Saturday, 30 May 2015

Boots Salon Nail Care Cuticle Remover Review

So Boots has revamped their nail treatments! Yay more products for me to buy ;)

Boots Salon Nail Care Cuticle Remover Review
Boots Salon Nail Care Cuticle Remover
I’ve got to admit that I’m a bit of a nail care noob; although I love painting my nails and dabbling in nail art, I didn’t do much in terms of cuticle work and general maintenance until a few months ago. Only a year ago I didn’t even truly know what a cuticle was *awkward*. Now that I know which part of the nails is the cuticle, they have become objects of my obsession. I’ve been pushing them back and applying nail oils and balms religiously. However none of these processes actually remove the dead skin once it’s pushed back and it just tends to congregate at the base of the nail. I don’t want to cut my cuticles because it seems to be a dead certain no-no… (I still think it looks so much neater though). So because of these reasons, I’ve been looking for a remover to *magically* dissolve the cuticles away for me.

Wednesday, 20 May 2015

The Argania Series: Cashmere Hair Leave-In Conditioner Review

Argania has always been a brand I've been interested in using because the products smell amazing and the ingredients look promising and simple and I keep getting taken in by the argan oil trend. After purchasing a few items from the range, I decided to write a series of reviews on them for anyone else who may be interested in trying them out.

First of all, I'm going to review the Cashmere Hair Leave-In Conditioner. It claims to "fortify and protect your hair whilst locking in moisture for satin-smooth tresses with lustrous shine." Part of me doesn't even know why I continue to fall for these product claims but when I first tried this out, my fingers were crossed.
Argania Cashmere Hair Leave-in Conditioner Review
Argania Cashmere Hair Leave-in Conditioner

Thursday, 14 May 2015

Leighton Denny Crystal Nail File Review

Hailed as the "Rolls Royce of nail files" (by no less than Leighton Denny himself), I was expecting a hell of a lot from this thing.
Leighton Denny Small Crystal Nail File
At £12.50, it's not a cheapie. I'd imagine a lot of people are more used to buying cheap cardboard or even *shriek* metal nail files at a small fraction of the price. As a result, some those people (and myself) would look for one hell of a justification for buying this one. I'm here to provide that justification for you!

Saturday, 9 May 2015

Primark Egg Shaped Sponge Review

I'm sure you have all heard of the Beauty Blender? An apparent "essential" tool for makeup application. Its been around for ages and is essentially an egg shaped sponge retailing at £16. Yeah I'm wouldn't pay that, even if it started singing to me. If it looked like Zingy though I'd probably buy it. So cute. Anyway here is a much more economical and replaceable version - Primark's Egg Shaped Sponge at £1.50!

primark egg shaped sponge review
Primark egg shaped sponge - £1.50!
Let's face it, we all know this is a rip off of the Beauty Blender. Before we begin I'd like to say that I do not have a BB but I've been interested due to positive reviews. I thought I'd try this because it looked similar and was about one 10th of the price.

After dabbing on some corrector or concealer under my eyes, I dampened the sponge under a tap whilst squeezing a few times to get the water distributed. I then squished out excess water so the sponge was damp and started dabbing it against my skin. I've noticed that the egg sponge blends completely seamlessly, distributing the layer I patted on and evens it out into an air brushed finished product. Before buying this, I used to blend concealer with my finger which when I think about it, looked thick it creased so easily. My concealer doesn't crease any more which is a big plus as I don't have to keep checking it throughout the day. I'd buy this over and over again!

Quick tip - before storing your Primark sponge (or BB), I would advise squeezing out the water and leaving it in the open to dry out completely. Before I realised this, my primark sponge started growing mould! To avoid it these days I balance it on my radiator so it can dry quickly. Even if it did grow mould, I can't say I would cry - its only £1.50! The BB on the other hand... Well that would surely be a waste as it costs over 10x more.

Tuesday, 5 May 2015

Scunci Pastel Scrunchies Review

Can't wait for summer? Yeah, neither can I and what screams summer more than these gorgeous pastel shades? I couldn't resist! I was happy to find that I have corresponding nail colours to go with each hair band :)

scuni hair bands, barry m matching nail polishes
These pretties were £3.49 from Boots.
I hope we all know that we shouldn't be using those hair ties with metal on them. Nor should we use *cries* elastic bands in our hair. Ain't nobody got time for that kind of pain or hair damage! For the past few years I've been on a mission to grow out virgin hair with as little damage as possible and I have to say that avoiding damaging hair ties has really helped me towards my goal. Nobody wants little broken, ruined hairs sticking out of their heads caused by rubbish hair ties.

For this reason I prefer to use scrunchies and sometimes the Invisibobble if I am desperate. I now have less breakage and no snagging. I wanna bring scrunchies back!

Sunday, 29 March 2015

Benefit Hoola Bronzing Powder Review

Benefit, we meet again.
Benefit-hoola-bronzer-powder
Hoola at a hefty £23.50
Benefit-hoola-powder
Hoola in all it's glory
I think the bronzer is such a great shade. It's not shimmery or sparkly nor overly warm or red toned when applied. It is quite pigmented and finely milled which is fantastic and to be honest, what I would expect at this price. I'm not sure how this would work on pale skin as I know bronzers can sometimes look "muddy" but on me (roughly MAC NC35), it works and blends beautifully. I don't actually use this as a bronzer but as a natural contour shade because I feel the flat tone works best for me that way.

Saturday, 14 March 2015

DIY Bent Eyeliner Brush

I took a break from wearing makeup a few years back and since then, I realised I've been suffering from "makeup application amnesia" (this is a DIY post so this is a DIY diagnosis - I'm not medically qualified but I need to be cured!).

So I was reminiscing about the days when I was much better at applying liquid/cream eyeliner. But then I had a breakthrough... It's all about the tools! I remembered I had an ELF bent eyeliner brush back then and that I loved it. I also remember ruining it by butchering trimming and using it for some nail art. Yep, fit for the bin.

Saturday, 7 March 2015

Primark's Hask Argan Oil Repairing Deep Conditioner Review

By now you're probably wondering how many argan oil products I buy and try. The answer is 'quite a lot'! Even though I try not to buy into trends, this one's got me hook line and sinker. Maybe it's the smell... They all seem to smell similar (and delicious). Who knows. Anyway! Back on track with this review.

Okay.  I was indulging in a quick bit of shopping and picked this up! Forgiveth me, I felt like treating myself seeing as I had time off work and hadn't had enough time recently to pamper myself. I've never really bought any beauty items from primark (apart from this essential) but the range seems to constantly evolve and it looks like there's something for everyone.
Hask Argan Oil Mask

This mask was £2 for 50ml which I thought was a bit pricey, a) because its primark and b) because its just a hair treatment! Granted, I could tell it contained a generous amount which is great for hairy curl heads like me but I guessed I'd only get two uses out if it maximum. Regardless, I thought I'd give it a go seeing as my hair is getting longer and needs a bit more love every now and then.

Tuesday, 13 January 2015

Bumble and Bumble Prep Primer Review

I’ve recently been on the lookout for a leave in conditioner to spritz in my hair as it’s always a little dehydrated parched. I’d love to have beautiful silky curls but I’ve faced that mine are just prone to fluff and frizz no matter how much I try to baby them! Nothing will stop me from trying though, what with new and seemingly miraculous products being touted at every turn.

In true product junkie fashion, I already have a number of spray leave in conditioners but I get bored easily and never seem to finish them off. I thought I’d treat myself to another one though seeing as my hair is getting longer and needs increasingly more care. This product is recommended for anyone but mainly for those with virgin, ultra-fine, limp and relatively healthy hair. If you know me or my hair then you'll know I have all those characteristics apart from 'limp'! Okay and my hair is a mix of fine, medium and coarse but hey hair is hair right? Enter my uncharacteristic Bumble and Bumble splurge buy!

Bumble and Bumble Prep
If you’ve been reading my blog for a while you’ll know that I like using “natural” products and that I try to avoid silicones. The primer’s ingredients looked promising as most of the junky ingredients are right at the bottom of the list. It contains silicone but it's not in the first few ingredients so I wasn't too uptight about buying it.