Tuesday 30 August 2011

Freebie Alert: Burberry Body Perfume Sample

Burberrys new perfume Burberry Body is due for release on the 1st September (the day after tomorrow).


And to celebrate and promote Burberry Body they are giving away free (Yay, free!) samples. All you have to do is 'Like' their Facebook page, click request, then fill in your details.

And... apparently it's 30ml! I dunno if this is true, but it's what I heard. If it is, thats too amazing but if not - it's a free sample :P

However there is limited stock and it's on a first come, first serve basis. I believe it's also 1 per person. So get rolling! :P It's also available world wide - It's not just a UK thing :)

Hope you get one! 

Saturday 27 August 2011

A Brush on a Budget

I cant help but notice that make up brushes by higher end brands are the ones that get raved about on the internet. I think MAC needs to let other brushes in on the scene...

Although I do own a few MAC brushes, I don't have the money to buy all the brushes I use from MAC. So, I always keep an eye out far any alternatives to higher end brushes.

I bought my first make up brush when I was around 15/16 as this was when I first started using foundation. I thought as I was using foundation I will need a brush named specifically for applying foundation - now I have learnt that there are different brushes that I can use like stippling ones, round kabuki style ones, etc..) so I bought one from Superdrug from the brand QVS. This brand isn't that well known I don't think but it's brilliant for if your on a budget.


So that's what my brush looks like. It's a usual sized foundation brush, with a long plastic handle.


The bristles are synthetic which are soft but also quite stiff so you have a bit more control. This makes it good to use with liquid foundations. It distributes the product evenly and smoothly around your face. Its also roundly tapered. You have to make sure you keep it flat too.


This brush is flat, so its thinner from the side than the front. With this type of brush - however - they do tend to make the foundation smear a little; so the way I recommend using it is with little strokes rather then pulling the product all over the place and not lifting it off the face.

You might have noticed that my brush has a few stray bristles; but don't be put off by this. I have had this brush for two years now and I use it occasionally. As with all brushes, they do show wear and tear over time. So this is pretty normal.

As this post is titled - this is a brush on a budget. When got this brush, it was really cheap - around £3 to £4, however there's all this recession/credit crunch business going on and has been for a while now. Prices on most things have gone up. It's now £4.79 in Superdrug which is a steal - Much cheaper than a MAC or Chanel brush. It's very good value!

I do quite like this brush - I have to be honest that it's not the best or my favourite but I have had it for a long time and it's very inexpensive, and also gives a smooth finish!

I'd give it a 6/10. So for those of you on a budget - it's the perfect foundation brush for you!

Thursday 25 August 2011

Black and Yellow


"Uh huh, you know what it is, Black and Yellow, Black and Yellow, Black and Yellow, Black and Yellow"


You like my nails? I call these 'The bumble bee' . And really it's really easy to do. All you need is Barry M Instant Nail Effects

It's a good way to switch up your nails a bit, and I don't think I'm very good at nail art - My right hand always comes out rubbish. I heard about this product and I thought I might as well give it a go.

The Instant Nail Effects nail polish gives a crackly look on your nails as you can see, and you can see it happen right in front of your eyes. I bought it in black because it goes well with any colour.

So, first of all just prep your nails and do what you do normally before painting them (File, base coat, etc...) Then paint the under colour on; I used a Barry M nail paint in 307.

I bought this in Boots for £2.99, but it's available in Superdrug and probably other shops where they sell cosmetics and stuff. And there's a wide range of colours to choose from.


I'd recommend using at least two coats but preferably three; especially with lighter colours.

Then, all you do is just paint the Instant Nail Effects on. You only need one coat of this and you should avoid going overlapping it. It doesn't matter too much, but you just get a better effect otherwise.


This retails for around £3.99 and this one is in the colour 311. There's also a couple more colours you can get it in too.


As you can see it looks slightly matt, if you like it like that you can leave it. But I suggest using a top coat or clear varnish on top to avoid it chipping easily and to give it some shine.

This is a really good product. It's unique nails in an instant. I'd give it a 8/10 for ease of use and the brilliant effect of gives. The only thing is for me is that it chips quite easy..

"Everything I do, yeah, I do it big" Wiz Kalifa - Black and Yellow

Tuesday 23 August 2011

Similar but Cheaper..

So I recently did a post on stuff from River Island and I included these gourgeous shoes:
These shoes are £45 and I do really love them. However lost of us know River Island isn't exactly the cheapest shop. There are probably loads of cheaper alternatives to these, however on my Twitter I saw a tweet from @persianbabechat with a picture of some shoes. 

These shoes are really similar to these ones but considerably cheaper: Click here to see the picture

And they were from Primark for only £14!! Woo, go Primani!! :P

I will definitely be on my way to grab a pair

x

Friday 19 August 2011

Natural Collection Creamy Concealers

I don't really go to Boots as much as I go to Superdrug. Like most of my make up is from Superdrug. But occasionally I go into Boots for a quick browse. On one occasion when I was in there; I went to the Natural Collection stand. I've heard good things from this brand from youtube so I thought I'd give something a go.

Recently, I've moved away from using foundation. My skin has been behaving lately so I'm only needing to use concealer to cover up the imperfections. I was looking for a decent but reasonably priced concealer when I stumbled across these:


The writing has rubbed off slightly but it says Natural Collection.

I couldn't find a reason not for me to purchase one as they are only £1.99. So at first I bought the one in shade 'light'.

I used it for a couple of days and I was impressed with it but realised it was slightly too light for me, so I then went back to buy the one in 'medium'. But.. found that it's a tad too dark. I've been using them ever since I bought them, but I need to mix them to get the right shade for me.

I love the formulation. It's not too thick, dry or too watery - it's just right for a creamy concealer, it's easy and smooth to apply. Especially for the under eye area - you don't wanna be moving the skin too aggressively because its quite delicate.

The coverage is great also. I find it more effective if I blend it in using my fingers than using a brush. Just make sure your fingers are clean. There is an applicator for it though. Its like one of those lipgloss wand things:


I just dot it around where I need it and blend in.

I couple of things I don't like about it is that the product collects around the top of the wand as you can see in the picture. But you can just wipe it off with your finger and put it on your face.. Another thing is that, I think it only comes in two shades - the ones that I have in 'light' and 'medium' - but correct me if I'm wrong, they're the only ones I've seen on the stands. So if your lighter than the 'light' shade or darker than the 'medium' shade I don't think it's right for you - unless you mix it with something else..


However, I think overall this is a good product. It's nicely sized and will easily fit in your bag for touchups throughout the day. And how can you go wrong with it being under £2. I will defiantly be trying some other Natural Collection stuff and almost everything in it is under £2. I rate this product a 8/10.

Morning Run

Since the summer holidays started I have made a pact with myself that I will go running for a bit every morning. I was gunna join the gym but I thought I'd get bored of it and end up wasting money. Plus running outdoors is nice and a refreshing way to start the day.

Part of the reason I wanted get myself up and running outside before 11:00 (sometimes 12:00) is because last summer; my sleeping pattern was messed up - big time. Doing this daily  - apart from weekend - just helps me regulate my sleeping pattern.

I went this morning and thought I'll blog this because I was so surprised at the weather. This is England. Yesterday it rained quite a bit and quite heavy - it made my sky dish loose signal... But today it's quite nice:



So I went to the park across the road from my which leads to the hills (Or Northala fields as its officially called..) It's alongside the A40. Apart from the speeding cars and noise from the motorway; its quite a peaceful and open place.

This is round the back - the motorway side - but on the other side there's loads of ponds.

Whilst I was jogging I passed this man a few times - he was sitting on a bench - but the last time I passed him, I was on my way back home and he said something about me looking tired or asking me if I was tired... I had my running headphones in so couldn't hear properly. I was just thinking.. 'Yeah, you've just been sitting in the same place for like half an hour' - He could have been judging my running ability... I dunno...

When I was in the field on my way back home - it was still a little sunny but not sunny enough for sunbathing - I see a guy lying in the sun. That's so typical of someone from England; if it looks sunny, lets sun bathe and wear a minimal amount of clothes. The temperature today is only 20 degrees centigrade. Come on...


So yeah...

Thursday 18 August 2011

Bourjois Volume Fast & Perfect Mascara

I bought my regular purchase of Heat magazine the other day and in there, there was an advert from Superdrug saying "All Bourjois mascaras only £5.99". I was like Yay! So the other day I popped down to my local one.

There was quite a few to choose from and their original prices ranged from £7.99 to £11.99. I decided to take full advantage of this offer and opted for the most expensive one - saving £6. I chose their Volume Fast & Perfect Mascara, which coincidentally I've had my eye one since seeing it on this youtube video by gemsmaquillage. But I never bought it before because I could not bring my self to pay more than £10 for a mascara. However for £5.99, I was like Yeah!


This is also a quite unique mascara as the wand rotates. It goes both clockwise and anti-clock wise to suit which eye you are using it on or what hand or side you are applying it from.

Its a tiny confusing at first but I guess after using it a few times, you'll know which way to go. I find it more effective when the brush is rotating towards my lashes because then it's gets right into the roots. But whatever works for you...

I tried it out a few times and thought it was alright.
Before
After

This result was achieved without the use of any fake lashes - just fully natural (unlike the adverts :P). Heres a side view:


I also didn't use eyelash curlers before applying mascara in these pictures, which is quite surprising seeing the result. But to get an even better result, and more of a curl; you should use some alongside. I like the fact that it gets right to the roots of your lashes and lifts them. However I find that it's not like a carbon black, it's not a black black - if you know what I mean. The wand brush is alright - a regular kind of bristly one. :P

I found that the formula isn't clumpy, however it is quite dry... But it does evenly distribute onto your lashes because of the rotating brush and makes it more effortless. Just let the brush glide through.

Overall, this mascara is okay. Not one of my favorites but it's not bad. I'd give it a 6/10. 

It's available in most beauty shops, pharmacy shops, supermarkets, also online sites like asos.com, etc. The usual price is around £10/£12 depending on where you buy it from, so look around. But right now till the end of August it's available from £5.99 in Superdrug and I think Boots.

x

Girlz Only Dry Shampoo

So I might do a few blogs today seeing as the weather is kinda poo :P Rain is the dominant character today as per usual in England...

Anyway, I was with my mum in Tesco the other day to do a big food shop but as always, had to have a quick look and grab essentials in the bathing/cosmetic products aisles.

I've had my eye on this product for a while but I was in no rush to buy it. It's a dry shampoo by the brand "Girlz Only" and I'd never heard of this before. Usually whenever I needed to get a can of dry shampoo I'd use "Batiste"; however it's not a regular purchase of mine - I almost always buy it when it's on offer. :P I find that it's a bit too pricey for how much is contained in the can and it never lasts that long for me as my hair is quite thick so I have to use quite a bit.

So this is what it looks like:

(I can't get this photo to upload the right way round, but you can still read it..)
And I thought I might as well give it a go. You get 150ml for only £1.50 which is cheaper than the Batiste ones.

I would even go as far as to say that it is better than Batiste. My hair is quite dark brown, so when I use regular dry shampoo the white residue is quite obvious on my hair so I have to rub it in. I've also tried the coloured dry shampoo but they showed up too grey.. However when I used this there was not as much white residue so I didn't have to rub it in as much.. It also soaked up the greasiness very well and gave me some volume too.

I was surprised by how good the result was, and for the price it was brilliant! I would definitely recommend and I would give it a 8/10.

The one I have got is the tropical scent one but I believe there are two other scents available - maybe more - as they were the ones available in Tesco where I bought it. I'm not too sure where else this product is available as this brand is quite small but for those of you that have a Tesco near you; go pick one up :)

x

Wednesday 17 August 2011

Bourjois Kabuki Brush

So I've needed and been looking for a decent kabuki brush for a while. However because this would be my first one; I kind of wanted a try out one first. Like I didn't wanna blow 20 quid on a brush I might not even like so I planned to spend no more than £10. (The MAC Kabuki Brush is out of the question then...) Plus I couldn't fathom spending £30 on a brush... (But in hindsight MAC brushes are a good investment!) I wouldn't dissuade you from MAC.

So I looked round, looked round, then went into my regular and one of my favourite sores -Superdrug. I went to the Bourjois counter to browse but then stumbled over their kabuki brush. I was like "Bingo".


I got the brush home and from then on; it has become one of my darlings! This brush is a stunning brush. Its soft on the face. Its dense. Its everything you want from a kabuki brush. It's also a great size on the face and it hasn't started to shed at all, I've had it for a while now too. Not to mention the price - A decent and respectable price of £5. Wow!

This is what mine looks like from the top

This brush is perfect for buffing in my pressed powder just because its so dense. Just use it in circular motions over the face. Also it blends away any unblended make up already on your face such as foundation or concealer whilst buffing in the powder.  However I suggest you don't use it to apply any liquid products as it will soak into the bristles too much.

Now I just hope it lasts me.

Sarah's rating: A super 8/10

No.1

Heey, so this is my first post and I'm just going to give a quick intro..

So in the little blog of mine i'll be posting reviews of of lots of little lovely beauty products I'm using and trying out. Also I'd like to state:
I AM NOT AFFILIATED WITH ANY OF THESE COMPANIES OR BRANDS. NEITHER AM I ASKED TO TALK ABOUT THEM. I am doing this for the purpose of fun and for you guys. :D

I may also blog about clothes and fashion as its another love of mine.. (And there may also be just some random blah oh here too :P)

Hope you enjoy my post and make sure you follow me on here. Ooh and also my twitter @sarahrleigh