Avon SpeedDry Sparkle Nail Enamel

Hi Guys

Today I thought I would share with you these lovely new nail polishes coming out from Avon. They are from the Speed Dry Nail Enamel range which aims to dry in just 30 seconds. They will be releasing a range of 6 new aqua blue shades that contain small itty bitty flakes of sparkle (Yay Sparkle)

I went for 2 of the new shades, one in the shade Enchanted Siren which is a pale blue green shade almost like duck egg blue. The second one I purchased was Trance a lovely darker shade of turquoise. The both of them look lovely together I used Enchanted Siren on all my nails other than my ring finger where I used Trance, I done 2 coats of each and then a clear coat on top. It lasted about 4 days without chipping apart from a small chip I done when I first painted them. Oooops! But I am very impressed with them, I love the shades they are perfect for spring they work well together and I love the sparkle.
If any of you lovely lot are interested they will be released in the next few weeks I'm guessing from the 13th of March with campaign 7 and they will be on half price at £3 originally they cost £6 each.

That's all from me today hope you guys enjoyed this post.

Lots of Lovies
SparklySJ
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Optimum Super Antioxidant Grape Eye Cream

Hallooooo!!

So in my last post I mentioned how I will be turning 25yrs old this year (march) and how Im starting to take better care of my skin on the anti ageing side of things. I recently went to Superdrug and bought from Optimum their anti-ageing range as it was on buy 1 get 2nd 1/2 price, which is still on by the way. I posted that I got the Overnight Swiss Apple Skin Renew Serum which you can check out here. So that means that this post is going to be all about the eyes.

Optimum Super Antioxidant Grape Ultra Protecting Eye Cream £9.99

Now this range with the super antioxidant grape is aimed at any early signs of ageing from the ages of 25+ to help skin keep that youthful look. That's right I will soon be in the 25+ category! (Yikes!)

"With PhytoCellTec Solar Vitis extract from a rare grape, which helps to strengthen the skin's cells" little bit of product information from the front of the box.

What is PhytoCellTec Solar Viris? it is a very powerful antioxidant that has a strong UV resistance which helps to protect the skins cells and regenerate them for a more radiant and youthful complexion. Now the benefits of using this cream is that it hydrates and protects the delicate area that is around your eyes. It helps to reduce the appearance of wrinkles, lines and puffiness. And that's not all it stimulates collagen production for firmer younger looking skin what a perk! There is also Vitamin E which I have raved on about before being another popular antioxidant protecting against free radicals,environmental pollutants and of course ageing affects of the sun. There is even Pro-vitamin B5 for it's moisturising and conditioning effects. Results can be expected in just 4 weeks with this bad boy. Its just what I'm looking for.

Packaging again is a winner for me with the purple ombre box and a grape on the front, the print is nice and bold in white with the purple in the back and some of the print is also in lilac. 

The tube itself is a 15ml tube with a screw top silver plastic lid, on the front is print in purple and lilac with the name of the product. The back gives a little bit of info on PhytoCellTec Solar Vitis, directions for use, care and safety (avoid contact with eyes), also mentioning that this product is suitable for vegetarians and vegans. And that Superdug is against testing on animals.

As it says on the box for the directions you apply this after applying your day or night cream. So after I have cleansed, toned and moisturised I squeeze a very small amount on to my middle finger I then take a little from that on to my other middle finger and then I dab it on both eye areas and massage it round. The cream itself is a white colour and it very light in texture.

Only a small amount is needed

The eye area is one of the main areas I wouldn't mind keeping a little young looking for as long as I can so I'm hoping for some good results from this. Only been using it for almost 3 weeks, I am however noticing my eyes are less puffy which I am happy about.

I have linked up at the top with the price to take you to Superdrugs website if you are interested and wanting to read a bit about it yourself's. 

Have you tried anything from this range? whats your thoughts on it? Leave a comment below or you can just say Hi and leave your thoughts on this post.

That's all for now you beautiful people

Lots of Lovies

SparklySJ

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Lush Ocean Salt Face Scrub

Aloha Beautiful people :)

Hope we are all doing well and enjoying the start of the month that is February. Todays post is all about one of my favouritest favourite face scrub! It is Lush's Ocean Sea Salt Scrub!

Ta Daaaa!

Now this lovely black pot of holidays is a scrub that I have used for years! Not the same pot obviously, I do get through a pot in a couple of months plus they do have expiration dates with them containing fresh ingredients in them. The other night I was using this and thought "SJ why the heck havent you raved about this in your blog?" So here it is.

"Lashings of fine sea salt to scrub and clean, organic limes to brighten and avocado butter to soften your skin" is a quick run down of some of the ingredients used which is mentioned on top of the pot. 

" Does your face feel washed up and abandoned? Get it ship shape with coconuts and lime" is written on the side, it already sounds like my kinda scrub as I love coconut!!

                  L: The label on the side of the pot    R: Texture of the product

I love a face scrub, getting rid of dead skin leaving you with fresh clean skin. This product however is different to any other scrub I have used as it contains Sea Salt! It is rich in minerals and does a damn good job of scrubbing away those dead skin cells. The salt is mixed in with lovely avocado butter, coconut oil and seaweed absolute. Another ingredient used is Grapefruit which is commonly used in products for oily skin and for spot prone skin it is also high in vitamin C. So it doesn't just leave your skin feeling lovely soft and smooth it can also help treat breakouts.

When you first take the lid off a lot of the salt is sat on top of the product, some of the salt granules can be quite big in size that I stick my finger in and just mix it all together in a clock ways motion otherwise the product at the bottom will be mostly the butter. The smell of this is amazing!!! I called it the black pot of holidays cause the smell instantly takes me away to being on holiday lying by the pool with a fancy cocktail in my hand soaking up the sun (one can dream). The limes used have been steeped in vodka hence the day dreaming in the sun with my fancy cocktail so the combination of the vodka and the citrus just smells deeeelightful! 

What the product look like all mixed together

I use this scrub once or twice a week, I wash my face then use about a 10p size amount and scrub it round my face in circular motions. The texture is creamy with the butter and you can most defiantly feel the granules of the sea salt, when first opened it has bits of blue but once mixed together I find it doesn't have much colour. Sometimes the vodka can sting if I have a cut on my finger so watch out for that. Once I have done that I wash it all off, it does leave my face rather red from the scrubbing and a little tingly from the alcohol so I usually use it at night giving it time to calm down. I will then cleanse and moisturise. My face the next day always feels so soft and smooth. 

This product might not be for everyone but I do love it, its a cocktail for the face! You can get it in your local Lush shop or if your like me and don't have one near by there is online click here. You can get it in 2 different sizes 120g for £7.25 or 250g for £13.25. I have the smaller size and I feel it lasts me a long time. You can also get alcohol free ones.

Have you guys tried this scrub or any lush products? Do you have a favourite that you use all the time? I would love to read your comments.

That all for me today hope you guys enjoyed this post :)

Lots of Lovies

SparklySJ

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Maybelline Baby Skin Review!

Hiya fellow bloggers and blog readers :)

Today's post is all about the much raved about Maybelline Baby Skin Instant Pore Eraser!! seeing all the hype over this little tube on my Instagram feeds made me more and more curious to try it out. So I did what needed to be done and bought it!

To start off how adorable is the packaging? I love the colour's they are so eye catching and just looks Oooo exciting! With its baby blue (almost turquoise I find in some light) tube and the name baby skin in a bold pink colour it just looks inviting. It even has Only for Adults at the bottom of the tube!

So the name kind of gives the idea of what this product is aiming for, in giving you smooth soft baby like skin, giving you a matte finish. With its gel texture (thats right gel!)  helping to vanish pores and leave your skin feeling light and looking poreless.

Maybelline Baby Skin gel texture

So having used a few different primers I was very excited to try this one out. In its little 22ml tube costing around £7.99  you only need a little amount so it will last you a long time. I start off by squeezing the clear gel and dotting it on my forehead, cheeks and chin then I smooth it all out and round my face blurring away any sight of my pores leaving me with a smooth soft surface ready to apply my make up. I have found that using this product defiantly helps my make up last longer throughout the day, I cant say its worth repurchasing as I haven't noticed a huge difference using it in comparison to any other primers I have tried. All in all its a lovely packaged product and it does what it says :) it smooths the skin giving you a fab base for make up or even if you wanted a make up free day.

Have you guys tried this out? Whats your thoughts on it?

Lots of Lovies

SparklySJ

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Topshop Treats!!

Hello Lovelies

Now I am not one who loves to go rummaging around the shops in the sales I am more a sit at home in my pjs with my feet up having a cuppa tea (green with lemon) browsing the interweb sales seeing what bargains I can find.

Well I found a beaut of a jacket on Topshop reduced from £60 to £35, black denim with a sort of fleece material in the body part. I read the reviews on how its best to go up a size with this jacket in particular so you can layer up in these winter days so I did :) 

Here's some of the detailing from the jacket.

Whilst on the website I thought why not have a look at the beauty items they have, and boy am I glad I did! I found a Lip Bullet in the shade Bewitched which is a lovely deep plum colour, as I'm loving the dark lip look there was no question about it, it went straight into my basket. I fancied a new nail polish so headed over to the nail section, Oh my goodness so much lovely shades to choose from. I finally came to the decision to get Blue Jeans which is a beeeautiful mermaid blue yet in some lights green shade it is so so lovely and was only £6 little cheaper to my usual polish I get.

Topshop Lip Bullet £8.00

Topshop Lip Bullet in shade Bewitched

This is how dark the shade looks, its a lovely deep plum shade

On to the nail polish

Topshop Nail polish in shade Blue Jeans £6

Soooooo pretty!!!!

Mermaid Nails :) 

And that's my treats I got on Topshops sale. Did you guys get any bargains in the sales?

Lots of Lovies

SparklySJ

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Make Up Make Up Everywhere!!

Hello you beautiful bunch!

So in my Favorites of 2013 post I mentioned how I plan on being a bit more adventurous and try out different things make up wise. As much as I do love skincare I do also love make up, however I tend to just stick to the same brand and stick to the same routine. Well that's us now into the month of January and so far I have bought I few new items to try out. I have stuck to high street shop items to start with.

Here they are ready and waiting to be tried out.

So to start I thought I would try out a few different foundations, I do still love my No7 Beautifully Matte foundation but I figured I am now a blogger why not have a few different ones in your make up drawer that you can pick from. So I picked up the L'oreal True Match Foundation £9.99 in shade Golden Ivory, this foundation is aiming to give the most natural looking skin that's true to your skin tone that you can achieve a fab coverage without caking. Sounds great I thought why not get the True Match powder £8.19 in the same shade as well, it will be great for setting the foundation or even if I fancy a day off from wearing lots of make up I can just sweep a bit of this powder on and get on with my day.

Now we are on to Concealer, I have seen a few bloggers mention that the Seventeen Range in Boots had a bit of a makeover and released some awesome new concealers so I thought I had better get down there and try one. Phwoarr Paint has been described as the dupe of Benefits Boi-ing and at £5.49 you would be mad to not give it a go. Its a cute little pot that's lid flips open that on the other side of the lid is a little compact mirror and the base holds the concealer. Its got a rich creamy texture to it, I got mine in the shade fair for me pale skin. This will be fab for late nights and early mornings to hide those pesky under the eye bags. Collection 2000 Lasting Perfection Concealer £4.19 was in Tanya Burrs favorite things in 2013 vlog, now if this is Tanya's favorite concealer than that's it already sold for me. Its supposed to give fab coverage to imperfections and blemishes, also with any redness and can last all day without needing to re touch it.

Another item mentioned in Miss Tanya Burrs Favorites from last year was the Rimmel Match Perfect Foundation £6.99 mentioning how it gives fab coverage, nice healthy glow, easy to blend I could not not give this bad boy ago. I have recently seen it on a few other blogs mentioning how amazing it is, it had to be bought. Also reading up on it mentions how it has advanced smart tone technology aiming to give you a flawless look in any light. Sounds perfect!!

For a new primer I heard someone in Boots mention how they found the new Maybelline Baby Skin Instant Pore Eraser £7.99 very similar to Benefits Porefessional I was rather intrigued to try it. Having tried the Benefit Porefessional comparing Baby skin to it is a big compliment. It has a clear gel texture to it where the Porefessional did have a slight tint to it all its aims are very similar to vanish pores giving a smooth soft surface to the skin, a perfect base for foundation perhaps?! 

Lastly we have the Maybelline Eye Studio Master Shape Brow £2.99. I had mentioned in my favorites post that I am starting to get the hang of filling in the brows. I have been using the HD Brows palette which I received in a beauty box for about £16 which was filled with treats the HD Brows palette being one of them. The palette retails at about £20 so I am going to try and let it last me a very long time. So for days when I feel a little lazy I thought this nifty pencil should do the job just fine.   

So that's the start of my new things to try out, as you can see I'm starting just with base make up first. I have linked all the items mentioned with a website (Boots) you can go on, to either buy or get a bit more information on, they are all linked at their prices. I plan on reviewing all of the items so keep your eyes peeled out for those.

Have you tried any of these or is there something you would recommend? I want to try out some new looks for eyes and lips.

Lovies
SparklySJ
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I've always been dark with light somewhere in the distance

So we are already half way into January and what a quiet month it is! I recently heard on the radio this week that January is the time where people can tend to get all down and depressed and to be honest this doesn't surprise me. The dark nights are still coming early its cold and yuck outside and for some pay day feels so far away (just think 2 more weeks to go). 

The January blues is not something I enjoy and I am determined to be full of positivity banishing any negativity. I have had far too much negativity and worries in my life that its time to tell it to shove off and I'm moving on and bringing on the positivity, happiness and just enjoy life!!

In order to do all that I'm still keeping focused on small goals I set for myself. I write lists and tick it off as I go along, there's honestly nothing better than a checked off list :D (geek I know). I am reading my Highway Code and revising for my theory. I am also enjoying a good book. Organising to meet friends which is keeping me away from being a complete hermit, I am determined to keep the little social life I have. I am such a day dreamer I am looking for places to go on holibobs, I know it wont be till next year but there's no harm in looking plus the photos make me feel happy thinking of some heat and sunshine. I have been getting stuck into this blog reorgainisng it a little, coming up with ideas for future posts and taking lots of snaps. Gordee and I have been going for walks at weekend which I always enjoy as I feel the cobwebs blowing away and feeling all fresh and re-energized! 

My top tip to keeping those blues has to be keep yourself busy but have fun doing it, have a laugh with friends even if your skint you can always go to each others houses, go out there and get some fresh air by going for a walk, escape somewhere into a good book, clear out your wardrobe giving things to the charity shops (making room for the summer wardrobe;) ) have bubble baths and listen to some awesome music maybe even try and get to a gig.

I was surfing through weheartit and came across some images which have inspired me.

Don't let people get you down by their negativity be happy, do what you dream of doing. We only have 1 life we need to live it!

Hope this post has cheered some of you guys up and inspired you to kick away that January blues too :) However I just want to say if you do feel that you are suffering from Depression you should speak to someone its amazing the amount of help that's out there these days.

Smile!!

Lots of huge fluffy hugs and lovies
SparklySJ
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images used are from weheartit.com 

A Dash to Boots

Bonjournoooo!!

How are we all doing? Hope your good and happy, keeping to those resolutions ;)

So few weeks ago I was feeling a bit of the blues, I know crazy it was not even January and I was already feeling a bit of the blues. So in a way to cheer myself up a bitty a went along to Boots and got myself some treats. I thought I would share with you gorgeous lot what I got.

As you can see I bought my trusty Cetaphil Cleanser £8.99. I fancied trying out a new face mask and I have heard lots of good reviews on the Una Brennan range especially the Super Facialist Tea Flower Pore Purifying Clay Mask £8.99 aiming to clear the skin of excess oil and toxins I thought sounded good enough for me, after all the eating of lovely treats and amounts of wine that has been drunk my skin could be doing with a good deep clean. I have only used this once since bought so far I loved it. In my job I do a lot of cleaning that my poor nails get all chipped and can end up looking in such sorry states sometimes. So with that in mind I decided to invest in Essie's Nail Base Coat in Help Me Grow £8.99 it contains argan oil and algae extract which help protect, prevent nail damage and breakage.

As I was heading to the counter to pay Real Techniques caught my eye with buy 1 get 1 half price. Well it would be a crime to just ignore that offer so I picked up the Powder Brush £12.99, I have only used this a couple of times so far and my gosh is the brush big but so soft to the skin!! Gives the perfect finish for powder. Along with that I picked up the Blush Brush £9.99 which was my half price one. Again this brush is super soft and applies the blush perfectly. I mentioned these brushes in my favorites of 2013 post here, they are the best brushes I have used. I'm so happy to add these 2 to my collection. 

These most defiantly made my blues feel less royal blue and more baby blue, once I got home the pjs went on and I chilled out with a cuppa tea, bliss!!

I love going into Boots and having a wander and a nosey at all the things they have to offer. I love buying new items too and going home testing them out, so look out for reviews on some the products mentioned in this post.

Hope you enjoyed this post, where is it you go to de-blue and cheer yourself up?

Lovies
SparklySJ
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2014!

Hi Guys and a Happy New Year to you all, hope you had a fab Hogmanay and wishing you lot the best of times in 2014!

 

 Now that we are in January this is the time people start to think on new years resolutions and give it the whole new year new me thing, this never works for me. So instead of resolutions that I will never keep I'm going to set myself some goals and aims. I have written them down in my new notebook I got at Christmas from Gordee (Yay new stationary) so I can score them off along the way.

I thought I would share with you beautiful lot some of my goals for the year.
My first is this blog, I been thinking long and hard about what I want to achieve this year from the blog and have decided that as well as beauty/skin care items I'm going to try make up, show you guys what I use and how I use it. Any looks that I'm loving and how I achieve them. I'm also going to try and branch out a little and share a few fashion items and how I style them. Along with this I'm going to do posts about life in general and maybe a few random things I get up to (few weekend away trips are coming up too). With my list of goals I'm going to try and share it all with you on how I'm getting on with them.
Secondly is going to be reading! I do love to read however I always seem to get so distracted by new tv series's out on netflix or other rubbish that books tend to get forgotten about. However when I do pick up a book I love the feeling of being transported into different worlds and just getting lost into a right good book! One set I am determined to read is the Harry Potter books, I remember reading up to the third one when I was in school but never got round to reading the rest. I love the films especially with how dark they get by the end so I imagine the books must be better. I have bought myself a new book to read first which is also part of a set, the first one is called Rivers of London and its by Ben Aaronovitch it sounds really good, once I finish this post I'm getting myself a cuppa green tea and get reading.

    I also want to learn to cook properly, I do enjoying cooking proper home cooked meals but the thought of doing it makes me just go urgh! but once I'm stuck into it I really enjoy it. Gordee and I have both decided we want to eat a lot healthier and plan on sticking to that throughout the week as we both work weekdays but we will allow our self's treats at the weekends. We got a few cook books at Christmas so I intend on using them to help us out along the way. I might also put a few blog posts up if any are successful.With this in mind I also want to start taking multivitamins, I feel I'm lacking iron too so will start taking supplements for that. I will continue to drink plenty water (its nice with a slice of lemon or lime) and also still drink copious amounts of green tea (all those antioxidants) which is also nice with a slice of lemon.
  
When I was in my late teens I done art at my college, I only done it cause I couldn't get a job (being a high school drop out no one would employ me) and I needed something to do. One the subjects I enjoyed the most was photography. We were taught mostly the old school stuff in the dark room using lots of chemicals but we did learn a little on digital photography and this year I want to get back in to it. I'm currently saving up to get myself a proper camera and equipment along with the good programs for editing. This will also be good for taking photos for blog posts but mainly I want to just to enjoy capturing moments you want to never forget.
 

With these and a few others on my list (which I will share throughout the year) I just want to be happy. Gordee and I have a few adventures planned out which I'm very much looking forward too, we have family visits down to England, Gigs (did I mention Katy Perry), I'm turning 25 this year too!! I cant wait to see what to see what this year brings, I hope its a good one. And I look forward to sharing it all with you!

What do you have to look forward too this year? Do you have any goals set or resolutions for this year? I would love to read them.

Lots of Lovies
SparklySJ
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Images used are from weheartit.com

My Favorites of 2013 Part 2!

 Hello, and Welcome to My Favorites of 2013 Part 2!

This post is going to be all about the make up and nails. I am rather dull and boring when it comes to make up however I am going to try and be a bit more adventurous on that side of things next year and not be afraid to try out new things. So lets get started on the make up items I have been loving this year.

Face

So its always good to start off with a good base. I'm talking Primers. I tried quite a few this year and I do like to use my Body Shop Vitamin C Skin Reviver for this, another close favorite has to be the Rimmel Fix and Perfect £6.99 I just find this stuff perfect for a make up base, it holds my foundation perfectly. I did also do a little blog post on this beauty which goes a little more in depth to check it out click here. Now for foundation I have 3 to pick from which was rather difficult so I thought sod it I will put them all in as I love all 3 for different reasons. Revlon ColorStay £12.49 this stuff appealed to me from the start being for oily to combination skin, being oil free it helps to control shine and aims to give you that flawless look. This was the first foundation I bought this year and it is probably going to be one that I will continue to use. I loved the coverage of it, I love that it lasted pretty much all day, the match to my skin tone was perfect, I just loved it. When my Revlon foundation was coming to an unfortunate end I thought I would be adventurous and try out a new one, for that I tried out the No7 Beautifully Matte Foundation £12.95 another oily to combination foundation created to balance oil production and help improve skin, I cannot fault this lovely item at all. It gives a medium to full coverage, it lasts a long time throughout the day. I used the match made service so the shade is perfect for my skin tone again its one I will probably repurchase. I done a post on this foundation and the matching concealer, if you would like to review my ramblings more into detail on this product click here. Lastly of the foundations is the much raved about Rimmel Wake Me Up Foundation £8.99 I purchased this foundation on a whim in the summer time as I had a slight tan and my everyday Revlon one was a tad to pale for me. Being at such a reasonable price I thought this will do me fine for the summer. I wasn't wrong. Designed to awaken the skin and give you a healthy radiant glow, it does not fault. It gives you  a nice light coverage, not too heavy which is perfect for that suns heat and contains an SPF 15 so it also protects your skin as well as given you a lovely natural glow. Recently I blogged about my skin not having a good time that I had to cut back on wearing my foundations due to an allergic reaction. I turned to a BB Cream to help put my skin back on track but give a bit of colour along the way. I turned to my Dr Jart Regenerating Beauty Balm £14.00 designed to help cover any blemishes and redness while letting the skin regenerate. This was just what I was looking for at the time. I forgot how much I loved this product, it really did help me feel less self conscious of the redness from the reaction and improved my skin within a week or so. If you want to read the post I done on this BB Cream click here. Once I done my foundation I like to add a subtle hint of colour to the cheeks and I use my Revlon Powder Blush £7.99 in shade Smoky Rose which is a lovely light pink, I just sweep it on the apples of my cheeks to make me feel more alive.

Eyes

I noticed this year a heavy trend going round in beauty and make up was brows!! Now I have a full fringe. So to say I neglected my brows is an understatement, however over the past few months I started to give bit more attention to them. I'm still not 100% confident on them but I am getting there. A few months back Latest in Beauty got together with Glamour magazines Beauty Editor and they created a box of wonderful treats. One of these treats was the HD Brows Eye and Brow Palette in Foxy. The whole box only cost £14.95 and I believe that this palette costs alone £19.95 so that's a bargain already! As a newbie to the whole brows look I have been giving this item a go over the past month and I am surprisingly enjoying it. My fringe is growing right now and kinda sweeps to the side, so I kind of need to make sure they look a little decent as you can see just the one, which sounds odd but it doesn't look it....I hope. I use the medium shade and slowly outline my eyebrow then fill it in. I don't want them to look too obvious and I like that it gives a nice natural look. If anyone is interested in the Beauty Box the link is here. Or if you would rather just check out the palette I found it on amazon here. Mascara will always be my Avon SuperShock I have been using this stuff for years, I do try others but none impress me as much as this one. I get asked if I'm wearing false eyelashes or if I have lash extensions whenever I wear this mascara its that good. As its from Avon the price can tend to change in each campaign with any offers so heres the link to their official shop site. I done a blog post on this mascara also so if you want to see what I'm talking about click here. Eyeliners, I have cut back using these in the past month just for a bit of a break to the eyes. That and I am just hopeless at it haha it takes me ages to get liner just right. However I do like the L'Oreal Super Liner with its sponge tip to do the top lash line bitty, I have still not mastered cat eye but I am getting there. This stuff does last all day or night if I'm wearing it to go out, it is a pain to remove so I would recommend an eye make up remover. I cant seem to find the one I bought on the boots site but here's the link to a very similar one in colours blue or purple which I am tempted to try out. Nice change from black. My favorite pencil eye liner that I use for my waterline has to be Benefit BADgal Waterproof Eyeliner £15.00  it lasts all day and hardly smudges. There is a smudger at the other end if you want to use this liner for the top lashes and smudge it out for a bit of a smokey look. I did mention that only use mine for my waterline, being a bit on the pricey side it does last a long time.

 One thing I have particularly enjoyed this year when it has come to make up is applying it using the right tools. I cannot recommend Real Techniques Brushes enough, there are just the best brushes I have ever used. I started off with the Core collection then added the stippling brush, powder brush and the blush brush. I do intend on getting more as I love them that much. They just give such a lovely flawless cover and they are so soft to the skin. I wash mine about once a week with johnstons baby shampoo to get all the used make up off so I start each week with lovely clean brushes. To check out the range of Real Technique brushes here's the link, Samantha Chapman who created these lovely brushes also has a fab YouTube Channel with her sister where they do fantastic make up looks you can check them out here.

 

I fell in love with the brand Essie in February when I discovered the most gorgeous pink shade of nail polish that I had ever seen, in the name Lovie Dovie it had to be bought. Since then I bought 2 more shades, I recently bought the base coat and at Christmas I got the Winter Collection which I will review about soon. Essie has such beautiful shades of polish I want them all!! I do like to paint my nails I just get rather frustrated when they don't last and a day or 2 later they are all chipped but when I use my Essie polish it can be known to last me a week without chipping! Happy Days!! I am planning on adding plenty more to my collection, I have already spied a few new future buys. Keep your eyes posted on future posts with which ones I get. If you want to check Essie out here's a link to their official website. For removing nail polish it has to be Bourjois Magic Nail Polish Remover £4.99 you just pop your finger into the sponge twist it in for a couple of seconds, remove finger and bosh! nail varnish gone just like magic.

And there you have it! That is all of my favorite beauty things for 2013, I do wonder what will be my faves for next year. I am planning on broadening my make up ways so here's looking forward to the future!!

Hope you all had a fabulous Hogmanay!!! HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! Lets see what 2014 has to throw at us. :)

Lovies

SparklySJ

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Favorites of 2013!!

Heylo!!

I cant believe that we are so close to the end of 2013 and closer to starting 2014! I don't know about you but I feel that this past year has just gone flying by. So with that in mind I thought I would do a post about my favorite products I used and loved this year! As I only started blogging at the end of October there will be products that I wont have mentioned before so this gives me the chance too let you know on what other lovely things I have enjoyed this year.

 So to start we have my bathroom items:

For body lotions I have enjoyed many Soap and Glory items, mainly the Sugar Crush Body Butter £10.50 I love the thick luxurious consistency of this body butter and the smell is so lovely and zesty. Another popular lotion was my Body Shop Mango Whip Body Lotion £3.00 this stuff is not only super moisturizing it smells amazing!! I bought this the body spray and the little bottle of perfume so i could layer the smell and it lasted all day, whenever I smell it now it reminds me of summer adventures with Gordee.

At Cleansers we have the Liz Earle Cleanse and Polish £14.75 the is jammed pack full of natural ingredients its gentle to the skin and removes stubborn make up perfectly. My everyday cleanser has to be my Cetaphil £8.35 I just love this stuff, its fragrance free and does not irritate my skin.

I had to add the Lush Bubblegum Lip Scrub £5.50 for perfectly soft smooth lips plus it tastes yummy.

On to the skin 

The Body Shop Vitamin C Skin Reviver £14.00 is still very much a staple in my morning routine, I love that it wakes my skin up in the morning, prepping me up for another day. I done a full blog post on this here. For my moisturiser I have tried a few different ones however I always go back to Superdrugs Vitamin E Intense Moisture Cream £2.99 its thick and creamy, smells beautiful and is packed of healthy vitamins which I feel has really helped heal my skin from scarring and keeping it healthy looking. For a full review on this I blogged about it here. My night time moisturiser has to be the Soap & Glory Beauty Sleep Accelerator £13.00 to start it smells of peaches! and its super moisturising to the skin. Since using this my skin has felt a lot more plump and looks a lot healthier. I featured this in one of my first blog posts and go a bit more in to detail about it here. And lastly where would I be without the Origins Super Spot Remover £14.00 I would be a spotty stressed out mess that's where I would be! This stuff has well and truly impressed me and without a doubt I will continue to purchase. For a full review I blogged about here.

Lastly hair!

I cannot live without a can of Batiste Dry Shampoo £1.48 my hair can get terribly greasy so in the days between washing this stuff is a savior. Making my hair feeling fresh and lasting another day. This year I have really cut back on drying my hair with a hair dryer and letting it dry natural when it dries naturally it tends to go wavy at the ends. I used to find this frustrating but this year I decided to embrace it, I spray a little bit of Toni & Guy Casual Sea Salt Texturising Spray £6.50  to the ends to add a little bit of texture. Before I wash my hair I like to treat it once or twice a month with a VO5 Hot Oil £4.29  just to give it a bit of a boost with moisture, it always feels silky soft and shiny after I use one.

So that's the end of my favorites of 2013 part 1 hope you wonderful lot have enjoyed it, part 2 will be shortly with my fave make up and nail treats. Whats been your favorite products you have used this year?

Lovies 
SparklySJ
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Nailed it!!

Aloha!!

So I know Christmas is over now (sad face), I hope you all had a fabulous day and were spoiled rotten with lovely and fantastic treats.

In my Christmas tag I mentioned how I had a nail look I wanted to try out and if it was successful I will share with you beautiful bunch.You be glad to know it wasn't too shabby at all! So here is my post on what I done to achieve my festive nails.

 A few months back I noticed these Nail Art stickers in the Avon book for about £3 and I thought why the heck not try them. I'm not the best at doing my nails but I figured I would try my best.

I noticed when I peeled the sticker off that there was clear sections in between the red stripes, as I was looking for the candy cane look I rummaged around my nail polishes I found a white polish that would be perfect.

 I started by using my Rimmel 5 in 1 as a base coat then once that was all dried I put 2 coats of the Sally Hansen Hard as Nails Xtreme Wear in white.

Once the white was all dried I carefully peeled off a sticker then cut it down to size, placed it over the nail smoothing it out. Then filed it down.

Resulting in looking like this!! For my first time I thought i done not a bad job at all. I really enjoyed doing it as well, makes me want to try out some other ranges of Nail Art stickers.














And there you have it my festive nails!! They did only last 2 days but that's all I needed as I got more nail polish for Christmas that I was desperate to try.

Hope you guys enjoyed this post, let me know if you had any fancy nail art I would love to have a nosey.

Lovies
SparklySJ
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