Monthly Favourites | March 2013

I can't believe that April is only a couple of days away already - hello Birthday month!! I feel like March has been a proper pamper month for me and I've spent most of it covered in bubbles trying to make myself smooth, polished and glowing! This stupid confused weather has completely dried out my poor skin and has brought out all sorts of dry patches so when my skin is feeling thirsty I whack on a layer of Origins Make a Difference Plus + Rejuvenating Treatment overnight (It takes a while to sink in so I find it best as a night time cream) and by the morning my skin has took it all in and the dryness has reduced significantly also leaving my skin noticeably more plump looking. Another thing that has taken a beating this month has been my lips, this Sugar Rose Tinted Lip Treatment is courtesy of a Birchbox and has been my saviour, it smells delicious and leaves lips a nice subtle pink colour as well as being very moisturising and leaving them super soft and crack free. Another beauty box special and bath time favourite is this Monu Warming Aromatic Mask the idea is that you leave this on for 15 minutes after you've cleansed and toned and then wipe it off and reveal beautiful skin, I don't think I've ever seen my complexion so bright, I am definitely without a doubt going to be rebuying this. Soap and Glory The Daily Smooth is my new go to moisturiser (full review here) I love the easy to use tube and the gorgeous smell. I bought Essie Tart Deco because I thought spring was on its way and this was a perfect spring shade, I couldn't have been more wrong about the weather but even the snow hasn't stopped me from wearing this for most of the month, it's a one coat formula that seems to be indestructible! Last but certainly not least is my number one product of the month Benefit Fine One One (full review here) I feel like I owe my newly found cheekbones and a lot more to benefit for coming up with this product! Cheeks, lips, highlighting, contouring, tinting, need I say more?!

I hope that you're all having a lovely break away from work and are psyching yourselves up to eat the weight of your MAC collection in chocolate tomorrow, happy Easter lovelies!! 

MAC Prep + Prime Skin Base Visage

 

 

 

MAC, Prep + Prime Skin Base Visage £19.50

I'd be lying if said that this primer didn't have me at it's wonderfully sparkly packaging! The biggest thing I was looking for in a new primer was that it evens out skin tone and did its best to combat redness and this promises all of that so I decided to give it a try. I really like that it's a pump mechanism but I won't be saying that when it's running out and I can't get to the hard to reach bits of product! I found that one pump of this is enough, a little goes a long way, I did go a bit overboard when I first used it and it made my face feel greasy. The actual primer is a white pearly colour and leaves your fingers looking quite glittery but it isn't overly noticeable on the face. Once applied it leaves me with such a lovely glow which I've never had before solely with primer on my face, the primers I've used in the past have usually made my skin look quite matte if anything. I didn't really notice a big difference in my skin tone or redness which was really what I was looking for so back to the drawing board with that one (Any suggestions?!) but my foundations glides over this effortlessly and blends a lot better, I was having a few issues with my foundation applying around hairy face areas (eyelashes and eyebrows) it was going all flaky and as I was using a new foundation I had never used before I blamed that but since I've started using this primer that doesn't happen any more. This does everything a primer should do and gives you a nice healthy glow without any effort, what's not to love?!

Revlon Lip Butters in Wild Watermelon and Juicy Papaya

 

 

Revlon, Lip Butters £7.99

Once I saw a few new limited edition lip butter shades floating around the blogosphere I knew that they had to be mine! I already own a couple of lip butters and Strawberry Shortcake was my go to lip product last summer. These are two of the four limited edition shades that aren't officially being launched until April (but can be found on Boots & Superdrug websites) the other two shades are called Sorbet and Pink Lemonade which will no doubt be added to my collection sometime soon - I just can't help myself!! I can't fault the formula of lip butters, they glide on like a dream, there's definitely no pulling or sticking to dry patches, they're moisturising and leave a glossy finish with a good colour pay off which is easy to build up. They also have that vanilla MAC like smell to them which I love. Wild Watermelon looks very red in the tube but once applied it does have a strong pink tone to it, I don't think I could find a better way to describe it than the colour of the inside of a watermelon! It applies quite sheer but can be built up to be bright. Like all lip butters they don't last an amazing length of time on your lips and this lasted a good 2 hours but it did leave a dark red stain on my lips. Juicy Papaya was the lip butter than I was most looking forward to trying because the colour looked right up my street but I'm sad to say I was disappointed, boohoo!! The colour pay off wasn't great and it looked about the same shade of my lips just glossier. I've seen swatches of this on darker skin on other blogs and it looks gorgeous so I don't know if it's just the fact that I am excessively pale right now and when I've St Morized it will be the lip butter of my dreams that I imagined it to be so I'm definitely going to persevere!

Style Crush Sunday | Katy Perry

We all have someone that we would risk a criminal record for to steal their wardrobes and while browsing Pinterest I realised that I have quite a few so Style Crush Sunday was born and who better to start with than my style queen Katy Perry?! It's no secret that if I could swap faces, bodies and lives with anyone it would be Miss Perry, if I'm in a style rut a quick Google image search of her and I'm inspired again, I have a serious girl crush. I absolutely love her quirky style and how she can give the simplest outfit her own spin (simple grey top and black skinnies but look at those glasses!) I really do think that her red carpet style has matured since her blue hair days and she has started dressing a lot more demurely recently but there is still no denying that she can rock a loud print and a serious flash of cleavage! When her hair isn't one of the colours of the rainbow she has side swept pin up waves nailed and flies the flag for all of us pale girlies out there and I don't know where you've been hiding if you haven't seen her impressive nail art. Katy, you could not put a Charlotte Olympia kitty flat clad foot wrong in my eyes!

Benefit Fine One One

 

 

 

 

 

Benefit, Fine One One £23.50

Benefit have done it again, gorgeous packaging, a witty play on words and most importantly an absolutely amazing product - all I can say is Fine One One, where have you been all my life?! This can be used on both your lips and cheeks but I haven't used it on my lips yet. The stick is made up of three coloured stripes, the first one being pink champagne which is a light pink highlighter, sheer watermelon is a vivid pink and soft coral is an orangey coral. These stripes are meant to highlight, add a coloured blush and contour all in one and hell yeah they do, when I've got this on I have the illusion of cheekbones that I've only ever seen on Cara Delevingne. If you're struggling with how to use this contraption (It does look more complicated than it is) Benefit have included a useful leaflet of tips and tricks to help you out. I swipe it on pink champagne side up from the apple of my cheeks upwards and then blend with circle motions using my fingers which leaves a lovely brightening pinky coral colour and the beauty of this product is that it goes on very sheer and can be built up to be as bright as you like. The formula is a little bit greasy when first applied and isn't very long lasting but it's small enough to pop in your bag for a retouch and I would retouch all day for this baby!

Midweek Wish List #5

1♥2♥3♥4♥5
(This has unintentionally turned out to be the pinkest wishlist in the world!)

1. Another week another Topshop dress that I just need in my life!! There's no denying that this dress is super pretty and just screaming out to be worn all spring long.

2. Revlon have brought out some new limited edition shades of their wonderful lip butters. I've got my beady little eyes on Juicy Papaya, Wild Watermelon and Pink Lemonade and these should already be mine after a scout around Boots and Superdrug on Monday only to find that they don't have them in yet, boo! I think a cheeky little Boots.com order is on the cards, I know patience is a virtue but this can't count when it comes to limited edition lip products can it?! 

3. I think I must be in a spring state of mind as I can't imagine going through the season without these on my nails and did I mention they're scented? They'll take you back to your gel pen sniffing days!

4. I couldn't live without my Tangle Teezer and I've took to taking it in the shower with me to brush through my conditioner but if you own one as well you'll know that they're pretty hard to hold on to and if you drop them on a hard floor they go down with a bang so add water and conditioner to the mix, they're nearly impossible to hold on to. This is a special shower Tangle Teezer, easier to hold on to, easier for the water to get through, hello tangle free hair!

5. When I was on the hunt for the new lip butters this dinky little thing caught my eye and in true beauty blogger style I didn't want to buy it without reading a couple of reviews first and there doesn't seem to be one good one about these which is a shame because they concept of this lip and cheek tint is very exciting but no matter how cute the packaging is if the product isn't good it isn't worth a purchase.

Make do and Mend!

I am a great advocate of a feline flick of eyeliner and consider going out without it as horrifying as going out without clothes on so you can imagine my dismay when my eyeliner pen ceased to draw a flawless black line any more and I didn't have a back up (Boots doesn't exist where I live so this wasn't an easily solvable problem) knowing I wouldn't be able to replace it for a few days - after a bit of a panic - I persevered but ended up looking bloody awful. Then my Birchbox arrived and it was like my guardian angel had been listening to my prayers because there was a gel eyeliner and right then and there I decided I was forever in Birchboxes debt and would never, ever, ever cancel my subscription in thanks, that was until I tried out the gel eyeliner and couldn't get to grips with the little brush. At this point I was about to give up hope and go out with a naked top lid until I had a strike of inspiration and dipped my dried up eyeliner pen in the gel eyeliner which gave it a new lease of life! If you're like me and live in a village that doesn't have anything, you need to keep your eyeliner pen going until you can reach civilisation and don't get on using anything else to apply it with, if you've got something like a gel eyeliner knocking around then get dipping because that beautiful black line will be back!!

Today is absolutely miserable so just in case the weather is getting you down I'll leave you with a picture that made me giggle.

Soap and Glory The Daily Smooth Body Butter

 

 

 

Soap and Glory, The Daily Smooth Body Butter £8.50

You might recognise this from my haul a couple of weeks ago, who can resist Soap and Glory on 3 for 2? In my opinion you can never have too many body butters and I absolutely love that this comes in a tube. I much prefer body lotions like this because I feel like I have more control over how much I use and they seem to last for a lot longer than a tub would. I'm a bit of a sucker for anything that smells even a tiny bit like vanilla and as this is one of the notes of this scent I just love it. I can't fault the stuff, as well as the packaging and smell it absorbs well and leaves you feeling as soft as a dogs ear (The softest things in the world. Ever. FACT!) I've just had a lovely soak in the bath and I've smothered myself in this so if you want to smell as delicious as I do now get yourself down to Boots!!

I feel like I've been a bit slack on the old blogging front recently but everything has all of a sudden gone a bit full on with work, finding a house and packing up Joel's flat! We thought that we'd found the perfect house and after paying all the admin fees, filling out all the forms and getting excited the landlord refused to let to us because we'd never lived together before, grrrr!! There is another place on the horizon but it's not all gone through yet so I'm not going to get my heart set on it until everything is definite (Okay, okay, my heart is already set on in and the house warming bbq is as good as planned) So we're keeping our fingers crossed!

One last thing, I have no idea what is going on with Google reader but in case we lose GFC you can follow me here on Bloglovin! 

March Glossybox 2013

 

 

 

 

Glossybox, £10 plus p&p

So we're back to the normal Glossybox this month after last months very pink valentines box! The theme of this months box is city chic and the contents of the box is meant to help us perfect that effortless city girl look and take us from office to party. As well as the usual Glossy mag there was an adorable travel book (with stickers!!!!!! Hello excited!) which has shopping, sight seeing and eating hot spots from all around the world in it. If you've got a trip planned or don't know where you want to jet off to next I think this book would be very helpful. This is hands down the best beauty box I've had in a while and here is what I got:

Elizabeth Arden Eight Hour Cream - I've never used this cream before but it seems there's no ends to what it can do according to the long list in the Glossy mag (Refresh skin, shape brows, soothe dry hands and chapped lips, the list goes on!) It's only a tiny sample but apparently a little goes a long way so I'll be making my way through that list.

Nails inc St. James - It's Nails inc, need I say more?! We all know this brand very well and love 'em! It's a lovely pillar box red and I can't wait to get it on my nails!

Juicy Couture Couture La La - Like the majority of people when you see a perfume sample in your box it's a bit of a disappointment but as I haven't had one for months and months it was nice to see because this is what my bag is lacking. I can't comment on how it smells yet because I haven't had a spritz but it's described as feminine and daring.

Tresemme Salon Finish Extreme Hold Hairspray - I already use this hairspray quite a lot (when Boots has it on offer) and I love it, it doesn't make your hair crispy or sticky but has a good hold so this handbag size offering is a welcome addition to my dressing table!

Jelly Pong Pong Lip Blush - A lip product in a decent colour, hallelujah!! What a little beauty this lip stain is and moisturising is definitely what we need with this stupid weather drying out our lips and the pop of colour is a bonus.

Keep up the good work Glossybox! What did you get in your box this month? Send me links, I'd love to have a look! 

Empties #1 | Repurchase Yay or Nay?

I love seeing what products people have used up and whether they liked them enough to repurchase so here is my very own empties post. It's taken me what seems like forever to collect all of these so this definitely won't be a monthly thing as it seems I am very stingy with my products, but when I've got another good collection of things I've used there will be an 'Empties #2'!

1. I got this Mandara Spa shower gel in a gift set for Christmas so I have no idea where it came from (Boots is my guess) as far as a shower gel goes it smelt nice and did the trick. I don't think I would go out of my way to buy this again not because there's anything wrong with it though just because I have no loyalty to shower gels and just have a look what offers are on!
Repurchase? Probably not.

2. I really enjoyed using The Porefessional (full review here) and was sad to see it bite the dust, it left me with such a smooth base and my foundation applied a lot easier. I haven't repurchased this because pores aren't my biggest problem and I wanted to find something that would even my skin tone a bit (I went for MAC Skin Base Visage in the end)
Repurchase? I would definitely buy this again.

3. These are only deluxe samples of Ojon's Volume Advance shampoo and conditioner that I got with something else I bought but I am so glad I got to try them, I cannot praise these enough, they left my hair soft and full and if it wasn't for the fact that it would be nearly £40 for a full size shampoo and conditioner I would have repurchased these already.
Repurchase? If I find myself with some extra pennies then hell yeah!!!

4. I love an intensive conditioning treatment and if anything needs recovery then it's my hair. This Charles Worthington mineral mask didn't do any miracles but it did leave my hair very shiny, soft and manageable.
Repurchase? I would if there was an offer on.

5. Morrocanoil, the holy grail of hair oils. I cannot fault this stuff, it's one of my favourite smells and it makes me able get a comb through my hair after it's been washed and banishes all fly aways. I would recommend this to anyone!
Repurchase? This isn't my first Morrocanoil and definitely won't be my last!

6. There's always really good offers on Toni&Guy in Boots so this is probably why I have a backlog of these shampoo and conditioners! I like a shampoo that lathers up well which this does and I did find that my ends didn't feel as dry.
Repurchase? I wouldn't go out of my way to specifically buy this again but I would use it again.

7. I think this is one of my favourite things that I've got out of a Glossybox. I absolutely love this Rituals body cream. It smells gorgeous and I don't think anything has ever made my skin feel so soft.
Repurchase? Yes!!! I need this permanently in my life.

Chanel Le Vernis Nail Colour in Fracas

 

 

 

Chanel, Le Vernis Nail Colour 571 Fracas £18.00

I am loving all of the Spring collections coming out, the sun just needs to follow suit! I'd been looking at the new Chanel nail colours for a while but £18.00 is just a bit too much for me to justify spending on a single nail varnish and that's when fate struck. I went to the dentist and they told me that because my mouth is so healthy (hell yeah!) I only had to go once a year from now on therefore saving me £17.50. In my head the Chanel Nail Varnish was now free (what's 50p between friends?) and I've never seen anything enter my Debenhams online basket so fast!

This is a lovely vibrant pink and I'm not usually a pink nails kind of girl so I don't own anything like it. it looks very glittery in the pot but I found that it doesn't really transpire onto the nail very well which was good for me because I don't really like shimmery nail varnishes (Full on glitter is another story, I love them) but if you're looking for the sparkle to be noticeable I really don't think that it will be. It was almost full coverage with one coat but I used 2 just to make sure that it was as opaque as it could be although I think that I could have got away with one. This lasted on my nails for over a week with minor chipping, I only took it off because I was bored of it, not because it looked messy at all. I really wish I didn't get on with this formula as much as I did because now I need some more fateful things to happen so I can treat myself to another one! 

OOTN #3

Dress ♥ Topshop

Shoes ♥ Zara

Watch ♥ Marc by Marc Jacobs

Valentines Day seems like a distant memory now but better late than never! This is what I wore when me and Joel went for a valentines meal at Piccolino in Nottingham. Once again, I apologise for Joel's terrible photography, he does not get on with my camera at all and by the look on my face he was telling me all about it! I'd been lusting after this dress ever since it appeared on the Topshop website (Here it is on my very first wishlist) but kept putting off ordering it and I'm glad I did because this baby only set me back £20 when it hit the sale!! It's a really flattering cut and I love the heart print! I actually wore this out to a work meal the other night with tights and my studded boots and it looks as good dressed down as it does dressed up. I paired it with my trusty Nude heels and minimal accessories to let the dress do the talking! Here's a couple more pictures from our weekend if you want to have a look...

                                         ♥ The biggest bed in the world. Ever. ♥ Me and Mr Cook  ♥ A few drinks before the meal

I've also just joined the iPhone brigade and have been introduced to the world of Instagram so if you want to have a look at what pictures I'm snapping then I'm @Jadehardyxo and if there's any apps that you think I can't live without then let me know, anything to get me off Candy Crush!!