NOTD: simple white manicure

I always liked the look of glossy, white nails, but most white polishes I tried needed 3-4 coats for an opaque finish. I got Rimmel's London Clouds no 085 from Poundland and I love it! It needed 2 coats and the finish is beautiful! PS. I used fake nails for this manicure. I wish my natural nails were that long... Do you like simple white nails? I think they look very elegant.

Liz Earle Special Edition Rose and Lavender Cleanse & Polish

I can't describe my excitement about Liz Earle Special Edition Rose and Lavender Cleanse & Polish!
I wasn't expecting it in the post, so when I opened the package I had a big smile on my face!

I am a big fan of the original Cleanse & Polish, so I knew that I will love the new rose and lavender one.

Liz Earle Special Edition Rose and Lavender Cleanse & Polish* £19.75 (£2 goes to charity)

I reviewed the original Cleanse and Polish here and I must admit, it is still my favourite cleanser. I repurchased it already and also got a couple of travel size tubes when they were free with a magazine. If you haven't tried Cleanse & Polish yet, now would be a perfect time to do it, because £2 from each bottle sold goes to Princess Trust to help young people in UK. Great cause!

The special edition design is absolutely beautiful and it is the prettiest bottle in my bathroom :) 

It is a 150ml pump, which is 50ml more than the original C&P pump. I noticed the size difference as soon as I picked it up :) 100ml lasted me for over 2 months of everyday use (twice a day) so this one will last for over 3 months of constant use. 

The special ingredients in the new formula are rose and lavender essential oils, so the scent is slightly different than the original. It is a subtle lavender and floral scent and it is very relaxing.

I use my original Cleanse & Polish in the morning and the special edition at night. It is perfect to remove makeup and daily grime off my face and doesn't irritate my eyes. It is creamy and luxurious and leaves my skin feeling clean and soft. I adore everything about this product and it is my holy grail cleanser. If you haven't tried it yet, why not do it now and support a great cause?

It will be available from Liz Earle website from the 6th of September, Liz Earle stores, John Lewis and QVC.

BIG BLUE EYES! Coloured Contact Lenses Review

Hi everyone.

Today I am reviewing something totally different than my usual beauty products.

I was contacted by www.eyesbright.com asking me if I would like to review some coloured contact lenses from their store. I always wanted to try them , so I just had to say yes. My vision is perfectly fine, so I have never tried lenses before. This was my first pair. Read on for more details....

 

Big Eyes 15mm Beautiful Blue Contact Lenses* £15.99

Lens Cleaning Solution and Storage case* £2.99

I was a little bit scared to put the lenses into my eyes and at the beginning it was just ridiculously difficult. I was just blinking non stop and couldn't put them in. After an hour of trying I gave up and asked for advice. The lenses come with instructions, but it is hard to put something into your eye if you haven't done it before. Anyway...  after hours of trying I finally managed to put the lenses in and they looked huuuuge! The colour is beautiful and makes my eyes stand out, but I wouldn't wear them in public. I would go for smaller ones if I wanted to actually use them daily. I wanted to try big blue ones just to see the effect. I always freak out when something gets into my eyes, so I was a bit uncomfortable with the lenses. It wasn't a horrible feeling, but I could feel them in my eyes.

I think it is because of the size. I must admit, they are far too big.

Taking them out was easy peasy :) It took ma a second! (surprisingly)

Overall I am happy with the outcome. It looks really cool. I felt and looked like a manga character :)

If you always wanted to try colored lenses, go for it, it is fun and looks great on photos. I love photography so it was a great experience for me and my chance to take some interesting pictures. 

I can't wait to try green ones and big brown ones too :)

Have you ever tried coloured contact lenses? What did you think?

Holy Grail hair care product: Macadamia Deep Repair Masque (review)

I always wanted to try the Macadamia  Deep Repair Masque and thanks to hairtrade I finally got a chance to get my mitts on this precious pot. It is just as good as I expected it to be and I am totally in love with it! Do you know that feeling, when you try something and you can't get over the fact how amazing it is... Well... That's how I feel about this mask.

MACADAMIA DEEP REPAIR MASQUE* 250ml £18.99 from www.hairtrade.com 

First of all I love the packaging. The design is simple, yet very eye catching. On the inside there is a little protective lid to prevent spillages and keep the mask safe :)  I don't want to waste a single drop of this precious product.  Don't you just hate to open a jar of something and it is allover the lid? Not in this case, whoever designed this pot has done a good job. Simple things make a big difference sometimes.

Now onto the mask... I absolutely love it! As soon as I opened the pot I could smell the beautiful, beautiful scent! It gets better, the scent lingers on my hair for days!!! I actually used it two days ago, I just sniffed my hair and it still smells beautiful! The consistency of the mask is very thick and feels luxurious. I use a generous amount on dry ends of my hair and a little bit on the rest of my hair.
It is the best hair masque I have ever used and leaves my hair feeling silky smooth, looking glossy, healthy and full of life!

I am not usually that excited about hair care, but this is a miracle product that works wonders on my damaged hair. It isn't cheap, but it is worth every penny and you won't regret buying it.
It became my haircare hero after a couple of uses! I will repurchase it as soon as it runs out or might even stock up on it in advance. It is love!
Have you tried this hair mask? What do you think about it?

FOTD and "How much is your face worth?" TAG

Hi everyone. 

I am finally jumping on the bandwagon and doing the 'How much is your face worth?' tag :)

I will take a guess now  and say - around £120-£150, but we will see at the end of the post.

PRODUCTS  USED:

Benefit Porefessional £23.50

Benefit That Gal Primer £24.50

Lancome Teint Miracle Foundation £27.00

Liz Earle Natural Finish Loose Powder* £19.50

Liz Earle Perfect Fix Concealer *£13.50

Liz Earle Healthy Glow Blusher* £16.50

Liz Earle natural Glow Bronzer*  £19.50

NARS Orgasm Blush £21.00

Benefit High Beam £18.50

MAC Fanfare lipstick  £14.00

Urban Decay Primer Potion £14.50

Urban Decay Naked 2 palette £32.00

Bourjois Eyeliner £6.99

Magnifibres Brush On Lashes* £18.96

Liz Earle Smudgeproof mascara* £14.50

Urban Decay Brow Box £17.00

TOTAL: £301.45

Have you done this challenge yet?

*PR samples

2000 follower giveaway

Hi everyone! 

At the beginning of August my little blog reached 2000 GFC followers ( and over 6000 followers via all networks!)  WOW! I still can't believe it! When I started blogging (8 months ago) I didn't expect to gain so many lovely readers!  To thank you all for reading my blog, commenting, tweeting and being absolutely amazing I promised to do a 2000 follower giveaway and here it is :) Finally :)

Every single comment means a lot and I really appreciate the fact that so many of you take the time to visit my blog.

This giveaway is international and includes 24 items (23 beauty products and a hamsa necklace)

THANK YOU AGAIN AND GOOD LUCK!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Accessorize Lovely Day palette review

I have been trying to get my hands on Accessorize eye shadow palettes for ages, but I couldn't find them in Superdrug, Accessorize or online. I was lucky enough to be sent two gorgeous Accessorize palettes to review and today I am sharing my thoughts and swatches of the "Lovely Day" palette.

"Your are everything" palette will be reviewed separately.

ACCESSORIZE LOVELY DAY PALETTE* 16g £8.95

The Accessorize Lovely Day palette consists of 32 eyeshadows. The variety of shades is great, although you won't find any "crazy" colours inside. The finish of most eyeshadows is shimmery, but there is also a couple of neutral matte shades included. The choice of colours is perfect for somebody who likes a little bit of colour, but nothing too brave. You will find lovely browns, creams, pinks, greys, greens, violets and blues and you will be able to create many looks.

I used the palette for daytime makeup and also for night time smokey eye looks. It is very versatile.

The quality and pigmentation of the shadows is amazing for the price. If used with a primer, the shadows stay put all day. Without a primer they last for around 4 hours.

The fallout is minimal and they apply beautifully.

 The packaging is beautiful and girly. I like the leopard print and pink roses. 

Lovely Day palette also comes with a mirror inside. It is perfect for traveling and would make a lovely gift.

I am very impressed and I can't believe I used to spend a fortune on Urban Decay instead of buying cheaper palettes that are just as good.

You can buy Accessorize palettes in selected Superdrug and Accessorize stores 

and from http://uk.accessorize.com/

MUA lipstick in shade 15/Juicy

MUA Lipstick in shade 15/Juicy (£1.00)

Juicy is a peachy coral shade, but I was expecting it to be more pigmented after swatching it on my hand. When I applied it onto my lips the colour payoff wasn't that great, but I still like it :) After all, I only paid 75p for it :)  Unlike other MUA lipsticks, this shade actually has a name- it is called Juicy/ shade 15.

I was very impressed with shade 3 and the consistency and colour of it were amazing but shade 15 is slightly less creamy and less glossy. To make sure it doesn't look patchy, I used a lip scrub and a lipbalm before applying the lipstick and the final effect was quite nice, but it didn't have as much shine as I would like. The colour  lasted on my lips for 2 hours, which isn't that bad for a £1 lipstick.

Remember when I mentioned all the lipsticks being different sizes? Yeah... What is that all about? ;)

Review: NYR mineral foundation in shade 03 medium cool

Hi everyone. 

Today I am reviewing a mineral foundation from Neal's Yard Remedies. NYR is a natural and organic British brand I mentioned on my blog a couple of times. 

I reviewed some products from their makeup range (here) and also 2 of their skincare must haves (here). 

A couple of weeks ago I also blogged about NYR's Bee Lovely campaign and I really hope that all of you lovely ladies and gentleman signed the petition to help save the bees. If not, please do so here. 

It will mean a lot and will only take you a minute.

NYR MINERAL FOUNDATION in shade MEDIUM COOL* 14g £22.50

"Smooth, silky-soft natural finish. Create a radiant, natural, beautifully silky-soft finish with our loose, mineral-rich skin-kind foundations. Light, easy to blend, our buildable Mineral Foundations are a blend of natural minerals and super-fine organic corn starch, with natural light-reflecting mica to minimise the appearance of lines and blemishes, and give a beautifully soft, smooth, lasting, natural finish. All are enriched with protecting antioxidant white tea, sea kelp and vitamin E, with organic skin-nourishing shea butter and oils of sweet almond and sunflower. Talc free. 18% Organic 67% Mineral. No talc. No parabens. No silicone. Certified by the Soil Association"

I have been using NYR's mineral foundation for the past 2 weeks and I really like the way it looks and feels on my skin. It is a very light powder and gives light/medium coverage. I wouldn't say that you can build it up to achieve full coverage, but you can easily build up 2-3 layers, as it blends beautifully, especially with Real Techniques buffing brush. The finish it gives looks very natural and the shade I got (medium cool) is perfect for my light olive skin tone.  I found three uses for it:

• I used it as a foundation on good skin days, to cover minor imperfections, blemishes and redness.
• It can be used as a finishing powder on top of liquid foundations. I have been using it on top of Ginvera's BB cream and my old time favourite Lancome Teint Miracle and it gives a lovely full coverage finish, without looking cakey.
• I use it to set concealer underneath my eyes, it is very lightweight and keeps concealer in place all day. 

After trying INIKA's mineral foundation, I had very high expectations for this one. It is a lovely product, but the coverage it gives isn't as good as I expected. That's why I started using it as a finishing powder and this way it really works for me. I am sure that when my bad skin days are over I will be able to use it on it's own again. It is perfect for summer and enriched with ingredients full of goodness for your skin.

How To Cope With A Significantly Reduced Libido

Pexels - CC0 License

Let us preface this article by saying a reduced libido is not always something you need to “solve.” If it decreases as you get older, as you’re dealing with health considerations, stress at work, or perhaps even pregnancy, then the causes are obvious and won’t require intervention. Moreover, it may just be that your interest has waned over time, and there’s nothing wrong with that nor do you have to justify it to anyone. However, it’s worth communicating this with maturity in your relationship.

NOTD

After trying glitter tips with grey I thought I will try a different combination. I used Barry M in Fuchsia and added a matte top coat. On the tips and the accent nail I used Deborah Lippmann Happy Birthday.

It doesn't look as good as the last one, but I liked the way matte and glitter polishes look together :)

Have you tried the grey and black manicure yet?

Special Edition Rose and Lavender Liz Earle Cleanse and Polish

Hi everyone. 

I am very excited to share this news with you. Here is a sneak peek of the new Special Edition Rose and Lavender Liz Earle Cleanse and Polish. It will hit the shelves on the 6th of September!

I am a big fan of the original cleanse and polish and it is my holy grail cleanser so I can't wait to try the special edition one! Here is the press release:

"This year we have been working with Rebecca Taylor - a young entrepreneur supported by The Prince’s Trust - who is being mentored by Liz for the Tomorrow Campaign. The Tomorrow Campaign was created to inspire the next generation and paired six Trust-supported young people with iconic mentors to create a product that will be retailed nationwide to raise funds for The Prince’s Trust. Together, Liz and Rebecca have given our original Cleanse & Polish Hot Cloth Cleanser a new twist. Our award-winning formula has been updated to include rose and lavender essential oils. The calming and relaxing lavender oil combined with the soothing properties of rose make this product ideal for night-time use, and gives our much-loved beauty essential a new twist for an exceptional cause.  In addition, we will donate £2.00 from every product purchased to The Prince’s Trust, helping young people into jobs and training."

 

“Our Special Edition Cleanse & Polish Hot Cloth Cleanser includes the same award-winning concentrated cream formula to remove daily grime and make up to leave skin clear, smooth and exceptionally clean, but with a special twist - a unique blend of rose and lavender essential oils to calm and relax your senses, ideal for use to ensure a good night’s sleep. Perfect partners; use our original Cleanse & Polish in the morning and our Special Edition in the evenings.”

PS. Liz Earle is currently giving customers free p&p on all UK orders to celebrate their recent CoolBrands award win! A panel of experts and over 2,000 consumers voted Liz Earle Beauty Co. as one of the nation’s coolest brands for CoolBrands 2012/13. This exciting offer is live right now and runs until 3pm on the 31st August, so don't miss out.