A Trio of Treats

As I'm sure you have gathered my internet is finally working again, albeit very sporadically so whilst its on my side I thought I'd show you a a couple of bits I picked up when I went for a walk around Brighton. I was feeling in a spendy mood but I was just finding it difficult to part with my pennies. In the end I just picked up a few bits in Boots as L'Oreal was on 3 for 2. 

I've been using the L'Oreal True Match foundation for a couple of months which I've really been loving and whilst I don't usually buy the matching concealer when I saw it I thought I may as well see if it works just as well. I'm suffering with both under the skin and normal blemishes so I'm hoping it will work well at covering them up without looking dry and cakey. Watch this space.

Now I definitely do not need any more eye shadows, especially as not so long ago I spent a small fortune on starting a MAC palette but you know how it goes, you spy a colour and cant leave the shop without taking it with you. Which is exactly what happened when I saw the Colour Riche L'Ombre Pure in Quartz Fume. Its a gorgeous cool toned brown with a very slight coloured glitter running through it. I cant wait to use this to bring something extra to a smokey eye. 

Recently I've been on the hunt for the perfect liquid or gel eye liner so I can finally get the hang of winged liner! So far its not been a successful search but I'm hoping this Super Liner Black Lacquer will be the answer. Its good a small nib which I like but its also pretty sturdy which I find helps with control. I'll update you after I've put it through its paces. 

So that's the three treats I picked up recently, I'm hoping that the spending will stop there as I've just booked a surprise trip for Allan's 30th birthday and with Christmas just around the corner its going to be save, save, save. I see a spending ban on the horizon... 

What bits do you like from L'Oreal? 

Mascara Cull

With so many mascaras on the market these days I cant help but want to try every new one that pops up so I often have 5/6 mascaras on the go and a couple more unopened waiting in the wings. Some promise more volume, or longer lashes but its hard to come across one that will make me want to repurchase. I'm very much a drugstore kinda gal when it comes to mascara as lets face it they don't last too long and I don't want to be spending £20 upwards when I can get something as equally as good in Boots. Now that's not to say I haven't  on occasions picked up a MAC or Benefit mascara when I've been at the till! 

I figured it was about time I had a bit of a clear out of mascara's - some of them had been sitting there for sometime looking sorry for themselves. 

For me its all about length, I love the look of long lashes and if the mascara helps with volume then its a bonus. My favourite mascara that I have come across is most definitely one I am going to have to repurchase no matter what, its the L'Oreal Telescopic Extra Black. This little beauty gave me the longest lashes without sticking together to give that awful spider leg look, I am very sad to see this one leave from my stash but very happy when tomorrow I get a shiny new one! I have to admit I do fall for a lot of beauty hype and more often than not will purchase something on a whim, this is exactly what happened with the Avon Mega Effects Mascara. I was so intrigued by the applicator that I just had to hunt it down. Unfortunately it was such a disappointment, it was really hard to apply and didn't do anything for my lashes apart from darken them, no lift, no curl, no volume, not my cup of tea. 

Just before Christmas Soap and Glory did their massive gift set which of course I couldnt help but pick up and included in there was the Thick and Fast Mascara. So many people raved about it and I could see why, my lashes looked so voluminous but didn't give me my much loved length I desire. Does anybody else get upset/frustrated/annoyed/confused when a brand discontinues one your favourites? Well thats how I'm feeling about Rimmel Sexy Curves, I love this mascara as its a really all rounder. My lashes look fuller, longer and gives a really good curl, its my perfect every day mascara but Rimmel went and discontinued it *sadface*. But its does mean that for a short while Fragrance Direct have it at the bargain price of £3.99. Excuse me while I go and stock up. 

The last one that is going off to mascara heaven is L'Oreal Miss Manga, another one of those pesky hyped up products that just didn't do it for me. I couldn't get along with the wand, the bristly brush didn't catch all the little lashes and I just ended up with clumpy messy lashes although I have to say I did like the stylish black and pink packaging! 

I cant wait to get my new mascara's on the go, its such a satisfying feeling putting on a fresh mascara although I do find it a little daunting as I never know if it will live up to my precious Telescopic! 

What are your favourite mascara's? Do you hoard them just like me?

K x

My First Beauty Swap

 A few months back I noticed that Kat from Tales of a Pale Face was helping bloggers get together to take part in a beauty swap! Knowing that its been something I've wanted to take place since I first reading blogs I signed my self up straight away. I didnt think anything else of it until I received an email from Kat introducing me to Julie from Just Julie who I would be swapping with! We agreed a budget and chatted about the things we were interested and set a date for when we would be done by. 

I received my parcel at work, it was tempting me all day to open it but I did just about manage to wait until I got home that evening. Inside the box each item was individually wrapped so it was like my birthday had come early! There was even a little note but I had to wait until the end to open this.

As Julie knew I hadn't been sleeping so well as of late I received A French Kiss bath melt from Lush which I could smell as soon as I opened the package! I cant wait to try this whilst burning the French Lavender Yankee Candle that I also received in a very cute purple candle holder which will sit well on my dressing table when I'm done in the bathroom. 

One thing I did mention to Julie was that I was looking to get into the whole brow malarkey as I havent yet dipped my toe into that side of beauty so I was really pleased to see the Sleek Eyebrow Stylist, I've heard so many good things about this and even Julie herself uses this so I knew it must be good. I've had a little dabble with it and so far I'm liking it! I think it is going to take me a little while to get the hang of the whole brow thing but with this little baby I don't think it will take me long. 

Staying on the eye theme I also received a Rimmel 5 Pan Eyeshadow in Foggy Grey which has a good assortment of neutral colours including a black with a slight silver shimmer running through which will be great for creating a smokey eye! Next up I received a L'Oreal L'Extraordinaire liquid lipstick in the colour Fuchsia Drama which weirdly enough we both got each other, although I cant quite remember the shade I got Julie! I've used this already and I only have good things to say about this. To match the lipstick there was a Rimmel nail polish in Dont Be Shy which I know will be my go to spring/summer shade!

As Julie knew I was having a terrible time with my skin she thought Lush's Grease Lightening would be a product I needed in my life, and she wasn't wrong. I've used this already as the day I'd received the parcel my skin had broken out, it really calmed down my naughty skin and so far hasn't dried it out. Lastly I received a trio of products which I cant wait to try out, its the shampoo, conditioner and hair mask from Charles Worthington's Salon at Home Moisture Seal range which as the name suggest is designed for dry hair. I'm hoping that this will add some much needed nourishment to help soften up my dry locks. 

Overall I am so pleased with everything that Julie chose for me, I know she put a lot of thought into each and every item. I loved the little note she made which explained the reasoning for each product as it made it extra special. I have learnt a lot from my first swap swap and I cant wait to take part in another one! I even managed to tick off a 101 things in 1001 days list! Now you've seen what I received, take a look at what I got for Julie here. 

Thanks again Julie! 

K x

Mad About Mascara

I'm going to admit something here that I'm not proud about, but hey we're all friends right? I have an addiction. A very bad addiction I am addicted to...Mascara. Phew, that felt good getting that out there, its what they say isn't it, the first step to recovery is admitting you have a problem! No-one needs to know that I have no intention of recovering from this particular addition though. Currently I have 11 mascara's on the go. I know, I know, I have one set of eyes but man do I like those eyes looking gooood. Some mascara's that I have I hate with a passion for one reason or another and I should probably think about getting rid but I can be a bit of hoarder so we'll leave that for another day.

Today I am going to talk (well blog) to you guys about my favourite three of the moment. If you too have an addiction to Mascara (surely I cant be the only one?!) please be careful as I'd hate to be the one to make you run out to the shops to grab one - although I would strongly recommend you get all three while your there!  

For me its all about the length, I love me some good lengthy lashes and the L'oreal Telescopic Extra Black definitely helps out in that department. The plastic comb wand really helps to coat every lash even the teeny tiny centre ones that I always find hard to get to, and you can get right to the root of the lashes to help bring the lashes up and out. There is a normal black option but I tend to normally go for the blackest of blacks as what's the point of going to all the trouble of lengthening the babies if they are so light you cant see them. This is my go-to mascara, I use it so much that the writing is starting the wear away.

Next up we have my going out-out mascara (just me?), its the MAC In Extreme Dimension Lash. When I want that extra bit of oomph with my lashes this is mascara I pull out, it offers extreme length, volume and the deepest darkest black. You do have to work with this a bit as sometimes it can be a bit clumpy although there is a new hybrid version out that is supposed to control how much product is on the wand to help avoid the clumpy look. I would say that this gives Benefit They're Real a run for its money. I think both this and the Benefit option have similar brushes with the little knobbly bit at the end, and they are both a bloody pain to get off! 

What a sexy brush that is I hear you say, yep that's Rimmel Sexy Curves, this is one of the most amazing wands I've ever used. I'm sure you can tell by now that I'm a big fan of plastic wand's whether they are combs or bristles. I just don't like the natural bristles, I'm not quite sure why but I don't feel they give me the look I go for. Anyway, I'm digressing, back to the beauty that is Sexy Curves. This as the names suggests give a great curve to the lashes without giving the spider leg look. It holds really well, I tend to find with some mascara's that they fall down half way but this gives long standing curl. This one is brown/black as it was a gift from my sister - Thanks Alice! - but I'd say this has no hint of brown at all but does give that natural colour to the lases.

So there you have it you've all found out about my secret addiction! Soon I'll do a post on the mascara's that I don't like but cant rid, hopefully it will help make me throw them out! To make room for some new ones no doubt ;)