Tuesday 31 July 2012

New Goodies In LouLouLand For July - Next, Avon, Ebay and More x (Very Picture Heavy;)

I have to admit that July has been one of the toughest months I've had in a long time, If something could go wrong it did, if something bad could happen it did, so I did whatever any shopaholic in similar circumstances does, I tried to cheer myself up with a bit of retail therapy.

We'll start off with magazines - I only purchase two magazines myself this month and both came with some lovely free gifts - first of all in Elle I got a 75ml tube of St Tropez Gradual Tan Everyday Body Moisturiser. I went for the shade Light /Medium but I believe you could also get the Medium / Dark variation x I haven't tried this yet but I really like gradual tanners so it will be nice to try one out at the higher end of the spectrum.


The next magazine I treated myself too was Red - I love Red it always comes across as a really sensible magazine with lots of different articles on lifestyle, home, and travel, as well as the familiar fashion, beauty and celeb articles- in fact it's one of the only glossy mags that I buy that Mummy Lou also enjoys.


This months issue has a cute little travel skincare pack from REN as a cover gift. It contained a 15ml Vetiver Hand and Body Lotion, a 5ml Active 7 Radiant Eye Gel, and 15ml tube of Hydra-Calm Global Protection Day Cream - a really nice assortment and a great way to try out some new products.


Mummy Lou was her usual angelic self this month and she also picked me up a few other magazines which also came with some freebies x This months Marie Claire came with a free full sized Avon mascara, there were 3 to choose from and the one I got was the Avon Super Shock Max Mascara


I've got another Avon mascara to review for you guys so I think I'll review this one as well and do a comparison post :)

Mummy Lou also kindly treated me to two copies of this months Glamour magazine which contained freebies from skincare company Balance Me x The two products I got were the 50ml Balance Me Pure Skin Face Wash and the 10ml Balance Me Rose Otto Intensive Lip Salve  :)


The final magazine Mummy Lou got me was this months Cosmopolitan, I'm not a regular Cosmo reader if I'm honest but this month's Red featured a discount coupon and it had a good freebies - a full sized Missguided nail polish - I think there were 3 shades to choose from and the colour I went for was Misstify - a hot almost neon pink.


As well as the magazines Mummy Lou was also kind enough to pay for my Avon order - ok she had an ulterior motive - she wanted to try one of the nail polishes and the lipgloss lol - I got 3 colours from the new revamped Colortrend range from left to right - Green Morph (Mummy Lou's choice), Blue Morph, and Blue Royale which is a sparkling suede polish.



At the time we placed the order there was in offer in the brochure were you could get a lipgloss from the range for 99p instead of £3.75, Mummy Lou loves her pinks so she picked the shade Start Up Pink - now that it's here though she isn't as sure because it's a little bit brighter than what it looked in the brochure so I have a new lipgloss ;)



The final thing we got from Avon was a nail polish from the Speed Dry + range, the colour I went for was Modern Mauve,

It looks like sort of pale dirty nude in the bottle but it has the most amazing pink flashes on it and I can't wait to try it x


Enough of the gifts I did actually but quite a few bits for myself this month, first up ebay - I sold an awful lot of my blog sale and via ebay thins month, and whilst I was a good girl and transferred most of it to my bank account, I did treat myself to a few bits from ebay x  First up scarves, there are so many gorgeous scarves on ebay especially from sellers in the Far East. First up this super cute bunny rabbit / Fifi Lapin esq scarf


I love this it is soooo cute and came to just £2.49 including postage from this seller x I've seen a few of these on ebay in different colours including a grey and a pink x


The second scarf I got was this massive black one which is covered in white stars - I had something similar to this a long time ago but I lost it and always wanted another one.


Again this comes in several colours and I got this one for the massive amount of just £1.39 including postage from this seller x

I've also gone a bit jewellery daft on ebay this month and I've picked up four pieces from both overseas and UK sellers - first up a couple of necklaces including this one that I've been stalking for sometime.



It's described as a gold tome 4 leaf clover necklace, and I love it, its super long and a really statement piece


As soon as I saw it on ebay I knew it reminded me of something I saw in Bazaar magazine and it does, what do you think ?

                                                   
Yes the Van Cleef and Arpels, Alhambra necklace, which retails at an insane amount of money. No this one isn't real gold or onyx but I'm still loving the look.  This retailed at £2.35 including postage from this seller x

Sticking with the black and gold tone, I also picked up this geometric triangle necklace


It on quite a short chain so you could definitely wear it alongside other pieces - it was only £1.91 from this seller x

The other two jewellery items I picked up this month were both rings and were both from UK based sellers - first up this silver tone stretchy flower cluster ring


Almost a silver tone and crystal bouquet it's mounted on a silver tone beaded and elasticated band.


I've seen a few rings like this around and they were all more expensive than this one. This was £2.98 with postage from this seller x


The final ebay jewellery purchase I made this month was another ring - Again it's elasticated and it features tiny silver tone beads and a little silver tone star charm

Again I've seen a few on the high street like this most notably from Lola Rose, but again the prices were pretty prohibitive, whilst this one isn't real gemstone or silver, it's still super cute and I can definitely see myself picking up some more designs from the same seller x It cost £2.20 including postage from this seller x

My final two ebay purchases this month came from the grand old US of A, and from a seller known to a lot of you beautyzone2007. I've bought so many polishes from this seller of the years and I would thoroughly recommend them. The two polishes I got this time were from Color Club - first up a metallic blue / green shade 914 Masquerading 


and finally a colour I'd wanted since the year dot - 871 Wild At Heart.




Sticking with the beauty theme I also picked a couple of bits from Boots using my Advantage Card Points - nothing overly exciting just a couple of essentials 


First up these amazing cotton wool pads -I watched a video from the lovely Zoella and I knew I had to give these ago - from the Baby range, these are Extra Large Cotton Wool Pads - because there bigger and a bit stronger you seem to use less of them - a little bit more pricey than bog standard cotton wool pads but well worth the money imo.




I also picked up a bottle of the new Boots Botanics Soothing Eye Make Up Remover, The minute I head that the Botanics range was being revamped I contacted Boots Customer Service to find out what was happening to the original Soothing Eye Make Up Remover which I loved (read a review here). Not a problem they said, the product was just being repackaged erm not true! The remover is a different colour and the ingredients list is completely different. I've heard that a few people have had reactions to this but thankfully I've only used it a few times but so far so good, no stinging or watering, it does some to leave the eye area a little greasier but I can live with that - but Boots please get your facts right it's a DIFFERENT PRODUCT!!!


My final purchased this month have all been clothing related - the summer (Ha Ha) sales are in full swing, it might seem as though I've bought a lot but believe me for everything I've kept I've sent 2 back! First up Dorothy Perkins,

I got this cute sleeveless blouse in a lovely coral colour - I got it for £15 and it had been £25.


The rest of the bits came from Next - I personally don't buy a lot from Next through the majority of the year I find the majority of their stuff just too pricey for what it is. However come sale time I'm first in the queue, not outside the shops at 4am you understand but I get my VIP slot online as soon as it goes live. I've bought quite a few bits but again I've sent most of it back. I'm still waiting for a few bits to come so I'll probably show you next month if I decide to keep them x

The main bits I got were tops - to be honest I buy more coverings for my top half than I ever do for my bottom half - first of this pretty navy sleeveless top, with a contrasting fabric bow which was £6.00



then this plain grey vest, which comes with a contrasting floral scarf which was also £6.00



This cute grey striped t-shirt was also £6.00 - the distressed gold foil heart says "Forever"


and the final top I got was this black and cream colour block vest which was also £6.00 - very Chanel in style

I also got some undies which I'm not going to show you ;) and a couple of bits of jewellery including this long line floral necklace

and this cute little china teacup :)

So that was my pretty substantial July haul, If you have any questions on anything I bought please leave me a comment, oh and let m know your favourite purchases from July too x



Monday 30 July 2012

Cool, Clean and Fresh With Yes To Cucumbers - A Review For My Pure

Face Wipes - Yes we know we probably shouldn't use them but a lot of us still do. Their quick and easy and they do the job - the way I see it surely it's better to remover your make up with anything rather than leave it on overnight. Don't get me wrong I love my facial washes in the morning and a more cream or balm type cleanser in the evening, but I always make sure I have a packet of facial wipes on standby for when I'm feeling tired or I'm feeling poorly.

Because I don't use wipes as a regular part of my skincare routine, I never spend a lot of money on them, my preferred wipes are the cheap ones from Boots or from Aldi. For one of this months My Pure reviews though I decided to delve into the slightly higher priced, more natural market to see what they had to offer.


From the Yes To stable comes the Yes To Cucumbers Soothing Natural Glow Facial Towelettes - The cucumber line is Yes To's range specifically for sensitive skin. Designed to exfoliate, cleanse and rejuvenate the main ingredient of these wipes is organic Cucumber extract which is an gentle astringent which soothes and depuffs the skin, as well as removing dead skin cells. They also contain Green Tea which a natural antioxidant can help calm and clear breakouts and troubled skin and Aloe Vera which moisturises and soothes the skin.

Made of a natural and biodegradable material the towels comes in the packaging that we've come to expect from face wipes, but instead of the usual sticky flap that loses it's stick these wipes comes with a resealable lid. I love this idea because it keeps the product relatively airtight so they do dry out as easily and stay wetter for longer.

The wipes themselves are pretty much the size you come to expect, there are no nodules or patterning on the wipes, the only texture is that of the natural fibres.The wipes are quite strong and it's almost impossible to  tear them apart. Due to the clever packaging they have quite a wet feel, and a fresh but not over powering smell.


I used these wipes both in the morning to freshen and clean my skin and for the purpose of the trial I used them to remove make up - so here is a rare occurrence for you a face of the day :)







Products Used
MUA Make Up Academy Professional Matte Foundation - Shade 1 Soft Sand
Boots No7 Skin Defence Loose Powder - 01 Translucent 
Boots No 7 Concealer Trio (all colours blended) 
Living Nature Blush - Warm Summer *
(*Provided By My Pure For Review Purposes - Read My Review Here )
MAC Magically Cool Liquid Powder - Truth and Light 
Chanel Illusion D'Ombre Long Wear Luminous Eye Shadow - 84 Epatant 
Estee Lauder Double Wear Zero-Smudge Lengthening Mascara - 01 Black
(LIES I hate this mascara!!)
MAC Lipstick - Brave New Bronze
Lancome Juicy Tube - ??

In order to test these face wipes for you when there was still enough make up on my face (it's so humid today I'm sweating!!) I took it all back off for you using only these wipes less than two hours after I put it on that's dedication for you - first up scary wipes picture.


Yes, it took just took two wipes to clean all that slap off my face, now for the even scarier shot my with no make up on arghhhh!


As you can see it all came off! Surprisingly for me these wipes didn't sting my eyes at all - because of my facial palsy I suffer from natural dry eyes and some cleansers and removers can make my eyes stream and sting but not these. Having said that though I did get a few tingly moments on the rest of my face whilst I was trying these out. My skin is naturally quite pink but I do think it looked even pinker after using these wipes, maybe that's the glow their referring too? My skin also had a tendency to feel a little bit tight after use too. These wipes are supposedly for sensitive skin, but to be honest I probably wouldn't recommend these f your skin is very sensitive or very dry, they seem a bit too astringent for that. If your skin is normal or like mine verging of the more oily I think these wipes would be better for you. They did the job, they refreshed the skin and removed make up but I have to say I probably wouldn't repurchase - my cheaper ones do exactly the same job for less spends. Yes To Cucumbers Soothing Natural Glow Facial Towelettes retail at £4.99 for a pack of 30 from My Pure. What do you think of facial wipes? Do they have a place in a skin care regime? let me know in the comments?

(Yes To Cucumbers Soothing Natural Glow Facial Towelettes Were Provided By My Pure For Review Purposes)