Save vs Splurge - Glitter eyeliners

I haven't done one of these posts for a while so I have got my act in order and this post is going to be comparing glitter eyeliners.

For years I've yearned to find a glitter eyeliner which actually applies like it looks in the tube and after many products I finally found the perfect one but is it a cheapish brand or a more expensive one?

I've got three different products which I'm going to compare:

Top - Bottom:

Next glitter eyeliner (came in a pack of 3) - £5.00 (about £1.66 each)

Collection 2000 Glam Crystals - £2.99

Too Faced Starry Eyed - £14.00

Swatches (in same order as above)

The photo hasn't come out as clear as it looks in real life so click to enlarge!

The first one I bought was Too Faced's Starry Eyed liner in Ooh & Aah. I picked this shade as I thought it would look nice over black eyeliner but I was majorly disappointed. Yes it does look nice over pencil eyeliner but the glitter effect is abit sparse. You have to reapply and reapply to get a good glitter line and even then I found that it didn't last all day as it came off really easy.

I then tried Next's glitter eyeliners. I got this in a pack of three (one clear, one blue and one pink). I thought for £5 for three it wasn't a bad price to try out but again I was left disappointed. There was even less glitter than the Too Faced one.

Finally I tried Collection 2000 Glam Crystals liner in Glitz and wow! I can't express how amazing this product is! I simply love it! By far it has the most glitter and glitz (appropriate for it's name!) and it lasts all day or all night depending on when you're wearing it!

So my final thoughts...

1st place - Collection 2000 Glam Crystals - Mid price product

2nd place - Too Faced Starry Eyed liner - Most expensive

3rd place - Next glitter liners - Cheapest

Have you used any of these? What did you think? Or have yo used another glitter liner which you could recommend?

Little known brands

This is just a quick little post to show some little known brands I found whilst browsing Boots website.

Klorane

Klorane is a haircare brand which started in France over 30 years ago. All products have plant-derived active substances which provide gentle cleansing regardless of what hair or scalp type you have.

Products include: shampoo, conditioner, dry shampoo and conditioning balm. 

Golden highlights shampoo with Camomile extract 200ml - £5.81

First Aid Beauty

FAB was created in 2009 by Lili Gordon who wanted to created luxurious but highly effective products that could treat everyday problems.

Products include: day cream, night cream, eye cream, serums, body wash, body moisturiser & more.

FAB anti-redness serum 50ml - £20.00

Face Boutique

Face Boutique was created by a group of specialists who wanted to formulate products for younger skin that worked but which didn't contain nasty chemicals.

Skincare products include: face wipes, face wash, moisturiser, lip care and blemish gel.

Body products include: shampoo, conditioner, bath soak and body wash.

Peachy Clean foaming face wash 250ml - £11.74

Fashion Fair

Fashion Fair was created in 1973 for women who had coloured complexion. It is now a market leader in the cosmetic industry for women of colour.

Make-up products include: foundation, concealer, lip colour, powder and cheek colour.

Skincare products include: moisturiser, cleanser, toner, scrubs, lip care, masks and more. 

Blemish Control Cleansing Foam 163ml - £19.40

White Glo

White Glo was established in Australia in 1993 and has since become the Australia's number 1 range of whitening toothpastes with over 1 million units sold.

Products include: toothpastes: extra strength, coffee and tea drinker, 2 in 1 mouthwash and smokers formulation. All come with a special toothbrush.

Extra Strength whitening toothpaste professional choice 100ml - £4.07

Stockists

Klorane - Escentual, Boots

First Aid Beauty - Boots

Face Boutique - Boots, Bath and Unwind, Love Lulu

Fashion Fair - Boots, Debenhams, House of Fraser, Perfumania, Feel Unique

White Glo - Boots

NOTD - Models Own Disco Mix

I don't do many of these posts as I don't get to wear that much nail polish due to my job - basically after 5 mins of arriving at work it gets chipped so it's pointless putting it on.

As you may have seen in my recent haul post I bought Models Own polish in Disco Mix. I got this from ASOS with my Groupon just to make up the oddments so that I spent the qualifying amount. I didn't want to spent too much over £20 so this at £5 was perfect as I only needed to pay an extra £1.25! Not that I needed another polish but at £1.25 who's going to say no!

Lady_flower123 commented on the polish in the original post and asked that I do a swatch of it. I had intended on doing this last week but before I got chance to take photo's I chipped it terribly doing gardening so here is take two!

Natural light

With the flash

As you can see it is a mix of blue and purple glitter with no base colour. To get a nice block glitter effect I found it easier to apply in gloopy dollops and then to smooth out using the brush. It does take a little longer to dry doing it this way but it is quicker in the long run.

Only thing I have to say which is bad about this product is the amount of time it took for me to remove it. It took about 5 cotton wool pads and around 10 mins for it to come off. Even my Sally Hansen nail polish remover pot didn't shift it. But.....overall I love the polish and all of Models Own products!

PTD - Challenge 42

This weeks challenge at Pear Tree Designs is to create a mothers day card! This was a real last minute jobby but here is what I created:

I used a free digi download from Jak Heath which is available here, a mulberry flower, Kanban gems and a little glitter glue.

You have until 4pm on Sunday to submit your entry for a chance to win some fab prizes!

Good Luck!

The week that was....

Oooo it's been a couple of weeks since my last post so lets do a quick update.

As you may remember I had a job interview. It went really well, everyone seemed really nice and I would have liked to have worked there. But..... I didn't get the job :-( But....they said that they really liked me and I was really impressive but they thought I had more potential and have kept my details and told me to keep a look out for 2 other jobs which are healthcare based as I would be perfect for one of those. So it wasn't all bad.

And then on Friday at work I had a phone call from another hospital which I had applied for a job to asking if I would attend an interview on Thursday! This is for the same job but in another department and it is further way and only for a year fixed term temporary. I'm going to go but the travelling is putting my off but hey we'll see what happens.

The hen weekend was amazing! We all had such a laugh! We went to Center Parcs which for us is only about 15-20 mins away at Sherwood Forest and 16 of us went. On Friday we just settled in and had a laugh, Saturday was spent in the swimming pool, bowling and then a PJ party at night, Sunday was a relaxing day and Monday we went bowling again and then came home at 3pm.

After that I've spent most of this week recovering! Luckily I wasn't back at work until Wednesday and then again on Friday so now I've pretty much recovered. Except for the amount of food I consumed. Not good for the Fifty Fit diet some of us are doing!

And finally just some photo's to brighten your Sunday afternoon (all from weheartit):

Haul - ASOS, Boots & Glamour mag

This is just a quick haul post showing some things which I've bought over the last couple of weeks.

ASOS

Like many of you I bought the ASOS Groupon a couple of weeks ago, well actually I bought two. This was were you bought a £20 voucher for £9, it would have been rude not to have bought any! So what did I buy?

Nip + Fab Bust Fix - £16.25

Nip + Fab Tummy Fix - £19.25

Bourjois cleansing wipes - £3.50

Models Own nail polish in Disco Mix - £5.00

Boots

I popped into Boots to get some toothpaste but ended up with a few more bits!

White Glo - £4.07

Sensodyne repair & protect - £3.99 (I think!)

Colgate sensitive pro-relief - £3.56

And they are on 3 for 2 so I got the Colgate one free!

Sure Crystal clear diamond - £1.44

Lee Stafford Argan Oil - £7.99 (normally £10.99)

Nivea Pure & Natural hand cream - £2.03 (normally £3.05)

Nivea Pure & Natural face cream - £3.40 (normally £5.10)

Revlon nail polish in Ocean Breeze - £6.26 (or 2 for £8, me and my mum got one each)

No7 mens Multitask hair and body wash - £2 with my £5 off voucher

No7 Eyeshadow Blend and Contour brush- £1.75 with my £5 off voucher

Glamour magazine

I have only tried Clinique twice before and have to admit I wasn't impressed but I did like their liquid soap. So when I went on a hen weekend last week I needed a mini face wash & my local Asda had had a new delivery of Glamour mags so I got two, one with the liquid soap and one with the all about eyes cream.

Liquid soap - £13 (200ml)

All about eyes - £22.50 (15ml)

Have you tried any of these? What did you think? And have you had a spending spree lately? Link the page in the comments below for me to have a nosey!

Hero product - Elizabeth Arden Eight Hour Cream

Elizabeth Arden created probably their most well known product, Eight Hour Cream, in the 1930's when it's alleged that Elizabeth formulated it as a salve for her racehorses legs! The cream includes vitamin E, anti-imflammatory salicylic acid but not a hint of petroleum jelly!

So how did the name come about? Apparently it healed a childs scraped knee in eight hours and that's how Eight Hour Cream came about!

One Eight Hour Cream is sold every 2 minutes and it has loads of celebrity fans including Victoria Beckham, Cate Blanchett, Giselle Bundchen and Claudia Schiffer.

I have to admit I've never used this product, not sure why as all I hear is great stuff about it and it can be used for everything from dry lips to grazes and burns to cuticles.

There have been several limited edition sets of packaging including:

80's retro packaging

80's vintage packaging

Elizabeth Arden celebratory 100th anniversary packaging

Are you a fan of Eight Hour Cream? What do you use it for?

Also, are they any all time favourite beauty products which you'd like me to do a post on like this one, if so leave a comment below!

First year blogversary!

Today is my blogs 1st birthday!

"Happy birthday blog!"

On the 25th March 2010 my first post was a review of Rimmel's 60 second nail polish and after re-reading it I have discovered that I still hardly wear nail polish and still have far too much stuff! Click the link above to understand!

Since starting blogging I've found some fab blogs, I've been trying to remember which blogs I discovered first but I can't remember many except for these:

• Lily loves Lola
• Makeup Savvy 
• Sprinkle of Glitter 

I've been featured on Lily Loves Lola on Victoria's 5 good things post, on Soap & Glory's Facebook page after reviewing their No Clogs Allowed! and on Naked Bodycare's Facebook gallery (here and here).

I've also been lucky enough to win 4 blog giveaways:

• Everyday Minerals - Story of my Life Squared
• Race for Life vest - Lily Loves Lola
• Dolce and Gabanna perfume - The Best Beauty Buys
• Mac eyeshadow and Nails Inc polish - laurenrhiannon

So thank you for picking me!

No abit about my blog. My all time most read posts (if anyone is interested!) are these:

• Review: Soap & Glory: No Clogs Allowed
• My first Lily Lolo order
• Hair removal methods
• Review - No7 Beautifully Matte foundation
• Pauls Boutique handbag dupes
• Review - Toni & Guy brunette shampoo & conditioner

There are some others but these were blog giveaways and christmas posts which are now irrelevant!

Whilst blogging I've also met some lovely, amazing and fabulous people on Twitter. It's amazing how people you've never met can be so lovely, caring and supportive. I've also found some fab blogs which I love to read and special mentions go to:

• Olivia at Olivia Writes
• Sherrie at Mirror, Mirror on the Wall
• Toni at Beautiful you Beauty Blog
• May at May Loves Makeup

There are many more I love, basically if I follow your blog I love to read it! But I can't list everyone on here!

But........................thank you to everyone who is following (currently 190 of you) and I hope you'll like my upcoming blog posts, there's lots in the pipeline so keep your eyes peeled!

Sorry that this post is a little chaotic and photo's are borrowed from weheartit!

Review - Garnier intensive 7days body lotion

I don't know why I was attracted to this product as Garnier isn't a brand which shouts out "buy me" when I'm looking for products to buy. But I think it might have been to do with the fact that this comes in many different fragrances depending on your skin type:

• Aloe Vera - normal skin
• Honey - sensitive skin
• Mango - dry skin
• Cocoa Butter - dry and rough skin
• Shea Butter - dry to extra dry skin

I chose the mango one as my skin on my legs is normally normal to dry.

This product is for someone who's....

"Skin becomes dehydrated over the course of the day, losing its softness and moisture even when you have used a body moisturiser in the morning."

"Intensive 7days Replenishing Lotion is enriched with natural-based Mango Oil and L-Bifidus, inspired by probiotics, which have been selected to meet the specific needs of dry skin."

"Immediately, skin is softer and more evenly smoothed in texture. Skin is optimally hydrated for 24 hours."

"After only 7 days of use, skin's quality is dramatically improved, dryness -49%, roughness -25% and suppleness +26%."

"A consumer study shows that Garnier Body Intensive 7days Lotion is so hydrating, skin still feels moisturised even 7 days after your last application (when used twice daily for 4 weeks)."

The consistency is alot runnier than I would have expected. I thought this would be in between a body butter and a body lotion but it's definitely more of a light body lotion.

I have been using this for just over a week, mainly in the evening as I don't always have time to apply in the morning, and my skin does seem to be more hydrated. I wouldn't say there is a great improvement as my skin didn't feel super dry in the first place but even when I have missed an application my skin didn't feel 'thirsty' or like it needed a moisture boost.

Overall I would buy this again but it wouldn't be my first choice but that's mainly because I prefer body butters and gels in the summer but I have recommended it to others.

A 250ml bottle is £2.99 and a larger 400ml bottle is £4.99 and is available from Boots, Superdrug and supermarkets.


Have you used this? What did you think to it?

How much is my face worth?

Loads of people have been doing this post where you list the products you've used to make up your face to see how much it costs. Soooo this morning I used all of these:

Benefit Thrrrob powder - £23.50

Everyday Minerals sunlight colour corrector - £5 ($8)

No7 Shine Free make up base - £11.00

Lily Lolo nude concealer - £7.29

Avon smooth minerals foundation - £10.50

L'oreal real silver eyeshadow - £6.19

Revlon Grow Luscious mascara - £9.99

Total = £73.47

I don't think this is a bad amount and generally this is what I wear everyday, I haven't included my moisturiser which is currently Good Things Miracle Mattifier moisturiser which is £8.16, but even with that my face only amounts to £81.63.

Have you done this challenge? How much is your face worth?

Hero product - Benefit powder boxes

I'm fairly new to the world of Benefit powders, I got my first one about a year and half ago when I bought a new phone and I got a set of Benefit make-up free. The powder I got was Thrrrob and so my love affair began!

Benefit was created in 1976 in San Francisco by twin sisters who wanted to create a fun boutique environment for people to buy make-up. Currently their bestselling products are Benetint (created after an exotic dancer wanted a product to use on their nipples to make them look pinker), BadGal Lash (one is sold every 30 seconds) and their Dr Feelgood balm was a best seller for over 10 years!

I've searched for a release date for Benefit powders but haven't found anything (if you know please leave a comment below!) Powders include:

Coralista & Dallas

 Dandelion & Georgia

Hoola & Thrrrob

 10

 

Sugarbomb & Bella Bamba

I've got Thrrrob, 10, Sugarbomb and a palette with Hoola, Dallas and Coralista in. I have Dandelion on my wishlist though!

Have you used any of these? Which are your favourites?

Stockists
Boots, ASOS, Benefit & more

Avon Senses shower gels

Avon is such a great brand, they have so many affordable products and often have some great offers.

One set of products which I always buy time and time again are their Senses shower gels.

In the range there are 5/6 regular fragrances and then they're are limited edition ones which come out during the year so the range is always new and exciting.

Regular prices are £2 for 250ml and £3 for 500ml but there are almost always special offers on and currently you can get three 250ml bottles for £3, bargain or what!

These are available to buy from your local Avon representative or online.

#AussieLight – Put a spring in your spring! Tell us how would you lighten up your life?

Aussie are offering 10 lucky bloggers the chance to become Aussie Angels by answering this question and linking it to them on Twitter:

"Put a spring in your spring! Tell us, how would you lighten up your life? #AussieLight"

This spring I am lightening my life by going on a massive 'get healthy and loose weight' mission. As I've previously blogged about in my 2011 goals, I have already lost quite abit of weight over the last 6 months but I would ideally like to loose another 5 stone. Yep 5 whole ginormous stone, 31.75 kg or 70 lbs to be precise!

I haven't been intentionally trying to loose weight but with one thing and another and the fact that I'm a bridesmaid in April, I just tried to eat more healthily and to increase my fitness. Now seeing that I obviously can loose weight and as I've made a good start I'm determined to keep it up!

This spring I am continuing to eat healthily, exercise and make some progress towards my overall weight loss goal!

 Images borrowed from weheartit

Nip + Fab have done it again!

Cult beauty brand Nip + Fab have launched yet another wonder product with Frown Fix, an instant line filler.

Frown Fix contains: 

Amino acids to smooth and minimise the look of expression lines

Purslane extract to hydrate and diminish the appearance of wrinkle

Centella extract visibly reduce the appearance of fine lines

This is £10.25 and is currently exclusive to Nip + Fab's website.

PTD - Challenge 40

This weeks challenge at Pear Tree Designs really was a challenge and a half! It's to create a St Patrick's Day card and I created this:

I have to admit it is a shoddy attempt but I found this challenge so hard! All images are clipart from the internet and it is a little notelet style card.

Enter by 4pm Sunday for to chance to win a great prize! Hopefully you'll do a better job than me!

Good Luck!

And the winner is.......

Sorry for the delay in posting this, it's been a crazy manic week but I've finally got round to picking my giveaway winner! 

So congratulations to

....................................................

...............................

.............

....

Toni at

Beautiful You Beauty Blog!

There were 4 ways which you could have won: being an original follower, leaving a comment, tweeting and blogging about my giveaway and Toni won by being an original follower.

Please email me with your address & I'll try to get your goodies sent out asap!

Image borrowed from weheartit

The week that was....

I didn't do this post last week as I had quite a boring one. Work and being lazy to be precise.

Soooo this week. Tuesday I had my interview and I was super nervous which isn't like me at all. Since leaving uni in 2009 I have only had 2 interviews (this was my 3rd) and I'd never been really bothered about them but this one was completely different I was really nervous! They said that they would let me know at the end of the week or beginning of next but so far I haven't heard anything :-(

And....I won another giveaway! Yey! It was over at Laurens lovely blog laurenrhiannon and I think I won a Mac lipstick or eyeshadow and a Nails Inc polish! I say I think because I've been very confused this week!

This week was also the start of fifty fit and so far so good, could do better but I don't think I'm doing bad. My first proper post about this will be up soon but it will probably be the week after next because..... I'm off to Center Parcs on Friday for my friends hens weekend! I'm slightly nervous as I'll have to wear swimwear for the first time in, literally, years! So next Sunday there will also be no post as I won't be here to write it and my week is basically consisting of sorting stuff out for Center Parcs.

Hope you all had a good week and here's a cute little piccy to leave you with.....

(Image borrowed from weheartit)

Bliss and Soap & glory

In 1996 Bliss was founded by Marcia Kilgore in New York. In 2001 Bliss came to the UK when it opened it's first international spa in London. Since then Marcia has also created Fitflop, the toning footwear brand, and a cheaper beauty range which I think just about everyone has heard of and tried which is Soap & Glory.

This got me thinking, if Bliss and Soap & Glory were created by the same person maybe there are some dupes of Bliss products in their cheaper brand counterpart?

I have to admit I have used many different Soap & Glory products and only one Bliss product so I can't say that the products I've found are of equal quality and give the same results but here's what I found.

Body butter/lotion

Bliss - Lemon & Sage Body Butter Lite 250ml - £20.50

Water (aqua), glycerin, caprylic/capric triglyceride, C12-15 alkyl benzoate, neopentyl glycol diheptanoate, myristyl myristate, glyceryl stearate, PEG-100 stearate, butyrospermum parkii (shea butter), cetyl alcohol, dimethicone, macadamia ternifolia seed oil, vitis vinifera (grape) seed oil, shorea stenoptera seed butter, imperata cylindrica root extract, aloe barbadensis leaf juice, retinyl palmitate, tocopheryl acetate, sodium hyaluronate, PEG-20 stearate, ammonium acryloyldimethyltaurate/VP copolymer, hydrogenate coco-glycerides, caprylyl glycol, phenoxyethanol, palmitic acid, stearyl alcohol, chlorphenesin, panthenol, potassium sorbate, sodium benzoate, sodium PCA, disodium EDTA, octyldodecanol, BHT, lecithin, carbomer, arachidyl propionate, ethyl linoleate, ethyl linolenate, acrylates/C10-30 alkyl acrylate crosspolymer, ethyl oleate

Soap & Glory - The Righteous Butter Body Lotion 250ml - £6.89

Saccharum Officinarum (Sugar Cane) Extract, Butylparaben, Citrus Aurantium Dulcis (Orange) Flower Extract, Aqua (Water), Glycerin, Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea Butter), Cetyl Alcohol, Glyceryl Stearate, Dimethicone, Theobroma Cacao (Cocoa) Seed Butter, Rosa Moschata Seed Oil, PEG-100 Stearate, Isobutylparaben, Parfum (Fragrance), Citral, Disodium EDTA, Vaccinium Myrtillus Extract, Glyceryl Polymethacrylate, Phenoxyethanol, Carbomer, Ascorbyl Palmitate, Dipropylene Glycol, Hexyl Cinnamal, Methylparaben, Propylparaben, Xanthan Gum, Propylene Glycol,Tocopheryl Acetate, Citrus Medica Limonum (Lemon) Peel Extract, Potassium Hydroxide, Limonene, Butylphenyl Methylpropional, Linalool, Benzyl Salicylate, Ethylparaben, Tetrasodium Edta, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Extract, Acer Saccharum (Sugar Maple) Extract, Geraniol, Alpha-Isomethyl Ionone

Anti-cellulite creams

Bliss - Fat Girl Slim 170.5g - £28.60

Water (aqua) caprylic/capric triglyceride, caffeine, PEG-12 glyceryl distearate, cyclomethicone, glyceryl stearate, PEG-100 stearate, sodium benzoate, butylene glycol, cetyl alcohol, stearyl alcohol, bupleurumfalcatum root extract, coenzyme A, dimethicone, PEG-8, acrylates/C10-30 alkyl acrylate crosspolymer, triethanolamine, imidazolidinyl urea, phenoxyethanol, methlychoroisothiazolinone, methylisothiazolinone 

Soap & Glory - Slimwear 200ml - £9.45

Methylparaben, Ethylhexyl Stearate, Cyclopentasiloxane, Cetyl Alcohol,
Butylene Glycol, Cetearyl Glucoside, Cyclohexasiloxane, Glyceryl Polymethacrylate, Sodium Polyacrylate, Menthyl Lactate, Glycerin, Parfum (Fragrance), Sodium Stearoyl Lactylate, Limonene, Ethylparaben, Dipropylene Glycol, Tocopheryl Acetate, Aqua (Water), Propylene Glycol, Tetrasodium EDTA, Dimethicone, Steareth-20, Sodium Ascorbyl Phosphate, Simethicone, Morus Alba Leaf Extract, Citral, Linalool, Propylparaben, Chlorhexidine Digluconate, Hesperidin Methyl Chalcone, Dipeptide-2, Potassium Sorbate, Sodium Bicarbonate, Palmitoyl Tetrapeptide-7, Tocopherol, CI 19140 (Yellow 5), CI 42090 (Blue 1), Phenoxyethanol, Panax Ginseng Root Extract

Anti-cellulite soap

Bliss - Serious Seaweed Cellulite Soap 100g - £10.30

Sodium Palmate, Sodium Palm Kernelate or Sodium Cocoate, Water, Glycerin, Lichen, Fragrance, Sweet Almond Oil, Titanium Dioxide, Sodium Chloride, Tetrasodium Etidronate, Pentasodium Pentetate, Tetrasodium EDTA, D&C Yellow #10, D&C Orange #4, Iron Oxide Black.

Soap & Glory - Feel the Knead 125g - £5.11

Butylene Glycol, Tetrasodium EDTA, Denatonium Benzoate, CI 77499 (Iron Oxides), Caffeine, Sodium Palmate, Sodium Palm Kernelate, Aqua (Water), Glycerin, Algae, Fucus Vesiculosus Extract, Glaucine, Siloxanetriol lginate, Parfum (Fragrance), Tetrasodium Etidronate, Alcohol, Sodium Lauryl Sulfoacetate, Sodium Chloride, Coco-Glucoside, Caprylyl Glycol, Potassium Sorbate, Propylene Glycol, Bambusa Vulgaris Extract, Propylparaben, Sorbic Acid, Sodium Methylparaben, Hexyl Cinnamal, Linalool, Benzyl Benzoate, Benzyl Alcohol

First thing you notice about comparing the ingredients is that Soap & Glory products contain many more and they also contain parabens. Like I mentioned above I have only used one Bliss product which was their Fat Girl Sleep (review found here) unlike Soap & Glory where I've used many including the comparative to Fat Girl Sleep, Slimwear (review found here).

So have you used any Bliss products? What did you think? Or do you think that they do the same as Soap & Glory ones so prefer the cheaper alternative? I'm interested in your feedback here!


Stockists
Bliss - Bliss World, Boots, ASOS
Soap & Glory - Boots, Harvey Nichols, ASOS