x

Boohoo £50 Blogger Challenge

Fashion Vouchers are holding a competition to create an outfit from boohoo.com for £50 or under. You know me I love a good competition. Here is my entry. I decided to go for a glam party look. I adore the cat wedges and think they add a little quirkiness to the outfit. The wet look leggings are so on trend right now along with the studded bracelet. 

1. Jenni Foil Print High Neck Crop Top £8 
2. Harper Spiked Bracelet £8
3. Zoe Deco Triangle Drop Gold Earrings £6
4. Beth High Waist Wet Look Leggings £12
5. Suky Cat Face Suedette Wedge £15

TOTAL: £49

Vivo Coral Flair Lipstick

Vivo Coral flair is a, you guessed it, Coral lipstick. It  leans on the red side of things rather than the pink. It is excellent quality and at only £1.99 a complete bargain! It goes on opaque in one coat and is very moisturising. I think I prefer the formula slightly to MUA as it is more moisturising. Definitely worth giving a go if you are on the lookout for a red based coral.

Gem x

VIVO Colour Block Palette - Enchanted: Reviewed

The Colour Block is a new release from Vivo Cosmetics and comes in two forms: The Enchanted palette, which has a lovely mix of colours from brights to neutrals and the Unprotected palette which has colours extremely similar to MUA's Undressed.  

I picked Enchanted up while in Tesco the other day. It is normally £3.99, but at the moment it is on sale for just £3. I saw the Unprotected palette there too, it looks gorgeous but I have so many neutrals I couldn't get it. It pained me so much to leave it there, I may go back and get it even though its SO similar to the Undressed by MUA.

The palette has such a lovely mix of colours which are perfect for Autumn/Winter. My favourite is the lovely teal shadow. I had a little play and came up with a  look using this colour which you can see above. I wasn't feeling particularly brave so used it as an accent colour with brown the main. I am currently thinking of ways to use the gorgeous burgundy colour with out looking ill or like I have been punched in the eye!

The shadows are a mix of shimmer and matte. They are quite pigmented and blend nicely, very good quality for £3.99. They last really well with or with out a primer on my non-oily lids.

I definitely recommend getting this palette. Its great if you want to experiment with colour but still has the neutrals in there. 

You can purchase this palette from Tesco stores or directly from Vivos website here. 

Are you a coloured shadow lover? Or are you more for the neutrals? Do you have any ideas on how I could use the burgundy colour?

Gem x

Sunkissed Bridal Look

Sunkissed Bronzing  recently contacted me on twitter, asking whether I wanted to take part in a competition they are running on their website. The challenge was to create a bridal look using their products. Of course I accepted and here is the look I came up with...

Here are the products I used to create the look:

• Sunkissed Beyond Bronze Flexi Bronzing Kit - RRP £14.99
• I really like this kit, and I love the fact that you can create your own little customised palette. The eyeshadows are nicely pigmented, but not amazingly so. You can say the same for the blush. Both blend pretty well and you get a nice range of colours included. The mini mascara is great. It comes with a mini brush perfect to get those hard to reach corner lashes and it hardly clumps at all. The lipglosses were nice, but did have that plasticy taste unfortunately. 

• Sunkissed Jumbo Bronzing Pearls - RRP £2.50
• These are great. They are the perfect colour for a bronzer and an amazing price. They give a lovely bronze glow to the skin and can be applied lightly like I did, or built up for a deeper bronze colour. 

• Sunkissed Cosmetics Bronzing Brush - RRP £3.50
• This is the only product that I didn't completely like. It is an ok brush, but I think you can get better quality for the same price from e.l.f. 

• Along with: Benefit That Gal Primer and Bourjois Healthy Mix foundation as my base.

My two look has gone into a gallery on Sunkissed website along with all the other entrants, and users will be able to vote for their favourite bridal look. I would be so so grateful if you could click this link HERE and vote for my look. 

Thanks lovelys

Gem x

NOTD: Minnie Mouse Inspired

On November the 4th I am off to Disneyland Paris! I am so excited, probably more than the kids. I have always loved Disney and Minnie Mouse is my favourite character so todays NOTD is inspired by Minnie herself.

Minnie is usually dressed in red, but I didn't own a red polish at the time, so I went with pink. In Mickey Mouse Clubhouse (which I am subjected to on a daily basis) on Disney Junior, she does actually wear pink so I went with it :)

How cute are they? I think I will definitely be rocking these on my trip, unless I come up with an even better Disney inspired nail art!

Gem x

The Snake Braid

I was browsing the net for hair ideas when I came across the 'Snake Braid'. It is really easy to create and gives a nice twist to a boring normal braid. All you do is plat the hair as normal, then when you come to the end of the braid take the two outer pieces while holding on to the middle piece and pull the two outer strands until you get a squashed braid. Then pull the braid back down and you will get the 'Snake Braid'

Have you ever tried this type of braid before? What do you think?

Gem x

How Much is My Face Worth?

I have seen this type of post floating around for a while and it looked like fun so I decided to do it. I do tend to wear the same products everyday, mixing it up a little, but these are the products I have been wearing a lot recently. 

If you are a regular reader of my blog you will know I am mainly a drug-store girl when it comes to make-up, so my total may be much lower than some posts you have seen where the total is over £200! The most expensive product is my M.A.C lipstick in creme cup, which is totally worth the expense.

• Soap and Glory Thick and Fast Mascara: £10
• GOSH Click and Conceal: £6.99
• ChitChat Bronzing Mosaic: £1
• Garnier BB Cream: £ 8
• MAC Lipstick Creme Cup: £14
• Carmex Lip Balm: £3
• MUA Blush: £1
• MUA Gel Liner: £2
• MUA Undressed Palette: £4
• George Eyeshadow Primer: £3.50
• ChitChat Highlighter £1
• 17 Pressed Powder: £ 3.99

Total: £58.48

Here's the look, its just a natural everyday look.

Have you done this post? How much is your face worth :) ?

Gem x

NOTD: Cute Cupcakes

Today's NOTD is cupcake nails. These were quite easy to create really, it just takes a bit of patience (which I have hardly any of at the moment). I think they turned out pretty good, and look quite cute. Next time I do them they will look better as I am getting quite a lot of practice with nail art recently :) 

Gemx

Share the love #2

I wanted to post this on Sunday, but my laptop broke and had to go away for repair so I am now only getting around to writing this.

So here is my second share the love post, a post featuring my favourite blog posts of the week along with new finds and great giveaways on at the moment.

Favourite Posts

Maliberry Makeup - Balmi Lip Balm in Strawberry - How does it compare to EOS?
I really enjoyed this post. It was well thought out and well written. I have wanted to try the EOS lipbalms for ages and had been intrigued when I heard about the Balmi so it was great to see how they compared. On reading the post, I am more inclined to buy the EOS because of the natural ingredients.

LucyyWrites - Products I wouldn't repurchase
I really enjoy these types of posts, and it was interesting to see what products Lucy didn't get on with.

Glitter Tips - Cat Nails!
Check out the post and it is pretty self explanatory why it is one of my favourites. All of the nail art Alexis creates over on her blog is amazing and I can only wish to be as good as her at nail art. These cat nails truly are a work of art.



Favourite Find

Emily Anne Beauty 
Over at Emily Anne Beauty, Emily writes about beauty fashion and lifestyle. She has a lovely writing style and comes across really friendly in her posts, go check her out :)


Great Giveaway

The Beauty Shelf - Autumn Giveaway
This is a great giveaway with a whole host of products from MAC to Liz Earle, go check it out!

Gem x

MUA Lipstick in 'Bare' Review and Swatches

My local Superdrug doesnt sell MUA, boo. So when I went on a little shopping trip to the city, I headed straight to Superdrug where they do stock it, to stock up. 

I bought two lipsticks and their new gel eyeliner, keep an eye out for a review soon. 

I love this lipstick. It is a lovely nude lipstick, with very slight peach tones in it. The formula is great. It isn't drying and looks quite creamy on. It lasts about 3 hours on me if I don't eat/drink, which is about average. 

The only negative thing I have to say about this lipstick is that I don't like the smell. Its a bit too sickly sweet for me, but others may love it. 

For £1 you really cant go wrong. I would definitely recommend this lipstick to everyone, its great and the value for money cant be beat. 

Have you tried MUA lipsticks?

Gem x

August Favourites

So our summer is now officially over. It was a wash out overall, but living in Wales I have a lot of experience with rain and am used to it.

So here are the products I have been loving in August:

• N-SPA Body Scrub - I got this scrub in a set for my birthday and I love it. I really like the scent, its so refreshing and floral, it has just the right amount of scrub in it  and it leaves my skin lovely and smooth.

• Purity Organic Skincare Regenerating Overnight Moisturiser* - I have been using this moisturiser for about a month now and I love it. It leaves my skin so moisturised and doesn't cause it to flare up, unlike a lot of moisturisers I have tried. It is thick, but this is what I look for in a night time moisturiser as it provides more moisture.

• Avon Glimmer Sticks Diamonds in Black - I love this eye-liner. It is super pigmented, glides on effortlessly and lasts a long time. It has small particles of glitter in it, it isn't too noticeable but it does add a little extra to a smoky eye look. 

• Revlon Just Bitten Balm Stains in Cherish and Honey - I own two of these and want them all. I love everything about them from the scent to the consistency. The glossy part of the stain doesn't last too long but the actual stain part lasts all day. I love each shade equally, Cherish is a really unique lavender pink and Honey is a nice plummy pink colour for everyday wear.

• Osmo Berber Oil - I received this in a past glossy box but have only started using it this month. I use it on towel dried hair and it leaves it so smooth and smells amazing, like haribo! My hair is usually quite difficult to tame but after using this it is so easy to style. 

What products have you been loving this month?

Gem x

Natural Beauty: Alison Claire Mango Body Butter and Mango and Coconut Hand Cream Review

Sorry about the rubbish pic, these proved very difficult to photograph, the rubbish lighting didn't help. 

Alison Claire are a natural beauty brand who believe in pure products and specialise in sensitive skin. 

I discovered the brand on Twitter, where they were looking for beauty bloggers to review samples of their products. I have extremely sensitive skin, so I tend to use natural skincare where I can so I jumped at the chance to review this. 

I was kindly sent two small sample pots of the Mango Body Butter and Mango and Coconut Hand cream.

Oh my gosh, these both smell so amazing! They are so scrummy and I found it difficult not to lick them off my skin, haha!


Mango Body Butter

I only received a small sample, so cant really comment on long term use, this goes for both products. I managed to get two arm and leg uses out of this little pot though, so a little goes a long way. It is not as thick as some body butters, which I prefer and it sinks into the skin quickly, leaving it soft and smooth. The best thing about this product is the smell and the fact that it is natural and hypo-allergenic. The Mango Body Butter retails at £15 and is available for the Alison Claire website here.

Mango and Coconut Hand Cream

Again, this smells amazing. It is a lovely consistency and sinks in well, leaving my hands nice and smooth. The product retails at £7.99 for 200ml and is available to buy from the Alison Claire website here

Over all opinion

I love these products and they are reasonably priced. They smell amazing and would be great for someone like me who has sensitive skin, and like natural beauty products. 

Gem x

Clynol Repair Revive Shampoo and Leave-in Instant Keratin Filler Reveiw

I'm going to start by giving you a little background on my hair type. I have thick, highlighted, shoulder length hair. I have been highlighting my hair every 5 months or so for 10 years and my hair is in pretty good condition considering, although it is a little dry on the ends. As my hair is so thick, it does tend to get a little frizzy, nothing major though, and it is difficult to style and keep in place without a ton of products. I wash my hair every other day and always use a conditioner.

Clynol are a brand I have only recently become aware of. They are a professional hair-care brand, created and shaped by stylists and is available in salons and on-line. I received the Repair shampoo* and Leave in Keratin Treatment* to review., which are part of the new Clynol Repair Range which has been formulated for dry, damaged hair. 

The first time I used the shampoo and treatment, skipping my usual conditioner as I wanted to test out the two products on their own. For my hair, without the addition of a conditioner the two products didn't give my hair enough moisture and left it feeling a little dry. I decided to try the two products along with my normal conditioner and I must say they worked much better. My hair was left feeling smooth and tamed and my ends felt less dry. Clynol do a conditioner in this range and I think I may have saw even better results with the Recovery conditioner. 

Revive Shampoo RRP £8.90
I like this shampoo. The packaging is very sleek and professional looking, completely what you would expect from a Salon professional brand. The smell is gorgeous, sweet and floral and it is the longest lasting scent I have experienced with a shampoo. Usually I wash my hair and the scent fades pretty much as soon as my hair is dry. With the Clynol Revive shampoo the scent lasted two days until I washed my hair again. I was walking along wondering who's perfume I could smell when I realised that it was my hair. The scent alone makes this product a winner for me. The shampoo used in conjunction with a conditioner leaves my hair feeling smooth and under control. Usually my hair is a little frizzy but this controlled it a lot used along with the Leave-in treatment. 

Leave-in Instant Keratin Filler RRP £10.15
This product contains liquid keratin, which is part of the basic structure of hair. It is meant to strengthen and reduce breakage by up to 95%. I cant comment on long term use of this product at the moment but from the short while I have been using it I really like it. Used in conjunction with the Shampoo and my usual conditioner this left my hair feeling really smooth. You apply this to towel dried hair after washing and on application I could feel a difference, it left my hair really soft and under control. Like the shampoo I absolutely love the smell of this product and it is very long lasting too which I like.

Overall
I really enjoyed using these two products and I could definitely feel a difference after the first use along with my usual conditioner. The scent of the product is a big plus for me as it is gorgeous and long lasting. Both products offer protection from heat and the damage caused by colouring hair, which I really need as my hair is coloured and I use heat styling tools on it often. I am going to continue to use both products to see whether long term they will give me the results. 

Gem x

NOTD: Dot Flowers

I created this simple nail art by using a hair grip! (bobby pin) They are a great alternative to dotting tools, If like me, you like doing simple nail art but don't want to invest in professional tools. Most people already have them lying around somewhere. I also bought a cheap pack of paint brushes the other day to use for nail art. 

Gem x

Bloggers Share The Love #1

Following on from my last post, here is my Bloggers Share The Love post.

I only decided to do this series tonight, so I have had to have a good think and try to remember my favourite posts of the week. I have an awful memory so I may have missed some out. Next week I will be more thorough. I am going to choose three favourite posts and one Favourite Find.

Favourite Posts of the Week 

1. Ramblings of a Beauty Bird - My Current Top 5 Makeup Products Under 5 Pounds
This post was only published today, but it was my favourite of the week. As you know I really love a bargain, so this post was perfect for me. I really enjoyed the suggestions and now have a few more products on my ever growing list of make up I must try.

2. Big Fashionista - So pay me maybe?
I loved this post. It made me laugh and lightened my day a little, everything you need for a great post!

3. Strawberry Blonde Beauty Blog - 5 Micellar Waters 
I really want to try a Micellar water and this blog post was so informative and made me want to try them even more. The post was so well written and researched, I loved it.


Favourite Find

Cute Polish - http://www.youtube.com/user/cutepolish
I discovered Cute Polish this week while searching for nail tutorials. I have been getting into nails lately and needed some inspiration so googled and found this amazing YouTuber. I think I am a bit late to the party as she already has over 600,000 subscribers (wow) and I can totally see why.

Great Giveaway
The Cameras Lying - Nars Orgasm Giveaway
An amazing giveaway with the chance to win, you guessed it, Nars Orgasm blush. I have always wanted to try this blush but cant justify paying £20 for a blush at the moment, so to have a chance at winning it is great.

And a special link to Alison from Maliberry Makeup for inspiring this idea :) 


I hope you enjoyed this post and have checked out some of my links. Let me know if you do,
Gem x

#bbloggers...Share the Love!

I don't like negativity and bitchiness and try to avoid it wherever I can. I had to leave the #bbloggers chat this evening as I didn't like where it was going. The topic was 'What annoys you about other bloggers' and I saw a lot of tweets criticising the way some people do things on THEIR blog. Its their blog, let them do what they like I say.

Enough negativity, so, I wanted to find a way to 'share the love' so to speak. I mentioned on twitter that I wanted to create a more positive hashtag where lovely bloggers came and only chatted about make up and nice things. I am such a disorganised person, so I would never be able to organize that. 

I have seen a few blogs do link love and I love the idea, so I have decided to start a weekly blog series called ‘Bloggers Share the Love’. I will post this every Sunday and the post will consist of the following;

• Favourite Posts of the week – self-explanatory really, posts I have enjoyed reading the most.
• Favourite Finds – Any lovely new blogs/youtubers I discover in that week will be featured. 
• Great Giveaways - Any giveaways I have entered and think should be shared.

I am a fan of Beauty, Fashion, Lifestyle, Food and Nail blogs, so I will not be limiting this series just to beauty blogs it will be open to all. 

I know a lot of bloggers feel the same way as I do, so it would be great if you could get involved and write your own 'Bloggers Share The Love' posts. I think it would be a great way of finding and sharing new blogs. 

If you decide to join in and write the post, it would be great if you could use the hashtag #Lovelybloggers to share your post and love :)

Do leave a comment below to let me know if you are going to join in with this series. 

Gem x

OOTN: George@ASDA

This is an outfit that I wore out for a meal the other day. Both the leggings and top are from George @ Asda and were a complete bargain at £8 and £6 respectively. The leggings have studs down the side of them, they don't really show up on camera well.

My necklace is from ebay and my blazer is a charity shop find. My shamballa is a gift. I am wearing knee high boots, you cant really tell from the photo. They were from the no longer existing company ShoeDazzle. I got them in their final sale for £9.

 I love this outfit and think it looks really smart, great for an evening out.

Gem x

Avon SuperShock Max Mascara Review

I am very fussy when it comes to mascara. I want volume more than length as I have longish eyelashes already. I don't want any clumps and I prefer a more dry formula but with no flakes. Not a lot to ask hey?

I love the packaging of the mascara. Teal is one of my favourite colours so its a winner for me. The wand is nice and chunky which I like in a mascara. I would prefer a more tapered end though as I like to use this to catch the smaller lashes at the corners.

The formula is good. A little on the wet side but dries very quickly and is easy to build up. I am a three coats of mascara type girl, I love volumised lashes. This mascara does clump very slightly, but not much at all.

It thickens my lashes nicely and also adds a slight bit of length. Overall I am pleased with this mascara and would definitely pick it up again if it is on offer in the Avon catalogue.

Gem x

House of Fraser Blogger Challenge

House of Fraser have set a challenge to bloggers. Come up with a key look for next season from www.houseoffraser.co.uk and be in with the chance of winning £200 worth of HoF vouchers. 

There is a huge selection on their website which made choosing an outfit very difficult, but here is my final look: 

Mango Dress | Boots | Gloves | Cardi | Bag 

The pure look, clean lines and no fuss, is set to be big this autumn. I chose this outfit for its chic and simple look. The white Mango dress will compliment any figure, with the grey cardi adding an extra layer for the colder autumn months. 

I think this outfit would look great for a date and it could also be made work appropriate by adding black or grey tights. 

Have you entered the competition? What do you think of my outfit, are you a fan of the simplistic look?

Gem x

MUA Undressed Palette Review and Swatches

I was lucky enough to win this palette through a blog giveaway. I was so pleased to win as I really wanted this palette but hadn't got around to buying it yet.

MUA are an amazing make up brand that offer quality products at affordable prices and I must say that they have exceeded themselves with this palette. All the shades, (bar one but we can let them off for that as all the others are amazing) are highly pigmented, easily blended and gorgeous.

I have been using this palette almost everyday since I got it, even using shade 3 to fill in my brows. It is the perfect neutrals palette and you can create a simple neutral day look to a more sultry smoky eye.

The pigmentation as mentioned is amazing and the shadows blend and stay on all day (with primer). If you haven't got it already, what are you waiting for?

I highly recommend this palette and at £4 its the perfect price too.

Gem x

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