NOTD - Boots No.7 Totally Teal

Teal is huge again for Spring/Summer for this year. I had OPI's AmazON AmazOFF on my New Mum's Wishlist, it only made sense when I had a voucher for their £3 off Boots No.7 to see if I could spot any dupes. It's not a faultless dupe, the OPI seems a brighter teal while is more blackened.

The formulation is a thick consistancy, you would get away with one coat but two coats gives a more even colour. Dry is reasonable you can paint a full set and it'll be already dry for the next coat. The wear time is also a highlight, with the amount of times I out my hands in hot water, it lasted 4 days before it started chipping badly.

I am a big fan of the No.7 varnishes for many years, they colours are always on trend and they are starting to rival some of the bigger names in varnish (I have a Chanel dupe you will love, trust me). I am finding, and just not only the varnish, that Boots prices are starting to get rather expensive for a own brand range. A Boots varnish is £6/7 which now matched Essie's price range but not colour range. They've also got stingy on the vouchers two, by cutting the make up discount to £3 when it used to be £5.

Beauty Swap with Clare (A Bit of This and That)

About late May I signed my name to a Beauty Swap organised but the retro fabulous Kat from Tales of a Pale Face. It is very simple, you get an email to say who you have got as well as contact mail, you send a lot of emails asking about likes/dislikes and arranging when. Clare and I found out that we were both going to London Meet Up at the end of July and decided to save the postage to send more surprises.

 

I mentioned in my emails that the pale person for me struggles to find a bronzer that doesn't turn me orange and I lacked any daytime lipsticks (all of them are mostly red!). Clare said that she kind of liked MAC lipsticks (owns 25 of them , you need help with a MAC lipstick - she's your girl!) and loved premium make up.

 

You can read what I got her here on her blog and see below what appeared in my little bag (beautifully wrapped up may I add, I lasted an hour before I opened them all).

 

Natural Collection lipsticks in Apple Blossom (on the left) and Rose Bud (on the right) - I already have one of the lipsticks and think they're really great value so it was great to see two more for my collection.

Bourjois Powder Bronzer - Smells delicious, have not tried it yet, but the other bloggers around me when I opened it, 'Ohh'd' at it and came with recommendations.

Not Pictured - Montagne Jeunesse peel off face masks - my favourite face mask brand and they have added to the collection. I also gave the exact same ones to Clare!

The one I got most excited about was:

My second ever MAC lipstick in Crème Cup - a beauty bloggers holy grail. I have worn this a few times now and it goes slightly pink on me but looks great for everyday which is what I have been looking for.

Big thank you to Kat for organising and Clare for being really generous.

Bourjois Cream Blusher - Healthy Glow

 

I said I would own one when I first saw they were coming out here, but I got the colour that out of al them I liked but didn't love. I got this as a PR sample after that rave, so the colour was random. It's not a colour I head towards, I more the pinky type because to me they show up better on my skin. I do, however like to be wrong.

 

It is tiny compared to the pressed powder blushers, I'm sure the spin on that is that it is "Compact" or "Slimline". It is a mixture of peach and coral, but the little hidden gem that reveals itself after a few uses is that it has the tiniest flecks of gold in it, I didn't notice this until the Summer arrived and I was applying it in the sun.

 

It isn't as strong as it looks in the compact, I know when I saw it I thought it would go on bright peach and I would have to buff it down. This is not the case I find that I can build it up in fine layers (either with clean fingers or a buffing brush) and, as the name suggests, have a glow rather than a huge coral blob.

 

It has now become an everyday make up essential - I've even mentioned it in a previous post, Early Pregnancy Beauty because it has genuinely given me some glow back when glowing was the last thing on my mind. This also the reason why the skin above is not looking at it's best, the effect of hayfever allergies and the fact that I cannot take my allergy medication because of my pregnancy.

 RRP £7.99 (from the usual suspects - Boots, Superdrug etc.), price wise it is a little bargain. It has a wonderful texture and blends into the skin better than expected. This has now started a new interest in cream blushers, and the Diors are calling my name, just not the price tag at £24.

Garnier Oila Permanant Hair Dye - Deep Violet

I have briefly touched before on my history on dying my hair here as well as my experience using Boots own brand, which since I have been using since as the colour of choice. Why the change? First of all dying dries out my hair, I probably use more conditioner than I should (I do thoroughly wash afterwards). Secondly, I want to change my colour from a deep brown to more of a violet tint which a lot of the own brands do.

With this in mind, I brought this from Superdrug for the full price of £6.99. I did do a patch test, however a little research on twitter it was interesting to see that the amount of people don't. I won't give a lecture, but it is still important to make sure you get no reactions that can harm you or your body.

Box with a snippet of the finished colour in the bottom left corner

You mix both developer and cream together in the tear drop bottle, shake and put into the hair (not the bathroom, floor, etc). by splitting into sections and work thoroughly. Leave for the allocated time, wash and condition. Hair dye done.

To me the colour came out well, it completely covered the grey, with my previous dye it seemed to struggle to cover the whitest ones. The colour as you you can see has more of the tint of violet, with the box looking it would be deeper in colour, I can accept that it is that my hair is dark already to start with.

I am now on week 3 since I've done it and the violet is less strong and my natural deep brown is starting to come through.There is no signs of any dye coming away from the hair, looks naturally and the whites still look unnoticeable. The conditioner supplied is still moisturising without being heavy, but didn't really wow me.

I would get this again but more when it's on offer.

Why I Love Red Lippie

The first time I ever tried a red lipstick was when I had it suggested that I should try it because I had that classic English Rose look. I brought my first red, a Bourjois in a matt red case with gold on it, it a blue/red with a matt finish and I loved it, it instantly made me look glamorous with little effort. From then I was hooked, I loved the way it brightened my skin and earned me the nick name, "Snow White" because of my dark hair, pale skin and I was told my "perfect" lips that can pull off the red pout.

One of the many times I've worn red out

So why is red lipstick still one of the go to colours of our time? It comes from the Western history, Japanese geisha's painting their lips red in contrast to the whiteness of their skin (more on that later as it is a subject I dearly love). The look was steadily coming over to the east, in 13th century Italian ladies worn them as a mark of status in the upper classes.

It wasn't until the glamour of the early 20th century with the 1920's flapper girls and of course the huge Hollywood productions. Max Factor, Elizabeth Arden, and Helena Rubinstein were the first names to see a market for mass production of cosmetics. One theory of it's popularity is that the red lips to men could remind them of something else on a woman, which I'm not sure how true this can be.

Red, to me, is the easiest and most glamorous way to update any day to night look, it instantly makes me more womanly. In colour therapy it signifies passion, love and fire, and is associated to my star sign of Aries.

My collection (as current but I'm always looking for more to add my collection so any suggestions are welcome) stands as the following:

The best I had was one from Boots No7 and it was a double ended wand with a paint on colour then gloss,  but I lost it on a night out and I dearly miss it. These are great colours and I do seem to go towards the more pinky reds, while the Rimmel is more a blue/red. The Silk Red was part of a Christmas lipstick collection that Estee Lauder did about 2010. My most recent was Boots natural collection and comes up almost sheer with shimmer.

Maybe it's a time to get a new one, well you cannot never have too many reds?

NOTD No7 Pink Grapefruit

No7 £5 vouchers are now back! Love these vouchers means I can update my varnish's. No7 are great quality and always as colours that are not only in fashion but they have enough to tailor to a wide age ranged. I've used they're varnish's for many years (since I worked for them in 2002, I used to top up my phone just to get vouchers), and own a collection of colours.

This one is my favourite summer pinks, not a bright but not too coral number. Not bad for someone who's not normally a "pink" person :) The nail stickers are a eBay purchase which are floral with a little glitter, looks great against the matt cream pink colour.

Things That I Can't Live Without (For Now)

The Collection

While I am working on this weeks Masterclass and I thought I'd show you the loves of my life (currently and including husband before he starts sulking).

Starting from the left:

Bach Flower Rescue Remedy and Night Tine Rescue

Many moons ago when I worked in an office, my so-called manager had a go at me and being the delicate youngster I was cried my eyes out. Our receptionist can to my rescue after discovering me in the staff room, got me drink of water and produced this yellow/brown bottle and told me to add a few drops to my tongue. After a few minutes the tears were gone and I felt rather more human.

This works on the calming effects of a combination of flower essences, and has been in use since 1930's. It's ideal for any stressful situation or one when you need some focus. I've recently had problems sleeping sleeping to all my worries going round my head at night. I've been using the night version and found a great help as part of winding down, a few drops in water while reading a book and it seems to be working.

Elizabeth Arden Eight Hour Cream

Why? Oh why have you named it a cream when it's more of thick gel? Apart from that its awesome. I burnt myself last year and once the stinging went down I put this on top, not only did it quicken the healing but I think it lightened the mark behind. Everyday use I use the tinest amount on my dry flaky lips when not split. It now comes in a fragrance-free version, hurrah!

Bepanthen

I used to be addicted to Blixtex when my lips are sore, cracked and just not even worth going out in public, however with my economy drive (and it's price at £2.79) I was open to a new alternative. Browsing the blogs a few weeks back The Lipstick Blog wrote a blog on lip care (Please look here) and sang the praises for this. Was in Boots and I thought why not, it was only £1.79 (on offer, usually £2.19) and was expecting not alot. I like being surprised with a few uses lips improved, it is a barrier cream used to protect babys' bums from nappy rash. I got the smallest (30g but also comes in 50g and 100g) and I've only used a quarter of it, great value.

Clarins Beauty Flash Balm

Never got the hype of this product when I worked in a department store, it wasn't until I had some given to me that I gave it a try. My poor skin is now starting to show signs that I am no longer twenty, and it's starting to lose some of it's glow. I used over the top of my moisturiser and got on with my day, walked past the mirror a few hours later and was surprised that my skin not only looked healthy but looked a lot more fresher. Under foundation I looked liked I'd had a decent nights sleep for a change and was being told that I looked great. A pea sized amount does fine for the face so you don't need to nuts with it. Well lived up to the hype.

Ojon Damage Reverse Restorative Serum

I blame this one squarely on March's Glossy box (Read about getting it here and reviewing it here), fell in love with it the first time I used it. It is a lightweight oil/serum that has a nutty/musky scent. It tames my frizzy hair into soft curls and leaves no residue behind (as long as you stick to amounts the label says). With this my hair could easily rival the Duchess of Cambridge's.

Sally Hansen Double Duty

As I've mentioned I'm in a economy drive, and I love products that I can double up as something else. I have used Sally Hansen and knew they had something that I could use a top/base coat. I know that most peoples reservations on product doing two jobs is that it may not live up to using those product separately, I found with this that it gripped my colour but also still had that glossy top coat finish.

SPAritual

I had this companies catalogue from Professional Beauty 2012 after I was searching out suppliers to use when I open my own beauty treatment business. It's really great at the moment trying out different companies to see who I want to work with (if you are interested, please see my email in the about me section). What drew me to Sparitual is that they are PETA approved and Vegan products, so I applied for an up to date catalogue. Not only did they do that but sent a huge sample bundle worth £5.00 (they do take what qualifications you have so not everyone gets this, they can be purchased!), and I have been working through them since. I came out of the first time using them floating and after the second time my mind was made up who I am using when I get my funding. The names of the products are delightfully named (like Infinity Loving Oil and Open Your Eyes Bath Salts), and use the holistic approach to healing and pampering. I'm looking forward using them (and the rest of the samples up!).

Don't forget Materclass this weekend will be face masks and back to normal next week!

We are also now on Facebook :)

Max Factor - Meteorite, Odyssey Blue and Fantasy Fire

Oh dear Boots - Why do you do this to me? First of all you had the well hunted Fantasy Fire in stock then you wave 3 for 2 under my nose, well it would of been rude not to of ignore it! (and thats what I save my points for!)

I'm so glad I've gave in after swatching them, Meteorite is the perfect silverily lilac that I've been after and the Odyssey Blue is a perfect addiction to my blue varnish collection (which has now out numbered my red collection 5 to 3!). Swatches were done with two coats, I can tell that the Fantasy Fire is going to be one to wipe over other colours to bring them to live the other two stand very well on there own.

Each polish was £3.99 and Boots 3 for 2 on selected makeup, nail, haircare, and eyelashes products started Tuesday.