The year that was...2012

2012. Not much has changed this year. I am still living back at home and still have too many toiletries. The only mega change happened back in June when I left my job and was unemployed for 5 weeks before getting my current job which is doing admin for a telesales company in the town that I live in. The 5 minute commute is much better than the old hour and half one.



2012 goals and aims
Last year I set myself a few goals to complete during 2012, so did I actually complete them?

• Complete as many Day Zero goals as possible - Last year I completed 6 goals and this year I have finished a grand total of 22 goals! I have now also finished my 101 goals so this coming year I will crack on with completing them
• Go on holiday - this didn't happen but I did book a holiday for March 2013
• Save 10% of my wages - I did start really well with this one but when I left my job it threw me off course a little but I am getting back on to saving in 2013
• Keep losing weight - Nope, but I didn't put any on!
• Start crafting again - Nope, did even less than last year! But I do still dabble when I have a specific project to do
• Paint my nails at least twice a month - YES! I did this one religiously and here is the proof!

A few photos from the last year

 Pop Tarts in Januay

Snow in February

 Sunrise and emptying my piggy bank in March

Rainy day in April

Jubilee goodies in June

Kopparberg Cider in June

Redecorating in August

Handmade Burger Company in October

Festive Costa Coffee in December

Goals for 2013

I have a few goals which I want to work towards and achieve during 2013 including:

• Saving some of my wages every month
• Wear nail polish at least twice a month
• Complete 20 Day Zero goals by June
• Cut my toiletries stash in half by the end of the year
• Exercise regularly 

I hope you'll all continue reading Beauty and Beyond in 2013 and I hope you all have a great new year :-)

End of year review - 2012

So with 2013 just round the corner in a few days it's time for my end of year review so here's what I loved in 2012 and what I'm changing on my blog for 2013.


Products I loved in 2012

• Bath and Body works shower gels
• Kleenex shine absorbing sheets
• Bourjois Flower Perfection Primer
• Soap & Glory Breakfast Scrub
• L'Oreal Elvive Extraordinary Oil
• Soap & Glory Sugar Crush Body Wash
• Collection 2000 Lasting Perfecting Concealer 

2013 Product Wishlist

Normally I have a list of products I want to buy in the next coming year but this time I don't, I have far too much stuff which I need to use up and that will be the basis of tomorrows blog post!

Most read blog posts of 2012

1. Maxfactor Eye Brightening Mascara - here
2. Dupe alert! Benefit Hervana and Rimmel match perfection blush - here
3. Review - The Balm Betty-Lou Manizer bronze - here
4. Review - Avon Color Trend lipsticks - here
5. Review - Nivea Pure and Natural - here
6. Review - Emma Hardie cleansing balm - here
7. My lipstick collection - here
8. A Year of Nail Polish - August - here
9. New Wilkinson Sword Intuition Naturals razor - here
10. Bourjois Flower Perfection foundation and primer - here

A few changes

Last year I changed my Product Use Up posts to once every 3 months, well these are now going back to every month, I now have more time to blog as I have a different job to this time last year so will be able to blog on time (famous last words there!) I am keeping the Month that Was posts every month and will keep doing my Year of Nail Polish every month too, I have enjoyed these posts this last year so will keep to my aim of painting my nails at least twice a month. Ok so overall there was only one major change but as per usual these could change during the year.

And finally.....

A year in nail polish - December

Models Own - Pink fever

Models Own - Boogie Nights

Revlon - Black Star (I think this is it's name)

Models Own - Mixed Up

Revlon - Not sure on the name but was a limited edition last month

Nails Inc - Not sure on the name

Product use up: October - December

This last 3 months I've been concentrating on using up as many odd bottle of stuff as possible which I only managed in the past month so here are my empties:

That's a grand total of 32 products finished in the last 3 months!

Next year I am going to go back to posting Product Use Up every month again so these posts won't be as long.

I hope this last year I have inspired you to take up your own Product Use Up challenge, it is really rewarding at the end of the month to see your stash of products slowly reduce, next year I am on a real mission to cut mine in half so wish me luck!

Models Own make up sponges

Models Own have brought out their own version on the now infamous Cosmopolitan Blending Sponge but these work out a little bit cheaper at 2 for £8.00. At the time I bought these I was still using powder foundation so I've only recently in the last few months starting using these.

You are meant to wet these a little to use with liquid foundation but personally I prefer to use them dry to smooth out my foundation and to banish those tide mark lines on my jaw line! They are very soft and  work really well, after using these my foundation looks flawless and my complexion looks even.

Now I've bought these I can't imagine my make up routine without them.

These are £8 for a pair and are available from Boots.

Soap & Glory Sugar Crush Body Wash

When I found out Soap & Glory had added more products to their bathing range in the Sugar Crush scent I couldn't wait to buy them as I simply love the Sugar Crush body scrub, if I could eat it then I would but unfortunately you can't.

The new products in the range are body wash and body butter. So far I have only tried the body wash and it is as I expected amazing! I use this in the morning in the shower and it instantly wakes you up with the fresh sweet lime scent. Also as you get a massive bottle I use about 3 or 4 pumps for all over  but this size bottle, 500ml, will last ages!

If you haven't tried the Sugar Crush products I strongly recommend you do as I'm sure you won't be disappointed. 

The body wash is £6.50 and available from Boots.

New CB12 Mouthwash

Recently I was sent a couple of bottles of the new CB12 mouthwash to try out. This mouthwash claims to prevent bad breath for 12 hours by neutralising substances and processes that cause bad breath.

When I first heard about this product I did think that it would be like any other mouthwash which would make your breath fresh for an hour or so and then bad breath would gradually start to reappear again.

I used this product for the first time after having curry for tea one night and was left with horrible garlic breath which when trying to get to sleep was making me feel a little bit sick so I thought it would be the perfect opportunity to try this out.

It has a push down dispenser in the bottle so you get a specific measured amount of 10ml and in total the bottle contains 25 doses. Like with any other mouthwash you swill and gargle for 30 seconds to a minute and spit it out and immediately I was amazed at how well it worked. My nasty garlic breath had gone and even when I woke in the morning my mouth and breath felt so fresh.

At £14.99 for a bottle this a lot more pricey than a standard mouthwash but after trying it I would purchase it without a doubt as it's the best mouthwash I've tried. I also like that it comes in a mild flavour which is perfect for myself as I don't really like a strong minty flavour.

CB12 is available from Boots and Lloyds Pharmacies now.

Project 10 Pan - December

This is the final Project 10 Pan post of the year and I haven't done that well since my last post back in September. In the last 3 months I have only managed to use up 4 products: 1 face primer, 1 concealer and 2 mascaras.

In total this year I have used a grand total of 31 products:

Mascara - 7

Foundation - 5

Primer - 8

Concealer - 3

Lipstick - 1

Blusher - 4

Powder - 3

I have t admit I'm surprised that I've only used up 3 concealer products but I do have quite a lot of different ones open.

As a part of my end of year post I will be setting myself anther Project 10 Pan challenge for 2013 so keep your eyes peeled for that!

No! No! Update - WARNING contains photos of my hairy leg

WARNING THIS POST FEATURES A PHOTO OF MY HAIRY LEG!

I bought my No! No! hair removal device way back in December last year from QVC and I did promise to keep you all update on my progress but I've failed. I've only posted one update post all year. Which was back in February. Yes I'm a bad blogger!

Well incase you don't know what a No! No! device looks like here is mine:

I bought mine from QVC as it was on a 3 pay promotion where you split the cost over 3 months and as it's over £100 it made good sense to do this. Also you get a 30 day money back guarantee if you don't like it. This I believe has now been extended to 90 days only for the No! No! device on QVC which is great news if you want to give it a good try before committing to buying. If you don't know how it works then click here for an explanation on my previous posts.

Well I've used mine on and off over the last year, I have to admit probably more off than on but I find that it is a little time consuming and my parents moan when I use it because the smell of burning hair wafts through the house so I try to use it when they're out. Saying that I haven't used it as much as I'd like but I have had to buy replacement Thermicon Tips because mine stopped working so I probably have used it more than I thought, either that or I'm really hairy!

But anyway, I've previously shown how well the No! No! works on my arms but today I've been brave and got my legs out. Previously I used to epilate which I did see a slight reduction in hair growth but since using the No! No! I've noticed a big reduction in regrowth on my legs.

The picture below is showing regrowth between sessions:

I don't think this is too bad but you can see how patchy it is showing where hair has stopped growing.

It does take me a good half and hour to do both legs properly and here is the result of one No! No! session on the same leg:

There are still a few hairs that are left which I just run a razor over next time I shower but you could get away with wearing a skirt straight away after. Oh another thing I always use a good body lotion or butter after as I find that the heat from the device drys my skin out terribly.

Overall I am really pleased with the results I have noticed since I bought the No! No! last year. I am definitly going to continue to use it but I'm going to make more of an effort to use it so hopefully I'll see more results soon.

Even though I haven't updated as much as I'd have liked I hope I've given a few of you inspiration to maybe try out this system one day. Yes it is an awful lot of money but in my eyes it's well worth it. I only wish I'd bought this earlier.

Anyway I hope I haven't scared you off with the photos of my milky white legs and please let me know if you've tried the No! No! or are going to try it out now!

Review - MUA Professional Eyes Eye Primer

I'm really into primers at the moment especially as I don't have the time to constantly re-do my make up. I ran out of my usual Benefit Stay Don't Stray and have been trying to find a cheaper alternative when I came across this for a mere £3 in my local Superdrug.

This is a little more watery than Benefit's product but I think for the price it's just as good. It isn't as heavy but it does the same job. My eyeshadow and concealer stayed put for a long time, ok so yes I did have to re-touch once during the day but for £3 I'm certainly not complaining.

Have you tried this? What did you think? Do you use another primer, what would you recommend?

100 things I love: Part 6

For previous posts click here

61. Listening to the rain

62. Caramac

63. Tweezerman tweezers

64. Vanilla milkshakes

65. Party Rings

 66. Fudge

67. Pop Tarts

68. Notebooks

69. Iced Tea

70. Pink Champagne

Christmas Gifts - £10 and under

In today's Christmas Gift post everything is prices £10 and under. I love finding gifts in this price range as they're great for little stocking fillers or for secret Santa gifts.

Boots

Henry Holland Banging Nails Kit - £10.00

Minnie Mouse Cosmetic Grab Bag - £8.00

Baylis & Harding Gingerbread Mini Bath and Body Trio - £4.00 

Debenhams

Floozie Cupcake Delights Lip Balm Set - £7.50 

Philosophy Candy Cane Lip Shine - £10.00

Philosophy Hand and Cuticle Cream Ornament - £9.00

Betty Jackson Sleep in a Box Minis Set - £10.00

Baylis & Harding Frosted Cranberry Trio Gift Set - £6.00

Heathcote & Ivory Sweet Pea and Honeysuckle Hands Treat - £7.00

House of Fraser

Rose & Co Set of Three Fancies - £10.00

Rose & Co Lavender and Lemongrass Bath Melt - £3.85

Next

Cashmere EDP 30ml - £7.50