(Very late) November Favourites

*Clinique Dramatically Different Moisturising Lotion-hate this on my face it does not work at all but I've been enjoying carrying this sample size around in my bag and using it as a hand cream. It's non greasy, not overly scented and nicely hydrating on dry winter hands.
*Models Own Mirrorball-love this collection! Expect a nail of the day post featuring this beauty soon.
*Nails Inc Caviar top coat-from this month's Glossy Box. Quite nicely surprised with this product. I'm not a big fan of top coats usually but this definitely increased the longevity of my mani.
*Sleek Pout Polish in Powder Pink-a lovely bright pink which due to the sheer nature of the product isn't overwhelming and actually quite wearable.
*Hemp Face Protector-I mentioned this in my Winter Skin Saviours post a few days ago. It's in my favourites this-and possibly every winter month-because it is literally changing my skin from rubbish and dull and dry to almost normal!
*MAC Coffee eye kohl-not a product I use all that often but throughout November I've been altering my smokey eye look from silver/black to shades of brown and nudes. This adds the perfect amount of darkness to lash and water lines without looking too done, if you see what I mean?

What have you been loving this month?

vxo

ASOS Beauty Sale Picks

Asos have a brilliant Christmas sort-of-sale on a huge range of the beauty ranges that they stock. Everything from GHDs to Barry M. I've got my eye on these few things in particular so if a certain Mr is reading then *cough* Yes please :)

*Essie Bikini So Teeny £6.50

*Benefit BadGal Lash and Liner set £14.00

*Tigi Bed Head Colour Goddess £20.00

*This Works Glamour Glimmer Gold Balm £10.00

*OPI Skyfall Collection-Moonraker £8.50

*POP Beaming Baked Eye Palette £11.00

*Ted Baker French Bulldog Print Cosmetic Bag £22.00

Anything you've spied in the Asos offer for your Christmas list?
(Three weeks to go yay!)

vxo

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L'Oreal Elnett Heat Protect Spray Volume review

I really don't like these 'lasts three days' claims. Even if you're lucky enough to not have to wash your hair for three days, the moment I sleep on my hair it all goes to hell anyway so what's the point? Having said that I do quite like this product. I've used it a few times now and my impressions so far are good. It's volumising without being crispy or crunchy. It (with the help of my beloved Moroccan Oil) makes my hair very soft and smooth. The smell is a bit ick but thankfully doesn't last. And it doesn't cost a fortune.
I spray this into my hair from roots to ends, brush through and blow dry and style as normal.  I like the volume it gives but of course, it doesn't last. It might be that because my hair is very long and quite thick the weight of it kills any volume created over time. First world problems.
Another good benefit is that it contains heat protector which I more often than not neglect to use.
(No hair pics I'm afraid, I badly need my hair colouring and won't subject you the appalling state of my roots. I have an appointment on Wednesday so maybe I'll share a picture of my at home blow dry later in the week.If you're that lucky haha.)

Elnett Heat Protect Spray Volume is available from Boots priced at £5.99. There are more available in the range, for straight and curly styles too. I am looking forward to using these and seeing if they're any better than the volume product.
Have you tried any of the new Elnett range?

vxo

Winter Skin Saviours

Oh it's cold! I adore this time of year so I'm not complaining but my skin is starting to. I though I'd share with you the products I use and how I change my skincare routine to fight the elements.

I have very dry skin which naturally gets much worse in the winter. If I leave it to it's own devices it gets very tight and develops dry patches around my nose and forehead. My makeup looks dreadful because it clings to the dry bits and my skin always looks so dull. These are the products I employ to fix my face.

*La Roche Posay Physiological Micellar Solution- when my skin is feeling stressed and I am feeling lazy I swap out foaming cleanser and water for this little beauty. An accessible alternative to Bioderma, this micellar water works exactly the same, takes away all the makeup, oil and dirt from your face and leaves it so clean and fresh feeling. Pros: easy, convenient, can be used as a toner. Cons: I  don't like the smell  it's very chemically, you will use lots of cotton pads.

*The Body Shop Vitamin C Microdermabrasion is possibly the roughest exfoliater I have ever used. I can actually only use it once a week and not go too rough otherwise it can be painful! Does an excellent job at removing dead, flaky (nice!) skin. Pros: perfect for sloughing off dead skin, brightening, smells fresh. Cons: can leave skin a bit red and sore, not for sensitive skin I expect.

*The Body Shop Nutriganics Softening Gel Cleanser-full review here but this is a great product for dry skin sufferers. Pros: removes every scrap of makeup including eye makeup, hydrating. Cons: I'm not keen on the packaging but that's just me being picky.

*The Body Shop (seeing a theme here) Honey Oat mask is a treat for dry/dehydrated skin. Apply a layer to clean dry skin and leave it for as long as you like really. Then wash off to reveal soft hydrated skin. Moisturise as normal and fin! Pros: has lumpy oat bits which exfoliate, smells divine. Cons: it's a lovely mask and I enjoy using it but it doesn't feel like I'm getting any long term benefits from it.

*I used The Body Shop Hemp Face Protector last winter, it saved my skin then and it's saving it now. I use it morning and night post cleansing and I find it stops that awful tight feeling I get sometimes. It is fairly greasy for the first half an hour or so after application but soon settles in and it's a more than adequate base for foundation. Pros:wonderfully hydrating and light. Cons:smells a bit odd but you soon get used to it.

*Carmex-this has been a staple in my makeup bag and routine for about eight years. Other lips balms will come and go but they never measure up to this gem holy grail product. I am absolutely addicted to the tingle and hydration it gives. I genuinely think this is the only product I will always buy. Pros: sooo moisturising, excellent base for lip products, smells divine, cheap. Cons:...erm...I think the manufacturers have stolen a gram or so from the product. It seems to have a cavernous hole in the base of the pot. Irrelevant though as I would buy it at ten times the price though.

And accessories: Muslin cloths for cleansing and large cotton pads.

All of these products are available from Boots and The Body Shop and I highly recommend them all.

How do you change your winter skin care routine? Do you have any products recommendations for me?

vxo

Glitter Top Coats

I've mentioned my total adoration for glitter top coats in the past so I thought I'd share my favourites with you today.

Left to right we have
*ELF Golden Goddess a sheer gold polish with large gold and small silver pieces of glitter.
*Technic Carnival clear polish with multicoloured glitter
*Models Own Boogie Nights clear polish with shades of purple and blue different shaped glitter
*Topshop Panther clear polish with black and silver glitter
*Models Own Snowflakes clear polish with torn iridescent glitter
*Models Own Ibiza Mix clear polish with multicoloured glitter
Pop Confetti Glitz clear polish with large purple and silver glitter.

To the swatches!

I have layered these polishes (one coat each)over Essie Sand Tropez. All of these polishes are very inexpensive too, the priciest being about £6. I love being able to change my manicure and get a bit more out of it than two days of a blah colour. Expect more of this on the run up to Christmas which I am super excited about by the way :)

I LOVE GLITTER!

Do you have any glitter recommendations for me? What's your favourite sparkly top coat?

vxo

I want #002

So it's nearly here. Four weeks til Christmas. And yesterday's tag post has got me thinking about my own Christmas list and lovely cosy clothes.

1 Topshop Stud Phone Case-have a new phone and this is the perfect stylish way to keep it safe in the chaos of the inside of my bag.
2 Philosophy Christmas Cookie bath and shower gel-I had this last year and almost wept when it ran out. Gorgeous sweet loveliness.
3 River Island dark purple scarf-looks toasty. 'Nuff said.
4 River Island Chelsea Boots-nice stylist flat winter boots. Would be very happy to unwrap these on Christmas morning.
5 Estee Lauder Michael Kors Gift Set-Estee Lauder gift set always seem to be really good value for money and that blusher looks divine.
6 Asos River Island Christmas Jumper-I love tacky Christmas jumpers. This is actually a men's (you can probably tell by the models massive hands!) but it won't stop me buying it and getting cosy.
7 The Body Shop Christmas Pud Washball-Had these last year. Just a bit of novelty but quite nice sponges. They also have a reindeer and snowman this year too!

Any of these things creeping onto your Christmas list? Have you made a list yet?

vxo

The Christmas Tag

Tag c/o Makeup Pixi3

What's your favourite thing about Christmas?
All of it!! It's my absolute favourite time of year. Love the late night shopping, the Christmas films, parties and nights out, shop window displays, twinkly lights, how happy everyone becomes, mad cosy Christmas jumpers, all of it! Mostly though I love spending time with my family. We all get together on Christmas Eve for a pyjama party, get cosy all twelve of us squashed into someone's lounge drinking and watching Elf. Same every year and it never disappoints.

What's your favourite makeup look for the festive season?
Glitter! As much as a can cram on my face usually. With a matte red lip.

Real tree or fake tree?
Fake every time. It infuriates me putting the damn thing up as it is but to add excessive needle drop to that, no thanks. I'd rather get it done and put my feet up with a hot chocolate.

Giving presents or receiving presents?
Giving! I love shopping for other people and that oh so rare moment when you know they will really appreciate what you've bought. (Always keep the receipts though, just in case.)

Do you open your presents Christmas morning or evening?
Always in the morning. Did it in the evening once and the entire family agreed it was too weird and to never do it again. Love how families have their own specific traditions with Christmas.

Handmade cards or bought?
Bought. Frankly I can't be bothered and I like buying charity ones anyway.

What's your favourite Christmas film?
I simply cannot narrow this down to one. Mr and I watch the same films in the few weekends leading up to Christmas every year. I would have to say top three would be Love Actually, Home Alone 2 (literally has me crying with laughter!) and Muppet's Christmas Carol.  We watched the Gavin and Stacey Christmas special the other day, not a film I know but still brilliant.

What's your favourite Christmas food?
Christmas pud is a huge favourite in our house. Personally I like anything that can be mulled particularly cider. And Baileys! Only time of the year I have it and will put it with anything I can think of.

Thanks to Georgina of Makeup Pixi3 (ace blog here have a look) for the brilliant tag. Feeling
super duper festive now thank you!. Off to eat this with a cup of tea :)

vxo

The Body Shop Nutriganics Softening Cleansing Gel

Nutriganics is a Body Shop range for first signs of ageing. Now, they deem this to be 30s and 40s. I'm in my early 20s and use a lot of this range. I find that products for mature skin suit me quite well because I have really quite dry skin that gets almost unmanageable in winter months.

This product itself is a white gel cleanser that you apply to dry skin. As you massage it in it becomes a transparent oil which removes every scrap of makeup on your face. You can even take off eye makeup with it which I think is brilliant. When you're finished massaging it in simply wipe away with a muslin cloth

This is a brilliant product for dry skin for two reasons: the oil is extremely hydrating and you also get the benefits of daily exfoliation from the muslin cloth.

This is about my fourth tube of this and I absolutely adore using it sill. It leaves my skin so soft and almost (almost!) glowing. Which as any dry skin sufferer will know is almost an impossibility.

Nutriganics Softening Cleaning Gel is available here for £9.00.

Have you tried any if the Nutriganics range?

vxo

Topshop Panther Nail polish

Hello and happy Monday to you all!

I am a big fan of the glitter top coat. My collection is growing exponentially.  The most recent addition being Panther by Topshop.

I saw this on the website when I was doing a cheeky mid week shop was powerless to resist. Not that it is particularly beautiful by any stretch but I am always in the market for more glitter on my nails :)

The polish itself is made up of same sized tiny pieces of black and silver hexagonal glitter in a clear polish.

I had a play around with the best colours to layer it over and thought it best over something grey/dark.

So from left to right we have 

1)Essie Sand Tropez, a putty colour 

2)Barry M Grey which is a very dark grey/blue 

3)Barry M Black, which is black.

I opted for Sand Tropez and I quite like the effect. Glitter polishes tend to be bright colours so this appeals to my inner goth :) and is perfect for this time of the year I think.

Panther from the Dark Side of Nude collection and is available on the Topshop website for £6.50.

Are you a fan of glitter polishes?

vxo

Weekend ramble and Nails Inc freebies

Afternoon :)

Hope your weekend has been lovely and restful. I hate this time on a Sunday just a few hours left of my own time til the stupid working week begins again. After years of living the student life, this 9-5 working stiff malarkey is really a shock to the system.

Thought I'd do a little post sharing what I've been up to this weekend.
Firstly my nice midweek Topshop order (mostly done to keep me sane  during a very difficult week!) arrived on Saturday. I just got a few bits to cheer myself up so nothing groundbreaking here.

SO we have
1) That Geek t-shirt. Semi hate myself for buying it but it really is as good as the reviews say. The fabric is very thick and feels good quality unlike so much of Topshop's offerings lately. Don't like the neckline however, but the fit is great: baggy but still nips in at the waist somehow. I've enjoyed wearing this with today with leggings, grey cardi and standard old Converse.
2) Panther nail polish-black and silver glitter top coat. What's not to love?
3) ShelterBox charity bracelet. I saw this when I was about to checkout and though why not for £2. I read a bit more about the charity after that and have to say it's a great cause. They provide shelter and essentials including water, tools and cooking equipment, to people who have been hit by disaster around the world. Recently they have been deployed to North America to help out after Hurricane Sandy. You can find out more information on their website here.

I've also been reading the newest issue of Glamour magazine with the Nails Inc freebie.

I normally don't get on with Nails Inc polishes but this one seems to have a slightly different formula. It was very thick and opaque and only needed two coats. The longevity seems to be pretty good too, I'm about two days in and only have slight tip wear. Normally by now it would have chipped so badly I'd have removed it in a huff. I got St James and it's between red and pink with a very glossy finish. For free I would totally recommend this  :)

Have you picked up any of the Nails Inc freebies this month?

I'm off to watch Home Alone 2 in a bid to make myself feel more Christmassey and bin off those Sunday blues!

vxo

OMG ANOTHER GLOSSY BOX POST!

It's that time again...

This months box is based around Stocking Fillers-specifically trying out products yourself that you might want to buy for loved ones when Christmas comes.
And the contents are pretty good this month (though the box looks a bit empty!)

We have

*Dr Jart BB cream-tried this out and it's a nice texture but about a zillion times too dark for me now. Maybe something to revisit in the summer.

*Burberry Body perfume- a good size sample of something I've been curious about for a while. In terms of scent I'm not usually a lover of rose bases but this is really quite gentle I actually think I like it.

*Alison Clare Remarkable mango body butter comes in a squirty tube rather than a pot which a always find odd. It's very thick and hydrating but the smell is really rather unusual, like mango mixed with something a bit floral. 

*Nails Inc Caviar top coat mini-have obviously heard lots about this over the years but never tried it so am curious. Will keep you posted on my thoughts!

*Dermalogica Daily Microfoliant is a cult product apparently loved by models. I am in favour if anything that will brighten my complexion so go into this with high expectations. Again, will keep you posted.

All in all I think it's a pretty good box. Had a love/unimpressed relationship with these boxes in the past (like so many other people) and after resubscribing two boxes ago so far, so impressed.

Hope your week has been enjoyable, but if it hasn't then no dramas because it's the freakin' weekend!!

Friday night so far has included blogging obv, listening to Elbow on Spotify and mourning the loss of my chap to COD. Anyone else a PlayStation widow this week? 

vxo

OPI The Top Ten

Another impromptu BuyaPowa purchase from last week, the OPI Top Ten collection!

*Slightly more massive pictures than usual I grant you, but I want to show off these amazing colours!

Absolutely thrilled to own this. As you will see in the coming 'Nail of the Day' posts on here, basically the only colours I ever wear on my nails are reds, pinks, nudes and darks. And obviously copious amounts of infuriating glitter top coat. Very very rarely will you see me in anything other than this, I'm not much of a fan of bright colours on my nails and frankly I loathe pastels.

When I saw this I thought of it as an opportunity to expand my nail varnish collection (not that it needs it) but when it arrived a few days later I could not believe my luck with the colours. They are all completely gorgeous and so wearable. There is literally a shade to suit every mood/outfit/time of the year, ANYTHING!

Here are some swatches...

How pretty?! :) A full spectrum of beautiful colours from white and pale nudes, through vibrant pinks and reds to dark nudes and vampy autumnal tones.

And with a flash...

They are great quality polishes as you expect from OPI. These swatches are all two coats though I do think some would benefit from three. I aim to wear all of these over the next few weeks and will of course be taking lot of pictures.

Ten miniature bottles of perfection for £17. This set is available from John Lewis for £28.50 and I highly recommend it appears on some Christmas lists!

Hope your week is starting well :)

vxo

Mini MAC haul

I splurged a little bit. I couldn't help it! And actually a little bit cross with myself for getting carried away and buying basically the same three shades in different products. But oh well, they are very pretty :)

So we have MAC Mineralize Blush in Love Thing, eye shadow in Star Violet and lipstick in Please Me.

Top left, Love Thing. Bottom left, Star Violet. Right, Please Me.

*Mineralize Blush in Love Thing: this is not the sort of shade I would usually go for. It is a very strongly pigmented red/pink shade with slight purpleish tone to it. You must apply this with a very light hand or you will end up resembling Great Aunt Sally. 

It does have some sparkle to it but thankfully it turns into a nice shimmer on the cheeks rather than glitter glitter. I'm really enjoying using this at the moment as I feel it brings a winter skin tone to life immediately.

*Star Violet eye shadow is one of the Veluxe Pearl range and is a really interesting colour. In some lights it looks definitely purple, and in some it's more of a bronze. When the light catches it though (see swatch picture above) it shows it's true spectrum. Absolute love this with black eye shadow liner.

*Matte lipstick in Please Me, to be honest I really don't like matte lipstick unless it's red. But I saw this on a blog I think and I couldn't stop thinking about it for a long time. So when I went for a little shop this weekend  I bought it without really testing it. Two things I noticed straight away: a) make sure your lips are freshly moisturised with your lip balm of choice or you will be heading to old lady territory and b) it smells of Milky Bar. This is something I've noticed with MAC lippies (Shy Girl I'm looking at you) and is not a bad thing.

As you can see it is a mid toned pink with a very subtle blue tinge and is very unforgiving in the lips. But I quite like it anyway because I don't own anything like it.

All in all, pretty pleased with my purchases but I need to start behaving myself! It's Christmas soon and I am gifting myself all of the things on my list. Other half is getting quite miffed ha.

Happy Sunday all!

vxo

The Body Shop Christmas collection

It's CHRISTMAS! It is officially here. It's November, the festive adverts are on the tv, the mince pies are on the shelves (and in the cupboard/tummy) the red cups are out and the Body Shop Christmas collection is here!

I went to a special instore event today to have a look at what is on offer this year and it does not disappoint.
There are the two standard limited edition Cranberry and Vanilla and the special super LE flavour which this year is a Ginger Sparkle. The range of products in each scent is actually pretty impressive: shower gel, body polish, body butter, body lotion, bath salts, hand wash, hand cream, hand lotion, soap, lip balm, not to mention the home fragrance oils and reed diffusers. The range is brilliant and I'm confident you will be able to find a product in a flavour that you like. There are also copious gift sets ranging from £5-£30. In addition there are some brilliant gift sets and little Christmassey accessories. And I nearly forgot the makeup which is a bit hit and miss but worth checking out. 

So here is what I bought

*Cranberry hand cream-I had one of these last year and used it up quite quickly, Really thick good quality hand cream for the bargain price of £4
*Christmas print nail file-I really like these Body Shop ones as disposable nail files and with a novelty print? I'm sold
*Ginger Sparkle shower gel, Vanilla Bliss body polish and Cranberry Joy body butter-looking forward to festive bath time now!

*Ginger and Vanilla home fragrance oils-drip them into some water in a ceramic oil burner and they will your room with gorgeous fragrances. I love burning scented candles but these are a really cheap and quite pretty alternative £4 each

I'm especially thrilled with my shopping trip because I got 20% off with my Love Your Body loyalty card (sidebar: quite a decent loyalty card as it goes. Costs £5 to join but you receive 10% off all purchases plus £5 and £10 gifts throughout the year and they often do big discount days for card holders.) and because I spent over twenty quid, I got a free gift...

...worth they reckon about £15.

So all in all lots of lovely goodies which cost me £27. Absolute bargain. 
The entire Christmas collection in available online here, but I do absolutely recommend that you have a look in store for yourself too.

Have you checked out any of The Body Shop Christmas collection yet?

vxo

Moroccan Oil

Hi all! Hope your Monday is going well.

I wanted to share my thoughts on Moroccan Oil with you.  I have been in two minds about whether or not to buy myself a bottle. Whenever I've experienced it in the past at the hairdressers etc I have loved it, the smell, how quickly it seemed to make my hair dry, the way it felt afterwards. And truly I have had to talk myself out of purchasing it on many occasions as I don't actually need it. (If I bought everything I wanted I would almost instantly become a homeless crazy lady hauling around her Glossy Boxes full of pretty stuff.)

So the mental wrestling over need/want has continued ever since. Unfortunately it popped up on BuyaPowa last week. I saw the email, said no. Had a look on the website, said no. The price dropped to £20, still said no. Smugly praised myself for being oh so strong. But the small part of me that desperately wanted this product couldn't leave it alone and checked the website one last time: there was one Moroccan Oil left. And before I knew what happened I had a 'Congratulations on your purchase' email from Buyapowa. Oops.

So onto the review. It does smell incredible, like medicine and herbs. One pump is about enough to cover the entirety of my quite long hair. The effects aren't immediately noticeable but once my hair is dried and brushed through the difference is obvious. My hair is left really soft, honestly it doesn't even feel like my bleached covered in split ends mane.

However, the same can be said for most hair oils. I have used and repurchased VO5 Miracle Oil and am also a big fan of the L'oreal Mythic Oil. So really it's not a giant surprise that I like Moroccan Oil. And it is better, but to quantify it by price? It's not three or four times better than the other products available on the market.

So to conclude, Moroccan Oil is amazing and lovely and if you get on with hair oils it may become your favourite product. But it is not, in my opinion, worth the £30 price tag.

What are your thoughts on Moroccan Oil?

vxo

Birthday Haul

Happy Sunday everyone :)

It was my birthday a few weeks ago and I've been dying to share my incredible birthday haul with you!

To say I'm a lucky girl is really somewhat of an understatement! This collective haul is all off the same person too- the long suffering husband of a makeup obsessive. He clearly has no qualms indulging my hobby.


We'll start with the Clinique:
Two Chubby Sticks in the shades Super Strawberry (deep pink) and Whoppin' Watermelon (light natural candy pink)
And apparently it was Bonus Time too so I also received this lovely gift tin containing a host of miniature Clinique favourites.

Then Naked 2! I wasn't actually mad keen on this at first but after using pretty much daily for a few weeks I actually think I prefer it to the original Naked palette.

I also received a humongous bottle of my all time favourite perfume Dolce & Gabbana The One. I am truly horrible at describing perfumes but this is such a classic, strong and quite sexy fragrance (I possibly think this is due to the incredible advertising with Scarlett Johansson-seriously, the woman is perfection).

And then the Chanel...

*Blusher in the shade 'In Love' is a beautiful true pink with the slightest shimmer which does not deposit chunks of glitter but adds a beautiful glow to the cheeks.

*Illusion D'Ombre in Illusoire is a wearable deep purple.

*Rouge Coco Shine in Boy-naturally.

*Soleil Tan De Chanel has been on my lust list for as long as I can remember. When I finally decided to bite the bullet and purchase I was horrified to find it had been discontinued. Luckily it has been reintroduced recently and my top bloke somehow memorised my ramblings over it and bought me one.

*Chanel make up bag. I am overcome with happiness whenever I need to retouch my face during the day.

All of this equals a very happy makeup obsessive :)

I love reading haul posts so please link me to any of yours!

Hope you all manage to ignore those Sunday night blues and have a great start to the week,

vxo

I want #001

*asos panel leggings- I had a pair of these last year and I wore them to death so currently in the market for a new pair

*Topshop star print jumper- I'm not really into prints but this is quite sweet and understated

*New Look raspberry slippers-the perfect autumn shoe?

*asos mittens- I buy gloves and mittens every winter and always manage to lose one or both shortly after. Maybe I should tie them to some string through my coat sleeves like when you were six?! 
*asos spike gem earrings-because who doesn't love a bit of rose gold eh?
*Warehouse bee print scarf-I just think this is totes adorbs
*asos swing dress-I like clothes that swish when you spin :)
*H&M Christmas cushion-don't judge me! Christmas is coming and I am gleeful!

Anything you're coveting at the moment?

vxo

No7 Instant Radiance foundation

After using up the last dregs of my beloved MUFE HD foundation recently I was dreading going on the hunt for a new foundation. Now, don't get me wrong I LOVE shopping for makeup whether I am in need or not but foundation shopping is a full on nightmare for me. I have difficult skin and high expectations from any product I purchase. This often leaves me disappointed and resentful of whichever brand has relieved me of £30.

Luckily though, Lisa Eldridge creative director of No7 had recently announced their Foundation Match Made Service: an in store service which promises to perfectly match your skin tone with their range of 17 shades.

I warily but excitedly went to my local store completely bare faced (!!) expecting a makeover and the hard sell. Not so. The SA used the little gadget to match me up as Cool Vanilla and then asked what I wanted from my foundation. 'Well, I've got dry skin which gets worse in the winter, I need a medium coverage but something that will stop me looking dead and something that will last all day.' Demanding, moi? The SA was totally unfazed and offered me samples of both Essentially Natural and Instant Radiance to try at home. Wait, what? It has never been my experience to 1. be under no pressure to buy at all and 2. for an assistant to be so forthcoming with a sample.

I hotfooted it home and tried both over the next few days and made my way back to the store the following weekend to make my purchase.

No7 Instant Radiance foundation

The foundation itself is absolutely ideal: medium coverage and buildable, dewy, hydrating and pretty long wearing. I couldn't have asked for anything more. And the colour match? Perfect. I am beyond thrilled. All of this for the bargain price of £12.50. I've paid two and three times as much for foundations on the past and been bitterly disappointed.

I'm not going to share swatches of this foundation as I really do urge you to get down to your local Boots and have a go for yourself. You can tell there has been a lot of thought and development in this new line of products and it is worth every penny.

Have you tried the No7 Foundation Match Made Service yet?

vxo

Happy Halloween!

Here's some alternative Hallowe'en fashions if polyester witch costumes aren't really your thing.

*Topshop J W Anderson top

* Asos skull print tights

*Office Starlight stud courts

*Just Cavalli jersey gown

*Topshop neon skull earrings

*Tarina Tarantino Beautiful Wickedness bracelet 

*Roberto Cavalli scarab beetle clip on earrings

*Topshop skeleton print leggings

*Motel Zena bodycon cross stud dress

*Asos Vera Meat claw ring

*Miss Selfridge cross lace tunic

I love this kind of fashion. Not sure I'd wear all of these piece (just don't think I could make skeleton leggings work) but the rest is right up my street. I especially adore the Roberto Cavalli bug earrings those colours are just stunning! 

What are your favourite alternative Halloween pieces? 

vxo

V05 Plump It Up Amplifying Blow Dry Lotion

I have dedicated my life to achieving naturally big hair.

No

Yes

I have tried countless products over the years with mixed results. I scour the aisles of Boots on a regular basis in search of a miracle product and will buy anything that promises coveted big hair. 

The V05 Plump It Up spray (NOT lotion) is something I've never heard of or read a review of before, but I thought I'd give it a go for the bargain price of about £4. Next time I washed my hair I liberally sprayed this into all of my hair as per the instructions-lengths, ends, roots, everything. Add a bit of Mythic Oil, then I tipped my bonce upside down and went nuts with my hairdryer for about 20 minutes. You can't but call me brave :)

You can just about see how much I've used in three goes :S oops!

The results were actually very good. Once I'd brushed my new lions mane through I was left with very thick looking hair which was enormous at the roots. Colour me impressed! Cue a bit of straightening and curling and I was quite pleased with the results. 

A few things to note about this product:

*not a lotion, most definitely a spray

*has heat protection which I don't always bother with (naughty me)

*when I'd curled my hair it definitely helped keep the curls in longer. Don't know exactly how but they held well til the end of the day

*I think that it did make my hair dirtier quicker, not in a major way but I washed it sooner than I normally would

*this products does not leave your hair sticky at all. Not one bit.

All in all, I am happy with my random volume-giving purchase. You win some you lose some hey? I can't find this on the Boots website but I bought mine in store about two weeks ago and I would definitely recommend giving it a bash yourself.

What are your favourite voluminising products? 

vxo

Essie: Skirting The Issue

This is the latest addition to my miniature Essie collection.

It is a very thin formula and requires three coats (rage!) for a half decent finish. I especially loathe these watery textures as I think it negatively affects the longevity of your manicure. It also makes application a bit tricky.
Despite this the colour is a rich burgundy without the purple which looks almost raspberry in some lights. It is perfect for this time of year.

So in conclusion-lovely colour, crap product.
Incidentally, the green nails file you can see peeping through my fingers in the background is from The Body Shop and is honestly the best file I've ever used.

Oh I do LOVE autumnal nails.

What are your favourite seasonal shades?

vxo