Peaches and Clean Soap and Glory Review

I've just finished up using my Nelsons natural face wash. While it's just perfect for my oily skin, the scent is so medicinal despite it being 100% natural that I felt like treating myself to something that would make my nose sing in the morning with the delicious fragrance of my face wash. - Perhaps I take my face washing too seriously...

The answer to what I was looking for came in a beautiful, peach scented creamy face wash from Soap and Glory.
It's name?
Peaches and Clean, their products always have the best names!
It definitely smells like peaches, but perhaps artificial peaches, my initial reaction to smelling this was that it smells like Archers and Lemonade, you know that beautiful sweet drink that kind of tastes like something you had when you were a child? Archers and Lemonade is definitely not for children though, incase you don't know what it is...

As for the cream aspect? It certainly is creamy. I am an oily skinned girl and always have been, but as it is winter time and I felt like giving my skin a bit of TLC I decided to take a break from the gels and foams I normally use. This is lovely and creamy in texture but not too rich, it's certainly appropriate for daily use, and I do, twice daily in fact.
It does not leave my skin with an oily residue like other creamy washes and the smell (Did I mention the smell yet?)
It's sensational, believe me.

 Although
If you like a face wash with a good lather behind it (think bubbles and foam galore) then this is not the face wash for you, one thing that this does not do is lather up, it stays transparent to your face and has the texture of rubbing in a moisturiser, except you wash it off after.

A possible drawback of Peaches and Clean is that I may exfoliate my face more often, I get concerned about long term clogging of pores if a face wash doesn't feel like it is stripping my skin of every natural oil each time I use it. Perhaps that is just me.

I got this from Boots online, I can not for the life of me see it in their stores and it cost £5.33!

This face wash is in a huge pump bottle, it's going to take me a long time to get through this, and who knows? Perhaps I'll be sick of the scent by then

But I doubt it!

As seen on TV JML Magic Minerals - Jerome Alexander

As seen on TV products, they are always entertaining to watch.
I saw the JML Magic minerals and remember thinking that it was just too good to be true and with those type of things, if it looks too good to be true it probably is, and this product was just no different.

The Magic Minerals are essentially a pressed powder with flecks of colour in the pigmentation that claim to do all kinds of magic things such as:

❥ Conceal redness
❥Correct hyper pigmentation
❥Cover blemishes
❥Hide dark circles

The verdict is...
Well I don't want to spoil the ending for you, so I will ink the video below, but if you can't face wathcing it, skip along to the end where I'll so a quick summary for you

So, what is it all about?
The long and short of the situation is that it is a medium coverage pressed powder, similar to any other pressed powder on the market. The flecks of colour I do not believe truly impact how the product looks on your skin, but are there as an aesthetic feature, save yourself the fuss and buy any other pressed powder that you can get in stores and try for yourself before you buy.

Pros:
❥ The packaging is good, a sturdy compact with a generous sized mirror
❥ There is some element of coverage, but not a great amount

Cons:
❥Smells cheap, like out of date makeup or toy makeup from little kits when you were maybe 8 years old
❥Needs a lot of work to layer up over and over which leaves a powdery finish on the skin and a 'caked' feel
❥Nothing different about it to any other pressed powder

❥Not suitable for all skin tones, I'm always 'ivory' on the foundation spectrum and this I can just about get away with for my skin tone but it does have a slightly yellow finish.

Urban Decay Black Market Eyeliners

An easy way to brighten up and change out the regular eye look that you wear day in, day out is to consider changing your default colour of eyeliner for something else.

Cobalt blue water lines may frighten you a little, but changing a classic black for a maple syrup brown that brings out the warmth in your eyes, 

or for a steel grey to soften the look, 

an inky blue to contrast with brown eyes 

or a khaki green to created subtle twist on a brown neutral eyeshadow

So.. I'm sure that you can tell where I'm going with this, I highly recommend eye colours, lots of them, the more the merrier because it's a great way to change everything without really having to do anything different.

I already have a supply of browns, bronzes, blacks,whites and greys but none Urban Decay and I had heard terrific things about the staying power of UDs so when I saw a set of Black Market liners travel size in a variety of colours I just couldn't resist.

Here is the 411 with swatches, names and up close and personals.

From left to right:
Apathy - Glittery grassy green

Riot- Aubergine purple

West- Bronzey brown

Ink- Deep blue

Black Market- Satin black

Desperation - Steely gray

 

The consistency of these liners is second to none, beautiful and creamy without smudging, pigmented without movingout of place. These eyeliners are life proof, these swatches did not come off until I got into the shower and then I had to scrub and basically exfoliate my skin off to get rid of the pigment.

But I did notice that as the swatches wore on, one eyeliner became indistguinishable from the other as far as colour is concerned, they all began to look like various shades of grey.

I jsut want to point out at this point that this was a travel set, so they are considerably smaller than your regular eyeliner:

 
Aaaaand, they do not have a 'twist up' function, so once that nib is gone, it is goooone. Not a whole lot of product for your buck

 

I got mine from Beauty Bay for £18.20, 25% off! Yippee!

Simple & Elegant Valentines Day Makeup Tutorial

Smokey eyes and glitter eyeliner are not always the best route to get the love of your life to swoon for you first thing in the morning, but here I present to you the effortless, simple Valentines day look- it's beautiful and neutral and easily dupe-able whether you have the Naked 1 palette or not!
It takes you from day to night without looking over the top for a light lunch, a picnic, the cinema or a late dinner without looking either overdressed or underdressed.
It's low maintenance in terms of upkeep because of the neutral lips!
(Also no one likes sticky lipgloss kisses...)

Nyx Jumbo Eyeshadow Pencil Milk Review - is it worth the hype?

Like lots of impulse purchases, I justify it by saying to myself that a lot of other people have said great things about it and told me, me personally (through the internet screen) that I need it and that it will change everything about how I apply my makeup.

I believed that the NYX jumbo pencil really was the missing piece to my makeup bag that would actually enhance every eyeshadow that I had ever purchased by providing such a pure white canvas to show the true vibrancy of every eyeshadow.

This is half true.

I find application of the NYXjumbo pencil in milk a little clumsy, it is a true white no doubt, but it simulates putting tippex on your eyelid and is tricky to get neat as the pencil sort of tugs at the eyelid:

When I try and smooth out the scruffy edges with my fingers to make my tippex eye look less ridiculous, the colour is dilutes by the blending to a milky grey with my skin peeping through:

and if I try to go over it again with the pencil then I have the scruffy edges and go through the whole blendy-to-no-avail process over and over again.

Next, the texture of it when I apply it is kind of tacky, not smooth and matte feeling at all, I expected it to be like Mac paint pots but in a pencil form, I know the the prices between these products are not comparable but I had my expectations because of the amount people went on about this product. The tacky-ness also equals creasing so I would recommend to use a good quality primer or base below the pencil rather than depending on the pencil by itself to avoid creasing mishaps.

Does the pencil make my shadows look brighter and bolder... No. Not enough for me to notice or to persuade me to repurchase the pencil.

Over to you:

Guess which picture (A) or (B) I am wearing just the Milk Jumbo Eyeshadow pencil in as a base, and the other one I am wearing absolutely no base, just eyeshadow
I will tell you which is which at the end!
N.B These photos have only been cropped and labelled, absolutely no effects have been put on them whatsoever!

 I wonder if this is down to one of two things:
1. The base that I having been using to this point 'Painterly' by Mac already does a really good job that using the shadow pencil I do not notice a difference

or

2. The eyeshadows that I use are already of a pretty high quality and pigmentation so to use the shadow pencil would be better suited to colours that do not have a great pay off.
-My issue with this is: If an eyeshadow does not have a good colour pay off then I get into the habit of not reaching for it before throwing it or giving to someone who wants it. I don't like to work hard to get an eyeshadow formula to work with the building, building and building up of colour pigmentation but I do see how the Jumbo eyeshadow pencil could make this whole process easier if you have a lot of drugstore eyeshadows, or a lot of large palettes that tend to neglect pigmentation in the sheer volume of colours.

That's my 2 cents on the pencil, and in my opinion, I'd save your 2 cents for something better.

Answer:
Picture (A) I am wearing the Milk Jumbo Eyshadow Pencil
Picture (B) I am wearing no base of any kind, just eyeshadow

Summer Dress Daisy Daze

It's not even a little bit sunny, it's nearly 3pm and I am wearing normal clothes with a dressing own wrapped around me, sat under my duvet, the only horrible thing is having to have my fingers out to type as they always get chilly.
Nonetheless, I love browsing for clothes for a sunnier day, my winter wardrobe is comprehensive and full but my summer wardrobe lacks choice, which is to be expected given the proportion of time in the year that it is appropriate to wear summer clothes versus winter. A little dress caught my eye with its enchanting daisy print and a cute soft white tshirt underneth.

I saw it and it immediately reminded me of Miss Honey from Matilda (the film not the book) as I was certain that she wore something similar with a tshirt underneath a strappy swing dress, but I couldn't find it on Google images so perhaps that was just my imagination.

But it does have that kind of cool, American vibe to it, I think.
I picked the dress up, and put it back, a week later I was still thinking about it, considered ordering it online but was put off by the high postage costs before eventually seeing it in store again and ceasing the daisy day!!!

Now all I need is a wink of sunshine so that I can try it out!

Full Face coverage - Before and After

It's true, all foundations are not made equal, and it's even more true that you do get what you pay for. If I had to suggest one area to 'splurge' in your makeup bag over all the others- I would hands down say go in big on your foundation and loosen the purse strings a little. Eyeliners and blushes, lipsticks and mascara are very tricky to distinguish the £6 from the £16 or the £26! But the foundation is the foundation for your makeup, your face and your look. The foundation is out under the most pressure and has the toughest job to do, create a seamless, flawless natural looking canvas that can withstand it all. Cheap foundations, like the cheap foundation on a house, may look okay at first but the first sign of a grey cloud it crumbles and melts away.

I have dabbled back and fourth with all sorts of foundation and concealer combinations but often return to the Revlon Colorstay in the oily combination skin formula and the Mac Studio Sculpt concealer.
However, not wanting to miss out on anything better out there I am currently using:

Mac Studio Fix Fluid in NC15

Kryolan Dermacolor Wheel Rainbow Circle

The proof, as they say, is in the pudding, and this is the completely unedited, as-it-is, result that this little combination gives me!

The foundation I have gone back and fourth with, it's full coverage with a matte finish and I wear shade NC15 to even out my complexion, with the Kryolan colour wheel I use all of them, mostly a combination of the two palest colours for under my eyes and the rest I darken according to the contours of my face. The formula of the concealers are almost on the dry side as they are very thick, and feel like face paint. Although on the skin they do not look cakey like you might imagine face to paint to look, but it is the fullest coverage that I have ever gotten from a concealer and super resiliant to wear.

Sometimes straying from what you're used to is a good thing!

Soft and Romantic Valentines Day Makeup Tutorial Urban Decay Naked Palette 3

You're thinking that Valentines day is approaching and you want to look cute for the day! Well I have you covered, today I uploaded a super sweet Valentines Day Makeup tutorial that is effortlessly beautiful and chic! Panic over! For this I used my beloved Urban Decay Naked 3 palette, and today it makes its debut to my YouTube, although it's had a special place in my heart for a while now.

  The Naked palettes aren't the cheapest palette available, so check to yesterdays post for a super detailed run down on what the palettes are about, what one is best for you and whether they are worth it.

I couldn't resist this tacky photograph effect! Love heart confetti all over my face, what could be better?

Naked 1 vs. Naked 2 vs. Naked 3 Urban Decay Palette

Whew, this is going to be a long side by side comparison, rammed full of photographs and descriptions- so grab yourself a warm drink and get into your comfies before you continue reading.

The Naked palettes are a 'cult' favourite product that cast and addictive spell on anyone who buys them to convince them that they need the next one, and the next one.

How many shades of neutral are there? Really?

Well, a lot- it would seem, and maybe there are even more yet to be invented, or reinvented by Urban Decay.

A little outline of the palettes:

Naked/ The Original Naked/ Naked 1

This palette is full of rich deep warm browns that are mostly shimmer. The palette works in a gradient from the light colours to the deepest darkest
# of Matte colours: 2
Most original shade: Gunmetal (Blue-Grey on the far right)

What's great about the palette:
A whole spectrum of very high quality, rich buttery eyeshadows.
It fills in every gap in your browns and is perfectly portable
There are endless combinations
It comes with a reasonable quality brush & mini primer potion which most people love (I am not one of those people but that's another story)

This lets the Naked #1 down:
After a while one shimmery brown, becomes another shimmery brown and once placed on the eye it's tricky to distinguish one from the other.The majority of shimmer shades make it less day-to-day wearable for those who do not like wearing shimmer in the day time, there are only so many ways to use the matte colours alone
The case is a velvet that gets unbearably dirty from eyeshadow or general powder fall out
The mirror is fairly dinky and does not make full use of the lid space

The final word:
A lot of people claim that this is a palette best for 'brown eyed girls' I don't agree with this, I am not really one to follow that 'this' is for blue eyes and 'this' is for brown eyes- I really think that colours are transferable universally across all eye colours. The only person who I would say that this palette is less suitable for is mature skin, there are a lot of shimmers which can be less forgiving if your eyelids are not as perky as they once were- also, it tends to be mature women who shy away from wearing shimmer eyeshadow in the day time which limits the looks that the palette can give you so things may get repetitive quickly.

Naked 2

This palette is crammed with cool toned neutrals. The palette is a mix of creams, browns, greys, bronzes, silvers and blacks
# of Matte colours: 3
Most original shade: YDK (Purple sparkle, 3rd from the right)

What's great about the palette:
This palette gives a great deal of variety as it dips into the golds, pinks, silvers and purples as well as having a true universal staple to take anything from a neutral to dramatic look which is an outstanding quality, rich, buttery matte black in Blackout. The packaging is a beautiful steely cool metal, that is hygienic, a nice neat clasp closure and a generously sized mirrors

This lets the Naked #2 down:
The double ended brush that comes with the product is not great, the supposedly fluffy blending brush isn't as dense as it could be. Also, there is what I consider the worst thing that UD could have done through including a repeat colour, there is 'Half Baked' in the Naked 1 and Naked 2 palette. The colour itself is lovely, but I think that to not come up with an original shade is borderline laziness.

The final word:
This is without a doubt the most versatile palette for all tastes, this contains something for every taste, light natural looks, darker daring looks, bridal looks, shimmer looks, matte looks. If you're someone that likes it all, likes experimentation, choice and variety then there is nothing that you won't love about this palette of exquisite colours


Naked 3

This palette is a porcelain girls dream, a whole palette tinted with pink. I know that it's easy to run away screaming when I say pink eye shadows with visions of having bruised eye sockets or eyes that look riddled with infection. But this palette is really nothing like that, and is a pleasant surprise to skeptics, and just as good as anticipated by the rest of us. It managed to achieve this by combining rose colours with just a hue of brown to tone them in the right way. Pink eye shadows can be a challenge to pull of, but these are on a scale of their own, granted I think that this would suit fair skinned girls, but there is something here for absolutely everyone of all ages. If you are a makeup artist or considering getting into bridal makeup then this is an essential addition to your kit, this is a natural-beauty brides fantasy come true, gorgeous romantic colours that enhance and compliment the face.

# of Matte colours: 3
Most original shade: Blackheart (colour on the far right)

What's great about the palette:
The Naked 3 is consistent in the theme that this is without a doubt a rose gold infused palette, and there's not many people who haven't indulged in that trend. This palette normalizes pinks, makes them accessible and less frightening. It's also a wonderful transitional palette into the warmer months. Every single colour is beautiful and wearable, like sweet, indulgent little chunks of chocolate in a gorgeous rose gold case with all the greatness of the Naked 2 palette (large mirror, sturdy case etc) but with some pleating detail on the packaging.

This lets the Naked #3 down:
There are some dupes between the Naked 3 and it's older sisters including:
Naked #1 Darkhorse and Naked #3 Darkside
Naked #2 Foxy and Naked #3 Strange
Naked #2 Tease and Naked#3 Nooner

The final word:
If you are a neutral girl, that has exhausted the browns and bronzes and you're looking for a fresh twist, then the Naked 3 is astounding at filling that little void. The concept of the palette is romantic and the first of it's kind to really run with this theme but some of the colours are dupe able. If you are torn between the Naked 1 and Naked 2 then I'd say go for the Naked 3, to me it is like the best of them both married together with a girly twist.

Verdict:
My most used is the Naked 2, but the most original in my collection is the Naked 3. I only tend to pull out the Naked 1 for the summertime but this is perhaps an odd force of habit that I have imposed upon myself.
If in doubt, follow the packaging to indicate what is inside

Let The Good Times Roll - Lush body and face wash

Something this glorious is, in my opinion, wasted to be smeared across the expanse of my body. No, this is much too lovely and I have branded it 'too nice for anywhere else'

Closing my eyes, hooking my nose over the edge of the pot and the smell of the funfair fills my nostrils. Not the ones from today, the one just like that fair in 'The Notebook' where even the grass looks like it could have the scent of candyfloss singed into it. Think caramelised sugar, butterscotch- sweet and low scented as opposed to Lush's infamous 'Snow Fairy' with it's strong and loud cotton candy blend.

Let The Good Times Roll is all the fun of the fair in a little pot.

It has a texture like rich, stiff butter cream icing but is a dense mustard colour and, do a little poking around and you will find fully formed, individual pieces of popcorn!

I have no idea how I scrub these into my face, I suppose it is all part of the sensory experience.

The paste is at first somewhat dry so needs water to be activated into a smotherable form.

I whip up a little little bit with the tip of my finger, and rub it into a wet palm of the alternate hand before applying to my damp face.

It does not have much of a lather to it, so do not expect frothy bubbles, once applied it is colourless if you distribute a thin layer evenly enough and has a very very slight grainy feel to it. With this in mind, this face wash is a nice treat for 'every other day' if your skin can survive it all like mine but if you're more of a delicate daisy then once a week will be terrific.