NOTD - Peridot Dupe

If you are a regular reader, you may remember my post on Chanel's Peridot nail polish (here). Thanks to a post by Fleur de Force (here) I bought the perfect dupe from Topshop called Hidden Treasure at a fraction of the price. The quality of this polish doesn't reflect the price either, I've had this colour on for 3 days and no sign of chipping just yet. 


So without further a do, my quick nail of the day:

In artificial light

In natural light

Until next time guys!

March Glossy Box

I know I subscribed late in the month, but I swear I received February's Glossy Box yesterday. On first impressions, I can't say I'm massively impressed with this month. Then again, I'm not too sure what it's going to take for me to be blown away? Maybe I'm hoping for a bit too much?


Anyway that aside this is what I received:


DuWop Venom Gloss in Buttercup
I've owned a clear DuWop Lip Venom before and I loved the effect of it. I'm looking forward to trying a coloured one even though it is quite a sheer nude shade.


Dr Bronner Lavender Hand Sanitiser
I donated this to my mum immediately as I cannot stand anything Lavender scented. That's twice out of the 2 boxes I've had that has contained something Lavender scented and it gives me a headache. Also thought it amusing that my dad knew the Dr Bronner brand as the "brand that did the crap shampoo"!


Paul Mitchell Super Skinny Relaxing Balm
This smells absolutely delicious and did smooth my fly-away hairs. Not sure I'll get much use out of it though as my hair isn't a big fan of products.


BM Beauty Pure Mineral Eyeshadow
Nice, finely milled powder with good pigmentation. My only complaint is with the colour I received, which is identical to the purple Mac pigment I already own, and have barely ever touched. But hey, Glossy Box aren't mind readers.


Como Shambhala Invigorate Shower Gel
I think this is my favourite product in the box, since you can't really go wrong with a good shower gel. This is going straight in my wash bag and being used for travel. I haven't used it yet but I love the fresh scent although I'm annoyed to see it also contains Lavender. Granted the Lavender part of the scent isn't too strong that I notice it so I'll let that go.


So all in all it was alright, nothing hugely special. I just hope my future boxes don't contain as much bloody Lavender or my mum will just be inheriting the lot. The jury is still out...

Beauty Pet Peeves and How To Avoid Them!

The Only Way Is Essex... Everyone loves the entertainment it brings and I love it as much as the next person, but boy are there a lot of beauty sins going on.


Now call this a disclaimer if you will, but I really don't consider myself an expert in any way, shape or form this is just a silly tongue in cheek lowdown of my biggest beauty pet peeves. Who knows, my list of pet peeves might be the next persons beauty aspirations but like I say, all good fun! So here are my biggest beauty pet peeves :


- Wonky false eyelashes

Lydia from TOWIE, in fact most of the female cast of TOWIE are repeat offenders. There is no need for this to be happening. 

Tip: Everyone has different sized eyes, yet false lashes come in one size only. Make sure you measure your strip lashes against your eyes and trim to fit. Another reason this can happen, is if you don't bend your strip lashes enough to make them a little more flexible. A good way to do this is to wrap your strip lashes around a make up brush (before putting the glue on of course). This will help when you try to bend them to the natural curve of your eye instead of them going across in a straight line.

- Cake face, and whilst we're on the subject, tide lines.

More isn't always more. Too many layers of badly blended product can result in the dreaded 'Cake Face'. Alternatively as pictured even few layers of badly blended product can produce equally terrifying results.

Tip: Whenever possible apply make up in natural light. This is how the world will mainly be seeing you for the day so it kind of makes sense. Make sure to take some product down onto the neck and if you're going a shade darker, don't forget your ears. Blend, blend, blend... Nothing more needs to be added to this other than BLEND!

- Chipped nail polish

I'm such a nail perfectionist I can't even look at this picture! Nothing makes me smile more than a beautifully manicured nail and it takes 2 seconds to take chipped polish off so there are no excuses. Naked nails look far better than chipped nails.

Tip: If you're prone to chipped nail polish, just take a packet of on the go nail polish remover pads in your bag. Easy peasy...

- Tadpole eyebrows

So wrong... Apologies to anyone actually born with this shape brow (is that even possible?) but there really is no need. Eyebrows frame your face... Do you really want two tadpoles framing your face? I'm guessing the answer to this question is no.

Tip: This one might take some work but my best advice is to book yourself in for an HD Brows consultation. They can work miracles. It may require some growing out but in the meantime Benefit's Brow-Zing is your friend.

- Unblended contouring

The thing with make up is it's supposed to enhance what you already have in a subtle way. If done badly, contouring can look like you are out on a dodgy 'Army' themed Hen-Do with camouflage war paint drawn on.

Tip: As mentioned above with foundation, less is more. It's better to build up from a barely there look, than to put way to much on to begin with and struggle to blend it out. You will just look like you need a good wash!

So that's my round up of beauty pet peeves and I hope you enjoyed. As I said before I am not claiming to be the oracle of beauty, just thought it would be a bit of fun to brighten everyone's Thursday morning.

Chanel Perfection Lumiere Foundation

Devastated is not the word to describe how I felt when I heard Chanel were getting rid of their Pro Lumiere foundation. The reality is, whilst I didn't use it day to day, it was the perfect foundation to wear on a night out. The full coverage was a blessing for my skin, which often gets very blotchy and red once alcohol is added to the mix.


So when Chanel announced the launch of their new Perfection Lumiere I thought I'd give it a go and see if it would fill the Pro Lumiere shaped void in my life. I've been using it on and off for a few weeks now, just to make sure I could make a fair judgement on it, and over all I really like it.


When I first tried it, my skin was having a bit of a rough ride with the Baltic conditions. For me, when it gets cold I get eczema-like dry, red patches around my mouth and nose, which are really stubborn and look terrible with any make up on. I found this to be the case with the Perfection Lumiere as well (it just clung to the dry patches and looked very chalky) but hey, I'm not expecting miracles.




I persevered all the same and have since tried it on clear skin (after a brief fling with Superdrug's hot cloth cleanser, I have officially moved back to the slightly more sophisticated Liz Earle version and my skin is thanking me for it). Perfection Lumiere promises to offer a light weight, invisible, semi-matte texture, suitable for all skin types. While I don't necessarily agree it is suitable for all skin types, since using it on clearer skin I absolutely loved it.


The first thing I noticed about the foundation was the fragrance. Now I know some people aren't fond of fragranced foundations, but I love the scent of it which is a light, delicate, powdery smell. It applied smoothly and left my skin feeling so silky, and not in the slightest bit oily or greasy, a definite bonus for me. Overall I'm impressed. It certainly doesn't replace Pro Lumiere since the two had very different formulations and different purposes but I enjoy it as a foundation all the same. I will continue to enjoy having a slightly perfumed face! 

Lush Lip Scrubs

I day dream of perfecting a smooth matte Red lip. The reality is the harsh baltic conditions of late in the UK means this look ends up flakey and bitty (attractive!). The freezing cold weather has left my lips in terrible condition and no amount of 8 hour cream seems to be helping. So on a recent shopping trip with my best friend we popped in to Lush to see what they had to offer and boy did they deliver!

First of all I have to comment on the staff they employ in Lush shops. They are always so eager to help and never in a pushy way, which tends to make me run a mile. Also the staff are very knowledgeable about the products, now I know this seems like a given but you'd be surprised how many times I've had employees in other unnamed shops just read the label to me! They take the time with you, demonstrate how to use the product and often even give you a sample to take away and try. So when I mentioned my flakey lip syndrome to the shop assistant she showed me their Lip Scrub and showed me how to use it.

As with most Lush products they have tried to keep the formula as natural as possible, it mainly consists of Castor Sugar and Organic Jojoba Oil. It comes in 3 flavours "Bubblegum" (Which I got... Mainly because of the colour!) "Mint Julips" a lovely minty fresh scent and "Sweet Lips" which is a sort of Chocolate Vanilla flavour. Now my absolute favourite part of this product is the fact that it's actually edible. Yes that's right, for those of you with a sweet tooth, you have an extra excuse to get a sugar rush. You literally rub the product onto the lips gently then lick it off. The shop assistant said it was her favourite product to demonstrate and I can see why, she even made the admission that she could sit and eat a pot with a spoon (Disclaimer: I don't recommend this. You'll probably be sick!).

This has solved my flake lip syndrome (happy days!) and I'm even tempted to go and get the other two flavours.

Valentines Day NOTD

Happy Valentines Day to you all, just wanted to drop in with a quick nail of the day for the occasion.

On my fingers I have Essie's Jelly Apple and on my thumbs I have Essie's Hard To Get. The little heart gems are from a nail decoration kit by Broadway Nails (here). I used the Seche Vite top coat to finish it all off.


Hope you all get spoiled rotten with chocolates and flowers. 

Bourjois Delice de Soleil

I admit to always being behind on the hyped products. I have always had this strange objection to hype, I do the same things with books and have stubbornly refused to read Harry Potter, The Twilight Saga etc. for this very reason. I would prefer to either discover it first or let the hype die down which is why I have only just tried Bourjois Delice de Soleil (Well that and the fact I've been trying to finish my age old Rimmel Sun Glow!).

I got the plastic compact version with the rotating mirror since I thought it was very practical, and would probably stand the test of time in my make up bag. I was a little concerned by the apparent abundance of glitter in the powder, and worried I might end up looking like a grubby glitter ball. However I was pleased to find this wasn't the case and much of the glitter didn't seem to either come out the powder onto the brush or stick to my skin. Either way... Happy days!


My only concern is the colour range, or lack there of. It only comes in 2 shades and I got the darker of the two, 'Olive/tanned skin' which just about shows up on my skin right now (my pasty winter skin tone). I worry that once spring/summer arrive and I have a little more colour to me, it might not show at all. I'm not sure if they are planning on adding any other shades or if this is our lot. We will see how this holds up once I get a little sunkissed, in the meantime I shall be using this to make it seem that I in fact am sunkissed.

Decleor Aroma Night Beauty Cream - Regenerating

On a recent visit to The Titanic Spa I was given a free Decleor gift set with my full body massage treatment. I have this terrible habit of leaving gift sets in their boxes for absolutely ages before even trying them, which is pretty much what happened with this one. 


I have finally got round to actually opening it and trying the products included and I absolutely love them. Out of the entire set there has been one stand out for me and that would be the Aroma Night Beauty Cream which promises to "replenish the skin’s energy levels and cell communication, maintain nutrition and moisture levels and promote skin renewal". I've been using this every night and have definitely noticed a difference in that my skin feels a lot more moisturised when I wake up. My face is almost glowing in a morning, which I can tell you is not usually the case.


For me the best part of this beauty cream is the scent, which is a relaxing combination of Sweet Almond, Cherry and White Musk. It's so fresh and zingy yet relaxing so you can float off to the land of nod feeling all fresh and clean. This is definitely something I would repurchase as I can't imagine a night without slathering my face in it before bed.


On a side note the gift set also included a mini Bougie Parfumee Scented Candle which smells absolutely devine. I can't seem to find a full sized version of this on the website which makes me not want to burn the one I have and save it as long as I can. Does anyone know where you can buy Decleor Candles?

Glossy Box

Ok... I caved and subscribed to Glossy Box.
I've been deliberating over subscribing to a beauty box for a while now. The idea appeals to me since I love trying new products and I also love receiving parcels in the post (who doesn't?!). I sat for hours reading reviews, watching vlogs etc. to try and work out which box seemed like my cup of tea, and settled with Glossy Box.


I'm not going to review the contents, since I got it late and there are plenty of reviews of this particular box already out there (Gemsmaquillage, LLYMLRS, The Sunday Girl to name but a few). I liked the Valentines Day theme and enjoyed most of the products included, however I can't say I see me using a green eyeliner much but to each their own. 

I'm definitely going to give Glossy Box a good chance before I make a full judgement. I'm not sure if my subscribing late and getting a box later than others would affect the content, but it has to be said I would have loved the Clarins samples. But then I suppose this is the gamble you run with beauty boxes that give different samples in different boxes.