Review | Bourjois Rouge Edition Velvet Lip Lacquers

Bourjois Rouge Edition Velvet Lip Lacquer | £8.99 each | LINK

You may have seen in my latest makeup haul that I picked up some new Bourjois lip products and over the past few weeks I've been trying them all out! I picked up a couple of the Rouge Edition Velvet Lip Lacquers as I thought they looked like the perfect lip product for Spring to create a bright and bold lip! Bourjois have recently released an Aqua range to these lacquers which give more of a glossy shine than these velvet finish ones, however I much preferred the colour range and pigmentation of the velvet ones, so that's why I picked them up!

Lip lacquers are an amazing cross between lipsticks and lip glosses and typically have super impressive staying power! I love trying different lacquers from different brands as there's so many formulas and shades available on the high street - Soap & Glory being another favourite of mine! Keep reading if you want to find out how I got on with these Bourjois editions!

The 2 shades that I have are So Hap'pink which is a gorgeous bright yet dusky pink that is really flattering on the lips. It offers that bright, bold colour yet the dusky element takes that edge off of the colour making it so much easier to wear! The other shade is Peach Club which is a lovely bright coral/ peach that is totally my sort of shade for the Spring time! This shade definitely looks much more intense on the lips compared to So Hap'pink and even though it's called "Peach" I would say it sways more to the orange/ coral side.

These lip lacquers come in cute little lip gloss tubes and come with a doe-foot applicator. I find these sorts of applicators the best as they're easy to use and can reach all those small areas like the Cupid's bow and the inner corners of the lips creating a flawless finish!

The colour pay off of the Rouge Edition Velvet Lip Lacquers is absolutely amazing and I've been so impressed about how intense and bold they look on the lips. If you're not as confident to wear these lacquers so boldly, you can also apply a small amount to your lips with your finger as this gives a softer stain like finish that can be built up to your desired look.

Like many lip lacquers I've tried, these give your lips that semi-matte/ velvet finish which I do really like. Sometimes I don't want a glossy lip, so these little lacquers are perfect for when I want more of a matte finish! Despite the fact that they are matte, I don't find these to be uncomfortable on the lips and to be honest, I sometimes forget I'm even wearing them! The only problem with them being matte is that you need to make sure you apply a lip balm before applying them and just to keep an eye on your lips throughout the day as the matte finish can look slightly drying after a couple hours. But this is easily fixed but applying a little bit of balm over the top - I find the Body Shop Born Lippy's in Strawberry or Raspberry are really good layered over the top as they help add an extra pop of colour and shine!

These lacquers honestly have some amazing staying power and will last me pretty much all day - even after eating or drinking! I've found that these will start to fade after 4-6 hours, but the colour doesn't go patchy and has more of an even wear compared to some lip products I've tried! If you want a lip product that you don't have to worry about touching up all the time then these lip lacquers will be perfect for you!

I've really been enjoying these Bourjois lip lacquers and I'm definitely thinking about trying some more shades! I might have to go back to Boots and test out the Aqua lip lacquers again and see if there's any shades from that collection I need to try. Let me know if you have any shade recommendations in the comments below!

Have you tried the Bourjois Rouge Edition Velvet Lip Lacquers?

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Boots Makeup Haul

As we go into the Spring and Summer I've felt like I've needed to add some new makeup pieces to my collection as I haven't really bought any cosmetics in quite a while. With the added factor of lots of new high street beauty releases, I thought I would take advantage of Boot's latest 3 for 2 offer and try out some new pieces! I also managed to find some little gems in the Boot's clearance section, which is a very rare phenomenon I'm sure you'll all agree!

Collection Eyes Uncovered Nude Bronze Palette | £3.99 | LINK

These new little eye shadow palettes from Collection seem to have taken the beauty world by storm so I thought I would finally try one out. I decided to go for the Nude Bronze palette as it contains some gorgeous shimmery gold/ bronze shades. My mum also picked up the Nude palette which I thought looked very similar to the Urban Decay Naked Basics palette. The other version is the Nude Grey which is obviously more grey toned which I didn't pick up as I personally don't find grey/ silver shades suit me as well as golden eye shadows. In these little palettes you get 6 good sized shadows that can create a variety of eye looks. There's also a doubled ended foam applicator which is nice of them to include but I much prefer to use my brushes! I'll definitely do a review of this soon as I can imagine this will be a beautiful everyday palette!

Bourjois Colour Boost Lip Crayon in "Sweet Macchiato" | £7.99 | LINK

I absolutely love the Bourjois lip crayons and when I heard that they released a few more for Spring 2015 I had to pick one up! Out of the 3 new shades I thought I would try Sweet Macchiato which is a brown/ nude toned red that is very easy to wear. It's almost like a darkened version of your own natural lip colour, so works really well for an everyday look. I wasn't too impressed with the other shades Pinking Of It and Proudly Naked, mainly because I'm not a fan of bright pink lips and the nude was far too sheer for my liking, but I would highly recommend the rest of the collection!

Maybelline Lash Sensational Mascara in "Black" | £7.99 | LINK

After falling in love with Benefit's Roller Lash mascara, I thought I would try out the new high street alternative from Maybelline called the Lash Sensational Mascara. The wand is a very similar shape to the Roller Lash and does give your lashes lots of volume and definition. I'm thinking of doing a comparison post on my blog soon so do keep and eye out for that!

Bourjois Rouge Edition Velvet Lip Lacquers in "So Hap'pink" & "Peach Club" | £8.99 each | LINK

I've seen these lip lacquers from Bourjois on lots of blog recently, but I don't think these are the newest releases. However the colours and shades in this range instantly attracted me and I thought I would try out a couple of shades for the Spring/ Summer time! The 2 I picked out are So Hap'pink which is a bright dusty pink and Peach Club which is a gorgeous peachy coral shade. These lip lacquers are super pigmented and feel really comfortable on the lips despite having a velvet/ matte finish. They also last such a long time on the lips, even if you've been eating or drinking which is amazing!

L'Oreal Top Coat Flower Boheme in "Boho Look" | £4.99

As soon as I saw this super cute top coat I had to pop it into my basket! It contains little flecks of pink strands plus white flowers that look lovely against a pale pink nail polish. This is definitely a great top coat for the Summer as it adds a real girly twist to your nail polish. I also found that this top coat helps keep my nail polish chip free for a good few days.

Essie Mini Nail Polish in "Naughty Nautical" & "Snap Happy" | 50p each | LINK

My final purchases from Boots were my clearance section finds in the form of 2 mini Essie nail polishes! These are smaller versions of the standard Essie polishes, so they had obviously come loose from a set which is why they were just 50p each! The first shade I found was Naughty Nautical which is a beautiful blue/ green colour with a subtle silver shimmer. This is actually a shade I've wanted to try for ages and I was so excited to find this in the clearance section. I also picked up a stunning blood orange shade called Snap Happy which will be perfect for this time of year!

So this is everything I've picked up from Boots recently! I'll definitely be posting some reviews of these products but do let me know in the comments which ones you'd like to see first. I'm so excited to give everything a go, especially the Collection eye shadow palette and my bargain Essie nail polishes!

Have you picked up any new beauty goodies from Boots or Superdrug recently?

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Yves Rocher Day Time Smokey Eye & Giveaway | CLOSED

Ever since getting into doing my makeup properly on a daily basis, I would always go for a natural smokey eye. They're simple to do and you can experiment with so many colours and shades to find the right combination for you! I was recently contacted and asked to try out some new makeup products from the brand Yves Rocher that together would create the perfect day time smokey eye. I'll be honest and say nothing gets me more excited than a good neutral eye shadow palette, so I was super happy when this little package arrived at my door! As well as the gorgeous eye shadow quad, I was also able to try an eye primer, mascara and eye liner to help complete the look!

If you haven't heard about this brand before, Yves Rocher is a French company that is sold in 88 countries worldwide with 30 million customers. The great thing about their brand is that they are so committed to ethical product development and do so by focusing on using natural ingredients in their beauty products. They're also passionate about their botanical brand values and actually have their own botanical garden in La Gacilly where they grow more than 1,100 species of plant to be used in their own products! Brands like this are amazing in my opinion as I'm always looking for ethical brands who's products use good quality natural ingredients!

If you would like the chance of being winning this gorgeous smokey eye makeup set, then do keep reading until the end of the post where you can enter a giveaway!

Sumptuous Color Eye Shadow Quad in "Red Hot Brown"* | £25.00 | LINK

Out of these products, I was most excited to try out this gorgeous golden compact eye shadow quad as it contains 4 beautiful neutral brown toned shadows. The top left shadow is a light champagne highlighting shade that contains a slight touch of shimmer. The top right shadow is a beautiful taupe with a satin finish that looks amazing as an all over lid colour. On the bottom left is a medium golden brown shade, again with a satin finish, that makes the perfect crease colour. Finally in the bottom right is a matte deep brown that can be used to deepen the crease or be used as a shadow eye liner! Together these 4 shades create the perfect brown toned smokey eye and each of the shades compliment each other perfectly.

The quality of these shadows are amazing, the 3 lighter shades are buttery smooth and are incredibly pigmented. The only shadow that isn't so pigmented is the dark matte brown which is slightly more chalky than the rest. However, as you can use these shadows both wet or dry, if you add a spritz of water to your brush then this eliminates any chalkiness and makes the shadows really intense! The lasting time of these shadows is also amazing and I can definitely see this will be one of my go to palettes for a simple day look!

Volume Vertige Mascara in "Black"* | £22.00 | LINK

This mascara has become one of my latest makeup obsessions and I'm so impressed as to how amazing it is! The Volume Vertige mascara offers your lashes so much volume, length and makes them very black - pretty much everything you need in a mascara! The plastic bristle brush coats each lash perfectly with minimal clumping so makes your lashes still look natural, but just fuller and thicker looking. I also love that this mascara doesn't smudge or flake during the day so it's great for all this lovely warm weather we've been having recently!

Fixing Eye Lid Primer* | £12.50 | LINK

When doing any eye shadow look, you need to have the right primer to keep your eyes looking perfect all day long! The Fixing Eye Primer is a skin coloured primer that helps smooth out your eye lids and fills in any fine lines around the area. As it's enriched with Camellia oil it's super soft and feels so luxurious when applied to the eye. I've definitely noticed that my eye shadows (powder and cream) stay put all day long when I use this primer and I haven't had any problems with creasing. I will definitely keep using this eye primer as I'm so impressed as to how well it works!

Intense Kajal 100% Eye Liner in Black* | £15.90 | LINK

The final product in my smokey eye set is a jet black eye liner that comes in a wind up tube. Unfortunately when my eye liner arrived it had snapped at the base so I couldn't apply it as it was intended to be. Instead I've been applying this with a small eye liner brush and I've found it works just as well as the product is really creamy and easy to apply and blend! In the photo below I've also set this eye liner with the dark matte shadow from the quad palette to make the colour even more intense and longer lasting plus it also gives it that extra smokey effect!

Lipstick - Soap & Glory "Perfect Day"

As you can see all of these products together create a beautiful and easy to wear smokey eye that's perfect for any occasion. You can skip out the darker brown shades if you want it more natural or you could add more if you want to deepen it up for a night time smokey eye, it's such a versatile look! You really can't go wrong with a smokey eye and I would totally recommend trying these products out to create one - they're all amazing!

If you would like the chance to win your very own Yves Rocher smokey eye makeup set then fill out the widget below! There is 1 set to be won which will contain all of the products mentioned in this post. This giveaway is open to UK residents only and it will be open for 2 weeks until 30th April 2015! Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

As an added treat for all of my readers I also have a discount code for the UK Yves Rocher website which gives you £6 off a £26 spend plus free delivery - just enter 6OFF26 at the checkout!

What product from this set would you like to try the most?
Let me know your thoughts on my day time smokey eye!

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Look Fantastic Beauty Box | April

Look Fantastic April Beauty Box* | £15.00 | LINK

Despite watching countless unboxing videos and scrolling through endless posts, I've never been someone who got into the whole beauty box craze. The idea of receiving a bunch of beauty and makeup products to your door every month sounds great, but I've always been put off by the uncertainty of what's actually going to be in the box! I guess I've just always been very careful and would hate to waste my money on a box of products that I'd never use.

As a little thank you for hosting a giveaway for Voucher Box and Look Fantastic, I was sent one of the April Look Fantastic Beauty Boxes to try out! As I've never received a beauty box before I was very excited to see what sort of products it would contain and whether it would sway me to try out more in the future. Their April box contains 6 beauty, body, hair and cosmetic products that are worth £45, so these are a great way to try high end products at a cheaper price!

My first impressions of the Look Fantastic Beauty Box were great. It comes in a sleek black and white box which are super handy to keep for storing makeup or little bits and bobs in. By looking at other reviews, these beauty boxes always seem to come in the same packaging of grey tissue paper and black shredded paper. I think it would be great if they swapped up the colours each month to keep it fitting for the season, but of course it's all about the products that are inside!

Forza Multivitamin For Dieters (Women) - 30 capsules | LINK

The first product that stands out in this month's beauty box is the large box of Forza vitamin tablets. These are designed for women who are dieting and want make sure that they are still getting all of the vital vitamins that they need to stay healthy. To be honest this was bit of a "meh" product for me as I've never dieted and wouldn't plan to as I'm naturally quite slim. Obviously for some people these tablets would have come at a great time as the Summer is a popular time for people to start dieting before their holidays! What I do like about these tablets is that there's a helpful guide inside that has a range of healthy meal plans/ recipes plus lots of exercise and diet tips.

Korres Aloe & Soapwort Shampoo - 50ml
I was rather excited to receive this little shampoo sample in my box as I've always wanted to try some products from Korres! This shampoo is designed to cleanse your hair whilst moisturising and protecting it at the same time. This will be a great product to use every couple weeks to cleanse your hair of product build up or to pop in your travel beauty bag due to how small it is. I really like the fresh, natural clean scent  plus the fact that it's free of nasty and unnecessary products!

CB12 Mild Mint/ Menthol Mouth Wash - 50ml | LINK
This was a bit of a weird product to find in a beauty box, but at the same time I was strangely excited to give it a try! The CB12 mouth wash helps to remove plaque build up and prevent tooth decay by reducing the amount of bacteria in your mouth. Again, this will be a great product to take travelling as it's small, compact and super handy!

TIGI Bed Head Manipulator - 30g | LINK
Textured hair is a must for the Summer time so I was excited to receive this little pot of Bed Head Manipulator paste that's designed to give loads of volume and body! You only need a small amount so even this mini pot will last a good amount of time. I've never tried anything like this before but I'm definitely looking forward to giving it a go as it smells really nice!

Inika Certified Organic Eye Liner in 05 Black Caviar - full size | LINK

The only makeup product in this month's beauty box is a black pencil eye liner from a brand I haven't heard about before called Inika. What's great about this eye liner is that it's made from organic ingredients, is vegan and not tested on animals. Despite all these good points, to me it feels like a normal black eye liner and doesn't feel like anything special as it's not overly creamy or pigmented. I much prefer brown eye liners anyway as they look much more natural, however this would be a good product to use for a smokey eye as it is quite blendable.

 Balance Me Revitalising Hand and Body Wash - 100ml
The last product in the April box is a good size hand and body wash from Balance Me. I really like this brand as they use lots of natural ingredients in their products and they feel fresh and clean on the skin. This revitalising hand and body wash has a lovely zesty scent and would be a great pick me up product to use in the morning to wake you up!

Overall, this was an okay beauty box to try but at the same time I'm still unsure whether I would purchase one myself as there are a couple of products in this box that I'm not overly impressed with - mainly the vitamins and eye liner! This is just because I personally wouldn't use them, but I'm sure to some people this would be an amazing beauty box to kick start the Spring and Summer! Looking at previous boxes, Look Fantastic Beauty Boxes do offer some amazing products but I do think this box hasn't reached that same level and feels slightly lacking.

Have you tried Look Fantastic's beauty boxes?

What's your favourite beauty box subscription?

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Batiste Dry Shampoo in Eden

Batiste Dry Shampoo in Eden | £3.29 | LINK

Having naturally dry and fine hair I find that I don't need to wash my hair on a regular basis, around 2 or 3 times a week is enough for me. Due to this, I love to try out different dry shampoos to keep my hair looking and feeling refreshed on the days in between. As my hair rarely gets oily I don't have to focus on dry shampoos that purely banish oils so I like to go on the hunt for ones that also smell really lovely. I spotted one of Batiste's latest releases called "Eden" and was instantly attracted to the beautiful packaging! The gorgeous bird and floral pattern ties in perfectly with the sweet, delicate fragrance of sugar melon and honeysuckle - sounds just like Miss Honey's garden from Matilda!

Batiste's dry shampoos are one of the blogger's beauty staples and I can definitely say that this will be a new hit amongst us! The scent is really lovely and due to their new longer lasting fragrance technology, this beautiful scent really does linger and make your hair smell amazing. Even though I don't get greasy hair, I do find my hair feeling refreshed after using this dry shampoo and it also gives it extra texture and lift. My only niggle about some of the Batiste dry shampoos is that they leave a white residue behind after spraying your hair, but after massaging it into the roots it pretty much disappears!

I would highly recommend this gorgeous dry shampoo and it will definitely be a staple for me in the Summer months due to it's lovely floral scent. If you're looking to pick it up, it's currently half price in Superdrug so definitely pick it up whilst it's cheap!

Have you tried the new Eden dry shampoo from Batiste?

What's your favourite dry shampoo?

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March Favourite's

Hello everyone, I hope you're all having a lovely start to your bank holiday weekend! I can't believe it's that time again where I share with you all what products I've been using in the past month. This year is going far too quick for my liking - however I am looking forward to the warmer weather! This month I've been loving a range of products, some new and some old, so I thought I would talk about them with you all today!

The Body Shop Vitamin E Overnight Serum Oil | LINK

I honestly can't get over my love for facial oils. They feel so luxurious on the skin and always leave my face looking and feeling amazing! I've been trying The Body Shop's Vitamin E facial oil every night for over a month now and I've really been loving the results. My skin always feels so soft and plump the morning after using the oil and feels like such a treat for my skin. I'd highly recommend anyone with any skin type to try this oil as it's great for hydrating and replenishing the skin.

Cream Blushers - Benefit Fine One One, Topshop "Head Over Heels" & Bourjois "Healthy Glow"

Now that it's finally Spring I've been reaching for my cream blushers more than my powder ones so that I can achieve that dewy fresh glow. I haven't got round to picking up some new releases but I've definitely rekindled my love for some old favourites. When I've fancied more of a pink/ red toned blusher I've been applying my Benefit Fine One One which gives a lovely amount of colour plus an added highlighting touch. On other days when I like to go for more of an orange toned blush I'll either apply Bourjois' "Healthy Glow" or Topshop's "Head Over Heels" as these give a beautiful coral flush to the cheeks. If you've picked up any new cream blushers recently then do let me know in the comments, I'd love to try some new ones this Summer!

Schwarzkopf Got2B Mind Blowing Xpress Dry Styling Spray | LINK

I'll be honest and say I'm rather lazy when it comes to my hair. My idea of making an effort is simply curling it or putting it into a fish tail braid! When I heard about the new Got2B Mind Blowing spray which is designed to speed up the blow drying process, I headed straight to my local Boots - anything that gets me that extra 5 minutes in bed is a winner with me! I've definitely noticed a difference in how quickly my hair dries with this plus with the added benefits of heat protection and conditioning (as well as a lovely apple like scent!) this has now become a staple for me.

MUA Undress Your Skin High Lighter | LINK

This is another old favourite which I have started using again. As I've been loving creating dewy looking skin this month, I've also been reaching for more highlighting products. I love the natural finish that the MUA Undress Your Skin Highlighter gives and I just seem to be reaching for it on a daily basis to highlight my cheek bones, brow bone and nose! I've also found that the Real Techniques Domed Shadow Brush is a really nice size to apply this as it's small and fluffy.

So this is everything I've loved using in March! There seems to be a lot of old favourites making their way back into my makeup routine plus a couple of new staples! Let me know your thoughts on the products that I've been loving recently.

What have you been loving in March?

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