Benefit makeup..

So over the past 9 months I have wanted to try some benefit products, I had always stuck to MAC or drugstore makeup and never really ventured in to anything else. But after watching various beauty videos on YouTube and seeing the wide variety of makeup people seems to be using from their collection, and loving I thought it was only fair to give it a chance and explore what they did! 

The first product I purchased was the one I had heard most about, Hoola, the bronzer. 

I now understand why so many people own it, it doesn't look muddy or like you've smeared orange dirt down your cheeks! It bends well, it's amazing for contouring and it's easy to work with! 

The next product to be added to my collection was a gift for my birthday (I had asked for it as it was reccomended by a friend) it was the blush Coralista. 

Now can I just start by asking I am I the only one who thinks this smells amazing?Aside  from the smell though, this blusher is beautiful! I'm not one for bludgers and it was a very rare occasion that I would wear one before owning this but a flush across my cheeks makes such a difference! Love this!

My third and possibly favourite product of my benefit collection has to be the They're Real! mascara, I'm a mascara junkie and it's the product I own the most of! 

The brush and the mascara itself creates such false looking lashes, and like to packaging explains you have have to ask yourself "are they real?" It is truly a beautiful mascara, no clumps, no flaky fallouts and it doesn't cause a mess all over your eyes! 

The final product was featured on my last blog about what I received for Christmas, it's the Sugarbomb compact.

 Now I believe this supposed to be a blush.. And although I have used it as a blush a fair few times I am loving it as a highlighter! When all the colours are swirled together it makes the most perfect rosey gold highlight and sweeps on effortlessly! 

I have also tried and loved the porefessional! I need to re-purchase another one this week! 

Well hopefully my collection will grow some more over the next few months, but for now.. Thank you benefit! 

Jess x

What I got for Christmas 2013

So, this year I happened to be very spoilt in the region of beauty and make up, I got other things apart from this but here's all the beauty rated things! 

The most cutest Christmas present I received this year was from one of my favourite shops.. You either love it or loathe it- LUSH! I love how everything is from natural ingredients, and I'm guarantee that my sensitive skin won't be bothered by their products!

So here she is, Mrs Frosty! Even when she was wrapped up in paper I could smell the recognisable fumes drifting throughout our living room! She is made up of 3 compartments, the mini comforter bubble bar, the butterball bath ballistic and so white bath ballistic! I've decided to leave her as a cute addition to my room for the time being until I can't resist the smell any longer! 

The next was something I have wanted for a while but knew I was getting then as a Christmas present so resisted every time I walked in to boots, they are the Sam Chapman real techniques make up brushes! Now i own brushes from a variety of places like MAC, models own and top shop. There's something I love about the uniformed line up of the gift sets of face and eyes (which is what I received) not only do they come in there little pockets so they don't all get lost, but they are actually worth all the hype they get and perform brilliantly! 

Now a few of my other brushes are in here as I have been travelling over Christmas, but these truly are fantastic brushes and come reccomended from yet another beauty enthusiast! 

The next to last product was something I have added to my slowly growing collection, over the past year I have been getting on to the Benefit line and trying more and more of their products (all of which so far I have loved)  so the next addition was sugar bomb 

It's perfect as a blush swirled together with the colours blended, however I have been loving using it as a highlighter! It makes a perfect shimmer to the top of the cheeks and the colour in it mean it can be perfectly blended with the blush to look natural and flawless! 

My final beauty related Christmas presents are all going to be pictured and talked about as a collective! People who know me well know my second love alongside LUSH is soap and glory! I have tried a lot of there products now over the years and most of my bath routine consists of a lot of their products, one thing I have also recently ventured in to this past year is the ever growing make up line which they are creating! In a previous post a talked about their Thick and Fast mascara which I still love! 

So apologies for how late this, but it got here.. Somehow..

See you soon, Jess x

New Years Resolution...

So after starting Uni in September I kind of lost my way with the whole "being new to blogging" situation, so here's my new resolution.. As well as my Uni work and new health kick regime I will blog once a week, on what yet I have not decided, apart from the fact that it will be a mixture of beauty (my main love) some easy and cheap DIY for Uni or bedrooms and possibly a clothing something or other in there somewhere! So if I don't stick to any of these, then well I suck! But I'm going to try my hardest.. So here goes! New blog coming soon! Jess x

SmashBox Photo Finish Foundation Primer

Hi! In this weeks post i'm reviewing something which i've not really explored as much as i have other beauty products.. Primer!

In the whole time i have been using and experimenting with make-up/beauty products i have only ever owned 3 primers.. and for 80% of the time they have sat in the bottom shelf of my make-up shelves untouched or used a few times and threw in there. However after my parents recently returning from a holiday my mum had heard me banging on about a variety of smashbox products which i have used and loved! So on the day she returned she handed me the Photo Finish primer. At first, although i was thankful, i wasn't that interested in using a primer as the ones i had previously owned have never really made that much of a difference to my make-up lasting or looking as good as they seem to make out.

However my views have been changed.. the formula for this one in particular is a clear rather thin (thin gel) consistency.
All in all putting this on before applying make-up i have to admit it makes my skin much more even and i have noticed my foundation gliding on more smoothly and having a better finish. However to be completely honest i always will and always have used the urban decay "all nighter" setting spray so i could not comment on weather or not this primer makes a difference to how long it allows my make-up to stay on my face, but i would most definitely recommend it for making my make-up look more even and smoother in finish. I am transformed in to now this primer loving girl, thanks smashbox!

Thanks for reading! If you have any other primers you recommend or are joining me in loving tis particular one, leave me a comment! Hope to see you soon x x x

Moroccan Oil- A Product i could not live without...

Hello! This blog is going to be about, what is quite possibly, my most favourite, sacred and well used product i own.

I have the most ridiculous curly (and i mean tight ringlet curls) frizzy hair.. so you can imagine as a 16 years old when every other single girl you know has beautifully straight, soft and flowing hair you can get a bit depressed! It's only been these past 2 years that i have gone in to actually caring about my hair an realising i can actually do something with it other than scrawl it up on to the top of my head. So after 16 years of trying to tackle my hair i stepped in to the world of blow drying and straightening my hair, and it's only now 2 years later where i am finally happy with my mop of purple (but straight!!!!) hair! 

Anyway to the actual point of this blog.. i found Moroccan oil about one and a half years ago after it was used on me in my hairdressers, after having it put on a few more times i got over the fact of how much it cost and my mum very kindly treated me to something which i'd never heard anyone ever talk about..2 years later this, what seems magical, little oil is on nearly everybody's shelves and is well used. 

I use this oil before and after blow drying to tame those still stubborn fly away hair and to use it as a heat protectant before blow drying and straightening. Not only was i blown away by how good it makes my hair smell and how it actually makes it feel gorgeously smooth, soft and luscious.. i was most surprised by how long this one bottle has lasted me.. i use on average 2/3 pumps every time i was my hair (which i thank the curls and thickness for) means this is only about 3 times a week as it just doesn't get greasy! To this day i am two thirds of the way through a bottle i bought 1 and and a half years ago and without doubt i have used it every timer i have washed my hair!! How it last this long i don't have the answer to.. however i can assure you this bottle of joy has not only given me the most complemented, shiny and healthy hair it has also ensured that my hair very rarely has split ends or feels dry! I believe now there are so many different things which  include morrocan oil now such as shampoos, conditioners, leave in's and "remedies" i haven't tried any of these but let me know if you have and if they live up to the actually pure stuff! 

In a nutshell i absolutely love this stuff!! Because of the thickness and length of my hair i used the standard oil rather than the light version.. which i haven't tried.. but i'm presuming it gives the same effects but doesn't wear thin or shorter hair down!

If you love morrocan oil as much as me.. or have something else that you've use on your hair and feel it's great let me know in the comments! See you next week.. x x x

http://www.moroccanoil.com/united-kingdom/h_uk_en/products

Barry M Nail Paints, A General Obsession

Hi! So 90% of people who know me, will know my obsession with nail varnish.. and not just any nail varnish, the Barry M nail paints. I bought my first Barry M (which i still own and love) in "racing green" about 2 years ago, and since then to say my collection has grew would be putting lightly.. very very lightly. It has not got to the point that when looking at the nail paints in the drugstores i purchase from.. i struggle to find a colour i don't already own.

Barry M nail pain in "Racing Green"

So why the obsession? I was never really a "girly girl" growing up, even though i danced and sang and acted which was considered very "girly" i never dressed in pretty pink dresses or bothered what my hair/appearance looked like. However getting in to my final few years of high school all that changed and i became a kind of new person in the way in which i looked at myself. When first trying nail varnish's i didn't really know a "good one" from a "bad one" until i came across the most amazing array of colours that Barry M presented in front of me. From buying and trying my first Nail Paint i discovered that i loved the finish, the application, the look and colour that this one little pot of, how i saw it, glory glided on to my nails.

So 2 and a bit years later i now own over 35 Barry M Nail Paints in the widest range of colour from greens, reds, blacks, blues to glitters, nudes, top coats, neons, limited edition "specials"and special effects. 

So to anyone out there that wants to spent £3/£4 on something that could transform the look of character of themselves just try one and i'm sure like me and many other people of YouTube or that blog you will fall head over heels for their frankly amazing concept of nail art! 

Thanks for reading! Leave me some comments on your favourite Barry M colours or you favourite nail varnish brand! x x x

The Obsession with BB Creams...

To say i was sceptical about this new beauty rave is the biggest understatement ever!! However i was completely and utterly intrigued at the fact of these being so much different to low coverage foundations. I had never heard anyone actually explain them.. just bang on about how good they were for letting your skin breathe and how you could throw them on, on a "non make up day". As most things that intrigue me i bit the bullet and looked further in to this new phenomenon of the beauty world. Most BB creams include silicone which not only helps smooth over the skin, but is proven by many to make foundation look 10 times better and have a better finish on the skin.

There was one BB however in particular that caught my eye and made me wonder the most... Loreal's "Nude Magique"this particular BB cream is said to have "smart pigment capsules" which allow the (first appearance) of a white liquid somehow "match" your skin tone when it is applied to the face.

I personally apply this with a foundation brush as i feel it gives better and more precise coverage, i first applied it with my fingers and it seemed to go very patchy and horrible on my face. However i must admit i was pleasantly surprise with the results after i applied it with a foundation brush. And the most exciting part was, it did actually somehow match the colour of my face! 

All in all i must admit i broke free of my opinion and actually ended up really like this product! It's perfect for "no make up days" or if i need to pop out and not look half dead with a quick make up look! 

Thanks for reading, see you soon x x x