Feeling Peachy Keen!

Hi Lovelies!

I hope you are all well and enjoying the sunshine we have been experiencing here in the UK recently.

I wanted to explain my absence (not apologise for it because it’s ok to need to take time out). I’ve not been feeling myself recently. I’m having a bit of a hair crisis, which I appreciate is not a huge deal in the grand scheme of things, but I find myself feeling a bit down about the state of my roots and the fact I have to be patient before I can achieve the hair I want.

I’ve also been fairly sociable with friends and that has taken precedence over my blog – that and I was suffering from a slight hangover last weekend.

Anyway, today I wanted to talk about all things peach. When the sun starts shining, I start to move my make up towards different colours, especially towards peaches and corals.

L-R: Coral Bliss by MAC, Galifornia Blush by Benefit, Freedom of Peach by Lancôme and Peach for the Stars by Barry M. 

 

I’m not really going to talk about the Lancôme Juicy Shaker in Freedom as peach as I spoke about it here but I do think it is a nice, light option for those hot days on the beach when you just want a wash of colour and some moisture for your lips.

The next thing I’m going to talk about is Peach for the Stars by Barry M which is a very vibrant peach nail polish in the Barry M Sunlight Curing range.

This polish can usually be picked up from around £4 and it’s just a really nice polish. You do need the daylight curing top coat for these polishes but they last really well. I do find that sometimes, if your nails get wet, the polish can peel off in one sheet which is, although oddly satisfying, can be quite annoying. However, for £4 (ish) I don’t think you can go wrong!

Then on to the lipstick – MAC’s Coral Bliss in cremesheen finish.

This is a gorgeous, light coral colour and it’s in MACs cremesheen which is a creamy, medium coverage, semi gloss finish. It feels beautiful on the lips and is not in the slightest bit drying. The colour is buildable so you can easily swipe on a small amount of colour (or applied over a lip balm which dilutes the colour) or build up for a more statement look.

It’s packaged in MACs classic black bullet and with their signature, vanilla scent. The MAC lipsticks are not cheap but you can pick them up in Duty Free to make a bit of a saving.

Now, possibly my favourite peach make up item at the moment is the Galifornia Blush by Benefit.

Let’s start by talking about the packaging because it is simply gorgeous. I love the design on the box and the fact that the lid is on a hinge and houses a decent mirror. It also comes with a brush which is in a lovely blue, worn wood style which really fits with the style of the packaging.

The blush itself is a beautiful peach colour with a golden shimmer. When you first get the blush it has a top spray of proper gold, but this comes off after the first use, and it has a stylised Sun embossed into the blush.  The blush also has a fragrance, and sometimes I am a bit afraid of strongly scented face products as sometimes I don’t want to be able to smell it all day. However, the scent is a clean, summery smell with notes of grapefruit in and it is actually really nice.

This swatch really doesn’t show the golden glow very well! 

This is one of the dodgy phone selfies I took when I road tested the blush and the lipstick. I was feeling a bit hungover and worse for wear. 

I hope you guys enjoyed my peachy make up picks. Are there any colours that your turn to in the nice weather or any other peachy products you recommend?

Stay Safe and Wonderful,

Lexy x

Primark Make Up Brushes – A Review

Hello Lovelies,

I hope you are well and enjoyed the Bank Holiday weekend despite the typical Bank Holiday weather!

Today I wanted to talk about some make up brushes I picked up in Primark  a couple of weeks ago.

I picked up this set of 5 make up brushes (and a silver case which said Insta Girl on it which I didn’t like and have subsequently lost) in Primark for £7!

I had watched a make up artist on Facebook doing a live stream (I can’t remember her name now!) who was saying she used quite a few Primark brushes because she thought they were as good as higher end brushes.

In the set you get 2 flat eyeshadow brushes one slightly bigger than the other, an angled liner brush, a fluffy blush brush and a stippling style brush.

 The brushes themselves have very soft, synthetic bristles which are a white into grey ombre style. They have a silver ferrule (yes – I looked that up on wikipedia) keeping the bristles attached to the plastic, white marble handles.

I really like these brushes. I’ve used them a couple of times and they feel nice when applying products and they don’t seem to have shed at all. They have no fly away bristles either which I have experienced with cheaper brushes (such as eyeliner brushes in liquid eyeliners) and a good overall shape.

Overall, I really like these brushes. They look lovely on a dressing table (especially along side the rose gold brushes I have), they work well and they are an absolute steal. If, like me, you like having lots of brushes to choose from I definitely recommend giving these a try!

Let me know if you have any other make up brush recommendations and, if you try these out, how you find these Primark ones!

Stay Safe and Wonderful

Lexy x

Shaking Things Up!

Hello Lovelies,

I hope you are well and didn’t make yourselves sick on chocolate over Easter!

With the weather improving (so much so that I honestly got sun burnt a couple of weeks ago!) I find that I sometimes want to wear less make up. With less make up, I tend to step away from lipsticks and liquid lipsticks and gravitate more towards glosses and balms.

Before Christmas, I treated myself to a Lancôme Juicy Shaker in the shade Meli Melon because I wanted a moisturising lip oil to get me through the winter months and I had heard that these ones were pretty good. It was a treat because they retailed at the time for £18 (they have since gone up to £19.50) which did feel quite extravagant for a lip oil.

I immediately fell in love with it – It smells amazing, leaves a nice subtle glossy tint on the lips and does leave your lips feeling moisturised. Since I loved it so much, I found that there was a set available for Christmas of 3 shades for £31.50 on FeelUnique (I found it online in January) and it seemed crazy not to buy it considering the saving.

The Juicy Shaker is a bi-phase lip oil product which means that it is made up of 2 parts of different densities. It is made up of the pigment part that is where the mainstay of the colour of the product is, and the oil part which is the where the moisturising part is.

In order to get the pigment mixed in with the nourishing oils, you need to shake the product (that is shaped like a cocktail shaker) which mixes the parts together. The more you shake, the more pigment you get and the stronger the colour pay off.

The applicator itself, is a fairly large, conical and spongy and the small holes in the top of the bottle allow just the right amount of product onto the applicator so no product is wasted.

From L-R: Meli Melon, Vanilla Pod, Berry Tale and Freedom of Peach

So a little more information about the shades I have.

Meli Melon was the original shade I got which is a Rosy Pink shade, with a tiny bit of sparkle in it and with a watermelon scent.

Freedom of Peach is one of the trio, and it is, unsurprisingly, a peach shade and a peachy, apricotty smell.

Berry Tale is a more vibrant pink shade that smells of (I think!) cherries.

Vanilla Pod is a much deeper colour, it’s still pink, but much darker and more brown toned with a vanilla type of scent. I say type of scent, because it’s not the smell I would immediately say is pure vanilla like a candle might be but it is vanillary!

From Top – Bottom: Freedom of Peach, Vanilla Pod, Berry Tale, Meli Melon

As you can see from the swatches on my arm, the colours are very sheer but this is what I would want and expect from this kind of product. They do leave a slight stain (as I found out when trying to clean these from my arm!) so as you wear this and top it up throughout the day the colour may deepen.

They do moisturise the lips and don’t feel sticky when on like a lot of traditional glosses do. I would say there are more moisturising balms out there on the market and their are more vibrant glosses too but as a mix of the two these are pretty good.

They are quite a hefty price tag for one, so I would definitely recommend getting a gift set at Christmas or a deal if you can find one.

All in all, I really like these. They fit nicely into a handbag, especially a small clutch and give you just enough colour to add a little something without being over powering.

Are you a fan of the Juicy Shaker? Do you think there are different lip oils I should be trying out? Let me know!

Stay Safe and Wonderful

Lexy x

The Ordinary Skincare – A Review

Hello lovelies,

I hope you are well and enjoying the long Easter weekend.

Today I want to talk about The Ordinary Skincare – you might already be familiar with them as they are a hop topic on the internet at the moment.

A bit of background on The Ordinary – They are a Canadian beauty brand from the umbrella brand Deciem. They aim to provide simple skincare that is scientifically proven to work. Due to this the branding and marketing is simple and scarce without all the fluff usually associated with skin care products. They are a cruelty free brand, and as such their products are not available in China. Helpfully, there is an about section on their website if you want to read a bit more in depth.

The Ordinary is available to purchase on ASOS which means for me, as a prime member, free next day delivery. On top of this, The Ordinary is a very affordable skincare brand anyway, helped by the lack of marketing and fluff they can keep the prices down.

I decided, as I am rapidly heading towards 30, that I really should start caring for my skin a bit better and after watching Fleur De Force talking about the brand, I decided to give it a try.

I have fairly normal skin that can be a bit on the dry side. I have always been lucky and very rarely suffer from spots or particularly oil prone skin so I was looking for something quite general to protect against the signs of ageing (I can see some wrinkles starting to come into being!).

When you look on the website for The Ordinary, they have a very handy regimen guide to help you pick the items that are going to work for you based upon your skin type and what effects you are after. I opted for the “example regimen for general signs of age” so I bought “Buffet”, Hyaluronic Acid 2% + B5, Advanced Retinoid 2% and 100% Organic Cold-Pressed Rose Hip Seed Oil. After watching a video by VintageorTacky I also added Caffeine Gel 5% + EGCG to help with my under eye shadows. In total I spent £42 which for 5 things I think is a bargain!

Let’s first talk about the packaging. I am a big fan of it. I love how simple it is whilst conveying all the information you need to know. The outer boxes feel high quality with a strangely soft, matte finish in monochromatic shades that look minimalist and classic.

The bottles themselves share this simple design, some in frosted glass bottles and some in brown bottles which are UV-protective to keep the ingredients safe from light damage. Despite this I would still keep the bottles in the drawer to increase longevity. The bottles also come with a pipette built in to the lid for easy application.

The products themselves are various colours and consistencies but none have any added fragrances which I like. There’s nothing worse than putting something on your face that you don’t like the smell of and have it wafting up your nostrils all day!

As for results? Well, my skin is fairly decent anyway. However, I have definitely noticed that it seems less dry (and certainly dries out when I forget to keep up with my regime) and some of my fine lines do seem to be reduced. The most improvement though, has been my under eye shadows and bags. I really did find that I noticed an improvement pretty much immediately after using the Caffeine Gel 5% + EGCG.

I definitely recommend this line of skin care, it’s effective and very affordable. You can mix it in with your current favourites as well!

The Ordinary are bringing out foundations soon and I definitely want to give them a go!

Have you tried anything from The Ordinary that you think I should give a go? Or any other skin care I should try? Let me know!

Stay Safe and Wonderful

Lexy x

Silicone Make-Up Sponge- A Review

Hello Lovelies,

I hope you are all well.

Today I wanted to talk about one of the latest Beauty Crazes – the Silicone Make Up Sponge. A lot of people wear foundation or CC Cream and use a variety of ways to put them onto their faces – A brush, a sponge or their fingers usually.

There’s now a new applicator on the scene – the silicone sponge. These feel, in my opinion, very similar to a bra insert.

I had heard a few people talking about these and decided to get my hands on one to give it a try. I will be honest and I ordered mine from eBay so it only cost me around £2.50. I wasn’t sure I wanted to commit much money to something I thought might be a fad. Because eBay has a lot of wonderful things on it, it also had silicone make up sponges with stars on it, and as a sucker for stars, this is the one I went for.

So how does it perform?

I have found that I use less foundation using the silicone sponge. One pump will definitely do my entire face where with a brush I am using at least a pump and a half if not two.

The finish I get is good, but I wouldn’t say it was any better than when I use the Real Techniques Expert Face Brush. It does blend well at the edges but I think it’s easier to get a flawless finish by buffing out using a brush.

The shape of this particular beauty sponge I find makes getting into the awkward spaces a little tricky, like around your nose. I have 2 nose piercings as well so that’s especially awkward compared to the bristles of a brush.

As for cleaning, this is a dream. You just need some warm water – or micellar water and a piece of cotton wool- and it’s clean. Because of this it’s a great time saving device and it also means I feel more confident that the sponge is 100% clean and much more hygienic than even a well cleansed brush.

Overall I would say that the sponge was definitely worth the small amount of money I paid for it. I do really like it but I wouldn’t be throwing out my brushes just yet. I do, however, want to try the Evie Blender which is a silicone blender but in a more traditional beauty blender style. It is egged shaped for getting into the difficult parts of your face and it also slightly textured so you get a similar application to a sponge.

I would definitely like to try a different shaped silicone sponge, for getting around my nose more easily and I recommend adding a silicone beauty sponge to your make up kit!

I hope you found this helpful. Have any of you used a silicone sponge? Do you have any tips for using one?

Stay Safe and Wonderful!

Lexy x

Unboxing My Little Box – December

Hello Lovelies!

I hope you are all well and not getting too stressed out with Christmas and holiday preparations.

I am getting fully into the festive spirit now (although I would appreciate it if the weather could get a little bit chillier!) and so are My Little Box! For those of you who don’t know, My Little Box is a subscription box, based in Paris, that costs £14.95 per month (including postage) where you receive make up, beauty and lifestyle goodies to your door every single month.

I love this subscription, I signed up back in the summer, and I am still really enjoying it. The boxes have such a good range of things in them and because it’s not just make up and beauty I find that it stays exciting.

So last week, the December box dropped through my door (well it was handed through the door because it won’t fit through the letter box) and I thought it was so great that I would share the contents with you!

So let’s start by talking about how beautiful the box itself is. I love the cutesy kitsch print on this and it came tied in a  lovely bottle green ribbon (that I have since lost) and it’s just lovely.

On opening the box, the first thing you come to is this very cute little print. I think this is really adorable and you could easily put this in a frame or send it as a card to someone you love and wanted to share the cuteness with.

The first item in the box is a really lovely eyeshadow duo from the My Little Box in house beauty line “My Little Beauty”. I always appreciate an eyeshadow duo and I think these colours are really wearable and great for this time of year. I haven’t tried them out yet so I cannot comment on the pigment or the durability of these but I will certainly be trying them out very soon.

The next item is tea! And, if you hadn’t guessed from this blog’s title – I love tea! I am trying to expand my tea repertoire because I do usually play it fairly safe but it’s on my 2017 “resolutions” list. This is a lovely tin of loose leaf tea from Kusmi Tea who are based on the Champs Elysées in Paris, made from a blend of black tea, oranges and spices. It smells so festive and I can’t wait to give it a try.

This box also contains a Salted Caramel Spread from the famous Wilkin & Sons,Tiptree (I know my best friend is a big fan of their jams!). I love salted caramel things so I am looking forward to trying this on a bit of toast (maybe with Nutella as well for a really indulgent Christmas treat).

I love lip balm. It’s not a secret that I am obsessed with lip balms – I always have at least one on my person. I can’t concentrate if my lips are dry – it drives me absolutely insane. I’ve not used one of these flip balms before but I like Palmer’s Cocoa Butter and the packaging is super cute. It’s a little rose and you flip (hence the name) the lid over and the lip balm is right there – I just hope that the clip is sturdy and it doesn’t flip at random in my handbag.

Another thing I really like about My Little Box is that they include jewellery in them. This month is a gold bangle with a teal green band in the middle by a brand call Lou Yetu who I have not heard of before. I have to say that this is not the kind of thing I would go and buy myself but when I put it on I rather liked it and I may even wear it to my work’s Christmas party.

This box also includes a little travel size fragrance. I know that fragrances are such a personal thing so I won’t try and describe this here because you will either love it or hate it. Turns out, I rather like this one and I think it’ll be really good for travelling!

The last item in the box may be my favourite. Anyone who knows me (especially my husband) will tell you that I LOVE a scented candle. This one is a mini one that comes in, effectively, a shot glass and smells like Gingerbread. The smell is beautiful and it really does smell exactly like gingerbread. I cannot wait to burn it!

So that’s the contents of the December My Little Box. I really love this box – I like the variety of stuff and the chance to try things I wouldn’t normally. This would make a nice gift for a loved one (or yourself!) this Christmas.

Stay Safe and Wonderful!

Lexy x

Lush – Sympathy for the Skin: A Review

Hello Lovelies,

I hope you are all well and enjoying opening your Advent Calendars now that it is December! (As I type this my Advent Calendar hasn’t arrived but my husband has begun opening his which is a build your own FM Radio one from Haynes.)

Firstly, I wanted to apologise for the break in regular scheduling last week. I had one of those weeks where I was tired, emotional and just generally having a bad time and I really couldn’t find the energy or inspiration to write or take any photos and I do apologise but I do have more things planned and hoping to maybe up my posts to twice a week.

Today, I wanted to discuss (can you guess?!) the Lush Sympathy for the Skin lotion. I mentioned it in my Winter Lush Haul and I wanted to give it a proper test run before I reported my thoughts on it.

I will be the first to admit that I am pretty rubbish at looking after my skin, both on my face and body. I suffer from eczema so I really should look after my skin better to save myself from suffering the dry, red, soreness that is eczema.

I’ve had eczema since I was a child (along with asthma) and although they have both got better as I’ve got older, I do still suffer from “break outs” now and again, especially when the seasons change. It has recently got a lot colder here in the UK which has meant that heating has gone up in a lot of places and it is definitely having an impact on my skin. The other night I woke up and my hands were so itchy and red that it took me ages to get back to sleep.

This is where the Sympathy for the Skin lotion comes in. Quite a few people had recommended it to eczema prone skin but I am always a little bit skeptical of things like this. When I first received it I did like the texture (it’s not super gloopy or super runny) and it smells really lovely – a bit like custard.

When my hands woke me up the other night, I knew I needed to slather on something to cool and calm my skin. I reached for the Sympathy for the Skin and I do not regret it. I often reach for Germolene purely because it has a mild anaesthetic in it so it helps ease itching but it does have a medicinal smell to it which isn’t always desirable especially if you are going out later.

To say I saw instant results would be a lie as I was slathering it on in the middle of the night and I went back to sleep afterwards but genuinely I feel like the redness has gone down, the itching has certainly calmed down and my skin looks much better. (I will spare you photos of my cracked, red skin because it isn’t pleasant to look at). I also feel like usually when I apply creams and lotions to a flare up that it usually makes the itching so much worse to start with and I end up scratching which negates the purpose of using the cream in the first place.

I won’t say that Sympathy for the Skin is totally itch free because I feel like that is probably impossible but I would say that the itch factor is definitely a lot less with this and stopped really quickly.

Overall, I really like this lotion (so much so I felt the need to use italics) and I would definitely recommend it to anyone suffering from eczema. I think it works, it is soothing and the smell is so gentle that it is not offensive on your nose as well.

It’s not the cheapest of lotions, like most Lush products, but I think it is worth the money especially when you consider the items are all natural ingredients and all vegan and cruelty free.

I hope you found this review useful and I will catch you all soon!

Stay Safe and Wonderful

Lexy x

On The Lash! – Eyelash Extensions Experience

Hello Lovelies!

I hope you are all well and enjoying the change into autumn and winter.

I have to say that I really enjoy the winter months, I enjoy the evenings drawing in, the cosiness of fluffy socks and toast and the build up to Christmas. I will be doing a post on “winter warmers” soon – things I think are necessities for the colder months ahead.

But for now, I wanted to talk to you all about Eyelash extensions and my experiences with them.

As you know, I got married in August, and I knew that I wanted to add some oomph to my lashes. I have used strip lashes before but I find that they tend to come off in the inside corner and become irritating and I was concerned about how they would hold up if I broke down in tears on the big day.

I decided to do a trial run on them for my Hen Do – in case I turned out to be horribly allergic to them or if I just hated them.

I booked an appointment at a local salon and I had a skin test done behind my ear about a week prior to my appointment. If you have any kind of irritation behind your ear, you don’t want to go ahead and get the lashes considering how sensitive the eye area is!

I went to the appointment after work one day and had the lashes applied. The therapist looked at my eyelashes and recommended the best length to suit me (based on my natural lashes and how much weight they can support) and she began the application. First the therapist sticks pads over your bottom eyelashes to stop them getting glued to your top ones and effectively having your eyes glued shut. The pads are not uncomfortable but they do feel strange, they are kind of like blister plasters and are cool to the touch. The therapist then attaches the false lashes to your own lashes, one at a time.

After all the lashes are attached (you can have a full set or a half set – I opted for half as my natural lashes are quite thick if not very long) the therapist gets you to slowly open your eyes whilst they check to make sure none of the little bottom lashes have managed to sneak through and get glued to your lash extensions. If any have got stuck, the therapist will gently separate them and then will get you to sit up. You may find that your eyes are a little itchy afterwards but this is quite normal and will go off quickly. If the itching continues, you should go back to your therapist as soon as possible to get them removed as this is more than likely to be an allergic reaction (you should have already had the skin test so this is unlikely but allergies can occur even when you have not been allergic to something previously).

The therapist will give you some aftercare instructions to make sure your lashes last as long as possible – you need to keep them dry for the first 24 hours, try not to touch them for 24 hours, do not use oil based make ups or cleansers as these will loosen the glue and make the lashes fall out and do NOT pick at them. You usually get given a spooley as well to brush through your lashes to keep them looking neat as they can start to get tangled. Lashes can last anything up to 6 weeks, but will fall out along with your natural lashes. If you have false lashes applied at the start of your eyelash hair’s cycle, these will last the longest, if you eyelash hair is about to fall out, it will take the extension with it.

I absolutely adored my false eyelashes, they lasted well and looked amazing. I didn’t need to wear eye make up and it was nice to feel done up without having to put in too much effort – perfect for a Hen Do!

(Full disclaimer – this photo has been touched up to make my skin look better but I have not edited the lashes in anyway)

After loving the lashes so much for my Hen, I decided I would definitely be having them for the wedding but I wanted a totally fresh set for the big day.

I went to the same salon for my next set, but this time when I sat up, I was over come by the fumes of the glue as soon as I sat up so my eyes were stinging quite a lot and they were pretty blood shot. This calmed down pretty quickly though and I had beautiful lashes ready for my wedding day.

The lashes held up in the heat and stress of the day (no tears though because apparently I am without feelings and showed no emotions on the day!) but when we went on our honeymoon I noticed my eyes were much itchier than before. I think this was hay fever, I had suffered so badly the day after the wedding. I was trying not to rub my eyes but they were very watery.

Sadly, the lashes didn’t last as well this time, I think probably in part because of the horrendous hay fever, but they still looked good for the wedding.

Would I have them done again?
I think I would. They are expensive though and not something I would keep up with regularly as repeated use can damage your natural lashes. But for an occasion or as a special treat I think I would go for it!

I hope this explained a little bit about what having lash extensions done is like. If you have any questions about it or comments, please feel free to ask!

Stay Safe and Wonderful,

Love

Lexy x

Better Nars than a Punk Rock Band!

Hello Lovelies,

I hope you are all well and making the most of the longer summer evenings even if the weather is maybe not on our side!

Today I want to talk about some cult beauty favourites that I have purchased for myself recently off the back of hearing how good these products are. If you hadn’t guessed from the title, they are both NARS products.

The first one I want to discuss is the NARS Sheerglow foundation. Highly rated by bloggers and YouTubers everywhere, I was curious to try it for myself.

I went into my local Space NK and asked for a sample. The assistant gave me two colours to try out – Mont Blanc and  Siberia – which are the palest two shades available. I went home and tried both colours, eventually deciding that Mont Blanc was the correct colour for me as, unbelievably, Siberia was too pale for me.

Let’s first talk about that name – this foundation is not sheer. I am not complaining about that at all as I personally like a heavier coverage in my foundation. But it is glowy. The overall look on the skin is a good coverage that evens out the skin tone without being a matte mask and without looking or feeling cakey.

I love this foundation. In fact, today I used an old high street foundation I still have and I just wished I had put the Sheerglow on my face. I don’t think I will be going back to or changing to another foundation any time soon.

It’s not the cheapest foundation on the market – it retails for £32 but I got mine from ASOS when they had a 20% off promotion on – but I definitely think it is worth the price tag. The only criticism I have is that the bottle does not have a pump so it can be quite messy. However, I feel like this is a small issue with such a great product that it should not put you off!

The next item is the absolute cult classic that is the Orgasm Blush.

This is a gorgeous, peachy blush with a golden, shimmery tone. It could be described as a rose gold blush when it is on the skin. This blush has beautiful pigmentation and really gives  the look of being flushed from within. The same flush you get post Orgasm – hence the name.

I can understand why this is such a cult favourite – it looks great on the skin and it lasts. Again it’s expensive at £23 but it is beautiful and everyone should enjoy an orgasm every now and again.

I’m planning on trying out some more NARS products in the future as I am just so impressed with these 2 products.

I hope this mini review was of some help to you and please do let me know if you want me to share any looks using these products or comparing them to other products!

Stay Safe and Wonderful

Lexy

x