Real Techniques by Samantha Chapman - Expert Face Brush Review

Real Techniques by Samantha Chapman - Expert Face Brush RRP £9.99

A new purchase I got this week (I've been makeup shopping way too much this week) is this gem. So I thought I'd do review and first impressions of the brush.

Mini Beauty Haul

Barbara Daly Eyelash Curler RRP £5
Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer in shade Light 2 RRP £4.19
Garnier Essentials Regenerating Eye Cream RRP 99p

My mini beauty haul, including a purchase of one of the most blogged about concealers.

Simple Pleasures Christmas Gifts

As its two months today until Christmas I thought I would make a start on Christmas shopping. I had a look around TK Maxx and found these cute gift sets by a brand called Simple Pleasures which I couldn't resist buying them.

Sure Maximum Protection Review

Sure Maximum Protection RRP £5.30

I can honestly say I LOVE this underarm anti-perspirant deodorant! It lasts all day and smells very clean and fresh. Its only the pricey side for the type of product it is so I recommended trying to get it on offer but it is definitely worth the price! The one I always seem to buy is the normal one however there is also one called confidence and another called sensitive. It doesn't leave any white patches and dries fairly quickly which i'm very pleased. I've purchased it many times and will continue to do so!

MUA Lip Liners Review

MUA Brooding Plum, Red Drama, Pink Me Up & Softly Lined Lip Liners RRP £1 each

I'm so sorry I haven't updated recently but i've been trying to balance work and my social life as well as being ill the past few days. I'm going to try and update more once things get more settled. So after posting my wishlist about not being able to find these MUA lip liners I actually managed to find all of them! For those of you who don't know anything about what MUA is i'll explain it. It stands for Makeup Academy, a British brand which sells most of their for £1 each! its really great quality stuff yet so cheap! Its one of my favourite drugstore brands. I bought most of their lipsticks a while ago (I might do some swatches) then I found out about their lip liners so had to buy them. I've never actually used lip liner before so I was excited to use these. The presentation is very nice as each liner colour matches the colour of the pencil. They have sharpeners built in on each lid which is very practical. They have a good pigment which is always great. I find they last quite well as a base for lipstick or lipgloss all over my lips rather than just lining  For £1 each they are definitely worth a try. 

What's in my Bag?

Mini Essie Haul

Essie Apricot Cuticle Oil 15ml RRP £10.50
Essie Fill The Gap 15ml RRP £10.95
Essie Tour De Finance 15ml RRP £8.50

I'm sorry I haven't updated much recently, i've been busy seeing friends most of the time recently and I haven't had much chance to blog. However i'm currently planning lots of posts which i'm excited about and hope to publish in the next few days. My nails have been breaking a lot lately so I thought i'd give this cuticle oil and fill the gap base coat a try. I've only tried them both once and I'll update when i've used them more. But so far the cuticle oil smells lovely and goes on easily. The base coat makes a smooth base for polish and doesn't make my nail polish bubble which i'm really pleased about. I also bought this Essie nail polish in this gorgeous shade called Tour De Finance. I first tried Essie nail polish when I got the Essie Mini Bright Collection for my birthday and I really liked the bottle design and pigment of the colours. So when I seen Tour De Finance it reminded me of the Bright Collection I got so couldn't resist buying it! I love the colour and I was going to post a picture but my nails ended up chipping straight away so i'm kind of disappointed. I'm gonna give it another try with a different top coat and see what its like. 

Mini Soap & Glory Haul

Soap & Glory Calm One Calm All Bubble Bath 500ml RRP £5.50
Soap & Glory Girligo Body Mist 250ml RRP £6.50
Soap & Glory Glow Lotion 150ml RRP £5.50

I posted about the Girligo body mist and Glow lotion in this months beauty wishlist post but as Boots had some Soap & Glory products on 3 for 2 I got the Calm One Calm All bubble bath too. All these products contain the S&G Original Pink scent which I love after I first smelt it in my S&G Clean On Me Shower Gel and Righteous Body Butter. As you can probably tell I love S&G products and i'm really excited to try all these!

My Beauty Wish List - September 2012

1. Soap & Glory Fab Pore Hot Cloth Cleanser 100ml RRP £10
2. Soap & Glory Glow Lotion 150ml RRP £5.50
3. Soap & Glory Girligo Body Moisturising Mist 250ml RRP £6.50
4. VO5 Hot Oil Shower Works Moisture Soak 75ml RRP £4.29
5. MUA Lip Liners in  Pink Me Up, Softly Lined, Brooding Plum & Red Drama RRP £1 each
6. MAC Studio Sculpt SPF 15 Foundation 40ml RRP £24

The above products are the products i've been lusting after so far this month and with Boots having some Soap & Glory products and hair products on 3 for 2 I may have to buy these soon. The MUA lip liners are such a bargain for £1 but I haven't found them in any of the Superdrugs i've been in yet so i'm on a hunt for them. I've always wanted to try MAC foundation and after using the MAC Foundation Finder the studio sculpt seems to be the right type for me. So I think I might splurge on that this month. What products are you lusting after this month?

Herbal Essences Hello Hydration Shampoo & Conditioner

Herbal Essences Hello Hydration Shampoo & Conditioner  (RRP £2-3 each)

My holy grail shampoo and conditioner has been Aussie Miracle Moist for so long that I don't tend to try other brands. But I tried a sample of Herbal Essences Hello Hydration shampoo and conditioner for a change which I really liked so bought the bottles. I shampoo the roots of my hair and use a little bit of diluted shampoo to shampoo the ends. Then I only condition the ends and it leaves my hair feeling really soft and clean. As I have ombre hair the ends of my hair are very dry and this did actually make them feel soft and hydrated. I really like the smell which is mostly of coconuts as its contains Hawaiian coconut and orchard extracts. It was actually voted Product of the Year 2012 and if you have dry hair it might be worth trying. I'm really pleased with the results and I know there's an intense mask too which i'm really tempted to buy!

Bioderma Créaline H2O Solution Review

Bioderma Créaline H2O Micelle Cleansing Solution 500ml (Not available in UK stores)

I'm a big Lisa Eldridge (make up artist) fan and after seeing her talk about Bioderma Créaline (also known as Sensibio) in a lot of her videos I decided to see if its worth the hype. As its not available to buy in UK stores I had to buy it online. I found the best place to buy it from to be eBay. It cost me £12.50 which isn't too bad as it is for a 500ml bottle which will hopefully last a few months. I've never used a micelle cleansing solution before so I was really excited to try it. I wasn't sure whether the bottle would be glass or plastic but it is plastic which I'm really glad about as I'd be worried about dropping it. The label is all in French which wasn't a problem as its very straight forward to use. To use it I pour a few drops onto cotton wool then gently rub the cotton wool onto my face to remove make up. It removes all my make up with ease including waterproof mascara which I was pleased about. I have quite dry skin and it didn't dry it out or make it go red. The only downside to Créaline is you can only buy it online and as it works out cheaper to buy the 500ml bottle if it doesn't work for you it would be quite a waste. I think its a simple way to remove make up especially if you're in a rush or don't want a high maintenance make up removing routine. For me its definitely worth it!

Beauty Haul: Brand Make Up in Pound Shops?

I spontaneously decided to go into Poundworld to look at the make up and nail polish as I'd seen other blogs posting about finding trusted brands in pound shops.

Bourjois Bio Detox Organic Anti-Puffiness Concealer (RRP £7.99)

I managed to find Bourjois concealer for £1 however it is in shade No.3 Mat - Hàlé which is bronze to dark. I don't have dark skin however it'll be useful for when I fake tan. Its currently in Boots for £7.99 so its definitely a bargain whether I use it or not. 

L.A. Colors Nails Art Deco (Not available in UK stores)

I was going to buy these from ebay or amazon a few weeks ago for about £3 each with shipping but decided not to. I'm so glad I didn't as I got three for £3 and I got to see the colours properly. The colours I have are White, Black and Baby Pink. I haven't tried them yet but if they're good I may have to buy some of the other colours and glitter ones.

Sinful Colors & NYC Nail Polish (Sinful Colors is not available in UK stores)

I moved over to the nail polishes and found a Sinful Colors nail polish in shade All Mighty for £1. This is my second Sinful Colors nail polish as I got shade Smoking Hot (which I love!) on holiday in Spain. So I was pleased when I seen they sold Sinful Colors nail polish. I'm going to keep checking back to see if there's any more shades as this was the only shade I could find. I've never found the brand in any UK stores before just online where its around £3-4 a bottle.

NYC Nail Polish (RRP £1.79 each)

Another nail polish brand I like is NYC (New York Color) which they sold. These two nail polishes were together in a plastic sleeve. The one on the left looks black but its more dark purple/grey its called Chinatown. The one on the right is actually a glitter top coat called Big City Dazzle. I'm wearing Big City Dazzle right now and its a lovely purple/pink/blue glitter top coat! Great additions to my NYC nail polish collection.

So overall I got all of this for £6! I definitely recommend hunting in pound shops for make up from now on!

DIY: Strawberry Lip Scrub

I've been wanting to try lip scrub for a while now as my lips have been feeling dry and chapped. Instead of paying £6 for a small tub from a shop I decided to make my own.

Ingredients and equipment needed:

• Brown Sugar (White Sugar can work too!)
• Vaseline or Petroleum Jelly
• Strawberry Chapstick (or a flavour you prefer)
• Honey (optional)
• A small tub
• A teaspoon

I mixed the sugar, vaseline and honey together using the end of a spoon as the spoon was a bit too big to mix them together. I cut the end off a strawberry chapstick and added it to the mix which turned the mix a light pink colour to add a slight pink/red pigment as well as more moisturising when I put it on my lips. The scrub is in small tub which I got out of a travel bottle set that I bought a while ago. You can either store it in a cool dry place or a fridge. I'm not sure how long it'll last but for the quick amount of time and no cost (as I had all the ingredients already) it took its worth making again.

It works great and is a pretty colour too! Will you be making your own lip scrub?