Sanctuary Brightening Facial In A Box.

I bought this brightening facial kit a few months ago using my Boots £5 skincare voucher. I whipped it out one Saturday afternoon and felt it was about time I gave it a go. I was not left disappointed!




As you can see there's 5 steps to be followed. The exfoliator felt grainy and really felt as though it was getting rid of dead skin. After I washed it off my skin felt much smoother and looked more even in tone. Now for the moisture boosting mask! This felt cold and tingly on my face as though it was definitely doing something:). Lastly the eye gel and illuminating moisture lotion were a great end to the facial. The lotion is very liquidy and has a greasy texture which was great for my dry skin type.




The verdict! An overall YES, lovely product, very easy to use and my skin felt very fresh, smooth and dare I say it radiant afterwards. The only downside was that the moisture boosting mask came in a sachet so could only be used once whereas i still have lots of product left in the mini bottles.

Dior 5 Couleurs

It was about time I had a make up clearout! It was a long process and I got rid of a few items and thought "oh my gosh what was I thinking" but also uncovered a few unloved beauties! We are all guilty of buying new make up and pushing our old trusted favourites to the back of the drawer to only rediscover them one day and wonder how we managed without them. This beautiful Dior 5 colour palette has been in my drawer for a few years but the colours are all still in perfect condition. Dior eyeshadows are all very smooth in texture so very easy to apply and blend. What I love about this brand is that all of the colours they bring out in their palettes are wearable, nothing too crazy or out there so true value for money. I have also swatched the colours below.




Dior palettes are priced around £40.

Bank Holiday Beauty Haul!

This bank holidays shopping expedition was all about beauty products! It might look like a small haul but it hit my bank balance pretty hard:).
I bought the much talked about urban decay naked eye palette £35 and Chanel Illusion D'Ombre eyeshadow £22.50. Also among this pile of goodies is some Barry M nail paints and a few freebies yey:)!
There was an offer on at Urban Decay in my local House of Fraser which was buy any 2 products and get 2 free! I picked the eye palette and a shading brush. My 2 freebies were their number one selling mascara and a 16 hour make up hold spray! I will be reviewing all products soon. (Chanel eyeshadow post already published on Sunday thought it best to get it out there before they sell out...have a feeling might be limited edition).x

Chanel Illusion D'Ombre.

So I went shopping this weekend and how could I not buy this Chanel Illusion D'Ombre eyeshadow. It is absolutely gorgeous and has beauty bloggers all over the world in a frenzy. In case your wondering what that dip in the eyeshadow is...its me poking my finger right in to swatch the colour:).






I bought the colour Illusoire number 83. It's a sparkley grey-purpley colour. Now...to the texture...is it powder? Mousse? Cream? The answer is NO to all of the above. It has a light spongey texture and is very smooth to work with. The brush they give u is very good and allows you to use it as an eyeshadow or liner as it is angled in shape. If your not too sure then use your finger this works well too unless you have long nails. Here are some pictures below. I've taken a few under different lighting to really allow you to see how it looks.

Under bulb lighting







Daylight






A little bit stronger...perhaps a nightime look. (Daylight). Have also used gunmetal from urban decay for a little shading in the eye crease.





This eyeshadow gets a huge thumbs up from me. I'd wear as an eyeliner under eye for day looks and definitely stronger as shown above for a night out. The price tag it carries of £22.50 is not cheap but is a lovely colour and I doubt it will run out! X

Size matters?!

I'm talking about cocktail rings:)!!!




A slightly crazy picture yes! These are just a small favourite selection from my huge cocktail ring collection. In my opinion the bigger the better:).
This collection has been built up over a few years some are from a great costume jeweller Martin James, his jewellery is only available at airports in duty free stores so i always grab them when I can. A few are from a New York street stall (the big Rose one and pearl with diamantes ring) and others from high street uk based stores such as Miss Selfridge, River Island and Accesorize. The ring prices here range from £10-£30. x

Friday Favourite!

This weeks beauty is this gorgeous Mulberry Carter Double Handbag in Midnight Croc Nappa Leather £995.




I love this bag!!! I don't own a navy bag and would most definitely welcome this into my collection. I'm thinking soft white/cream tailored coat, skinny jeans, boots and this bag. That's me ready for winter:).

Smokey "office" eye!!

Who doesn't love the sexy smouldering smokey celeb eye?. All of us of course but turning up to work with the trademark Kardashian smokey eye might not be appropriate...a night out yes in the office no!
I think a slightly more subtle smokey look however is most definitely appropriate. I use the above Bobbi Brown eyeshadows to do this look. These are 3 gorgeous shades clockwise from the top 1.Banana, 2, Brown Stone, 3.Black Cocoa. These are super soft and very easy to blend in together.





I apply the banana all over the lid as an even base to work on. I then use brown stone all over the lid but especially the outer corner. Lastly I work in the black cocoa in to the crease. The black cocoa is super strong and the more applied can look very dark so I use very a small amount.
Finish the look with liquid eyeliner along the top lash line, pencil bottom lash line and mascara.






Colour swatches below.

The perfect blush!

Blusher is one of the most powerful pieces of make up yet often overlooked! Everybody focuses on eyes and lips missing out those pretty little cheeks:). Blush can transform the look from dull and dreary to glowy and fabulous in under 5 minutes! I've got a crazy collection of blushers from over the years and while I do switch occasionally this is my absolute favourite! I first found this while browsing in sephora in new York literally the day I got there. Just so you know the Sephora on 5th avenue is like heaven for us beauty junkies.





Anyway back to the point!...This Nars blusher was around £17.50 and the colour is called Orgasm. It's a pink shade with tiny gold particles in giving a beautiful pink golden sheen. And yes I mean sheen not shimmer and most certainly not glitter!! If all that isn't enough to win you over and convince you to trot off to your nearest Nars stockist then maybe the fact Kim Kardashian and Jennifer Lopez also wearing this blush in this shade will:). Colour swatch below.

Glass beads for you or not?!

Glass bead bracelets and necklaces are suddenly everywhere! Is this a craze you have bought in to or avoiding? Personally I absolutely love them:) i think they are great and add a touch of girlyness...and not to mention how pretty they are!

Sunday Haul!

What could be more fun than going shopping with your bestie on a Sunday afternoon:) I didn't need much apart from a pair of beach flip flops for a holiday in sunny Spain but of course that didn't stop me buying other things. I got some great bargains and of course had to share it with you all..







My favourite things pictured above are the top £8 from Primark, beach flip flops an absolute bargain from Accesorize £1.80, navy flats £4 Primark and a few other essentials such as hairspray, carmex and hair dye.
My two biggest indulgent purchases of the day were the nars lipstick £17.50 and Terry Baume de Rose £32. Reviews will follow! Oh and look how cute the cocktail ring is...£6 from Accesorize. Have you bought anything great this weekend...please share below x

ANew Clinical Luminosity PRO Brightening Serum

I often get asked about the products I use on my skin and the truth is...many! However my secret weapon is the Avon ANew Luminosity Brightening Serum. One word "AMAZING". I apply this before I go to sleep on clean dry skin. It has a very greasy texture which is great for my dry skin type and voila! In the morning I am fresh faced:). I use this about 3 times a week or whenever i feel my skin is looking a little dull and needs a pick me up. When applied it can sting a little but I don't find it causes any redness. It also says that it causes sunlight sensitivity so I give it a miss a week before and during any beach holiday. However all that said...this is a great product priced around £25 and one I most definitely recommend..x

Pretty little cupcakes

I know this is a beauty blog but from time to time i will be mentioning pretty things:) I definitely could not go without mentioning these beautiful cupcakes made my my sister. Pictured above are plain vanilla, vanilla with buttercream, chocolate with chocolate buttercream and chocolate with Oreo buttercream cakes. Not only are they pretty they were also absolutely delicious and were much enjoyed at a family party. Well done her x

Lancome Doll Eyes Mascara

I love love love mascara so was more than excited when spotting this beauty at the make up stand. I have been blessed with only very fine short lashes so finding the right mascara is very important to me when trying to recreate the Cheryl cole lash look! The wand for this is slightly pointed as you can see pictured above and makes it super easy to catch even the finest of lashes. All in all this is a fab mascara it was £20.50 and I fully recommend buying it:) well done lancome x

Before.



After.

The perfect coral?

Finding the perfect coral...tricky matter! Some are too red, some are too pink and I own most of them:) This little beauty however I believe is a true coral and a steal at £3. It is MaxFactor Max Effect mini nail polish in Diva Coral. Now for the verdict....I'm afraid it was too thin and watery. It needed 3 coats to obtain decent coverage, the colour is perfect but it just took a little too long to get there in my opinion. Sorry this one just isn't for me..x

Friday Favourite!

Every Friday I will be blogging about one item that has got me going crazy! You know the feeling when it turns from a "like" into a "want" and before you know it a NEED. Today's item is this beautiful Michael Kors Ladies Oversized Gold Runway Watch.



I think this would look fab teamed with blue skinnies and a White tee...I'm thinking the whole Sienna Miller Look. Have a great weekend all x

Summer Brights!

Well girlies it's August so last chance to get those summer nails painted bright before we embrace the winter darks! As you can see I have most shades of corals and pinks here...possibly a few too many:) I love how these pop colours can really brighten up an outfit x

MUA make up academy palette

I spotted this much talked about palette on a rainy Saturday afternoon in superdrug. I was dubious about how great it would be considering it's only a mere £4 however I haven't been left disappointed in the slightest! The colours are all very wearable, easy to use and give a great colour pay off. I will later do a blog showing different looks I have created with these colours...x