MAC: All That Glitters Eyeshadow

Good evening!

Bit of a later post from me today, I'm having a bit of a nightmare week and although I leave at 7am I haven't been getting in until 7pm some nights because of traffic etc and I've been so tired!

I tried to write this last night but as Flickr is apparently due to be down this evening I panicked and tried to get all my picture sorted before collapsing into bed for my 5.45am alarm.....grim!

But anyway, today's review is on a beautiful eyeshadow from MAC called All That Glitters.

I picked this up back when it was my birthday as it was a beautiful shimmery peachy nude that just seem to go with everything. I wear it so much and it's so pretty and delicate that I can wear it to work and out in the night.

I normally would have bought the full individual eyeshadow but having bought a palette at the same time I picked up the pan instead. This was the first one I have bought and it was so easy to pop into the palette as the magnet was already on the back (in comparison to depotting my others which you can see here!).

My palette is looking a little bit random at the moment...these have all been picked up over the years and together they really don't blend!
I need some more middle toned nudes, what would you recommend? I have a few pigments from MAC that I would love to fit in here but have no idea if that's possible, does anyone have any ideas?
I have this side with the insert for eyeshadows and then another half with nothing in so far so I'm interested in anything!

The lady who did my make up for my birthday this year used All That Glitters for my nude smokey eye which turned out like this:

I do really love how versatile it is and even during the day it can be worn, here it is on my eye lid on its own:

So shimmery and peachy!

Have you tried this eyeshadow before? What other colours would you recommend for my palette? Any ideas for my pigments?

L xxx

Review: Label.m Protein Spray and Hair Care

When I saw the latest press release from label.m advertising their new travel kits which included a protein spray I was immediately intrigued. As I was planning to have half a head of highlights applied I'd been looking out for products to help repair the damage this would inevitably cause and the protein spray sounded great. We were lucky and label.m kindly sent us a travel kit and protein spray each to test out.

I'm a big hair care fan, weekly treatments, hair oils, serums and heat protection sprays all fall into my regular hair care routine. I'm always keen to try new hair products as my hair takes a lot of styling and colour damage and always needs repairing. I was so excited to try the protein spray. The protein spray is a very light mist that can be applied through damp or dry hair. I always prefer products that can be used in both dry and damp hair as I only wash my hair every 3 days but sometimes style it everyday so always want a product that won't weigh my hair down and can be used on dry hair. This certainly does that. I also love that it doesn't make your hair so damp from spraying you then feel steam if you heat style it.

With the burst of sunshine we are currently having (maybe not the last two days but fingers crossed it returns) I also like that it protects against the sun as my hair is one thing I always forget to protect against the sun. It was nice to spritz this through my hair before heading to the beach at the weekend. 

The ingredients include wheat proteins, wheat amino acids, fruit extracts and olive oil for moisture. I love that this protects my hair without weighing down. It also brings back shine as  my hair has been left a little dull from the dye. I've been using it most days and this will definitely be a product I'll be using more. I use it one freshly washed hair before blow drying then again if I'm going to straighten it. 

It retails for £12.95 from here for 250ml. It's a huge bottle that'll last ages. This has currently replaced me argan oil.

The gentle cleansing shampoo is one that is suitable for daily use. As I'm someone who doesn't wash their hair daily I can't comment on this. It does leave my hair feeling really clean though and I didn't notice any fall out which I've found to be a problem with shampoos lately. It tends to be cheaper ones unfortunately. I do find it works best to lather it in your hands first and then apply to hair. The shampoo retails for £9.95 for 300ml which for a salon brand is a reasonable price. I'll be trying more shampoos but this one isn't for me as I prefer shampoos aimed for more moisture of colour protection. They also do organic shampoos and conditioners which I think is great and would love to try soon.

The daily shine conditioner impressed me straight away. No silicones to make my hair feel softer but not actually make it softer and it contained promising ingredients like soy proteins and soy milk. This conditioner instantly made my hair feel softer and more manageable without weighing it down. I think this would be a great conditioner for anyone who washes there hair regularly as even though it's quite a liquidy conditioner it really does work as providing moisture to the hair. The daily shine conditioner is £12.50 for 300ml which again I think is reasonable for a salon brand. Conditioners do tend to be more expensive as you use less of them.

Now the shine spray I've not had a chance to try fully as it's something I only use for nights out. It does provide a UV shield to the hair so maybe it's something I should use more. Having naturally curly hair a salt spray is something I love trying. I do sometimes find them drying or they make my hair crunchy so I only use them the day before I'm due to wash it. This one is one of the softer salt sprays I've tried for my hair and definitely doesn't leave it crunchy. It does provide amazing volume and texture to the hair though. I've been so impressed with this. I love spraying it through my hair when I've curled it with my wand as it gives it more of a messy look. Below you can see it used on more straight hair. 

The

You can see the texture and volume it has added is impressive. Please excuse my nearly naked face!! It gives hair a boost. I think this will be great added to straight longer hair to give it a natural messy look and on hair my length it looks great curly. It has also helped for putting my hair in bun rings as it adds extra texture to help it stay neat.

The mini versions are only £3.50 and a great way to try a product or to take away on holiday. The 50ml salt and shine sprays will definitely last a while and I think the 50ml shampoo and conditioner will do me at least 5 washes.

If you are lucky enough to have a salon near you that stocks label.m you can get any 4 travel sized products for £12 in a clear bag. (more details here).

So far I've been so impressed with label.m especially the protein and salt sprays. Now my Sebastian Pentrate shampoo and conditioner have run out I'll definitely be trying label.m products instead.

Thanks to label.m for giving us this chance to review these.

Have you tried a label.m products? Are you a salt spray fan?

Love M

xxx

I was so excited to hear that we would be reviewing a protein spray for hair when M told me. I've recently had a whole load of highlights put through my very dark hair. I've been having them for a while but 2 weeks ago decided to increase them from just the two layers to all the way through with the aim of eventually having a 'true ombré' where the top part of my head will then be dyed darker again.

This obviously involved a hell of a lot of chemical treatment to my hair so I was very worried the condition would worsen.... Until the protein spray arrived!

It has so many benefits I can't even begin to list them again but i can tell you that I absolutely love it. The spray is such a fine mist that I don't feel like its coating my hair like some other tacky products can do leaving your hair with a residue, this one seems to absorb into your hair and it feels so cooling and soothing. It has been great to spray after the gym, before going to work, and prepping for a night out as its so lightweight its perfect. And so far (fingers crossed) it doesn't seem to be going down as fast as I thought it might! 

As well as being great to apply it has also had a positive effect on my hair as the condition of it has improved noticeably. It does get a bit matted sometimes due to the length and lightening of it and this has decreased since using it as well as an added shine to my hair. I am hoping long term use will see these qualities improve further and my hair will look as good as Kate Middletons! 

The mini kit containing shampoo, conditioner, sea salt spray and hair spray has also been a right treat to use. The shampoo smells great and frothed nicely and the conditioner was really thick and felt so hydrating. The hairspray was so light I felt like I hadnt used enough but my hair stayed in place which was brilliant. 

Unfortunately due to my hideous allergic reaction to a spa day I am yet to use the sea salt spray which is frustrating as I love beachy waves! However if its as good as the other products from label.m I am sure it will be just as good.

Having not used a product from label.m before I am very pleased to have had the chance to try their products and think they are really great.

Have you used label.m before? What do you think of protein sprays? Will you be investing? 

L xxx

To see the wide range of products label.m offer check out their website. www.labelm.com orders over £19 get free delivery.

Life Lately

It's been just over two weeks since I last posted properly on here. My last post was this. Titled a weekend of change! It was definitely a big weekend of change, that weekend I was doing stuff to make me feel better as that weekend me and my now ex broke up. We'd been together for over 3 years and lived together for 2 of those so it was a big decision and has led to big changes. After a chat with L I decided apart from Sunday posts I was going to have some time off to get used to everything. Thanks to all the lovely ladies who sent me messages and texts on twitter! It was so nice to have everyone.

So today marks 3 weeks. All in all it's a bit awkward but I don't want to go into too many details. Basically we still live together (luckily it's a big flat) as we have a contract till December. I'm very much struggling with ups and downs but mostly I'm feeling better knowing it was the right thing and things can only get better. I'm enjoying distracting myself with spending lots of time with friends and family. I'm the girl that can never be single. I've told myself I have to change that this time and stay single for at least 6 months as I've not been single for longer than a month in over 9 years. I need some me time.

During my time away from the blog it was my birthday. I celebrated with L in the day with afternoon tea, spa and cocktails, in the evening my family came to visit and we had the most amazing meal at Jamie's Italian Cardiff. I was totally spoilt in the restaurant and then by my family. On the Friday I went back to my parents, had drinks with friends then a whole weekend with the family. It was just what I needed.

I was very lucky and got some amazing gifts. L got my Effaclar Duo and the Stila Primer we both love, my parents got me a couple of pairs of skinny jeans from Gap, my beautiful graduation shoes back (story explained here) and Sanctury goodies. My now ex went through a previous wishlist of mine and got me amazing presents including a Lydia Rose Bright dress, macadamia hair mask, bioderma and more. Other presents were a slushies mug (I love slush puppies), debenhams vouchers, a suitcase and coffee! I was so lucky and had a really great birthday.

Whilst at home I also visited Clark's Village. I love going there to pick up some bargains. I couldn't resist a few purchases. I always go to gap as they have great dresses for work. I didn't find one this time but did get two cardigans reduced from £24.99 to £9.99. I don't know about you but I'm useless at buying myself staples I need like cardigans and leggings. I love outlet stores and there bargains. My favourite pick of the day were these gorgeous blue Henry Lloyd skinny jeans. I've been after some this colour for ages. They were a bargain £25!!! I couldn't believe it. I snapped those up quickly. They fit amazing and they are pretty long.

One of my best friends gets married on the 10th August. I can't wait. I'm a bridesmaid so we had our first fitting for our dresses which was so exciting. I don't want to put a picture of them on here just yet.

I've really enjoyed having extra free time to meet up with old friends. It's been great having more time to go for meals. L and I also had a really girly weekend which was just what I needed. We got totally glammed up on the Friday. I wore a bright yellow dress from Warehouse and L wore a lush red dress from Debenhams. We definitely enjoyed one too many cocktails.

On the Saturday we headed to her parents caravan for some time on the beach, relaxing with good books, Magners and food. It was definitely nice to escape from the outside world and have some time in the sun. We both got rather sunburnt ooops. Luckily I had factor 50 on my face so that was ok.

Bit of a random post but felt like doing a little life update! It's onwards and upwards now and hopefully onto better things!!

Love M

xxx

Beauty Naturals: Skin Revivals

Good evening to you all!

Hope you've had a lovely weekend in the sun. We've both just got from a weekend away at my parents caravan and are both nursing some burnt bits, mostly on our backs! They're always hard to cover and that pesky bit around your bikini strap is never covered properly is it??

Beauty Naturals were a company we found via Twitter who have a huge range of natural beauty products. They've actually been around since 1980 and offer free UK delivery from their website, amazing!

They contacted us and offered that we could try some of their products which was absolutely lovely and we were really excited to receive them knowing they'd come from such a reputable company and were going to be natural/organic.

We received these three products to try, Skin Revivals Organic Facial Cleansing Oil, Skin Revivals Advanced 24 Hour Balm and Rose Mist Facial Spray.

Along with the products was a catalogue with all of the products and brands that Beauty Naturals stock and I can tell you it was an interesting read which has doubled my shopping list at least!

From a quick flick through the catalogue i could already see some honey products, camomile, rosehip oils, serums, enzyme masks, vitamin C gel,  and a whole host of others including brands such as Amie and Organic Surge. They also provide comsetics and nail products from Orly, hair care from Jason and even Carmex for lips.

The first product I tried was the Organic Facial Cleansing Oil. This oil is Soil Association Certifed as 99% organic containing rosehip and avocado. It claims to naturally break down make up and impurities as well as maintaining moisture balance, all for £12.

The 100ml bottle will certainly last you a while as you don't need a lot of it to cover your facial area.

It also contains a whole host of vitamins which are great for your skin.

I applied this straight to my skin and massaged it in before washing it off with a muslin cloth. It was very easy to use and dissolved my make up, even mascara, really easily.

I really liked this product for getting rid of my make up as it made it so easy and the oil felt very moisturising. I think this would be great for drier skins who require the extra hydration but oilier skins may find this a bit much as it does stay on your skin after cleansing.
However it definitely works and I can see myself using it often throughout the week as a hydrating cleanser.

Next up is the Advanced 24 Hour Balm which is 90.8% organic and enriched with frankincense and rose, vitamin rich shea and cocoa butters and also jojoba, macadamia and rosehip oils.
It also contains aloe vera and rose geranium to calm and soothe skin which lets face it, makes it a complicated and chocca block full balm that is sure to help your skin!

This product was my favourite, the smell was amazing and soothing and although I believe it is more of a lotion than a balm it was great at hydrating those areas such as elbows and knees and I've used as a face mask without any negatives effects. My skin felt super soft but not greasy the next day so I love it!

This costs £16 for the 100ml bottle which I think is definitely worth it for such a multi purpose and versatile product. You can see a picture of the balm itself below, it's a standard white lotion that sinks in very easily regardless of skin type as I mentioned before smells amazing!!

Lastly was the Rose Mist Facial Spray.

This product is naturally fragrance with Rose Damascena Floral Water and Witch Hazel and helps to hydrates and maintain moisture balance of the skin.

This bottle is the perfect size to fit into your handbag and apply additional moisture to your face throughout the day, especially over summer. This would be a great product to apply if you work in an office with air conditioning and the rose scent will help to keep to calm and collected.

You can also apply it to pulse points for additional soothing!

I can't say I'm the biggest fan of a facial spray, mainly as i always forget to use them at home and can't carry products like this on my at work. But it was a lovely treat when I was sunbathing at home and had the time to spray it on my face at will, it was so refreshing and although it's a small bottle it does only cost £5.50 and I know a lot of people who will really love this!

I will certianly be looking more at Beauty Naturals knowing that they're such a respected company and the free postage is definitely a bonus! I can see plenty of orders in the future from myself when I've made my way through my current batch.
I do love skin and hair products and some of the masks, facial oils and hair repair products have caught my eye!

Have you bought anything from Beauty Naturals before? Do you have any product recommendations?

You can find their website here if you fancy a browse!

L xxx

So after a lush weekend relaxing with L and forgetting about the world I am back. With a slightly sunburnt back I now have to put after sun on. Luckily I'm double jointed and can just about do it myself.

Anyway onto the products. I've had the face mist for a few weeks now and have been using it after applying my make up to set it and remove any powder look to it. As I mentioned in a previous post I've been using powders like the HD brows one more as my base so I'm not wearing as much heavy make up in this heat. I've enjoyed using the spray over the top. As it states it's moisturising I was worried it would make my oily combination skin even more oily but it just adds a quick refresh. The rose scent isn't too over powering or one to linger which I like. The only thing that would make me prefer this more is if it had more of a cooling feeling on the skin.

As for the balm this pleasantly surprised me. Things that say 24 hour moisture worry me with my oily skin that it would be thick and to be honest I held off trying it for a while. That was a mistake. This is a lightweight more of a lotion formula that has left my skin really soft. It sinks in really easily and hasn't left my skin with an oily feeling. This is one I can see me definitely enjoying more and I'll be using this when I visit L.

The only product I wasn't too keen on was the oil and I think that is a personal preference. It does remove make up easily and is super gentle on the eyes and doesn't sting them which are all good things. The thing I didn't get on with was the slight oily texture once it's been washed off. I'm sure anyone with dry skin would love this as it would help provide extra softness but as I said at the beginning I'm just not a cleansing oil fan.

Do you shy away from certain products due to your skin type? Products like the balm have made me realise I need to stop doing this.
Love M

xxx