Haul: ELF (Eyes Lips Face)

In my attempts to spend less (not really working!) I decided to make a little elf purchase.




I ran out of the cream liquid eyeshadow from the regular line a while ago. This is a great shimmery product and lasts all day. Less than £2 so bargain!




I also picked up the Studio Blush in Gotta Glow, which was in an effort not to buy a Nars highlighter. This is a lovely white gold, gently shimmery product that is a great highlighter on my pale skin and will also work well as an inner corner highlight.




The other products are not as impressive in my opinion. The two liquid lipsticks from the regular line both broke when I was clicking the product through to the applicator and the colours were pretty far off the swatches on the site so unfortunately these went straight in the bin.




Similarly the daily brush cleaner, whilst a good size and in a handy spray bottle, doesn't clean off the smallest amount of eyeshadow from a natural bristle brush. Even from their own studio brushes the cleaner falls short, so I won't be repurchasing this one.




I still think the studio brushes are some of the best you can get and are an absolute bargain for the price but sadly the lip products and brush cleaner just don't match up :(

x

- Scribbled by bobatiebeauty using BlogPress from my iPhone

Life: My Autumn/Christmas Wishlist...

I know it's not even October but what else am I supposed to do on my week off?? Friends and family take note. Here is the small selection of lovely goodies that I'd like for Christmas. I don't think for one minute that I'll get any of these things but it's fun to look!!

Gold bracelet watch from ASOS. All of my jewellery is platinum or white gold but sometimes it's nice to have a little bit of yellow gold to go with certain outfits...

ASOS Skinny Bow Belt. Brown is a classic colour and anyone who knows me knows I'm obsessed with bows...

Dune Muckyily Wedding Clutch.  I know this is an odd one to ask for as a Christmas present but as we're having a very pared down ceremony I'd like to keep things cheap and cheerful...and if that means asking for wedding accessories as Christmas and birthday presents then so be it!

Some slightly innapropriate but gorgeous shoes...possibly for the wedding (Kurt Geiger Imogene Shoes).

That's all for non...well, untill I have another day off to trawl shopping sites that is.

x

Haul: MAC Bargains at Cheshire Oaks

Last Saturday we ventured to Cheshire Oaks, which is a McArthur Glen Outlet in Cheshire. Little did I know they had a cosmetics discount store.

Usually these stores are filled with 'famous' brands you've never heard of but the boy spotted MAC goodies at the back....a lot of goodies!

I could have happily bought one of everything but with saving for the wedding in mind I got a quite restrained haul. Both items were from the Christmas 2009 collection, which sold out at both of my MAC counters before December 25th.




I got the Intriguing Scarlet Palette in 6 warm eyes and the Love's Divine Lash Kit.

The palette is a gorgeous mix of autumnal colours with a minature 213 brush.








The lash kit was a much listed after kit at the time for one reason...the Reflects Glitter in Transparent Teal. All of the MAC MUA's were wearing this all through December and it looked gorgeous.








The kit includes a full size Penultimate Liner in black (another much lusted after product and loving this!), a minature Zoom Lash, lashes in number 7 and the reflects glitter.

All in all a good haul and it was less than £40 for both.

x

- Scribbled by bobatiebeauty using BlogPress from my iPhone

Nails: Rimmel Grey Matter

I love grey nail polish...
I hate waiting for nail polish to dry...

So, despite having no money until pay day, I just picked up 'Grey Matter' from Rimmel's new colour collection from Superdrug for £3.49. Bargain!

Here is two coats with no base or top coat...




x

- Scribbled by bobatiebeauty using BlogPress from my iPhone

Nails: Ring finger roulette

After just buying a new leopard print jumper from H&M I thought I'd break out the OPI You don't know jacques and Mac's Glacier on the ring finger. What do you think?x




- Scribbled by bobatiebeauty using BlogPress from my iPhone

Review: American Apparel Nail Laquer Coney Island

Just nipped out to get some Sunday roast ingredients and had to have a peek in American Apparel to see what the nail laquers were like in real life.

I thought the colour selection was great for a first collection including some darks, brights, nudes and muddy colours that seem to be everywhere at the moment.

I went for a pastel baby pink cream. I haven't got a colour like thus in my collection and judging by the photos on the AA site the colour looked pretty opaque. The colour is called Coney Island. Here it is after two coats...




Perfect pastel pink to go with all of the grey this AW10.

Have you tried these laquers yet? Link to your blog/photos below x

- Scribbled by bobatiebeauty using BlogPress from my iPhone

Nails: I finally got Konad!

Despite having hardly any money left until the end of the month I've been wanting to try Konad for ages...so I ordered myself a stamper, scraper, m59 plate and a teeny bottle of special polish from eBay and they all arrived yesterday!




Watch this space for my first attempts...can't wait!

x

- Scribbled by bobatiebeauty using BlogPress from my iPhone

In & Out: August 2010

I've not done and in and out post for a while and, as most of my friends would say, I am the biggest moaner in the world so my 'outs' list should be longer than my 'ins' but I'll try to keep it as equal as possible!

IN

Wedding/Honeymoon Countdown
Even though it is 13 months away (boo hoo) I have well and truly started looking forward to our 3 week-long wedding/honeymoon trip next September. We're going to Toronto, Boston, Cape Cod, New York, Washington and possibly finishing up in Miami. Getting married in Central Park whilst we're in New York and will be met by 6-8 of our nearest and dearest.

I am however quite frustrated that I can't do any of the traditional wedding planning things as we can't even book our flights until January. Thoughts have already started wandering towards my hen do/bachelorette party so watch this space....

Selling stuff on eBay
Recently we've had a huge sort out of our small one bedroomed flat. I gave 4 bags of clothes/shoes/accessories to charity and have or am in the process of selling some other stuff on eBay. We now have so much more space and some spare money to buy grown up things like a rug and a clock (eek does that mean I'm a grown up :()

A week off work with nowhere to go
You may think this is a funny one but I have never intentionally done this. I have had unexpected illnesses that have kept me off work for whole weeks at a time but never when I've been well enough to do anything I want! I suspect I'll end up spending my time cleaning and watching 24 but the dream is there...

Tacky Nails
For some reason recently I have been loving tacky nails. Currently have a spotty design on the go (will post this tonight/tomorrow) and have recently purchased playing card design water decal French tips and a Konad stamping kit so watch out for more tacky NOTD action!

OUT

Summer/Autumn/Winter Hybrid Weather
For what seems like months now we have had nothing but muggy, humid grey and rainy weather here in Manchester. Not only does it mean your perfectly straightened hair is a big ball of frizz once you get to work but it also presents some very tricky wardrobe dilemmas. Black tights or clear tights? Full shoes or open toe? Jacket or no jacket? So sick am I of this that I now have to keep a drawer of my desk at work full of shoes and a cardigan/scarf on the back of my chair just in case. Roll on Winter!!

Hard to clean foundation brushes
I am a huge fan of Revlon Colourstay and Maybelline 24hour foundations and by their very nature they are full coverage and long-lasting formulations. That unfortunately means that fully cover and last a long time on your brushes too! If anyone has a foolproof way of cleaning them please comment below.

Well that was a lot more positive than I thought! What are your ins and outs at the moment? Link to your blog below. Here are Hell Candy Makeup's ins and outs of the moment. Love this blog - go subscribe!!

xx

Fashion: Roll On AW10!

After a particularly grey August Thursday today I was cheered up by this fab picture of D&G's AW10 collection.

If you don't crave a hot chocolate in front of a roaring fire after seeing this there's something wrong...



- Scribbled by bobatiebeauty using BlogPress from my iPhone

Product Review: Aussie Dual Personality Aussome Volume + Conditioning Mousse & Texturising + Conditioning Gel Spray

As it's a particularly grey and showery Thursday I thought I'd do a product review of something I've been meaning to do for a while.

You may remember a good few weeks ago I attended an Aussie haircare even with the lovel Caroline from Wow & Flutter and in our goodie bags from the night we were given two full size products; the Dual Personality Aussome Volume + Conditioning Mousse and the Texturising + Conditioning Gel Spray.

I have used each of these 3/4 times since then so I feel it's time to give them a decent enough review. The aim of both of these products is to give the hair more volume, which although mine is naturally curly I still like a bit of volume to take the edge off the straightness :)

My initial thoguhts were that I like the effect of the mousse...gave good root lift and made my hair overall feel thicker. As with most mousse products though the effect is only good the day or day after you wash your hair and aftet that the effect wears off and your hair feels a bit grubby :(

I've found similar effects with the gel spray to be honest. I really wanted to like this as it's a product that I thought would be a little more versatile than the mousse in that you can use it on damp or dry hair...sadly not. Using it on damp hair leaves my roots sticky and feeling like I need to wash it again as soon as it has been blow dried and on dry hair you get the dreaded crispyness!!!

Overall verdict is that I wouldn't repurchase either of these products. Whilst they do have the gorgeous Aussie smell and I have confidence that they're not as drying as regular styling products they just don't do the job for me. I like my styling products to do what they say on the tin whilst still leaving my hair manageable and clean feeling.

Have you tried either of these products? What are your thoughts?

x

Wishlist: July 2010

After reading Hell Candy's Blog post  listing her most wanted items of the moment I thought I'd give it a go.

I'm in a self-imposed period of austerity at the moment due to saving almost all of my disposable income for the wedding (not for over 13 months but you can never start too early!). With this is mind I can but wish for the things I'd like on my dressing table at the moment and it seems like a better form of window shopping so here goes...

1. Chanel Mat Lumiere Foundation

I have wanted to try this foundation for an age after watching so many videos and reading rave reviews. I love a good matte foundation but am currently working my way through no less than 5 others so really should use these up first before shelling out over £20 on this...I can but dream!

2. Dsquared2 Wood Perfume

This is another long lusted after product. First spied in Harvey Nics over a year ago and looked at many times on HQHair...I will own this one day. Maybe a wedding day fragrance?

3. Frédéric Fekkai Technician Colour Care 3 Minute Mask

I got a sample of this in a recent Space NK order and absolutely loved it! It was my first forray into truly luxurious haircare and I have to say I've been taken in. This may be on my Christmas/Birthday present wishlist (take note boy!).

What's your current beauty wishlist?

x

Product Review: Stila One Step Makeup

Got this bad boy from eBay after seeing the review from lovely You Tuber xsparkage. Stila isn't the easiest brand to find in the UK and since Debenhams did their clear out there are no easy outlets (not in Manchester anyhoo!).






Super quick eBay searched showed up some bargainous listings including P&P so I picked this up for around £9 in total.

Was very intrigued by the "no need for separate foundation, concealer and powder concept" and after a week of using this I have a few positives and negatives.






One big positive for me is the pump applicator (above). Very little danger of pouring out too much like with good old Revlon Colourstay and more hygienic even if it's just in my head.

The formula is almost a liquid to powder texture and, whilst is does last and stay pretty much shine free all day, is a bit of a pain to apply both with a foundation brush and fingers. It is also really thick like a paste so can just fall off the brush when you're not looking :(

So overall this is a good foundation and definitely worth a try for the novelty factor. Enjoy!

- Scribbled by bobatiebeauty using BlogPress from my iPhone

Beauty Event: Aussie Haircare Event Goodie Bag

As promised here are the details of the goodie bag we got from last Thursday's Aussie Haircare event in Manchester. This was the first event I'd been too so felt very spoilt!

Amber Rose, the lovely hair stylist who did my hair on the night, used both of the Aussie products we got in our bags in my hair...and it was biiiiig!















We also got a lovely wide black headband (very mad men!), a little Aussie compact mirror, a Max Factor liquid eyeliner pen and a lollipop for good measure.

Again just want to say a big thank you to all the girls from 1,000 heads and to Caroline from wowandflutter.com for inviting me.

x

- Scribbled by bobatiebeauty using BlogPress from my iPhone

Beauty Event: Aussie Haircare Event Manchester July 2010

Just a quick post to say a big thank you to Aussie and the girls from 1000 heads for a great night at Bluu in Manchester last Thursday!

Much fun was had by all the girlies. Here are some pictures from the night....more on the goodie bag products in my next post.

The lovely Amber Rose and Zara were the hair gurus of the evening and did a fab job of giving us all some much needed ooomph! More photos here.

x

Product Review: Blixz Nail Stickers

I've been meaning to do this post for ages. Sorry for the lack of posts recently...there's no excuse other than a self-imposed spending ban due to upcoming nuptials.

So I saw on one of Miss Selfridge's facebook posts that they were going to be stocking the Blixz nail stickers. Jumped on ebay instead to see if they were cheaper. Simple search revealed I could pick them up for £9...bargain I thought!

Here's what they looked like in the packaging...







Pretty easy to apply. One end of each sticker is curved to fit snuggly against your cuticle. You may need to narrow some of them but that's easy too with a pair of pointed ended nail scissors. Them you just fold the excess over so it'd touching your fingertip and file off. Here's the end result...







The effect lasted for about 3 days, which I was a little disappointed by. The ends that you file off start to lift and catch on clothes etc.

Overall though these were a great purchase and would be great for a big night out or fancy dress.

Have you tried any other nail stickers or foils? Any recommendations?

x


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Haircare: My holiday haircare combo just keeps on giving...

I always leave my hair curly on holiday and don't bother even packing my hairdryer or straighteners for hot weather breaks.

The first night we arrived in Mexico I tried out a combination of Frizz Ease Serum and Mark Hill Straight Balm (I know...straight balm for curly hair but bear with me!).

This combo really worked. Usually curly hair products leave my hair crunchy and the boy calls them crispy noodles but this combo just leaves it soft and defined.





What's your favourite curly hair styling combo?

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Haul: Holiday Haul & Exciting News!

Hey everyone, sorry for the radio silence we've been on holiday to Mexico. Very hot (100 degrees!) and gorgeous resort. For those interested we stayed at the Gran Bahia Principe Riviera Maya Resort.

I couldn't resist a small haul at Manchester airport on the way out and a small on-plane purchase on the way back...so here's what I bought...





I got the Clinique All About Eyes Serum de-puffing eye massage roll-on, the YSL eye shadow palette in number 6 and finally picked up the Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer Potion. All were a couple of £'s cheaper than normal drugstore prices but I used my holiday money so technically it doesn't count :)

Here is the YSL palette open. Gorgeous range of greens to go with my red hair...






I haven't tried any of them yet as came home with a terrible stomach bug *damn you weak English stomach!* so expect full product reviews soon.

Some other exciting news is that we got engaged on holiday! On the beach under a shooting star...perfect! Here is the obligatory ring shot.






Hope you're all ok xxx

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Product Review: EOS Lip Balm

After reading Hellcandy's blog about the goodies she brought back from her recent New York trip I had to try and get hold of the EOS lip balm. It looked so cute...like a little egg!

I found it easily on eBay for a couple of £'s and it arrived at my desk this morning. First impressions are...I love it! It feels super moisturising and easy to apply. Here are some poor-quality iPhone pics for your viewing pleasure.

















The balm is 95% natural and 100% organic. Yum!

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Nail of the Day: Urban Outfitters Matte Purple

Whilst in Urban Outfitters last night picking up such essential items as monkey-topped chopsticks and an 'I spreadsheets' mug (!) I noticed they had a new nail polish range.

There are no brand names on the bottle so I can only assume this is an own brand range. There were a limited number of colours but they did have a small matte range and that's what I picked up.




This, you may not believe, is Matte Purple 3. The colour is really a bubblegum pink and the finish is more of a satin than a true matte.

This is the result of two coats of the colour and two coats of Essie's Matte About You.

While I love the colour this literally only lasted one day, so not much different to other matte polishes then! Next step is to try this with a normal topcoat to test the longevity.

Have you tried these polishes? What are your favourite matte polishes?

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Make-up: Goodbye sunshine...hello lipstick!

Now call me a summer kill joy but I was secretly pleased the temperature dropped today so I could enjoy the glorious combination of Revlon's Cherries In The Snow and Barry M's number 3 lip pencil.

I just can't deal with full lipstick in hot weather. I don't know if it's the increased liquid intake (ie. G&T!) or the threat of the dreaded sweaty upper lip but it just feels like too high maintenance...and that's coming from me!





This photo (taken with rubbish iPhone camera) really doesn't do the lipstick justice. It is the perfect cherry red as the name suggests. Much easier to wear than a true red like Mac's Russian Red, especially if you have a typical English rose complexion or you're a redhead like me...insert gratuitous lipstick wearing photo





Have you found your perfect red?Which make up item(s) do you skip in hot weather?

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Product Review: Loreal Perfect Clean Foaming Gel Wash

I recently bought the new(ish) Loreal Perfect Clean foaming gel wash after watching makeupbytiffanyd's drug store skincare video (although the packaging is different in the US).





I went for the 'refreshing' variety and it was indeed refreshing! I think this was partly due to the scrublet that came with it, which is basically a soft, white rubber scrubby thing (!) that gets a nice lather going.

Initial thoughts on this were great. I'd been getting a lot of breakouts on my chin and this totally cleared them up...however after a few weeks of use this made the skin around my nose dry and cracked. This is really unusual for my generally combination skin. Must be due to the acne-clearing ingredient, salicylic acid. Great for spot clearing but not great if the rest
of your skin is normal/dry.







Think I'll stick to my beloved Avene for now....still using the scrublet though as the old muslin cloths were getting hard to cart around whilst travelling.

Have you tried these face washes? What are your thoughts?

Disclaimer: I have not been paid to write this review. All opinions are my own and I bought the item(s) with my own hard-earned dosh!

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Location:Mancunian Way,Manchester,United Kingdom