Wednesday 28 November 2012

Review // Garnier Olia Hair Dye







As someone who has been dying my hair myself since I was about 16 years old, I am very conscious of the affect it may have.  I am aware it’s not good to be using DIY kits for this long but lets face it, its so cheap and when your like me and want to try every hair colour under the sun in your lifetime, it’s the easiest option.

Trust me, I have probably tried every colour, and every brand you can think of and to be honest, in all my experimenting I have never been overly impressed with Garnier colourants, the one Davina McCall promotes has always made my hair a shade darker than I wanted it to, for this reason I was sceptical of trying their new creation ‘Olia’ but like the sucker I am, I was sucked in by the marketing wizardry that calls it a “breakthrough in home hair colouring”, so I just had to try it, and I am glad I did.

Most people think all DIY hair dye must be the same, it does the same thing at the end of the day, but that’s not true, many of them have very different affects on the health and nutrition of your hair, I have used some in the past that dried my hair out so much it looked like straw after one use.

What is different about Olia is that it is the first home colourant that ‘contains 60% oils with natural flower oils and no amonia’, now if your not a scientist, that doesn’t make a lot of sense, but basically with this product, oil is now used instead of other chemicals to boost the colouring process rather than just condition the hair.  To have oils in the colouring means it is a lot more gentle and protecting of your hair.

So, I was sold, off I went with my little towel around my neck and sexy gloves on ready to apply.  This product has a uniquely shaped application bottle which I absolutely loved, its like a little rain drop and its really soft and fits perfectly into your hand, this also makes applying the dye very easy.

The actual liquid itself wasn’t too thick (I hate when it looks and feels really thick, it makes it hard to spread through the hair evenly) and although it was thin ad smooth it still did not run or drip.  It had a very glossy appearance to it which just gives you the sense that your hair is being covered in silk and who doesn’t want that.  Once I applied it to my roots, I then just used my fingers to run it through my hair and it glides through much easier than most other products.

I kept mine on for about 20 minutes, truth be told this was because I wanted to shower during a break in ‘I’m a Celebrity Get me out of Here’ before they announced who was leaving (I’m sad).  The dye washed out so easily, again in a gliding manner, the conditioner that they provided with it was fantastic, and I didn’t need to use it all so I have kept it in the shower for another time.

The finished result was pleasing to say the least.  My hair felt soft and shiny and I didn’t feel like I may have done it any harm, the colour was the exact match that the box said it would be and blended perfectly with my roots in a non-harsh looking way.

All in all, I am so happy I have discovered this product, I think it s gentle while still getting the job done, in a better way than most other hair dye’s have in the past.  I am no scientist, but if this is what using an oil-based hair colourant does to my hair then I am going to continue to do so.  It gives a more natural feel and look to your colour and I am just in love.

Olia is just £6.99 and I used the light brown shade 6.0.  To read more on it click here.

PS. I didn't put up before and after pics because you really can't tell any difference in a photo as it was just a touch up but you can see the colour it gives in the pics on my in my 'Contents: My Face' post below.

Tuesday 27 November 2012

Things I Did This Week...


1. Got my November Glossybox goodies
2. Played with my new Coca-Cola earphones and speaker at work
3. Fell in love with Noel Gallagher AGAIN!!
4. Made some Listography lists about my love life
5.Wore my Olive skull T-shirt present from Kim @lovecloth
6.Listened to Nsync- bye bye bye and sent kim a photo of it
7. Some quiet Sunday reading with Poppy
8.  Got a note from my granda signed "G/Dad"
9. Got sent a photo of a BMX which I so badly want to own



Wednesday 21 November 2012

Contents: My Face








Welcome to my first ‘Contents: My Face’ post.  This is going to be a regular thing where I dive into mine and my friends make up bags and list the products in there.  I got the name for this feature from a brilliant little Waldo Pancake make up bag that says Contents: My Face on it, I thought this was genius.

Now I know most of us don’t simply just have one make up bag, in my case I have 5 make up drawers, but by bag I mean your daily essentials, the products you put on your face most days and maybe take in your handbag with you.  I think this can say a lot about a girl. 

So naturally I am going to start with my own make up bag.  

Here are the rules…

List everything that is used on a regular basis in your make up routine
Pick 3 top items that you would recommend to anyone
Pick 1 top brand from your selection that tops the rest
Estimate the total price of your daily make up routine

Here goes…

Face:
Primer- Nars Pro Prime Multi-Protect 
Foundation - Estee Lauder Double Wear- Bone 17
                      - Nars Sheer Glow - Fiji 
(I currently mix these two, I have no idea why I started but now I cannot stop)
Concealer - Collection 2000 Lasting Perfection 16 hr wear
                    - Mac Pro long wear concealer NW20
(Mac is for nights out as its a little darker)
Blusher - Topshop cream blush - Neon Rose
Finishing powder - Rimmel- Clear Complexion 021 Transparent
Highlighter - Topshop - Sunbeam
Bronzer - I am currently all out of bronzer and waiting money to buy Nars

Eyes:
Shadow - Benefit Creaseless Cream shadow/liner- r.s.v.p
                - Topshop smokey eye palette - Tawny
Eyeliner - Topshop liquid liner
               - Soap & Glory Smoulder Kohl
Mascara - MaxFactor False Lash Effect - Black
Brows- HD Brows Advanced Brush Pencil - no.2

Lips:
Lipstick - Topshop - Pillow Talk
              - Revlon Lip Butter- Crem Brulee 
Gloss- Soap & Glory Sexy Motherpucker

Brushes:
Powder- Boots Ecotools large powder brush
Blusher - Models own blusher brush
(I don't use a foundation brush or eye brushes, I use my hands as I find I get more coverage this way)

My 3 top items

1.  Benefit Creasless Cream Shadow/liner - This product is amazing at giving your lips a little shimmer without looking like you have loads of make up on, good for everyday use and smells like toffee. BUY IT!

2. Collection 2000 Lasting Perfection Concealer - This is amazing for the price, its under £5 and it makes dark under eye circles vanish without looking caked on, I LOVE IT!!

3.  HD Brows Advanced Brush Pencil- I am massively into brows and I get mine done HD about once every 3 months.  This pencil lets me keep them looking good in-between, its weird because you cannot sharpen but it works wonders on your brows, I will post on this in the future.

Favourite Brand 

This is hard for me cause I have favourite brands for different parts of make up but this time I'm going to give it to Topshop as it is the most used and I have no complaints about any products.

Cost

To fill my make up bag costs approx £146…this is scary considering i have only included about 20% of my entire make up collection.  Time to save.

Next time I plan to rummage in Kim @lovecloth 's make up bag.  Be ready!

Tuesday 20 November 2012

Beauty Battle // Benefit They’re Real VS MaxFactor False Lash Effect









On hearing the hype about the Benefit ‘They’re Real’ best selling mascara, I like any other beauty lover had to try it.  Luckily my good friend Evo was one step ahead of me and got me it for my birthday.  It has come to my attention that every beauty blogger in the country has done a review of this so I thought I would do something a little different and compare it to my all time favourite mascara, MaxFactor ‘ False Lash Effect’.

MaxFactor

I have been using False Lash Effect for nearly a year now and for me that is a big commitment, I am very fussy about my mascara and I rarely find one I stick with.  I also don’t like to spend too much on a mascara, Im not sure why, maybe because, having blonde lashes I use it so much so they often run out and I have to keep buying, so the less money I have the spend the better.  This product is around £10-12.

My lashes are blonde and fine, without mascara it feels like there is nothing there.  MaxFactor works wonders at making my look like I have ten times more lashes than I actually do, it multiplies them and makes them longer at the same time.  The best thing about this product is the applicator brush, I love a good thick brush which catches all your lashes and most importantly doesn’t clump.  This brush is the best I have found yet, especially for blonde lashes.

Sometimes with blonde lashes it can be so hard to find an applicator that lets you get the mascara right down to the root without making a massive black smudge of product across your lid or under your eye.  This brush grips the lashes from the bottom and allows you to drag it up through to the tip with no clumps.

MaxFactor also have a 24hr version of this mascara out, which I bought when my normal one ran out but had to quickly buy the original after I discovered that when they say 24hrs they mean 24hrs.  This version takes waterproof to a whole new level, it is intense and I found it quite hard to remove at the end of the day, I had to almost rub my eye off, it also doesn’t easily come off your hands if you get it on them.  My advice, stick to the original, unless you sleep with mascara on for some strange reason.

Benefit

So the beauty world is ranting and raving about ‘They’re Real’ and to be fair, I can see why.  It promises to do the same thing as max factor and give your real lashes that false effect where they are so long and luscious that people cannot tell the difference.

The applicator brush is like no other, it has an amazing grip on your lashes and also a handy little spiked ball tip which allows you to catch the really small lashes.
The mascara itself is very good at giving your lashes some length.  The only thing I would say is that for me with fine, blonde lashes, I like to be able to coat over them a couple of times to really stretch them out and make sure they are all darkened out, I found with this product that once I have went over it twice of more the lashes start to stick together, which actually makes me look like I have less.  It also doesn't seem to lift my lashes in the way they the MaxFactor product does.

The cutest thing about this product is the mini handbag version that I got with it, I’m not sure if my friend got this as a gift set or if this comes with them all, but it’s literally just a mini one for you to take out, which I do on most nights out.

And the winner is…

Ok so I think its pretty obvious that Benefit has not managed to steer my away from my love of MaxFactor False Lash Effect, although I have to give it props for coming very close.

I do still use the Benefit product and I do love it, but for nights out and for me having such small light eyes I find the volumizing ability of MaxFactor is just too hard to beat, why have ten lashes when you can fake having 100?









Monday 19 November 2012

Things I did this week...


1. Started my beauty blog
2. Bought top hats for Children in Need
3. Sent 'the finger' to my friend Emma cause we hated the world that day
4. Wore my new favourite skull scarf
5. Made fun of Emma cause she was too hungover to live
6. Admired my amazing nail polish storage
7. Soap and Glory post research
8. Wore bright blue jeans
9. Went to the kids section in Easons to find a One Direction sticker book (no joke)


Sunday 18 November 2012

Review // Illamasqua Rich Liquid Foundation 150 // Building the foundations





This is my final post - for now- on the current foundations I use religiously, and this one is about what I refer to as my 'party foundation'.  I call it this because it is my go-to foundation for any night out.

I came across Illamasqua about two years ago by accident in Debenhams, the concession visually looked very interesting so I stopped for a look and a nice sales girl talked me into trying a sample (I will never buy an expensive foundation without trying a sample for a week), I tried it that night which was a Saturday and happened to turn out very messy with me staying out until 6am Sunday morning, as I stubbled home from my night out I was pleasantly surprised to find my face still in tact.  I went back to the shop 2 days later to buy it, I was committed.

I am told this brand was originally used and loved by make up artists for stage performers, this immediately makes me think "if its used for the stage, it must be long lasting" and that thought would be correct.

I have never come across any foundation that stays in place for as long as this one.  The 'Rich Liquid Foundation' provides maximum long lasting coverage, this would make you think, like others that claim to do this, that it will look and feel very heavy, but surprisingly it doesn't at all.  It is light.

There are literally so many good aspects to this product that I could write forever.  It is a bargain compared to other high end foundations - just £25.00 for one bottle which will last at least 5/ 6 months- even if you use on a daily basis, the tiniest bit will cover your whole face. 

The consistency of this make up is like no other, its has a sort of 'paste like' feeling to it, which may not sound attractive but it is the only way I can think to describe what it does, you squeeze a tiny bit onto your finger or brush (i recommend using your fingers to apply to get the most from it) and apply to your face and you will see this tiny blob spread across your whole face literally making any blemishes vanish in an instant.  Sounds magic right? it feels magic too.

If you are a little scared by all this, Illamasqua do have an alternative called 'Light Liquid Foundation' which I have tried and is also great, it is a little less intense, but it just doesn't have the same wow factor as this one.

This foundation leaves you feeling and looking absolutely flawless for a long time, My personal tip would be when removing to wash your face twice as much as you normally would cause it can be harder to remove, which is expected if its going to keep you looking air-brushed all night.  

The Illamasqua website is brilliant, they always offer good discount to customers and when you order products they arrive in a sleek black box with shredded paper inside making it feel like a lovely little gift.  My next stop to the site will be to try their primer which I haven't yet done, the offer a great service called 'Create your own foundation set' which allows you to buy a primer and foundation together for a discounted price.

Cannot speak highly enough of my experience with this brand, I plan to keep purchasing and experimenting with the range.

To give a visual, the final picture I have attached is of my and my bestie Kim (who is an amazing fashion blogger that you can find at here) on a recent night out, it is an end of the night photo in a very sweaty hot club, believe me I had wiped my forehead various times and my foundation is still in place and looking acceptable, if i do say so myself.  Please note the dirty make up mark on my shoulder is not from my own face, I hugged someone not using a very good foundation :)

The proof is in the pudding!

PS.. I use number 150 as my shade, I have quite fair skin so it is pale but as it is my 'party foundation' the 150 is a little darker than my normal choice.



Saturday 17 November 2012

Nars // Sheer Glow Foundation in Fiji // Building the Foundations




I am quite new to Nars, unforgivable i know, I bought the foundation on a recent shopping trip to Manchester, and I have fallen in love, not only with the foundation, but with the brand.  I plan to blog about many more Nars products so watch this space.

This foundation does "exactly what it says on the tin", gives you a sheer glow.  As I said in my previous foundation post, my daily foundation is quite matte which I am a lover of but recently I have found myself craving the slight dewy look that some girls have, having slightly de-hydrated skin I have no hope of achieving this look naturally so when I found this foundation it was a match made in heaven.

Sheer glow is very light and feels like silk going on, Nars have done the impossible and created a light feeling foundation with full coverage that lasts the day.  I would recommend this foundation to anyone who's skin may not be tolerant enough for the heaviness of some others and anyone who wants a subtle glory satin finish look.  This product is £29.50 but is very worth it and will last around 3 months.

My own personal tip is to mix a little sheer glow in with any other foundation you may use for a certain occasion and zombie the best aspects of both.  For nights out I mix Sheer Glow with what I call my 'partying foundation' which I will blog about tomorrow.  

I am obsessed with primers, so while I was at Nars I decided to try one of theres.  For a few years I have been using Smashbox primer but it is very expensive so I decided to go for something different.  I got the Pro Prime- Multi-Protect Primer at £24.00.  First thing that stood out to be about it was that it looks and feels like a moisturiser, the primers I had been used to had more of a gel like appearance.

This primer is again really light, absorbs really quickly and feels like a moisturiser but it does everything a primer needs to, creates a smooth complexion and helps your make up to stay in place.  It is a great partner to the sheer glow foundation. 

To sum up, I think everyone should try this foundation, it is so worth the money and you will not be sorry.

look out for my final foundation post (for now) tomorrow on my favourite 'party foundation'.





Friday 16 November 2012

Review // Estee Lauder // Building the Foundations - Part one...






I confess, I am a little obsessed with foundation, I own 6, and each one I use for different occasions.  I don’t do this because I am insane, I do this because I genuinely believe that it is impossible to find one foundation for everything.  I am also a major cheerleader for primer and if you do not use primer then shame on you.

Since I put so much time into my own foundation routine I thought it only fair to share my thoughts on the products with you as they are some of the most popular foundations available.

As I have to many to get through, and long blog posts are not attractive, I am going to do each one separately, starting with my most loved and most used.

Estee Lauder // Double Wear in Bone 17

This is my every-day ‘work’ make up.  That may shock some people, as double wear is thought to be very heavy and bad to wear every day but I think that’s a myth, I have been using it as an every day foundation for 5 years now and I am yet to find any foundation that can beat it.  Double Wear is so durable and does not come off your face, I leave work and it is the same as when I arrived.  I use a very light colour called ‘Bone’ as I have very fair skin but the brand has such a large range of colours that you will never be stuck for one to match your skin tone.

Although it is pretty expensive, at £26.00 per bottle, it really does last a long time, you only need to use a tiny bit as it spreads well, one bottle usually lasts me roughly 3-4 months.

Double Wear is also quite a matte foundation, which I love, but there is the odd time I want more of a glow that I cannot get from highlighters, in this case I use Estee Lauder Spotlight Skin Tone Perfector.  This is not to be mistaken for a primer, it simply goes on before or after your foundation to add a little glow to it.  Perfect.

The only downside to double wear is I find that on nights out it reflects in photographs so I have a brown neck (from my tan) and a very white face.  It is for this reason that I don’t use it as my ‘going out’ make up, otherwise I would as it would be sure to stay on all night.

To sum up, I have been around in the foundation world and I ALWAYS come back to Double Wear.  If you have fair skin and hate when your foundation goes a little orange looking, Bone 17 is perfect, this will make you flawless.



Thursday 15 November 2012

Review // Boots Botanics Radiant Youth Replenishing Night Cream




First rule of beauty, moisturise, moisturise, moisturise!! 

I feel like sometimes people don’t realise the importance of this, even if you were born with perfectly hydrated skin that never dries out (poor you), you can never under estimate the power of moisturising and its ability to make your make-up sit perfectly.  I have friends who tell me they cannot find a good foundation because most will wear off or go blotchy, I tell them it is probably not the foundation, its their lack of moisturiser.

This brings me to my next point, night cream., this is a 'must have' for every girl.  The reason I choose a night cream over a day cream is simply because I think its less hassle.  I am very impatient and also not a very good morning person, so to wake up every morning, apply day cream and wait the recommended 10 minutes for it to absorb into my skin before I apply my make up is just not going to happen.

With a night cream, I add it to my bedtime routine, applying it just before I go to sleep and leaving it for a whole 8 hours to sink it and make me beautiful.

On a recent trip to boots I was on the hunt for a new night cream and I decided I wanted to try to spend as little as possible, with using the cream so often it’s not nice to have to fork out £20 each time, this brought me to the Boots Botanics range.

Now I KNOW the product I have chosen is recommended for ‘mature skin’ and to help wrinkles, which at 26, I should not have to worry about yet, but my thinking is, why not start early?  It couldn’t hurt right?  It was the only night cream in the range in stock, so I got my granny on for the day.

The first thing that attracted me was the price.  I cannot remember the exact price but I think it was around the £4.95 mark, bargain! Looking online, it says this cream is £6.99, perhaps it was on offer in my local Boots or I got a smaller tub, either way, the price is not too shabby and very much worth it.

The second thing was that it is all natural.  When it comes to using a cream on my face every day, I think natural is best, you don’t want to spend your life rubbing chemicals into your face, the Botanics range is great for this.  This particular cream is “enriched with protective ginko”- I assume some sort of plant.

I have been applying this every night before bed for over a week now, and I can officially give it the thumbs up.  It smells amazing without being perfumed, in fact, it actually smells natural, which may sound weird but if you try this you will know what I mean, you can smell the plant effect of it and it gives you a sense of reassurance that this is natural product you are using.

The cream goes on really smoothly and dries in really quickly, also it spreads well so you don’t have to use very much each night.  The big test for me was waking up in the morning to see if it had left my skin oily or greasy.  I have had this happen with various brands of night cream before, I would wake up and touch my skin and my finger would slide down it, (so sexy) but this time the cream had fully absorbed and my skin felt normal, just a little softer.

This night cream is light, smells nice, all- natural, cheap and left my skin soft and of course wrinkle free :)  I recommend it to anyone who wants to stay moisturised and free of dry skin this winter.

For the full Botanics range click here.

If you have anything you would like me to review, leave a comment and let me know.




Wednesday 14 November 2012

A Little Obsessed


Hola beauty lovers!!

My name is Nicci and I and a little obsessed with all things beauty.  As a full time worker who still lives at home, I find myself with money that is crying out to be spent on make-up, moisturisers and more, and being the kind hearted girl that I am, I would like to share my views with you all.

When it comes to beauty products, you name it, I've tried it! and if you name it and I haven't tried it, I will, just for you.

I hope you like my blog, please feel free to follow me on Bloglovin, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest or by email for updates on my favourite (and maybe sometimes least favourite) beauty products and of course the odd 'too much information' style picture of my life.