Benefit Freebies With Glamour Magazine, July 2012

It feels like I havens blogged in ages. I have been making the most of the lovely weather we were having, as living in Wales you don't really see the sun much and when you do it is a big deal! It was glorious weather and I spent most of my time down the beach. Its all back to normal now, rain rain and more rain, boo!!

Anyway, I'm sure most of you will have heard by now that for their July Edition, Glamour Magazine have teamed up with Benefit Cosmetics and there is an amazing freebie on offer with the mag. Its a choice of either The Porefessional 7.5mls, That Gal brightening primer 7.5mls, and a mini Bad Gal mascara.

The full size That Gal is only 11ml and retails at £21.50, so you are getting £15 worth of product for £2, amazing. Being the cosmetic junkie that I am I picked up three copies of the magazine and got all 3 products on offer. I have only tried That Gal so far and I am loving it. I am planning on going out this afternoon and hunting more down!

Have you got Glamour mag yet? 

Gem x

Nails Inc Freebies

Yay!!! so I am FINALLY back blogging once again. I have my laptop back up and running, and now I have a huge backlog of posts to write :( but lets get on with it...

I am a member of a group on Facebook called Beauty Box Swappers, its a lovely group where you can swap your new or slightly used unwanted make-up for something you do want. Such a good idea and if you haven't checked it out already you definitely should. So what I'm trying to say is this is where I heard of this freebie! A lovely member has a blog called Chiffon and Sparkles and she has written a great post on all the magazine freebies that are either available now or will be soon, here.

With this months issue of In Style magazine they are giving a free Nails Inc Polish, in the colours Powder Pink, Bluebell and Peach Sorbet. I got my boyfriend to go out and get me three copies of the magazine so I could have each colour, as I really loved them all. The magazine costs £3.80 and the polishes are worth £11, so its a bargain really.

Peach Sorbet, Bluebell, Powder Pink

Here's them on the nail. I had to do two coats of Peach Sorbet, but the other two were with just one coat. I apologise for the state of them but I have horrible nails that break and flake so easily...

Will you be getting any of these? Or are there any other magazine freebies I need to know about :)  

Gem x

Soap and Glory Thick & Fast Mascara Review

What Soap and Glory say: 

This false lash effect mascara creates amazingly, longer, fuller, fabulous lashes. Featuring SUPERFILL™ False Lash Fillers, SHINE AMPLIFIERS, NOFLAKE24 technology and super-fine no-clumps natural wax film formers. *While we don’t feel it’s ladylike to brag, we’re feeling particularly bullish about our mascara. (And hope after trying it you’ll agree that it’s absolutely marvelous.)

I love mascaras and at the moment I have five on the go, but out of them all, this seems to be the one that I use most. 

I got it free with the March edition of ELLE UK, admittedly I only buy these types of magazines when they do freebies. 

I would say I have medium length lashes. They are straight and never seem to curl even when I use a lash curler. If I want them curled I have to use the curlers after I have applied my mascara. I know most beauty experts will frown upon this method but this is the only way I can get them to curl in anyway. 

There is an art to applying this mascara and it takes practice to get right, but once you have the results are great. The brush is huge and you definitely need to scrape off the excess on the wand before you apply. I like to apply about three coats to get the effect I like, which is dramatic thick lashes.

It doesn't clump for me and I use three coats, sometimes I add another coat once it is dry and it still doesn't clump. Once it dries it doesn't flake or smudge at all. I wear contacts and flaking mascara is a big problem for me as it can irritate my eyes, so this mascara is great as it doesn't irritate my eyes at all. 

It costs £10, which is more than I like to pay for a mascara but I think this mascara is definitely worth the price as it doesn't flake or clump and gives lovely thick lashes. I have tried Lancome Hypnose Drama which costs £8 more than this one and Thick and Fast is so much better in my opinion. I will definitely be purchasing this mascara again as I love it.

This is with three coats of Thick and Fast, as you can see no clumping. I am terrible at applying mascara, I can never put it on my bottom lashes with out smudging and this mascara is no exception. If anyone has any tips let me know :) I have one eye bigger than the other and it is quite noticeable in this pick to me :(

Another shot where you can see how natural and thick it makes my eyelashes look. Excuse the brows, I am growing them out to hopefully get them shaped professionally :).

And here is a full face shot with the mascara on. I think it looks dramatic while still being quite natural, something I look for in a mascara. Again my eyes look really different in this photo, but for some reason I don't have eyes that match haha. 

Face: Bourjois Flower Perfection Foundation, Collection 2000 concealer in light

Eyes: Soap and Glory Thick & Fast Mascara

Cheeks: ELF Studio Blush Bronze Duo 

Lips: Revlon Lip Butter in Peach Parfait 

Overall I love this mascara, HG? I'm not 100% sure yet, but it is pretty close. 

Pros: No clumps or flakes, lasts without smudging, thick longer lashes.

Cons: Price? £10 Maybe a bit pricey for some. 

Rating: 4.5/5

Soap and Glory Thick and Fast Mascara is £10 and available from Boots in the UK. Go to Soapandglory.com for more info.

Gemx