YSL Shocking

When I went to America at the end of September YSL Shocking Mascara was something I really wanted. I'd seen so many positive reviews I just had to have it. You can see my full haul here.

The first thing that caught my attention is the gorgeous YSL packaging. All the products feel so luxurious in their gold packaging. I'm personally a fan and I love the black writing on them. I like that they are heavy to as it makes me think I've got my monies worth (stupid I know)

Look how pretty. When I was in duty free unfortunately they didn't have the mascara so I picked up Lancome Hypnose Doll Lashes instead. Review coming soon. But luckily they had this on the plane. I paid £20 for it. Which is a lot for mascara but after picking up this one and the Lancome one I'm converted to high end. You can pick it up for £23 here.

When I first opened it I was instantly disappointed  I judge this one straight away. After loving my Maybelline Colossal Volume for so long for something to give me volume I assumed the brush would be bigger. It's average size and I have just assumed it would be huge. It also just looked average, I expected something different to it.

As I tried it the first time my disappointment continued. My lashes clumped together and the formula felt too wet. Having had this with a mascara before I left it for a few weeks before trying again. That was when it all changed. The brush also picks up a lot of product and is very highly scented (warning incase you aren't a fan) I'm used to a scented mascara as my Maybelline one is.

After giving it a second chance all changed. Here is my eye with no make up on at all above. This mascara separates and lengthens my lashes amazingly.

Please ignore my ungroomed eyebrows (if you saw my brow post last week you can see what my natural brows look like in this post, here if you want to read it) This is after just one coat. I love how black this mascara is and how my lashes appear. I always like to apply two of more coats of mascara.

After two coats you can see there is a lot more volume to my lashes. I think this mascara is perfect for days when you only want to wear mascara as it leaves your lashes looking amazing. It's also perfect for nights out and this would make me consider ditching false lashes.

Here you can see with and without which I'm sure you'll agree is pretty amazing. This mascara is so good at making lashes look amazing. BUT don't go more than two coats. This is a mascara that easily goes clumpy as the wand is very much loaded with mascara. I think it will be a better mascara as it runs out more. This mascara made L stop me mid sentence to ask if I was wearing falsies. My sister in law also did the same thing. Pretty impressive right.

I'm so converted to high end now. Also I love high street mascaras and I think they are great but when I can afford to spend the extra I will now.

What do you think of high end mascaras? Have you tried YSL?

Love M

xxx

Save, Spend, Splurge Day Creams featuring Avon, Origins and Clinique

I've been meaning to write this post for a while after I got quite a few positive response on the one I did on eye make up removers (found here) I always wonder whether it really is worth paying more for things. I plan on doing posts on night creams and hot cloth cleansers too. Would you be interested in seeing posts like this on beauty products as well?

Anyway today's post is day creams. Let's start off with my skin type. I'm an oily combination skin type. While I used to sway away from moisturiser as I was oily skinned I used to not bother as I thought it was unnecessary to add more to my skin. How wrong was I. Since realising this I've been trying different ranges of skin care to find what's perfect for me.

In a day cream I like something that's light and sinks into my skin easily so I can apply my make up on a nice base and not have something heavy on my face as it doesn't need it.

SAVE

The first one I started using was the Avon Solutions Complete Balance Day Cream. This is an absolutely brilliant moisturiser for anyone with oily combination skin. It's a mattifier day cream which just leaves the face with a nice shine free finish. It's oil free which is always good and has SPF15 which is what I like day creams to have so I don't have to worry if my foundation doesn't. The cream has a great consistency which leaves my skin feeling suitably moisturised without being oily. It sinks in easily too which means you can apply your make up onto a nice base. The RRP for this is £7.50 for 50ml which in itself is a great price but you can usually get it on offers and in deals. It's currently £5.00 here or you can get a travel set with a mask, day cream, night cream and cleanser here which is also £5.00 and is a great way to try them out. I got this one for £3 when it was on offer.

Apologises for the tatty pot. I like the pot it's similar to the Clinique one and means you can get all the product out easily. It does mean if you have long nails you do get some product under your nails. This cream has a nice fresh fragrance that is very subtle and possibly a little floral.

SPEND

For if you want to spend a little more I have the Origins Balanced Diet Moisturiser.\This is also an oil free moisturiser. It uses Japanese seaweed and sodium hyaluronate which is apparently what makes it great for oily/combination skin types as these give moisturiser without weighing down the skin. This lotion blends easily into the skin and feels very light weight. It has an almost minty fresh fragrance. I find it pleasant. This one cost £23.00 for 50ml so is significantly more than the Avon one. You can find out more about the ingredients and how they work here. I like the brand Origins and a lot of their products. But this isn't a cream I'd repurchase and I prefer the Avon one over this. Mainly because they are very similar but the Avon one also has SPF.

I do prefer the packaging of the Origins though.

SPLURGE

Onto the Splurge. The Clinique Superdefense age Defense Moisturise SPF 25 for Combination oily to oily skin (with Clinique you can get the same moisturiser but for different skin types). I have previously done a full review on this day cream here. This moisturiser is brilliant. It's perfect for oily skin as it's lightweight and sinks into the skin easily. It feels fresh on the skin and sinks in well and has the highest SPF value of the three creams. I love that this cream is not only aimed at oily skin but is also Anti Ageing and while I'm only 23 I'm a firm believer of prevention is better than cure and it's best to start young. I find it hard to find anti ageing products that aren't heavy on this skin and this is brilliant. But it comes at a price. £37 for 50ml unfortunately. While it's pricey I really think it's worth every penny and would definitely repurchase. The product lasts a long time though. You can purchase here.

The packaging looks and feels luxurious and classic and is plastic which is handy if you are travelling. No one wants to spend £37 then drop it and it smash.

So overall this time for me SPLURGE wins. It's such a great all round cream to prevent anti ageing, sun damage and control oil. I love this. But when I'm skint I turn to my SAVE option as I think it's as good as SPLURGE so it's not worth spending the extra.

Have you tried any of these? What's your go to day cream? Are you happy to spend on day creams?

Love M

xxx

Guest Post - ENDED

Hey all, if you've seen twitter you may have seen I've been sent home from work. I'm not too well at the moment. I'm hoping more sleep will help. It's all I've done for the past two days.

Anyway a while ago Sophia from Bloggers Go Skinny asked if anyone would like to do a guest post on the black. It's Run by Sophia (From Tattoed Tea Lady) and Sandra (From The Black Pearl). Both L and I are trying to live healthier lifestyles and try and blog about it on here on Thursdays.

This post is our top tips for weight loss. Hope you find them helpful!

Love M

xxx 

Xmas Wishlist

I've seen lots of these posts lately and I've not done one of my monthly wishlists lately so I thought I'd do a Christmas one. Plus I'm feeling ill at the moment so what better way to make myself feel better than day dream at pretty things online.

I've asked for a few things for Christmas but most other things on this list are more dream world to get not stuff I expect.

The things I know already are these boots from my Grandad. I usually get shoes from him. I'm lucky that he worked for Clarks most of his life so now gets 33% discount. I love Clarks boots. They are classic styles that really last and look great. I tend to sway towards brown or tan boots as I struggle to find nice black ones. This year I was determined to find some.

image from clarks

I really liked the simple style of these and they look great on. They are a sort of suede material so not completely black and shiny which I love. You can find them here for £79.99 I was lucky to get them for just under £50 as I had another discount.

I've also asked for Real Techniques brushes as I really want to have a good set of brushes and these are such a reasonable price and I love everything about them. I've got a lot of these coming from different family members as I couldn't think of anything else I really wanted.

image from Real Techniques

They are also currently on offer in boots.

I also really love the Vans/Converse/Toms style. I want some practical shoes that I can wear with my jeans for dress down days. I love my dolly shoes but want something a bit warmer for days I don't want to wear boots. I think I'm more swayed to Vans as I think they'd look better on my feet (I have big feet, a size 7 and worry converse would exaggerate this) Toms are probably more Summery but I like them and Imagine them being so comfy. Schuh have a great range of both.

image from Schuh

I love the floral girly version of these.

Image from Schuh

I think Burgandy version of these would be perfect for dry winter days.

I'm still yet to find a foundation that makes me want to stop trying others. I have lots at the moment I really like but I still think there is better. I'm loving Liz Earle Cleanse and Polish and have heard great things about there make up range. I'd love to try the natural glow bronzer and signature foundation from this range.

image from John Lewis

I think this will be great for contouring as it's a matte shade.

image from here

I've seen lots of great reviews for the signature foundation and would love to try it out. I've seen good reviews for oily skin too which make me lean towards it more.

If you've seen any of my wishlist you'll probably know I've been lusting for coloured skinnies/jeggings. While getting my dine in for £10 deal the other day in M&S I was very surprised by there selection of coloured and patterned skinny jeggings and jeans. I can't wait to try some of these.

images from M&S

These three are my favourites. I love the zip detail on the purple ones and the subtle patterrn on the middle ones. I'd love to be brave enough to pull off the full on floral but I don't think I am. If you are on the look out for new jeans I say look in M&S you may be surprised. They seem reasonably prices too.

The Benefit Feeling Dandy is probably at the top of my wishlist. I recently purchased Erase Paste and the MUA put Dandelion blush on me and I loved the way it looks. 

image from John Lewis

The set is great, you get mini posie tine and high beam as well as a lip gloss to match. All the colours in the set compliment each other. They also have them with Coralista Blush and Sugar Bomb so there is a shade to suit everyone. I'm wanting to try more Benefit make up. I love all the gift sets. What's your recommendations?

Being winter I'm also eyeing up snuggley jumpers. George at Asda has a great range of jumpers for a reasonable price. These are some of the ones I'm loving.

And lastly and totally not something I'll own but I've been lusting over these for years so just thought I'd share these beautiful shoes! The Love Moschino Heart Studded Pump. I saw these a while ago and have been in love with them since.

What's on your Christmas Wishlist?

Love M

xxx