Cardiff Meet

Yesterday we went to the Cardiff Meet. We usually try to go to the meets around us as it's always a fun day and it's great to hang out with all the lovely blogger ladies and see familiar faces and usually meet a few new ones too.

We started off meeting in Bunkhouse. It's not somewhere I've been before but it was such a cute location and had all of us cooing over the interior and loving that our tea was severed in tea pots with proper tea cups (we forget to take pictures off the cuteness). You can sit around on day beds and it has bunting and birdcage lampshades as well as lots of quirky furniture.

After we had all turned up we headed off to do some shopping. It was a smaller group of us which gave it a nice casual atmosphere and we could all chat together. We headed off to John Lewis and L and I were definitely drooling over the Nars counter. They have some gorgeous eye shadow duos and the concealer seems amazing!!! Have you tried it?

This is the Alhambra duo! I'm in love with it. It's most shimmery in real life.

We also wondered round boots where lots of us couldn't resist the new Bourjois Primer. The Happy Light Matte Serum Primer felt amazing. It blends onto the skin and feels light. It mattifies really well and I'm hoping it'll work with foundation. It's only £6.99 at the moment.

It was a miserable day so we ended up heading to Cosy Club a bit early. L and I only stopped for a drink as we were off to Bristol to see cats. The menu looked great though.

Thanks to Georgina and Helen for arranging it all for us and to the House in Town for the cute earrings (tartan and button studs!! So cute), dirty works (I can't wait to try this body butter. I'm hoping it'll be a cheaper alternative to soap and glory!) and benefit (L and I were definitely pleased to see They're Real).

Check out the lovely ladies we met this time here.

The House In Town offer great jewellery, accessories and some cute scarves!

Thanks ladies for arranging it and it was great to chat to you all again!!

Love M

xxx

Origins: Make A Difference Skincare Kit

Good morning!

When this post goes live I will be sweating it out in the gym for the first time in ages, not that I haven't been but I've booked myself onto Body Pump which I haven't been to for a few weeks.....so I'm worried for my arms!

If you're a regular reader you'll know that we are both fans of Origins and of trying new products so this cute little set was everything I could ever want and couldn't resist in the shop...

The Make a Difference (MAD) range is something I've tried before but haven't tried any of these particular products. This set contains a cleansing milk, rejuvenating serum, rejuvenating treatment lotion and moisturiser.

Let's start with the cleansing milk....

This is a white lotion type cleanser, its very runny and therefore fits very well being called a milk (obviously!). You apply it to dry skin and then rinse it off afterwards with warm water. This cleanser was really good at removing make up and removed most of my eye make up but did need a bit of extra help on mascara, but I find most cleansers don't get rid of it all anyway -or maybe I just cake it on?!

It's lovely and moisturising so would be great for any skin type as it's not heavy at all and my skin liked it.

The treatment lotion was something that surprised me.
Let me take the time to mention that this entire range smells absolutely divine, it's so fruity and zesty and just all round lovely that when it comes to using the treatment lotion I probably use it up more by smelling it in between uses, it's that beautiful!
That said, the treatment lotion is lovely and cooling and removes any remainder of make up and cleanser. As a general non-toner user it's been a lovely surprise to have enjoyed using this and I'd even pick it up again.

The serum is something I've mentioned before as it was an absolute dream to use! It's been one of my favourite serums I've ever used but at £32 a bottle I just can't justify it at the moment.
It sank into my skin straight away, smelt amazing and hydrated my skin without overdoing it. Loved it.



Lastly the moisturiser, basically this was a moisturiser version of the serum. A thick white cream that hydrated my skin easily without overloading it and obviously smelt amazing too!

This whole range is amazing so I'd snap it all up again in full size without a second thought if I could afford the money and space. Hopefully when my stash has decreased in size by 90% then I will pick these up again.

Have you tried anything from the MAD range? Are you a serum fan?
Do you love trying out sets like this?

I always think its a great way to try new things out!

L xxx

Rimmel Stay Matte Pressed Powder

Hey all!

I've got a review for you today on a staple product in my make up bag....pressed powder.

I can't go a day without it due my oily T-zone and have to apply it every morning to set my foundation and concealer.
I've been through tonnes of these powders, trying every brand you can imagine. I did like the MAC Pressed Powder but at £20 ish a pop it was not something I could justify. Others didn't last as long on my face causing my make up to slip by lunch and I was still looking for the perfect compromise, price and how long lasting it was.

Lots of people had suggested I try Rimmel's Stay Matte Pressed Powder, so snapped it up in an offer in Boots and put it to the test.

Rimmel state this is a long lasting pressed powder. I've been applying this onto my base in the morning using my Real Techniques powder brush.
It lifts really easily from the palette and applies onto the face easily too. It brushes onto the skin and leaves an even coverage, mattifying the shiny bits quickly and barely takes time at all.

I love the impression on the print too, how British!

After applying it in the morning this does last me the majority of the day without reapplication. Days differ and obviously when I go to the gym, all bets are off as normally the sweat runs down my face nowadays but normally when I get there I'm just starting to get a sheen over my T-zone.

Ideally I would reapply at lunch (normally 2pm) which would mean my make up would stay longer but I never have the time and to be honest I either go to the gym or go home and take my make up off anyway! 

The photo below shows how even the coverage is on top of my foundation:

And then with a full face of make up on:

If you like the make up look above then check back next week as I'll be telling you all about my new palette then!

I think the Stay Matte powder is worth every penny. It comes in at a bargainous £3.99, and if you spend £10 on Rimmel in Boots at the moment you'll get a free Scandalous Flex mascara. I always find their mascaras are great value so this is definitely worth picking up, I may even get it myself!

I'm so glad this was recommended to me, it has definitely saved me money from my MAC Pressed Powder without losing the quality and effects!

Have you tried the Stay Matte Pressed Powder? What will you be picking up from Rimmel to get your free mascara?

L xxx

Essie: Vested Interest

Hello!

Here's the second in my Essie Winter Collection posts. I have previously written about Cashmere Bathrobe which is a gorgeous shimmery grey and will be getting a lot of use from me. 

I haven't managed to pick up any more of the collection yet as they seem to have sold out everywhere but I did pick up Vested Interest at the same time as Cashmere Bathrobe.

This is Vested Interest, a grey green colour:

Essie say:

'Stock up on the classics. This tweedy, woolen cool gray teal nail lacquer has sartorial style all buttoned up.'

I say this colour is completely different to anything I've ever owned and I wasn't sure about it.
But I love these kinds of colours for winter and as I wear lots of black and grey, this is a nice addition to my nail polish wardrobe for a subtle addition of colour.

Granted it's not a bright colour but for work colours like this are so easy to wear, both this and Cashmere Bathrobe have proved to be great staples and alternatives to the more commonly used reds and blacks of winter.



The polish applied easily thanks to the Essie brushes being so good, and only needed 2 coats for opacity.
When the top coat was applied you can see how shiny and pretty the colour becomes, it looks perfect!



These photos show the polish with flash above and without below, the colour is quite true and there's not a lot of difference between the two.




This colour was a surprise for me as I've absolutely loved it!

I've been desperate to get my hands on the blue and red from the collection, After School Boy Blazer and Twin Sweater Set but it seems it's not meant to be so far.
I've been trying a number of times on the Boot website without any luck, it's infuriating trying to load a page that constantly says 'generic error' and it happens every time I try to find something on there.

It's really put me off trying to use the Boots website at all, how useless!

One day I will get these Essie polishes...

Which Essie product is your favourite? Which of the collection will you be picking up?

L xxx