Sunday, 19 May 2013

review | renewing moroccan argan oil

Renewing Moroccan argan oil, £6.99/118ml, Boots. 
"This exotic precious formula of Moroccan argan oil  spray instantly infuses hair with a sheer veil of shine giving colour and highlights a multifaceted glow while it helps to reduce split ends and tame fly-away frizzes."

So a few weeks ago I dyed my hair a lighter shade of blonde which has consequently led to my hair being a little drier and lacking in shine. I also straighten it regularly which has also led to dryness. After consulting fellow #bbloggers on Twitter, hair oil seemed the only answer. I've never ventured into this kind of hair care before, fearing that my hair would become a greaseball as it's quite short. However, my opinion has changed and now I'm coveting all sorts of hair treatments to help nourish my dry end!

So, I went and bought this totally blind. (ie, not reading any reviews!) I went for this one as it was the cheapest - hair oils are expensive man! This was £6.99 which I could just about stomach. (go on call me a cheapskate - I call it student budget...) It just seemed very handy in a spray bottle and wouldn't take up lots of space. 

You can use this in numerous ways - spray it on your hair dry, before shampooing, before styling, after styling ... Endless way to use! I've been using this before I blow dry my hair and then over night to give my hair a bit of a conditioning treatment. I've also lightly misted it over my hair after styling for shine and softness.   So has it worked I hear you ask? Well, yes. Apart from smelling absolutely divine it's left my hair feeling soft and manageable and I can now go three days without washing my hair for some reason! The oil doesn't even leave it feeling greasy or oily at all which is what I was so afraid of. My ends feel nourished after just a week of use and my hair has never looked so healthy. The only problem I've found is that I've used quite a bit up through the spray. I don't know if I'm using too much or if it is the spray bottle but it's gone down quite quickly. However, i won't mind repurchasing this as it's lovely! I have had a sample of the L'oreal Elvive miracle oil which I will buy next instead of this, as it seems a little more nourishing and I need to use less (the sachet lasted me ages!

Safe to say I've been converted to hair oils and will shouting about them from the roof tops! 

Thursday, 16 May 2013

outfit | guess what, I am not a robot

 

Jacket - Topshop 
Shoes - George @ Asda
Necklace - Delilah Dust

I feel pretty self conscious in this dress. I don't know about you but I never really wear insanely bright colours and crazy prints, so this dress is kind of everything I'm not ... however, I think I like it! Aztec print is one of the undeniable trends this spring, but it was never one I wanted to jump on board with. I got sent this dress from Karma Clothing. They have some really amazing clothes on there and it's not bank breakingly expensive either! Plus, they do 15% student discount, so it's a perfect affordable fashion site. I think this dress was around £10 which is a total bargain if you ask me, especially as it ticks 3 trend boxes. I love a midi dress, I do. I've been really careful how I've styled this because it's so easy to over-do an outfit with prints, so I kept everything else one colour and my accessories minimal. It is a lovely dress I guess I'm not used to seeing myself in prints and colour ...

It's been a mental few days and is about to get even crazier. I leave school next Friday which means my exams are very very imminent so I'm drowning in revision posters, sticky notes and pens right now. (so blogging is taking a bit of a back seat right now!) I can't believe how quick the weeks have gone. Right now I never want to grow up ha! My invite for the Company Style Blogger awards also came through last week - I AM SO EXCITED EVERYONE. I'm more excited to meet lots of bloggers who I love and to get away for one evening of school work. Mega stressing about what to wear though. help. I am also VERY EXCITED about seeing The Great Gatsby at the cinema tomorrow night. I've waited so long for this, and I love the 20's and the novel. Beyond excited. So yes, just a little account of my hectic life right now. I hope you guys are all having a fabulous week and good luck with exams, if you have some going on or happening soon!

Monday, 13 May 2013

review: revitalash fineline primer

Revitalash Fineline Primer*, £40.50
 I was recently sent this Revitalash primer  - I don't know about you, but I have visible pores around my nose that don't seem to be reduced much by anything. I had high hopes for this primer, as it claims to fill fine lines and wrinkles and any pores. Well, being nearly 18 I don't have any wrinkles all at, but I felt this would be quite similar to Benefit's POREfessional.

The primer comes in a weighty glass pot. It's very heavy, and not the best for travelling but you do get quite a lot of product. You need a really small amount when you use it so a pot will last you a long time. This primer is silicone based so it fills in any fine lines and pores really well. When applied this left my skin looking really smooth and poreless with an even matte finish. However, after a few days use this did clog my pores quite a bit, which silicone tends to do. Throughout the day, my face felt quite dry too despite me using a richer moisturiser. My make up did last with it underneath, so it works well as a primer.

You can in the picture below that it does definitely work in filling in any lines (This is the back of my hand) so would create a flawless lasting base for your make up. I'll continue to use this, though my Mum likes to borrow this occasionally too as she really likes it, and I feel it's better suited to more mature skins and perhaps a much oilier skin type as I did find it slightly drying. It will set you back £40 though!

You can buy Revitalash's Fineline Primer here for £40.50

Saturday, 11 May 2013

review: benefit they're real mascara

Benefit They're Real mascara, FREE half size with June issue of ELLE / £18.50 full size. 
Well, I can tell you, I got a little excited about this months free gift in ELLE magazine - a half size bottle of Benefit's infamous They're Real mascara. I've been wanting to try this for so long but the hefty seemingly unjustifiable price tag seriously put me off! With an uncertainty of whether I'd love it or hate it like it has polarised the blogging world, I decided to skip it... Until now!

Benefit They're Real claims to lengthen lashes to the extent where people assume they're fake. I Love the packaging of this and the whole concept behind the mascara. Benefit never fail to disappoint when it comes to their whole marketing behind their products!

As you can see, the brush has a lot of separated bristles. It's plastic which means it combs the lashes and coats it with the mascara. The formula is fairly 'wet' so it takes a little while to dry but it's not a huge issue. The formula and brush combined really separated and lengthened my lashes. I'm not blessed with majorly long lashes, they're fairly short. I curled my lashes before applying this for the before and after shots, but even when I used it without curlers the results were still incredibly impressive. I can see why many have deemed this a holy grail mascara. Here are some before and after shots ...

As you can see, my lashes are visibly lengthend and defined! It doesn't do much in terms of volumizing my lashes, but if you're looking for long, defined lashes then this is for you. It doesn't flake or run at all during the day - even when I was crying with laughter it stayed put! People asked if I'd done anything different with my eye make up too. I don't feel the need to wear liquid eyeliner all the time with this as my eyes look more awake and framed. 

So would I pay £18.50 for this? Perhaps. I do this it's a little steep for what it is, but this is definitely the best mascara I've tried that lengthens my lashes. I'm sure there's a few drugstore dupes out there and mascara is something I really hate to splash out on because I find a lot all much of a muchness. However, I've changed my opinion on spending a bit more on mascara! I'm definitely going to get myself another copy of ELLE magazine as it's only £4.00 but you can purchase the mini sizes in Boots for £9.00. 

Have you tried this mascara? What were your thoughts? 

Friday, 10 May 2013

pin it forward UK

Pin It Forward UK 2013
How many of you stick pretty images in a scrapbook? Imagine if you could do that and have endless space to organise all the things you love... Step in Pinterest. I know many of you may have already heard of it but it's a great media platform for pinning images from your blog to generate traffic to your posts, as well as getting lots of inspiration for new posts and discovering tutorials and beautiful images. You can organise all your images into boards so I have ones for nails, hair inspiration and fashion! I met with someone from Pinterest a few weeks ago and was surprised to find out that Pinterest's main user base is in America, so they're getting UK bloggers on board to show what Pinterest is all about. 

To register on Pinterest, head here to start pinning. If you do decide to join Pinterest make sure you follow me! Give Islay a follow too, her feed is always filled with amazing nail art ideas!

*None of this content is sponsored,  I was just involved in the Pin it Forward
UK campaign and had the opportunity to meet with someone from Pinterest
who explained the campaign to us and gave us some ideas of where Pinterest
is heading the future. 

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...