Friday 31 May 2013

May Favourites ♥

Today I have my May favourites to share with you. I kind of find it hard to pick favourites when it comes down to it (hence why I didn't do a favourites for last month) but thought I would have a rummage around and I've decided the following products I've actually used a lot throughout May and really liked.


♥ L'Oreal Elvive Nutri-Gloss Crystal Shampoo - I kind of use whatever's going in the bathroom for haircare but I really love this shampoo. The sparkles make it that little bit more special and my hair is left feeling clean, soft and looking shiny.

♥ Tresemme Split Remedy Masque: I got round to re purchasing this the past month and still love it. Even though it's for split ends which I don't have it makes the ends of my hair (I use it in place of a normal conditioner) feeling healthy and tames frizz.

♥ The Body Shop Satsuma Shower Gel - I have a variety of TBS scents and I've found myself using this one loads recently. It's a true satsuma scent and is fresh, fruity and awakening. I love it!

♥ The Righteous Butter - I've been using this when I'm still damp and it sinks in easily and has the lovely original pink fragrance which lingers on the skin and leaves me feeling super duper moisturised :)

♥ Clean & Clear Face Wash - Honestly, this is not a face wash that gives me results, the reason I like it is for the lemon and papaya smell which really wakes me up and it makes my face feel clean. It doesn't really do anything which was what I wanted as it was a kind of 'fill in' face wash while I searched to find a new one, but I did enjoy it.

♥ Neutrogena Visibly Clear 2-in-1 Wash/Mask - I bought this for it's mask purpose as I've been into clay based masks. They leave my face feeling a lot more clean and draw the impurities out and absorb excess oil. I like the creamy consistency of this which spreads easily and leaves my skin looking clearer.

♥ Seche Vite - I definitely get why this is so well loved now. I've used this topcoat every time I've done my nails and I am now obsessed with glossy nails, something I didn't really care about before! It's super fast drying so great for people like me who are impatient and always end up smudging their freshly painted nails!

So, that's what I've been loving throughout May! Let's hope this time next month there will be a lot of summery products featured as the sun would have made an appearance! Unlikely but we can wish right? haha.

Jessica
xox

Sunday 26 May 2013

Soap and Glory Series: Shower Gels


Hello :)

Sorry for my long break between posts, to make up for it I'm back with the first instalment of my Soap and Glory series. If you didn't know already, I am a massive S&G super fan, I have soo many products all of which I love therefore though it would be a nice idea to break them up into categories and give a mini review of each. 
Calm one, Calm all, Clean on me, Whipped clean, Foam Call
 Calm one, Calm all Bubble Bath £5.50 
Okay so technically a bubble bath but how could I not include it? This has the original pink scent which is perfumey but not overwhelming. I've had this ages but recently I've been using it over my Lush bubble bars. This creates mounds of beautifully scented, creamy bubbles with the tiniest amount of product. Love!
 Clean on me £5.50   
Probably one of the most loved and popular products. This again, with the original pink scent, lathers up incredibly and is super duper creamy and moisturising due to the built in body lotion. This is also very practical coming with a pump and it lasts for ages too which is always good.

 Whipped Clean £8 

This is one of the newest products coming out last year. When I first tried it I wasn't wowed by it but after regular use I found myself really enjoying it. This has a pistachio, almond and vanilla scent which is quit nice, but I prefer it in the body lotion. This is also really creamy but not as much as clean on me.

 Foam Call £6.50 

This has the frutigo scent which I'm undecided on, it smells like a zesty fruit cocktail but there is a note in there which I'm not a fan of. This is not as creamy & moisturising as the rest but lathers well and is a nice summer scent to wake up with in the morning.

~ ~ ~

So, that was all my current Soap & Glory shower gels (and bubble bath!) I hope to get part 2 up next week. Would you like to see scrubs or body lotions first?

Jessica
xox

Sunday 19 May 2013

Review: Origins Mask & Spot Treatment

Hey Everyone, hope you are doing okay :)
Today I thought I would share my thoughts on two Origins products I have bought this year, One in February, the other the end of April. They are both very popular and the reason I bought them was because of seeing so many rave reviews.

Super Spot Remover
As an avid user of 'spot treatments' I'm always keen to try new ones. This being so popular was definitely up there at the top of my list to try. It comes in a dinky plastic bottle with a screw cap, inside there is 10ml of product which is a gel like consistency. As far as I can tell the main spot fighting ingredient is Salicylic acid which is in my opinion the best for combating spots. I use this on big, red angry spots that pop up and when I apply it it tingles like crazy! This can only be good though because half an hour later redness is reduced and the spot is definitely smaller and less inflamed.



Clear Improvement Face Mask

One of my main skin gripes (minus the acne obviously) are my huge pores which are very visible on my cheeks, nose and forehead and congested big time. The product claims are so suited to me I just had to get this. It has active charcoal which draws the impurities out from your skin while White China Clay absorbs toxins and Lecithin dissolved impurities. I've only used this twice and I'm not going to lie, I was left feeling slightly underwhelmed. I'm not sure if I'm somehow using it wrong or I was ready to be overwhelmed due to the hoard of rave reviews - either way I haven't felt it's made a huge difference to the appearance of my pores or my skin after use. I suppose that is 'first impressions' after only using it twice but I'm holding out hope I will see the amazing results after using it once a week without fail. Fingers crossed.



I currently have three big spots on my cheek so will be monitoring how well the SSR works and I'm hoping with using the mask more, I will see excellent results :)

Super Spot Remover: £13
Clear Improvement Mask: £20

Jessica
xox

Wednesday 15 May 2013

NOTD ♥ Barry M Blue Glitter

I bought this a long time ago and for some reason never used it, too much nail polish is definite likely. Anyway, this week I dug it out because I was craving a bright glitter and thought why not?!
I am seriously in love with this polish. The formula is near perfect for a glitter, smooth and completely opaque within two coats and it isn't gritty (for those who hate the feel!) Colour wise - it's a mix of lighter and darker blue glitter particles which isn't obvious but definitely makes it less boring than a single toned blue shade.
(sorry for the bad picture, I took this in the moment when I applied it and now, surprise surprise, is chipped and ready to be removed!)



Overall, definitely a winner! I just wish Barry M would bring out more colours, to my knowledge there is only this, a red and a green.

Jessica
xox

ps: anyone know whats going on with Barry M nail polishes? The polishes have been removed from the shelves and some other bloggers said it's happened in their Boot's too...

Friday 10 May 2013

Review: ELF Luscious Liquid Lipsticks

You may recall me showing three of the luscious liquid lipsticks in my ELF haul a while back. Today I have swatches and my thoughts on them to share!
The three shades I got were Baby Lips, Raspberry and Pink Lemonade as they all looked very wearable and were only £1.50. They come in a twist up plastic tube with a slanted furry feeling applicator. They have a slightly minty scent which is quite strong but I've found you can't really taste it.
Baby Lips

Raspberry

Pink Lemonade

Top to Bottom: Raspberry, Pink Lemonade, Baby Lips
Raspberry is the most pigmented of the three being quite a vibrant pink red. Pink Lemonade is a medium pink with some slight gold shimmer. Baby lips is a pure creme nude pink. Even though these are marketed as a 'liquid lipstick' I would say these are more like glosses due to the consistency and pigmentation. In my opinion they aren't as pigmented as they should be if they are meant to be liquid lipsticks, this makes me think of insane pigmentation like rimmel apocolips which these are not. They are not sticky though and give a nice glossy shine with some colour.

Overall, yes I would recommend these. Obviously they are not going to be the best for £1.50 but they are really, really good for their price. If you are making an ELF order soon definitely try one out.

Jessica
xox

Monday 6 May 2013

Shopping my stash #1


Hello :)

Hope everyone had/is having a good bank holiday Monday. I saw a shopping the stash post from Kat on my dashboard today and it inspired me to do my own after reading Adrienne's for a long time as well.I've decided to do this as even though I'm not on a spending ban I am cutting back on buying things and am trying to use things up. I think this is a good way for me to use products more I forget about or don't use often, I'm hoping from doing this I will re discover new favourites as well as using products up!

Here are my picks...


Cath Kidston Hand Cream: I bought a trio of these hand creams in the blossom scent a while ago and have never used them! It's a floral smell which I don't really go for but it's quite nice. I've been lazy with hand cream so am carrying this with me all week and using a couple times in the day. 

The Body Shop Strawberry body mist: I love the strawberry scent line so got this as soon as it came out. It smells quite alcoholic but even so it's such a gorgeous, fruity scent that's perfect for Spring.

Lush Bubblegum lip scrub: I have three lip scrubs and this is only about half way down despite having it for ages, I just always forget to use them! So I'm making my mission this week to use it lots and hopefully finish it so I can start on my second pot.

Models Own Banana Split: This is the only shade from the scented line I haven't got round to wearing yet so I will be putting this on as soon as I take my current polish off. 

Clinique Chubby Stick Curvy Candy: I got this in the chubby stick Christmas gift and this is the perfect medium pink which isn't too out of my berry toned comfort zone but is a lot more Spring appropriate.

Stila Lip Glaze Guava: I got this in last Summer's mini trio and this has been neglected and looks like a nice gloss to go over the top of curvy candy.

So those were the products I'm hoping to use a lot this week. On next weeks I will let you know how I get on with them, something I hope to do each week.

Jessica
xox



NOTW #1


I mentioned in a previous post that I've decided to do these nails of the week posts hopefully every Sunday (which they will be after this one! Sorry haha!) to showcase the polishes I've worn that week as I've found myself changing the colour regularly. I need to remember to take a picture of every one I wear which I didn't last week so the first two are from the week before, oops!


♥Models Own Strawberry Tart £5♥
I looove this lots! It's my perfect milky pink which looks so cute and girly


♥Models Own Bubblegum £5♥
 I got this for free in an offer last summer and only recently wore it. I like it so much more than I thought! It's such a bright neon pink which I think is matte, but I used a top coast so it's glossy. I will be wearing this lots throughout Summer for sure!


♥Sinful Colors Mint Apple £1.99♥
I got this last weekend and it's a beautiful Spring colour. It's not your typical pastel mint green, it's darker as you can see so not exactly 'mint' but a lovely green all the same with some shimmer which isn't really noticeable.

Jessica
xox