Miss Patisserie in Boots!

Morning all!

Today is a big day for Miss Patisserie, the brand is launching in Boots and we couldn't be more excited! We were lucky enough to be sent a few products to try so here's a few quick pictures to show you them.

They have created 7 product lines which will be available in 87 stores, and are currently available online already (although they are out of stock!)

Smashbox, Ojon and Bumble and Bumble Event

Hey All

Last weekend L and I headed off to our local boots for a Smashbox, Ojon and Bumble and Bumble event. We were both really excited as it's been a while since we've been to a beauty event with each other as circumstances lately mean we have both been mega busy.

We've both tried the Iconic primer from smashbox and drooled over the Full Exposure palette so were excited to go and see more of the products in action.





It started off by showing us the Bumble and Bumble Blow Dry Cream. Neither of us really use many hair products like this so were intrigued to see it. It's fair to say we were all very impressed with the results. A small amount of the cream was rubbed into dry hair (the model in the photos below has curly almost crimped like hair until it was blow dried as you see below!) then the hair was blow dried straight using just hands.



It was so quick and eliminated frizz so well. It seems perfect and we can't wait to try it. They also do three different types we are both eyeing up the repair one.

We've both used the Ojon oil before so it was great to hear more information on it. L can't wait to try the Rare Blend Rejuvenating oil as this is a lighter texture than the original so won't make hair greasy and M can't wait to try the Rare Blend Moisture Therapy to help with dryer ends. We resisted these on the day but will be back to pick them up soon.





Next we were shown Smashbox. It was great to get hands on with the products and try so many. We ended up with such soft hands after trying on the primers. The luminizing primer gave a great glow and will be amazing for summer nights, while we both love the hydrating and light versions which left the skin feeling so soft.

They have such a huge range of primers it can be really overwhelming to see them on the shelf but going through them individually was really helpful to see which does what, especially learning about their Primer Water which sounds like a must have!

The star of the show had to be the Double Exposure palette it has the most amazing colours and the potential to be a great all rounder. It has the nudes you'd want for everyday with some great blues and purples for smokey eyes. A great thing about the double exposure palette is that the shadows can be used wet.

Most of the time I'm dubious about this as when you wet shadows they tend to get that film layer on top you then need to scrape off. With these you can get loads of water on the brush and in the eyeshadow, apply it and then the shadows dry up and are back to  normal. Below shows how amazing the blue looks wet.





The 15 hour wear hydrating foundation is another thing we can't wait to try. We find no matter how much we love a foundation we always think there is better. With Smashbox all the products are tried in a studio on a set for lasting ability. It's a medium buildable coverage that feels great on the skin. This one could be a winner.

The eyebrow kit looked so good, it has a wax and two powders to create the brow that you want, from an ombre brow to changing your look dependent on day or night. This was one thing that L couldn't leave behind!

M is currently on a make up spending ban so had to resist purchases this day. Roll on 20th May!

Luckily we had a few goodies given to us so that we can try out some of the Bumble and Bumble products and Smashbox.

What are your favourite products from Ojon, Bumble and Bumble and Smashbox?

There's definitely a growing wishlist for us!

Love L and M

xxx

Sale Picks

Hey All

I'm meant to be saving my money at the moment as I'm off on holiday tomorrow but with all the sales around I can't seem to stop spending money. They keep on tempting me with the bargains especially with things being reduced down by 70% now.

Accessorize was the first to take my money. I absolutely love rings so when I saw these bargain packs which were reduced from £10 to £3 each they were too cheap to leave behind. The stacking rings are perfect as I don't have many gold rings but have a few gold belt buckles so when I wear them I like to wear gold jewellery. I love the big purple stone one. I tend to wear them on different fingers as for me the 5 on one finger is a bit too much. I love the crossover ring on the silver set and that was the main reason I bought them. I love midi rings but don't tend to wear them much. These are simple with the sparkle to add a bit of glam. I didn't plan to get new gloves but when these real suede ones were reduced to £10 I couldn't resist. They are quite old fashioned ladies gloves but I think they are quite classic. I love burgundies for winter so can see me using these lots.

This North Face jumper I've wanted for ages. It's the crescent sunset hoodie. As I'm off to Iceland tomorrow I've been eyeing up warm clothes. I couldn't resist this. I've been trying it on since October but as it was £100 I couldn't spend that much. After Cotswolds reduced it to £65 I couldn't resist it. It's so warm and snuggley. I can see me getting lots of wear out of this.

Dorothy Perkins was another shop with an amazing sale. I'm always on the look out for dresses that are long enough to wear to work and don't need ironing. I managed to pick up the red lace sleeved dress for £7. It's a waffle material so really comfy and easy to wear. I love red dresses. The burgundy skater dress was £10. It's got a lace print through it. This is surprisingly long which I love. On me it finishes a little above the knee. I find it hard to find dresses that are longer than bum skimming. I couldn't find the picture of the skirt I got but this nude one is similar. I got it in black. It's perfect for work as it's high waisted and long. It also looks really smart and will be great for summer and winter.

Fat face also sucked me in with great skirts and jumpers. I'm starting to prefer more expensive classics and getting a few fashion pieces. I also grabbed some great boots which were reduced from £80 to £25.

What pieces have you grabbed in the sale?

Love M

xxx

Winter Wardrobe Updates

Morning pals!

Another Friday is here and we're another week closer to Christmas! It only gets more exciting from here and it's my favourite type of year. Winter clothes are also my favourite kind, layering is the best thing and I love all of the patterns and colours associated with autumn/winter clothing.

Here's what I've been buying to update my wardrobe this year:

First up I picked up this belt from Dorothy Perkins. I've had a belt for dresses very similar to this before and I wore it until it fell apart so I knew it was a good buy. It's definitely good for wearing at any time of year but as has been happening for the last few years the trend for wearing a belt to cinch in your coat is back and this one is going to be making it back into my wardrobe.

Secondly I snapped up this BEAUTIFUL scarf from Zara. I touched it in store and couldn't leave it behind. I love the patterns in tartan and the red is gorgeous and goes with all of my coats, it's a winner and was something I had no idea I needed and now cannot live without. It doesn't leave my neck during the week now!

My latest shoe purchase is from New Look and I had to order them from in store as they didn't have any left. The heel height is perfect for most occasions and the gold buckle detailing is enough to give it a bit more pizazz. These can be worn with leggings and jeans and I look forward to wearing them to the pub over the next few months.

Capes are big news and this blanket cape cardigan type garment is absolutely fabulous. It's super comfy, warm and goes with everything, literally EVERYTHING. The colours mean it complements many outfits but there are also many tartan type patters and colours available too and if I was rolling in the spare cash I'd probably get another.
This one is from New Look and I'm so glad that fashion has produced and comfortable, wearable and warm item of clothing for the winter months. I've always wanted to look chic in a cape, jeans and boots!

Lastly is my new bag also from New Look (they've clearly got a lot out of money out of me recently!) This beautiful bottle green bag has replaced my tired looking black bag for work purposes.
It's awesome, the colour is lush and it holds it's shape really well too which is perfect as I seem to be lugging a lot of paper back and forth to work at the moment!

What have you been buying to update your wardrobe? Do you have anything else on your wishlist?

I'm looking to add another coat, a lovely thick wool one would be lovely but I may have to wait until the sales for the type of quality I would be looking for. I'm fed up of buying important items like coats and finding out they are cheaply made! If you have any suggestions for some hardwearing well made coats leave them in the comments section below!

L xxx

Christmas Gift Guide

Happy Sunday morning!

I expect by now most of you have started to turn to the brochures and internet adverts that have suddenly been making its way into our inboxes and shopping baskets.

I have had loads of fun making wishlists and my own Christmas list from the Debenhams, Boots and Space NK Gift guides. So without further ado here are my picks of products that you might want to add to your wishlists or buy for fellow friends or loved ones.

Starting off with Boots, full of amazing product goodness that it would take a rather strong individual to ignore.

Smashbox always have some cracking products out for Christmas and I've always got my eye on the miniature primers. I've heard they're amazing and for £25 for the trio it's a good way to try them out.
The On The Rocks palette is also an extensive range of eye shadows for a bargainous £49 and would make a great gift.

Benefit gifts are extremely popular and it's not hard to see why, they're beautifully packaged and usually contain a great variety of their products as the perfect trial of something that may be new to you or as a travel kit. The above is the perfect pick me up for on the go make up or a cohesive travel kit, all you're missing is your base products and you're good to go! For £29.50 the Sexy and Scrumptious gift set is amazing.

Liz Earle have never sold their gift sets anywhere other than John Lewis. I think it's great they've gone more mainstream by selling at Boots and this gift set contains their infamous Cleanse and Polish followed by a skin tonic and eye cream. All have very good reviews and contain natural products so would be an ideal gift for someone new to the brand for £19.75

These pages are my favourite! It's like a perfect mix and match section; Nails Inc polishes ranging from £15/16, Benefit's Hoola bronzer, Lancome mascara and YSL Touche Eclat. All of which have rave reviews and anyone would be happy to receive. 

Ted Baker produce some amazing gift sets also and i particularly like their designs this year. I'm a fan of coral anyway but the bottles lined up in different colours as above remind me of being on holiday in Southern Italy on the Amalfi Coast as the houses are similar colours and this makes me happy.
The UpTed Abbey set above looks like a lovely gift and I would imagine it will be on offer as a star gift at Boots sometime soon.

Origins also have some great gift sets where the value can be worth around £30 more than the price it is on sale for. The set below costs £40 though is worth somewhere near £68. Ginzing is one of their most popular ranges and this gift set is the perfect range of products for someone who deserves a pamper via a skincare set packed with vitamins and minerals.

So what do Debenhams have to offer?

You can never go wrong with a bit of sparkle in the form of a piece of jewellery. Watches are a classic item and rose gold is a popular choice at the moment, although silver and gold are still the classics.

The Clarins palette contains a gorgeous selection of eyeshadows that anyone can wear, especially over the Christmas season and would be perfect in time for New Year's Eve. The ten shades are a great basic palette for £35, meaning it's only £3.50 per eyeshadow which is pretty good value for Clarins!

Lancome sets are also really good value for money and the larger set has a massive variety of trial sized products and an eyeshadow palette:

It is hard to even think about Debenhams without considering Urban Decay. They have plenty of products available year round but this year their Christmas sets are awesome. The limited edition Vice 3 palette is sure to sell out and the eyeliner and lipstick sets are musts in every beauty addicts collection. I've got Vice 3 and the Black Magic eyeliner set already, the others are sure to find their way into my life too! These products range from £27 to £42.

Lastly L'Occitane are another brand where you just cannot go wrong with gift sets, especially with scents such as Shea Butter as they're so soft and light that anyone would be happy to receive it and you just cannot go wrong, especially for £20 or £35.

I couldn't complete these Gift Guides without a mention from Space NK, my latest favourite store. Having never bought from them before until a few weeks ago I'm now a constant browser of their site and some gift sets have particularly caught my eye:

Nars Virtual Domination cheek palette; £45 but worth £117. I really need it but cannot afford it; I need to find someone who can afford to buy it for me! A lovely present for any female who loves good quality blushes.

This is nicely followed up with the Digital World Lip Coffret also from Nars featuring 5 lip pencils, 3 of which are limited edition all of £32. They also allegedly come in an acrylic style box for future storage which I always thing is a good idea.

GlamGlow have a gorgeous skincare set out containing three different mud treatments for £50. With a huge following for its tingling and cleansing muds this one is sure to make a skincare obsessive extremely happy!

In fact i imagine at this rate I will be producing another Gift Guide in a week or so with other new products that I've found!

Do you find it easy or hard to buy for fellow females are Christmas time?
I think I could quite easily do it but may come into problems when a budget is required and also stopping myself from buying one for me too!

What are on your Gift Guides?

I've got another 'product free' gift guide coming next week!

L xxx

Boots Botanics Buffers

Morning everyone!

I'm on a day off today, spending it with my mum for a girly day before she goes in for an operation.
I've been loving the thought of having an even and flawless tan, I mean who doesn't want a bit more of a glow over the summer even if it's not a tan that's ten shades darker than your normal skin tone?

In my quest for this I've recently picked up these two from Boots Botanics range; the Loofah and Bamboo Buffer and the Sisal and Bamboo Buffer.

In store the Loofah buffer felt quite rough and the Sisal buffer less so, so I was interested to see how they fared at buffing my skin to glorious silky smoothness and aiding me in keeping some kind of tan in a flawless stage for as long as possible.

As I said, in store this one felt the softest so I went for this one first. My skin is weird sometimes and although it isn't classed as 'sensitive' I do feel that it can have odd reactions to things so I played it safe.
Little did i know this one would be rougher than the other when water was involved!

By no means is it abrasive on the skin but it certainly does require a large amount of foam to stop it from dragging on the skin but i do feel like I've been buffed to perfection after using this. My skin feels good as new particularly after application of moisturiser afterwards, it seems to sink in so much faster and my skin feels super soft.

The Loofah buffer just seemed to melt when water and shower gel was added to it, it is now no longer flat and hard and has puffed up as you would expect a normal loofah to.

I normally use the Sisal buffer once a week and then in between use the Loofah buffer as its a lot softer on the skin and I suppose in comparison is more of a polish than a scrub. 

These have both definitely helped my skin improve and also have meant that I have been applying a lot more moisturiser as my skin has soaked it up.
Overall these were a bargain purchase and they were on a bogohp offer which was great and as long as you thoroughly rinse them after each use and dry them properly there shouldn't be any reason why they won't last you a while as well.

I do like a loofah and my family have always had one in the bathroom!

Are you a loofah or buffer fan or do you prefer scrub products?
I like the options that they both bring and think a foaming scrub such as Soap and Glory's Pulp Friction would be really good with this....shame I've run out of it!

L xxx

Winter Staples

Hello!

I've been loving the colder weather recently, not so much the storms and the rain but my favourite clothes are winter ones. I just love wrapping up in layers and putting on chunky knits, boots and coats.

I thought I'd share my favourite winter clothing items today to see if yours are the same!

Leather Jacket:

I absolutely love wearing my leather jacket. It seems to go with everything I choose to wear, and for every occasion. Admittedly it's not normally the warmest item of clothing I have in my wardrobe but the fact you can layer it up means it is still a staple, and can help with the transition between months and the outdoors/indoors.

I love casually slinging it on, if only it looked as good on me as in the picture above!

Chunky knits:

You can't possibly go through winter without involving a chunky knit item in your wardrobe.
Scarves are an easy addition and fully functional, as if you needed any excuse to buy something!

I find the bigger the better when it comes to chunky knits, they're definitely more snuggly.

These jumpers from Zara are amazing, I'm hoping they're not from a previous season so I can get my hands on them. They're perfect for trousers for work and with jeans for weekends, plus with the added bit of sparkle can be worn during evenings too!

I always stick with neutral colours as I find them easy to mix and match and I find they suit me most.

Lastly, nobody can be without a hat during the winter.
I used to be firmly in the 'terrified' camp for hats, but having bought myself a huge furry one last year this year it was time for a chunky knit bobble hat.

I've fallen in love with it already and cannot wait to wear it more often.


Boots:

 

I adore boots.

I spent a lot of money on them a few years ago and now they've fallen apart or gone out of fashion. I've tried to be more sensible with my choices this time and have recently picked up a pair of knee high leather boots which are a classic style and hopefully they will last a long time.

They seem to make any outfit come together and can keep your feet a whole lot warmer than other shoes during winter, and more importantly in Britain....drier!

I tend to steer clear of suede purely for the rain reasons, suede boots are beautiful but I refuse to ruin shoes with a puddle again. Leather is definitely my friend.

These boots are beautiful and I'd love to get my hands on some like this!

Mine are similar in design apart from there's no gold bit and they have buckles at the calf level which you can adjust if necessary. They're so comfortable and were definitely a good purchase!

Coats:

Ahhhhh possibly my favourite of the lot.

Coats are amazing, I love my dressing gown and I feel like they're an outside version.

Trench coats are my particular favorite because I'm curvy and need to belt the waist to make me look like I have any shape at all.

Wool coats are definitely worth the investment and I'd love to get my hands on the black one above. It's so chic and the collar is beautiful.

Blacks, tans, greys and khaki colours are all wearable and I'd snap up any that I'd see given half a chance.
The above khaki coloured cape from Zara is beautiful with the leather details, maybe I'll add a cape to my wardrobe this year, but I'd need to find one with holes for hands so I can still function!

I feel like I've been quite boring with my choice of colours for this post but I really am a neutral and classic kind of person. However I absolutely love the bottle greens, deep reds and jewel colours such as maroons and purples and teals. I also love adding some sparkle with embellished tops and accessories.

What do you think of my Winter Staples? Are yours the same?

What kind of boots and coats do you prefer?

I cannot wait to go shopping in the sales, I can't afford much right now but I'm hoping to pick up some bargains this year. Fingers crossed I can pick up some wardrobe staples like a wool coat or different style of leather boot. What will you be looking for?

(all pictures are from Pinterest and none are my own, that site has the best pictures - I could spend hours on it!)

L xxx