Friday 30 August 2013

time to treat the hair!

hey all! so i was reading one of my favourite blogs, kayleigh's, back in may, and she did a great post on a few macadamia products. she also did another post in march about a few more. After reading them I kept meaning to get some, but never got round to it....and also couldn't justify the amount they cost! Luckily i managed to pick this up at the trade warehouse, so it was slightly more affordable for me! 





So first of all i noticed it because the wall was full of this great print! Its so eye catching but in a natural organicy way, with the browns and the greens. There was so many products to choose from. From healing oil, to hair brushes to leave in conditioners, to styling products! I was kind of lost. I decided to go for the deep repair mask as ive been looking aroud at hair masks for a while. As i dye my hair way to often, various different colours it tends to get a bit dry and frizzy on the ends...and i also avoid getting it cut at all costs which is kind of hard having a hair dresser working with us, cue the lecture! 

Macadamia uses a combination of macadamia seed oil and argania kernel oil blended to make this deep repair mask. Both these oils are known for their healing properties, and are very popular due to the work they do for dry damaged hair, smoothing the hairs cuticle and nourishing your hair for manageable, stronger hair. It also helps to stop dry hair  and split ends by moisturising intensely. 
  
I just wanted to get a the smaller 100ml tube to try out as the 250ml tube is knocking on £26/£27. 
Its got a handy clip lid and you just squeeze it out, so i dont have to do any scooping, which gets all under my nails when there long and it wastes some then, and no one likes waste. 
So after shampooing and conditioning, I slathered it on avoiding my roots, as they tend to get greasy easily. It smells gorgeous! Kind of fruity maybe? I cant work out the smell really but it just smells fresh and clean! I left it on for around 10 minutes which is a bit longer than they recommend, they say 7. I rinsed it out and it instantly felt better than just conditioner. I cant really explain how, it just felt smoother and was way easier to brush through too. 
When my hair was dry it looked smooth and shiny, genrally healthy really. There was no frizz in comparison to blow drying it which out the mask, although i dont tend to suffer with that much frizz any way. Im hoping after a few days it will still feel this good and look this good! Its recommended to not use more than twice a week, so I will start off with just once a week. I have also been using argan oil for a while so i will stop using that for a while to see true results from this hair mask and will update on further results when I do a post on the argan oil. 

Can anyone recommend any other hair masks they've used? 

Natalie 
Xxx




Saturday 24 August 2013

Adding to the collection

Hope your all enjoying the bank holiday! I keep thinking its sunday already! Two more days off so its all good. Are you doing anything exciting this weekend? 
Anyway onto the real subject! 
While walking round the supermarket again and swatching millions of lipsticks, i finally decided on just two. I was being good! 

The first was the maybelline 14 hour lipstick. Ive been looking for a rich coral colour and thought this perfect. It glides on nicley and it does last quite a while. I wouldnt say 14 hours, but i was drinking and things like that. Still impressed by it though, ive only worn it once so far but im sure it will be coming out again. 

The other is a collection2000 lipstick. I've never used this brand before and i'm liking this lipstick. Its a good budget price and you dont need to layer it up to get a good colour. Again ive been looking for a neutral nude colour which doesnt look like ive put foundation on my lips or makes me look like im dead. I can imagine this colour suiting most skin tones aswell. Its a winner for me! 




Anyone found any budget brands that are great for lipsticks? 

Natalie xxx




Tuesday 20 August 2013

Stop the shine!


Hey hey people! 
I go through stages of buying loads of new stuff, then realising I'm skint, then I don't buy anything for ages! Well lucky for you I found some things I wanted to try out.
So I'll start of with this little beauty. For about 2 years now I haven't really worn foundation through the day and even on a night out I've only worn a tinged moisturiser. I saw the advert for this new maybelline FIT ME anti-shine stick foundation and thought straight away "I want it!" The different coloured core intrigued me so when strolling round Morrisons, getting carried away, picking things up as I normally do, the make up caught my eye. And low and behold this foundation just jumped in my basket!


This stick foundation is the new edition to the FIT ME collection. I haven't tried any of the other items in the range so if anyone's used them I'd love to hear your opinions.
Firstly the thing that made me buy it in the first place was the core of the foundation, 'lightweight powders in the anti-shine core instantly dissolve excess oil' maybelline say. The foundation is also a'fresh gel', I'm not too sure what the fresh part means, but it is a lightweight foundation and perfect for people like me who want coverage without feeling caked. 
It's super easy to apply you just use the stick to apply to your face and use your fingers to blend. It's really blendable and glides on so easy, so great for a non fussy quick application. It feels like a cream when first applied but when blending it feels silky like a powder. It reminded me very much of the texture of dream matte mousse which I loved in my teens. It has a light to medium coverage I'd say, I'm sure you could build it up but I hate that look so its great for a natural finish and evens out skin tones perfectly. If you have blemished skin I can imagine its not the best foundation for you though.


The foundation being a stick foundation is a easy handbag friendly idea. I love that its not going to squirt everywhere and I can slip it in my bag and easily apply when I want. It's small in size so I'm not sure how long it will last, like I said I don't tend to wear foundation through the day so its probably going to last me a while. It's staying power I have yet to find out I've had it on for a couple of hours now and it still looks great. When I first applied it was definitely a matte shine free look that made my skin look flawless. A couple of hours on I have to admit there's a bit of shine coming through, I didn't set it with powder or anything so I expected that. I do prefer a bit of a dewy look though as long as I don't look mega greasy! 


Finding the right shade was Hard as the supermarket didnt have testers, I just went for why I thought. The cores abit off putting as there all different colours! I would say the shade I choose was a bit lighter when applied it than it looked before, but it still matched so its all good.

All in all I will keep using this foundation as I like the easiness of the stick and the coverage is perfect for me.

Natalie 
Xxx



Thursday 15 August 2013

elf contouring



























Hello all! So if I'm honest I'd never heard of elf products until I started reading blogs so I thought I'd get myself some and give them a whirl. The first thing I thought I'd try was this handy compact which has a contouring blusher and bronzer. I do love my blush so thought this was perfect for my first time. I'm always after a good bronzer to do a bit of contouring and this works perfectly. The blusher is a lovely subtle pink shade that to me, would suit Any skin tone. I like to have quite a baby pink blush so again this was great. 
The bronzer does have a bit of shimmer to it, which normally I don't like but once on it looks great so I applied it just under my cheek bones to give that more contoured look. They both blend perfectly and have a lovely smooth texture to them, and the staying power of them is hard to match with any I've used before.

All in all I love this handy compact I can shove in my bag and I will defiantly be trying some more elf products out!


Can anyone recommend any other elf products I should try? 

Thanks 

Natalie xxx

Wednesday 7 August 2013

get bronzed with artdeco

Hello all, at last I have semi decent pictures! Today I wanted to show you this great new limited edition set from Artdeco. We got them in the salon a couple of weeks ago but due to camera issues I haven't had a chance to show you them yet. 

I've never really been a bronzer kind of person and only used it for nights out for more contouring rather than looking bronzed. But this little set came in and I just loved the bronzer case more than anything. Everybody loves a bit of animal print right?!


The compact is such a great size, not too small, not too big so it still fits into my bag nicely and also doubles up as a mirror. Which pretty much goes from edge to edge so you can get a full view of your face, which I thinks important for an even look.
Because of its different shades within the compact it gives a beautiful natural look, and I pretty much apply all over now, and it doesn't give you that tell tell, orange look how much bronzer I've got on look either! Firmly in my makeup bag now.
Now onto the illuminating fluid. I've never really heard of illuminating fluid before...I know I know slap my wrists! But again I have fallen in love! This is possibly my favourite makeup item I'm using at the moment. It can be used for face and body, as its only a small bottle I've only used it on my face so far. With this product a little goes a long way so I could probably spare some for my legs.
When I first tried it i just applied a small amount with my fingers to my forehead, nose and cheeks and it instantly gave my skin a glowing dewy look. It defiantly illuminated my skin, I didn't realise how dull my skin was until I used this! 
So the next day I thought I'll mix it with a bit of my moisturiser, which worked out perfectly. It gave an all over glow with out being too much or feeling heavy. I don't tend to wear foundation any more so this is great to give my skin a pick me up.
Together these products make a great bronzer combo.






Has anyone used an illuminating fluid beforehand what did you think? 

Xxx


Monday 5 August 2013

The last few weeks in pictures

Hello all, so I haven't had anything to blog about for a while because I'm a big camera short at the minute! But I've just brought a new camera so hopefully I'll be able to get up and running again soon!

So I thought I'd just show your few pics tAken on my phone over the last few weeks.
Harrogate for my boyfriends birthday
Enjoying a large glass of vino and a pint when we get there.
Getting glammed up for the night.
Room service the next day for our hangovers! 
Passing my driving test at last!
Taking penny Peugeot for her first clean as a passed driver.


Party in the park leeds
With my bestest kirstie gettin rained on at PITPL.
Celebratory drinks with lawrence 
Massive maccy ds me and kirstie devoured! 
Saturday night out for my boss' birthday wearing my new outfit.