Benefit Inspired Blushers By Me Me Me

I recently read a post by the lovely Lollipop26 (Congrats on the Cosmo award Laura ;)on the new Blush Me Blush Boxes by Me Me Me. Intrigued or enabled as per usual, I placed a little order direct with Me Me Me for a couple of the blushers

Inspired by or borrowing heavily from Benefit ;) , they come in the same style of cardboard box with the same shorty stubby square brush. The two Colours I picked up were Coral - a lovely corally, peach tone



and Pink - a lovely, baby pink shade which is actually a little brighter than it appears here



I have to say I am really impressed by these they are very pigmented and super soft. As well as the Pink and Coral there are two other colours Bronze and Rouge. As per usual like all Me Me Me products they will probably be available in Superdrug, but I got mine from the Me Me Me website where they are currently on a special introductory price of £6.49 each - I thoroughly recommend ordering from the site - they took less than 3 days to come :) Any questions please ask xx

FOTD - A Naked Cover Up

I did some a quick make up before we took the cats to the vets for their jabs this morning, I say super quick because it probably took less than 5 minutes which is a bit of a record for me - it was probably just as well because it took 10 minutes to get Jake into his basket - he ran up and downstairs about 5 times before we managed to catch him, and by that time my make up had just about given up hope! - I don't think it's the vet he dislikes, more the journey in the car he is exactly the same when he goes to the cattery :( Anyways normally I wouldn't have bothered with any make up for such a little journey but last night I tried a little bit of facial waxing - big mistake - my chin was bright red and all flaky, and more than a bit sore :( So I used some mineral make up which is much more gentle and less of an irritant to cover it up, and it seems to have done the job thankfully, I also had another little play with my Naked palette which is perfect for no make up, make up - Enjoy xx

awful FOTD pic




weird eye pics again






Today I Wore

id Bare Minerals Foundation - Medium Beige
ELF Sheer Mineral Booster
Boots No7 Trio Concealer
The Balm Time Balm - Light*
MAC Powder Blusher - Tenderling
MAC MSF -By Candlelight
Urban Decay Eyeshadows - Naked and Hustle (Naked Palette)
GOSH Velvet Touch Eyeliner - Truly Brown
Collection 2000 Big Fake False Lash Effect Mascara - 17 Ultra Black
NYX Lip Lacquer Pot - LLP04 Georgia Peach


Georgia Peach isn't that pigmented but it gives a lovely pale nude glossy glow :) Any questions please ask xx

(* provided for review purposes)

Avon Goodies and a Rimmel Pressie

As you know last month I ordered a few things from Avon - well they came last night just as I was covered in cheesecake filling lol Anyway I order two make up bits - first of all an Ultra Colour Rich Mega Impact Lipstick in Never So Nude

I have to say this is so pretty both in the bullet with the faceted tip, and the colour which is a lovely bronze toned nude


I also ordered a Big Colour Eyeshadow Pencil in Plum Angel

This is double ended eyeshadow pencil - one side is Plum Passion

and the other is Angel Mist

Swatches :)

Because I'd spent £10 or more on make up I could purchase an Hello Kitty make up bag filled with goodies for only £7.50 I love Hello Kitty and I love make up so I added it to my order - first of all the make up bag - in a black quilted satin, it's trimmed in pink and features a Hello Kitty head on the front

and the Hello Kitty logo on the back

The bag contained a Super Curlacious Diamonds Black Mascara

A Glimmerstick Diamonds Eye Liner in Smokey Diamond a nice shimmery grey



and a True Colour Smokey Eyes quad


a perfect quad for smokey eyes with 2 shades of grey and shimmery white and a pink - the paler shades aren't showing up to clearly here but they are all soft and pigmented

So there you go more make up that I didn't need ;) Oh an my lovely mum also picked up the Rimmel Lash Accelerator Mascara for me - she said they were just putting them out in Tesco's and she was sure that was the one I'd mentioned so she bought it for me and a lovely bar of Cadburys Whole Nut too yum yum - she is a star, Happy Birthday Mam xxx I'll put a few pics up either later or tomorrow showing some pics from her birthday including some pics and maybe a birthday gift haul from my mum xxx
Any questions on anything please let me know xxx

Goods and Bads

Time for my weekly more goods and bads thankfully more goods this week :)

Goods

* The roof got fixed - hurray just in time because it's forecast for rain tomorrow
* It my mums birthday tomorrow - I am making her a special meal including a cheesecake which I've just finished and is in the fridge :)
* Talking of food I lost another 2 lbs this week which was a bit of a shock I've been bad over the last week and I've had a few treats eek
* Less than 26 days to my holidays :)
* My Avon's just came I'm very pleased with my order - more on that tomorrow x
* My mum bought me the new Rimmel mascara and some Cadburys Whole Nut from Tesco as a treat :)

Bads

* First Choice - we booked our holiday with First Choice and yesterday the seating plan etc for the flight came on line - not only are me and my mum in different rows but we are also nearly at the back of the plane. Not good my mum requires aircraft assistance and the use of the cabin lift (she can't climb the plane steps). The seats they had allocated us were right at the back of the plane ie miles away from the cabin lift the comes in just behind the cockpit. It means my mum would have to walk down the full lengtH of the plane to her seat she can't walk very fast or well so it would be a nightmare, with other passengers trying to get on and off. Anyway she rang them up again (she had already spoken to the Special Assistance team when we booked the holiday) and hopefully on the day we will now be allocated disability seats behind the bulkhead hmm we shall see we are going to ring up a few days before to be sure
* I've had a few really bad ME days last night I was all shaky and weepy and on Saturday I was just in pain all day :( I am going to see the ME/CFS team in a few weeks for a review appointment

That's it really feeling OK today, not to many bads, and I'm quite excited as to what my mum will think of her pressies etc. :) I'll pop up some pics of my Avon goodies sometime tomorrow and I'll try to put up some pics of my mums meal and pressies too :) xx

Do You Need A Kilo Off?

I recently received an email from the lovely people at Sparkle PR about a new nutritional supplement that can help you lose weight - as you know I am currently on a diet ahead of my up and coming holiday so I jumped at the chance to try something that might give me a helping hand. Because of my ME I can't really do much exercise, that along with extreme boredom and medication means that I am well, overweight and tend to struggle with diets and losing weight in general. Kilo Off is in essence a nutritional supplement - in each box you receive 10 sachets of the supplement (more on that later) and a booklet explaining more about the programme.

It's advised that you take one sachet every day for 20 days (that is 2 boxes) and alongside a good diet and some exercise, the supplement with it specially selected ingredients will help you achieve the following things

*It will help you to Burn Fat with the inclusion of green teas, guarana, mate and green coffee
*It will Drain Water and Toxins by including extracts such as grape marc, cherry stalk, meadowsweet and orange peel
*It will help you to Maintain a Flat Stomach by including extract of pineapple and papaya
*Finally it can help Reduce Hunger Pangs by the use of citrus and apple pectin and guar gum

Well these are pretty hefty claims - but how did it work for me? Well I started off by reading the Kilo Off Guide, as well as giving you information on the product, healthy eating and exercise it also helps you determine your Kilo profile. By answering a few questions basically it helps you find out what your food triggers are, and which of the 4 profiles you fit into. I was an Emotional Woman - no surprise there then, basically my overeating depends on my mood, this was a pretty accurate assessment for me, I eat when I am sad, or bored end of - the booklet then gives you some advice on how to deal with some of issues as well as determining when you should take the supplement - basically mine was whenever I felt under stress and felt the urge to eat, with me this is mostly at night I am a classic fridge raider.

So every night for 20 days (I was sent 1 box I bought another to test the programme properly) I mixed one sachet of the powder with a glass of water, when you initially add the powder it creates a frothy film on the top of the glass

I found that you actually need to stir it in to disperse the mixture, but I later discovered if you added the powder first then the cold water that it mixed in much better.

The drink itself tasted quite citrusy with a slight pineapple after taste it actually wasn't as bad as I thought it would be, the texture I have to say was a little weird, it felt slightly jelly (pectin, guar gum maybe) like but it wasn't unpleasant, you can see the residue left on the glass but I just drank another glass of water to clear the glass

I did find I had a little indigestion for the first few days, and I did need to how can I say this pee a little more but there weren't any major side effects. Over the course of the 20 days I managed to lose 7lbs. Admittedly I was eating very healthily during this time, and eating under 1250 calories a day. Whether the Kilo Off had made a difference I don't know but during the period of the test I had my period and normally during my time of the month I suffer from severe water retention and I have been known to put nearly 1/2 a stone on in weight however this time I actually managed to lose weight so maybe it did something. My one concern is that nowhere on any of the packaging does it tell you to consult your doctor before using it, just a little thing but it makes me wonder as to how much it actually can do for you. Never mind it definitely got rid of that bloated feeling and the water retention so it's something I would definitely try again, in fact I've already bought some more for just before my holidays. Kilo Off is available from Victoria Health and Amirose for £11.99 for 10 sachets, however I bought some from Fragrance Direct for £9.99. Any questions please let me know x

(I was sent this product for review purposes this hasn't altered my review in anyway)

Lovea Bio L'Argan Regenerating Body Scrub - A Review For My Pure

In my August / September parcel from My Pure I was delighted to receive another item from the Lovea brand. If you read my blog regularly you'll know that I've already reviewed a few Lovea products, and that I've generally been pretty impressed. A French brand, Lovea's products are certified organic and are generally Paraben and SLS free. 

The product I received this time is the Lovea Bio L'Argan Regenerating Body Scrub.  As you know I am a big body scrub fan especially at this time of year, were generally exposing more flesh (oo er), we might be self tanning, or recovering from, or in my case preparing for holidays.  

The key ingredient in this scrub is Argan oil, often know as Moroccan oil. This super oil which features in a lot of Lovea products, is high in vitamin E to moisturise, repair and protect the skin, and plant fats to promote cell regeneration. The scrub also contains crushed Argan nuts, sugar, and orange peel to provide the scrubbing action, as well as Sunflower oil for moisture. 

 The scrub itself comes in a squeezy tube applicator, this works fairly well but on the first use each time you do need to manipulate and squeeze the tube quite hard to get it to come out. The scrub itself is a brown / orange in colour, the scrub particles appear to be suspended in a oil/gel texture. You can see the individual particles quite clearly, brown for the Argan nut, orange for the orange peel, and small granules of sugar.  

The scrub spreads quite easily on dry or damp skin, giving a gentle but satisfying scrub, surprisingly though for this type of scrub it doesn't really foam. It rinses away easily and leaves the skin feeling soft and smooth, with the delicate fragrance of the product, a kind of nutty, citrus exactly like the shampoo I tested previously. 

I have to say I really liked this scrub, the smell, the combination of the sugar and the oils all left me skin feeling gorgeous - definitely another winner from Lovea - my only slight issue is the mess it leaves in the bath. I normally stick to pure sugar or salt scrubs because they dissolve in the water, however the argan and orange particles do have a tendency to cling to the bath even when you have let the water out. This isn't a huge bad as it does rinse away easily, and it might not bother some people but it's something I thought I better point out. 

 Lovea Bio L'Argan Regenerating Body Scrub retails at £7.49 for 150ml from My Pure (This product was provided by My Pure for review purposes - this hasn't altered my view in any way)

FOTD - You Make Me Feel Naked!!!

Sorry for the crap title lyrics you may not remember but there from a song by Louise "I have a sponsorship with Red magazine I'm in it so often" Redknapp, but never mind onto more positive things ;) today I did an eye look with my Naked palette - I'm sorry I may flirt with colours on my eyes but I am a neutral girl at heart -I love this palette more than I ever thought I would. I also used a palette for my cheeks using a depot from one of my MAC blusher palettes :) See 3rd September and I've dipped into two palettes already - enjoy xx





Sorry for the weird eye pic but you can see the colour better


Nudist Peach on it's own


Gold Charm over the top - I love this tony gold sparkles alas it's nearly bit the dust and is starting to smell weird but I am hanging onto because I love it - my first MAC lip product :)




Today I Wore

Rimmel Match Perfection Foundation - 100 Ivory
Boots No 7 Concealer Trio (all colours blended)
The Balm Time Balm Concealer - Light*
Boots No 7 Translucent Loose Powder
MAC Prep + Prime Eye -Light
MAC Powder Blusher - The Perfect Cheek
MAC MSF - By Candleight
Urban Decay Eyeshadow - Sin (all over the lid) and Smog (in the crease and outer corner)-(both from the Naked palette)
Urban Decay 24/7 Glide on Eye Pencil - Whiskey
Bourjois Coup de Theatre 2 in 1 Mascara - 51 Noir Excetionnel
Boots 17 Mirror Shine Lipstick - Nudist Peach
MAC Lipglass - Gold Charm

(*provided for review purposes,etc.etc....)

Good Things Skincare - My Thoughts

A little while ago on twitter, you tube and on blogs everyone seemed to be talking about Good Things skincare. For those of you who haven't came across the range yet - Good Things is a range of skincare developed by British beauty journalist Alice Hart-Davis. Designed specifically for young skin, the key ingredients are so called Superfruits such as Blueberry, Avocado and Goji Berry. The range is also free from Sodium Laureth Sulfate, Parabens, and Mineral Oils, and they are also free from Animal Ingredients, and are therefore suitable for vegetarians and vegans. Admittedly my skin isn't that young any more I am 32 years old but I'm still prone to a lot of the problems younger skins experience, i.e. breakouts, oiliness and redness, so after hearing so many good things (sorry ;) I had to give it a go. I picked up 3 products from the range the Five Minute Facial Mask, the Stay Clear Purifying Cleanser and the Miracle Mattifier Moisturiser. I've been using these products for a few weeks now and I think I'm now ready to let you know what I think, apologies in advance for the length of this post but I wanted to make it as comprehensive as possible :)

Good Things Five Minute Facial Mask

This was the first product in the range that I heard - a lot of bloggers had reviewed this and the feedback was generally pretty positive. Claimed to 2make skin clearer, brighter and smoother", this mask contains extracts of Avocado, Blueberry and Goji Berry. Avocado oil is as you probably know an excellent moisturiser - the Avocado flesh is full of Vitamins A,D, and E and essential fatty acids that provide nourishment both when we eat it and when we apply it to our skins (Tip From LouLou - If you ever eat an Avocado rub the skin onto your elbows, your hair and even onto your face for an instant moisture boost - don't forget to rinse though ;). The other major Superfruit extract in this mask is the Goji berry - a year or so ago you couldn't open a magazine without reading about this little red berries - I must admit I bought some from a health food shop but I could never see if they ever did anything - if I remember rightly I popped them into some flapjack :). Never the less they received a great deal of hype and probably rightly so they contain anti inflammatory properties which are essential in any face mask. The Five Minuted Facial also includes Blueberry extract which I will talk about later and Kaolin and Green Clay. Kaolin and Green Clay are often used in face masks because of their ability to draw out oil and impurities, and to help heal the skin. These are just some of the natural ingredients in this mask, the list goes on and on. It just shows you how well this product and range has been though out - nearly every ingredient is designed to do a specific job, but what did I think?

This mask comes packaged in the traditional squeezy tube style packaging - unlike some clay based masks it squeezes out without any problems.

The mask itself has a surprisingly creamy texture, probably down to the Avocado Oil- It's a cream / off white in colour and it smells amazing - it has a very fruity smell, which to be honest made my mouth water :)

The mask spreads out really easily and applies well to the face and neck without any dragging - although it dry in 5 minutes which is pretty impressive for a clay based mask you still have plenty of time to apply it before it starts to set - time for a scary picture of me - please don't let this put you off ;)

As I say the mask itself drys in about 5 minutes depending on the thickness of the layer you've applied. Like all clay masks it does dry hard but not so hard that its uncomfortable or dragging on the skin. I did find it needed a little bit of effort to remove but I found a muslin cloth easier to use than a facial sponge. The results to be honest speak for themselves after removal my face felt soft and smooth, it was a little bit pink and tingly but not uncomfortably so. My skin looked really glowy and bright, and my blemishes looked a lot drier and less angry. It's probably not the best mask for severe blemishes but I found this a nice all round mask which gave me fresher and brighter skin. I used it once a week but the instructions say you can use it whenever you need a boost so I think this mask would be a must before special occasions - all in all a huge thumbs up from me :) The Good Things Five Minute Facial Mask retails for around £5.99 for a 100ml tube.

Good Things Stay Clear Purifying Cleanser

The next product I purchased from the Good Things range was the Stay Clear Purifying Cleanser. Designed particularly for combination and oily skins, this cleanser in essence is a face wash, it contains several extracts specifically designed to gently cleanse the skin, whilst keeping oil and breakouts under control. The two main Superfruit extracts that this mask contains are Mango and Blueberry. The Mango extract contains antioxidants to boost the skin and the Blueberry extract as well as also containing antioxidants also contains anti-irritants to help soothe sore and inflamed skin. The cleanser also contains extracts of Willow Bark which contains salicylic acid to help with blemishes and Licorice which has anti inflammatory and clarifying benefit both of which are key roles in a product designed for oily or combination skins

As I said the cleanser itself is in essence a face wash - it has a slightly runny clear gel texture which dispenses easily from the squeezy tube. I have to say as you'd expect with ingredients such as Mango and Blueberry it smells amazingly edible - this is a real characteristic of the products that I've tried in the range they all have amazing smells. To use the product I applied it to my scrublet but it would work just as well by using your fingers, I then massaged it onto my damp skin for about a minute as instructed on the tube, before rinsing. Don't expect lots of foam with this product you won't get it - it's free from Sodium Laureth Sulfate which is a common foaming agent and instead uses natural foamers such as coconut and as a result it washes away easily and doesn't dry your skin as many SLS containing products can.

Good Things do claim that this product removes make up but I have to say I haven't tried it myself I personally prefer a creamy product for make up removal. So I've just been using this as a morning cleanser and I have to say I really, really, like this product my skin is left clean but not stripped or tight, and it's generally been a lot clearer - out of the three products I tried this is the one I would 110% repurchase. Good Things Stay Clean Purifying Cleanser comes in 150ml tube and retails for around £4.99

Good Thing Miracle Mattifier

The final product I purchased from the range was the Miracle Mattifier Moisturiser. I'm prone to oiliness so this seemed like an ideal choice for me. Designed to moisturise the skin but at the same absorb oil and prevent breakouts this product again is full of Good Things famous Superfuit extracts. It contains Blackcurrant, Goji Berry and Licorice which are both anti-inflammatory ingredients, as well Mango Seed Oil for moisture.

The moisturisers seem one of the few products in this range that are actually boxed, which is a good thing, there is so much waste produced by cosmetics which are over packaged. Anyways like all the other items I've tried in the range it comes in a squeezable tube.

The cream itself is a little thicker than I expected, but it spreads out and absorbs easily, and of course it smells gorgeous


My skin was left feeling soft and moisturised, but with a soft, matte finish. A few people have said that they have experienced problems applying foundation on the top of this cream but I personally haven't experienced any issues, I've even found that I haven't needed to use a primer and that my foundation actually seems to last longer- in short it's a great moisturiser for my skin type and it's definitely something I would consider repurchasing. Good Things Miracle Mattifier Moisturiser retails at £7.99 for 100ml.


I have to say that I really like the three products I have tried from this range. They smell amazing, and above all my skin has actually improved whilst using them - It generally looks clearer and I have definitely experienced fewer blemishes. Another thing I like about these products are the price - the most expensive product in the range is £7.99 making it super affordable. As I said earlier I also love their ethical policy and the fact that they are trying to keep nasties out of their products. There are several other products in the range including more cleansers, an exfoliator, more moisturisers, and specific eye and blemish products. The range is available exclusively from Boots. For more information check out the Good Things website. Any questions please let me know xxx

(I know it's pretty obvious from this post but I bought all of these items myself x)

Auf Wiedersehen To August

Well, there's another month done with 4 month to Christmas now argh! Well how did it go for me -financially not great I've recouped a bit back from ebay sales but the spending diet has been a bit of a fail this month still not to be deterred I will be starting again in September I really need to be good and try and save a bit for my hols in October - I've got a couple of things coming which I've ordered in August which obviously won't count but a new broom sweeps clean. Trimming my stash again went pretty well no make up but I still managed to finish 11 things

ELF Daily Brush Cleaner 250ml
Clynol Smooth Flatter Iron Spray 300ml
Avon Skin So Soft Replenishing Dry Oil Body Spray Soft & Fresh 150ml
Lacura 3 in 1 Facial Cleansing Wipes 25 Wipes
Veet Ready To Use Hair Removal Wax Strips Shea Butter and Berry 20 Strips
Anatomicals The Seven Deadly Skins Body Scrub 80ml
L'Oreal Perfect Clean Refreshing Foaming Gel Wash 150ml
Liz Earle Cleanse + Polish 100ml
Liz Earle Instant Boost Skin Tonic 50ml
Possibility Lemon Cheesecake Ultra Rich 3 In 1 Shower Gel, Shampoo and Bubble Bath 525ml
GOSH Velvet Touch Foundation Primer 30ml

I've also done pretty well in the other little challenge that I set myself this month - I haven't worn nudes or neutrals on my eyes at all this month all I've worn is colour mainly silvers and smokes,greens, and purples :) It's been a bit tough especially since my NAKED palette arrived but I've loved wearing colour and I'm definitely going to try and use more colour in my eye make up. My mini challenge this month is to use my palettes more for both blush and eyeshadow - I have loads of palettes premade ones, my MAC palette and obviously my Urban Decays so I've decided to try and use them all a bit more throughout September. I am in the process of reviewing a few make up products so I will still be trying those but I am going to try and stick to my palettes - I'll obviously be doing FOTD's so you can see how I get on. I hope August has been a good month for you all if not here's hoping September is better x