Shopping Haul

I've been sadly lacking with the posts lately....so I've decided to do this post about what I bought today!

Some gorgeous ankle length biker style boots from River Island - £50

 Skin care and hair products from Boots

 

Batiste Dry Shampoo - it's on offer at buy one get the second half price so £3.48 total

Umberto Giannini Wax spray and Sexy Body Mousse - 2 for £8

Nip & Fab Viper Venom Face and Eye Kit £24.95

Nip & Fab VieperVenom Night Cream £19.95

Nip & Fab Moisture Fix Day Cream - free on a 3 for 2 but would have been £17.49



 Gorgeous slouchy black knit with a bit of shimmer from Next £22

Grey crochet top from Next £18

 

I picked up a couple of basics as well, tights and vest tops.

 

All in all, a good day shopping for some new additions to my wardrobe and a few beauty treats.

 

I've been in need of some new skin care, winter plays havoc with my skin. Plus I've gone for the chop and transformed my long damaged hair to shoulder length healthy locks so I want to play with some new looks.

 

I will definitely be posting some reviews soon. I have a couple in mind as well as ones for my treats today so keep an eye out.

 

Love you!

Clarisonic Mia 2 - 3 months on

I was lucky enough to get a Clarisonic Mia 2 to try out for 3 months thanks to the lovely people at Current Body! I had been looking at these for a while but, honestly, I wasn't sure about spending £120 for something I wasn't sure would be for me. The Mia 2 is an electrical face cleansing brush, a bit like an electric toothbrush for your face. I have quite sensitive skin so I thought this gadget would be too harsh.

Here is a bit of blurb from the website:

The Mia 2 is an extension of the popular Clarisonic Mia family that gives you all the benefits of sonic cleansing in a compact, easy-to-use style. The Mia 2 unlike the Mia features two speeds, a one-minute pulsing T-Timer and a protective travel case for on-the-go sonic cleansing. Now you have more choices for beautiful skin.

This really is a gadget for girls! It is so simple to use. Here's a little video I've done (be kind, it's my first attempt).

The Mia 2 comes with an easy to attach charger, and the charge lasts for a couple of weeks so it's perfect for throwing in your suitcase for holidays, especially with the handy wee travel case!

Above is a before picture.....you can see how my skin has improved on the video above, and I really feel like it has improved loads. Here is a picture taken today, with nothing but BB cream and a little mascara.:

I feel like my skincare is so much more effective, I'm using less moisturiser and less makeup because all the dead skin and other junk that would just sit on the surface of my skin has gone so my moisturiser can sink in better.

I'd say the Mia 2 is definitely worth investing in, just suffer through the breakout that will inevitable come in the first couple of weeks and then after hat you will never be without the Mia 2!

Nails Inc Spring Summer Collection

I succumbed to my polish addiction and bought the new Nails Inc Spring Summer Collection last week. It's a mixture of neons and pastels, perfect for the coming season and it's Nails Inc!

There are 6 shades:

Primrose Hill Gardens – neon pink
Royal Botanical Gardens – mint
Kensington Palace Gardens – salmon pink
Belgravia Gardens – coffee nude
Chelsea Physic Garden – pastel blue
Hampton Court Palace Gardens – pure orange

Available to buy at Nails Inc for £22.

I couldn't decide which shade to try first so I used 5 of them :)

It's the usual quality polish you get with Nails Inc - I have a little chipping after 3 days but I think that's more to do with the fact that a few of my nails are peeling than the actual polish.

I totally love the shades - Royal Botanical Gardens reminds me of Tiffany blue! And Primrose Hill Gardens actually dries matt so the whole collection is absolutely on trend! I've never really seen myself as an orange nail polish kinda girl, and thought I probably wouldn't use that shade, but I actually love it.

Obviously at this price the bottles are smaller than standard size but still 4ml so enough for lots of use and the colours are gorgeous. Definitely worth a buy!

Love you!

Skincare Haul & Cleanser Review

So, I've been on a mission to find a cleanser and moisturiser.

I went out almost 2 weeks ago, just after getting my Mia2, and bought a couple of contenders.

The first was Soap & Glory Peaches & Clean, which is £7 for 200ml. First impression, this smells just like peaches, with a hint of mint. It leaves my skin feeling soft, not tight at all and very clean. I didn't really research the purchase, just went with what I read on the bottle. Research seems to say this cleanser is good for skin that tends towards being oilier, which is not me, but I have had good results with periodic use.

I also bought Good Things  Fresh Start Creamy Cleanser. This is lovely, very creamy and the texture is gorgoues but I think it's more aimed at younger skin, I'd say teens to early twenties. I love the feel and semll but I don't think it hs the moisture need for skin more mature (god I hate to describe myself as "more mature").

I also got Good Things Stay Clear for my daughterk how is 8 but already experiencing blackheads and the beginnings of breakouts (much more than I would like to believe at her age to be honest) and her skin seems to be more like a teenagers. The results are fantastic, her pores are clearing with nothing but using this product.

I also bought Good Things 5 Minute Facial. I've only tried this once and it initially felt quite moisturising but 5/10 minutes after rinsing I could feel my skin tightening, a sure sign of dryness.

Overall, I think for people in their teens/early 20's Good Things is a great range, just not for me. The texture of the products I have tried so far is gorgeous, the smell is quite faint but the results are great for the age range they aim at.

So far, my favourite cleanser/facewash is Benefit B.right but Soap & Glory is a close second.

I will do a post soon on the various cleansers I have tried with the Mia 2 and also to update on my progress with the Mia 2.

Let me know your thoughts on the best cleansers, the Mia 2 and anything else that takes your fancy!

Love you x

Clarisonic Mia 2

The lovely people at Current Body were kind enough to send me a Clarisonic Mia 2 to test for the next 3 months! I was so excited to receive this today, it's something I've been thinking about buying but I have to be honest, the price tag was making me a bit unsure. 

Clarisonic say the Mia 2 is the essential first step in your daily skin care, using a gentle sonic micro-massage action to cleanse deeply. It cleans pores without harsh abrasion or chemicals, cleansing so effectively that skin care products will absorb better. They claim 6x better cleansing, reduced appearance of pores, fine lines and wrinkes, and improved skin tone. The Mia 2 has two speed settings and a T-Timer that pauses to let you know when to move on to the next area of your face.

In the box was the Mia 2, charger, travel case and a sample cleanser from Clarisonic. I excitedly plugged it in to charge as soon as I got home and waited for it to be charged enough to use for the first time.

Lately my skin has been really dry, with flaky patches. The cold weather seems to be playing havoc with it and even my emergency slapping on of Eight Hour Cream hasn't rescued it, so I was intrigued to see what effect the Mia 2 would have. 

First, I took my make up off. Here's a lovely picture of me with no make up before using the Mia (I can't actually believe I'm putting make up free pictures up!)

You can use the Mia 2 to remove make up but I've read lots of reviews saying this stains the brush head so decided not to do that. Then I applied cleanser to my face before turning on the Mia and letting it go to work. You spend 20 seconds on your forehead, 20 seconds on nose/chin and 10 seconds on each cheek. There is a little pause when it's time to move on.

Then I rinsed off the remains of the cleanser and my skin feels smoother than before, still a little dry and a little red around the forehead and cheeks, but definitely an improvement. Here's a picture after cleansing and before putting any product on.

They say this is gentle enough to use twice a day but I think I'll start off with once a day and see how it goes. Considering I had removed make up before using the Mia I was surprised to see how much grime there was on the brush! Scary to think that all that muck would have just stayed on my skin all night - yuck! I've put some moisturiser on since taking that picture and maybe it's just wishful thinking but I think I can feel the difference in how products absorb into the skin so hopefully they will be a little more effective.

I'm going to try my Soap & Glory face wash with the Mia as well, and maybe try out a few other products to see what has the best effect and I'll keep you updated with my progress and whether I'm going to invest in a Mia 2 when the trial is over :) Watch out for my video review as well!

Mia 2 is an extension of our popular Mia family that gives you all the benefits of sonic cleansing in a compact, easy-to-use style. Mia 2 features two speeds, a one-minute pulsing T-Timer® and a protective travel case for on-the-go sonic cleansing. Now you have more choices for beautiful skin. - See more at: http://www.clarisonic.com/shop/sonic_skin_cleansing_systems/sonic_skin_cleansing_system_mia2/#sthash.scljfAT5.dpuf

Mallzee - Social Shopping

It's been a while since I posted last but I heard about a great new site and just had to blog about it!

Mallzee is a new shopping site where you can create your own online shopping mall. There are currently over 200 brands signed up to the site, Urban Outfitters, New Look, Feel Unique and St. Tropez to name a few. 

You can drag the stores you want into your mall and you can browse all the products in one place!

Even better, you can connect to Facebook and Twitter and make shopping online more social! 

Once you've browsed and found all the goodies you want you can create polls to share on social networks for your friends to vote. It's a girly shopping day online! I love getting together with friends to shop and have a couple of cocktails but when the weather is horrible it's just not so appealing. Now you can make an online shopping date and stay warm and cosy, you can even have cocktails!

An added bonus to inviting friends to your mallzee is that as the ‘owner’ you earn money every time anyone buys from your Mallzee, including you! (That's right you get paid when you shop?) You can sign up for a prelaunch invite now at www,mallzee.com

L'Oreal Mythic Oil

I've posted before about being introduced to Moroccanoil and falling in love with it. I absolutely love this product but wanted to find a more affordable alternative.

After a little searching I came across L'Oreal Mythic Oil which is much more affordable, 125ml for £13.55.

I find it gives just as good results as the more expensive versions, but suits my budget a lot better.

I have shoulder length hair, it's fine but there's lots and lots and lots of it. I use 2 pumps before blow drying and my hair is gorgeously soft and supple feeling. My hair tends to be a little dry because of regular colouring, blow drying, straightening, curling, and all the other things we do to our poor hair. I also use a little after straightening to finish off my style and tame any flyaways.

Highly recommend this little gem of a product no matter what hair type you have.