Benefit Hervana- Good Karma!

Benefits Hervana was another of the items that Feel Unique were kind enough to send me to review.

I have had my eye on it since seeing blog posts on the product launch event, and am very happy that it's now become apart of my make up collection.

I really do like Benefit as a brand, and I think the majority of there products are beautiful.

The packaging is delightful and is definitely to my taste.

I've always been a fan of the boxed powder products and used Coralista and Hoola until hitting pan was well and truly an understatement!

Benefit Hervana is the latest in the boxed powder family, and it is a Peachy Pink dream.

Lucky Shell, Divine Peach, Heavenly Rose & Berry Delight have been swirled together to provide you with four complimentary shades to brighten up your face.

 Swirled together the four shades make Hervana- how Benefit describe as an Orchid Blossom shade blush.

This product is supposed to be used as one shade, however, you can choose to just use two or three of the shades if you'd prefer for a different look. I used Lucky Shell underneath my brow and it worked a treat!

"What goes around comes around"

When I first received this product, I was a little concerned that the darkest and lightest shade might work together and make the product a cooler shade rather than warmer. I much prefer a warmer shade on my face and fortunately, this does create a warmer tone to my face and the Peach and Pinks tones of the pan definitely outweigh the Berry.

One thing I am really pleased about, is that Benefit have now introduced a mirror to the box. This is something I have always moaned about when purchasing Benefit products in the past, so I'm very happy indeed. It just makes it so much easier when your on the go.

I never really use the brushes in the Benefit boxes, but they can come in handy and this one in particular is a lot nicer with a slanted finish which is more practical for a more accurate application on the cheeks.

Benefit Hervana is available here on Feel Unique as well as Benefit stores and counters and costs £23.50

It is quite a high priced product, but with the free delivery and frequent discount codes that Feel Unique offer maybe you could treat your cheeks to a little bit of good karma..

Have you tried Hervana and what are your thoughts?

xx

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My perfect lip combination.

I mentioned before in this MUA post that I really wanted to get my hands on the MUA Love Hearts lip balm in Sweet Kiss and fortunately enough, I did. 

When I first saw this lip balm, I thought it was such a beautiful colour, and definitely the sort of shade I love and I am in no way disappointed. It's the most beautiful Coral Peach shade and like the other lip balms from the collection, smells like a vanilla sweet dream! 

The colour pay off on the lips isn't the most pigmented, but it is just a lip balm and doesn't claim to add a huge amount of colour. Used on its own or on top of another lip product it literally is wonderful and works delightfully well paired up with Topshop Coy- so much so that it is my new favourite lip combo.

MUA Lip Balms are available along with the rest of the collection from Superdrug and cost just £2

Topshop Coy is very possibly my dream lip colour. It's a brightened combination of a Coral, a Pink and a Peach which all together could only create a beautiful shade.  

If this was in a satin lipstick formula it would probably be my favourite ever, however what it actually is, is a lip colour stick which is unfortunately incredibly drying- boo!

It's super pigmented but with it being so drying, you couldn't possibly wear it alone and personally, I wouldn't ever want to.

I've been wearing it with my MUA gloss in Candy Pink up until now, but since getting Sweet Kiss, that has now been replaced. 

Topshop Coy is available from Topshop and costs £7 

These two products compliment each other so well. The shades and the formulations work together like a match made in heaven.

The moisturising lip balm takes away the dryness of how Coy feels on the lips and completes the look with a slight sheer/glossed finish which I think Coy lacks.

Sweet Kiss keeps your lips soft and adds a little confidence when wearing Coy, I know when I'm wearing a drying lipstick I'm constantly checking in the mirror that it doesn't look as bad as how it feels.

Although it's slightly annoying having to wear two products to get the look you long for, it can't be helped if your perfect shade and your perfect finish haven't yet been invented in one tube. Anyway, mixing it up a little bit is always fun!

 Costing only £9 together, this is my latest perfect lip combo and I would highly recommend it and both of the products. 

Have you tried Coy? Have you tried Sweet Kiss? Whats your favourite lip combo?

xx

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17 Miracle Matte Foundation

I wouldn't call myself a foundation snob, because for years and years I would never even have dreamt of spending more than about £12 on a foundation, but since trying higher end- mainly MAC, I have never wanted to go back.

On occasion I have gone back to L'oreal Infallible and Revlon Photo Ready but in all honestly "drug store" foundations just don't do for me what "higher end" foundations do.

I recently got the 17 Miracle Matte Foundation as apart of a goodie bag, and after reading quite a few positive reviews on it I was quite looking forward to trying it.

First and foremost, this is in the shade Fair. Which is definitely not the shade I would ever go for, because I'm pretty much always tanned. But for the odd occasion that I'm my natural colour it would be great, and I was excited at the prospect of it being my possible go-to drugstore/high street foundation. 

Well, I always try to give products a fair chance, and if I don't like something I will at least try to think of things that I do for instance the texture or the shade, because as much as I may not like how something works on me- it may work great for someone else and it's only fair that my readers hear everything about it- right?

I am a beauty blogger because I like to give my honest opinion on products and as much as I don't like to go all out on a bad review, I can quite honestly say that unfortunately, this is the worst foundation I have ever used.  It doesn't work for me one bit.

I have read quite a few positive reviews on this foundation and so I'm a little concerned that maybe I have a dodgy one, because it doesn't seem to be right at all.

As you may be able to see from the pictures above it is extremely thick and doesn't move around the bottle very much at all. It is a full coverage foundation, but I don't feel its necessary for it to be so thick and gloopy.

On application, yes it did glide quite softly on my skin which on the product description it says it will, but it doesn't blend out at all and immediately goes extremely cakey and how I can only describe as bitty? I really hope you understand what I mean.

I found the application incredibly uneven and it was impossible for me with fingers, brushes and blenders to get the promised "flawless, matte satin finish".    

I can't comment on the longevity of this product because after applying it three times now, hoping for a different outcome I have ended up taking it off and applying another product.

The bottle is nice, with a sweet little Pink Pump, but in terms of the rest of the packaging half of the text on the label has already rubbed off. This is quite common on a few drugstore products, and isn't a huge deal in the slightest.

I have mentioned before that I have a thing about the smell of make up and any products to be fair, and although it's completely bearable and not dissimilar to a lot of foundations this has the typical playdoh like smell.  

It's an inexpensive product at £5.99 for 30ml, but I think for the same kind of price you could probably find a better product.

I've never ever had a problem with 17 products. I really like a couple of there lipsticks, and at the moment I'm also using the 17 Va Va Voom mascara which I am really enjoying using. I just really wish the foundation would give as good an effect.

17 Miracle Matte Foundation costs £5.99 and is available in six shades.

If you wanted to try it out for yourself, it can be purchaed online here and in Boots stores. 

I would love to know if you have tried this product and what your thoughts are on it.

xx

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Tweezerman Tweezers- Pretty In Pink

I was recently given the opportunity to review a few items from Feel Unique and being such a fan girl of the site, I was a very happy girl.
 I'm sure you're aware that I am a huge fan of Feel Unique and continue to recommend them for there quick and super reasonable service. It's the first site I will go to when I want a product, but want it a little bit cheaper. I always, always purchase my Xen Tan from there, as the price literally cannot be beaten. It also helps that they offer free delivery and there is always some kind of discount code floating around the web!

Since the day I came home from school and plucked up the courage (no pun intended) to ask my mum if I could borrow her tweezers, my eyebrows and I have had such a love hate relationship.

Through the years they have been both over plucked and under plucked (mostly horrifically over plucked) and to be honest it's always been quite traumatic subject.

After a lot of time and patience, my eyebrows are finally, kind of how I want them. Wider, straighter and fuller.

I have had HD Brows in the past and a couple of waxing treatments, but other than them few times I have always been a plucker. 

It's easy, I feel in control and it's a lot more reliable as you can just pluck your strays as and when you see them. I always pluck my brows at night time so the redness can disappear whilst I sleep. 

Up until now, the tweezers I have used have been nothing special as I never really thought there was a difference between a £2 pair and a £20 pair. To be honest, I was happy with my cheap and cheerful set, until I started using these and realised that what I had been using was in fact an extremely blunt and not very precise pair.

I must say, I have always eyed up Tweezerman tweezers in the past, the beautiful designs always catch my eye whenever I see them. I can't believe they have so many different versions of what I have always thought was a pretty standard tool.

When I picked these, I picked them because firstly because I have heard such good things and wanted to see why they were so raved about and secondly, they was Pretty in Pink and I thought they would look lovely in my make up bag, now I've used them I'm not sure I could go back to my £2 little pair. Okay, I could, but what I mean is I'm not sure I will ever want to.

They are slanted, which is the style of tweezer I always use and are so incredibly precise when plucking. They literally (I have no idea how) grab the smallest of hairs every single time. I can't stand when you have a hair coming through and it looks like a dot, and fortunately these little wonders grab them first time saving me a lot of aggravation and picked at brows. 

They're really sharp and have quite a narrow tip, which I guess is how they are so precise.

At £20, they are a little more pricey than most tweezers but I am so pleased to have had the opportunity to try these and would really recommend them if you did want to spend a little more on a pretty amazing, award winning little tool for your kit. 

If you are interested, these are available here on Feel Unique and are available in a range of different colours and styles.

What do you use for your brows? Are you a plucker?

xx

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Xen Tan Dark Lotion- The new look

In December 2010, I posted about my favourite fake tan ever (here) and can you believe that I am still raving about the same product? Since, then I have tried so many self tanning products but Xen Tan Dark Lotion is the one I always find myself going back to. 

Every single day, I am tweeted with questions such as "Whats your favourite fake tan?" and every single  time I reply with the same answer, and continue to make Xen Tan tweeter blush with my love and raves for this brand.

I ordered this one last week, and when it came I was a little terrified as I saw the bottle had changed, and for a few moments I was pretty terrified that the formula may have too. 

Fear not, it's still the wonderful sweet marzipan smelling tan that I have loved for all this time and it still gives a beautiful, long lasting colour to your skin- without leaving you all patchy like most self tanners do.

When I saw pictures of the new packaging online, I was really excited and thought it looked a lot better but in real life, I must say, I am a little disappointed. I thought it would look a lot more expensive and luxurious, but my thoughts are quite the opposite. I prefer simple looking bottles and the fancy font changes aren't my favourite. 

In terms of the olive based colour, I have found a few tanning products that give slightly similar (not too orange) colour but overall none come close to lovely shade Xen Tan Dark Lotion gives you and so if you haven't tried it already, then I highly recommend that you do. 

The texture, the smell, the colour guide and the quick drying formula cannot be beaten in my opinion and so I will continue to be Xen Tans top fan. 

This award winning tan retails for £28.99 in stores and on the Xen Tan website, but I purchase mine from Feel Unique, as I have done every few months for nearly two years where it costs only £17.99 and is delivered in a super quick time.  

For more information about Xen Tan Dark Lotion and a little more in depth review, see my post here. 

xx

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Superdrug Event- Sleek

This evening I popped along to the wonderful Haymarket Hotel to the Superdrug Press Show, which was showcasing all there new things for the Summer.

One brand that I always think of when it comes to Superdrug, is Sleek and so it is no surprise that whilst in the event I seemed to be quite attracted to the Sleek stand. 

They have launched some absolutely beautiful new products and have a couple in the pipeline. There were two that especially stood out to me and I couldn't wait to share them with you.

First of all, Sleek Blush By 3.

These products are amazing. I want all of them and am pretty sure when I get a few spare pennies I will be treating myself.

There is five compacts in the Blush By 3 range, all of which include three shades of blushes;

Pumpkin

 Lace

 Pink Sprint

Flame

Sugar

I need Lace desperately (the top photo furthest to the right), its a combination of three Orange and Coral coloured blushes and is a delight.

The shades of all five palettes can be layered for a deeper intensity or worn on there own for a highly pigmented shade for your cheeks. 

Pink Spirit is the only palette to be made up of three mattes as they others all have at least one shimmer shade, which although I'm not a huge fan of shimmer- these are all quite subtle. 

These are fortunately available now from Superdrug and cost £9.99

Secondly are these amazing amazing additions to the very popular Contour Kit family.
 Originally created with the two shade Contour Kit, Sleek have now created Face Form. A contour kit with a third product- either a highlighter or a blush. 

These are available in four shades;

Fair- Contouring powder, highlighting powder and Rose Gold Blush

Light- Contouring powder, highlighting powder and Rose Gold Blush

Medium- Contouring powder, highlighting powder and a bronzer

Dark- Contouring powder, highlighting powder and a darker bronzer.

I really like the size of these products, and the fact that even with a mirror they are still very compact and sleek.

I can see these being a very popular product so will be grabbing one as soon as I can.

These will be available in Superdrug in March and will cost just £8.99

Have you seen any of the Sleek Blush By 3 palettes and will you be keeping a little eye out for the Face Form Palettes?

xx

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Teds Beauty Spot- Shellac nails and Blink & Go lashes

On Monday evening, I visited One Aldwych, a beautiful hotel situated opposite Somerset House to pop into visit the beautiful Handpicked Media Suite, which for the day was home to Ted Baker for LFW.

I had an absolutely wonderful time and was completely spoilt by both the Ted Baker and Handpicked Media team. 

The room was full of all of such beautiful clothes and I have absolutely fallen in love with a couple of bags and bikinis that you may have seen me tweet.

 As well as offering very generous goodie bags, which included the most amazing Laptop Bag ever, they also offered treatments and I was very kindly given the chance to get some Blink & Go Noveau Eyelash Extensions and my first Shellac manicure! I felt like an absolute princess being pampered in such a beautiful suite, quite the dream.

You may or may not be aware, but Ted Baker has a beauty salon in there London Cheapside store- Teds Beauty Spot and as well as Eyebrow shaping and tinting, these are a couple of the treatments that they offer.

My eyelashes took about thirty minutes to apply. It went surprisingly well seeing as I usually hate anyone touching my eyes (applying lashes for me etc). The lashes were glued very delicately to my natural lashes and applied in an extremely natural looking fashion. I didn't want them to be too in your face and I am so pleased with how they look.

They are said to last for about two weeks, but I have had a couple fall out already. This isn't necessarily a bad thing right now, as if anything, they look a little more natural.

I was very, very excited to be given a Shellac manicure, so many of my friends rave about Shellac but because I usually have falsies its never been something I gone for.

After each application being set and dried in with the UV light, my nails look absolutely shiny and near perfect.

I forgot to write down the shade that was used, but its a very dark Chocolate Brown with ever such a slight Red tone.

Four days on, and I'm pleased to say they still look absolutely fabulous and theres not a scratch or chip in sight.

The downside to Shellac is that you have to have it removed, but the good thing is that I will be taking a trip to Teds Spot to do so and will be treating myself to my eyebrow goodness at the same time.

Overall, a very lovely day was had and I can't wait to visit the quirky Teds Spot now.

For the full treatment list that Teds Spot has to offer, visit there website here

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Some new things..

Topshop Freedom Pearl Bib Collar- £14

Topshop Freedom Collar Necklace- Sale £1.50 

Miss Selfridge Diva Spike Necklace- £10

Topshop Freedom Spike Necklace- £14

Miss Selfridge  Diva Cuff-  £10

Topshop Cream Crepe Shirt Dress-  £46

Earlier on this afternoon, I was given a wonderful invitation to a party in London with my boyfriend which was completely out of the blue and incredibly exciting.

Normally, parties are planned ahead leaving you a while to fret over what to wear.

I went into absolute panic mode, chucked on the closest clothes to me and dashed over to Outfit which is the biggest lifesaving shop ever- slight exaggeration.

I really wasn't sure what I wanted to get, I haven't really been looking at things recently because I'm on a major spending ban so was going into Topshop with a completely open mind.

Being a huge lover of Cream dresses, I thought I'd play it safe and go with this dress, it was actually the first thing I picked up which was a result. The Topshop Cream Crepe Shirt Dress. It's really flattering and I like the material and the back detail. It was a little pricey at £46 but it was a last minute thing and I needed at least an option. 

In terms of accessories, I really wasn't sure on whether I wanted to go girly or a be little bit edgy, so I decided to pick up a few different items and decide when I tried it all on at home. I'm not completely greedy and will be returning the one I don't wear- I personally think £10-£14 is quite a lot for "junk jewellery" as my mum calls it, and I certainly haven't got money to waste.

I really like the Topshop Pearl Bib Collar, but I'm all over spikes and things at the moment, and I think I will get more wear out of either the Miss Selfridge or Topshop Spikes.

What do you think? Do you like these little jewels I picked up?


(Apologies for the terrible lighting, I'm having a real problem with taking photos with the lighting in my bedroom at the moment!)

xx  

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John Frieda Full Repair Range

As I mentioned in a 'What I'm wearing' post a few days ago, myself and a few other bloggers were invited to a very posh suite in Claridges to enjoy tea and cake whilst learning all about the new John Frieda range.

 I have always found myself going for John Frieda products (mostly the Volume range), so I was very excited to hear about some new products on the market. 

After learning more about the brand and there values, I really am more of a fan than ever.

Sometimes, when looking at a range or a brand you find yourself thinking this has been done before or why haven't they done this yet but after listening to the John Frieda team discussing there brand values its clear that they won't release a product until its absolutely perfect and will do the best job possible for our hair. 

It seems they really do put a lot of thought behind every single product to make it the best for us the consumer rather than just releasing something in speed time to compete with what is such a huge market.

On my walk to Mayfair, I popped into Boots and saw this range at the front of the store, being unaware of the ranges that we was actually going to be viewing at the event I kind of just passed it by. I looked at it, but I won't lie, I thought oh another repair product on the market.

Like I mentioned above, it's clear to me now that John Frieda won't launch a product until it reaches the best of its capabilities, and I think with this range they could be on to something huge.

Whilst at the event we was given a demonstration by the fabulous Harry Josh, this man is quite literally a dream- he flew over from LA to give the demonstration to us and filled us in with some red carpet tips and trends and even some gossip! He is a super celebrity hair stylist, and does hair for the likes of Katy Perry, Giselle, Rose Byrne and Gwyneth Paltrow- he even let us know that last year at the Oscars Gwyneth used some of these products and lets face it, if they're good enough for her locks then they're good enough for mine! 

This range isn't on the market as a standard conditioning range, it's on the market for the girl (or boy) that doesn't want to ditch the hair tools- the "hair tool junkie", the girl (or boy) who doesn't want to give up on the colour and quite frankly doesn't want to cut their damaged hair.

It's the product to use when you're hair has had the colour and had the heat and can't take much more- but you won't stop. It's there to treat, repair and style your hair whilst allowing you to at the same time commit these, how we are usually made to feel, hair sins.  

"Transform overworked hair without sacrificing style"

I personally have desperately unhealthy hair. After years of colour and heat, it has become quite a state and so I'm not new to products on the market that promise to repair and treat your hair into a delicious soft miracle.

I have found that the majority of them don't work, yes some of them help your hair to feel absolutely fabulous but the majority on the market- mostly on the high street, are just coating your hair and giving you the impression of repaired locks. Giving it a softness and shine but not penetrating your hair with the treatment it may need. 

John Frieda Full Repair has been formulated with a patented technology and a product that will penetrate each strand, restoring the damaged hair with a lightweight micro oil- Inca Inchi oil. It's rich in Omega 3 and unlike some hair oils and conditioners, will both treat your hair and create visibly smooth and manageable hair without weighing it down, which is quite often my problem when it comes to styling.  

"Includes a range of care and styling products that instantly transforms and repairs the look and feel of overworked hair to create a full-bodied, healthy looking style with natural movement. Your hair will get its mojo back!"

The range consists of seven products.The seven products that if you saw my tweet mentioning that I had just used and my hair was surprisingly light, I was referring to.

Step One- Repair

John Frieda Full Repair Full Body Shampoo & Conditioner 250ml- £5.59 each

John Frieda Full Repair Deep Conditioner 150ml- £5.99

Step Two- Treat

John Frieda Full Repair Perfect Ends Sheer Mist & Deep Infusion 50ml- £6.99

Step Three- Style

John Frieda Full Repair Root Lift Foam- £5.99

John Frieda Full Repair Heat Activating Styling Spray 200ml- £5.99 (amazing, amazing!)

These are available in stores now, I really recommend that you try Boots and Superdrug, this is where I get my John Frieda products as they are always running promotions on them.

I believe they are available and going down quite a treat in the US and have been for some time now.

I will be reviewing some of these products more in depth as I use them a little more, I have only used them once so can't review them as such.

If your keen for me to review a particular product, please comment below to let me know.

Do you like the sound of this range? Do you think it could benefit you?

xx

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Studded Bra- DIY

I'm not really one for airing my underwear online, but all this is all in the name of blogging and saving you all a few pounds!

Like so many people, I am all over anything studded at the moment, and after coming across so many pictures of Bras similar to this on Tumblr I decided that I needed one. Not really to wear, just to look at.

I ordered a set of Studs off of eBay (I haven't got the actual seller as it was my friends account), but they worked out only a couple of pounds from Hong Kong and didn't take too long to arrive. 

These studs are 12mm ones, you can see in the photos that I haven't secured all of them to the bra but to do so you simply just pierce through the material and fold, like a split pin.

I didn't really plan where I was going to put them, I just got studding and went along with it. I am aware that it is not the neatest design, but I don't like anything too matchy anyway. It literally took me about ten minutes to do this, it couldn't be easier. One thing I will advice, is that if you are going to get studding, be careful of your fingers, I dropped one on the floor and stood on it, ouch! 

I'm planning on studding up my Levis shorts for the summer and a few other bits and bobs. 

I really hope you don't mind that I posted a picture of my bra on here and I hope you're well.

xx

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What I'm wearing..A slightly darker eye

I decided to opt for a darker eye today, I rarely wear anything on my eyes other than mascara but today I felt a little experimental. 

I decided to use my HD Brow Palette for my eye lids and well as my brow and I'm actually rather pleased with how it came out.

I'm a fail when it comes to doing eye make up, so I kind of just slap it on- bad beauty blogger!

I'm wearing..

MAC Studio Fix Fluid NC30

Nars Laguna

FashionistA Juicy Apricot

MAC Gaga 2

MUA Pink Candy

Brows- HD Brow Palette Rich Brown

Eyes- HD Brow Palette Warm Brown, Dark Brown with Carbon used as a liner.

This isn't a look that I will be wearing every day, I think the darker browns do compliment my eyes but day to day I like to play it safe.

What do you think?

xx

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New CID Cosmetics i-glow Ice Pop

I got this in my gift bag a while back when I attended the New CID Cosmetics event in London and when I noticed it sparkling through at the bottom of my bag I was very pleased indeed.

I have been a fan of the i-glow in Coral Crush for about a year now, and you may have noticed its forever popping up in my 'What I'm wearing' posts. It's definitely a product I reach for when my face needs brightening up.

I'm slightly disappointed in the fact that this shade isn't something I'm reaching for all the time. I think its okay, but it definitely isn't a product that I am loving. 

It's a marbelised baked shimmer powder with different tones of Pink and Lilac and White running through it, which definitely sounds like something I would go for (minus the shimmer), but it just doesn't work for me.

I know I don't like shimmer anyway, but with the i-glow in Coral Crush working so well for me, I thought this would too.

The Pinks and Lilacs do look lovely together in the pan, but on my face they just don't sit well, they look quite bland on me. The shimmer kind of throws it a little bit and makes its all slightly too much for me. Rather than brightening up my face a couple of times I have felt its ruined my make up.

As much as I didn't really like this in real life I do think it pictured quite well. 

This product is a definite proof that different products work differently on different people. I really think that with the Lilacs and Pinks, this would work beautifully on a paler skin tone than mine.As you are probably aware I am very often tanned, and although this product is meant to be "great for accentuating a tan", I don't personally think it compliments mine. 

This product can be used as both a highlighter and a blush but I always tend to use these products as more of a blush.

Maybe it's something that will work well with my tan sweeped on my shoulders and neck when I go out somewhere fancy, but for now it isn't working on my cheeks.

I am still however a huge fan of Coral Crush and think I'll be quite a fan of that for a long time.  

This product is available on the New CID Cosmetics website here for £22.50 

Have you tried this product? If so, what do you think?

xx

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