Tuesday 16 August 2011

L'Oreal Elvive


Having been an avid Tigi user for years, I purchased this the other day when flying around Tesco having forgotten to order more Tigi online. I picked it up as a. it was on offer, and b. it mentioned highlighted hair. I must admit to never having tried Elvive before, despite it being one of the biggest chemist brands of shampoo. My main concern was that it would be conditioning enough, but not weigh down my fine flat hair, or make it overly greasy, as I try to avoid washing any more than every 3 days as it dries my hair out.

I was pleasantly surprised! Firstly, the product has a gorgeous honey-like scent, which smells almost good enough to eat! I noticed the softness in my hair straight away as I rinsed the conditioner in the shower. The first time I used this I let my hair dry naturally, usually a recipe for a frizzy disaster, but this time, no such trouble! My hair dried really quickly, and was not only lacking in frizziness, it had that softness that made you want to touch your hair all day long! I can't find these on the tesco website at all, so it may be worth checking them out in store, or they are £2.69 each from Boots.

TJ Hughes Haul

I recently popped into my local TJ Hughes, to see if I could find any bargains during their closing down sale. I don't go there often, but do pop in on occasion to stock up on things like Batiste dry shampoo, and to find brands that have disappeared everywhere else (like Pout :o( ).

It was a sad sight to behold, with all the 'closing down' signs and 'everything must go'. There was still quite a bit of stock in the beauty section however, and this is what I came away with;

L-R St Moriz tanning mousse, Tigi Bedhead Dumb Blonde Coniditioner, Tigi Bedhead Dumb Blonde Shampoo, Batiste Boho Dry Shampoo, Goody Ceramic Hot Round Brush

1. St Moriz Instant Self Tanning Mousse, £2.99 £1.79
I love this stuff, I don't fake tan regularly (because a. I can't really be bothered and b. I don't mind the 'pale and interesting' look!) but though I'd stock up. Not sure where I'll get it from once TJ Hughes has gone!
2+3. Tigi Bedhead Dumb Blonde Shampoo/Conditioner £6.00 each, £3.00
Dumb blonde was the first ever Tigi shampoo I owned, back in 2006! I've been an avid fan ever since, using only Tigi shampoos until just a couple of weeks ago when I ran out and hadn't bought in any more. I made a rush Tesco purchase of some L'Oreal Elvive (review to follow!), but when I found these in TJ Hughes I was overjoyed. The shampoo can be used on any colour of hair, smells lovely and fruity (not in the bottle though, it doesn't smell that nice till it's in your hair) and the conditioner is really nourishing for my long, fine, and increasingly straw like hair.
4. Batiste 'Boho' Dry shampoo £1.99, £0.99
Batiste is a staple for thousands of us these days, including me! I use it to freshen up my fringe between washes, I've never been able to get any volume from the stuff like some can (and I've not tried the XXL version yet). Boho is probably my least favourite scent, but it's all they had left!
5. Goody Ceramic Hot Round Brush
This was an impulse purchase - I am forever looking for anything that can help get a bit of oomph into my fine, flat hair, and I was hoping this was it! I can't remember exactly how much I paid for it, it was 50% off though and I paid in the region of £3. To put this in perspective, the same brush, in a smaller barrel size version, currently retails for £9.18 at Boots! First impressions are good, it is very light and easy to use, and has a button on the end which draws in the bristles to release your hair if you get tangled (which I often do!). A proper review on this one will follow.

So there you have it, a nice little haul I think, with some real bargains in there. I'm not sure when TJ Hughes will close for good, the staff don't seem to know either, so I might pop back for more...they had lots of perfume in there, sun cream, some premium skincare brands (e.g. Elizabeth Arden), and lots of make up/nail polish, but quite a lot of items were used/broken. Definitely worth a look if you are passing!

Monday 15 August 2011

My first MAC lipstick!


I recently visited my nearest MAC counter with the intent of making a long overdue purchase of my first ever MAC lipstick! I had a few shades in mind, which I'd picked up from other blogs I read. I swatched a few lippies on my hand, including creme cup, angel, and shy girl. After a few minutes a SA finally came to help, and recommended to me a lipstick I'd not heard of before...Sheen Supreme in the shade 'bare again'. She told me it was one of her favourites, and she had worn it on her wedding day. She felt it would compliment my natural lip colour which is quite rosy and pigmented.
Here it is;

It is a pinky nude colour, a true 'my lips but better' shade for me. The picture above doesn't actually do it justice. I did try to take a pic of it on as well but the quality was rubbish so I gave up! The formula is beautiful, really smooth and glossy, it looks almost like a gloss on the lips but without that stickiness, just very moisturising. The only negative I would say is that this does not last that well on the lips compared to other lipsticks I own, around 1-2 hours I would say, although it did stay put through one shower which was very surprising..

Overall, I was pleasantly surprised by this lipstick, as it isn't a shade I'd usually go for (I usually buy pinker shades) and it wasn't a formula I'd heard of before! I love the sleek black packaging also which I think I prefer to the standard MAC lipsticks. Sheen supreme is definitely something I'd urge you to consider next time you make a MAC lipstick purchase!


Hello!

So finally...I've gone and made myself a blog! After over a year of following lots of different blogs, from beauty and fashion to food and photography, I thought it was about time I made one of my own!

So, a little bit about me... I'm 25, a (mature!) student, studying in Chester and am originally from Essex.

Please bare with me while I get to grips with things. I'm intending to fill the blog with just about anything, although as the name would suggest, the main focus will be make up.

I hope you will enjoy this as much as I will!

xx