Thursday 30 December 2010

Keeping Your Hair Party Ready WIth Batiste

Well Christmas is over for another year but we still have New Year to look forward too and hopefully a few post Christmas parties and get togethers to attend. My major worry before any night out or event isn't my make up, it's always what to wear and what to do with my hair.

Over the last few weeks especially with my increasingly dodgy heating and the freezing weather I have to say that washing my hair in my freezing bathroom has been tantamount to torture, so I've increasingly turned to dry shampoos to freshen my locks and to give me hair a bit of volume. Don't think of these just for summer they really have became a winter staple for me

Luckily a little while ago I was sent a batch of Batiste hair products to try out and I have to say they have become my new best friend. Unless you have been living under a rock you will most definitely have heard of Batiste - Currently the UK's number 1 dry shampoo brand, their name has become the norm when referring to dry shampoo. I had used their products before predominantly in the summer and on holiday for freshening up oily and sweaty hair but I didn't realise how versatile the product actually was.I was sent four varieties to try 3 of the traditional sprays, and 1 of the new eco friendly varieties.

First up the ones that you've probably all used the sprays, brilliant for freshening the smell of the hair and taking away excess grease and great for providing a bit of volume and a bit of texture. I tend to use the sprays by directing them into the roots of the hair, I then give it a quick rub before brushing it out or I work it through with my fingers if I'm trying to create a bit of volume

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First up Batiste Original - their original and still their most popular product I received the 50ml on the go size. This product has a super fresh, slightly citrussy smell. I loved the on the go size, which is great for travel and for popping in you handbag but if you love this one it's also available in the 150ml size :)

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Next up was a 150ml Batiste Fresh Dry Shampoo - described by Batiste as their "unisex" dry shampoo - if you like the smell of Cool Water or some of the aquatic fragrances this is a good one for you

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The next one I received is probably more of a holiday fragrance I received a full size of Batiste Tropical Dry Shampoo - well what can I say about this one apart from Pina Colada anyone - a fabulous tropical fruit and coconut type smell this one would be ideal for holidays especially since it comes in an on the go 50ml size too, just spraying it made me think of lying on a beach yum yum!

I personally loved all of these products but I know some people do have some issues with a lot of variants of dry shampoos - if your dark haired be prepared to rub and brush carefully to avoid a white powdery hue

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As you can see its pretty white - Batiste have however introduced a couple of new sprays including one for people with black hair and one for brunettes. You can even buy Batiste Gold and Silver Shimmer Dry Shampoos ideal for this time of year - I already owned the gold and as you can see it gives a lovely gold glimmer which really brings out my blonde highlights :)

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Batiste Dry Shampoo Sprays come in 11 varieties (including my favourite that I haven't mentioned here Blush)  retailing at between £2.30 - £2.99 for 150ml, and some varieties are also available in a 50ml on the go size which retails at around £1.49

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I was also kindly sent the New Batiste Nude Dry Shampoo - this is the one for you if you want to be a little bit more natural or environmentally friendly. Instead of the aerosol spray this one comes without any aerosol gases and you dispense it by squeezing the product out through the nozzle

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Unlike the sprays which dispense a damp powder - the powder from the nude version is completely dry in texture, and has no discernable smell - it's is also pretty much just talc as opposed to the chemical ingredients in the normal Batiste.

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Initially I thought that this product was harder and a bit messier to use, but it actually gives you a lot more control than the sprays. Instead of having to direct the spray nozzle, with this I just sprinkled it into my hands and applied it with my fingers to the roots, and my parting, again it produced a lots of volume and took away the grease at the roots., but I'm sure you could also apply it directly from the nozzle. My one complaint with this one was the lack of smell - with the sprays your hair smelled a lot fresher with this though I didn't notice much of a change in the scent of my hair. Another slight criticism like the majority of the sprays it's white so if you have darker hair than mine  it might need a little more work so that it is less obvious and doesn't give the hair a grey cast x
Batiste Nude Dry Shampoo retails at around £3.49  for 50g
For more information please check the Batiste website http://www.batistehair.co.uk/products Any questions please ask

(All Batiste Products Apart From Batiste Gold Shimmer Were Provided By PR For Review Purposes)

Tuesday 28 December 2010

Christmas Pressie Haul



If you would like to see anything else in more detail, or any reviews or swatches please let me know  xx

Sunday 26 December 2010

Merry Christmas and Bleurgh


( picture from We Heart It )

Hi guys I hope you all had a fabby day and that Santa was super good to you - he certainly was to me I hadn't been expecting a lot because I got my laptop and a new tv before Christmas but I did get some lovely things from everyone :) As you can see my wishlist has been well and truly decimated by Santa, I got the perfume I wanted, my conical wand, the MAC kit, loads of cardis including the Store Twenty One I posted about , some Elemis, Lush and Philosophy goodies, some Benefit bits and the ELF 100 Piece Eyeshadow palette which is so good. I also got a pile of books including The Wonderful World of Fashion which is brill a colouring books and drawing book all in one If you want more info on my pressies please let me know but in the meantime I have been checking out the online sales which have generally been pretty disappointing this year - I've got a few bits coming from Next but that is pretty much it. I'll be back soon with some FOTD, OOTD, and NOTD's from yesterday but in the meantime we have visitors coming this afternoon but after that my bed is calling my throat is sore, my stomach is churning, I hurt and I need sleep, till then stay merry and bright and I'll post soon xx

Friday 24 December 2010

Merry Christmas

Hi Guys
For this years Christmas post I decided to do something I promised  you about a week ago, a peek at my Christmas decorations
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First up the tree - yes it's a fake one but it's nearly 8ft high and a nice traditional green and the decoration we put on it tend to be pretty traditional with a few twists

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These two old fashioned glass baubles came from my  both of my grandmas - we don't have too many left now so these are a treasured addition to our tree

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Next up something my mum got when she was a child a yellow / lime plastic dove of peace, and something my mum made when I was younger a woollen knitted snowman, we also have a Santa, a choir boy and an angel.

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This is one of the new additions from this year - every year we buy at least one decoration to add to the tree and one of this years additions was this super cute sheep from Accessorize :)

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Finally on the tree itself is this beautiful porcelain angel that my mum and dad brought back from Germany the year before my dad died

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I also thought I'd show you this cute little nativity set we got a few years ago I love the characters chubby faces and my mum always laughs at the proportions of the figures - a fairly recent inclusion but a nod back to the true meaning of Christmas

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Finally my tree - decorated in white, silver, lilac and clear decorations this tiny little green tree is in my room,  and it has a little morphing snowflake on the top. I have some fabulous white, and lilac furry tinsel but unfortunately the cats love it too much for it to live on the tree without ending up all over the floor so it lives on the tops of my bookcase now ;)

Oh and just a little pic of the weather today very festive

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So I hope you've enjoyed that x I would like to take this opportunity to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and if you don't celebrate it I hope you all have a healthy and safe holiday period. Have fun, and eat and drink loads x I'll see you in a day or so with a review or two and a catch up - Merry Christmas xxx

Giveaway Winners Revealed

 Hi guys
It's time to announce the winners of  my Christmas / New Year giveaway - taking into account You Tube subscriptions I received 32 entries
Selected using random.org - the winner of the first prize containing an ELF Beauty Encyclopedia, A Compact Mirror and more is...


Number 31 which is Ria

The winner of prize number two which included a Sleek Sparkle Palette. George Lipglosses and more is ....

 Number 3 which is Em x

Huge congratulations ladies if you could please send your address details to pootle28@hotmail.com and I will get your prizes out to you as soon as I can after Christmas - Merry Christmas and don't be too disappointed if you didn't win I will be having more giveaways both here and on my You Tube channel xx

Thursday 23 December 2010

Giveaway Now Closed and Project 10 Pan Update

Hi guys just a little post to let you know that my giveaway has now ended I will be announcing the lucky winners tomorrow so don't forget to check back to see who had won.
I've been super busy with Christmas preparations today and I have to say I am a bit behind eek never mind one good thing today I finished my 3rd item on Project 10 Pan and ELF Luscious Liquid Lipstick in Baby Lips



I looove this so much definitely one of my favourite ELF products and thankfully I have a back up but as you can see there is a tiny bit left in this one but the twist mechanism isn't bringing any more out so alas it's no more



I will be back tomorrow with my giveaway winners and a Christmas post for you - see you soon x

Wednesday 22 December 2010

Cream Eyeshadows On A Budget - Scarlett & Crimson

Earlier this year the founders of the Ruby + Millie make up brand , Ruby Hammer and Millie Kendall introduced a newer and slightly cheaper diffusion line, Scarlett and Crimson. In funkier packaging this line is very much geared towards the younger market. Even though I'm probably not in their target demography I have to say the line really appealed to me - the packaging as I said is cool  and very goth, emo, the product range is good with brushes, temporary tattoos and make up items, and the prices are really competitive. I picked up two items all these many months ago two of the Stacks of Beauty Cream Eyeshadow Trios. I have to say this year in particular I have really showed a lot of love to cream eyeshadows they are so versatile- to be honest though you don't see a lot of them in drugstore brands but the Scarlett & Crimson brand offers a range of 5 different trios.



The trios come packaged in individual components which you can stack together in the trio, take off and store separately or if you have more than one trio you can stack them all together.





The most obvious trio for me to chose was The Naturals Trio -3 super natural colours ideal for a barely there look
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From Left To Right - Neutral Eyes, All The Sage and Thunder Road

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A few eye looks for you first up Neutraleyes -  a proper nude black out colour it would probably make a good base or exactly as the name suggests a neutralising shade ;)

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Next up All The Sage - what can I say about this colour apart from it's not that pleasant a shade, a sort of green / brown khaki that goes a bit yellow on the skin - it reminds me a bit of poo sorreee

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OK from my least favourite to my favourite colour in the trio Thunder Road -  a lovely dark grey it works great on its own or like any cream shadows it goes well as a base or as an accent when used with a powder or pigment.

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Thunder Road On It's Own

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Thunder Road With Urban Decays Gunmetal

In this trio the standout colour certainly is Thunder Road  - a great staple smokey grey colour, Neutraleyes is exactly that I can imagine that it might not show up on some people so maybe it's best as a base colour, where as All The Sage despite it funky name just isn't that nice a colour it fades from the Khaki shade to a sort of unpleasant yellow - not flattering

I also picked up The Smokey Trio I have to say this one wasn't really what I expected as you will see

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From Left To Right - Silver Spoon, Cha Cha Charcoal and Hot Pink

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We'll start off with the most wearable Silver Spoon - a gorgeous silvery grey that looks great on it's own

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or great with a powder shadow - this is with the silvery / lilac of MAC Idol Eyes

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Next up Cha Cha Charcoal - a very dark grey which is almost black - I have to say dear readers there is no way I was going to post a picture of me wearing this more on why later - but I'll just say this if I put this all over my lids I would be doing my best Alice Cooper impersonation - not for the fainted hearted but if your a goth girl this could be the one for you. Therefore I decided to try using it in a different way by using it as a cream liner as you can see hear with Silver Spoon all over the lid - sorry it's a tad blurry

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The last colour in this trio I'm afraid is one that will also never see my eyelids Hot Pink - and I have to say it's exactly that, a bright fuchsia pink - wearing it on my eyes is way to daring for me so again I had to think of some other uses for it - the most obvious use of a pink eyeshadow is as a blusher as you can see it actually blends down really nicely compared to the solid swatch earlier

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I also tried it on my lips and I have to say I was pretty happy with the results a lovely Hot Pink with quite a matte finish which surprised me but it actually lasted pretty well - sorry for the blurry pics again my camera was obviously having a bad day

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My favourite colour in the trio is obviously Silver Spoon -  the other two aren't really going to be my first choice in the morning now are they ;)

So what do I think, well the texture of the shadows in nice and creamy, they apply pretty well with a brush and with their fingers, they are pretty pigmented but I have to say they don't really last that well and they do have a tendency to run and crease a bit :( My only other complaint is the presence of the shall we say strange colours in the trios but if your younger and you want to experiment why not these certainly won't break the bank . There are 6 different trios to choose from in lots of different colours including blues and purples and they are available from Superdrug for £3.95 for a trio. Any questions please ask xx

Monday 20 December 2010

My Day In Pictures

A different type of post for you today - I planned to film a Vlog for my You Tube but my camera batteries were on their last legs so I took a few pictures of my day for you  - I've just noticed that a lot of these pics are food related eek well tis the season to get fat ;)

The Temperature This Morning - eek



Doesn't It Look Pretty Though



Ah That's Better





The Purpose Of The Trip - Yum



Look What I Found In TK Maxx



A Chocolate Treat



I hope you enjoyed this slice of my life in Co Durham and Tyne and Wear this morning I have a few more posts planned this week - I am definitely going to fit at least one review in, and my Christmas Decorations post as well as my giveaway draw so don't forget to keep checking back during the last minute rush xx

Saturday 18 December 2010

ELF Brush Haul

Hey my loves I hope you are all staying warm and cozy on this freezing day. Thankfully up north we seem to have escaped the worst of the snow this time round we just have a little bit and lots of solid ice, but I'm lead to believe we are going to get some more over the weekend eek.

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The one thing I would say is at last my post is starting to sort itself out at long last - my presents have all arrived as have a few goodies for me :) I placed a little ELF order to get the bits for my giveaway and I got a for things including some more brush shampoo, and another Studio Powder Brush

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I'm a bit late to this one I've had the brush for a while but I've just been using it for blusher and highlighter, well a few weeks ago I tried it for foundation and I have to say it is fabulous - no shedding and a nice even coverage so I got a back up :)

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I also picked up one of the new stippling brushes - duo fibre and synthetic I orginally thought this would be good for foundation but it seems a bit too soft irl so I think I will just be using it maybe for a blush either powder or cream, or for highlighter

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Any questions give me a yell and don't forget about my giveaway x