Moroccan Oil Treatment

I've waited a long time to get my mitts on some of this miracle oil so when I heard that it was on buyapowa I jumped at the chance to join in on the co-buy. I got it for around £20 which is considerably cheaper than the full retail price which is around the £30 mark. 

"A unique formula rich in antioxidant argan oil that instantly absorbs into hair to immediately enhance manageability, shine and deliver long term conditioning without leaving residue." 

I washed my hair as usual on Friday night and left it to air dry until it was damp. I then used about 4 or 5 pumps of the oil (they're tiny!), rubbed it into my hands and applied it all over my hair but mainly focused on the tips which, as I'm sure it is with most people, is the driest part of my hair. 

The oil itself is wonderfully silky and feels very luxurious to use. It immediately made my hair feel soft even whilst damp. I then plaited my hair and went to sleep on it. In the morning when my hair was dry it felt AMAZINGLY soft. The kind of soft where you can't stop running your fingers through it! 

I'm super impressed with the oil and I'm SO glad it lived up to the hype considering its mahoosive price tag! I'm not sure I would ever fork out a full £30 for it but if buyapowa do it again then I'll be sure to snap one up again! 

Have you tried Moroccan oil? Do you think its up to the hype?

Origins Super Spot Remover Blemish Treatment Gel

My skin has been under a lot of stress recently what with starting a new job and generally just having to deal with lots of change etc. As a result I've had quite a few nasty blemishes plaguing my face - not what I need! So when I saw that the hugely popular Origins Super Spot Remover Blemish Treatment Gel (wow that was a mouthful!) was on buyapowa I leapt at it! 

For those of you that are wondering what on earth buyapowa is let me fill you in. Buyapowa is an AMAZING website where you can get everyday health and beauty products (amongst other things) at hugely discounted prices. The more people that buy into the 'co-buy' the cheaper we all get it. Head over to buyapowa for a much better explanation. 

Anyway, on to the review of the blemish gel...

Blurb

"Now Advanced Formula. Red PMS blemish? Bad joke breakout? Heal, fight and fade it fast. Just dab on a dot and feel blemish-busting Salicylic Acid instantly help speed healing while anti-spot technology helps visibly correct post blemish darkening. Skin-calming Caffeine and Red Algae help visibly relieve irritating redness. And to help keep skin looking spotless, super exfoliators eliminate excess oils and pore-clogging debris."

Appearance 

The bottle this stuff comes in is beyond cute. It looks so tiny next to the rest of my skincare! The gel itself is clear and only a very small amount is needed. 

Effect 

I apply it to my face after toning but before moisturising. I let it sink it then cover my face in moisturiser. If needs be I'll add a touch more once I'm in bed. It does sting a bit when you put it on which I presume is the salicylic acid in it. When I wake up in the morning my blemishes are noticeably reduced and less red. 

Price

It retails at £12.00 from most places but I got mine on buyapowa for £7.50! It's coming up on there again soon so make sure you sign up to their alerts! 

Overall I'd definitely recommend this product. It doesn't work wonders but then again I'd be amazed if I found a product that did. That said it really does help and improve my skin so I always keep the handy little bottle next to my bed. 

No7 Cleansing Water For Oily/Combination Skin

I was in Boots the other day and me and my Mum just happened to have accumulated quite a few No7 vouchers so thought we'd purchase a few things from the new beautiful skin range No7 have just brought out. The idea is that its a 2 step skincare system for ease, speed and convenience. I picked up the cleansing water as well as a few other bits which I'll be reviewing later in the week! 

BLURB:

No7 Beautiful Skin Cleansing Water is enriched with zinc to help control oil for an even complexion. Pump the water onto cotton wool and wipe over the face to cleanse, refresh and balance skin for results that you can see and feel from morning to night.

I'll get straight to the point and just tell you that I'm really just not into this product. I don't feel like it thoroughly cleansed my skin enough to put moisturiser on straight afterwards. 

I used it when I got in from work after a day of wearing make up and being blown about/snowed on by the lovely Mancunian weather so it's safe to say my skin was in need of a good wipe down/cleanse. I applied a generous about of the water to cotton wool pads and swiped it all over my face and neck. My skin really didn't feel clean, so much so that I just used my normal cleanser again. 

I suppose it makes a good pre-cleanse or 'superficial cleanse' in the beauty therapy world but it in no way removes every trace of make up and dirt - not in my experience anyway!   

I probably wouldn't recommend this product which is a shame because I usually love No7 products. Unfortunately though this one just didn't do it for me. I do have a few other bits from their new beautiful skin range so hopefully I'll have more luck with those! 

Have you tried the cleansing water? What were your thoughts? I'm keen to see if anyone else has different opinions on it! Have a lovely weekend! Rebecca x

17 "It's All About The Sass" Suprime Shine Lipstick

I've got a bit of a love affair going on with 17 supreme shine lipsticks at the moment. I picked up two from their range about 3 or 4 weeks ago now and have used both of them so much! So when  I was in boots yesterday I decided to see if any other shades caught my eye - which of course they did!!

I came away with shade 'It's all about the sass' which has just the right amount of fuschia in it without being too overpowering for during the day time! 

It retails at under fiver from boots stores or online which I now feel is totally worth the price tag! It doesn't last that long so frequent re-application is must but the texture is so lovely and creamy that you probably wouldn't be that bothered about slathering it on every now and again! 

Have you tried any products from the 17 range? Rebecca x

OPI 'I Lily Love You' Nail Varnish

Good evening all! This is just a super quick post to show you the nails I had on Monday! I decided to use one of the many glitter top coats I got for Christmas - OPI's I Lily Love You! 

I used an unbranded bright pink nail varnish on the base then layered it up with a couple of coats of I Lily Love You. 

It's a very girly, fun barbie-esque effect and I definitely say it's easier to pull off in Summer! What do you think?! 

NOTD: Nude Lace Nails - Oo-er!

You can check out my main post that I did earlier today here. It's on the 17 instant glow bronzer! I thought I'd upload a cheeky picture of the manicure I just gave myself...

It's a KIKO nude colour with a bit of shimmer in it then I used my trusty No7 'grey matter' from the Midnight Enchantment collection for the lace detail over the top! 

What d'ya think? I'm rather pleased with myself! :)

17 Instant Glow Bronzing Powder

Now me and bronzer's haven't tended to really got along. I always feel they make me look like I've completely over done it or like I've not got any bronzer on at all. For this reason I tend to steer away from them and only use blusher in the morning. I was kind enough to be sent some of the new bronzing products from 17 cosmetics so I thought I'd give them a whirl despite feeling a bit anxious about using them. 

BLURB

"Sun kissed in an instant, multi shade bronzing for ultimate glow appealSun kissed in an instant, use 17 Instant Glow Bronzing Powder for ultimate glow appeal."

APPLICATION

I use my big Sigma powder brush (which I will be doing a review of later this week along with my Sigma foundation kabuki brush) and swirl it around the humongous bronzer before tapping off the excess. I then dust it all over my face, neck and decolletage. 

RESULT 

I was really impressed with it. It's mainly matt with a very faint glimmer/shimmer in it. It didn't come out too dark and just made me look a little bit more sun kissed than I usually do. I'm really happy with it and ever since receiving it I've used it every single day. I've used other bronzers in the past such as Elizabeth Arden's bronzer which is close to £20!! So to find a product that doesn't make me look over done at a quarter of the price makes me very happy! 

PRICE 

It costs £4.59 for a HUGE bronzing palette and you can buy it from here or in most boots stores.

Overall I'm really pleased I gave this a go and its helped me get over my bronzing phobia! It's a very affordable way to give yourself a sun kissed glow! Rebecca x

No7 Airbrush Away Primer

I've finally managed to get some pictures in daylight! Getting up at the crack of dawn with my new job and getting home when it's pitch black has meant that getting good daylight pictures on my camera has been a bit of a pain. Thankfully though, I've changed my hours and it means I get home just before the sun goes down! Today I'm talking about the air brush away primer from No7 that I was kindly sent by them. I've got a few 17 products from their new bronzing range which I'll be doing a review of tomorrow so make sure you look out for that! 

BLURB

"No7 Airbrush Away Primer allows you to flaunt picture-perfect skin this spring. Proven results can be seen in just ten minutes and last for up to eight hours. Apply before foundation for front cover perfection – naturally."

SMELL

It's not got a strong smell at all. It faintly smells of plastic but nothing that would put you off from using it.  

APPLICATION

I use a pea sized amount of the primer after apply it like I would my moisturiser after moisturising. It feels lovely and velvety and smooths on like a dream.  

PERFORMANCE 

I must admit I wasn't expecting it make that much of a difference in terms of my making my make up last longer and giving me a 'photo shopped' look but I was really, really pleasantly surprised. About 12 o'clock each day I tend to have to use some loose powder on my t-zone to get rid of shiny patches of skin. When using the primer my skin looked a lot smoother and my foundation and primer glided on with ease too. Throughout the day I noticed that the effect hadn't disappeared. 

PRICE

The product retails at £19.50 which I thought was really quite expensive for a primer especially one from No7 who are generally pretty reasonable with their prices. I wouldn't buy it full price but thankfully No7 do their wonderful £5 off vouchers making it much more affordable at £14.50. 

Overall, I really like this product and think it would make a really good addition to anybody's make up kit regardless of how much or little they wear. It looks great on its own and really helps to make concealer, tinted moisturiser, BB cream and foundation last longer throughout the day. There are of course other primers out there that cater to specific skin care needs but for now I'm more than happy with my No7 one. I'll definitely be repurchasing one at some point this week whilst I have my trusty No7 £5 vouchers! 

Hope you all had a wonderful Monday! Rebecca x

Blink + Go Long Lasting Black Mascara

I recently tweeted a picture of my eye make up where I was wearing the Blink + Go mascara on my lashes. A couple of people tweeted me asking what I had on so I thought I'd do a quick Saturday morning post on my thoughts on it! I received it in my December glossy box and I was really impressed that I got a full size version. 

It's a really nice mascara that lengthens and adds volume to the lashes. The wand is small enough to get to those really difficult lashes in the inner corner of your eye as well as evenly coating the bottom ones too. 

For me personally I love mascaras that remove in little tubes. This mascara creates a tube around each lash and when you apply warm water to it and leave it for a couple of seconds it then wipes away with the cotton pad. This isn't for everyone as I'm aware a lot of people don't like this method of mascara removal!  

Overall this is a really nice mascara. It's decently priced at around the £12 mark and I love its removal method. 

Enjoy your weekend! Rebecca x

Some of my favourite Barry M glitter nail varnishes

I love Barry M as a nail varnish brand. They're cheap, good quality and come in a huge range of beautiful colours and effects. I thought I'd do a quick post tonight to just quickly talk about my favourite glitter top coats from their range. I've not got all of the varieties of glitter top coats they offer but these are my favourites out of the ones I've got. 

First up is Pink Iridescent which you can buy here. This looks lovely over black nails or even just over a nude colour to give a week day manicure a sparkly twist. 

I think Barry M could have been a bit creative with the name of this colour. They could have called it something like 'red ruby slipper' instead its just called 'Red Slipper'. You can buy it here if you want one. This looks stunning on toes if you paint a similar base coat colour on first. I use their 'raspberry' shade then paint the glitter over the top and the effect is BEAUTIFUL. So pigmented and shiny and it lasts for ages! Looks very nice on fingers at Christmas too. 

Finally, this is a limited edition glitter that I got for Christmas. I think you got it if you bought 2 Barry M nail varnishes. I'm sure they'll bring out something similar soon or if you're after one desperately you could always try eBay?! Again, this looks larvely over dark colours. I tried it with a chocolate colour and it looked really, really pretty! 

I'm also very keen to try their new croc effects nail varnish. It looks like they create a much neater shape. I'm not sure what I thought about the crackle ones. I just thought they looked like your nails had chipped. Hmm. But then when I see them on other people I always think they look lovely. I'm still on the fence though! 

Hope you've had a lovely week! Rebecca x

KMS Free Shape Quick Blow Dry - If you ever read one of my reviews read this one!

I'm literally blown away - pardon the pun - with my latest discovery. You'll probably have seen that yesterday I received my first Carmine box which contained lots of lovely treats. I decided to wash my hair tonight so thought it would be brilliant opportunity to use the Free Shape Quick blow Dry spray by KMS.

The instructions on the bottle say to evenly spritz the spray on to towel dried hair then blow dry as normal. They claim that using this spray can reduce your blwo drying time by up to half whilst providing heat protection and adding shine. Sounds like a winner right? 

The product itself is in 2 parts which you then shake together until they go a pale pink. 

I was absolutely amazed with this. I really wasn't expecting it to do what it said, I just thought it would add a nice sheen to my hair. Now my hair usually takes a good 25 minutes to dry completely from towel dried (this is just roughly drying it all over, nothing fancy) yet with my KMS free shape it was completely dry after 11 minutes - yes, I timed!

It left my hair feeling wonderfully soft and silky and I was utterly amazed that it managed to cut my blow drying time down. There's not much more I can say than that but if you ever wanted to take my word for how awesome this product is then this is the time! 

You can buy KMS free shape quick blow dry from Beauty Bay - link. It's £9.95 for 200ml which should last you a good while. 

Hope everyone has had a lovely day! Rebecca x

My thoughts on my first Carmine Box: December Issue

So recently I've decided to jump on the beauty box bang wagon and sign up to two of the more established brand: Glossy Box & Carmine. If you're interested on my thoughts on my first glossy box then you can see that here. So today when I got home from work I found this little beaut waiting for me when I get in. There really is just something about opening up a beautifully wrapped box of goodies to put you in a good mood! Again, this is just a quick summary of the products in the box with my initial reactions. 

Japonesque Smudger Brush 

I've actually been having a look at some of the Japonesque range in Boots recently and have read quite a few good reviews on them so I was really pleasantly surprised when I got this in the Carmine box. It's worth £14.75 so with this alone you've already covered the £10 fee for the box itself. Really chuffed with this purchase and will be using it in the morning! 

Weleda Pomegranate Creamy Body Wash 204g

This smells DIVINE. It contains organic pomegranate oil which really does smell beautiful. I've not used it just yet but I'm going to use it tonight in the bath. If it washes anything like it smells then I'm in for a treat! 

KMS Freeshape Quick Blow Dry 30ml

Now if this product does what it promises (which is to reduce your blow drying time by up to 50%) then I'll definitely be buying the full size version. KMS have won multiple awards for their hair care range so I have high hopes for this product! 

Institute Esthederm Time Technology Cream 10ml

This is quite a generous sample size so I'm looking forward to trying it for a couple of nights to see if it really does make my skin appear more radiant as the blurb suggests. Time will tell with this one so I'll keep you updated! 

My Face cosmetics Bling Tone Eye Shadow In sp'ice'y

I quickly tried this on the back on my hand and was really impressed with how pigmented it is. I got the silver shade but I hear other boxes are getting a green version. I was pleased I got the silver as I'll probably get more use out of it. I imagine it'll look lovely patted on top of black kohl eye liner to line your eyes or as an accent colour for the inner corners of your eyes for a night out. 

Have you ordered any beauty boxes lately? What were your thoughts? Rebecca x

My Nail Varnish Collection

I thought I'd do a sneak peak at my nail varnish collection. There's a lot in there as you can probably tell -although I haven't bothered to count them! 

I've got a really varied collection ranging from George at ASDA right through to your OPI's and Essie nail varnishes. It's a mixed bag that I've gradually collected over the years. 

The box that it's stored in actually featured in my 'how I store my make up post' however since then I've got new make up storage so I thought I'd organise all my nail polishes in lovely colour co-ordinated rows (can you tell I'm a bit OCD?!) 

I bought mine off eBay and I think it was about £35 including postage which isn't bad at all for a HUGE vanity case. 

How big is your nail varnish collection? How do you organise it?