Benefit Watts Up! Review

Watts Up! (£24.50) is my favourite product from Benefit. This beautiful gold toned highlighter stick makes it super simple to highlight cheek bones, brow bones, the cupids brow or any other area you may wish to illuminate.

This pretty purple tube has been whipped out every morning without fail for the last couple of months because I just love it so much. The soft golden tone warms up my pale skin without looking too much and due to the blending sponge on the other end of the product you can gently blot it until blended into a softer, more daytime friendly shade.

This chubby cream stick has a twist up design that has a protective cap that prevents any damage to the product and helps keep any powder products that may be stored with it from causing any trouble. To use all I do is twist it up a little, swipe across each brow bone and cheek bone before popping the lid back on and flipping over to use the blending tool on the other end.

The blending sponge is domed and just firm enough to keep its shape nicely whilst being soft enough to blend the product into the skin nicely and give a diffused effect. The size I find is perfect for using on the brow bone but for cheek bones I would personally prefer something slightly larger so I use my Real Techniques Buffing Brush.

The photo above shows a swatch of Watts Up! both straight from the stick and blended into the skin using the blending sponge. As you can see, the colour is nice and warm but doesn't look too over the top on my fair skin and where the consistency is nice and creamy it's great for achieving a subtle look as well as something more dramatic for the evening. When light hits it, the formula is designed to bounce light and create an illuminated, soft focus effect that is incredibly flattering. And to cap it off, the staying power is great too! Holds in place all day!
If I'm totally honest, I simply cannot fault this product. With most things if I think hard enough I can find some sort of negative factor that I'd like improved but with this I really can't. I love it and if I was going to advise you to try just on product from Benefit, this would be it, hands down.

Annie xx

December Favourites

December is definitely the season of bright, sparkly makeup, glowing skin and long, fluttery lashes and I've enjoyed embracing all of these things during the festive period. Here's a little look at my top 5 from December.

Top of my favourites list, and reached for almost every day is the Urban Decay Naked 3 Palette £37 which I have found is totally perfect for creating soft, romantic smokey effects that just enhance the eye a little and look beautiful with lashings of volumising mascara.
When it comes to mascara I am generally very picky so when I was recommended the 17 Va Va Voom mascara £6.29 when my old favourite ran out I thought I'd give it a try. I have to say that I've been incredibly impressed and found it actually much better quality than some mascara's that cost twice or three times as much.
With it being party season, the false lashes have been whipped out a fair few times, especially since its also panto season for me and everyone knows that a pantomime fairy need big, fluttery lashes. I have found nothing better than eyelure lashes which retail for around £5 for ease of application, staying power and also beauty! They are so feminine and there is a design for all styles so I think it may well be love!
A warm golden glow is the look I've been going for with my skin, using a light bronzer, illuminating primers and then to top it off, contouring with the gorgeous Benefit Watts Up Highlighter £24.50 both along my brow bone and down the cheek bones to give a soft focus shimmer. This product is so flattering and such a lovely soft colour that I've found it one of the easiest, most satisfying highlighters to use.
Finally is a perfume that I have yearned for since April when I originally received a sample vial and was lucky enough to be treated to for Christmas. Dolce and Gabbana Pour Femme £57.50 for 50ml is a beautiful  warm oriental fragrance that has top notes of orange blossom, raspberry and neroli as well as a heart of vanilla, marshmallow and sandalwood which all combine to create a sensual, warm scent that has me hooked!

What have you found yourself reaching for most often recently? Have there been any real stand out products for you?
Annie xx

October Favourites

I love reading about what people have been enjoying using each month so thought I'd start writing my own favourites posts. If this is something you'd like me to keep writing every month then let me know :)

1. A newish love of mine, the Nuxe Eau Demaquillante Micellaire is a cleansing water that is lovely and soft on the skin yet melt makeup away on contact with the skin. The beautiful soft scent is nice and relaxing and the cleanser removes everything effortlessly. I've found myself reaching for this every day, morning and night.
2. A palette that I keep coming and going with, the MUA Undress Me palette I bought a few months ago to see how good a dupe it is for the Urban Decay Naked palette. This month I've found myself reaching for it quite a few times, especially for the more golden tones which I've loved wearing with bright red lips for a warm, autumn look.
3. Everyone knows I love the Ginvera BB cream and as the weather is getting colder I've found that where my skin is getting drier this has been perfect for giving good coverage as well as keeping my skin health and hydrated. Definitely one of my favourite beauty products of all time.
4. A newish product to my kit, the No7 Match Made concealer has been a real staple product for me since purchasing. I use it every day without fail to balance out excess redness, hide dark circles and provide a nice even base for my foundation. I have a full review of this coming up later this week complete with before and after shot (eek!) so keep an eye out.
5. I had wanted Watts Up for so long I can't remember so when I got made a supervisor I bought it as a little present to myself and oh goodness I love it. Another product I reach for daily! The soft golden glow looks beautiful in the autumn sunshine when worn along the cheek bones and on the brow bone. Looking forward to getting lots of use from it in the summer too :)

Those are my most reached for beauty bits this month. What have you found yourself enjoying most during October?

Annie xx

Benefit Feelin' Dandy Perk Me Up Kit

 The beautiful make up from Benefit never fails to entice me, and I think this kit actually has to be my favourite item in my entire makeup collection at the moment. It is so beautifully designed and contains nearly everything I need to be able to do my makeup in the mornings.

 The Feelin' Dandy kit contains a 4ml bottle of both Posie tint lip and cheek stain and High Beam highlighter, a 3g Dandelion blusher cake and a 6.5ml tube of Dandelion lip gloss. As well as this you also get a mini blush brush, a tips and tricks leaflet and a mirror built in to the lid of the kit :)
Each makeup item in the kit is numbered to correspond with the tips in the leaflet. I'll be honest though, the real reason I love this kit is simply that it contains all of my favourite products and means that I can easily use them together, even when I'm on the go.

Feelin' Dandy is the kit designed for fair skin tones and the shades are all pretty, pastel pinks designed to blend together beautifully. I've found myself reaching for this kit nearly every day for the last couple of months and using the Posie tint and Dandelion blusher combination to contour my cheeks and then the High Beam to highlight around my brows. I've never been a huge gloss fan so I haven't been using the Dandelion lip gloss as much, but I have popped a bit on top of my lipstick a few times for a little extra glow :)

At £25.50 I think that the convenience of this kit makes it very worth the investment. At first the bottles look fairly small but even after using them almost daily for several months now, there is still plenty left. Everyone knows that the quality of Benefit makeup is high and a favourite of a lot of makeup junkies like me so all in all, a great quality, very functionable, fairly reasonably priced kit that would make a great gift as well :)

What do you think of the Feelin' Dandy kit? Have you tried any of the perk me up kits? Would the price put you off?
Annie xx

Benefit Sun Beam Highlighter Review on Lighter Skin

Its been a while since I've blogged properly I know, we were away and now our house is full of stress because we're having our whole heating system replaced so it's been hard to find a quiet minute so sit and do some writing. But thats all pretty much over now so I'm back properly and todays post is a review that several people have asked me to post.

High Beam by Benefit is without a doubt one of the most loved highlighters on the market because it is easy to use, long lasting and flattering on almost all skin tones. The next addition to the collection was Moon Beam, another lovely, shimmering enhancer but what the collection lacked was a golden bronze highlighter and that is where Sun Beam comes in.

Sun Beam is the latest of the "beam" collection and is designed to flatter darker skin tones, olive shades and to  give a gorgeous summer glow. Now, being fairly pale, Sun Beam wasn't really created to be for my skin tone but I thought it was worth a trial and if not suitable, I could just use it as a cream eye shadow, BUT joy of joys, with the right makeup, this looks gorgeous even on fairly fair tones.

The applicator is the same as with the other Benefit highlighters which is oh so good for dotting the product in arches around the eye, along cheek bones or for a little sweep along shoulder bones. Because the product is fairly rich in colour as well as thick and creamy, you only need a small amount per use so this bottle lasts a looong time, I literally only use three dots on each side of my face per use so thats hardly anything making the  £18.50 price tag, which may at first seem a little steep, a whole lot more reasonable.

The swatch on my hand is one quick sweep with the brush. As you can see, the product is a lovely copper toned bronze that has a shimmer running through it. Now, I took this photo in Tenerife when my hand was a little tanned and at this point I think it had just about become a good colour match, so during the winter I wouldn't usually be able to wear this on my fair skin (I'm always the lightest foundation shades so I really am light) but as the weather warms up and my skin naturally tans a bit it becomes ok for me. My advice when it comes to skin tones it to, of course pop in and visit your nearest Benefit counter to swatch, but probably avoid if you are super pale and don't tend to tan at all. If like me, you tan easily, I would really recommend even on english rose tones for the summer as it gives such a warm, pretty glow and I think makes me look less "pasty".

My super heavy swatch from the 3rd photo left me with quite a yellow looking effect even when blended in but I had to show you how beautifully Sun Beam catches the light of the sun. It really does light up. On cheeks it gives you a lovely fresh glow and really enhances a tan. In Tenerife I wore this with Soap and Glory Solar Powder and Nars Orgasm Blush for a warm flush of summer colour.

So, my over all verdict? Yes Sun Beam can make a gorgeous highlighter, even on fairer tones, but I think that for it to work you need to have warm base tones to the skin and perhaps wait for the sunshine to come out before popping it on, paired with a little bronzer and a smoldering blush. Try before you buy fellow english roses :)

What do you think of Benefit Sun Beam? Have you tried it? How does it match up to your skin tone? What do you wear it with?
Annie x

Roses Are Red Etc Etc

Feliz Dia de Saint Valentin Three Little Buhos lovers!

You probably know if you've been reading my blog for a while that I'm a member, and actually, recently was lucky enough to be added to the admin team, of Beauty Box Swaps, a facebook community for beauty addicts to trade and sell their unloved beauty items.

For Valentines day I took part in a box swap with a lovely lady from the group. We set a £10 budget and also added items that we already had and put together a nice box of valentines treats for one another. Because I'm not actually in the UK this valentines day Jemma was very nice and sent my box a little earlier so I could open and enjoy before going away, hence I am able to show you my valentines pressies today :)

Jemma totally spoiled me, as well as all the goodies above she also sent me a some bits and pieces that went straight in to my suitcase before I took these photos including a gorgeous scarf and another pack of Cath Kidston tissues :)

The combination of fluffy socks, Soap and Glory and shiny things is so me, and its clear that she really thought about what I've said I like :)

How pretty are all of my lovely treats? I loved everything that Jemma was kind enough to send me from the floating candles, to the Cath Kidston brooches, from the Benefit minis to the hair pins. There isn't anything that won't be used and loved. So thank you hugely :)

What are you up to this Valentines day? Dan and I are both in Tenerife with my family to celebrate a birthday so we don't have any special plans but are going to find a nice restaurant to have dinner in. Whatever your plans, I hope you're enjoying you day :)

Annie xx

*ps, I'm away until 17th and this post is scheduled so if you comment and don't get a reply, I promise it's not that I'm ignoring you! <3*

The Lust List- Makeup Edition

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Technic Highlights Highlighter Review

Hello,
Today saw another really busy one. We were the busiest I've ever known at work. At one point we actually ran out of teapots... Now, tell me, how can you have a tea shop with no teapots left to serve people? Oh well, on to the beauty!

Now, today I am reviewing perhaps one of the best dupes around and that is Highlights by Technic which is the well known dupe for Benefit's High Beam. In terms of packaging and product appearance there is very very little difference between the two. As for the price tag, there really is. I picked up this bottle for £2.49 in Just Beauty, where as for a bottle of High Beam you will pay £18.50 and get the same amount of product. I'd like to say now that I haven't ever owned a bottle of High Beam so this isn't a post directly comparing the two, but there are a few comparisons that are based solely from swatching High Beam on the Benefit counter at work.

Highlights is a cream based highlighter that is great for use on the brow bone, top of your cheeks and on your cupids bow to keep you looking radiant. The colour is a pearlescent light pink that is almost silver when it catches the light and I find it very easy to wear without looking too heavy or sparkly for every day, it just leaves you with a soft, healthy glow.

The texture of this highlighter is lovely and light and doesn't feel greasy or heavy on my skin, I also find that it doesn't fade or rub off during the day which I think is really good, especially for such a low priced product.

I only have one complaint with Highlights and that is the quality of the brush. As you can see in the photo above, the bristles aren't very good quality and tend to splay a little in what ever direction they see fit. I think this is the only place however that you can really see that this is a low end product and to be honest it is a very small niggle as the brush is only used to dot a little bit of the highlighter on to your face. I then use my fingers to blend the highlighter in so it isn't a big problem but this is one area where the Benefit High Beam does stand out as being the better quality, but does that really justify a £16 price difference? I think not to be honest.
One thing that does also bug me about the Technic offering is just how clearly they have copied the High Beam bottle, down to the font of the writing. Fair play, a dupe is a dupe, but it seems a little OTT in my opinion, it feels a little too desperate to be seen as a copy of a Benefit product.

So over all, I rate this very highly and I think that for £2.49 you can't go wrong, especially if this is your first time using a highlighter and don't want to fork out lots of money for a high end product even if the packaging does bug me a little :P
Have you ever tried this product? Do you think its a better option that High Beam? Or are you devoted to Benefit? Personally, I think I'll be sticking to Highlights, although I do have my eye on Sun Beam.
Annie x

The Lust List- May

Hello,
A late night post from me today, sorry about that! I fell asleep for three hours after work so my body clock is a little out.
I missed writing my Lust List last month so its back again!

1. How cute are these little animals rings? I, of course, love the owl ring and I also have a bit of a soft spot for the hedgehog!

2. A little geeky (I blame Dan for getting me reading Questionable Content) but if anyone was to ever buy me a cuddly Winslow then I would love them forever!

3. I am so in love with Benefit blushers. When I had an in store make-over the lovely Benebabe used Hervana on me and it was such a soft, pretty colour.

4. Paul and Joe never fail to make fab makeup products which also look amazing. I really like the cat collection lipsticks but this one is my favourite as it has paw prints all over the bullet instead of a cats head which I would feel guilty about using. And isn't that colour just gorgeous?

5. Yay for pretty night wear. This chemise by Ted Baker for Debenhams catches my eye every time I go to work. It's so hard to resist buying one!

6. Ok, I'll admit it, when I first saw this on the Fiorelli website I so nearly screamed out with delight. It is almost a perfect copy of their Cabana bag that I fell so madly in love with last year but couldn't justify buying. The torturous thing is, now they have brought out the (possibly even nicer) Marion bag I simply can't afford it this year so it looks like I'll still be going without :(

7. Lat but not least is the Sunny Side bubble bar from Lush. Their bubble bars are really fun and make bath time extra special. I love that this one is soooo glittery!

So theres my May Lust List. What were you lusting over during May? Are you wanting any of these goodies as well?
Annie x

The Big Sample Experiment- Week Four

Hello,
I meant to post this last night but I had a rather rough day and just didn't get round to it. I'm sure all of my regular readers will know about The Big Sample Experiment that I have been running by now so I'll save you all the explanation again. This week was week four and I have to say that I have now put a big dent in my stock pile of samples (I can actually close the beauty box their kept in now!). I think to really use them up though that I am going to extend my experiment and keep at it all through May as well. By the end of May I think I should only be left with the real dregs that no one will ever use up.
This week I have been using 6 samples and have been pretty happy with them all. I also tried a 7th but I think that had gone off so we won't even go there! I have used:

Lancome Cleansing Fluid

Clarins Eye Contour Gel

Dior Deep Hydration Sorbet

Fifteen Conditioner

Benefit Facial Cream

Nivea Soft Touch Body Lotion

What I thought:

Lancome Cleansing Fluid: This cleanser is very effective. There is no scent which will please lots of people. It removes all traces of make-up and dirt from the skin whilst at the same time being very soft and kind to the skin. I did find it a little oily if you use too much but that was my only complaint. Rated 4/5

Clarins Eye Contour Gel: This has definitely been the stand out product from my sample experiment so far. I totally love it. Even o my fairly young skin I noticed an instant difference after using this gel. Instantly dark circles were lightened, colour was evened out and my eyes look much more awake. The sample wasn't large enough to tell whether I would see any long term effect but I would definitely recommend this. At £28 the price is high, but you need so little of this in one go that the 20ml bottle would last a very long time. Rated 5/5

Dior Deep Hydration Sorbet: From Dior I was expecting great things and I wasn't disappointed. The cream was a wonderful thick consistency that melted into skin very easily. The scent was also lovely, rich and indulgent but not very heavy so it wouldn't annoy people who don't like scented products. After use my skin felt wonderfully smooth and hydrated. I did find though that it was left a little sticky which I didn't like...or understand to be honest. Being Dior this has a very high price tag and I think that is its falling point. Its nice, but not £40 worth of nice. There are other creams which do the job just as well for a lot less money. Rated 3.5/5

Fifteen Conditioner: This is a make that I hadn't heard of before. I also struggled to find it on google so maybe it's made exclusively for hotels as thats where I picked this sample up. I really enjoyed using this sample. It had a wonderful old english rose smell which is one of my favourite scents at the moment. I also found the conditioner to be very effective in making my hair soft and shiny. I did find though that unlike most conditioners, I had a lot of trouble with tangles still after use which was a down side. The consistency was also very thick so I had trouble getting it all out of the bottle. Over all, rated 3/5

Benefit Facial Cream: There is so much I could say about the skin care range from Benefit. I adore it all, every product is very effective and totally worth the slightly steep price tag. The facial cream is no exception. The smell is divine, maybe a little strong for those who like scent free products, but divine none the less. I use this cream at night after taking all of my make-up off and my face looks and feels instantly soothed and refreshed. An added bonus is that, again, you need very little for each application so it will last a nice long time. Rated 5/5

Nivea Soft Touch Body Lotion: There isn't a huge amount to say about this sample. It worked just like you would expect a body lotion to do so. There was no scent to the product which I found a little disappointing but it did work very well. The cream sank in very quickly and felt instantly hydrated, especially on my dry legs but they were left feeling slightly...slippy. So all round, a bit of a boring product. Rated 3.5/5

And thats my samples for the week!

Have you tried any of these products?

Annie x

FOTD- Spring Pastels

Hello,
Is anyone else really fed up with all of the rain and grey weather we're having? I'm so desperate to start wearing all of my pretty summer dresses or even just a little cardigan rather than a thick coat!
Alas, for now I'll just have to channel the summer vibe through my make-up. Today I've been wearing pretty pastel shades.

I seem to have pretty big eye bags here after my night of not much sleep last night but other than that, I was really happy with todays look.

What I used:

Face:

• Estee Lauder Invisible Fluid Foundation in 1NW2
• Calvin Klein Long Wear Clarifying Powder in Light
• Benefit The POREfessional
• E.l.f Healthy Glow Bronzer in Luminance
• Benefit Dandelion
• E.l.f Natural Radiance Blusher in Coy

Eyes:

• Chilli Pepper pastel eye palette nude and teal
• Rimmel Londond Eyebrow Pencil in Black/brown
• Rimmel London Scandaleyes in Extreme Black

Lips:

• Lush Bubblegum Lip Scrub
• Collection (2000) Cream Puff in Cotton Candy

I really like light, fairly natural looking make-up so these are all products that I reach for pretty often. I know there has been a lot of disagreement over Cream Puff amongbeauty bloggers recently, but I personally love it. It might be that I happen to suit this colour better than some people do, but I haven't found any problems at all. The smell and taste is yummy, the consistency creamy and the pigmentation high quality.

What do you think of todays look? Have you tried Cream Puff?

Annie x

The Latest Haul

Hello,
TGIF eh?
I'm rubbish at saving money, no matter how often I tell myself that I will. So I have another haul to show you today from the last couple of weeks. I haven't been too naughty but when I went for a Benefit make-over things all came a little unstuck when it came to saving.

First up, heres the beauty bits. The E.l.f goodies and the false eyelashes I mentioned in my payday treats post last week. I finally got around to collecting the E.l.f package from the sorting office today and was really happy with all four products. I got a mineral lipstick in Natural Nymph, a kabuki brush from the studio collection, a clarifying pressed powder in Ivory and a natural glow bronzer in Luminance. I can't wait to try all four out properly. The brush is so wonderfully smooth. The false lashes are thicker than I normally like but they're for use in stage make-up so they won't look too much. And then there was Benefit :P I went for a make-over session to try and cheer myself up a bit since my depression has been playing up rather badly recently and I came away with Dandelion, one of their classic blushers. I honestly can't fault any Benefit product that I've tried, they are all completely wonderful and this blusher is no exception. The colour is a pretty pink and looks nice on my fair skin. I'll be writing a full review on this soon for sure :) The funky print in the background of the photo is a little slouchy top that I bought in the New Look sale for around £4 to wear with leggings or my black dip hemmed skirt.

(Sorry about the poor quality of this photo, it was taken in a dusty mirror then hugelyyy cropped down) Also in the New Look sale I bought a lilac vest top to wear under loose fitting tops etc for £2 which I was wearing in this photo but its covered. And finally I bought this cream top which is made of really soft material and is nice and baggy for relaxing in. I really like the feel of it and the soft striped pattern. I'm also weirdly into the cut out shoulders.

And last but not least (pictured badly using my webcam) is this fabby buho top from TK Maxx. Isn't he cute in his big white glasses? I also cannot believe how young I look in this photo. This top set me back £8 and I already know it will get a lot of wear.

What have you been hauling recently? Have you been as bad at saving money as I have?
I'm off to eat too much ice cream and watch Russell Howard to chase the blues away a little.
Annie x

FOTD Spring Time

Hello,
Just a little face of the day post for you today. I've had a lovely day out with my mum to try to counteract all the little annoyances that life is throwing at us both. I tried my very best to be good but I did end up buying a few bits and I treated myself to some new bras because I really did need those haha.

Today I went for a light, spring face. I used BB cream instead of my usual foundation and a nice light blushed to stay looking softly highlighted.

On my face I used Garnier BB cream in Light, Calvin Klein Long Wear pressed powder in Light, Estee Lauder Double Wear concealer in Light (haha, trend much?!) and The POREfessional from Benefit. I also used an unbranded blusher that I've had for years to highlight my cheek bones and E.l.f Natural Radiance blusher in Coy to contour the cheek bones.
To create the eye effect I used my Chilli Pepper palette which I'm trying to pan at the moment. I used the nude shade which is almost all gone all over the lid and applied the dark grey along the lid near the last line. On the waterline I used a soft Ted Baker eyeliner pencil before finishing off with one coat of Scandaleyes mascara.
My eyebrows I filled out with my Rimmel London brow pencil in Black/Brown.
I used my Lush lip scrub to remove any chapped skin from my lips before using Pixi lip stain in Love before topping with a coat of Barry M lipgloss.
Finally, I set the look using my E.l.f mist and set spray to make sure the look stayed in place all day :)

As you can see, I'm still loving the bright lip look :P I'm sorry for the repetition but I have another FOTD lined up for you tomorrow to show off the 1920's style make-up that I will be wearing during a play in in during May. We have the promotional photo shoot tomorrow so I'm looking forward to that!

What have you been up to so far this weekend? Have you posted today? If so, link me up, I'm looking for some new reading material :)
Annie x

The Big Sample Survival Experiment Week Two

Hello,
Another Monday out of the way and another week into my Big Sample Survival Experiment.
This week I have used very few samples because I wanted to wait until the skin on my face fully recovered from the allergic reaction I suffered before risking the use of any other products on it. My skin is now fully mended (thank god! No more flakey eyebrows!) and I will be back to sampling a few more products, although I am still a little scared to use them.
Anyways, back to this week. I have managed to test 6 different products and I have to say, its been a fairly good week. I have used:

• Bee Kind Moisturising Shampoo
• Benefit Triple Performing Facial Emulsion
• Molton Brown Revitalising Shampoo
• Garnier Fructis Conditioner
• Lancome Bi-Facil Double Action Eye Make-up Remover
• Percy and Reed Hydrating Mask

The Reviews:

Bee Kind Moisturising Shampoo: A bit of a mixed verdict on this one. My first impression was good; as soon as I squeezed the product out, I was greeted with a refreshing citrus smell and a shampoo that had a good consistancy. Straight away I could tell there wasn't enough to cover my huge mane of hair but it made a valiant effort. I found that this left my hair feeling rather heavy for some reason but when it had dried, my hair was beautifully soft and shiny. Over all I give this a thumbs up and rate it 3.5/5

Benefit Triple Performing Facial Emulsion: I'm a big benefit fan so I was excited to try out this sample from their new skin care range. This cream is wonderful. The scent is lovely and reminds me of something that my mum used to use when I was young. I do find the formula a little runny so its easy to use more than I would ideally like, but it makes skin wonderfully soft and hydrated instantly and is refreshing on skin thats tired from harsh weather conditions. There's also the added bonus of SPF15 coverage in the cream so you don't need to worry about using a sunscreen or SPF packed foundation. A big thumbs up and a rating of 5/5!

Molton Brown Revitalising Shampoo: There isn't a huge amount to say about this lovely little shampoo from Molton Brown. The formula is nice and thick, lathers up well in hair and feels nice an luxurious. My hair was left feeling soft and smooth although a little less bright than usual. A little torn over the product so rated 3.5/5

Garnier Fructis Conditioner: Definitely the most disappointing sample of the week. The conditioner was weak and watery and did absolutely nothing for my hair. The scent was lovely but that would be a lot more useful if the product actually did something and didn't need to instantly be topped up with a different conditioned. Very disappointed so a thumbs down and 1/5

Lancome Bi-facil Double Action Eye Make-up Remover: When I first started using this product I wasn't sure about it. I've always disliked oily make-up removers but I take that back. This is the best eye make-up remover I've ever used. It is soft and soothing, even on delicate skin and whilst oily in the bottle it doesn't look or feel oily in use. The formula removes make-up quickly and easily with no scrubbing required which means that despite the high RRP it will last a nice long time making it worth the money. Rated 5/5

Percy and Reed Hydrating Mask: Another fabby product. Percy and Reed are known for their high quality products and this hydrating mask is no exception. The formula is indulgently thick and creamy making it very easy to apply. After leaving it on for 10 minutes my hair was soft, shiny and full of volume. Its the healthiest looking that I have seen it in a long time. But, on the flip side, I do think this product is rather pricey for what is essentially a deep hydration conditioner so I rate it 4/5

Wow, sorry for the wordy post. Does anyone have any idea how I can make these shorter? Have you tried any of these products?

Annie x

Benefit- The Porefessional Review

Hello,
Today has been wonderful. I had a lovely day in Bath with Daniel. We went for a yummy brunch at The Cosy Club before my very patient Mr let me look around all of the cosmetics shops in town and didn't complain once. I was very restrained and managed to only buy one little bath bomb from Lush and nothing else :)

A few weeks back, after wonderful service from a lady working on the Benefit counter, I picked up a tube of The Porefessional, one of their most recent offerings. The Porefessional for those who don't know, is a pore minimising primer that you dab on to areas where the pores are visible to instantly hide them. Its like magic!
The primer is designedto be used both on its own to boost confidence on non make-up days or to be worn under/over foundation for an ultra polished look.
The formula is very thick and creamy and you only need a very small amount to cover all problem areas. I'd say I only use a pea sized amount each time (the swatch above would last two days) and that is enough to completely hide any visible pores. Silica in the cream also means that the cream sits in a way that is completely smooth on the face and allows foundation to glide on like a dream over the top without making the area look greasy or unnatural.

At £23.50 per tube this is a pretty pricey purchase but after wearing this primer under my foundation every day since purchasing, I have yet to make much of a dent in the tube so I am confident that The Porefessional will last me a nice long time even with regular use which makes it more than worth the price tag in my mind.

Have you tried The Porefessional? I swear by this primer, do you think it's as good as I do?

Annie x

Lets Do Brunch!

Hello,
I had a wonderful day today. The weather has been glorious here in Bath and the temperature way up into the twenties.
I went into town for the day with one of my best friends and we decided to "do brunch" like proper fancy ladies. There was freshly squeezed orange juice and everything! I also treated myself to some lovely new treats before I start my spending ban at the beginning of April.

yummy brunch and fresh OJ : )

I had yummy smoked bacon, poached eggs and hollandaise sauce on muffins

Kassi had eggy bread and smoked bacon stacked with golden syrup : )

All happy together in our summer clothes and make-up

A couple of cheeky buys ;P

I've been wanting a new foundation for a while because I was getting fed up with my beloved Mac Studio Fix because it just feels so heavy on my face. I like my skin to be able to breathe so I shelled out the £27 for the new Estee Lauder Invisible Fluid Make-up. Like lots of you other beauty blog ladies, I got a sample of this amazing foundation in the latest issue of Glamour and fell in love with it. I was matched to the one of the lightest shades (1nw1 I think it was) and it really is the perfect match for my skin. I am in love. And just to make things that little extra bit great, the lady on the counter gave me this double ended product for free! One end is their light toned double wear concealer and the other end is a pretty coloured lipgloss. If I'd bought this it would have cost almost £20!

My other little treat was Benefit's The Porefessional. Now, this was sort of an accidental purchase. I have been looking for a good primer for a while but hadn't found one I really liked. Whilst I was waiting for Kassi to faff around for a while I popped to the benefit counter and the lovely lady workingthere today demonstrated the product for me so well and was just *so* lovely and friendly that I found myself coming away with a bottle...and applying for a job with them! (that is definitely strong selling power!) I felt a little better when both me and Kassi left the counter having been sold lovely goodies by the Benefit ladies (Kassi spent more!) and we're going back next month for a makeover session. They also threw in a little sample of their facial emulsion, a lovely deep moisturiser.

And finally, from Boots I just grabbed a pack of eye make-up wipes because I ran out last night. These were good and cheap thank goodness and I paid with my advantage card so it didn't even feel like spending money.

I'll write up some reviews for you lovely people in a few days when I've put them through their paces, but right now I'm so excited about both products : )

What have you done on this lovely day?

Annie x

Buyapowa = WOW!

Heya,
I found out about buyapowa when reading through a new blog I found called Brush Up and Make-up (which you should totally take a look at by the way)
It is a great site which I can't believe that I haven't heard of it before.
The idea is based on a co-operative style way of shopping where the more people who commit to buy a certain product, the cheaper the product will cost each person.
There are some great deals on offer there. I'm so excited that at the moment there is an offer on Benefit's Confessions of a Concealaholic which I have had my eye on for a while. They also sell many ranges such as YSL, Nars, MAC and Nails Inc. and there is the possibility of saving huge amounts of money on the luxury bits and bobs you usually cannot afford.

Here is a photo of the Benefit gift set that I'm so taken with that is on offer on the website at the moment.
If it looks up your street too, then follow my personal url *here* to pick it up and also give me the chance to win a set myself.

Is buyapowa a site that you use? What do you think of the idea? Would you ever use a co-operative based shopping site?
Annie x