July 2012 Favourites

Elizabeth Arden 8 Hour Cream Skin Protectant - I've included this little miracle product in favourites before but I've been applying this each night before bed and my lips feel great in the morning. Even in the summer I get really dry lips so a good lip balm is essential.

Barefoot Rose Eye Serum* - I can't rave about this enough, you can read my full review here. I've actually applied this every night this month which is crazy for me as I'd never been a fan of eye creams before or even tried that many.

Caudalie Vinosource S.O.S Thirst Quenching Serum - I just love the scent of this and wished all my skin care smelt like it. I can't even describe what it smells like, I just love it. This also works wonders for my skin.

Mavala Thinner - I never thought a nail polish thinner would actually work but this one from Mavala has been working wonders on some of my polishes that I may have otherwise thrown away. I can now apply those polishes with ease and can simply add a few more drops if they go gloopy again. I think a full review of this will be coming soon!

Mavala Elle Nail Polish - This is actually one of the first Mavala polishes that I tried and it's a lovely colour. Although the photo doesn't show the true colour, it's what I wanted OPI's Don't Know Jacques to be. It also has a great formula and I can even get away with only 1 coat sometimes. Although I'm giving my nails a break at the moment I'm sure a NOTD will be up soon.

Urban Decay Naked 2 Palette - Although I've had this for a while now I don't think I've mentioned it on the blog at all. The two colours I've been using and loving at the moment are "verve" and "pistol". Verve is just the colour I've been wanted but haven't been able to find.

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Week In Photos 097

Crazy clouds // Breakfast in the post // Going bare nails for a month // More temporary tattoos // Loved the feather one // Shaytards salad // Nice light coming from the shed // Courgettes are growing! // Teasing grumps with a courgette flower // Asda now sells my favourite biscuits // First homegrown courgette has been picked and ate // DIY post coming soon // Cute mini roses // Currently reading and loving // More storm clouds // Very faint but double rainbow // Mini bunting // Keeping me company while at my desk. 

 001 My laptops been broken for about a week now, the fan's stopped working so it overheats in like 2 minutes so I can't use it. It's being repaired this week so it means I'm stuck using my mum and dad's desktop computer which is incredibly slow. Every programme just seems to make the computer freeze even simply opening google makes is freeze. Trying to edit these photos on photoshop was a complete nightmare. It's taken me an hour to get this post up but I can usually do my Week In Photos post in like 15 minutes on my own laptop.

 002 I feel like I haven't been very active in the blogging world and have hardly been on twitter. Instead I've been reading a lot, crafting and thinking of DIY's to do, deciding on a new desk/blogging area and watching Gossip Girl from the beginning.

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First Impressions

I've put myself on a complete spending ban after making this feel unique order. I've bought most of the products on my wishlist so I shouldn't feel the need to buy anything for a while. I did manage to get £10 off my order though which I was really pleased about. I made two orders and used the code "highfive" for £5 off orders over £40 and then I randomly got £5 off my other order without using a code. Instead of just showing what I bought I thought I'd share my first impressions, sort of mini reviews as I've been using them all for a couple of weeks. Also as these have all been hyped/written about on blogs I probably wont be writing full reviews for most of them.

Caudalie Beauty Elixir - This was sold out when I tried to get it in London so I'm glad I managed to get it a little bit cheaper online. I went with the smaller bottle as I wasn't sure on the scent or how it would work on my skin. I've been using it for about 3 or 4 weeks now but I don't really know what to make of it. Firstly I don't like the scent but I don't hate it, it's a minty scent which is ok. I haven't noticed much changes in my skin and I seem to be going through it pretty quickly. Still unsure if I'll buy another once this runs out.

Philip Kingsley Elasticizer - I bought the smaller tube as I haven't tried this before even though everyone raves about it. If you've never heard about it before, elasticizer is a pre-shampoo treatment that is meant to leave your hair feeling and looking amazing and that it certainly does. I've only used it once so far but I really noticed a difference in how soft my hair felt the next morning. So far so good!


Moroccan Oil - I finally caved and ordered this after hearing & reading so many raves about it. I love V05's oil which is really cheap so I have high expectations for this. I haven't used it enough to form a proper opinion on it yet.

Nubar Diamont Seal & Shine Topcoat - I needed a new top coat as I'd finished my one from Orly last month. I am going to repurchase it at some point but decided to try a new one for the time being. I went with Nubar's Diamont topcoat as Fleur raved about it in her June favourites. I've only used it a couple of times so far but it's in joint first place with Orly's Polishield.


Mavala Nail Polish Thinner - As I have quite a big nail polish collection it means I don't use every polish that much. Some of my older polishes or the ones that don't get used too often have started to go gloopy. Instead of throwing them away I'm going to try to thin them down with this. I've never used a nail polish thinner before but I'm hopeful it'll work. Anyone tried one before?

Nubar Black Polka Dots, Nubar White Polka Dots, Nails Inc. Sweets Way - These three have all been on my nail polish wishlist for a while now. I'm particularly loving the black polka dots as it goes with whatever polish you already have on. I'm letting my nails breath for a few weeks and not wearing any polish as they're in horrible condition at the moment. Once I start wearing polish again I'm sure I'll be posting NOTD's of these three first. 

What have you bought recently?

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Glossybox July 2012

July's Glossybox* is a bit of a mixed one for me as I don't really like two of the products. I also wish they wouldn't have so many variations on the boxes. The grass looks greener on the other side and all.

Collin Resultime Regenerating Collagen Gel - This is a brand I've never heard of before and it sounds like quite an interesting product. It can be used as a serum or a sleep mask. I've put a little bit on my hand and it's  made my skin feel very soft, interested to give this a go as I'm really liking serums at the moment.

Awapuhi Wild Ginger Texturising Sea Spray - This is another brand that I haven't heard of before but I love sea salt sprays. It smells great with a kick of ginger which is really unique and interesting, never had a ginger scented hair product before. I'll be trying this when I wash my hair tomorrow night.

Monu Calming Cream - I've tried other Monu products in beauty boxes before and really liked them. This is a green-tinted cream to help neutralise redness. I get a lot of redness on my face, especially my cheeks, so I'm really intrigued to see if this will actually work.

Jelly Pong Pong Lip Frosting - This is the first product I'm not a fan off. I've had two lipglosses from Jelly Pong Pong before and just found the packaging a pain to use. There isn't an applicator so you have to use your finger which I just find too messy with glosses. The colour also isn't something I'd wear although it does smell great.

Kryolan Sating Powder - I really wish I'd gotten a better colour as I just cannot pull off this peachy orange with my very pale skin. The texture and packaging is great it's just a shame I can't wear the colour.

An extra was 3 sachets of Elizabeth Arden products which I'll enjoy using.

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M&S Virtual Make-over // Autograph Purple Rain - NOTD

Todays NOTD is a bit of a different one, it's not actually my hand or technically on my nails. I used the new M&S virtual manicure to test the colour and how it looks on a hand with a similar skin tone to my own. There are certain shades of polish that just look horrible on my skin tone so this could be a good way to avoid this happening and save some money at the same time.

The colour I chose to test out, and is probably my favourite from the Autograph range, is Purple Rain. The base is a mixture of magenta and purple and packed full of different sized holographic glitter.

Leanne posted photos of Purple Rain the other week and it's a great dupe for OPI DS Extravagence which is one of my all time favourite polishes. The Autograph polishes only cost £6 although it's on offer at the moment for £4.50 (online only). You can also pick up your order in store for free which is great.

Have you tried any polishes from M&S?

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Week In Photos 096

Sorted my nail polishes out // Started a cross stitch // DIY mug // Painted my nails // Two car boot sale bargains // Sundays blog to do list // Finished my cross stitch.

001 Whenever I go to a car boot sale, more often than not I'll come away empty handed. Today thought I picked up two cameras at really great prices! I managed to pick up a Pentax film slr for only £5 with a case in a really good condition. I'll only know if it works properly or not when I get the film back but it's been fun using it today. Next up was a polaroid with 1 pack of film for £4. Considering you can pay like £20 for film that's a pretty great bargain. My camera collection has grown by quite a lot over the past month or two so think I might do a little post about them all.

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Seven Days, Seven Lipsticks 001

Topshop Infared // Mac Creme Cup // Revlon Smoked Peach // Mac Shy Girl // Revlon Pink Pout // Mac Cyndi // L'Oreal Lovely Rose

I always seem to get in a rut with things whether it's clothes or make-up. If I get something new then I'll use it/wear it constantly until I buy something else. I especially seem to do this with lip products so to try and get more wear out of what I have, I've started seven days, seven lipsticks. I've picked out a lipstick for each day next week so thought I'd show you them.

My favourite out of these seven is probably Creme Cup by Mac. It's such an easy pink to wear and it really suits my skin tone. I find Smoked Peach by Revlon quite hard to wear so it's been a bit neglected, hopefully with this it'll get some more use. Also Cyndi hasn't been used for a long time as it was limited edition and such a lovely shade I don't want to finish it. I really wish I'd bought a back up of it as well as Gaga!

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Joliebox July 2012

I was really surprised when the postman dropped off this months Joliebox this morning as I didn't even think I'd had an email saying they were being sent out. Again, I think the Joliemag is such a good idea and a great read and I'm really impressed with this months box.

Nailgirls nail polishes - I always hope to get nail polishes in beauty boxes as that's my obsession, it beats make-up for me. I'm really happy with the two colours I got, the one I didn't get is silver. The three colours are inspired by the Olympics. I haven't tried them out yet but from looking at them they look pretty opaque.

Etat Pur Express Purifying Mask - I always seem to like purifying clay masks so I'm really looking forward to trying this and think I'll put it to the test tonight. I've really liked the other Etat Pur products I've tried so I'm hoping this will be just as good. This is actually a full size product.

Jane Iredale Tantasia - This is probably the one product I wont get much use out of. I have very pale skin so I'm always scared of using fake tan. This is a moisturising gradual self-tanner which can be used on the face and body.

Wen Sweet Almond Mint Cleansing Conditioner - This is a really intriguing product, it's an all in one shampoo and conditioner as well as a deep conditioner and detangler. I'm interested in how this works. Anyone tried it before?

Then there are two little extras because last months box was a little late which is nice. There's a toe separator  which always comes in handy and a rose moisturiser from Essential care which smells really nice.

Have you got this months Joleibox? What did you think?

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