Making Future Plans

I had previously said in my post about being a SAHM (Becoming a Stay At Home Mum) that it wasn't going to be forever. This year would of been 13 years since I qualified as an aromatherapist, followed by my other qualifications up to my BTEC in Make Up Artistry. I had invested hundreds of pounds in my training and I feel that I am wasting those years of training away. Trying to find work that also fits around looking after Beth is so rare it could be classed as gold dust.

This brings me round to what I am currently putting research in and require your help. I am planning to start a aromatherapy based beauty and massage company. To find if I am along the right lines with my thinking I am asking anyone and everyone with a few minutes to spend to help me by filling in a questionnaire.

Follow the link to the form here

As Yet I am still in the early stages of planning and researching but am excited. I briefly ran my own company a few years back (it was also ones of reasons I started the blog), but that was closed down last year after it wasn't successful, it was a great learning experience and this time I am using all the lessons I've taken and applying them for this.

Thank you to everyone who's taking the time to fill it in, and hopefully in the next few months I can give you some great news.

MAC Creme Cup Dupe? B.Vibrant Lip & Cheek Colour in Prom*

I have been using the B.Skincare range from Superdrug for a while (B. Replenished Facial Oil
is still one of my cabinet staples) but have never adventured in to the make up side. I spotted an opportunity to try a few bits and jumped on the chance.

One of them was their Lip & Cheek colour which I had alrady had an introduction to when I went to Superdrug's press day last September. B.Vibrant is just that, strong bright colour in a crayon style applicator. Its creamy to apply on, and after two layers has a 8 hour lasting power.

I was swatching away amd a little light bulb went off, this looks so close to sanother one of my lipsticks, MAC Creme Cup. Digging around in my storage box, I found it and swatched it next door to a swipe to Prom,

Top: Creme Cup. Bottom: Prom

Side by side, Prom is more of a deeper richer pink than Creme Cup. Both on smoothly but I do like the convenience of crayon that I can apply in a hurry. Price wise B.Vibriant is also the winner at £7.99 (currently has £1 off at Superdrug at £6.99) compared to MAC's ever increasing prices at the £15.50.

* Product was provided for reveiew, but the ramblings are my own.

#BBBBeautyBox Number 3

I spent that last of my birthday money on Brit Beauty Blogger's 3rd Beauty Box (try and say that quickly). I know from previous boxes, with some samples I am still working my way through and some going into my labour bag, that every single item is a hidden and well loved gem. I will always get my moneys worth and as glad this time that she had teamed with another company I have also used and loved in the past, Latest in Beauty. Latest in Beauty do a sampling and beauty box service, where what you see is what you get and I have used them a few times in the past (YOU Editors Box is still one of my favourites).

You have read a trillion other reviews with long lists of the products so I will not bore you, there are some that have different colours so I will tell you these: The Essie polish I got from Spring 14 is Spin The Bottle, a milky latte like nude. The Charlotte Tilbury lipstick 'Kiss' is Marylin, a perfect toned red and the Makeup Revolution palette is Lock and Load, a mix of neutrals and deep jewel tones. I actually could of not of asked for a better box, the colours are exactly what I would of picked out. I honest feel that Jane and LIB sat down and made sure that I got the right box for me (I know it's not true but it's my fantasy so shush).

I've already nearly used up the Elemis foot cream, as this is my treat for night feeds - I give myself a foot rub afterwards to wind down. It's thick enough to feel it doing something to soften but you are not slipping over because of grease. The Lola Kabuka brush is a must have for dusting powder to set make up, supple and soft. Roger and Gillet Gingimbre Rouge sample has gone, and I'm not repeating what my Hubby said about it, this is a family site. Janjira Art of Siam is beautiful, hand softing and a little treat when washing hands after changing Bethany.

I am still working my way through the rest (as well as the previous boxes). I've said this to Jane (honest if you love the boxes, give her a tweet, it'll make her day) but these are just incredible for the amount of care and attention that goes into them is beyond what any brand can so. I told you they would be a success, congratulations.

Superdrug BB Eye Cream*

I think that some emails have a great sense of timing, I got the email from Superdrug regrading their new BB eye cream after another sleepless night with Bethany (3.30am is not playtime). It claims to be a 5-in-1 product that conceals dark circles, smooths the appearance of fine lines, reduces puffiness/bags, hydrates and improves radiance. I was chomping at the bit to get my hands on this.

It comes in a thin tube with a brush at the end, I got sent the medium colour which I thought could of been too dark but actually blended into my skin really well. I used this under my eyes and at first glance my tired eyes did look concealed and illuminated. I left it a few hours before I looked again (this time at playgroup) and my puffiness had gone down and everything looked smoothed out. I bumped into some friends afterwards who asked the compulsory, "How are you?" question , I said I was tired and was told I did not look like it at all, I looked surprising well. One point to the BB Eye Cream.

It also lasted much of the day, when I took off my eye make up at the end of the night, it was still there to be removed. I found easy to use as the brush dispensed that right amount for each eye, it just needed a pat with a ring finger to blend in. Compare this to another magic wand, YSL Touche Eclat, and at £6.99 (compared to £25), it is a good value dupe. Exclusive to Superdrug.

*Product supplied for my review, opinion my own after use.

Philosophy Purity Made Simple 3-in-1 Cleanser

I got this is British Beauty Bloggers first beauty box and was interested to try it as it was recommended.

Now, me thinking it was a cleanser, used it as I thought a lotion cleanser should be used, massage over face and wipe off. What I didn't know that it was a foaming cleanser and couldn't be wiped off using cotton wool. I had to put a SOS over Twitter to find out how to use it as the website, to me, wasn't very clear on the website (which is now updated) and even on the bottle.

Once that got cleared up and I worked out how to use it, I did start to enjoy using it. I use a lotion/cream cleanser if I have been wearing makeup before using a foam cleanser to feel more clean, or on make up free days I just use this straight away so I cannot comment on how it removes makeup or eye makeup. Through experience I have not found any foaming replacement for taking makeup off.

The first thing that hits me about this is the scent, Rosewood and Sandalwood,  this gave musky, woody tones that could work for both male and female. The foam base also has carrot and  coconut oil to nourish the skin. I use this 1-2 times a day, the size of 5p piece (I know it says 20p on the website but I felt that was just too much and found that the size I use preforms just as well) with warm water and a face cloth.

It does clean the skin, so this gives a brighter appearance as you clean off the dead skin cells and dirt. For me it didn't flair any of my sensitive parts on the cheeks and after a few days also reduced the appearance of spots that I had been having over my chin. I think value wise it is very as well, at £17.50 for 240ml (there is a smaller and larger size) it works out at £ per a ml. The bottle I have (30ml) has lasted me about 5 months so far to put this into some prospective.

I would buy this again, for the results but importantly for the value for money I get from it.

New Mum Wish List

Now Bethany is finally getting into some sort of routine and we are starting to adventure out, I can now start to think about giving myself some TLC after the long nights, nappy changes and feeds. This is currently what I am daydreaming about:

A Haircut (after dying it)

My hair is starting to get really long, frizzy and in need of a trim before Beth starts pulling on it. I have a hairdresser that comes to my house who will trim me up for £12, she's also been cutting my family hair for many years (she also did the hair for my wedding at a very good rate). It's not going to be anything extreme, just a tidy and shorten.

Eyebrow Threading

After the disaster of my last visit (When Threading Goes Wrong) I've been growing my eyebrows back out again to get them done by another place. This one is my priority as I do not feel right now I've discovered the difference it makes to my face when they are done.

New Nail Polish for Spring

It's Spring and a season so it means I need to update the varnish wardrobe, but the trouble I have is decided what to get. The short list is as follows: OPI's Jade green AmazON... AmazOFF (Brazil Collection), Essie's Ice baby blue Find Me An Oasis (Resort Collection) and Blue/Turquoise Hide & Go Chic (Spring Collection), and Model's Own Naked Glow (Gel Collection).

Bra's

Now my chest has returned to 'normal' I require new bras that have some support to them and look pretty as well. I have two bits of trouble with my twins: I am on the large side of sizes and unusually the middle does not lean against the sternum in the middle so I cannot wear certain styles or it does pierce my skin. This is my most frustrating thing to go shopping for because the ones I like are the ones I cannot wear. Any suggestions are welcome in comments.

Jean's

I must be the only person I know who lost weight in pregnancy (apart from baby), once Beth was born I was soon back in my pre-pregnancy jeans. A week later they were hanging off of me like when I lost the weight to get pregnant. I have to admit defeat and get new jeans to fit me, there's only so much a woman can wear jogging/PJ bottoms!

Joan Collins Beauty Divine Lipstick and Nail Varnish in Helene

A red lipstick and nail varnish with my name, it's fate.

Neom Complete Bliss Hand Cream

As a new Mum you wash your hands several times a day, before/after feeds, before/after bathroom breaks (to prevent cross infection), as well as hot soapy water to wash feeding bottle. Your hands really do suffer, they get drier, itchy and all the cuticles get cracked. My gorgeous pregnancy nails were a thing of the past (pictured here with Essie's For The Twill of It on), I was left with short flakey below par nails.

I had got this 50ml size in one of British Beauty Blogger's infamous blog boxes, and have been using it an intense evening treatment. Neom is more known for it candle ranges and me being naive, was surpised that they did more than that in their range.

Complete Bliss main ingrediant is Moroccan Rose, which is aromatherapy is used for drier skins as well as soothing, it also contains vitamin A&E packed Shea Butter, Macadamia Nut Oil, Rosemary Leaf & Pomegranate for noisturent. Pnnk pepper and lime give the scent an uplifting, fresher tone that stops the rose from over powering the product. The constitancy is rich but still sinks in without resdue.

Neom only sell this in a 250ml pump bottle for £18.00 (this is 7p per a 1 ml) through their website. However I have spotted some going for £13.00 so its worth having a search for. This would make a luxury present for a new mum and like me I'm sure they would appreciate a little luxury after a long day with a newborn.

Benefit They're Real Mascara

Hype - There is nothing that turns me more off a product than the world and their dog going nuts, while I sit there reading all the reviews and go, "but it's only a mascara". Yes, I did say that because to me there is so many on the market it needs to really be something extra special to win me over. I may have given a little bit of a ladylike sequel when I saw this in my goodie bag at July London Met Up last year because I wanted to try it to see if it lived up to the hype around it.

They're Real has departed from the traditional bristal brush onto the latest plastic brustal/comb. It promises the whole song and dance: It lengthens, curls, volumises, lifts and separates. Does it actually deliver?

I have used this nearly everyday until it dried up at 6 months, and yes it did give me better looking lashes. I do not use more than 3 coats of mascara on my lashes, I do not go into the spider lash look. I did find with this I didn't need to as it gave the volume and defination I wanted with them stnading out as it was perfect deep black.

This is my only gripe about They're Real, it takes an oily remover, a lot of cotton pads and a lot of paience to get this off. Even with this small arsenal of removal bits, I will still find that I will wake with it all around my eyes in the morning and will be usng the remover again to get the rest off.

Does it live up to hype? I hate to admit but yes it does, Benefit has created a cover-all-basis mascara and can be layered up with clogging or bits forming - great for natural lashes or building up to those big fluttery lashes. Will set you back £19.50 at Benefit, Boots or Department Stores nation wide.

Eye of Horus Liquid Define Eye Liner

I got my hands on this after another one of my random conversations about still seeking the liquid eye liner, when I was a little younger I went through a phase of wearing liquid liner everyday with a subtle flick. I had previously used Lancome Artliner because I found it easy to use, however I hated the price tag and stopped using it. I has since been trying to find the one that was not only easy to use but a reasonable price bracket. I then got a message asking if I wanted to try this to see if it could be the one I've been seeking, and as you can tell I said yes.

Eye of Horus looks to the Egyptian history to inspire their product range of eye definers. They believe in being cruelty free and use as close to natural ingredients as possible. Based in Australia, they've now come to the UK amongst high praise from Pixiwoo after being used in their tutorials on youtube. I also know that other artists that have tried them, have loved them to.

The nib is taped to a point which makes flicks a lot easier to do and no matter which side you use it still gives the same result. The colour is the blackest black you can get, and dries quickly so there is no transfer after application. This does mean that if you want to smudge it you will need to work quickly. I wore this for the first time at my work Christmas do in December and not only survived the night, but removed easily without leaving anything behind to leave me with panda eyes in the morning (which is something my Lancome one did).

From FOTD Christmas do (I miss my pregnancy glow)

 Price is £13.00 from Cocktail Cosmetics, while it is still on the higher end of the price range, this is worth the investment as for me it is the one as it ticks all the boxes on what I needed in a liner.

MyBeautyCompare.com

MyBeautyCompare.com is a new beauty website on the block. Not only does it house reviews and a beauty forum where you can ask like minded people for their recommendations, but also after setting a profile they an point you in the direction of what would suit you. This site isn't all about the top end but also has a mix of the high street as well.

I had actually heard about this site on Twitter when they hosted a chat alongside another blogger and when I was approached to review the site myself, I had already had a profile set up (Unevenlemming is the user name is you feel the need to look me up).

How accurate are the recommendations? Let's take the biggest make up headache of them all, foundation. I have combination skin, with fair, neutral undertones, am a busy mother who works part time. I was recommended MAC Studio Fix (Which is one I'm keen to try), Bare Minerals powder and Estee Lauder Double Wear, which is one of my favourite foundations. On to nails and the top recommendations there were OPI, which yet again is another brand I am a fan of.

You get given 4 recommendations, and out of mine there was always one product that I have tried and loved before, but it also had ones that if I was offered to try I would jump at the opportunity. I do like the fact that there was a good mix of High street as well as premium (I got about a 50/50 mix of each in my recommendations), so if you felt a little more flush with the cash then you could find the equal to the high street brand and visa versa.

When I have a little more time on my hands I want to dive into the reviews side of the website, written by people who have used the product before and are as honest as you can get from a consumer. There is a forum for people to get advice and ask questions, this is still in the beginning phase but I can see this growing.

*This is a sponsered post, however I was already looking at the website before being asked to review it. All opinion is my own.

Boots Permanent Hair Dye

I, unfortunantly, started going grey well before my time at a very young 21, now I didn't give in to the dye bottle until I had a friend who was taller than me who used to pull them out. With that I went to my hairdresser and changed my life - It was a deep chocolate (I'm very dark black/brown natural colour) and lifted my spirits completely I was back to being a confident 20 year old.

However, it had a price tag that I couldn't keep up forever - about 90 quid at a time every other month. Of course I got married; and my husband found out how much it cost me, I then (after my wedding of course - a gorgeous deep brown mahogany) had to admit defeat and try a home dye kit, my first being Nice'n'Easy in Deepest Brown which came out black on me. A few boxes later I've learned that I need to go a little lighter in colour (they recommend that you only go one shade lighter than your natural colour).

I have recently had to go on a beauty budget cut, this just means I had to be a little smarter rather than cut my money (However much I love poundland, I do draw a line somewhere!). I have had really good experiences with Boots own products (does help that for 6 years I did work for and in Boots stores, and have seen where they have been made).

With any hair dyes I do need to reiterate that a 48 hour skin test needs to be done, especially with the darker shades of hair colourant. The cases of dye allergies have increases recently and they photos are very scary and i do not wish anyone to go through this. Be sensible, read through the instructions or there is an information site www.becoloursafe.com . With this dye there is no recommended dye time, as part of the skin test you also test a sample of your own hair and time how long it takes to get the colour you require (however further down it does say for grayer hair that you need at least 20 mins).

Now I did mine for the 20 minutes as indicated by the strand test, and now just unwrapping it and looking at the colour I like it already. It's come out browner than previous times. With other colours it comes out very dark at first and then gets lighter later on, this has come out with a deep brown sheen already. Another thing I am impressed with is the smell, yes it does have the dye smell to it but it has added fragrance which does mask the smell. On the other hand I do have one niggle, the conditioner they supple is very water and it says it lasts 3 treatments, while I used most of it in this one time.

I was overall very impressed and it definally is one I use again, the colours might not be to everyone's taste (most of them are 'normal' colours and nothing vibrant), the cost 3.36 with them being on offer 2 for 5.00 at the moment is just what you could need to replace what can be a costly maintenance.

Craziness at Professional Beauty 2012

I do really love  a good trade show, it's a time where I can divulge in my obsession of varnishes, oils, make up and everything remotely girly. This year would be the first year that I went as a owner/director of my own company, previous years I had gone as a therapist. I was fully prepared - I had the floor plan (working my route that I had rest stops for the knee injury I'm still in recover for :( ), made a short list of companies I wanted to talk to, hyped up on coffee (which I am now starting to re-think after Monday nights Embarrassing Bodies - Eek!), and had spent hours on the train getting there 20 mins after opening.

Getting there early was the first master stroke - within an hour i couldn't move in the place! Art Deco (who are now doing a make up line for Dita Von Tease) was already crammed, I grabbed their brochures and hoped I could see them later. Next I wondered to another stall with a table full of products opened (and hygienically with sticks in), they smelled divine and sunk in wonderfully. I started chatting to a member of staff and found there were a Dutch company who had been going for 50 years and wanted to grow in the UK market. I did struggle with the name, Webecos, but the company was something I was connecting with. I actually spent half an hour with the director of the company as well as their new make up consultant of their new line, Dr.Tadlea.

One more note before I move on: The consultant was worth a huge mention as she had little training material and had only had the products given to her Thursday night. She was a true professional and answered everything she could and gave me free reign on her kit. The products themselves are launching was a small core collection (about 8 eye shadows, 3 foundation lines, 2 blushers, 8 eye liners, 12 lipsticks, 12 varnishes, 8 loose eye shadows, and some other bits at the moment I can't remember), this will then be topped up four times a year with limited edition lines. The packaging I really like: simple classic silver with the lipsticks having magnetic lids so you cannot lose them. I came away fully glossed up and with lots of skin care samples.

I then went to have one of my nails Trendy wrapped - They're a adhesive sticker that gets heated up (to make more pliable) and then stuck to the nail after being buffed ready. Then they are trimmed and file the edges down to fit the nail. I must of met the least excited rep of the day as she blandly put one on. That's where it started to go wrong, they wasn't filled round the edges enough and by the time I got home (8 hours later) they were already coming off from the bottom. I was told they would last 2 days - Very disappointed.

However there was something I did fall for - Gel varnish. I had already heard some good reports about this latest system: lasts for weeks, leaves a glossy just manicured finished and well sounded too good to be true. All the leading names had launched theirs - OPI, etc. They also come in many different formulations, which I am investigating further. The one I tried was Calgel a hybrid of varnish and gel that needs no prep time and is dried under a UV lamp for 3 minutes, it can also be used on top of existing varnish. The tech was a salon owner so while working away she could me a honest break down of it benefits to her business, shall we say I'm already crunching numbers and seeing about training.

I did have the misfortune of bumping into a male model there, face first into his (rather yummy smelling) naked pecs, I know I went bright red mumbled about something smelling nice and tried to scuttle off. There was  a lot of flesh on show around the tanning area, which made me fell a white as anything. Did I bump into any of the TOWIE's that seemed to be everywhere? Yes but I didn't realise until I got home and saw who she was online - a girl called Frankie, so there you go my TOWIE claim to fame.

By the end I was shattered 4 hours in my knee was rebelling, I was getting grumpy with anyone and I was starting to want to get out of there. I done what I wanted to do (include a 20 minute wait on Dermalogica to get face mapped and get my prescription samples), and with the horde of people I'd admitted defeat and went home for a cuppa.

Now its the mission to go through all the samples/brochures/products and see what I want to invest in/use. Fours huge bags worth should keep me busy for the week.....

FOTD - Christmas Work Party

I left my work place on 29t November for the start of my maternity leave, and on 20th December we were meeting up again to catch up one last time before Christmas. The place was Stoke Pages, a mass gathering of different workplaces and tables of wine. You could imagine how that ended up. I had one small glass of wine with my main meal, the most delicious salmon I had ever had but being a high standard restaurant and being pregnant,  I was soon day dreaming of chippie chips.

The thing I was happy with the most was how my dress that I ordered months ago still fitted even with my ever increasing bump as well as how glowing my make up looked for the night. I was determined to look as glamorous as possible as recently I had not being feeling it. I wanted to focus more on my eyes as I had some wonderful eye shadow palettes that I rarely get to go mad with, I also added on false lashes which I rarely get an opportunity to wear.

I did all the prep the night before after a shower to steam the skin I put on a clay mask, REN's Invisible Pores Detox Mask (Sample size). This was first time of using it and loved the results, I had a spot coming out on the side of my nose and this stopped it from fully forming as well as reduced the redness around the area. This was followed by my current Facial Oil (B.Skincare replishment Oil), moisturier on my cheeks and eye cream (a tiny amount of Lancome's Renergie Facial cream and eye cream).

I had saved up for a trip to the hairdressers and threaders (more on that coming up another day), to give myself a pamper before the event. After the quick cleanse with Philopshys 3-in-1 cleanser, I used Sothy's Day Cream and let that sink in before adding Witch's Anti-Blemish Primer.

Base: Max Factor Face Finity Light Ivory mixed with NARS Orgasm Illuminator
Conclearer: Estee Lauder Disappear Concleaer in Light
Powder: GOSH BB Powder in 04
EyeShadow base colour: Bobbi Brown in white (comes out in a matt skin tone colour)
Eye shadow contouring/colour: Sleek Make Up eye shadow palette in Sparkle 2 (Using Tinsel - silver, and Twinkle - Navy glitter)
Eye liner: Eye of Horus liquid eye definer in Black with Twinkle over the top (also used to line the bottoms lashes)
Mascara: Maybelline Mascara
False Lashes: Salon Systems strip lashes in Natural
Blusher: Dainty Doll in Money Talks
Lip: MUA lipgloss in Let's Talk

The dress was a eBay bargain at £8 brand new, it expanded well with the bump but covered up what I really didn't want to show off. The shrug is from eBay as well and I wore this when I got married nearly four years ago, it was about £10 second hand. I went with a simple long silver necklace and black pumps (I wasn't even going to attempt heels!). I'm glad I did go for a bit of colour in the end, out of the 12 ladies who went only 2 of us wore a different colour!

Best of 2013

I honestly cannot believe we are now at the end of 2013, this year really has flown by. It has been another mixed year, the joy of qualifying for my BTEC in Make Up Artistry and finding out I was pregnant with our first child; alongside the downsizing of our home, my husband losing his job and family illness.

2014 is starting to line up to be a year of a lot of changes and I really do not have a clue how everything is going to be until Minilemming makes an appearance. I have not really planned anything as I have learnt that when I do plan and it falls through it only makes me more stressed!

Before we embrace a new year let's have a reflection on the year that is going:

Products that I'm having a love affair with

B.Skincare Replishing Facial Oil - This was my discovery in September from British Beauty Blog and managed to get my hands on a preview bottle before launch. It's light but powerful, smoothed my skin out with feeling I had an oil slick on it. It was love from first use.

Herbal Essences Bee Strong Honey Mask - Not only does it smell like toffee but it does smooth down frizzy hair and brings a shine to it. I can see the difference every time I've used it compared to when I've use my normal conditioner. I do have to resist over using because I love it that much.

Ginvera Green Tea Nude Cover BB Cream - Best base product I have ever tried, hides redness, smooth's out skin tone, perfect colour (for me at least) and doesn't look like I've dipped my face in a cement mixer. The only product this year that I was given a sample of in a goody bag and went back to buy the full sized product even before finishing that sample.

Brand that I discovered this year and loved everything I've tried (so far)

The whole NSpa has without a doubt been a small revolution to me, I got gifted their mum-to-be collection when another blogger got me in touch with them. They are an exclusive to Asda but I like them enough that I could happily get the two buses it would take to get across town to restock. They are Spa inspired but at really affordable prices (around £6), smell great without being sickly, which was a blessing when everything was making me feel sick early pregnancy. Well worth an investigation if you haven't already.

Blog Bits

Most popular entry (other than giveaways) - Superdrug AW 2013 Press Preview My first official PR day and loved every moment, got to met some great Superdrug people as well as other Bloggers. Still kicking myself over not going to say hello to Bettina of Beauty Swot and Jane from British Beauty Blog.

Most Comments - How Commenting has Rattled Me Not surprised this seemed to hit the nail on head with a lot of fellow bloggers. Thank you again to everyone who got in touch and shared their thoughts, it one of the main reasons I started blogging.

Highest of number of readers came from America, then UK and Russia (привет means hello).

Twitter is still my biggest referral site where people find the blog from (other social media available).

Goodbye 2013 and Hello new beginnings in 2014.

Happy New Year Everyone!

Herbal Essence's Bee Strong Hair Mask

I recently put out an SOS on my Twitter (@unevenlemmnig) as much pregnancy hair has gone incredible dry and frizzy. I also had just dyed it recently and was drinking conditioner like water. Shona from Freshbeautyxox said Herbal Essence's hair masks (she did also say Tresemme but I'm allergic to them), while Hannah from Midnight Violets put in a request for a review.

I had already tried the sachet samples of the shampoo and conditioner of the Bee Strong range, so I was already smitten with the scent. Also being the money saving person I have become I was also hutting to see what was on offer, thanks to Tesco's this was on half price offer and nestled beside my top up shopping basket.

It says all the things I want for my hair - repairs combing damage, brings glossy shine and deep moisture. I have should length hair so used about a 10p pence sized blob on my hair, as it is very thick you do not need a huge amount. I am very guilty of going over the top with conditioner but using this I got the required effect from not overloading.  Leave for 10 minutes and fully rinse out.

Did I get the Nicole Scherzinger effect? I didn't turn into her but yes my frizzy, untamed hair did turn into glossy, defined curls to the point I'm having to restrain from using it too much. The toffee honey toned scent is also a winner, seriously go, sniff it, and tell me it does not smell the least but tasty.

Available at other high street shops other than Tesco, full price is around £4.

Vivo Matt Lipstick in Pucker Red

 

 

Double Vivo products this week (Read the previous post about Dreamy eye shadow palette) this was night out with my work crew (commonly known as 'team bonding'). I am wearing the mentioned eye shadow palette alongside the new red lipstick love of my life - Matt Pucker Red.

I have numerous reds in my life but none that was embraced the matt AW whole in my red lipstick wardrobe until this came along at the July Bloggers Met Up, I may got a little over excited at a new red lipstick, I do now feel it was warranted.

In the bullet it does look a deeper berry than it does on the lips, on me it came out more of a classic neutral red. A quick bit on red application that I am rigorous about - creamy concealer around the area (provides a blank canvas), lip pencil always required and must be build up in layers with a lip brush. Not only does it last longer but it's still bold without looking like you've used have the lipstick.

Now here's the real bonus - it's £1.99 that performs just as good as any other £15+ red lipstick. You do have to take into account that packaging is not as classy as the colour, but I'd rather have the investment in the lipstick that really preforms.

Exclusive in Tesco stores or on the website Vivo Cosmetics

Vivo Dreamy 12 Shade Colour Block palette

My MUA Cosmetics Undressed palette is finally no more, and I won't be re-purchasing as I now have this neutral beauty in life make up bag.

I found that I only used certain colours in the MUA and when they went it got forgotten in my case for a while. I got this palette when I went to the July Blogger Meet Up and instantly was in awe of the colours. There wasn't any particular one I disliked.

This is now looking a lot more used since this photo, I like the pattern of the squares and for once actually waited until I photographed it until using. The wearing time is a little more than MUA, I can finish a day shift at work and still have wear left to adapt to night. With a primer it lasts much longer of course.

Thus uses the champagne coloured from the centre of the blocks, while using that matt black/brown as eyeliner and brow powder.

As previously seen in Ginvera Green Tea Nude Cover BB Cream

The palette is exclusive to Tesco stores or you can purchase it from Vivo Cosmetics Store for the grand total of £3.99 for 10 good sized shadows and for me one I can use as a brow powder. Not doubt that it is a bargain - just wait until their matt red lipstick review is up in the next few days, it's another bargain!

The Real Value of How Much Your Face is Worth

According to Superdrug research us ladies spend a total of £18.049.89 on our faces over the course of our lifetime. They polled 2,000 women as part of an in-depth study looking at expenditure on beauty products, and found that from the age of 18 to 82 the typical female will spend just over £18,000 on products for her face alone.

This means that during the typical year the average woman’s face value is a whopping £279.41 when you have added up the total cost of beauty items such as cleansers, foundations, mascaras and lipsticks. The highest valued item was moisturiser and then foundation.

The most purchased product for women is (and you should hang you heads in shame for this) is face wipes - An average of five packs are brought a year, which equals 323 packs over a course of a lifetime (on the presumption that an adult life span is 64.6 years average).

You can also split this down to the two categories - cosmetics and skincare.

Cosmetics

The figures show women spend a total of £147.46 on make-up products such as foundation, mascara, lipstick and gloss, blusher and bronzer, concealer, eye liner and shadow. This means over her adult lifetime the average woman spends £9,525.91 putting the make-up ON.

 

Skincare

 

An average ladies’ skincare routine is almost as important as her cosmetics, as she spends a total of £131.95 a year, and £8,523.97 a lifetime, on products such as cleanser and toner, moisturisers, eye creams, face masks and wipes.

With the emergence of own brands now started to be just as good (and in some cases much better) than the premium brands, 73% of women said they would of opted for the companies own brand rather than the premium.

This is where huge savings can be made - Superdrug say that if you switched to their own equal in their own brands then an average saving is £172 PER YEAR OR £11,111.02 PER ADULT LIFETIME.

Found this research fascinating and I know it will come in useful for a pub quiz at some point. Please people - no more face wipes.

Oriflame Triple Core 3D Lipstick in Nude Peach

I have an admission to make: I am a very bad beauty blogger, I used this before I even had a chance to photograph the triple rings you get in this lipstick. Please see bad attempt to rectify this below.

Nude nails shock!



This is another discovery from the July Bloggers Meet Up bag, and since has been gracing my lips everyday. The contrasting bands of colour as well as slightly glittery core gives the illusion of fuller lips. To me it gives the looks of lip liner, lipstick and lip gloss in one easily carried tube, with the bonus that it doesn't dry out my lips further.

 

 

The colour is perfect for my tone, the peach is good for the olive tones in my skin but there is slight pink so it doesn't tip into the coral territory. The price is still competitive between the high street and premium, as it is one of the ones I am wearing everyday it would be a re-investment when it finishes.

 

It is £10.95 from Oriflame website or from a local reprehensive.



Sk:n Clinic Laser Hair Removal Treatment

The joy of being a beauty blogger is that I do have complete random conversations that lead to blog posts. This came about by having a conversation with one of my colleagues at my work place who as I was having a bit of a moan to about the combination of hairy legs and baby bump. Her comment to me was, 'You really should of had laser hair removal before.' thus pulling out her hair less (and tanned) legs for closer inspection, I couldn't help but be jealous.

Source

This had been rolling around in my mind for a while, so when Sk:n Clinic contacted me about the services they provide I was eager and interested to take a peek. They have around 40 clinics throughout the UK and in their 20 years of business have served half a million clients. They only employ experienced doctors and staff to ensure the best care is provided. They also governed by Customer Quality Commission (which is the same governing body that assess doctors, care homes and dentists), as well as Independent Health Advisory Service ‘Treatment You Can Trust’ register and regularly work with the British Skin Foundation. Their clinics have also work alongside Channel 4 on my guilty pleasure shows, Embarrassing Bodies.

Consultations can be booked through their website where you would have an initial consultation, this is give a treatment plan, explain and reassure any questions you have on treatment. It is recommended to have a minimum of 6 treatments for body and 4 for the facial, and at the end of treatment you will be pampered to a deep exfoliating glycolic peel to feel fully refreshed.

Aftercare is provided and at the heart do want to provide the best and leading treatments in athestics treatments. Not only am I looking at the Laser Hair Removal, but the Microdermabrasion and skin peels. Something to look forward to after those sleepless nights next year.

To read more about Laser Hair Removal, process of treatment and pricings please go to the Sk:n Clinic Laser Hair Removal Page

*This is a sponsored post, however all my opinions and writing are my own, as well as my desire for a body overhaul once baby is here.