Amsterdam - June 2013

I've just had a lovely week off work and spent a few of those days in Amsterdam. I'm more of a city person than a lying on the beach sunbathing person so I love my city breaks. The flight only takes around an hour from Newcastle and easyJet flights are pretty cheap so it didn't cost much to get there.

There is lots to do in Amsterdam but to be honest, my fiance and I didn't plan a lot of activities as we wanted to just explore when we arrived and do what ever we fancied at the time. There is so much walking to be done so I was glad I had comfy shoes with me! With so many bars, cafes and restaurants there are plenty of places to re-fuel and people watch.

I hadn't been to a Madame Tussards before so we went there as well as doing things like canal boat trips, souvenir shopping and lots of eating! I especially enjoyed the famous fries that are served in a cone with mayonnaise and I loved the waffles too!

I was really impressed (and grateful!) that everyone spoke English. Other countries are so much better at speaking other languages compared with the UK!

Schipol Airport is amazing too. There are so many shops, it's better than some shopping centres!

Thought I'd share some of my holiday snaps with you, hope you enjoy them :)

 

 

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Essie Summer 2013: Naughty Nautical and Sunday Funday

I spotted the Essie Summer 2013 collection in Boots today and I was very impressed with all of the colours. I narrowed my choices down to just two of the six polishes and managed to get them on a buy one get one half price deal.

The polishes I chose are Naughty Nautical; a beautiful turquoise with silver shimmer and Sunday Funday; tangerine with silver shimmer.

My swatches are with two coats of each colour. I absolutely love these shades and will be wearing them a lot this Summer!




If you want to see the rest of the colours in this collection, check out the Essie website here.

Also in Boots for £12.99 there was a set containing mini versions of Naughty Nautical, Sunday Funday and Full Steam Ahead (lilac with silver shimmer). I was super tempted to buy this but I wasn't sure what the brushes are like on the minis. I love the nice wide brushes on the regular size as they are nice and easy to use.

(with flash)

Which are your favourites in this collection? Have you bought any yet?

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On my face: Benefit Cosmetics - The Bronze of Champions

Last week I posted about my fab new Benefit Cosmetics purchase; The Bronze of Champions. Check the post out here to read more about the contents of this handy little kit. Today I want to show you the look I've created using all of the items in the kit. The only extra products I needed was a base and concealer (pictured below).

I really like this look as it gives a nice glow to my pale skin and doesn't look too over the top. I did find that using the brush that comes with the Hoola bronzer isn't great though. I ended up with a harsh strip of colour on my cheek that I had to work very hard to blend in! I would definitely go for a bigger brush when using this. The bronzer is extremely pigmented too so add a little at a time :)



The colours of the eyeshadows are beautiful and the textures are so smooth. These will probably be the most used items in the kit as they can be used for a range of different looks. Oh and the mascara, as it does a lovely job at separating and elongating the lashes.

If you're one of those people who hate lip glosses due to the stickiness, you should definitely give these Benefit ones a go. They feel just like a glossy lipbalm and smell great too. This one is pretty subtle which is good since the cheeks are quite strong but I'd love to try some of the other shades like Coralista too.

What do you think of this kit? Can you recommend any of Benefit's other kits?

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Bellápierre Cosmetics

A little while ago I was kindly sent some Bellápierre makeup to try out so I thought I'd let you see what I got and my thoughts on it. I once got a Bellápierre mascara in a beauty box but apart from that I haven't tried any of their other makeup so I was pretty excited to try some.
 

For those of you who haven't heard of Bellápierre before, they are a brand that produce 100% natural mineral makeup. They also sell skincare and makeup brushes.

I'd always fancied trying a mineral foundation so this was a great opportunity to use one. I received the Compact 5-in-1 Mineral Foundation* in the lightest shade; Ultra. 



I really like the smooth texture of this product and the way it feels so light on the skin. I don't wear foundation on a regular basis as I don't like a heavy feeling on the skin but this is something that could be worn every day without feeling uncomfortable. This product does a great job at evening out the skintone however on someone like me with scars from old spots, it doesn't quite cover everything. I think if you have pretty clear skin or some redness it will make your skin look flawless but I think I could do with extra concealing. Even though my dark circles round my eyes are still obvious on this photo, I had to use a little L'Oreal Lumi Magique to make them a bit less scary!

Hand swatch of the Compact Mineral Foundation in Ultra

I like the glossy black packaging and it's nice and sturdy so it's going to stay secure if you carry it in your handbag. It also has a secret powder puff under the foundation layer and a fab mirror in the lid for easy touch ups on the go. This shade is a great choice for pale girls who often find that the lightest foundation in a range is still too dark. This one really is light! There is a helpful colour chart on the website to help you find the correct shade for your skin tone. This actually has quite a creamy consistency which is surprising for a powder product but if you have dry skin be sure to moisturise properly before using this as it can highlight flaky skin if you have it. The shelf life of this product is great at 24 months once opened and you don't need to use a lot per application so I reckon this will last quite a while. On the whole I think this is a great addition to my foundation collection and I definitely recommend giving this a go if you want a nice natural finish that feels light on the skin.




Bellápierre do a Compact Mineral Bronzer* in the same style packaging as the foundation including the hidden powder puff underneath the product. This comes in four different shades meeting the needs of all skin tones. I have Peony which is the lightest shade. This is a beautiful shimmering bronze shade that gives a healthy glow to the face. This is really pigmented so go easy with this to achieve a natural look! The smooth texture of this makes it easy to blend into your cheeks. I can see this being used a lot on summer nights out.

Hand swatch of the Compact Mineral Bronzer

To apply both the foundation and the bronzer I used the Bellápierre Powder Brush (No 23) which is a fab multifunctional brush with nice soft bristles. I didn't notice any hairs shedding from this brush so I'll definitely be using this with some of my other powder products too.

L-R: Shimmer Powders in Tin Man, Deja Vous and Bronze

I received three eyeshadows called Shimmer Powders* too. There is a massive range of shades available and I have three very wearable, gorgeous shades; Deja Vous (peach), Bronze and Tin Man (silver). These are really pigmented and will be so good for a night out. They blend well together or look equally good on their own. You only need to use a tiny amount of product to achieve a great look so these will last ages! Bellápierre's Eyeshadow Brush (No 35) does a lovely job at packing the colour on to your lids.

Top to Bottom: Shimmer Powders in Tin Man, Deja Vous and Bronze

Scary pic of me with no makeup to show the difference. This is the only photo taken without the flash on (sorry about the change in colours!)

I created the look below using all of the Bellápierre products along with a few extras which I've also photographed.



 



Extra products:

• Benefit The Porefessional Primer
• L'Oreal Lumi Magique Highlighting Pen
• Benefit They're Real Mascara
• Jason Lips Bee Healthier Lip Balm
• Dainty Doll Lipstick in Stripped

Bellápierre cosmetics are available to buy from their website, QVC and selected House of Fraser and Wholefoods stores

Hope you enjoyed my look. Let me know if you've tried Bellápierre. I'd love to hear your thoughts and recommendations.



*PR sample (All opinions on my blog are 100% honest whether products are paid for by myself or provided by a PR company)

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Lush Haul - May 2013

Recently I've been having issues with my hair. Basically I've been getting this really greasy patch at the back of my head straight after washing my hair. It isn't due to not rinsing enough as I spend ages doing that. I thought it was down to the Tresemme products I was using but then I realised it started happening with other shampoos such as Head and Shoulders and a clarifying one as well.

I decided that I wanted to try a more natural shampoo and conditioner to see if that would get rid of my very annoying greasy patch. This is where Lush comes in. I've tried their liquid shampoos before and loved them but I fancied going for a solid one this time. I spent some time looking through the different variations online before visiting the store so I already knew I wanted the Jumping Juniper bar and after chatting to the friendly assistant Katie (Newcastle store), I knew this was the right choice. This is the best option for greasy hair as it contains Juniper oil for controlling sebum production along with rosemary and lavender for their antimicrobal properties.

L-R: Shampoo Tin, Jumping Juniper Shampoo Bar, Jungle Solid Conditioner

Katie explained that you only need to rub this on your wet hair three times to create enough lather to wash your hair and having used this twice now I can confirm that is definitely the case! I think this bar will last for a very long time and I bought a shampoo tin to help keep it dry when it's stored in the bathroom. A great tip Katie gave me was if you place some ribbon in the tin before the shampoo bar, it makes it super easy to get the bar back out of the tin next time you use it. I think these tins are good for travelling too. 

I've tried Lush liquid conditioners before and I wasn't that impressed as I felt like they didn't put enough moisture into my hair and I felt unable to brush through my damp hair as it was knotty. Despite this I decided to try a solid conditioner called Jungle which contains ingredients like cocoa butter, bananas and avocado. I've also used this a few times in combination with the Jumping Juniper shampoo and I'm really impressed. Whilst I'm in the shower this doesn't feel very conditioning on the hair but I found it easy to brush through afterwards using my tangle teezer and once dry it feels nice and healthy. Using these products leaves a gorgeous scent in my hair too! Love it!

Just in case you're wondering, my greasy patch disappeared after the first wash and hasn't returned yet so fingers crossed!




A product that Katie recommended when I explained that although my hair gets greasy quickly, it's also quite dry at the ends, is the R&B Hair Moisturiser. This is a leave in moisturiser to use after shampooing and conditioning your hair. It's quite expensive at £10.95 for a 100g pot but when I tried combing a little through my hair with my fingers it seemed really soft so that was my decision made! I haven't given this a proper try on wet hair yet so I can't really comment on how good it is at this stage.





On the way over to the till I decided to purchase some soap as I fancied a change from shower gels and hand washes so I picked up a bar of Rock Star soap which I've purchased multiple times before. It's a really sweet, girly scent and it's a bright pink bar too! I haven't started using this yet but I keep returning to my Lush bag and sniffing it. Ahh it's so good!





My final item was a sneaky, well placed Sweetie Pie Shower Jelly right next to the till. This is another product I've had before so I knew how delicious the scent of this one was so I immediately exclaimed "I'll take one of these too!". This is a very unique product as you wouldn't normally wash yourself with jelly but it really works! I take a small amount of this and rub it into my shower scrunchie and it does a lovely job of foaming up. The product looks great in the pot too as it has blue glitter in it!

So I went into Lush for a shampoo bar and ended up spending £30.00! Ah well, I had fun and I'm really enjoying the new scents in my bathroom. 

Do you ever shop at Lush? What are your favourite products?

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MaxFactor Gift with Purchase - May 2013

Whilst shopping in Boots yesterday I spotted a fab deal at the MaxFactor counter. If you spend £15 or more you get a free box of goodies. For weeks I've been tempted by the Colour Elixir Giant Pen Sticks and the CC Cream so this was the perfect opportunity to indulge.




I love the crayon style lip products so had to try MaxFactor's offering! I really liked most of the colours but I narrowed my choice down to Princess Rose, a gorgeous baby pink colour filled with lilac and violet shimmer. I'm looking forward to trying this on my lips as it seems lovely! I have just noticed one downside to the product though, it's not a twist up pen so this will require sharpening!





I haven't been too bothered about the recent influx of CC (Colour Correcting) creams to the beauty market but when I swatched this Maxfactor one the other week I really liked it. I bought the shade fair which isn't a perfect match for my skin but it seems to blend out well and the texture feels really light so I have high hopes for this one.





So now you know what I bought, I'm sure you want to see the freebie!

 



The hair dye style box houses four really nice products:

• Mini Masterpiece Max Mascara (5.3ml)
• Limited Edition Colour Elixir Giant Pen Stick in Foxy Amber (full size)
• Max Colour Effect Mono Eyeshadow in Creme Champagne (seems full size)
• Max Effect Mini Nail Polish in Deep Coral (full size)

I'm not super excited about the eyeshadow but I love the other products and I'm sure all together they will create a great look for Summer. The Colour Elixir Giant Pen Stick is such a pretty pinky red colour.

Also included in the box is a little booklet explaining how to use the products to create the look on the box. I'll be looking like Gwyneth Paltrow in no time! (in my dreams...)

I think this offer is in-store only as it doesn't seem to be on the website so hopefully your local Boots stocks MaxFactor so you can pick up this deal.

Are you tempted by this freebie? Let me know if you're a MaxFactor fan and which products are your favourites.

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