Seventeen Doll'd Up Mascara Review

Hi everyone :)

My Boots Advantage Card vouchers arrived in the post last week so I decided to take a trip to Boots to see what I could pick up. One of the vouchers was for the Seventeen Doll’d Up mascara for £2 instead of the usual £6.29 which I thought was a bargain, so I decided to give it a try.

Now I’m not usually a fan of Seventeen products and haven’t tried anything from this brand for a long time so I have to say my expectations weren’t too high. However, for £2 I decided it was worth giving it a shot and I am so glad that I did! The curved brush was amazing at separating, lengthening and curling my lashes to make my eyes look bigger and wider. It is also easy to build up without any clumping at all and it does have great staying power with my lashes staying curled throughout the day. 

As you can see in the photo the mascara has added loads of length to my eyelashes and curled them really nicely (I haven't used any eyelash curlers or anything here).

I am usually quite a tough critic of mascaras but I am really impressed with this one and will definitely be purchasing it again. I also really want to try the Doll’d Up three dot eyeliner which came free when you bought the mascara a while ago but it doesn’t seem to be part of their main range as yet. If anyone knows where I can get it let me know! :)

Have any of you guys tried this mascara? What did you think?

Thanks for reading xx

Top Five Blushers

Hi everyone,

Recently I have been loving trying out different blushers and so I thought I’d share a few of my favourites with you guys :)

1)   Nars – Lustre £21.50

I love blushers from Nars and Lustre has to be one of my all time favourite shades. It’s a warm, peachy colour with a hint of gold shimmer running through it and although it’s a bit of the pricey side, I definitely think it’s worth paying that bit extra for these blushers.

2)   Benefit – Coralista £23.50

This is the only blusher I have rebought and it has been one of my most used blushers for a long time now. As the name suggests, it is a coral/pinky, peach shade and is one that I think would suit a lot of skin tones. It also looks lovely with the Benefit Watts Up highlighter.

3)   Nars – Orgasm £21.50

 This is a warm, pink shade and the one that most people have heard of from Nars. Like Lustre, it has a subtle gold shimmer to it and I think it looks fab teamed with Topshop’s Sunbeam highlighter.

4)   MAC – Springsheen £17.50

As you might have guessed by now I am drawn to blushers that are warm and are pink/peach in colour and Springsheen is no exception.  This is another blush that has a bit of a shimmer to it but it isn’t too much making it easy to wear in the day or build up for a night out.

5)   Bobbi Brown Pot Rouge - Cabo Coral £18

I’m not a massive fan of cream blushers but I do really like this pot rouge from Bobbi Brown. I love wearing it on my lips as well as cheeks (although it is a bit drying on the lips) and for a cream based product it has great staying power. I can’t see this shade on the Bobbi Brown website anymore so I’m hoping it hasn’t been discontinued!

So there you have my top 5 blushers of the moment. Have any of you guys tried any of these blushers? Which blushers would you recommend?

Thanks for reading :) xx

Barry M Gelly Nail Varnish in Pomegranate and Pink Sapphire Glitter

Hellloooo,

I was having a bad day the other week so decided to treat myself to a few bits and bobs from Boots whilst on my lunch break from work. I’m always drawn to the Barry M products when I want a little make up fix as their products are so cheap so you won’t feel bad about splurging! In particular I really love the Barry M nail varnishes and these two shades caught my eye straight away.

Pomegranate is a deep red/dark pink colour and is from the Barry M Gelly range (£3.99). I really like my varnishes to be super shiny so I was looking forward to giving this one a try as it is meant to provide a  hi-shine finish similar to that of a gel. I only needed to use one coat as the consistency of the polish is quite thick and it also didn’t take too long to dry which is always good for a smudger like me! I really love the colour but I was a little disappointed to find that the finish wasn’t really any shinier than any of the other normal polishes that I have. For that reason, I don’t think it’s worth paying the extra £1 for a Gelly polish unless you really like the colour and it isn’t available in the normal range.

Pink Sapphire is a glitter nail varnish which also has a dark pink base (£2.99). I wouldn’t wear this varnish on its own as it is quite sheer but it is fab for adding a bit of sparkle to a manicure and I think it goes really well with the Pomegranate shade. The only trouble I have with the glitter polishes is getting them off again but I definitely think the finish is worth the extra bit of hassle!

Have any of you guys tried these colours? Which other Barry M polishes would you recommend?

Thanks for reading xx

Wish List - March 2013

1. MAC lipstick in Pink Pop Pearl - £14 - MAC

2. Benjabelle Brush Tree - $34.99 - Benjabelle

3. OPI Mariah Carey nail varnish in Pink yet Lavender- £6.40 - Amazon

4. MAC Powder Blush in Pink Swoon - £17.50 - MAC

5. Essie nail varnish in Go Ginza - around £7 - Beauty Bay

6. Dior Airflash - £33 Boots

7.Rimmel Apocalips - £5.99 - Boots

8. Nars bronzer in Laguna - £26 - Nars

March 2013 Birchbox Review

Hi everyone,

Yesterday saw the arrival of the final Birchbox from my three month subscription so I was hoping it would be a good one! This month was all about role models and contained a bunch of ‘hero products’ to help get you inspired. So here’s what I received in the March box...

Laura Geller Inkwell Waterproof Gel Eyeliner

I was so pleased to see this product in this month’s Birchbox as I have wanted to try some of the Laura Geller products for a while now and I do love a gel eyeliner. This eyeliner comes with a little brush in the lid making it super handy for on the go. I wore the liner for the first time today and my first impressions were very good; it glided on so easily and smoothly and didn’t budge all day :) This is definitely my favourite product included this time.

Molton Brown Valbonne Fragrance

I realised just the other day that I haven’t used any of the perfume samples I have received in any of my beauty boxes and this is simply because I haven’t really liked any of them. Unfortunately, this one is no exception and just isn’t a scent that I would wear. It has top notes of bergamot and orange flower and middle notes of Provencial mimosa before finishing with base notes of vetiver and leather. For me, it’s just a bit strong and not very feminine so I don’t think it will be one I will end up using.

RMK Cleansing Balm

I’ve never tried a cleansing balm like this so I am looking forward to giving it a go. I really like the rose scent and it feels lovely and creamy when massaged into the skin. I haven’t given it a proper try yet so I can’t say too much about how good it is but I was definitely pleased to find it included in this month’s box.

La Sultane De Saba Body Lotion with Argan Oil

I love products with Argan Oil for my hair but haven’t tried any lotions that contain Argan Oil so again this is a good product for me to try. I’m not crazy on the scent but it did make my skin lovely and soft after use so I definitely think I’ll use up this sample but I’m not sure it’s one I would rush out to buy again.

Yu-Be Moisturising Skin Cream

If you have read my blog before you will probably have seen me saying that I suffer from dry lips and hands and I am always looking for new moisturising products to use. This product has been a best seller in Japan since 1957 and from my first impressions I can see why! I don’t really like the smell but it does disappear quite quickly and my lips were left feeling so soft and hydrated after use and that’s saying something with my lips!

Beauty Extra – Sanctuary 30 Day Thermal Transformation Mask

I love that you get little added extras in the Birchbox and this month’s was this fab face mask from Sanctuary. I’m definitely looking forward to a pampering soak in the bath with this face mask and a glass of wine!

Lindt Lindor Heart Tin with Chocolate Truffles

These are some of my favourite chocolates and I’m ashamed to say they were eaten up before I could take a picture of them so I only have the tin left now!

So overall I think this was a really good Birchbox with an amazing seven products included this month.  Some products I like a lot more than others but they are all products that I will get use of, apart from maybe the perfume sample. My subscription to Birchbox has now run out but I am definitely thinking of renewing as it has been my favourite out of all the beauty box brands I have tried so far :)

What did you guys think of the March Birchbox? Which were your favourite products? Are there any other beauty boxes that you would recommend I try out?

Thanks for reading xx