May Glossybox 2012

I have been a huge fan of the whole beauty box concept from the beginning and have always been a loyal subscriber to Glossybox! So, I thought I would share my thoughts on the most recent, May box. 

This month, it was Glossybox's one year anniversary, so along with the 6 standard items, they also included a Happy Birthday Balloon and a Glossybox compact mirror which was a nice touch.

The box was its normal light pink colour, but with a different tissue paper covered in drawings of lipsticks, cupcakes and brushes which is really cute!

The items I got this month are;

Noble Isle Bath and Shower Gel in 'Cornish Hedgerows'. A rich scented gel, which I am yet to try, although for me it does smell like quite a masculine scent.

Two Perfume Samples from Lolita Lempicka. I really like both these perfumes, they are sweet and almost powdery, which is nice for summer.

Apivita Express Beauty Masks. I received two masks in the scent Orange. I have already used one of these and really liked it. It contains small orange beads which gently exfoliate the skin when applying the mask. The scent is gorgeous and it left my skin feeling soft and smooth.

Osmo Berber Oil Hair Treatment. I wasn't thrilled when I saw this in my box, as I have received so many hair oil products in previous box's so was not in any need for another. However I used this today after washing my hair, and it did leave the ends of my hair feeling less dry and softer than normal. Although, like I said, I would have preferred to get one of the other products available this month.

Eldora False Eyelashes. This was the item I was most excited about as I love false lashes, although I was not overly thrilled the ones I received, as I tend to go for a solid black lash and the pair I was sent have gold glitter running through them. Some people may love this, but for me, this is not something I am going to get much use of out.

Overall, I was happy with the contents of my box, but feel that I will not get any use out of one or two of the items, but, this is the risk you take with subscription boxes as you never know what items you will receive. I was dissapointed not to see a makeup product included in my box, as that is the main reason I am signed up to Glossybox, and was even more dissapointed to find out that some people received HD Brows products in their boxes this month, a brand which I love, but as always, you can't please everyone!

This is the first month I have been dissapointed with products sent to my by Glossybox, so I definitely will not be un-subscribing and I am excited to see what I will receive next month.

What do you think of beauty box subscription services? What did you think of this months Glossybox?

Dressing Table (Vanity) Set Up

I love reading blog posts about other peoples makeup set ups and storage, so I thought I would share my dressing table set up with you! 

Here's an overview of my set up

The dressing table itself is from Dunelm Mill ( I think this particular one has been discontinued but there is a few similar) and is made from white frosted glass. This makes it really easy to clean and allows me to not worry about getting makeup all over the top. Underneath, I keep a few of my larger palettes in a magazine rack, aswell as a carry case with I use to travel with my makeup, and a glass vanity case which I store my nail polish in. The stool is just a cheapy from Argos and was around £3, although I am looking at getting an acrylic chair which I feel would suit the table better.

On the right hand side of the dressing table I keep;

My face brushes, most of which go in the glass mosaic pot which is actually a candle holder. I then have my Real Techniques brushes and Bourjois and Smashbox Baby Buki kabuki brushes to the side. 

I then keep my Mac Fix+ and some Dr Bronner's Hand Sanitizer in Lavender. 

I also keep a couple of my most reached for perfumes; Marc Jacobs 'Daisy Eau So Fresh', Britney Spears 'Fantasy' and a sample I received from a Glossybox which I love.

There is also a heart ornament in the same glass mosaic style as the brush holder for decorative purposes!

On the left hand side I keep;

My eye and lip brushes, kept in the same mosaic holder as my face brushes.

I then have my Clinique Makeup Brush Cleanser, which I love and is great for spot cleaning brushes.

My eyeliners are kept next to this in a tall glass filled with heart shaped glass beads to keep them stood up. Next to this is my Soap and Glory Hand Food which I use a lot so it is handy to have there to grab. 

I then keep a small bag of sample perfumes I am yet to try and a Versace 'Vanitas' sample perfume I received from Glossybox. 

The rest of the things on this side are ornaments that I think look cute sitting on my dressing table. First is a Love sign, which I actually painted myself. It used to be red but I felt this didn't go with the colour scheme of my room, so I gave it a white wash and then printed on some newspaper detailing which I love.

I then have a empty perfume bottle, and two heart ornaments, one the same as the other side in a glass mosaic style, but in an ombre pink colour, and the other in a light pink shell like material. 

I then have three pink candles which were given to me as a gift across the middle of the table as I am yet to find a mirror which I think goes well with it. The candles are really cute and in the shape of flowers. In between these I have put heart shaped glass beads (the same as the beads that fill the eyeliner glass) as I am a sucker for detail!

In the drawers I keep some of my makeup, sorted into empty Glossybox's. For the rest of my makeup I am looking for a set of drawers which will go nicely next to my dressing table, but I am yet to find one I like!

Sorry for the long post, but I hope you enjoyed looking at my makeup/dressing table set up! How do you store your makeup?

May Favourites

For me, May has dragged a little bit and it seems forever ago that it was April, which is probably because I spent most of it rushing around finishing and handing in my last essays and pieces of coursework for this year of uni. May however, was a good month for products and I have really been loving what I have been using, so here's my May favourites :)

First up is ELF's cream eyeshadow in the shade 'Bronzed'. I'm a huge fan of a brown smokey eye, and this works amazingly well as a base for that. It is a gorgeous brown bronze with gold flecks, but isn't overly shimmery. This doesn't crease on my lids and a little goes a looong way. At only £3.50, I love this, and will definitely be trying out some different shades.

Next is No7's Stay Perfect Nail Colour in ' Damson Dream'. It is a lovely rich, deep maroon red shade. Now, this isn't your typical summer colour, and I actually got this around Christmas time last year, but I have been loving it for night time. You can pick this up at Boots for around £7. 

Here, I have paired it with Deborah Lippmann's 'Razzle Dazzle' on my ring finger. The two shades work perfectly together!

Mac's Fix+ is something I have always seemed to have sitting on my dressing table, but didn't often reach for, as I had originally bought it as a setting spray, and prefer my Urban Decay All Nighter. Recently I have been reaching for this a lot more, to actually use along side powder products. I have been using this a lot this month with my Mac MSF Natural, spraying a duo fibre brush before applying the product, I find this way it glides onto the skin and leaves a really flawless finish!

 Becca's Beach Tint in Watermelon is something I have spoken about before in my 'Everyday Makeup' post a few weeks ago, and I have still been using it every single day. It is a lovely my lips but better shade, and is great for this time of year, as I can apply it once in the morning and it will act as a stain on my lips throughout the day, without the sun melting it off.

Nars 'Deep Throat' blush is also something I have spoken about before and I have actually done a whole blog post dedicated to it. I love this blusher so much, it is a gorgeous colour with just the right amount of shimmer. This will definitely stay a favourite for a while!

I am always on the hunt for that perfect bronzer, something that isn't too shimmery, doesn't make you end up looking orange or muddy and suits my skin tone. This month, I have found myself reaching for Bourjois Chocolate Bronzing Powder in shade 52. I love the scent of this bronzer, and it gives a lovely warm glow to the skin. I think my next bronzer purchase will have to be Nars Laguna, as I have heard so many good things about it!

As for skin care, this month my skin has been playing up, and whether it be a product i'm using, or something I am eating, I have had a few break outs. With all this hot weather we have been having, the last thing I want is to have to wear lots of high coverage face products to cover my blemishes and have it melted down my face half way through the day. My solution to this has been the Clean and Clear range. I have been using the Exfoliating Daily Wash in the morning, followed by the Dual Action Moisturiser, both of which are targeted at combating redness and spots. This has been working really well for me, it's gentle enough not to irritate my skin, but has definitely helped with any blemished. 

 And thats it, my May favourites! Hope you enjoyed this post :) What have your favourites products been for the past month? X

NOTD: Mint Green

I have been loving all things pastel recently, from clothes, to makeup and my nails. Today I painted my nails with a mint green shade from ELF (eyeslipsface) called 'Mint Cream' and I absolutely love it!

Admittedly, these ELF nail polishes are not the longest lasting, but at £1.50 and with a gorgeous range of colours, that can be forgiven. With a descent top coat, this usually lasts me around three days.

This polish can be purchased from the eyeslipsface website. Have you been loving the pastel trend? 

The Bunny Ears Phone Case

The bunny ears phone case is something I have seen a lot in the blogger community, and since getting my very own little white bunny, I knew I had to get one!

Mr Buns!

I picked mine up on eBay for the bargain price of £2! It did take a while to get here, as it was shipped from Hong Kong, but it was so worth the wait!

The case comes in a few different colours, (I chose white to match Mr Buns!) and is made from a silicone material which protects the phone well. It comes with a detachable fluffy tail stand, which I probably wont be using as I can see it getting very dirty in my bag, but it is very 

quirky. I also have a mirror screen protector on my phone, which I love! I also purchased these on eBay for around £2.50 for 2 protectors. 

As first, I was worried that the ears would be too chunky in my bag or snap off, but they  actually allow me to find my phone a lot more easily and they just poke out of the pocket in I keep it in. It is well made and because of the silicone material, if the ears do bend, they wont snap. I love this phone case, its really cute and quirky!

Tag: Whats In My Bag!?

I love watching the whats in my bag tag on youtube and reading about what people keep in their bags on blogs, so I thought I would do the tag myself! I don't actually keep a lot of things in my bag, as a lot of the time it is full with University work but I do have a few essentials that I have to keep in there at all times! So, here's what I have in my bag at the moment!


I switch my bags up a lot, but the one I am using right now is from River Island. I picked this up last summer for £44.99 and it has been my staple over sized summery bag. It has an arm strap, as well as a detachable shoulder strap and is pretty large which suits my needs perfectly. The pattern is a floral print with rose and yellow flowers on a black background, which is great for the summer months. 

So here is the contents of my bag in a bit more detail;

 Firstly I have my phone, with my new cute bunny case (which I have done a another post about)


I then keep my purse in my bag. The purse I am using right now is from Primark and I believe was around £5. It is a rich brown colour and has the same strap detailing as the bag. 
In here, I have all my cards (debit card, boots card, driving license etc) and any cash and shop vouchers I have.


I then have my makeup bag, a small colourful bag with a bow and zip detailing on a tie die like pattern from Ted Baker. I got this last year in Boots for around £10 and although I don't think you can still find this exact one in Boots, there are similar versions.

In this makeup bag I keep a few of my essential makeup items which I use to touch up during the day. Firstly, I have Soap and Glory's 'Hand Food', which is my favourite hand cream ever. I love the Soap and Glory scent, and this leaves my hands feeling moisturised throughout the day.


I then have my daily foundation, Clinique's Superbalanced Makeup in the shade Beige Chiffon. I love this foundation, especially for summer, as it gives good coverage without feeling or looking heavy. (I have a seperate blog post on this foundation if you would like to read a bit more about it)


I have my Mac Studio Finish Concealer in NC30. I love this concealer, it covers any blemished or redness without looking cakey and stays on all day.


I also keep my blotting powder in there, Rimmel's Stay Matte Pressed Powder int he shade 001 Transparent. As I have oily skin, I like to carry powder round with me in case I need to mattify and touch up my skin a little during the day. I love this powder for this and it is a bargain £3.99!

Lastly, I have 3 lip products. The Figs and Rouge balm in Rambling Rose which I recieved in last months Glossybox, which I apply to my lips before doing my makeup in the morning and before I go to bed at night, as well as through the day when my lips are feeling a little dry.  I really love this lipbalm, it stays on well and is very moisturising. 
The second lip product I have is Mac's Angel lipstick which is a shade I love for everyday wear. It is a frost finish and a soft pink colour that gives a natural look to the lips. 
On top of this, I like to wear No7 Liplicious  Moisturising Balm Lipgloss in the shade 'Marshmallow', which in the tube looks pretty pink, but when applied to the lips comes out fairy clear with a nice glossy finish which looks lovely on top of Angel!


Like I said, I switch up both my bag and the contents of my bag ALOT, but these are my essentials at the moment :)


Hope you enjoyed looking inside my bag; Whats In your bag?!

NOTD: Sparkles

I love glitter polishes and wanted to try out having complete glitter nails, rather than my trade mark of having just one accent nail painted with glitter polish. Searching through my collection, I decided on a silver glitter as I am really into lighter colours on the nails for summer.

This is the look I came up with. I used two coats of Barry M's 'silver glitter', on top of a white base coat to make the sparkles really stand out! I love these nails, they are so sparkly and girly, great for a night out!


This polish is a limited addition, but is still available to buy on the Boots website for £3.99.


Here are some other gorgeous silver glitter polishes for different budgets you could use to achieve this look;


Miss Sporty - Transformers Sparkle Touch £1.99
Models Own- Glitter Juicy Jules £5.00
Essie - Set In Stones £12.99

Product Rave: Blush Professional 88 Eyeshadow Palette

When it comes to makeup, I love mixing up my products and trying new things out. As I have mentioned before, in the case of eye shadows I usually go for something pretty neutral that flatters my skin tone and eye colour, so for me, a neutral eyeshadow palette with a range of colours is perfect. Que the Blush Professional 88 Colour Earth Tones Eyeshadow Palette (..And Breath).

I had heard a lot of hype over the Coastal Scents 88 palette, so when browsing Amazon to pick one up, I came across this. The palette features 88 neutral, earth toned colours, with a mixture of both matte and shimmer finishes. This retails for half the price of the Coastal Scents palette, so to be honest, I wasn't expecting much, but I actually love it. I love that it not only includes your usually skin tone and brown shades, but also some maroon, orange, green, taupe and blue toned eye shadows, as well as a black. 

The eye shadows are surprisingly pigmented for the price you pay and the palette is very light weight and would be easy to travel with. It also includes a big mirror and two sponge applicators which makes this palette all you would need for a trip. 


                                                                                                   A look I created using the palette
















This palette has become my 'go to' and retails at £9.99 on Amazon, so if you are looking for a more affordable dupe to the Coastal Scents palette, this is definitely worth getting!


 http://www.amazon.co.uk/Blush-Professional-Colour-Eyeshadow-Palette/dp/B0042ADFSI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1337267771&sr=8-1

NOTD: Royal Blue

I have really been trying to stay out of my comfort zone when it comes to my nails. I almost always go for a coral or pink nail, so I thought id carry on the blue theme from my previous post, but jazz it up a little!


The royal blue colour is from No.7 and is called 'Sing the Blues', I actually really like this colour and how boldy it stands out. (It is also very shiney, even without a top coat!) On my ring finger I used China Glaze 'Lorlei's Tiara' a gorgeous silver glitter with blue flecks.

Feather Accessories

Feather accessories have been a trend for a little while now but something I had never really gotten into. With the whole pastel trend (which I loooove) going on, I have noticed shops bringing in a lot of pretty shades of feathers in different accessories which I knew I had to get my hands on. 


I went into Topshop and picked up these really cute feather hair clips in the sale for a bargain £3.50! They are pale pink feathers, on a gold chain, mixed with a few gold feathers and beads. You can clip them where ever you like in your hair, but I like to put them just behind my eyes so they hang down like ear rings. They add a touch of girlyness to any outfit and are the perfect accessory for the festival season!

I then went into Newlook and spotted this necklace for around £6.99. It is a long gold chain, with light plum coloured feathers on the end, along with some bad detail. I wore this on a night out with a white chiffon blouse and loved the result. It added a touch of colour to my outfit and really finished the whole thing off nicely. 

I will definitely be on the hunt for more feather accessories, I have fallen in love with the pretty colours and how they add an extra bit of girlyness to an outfit! Have you purchased any feather items recently? x

Clinique Superbalanced Makeup

Just over a month ago, I decided it was time to switch up my foundations. I had been using Revlon Colourstay for a while and had been slowly falling out of love with it. I felt the coverage was too heavy and it didn't last on my skin as well as it had in previous months. I tried out a few samples of foundations and came across Clinique Superbalanced Makeup which I instantly fell in love with and ended up purchasing. I have been using it for a few weeks now and I still really love it. 

I have combination skin, my T zone tends to get quite oily while my eye lids and cheeks get quite dry which can cause problems when looking for a foundation. This foundation combats both those problems, it absorbs oil where needed whilst also providing moisture. 


What I love most about this foundation is the coverage. It provides medium coverage and covers any blemishes or redness, whilst leaving the skin looking flawlessly natural. WIN! I apply this foundation with my Real Techniques Stippling Brush and love the finish it gives.

I am in the colour 36 Beige Chiffon (which looks a little orangey in the photos, but I promise that is just my lighting!) This foundation is also water resistant, which makes it perfect if you are somebody who still likes to wear a bit of makeup when exercising or at the pool. 

                                                        Swatched Straight from bottle

                                                                        Blended


This will definitely be one of my staple items in my makeup bag this summer. What foundations do you love for summer? x

Current Faves: Eyeshadow Combo

 When doing my eyeshadow, I almost always stick with neutral colours as I find this is what suits me best. I love a brown smokey eye and I find it really makes my blues pop. My favourite combo at the moment are two eyeshadows from Mac- 'Cork' and 'Woodwinked'. 

Cork is a matte rosey brown colour, that reminds me a lot of harmony blush, though is prehaps on the darker side and little less rosey. Woodwinked is a brown with lots of gold shimmer, which is gorgeous for nights out.

Left- 'Cork'      Right- 'Woodwinked'

For day time, I have been putting a neutral colour all over my lid, then a touch of cork blended through my crease. For night, I do the same, but add woodwinked over the center to the outer corner of my eye to glam it up. I think these colours work so nicely together and really compliment each other.

Left- Cork      Right- Woodwinked

A (not so great) photo of my classic brown smokey eye using these colours, as well as a highlight in the tear duct. (Ignore the shadow from my phone making me look like I have glitter highlight down my face and a solid line above my lashes!)

NOTD: Blue Bows

I have very orangey undertones to my skin, so usually when painting my nails I go for warmer colours such as pinks and corals, but today I fancied a change, so wanted to experiment with some cooler tones. 

 To create these 'bow' nails, I used a blue (doesn't have a name on the bottle, but you can use any blue) colour from the 'Glo Baby Glo!' range at Primark. I then painted on the bow onto my ring finger, using a 2True french manicure white and added a dot of China Glaze 'Lorelei's Tiara' in the center to add a 'gem' like effect. I then used my Sally Hansen- Insta dri as a top coat.

After I took these photo's, I also added a bow onto my thumb! I think its a really cute way to glam up blue nails and I think the colours work perfectly together. I am now on the hunt for the perfect aqua blue nail polish, any suggestions, please let me know! x

Product Rave: L'Oreal Rouge Caresse Lipsticks

I have heard a lot about the L'Oreal Rouge Caresse lipsticks, so when I was in boots the other day I decided to pick up a couple as they were having a 2 for £14 offer. (rrp. £7.99 each) The colours I picked up are 01 Fashionista Pink and 03 Lovely Rose.

                                             Left- 03 Lovely Rose  Right- 01 Fashionista Pink

Firstly, I love the packaging of these lipsticks. They have a high end look and feel for an affordable price! The lipsticks themselves are lovely too, quite sheer but buildable and definitely add a nice colour to the lips. Fashionista Pink is a pale Barbie pink, that come out very sheer on the lips, which would be nice if you are looking for a quick sweep of glossy colour. Lovely Rose is in the same colour family but darker, again fairly sheer, but provides more colour than Fashionista Pink. The formula is nice, they feel very moisturising and I think would be great for both day time and a night out (unless you want a bold lip, in which case I wouldn;t go for these). Overall I am very impressed, I think these are perfect for summer and I have my eye on a few of the other colours!

                       
                                               Left- 03 Lovely Rose  Right- 01 Fashionista Pink