Friday, 30 August 2013
Wednesday, 28 August 2013
Empties #11
Here we are again with another set of 5 items I've used up recently. It feels so strange not to be going back to some sort of education this year... Not sure how I feel about it! I've given up looking for a graduate job in the meantime, trying to find one when you don't have first class honours just feels like a waste of time...
Neal's Yard Remedies Wild Rose Beauty Balm
Thoughts: I really liked this cleanser! I mentioned it in more depth in this post about my night time skincare routine. Basically it just feels amazing and I would buy it again! It's £37 though so I am going to try a different one now, I'm thinking the Antipodes Grapeseed Butter one! £37/50g here.
Cruelty-free?: Yes.
Repurchase?: Yes.
Herve Leger Femme Perfume
Thoughts: I got this from Avon years ago. It does smell really nice but obviously Avon are not cruelty free, I'm sure it was limited edition anyway. I've also got the summer version which I am using at the moment.
Cruelty-free?: No.
Repurchase?: No.
The Body Shop Mango Shower Gel
Thoughts: I took this travelling with me as it was a good size for hand luggage. It smelled good, I would buy the bigger version. £2/60ml here.
Cruelty-free?: Yes.
Repurchase?: Yes.
O.P.I Nail Lacquer in Fiercely Fiona
Thoughts: I got this in the Shrek Forever After collection. I liked the colour, it's a nice semi-pastel yellow which you can see swatched here. It ended up getting really gloopy and the brush wasn't long enough so in the end I had to pour it onto a piece of card so I could paint my nails with it!
Cruelty-free?: No.
Repurchase?: No.
<3
Monday, 26 August 2013
NOTD: Speckles!
This week I took another break from my Nail Varnish Challenge and tried out this little Illamasqua number I've had lying around for months! I think I got this back in May when they did one of their amazing promotions. I ended up getting it for just under £6!!! In general I think Illamasqua are a little bit overpriced but they certainly make up for it by doing 50% off promotions and having really good sales!
I'm so pleased I got this. I don't really like any of the other colours from the I'mPerfection collection, but this one is lovely. I've used 2 coats and got an opaque finish. I was worried the sequinny bits might be hard to spread evenly but they weren't too bad. I have a couple of more 'bald' areas (see ring finger) but I guess that's part of the charm as well!
I've just had a look on Illamasqua's website and this shade has been discontinued!! :(
<3
Sunday, 25 August 2013
Friday, 23 August 2013
Thoughts on Superdrug + Mini Haul
So ages ago I wrote this post about why I avoid Superdrug... Incase you've not read it and can't be bothered, it's basically about how Superdrug give money to Cancer Research UK, who test on animals. I know that animal testing for medical reasons is a whole different kettle of fish but I just think that it's a bit sneaky of them since a lot of vegans can shop there quite happily now, without realising they're contributing to this. I know generally this won't bother most people but being cruelty free, I wasn't too pleased about it! Since finding this out I have tried to avoid Superdrug but I haven't boycotted them completely.
However, since discovering that Boots own brands aren't cruelty free I've struggled to find the cosmetic basics such as nail varnish remover, hair removal, hair dye etc. So I've decided to go back to Superdrug for the time being and make use of their BUAV Approved own brands. Obviously I'm still not loving the whole donating to charity part but never mind.
Another reason is my deodorant dilemma! Trying to find a cruelty free anti-perspirant that actually works is a bloody nightmare. There are so many deodorants out there but they don't actually keep you dry, just make you smell nice instead... I don't particularly want to go back to high street ones but if I need to I will. I'm hoping that Superdrug can help me out with this! I just wish they did stick deos though, those are my favourite!
~
On my most recent trip to Superdrug I bought a big can of deodorant for 99p - super cheap compared to Sure and the likes; some hair removal cream (£1.99) and some cheap wee body sprays (2 for 99p). I'm sure you'll see all of these in my Empties posts at some point in the future, but if you would like me to review one or more in particular then just let me know!
<3
Wednesday, 21 August 2013
Monday, 19 August 2013
Nail Varnish Challenge #17
Here we go again! I'm actually nearly finished the Nail Varnish Challenge, yayy! This is a nail varnish that I've had floating around my collection for a very long time now, but I don't think I've ever actually used it.
It doesn't even seem to have a shade on the bottle, and the brand is Babes... erm?! Is it from Claire's? Anyway, it's a sort of smokey grey colour with some silver shimmer through it. It is quite pretty but I don't see myself reaching for it again anytime soon so it's going in the out pile.
<3
Friday, 16 August 2013
Easy Updo Tutorial: High Ponytail
I have been meaning to do this for ages but I've just not had the motivation for doing hair at all recently - college kind of put me off haha, but here we go finally! It is the precursor to this post here where I did a casual bun but skipped over the first part where I said put the hair into a high ponytail.
This is a method my hairstylist auntie showed me which is good for holding thick hair up in a ponytail when the weight of it can make it droop. It would also be good for thin hair too though I think as it would give it extra support - just use finer bobbles if you have thin hair. I haven't tried this on myself (I'm useless with my own hair anyway!) so I can't say how easy it would be so if you are wanting to wear this yourself you might want to get a friend to give you a hand!
- Brush the hair and decide where you want the ponytail to sit. Overestimate the height slightly as it can usually end up being a bit lower than where you originally planned it to be.
- Using a rat tail comb, place the point where you want the ponytail to be and run it from the centre out to the top of the ear and section that bit off, and do the same for the other side. Now you should have a top and bottom section.
- Ignore the top half and just work with the bottom section. Using your brush, get all the bumps out from the hair underneath, brushing up the way towards the top section. You can spray the brush with hairspray and smooth the hair to hep hold it in place and get rid of flyaways - I forgot...
- Using a thinner bobble if possible, secure this bottom ponytail as close to the top section as you can.
- Next let down the top section and brush it. Then smooth it all back holding it tight and using the bobble you've already got in as a guide. Hold it in position over the first bobble and brush it all into place, you can use the hairspray technique again to give a smooth finish.
- Finally place a bobble over the whole bundle of hair, including the bobble you put in first.
Holding the hair up, you can see how it looks from underneath - this is why a thinner bobble is preferable for the first one. However from the top it just looks like a normal ponytail! Anyway I hope this helps, if you try this on yourself please let me know whether it's successful or not, I'm sure it could be adapted...
<3
Wednesday, 14 August 2013
Monday, 12 August 2013
Holiday OOTDs
If you follow me on Twitter (@LooweezBx) you will probably know that I've been at Lake Como in Italy for a week. While away I decided to take some photos of my outfits so I could compile a post of what I wore when I got back. The lighting in all the photos is terrible! My room was horrendous and it didn't actual have a window to the outside - it faced into the atrium, so I never had any natural light in my room... Fortunately food in the hotel was really good! The only plus part about my room was that I was on the first floor above the free wifi area so I would be able to get wifi in my room 90% of the time, yayy!!
The gold band on my wrist is because we were all inclusive which was pretty good for having drinks. It was so annoying having to wear it all week but fortunately I have weird hands so I could slip it off every night before bed. Onto the photos: we arrived on Saturday lunchtime so the first photo is what I wore after getting changed when we got there.
Saturday
After having lunch we got settled in and then went for a wander around the small town of Cadenabbia.
Evening: Dress - Therapy
Sunday
We had a meeting with our rep at 9.15am to talk us through all the trips, things to do in the area, and all the ferries and boats that are available. After lunch we went into the next town of Tremezzo to the Villa Carlotta which is a big house with botanical gardens.
Day: Top - H&M; Shorts - Zara sale
Evening: Jumpsuit - New Look
Monday
On Monday we had our only excursion so it was a 6.30am start - awful! The trip was to St Moritz in Switzerland which is only a few hours away. On the way we used a mountain railway which showed off all the amazing views and even a glacier at the top of the mountain. St Moritz was lovely, very expensive! I only went into one shop - the chocolatier! It was amazing, they had big slabs of chocolate with various different things added and you would buy a piece by weight. I got white chocolate with raspberries and blackberries, it was so good!
Day: Top - F21; Skirt - Zara sale
Evening: Top - F21; Skirt - H&M
Tuesday
We had a relaxing day starting off at the Lido (outdoor pool) for some sunbathing and then a wee swim in the lake. After lunch we took the free boat provided by the hotel to the town across from us, Bellagio.
Day: Top - Vero Moda; Shorts - Primark
Evening: Dress - H&M
Wednesday
There was central lake ticket for the ferries which was 15€ and allowed you unlimited access for a whole day so we visited as many towns as we could! We went from Bellagio to Verenna, to Menaggio then to Lenno, and finally back home. After dinner we went back over to Bellagio for drinks to take advantage of our all day tickets!
Day: Top - New Look; Shorts - Matalan
Evening: Top - New Look; Trousers - Primark
Shoes: Wedges - New Look
Nail Varnish: Hedonist - Models Own
Thursday
We got the bus down to the big town (city?!) of Como, I didn't really like the look of it as we drove through but the city centre was quite nice and had lots of expensive shops - further out it looked a bit run down. It started pouring and then turned into a thunderstorm so we took refuge in a cafe until the rain went off! Then we took the funicular up the hillside and found this strange little town up there, we were expecting a viewing platform and a cafe haha!
Day: Top - F21; Shorts - Primark
Evening: Dress - Therapy
Friday
We just had another sort of relaxing day. Spent the morning at the Lido but it was quite cloudy, then got the free boat over to Bellagio to look round the gardens at Villa Meltzi. We got back by about 5ish so went back to the Lido for another couple of hours to enjoy the last of the sun before we had to leave the next morning!
Day: Top - New Look; Shorts - Zara sale
Evening: I forgot a photo! I wore the blouse in second photo with the aztec shorts from this post.
<3
Friday, 9 August 2013
Forever 21 Sports Bra
Check me out doing another 'fashion' post?! Anyway, I bought these two 'sports' bras from Forever 21 on the recommendation of my friend who said they were really comfy. I've somehow misplaced my old sports bra so the next time I was in I decided to pick up a couple. They come in such great colours, and some have a lace trim (see nude one). They are an absolute bargain at £3.90!
I've found there are a couple of ways to wear them, the first is just as a normal bra. It's got some slight padding and is not underwired so it is really comfy! As you would imagine it doesn't give a huge amount of support, but for days when you're just lazing about but still want a bra of some sort this is perfect. I also wore it to yoga and it was fine.
The next way is using it as extra support when doing gentle. I wear it on top of my normal bra if I'm going to an exercise class like Boxercise which involves more running or jumping about! It just gives that little bit extra support I need but it's not as effective as the other ones which are made specifically for that purpose - F21 do actually do some more expensive ones but for the exercise I do I find this is enough. You can then put a top over it or just wear it as a crop top.
The downside is that they only come in one size which is a bit ridiculous, come on Forever 21, as if all woman are the same size?! As reference I am 30D bra size and dress size 8 but I think even if you're more of a 12 you could try this as they do stretch, but again, it really depends on your boobs so worth trying on first. I've managed to get them over some of my really padded bras haha!
<3
Wednesday, 7 August 2013
Paperbacks & Beauty Facts: My Blogging Story
Here is a short video about how I got started blogging!
<3
Monday, 5 August 2013
The Lipstick Tag
I was tagged by Hayley! I tag anyone reading this to do it, if you already have feel free to leave your link below in a comment :)
How many lipsticks do you own?
17 including stains and lip tars.
What was your first ever lipstick?
The first lipstick I can remember was a 17 one I got for Christmas, it was a sort of browny colour and I only wore it once. To school. Why, Louise?? It really wasn't pretty!
What is your most worn lipstick?
Ahh that is really difficult actually! I think Topshop Infrared, I love orange lips!
What is your favourite brand?
Probably Topshop but I only have 2 of theirs. MUA are good too especially for the price.
What is your favourite finish?
A sort of creamy finish probably, not too matte as my lips get very dry but not too glossy.
What was the last lip product you bought?
I honestly can't even remember! I've not bought one in ages, Topshop Inhibition maybe?
How many glosses and balms do you currently have in your handbag?
I just have one lip balm, I rarely carry make up with me!
What lipstick do you wear to rock a red lip?
Lime Crime Red Velvet, uch so pretty! See this post for swatches!
How do you store your lipsticks?
I store them in a jewellery box on the windowsill in my bathroom. I did a lipstick storage and collection post which you can see here.
What lip products are you constantly lusting after?
I really want to try some of Lime Crimes lipsticks, they have some great colours.
<3
Friday, 2 August 2013
Paperbacks & Beauty Facts: OOTD 2
Here is our second Outfit Of The Day video! I used my graduation for mine :)
<3
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