Review: Balance Me Rose Otto Intensive Lip Salve and Natural protection Daily Moisturiser SPF 18

Balance Me is a natural British brand which promises to deliver natural, high-performance, paraben and sulphate free, aromatherapy skincare products. I received two Balance Me products about 3 weeks ago and I am very pleased with them. I've been testing out the Extra care SPF18 moisturiser and Rose Otto Intensive Lip Salve.  Have you tried any Balance Me products? What are your thoughts and recommendations?

ASOS, Forever21 and topshop haul

I am addicted to jewellery and clothes and I can't stop buying new stuff... I really need to stop, but it is so hard! I have got no space left in my wardrobes, drawers etc... but here is another haul :) haha
I will try to link the items that are still available on the bottom of the post from Asos and Forever21.

White bedroom furniture

When it comes to interior design, I can spend hours looking on websites with beautiful furniture and dream about redecorating the full house again :) The room I am working on at the moment is the master bedroom. The colours I picked for it are white and gold and I really like this combination. If money was no object I would definitely splurge on new furniture, because the wardrobe I am using at the moment is far too small. I would also like to replace my dressing table with a new one and redecorate the guest bedroom.

I have been browsing through Oldrids & Downtown website and I picked my dream bedroom furniture. I like simple designs in white, because they look really fresh and make the room look more spacious. What are the colours you picked for your master bedroom?

CLICK HERE:

 

1. Signature Mirror £179

2. Cameo Dressing Table £269

3. Cameo 3 Door Wardrobe £499

4. Paris Double Bedframe £299

5. Cameo 3 Drawer Bedside Chest £99

Snow Sprinkled Nails- Velvet Manicure in White

I am totally in love with this manicure! It looks like snowflakes sprinkled allover my nails. It is really beautiful in real life and hopefully on the photographs too :) I have never seen anything like this, I have seen other velvet manicures before, but not a white one. I will be trying other colours in the future. So far I used pink (here) and purple (here).
I have been asked many questions about this manicure, so here is a quick Q&A.
Doesn't it feel weird? No, it feels soft and fluffy.
How long does it last? About 3-4 days
Does the velvet fall off after you wash you hands? No, it stays on until you remove it.
Is it hard to remove? It takes about 10 seconds to remove the flocking from one nail, with normal nail polish remover.

POUNDLAND BARGAIN ALERT!

I had to let you know about these bargain makeup buys from poundland. I don't know what's available in your local stores, but the one I went to had shelves full of Stila spf30 tinted moisturiser and powder foundation. What a bargain!!! The RRP is over £20, so you can't go wrong.  I also picked up Rimmel lipglosses.  Amazing value for money! Have you been on a poundland bargain hunt recently? What did you get?

NOTD: Essence Vampire's Love in True Love + she Glitter Top coat 255

I very rarely paint my nails with dark colours, but sometimes I can't resist it :) I love dark purple shades and I am sure I swatched this one already. I added a glitter top coat this time to give it a bit of sparkle. It looks really nice and the specks of glitter reflect the light beautifully.

My Nail Polish Collection

Hi everyone!
As promised , I finally got to photograph most of my nail polishes. I couldn't find all of them, I really don't know where they are. My house is huge and I have got far too much stuff, so it was impossible to find all of them. I photographed 120 and here they are. My favourite brands are: Barry M, Essie, Models Own, Deborah Lippmann, Essence, OPI, Ciate and Mavala. I managed to squeeze all the nail polishes into one drawer and organised them in empty beauty boxes. Most of my accessories are stored in a separate drawer in a small box. I think I will build a nice display unit for my favourite nail polishes and if I do I will definitely blog about it :)
What are your favourite brands and how big is your collection?

Barry M

Caudalie Beauty Elixir Review

Hi everyone!

I know, I know.... Another Caudalie Beauty Elixir review. Well, I just wanted to share  my thoughts. It is meant to have some magical ingredients/powers to make your skin look absolutely amazing. I think that the hype started when Victoria Beckham mentioned that Caudalie Beauty Elixir gives her a glowing complexion. Anyway... Many bloggers raved about it and I decided to get a small bottle from Feel Unique and see if it works for me.

CAUDALIE BEAUTY ELIXIR 30ml £9.90 link

"Inspired by the "elixir of youth" used by Queen Isabelle of Hungary, Caudalie Beauty Elixir smoothes features, tightens pores, and gives the complexion a burst of radiance. An excellent base for make-up, this water awakens the skin in the morning and livens it up before a night out. Caudalie Beauty Elixir is a favourite of Victoria Beckham's - she uses it on top of her make-up for a glowing complexion! For all skins lacking radiance. Caudalie Beauty Elixir is an exceptional anti-dull complexion treatment and a wonderful after-shave for men. Directions for use: Shake before use. Avoid contact with the eyes. Mist onto the face before your moisturiser and at any time of the day. Apply between your foundation and powder to perfectly set make-up."

At first I was absolutely amazed by this product! You probably seen me tweeting about it with excitement  :) I used it 10 times a day!!! I just kept spraying it onto my face. It made my skin looking really fresh, tightened pores and gave me face a nice glow. I used it on top of my make up as well and it actually helped to keep it in place. It is great as a toner in the morning and gives a nice tingling sensation. The peppermint scent is lovely and refreshing. I know that it is too strong for some and I've heard people complaining about it, but I like the scent a lot.

After one week of using the elixir a couple of times a day I decided to only use it in the morning after washing my face and once again after putting makeup on. I am already halfway through the bottle, because I was really addicted to it at the beginning :)

It isn't a miracle product, but it gives impressive results if used a couple of times a day and I really like to use it to set my makeup. I am thinking about buying the full size. Let's hope buyapowa does a co-buy :) so we can get it cheaper.

Have you tried the Caudalie Beauty Elixir? What are your thoughts?

My denim picks from Trilogy Stores.

If you are looking for good quality denims, Trilogy Stores offer a wide selection of styles and colours from established brands you can trust. At the moment there is a big summer sale with a 70% discount on some styles. You can choose from brands like: Acne, J Brand, Paige, Current Elliot, Hudson, MIH, Citizens of Humanity and many more.
Skinny jeans are my favourite type and the most popular cut at the moment. You can get any colour you can think of, from neons to pastels and neutrals. The colorful designs from J Brand, Paige and Current Elliot would be perfect for summer days, especially the gorgeous flower print ones. If you are a bit scared to wear disco pants, a pair of black coated jeans from Citizens of Humanity can be a solution. There is many designs to choose from and you can really grab a bargain, the grey Acne jeans are reduced to £50! If you want to go straight to the summer sale here is a link.

 

CLICK HERE:

 

1. Current Elliott Stiletto Skinny in Red Rose £75.00

2. Paige Skyline Ankle Peg Tencel in Femme £50.00

3. J Brand 811 Skinny in Blue Bonnet £95.00

4. Hudson Nico in Watermelon £95.00

5. MiH Vienna skinny in Amber £150

6. Citizens of Humanity Rocket skinny coated in Black £260

7. Acne Hex straight in grey £50

8. J Brand 811 Skinny in Coral £95.00

My first NARS purchase : The Orgasm Blush

I finally got my first NARS product. It is the Orgasm blush! I got it from a blog sale for £13. It was swatched once, but when I opened it it looked brand new, as you can see on the pictures below.

It is a lovely colour, highly pigmented and with a lot of gold shimmer. I didn't expect it to be so shimmery. It is a very flattering shade and would suit any skin tone. It is described as a peachy pink with gold shimmer. It gives my face a bit of colour and a nice glow. Unfortunately it didn't last on my face for too long. After 4 hours I couldn't see it on my cheeks anymore. I really like the consistency of it, it is very soft and easy to apply, with minimal fallout. I will be buying more NARS products in the future.

NARS ORGASM BLUSH £21.00 link 

I am wearing no eye makeup :) excuse my tired eyes 

FOTD, eye make up with no mascara and exciting news!

Hi everyone!

Today I would like to share a trick I use to save myself the hassle of removing and applying mascara. My lashes are jet black so I can get away with it. I use a black liquid eyeliner and draw a thick winged line above  the lash line. It instantly makes my eyes stand out and saves me a lot of time.That's it, really simple!  What do you think about my eye makeup without mascara?

If you follow me on Twitter you will know that me and Sophia started a weight loss blog called Bloggers Go Skinny. We are trying to lose 90lbs each in one year! If you would like see our progress head over to www.bloggersgoskinny.blogspot.co.uk and follow our new blog.

face: vichy dermablend foundation, liz earle powder, nars orgasm blush, eyes:naked palette, bourjois liquid eyeliner and body shop eye pencil in black. lips: look beauty lipstick in tangerine cream and clinique lipgloss

my new asos necklace link

LUXBOX review

I love beauty boxes, but after the "Glossybox fiasco" I unsubscribed from all of them. I have heard about Luxbox before, so I was happy to try it and share my opinion. The first box landed on my doorstep on Monday and I really like it. The packaging is lovely and there is a product variety. I remember getting two body lotions in one box before, well in my LuxBox all the products were totally different and one of them really surprised me :)

 

LUXBOX* £10 + £2.95 P&P link 

Luxbox is a subscription beauty box delivered to your doorstep each month. If you are familiar with the idea of beauty boxes, you will know that every box contains 5 luxury sized samples for you to try our in the comfort of your own home. I really like the fact that there is a variety of products and brands within each box. I love trying skincare and makeup that I have never tried before, it is fun and the surprise element is always very pleasant :)

 

In my July box I received 2 full size products and 3 samples and the content is worth over £35!

The eyeshadow trio by Green People is worth £18.40 itself!

I&K 18" Human Hair Extensions from Hairtrade

A couple of days before my birthday I received a set of 18" clip in human hair extensions from www.hairtrade.com as a part of the blogger partnership. I have got fine and flat hair, so clip in extensions always save me when I want more volume and extra length. The colour I picked is medium brown and it is very close to my natural hair colour. I wasn't sure if I should get medium brown or light brown, because of my ombre, but I picked medium and it is perfect! The extensions blend in perfectly and you can't see that they are clipped in at all, they look like my natural hair. I wear them straight or curled, they are easy to style and very light. They are much better quality than the ones available on ebay. I bought ones for £30 before and they lasted about a week and looked horrible after washing. The I&K  extensions are high quality and will last much longer, they feel silky smooth and look amazing! I can highly recommend them.

 

I&K Clip in Human Hair Extensions* (Medium Brown) 18" £59.99 link

"I&K 100% real human hair extensions are made in a unique way, as each set is made by hand individually, and not cut from one weft. This gives the advantage of more hair being added to each of the clip in hair extension pieces, making the hair look much thicker. Each clip in hair extension piece has been designed to fit your to your head closely, making our clip in hair extensions look as natural as your own hair. With this clip in hair extension set you will receive 10 clip in pieces with 18 clips attached, plus 2 pieces without clips. There is enough clip in pieces in one pack for your whole head. As it is made from 100% real human hair, it can be cut, coloured (use a test strip before colouring), straightened and curled. With our clip in hair extensions the actual length is 2 inches longer, for example if you order 18 inches the full length of the extensions you will receive will be 20 inches. This is so you will not lose length if you have them cut in."

 

 

CIATE PAINT POT in shade BIG YELLOW TAXI

I think this is the last Ciate nail polish from my collection. It's called Big Yellow Taxi and it is a very bright yellow shade with a creme finish. It is not a neon yellow, so if you are not a fan of fluorescent colours this one will be a safe choice.  The application is streak free and I only needed two thin coats for an opaque finish. I also received a base coat and a top coat from Ciate and I have been using them for a couple of weeks with different nail polishes and they are really good. The base coat is called Underwear :) and it is enriched with Lotus Flower to strengthen your nails and nurture the nail bed. Like every base coat, it prevents staining and discolouration of the nail. The Speed Coat fast dry top coat gives a nice glossy finish and protects the colour, makes it last longer and prevents chipping.

I am wearing one smiley nail wrap from Nail Rock, review here

 

  Ciate Underwear Base Coat* 13.5ml £11.00 link

"Underwear base coat is enriched with Lotus Flower which was cultivated by the Egyptians who surrounded themselves with the flowers believing it gave them power and strength. This enhanced formulae gives the perfect strengthening basecoat to your manicure giving a lasting finish whilst preventing staining and nurturing the nail bed. We'd say don't go anywhere without your Underwear!"

Ciate Paint Pots Big Yellow Taxi* 13.5.ml £9.00 link 

"A high fashion 'it' statement bold yellow with a crème finish. Brighten up your talons and toes and compliment your summer wardrobe."

Ciate Speed Coat Fast Dry Top Coat* 13.5ml £11.00 link

"Speed Coat is an award winning Formaldehyde free top coat which guarantees touch dry nails in sixty seconds, locks in colour and can extend colour wear. Taking the nail industry by storm, this formulae has won many industry awards since it's 2008 launch. including U Magazine's Best Top Coat award. A high gloss finish and chip free for up to 10 days, this gorgeous product delivers a perfect performance."