Goldilocks and the hairs

Hey Beauties,
I am currently lying in a field in the woods at the bottom of my house. The grass has just been mowed, it smells amazing. The birds are tweeting and the sun is shining. I really do love these relaxing moments in life. Why can't every day be like this huh? Let's just hope the rain holds off...

I'm not feeling that great today so I attempted to cheer myself up by buying some new shampoo and conditioner.  I am aware that this sounds mighty sad, but any new beauty product ALWAYS cheers me up, even something as basic as this.  I love using new shampoo... although I'm super super fussy about smells, I hate them to be too overpowering. You don't want to smell like your shampoo, you want to smell like your perfume.  Once I find a shampoo and conditioner set I like, I usually stick to it for a while.

Fat Hair is designed to volumise and  has had some top reviews so I thought hey ho ill give it a wurl. My hair is quite thin and limp naturally so let's see if this makes the difference. I'm using it tonight so I’ll let you know how it goes.

I know this is ridiculous taking pictures of my shampoo in a field.... but beauty blogging + sunshine = happy Hannah

 I got a little carried away... Liza got involved too, she is peeping through the bottles!

Anyhoo... over the last few days I've been testing a couple of hair care products by Charles Worthington. 

Firstly the Volume Body Booster mousse (you may have noticed I'm all about the volume at the moment, I can't for the life of me make the decision about what to do with my hair, so I'm just trying some new products until my minds made up on the length). This smells gorgeous and isn't too sticky like some mousse can be.

I began with wet hair, combed it through, tipped all my hair forward and brushed it all forward. Then I worked the mousse in starting with the routes, and brushed it through evenly. As soon as it had been blow dried, I noticed the difference; my hair looked and felt bigger, bouncier. Perhaps I used a little too much on my first application, but it certainly does what it says on the tin. You only need a small palm sized blob depending on how much hair you have, mines quite long so any of you with shorter locks wouldn't need as much! I purchased the smallest  ‘take-away’ tin at £1.99 just to see if I liked it. The bigger tins are around £7 I think, but if you go to Boots Charles Worthington is usually on some kind of offer. Deffo recommend it, I really got on well with it and thought it was great stuff :)

Next up Charles Worthington Takeaways Protect Heat Defence spray. Now, normally I’ll admit I am a Lee Stafford girl, but it was on offer, so I kind of had to, right?!
And the verdict was I love it! I actually prefer it to my usual brand so ill be switching over from now on. It smells nicer, and it also leaves my hair feeling much more moisturised instead of dry and straw like. I didn't feel like it weighed my hair down either, which is not what you want when styling your do! Sometimes I’m a little bit naughty and I skip the heat protection part of styling, but this smells sooo scrummy I actually look forward to putting it on.

Go on beauties... Give your hair a treat, that's what goldilocks would do!
 Xx
 

Redness Solutions- Say Bye Bye blotches and blemishes!

Hey Beauties, mid week, hurrah!!

Another day another dollar, that's what I keep telling myself while the sweat shop slowly sucks away my soul. This morning I even considered going to work make up free, and let me tell you, I don't go ANYWHERE with a bare face... Even walking the dog I wear a little cover up, minimum! So, I hit the snooze button for 40 minutes (gotta love that little button, and right at the last minute I decided that I really couldn't leave without my face on! Few!

So, over the last few days, I've switched over from my usual pick of foundation, to Clinique Redness Solutions.

This product claims you'll see a dramatic difference in your skin after using it. Now, I don't have particularly red skin, but I do sometimes suffer from red blemishes and I have a little red scar on my nose which I am constantly trying to cover up, so I gave this foundation a bash anyway.

I was given rather a few testers, so I've been testing redness solutions for just over a week and I have to say, so far it’s getting top marks from me. It actually does do what it claims, I find I don't even need to pop concealer on red blemishes before I apply this, as it combats the red completely, giving me the illusion of clear skin(I haven't been paid to say this, just so you know!). I couldn't say for sure that it has dramatically changed my skin, although it’s very clear at the moment, so who knows.  Only my nearest and dearest have seen me stripped of a make-up face, and you will all know I don not have clear skin at all. In fact I look a bit like Quazimodo underneath the slap, so I could jolly well be Redness Solutions that has helped.

Although I haven't had as many skin compliments using redness solutions as I have with Chanel Lumiere, people have still tended to notice.

The texture is lovely and soft, very light and almost like wearing nothing. I don't feel like the foundation is heavy on my face. Clinique claim this foundation can be used for skin types 1,2 and 3,  from very dry to oily combination skin (if you don't know your skin type, you really should! You may be using all the wrong  products. Most beauty counters will test this for you. I'm no expert but maybe I should do a blog post on this?!)
I'm type 2, although I do find my skin has a mind of its own, sometimes dry, sometimes oily, sometimes clear and sometimes pickled with blemishes.
Anyhoo, this foundation was simply perfect for my skin. It was moisturising yet not too oily, I still got that dewy look that I love (I know I've said that a million times but its truuuue!!). It smells nice too, without being too overpowering.

The shade I've been testing is 03 Calming Ivory. When I was given this I thought, great, its going to be way too pale for me. However, the name is rather deceiving as it is actually not a pale shade in the slightest. This colour really worked well for me, I hate wearing shades that match my skin tone exactly, I like to feel a little lifted and brighter. I'm not sure if there are many shades lighter than this one, so I suggest you paler beauties definitely try out a tester before purchasing this foundation.

Oh and one last perk, redness solutions contains Spf 15, so we will be safe in the sun :) always important, we need to remember to take care of our skin.

Once again beauties I'd like to remind you that I haven't been paid to say this, I genuinely like this product,  Thumbs up :)

Tata for now Xx

The realness of concealness

Happy Sunday beauties!

I hope you are all making the most of the weekend despite this crazy weather we’re having. Not the weather most people want in June, but I actually like splashing around in the rain so it hasn’t bothered me. Plus it gave me an excuse to purchase some new Hunter wellies (an investment in my opinion) 

I’ve just come back from a rainy, muddy woodland dog walk which was supposed to be quick one. After bumping into my lovely neighbours and chatting with other dog owners, it ended up being a two hour long walk. Where does the time go?! It just seemed like everyone wanted to stop and chat today. It’s so unusual for people to do this nowadays, but having a dog is always a talking point, dog walking is always a very sociable thing. Another reason why I love it so much. Liza is like a celebrity in Finchley, everyone wants to see her!

 

 

After all the excitment she's exhausted and currently tucked up in bed...

 Yesterday I had the pleasure of meeting my new God daughter for the very first time.

 Her name is Tilly, she’s absolutely gorgeous and I’ve never known a baby to smile so much! It’s super cheesy but the best things in life are free, right?

 Anyway, I’ll stop blabbering about my weekend now hehe.

Since I haven't splashed out on makeup in a long while as I’m pretty penniless this month, you can imagine my excitement when Boots began their  No. 7 voucher offers again. I LOVE  this offer. In fact I’ll admit that I stocked up on a few necessities I don’t currently need (face wipes, face wash, deodorant etc.) just so I could have the £5 voucher. Geek.

I was running low on my No.7 concealer, so being practical I used my voucher and bought a back up.  It normally retails at £8.50 but with the offer you can purchase this cheeky little life saver for just £3.50. Amazing. And yes, I STILL swear by this concealer....

 

I HATE under eye circles. Along with blemishes they are the bain of my life. I wonder how many hours of my life I have spent trying to cover them up. Concealer is the only way forward for me, and this one seems to really do the trick.

The trick with concealer is to go one shade lighter than what you would normally buy. I would never usually go for a fair shade, I hate the pale look (sorry but it’s true) and find lighter foundations make me look washed out. Yet, with this concealer I always buy ’03 fair’. Particularly if you are wishing to conceal dark under eye circles, I would definitely recommend one shade lighter. 

This No.7 quick cover up is an absolute gem for the price, it’s just the right consistency, easy to blend, and will not go cakey (as many concealers tend to do). I apply it rather generously under my eye and also in the inner corners to brighten my eye up.  It’s as easy as that. If you haven’t tried it already, I suggest next time you’re in Boots to take a trip to the No.7 beauty counter. 

Before...

During...

After...

After this runs out, I’m going to branch out and test ‘Gosh Touch Up’ concealer, I’ve read many a good review on this!

Tata for now beauties Xx

Dressing Table Make-Over

Oh dear beauties, its only tuesday and I'm already falling asleep on the tube in the morning.
What a way to start the week innit?! 

I must say I did have a jolly good weekend up in the lake district, I was up there for a wedding and it was so lovely to get back to the countryside. We were so lucky with the weather, outdoor weddings in england can be risky!
I'm not too sick of london yet (thankfully), but being a devon lady I do occasionally get cravings for fields and beaches. 

Liza Maggs enjoying the Lake

In attempt to perk myself up a tad, picking up a starbucks (stat) and singing along to abit of Jessie J seems to work well before I hit the sweat shop.

Anyway, no reviews today my beauties, just thought I would let y'all know about my latest project. Project dressing table/ chest of drawers makeover. Hurrah!!

So, I have this horrible old chest of draws that I am currently using as a dressing table (funds are low working in a sweat shop you see). I've been looking online for inspiration and decided I'm going to sand and paint it to look rustic and vintage (well that's the plan anyway). 

I want to swap the horrible doorknobs for something a little more feminine. I have my eye on some in Instant Vintage which are china and shaped like roses. How cute would that be?! I also want to get a new storage plan for my make up, as at the moment, I have it all dumped in two white wicker baskets, which works well but is a pain when you're in a rush (and I usually am).

So, I'm thinking of hitting a boot sale in the next couple of weeks to find some little dressing table trinkets and bits and bobs. I want to really personalise it, going for the whole 1920s theme. I alrady have a cute tea-cup and saucer I'm planning on keeping brushes in!

So, here's the ugly old thing pre-make over:

You'll have to excuse the mess, I was too lazy to tidy it!

Here's an idea of what I would like it to look like post make-over:

 

    I realise this is a dressing table, not a chest of draws, but you get the idea...

 

 What do you beauties think? Have any of you ever customised your own furniture? If so I would love some cheeky tips :)


Gotta dash, tata for now xx

Pick-me-up Peaches & Cream

Good evening my beauties :) Hope you've all had a good Wednesday... you should go and see Xmen while is BOGF... great film. Anyway I have a new nail Varnish obsession, surprise surprise!

So, if any of you are feeling those mid-week blues like I am, I have a little treat to pick you up... 

My new fav shade "Peaches and Cream" nail varnish by Topshop. It's a lovely subtle orange shade, perfect for summer and great to brighten up any outfit.

It's only £5 so perfect for you budget beauties. A couple of people have said it makes you look more tanned too, always a plus! The onlt thing I will say is that it tends to chip rather quickly, so I'd recommend a clear top coat if you have time :)

Time for an early night me thinks, tata for now Xx

High Lengths Mascara

Hey beauties, I'm sorry but how the bloomin hell is it June already?! I swear the weeks just fly by in the big L town! Hope you've all been well.

I must again apologise for my recent absence of posts. Things have been so manic lately... amoungst working in Sweaty Slaves (sob) and doing boring grown up things like looking for 'real jobs' I have been seeing friends, going to the movies (p.s the new Xmen film is beyond awesome) and getting the pooches hair cut :) I also kind of lost my mojo abit and didn't really feel like writing. But I'm back baby!!!

 Anyway, at the moment I've been trying out a new mascara. I normally don't like to stray from my Chanel one, but Clinique mascaras are only £15, so just thought I would take the risk. I decided on one called 'high lengths mascara'.

I'm not going to flower up this review, I hated this mascara!! I really didn't get on with it at all. Firstly, the brush is ridiculous. It curls around which could have been good, but just made it impossible to get to the outer and inner corners of my eyelashes. The only way I could get to them was if I applied to my whole set of eyelashes again. The brush was also very difficult to get used to... Being rubber I found it hard to apply the mascara evenly. 

For a mascara which is supposed to be particularly lengthening, I wasn't impressed. If I'm honest I've used high street brands such as Maybelline that have been better. My lashes didn't look long until I'd applied several coats, and even then they weren't amazing. This kind of made them look spidery too... not the look I'm going for. It also meant my lashes looked clumpy by the time they were long. So all in all beauties, not one I would recommend for you, stick to your old faithfuls, ill let you know if I find a mascara worth breaking your routine for!

Anyway beauties, tomorrow I shall be reviewing a gorge new shade of Topshop nailvarnish "Peachs and Cream". Sleep tight.

Xx