Saturday 3 August 2013

BOOTS AND SUPERDRUG HAUL + MINI REVIEW


Hola my lovelies,

I went to boots a few weeks ago before my holiday to Mallorca just to collect a few essential for my holiday as well as some make-up items I've wanted to try for a while.  As I am posting this a few weeks late i have tried most of the products enough to give you a small review.  If you would like an in depth review on anything just leave a comment and I can do that for you as soon as possible.  

Enjoy!



17 Blemish Balm in Medium
This is a repurchase as i owned this BB cream a couple of years ago when BB creams first hit the high street and i love it for those days where i don't want or need a high coverage.  So I think its perfect for summer holidays when your out in the sun, the SPF25 is great too.  It claims to improve your skin in 4 weeks, I haven't noticed any difference however don't have bad skin anymore anyway.  Wish this was a feature of the old one! (They changed the formula - the new one being darker than the old one too)

17 Hide Away Concealer Cream in Light
I was pleasantly surpassed with this concealer.  You rarely find a drugstore concealer to rival the collection 

17 On The Spot Foundation in Soft Ivory
I bought this a couple of weeks before the rest of these products but thought I would mention it anyway as it is part of their new range.  The coverage says it is full coverage however I would call it medium in comparison to others I have used.  This also claims to improve your skin in 4 weeks, which i did not notice.  However to be fair I barely used it for a week straight let alone 4. I was not very pleased with the formula as it did not blend very well, it just seemed to sit on the skin.  I tested a couple of different application methods including using my fingers and a buffing brush.  I may give it another chance and see if I find a way to make it work as I hate wasting products.

Rimmel London Stay Matte Pressed Powder in 001 Transparent
Im sure you have all seen, used or at least heard of this powder already so I wont bore you with my review.  This is about my fourth repurchase and I love it.  It does exactly what is says on the tin, however the only slight negative is that you seem to hit pan and run out quickly.  However for the price I don't really see this as an issue.

Loreal Paris Super Liner in Black Crystals
I bought this to replace my Loreal Paris Thin Felt Tip Liner which I adored but started to dry up and was not as effective as its old self.  I thought I would try a different one from the felt liner range and luckily I love this one too!  The line width is similar to the Thin Liner one but the nib is more flexible, making is easier of harder depending on what style line you want to achieve.  Overall I will definitely repurchase this or the Thin Liner when this one dries up.




Neutragena Multi-Defence Daily Moisturiser
I was desperate for just an every day moisturiser and so glad i bought this one! I have combination skin and it  is moisturising enough for my dryer areas however it not over-shiny of greasy on my oily areas.  So an all round good moisturiser, and the SPF15 is an added bonus.



Miss Sporty Discotech
I use this as a top coat as it is designed to glow under UV light, so I thought it would be fun when I go clubbing  in England as well as Magaluf where I went with a group of friends.  It has a slightly purple tint to it so would not advise using it on really pale colours such as white if this would bother you.  To be honest I didn't notice it glowing the couple of times I had it on so i will keep testing it out and get back to you!

MaxFactor Glossfinity in Desert Sand
I love the colour of this nail polish, so on trend with the 'foundation nails' look.  The colour goes on great and is pigmented enough for two thin coats.  It stays chip free for an average amount of time and has lasted on my toes for two weeks with no chipping.  Lasted shorter on my finger nails (almost a week) but these always seem to chip quicker than my toes anyway.



Hawaiian Tropic Protective Dry Spray Oil SPF15
Piz Buin Allergy Face Cream SPF30
Not very interesting purchases but I needed sun cream for my holiday! The Hawaiian Tropic one smells nice as do the rest of their range but as it is an oil rather than a cream it is slightly greasy so I would not recommend it to those who hate the feeling of products on your skin.  The Piz Buin face cream is great if you have sensitive skin as it won't irritate it.  I would not say i have sensitive skin but when you're out in the sun all day it can become quite delicate.



Colgate Max White One Toothbrush, Toothpaste + Mouthwash
Boots were doing a 3 for 2 offer on Teeth Care so I decided to get these three from the Max White One range as on their own they are quite expensive in comparison to your standard Colgate.  I have been pleased with all of them and would happily repurchase. My teeth weren't particularly discoloured to begin with but I haven't noticed a dramatic difference from using these products so as far as whitening goes they're not a miracle worker.  I will continue to use them and if I see any colour change I will update you!



Mark Hill Work It Girl Shine, Protect and Control Spray
I haven't got round to using this spray yet so I will undated this section when I have.

Style Expertise Salt Infusion Surf Spray
I have used this quite a few times and it does the job.  I have naturally curly hair when left to air dry so I use this to just enhance the curls and give it that 'just come out of the sea' look.  I have also used this on friends who have straight hair and it helped give them a tousled look also so I would say it is suitable for both curly and straight hair.



Salon Performance Smooth and Shine
Not much to say about this…it's just an ordinary hair brush.  I didn't notice it leaving my hair any smoother or shinier than usual but it did the job.  A negative however is that some of the pegs on the brush (is that what they're called?) melted and got disfigured when I used it with my hair dryer for the first time, with some melting completely in half.  Thought that was very unusual, I was using a friends hair dryer but it wasn't abnormally hot so I was disappointed with that.



Loreal Paris Wild Ombres Preference Hair Dye No.3
This is a repurchase as I dyed my hair using his kit last year and loved the result.  I had a slight natural ombre anyway from my blonde hair just going darker but wanted to enhance it.  Since then I have had hair trims and the dye may have also faded slightly leaving the ombre less obvious so after my holidays I am going to re-dye it.
So look out for a full review and how-to post on this hair dye soon!



Wilkinson Sword Hydro Silk Razor
I was very impressed with this razor for the first few uses.  The water activated moisturising serum did just that, and left my skin feeling hydrated and soft.  However I made the mistake of leaving it on my shower rack rather than hung on the hook it comes with, so the razor didn't get a chance to dry properly between uses and the water activated serum just grew out of the razor.  So when ever I used it the gel would clog up the razor and get stuck to my legs which was a right pain, so in the end I resorted to just scraping the gel all off leaving me with an ordinary razor. I possibly would repurchase this razor and just make sure I hung it to dry after uses.

Thank you for reading.

Love, Olivia x



Saturday 23 February 2013

HOW TO MAKE YOUR NAIL POLISH DRY FASTER


Hey everyone,

Ever painted your nails and then smudged them even a few minutes after application?  Well here's a little tip for you guys to stop this happening…literally they will be completely solid and dry in 30 seconds!

Step One:
Fill up a small bowl or Tupperware pot with cold water and put it in the freezer.  I've just used a pot I had saved from a Chinese takeaway with a lid because it is really handy as it avoids spillage.

Step Two:
Now just paint your nails and do whatever nail routine you usually do while the water starts to freeze.  First I'll just remove the nail polish I have on right now as it's become all chipped and ugly.  Then I just file them all down so they're nice and even.  Colour wise this time i went a bit crazy…I couldn't decide on one colour so went with five all at once!  At my sixth form there's a rule against coloured nail polish so I rarely get away with a colour, so my logic is to go vibrant in the holidays to make up for it.
Colours clockwise: Sally Hansen Hard As Wraps Acrylic Gel, Barry M Coral 296,  Rimmel Block Your Green 700, Barry M Indigo 312, Nails Inc Will, Barry M Cyan Blue 294, Rimmel Matte Finish TopCoat, OPI Live And Let Die from the Skyfall Collection.


Step Three:
Take you water out from the freezer carefully so you don't smudge your nails, it should be ice cold now.  Then just dip your fingers in the water and leave them for about 30 seconds (warning: your hands get very cold!).  Just shake your hands and air dry them and you should be able to touch your nails without smudging them at all!  Now you're done.

Hope this little tip helped!

Love, Olivia x

Sunday 17 February 2013

WELCOME AND NEW YEARS RESOLUTIONS!


Hey everyone!  Welcome to my humble new blog.

I've finally taken the plunge after months of deliberating.  I love reading other people's blogs so thought why not create my own right?  I'm not expecting loads of views but just thought it would be a fun idea.  :)  Expect to see posts about anything and everything, from fashion and beauty to the occasional advice or lifestyle post.  

I'll kick off this blog with my new years resolutions (one of which was to create a blog, check!).  I know its half way through February already but thought better late than never!  Also i thought it would be a nice idea to write these all down so here we go: 

Be Healthier
Drink more water.  So a few months ago I decided to drink about a litre and a half as I know I don't drink enough and I always hear it's the best thing you can do for your skin…but that plan only lasted two weeks.  But new year, new leaf, and I am going to start this again and stick to it this time.
Get my 5-a-day.  Proud to say this one is going fairy well.  Luckily at sixth form they always have fruit in the lunch hall so I have a banana, satsuma, apple, or all three, a day.  Might not quite be 5 each day but it's an improvement on before!

Drink more tea and light more candles
Bit of a random one but I thought: I like tea…tea makes me happy…so why not drink more of it right?  Same logic with the candles, I like candles + I own lots of candles = I should light those candles more often!



Go to bed earlier
Yup I know this is a boring one.  But I mean during weekdays, I end up going to sleep at at least midnight every night for absolutely no reason, and then wake up feeling shattered and having to drag myself out of bed to drive to school.  I just start going onto Facebook, Twitter, Youtube and (my biggest weakness) Tumblr, and before I know it it's midnight and I've been sat in the same position for about 3 hours.  Please say I'm not the only one who does this?  I have to admit though this one has not yet been put into action, maybe now it's officially written down I'll have more hope? Who knows.

Learn to cook
I'm not completely incompetent in the kitchen, I'm capable of making a proper meal, but I always resort to cooking the same thing: some kind of pasta or noodles and salmon (might put the recipe for this up here sometime, it's my speciality!)  So my goal for 2013 is to cook a more varied selection of food something other than brownies, cakes, cupcakes, and cake pops.




Be more confident
This is a more personal one.  Basically I've decided I'm not going to sweat the small stuff, because thats all it is…SMALL stuff.  I wouldn't say I'm a worried person as I'm quite laid back and outgoing, however I'm quite shy if I don't know someone very well.  So I'm going to try and be more comfortable around people I don't know and stop worrying about what they think of me, after all you can't please everyone!  Also, this is a bit of an odd one, I'm going to be less tolerant.  Yes I know most people's resolutions would be to be more tolerant but sometimes I think I let people off too easily.  I tend to sit in the background just saying 'I don't mind' when really I'm thinking 'no!'  So from now on I shall speak my mind more often (in a good way).

Learn to do the splits
I used to do gymnastics from when I was 6 until around 14 but since I quit (and swapped floor tumbling for internet tumbling) I seem to have instantly lost every inch of my flexibility;  so I'm going to learn to do the splits again…minus the old leotard.

Thanks everyone, I'll be back soon!
Love, Olivia x