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

 

 

 





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



LOTD - Barry M Toffee Lipgloss

Hi everyone,

 

 

This has to be one of my favourite lip glosses, it's a nice subtle nude/sheer brown colour, the gloss is totally smooth and non sticky, and it smells like toffee! Hence the name. :) I've definitely been wearing lipstick more than gloss over the past few months but if I've wanted to wear a gloss this the one I'd reach for. It retails for only £4.49, which is a total bargain!

 

Thanks for reading,

Jess

xxx



10,000 Page Views Giveaway! - Benefit, Barry M, Nivea, Odile & Fleur and Miss Sporty!

Hi everyone!

 

Yay! It's Giveaway Time! I've almost reached 10,000 page views!

 

So I thought that was worth having a little giveaway for, to show my appreciation to you guys! The lovely people who read and follow my blog.

 

Here's what you can win!

 

Here's a closer look at the make up prizes...

 

Nivea Lip Butter in Caramel Cream - I love this yummy, moisturising lip product!

 

Barry M Nail Paint in Amethyst Glitter - A beautiful multi coloured glitter polish

 

Barry M Lip Lacquer Crayon in Cherry Rec - A lovely lip product for a bright lip on a night out

 

Miss Sporty Nail Polish in Fiery Blaze - A funky duo chrome polish

Benefit Sun Beam Highlighter Sample - This is one of the samples that came free with a magazine a few months ago so I had to buy an extra one to include in a giveaway!

 



And here's a closer look at the jewelry...

 

I love these earrings and have some myself, I think the leaves are so sweet and the wishbones and so cute and original.

 

These pretty turquoise bead earrings would add a nice touch of glamour to an everyday outfit.

 

How to enter

- Just follow the instructions in the Rafflecopter widget below!

 

Rules etc

- This giveaway is open internationally!

- Please don't follow to enter the giveaway and then unfollow once it's over, I'd only like people who are genuinely interested in reading/following my blog to enter.

- When the prize is sent I will keep proof of postage but I am not responsible for any lost packages.

- This giveaway is open until Saturday 2nd February and I will announce the winner shortly after.

 







a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

Thanks for reading,

Jess

xxx

Sunday Night Make Up Shake Up #6

 

Hi everyone,

 

 

I've picked a nice selection of face, cheek, eye and lip products for this week :)

 

Barry M Limited Edition Lip Gloss

This is a lovely pale pink lipgloss with pink glitter running through it, it smells kind of like strawberry sweets and feels really nice on the lips.

 

Collection 2000 Blush in Breathless

This blush was a poundland bargain and I don't think I've ever worn it! It's a peachy blush with gold shimmer, it's probably more suited to being used as a highlighter.

 

17 Eyeshadow in Statuesque

A lovely dark rose gold eyeshadow that I've hardly used :)

 

No7 Stay Perfect Eyeshadow in True Gold

Such a pretty gold colour, perfect for a subtle work make up look.

 

Smashbox Photofinish Luminizing Primer Sample

I do really like this stuff but I've not used it for a while, and it's almost finished.

 

Collection 2000 Extreme 24 Hour Felt Tip Liner in Purple

I do like this product but it does stain my skin a little. Such a pretty colour though!

 

Thanks for reading,

Jess

xxx



October Favourites

Hi everyone,

Here are the products that I've been loving this month :)

 Soap & Glory Fab Pore Hot Cloth Cleanser

I've got to be honest here, this product has totally changed cleansing for me. Before I bought this I would use a face wipe to remove most of my make up and then wash my face with a face wash, and I don't know about you but washing my face with tepid/warm water before going to bed just woke me up when I wanted to chill and go to sleep. So I adore this as the hot muslim cloth(that comes with it) is so soothing and theraputic! This cleanser removes make up so effectively and makes my skin feel like it's had a really deep clean, the slight lavender scent is also so relaxing and calming!

Cacharel Amor Amor Perfume

I adore this perfume! It's one that I've been wearing for years , I'm not really sure how to describe the scent but it's beautiful! I'd been meaning to repurchase this for a while and a few weeks ago I got round to spending my Boots points on it.

Barry M Diamond Glitter Nail Polish

Seriously, if you like glitter polishes, just go and buy this one! It's so beautiful! It's so glittery and sparkley, it really catches the light beautifully. I'll have to do a NOTD using it soon.

MAC Plumful Lustre Lipstick

This is quite a recent purchase, its such a perfect colour for autumn. I've been loving wearing this with a fairly neutral eye and lots of mascara!

Barry M Limited Edition Lipgloss

 This is such a great nude gloss, I've had it for a while and I've used it loads. Unfortunately it was a limited edition shade and I wish I'd bought a back up! This gloss is smooth and not at all sticky, I've been loving wearing it when I'm wearing quite a heavy smokey eye. It also smells like caramel!

(L-R Plumful, Barry M Gloss)

Thanks for reading,

Jess

xxx

 

NOTD - Amethyst Glitter

Hi everyone,

Here's a pretty combination of nail varnishes that I was wearing a few days ago :)

 

 I used Rimmel's Pompous to paint all of my nails and then topped my accent nail with Barry M's Amethyst Glitter polish, which is such a stunning polish!

I hope you like this nail of the day, I love the purple and jewel tones :) Especially for autumn. 

Thank you for reading,

Jess

xxx

Product Review - Barry M Ultra Moisturising Lip Paint in Black Cherry

Hi everyone,

Here's another lip product review! 

I've wanted to pick up one of Barry M's new Ultra Moisturising Lip Paints since I first saw them in the shops a couple of weeks ago. I was drawn in by the cute pink packaging and then when I swatched a couple of them in store I realised that they'd released some gorgeous new berry colours.

I couldn't resist picking up the shade Black Cherry.

What Barry M Say...
"New ultra moisturising lip paint enriched with hydrating and lip nourishing Cocoa Butter for a 
soft and saturated finish."

The formula of this lipstick is lovely, very smooth and quite moisturising. I know that Barry M lip paints have had some mixed reviews but I think this new formula is great.

The colour of this lipstick is beautiful! 

It is quite a bold colour but I think that the picture is making it look a little paler than it actually is. It is definitly a deep vampy colour.

 Regarding application, I found that this could be applied straight from the bullet for a fairly neat finish(If you're careful!), but the finish really does benefit from being applied with a lip brush. In the picture above I also applied some concealer around my lip line to prevent any bleeding/feathering.

Summary

Pros

- Stunning colour for autumn!
 - Fairly moisturising
- Long lasting
- Quite Cheap! Only £4.49!

Cons

-  It wore off a little patchy
- Bit of a pain to re apply. 

Overall I'm very happy with this lipstick, I've already picked up another shade from this range. This shade really is gorgeous for the season and a bit of a bargain! :)

Thanks for reading,
Jess
xxx

Pamper Me #1

Hi everyone,

I thought I'd start a new little series showing the products I'm using when having a pampering session, The Sunday Girl does this and I just think it's such a lovely idea for a post!

I've been really into pampering sessions recently and have been having one at least once a week. I love to have a nice hot bath, use lots of lovely products, have an aromatic candle burning and watch You Tube videos on my laptop with a drink in my hand. :)

So here are the products I used on Saturday night....

I filled my bath with my favourite bubble bath, Soap & Glory Calm One Calm All Bubble Bath and lit my Yankee Candle in French Vanilla.

I then applied my Soap & Glory Scrub Your Nose In It as a face mask and left it on whilst in the bath. I also tried out my new Champneys Exotic Retreat Body Glow and gave my body a good scrub. This scrub was an absolute bargain for only £1.25 on the Boots clearance shelf!

I felt like pampering my feet a bit and changing my nail polish so I slathered them in Sanctuary Intensive Rescue Heel Balm, which isn't my favourite foot cream but I'm trying to use it up! Then before painting my nails I rubbed No7 Nourishing Nail and Cuticle Cream into my cuticles and then painted my toenails with Essie's Your Hut Or Mine? and then topped it off with Barry M's Rose Quartz glitter top coat.

How often do you pamper youself?

Thanks for reading,

Jess

xxx

Collective Haul!

Hi everyone,

Sorry I've been MIA for the past few days, the internet has not been playing nicely! But oh well, I'm back with a lovely haul today. :)

The thing that I am most excited about in this haul is my new Maybelline Color Tattoo! It's in the shade Pink Gold, which I presume is new as I've never come across it before, I found it in Boots and it was the last one left. :)

I've been lusting after Barry M's Jewel Glitter nail paints ever since I saw them on Barry M's facebook page and I finally got my hands on some!

I bought Amethyst, Gold Mine, Rose Quartz, Pink Sapphire and Black Multi Glitter and they are sooo pretty! :D These were £2.99 each.

I also picked up some polishes from Miss Sporty. I never normally look at the Miss Sporty stand in Superdrug but these polishes just caught my eye. I bought the shades  Fiery Blaze, Beetle Wings and Aurora Borealis. They're such interesting colours and are really cheap! Only £1.99 each!

Miss Sporty also had an offer on that if you spent £2.99 or more you received a Dr Balmy tinted lip balm, I got the shades Heartbreaker and Honeymoon. They're nice and moisturising and smell like watermelon! 

The last thing I bought was a Barry M lip paint in Black Cherry, a perfect colour for fall!

Thanks for reading,
Jess
xxx
 

Wednesday Wishlist - Barry M

Hi everyone!

Here's a few things I've been lusting after from Barry M.

BarryM Cerise Lip Paint
This looks like a stunning rich pink that I'd love to try.

Barry M Lip Gloss in Toffee
I've heard so many good things about this shade and I love Barry M's lip glosses, they're really smooth, smell great and not sticky.

Barry M Lip Paint in Mulberry
I'd love this deep, dark lipstick to wear this Autumn.

Barry M Blusher in Raspberry

I love berry coloured blushes and I'd love this to add to my collection.

Barry M Lip Paint in Royal Raspberry
Another gorgeous lip paint from Barry M, a perfect berry colour for Autumn/Winter.

What are you lusting after this week?

Thanks for reading,
Jess
xxx

Product Review - Barry M Lip Paint 152 Vintage Rose

Hi everyone,

Here's a review of a lipstick that I got for an absolute steal the other day in my local Superdrug.

As the title suggests this is the Barry M Lip Paint in Shade 152 Vintage Rose. I managed to find this for an amazing price of 99p! I was so excited!(Oh dear!)

I have to admit that I picked up this lipstick with no idea of what the colour would be like(it had a plastic wrapper), but when I opened it I had a very nice surprise! 

Vintage Rose is a neutral toned berry, pinky toned colour and I think it'll be perfect for Autumn. :)

I've heard mixed things about the Barry M lip paints but the two I have are great! Smooth, pigmented and fairly moisturising.

Overall I think this is a beautiful lipstick that I hope to get a lot of use out of it this Autumn/Winter.

Also the good news is that I bought another one of the same lipstick to include in my upcoming giveaway! So keep an eye out for that. :)

Thanks for reading,
Jess
xxx

NOTD - Illamasqua Bacterium...

Hi everyone,

So here's a NOTD featuring one of my newest polishes, it's an Illamasqua polish called Bacterium....now first of all doesn't that name just sound gross and make you wanna be sick? 

Maybe it's because I'm recovering from a stomach bug but I feel that incorporating  the word bacteria(well kind of) into the name of a nail polish is a tad wrong.

But anyway it's a very interesting and pretty polish :)

Illamasqua describes this polish as 'A pearlescent ash ochre'.

I'd describe it as a kind of taupey colour. :)

I applied two coats and it went on a little streaky but otherwise fine. I put a coat of BarryM's Pink Iridescent on my accent nail and topped it all off with Seche Vite. 

Thanks for reading,

Jess

xxx 

My Top 5...Lipsticks

Hi everyone,

I thought I'd do a top 5 lipsticks post today. I've only recently(last few months) started to wear lipstick regularly after being a die hard lipgloss fan for years! 

So here are my favourites out of the ones that I've tried so far...

(L-R L'oreal Caresse Aphrodite Scarlet, L'oreal Caresse Sweet Berry, Revlon Lip Butter Berry Smoothie, MAC Speed Dial, BarryM Lip Paint 153 )

L'oreal Caresse in Aphrodite Scarlet

This was the first L'oreal Caresse that I bought and I love it! It's a bright, sheer red lipstick with a beautiful creamy consistency and a yummy rosewater smell/fragrance. I love wearing this for everyday when I fancy something bright but light and moisturising on my lips.

L'oreal Caresse in Sweet Berry

I was after this shade for a long time, isn't wasn't in stock anywhere when I looked for it until a few weeks ago. This is a wearable, soft berry shade, that's nice and glossy.  Here is my review on the L'oreal Caresse lipsticks. 


Revlon Lip Butter in Berry Smoothie
This is another berry toned lipstick that I've been loving, this lipstick is quite sheer but buildable. It's a great shade for day or night and I feel that it really compliments my skin tone. Here is my review on this lip butter.


MAC Cremesheen Lipstick in Speed Dial
This was my first and is still my only MAC lipstick and I love it! I don't wear it all that often because it is quite bright but it's a warmish blue toned pink and I fell in love with it when I tried it on at the MAC counter. I also cannot get enough of the smell! 


BarryM Lip Paint in Shade 153
This is a really nicely pigmented and glossy lipstick. It's a kind of orangey pink colour and is a perfect lipstick colour for summer. I think it would look great with tanned skin!


Here are some swatches of the lipsticks...

(L-R Aphrodite Scarlet, Sweet Berry, Berry Smoothie, Speed Dial, 153)


Thanks for reading,
Jess
xxx

Collective Haul

Hi everyone,

Here's a few items that I've bought over the last few weeks, I've been trying to cut down on spending but it's not worked that well...

Balance Me Rose Otto Intensive Lip Salve

I got this free when I bought Glamour Magazine, It's pretty moisturising and smells kind of like turkish delight.

No7 Nourishing Nail and Cuticle Cream

This was a pretty cheap purchase, I had a No7 voucher so it only cost me £2. Yay! I've used it a few times and I like it so far :) Hopefully it'll sort out my horrible cuticles.

MUA Blusher in Shade 3

This blusher was a bargain, it only cost me £1. It's a nice corally pink, it's a totally different colour to any other blushers I have.

GOSH Pigments

I bought five of these and they only cost me 99p each from Superdrug! Not sure why they were reduced, they weren't damaged or anything but yeah :) 

I bought the shades, Pineapple, Paradise, Apple Jam, Satin and Purple Rain.

Maybelline Color Tattoos in Permanent Taupe and Immortal Charcoal 

I'd been tempted to get these two for ages, I love permanent taupe but I'm less impressed with immortal charcoal.

Mango and Kiwi Mason Jar Candle

This was a gift from a friends mum, it smells great and I love candles in jars :)

Rimmel Base Coat and Nail Tip Whitener

I love these polishes, I love the brush on the white nail polish, it's the perfect size. The base coat is great too, I've been in need of one since my Sally Hansen one dried up.

BarryM Lipgloss

This doesn't have a shade name, it came free with a bottle of Impulse body spray. It's a lovely creamy pink colour and it's not at all sticky. :)

Thanks for reading,

Jess

xxx

My Nail Polish Collection - BarryM

Hi everyone,
I'm back with another part of my nail polish collection today.
These are my BarryM nail polishes...

(L-R Raspberry, Gold Crackle, Vivid Purple, Silver Glitter, Dusky Mauve, Pink Iridescent)


I love BarryM nail paints! They are such good quality and come in so many amazing colours!

(L-R Raspberry, Gold Crackle, Vivid Purple, Silver Glitter, Dusky Mauve, Pink Iridescent)


My favourite BarryM polish is the pink iridescent polish, the swatch reallly doesn't do it justice! It's beautiful!


The application of all of these polishes is great and they only cost £2.99 each! It's definitely worth trying a few out. :)


Thanks for reading,
Jess
xxx

My Top 5...Glitter Topcoats

Hi everyone,

I'm going to hopefully be starting a little series on this blog called 'My Top 5...', this is pretty selfexplanitory, I'm just going to do little posts about my top 5 products all from one brand, or of the same type of product e.g. top 5 eyeliners.

So here we go, I looove glittery nail varnish, especially glittery topcoats. I love anything that sparkles and I love the way a glittery top coat can completely transform a regular nail varnish into something extra special.

Oooh prettty :D

Here they are on my nails...

I know the pictures arn't that great so I've done some swatches on some good old paper :)

(From L-R, Claire's Accesories Slice of Shine, BarryM's Pink Iridescent, BarryM's Silver Glitter, Rimmel's Disco Ball, Opi's I Lily Love You)

Claire's Accesories Slice of Shine

This is a gorgeous chunky glitter topcoat it has hexoganol mint green and baby pink glitter and also some fine silver glitter. I think it's great that it has some fine glitter in too, it helps with getting better coverage.

BarryM's Pink Iridescent

This is so girly and beautiful! There is a hint of very pale pink in the actual nail varnish and then the glitter that's suspended in it shines all sorts of lovely colours. This polish provides pretty good coverage in a couple of coats and really looks amazing over so many everyday polishes.

BarryM's Silver Glitter

This polish is packed with glitter! It looks stunning on its own in just a couple of coats. The glitter in this is pretty fine and looks really cool over Collection 2000's 'Shimmy Shake' nail varnish.

Rimmel's Disco Ball

The silver and blue glitters in this polish are really pretty and the blue glitter really stands out. I love layering this over creamy dark purple polishes.

OPI's I Lily Love You

This is a mini, from the 'Nice Stems' collection, its a see-through hot pink base with irregular shaped holographic glitter. It's so pretty and is particularly pretty over OPI's Be A Dahlia Won't You.

Anyways,

Please let me know if you like ths type of post or if I should scrap the idea. :)

Thanks for reading,

Jess

xxx



May Favourites

Yay I'm on time with my May favourites! :D

Favourite Face Make Up Products

Bourjois 123 Perfect Foundation

I love this foundation, it's a great medium coverage, quite moisturising and has a lovely smooth consistency. 

Bourjois Bronzing Powder

I hadn't really bothered with bronzer much before I bought this, I got this in the lighter of the two shades and I love it! I use it for an all over sunkissed look and sometimes to contour. 

Favourite Eye Products

(L-R, BarryM Eyeshadow Pencil, Maybelline Colour Tattoo, Sleek's Gateau)

BarryM Eyeshadow Pencil in Gold Cream

I picked this up for highlighting my inner corner and I love it! It's a gorgeous colour and has a really smooth and creamy texture. I've also been using it to line my upper lash line when I've been wearing gold eyeshadow.

Maybelline Colour Tattoo in On and on Bronze

This has been my go to daytime eye look, it's really easy to apply and blend just using my ring finger. It's a really attractive subtle colour and would suit anyone. :)

Sleek Eyeshadow in Gateau

This is a shadow from the 'Oh So Special' palette, It's so beautiful! It's so shimmery and a lovely pinky gold colour. It's so smooth and blendable, I've really become a fan of Sleek shadows!

(Gateau in the pan)

Ecotools Angled Eyeliner Brush

I've really been loving this brush for filling in my brows this month. :)

Favourite Lip Products

(L-R L'oreal Caresse, Revlon Lip Butter, Urban Decay Lip Junkie)

L'oreal Caresse in Aphrodite Scarlet
I love this lip product! It's sooo moisturising, it has a lovely silky smooth texture, a yummy smell and gives a sheer but still quite vibrant wash of colour. Please do try out the L'oreal Caresse range, they are lovely!


Revlon Lip Butter in Berry Smoothie
For me this is probably the perfect berry colour and if you're thinking of picking up a lip butter I'd recommend giving this one a try. Here's the link for my full review, http://sugar-and-sparkle.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/product-review-revlon-lip-butter-in.html

Urban Decay Lip Junkie in Midnight Cowboy
I love Urban Decay and this product didn't disappoint. It smells so yummy and minty and gives a hint of shimmery colour and is pretty glossy. :) 


Favourite Hair Products

VO5 Give Me Moisture Shampoo and Conditioner
These products are lovely, they leave my hair feeling soft and more manageable and they're really cheap too! :D


Thanks for reading :)
Jess
xxx