NOTD - And Happy New Year!!

When I went to visit my grandma on Sunday she gave me some Nails Inc nail polishes. Shes always shopping on QVC and she'd ordered a Nails Inc set, most of the colours she'll never use!! So she gave four of the polishes to me, including this purple shade, Portman Place. I love it!! I used Nails Inc Kensington Caviar topcoat which I already had, to make my nails super shiny. (Sorry the picture is so dull, I had to take it without the flash as it made the photo look awful, you know that white glary kind of look!)

Before we left my grandmas on Monday I painted her nails for her. Shes registered blind so she cant see to do them herself.  Even though she is almost blind and lives alone, she always looks so lovely when we go to see her - make-up done, nice clothes and jewellery. I think I know where I get my love of cosmetics from, I think her collection of goodeis is bigger than mine!! She always says if she could see she would love to go on the internet... its such a shame she has sight problems as I would love her to be able to read my blog, I know she would love it!! I'll have to try and get a picture of her next time I see her to post on here :)

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This will be my last post of 2009!! I hope you all have a brilliant new year whatever you're doing. Nathan and I are going for a chinese meal at a lovely local resturant, I cant wait. Thank you to all my lovely followers for making my blogging experience in 2009 so great with all your lovely comments :)

 Happy New Year, see you in 2010!!

xxxx

Review : Lush "Big" Shampoo

After reading Amy's review of Lush's "Big" shampoo (click here to read it), I had to try it myself. I asked for a sample of it to start with too, as I didnt want to spend £9.60 on a big pot in case I didnt like it, or I didnt think it was right for my hair type. I went into Lush on Monday, and they gave me a generously sized sample pot of the stuff.

Heres what the Lush website says about the shampoo - "Sea salt shampoo for shine, softness and volume. Big is 50% salt. It looks like semolina and smells like a margarita with lemon, lime and salt, with a handful of vanilla and iris thrown in. Whenever you use it, you'll rush up to strangers, inviting them to feel your lovely soft hair. How does it work? It has a softening seaweed infusion, as well as sea salt and coconut oil."

So yes it really is made from 50% salt, and you can definitely tell, as the texture of it feels more like a body scrub than a shampoo!! I wasnt too sure about the smell of it when I first smelt it in the pot, I wouldnt say its an unpleasant smell, but I didnt particularly warm to it. It reminded me a bit of washing powder, and it was quite a strong smell. So anyway, I got in the shower last night, and tested it out....

I used about the same amount in my hand that I would with any other shampoos, and surprisingly enough it did lather up pretty well!! I washed my hair once with Big and then followed with my usual L'Oreal Elvive conditioner. After I'd got out of the shower and I combed through my hair, the first thing I noticed was how easy the comb was going through - normally it can be slightly tangly. I then blow dried my hair (I have to blow dry otherwise my hair is just a frizzy mess!!) and I could feel how soft my hair felt as it was drying. As Amy mentioned in her review, I also think this product would be fab as a clarifying shampoo. My hair not only felt soft, volumised and looked shiny - it also felt really really clean. And the smell I wasnt so sure about before was a lot less obvious on my hair, leaving it smelling fresh and clean.

I'm not sure whether this is a shampoo I would use everytime I wash my hair, but thats only because I have found in the past that clarifying/volumising shampoos can sometimes be slightly drying, and as I bleach my hair I do need to be careful. I still have two or three washes worth left of "Big" in my tester pot though, so will keep using it and see how it goes. Overall I was very impressed with this shampoo, as it does it everything it says on the tin!! :)

Has anyone else used this shampoo, and if so, what do you think of it?

xxx

Product Rave: Palmolive Ultra Moisturising Liquid Handwash

I know a basic liquid handwash is a bit of a strange thing to rave about, but I really do love this product, and I wanted to share this love with you all!!

I first came across this handwash at work - we have it in our staff room/kitchen area at the moment. The main reason I like this product is the smell. Its absolutley gorgeous!! I like it that much that I wish there was a perfume that smelt like it... (maybe there is and I am yet to discover it!!) So as well as the wonderful smell of it, it really is as the name suggests, ultra moisturising. The handwash is made from "a soap free formula enriched with Olive Milk and Creme", and after using it your hands feel super duper soft, and smell beautiful. And at around £1.69 in your local Boots or supermarket, you cant really go wrong.

Has anyone else tried this and loved it?

xxx

Bank Holiday Shopping Purchases

Seeing as my boyfriend Nathan and I are both back to work tomorrow, we thought we'd head off to our nearest city Leicester today to spend some of our Christmas money. Unfortunatley we had to cut our trip short after about an hour as Nath was feeling really ill (think he's got a bug bless him), but I still managed to pick up the goodies I wanted to get.

My first stop was Lush. My brother got me some Lush bath goodies for Christmas a couple of years ago which I loved, and he got me one of their lip balms this year, so I thought it was about time I went in there myself!! I didnt want to go too mad on my first trip, plus I really dont actually need anymore bath/shower/body products, but I just couldnt resist!! This is what I came out with...

I got the Soft Coeur Massage Bar, and a sample of the "Big" shampoo. I really wanted to try the shampoo after reading Amy's review of it on her blog - click here to read it. Its supposed to give you soft, shiny and volumous hair, and is made from 50% salt!! (Sounds a bit different doesnt it, I'll let you know how I get on with it!!) I also really liked the look of the massage bars, especially Soft Coeur, which contains honey, toffee and chocolate. It smells gorgeous, and I've only tried a small bit on my arm so far but it feels so lovely and moisturising. I'll probably use it as an intense moisturiser on my body before I go to bed.

 Since I got home I've been looking on the Lush website and theres so many things I like the look and sound of. I'll definitely be visiting Lush more often now, as I think they have a lot of goodies I am yet to discover!!

I also really wanted to get the Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer Potion. I've heard so many good things about it, so I went into Boots and luckily got the last one!! I also went to John Lewis and got a new Bobbi Brown Shimmer Brick. I already have one in shade Nude which I love, but I wanted a more pinky toned one. I had to choose between Rose and Pink, and in the end I went with Pink as I thought Rose may be a little bit too dark for me. I love these Shimmer Bricks, they give you such a lovely highlight over your blusher, although they're not cheap at £29.

 Heres a promo picture of the Pink Shimmer Brick too, as my pic doesnt show the colours up very well, and also a swatch of it so you can see how it looks on the skin.

I'm sure I'll be doing a FOTD post using the Shimmer Brick soon!!

xxx

"You're A Doll" Blog Award

I just received this lovely blog award from Scully over at Razz The Kid. Her blog is great with some fab posts, so go and have a peek!!

Heres the rules for this award -

1. Remember to link back to the person who awarded you!

2. Select 5 more bloggers that you think are dolls and link them at the bottom.

3. Tell us about a character from a book/movie that you're most like.

4. Post the picture and title on your blog permanently if you'd like!

Hmmmm... well I'm blonde, and I love all things pink so I think I would have to say I'm most like Barbie!! Shes kind of from a movie anyway :)

And the 5 blogs I award are -

1. Lydia @ Florabundance

2. Jo @ Beautylicious Love

3. Marcia @ Let There Be Shopping

4. Becca @ All My Pretty Little Things

5. Henessy @ Henessy's World

xxx

Christmas Day FOTD

Heres the make-up I wore on Christmas Day. This look is very similar to my last FOTD post (click here to see it), I used the same products except for a few changes.

Eyes - Instead of using M.A.C Digit in the crease of my eye I used a mixture of Cranberry with Nocturnelle. To line my eyes I used Bobbi Brown gel liner in Violet Ink, lining my upper lashline, and smudging some under my lower lasline too.

Face - I used my usual foundation and powder, and then I used my new Smashbox Baked Fusion Softlights in Starburst all over my face. I love this products it gives you such a lovely bronzey glow, without it being too much. I also used my M.A.C blush in Dainty, and Bobbi Brown Shimmer Brick in Nude on my cheeks. (I'm thinking of purchasing a new BB Shimmer Brick, any recommendations?)

And I'm still absolutely loving M.A.C Angel lipstick!!

xxx

Small blog sale

As well as my Soap and Glory set that I picked up in the sale at Boots today, I also got this Front Cover Eye Spy eyeshadow set. I'd seen this a while ago and thought how lovely the colours were. I really wanted the Urban Decay Book of Shadows Vol.2, but seeing as that sold out I thought this might be a nice alternative as the colours in it seem quite similar. It was £35 reduced to £17.50.

When I got it home and tried it out, it just wasnt as fab as I had hoped. The colours are nice and you do get a lot for £17.50 but the most of the shadows arent as pigmented as I'd hoped. I was going to sell it on Ebay but I thought I would see if any if you lovely ladies wanted it first, as everyone is different and one of you may love it, or you may know someone else that wants it.

 I have swatched all the colours, and used the brush (which I will clean), and also tried the "shadow liner". I havnt opened the glitters. Theres a good review on this item over on Laura's blog, Liparazzi, so if you want to see more about this item, click here. These sets are still going for about £30 on Ebay, so I am going to sell it for £20 inc P+P to the UK (Royal Mail first class.) **ITEM NOW SOLD**

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Also for sale are these boots from Red Herring at Debenhams. I bought them a while back but I just havnt worn them as much as I thought I would. They are real leather, and are "distressed look". They are a size 7 UK (40 EUR), and I have only worn them three times. They are in great condition. They were £45 new so am going to sell them for £25 inc P+P (again first class to UK)

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The rules - If you would like to purchase either of these items please leave a comment below with what you would like, and your email address so I can send you a Paypal invoice. I need payment within 48 hours of the invoice being sent. I will ship to outside the UK but will have to add on extra for postage of course. If you would like me to send the items recorded delivery it will be an extra £2. First come first served, and please note all sales are final. I will obtain proof of posting and items are not my responsibitly once the Post Office have them.

I am going to put a time limit on this sale as I will put the items on Ebay if no one here would like them, so this blog sale will end at midnight on Sunday 3rd Jan (as in the Sunday night).

Thank you for looking :)

xxx

I know I said I didnt like sales....

....but I meant clothes sales!! When I remembered my local branch of Boots was open today, I thought I'd take a trip down there as their half price sales after Christmas are always quite good. My local Boots isnt very big at all but it always has some nice gift sets, and it does stock Soap & Glory, which is what I was hoping to get hold of as I missed out on the Hatbox sale last week.

So I ventured down about 3pm, it wasnt too busy but you could tell they had already cleared quite a few bits. They had two different Soap & Glory sets left at half price - the Shower House pamper box, and the Peace De Resistance set. They were both £20 reduced to £10 so I went with the Shower House set as it had more products in. You get: The Righteous Butter body lotion, Clean On Me shower gel, Girligo body moisturising mist, Bubbly Bath Bar soap, a Soap & Glory Shower Cap and a back scrubbing brush. Seeing as the Righteous Butter body lotion is £9.79 when purchased on its own this set was a bargain!!

I've just had a lovely bath and I used the shower gel, and then the body lotion when I got out of the bath. I love the scent of these products (reminds me of something else but cant think what!) and you feel really pampered after using them. And I absolutely love the pink shower cap you get with the set, I always wanted the Benefit Bathina shower cap but at £10 for it I could never justify paying it, now I dont have to!!

If you're interested in the Girligo moisturising mist, click here to read Jo's fab review of it over at Beautylicious Love.

 Did anyone else get this set for Christmas, or pick it up in the sale?

xxx

Some of my Christmas goodies!!

Hey everyone, I hope you all had a wonderful day yesterday and got everything you wanted from Santa!!

I'm having a nice lazy day today whilst my boyfriend Nathan goes out with his friends to watch the football at the pub. I'm going to visit my lovely grandma tomorrow, and then Monday I'm off shopping with Nathan. I'm not really a sales person mind you, I hate it when you go in a shop and all the sale area is a complete mess!! Plus I never seem to find any good bargains, so I tend to stick to the full priced areas. I have a few beauty related bits I want to pick up though, the Urban Decay eyeshadow primer potion, and maybe a few Lush goodies too!!

So anyway, on to some of the fabulous goodies I got for Christmas....

I got this Smashbox Baked Fusion Softlights in Starburst from my boyfriend. I gave him a list of a few different Smashbox products I wanted to try, this being my first choice. I love it!! I used it yesterday when I did my make-up, putting it all over my face after my foundation and powder. It gives your skin and really subtle bronzey glow, its lovely. I'll be doing a FOTD using it soon.

My friend Katie got me this lovely Barbie watch from the Barbie at New Look range. I love it, its so cute and girly, and as I'm a big Barbie fan its perfect for me.

Nathan also got me another charm for my Pandora bracelet. This one is extra special beacause normally when he's got me charms in the past he's known which one I've wanted, but he picked this one out all by himself. Its round with pink coloured diamantes in.

I got this perfume from my parents. They gave me money as my main present as thats what I wanted, but they always get me some little bits to open too. This perfume is from Avon and its a really lovely scent, it also came with a body lotion and a really handy body spray too. I already have Little White Dress by Avon as well, which I love.

I got this Lush Let Them Eat Cake lip balm from my brother. He uses Lush products a lot due to the fact they dont test on animals (he is a big animal rights campaigner) so when I smelt this for the first time last month I hinted to him I might like it for Christmas. Its a gorgeous Christmassy cakey smell and makes your lips so soft!!

I got this Body Shop Body Butter from my boyfriends family. Not only is it the gorgeous Coconut scent, it also has added shimmer, giving your skin that extra shimmery glow fabulous for nights out!! It also leaves your skin super soft and I love the smell.

I got lots of other great bits too, CD's, David Walliam's new book Mr Stink (I know its for kids but it just sounds hilarious and I really wanted it!!) a fab digital photo frame from Nathan, and other stocking fillers like socks and chocolate.

If anyone would like to know more about any of the bits in this post then please let me know!! Did anyone else get any of these goodies as well?!

xxx

Merry Christmas!!

I cant believe its Christmas Eve!! I hope you all have a wonderful and amazing Christmas, and I hope Santa brings you all lots of lovely make-up and beauty related pressies, I'm sure he will.

Have a fabulous one!!

xxx