FOTD

Eyebrows: No7 Beautiful Brows pencil Shade 10 Brown/Black

Eyeshadow: Elizabeth Arden Color Intrique Eyeshadow Quad - Sueded Brown

Eyeliner: Estee Lauder Double Wear pencil Shade Black

Liquid Eyeliner: L'oreal Super Liner Carbon Gloss, Black

Mascara: Clinique High Impact Curling Mascara, Black

Foundation: Clinique Even Better Foundation (liquid) Shade: Honey

Under-eye Concealer: Yves Saint Laurent Touche Eclat

Lipliner: Elizabeth Arden lip crayon, Shade: Cocoa Rose

Lipstick: Estee Lauder Signature Hydra Lustre Lipstick, Shade: Pink Sand

Blush: NARS 'Deep Throat'

Bronzer: Elizabeth Arden mineral bronzer, Shade: Deep

Highlight: NARS 'Copacabana' highlight stick

'The Big 21!'

Last Thursday (10th) was my 21st birthday, and it proved to definitely be the best birthday I've had, with extra thanks to my biggest sis Lorraine. She lives in London with her partner so I stayed with them for a couple of days.

[My sister & I]

 She knows I'm obsessed with Fondant/French Fancies haha!

 And she'd decorated her flat with banners, posters etc - very cute & thoughtful little touches!

 In the day we hit the shops for a bit, despite the absolute shite weather that day. I picked up a gorgeous bag from Zara:

And then we grabbed some food asap.. because you won't like us when we're hungry... aha

The evening was spent taking ages to get ready, before heading to Strada for a nice big pizza & salad.

Her friend Kat drove us to a club called Whisky Mist (a 'celebrity hot spot' apparently?! not sure, was probably too p*ssed to notice any if there were :-/) - where the drinks were practically unlimited top-ups; needless to say, I was a little worse for wear the next day! haha

The day after, Lorraine treated me to an O.P.I manicure in Selfridges, Oxford St. I'd never had my nails done before, so this was especially nice to have done - and the hand massage could have seriously sent me to sleep. I opted for a French manicure, as I find them hard to do myself. She filed my nails more 'square' for me, as that's what mine grow to naturally anyway. It was a very nice birthday treat - if only I had the money to do this on a regular basis! ;)

A very memorable 21st Birthday, thankyou to friends & family xxx

Products I am loving right now!

There are a few products that really stand out to me at the moment, so thought I'd share the love ;)

Estee Lauder Hydrationist Maximum Moisture Creme (New! £32)

"Our exclusive Bio-Mimetic Water is 'structured', so it is easily absorbed deep within skin’s surface. You can feel the replenishing benefits immediately."

Couldn't agree more with this - you feel the effects immediately. Really pleasant smell, sinks in quickly and leaves the skin feeling refreshed. I'm currently using a sample-sized version which is for a 'Dry' skin type. I have combination skin, so I would have thought this version would have been too heavy. But to be honest I wouldn't change anything about it! Definitely considering buying the full-size version when this runs out.

Nivea Soft Intensive Moisturising Cream (around £6)

 

SO so soft - I just want to smother myself in this every day! Lovely smell to it and just does what it says on the tin really - a lovely rich intensive moisturiser for the body.

 

Trevor Sorbie Beautifully Straightened Protect, Flatten & Shine Spray (£5.10)

My hair always feels silky smooth after using this multi-purpose hair product. I orginally bought the travel-sized version but had to purchase the full-sized one after impressing me with its results! Cheap & cheerful.

TIGI Bed Head Moisture Maniac Shampoo - Brunette (around £8)

 

"Tigi Bed Head Moisture Maniac Shampoo has a rich creamy lather that will increase shine and softness. Revitalizes the hair leaving it feeling soft and moisturised." Pretty much sums it up. A treat to the hair - this leaves mine feeling so much softer than regular shampoos do.

 

Olay Complete Care Eye Makeup Remover Cream (£3.05)

 

 

"Olay Complete Care Eye Make-Up Removing Cream is specially designed to gently yet thoroughly remove even waterproof make-up from the delicate eye area. Perfume & colour free."

This is so soft and delicate on the eyes - I've found that so many eye makeup removers in the past have caused my eyes to sting. It's effective at removing mascara/liquid eyeliner quickly. I picked this up for around £1.50 in a Boots clearance - yet the original price is still great for what it does!

 

 

Elizabeth Arden Color Intrique [Limited Edition] Eyeshadow Quad - Sueded Brown

 

    

I blogged about this product in this post - I've found myself reaching for this everyday, and lose count of the amount of compliments I recieve on it and questions from where it's from! The charcoal shade is my favourite for an everyday smokey eye. 

Estee Lauder Double-Wear Concealer SPF 10 (£18.50)

 

You may be shocked by the price but trust me it's worth it, it lasts for absolutely AGES, and I mean ages... I'm still on my first one, which I bought around August last year..?! Besides this, the coverage is great on spots, AND under the eyes. Only downside is the applicator is not so good for bacteria etc. I recommend this product to anyone - you will not be disappointed!

MaxFactor Second Skin Foundation (£12.99) 

This really does give a glow to the skin, and doesn't feel heavy nor cakey. I've been using it a lot this week - definitely an under-rated product. I've heard comparisons of this to NARS Sheer Glow

Eva Mendes Inspo [pic overload]

 [Anyone else think she looks so much like Cindy Crawford at times...?]

 

  

I love all these looks pictured above - the hair, make-up, everything. I think her hair looks great dyed with honey/caramel tones with loose waves, rather than dark with a blunt cut as pictured below, which appears a little too heavy.

 Soo different!

Laura Mercier Face Brush

LAURA MERCIER FACE BRUSH - £29 - SPACE NK

"Black, goat hair, kabuki-style brush with severely rounded edges and a gently cut angled head allowing for fuller coverage on the planes of the face."

So excited to see this was delivered today from SPACE NK... Although, it was packaged in a box far too big for the brush's actual dinky size! It's tiny! It was gift-wrapped in gold wrapping paper with a lovely blue bow tied around it, and came with 2 samples - cleanser & an eye-cream (Chantecaille). I love little touches like that - sometimes the little extra things make ordering online worthwhile.

The brush also comes with a little pouch to store it in & keep clean & separate from the rest of your brushes and make-up. 

I can't wait to try this out with my Laura Mercier mineral foundation - At the moment I'm using a kabuki brush from TK Maxx that isn't angled for application, so it'll be good to see if this any better, especially with such a high price-tag. 

EDIT:
After using this on a day-to-day basis for quite a while now - I have to say I'm really, really disappointed with this (expensive) brush. It feels scratchy and irritating on my skin, and the coverage really is no better than an ordinary drugstore kabuki brush. Only positive is its slanted shape, unfortunately :(

IIIIIIIIIT'S ESTEE LAUDER GIFT TIME

HOUSE OF FRASER - FREE GIFT WITH ANY 2 ESTEE LAUDER PURCHASES

[2 SETS TO CHOOSE FROM - ONE WITH 'HYDRATIONIST' MOISTURISER, ONE WITH 'RESILIENCE LIFT EXTREME' MOISTURISER]

Both come complete with a (sample-sized) Make-Up Remover, Eye-shadow Palette (gorgeous shades), Long-Wear Eyeliner Pencil, Mascara, Lipstick (a looovely pink) & Idealist Serum.

Offer starting 3rd Feb '11.

My two purchases to recieve this free gift were:-

MagnaScopic Maximum Volume Mascara & Face Primer Plus

I was pleasantly surprised to find the MagnaScopic Maximum Volume Mascara comes with a free bottle of Eye-Makeup Remover, & Advanced Night Repair Eye Cream at the moment :-)

As for the Primer, I'm a little apprehensive that it may cause more spots than normal, due to its purpose involving being much like a 'mask' on the face for the make-up to set upon. But I've heard nothing but good reviews about this (& the mascara), and I like the sound of its mattifying purpose, so we shall see. I really really do not want this to cause even more break-outs than normal!

This is the best GWP I've come across - grab this offer while you can!

[HOF Stores in the UK]

I do love a good bargain...

 

[Image source: cartoonstock.com]

This year's January Sales have been a success! It made working all over Christmas worth it (just about!). Here are some bargains I've purchased lately:

Oasis Leather Liv Casual Knee High Boot - Oasis - £95 down to £20

 

Guerlain Rouge G lipstick in '|| Grace" - HOF - £5 

& Elizabeth Arden Ceramide Smoothing Concealer [shade 3+4] - HOF - from around £15 down to £8.50

 

 

Clarins Lip Colour Tint in 'Frosted Peach' - Boots - £17 down to £8.50

 Swatch:

 Superfluffy Snood in Red - Topshop - £12 down to £5

 

Yves Saint Laurent Exfoliating Lip Balm - HOF - £19 down to £5

John Frieda Collection Sheer Blonde gift set - Superdrug - £10 down to £2

 TK Maxx haul: L-R: TIGI Bed Head products - around £5.99 each, Emilio Cavallini tights - £5, ELLE Angora Cable Knit Knee High socks - £5, St Tropez Everyday Legs - £18 down to £8, Garnier Pure Daily Purifying Pads - £3, Nivea Visage Aqua Sensation Anti-Shadow Eye Cream - £10 down to £5, Lancaster Beauty Variations Illuminating Compact Powder - £30 down to £5.99