June Favourites!

Hi everyone,

 

It's June favourites time! My favourites may seem a tad dull this month as they are things I've been using on a pretty much daily basis, but they are amazing!

 

Nivea Express Hydration Primer

This is my second pot of this beauty, I didn't like it at all when I first bought it but about half way through the pot I was hooked. It's a really refreshing primer that makes the skin feel hydrated and smooth. A fantastic base for make up.

 

Urban Decay Naked Basics Palette

An essential piece of kit for my day to day make up, I love using it for my brows by mixing Faint and Naked 2 together. It's also great for a 'put together' eye look.

 

Stila Smudge Stick in Damsel

I freaking love this eyeliner, I got it the Stila's In The Light palette and wasn't that fussed about it when I first got it, I've now discovered tight lining with it! It's a beautiful rich, saturated chocolate brown colour which stays put! I find it really defines my eyes beautifully without looking to harsh compared to when I use black liner.

 

Bourjois Healthy Mix Foundation in Shade 52

I adore this foundation! It offers light/medium coverage, is fairly moisturising and really great for everyday wear.

 

No 7 Vital Enlightening Highlighting Powder

This has got to be my favourite highlighter at the moment, I even prefer it to MAC's Soft and Gentle. It's a subtle champagne colour and is more satiny rather than shimmery. Love it! So sad that it was limited edition.

 

MUA Blush in Bon Bon

My favourite everyday blusher, a subtle and natural looking pink blush which I feel really suits me. Did I mention it's only a pound?!

 

NYX HD Concealer in Light

I've really been enjoying this for under my eyes recently, due to the shade being a bit too light for me I find it really brightens up my eye area and blends in well. I have noticed a tiny bit of creasing with it but that was after a day of work in a hot environment and it hadn't been set with a powder or anything.

 

What were you favourites this month?

 

Thanks for reading,

Jess

xxx

 

Sneaky Sleek Haul!

Hi everyone,

Sleek is a drugstore brand that I havn't tried much from yet I've heard so many good things about them! My local Superdrug doesn't stock Sleek so when I went to a bigger store a picked up a couple of Sleek products that I've wanted to try for a while.

 

 

Sleek Face Contour Kit in Light - £6.49

I have never successfully managed to contour my face, to be honest I've never had a  contour kit/product before and have only attempted it with bronzer before. I think that this is a bit of a bargain, only £6.49 for a contour powder and a highlight. Can't wait to try it out properly!

 

Sleek Ultra Mattes V2 Darks Palette - £7.99

Recently I've been loving matte eyeshadows, since getting Urban Decay's Naked Basics palette I've been really enjoying a matte look for everyday wear. Now I have some beautiful matte colours to experiment with because I'd like to wear some more colourful eye looks instead of always sticking to neutrals.

 

Thanks for reading,

Jess

xxx



My Top 5...Make Up Items Under £5

Hi everyone,

So I'm a bit of a bargain hunter and don't like paying a lot for a product when there's something cheaper out there that does the same job or even a better job!

 

So here are my Top 5 make up items for under £5!

 

Barry M Lip Gloss in Toffee - £4.49

I think this has to be my favourite lip gloss ever and is under a fiver! It's a smooth, non sticky gloss which just provides a hint of subtle, neutral colour. It also smells sweet and sugary like toffee! The names of these glosses aren't on the packaging but they are numbered and this is number 2.

 

Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer - £4.19

This concealer is such a hyped up product within the blogging world but I believe this product is totally worth the hype! If you need a high/full coverage concealer this could be the one for you, I don't use this under my eyes and it can cake up a bit, but it is fantastic for covering blemishes and pigmentation. I have the shade Light.

 

Maybelline Color Tattoo in On and on Bronze - £4.99

My most used cream eye shadow, perfect for everyday wear on it's own and fantastic for using as a base. I don't really know how to describe this shade properly as it looks more special than you'd expect and like you've put more effort in to your eye make up than you actually have. I just apply this with my ring finger and blend it out with a bit of UD's WOS eye shadow.

 

MUA Blusher in Bon Bon - £1

I recently bought this from Superdrug and have totally fallen in love with it. I was after a natural blush and I think this one is perfection. It's pretty damn pigmented and blends really nicely, perfect for a novice at using blusher, such as myself.

 

Rimmel Scandaleyes Eyeliner in Nude - £3.99

This liner is a total gem! I love wearing this in my water line to brighten up my eyes and look a bit more awake. This product is also quite unique as there aren't many drugstore nude eyeliners, so also an absolute bargain.

 

What's your favourite make up item for under a fiver?

 

Thanks for reading,

Jess

xxx

 

 

 





A Blog Post?!

Hi everyone,

 

Well this feels a little weird! Writing a blog post?! That's something I've not done for over 3 months! Thank you to all my followers that have stuck with me during this absence, I don't really have an excuse for it apart from a stressy couple of months and lack of money which have led to my lack of blogging. However! I'm back! So expect to see some more posts coming up soon as I reignite my love affair with blogging.

 

Thanks for reading,

Jess

xxx



Food of Late #1

Hi everyone,

 I thought I'd do a post compiling all my recent food pictures from main meals to yummy things I've baked. Hopefully it might give you some inspiration if you're stuck in a cooking rut?

 

 

Chocolate Brownies with White Chocolate Chunks

 

Chicken breast stuffed with low fat mozzarella, wrapped in parma ham, with a creamy mushroom sauce, new potatoes and salad

 

Crispy Bacon, Avocado, Egg Salad

 

Salmon, Crispy Bacon and Avocado Baguette with Chips and Onion Rings

 

Sweet Chilli Salmon Salad with Lemon and Garlic Mayo

 

Beef Lasagne with Salad

 

My Favourite Chicken Salad

 

Crispy Potato Cubes

 

Small Homemade Vegetable Pizza

 

 

Thanks for reading,

Jess

xxx

 

 







NOTD - Essie's Island Hopping with Gittery Accent Nail!

Hi everyone,

Last night I went out for a few drinks with some ladies from work and I thought it was a perfect excuse to use a really pretty but neglected Essie polish from my collection.

 

This is Essie's Island Hopping, I bought it last summer in a pack of three Essie polishes for only £7! It's a creamy, plummy mauve that only needs two coats for an opaque finish.

For my accent nail I used L'oreals Purple Disturbia (2 coats) and topped it with Barry M's Pink Irridescent polish. I really love this look, it feels sophisticated, yet pretty due to the glitter.

 



What are your favourite nail looks at the moment?

 

Thanks for reading,

Jess

xxx



NOTD - Essie's Footloose

Hi everyone,

So this weekend I made quite an exciting discovering, my boyfriends Mum has a stash of aboout 30 Essie polishes that I didn't know about! She wanted me to help her paint her nails, while helping her she said I could use them if I wanted, yay!

 

I picked out this gorgeous purpley raspberry colour called Footloose.

 

 

This is a cream finish polish and is pretty much opaque in one coat, but I applied two coats just to make sure.

Application was really easy and it dried very quickly too. I applied Essie's top coat over it to make it extra glossy :)

 

Do you love this colour as much as I do?

 

Thanks for reading,

Jess

xxx

 



New Maybelline Color Tattoos - 24K Gold and Light In Purple - Swatches and Mini Review

Hi everyone,

 

A couple of weeks ago I noticed two new Maybelline Color Tattoo shades in my local Superdrug and without hesitation I bought both. These two new shades are 24K Gold and Light In Purple.

 

I think both of these new shades are beautiful! I've worn them each a few times now and I'm impressed with the quality, they do seem to differ slightly from the other color tattoos I have in texture. They seem a little more slippery and are less opaque than most of the others. Even though those things sound negative they actually work for me, the Light In Purple shade is beautifully irridescent and adds a sheer wash of shimmery, purpley colour to the eyelids.

24K Gold packs a bit more of a punch pigmentation wise and I've found it works really well on its own with black liquid liner or as a base for a golden eye look, I've topped it with Half Baked from Urban Decay and it looked fantastic. 

 

I found the wear time with these was as good as the other color tattoos and neither shade creased on me at all throughout the day. I did wear UD primer potion underneath them but I do with everything.

 

Here's a picture of when I wore 24K Gold topped with UD's Half Baked...

 

 

These cream shadows retail for £4.99 each.

 

Thanks for reading,

Jess

xxx

 



February Favourites

Hi everyone,

 

Time for February favourites!

 

Soap and Glory Peaches and Clean Cleanser

I love this stuff! I've been using it since I got it for Christmas, it leaves my skin feeling really smooth and clean. It's a really active product but it doesn't irritate my skin.

 

Nivea Stress Protect Deodorant

I bought this a few weeks ago on a whim, it was half price and seeing as I'm a fan on Nivea deodorants I thought I'd give it a go. I'm not sure how it works, but it really does, I barely seem to sweat when I wear it!

 

DermaV10 Cocoa Body Butter

This product is an absoloute bargain, I picked it up in Home Bargains for only 89p! It's a thick butter that sinks in pretty quickly and leaves my skin feeling soft and moisturised. The best bit about this product though is definitely the smell! It's a sweet, cocoa scent and I've had loads of compliments on the smell from people at work who said I smell like coconut and chocolate! That works for me!

 

Soap and Glory Perfume

This has been my everyday perfume for this month, it smells like Soap and Glory's signature scent, which is a perfect, light daytime scent.

 

L'oreal Lumi Magique in Shade 1

My favourite product for helping to conceal and brighten under my eyes, I've tried the Maybelline Dream Lumi Touch that loads of people rave about but I much prefer this product. Let me know if you'd like to see a review/comparison. :)

L'oreal Volume Million Lashes Diamantissime Mascara
I got this as a gift with purchase back in December and didn't love it when I started using it, but this month I started using it again and I've made it work for me. I've been using it as a seperating and lengthening mascara after applying a volumising mascara and it's been working really well.

17 Va Va Voom Mascara
 This mascara has a massive brush and is great for building volume even with my lashes
which are tiny and skinny. I've been loving using this in conjunction with the L'oreal mascara for volumised, long and seperated lashes this month.

Korres Lip Butter in Wild Rose
I've been quite into using tinted lip balms this month instead of lipsticks and this one has to be my favourite. It melts into my lips so quickly and leaves a pretty hint of colour and healthy sheen. I really want to buy the Korres lip butter in the shade Plum now too!

GOSH Soft'N Shine Lip Balm in Scarlet
This is a product that lives in my handbag and I use all the time but I've never included it in a monthly favourites post even though it is definitely a favourite! It's a lovely moisturising lipstick/balm that's a muted soft, rosey pink colour that is fairly sheer when applied. It smells like vanilla and is so easy to apply on the go without a mirror. :)

What were your favourites this month?

Thanks for reading,
Jess
xxx





My Favourite Chicken Salad

Hi everyone,

I've been trying to eat a little healthier recently and this yummy salad has been one of my go to recipes, so I thought I'd share it with you.

 

 

Ingredients

 

Dressing

- 2 Teaspoons of Olive Oil

- 2 Teaspoons of Balsamic Vinegar

- 1/2 Teaspoon Dried Mixed Herbs

- Half a Grated Garlic Clove

- Salt and Pepper

 

Salad

- 2 Handfuls of Shredded Iceberg Lettuce

- Chunk of Cucumber, diced

- Half a Red Onion, diced

- 1/4 Red Pepper, diced

- Half an Avocado, diced

- Handful of Tinned Sweetcorn

- Small Carrot, shaved with a peeler

- Sprig of Basil Leaves

- 1 Tomato, diced

- 5(ish) Black Olives, halved

 

Chicken

- Large Raw Chicken Breast

- Teaspoon Dried Mixed Herbs

- Salt and Pepper

- Teaspoon of Olive Oil

 

Method

 

- Coat the chicken in the herbs, salt, pepper and herbs, then pan fried in a non stick frying pan. Let the chicken get nice and golden on the side touching the pan before turning.

- Cook for around 15 minutes, until cooked through.

- Put the chicken on a plate to rest, while you make the rest of the salad.

- Start by making your dressing, I like to make it in the bowl that I'm going to eat the salad from.

- Mix all the the ingredients together and taste it to make sure it's seasoned enough.

- Place all your vegetables in the bowl with the dressing and toss it all together to coat everything with the dressing. Add a little seasoning now to make sure it's really tasty.

- Then slice the chicken, place on top of the salad and serve!

 

Do you have a favourite salad recipe?

 

Thanks for reading,

Jess

xxx



LOTD - Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain in Honey

Hi everyone,

 

 

This is the only Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain that I own and I really like it! It's a pretty, everyday colour that can be put on without a lot of thought. I really like wearing it with minimal face make up and a neutral eye.

This retails for £7.99

 

Thanks for reading,

Jess

xxx

Soap and Glory Endless Glove

Hi everyone,

 

 

I have been loving this hand cream! Hand cream isn't something that has ever really bothered me much, I used to just see it as a chore to use and normally just moisturised my hands with body lotion etc. Then I found Soap and Glory's Hand Food which is an amazing hand cream and I've had many a tube of it living in my handbag, but I got this beauty, Soap and Glory's Endless Glove Hand Mask for Christmas. This hand mask/hand cream is AMAZING! I'm seriously in love with this stuff, it makes my hands feel totally smooth and moisturised instantly.

 

I'm forever drying my hands out with washing up, food preparation, housework etc and to top it all of I also get ezcema on my hands which sometimes causes my hands to become so dry that they crack, which is seriously painful. This hand cream really prevents this and helps to soothe and cure this issue if it arises.

 

Endless Glove smells great and absorbs really easily, it retails for £6.50 and can be bought from Boots.

 

What's your favourite hand cream?

 

Thanks for reading,

Jess

xxx



Urban Decay Wizard of Oz Glinda Palette Review and Swatches

Hi everyone,

I recieved this palette last weekend and Iive been trying it out all week so I thought I'd let you know what I think...

 

Picture heavy!

 

This is a limited edition palette from Urban Decay to celebrate the release of the new Wizard of Oz film, this palette is called Glinda after the 'Good Witch' in the film.

This palette contains six full sized eye shadows, two of which are duo shadows and the shadows can be popped out of the palette and swapped with other shadows if you want to. This palette also comes with a half size 24/7 Glide-on Eye Pencil in Rockstar, a Super Saturated Lip Crayon in the shade Glinda and a card with instructions on how to recreate Glinda's look.

 

This palette retails for £35 which I think is a total bargain as each individual eyeshadow would retail for  £14, the half sized liner is worth around £7 and the lip crayon is worth £14.

 

Here are the swatches of the shadows...

 

All of the shadows in this palette contain shimmer.

 

Tornado - A deep royal purple shade, think Cadburys purple. This looks beautiful packed on to the eyelid and used a its full strength or it's pretty when used in the crease and sheered out a bit.

 

Aura - Aura is a duo shade, it consists of a light, blue toned irridescent shade and pale pink irridescent shade. These shadows look beautiful and mysterious, they could definitely make a look a bit more magical and would look really pretty as a highlight or patted over a darker colour to make it more interesting.

 

Magic - This is a soft baby pink with a kind of golden sheen and some golden shimmer.

 

 

 Illusion - A soft peachy colour with a pretty satiny sheen. I've been enjoyed wearing this all over the lid with Tornado in the crease.

 

Oz - Oz is another due shade, one side is a metallic pale gold with silver glitter in it and the other side is a slightly bluey silver with silver glitter in them. Both are very pigmented but there's a little fall out with the glitter.

 

South - This my favourite shadow in the palette(neutral obsessed! :D), it's a cool toned, dark, metallic taupe. I love it!

 

All the shadows are really nice quality, they're all pretty buttery and have good colour pay off, the only thing I'm not crazy about is the glitter in the Oz shadows.

 

The liner that's included in the palette is call Rockstar which is a kind of aubergine colour, it's creamy, easily to smudge out and long lasting.

 

The Super-Saturated High Gloss Lip Colour is in the shade Glinda which I believe is the same as the shade Naked in their permanent line of these lip colours.

Glinda is quite a natural colour, a pinky beige which is slightly shimmery.

It's quite a creamy consistency and lasted nicely on my lips.

 

Overall, I'm happy with this palette, it's great value for money and a bit different to UD palettes that I already have.

 

Pros

- Good value for money.

- High quality eye shadows.

- Really good quality eye liner in an interesting shade.

- Full sized lip product included.

- Sturdy packaging,

- Ability to swap eyeshadow pans out.

 

Cons

- The micro glitter in the shade Oz.

- Limited edition.

 

Are you thinking of buying this palette?

 

Thanks for reading,

Jess

xxx

 



How To Keep Your Collection(2000) Concealer Looking Like New!

Hi everyone,

 

I just thought I'd share a little tip with you that I learnt a while ago. It's a tip concerning the Collection(2000) Lasting Perfection Concealer, the fantastic drugstore concealer who's packaging leaves a little to be desired. The problem is that the writing quickly rubs off the concealer tube, which isn't a massive problem but it is a little annoying.

 

So how do I keep my concealer looking like this....

 

instead of this?

 

 

The secret is...

 

Clear nail polish!
Not this Rimmel one in particular but just a clear nail polish(I wouldn't try Seche Vite top coat, as that can tend to peel off nails so it could do the same on the tube), all I did was paint the whole tube including the bottom with a good coat of clear polish and let it dry completely.
I've had my new concealer for almost 3 weeks and none of the writing on the tube has smudged or rubbed off! Result!

Have any of you tried this before?
This isn't an original idea by the way, I did hear it somewhere else I just can't remember where!

Thanks for reading,
Jess
xxx

Rimmel Scandaleyes Eye Shadow Stick in Bulletproof Beige Review + Swatches

Hi everyone,

I've got a review for you today of one of Rimmel's newest releases, their eyeshadow stick in Bulletproof beige.

 

A couple of weeks ago I picked up this cream eyeshadow stick as I was hoping it would be a good addition to my cream eyeshadow collection(almost all of which are Maybelline color tattoos). I really wanted it to be a great everyday colour which would be easy to apply in the morning, just add mascara and be good to go.

 

However this product in my eyes is rubbish, it creases on me like no other! Nothing normally creases me, I don't have oily eyelids and I pretty much always use UD primer potion.

 

I tested this with UD primer potion, MUA eye primer, with no primer and topped with a powder shadow. But nothing worked and without fail it creased on me within six hours(it claims to last for 24 hours...).

 

It's such a shame because the colour is beautiful and it has a nice creamy texture which is easy to blend and it looks lovely straight away after application. It just doesn't compare to the Maybelline color tattoos though, I'm really not impressed with it.

 

Sorry for quite a negative review, if you're interested in trying this product out for yourself they're currently on offer in Superdrug for £3.49.

 

Thanks for reading,

Jess

xxx