Soap & Glory Glow Job

Ages ago I did a comparison post between Origins VitaZing and Soap & Glory Glow Job which you can see here (also click that link to see it on my face).  However VitaZing lasted me such a long time (until the end of March I think, it was in this empties post) that I didn't start using Glow Job properly until recently so I thought I'd write a wee review on it now that I've been using it for a while.

Stealing the photo from my last post ha, sneaky!!

Daily, I don't wear foundation, I am lucky enough to have reasonably clear skin but I do like to have a base of some sort so I don't look like a ghost.  VitaZing was the perfect product for me but since finding out they are not cruelty free I am unable to repurchase it!  I thought that Glow Job would be a good dupe as it's a similar idea - comes out the tube as a normal cream but then changes colours as you rub it in.

However, I am not enjoying using Glow Job.  The way it works is that in the moisturiser there are little beads of bronzer which burst to add colour, however they aren't even distributed and are quite difficult to burst actually!  Some mornings I will use it and get 6 beads, sometimes less and sometimes even none!  Also if you don't give them a good squeeze between your fingers then you'll end up with big orangey streaks across your face - not the best look.  It also has a slightly greasy finish, definitely not the worst but I have combination skin so I would rather it was a bit more matte.

It also doesn't contain any SPF which I don't like, I prefer to have even just a 10 or 15 SPF in my everyday make up.

I will finish using this tube but I wouldn't repurchase.  So the hunt continues!  I am looking into tinted moisturisers now but haven't really got my eye on any yet.  Someone did recommend Stila to me but I had a look on their website and couldn't see one, hmm??

Soap & Glory Glow Job is available in Boots for £9/75ml.

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Paperbacks & Beauty Facts - Currently Reading

Watching the video to find out my thoughts so far on The Host by Stephanie Meyer!

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Nail Varnish Challenge #8

... And #9!  I've created this french manicure style using two Nails Inc nail varnishes, Little Venice and Festival Pier (L-R).  Little Venice is a bit streaky but it turned out okay on some fingers.  Festival Pier looks much more neon in the photos than it is in person!  It does have a slight neon-ness to it which shows up in the photos a lot.  I do love this colour but as I remember from wearing it previously, it chips very quickly, even for me!  I applied this on Saturday night and by Sunday morning it was chipped...  I think I will keep Festival Pier but get rid of Little Venice cos it seems quite similar* to Topshop Milkshake which I prefer.

*Milkshake is more pink and Little Venice is more peachy/nude but I don't often wear those sort of colours so one is enough!  You can see Milkshake here for comparison.

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Paperbacks & Beauty Facts: Current Beauty Favourites

Here is my third video for Paperbacks & Beauty Facts!  Our topic this week was Current Beauty Favourites and mine included:

Neal's Yard Remedies Wild Rose Beauty Balm

No7 Radiance Serum

Nars Trio with Orgasm, Laguna and Albatross

Watch the video to find out why I'm loving these items!  If you enjoy please rate, comment and subscribe, thank you!

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Cruelty Free Online Shopping Guide

Over the past year or so I have come across a few great websites which specialise in stocking only cruelty free products.  It allows you to browse in confidence and come across new brands or ones you might not have heard of before.  I thought I would make this list to display them all in the one place, and I'll also link in the Cruelty Free Brands page above, so you know where to find it if you're looking for it again.

CutECOsmetics is probably my favourite website from the list, it's so beautifully displayed and easy to use.  I've also worked with them a couple of times and they are lovely!  You can also specify if you only want to view vegan products or organic products which is great.  Some brands they sell are Butter London, Amie, Inika, Lily Lolo, Neve Cosmetics and OCC.

The next website is Cocktail Cosmetics, personally I haven't bought anything from them but they do stock loads of brands like Yaby, Sugarpill, Lime Crime, Sigma and NYX.  I remember this website from before they had a makeover and it said that all the brands were PETA certified which I don't actually trust alone, so if you're like me or not sure about any of them then maybe just contact the brand directly first.  I'm not sure whether that is still how they work but just to let you know!

Next up is Amarya which is a natural and organic (mostly skincare) beauty site, and I tweeted them yesterday to ask about cruelty free products and they said that is their main concern and all brands are cruelty free.  I haven't bought anything from them yet but I am going to buy a Dr Hauschka deodorant today - ooooh exciting!!  They stock brands like Balance Me, Antipodes, Lavera, Weleda and Neom; and they also offer a beauty box which is pretty cool!  EDIT: Now called LoveLula.

Ruffle No Feathers is the most recent of these websites, it only launched a few weeks ago!  They only stock brands which are BUAV Approved which is fantastic - no need for double checking!  Some of the brands included are Bulldog, SpaRitual, Buddha Beauty and BM Beauty.  They also do Astonish who sell cruelty free household cleaning products like dishwasher tablets, washing up liquid, various cleaning sprays...

Naturisimo is one I forgot about, and I have actually used it to buy Organic Surge shampoo and conditioner!  They are quite similar to Amarya but have some different brands, however be careful as   I know they sell Caudalie who aren't cruelty free.  Some of the brands Naturisimo stock are Pai, Bodhi, Bellepierre, Green People and Tisserand.

~

So these are the websites I know of so far, if you know of any others I should check out then let me know.  I will update this post if and when I come across others!

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Illamasqua Nail Varnish 'Haul' with Swatches

So remember I said I wasn't going to buy any more nail varnishes until I completed my nail varnish challenge?  Well, I lied.  It was an offer I couldn't resist!!

 

In case you hadn't noticed, over the Easter Weekend, Illamasqua carried out an 'Easter Hunt' game on their website where each day certain colours would be up to 50% off.  I really wanted them to do blushers but unfortunately they only did eyeshadows, nail varnish, pure pigments and lipsticks.  I took advantage of the nail varnish and pigment offers getting Hemlock (shown above) and Beguile.  I also really wanted (full price of course!) Pink Raindrops so I stuck that in the basket too!  Luckily I get student discount so I didn't pay full price for any items and paid just over £25 for the 3 bits - with free delivery.

I've never tried nail varnishes from Illamasqua before so I wasn't sure what they would be like.  I still haven't tried them on my nails yet but below are swatches of them both on a nail wheel.  I was a bit disappointed by Pink Raindrops to be honest, but maybe the sparkles will come to life with a top coat.  Hemlock is really pretty but obviously very sheer - I used two coats for each colour.  After first use I decided I hate the packaging!!  When I tighten up the square lids, they don't sit on straight and it makes me irrationally angry!  I love the Butter London packaging cos the lid comes off and there's a separate one underneath so the square lid always sits neatly - I think Illamasqua should consider that idea!

Just for fun I picked out a few colours I thought might look good with Hemlock on top, and I also put it over some of the ones which were already on the wheel so have a look below for those:

Nail Varnishes used in the first post were:

Nails Inc - The Southbank
Topshop - Hidden Treasure
Barry M - Silvery Lilac
Ciate - Skinny Jeans
Nails Inc - Haymarket

The other colours are from the neon Clubworks set I got for christmas.

I think it looks nice over the Ciate one, and the greens, orange and pink neon colours!  It adds an extra depth to the colour.

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Paperbacks & Beauty Facts: OOTD

The second video for Paperbacks & Beauty Facts is an outfit of the day!  Subscribe to keep up to date with the other girls'.

Dress - Primark

Jacket - Primark

Shoes - Flossy

Foundation - Illamasqua Skin Base in Shade 2 & Bourjois Healthy Mix in 51

Eyebrows - Liz Earle Brow Pencil in Dark [review]

Eyes - Urban Decay e/s in Grifter (lid), Last Call (crease), Sin (brow highlight) and Polyester Bride (inner corners); and Nars Kuala Lumpur II (crease).

Blusher - Illamasqua Kiss

Lipstick - Avon Golden Wine (not CF)

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Empties #8

Here are my next lot of empties!  The Easter holidays are nearly coming to an end, I'm so sad, loving being off - although I've spent about 80% of the time studying for my last uni exam.  It will be pretty stressful when I'm back at college as we've so much to do, and doing the Graded Unit in our own time, then also I am trying to study for uni most days too :(  I actually can't wait for the summer and it all to be over!!!

Lush Breath of Fresh Air Toner Water

Thoughts:  Toner is my favourite skincare item and this one is no exception, it feels so clean and refreshing on my skin.  I use it after cleansing and also sometimes I will just use it alone in the morning or if I feel like I need it.  £3.95/100g here.  

Cruelty-free?: Yes.

Repurchase?: Yes.

The Body Shop Mango Body Scrub

Thoughts:  You can see my full review of this here.  I loved the smell but unfortunately it was just so oily, and I think was getting in my hair too, which was making it look really greasy :(  I got this for about £8 which was lucky.  £12.50 here.  

Cruelty-free?: Yes.

Repurchase?: No, I might do some research and try a different scent.

Lush Dorothy Bubble Bar 

Thoughts:  Dorothy is my favourite bubble bar!  I think I still have at least another one upstairs waiting to be used.  They are very cute to look at - blue with a rainbow on top - and I can get 2 baths out of one.  £2.99 here.  

Cruelty-free?: Yes.

Repurchase?: Yes.

Origins VitaZing Moisturiser SPF 15

Thoughts:  I loved this product!  I often don't wear foundation because in general my skin is pretty good but I just need a bit of something to make me look less like a ghost.  VitaZing is a moisturiser with a slight pigment which gives a nice healthy glow.  I'm so annoyed that Origins aren't cruelty free :(

Cruelty-free?: No.

Repurchase?: No.

Mac Penultimate Eyeliner in Rapidblack 

Thoughts:  Felt tip liners are my favourite, along with gels.  This one was quite good to begin with as far as I can remember but I found the tip to be a little bit short.  

Cruelty-free?: No.

Repurchase?: No.

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Nail Varnish Challenge #7

I haven't painted my nails in so long - well I mean since last month which is a long time for me!  This nail varnish is  by Barry M.  It's a dark navy with a subtle metallic shimmer through it.  I have actually only used one coat for this which is pretty impressive!  Generally I don't love dark shades as even though I don't think I'm all that messy at painting my nails, they always look messier than lighter shades!

However, I have decided to keep this one as I don't have anything similar and I think it's a good colour to have in my collection!  Also it's a good toenail colour, I think!

Hayley has joined me in doing a Nail Varnish Challenge so if you like these posts then you should check out her blog to see what she's got in store!

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My Wee Etsy Shop!

I seem to be starting a lot of new projects recently instead of studying but never mind!  I'd like to share my Etsy shop with you that I made the other day.  It all started when we cleared out the loft and ended up having to organise loads of my gran's jewellery, some we kept, some are going to auction, and some we didn't really know what to do with.  She had such a big collection of costume jewellery which isn't particularly valuable but the brooches really quite pretty, so I decided to hold onto them along with some other earrings and necklaces.  They are lovely but unfortunately they're just not my style and I'd want someone to get joy out of wearing them.

I took about 20 of the brooches to a local antique shop where he offered me an absolute pitance for the lot, disgusted, I left and wondered what would be the best way to sell them.  I was thinking eBay but it's not the best place for selling things like this, then I suddenly remembered about Etsy and wondered if you could sell vintage items on there, and hey ho, you can!  I opened up my account and created a shop - which is so easy by the way!  I only put 11 items to begin with so not to overwhelm it and to gauge the reaction, and 5 sold within the first hour which is great!  I will probably put another few up next week, I might even introduce some of the other items such as clip-on earrings.

If you are into vintage jewellery or know someone who is then please check it out and pass it on :)

[Link]

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Paperbacks & Beauty Facts: Week#1 Introduce Yourself

Okay so here is my first video for Paperbacks & Beauty Facts!  I say 'umm' and sniff a lot so sorry about that haha I will hopefully get better with time!!  I'd love it if you checked it out, as well as the other 2 videos which are up at the moment, and subscribe if you want to see more :)

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Paperbacks & Beauty Facts

Some of my more vigilant (constant vigilance!) readers may have noticed the new button which appeared in my sidebar recently.  Hayley from WaterPaintedDreams decided to start a collab youtube channel and invited myself and a few others bloggers to join in.  We have started this week and the first videos are just to introduce ourselves.

We are all assigned a day which we stick to; mine is Wednesday so my introduction video will be up then, and I'll post it on here too.  Today Hayley started off seeing as it was her idea, so it would be great if you could go and check out her [video] and possibly [subscribe] too if you want to see more!

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