Nails of the day: Nude * Models Own *

Hello Darlings
 Todays nails are a gorgeous nude from the brand Models Own. I have had my eye on this colour for a about a month, so when Boots had an offer for buy one get one half price I HAD to buy it!

 Nude Beige

This is like a foundation for my finger nails. Its the perfect colour for barely there nails.

Seeing as it was on offer it would have been rude not to pick another polish. 

so I opted for this super neon orange colour.

hedkandi beach party

As I couldn't get away with this bright colour on my fingers at work I though I'd treat my little piggies, its like they each have a high vis jacket on!!

Its so bright it almost glows in the dark!

Models own polishes are very easy to work with and very affordable for what feels like a high end polish.

Do you have any recommendations for my next colour?

Love, Pins. X

Glamour Magazine uk ** balance me products**

Hello Darlings

 Seeing as the weather is parp right now I thought I'd share with you something that will cheer you up.

This Augusts magazines are already on the shelves and a few of them are including some brilliant products. But the one that caught my eye is Glamour Magazine.

This issue(August) is out right now

 Even after being so generous with last months Benefit goodies, those lovely people at Glamour are spoiling us with more goodness.

There are four products to choose from from the brand balance Me (check out their website its crammed full of gorgeous products).

The products are;

Pure skin face wash RRP £11

wonder eye cream RRP £11

balancing face moisturiser RRP £11

rose otto intensive lip salve RRP £12

Seeing as the magazine is only £2 you are getting an absolute steal, a great magazine and a brilliant product.

Go on, dash to the news agents right now!

I have already picked up three products and have given strict instructions to my OH ( Other half) to keep an eye out for the third!

Let me know if you have used any of these products or are planning to get them.

Love, Pins. X

Body Shop haul **inc Lily Cole**

Hello Darlings
 Since I have patiently been waiting my first ever Joliebox for what feels like a lifetime,I was very excited to hear a knock at the door on my day off.
 After terrifying the poor Postie,grabbing the box and bolting into the living room to rip open the package I realised that it wasn't my Joliebox, but the box of Body shop goodies that I ordered on Sunday.
I tore open the box and was greeted with the scent of cucumber and mint, it turns out that the lid of my free shower gel had popped open and doused all of my goodies in a sticky gel.


I shall show you the things that I managed to salvage from the soggy wreckage!

From the top to the bottom; Facial massager,fuzzy peach shower gel, mini brush kit,wild rose hand cream and Lily Cole pearl radiance primer.

Missing from the picture are the free earth lovers cucumber and mint shower gel which you can see HERE

And the Ultra fine Bath lily in cream( that got soggy too) which you can see HERE

There was a discount code that I was sent from O2 which meant I got 40% off so all of this came to £25.40 inc delivery. Bargain eh?

Facial massager

I have been looking for one of these for a while,to see if it has any affect on my skin. It has a lovely light wooden handle and soft rubbery nodules that help to increase the blood flow to the skin. I have given it a brief go and my skin was left feeling stimulated and perky. I am going to use it before my night cream and see if it helps with the absorption. 

5/5

Fuzzy Peach shower gel

This smells gorgeous! I haven't used this product yet but I have used the green apple version which leaves my skin baby soft and smelling fruity! Right now these shower gels are only £2 too. Winner! 

Mini Brush kit

Seeing as I still haven't decided which E.L.F brushes to try out I thought I'd these little cuties

 They are actually smaller than I had though but I do have a few of their older fullsize brushes,so I know that they are truly great quality. They come in a sweet little pouch with a mirror which makes them perfect to throw in your handbag. Each little brush has written on it which part of your face its for ( this is handy for early morning make up applications!) the four you get are; cheek,eye,slanted and lip.

The handles are really comfortable to hold and the brush itself is very soft and thick.

Wild Rose hand cream

This is a lovely luxurious cream that absorbs quickly, leaving a light rose scent and super soft skin.

 I love hand cream and personally thing that you never can have too much! 

I bought a 30ml version so it can live in my handbag with, even without the discount £5 is a great price. I will most definitely be purchasing this again.

Lily Cole pearl radiance primer

This was first on my " to buy from the Bodyshop" list!

 After hearing great things about her range,and being a lover of pearly shine I HAD to try this out for myself.

The primer is a pump action tube filled with pearly beads suspended in a lightweight gel. Doesn't it look beautiful? I'm such a sucker for pretty packaging!

This is how it comes out. The amount there is waaay to much which I realised soon after I had to rub it in up to my elbows! Classy! In reality you only need around a 1/3 of this amount. 

It is rather difficult to rub in as the 'pearls' do not blend very well and sort of leave a skin behind. Remember those bath pearls that you could burst under water , and then play with the shell? Its a bit like a teeny tiny version on that!

When it eventually rubs in, it leaves a lovely subtle sheen which can be used on its own or under make up.

This retails at £12 but they have a 40% off promotion at the moment. Its limited edition ,so grab it whilst you can.

Over all I do like this product but it didn't live up to my expectations, I will continue to use it but probably wouldn't purchase it again.

I have really enjoyed this haul,despite the exploding shower gel! The Body Shop is great for bulk buying when they have their promotions/free item. 

Now I just need my Joliebox to turn up * back to sitting by the letterbox*

Have any of you lovelies tried any of these or know of any alternatives?

Hope you are all having a lovely week.

Much Love, Pins. X

*** Blog award** | nominations

The Liebster Blog Award

I have been nominated by the lovely Jenni from jennimystyle for the Liebster Award.

 I have only recently started to blog so this is a lovely little surprise .

The Liebster Blog Award is given to upcoming bloggers who have less than 200 followers.

 The Meaning; Liebster is German and means sweetest, kindest, nicest, dearest, beloved, 

lovely, kind, pleasant, valued, cute, endearing and welcome.

Here are the rules for receiving this award:

1. Each person must post 11 things about themselves

2. Answer the questions the tagger has set for you plus create 11 questions 

for the people you've tagged to answer.

3. Choose 11 people and link them in your post.

4. Go to their page and tell them.

5. Remember, no tag backs!

Here are my 11 things about myself:

1. I am 5'4

2. I adore the smell of really old books

3. my most extravagant purchase was my Mulberry Daria bag. 

It was worth every penny!

4. Nigella Lawson is my girl crush

5. Both my favourite film and book is 'To kill a Mockingbird'

6. I studied Floristry at college and worked in a Florist for 5 years

7. I have never broken a bone,had a nosebleed or had any fillings.

8. My dream pet is a Pug

9. I am an only child

10. I love to write things down as I don't want to lose my handwriting style.

11. I prefer salted popcorn to sweet

Jenni's questions

1.       What is your phobia (come one, there must be something everyone is afraid of)? 

I am really quite terrified of frogs, it sounds quite pathetic, 

but its just something about the that makes me shudder!.

2.       Something you wear everyday.

 My Dad's wedding ring on my thumb.

 He gave it to me about 4 years ago and its been on my thumb ever since.

I'd feel lost without it. Its also a good "have I got a tan?" detector!

3.       Worst Habit?

Squeezing my spots. I know its gross but it is so satisfying...until my face goes puffy and red.

4.       What do you think is the best thing invented?

 The kettle. I don't know where I'd be without a lovely cup'o'tea!

5.       Are you a tea drinker or a coffee drinker?

Both. I tend to drink tea ( earl grey, if you wanted to know!) at home and coffee out and about.

6.       How many pairs of shoes do you own?

 around 30 ish ?!

7.       What would you do if you won the lottery?

Take a trip to Hawaii and then stop at various american cities on the way home.

8.       Last 3 beauty products you last purchased?

 I have just bought a big box of body shop products, 

but you'll have to wait to find out what they are!

9.       Name up to 3 must-have beauty items you cannot leave the home without?

Perfume(any), lipbalm and Coralista

10.    Watched anything that made you cry?

The ending of 'Walk the line' gets me every time.

 Johnny and June Cash are,to me,the ultimate love story.

My questions

1. How many siblings do you have?

2. If you could go anywhere where would you go?

3. What is your favourite film?

4. What made you start blogging?

5. Do you have a lucky charm?

6. What is your most treasured possession?

7. What is your dream job?

8. What is your favourite shop?

9. What is your earliest memory?

10. Who was your last text/call from?

11. Where do you hope to be in 5 years time?

My nominations:

Sirens and bells

Aztec mess

Amy's wardrobe staples

Walk in your own shoes

The denim girl

Sunshine to soothe the soul

Laura's little secrets

Just Jesss

Confessions from under the duvet

Roses and rockets

Over the rainbow

Love,Pins.

X

Todays nails ** Essie**

Hello Darlings
To pass the time whilst waiting for my first ever Joliebox (I really hope it doesn't take this long all the time) I have decided to try out my new Essie ridge filling base and polish.

 
I bought these yesterday in Brighton,along with a gorgeous Elizabeth Arden lip protectant stick sheer tint ( I'll do a separate review on that!)
All of these were purchased in TKMaxx, you do have to do a fair old bit of rummaging but its SO worth it.
 The two Essies came as a duo and I paid £7.99 for them both, a bargain considering that one alone retails at that price.

My nail painting is a little sloppy here, but I plan on the washing up correcting that!

The ridge filling base is perfect for my nail as they are a little uneven and slightly pitted.
It goes on a slightly matte peach colour,which would look lovely on its own.
This product isn't available in stores/on their website but if you click HERE this Ebay seller still has a few of them for £7.00.

The polish is called "Secret Stash" and is a gorgeous bubblegum pink polish which glides on with the greatest ease. I did two coats of this polish,but for more of a jelly effect one coat works just as well. This is unfortunately unavailable in stores/ on their site,but I have found aother lovely Ebay seller who has some left HERE.
 Don't you just love Ebay, they have everything!! 


I adore essie and their lovely array of colours, my dream is to have a whole stand of Essie * similar to the one in Boots* on my dresser, swooooon!

 What is your favourite Essie colour? Any recommendations?
 Love, Pins.
 X

Another Boots haul **inc Burt's Bees**

Hello Darlings

 Guess what?
I have been to Boots again!
 Here are the lovely things that tempted me this week

Boot Extracts cocoa butter Body butter

This is a beautifully smooth and gorgeously scented cream that glides on with ease.

I like to put this on my pins after de-fuzzing them and it leaves them super silky with a  healthy looking glow.At only £7.95, although if you head over to Boots right now ( go, run to Boots!) its only £5.30 , Bargain eh? I actually prefer this to the Body Shop version which is also almost double the price, ouch!

I give this a 4/5

What you cant see from the picture is that its also fairtrade.

Boots Extracts cocoa butter Sugar Scrub

This is a whopper of a product, it's 400ml.

This is a thick sugary paste that smells, and looks, edible. Its reminds me of cookie dough?!

You really don't need to use much of this product for it to have a huge effect. I bought this to transform my slightly troublesome thighs, and it is actually working! I only use a dollop around the size of a 50p, per thigh and after a few uses I'm looking smoother,less dimply and,most importantly,more confident!

This retails at £7.95 also but is currently selling at £5.30, just like its buttery counterpart.

5/5 

I LOVE this product

Burt's Bees Tips and Toes kit

This was a very naughty and indulgent purchase but boy am 

I glad I bought it!

As a Burt's Bees virgin I have been reading review after review on each of these lovely gems and decided now was the time to pop that cherry. Sorry if that sounded a little vile!

I have only used a few of the products in this box so far (I did buy it less that 24 hrs ago though, so forgive me) so I will just give a quick description of each product

1.Almond Milk beeswax hand cream

really do not like the smell of this as it reminds me of marzipan (yuk)

but I did give it a little go and I do see what all the hype is about

2 replenishing lip balm with pomegranate oil

A-MAZING! It glides on and although its got a red colourant in it,it doesn't tint your pout. It smells lovely and feels super soft and I couldn't stop smacking my lips together!

 3 thoroughly therapeutic honey and grapeseed oil hand cream

this is more of a lotion but only really in comparison to the other creams as they are so darn thick! This is great travel product as its a great size. Its smells very honey-y

4 coconut foot cream

Strange consistency, like a very thick syrup. Strong coconut scent, but not overpowering. I am looking forward to using this on my tired tootsies.

5 hand salve

This seems like a great hand balm, it smells very natural and like it will be good for you ( you know what I mean, yeah?!) I think i'll keep this in my bag as my hands can get quite dry during the day

6 lemon butter cuticle cream

"This smells like lemon meringue pie" as my OH ( other half) said, when I wafted it under his nose! I have very high expectations of this product. I'll let you know how I get on.

I wont give a rating as I haven't really tried it.

As a little tester kit this is a great way to try our the products at a snip of the price £12.99, this is also on 3for2,winner!

Burt's Bees Beeswax and Banana Hand Creme

This is the product that I would choose in a " if you were on a desert island and could only take one item" situation. I smells divine, I personally think that there aren't enough banana scented things in the world!

This is a very thick and luxurious cream that contains beeswax to keep your mits all soft and protected against the elements. They recommend that you use is after washing your hands as it really does lock in moisture.

At £9.99 it is quite steep but I assure you its worth it. Its also on 3for2 in Boots right now,just incase you needed another reason to justify this purchase.

5/5

Have any of you tried any of these products? Or can you recommend any alternatives?

Rightio, I must dash as I'm off to Brighton with my Daddio

 Have a lovely day Darlings.

 Love, Pins. X

**Blast from the past**

Hello Darlings
 I was doing a spot of internet surfing when I stumbled across THESE.

I can't believe that they are back !

Now, as much as I loved the spice girls I can't see myself wanting them this time round.

I would also like to thank my lovely Mum for not caving in the first time around when I begged for them. Don't think I could ever live that down!

Will any of you be purchasing these ?

Hope you al have had a lovely weekend.

 Love, Pins. X

To buy or not to buy? *E.L.F brushes*

Evening Darlings

 I have a little dilemma, I'm looking for some new make up brushes and have spotted these little gems. £38.50 seems quite reasonable for 11 variants of brush. 

 Do any of you lovelies have any experience with them or can suggest something else?

I LOVE my MAC brushes but they are just so darn expensive!

 Love, as always.

Pins. X

Todays nails YSL

Hello Darlings
 Yesterday I received a very exciting present in the form of a YSL nail polish,eeeep!
 As this is my first expensive polish I couldn't wait to get home and put it on straight away.

The colour that I was given was no 18, Bleu Majorelle. This the most brilliantly cobalt blue colour I have ever seen.
 The brush is a fantastic shape and coated my whole nail in one short sweep. The colour is so intense and bright. I think I'm in love (swoon)! I don't think I could ever justify buying this for myself As they retail at around the £18 mark (ouchies), but it does make a great luxury gift.

What do you lovely ladies think?

 Much love, Pins

 X

Its here, Its here!! **GLOSSYBOX SPOILER** June 2012

Hello Darlings
 Its that exciting time of the month, Glossybox delivery day!! WOOOOO

 As I'm an impatient human I did do some research into this months box and there seem to be some very, very mixed reviews.
 I'll talk you through my box and i'll give a little rating out of 5 per item.

 First impressions... it didn't make me jump up and down

Hd Brows precision tweezers

I am extremely happy with these, I was gutted not to receive any HD brows last time.

These alone retail at £19.95 ( wowza!)

5/5

Glossybox Serie Exclusiv Pro Beauty Brush

 This excited me as I was in the market for a new brush.

I think would be a good powder/ blush brush. 

They say it's RRP is £15.00

Its a lovely brush but, personally, I wouldnt pay more than £9.00 for this. 

It is lovely and soft but when you try a MAC brush,it's hard to look elsewhere!

4/5

Caudalie Eaux Fraiches

My first thoughts were " great, another crappy perfume sample" 

But I will eat my words as I LOVE it!

(I am still lusting over the Caudalie vinosource )

This is a gorgeous,summery, fresh fragrance.

It reminds me of Chanel chance fraiche.

This is a great sized product , its 10ml.

5/5

Vichy dermablend starter kit

I love the idea of this sample it is so versatile and can be made to suit all skin types/colours.

I don't really have many flaws that I wish to camouflage so this product may not get tested for a while.

I do think this is a great sample though.

3/5

BM beauty summer warmth bronzer.

 It wasn't until I opened and tested this product ( with my new brush!) that I was truly blown away by it.

It is a gorgeous pure mineral bronzer which will be fab for highlighting and contouring my cheekbones. 

It have the most gorgeous sheen... look below

Just one dislike for this product, although its not really its fault... DO NOT GET IT ON THE CARPET!!! It really is a super pigmented bronzer (oops)

5/5

All in all a great glossy box and I'm rather impressed, now to wait for my Joliebox!! ( starts to get impatient again)

 What did you think of your June box? 

 Love, Pins. X