Inika Peaches and Pink Gift Set

A few weeks ago I entered a competition to win this beautiful set from CutECOsmetics

I was SO shocked as I haven't ever won anything before and this was a gorgeous gift set!

Inika are a brand that I had heard of before, but I didn't own any of their products.

Taken from the CuteCosmetics website it says:

All products in the natural cosmetic range are Certified Organic or Vegan, Certified Halal and Certified Cruelty Free. INIKA is committed to education in both wellness based beauty and ingredients. INIKA uses the finest Australian botanicals and pure minerals to produce makeup that cares for your skin as well as performing brilliantly. INIKA ingredients feed the skin in a soothing manner and are actually beneficial.

INIKA will never use harsh or harmful chemicals, additives or fillers. We are proud of our ingredients and readily display them on everything we do.

This sounds to me like a pretty awesome company!

We have recently been writing posts about different chemicals and their usage in products and how they affect your body in a negative way (all of which you can find here), so it was lovely to win a gift set from a company that seriously thinks about this!

The box the set came in is really simple and pretty, pink is always a winner and I liked the ribbon handle on top too.

Inside the set was a Peachy Keen Blush, a blusher brush and a Peach Blossom Creamy Crayon.

When I first saw the blush I thought oh my word that's so bright!

But as usual with these kinds of colours the colour came out a much more acceptable corally glow!

Its a gorgeous product, very finely milled and blends easily, also a little goes a long way due to the lack of fillers and other chemicals that are usually found in similar products, so it's well worth the investment.

It also gives a beautiful sheen on the skin and makes you look like a natural glow.

The crayon is so soft and easy to use on the lips.

Sometimes products like this can be hard to use as the colour doesn't show up or can take a while to 'warm up' before it comes off properly, which usually means you've scrubbed your lips red raw before it actually shows up!

This product however gives a gorgeous peachy colour with gold flecks that will look so good in the summer sunshine!

Another thing is that the lid feels pretty secure, I take products like this with me in my hand bag and if the lid comes off it gets everywhere and ruins the product :(

But this beauty stays on tight and passed the hand bag test ;)

The whole set can be found on CuteCosmetics website here and is currently down to £30

Another bonus is even the blusher brush is vegan, created with no harm to any animals.

The whole set is completely guilt free, I say what on earth are you waiting for?!

CuteCosmetics has definitely become a favourite of mine to browse when I'm waiting for the train etc, there's always something on there I want!

What do you think about products without any chemicals in? Are you up for making the move to organic and cruelty free make up?

And how much do you love this gift set?!

Perfect gift for any girl I think!

L xxx

Cocktail Hour!

I don't know about you, but when it comes to drinking cocktails with a big group of you, it always seems a good idea to get a punch bowl!

When me and M went out for my birthday with a few of my friends we couldn't resist this beauty...

It's called the 10 Feet Tall grog (after the bar that we were drinking in)

Excuse my photos this week...a few too many cocktails were had and these were the best I could get haha.



It has a lethal but gorgeous mix of rums, lime juice, lemon juice, passion fruit juice, pomegranate juice, lychee juice and grenadine!

Phew, what a list!

It was absolutely gorgeous and we sat down and drank a few of them whilst we waited for it to get busier on the dancefloor.

My favourite part was the flaming lime, I always think touches like this are amazing, easily pleased with a bit of fire ;)

Me and M proceeded to play with the flame until we were bored and ended up drinking the alcohol out of the lime instead of waiting for it to burn out ha, it's safe to say we had a good time!

What do you think of punch bowls? I love making up cocktails, tempted to make up my own next time I have people over and throw a load of different juices together!

I would never have thought that amount of juices would go well, but they were divine!

L xxx

Jolie Box UK: March

I promised myself I was going to cancel my subscription to JolieBox as I didn't think last month's was anything special and it's an unnecessary extra coming out of my account (which is very empty!)

But basically I forgot to cancel it and before I knew it the money had come out of my account. 

When I found out this box was due to have all full size products in the box I was secretly pleased I'd forgotten and looked forward to receiving my box.

Having 4/5 full size samples is like a dream! I was really excited.

However, as with previous boxes mine didn't turn up after waiting the full week for it to appear and I had to chase after it, meaning I didn't receive mine until Saturday 31st by which time I'd seen the products in this months box on other people's blogs which ruins the surprise aspect and let me know what I'd be receiving whether I liked it or not.

This month's box also had the addition of a magazine called 'JolieMag' which in fact I really enjoyed.

It's good to see the people behind the box, their ideas, tips, tricks etc alongside the latest trends and wonder products with beautiful pictures and an explanation of how the magazine came to be, all of which I love reading and did enjoy.

As always the box came with a menu and an explanation of the products in the box.

I always like this, and I like the card that it's printed on as it feels good quality.

The only downside to this is that they don't give you the prices of the products inside, which I think everyone always likes to know so they can see if they're getting their monies worth!

This box contained a Yardley shower gel, Eyeko skinny eyeliner, LCN nail varnish, JolieBox UK compact mirror and Davines Organic moisturising balm.

The Yardley shower gel is a really big sample, I was pleased with the size of this. It smells pretty good and the packaging has the traditional British stamp of the Queen on it. After watching Mary's Bottom Line about British brands going bust, this is a good thing that I will be looking out for more often.

Yardley is well known and well respected brand and I've never tried anything from it, so this was nice.......but I'm always disappointed when I receive shower gels and body washes.

They don't feel so exciting as other products, although at least I know i will definitely be using it!

This product was a bit more exciting....an organic moisturising balm for skin and hair.

I've never heard of Davines before, I quite like the packaging design but mine looked like it had already been used because I'm assuming how it was stored previously has moulded the tube and it looks a bit bashed.

However the product was still sealed when I got it so this reassured me.

I like the consistency of this, the white balm feels like its really moisturising. It sort of feels like a primer in some ways.

Anyway, I'm looking forward to using this particularly as it has no parabens, silicons, PEG or artificial colours and is a multi use product.

I feel this will be the product that has its own full review coming up...

The next two products are the nail varnish and the mirror.

I feel the mirror is gimmicky and cheap, if it was an extra then it wouldn't be so bad but as one of the 5 products you receive this feels pointless to me which seems a bit harsh but I really have no use for it.

The nail varnish is by LCN, and is a beautiful shimmery nude.

I can see myself using this as long as the colour suits my skin, will definitely feature this in a post too!

Lastly the Eyeko Skinny eyeliner. I was excited and anxious to receive this, really wanted to try it but with 6 colours available I wasn't sure how much I'd use it if I got a colour that I wouldn't use.

But luckily for me I got a black eyeliner which I will definitely use and hopefully it's a step up on the Rimmel ones I normally buy as it's higher up on the price range (and for less product!).

Hope you enjoyed the post, I'm thinking of doing a few reviews on certain products but as a general overview I thought I'd just show you the products and my initial thoughts!

I've actually cancelled my subscription now, maybe I'll start it up again when I have a job but for now it's not worth the money and I don't have it to spare!

L xxx

Everyday Eye Make using MUA Heaven and Earth Palette

I'm not lucky enough to have the naked palette, I love it and regularly admire it from afar. I think I will purchase the original one soon but for me at the moment my MUA palette is brilliant. I saw this in Superdrug and wanted a neutral palette and thought for the price I might as well try it not expecting much. I was pleasantly surprised by the quality. It's £4 for 12 shades which is an amazing price. The eyeshadows have a brilliant pigment and a really nice texture to them with barely any fallout. Sounds almost perfect right?

My favourite shade is number and since taking this photo I have hit pan on it. Does any one know if you can get these shades individually?

I tend to use 4 and 9 for most looks as a base coat and use 2 and 8 in the crease of my eye. Depending on how strong a look I'm doing I'll use 5, 10 or 12 for definition. 

I decided not to do swatches as I'm sure most of you have seen them though I will add them if people would like to see them. I want to try and use 3 and 6 more, I'm not really much of a gold person so these haven't really been touched.

1 is a brilliant highlighter for the inner corner of your eye or under the brow bone. All the colours blend seamlessly into each other.

Onto the looks

My go to look

This is how I do my make up most days when I want something simple. I use 4 as a base coat, then blend a mixture of 2 and 8 into my crease and add 12 to the outer corner of my eye to give my eye shape. I like this as it gives my eyes a bit of emphasis but looks pretty natural still.

The black eyeliner look

I like using a slick of black eyeliner, my personal favourite is the Maybelline gel eyeliner. I like how it shapes the eye and think the little flick gives make up a more 'done up' appearance. For this I used 9 as my base shade and blended in some of 8 to my crease, even if it's only a little I always apply a bit of shadow to my crease as I think it really shapes my eyes.

A darker smokey eye

This look is a little darker but I still think it's not too much for day. For this I applied 10 all over the lid and used 12 in the outer corner and into the crease to add shape and definition to the eye. For this look I also applied eyeshadow under my lower lash line.

I love having a nude go to palette and this one is amazing, I'd definitely pay more for this I think it's really good quality and a good selection of colours that can be used for day and night.

Do you have this palette? What do you think of these looks? What's your go to palette?

Love M 

xxx