The Balm Nude Dude Eyeshadow Palette - Review And Giveaway - CLOSED

When I first got into make up I was a compulsive experimenter when it came to eyeshadow I used to play with colour and texture pretty much every time I did my make up. As I've got older though and more experienced with make up, on a daily basis I tend to stick to what I know suits me and I save experimentation and play for special occasions.

So what does suit me? well at the risk of being boring - a nude brown or a smokey eye. It's quick and easy to do and you can use a nude eyeshadow palette to create everything from a simple day look, to a full on smokey, evening look. 

One nude eyeshadow palette would in theory probably fulfil most of my eyeshadow needs, but being the beauty junkie that I am, I have a huge collection of nude, and neutral eyeshadow palettes and singles. What can I say I love choice! I normally alternate my shadows but at the moment I seem to be using  just one palette over and over again.

I received The Balm Nude Dude Volume 2 Nude Eyeshadow Palette, for Christmas and it was love at first sight. 

Like most of the products in The Balm range this palette comes in cardboard packaging with an invisible magnetic fastening. As you  know cardboard packaging isn't always my favourite but in this case I'll make an exception. In my experience they scuff easily and they can look a bit scratty even after only a few uses but this ones comes complete with a removable cardboard sleeve which should keep it a little bit more protected. 

Open the palette up and your greeted with a large mirror, 12 eyeshadow colours and a small double ended shadow / liner brush.

So yeah all of the shadows are supposed to resemble naked men but we'll gloss over that ;) colour wise this is the perfect nude palette, that will take you from to night x 

The shadows themselves range from a beautiful creamy ivory, to golds, coppers, bronzes and pink nudes, to dark chocolate browns and a gorgeous dark, black, grey crammed full of sparkle. There are a couple of matte shades but the majority have a little bit of shimmer or even glitter shot through them. So what do they look like...

Top row from left to right - Fearless, Flawless, Firm, Flirty, Friendly, and Fierce

Bottom row from left to right - Fabulous, Faithful, Fit, Feisty, Funny and Fine.

I've read a few reviews of the first Nude Tude palette and a couple of them talk about chalky shadows and poor pigmentation but that's definitely something that you can't say about this palette. The shadows are velvety soft, and the pigmentation is superb on even the palest, and the matte shades. and they blend together like a dream. There is a little bit of fall out on some of the sparkly and shimmery colours but I can live with that, after all that's what a fan brush is for.

Speaking of brushes this palette also comes with a little double ended shadow and liner brush. Although it's not a full sized brush, it certainly isn't a throw away or an afterthought. The hairs are soft and smooth, and whilst it's soft enough to blend shadows, it's firm enough to use as a liner brush.

I haven't worn a lot of make up over the last month or so but when I have this is the shadow palette that I've reached for. The colours are really wearable and the quality of the shadows makes them quick and easy to use. If you love your nude eyeshadows then this is definitely a palette worth considering. The Balm Nude Dude Eyeshadow Palette retails at around £29.99 and available from the likes of Superdrug, and Debenhams.

Do you love this palette as much as I do? Well on Friday 12th February my blog is 9 years old! Yes I've blogging for nearly 9 years now! More on my blogging journey on Friday but to celebrate my blogging birthday I'm giving one of you the opportunity to win your very own The Balm Nude Dude Eyeshadow Palette. Yeah! aren't I a nice person! All you need to do is fill in the Rafflecopter form below before 6th March 2015 for a chance to win. 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Remember the more times and ways you enter the better chance you have of winning. This giveaway is open worldwide and it's open to followers only so make sure you are following in the way you say because I will be checking. I would also appreciate it if you don't share this giveaway on competition sites or on giveaway message boards. I would love a genuine blog reader to win this giveaway if possible x Thanks for reading and if you have any questions please let me know, oh and good luck x 

Nails Of The Day - OPI Look At My Bow

Despite the hideous lighting and my short stubby nails I couldn't resist having a play with some of my new OPI Hello Kitty colours. I have some many colours from the collection now that it was difficult to choose which one to go for first but I decided to got for the proper girlie pink shade, Look At My Bow!

I had to take these pictures in artificial light so the colour is a little bit off. In real life Look At My Bow! is a warmer, much more vibrant, girlie pink, it's the sort of colour you would imagine Hello Kitty wearing on her claws, and keeping with the toy and character theme this colour just screams Barbie day wear.

The texture was a little bit thick and the first coat was a bit streaky, but like the majority of polishes in the OPI range, this one is pretty self levelling, and two carefully applied coats was enough for full coverage.

I think that this is a perfect colour for Spring and Summer, and it's one of those colours that works particularly well with a suntan or on darker skin. What do you think of Look At My Bow? Leave me a comment and let me know x

More Hello Kitty For OPI Goodies

Hey, hey it's Friday - welcome to the weekend! Although weekends don't mean as much as they used to for me - they are a perfect excuse for some serious family time and at the moment I need that x I've had another rubbishy week so I did what I always do when I'm feeling stressed I bought something. I'm trying to save a bit of money this year, so I'm trying to cut down on the shopping sometimes you just need a treat so I ordered a Lola Rose bracelet from QVC and I got this kit from ASOS.

Yup, another Hello Kitty for OPI kit :) I'm a huge fan of the OPI mini kits and this one had been on my radar since I first saw it. The kit contains 5 x 3.75ml OPI nail lacquers, and a free double ended OPI and Hello Kitty branded nail art tool.

Packaged in a plastic storage tube, the red double ended tool features a small metal dotting tool on one end, and a thin striping brush on the other end. As much as I love nail art I'm normally, pretty lazy when it comes to my nails, a quick paint job is usually all I manage, but I have an awful lot of nail art tools, and embellishments, so hopefully 2016 will be the year when I finally start to express my creative side.

The kit contains 5 of the Hello Kitty colours, including 4 shades that are available in the full size and one shade that is exclusive to this kit.

First the two palest shades - on the left is the exclusive shade Milk Bottle, which as the name would suggest is a creamy, milky, white, and on the right Let's Be Friends, a creamy, very pale almost French pink.

The next 3 shades are perfect for creating a German or a Belgian flag, or any bright comic book look, on the left is the black shade, Never Have Too Mani Friends! in the middle is the bright apple, red, 5 Apples Tall, and on the right is the bright, creamy yellow, My Twin Mimmy.

As with the previous kits the pigmentation is excellent and it only took on average 2 coats to achieve full coverage all be it on a plastic nail

If you read my previous Hello Kitty For OPI post (read it here), then you'll know that I already have 3 of these colours in the full size, never mind the kit was still will worth it for the exclusive colour and of course the super bright, My Twin Mimmy, I love yellow but it's definitely not a colour that I would wear everyday so the mini is the perfect way of having a colour for those days when you want a super bright nail.

All of the colours in this kit work perfectly together so this is a great kit if you want to to try OPI or if you want to try a little bit of nail art. I've seen this kit for sale at a  few different price points but ASOS is definitely the cheapest at £19.95 if your interested x  Have you tried any of the Hello Kitty For OPI kits yet?

My Little Box Diary Winner Revealed

Hi Guys x Just a quick little post for you today and for one of you it will be good one. My, My Little Box Diary Giveaway ended at midnight,so I thought I'd try and get the winner up ASAP. I had a lot more entries than expected, so thank you all for taking the time out to enter, and to follow my blog and all my other social media channels. I really enjoyed reading about your new years resolutions and you've definitely given my a few goals that I could maybe try and achieve myself in 2016 - good luck to all of you and I have that you all achieve you goals and your dreams. Unfortunately there can only be one winner though and that winner picked at random via Rafflecopter is....

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Jennifer Haden

Congratulations Jennifer x  I will be sending you an email shortly x  Jennifer won by following me on Instagram so always remember to utilise as many entry options as possible. If you weren't lucky enough to win this time don't worry I may have a review post and an early blogging birthday giveaway going up this weekend, so stay following for the chance to win a prize you'll really want to win x

Trimming My Stash - January 2016 Edition - Empties And Mini Reviews

I seem to say this an awful lot but here we go again, goodbye January and good riddance. I always try to start the year in a positive frame of mind but within 2 weeks it had all gone belly up. I'm trying to keep personal stuff off the blog at the moment but please, please will something nice happen to me for once! I'm trying to keep myself focused on my goals though, and as I've said in my previous post, I'm been having a lot of pamper time, and pamper times involves using up a lot of beauty products, so I present to you my January empties :)

The Body Shop Vanilla Spice Body Butter - 200ml
Philip Kingsley Body Building Shampoo - 20ml
"OPI" Cuticle Revitalize Oil Pen - Rose
The Body Shop Frosted Cranberry Body Polish - 75ml
May Beauty The Incredible Face Mask - 10ml
L'Occitane Foot Cream - 10ml
Leighton Denny Slick Tips - 12ml
Total - 7 Items

Bar a couple of exceptions January's empties were all about moisture. Although it wasn't the coldest of months the damp and the wind have all played havoc with my skin. My hands and nails have been super dry and my feet haven't been much better. I've cleansed, exfoliated and I've slathered myself with moisturiser from head to foot and at last I'm starting to see some results, and in the process I managed to finish 7 items.

1. The Body Shop Vanilla Spice Body Butter - 200ml

The Body Shop Body Butters are one of my winter essentials, and although I often use them if I've been on a beach or hot holiday, for me they are one of my holy grail products for dry, and chapped winter skin. I usually have about 4 different fragrances on the go at once, and as much as I love the original Cocoa Butter variant I love their festive scents. Unfortunately this fragrance didn't reappear in 2015, but it's one of my all time favourites. Couple a creamy vanilla scent with nutmeg, clove and cinnamon notes, and you've got a beautifully sweet, cake smelling body butter. A little of these butters goes a long way, and whilst they take a little while to absorb they really are a dry skin saviour.

2. Philip Kingsley Body Building Shampoo - 20ml

I was sent a kit a little while ago from the lovely people at Philip Kingsley that contained 3 of the best selling hair care products. The kit contained this lovely shampoo, that smelled gorgeous and that I really enjoyed using. You can read my full review here x

3. "OPI" Cuticle Revitalize Oil Pen - Rose

This is the second one of these cheapo potentially fake OPI, ebay cuticle oil pens that I've used up, and whilst I don't think they're the most moisturising product out there, they're cheap, and they're great for emergencies, travel or when you're on the go. The only thing that annoys me is that you can't get all of the product out of the pen but for a pound or so you can't argue.

4. The Body Shop Frosted Cranberry Body Polish - 75ml

Another festive fragrance from The Body Shop, and it's another one of my favourites Frosted Cranberry. I love this mouthwatering juicy fruit fragrance but I have to admit that I'm not really a fan of this particular product. It has quite a sticky, jam like texture, and the cranberry seed exfoliating particles for me just don't do it. The smell is lovely but the texture for me doesn't quite work.

5. May Beauty The Incredible Face Mask - 10ml

With changes in the weather, over indulgence, stress and being ill, over the last four weeks my skin has paid the price. I've dealt with pretty much everything from dry, red patches, to a horrid hormonal breakout. The breakout was the reason that I used this mask and it definitely seemed to have knocked it on the head. I'm really pleased that I bought myself some more of these for those spells when my skin just won't behave. You can read a full review of these masks here x

6. L'Occitane Foot Cream - 10ml

Apologies for the lack of picture but Mummy Lou threw the tube out before I'd had the chance to photograph it! This is a mini of one of my favourite foot creams of all time. I love the texture but what I love most about this is the smell. I'm not a huge fan of minty smelling foot products, so this lavender scented one fits the bill perfectly, and it makes it a perfect bedtime treat.This shea butter based cream also contains a little bit of mint that you can't really smell and arnica to make it a cooling and soothing essential for hot, dry and tired feet. I have quite a few foot products to use up but I will definitely consider purchasing the full 150ml size despite the £19 price tag.

7. Leighton Denny Slick Tips - 12ml

Apologies for the rubbish photograph, but the fact that I finished 2 cuticle products in January probably shows you just how dry my hands and cuticles have been. Created by celebrity manicurist Leighton Denny, you would expect this be a decent product and it is. It really helps moisturise and soothe dry, sore cuticles but the smell unfortunately doesn't rock my world, to me it smells like a combination of mint and lemongrass. I like it but there are products that I prefer so whilst I'll use up the other one that I have, I wouldn't go out of my way to repurchase.

On the whole I think this is a pretty decent start to the year x This month my aim is to use up a few skincare products and I'm also hoping to start working my way through a few make up items. Project 10 Pan is definitely still a possibility though so I might hold off on those till I make my mind up for definite ;) I'm also planning on having a little bit of a sort out of my bath and body products so hopefully I'll find a few more bits to use up. I know a lot of people start doing something similar in the new year so if you're trying to use up products or if you do a regular empties post or video then please leave me your links x

Isle Of Wolf Natural Perfumed Candle - Rose Absolute*

After another couple of lousy weeks in LouLouLand, I've been in serious need of a bit of a meditative and reflective time, so every night I've been lighting a candle and trying to use it as a tool for relaxation. Over the last few months I've been burning a lot of food, and spicy fragrances but I'm trying to switch it up a bit and look forward to the lighter nights and the spring. I already have a nice collection of fruit and floral scented candles but I decided to shake it up and try something new from My Pure.

I've tried a couple of candles from  Latvian brand Isle of Wolf now (read my reviews here and here) and I've grown to love their ethos, and their subtle and natural aromas so I decided to try another fragrance- this time I went for Rose Absolute.

Based near the shores of the Baltic Sea, this family company operates out of the historic Vilksala manor house. Vilksala literally translates as Isle Of Wolf, and the house and it's gardens provide inspiration for all of the candles that they produce.

Every candle is made by hand, using traditional methods, from 100% pure plant wax. All of the soy wax that they use is free from genetic modification and their naturally sourced cotton wicks are lead free, for a cleaner, safer, and more even burn. Their fragrances are also carefully sourced and they only use 100% natural aromas taken from both essential oils and plant extracts, and they are also suitable for vegans.

All of their candles have a 40 hour burn time and come boxed, and packaged in either a white or a black glass votive, in this case it's a black one which gives a very high end end sophisticated feel, and contrasts brilliantly with the creamy whiteness of the wax. The votive also comes with an attached cardboard coaster to protect your furniture from scratches and the heat which is a nice touch.

Think of a rose fragrance and you automatically think of that powdery, true English rose aroma, this though has a little bit more depth. The Isle Of Wold Rose Absolute scent is based on the fragrance of the Vilksala manor gardens, it's described as "the bursting ripe sweetness of rose flowers with fresh notes of red fruits and green leaves plus subtle touches of powder musk"

Fragrance is a hard thing to describe but for me I can definitely see where the official description is coming form. I definitely get a bit of the traditional rose scent but I also get a hint of maybe some green, herb notes, and a bit of geranium, with an almost sugary, powdery finish

This candle burns cleanly and evenly but for me it just doesn't seem to have as strong a fragrance throw as the previous Isle Of Wolf candles that I've tried. You can definitely smell it but this candle is really a one for a smaller room, such a bedroom or a bathroom, rather than my large open plan living room. If you like strong, heady fragranced candles then this one isn't for you but if you like a more subtle, intimate fragrance, with a high end interior magazine appearance then this candle could be right up your street. The Isle Of Wolf Natural Perfumed Candle in Rose Absolute retails at £15 from My Pure. Are you a fan of rose fragrances? Leave me a comment and let me know x

*Sample

Treat Those Tootsies With OKKO - A Review For My Pure*

Every winter I make the pledge to look after myself just a little bit more, and more often than not it ends up as one big fat fail! Yes I'll wrap up warm and eat things that make me happy but when the weather gets colder, my normal body care routine sometimes goes out of the window.

The way I look at it, I'm not going to be flashing the flesh as much as maybe I would maybe in the summer so I can ease off on the hair removal and stop worrying so much about the state of my feet and my thighs. It's a total false economy though when you think about it, the more you ignore your feet the worse they get, if you look after them all year round it makes your life way easier when you get to sandal season. So in an effort to break the habit of a life time, this winter I'm whipping off that hair and I'm trying to take care of my poor little tootsies. 

Thanks to a poorly thyroid gland my feet need an awful lot of TLC. My heels are very dry, and cracked, and I'm prone to dry patches and calluses on my toes, throw in a dose of poor circulation and I need some serious help. I seriously do try, I exfoliate, and I use foot cream regularly, but at the moment nothing seems to be working, so for one of January's My Pure reviews, I decided to try out a product from one of site's newest brands OKKO.

Founded in the UK by two mums, OKKO's ambition is to make people feel comfortable in their own skin. They produce a small range of balm based products for the skin and the body, all of which are 100% natural and 100% environmentally friendly. All of their products are handmade in small batches for freshness, and contain no chemical additives. They are also suitable for vegans and they aren't tested on animals.

The product that I decided to try from the range was the OKKO Skincare Natural Foot Balm With Peppermint and Rosemary. The ingredients in this balm are like an A-Z of nourishing plant ingredients, it contains extra virgin olive oil, mango butter, cocoa butter, coconut oil, rose hip oil and avocado oil, as well as vitamin E and peppermint oil, and rosemary oil, to refresh and soothe the skin.

This solid balm come packaged in a large eco friendly, cardboard tube similar to a lip balm, which saves on waste, and makes application a breeze. The balm itself has a solid waxy, oily texture and is translucent yellowish in appearance, which melts immediately on contact with the skin.

All you do is push the product up from the base, and apply it to clean dry, exfoliated skin. The balm melts on contact  and all you need to do is massage it gently into the skin. You can apply this all over the feet but I've been applying it specifically to my problem areas, mainly the sides of my toes and my heels. It doesn't absorb straight away so I would thoroughly recommend that you pop on a pair of cotton socks and let it soak in either for a few hours or if you can, overnight.

I'm not a huge fan of foot products fragranced with mint, and whilst this balm does contain peppermint extract, the rosemary fragrance dominates, given the feet a fresh feeling and a fresh scent.

I've been using this product every other day for around 3 weeks now and I can definitely see a difference. Appearance wise my feet look more healthier and hydrated, and there is definitely less dry skin on my heels and calluses on my toes. This product is great for moisturising the whole foot but for me, this product is ideal for those really troublesome areas that need a bit of extra love. 

This balm comes in a 42g tube but a little goes a long way, and since OKKO claim that even with daily use this product will last for for around 2 months, this product is both great value for money and great for your feet. The OKKO Skincare Natural Foot Balm With Peppermint and Rosemary comes in a 42g tube and retails at £14 from My Pure x  If you have any questions please let me know and thanks for reading x 

*Sample

My Little Box UK January 2016 Edition- My Little Wish Box And A Giveaway

I've got a special treat for you guys today, a subscription box, unboxing post. I normally post unboxing videos on my You Tube channel but because my face is still a bit puffy and my skin looks like rubbish, I'm posting it on here instead. Today then I'm showing you what's in the January 2016 UK Edition of My Little Box.

Every My Little Box is themed and this months box is entitled My Little Wish Box. All of the boxes are beautifully illustrated and this one is no exception, I always try and use my empty boxes and these ones are probably my favourites to reuse. They're nice to keep on show, and they're perfect for tidying away bits of stationery, crafty bits, and of course all those bits of make up, and nail polish, that you never seem to have any room for.

The first thing I normally do when I open the box is have a look through the bits of paper, My Little Box usually includes a couple of information cards on the products in the box, a quote card, and a mini magazine. I was never a fan of the fold out poster so I'm really pleased to see the return of the magazine but for me the paper stand out in this box is the quote card. It's one of my favourite quotes (although I have seen slightly different wording on occasions) and it's from Walt Disney  "All our dreams can come true, if you have the courage to pursue them" Definitely something to bear in mind when you're having a bad day.

My Little Box is very much a beauty and lifestyle box, so in each box you normally get a few lifestyle products, be it a piece of jewellery, stationery or even clothing. The stand out lifestyle product in this months box was this lovely, hard backed 2016 diary.

I'm not sure how well it's coming across here but it's in a beautiful duck blue, mint colour and it features the words "Dear Year, I Like You (Love Me) in metallic, rose gold, embossing on the front. It's a really nice quality diary and it features a week to two pages, so it's perfect for organising your schedule and keeping track of appointments

I really love it but why oh why wasn't this in say the December box. I already have two 2016 diaries, one handbag sized one that I got for Christmas, and a pretty, sparkly desk one that I bought myself so I can't justify keeping this one no matter how nice I think it is. I've asked around and all my friends and family already have their diaries and planners so I've decided to give this one away to one of you guys. So if you haven't got yourself a 2016 diary yet just fill in the Rafflecopter form below and I'll pick one lucky winner in a weeks time x This giveaway is open worldwide but the diary is in English but if you want it get entering x

a Rafflecopter giveaway


Next up another lifestyle item, the Petits Riens Bracelet Card, which is a jewellery item, come gift, come inspirational quotes, all rolled into one.

You get 4 tear off cards, each of which comes with a sentiment printed ribbon, and another card which has a curved metal charm, friendship bracelet on a mint / duck egg blue cord, with a Chinese / love knot style fastening.

I like the idea of this and the idea of giving your friends the sentiment that most suits them but what exactly do you do with the ribbons? I've seen some pictures with people wearing them as bracelets but for me they are nowhere near long enough to wrap around my wrist. I think I'll end up using mine for card making or scrapbooking, but since I love friendship bracelets, and things that you can stack I'll definitely be keeping the bracelet.

Now the bit you've all been waiting for the beauty items - first up a shout out to the little bags that you get, that usually contain the beauty products. Unlike the Birchbox bags these ones are a nice, size, they're made of a good fabric, the designs are cute, and you can reuse them. They are brilliant for popping things in, in your handbag, and they're great for packing things like cotton buds when you go on holiday.

The first item inside the bag is from My Little Box own brand, My Little Beauty, and it's the My Little Beauty Make A Wish Vanilla Scented Lip Balm in a 1.5g size. As useful as lip balms are I can't help but think they're a bit of a filler in beauty boxes and particularly when they're own branded ones like this. They do appear in an awful lot of boxes but it's something that I will probably use. I always have quite a few lip balms on the go at once so I hardly ever seem to use them up but they're always useful.

Next up something a little bit more interesting, a 50ml bottle REN Rosa Centifolia 3 In 1 Cleansing Water.

I'm slightly obsessed with cleansing waters, and I love all in ones and micellar waters for speed and convenience, so I can't wait to give this a proper go. It recommend for all skin types including the most sensitive and it's crammed full of rose otto, to calm and soothe the skin, a must have at this time of year. I'll probably do a Sample Saturday post on this when I've had a chance to try it.

The final product in the box is a make up item, and it's something that I've been wanting to try for a little while now. Too Faced Melted Liquified Long Wear Lipsticks, have the pigmentation and staying power, of a lipstick but with the convenience and ease of application of a gloss.

Packaged in a squeezy tube, it comes with a velour tipped, applicator tip, give it a squeeze and out comes oodles and oodles of thick, luscious liquid lipstick. I've tried a few different liquid lipsticks but this one seems to be in a different class, it tastes lovely, it feels nice on the lips, it's moisturising, and the pigmentation and wear time is worth writing about.

The colour I received is Melted Fuchsia, which is a pretty hot pink. You can apply it with a light hand for a gentler finish, but I can see myself saving this one for the summer months when I've got a bit more colour. This is only a 5ml size compared to the 12ml full size, but this is a great size for trying a pricier product and I can definitely see myself maybe picking up 1 or 2 more shades after trying this one x

Overall I don't think that this was a bad box, I've seen a couple of different variations and I definitely prefer the one that I got. I love the lipstick formulation and I'm really looking forward to trying the cleansing water, My lifestyle highlight is definitely the diary, I just with it had been sent a month or two sooner.

I was feeling a bit mehhh about My Little Box towards the end of last year, but I've really liked the last two boxes so I'm sticking with them for another month. You can find out more about My Little Box here x Do you subscribe to My Little Box? Did you get the same as me? Let me know x