Haul: The Body Shop Aloe Skincare and More

I have to apologise in advance because I know my photography isn't up to the usual standard that I like to have on my blog but I'm having a few teething problems with my new surroundings! I sort of live in an indent where the halls join onto another building so I get very little light and what does come through is from an awkward angle. I've spent a few days putting this post off and taking photos every day to improve it but this is the best I can do at the moment. Sorry!

The good news is that I have lots of fabulous products to show you!

I've been using the aloe skincare on and off for about a year and a half now and I love it. It's so gentle. It never dries out my skin or causes the redness which I so strive to avoid and I can't recommend it enough for anyone with sensitive skin! These are all stars in their own right and I'll probably put together a more comprehensive post of my current skincare routine in the future to really highlight them. The serum is the newest edition to my regime and so far I've found it to be gorgeous - really smooth and light and perfect for prepping the skin before moisturising.
The absinthe hand cream is stunning! I tried a sample in the Summer and fell in love with it's fresh, herby scent and think it's the ideal alternative to the hemp hand cream if you can't handle the scent of that one! (I know I can't...blech)

The Vineyard Peach is one of my absolute favourite scents so I couldn't resist grabbing this exfoliator to perk up my A/W skin which always gets a bit lack-lustre and dry around this time of year.
I also decided to step out of my comfort zone a bit and try the Moringa body butter. I'm a bit of a body butter addict and have waaay too many at home but I only brought one with me to Uni (the peach, yum) so I thought I'd try something new! I sometimes find floral scents a bit over powering but this one is light, airy and reminds me of jasmine in Summer...ahh.

Must have accessories! In my opinion The Body Shop bath lilies (their name for what I call scrunchies, what do you call them?) are the absolute best on the market and I wouldn't use any other. They always stay nice and tight and the material is super fine but gently exfoliating - can't go wrong. My boyfriend got into the annoying habit of stealing mine so I got him his own in the olive shade and it's already a firm favourite. Mani-pedi accessoriess were bought on a whim but I know I'll get plenty of use out of them. My old nail-buffing block was looking a bit tired but this one is so far looking like a stellar replacement!

The Body Shop always have a startling array of offers on and I snapped all this up with a 50% off voucher.

Absinthe Hand Cream 30ml - £5.00

Aloe Gentle Exfoliator 75ml - £9.00

Aloe Gentle Facial Wash 125ml - £8.00
Aloe Protective Serum 30ml - £11.00

Moringa Body Butter 200ml - £13.00

Nail Buffer - £2.00

Foot Buffer - £4.00
Ultra Fine Bath Lily - £2.00

The vineyard peach stuff isn't available at the moment but you can almost guarantee they'll wheel out the stock again at some point. For now, I recommend the mango body scrub as similar and just as delicious smelling! 

Mango Body Scrub 200ml - £12.50

In the end I got all this for just £30 since the body butters were also half price. Absolute bargain!

Have you tried any of these products? What did you think?

Lauren

P.S. again, sorry for the photography. I will find a way to make it work I promise. 

Daily Make Up/How Much Is My Face Worth?

For the longest time my daily make up was literally just a flick of liquid liner and some mascara but frankly, that wasn't cutting it. I've since upgraded into a full face of make up and love the freedom I have over my look. These are the products that I use pretty much every day for work etc. I don't bother with make up if I'm just nipping out shopping or slumming it around the house so I can give my skin a break.

My base hasn't changed in quite a while. I currently use The Body Shop Moisture Foundation in 03, Lightening Touch Concealer in 01 and All-in-One Face Base in 03. The colour match is essentially perfect for me and I love the included SPF. Check out this post for extra details! Sleek's Face Form (Light) is the most recent addition to my daily make up bag and it's revolutionised my base. I love how transformative it is! I have so much more warmth and definition to my face now and feel much more confident. I tend to always use the contouring powder and highlighter but swap up my blush depending on my mood. For blushes I switch between the blush included (Rose Gold,) TBS Macaroon Blush and Maybelline's Cream Blush in 06 Berry.

I always use some combination of my MUA Undressed Palette, Rimmel Liquid Liner and Illamasqua Sophie pencil for my eyes. As you can see I use every colour in the palette and never wear the same look twice in a row just to make myself experiment more. It's so easy to get stuck in a rut (coming from liner flick and mascara girl, so trust me!) so I love my new philosophy. I don't always wear liner but when I do these are my go to products. The Rimmel liquid is so easy to use and this is my second bottle already, forever repurchase! The Sophie pencil is the blackest of blacks and is really soft and blendable but doesn't smudge when it sets. Pretty much perfection in a pencil. Deborah Milano Mascara is an essential for me; I originally got it  for reviewing purposes but I adore it so it became my daily mascara. I get a ton of volume and length with a couple of coats and it's the perfect finishing touch to every look for me.

For day to day, I just wear a clear balm or lip butter to keep my lips in good condition. That way they're looking gorgeous and smooth for when I go all out with a fabulous bright lip in the evenings. I swear by Nivea Lip Butter for the most kissable lips going!

So how much is my face worth?

Base:

The Body Shop Moisture Foundation SPF 15

£13

The Body Shop Lightening Touch Concealer Pen

£14
The Body Shop All-in-One Face Base

£14

Sleek Face Form in Light

£10

Eyes:

Mua Undressed Palette
£4
Rimmel Exaggerate Liquid Liner in Black
£4.29

Illamasqua S.O.P.H.I.E Pencil
£13
Deborah Milano 24 Ore Absolute Volume Mascara
£9.50

Lips:
Nivea Lip Butter (Not Pictured)
£1.99

Total: £83.78

I so was not expecting it to be that high! I didn't include any of my brushes or moisturiser so that's pretty shocking. I don't even use any high end products aside from the Illamasqua pencil. I guess my only defence is that I've seen worse...? Not very good defence!

Do you use any of the same products as me? What do you think of my philosophy of never wearing the same eye make up twice in a row? And how much is your face worth?! Add it up and let me know!

Lauren

Valentine's Day Inspired Makeup Tutorial

Ahh, love is in the air... and by love I mean an inordinate amount of money and the pressure to somehow make sex more exciting than usual. I'm only joking! I'm not a total grouch. Whilst it's absolutely true that you should be loving your significant other pretty much every day, it's kind of nice to have a day dedicated to it. And it certainly doesn't have to cost a lot of money. I for one am intending on making my lovely boyfriend breakfast in bed which I know he's going to love.
Regardless of what comes with Valentines Day there's no denying that it can be pretty inspirational with it's classic girly colour palette and patterns. Since I recently received this palette (only £1.99!) I decided that I was going to experiment with some pink shadows.

1-2

Gently pat the lid shade all over the eye. I used my Body Shop Eye Shadow Brush. Blend slightly outwards to create a more soft, rounded shape. Using the same brush, work the crease shade into the crease and bring it under the eye about half way across. Using a clean brush (or even your little finger as I did) pat some of the lightest shade into the inner corner.

3-4

Apply a liquid liner. I used Illamasqua Precision Ink in Havoc which is a deep red/purple shade and dries to a wet-look finish. Matte black would be fantastic and much easier to wear, but since we're experimenting I think Havoc is great! Slick two coats of black mascara onto the top lashes and one coat onto the bottom lashes. I then defined my brows and highlighted the arch on the brow bone using the Soap and Glory Arch de Triumph.

4-5

That's the eyes finished! Looking very sleepy. For the lips I wanted to tie into the colour palette but keep them quite muted so as not to overpower the rest of the makeup. Annoyingly I didn't actually have any pastel pinks in my collection so I had to get creative. I began by slicking on a thin coat of Rimmels Apocalips in Nude Eclipse and evening out with a lip brush (or fingers.) I then used Revlon Lip Butter in Berry Smoothie over the top by rubbing the product onto my finger and gently patting across the lips. I am absolutely thrilled with these lips! It just goes to show that you don't always need new products to get the desired effect and I'll be experimenting some more in the future with colour mixing.

Here's the finished look. Fit for Aphrodite herself! ;)

Products Used:

Face:

The Body Shop Moisture Foundation in 03

The Body Shop Lightening Touch Concealer in 01

The Body Shop All In One Face Base in 03

Collection 2000 Lasting Perfection Concealer in Light

Illamasqua Illuminator in Slay

Maybelline Dream Touch Blush in Berry 06

Eyes:

Technic Electric Beauty Ultra Violet Palette

Illamasqua Precision Ink in Havoc

Soap and Glory Arch de Triumph

The Body Shop Super Volume Mascara in Black

Lips:

Rimmel Apocalips in Nude Eclipse

Revlon Colorburst Lip Butter in Berry Smoothie

I really hope you liked my look and would love to see some links to your Valentine's looks! Obviously this is a bit "out there" with the red liner but I still love it and I did wear this out! Very brave for such a beauty and fashion backwards town but I felt great.

Lauren

January Empties

I finally have some empties for you! I will be the first to admit that I am terrible for finishing products. I get bored of the scent and move on really quickly. Particularly with shower gels and moisturisers. However, since Kat from Tales of a Pale Face talked about her savings idea of putting away money for every product she finishes, I've been feeling inspired! No more will half used products sit in my bathroom! 

From L-R: Soap and Glory Hand Food, Soap and Glory Clean on Me Shower Gel, The Body Shop Satsuma Body Butter 50ml, VO5 Treat Me Right Hair Mask, VO5 Gloss Me Smoothly Conditioner, The Body Shop Dragon Fruit Lip Butter, Boots Conditioning Nail Polish Remover

Soap and Glory Hand Food and Clean on Me Shower Gel
Okay, confession time. I've actually had these since December 2011. I got them in the big S&G case. I'm not normally this bad when it comes to using up products but I actually got so sick of the smell of these that I couldn't bare to use them! They just reminded me so much of working at Boots (as a very miserable Christmas temp) and they gave me a queasy feeling of dread every time I smelt them. A few months ago I decided that I was going to try to reacclimatise myself to them so they didn't make me feel sick. I didn't do too badly! They're still excruciatingly sweet but meh, I finished them. I know that for a lot of people these are like Holy Grail products, particularly the Hand Food. But I wasn't wowed. I personally much prefer the smell of the Sugar Crush range. The quality is excellent though. They last forever and you don't need much. The Hand Food is very moisturising but it doesn't sink in quite as quickly as I'd like. Still very fast, but not by any means perfect. (P.S. the shower gel has lost it's colour because it was shoved on the window sill for months, it's supposed to be a happy pink!)
Repurchase? No way. I gave away my last Hand Food and Righteous Butter to my giveaway winner. I would have given her the shower gel too but it was too darn heavy!

The Body Shop Satsuma Body Butter 50ml
Ahh, let me count the ways I love thee... One of my all time favourite products are the body butters that The Body Shop make and this is possibly my favourite scent. It's very true to a Satsuma smell and it sinks in insanely fast. It's a bit lighter and creamier than the other butters that I have tried so I would prefer to use this in the Spring/Summer. I actually finished this around Christmas time and it's my oldest empty out of the lot! I like to layer the satsuma mist over this for an extra long lasting scent. Smelling like a satsuma isn't for every one, but I love it.
Repurchase? Already have. The 200ml version sits proudly on my drawers.

VO5 Treat Me Right Hair Mask and VO5 Gloss Me Smoothly Conditioner
I'm very fickle when it comes to my hair. I'd like to say I'm loyal to a certain shampoo and conditioner but I'd be lying. I'm actually the type that buys whatever is on offer a the time! *bad beauty blogger* Regardless of my bizarre swapping and changing, I have noticed a slight improvement in my hair recently. I think it's a combination of these and my Tresemme heat defence spray. It looks much shinier than it usually does! I've always been quite lucky with the condition of my hair and I've never suffered with particularly bad dryness or split ends but shine and volume is something I'm always looking for. Here's my hair a couple of days ago (sorry for the long image):

This is after using Colour B4 (which didn't work, but that's a story for another day,) applying the VO5 mask and Tresemme heat defence. Very shiny and healthy looking! I do recommend these products if you're looking for cheap glossy conditioners.

Repurchase? Yes, so long as they're on offer ;)

The Body Shop Dragon Fruit Lip Butter

All hail the holy grail! I love this product. I rave about it whenever I get a chance. Being of dry skin variety I also suffered with dry and chapped lips which would split and bleed (gross but true.) Well no longer. This product is an intensely moisturising, thick, pale cream. I slather it on at night and wake up to fabulous soft lips. Can't recommend it enough. Particularly in Winter.

Repurchase? YES! Already have. I'm trying a new scent though, hello Mango!

Boots Conditioning Nail Polish Remover

Always an essential. I picked this one up months and months ago and it's lasted forever (despite me tipping it over and losing some!) Would I say it was conditioning? Hmm. It certainly wasn't drying and cuticles always felt soft after using so to an extent I'd say yes. Also worth noting is that this is the nicest smelling nail varnish remover I have ever smelt. It doesn't make me wince with the acrid fumes. And on top of all that it even removed my nail varnish with a small amount of effort! Win.

Repurchase? I probably would. I recently bought a strengthening one from Sainsbury's so I'll see how that compares first.

Lots of positivity in this months empties! What do you think to these products?

Lauren

January Favourites

Since I've now been blogging for over two months I feel familiar enough with my stash to start my monthly favourites! What better month to start than January?  I have a bit of a mix here, there's few old favourites and some new products too. So here are my most reached for this month:

From L-R: Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stains in Honey and Crush, W7 Nail Varnish in 11, The Body Shop Aloe Gentle Foaming Face Wash, Naturals Mango and Papaya Lip Balm, Maybelline Dream Touch Cream Blush in Berry 06, The Body Shop Shea Body Butter, Rimmel Exaggerate Liquid Liner in Black

Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stains in Honey and Crush
I was very late on the band wagon with these but I'm enormously happy that I finally jumped on! I've literally been swapping these back and forth for Day and Night. Honey is a pretty soft pink and Crush is deep berry tone. I find them absolutely ideal for the Winter since they're slightly moisturising. Matte lipsticks tend to dry my lips out in this weather. Swatches and full review here.

W7 Nail Varnish in 11
A beautiful powdery pastel blue. I've worn it twice already this month! I even accidentally bought an Illamasqua dupe but I find the slightly thinner formula of this polish works better for me. It's a great colour to take me into Spring. I love it!

The Body Shop Aloe Gentle Foaming Face Wash
I've been using this for a couple of months now and it's almost empty. It's super light and refreshing and I love using it. I always feel extra clean and my skin looks more radiant in the mornings. I can't sing it's praises enough. Colour, fragrance and paraben free, it's ideal for sensitive skin girls like me.

Naturals Mango and Papaya Lip Balm
A more recent addition to my stash! I actually won this from Jasmine and it came in a collection of four different scents. I love all of them but this is my current favourite. It smells absolutely divine. Really fruity and fresh. It has a slight orange tint to it which comes out as a very natural peachy shine on my lips. Perfect for day time. I haven't put it down!

Maybelline Dream Touch Cream Blush in Berry 06
I bought this all the way back in November but I've only recently started full embracing it. This is 100% my go to blush. I prefer a slightly dewy finish because I feel it looks much more natural on my dry skin and this is just perfect for a touch of natural colour. It only takes a very small amount and I buff it on using my round Nanshy brush for a flawless finish. Lasts forever, looks gorgeous. Review of Nanshy brushes and cheek swatch here.

The Body Shop Shea Body Butter
The very first Body Shop butter that I ever bought and still a firm favourite. It's the one that I reach for when I have very dry skin and I love it for some extra moisture in Winter. I have quite a few of the butters and there are an amazing selection of scents. They sink in really fast and you can smell them all day long. Perfect mosturisers.

Rimmel Exaggerate Liquid Liner in Black
This is has always been my go to liquid liner and this is a brand new tube since I tragically lost my old one. It's ultra black, dries fast and doesn't transfer despite not being waterproof. It also has my favourite kind of applicator, a slightly firm point that doesn't splay or pull on my skin. Forever repurchase.

Quite a few this month that I wanted to feature! Have you tried any of these products? I'd love a link to your favourites this month!

Lauren

Haul: No7, Models Own and much much more!

On Friday morning I woke up to my bank account looking plump and healthy after my very last pay cheque (boo.) I decided that I was going to go out in style. I passed a lot of it onto my boyfriend to cover some bills and to put some into savings. The rest was for me to spend on things that would make me happy. Queue teen movie style shopping. I've grouped the items into purpose.
First up, Skincare:

From L-R: The Body Shop Absinthe Hand Cream (sample), The Body Shop Mango Lip Butter £4, No7 Beautiful Skin Eye Make-Up Remover £8.50, No7 Beautiful Skin Hydration Mask £12.50, No7 Beautiful Skin Cleansing Balm £9, Nivea Daily Essentials Express Hydration Primer for Dry & Sensitive Skin £4.99

I tried out the Absinthe hand cream in store and really liked it. It has a light nettle scent that's really refreshing. It's thick and smooth and also comes in a hand butter which I'm quite curious about. I'm glad the assistant gave me this because I'm going to try and collect the little pots and one day mix Sleek Pout Paints in them (I WILL HAVE THEM ONE DAY!) The Lip Butter is my Holy Grail. I just finished up my Dragon Fruit one and it's lasted me absolutely ages and smells divine but I really wanted to try something new. It has a slight shimmer and more of a neutral tone to it which means I'll probably be able to wear this during the day more than my other one. Here's hoping. No7 Eye Make Up Remover is to serve as a replacement for the body shop cucumber cleansing milk which I find leaves a residue behind on my skin. Ick. I'm really excited to try the Hydration Mask. I've read some reviews and they all sound really promising. I suffer from dry patches of skin so this should help. Cleansing Balm is again to try and help my dry skin. I currently use the body shop aloe foaming facial wash, which I do love and recommend to anyone with sensitive skin, but I'm hoping this will give my skin the extra push it needs for moisture. I asked the #bbloggers a week or two ago during the chat to recommend a primer and the Nivea Express Hydration cropped up a lot. Since it was only £4.99 in Superdrug I couldn't really say no.

Nails:

From L-R: Models Own 3 in 1 (clear,) Golden Peach, Blooming Pink, In the Navy, Juicy Jules, Blizzard £5 each, Revlon Liquid Quick Dry £6.49

So I went a little crazy on the Models Own offers in Boots. I've never tried them before but they seem to be really highly rated by a lot of bloggers and I absolutely love the colours I picked up! The only one I've used so far is Blizzard which you can see here with Illamasqua's Caress. I've been a bit nail varnish mad recently and I think I'll be doing some collection posts soon which I'm excited about! Revlon Liquid Quick Dry is a product that goes on after the top coat to speed up drying time. It contains oils and vitamins which (apparently) help your nails stay healthy. I saw this and I was like omg if this works it will change my life. I'm one of those people that is just terrible for getting smudges and indents in my manicure. I've tried this once today and so far I'm pretty impressed. it definitely helped give me a rock solid mani. I'll give it a few more tries and review soon!

Hair:

Colour B4 Hair Colour Remover in Extra Strength £11.99 each

Eye wateringly expensive. I resent paying full price for anything so this was a struggle for me. I've been thinking about doing this for over a year now and I've finally decided to buy the stuff and take the plunge. The issue is that I'm currently trying to grow out my chemical-laden coloured hair and I can't deal with the bizarre colouring any more. It's dark blonde/light brown at the top, dyed brown in the middle, and auburn at the bottom. It could look a lot worse but I'm very aware of it and that's all that matters to me. By no stretch of the imagination do I think I'm gonna be blonde again afterwards but I'm hoping that this will make the divides less noticeable. I will definitely let you know what happens!

Miscellaneous:

The Body Shop Amazonian Wild Lily EDT 50ml £15, Collection 2000 Lasting Perfection Concealer in Light £4.19

I'm always on the hunt for another perfume that I like and I gave Amazonian Lily a spritz on a whim and fell in love. It's very fresh and light and the floral notes aren't overly strong. I dislike exptremely sweet/floral perfumes and I wasn't expecting to like this. Perfume scents are very personal but if your tastes are anything like mine I urge you to give it a try! I bought this with 40% off. £9 for a perfume! Bargain. Believe it or not I've never tried the Collection Concealer.  I have the illuminating touch version and I really like it, but I needed something a bit heavier for pigmentation issues. I swatched the fair shade but it is very very pale. I think Light will do nicely!

So that's everything! I did also snag a couple of the Apocalips today but it was after dark so no photos I'm afraid! I'm sure you'll see them here soon enough.

Have you tried any of the products I bought? What do you think to them?

Lauren

My Current Base Products (for pale, dry, sensitive skin) - The Body Shop

That was a crazy long title. Phew! Okay, I talk about how much I love these products all the time but I've never really sat down and showed them off properly. I use The Body Shop products because I love how helpful and informed the staff are when it comes to colour and formula matching for my skin. I've actually been several times and spoken to several different staff members and they've always matched me to the same products. This consistency gives me a lot of confidence in the brand as a whole. I also find the products to be of fantastic quality and I'm actually on my second tube of the foundation, I just love it that much. So without further ado:

You'll have to excuse my face and camera peeking out of every single picture! The packaging of The Body Shop's cosmetic products all contain highly reflective silver plastic. They do pick up finger prints and dirt fairly easily but I probably wouldn't change them because I just love how they look! I find the packaging gives them more of a "high end" feel and besides, they're very easy to wipe clean.

The Body Shop Moisture Foundation SPF 15 in 03 - £13
I love this foundation. As I just said, this my second tube! It gives a light to medium coverage and leaves a soft dewy finish which I find very flattering and illuminating. I tend to prefer foundations with lighter coverage because although I don't have too many blemishes, I have an uneven skin tone, and I find that BB creams just aren't quite enough for me. It does also have a slightly moisturising quality which is absolutely essential for my dry skin. Anything heavier enhances my rough dry patches and makes me so paranoid! This one also contains SPF which I love. I often forget to wear sun protection but luckily I have SPF 15 in both my day moisturiser and this foundation so it's perfect for lazy beauties such as myself! I think the price is extremely reasonable for what you get, 30 ml of high quality foundation lasts me a very long time and I don't dither too much over £13 for that. Besides, there are always offers on at The Body Shop so you often end up paying even less than that!

The Body Shop Lightening Touch Concealer in 01 - £14
This is essentially one of the many touche eclat "dupes." It's a highlighting under eye concealer that applies through the in-built brush. I find that it's just right for covering up the shady areas under my eyes. Obviously this isn't one for blemishes but it's really nice for a gentle highlight. I do feel that the price is a little high for what it is and there is a very limited shade range. This is actually the lightest of just three shades which are all fairly pale. With the price in mind I probably wouldn't have picked this up, but I ended up getting it free in a 3 for 2 offer when I was buying some other products and I was looking for something like this. I don't regret my choice but I don't think I'll be in a rush to repurchase. But then again, I haven't tried the touche eclat and people pay £25 for that, so I definitely need to compare them and let you know if this one is worth it!

The Body Shop All-In-One Face Base in 03 - £14
This is a multi-use tinted pressed powder. I use this as a mattifying powder that also gives me some extra coverage. You can actually use this wet to create a foundation, but I haven't tried it yet. As I said before I do quite like a dewy, highlighted finish, but I tend to use this in the places where you would normally apply bronzer just to take focus away (e.g. my chubby chin/jawline) and on days when I feel I need a little extra coverage/a matte base. I really love this product, it does a fantastic job and it looks so pretty! It does come with a round sponge applicator but I prefer to dust it on with a large brush to avoid product wastage and give more even coverage. For me, this is expensive. But you do get 9g of product and like I say, has anyone ever paid full price at The Body Shop? I know I haven't. This product actually has quite a good selection of shades, but still nothing for very dark skin which I find irritating.

TOTAL: £41

So that's everything! Have you tried any of these products? Which brand is your favourite for base products?

Lauren

Boxing Day Sales Haul

I was feeling very brave on Boxing Day and decided to battle my way through the sea of people in such of some bargains! Sadly the only thing that I desperately wanted was the only thing I couldn't get - The Clinique Whole Lotta Colour set. Literally sold out EVERYWHERE. If you chat to me on Twitter you will have seen my pitiful moans about finding one. No success yet. Maybe there'll be a few about in January? Here's hoping. Here's what I did manage to find:

I picked up these ten W7 polishes from my new favourite nail varnish store - TKMaxx. I've had some fantastic luck in there recently, as you can see from this recent haul. I've never used W7 before but I just couldn't pass up this fantastic set of pastels for just £10! They are screaming SPRING at me and I can't wait for the daffodils that will be the backdrop to these ice cream shades. I can only hope that the formula will be up to scratch for me! Let me know if you've tried this brand before. Also, there's a massive amount of product in them, I've never seen 15ml nail polishes before! The only negative is that they don't come with names, only numbers. I love pretty names for products and I won't lie, I've spent some time fantasising about what I would name these. I won't tell you what I've named them because it's sad and embarrassing... how about Pina Colada for the yellow though?!

I also took a trip into one of my favourite shops - The Body Shop. They have an amazing selection of body butters in there for half price at the moment. I spent a while holding Cherry, Blueberry, Raspberry and Passion Fruit before I finally reasoned with myself that I should only take one. As you can see, I walked away with Passion Fruit but my heart is telling me that I'll have Raspberry by the end of the week. Oops. I adore the Green Apple shower gel and this is my second bottle. I recently drained my last one and it's going to be in my 2012 favourites. It's so fresh and not too sickly sweet. I'm gutted that it's been discontinued and I urge you to pick one up if you can find it, particularly for only £2 (or £1.80 with the loyalty card)! I'm in love with the Ginger Sparkle Christmas Range and recently reviewed quite a few pieces of it here. It was a no-brainer for me to grab this adorable little half price hand cream since my Soap and Glory Hand Food is on the way out. The three cosmetic bits were all in the sale AND on 3 for 2! I paid £4.05 (including my 10% discount) for two eye shadows in pretty green colours and a Delipscious Sheer Lip Colour in Pomegranate. I'd never heard of the Delipscious range before and I'm excited to try this one!

This Soap and Glory lip palette was £6 in the Boots sale and contains 6 pretty colours. I haven't tried any yet but I like the slightly brown/pink tones in some of these colours and I haven't got anything like them in my current collection. It also comes with a double ended applicator - I'm not sure about the quality of it yet but I'll let you know!

I've never shopped in Internacionale before but I decided to have a quick look on a whim and fell in love with these little pieces from the jewellery section. They were buy one get one half price (including sale stuff, yay!) so I picked these up for £3.49. Serious bargain. The cross is a lovely rose gold colour but I'm afraid the lighting was so bad it's impossible to tell from the picture. I wore the earrings yesterday and got a lot of compliments! People couldn't believe I'd got them for less than £2. They're not too heavy but look much more expensive than they are and I know I'm going to be wearing them a lot in the months to come.

So that's my little sales haul! Did you brave the shops on Boxing Day? Leave some links to show me what you picked up!

Lauren

FOTD: Christmas

 This was actually worn on Christmas Eve. I get way too sleepy and rub my eyes on Christmas Day! Plus even the most long wearing lipstick won't fully survive the turkey onslaught and I don't fancy dragging a make up bag around with me.

I decided to go with some classic Christmas colours of red and gold. Always cheerful and pretty in my opinion.

Here are the ingredients:

Base:

The Body Shop Moisture Foundation in 03

The Body Shop All-In-One Face Base in 03

The Body Shop Lightening Touch Concealer in 03

Collection 2000 Illuminating Touch Concealer in Natural

e.l.f Blush in Twinkle Pink

I love that my Body Shop base is all 03. So much easier when it all matches!

Eyes:

MUA Single Eyeshadow in Shade 30

Rimmel Exaggerate Liquid Liner in Black

The Body Shop Super Volume Mascara in Black

I applied the MUA shadow with a slightly damp brush to get a more intense colour.

Lips:

Nivea Extreme Resist Glossy in Joli Cherry

I have all four shades of these now and I absolutely swear by them. One of my top products of 2012 and only £1 each. I do feel that it leans a little pink - it's not a true red and I certainly wouldn't describe it as cherry red.

I hope you liked my Christmas look! Would love to see some links to what you wore for this season. 

Lauren

Review: The Body Shop Ginger Sparkle Collection

It's safe to say I'm an avid Body Shop fan...(Haul, Haul, Collection, Star Product if you needed any proof.) But, there is one collection that I am in love with at the moment and that is the fantastic Christmas range Ginger Sparkle. I can't even begin to explain how good they smell. It's a rich, spicy, sweet ginger. For me, it's incredible. However, I have found that amongst my friends it's a love/hate scent. When you like it you love it, but I've seen more than one person turn away from eagerly extended pot! Insanity.
I currently have the shower gel, body polish and body butter.

Separately, this would set you back £27 which is a lot, in my opinion, for any bath product/skin care. But there is always a fantastic offer on at The Body Shop and the Ginger Sparkle Collection has already gone down to half price in the sale online! 

I seriously urge you to at least go and get a sniff of these. The scent is really consistent across the range (unlike the Cranberry Joy, which frankly, I thought smelt a bit cheap and synthetic, which has never been my experience with TBS before) and it lingers all day.

Here are some little swatches of each product, butter, shower gel and polish. They all contain natural ginger root extract. The butter also boasts shea butter, cocoa butter, soy bean oil and sesame oil. The soap-free gel and polish both contain fair trade honey and the polish has the additional ingredient of walnut shell which creates the majority of the exfoliant. The polish is probably the stand out for me because although I have other scrubs, I don't really own anything quite like this. It's light enough to be used every day and isn't at all harsh. I love that the exfoliating is done with a natural ingredient and it leaves my skin so smooth and soft. I actually already have a back up of this as I somehow managed to get one in my Secret Santa. Thank you Santa!
The Body Butter is up to the usual standard, it's thick and creamy and sinks in super fast. I think everyone has a favourite scent, it's a classic skincare staple.
The only thing I'll say about the gel is that it's very thick when you squeeze it out. It's not a bad thing at all, for me it simply means that I don't use too much each time. The amount I've used in the picture is probably 5 or 6 washes, so you can see how well it's lasting!
The adorable packaging also needs an honourable mention. It's so pretty and I love the metallic details and snowflakes! Very festive. Structurally-wise, these are very sturdy and I'd feel comfortable travelling with them. They're also really easy to open and actually get at the product.

I don't have any negatives of these products apart from their limited edition status. Boo! I think I'll be popping along to The Body Shop when these are on sale in store. It doesn't hurt to have a couple of back-ups...right?

Have you tried this scent? Which is your favourite Body Butter from The Body Shop?

Let me know in the comments!

Lauren

December Eye Make-Up Challenge and Tutorial: Day 6, Warm Autumnal

Yet another apology is in order. This should of course have been up yesterday but sadly I received some seriously sh*tty news in that I was given my three weeks notice at work. Essentially, I've lost my job. Being the over dramatic sap I am I spent a good portion of yesterday crying and therefore didn't get to do this look. I'm really sorry it's late but I put some extra effort into this and made it into a tutorial! So you'll be able to recreate this look if you're that way inclined.

A quick disclaimer, I am in no way a make up artist, I probably do a million things wrong. This is just the way that I create this particular look.

This is one of my favourite looks. I've been a bit confused about the colour of my eyes for years but I honestly would really like them to be green and by using red shades for eye shadow I find that the green tones in my iris really "pop." This look is essentially a more intense version of a FOTD that I did recently.
I used my Body Shop Eyeshadow Brush and Eyeshadow Blender Brush with the Sleek Sunset Palette like this:

Step 1.
I start by packing in some of the highlighter in the corner of my eye, across the first section of my lid, onto my brow bone and along part of both lash lines.

This shimmery peach shade is one of my favourites from the Sunset Palette and I'm terrified that I'm about to hit pan!

Step 2.
Add the coppery red tone across the entire lid. I use my crease to create the initial shape and then work down towards my lash line. I can then assess how far to go up and blend it out slowly.

I would probably end it here if I wanted to go for a more subtle Summer "peachy" look. Simple blending out a finish with a brown mascara.

Step 3.
Define the lid shape by working the deep red into the crease and alone the edge of the shadows to create a fairly sharp wing. I also added a little under my lash line to carry the wing downwards.

Of course you can create any shape you like but I find this looks really cool and aggressive. Not for the faint hearted!

Step 4. 

Take a fluffy blending brush and gather up some more of the highlight shade and push it out from the corner of your eye into the rest of the design, blending away any harsh lines as you go. The eyeliner here is completely optional. I feel like without the liner you get a more "editorial" feel to the look but you know how I love my black liquid liner!

Then it's simply a case of adding your favourite mascara! It's easiest to wear this with a nude lip but where's the fun in that?

This is elf lipstick in Sociable and the bright red beanie than my boyfriend's Nan knitted for me!

Day 1/Day 2/Day 3/Day 4/Day 5

Well there we are! I really hoped you liked this look and I'd love to see your interpretation if you try it out! Tomorrow is Cool Winter and I can't wait to play with my elf 100 Palette.

Lauren

P.S. I didn't use any primer or base. Sleek is just that good.

P.P.S. I know I have weird wonky eyes and I need an eyebrow wax. Sorry.

£5 and Under Christmas Gifts

1/2/3/4/5/6/7

I'm not sure if any one has noticed the stark absence of Christmas themed posts on my blog, but I certainly have. The reason for this is that this is the first time I've really sat down and thought hard about Christmas presents. This is a rather packed 7 day period for me as I have my long-suffering boyfriends birthday on 28th November, my father's birthday on 3rd December and my anniversary (4 years! eep) on the 4th December. So, finally, now I know that everything has been done and sorted for those, I can have a good old trawl through the internet and pick out some presents! 

1. A Book. The picture and link here are representative. 

I honestly believe that giving a book as a gift is more than just giving a present. You are handing someone the gift of an experience. A book is one of the most amazing things that you can possibly give to someone. I chose Life of Pi because it is an experience that I loved. Truly loved. I read this last year and I still think about it, particularly since the film adaptation is soon to be released (who's excited?!) You can always find books cheaply, you just have to have a good shop around. No, you are not going to walk out of Waterstones with a bestseller for £3, it's a sad fact, but it's true. I actually found my copy of Life of Pi in a charity shop for £1.50 and I love that it has signs of wear on it. It's a book that has clearly been loved. Pass on your favourite this Christmas, and talk about it excitedly in January!

2. Glass Bauble Shaped Candle Holder £2.99

I love candles and I think that this holder is Christmassy enough to classed as "themed" but simple and clean and elegant enough to use all year round. It's a serious bargain that leaves you with change from your fiver to buy some tea lights!

3. Soap and Glory Mini's £2.50 each currently on a 3 for 2 deal

Who doesn't love Soap and Glory? I've tried all of the products that I chose and they are all of fantastic quality and smell amazing. Get them whilst they're on offer!

4. The Body Shop Mini's Currently on a 5 for £5 deal

I've tried most of the products included and as always with The Body Shop, they are really wonderful products. If you've been reading my blog for more than five minutes you know I'm a total Body Shop fangirl. I would be thrilled to receive a cute mix bag of mini's!

5. MUA Eyeshadow Palette £4

Featured here is the Undressed Palette, currently the only one I own. Everybody and their mother knows about these bargain gems. They make perfect stocking fillers and there's a good range to choose from. Ideal for any beauty loving girl.

6. The Body Shop Mini Manicure Kit £5

A super cute Christmas themed manicure kit to get your nails perfect and polish-ready. I love the classy packaging on this and a need some new nail scissors... hint hint Santa. 

7. M&S Beauty Gifts at 50% off. 

Shown here: Alice + Eliza Winter Berry Lip Balm £1.25 Alice +Eliza Nail Polish Giftset £3

I've linked to the whole lot that they have available at the moment. There are also some men's toiletries available. I've never actually tried anything from Alice + Eliza but I really loved the packaging and colours available in these two products and thought they would be great bought together. Take a peek whilst they're on offer!

I hope you liked my idea and got a bit of festive inspiration! I'd love to see some similar gift lists so feel free to leave links.

Will you be taking advantage of any of these offers this year?

Lauren

My Body Shop Collection

I really am dedicated to this brand. A lot of it has to do with where I live. It's a really small town and there are no department stores and beauty counters and fabulous makeovers. There is literally a Boots, a Superdrug and The Body Shop. Boots has a Clinique/Lancome/No7/Elizabeth Arden section but I used to work there and I know for a fact that are mostly all manned by nasty b*tches (I hate saying that but it's true) and to be honest I don't really want them earning commission from it and I feel like they wouldn't respect me as a customer anyway. I've had a few occasions when I've returned something and the staff have expected me to go and pick up the replacement myself, despite the fact that they are supposed to do it, just because I used to work there. I wouldn't do it where I work to old colleagues so why should they?

Oh my gosh this is turning into such a rant. Basically I like to come into a store for skincare and cosmetics and actually have them talk to me about the products and help me choose shades/types etc. That is what a beauty shopping experience should be like. I am actually quite good friends with the manager in my local Body Shop now and it has made the world of difference to my shopping experiences. I look forward to going in there. 

So... needless to say I have picked up a few items. I felt that it would be fun to kind of lay them all out and see how much I've got. So here is the photo evidence... oh dear...

Yes there is a lot. To be fair, the Tea Tree skincare collection is my boyfriends. And the apple body wash has almost ran out.  Hmm.  Let's take a closer look.

So we have:

3x Body Washes

3x Body Butters

2x Facial Washes

1x Exfoliating Wash

1x Exfoliating Pads

1x Eye Shadow

3x Shimmer Cubes

1x Toner

1x Night Cream

2x Day Moisturiser

1x Blemish Balm

1x Lip Balm

1x Lip Butter

1x Blush

1x Powder Base

1x Foundation

1x Face and Body Brush

2x Eyeshadow Brushes

1x Highlighting Concealer

1x Lipgloss

1x Vanilla Bliss Gift Set

1x Body Mist

1x Body Polish

1x Mineral Mask

1x Eyeliner

2x Mascara (the other is stored away and unopened!)

1x Bath Lily

1x Make Up Cleanser/Remover

Total: 38 (47 if you count the shimmer cubes as individual shadows)

Terrible. But to be fair this is the only thing I really splurge on. Oh well. If they make me happy then who cares?

Have you got a single brand collection to rival this?! Send me links to posts!

Lauren

The Body Shop Haul no.2

I won't show you them all together because I have a collection post up next so I want you to get the full impact! Alright, so a few days ago my boyfriend tells me that he's picked a mature female coworker for his secret santa and he has no idea what to get but he knows that she likes The Body Shop! Cue my expertise (i.e. shopping with his card.) I had a few vouchers so here's what I bought:

This is the Vanilla Bliss Christmas Gift Set. This is great value at £15 and contains everything you need for an indulgent experience! Included is: Vanilla Bliss Soap Bar, Vanilla Bliss Body Butter, Vanilla Bliss Shower Cream and Vanilla Bliss Body Polish. This was the gift that I picked for the lovely Theresa!  The packaging is so beautiful on this, champagne and gold metallic tin with a snowflake pattern plus that gorgeous cream bow! I would love to receive this and Jake was pleasantly surprised with the quality of what I picked.

A word on the Christmas collection at The Body Shop this year, it is somewhat hit and miss. The cranberry joy scent, which is what I was most excited about trying, was really inconsistent. Everything smelt a little bit different and to be honest, cheap, which is terrible considering the price and the quality that I'm used to from the brand. The vanilla was lovely and soft, and the butter literally smelt like Walls Vanilla ice cream! I don't know if that's a good thing for you or not but I felt like this was the safest option for a gift for someone I know next to nothing about! The stand out for me was the ginger sparkle collection. Oh my gosh! What an amazing rich spicy scent. But, despite the fact that I adored it, the friend I was shopping with couldn't stand it! She likes musky and floral scents so if you have similar taste, the ginger might not be for you. Everything in the ginger collection had a really uniform scent and just felt amazing. It was like Christmas for me.

Which is why I had to pick up...

This collection is so cute! Ginger Sparkle Body Polish, £10.

I haven't tried this yet but I am so excited. It smells divine. I love spicy/nutty/fruity smells and this is just perfect for me. I can't wait! I've been told that this is a light enough exfoliant to use every day, which is great news for my dry winter skin which could use a bit of buffing.

Earth Lovers Watermelon and Eucalyptus Shower Gel, £5.

I'm tempted to keep this for Spring because it is such a lovely fresh smell. I actually hate all kinds of melon... the taste and the texture is just awful for me. But bizarrely I love the smell of watermelon and it really reminds me of being on holiday and just being totally relaxed and cool. This product brings back all those wonderful memories and I love it. It's also 100% biodegradable. Love your planet!

Satsuma Body Mist, £8

I've been using this since the second I sprayed some on in the shop. Apparently I love smelling like citrus fruit. Who new? This is a great light alternative to perfume and I even spritz a little in my hair. It was so difficult to choose a mist as they were all lovely, but this won me over in the end. Particularly as I have a satsuma body butter mini that I'm using with it. Instant Winter-blues removal. Ahh.

Vineyard Peach Shower Gel, £4

This collection was only released a few months ago and it's already a firm favourite with lots of shoppers. I adore this scent and I can't wait to use it! I also bought the Body Butter from the same range...

Vineyard Peach Body Butter, £13

Mmm. I will be definitely be using these together! This butter is the same great quality but it's a little lighter than my Shea Body Butter so it will be better suited to the warmer months.

Aloe Gentle Exfoliator, £9

I already have lots of bits from this range and I wanted to pick up a new exfoliator. Up until now I had been using Soap and Glory's Face Soap occasionally but it just felt really harsh and left my eyes stinging. I've used this product twice now and it feels AMAZING. I love it so much, it was exactly what I was looking for. The "grit" inside is super fine and just gently buffs away dead skin without irritation or stinging. Fantastic addiction to my collection.

Aloe Soothing Moisture Lotion SPF15, £11

I already religiously apple the aloe night cream but I needed something light for day to put under my foundation. I love that this has SPF in it because so many facial products don't and it's easy to forget sun protection when you live in England. (I've read some really horrible studies about sun damage recently so this was super important for me.) This makes it easy for lazy old me to stay safe! This applies like a dream and soaks in super fast. It's actually out of stock on the internet right now so check out your local store if this is something you're interested in.

Warming Mineral Mask, £10

I've been looking for a mask for a while so that I could give myself a regular deep cleansing facial. This is just the ticket! I used this during my Sunday night pamper session and wow what a dream! This really does warm up beautifully and stays warm too unlike some other warming products. I felt radiant and cleansed afterwards and it was so relaxing. Great buy.

Eye Colour in Star Silver, £5 (down from £8)

I struggled to do justice for this gorgeous shade. It's a richly pigmented bright silver and just perfect for the festive season. I can't wait to use this with my teal shimmer cubes!

All in all worth £91. And I spent £43. What a saving!

So that's everything. What did you think? Have you got any of these products? What's your opinion on the Christmas collections? Let me know!

Lauren

p.s. I know the background in these looks rough, it's not filthy I swear! I live in a really old building with the original Victorian window fixtures, so all the paint is a mess and I have metal window frames. Sorry!