Our engagement photos... and the hangover

So my best friend/maid of honor has a super talented husband, Greg Bales, he did our engagement photos and most of our wedding pics too, we did hie and extra 2 photographers so he could enjoy himself as-well.

My husband had this whole thing planned out, we had gone to Edinbururgh every year for his birthday and this time was no different except he planned his birthday trip around all the wedding planning. He made the appointments with the locations, the venue, the whole enchilada and all I id was plan the engagement photo shoot, lazy bride? No, apparently this was his plan from the beginning.

But also we were celebrating his birthday and our engagement, so what did we do you ask? We got shitfaced and a heavy metal bar called Opium where they had this magical concoction called "The Opium Bomb and my husband thought having 20 of those was a great idea the night before our photoshoot. I also thought it was a great idea to drink all the scotch placed in front of me that night so of course we were super hungover the next day so here is what I did to try and avoid looking like crap in our engagement photos:

Slept in as much as I could, eat a heavy breakfast, shower for like 40 minutes and then applied the following:

I washed my face with my Clarisonic Mia and First Aid Beauty (FAB) cleanser, toned with Olay's witch hazel toner, applied my Josie Maran argan oil and then the magical unicorn Shiseido's Benefiance WrinkleResist24 Pure Retinol Express Smoothing Eye Mask
I left this on for as long as it was wet, this puppy help mask the nightmare under my eyes. Of course I packed on the makeup like crazy but I think the under eye mask helped sooooo much.

Here are some sample photos where you can't really tell that I'm actually dying inside:

Long time no type!

I feel like I should be apologizing to myself more than my 2 or 3 followers LOL I promised myself I'd get back into this and look at what happened... I got engaged and came to a complete stop when I could've been super cool by documenting all the beauty do's and don'ts at you wedding, my emergency bride bag, the makeup artist I hired to do my face on the day, etc.

Lucky for me/you, I kept tabs on everything! I have the pictures of the makeup trial, the artists name, number, email, website, the products she used, the one's I asked her to use (she was excited to use products we don't get in the UK), pictures and stories to share.

I also have an update on my skincare routine, my hair products, nail polish collection has been reduced, makeup has duplicated... (no shame), the husband and I are moving to Germany in less than a month, missing my old friends, looking forward to making new ones, aaaaand of course MY NEW HUBBY :)

Late July of 2014 was when my husband (then boyfriend) came back from a long ass business trip, we've been through it before, this time was no different. We then planned a trip to Edinburgh, Scotland for his birthday which was in late August, hotel was booked, flights were booked (for some reason it was cheaper by plane this time of year). Anywho, nice sunny day on August the 13th and oh I decided to surprise my BF with my new found skill on how to make sushi all by myself, so he comes home from work and I'm just now finishing up, he seems anxious, he got a package in the mail, goes upstairs and I hear all the shuffling in the office, he comes downstairs and tells me he got me a souvenir from his trip and he just got it in the mail... I'm covered in rice that smells like rice vinegar and rushes me to open this AMAZING handmade mini wooden chest with the TRIFORCE painted on it along with me name (he knows me too well) I got all excited because of course... Zelda LOL. So I open it and see grassy looking stuff some glass stones that I guess were meant to look like rupees and this shiny ass breathtaking "make me yours" looking engagement ring and all I could say was "OH MY GOD!" for like 3 minutes and then he finally said to me "You haven't said yes" of course I yelled "YES" at his face and hug him non-stop to then follow with something only I could be thinking about right then and there...

 As I tear up and start to cry as I hug him, my romantic side says "I smell like sushi..."

Yeah, I'm super romantic LOL! And of course I called my girlies and went to the pub a couple hours later and told my sushi to fuck off for now.

Empties Vol 2

My first empty is my holy grail of skin care products. In the past I have used acne focused moisturizers for my face, Retinol SA's, Retin A's, AHA's, BHA's, Salicylic Acid, Benzoyl Peroxide, OMG! You seriously have to study biochemistry engineering to be a woman, or a very self-conscious human being for that matter, to "look good". So when I came across a sample of Josie Maran's 100% pure Argan Oil, it was a blessing... that's literally all it contains: Argan Oil.

No fuss, no chemicals, just that. And guess what? My skin has never felt better; redness has been reduced, I hardly ever get any spots (sadly if I wear makeup I do get some), it doesn't feel oily, etc.
The pros could go on and on and the only "CON" is the price being a little out of my range although I can't really complain that much about the price either; I bought one full size bottle in Jan/Feb this year and I haven't finished the whole thing, we are now in August. It could've easily lasted me another month buuuut (this was unexpected) my partner has started using it to style his hair/treat a severe case of eczema he had for years which has been significantly reduced and has nearly disappeared since he started using Josie's Oil! Go Josie!

I know this isn't a "Single Product Review" post but I am in shock that now my guy is hooked on it too and he says he doesn't like using other styling products because this oil gives him  nice "natural" (non gooey) look. :)

Next empty that I swear by: It's a 10! Leave in Conditioner (purple lid, not orange). I've gone through 3 bottles already in the past 5 months.... I seriously need to find a dupe because this stuff is NOT pocket change friendly!  I am used to buying my own stuff with my own money, but I recently had to quit my job and go for anything else that was out there... and that meant a considerable pay cut. So nearly $20 for something that; yes, is amazing, but doesn't really give you the best bang for your buck (AKA tiny ass bottle) is NOT worth the splurge, unlike the previous mentioned product which was like $50 or $60 that has lasted about 6/7 months.

I thought I'd never go back to L'Oreal. I am currently on my second tub of L'Oreal's Total Repair 5 Damage Erasing Balm. It claims to repair up to 1 year of damage in one use. That's overrating yourself a bit L'Oreal. But I do have to admit that after a month of use I began to see positive results. The one day; my curiosity got the best of me. Once a weeks I will put some coconut oil in my hair, leave it over night in a silk scarf and wash in the morning. So one Sunday night I did the same thing and before pining my hair up into my scarf, I stared at my tub of Damage Erasing Balm and decided to experiment on my hair, rubbed some on my hands and braided my hair (already covered in coconut oil) with the Balm as-well. The next morning after wash and letting my hair air dry to about 70% I ran my fingers through my hair to detangle it..... OMG!!!!! My hair felt like baby hair, in a good way. It was crazy soft! And stays that way for days and days without weighing down my hair.

That's another empty, my organic coconut oil LOL.

The not so great one: Tresemme's Two Extra Hold Non-Aerosol Hair Spray. I know I've said in the past that I just don't like hairspray in general, but sometime you need a sleek look for a formal affair or a special event. So I bought this one day during my lunch hour because it was a crazy windy day in East Anglia and my do was all over the place. I chose unwisely. It took me forever to wash this out of my hair, made me feel like I had a helmet on my head, I tried to brush it out a bit before washing... didn't help. I had to wash it again and again. Now I'm not bashing on Tresemme, I love their regular hair spray, it's not too sticky and stiff but unfortunately it is in aerosol form. Sorry ozone :(

Glossybox UK May 2014

Hi there! Well I'm just going to get straight to the point; I got my glossybox mid-may but I decided to wait a couple weeks before posting my video because I wanted to give on honest review on what I thought about the products in my box.

The first one up is Garnier's BB Cream.It was a love/hate product for me, I love the fact that I don't wear makeup that often anymore, but most of the BB Creams I use are Asian and I absolutely love them. This product doesn't have as much coverage as other BB Creams I use and my skin tends to get oily in a matter of hours where with my everyday BB Cream (Skin79's Classic BB Cream) I can go all day without having to worry about what I look like at the end of my work day and it covers my acne scarring perfectly. I love the fact that is has high SPF protection but the down side to it is the shiny face you get after. It didn't break me out so it's good for sensitive skin and I more than likely would use during winter time.

Next: Rimmel Scandaleyes Mascara. I tried this a couple times and to be fair, it's just "OK". Don't get me wrong, I didn't hate it, it's perfect for every day use, if you want crazy lashes you'll have to layer it quite a bit.

Ummm I haven't used the 2True 3D Nail Candy at all LOL. So I can't give an honest review, I tend to have shellacs all the time.

I couldn't find the I love... Strawberries and Milkshake lipgloss on the website so sorry for not linking it. I loved it, the smell is just amazing! The formula isn't too sticky and stays in place for a very long time. :)

The Large Doughnut Ring is as always amazing and a lifesaver, you running late in the morning? Slap that baby on and you're ready in 3 minutes.

Ganier's Ultimate Beauty Oil Lotion. This was awesome!!!! Smells like heaven, left my skin deliciously soft. I super super OMG recommend this, I will probably be buying this as soon as I run out of my current body lotion (Bath and Body Works Black Raspberry Vanilla Body Lotion). NO JOKE! I'm buying this!!!

And lastly, the little perfume sample... I can't remember the name LOL (I'm bad at this, I know). But I am a butt when it comes to perfumes, I have my 3 faves, Flower by Kenzo (I've used this for 14 years now), Amor Amor by Cacharel (I've used this one for about 7 years now) and Loverdose by Diesel (I've been hook on this one for the past 2 and a half years now).

Hope my reviews were helpful and entertaining and don't forget to check up on videos and more reviews :)

Have an awesome weekend! TGIF!!!

Favorite Hair Products!

As you might remember from my videos, I mention that I am not a big fan of hair styling products, I like treatments, heat protection, and oils. I have been trying to grow my hair long and strong for 3 years now and am finally achieving what I want. I made the big mistake of going blonde last summer just out of curiosity and DUH my hair went dry and eternally frizzy. Keeping up the trims to make sure I get rid of any split ends and finally back to brunette.

Here are the products I use the most:

Shampoo & Conditioner: Lee Stafford's Hair Growth Shampoo & Conditioner both on the pricier side considering they are both 200ml bottles, I always make sure I buy these at Boots while there is an offer and throw in the Hair Growth Treatment. My total would be over £20 but Boots always puts out a beauty offer of 3 for the price of 2 at least once every other month and you can save up to £7! There's nothing wrong with trying to be thrifty. And because I WASH wash my hair a max of 3 times a week, I tend to use all 3 products together. First the shampoo, then I apply the treatment to my roots and the conditioner to my end and leave those 2 in until I'm done with the rest of me :P

After showering I like to put in a leave in conditioner/detangler/heat protectant. I haven't seen this one sold anywhere in the UK but I get it at Walmart.com. It's a 10 Miracle Leave-In Conditioner. I had read about this leave in conditioner on several blogs, read dozens of reviews on it and now that I have been using it over a month now I can give you my honest opinion. I like it and plan on repurchasing over and over again. I have to say I didn't expect it to make my hair miraculously beautiful from one day to the next or go super model shiny... However I do like the fact that it detangles, it is a heat protectant and it doesn't leave a gooey residue like some leave-in conditioners do.

After this process, I either let my hair air dry or half air dry and then go in with the blow-dryer for as little time as possible just to give me some volume and dry the rest of my hair. I could just count the leave-in conditioner as a heat protectant but I always go in with a little extra help. At the moment I use 2; Ganier's Anti-Frizz Serum which contains Morrocan oil and apricot oil. Not a hug fan of this one, it does help my hair dry even faster but if you get carried away by a little bit you end up with oily hair. My other heat protectant... well I just can't find anything negative to say about it! Redken's Smooth Lock Heat Glide. It smells delicious; I could not shut up about how sexy it smells, pretty sure my friend Helena hates me now because of it LOL. One and a half pumps is more than enough for my hair length and oh my, does it tame the frizz instantly!

And here are the products I use the least yet still would recommend:

Clear's Scalp & Hair Therapy Nourishing Oil. This I only use once every other month when I am doing the inversion method to help my hair grow. I massage it into my scalp for about 5 mins, leave it in for 2 hours and then shower. If you have straight or thin hair you might want to avoid this product, it's more for ethnic hair but I love it as a deep conditioning treatment and as a massage oil for my scalp.

BedHead's Ego Boost. This too is a leave-in conditioner that protects your hair from the elements (or so it says it has little to no description as to what it is protecting you from). It's said to be a split end mender which obviously I don't believe, does it smooth them out? Yes. I use this more as a freshen up from time to time because it smells pretty and yes it does smooth out your locks a bit. It's main use on my head; tame flyaways. I stopped using this after I started using my It's a 10! Leave-in conditioner.

IF! If I ever use hairspray (has to be a super special occasion AKA a ball or wedding) I use TRESemme's Tres Two if I'm looking for an updo. And bigsexyhair's Spray & Play if I'm going for voluminous loose locks. I tend to use these products more with my customers (I freelance hair, makeup & nails) along with this other product which I have never used on myself but it gives my customers the "texturized look" with a bit of hold; got2b's Beach Trippin Waving Spray.

And the extra: Charles Worthington's Style Setter Dry Shampoo. Does what it says on the tin and smells lovely. I have used it on both myself and customers to give a little MORE volume when needed.

My Youtube Channel

Don't forget to check out my videos on Youtube!

Beauty Haul Vol 1

So yesterday after a whole day of not being able to eat, a lot of napping and drinking plenty of water, I was so bored of feeling ill that I went and had a little splurge.

Half asleep I went onto sephora.com and thought it'd be a good idea to review these "tester" beauty kits I see on there all the time. The first one was LORAC Rockin' Red Hot Lip Gloss Collection; until now I had never tried a LORAC product so I'm excited to receive and review these lip glosses. This kit was on sale at sephora.com for $20 (US dollars) with originalprice tag at $27. I thought it was a good deal considering LORAC lip glosses are between $10 and $15.

Next up was Benefit Cosmetics Feelin' Dandy Lip & Cheek Kit which contains a Posetint (never tried that before), Dandelion blush (also a first time for me), Highbeam (have tried, haven't learned how to use properly), Ultra Plush Dandelion Lip Gloss (also a first). I'm looking forward to reviewing these. I do have the option to go to a shop in town and try Benefit Cosmetics products but because of import costs; the price tag tends to go way too high for my liking. This kit however was only $28.

And finally; the Smashbox Try Kit. I have tried several Smashbox products in the past and their primers are by far my favorite ones out there. This kit contains: Photo Finish Foundation Primer, Photo Finish Eyelid Primer, Limitless Eyeliner, Full Exposure Mascara, & a Lip Enhancing Lip Gloss. The kit cost a total of $19, which I also found ideal to test the whole range.

I also got a free sample of Bobbi Brown's CC Cream which I had never even heard of.

I will be reviewing all of these products individually in separate "Kit" posts that way I don't have to flood you with my ramblings.

On a completely different day a couple weeks ago I made another purchase, a gift from me to me. I have gone through quite a few flat irons and curling tongs since I moved to the UK. Either couldn't afford a higher end one before or just never got around to reading reviews or looking into what would suit me best, so finally I took the plunge and invested in a NuMe curling wand and a NuMe Hair Straightner. Fortunately one of the beauty bloggers I follow on youtube had a discount code which she shared with her followers and I got a $120 discount off my order.

This too I will be reviewing as soon as I receive the package (USPS and MPS have been a tad slow lately) but I am very much looking forward to reviewing these products for you.

Empties Vol 1

Hi! Glad to be typing again :) I was going to start doing my empties on a monthly basis but I came to realize; I don't go through products fast enough to actually do that LOL. So I will be posting empties as soon as I have at least 5 of them and you'll be getting my opinion on them.

First empty: Mac's Fluidline Gel Liner in Blacktrack. Lives up to the hype, I can only think of one negative thing to say about it and that would be that it dries out a little tiny bit sooner than other gel liners I have used. In its defense; I used it almost every day for as long as I had it unlike the ones I've been using lately which I might use once a week. For some reason I've become this "ANTI MAKEUP" makeup junkie, how? I love makeup, I love playing with it, I love to use it, but I avoid it as much as possible. During the week (when I go to work) I'll put on a full face of makeup but I avoid eye makeup and on the weekends I don't even bother with BB Cream. And I'm going off on a tangent, sorry!

Fluidline in Blacktrack

Second Empty: Soap & Glory's One Heck of a Blot. I love this pressed translucent powder, I had been using Revlon's Photoready Translucent Pressed powder prior to this and it looked great in person but I had to run away from photography, no pics for me! It does that thing some finishing powders do that contain a lot of silica (not sure if I'm right on the ingredient) but with a camera flash it lookes like you're either a ghost or you've just done cocaine, and that's not good! I would buy this one again and again if they had it at my local Boots, but sadly they don't :(

Third empty: Estee Lauder Double Wear Stay In Place Pressed Powder. This has to be one of the first "high end" powders I ever bought along with MAC's Mineralize Pressed Powder Foundation, both really good, amazing finish. Estee Lauder was a bit on the cakey side if I wasn't careful with my application. I have repurchased this on several occasions but oh sadness... Since I decided to cut back on my office hours, my income has reduced in size quite considerably so higher end makeup is beginning to be out of my budget. Oh well, you win some and you loose some, I do have to admit I am way happier now that I work less hours and stress doesn't get to me as much anymore. Totally worth it. (And there goes me off on a tangent again)

Empty number four: Estee Lauder's Double Wear Stay-in-Place Foundation. I loved this foundation for the longest time but shortly after repurchasing I realized my face hates liquid foundations. For the longest time I thought I was just that acne prone skin kinda gal but OH SURPRISE! For some random reason I stopped using foundation and stuck to JUST my BB Cream for a month and TADAAAA! Acne gone. I still use liquid foundation on very rare occasions; the Air Force Ball was one, new year's eve, Halloween... that one doesn't count, I was a Mexican Sugar Skull.

Loved my makeup this night!

Fifth empty: Superdrug's Artificial Nail Remover (couldn't find a link). This lil guy is a life saver. On my spare time I do Shellacs, acrylic nails, makeup and hair for special occasions for girls that know me from work, friends, etc. I love this as a hobby and I enjoy myself when I do it (one more reason for me to cut back on my office hours). So I used to purchase the elegant touch nail remover at Boots for nearly £3 a bottle, one day I walked into Superdrug and stumbled upon a bottle that looked just like it and £3 for 2 bottles. I know it makes me sound cheap or stingy if you like but for someone who goes through at least a bottle every month and a half, it does save me a lot in the long run. 

Sixth empty! TheFaceShop's Green Tea Mild Body Wash. I loved this body wash, I got it as a free sample from A-Poly seller on Amazon.com. Great customer's service and always sending free samples, this was a part of a 3 piece luxury size kit. Love the smell, the texture, it doesn't dry out your skin horribly. All around lovely and perfect size for travelling around. 

Empty number seven: Laura Ashley's Shower Cream. I wish I could buy a huge tub of this all year around but it was a part of a Christmas box my mom got me at Boots. The smell is soooooooo mesmerizing.

(I forgot to take a picture of the mascara btw)

Honorary mention in the hall of shame: Pantene's Smooth Shampoo... says to fight and control frizz. 2 weeks after using this (I wash my hair twice a week) my hair was horrible!!! Frizzy, dry, dead. I needed a haircut ASAP. I know I've dyed my hair a lot, but I've always been very careful to not push my hair to those extremes EVER. I had blue hair quite a few years ago and my hair was horribly burnt and dead and dry, so I never want to put my hair through that again. 

Hope some of my comments help you in your moments of need when shopping, I know most are positive reviews but I honestly prefer to tell you about the good things in a product than to complain endlessly about the negative stuff.

:)

February Glossybox Unboxing

YAY! I actually love this month's box! I got the following products:

Maybelline ColorSensationals Stripped Nudes Lipstick. This one actually ticked me off, says so in the title "Nudes", and I as-well as all other girls subscribed to Glossy had to fill out a beauty profile where they ask you hair colour, skin tone, hair texture, etc. Yet I was sent a dark brownish plum lipstick. How is this a nude on my super light skin??? I'm pretty sure I ticked the "Fair Skin" box when I filled in my beauty profile!

ELDORA False Eyelashes. A s a person who ONLY uses false eye lashes when I go out to a proper nightclub (which is once every 4 or 5 months) I can't really say anything bad about these. They look a little too dramatic for every day wear but again I don't use falsies every day. They're perfect for going out. It's a perfect score for this one :) 

Toni&Guy Stick It Up Gum. Again... WTF Glossy? Google this product. It's meant for short hair/layered hair. I'm pretty sure in your beauty profile they ask you to describe your hair, if you prefer styling products or hair care products, the length (maybe, not sure about this one). I have LONG straight hair and I don't use styling products, I use oils, treatments, masks. I am trying to grow long healthy hair and you send me a moulding wax with hard hold. The cool thing was that it's actually a full size product... that sadly I'm never going to use. My boyfriend is deployed as-well so it's not like I can just give it to him for testing. Although now that I think about it, I might ship it to him in a care-box. 

Ciate Paint Pot in SOMTHING Chilli. The colour was lovely, this is actually my first Ciate Paint Pot. Downside; it looks like the product is old and has been in storage. I'm not saying for a very long time but nail polishes tend to have a 24 months shelf life. Now lets say it's been in storage for 10 months... it won't have the same consistency as a new Ciate nail polish yet for someone like me who had never tried Ciate before, I'm going to base my opinion on this product, I might not buy another Ciate varnish because I disliked the formula's consistency. The idea is to try new products we could very easily love and end up purchasing full sizes, right? 

NOUGAT LONDON Body Shimmer. Great smell, pretty presentation. Not so much shimmery, but I didn't mind that at all. I applied and reapplied several times to see if there was a "in your face" shimmery effect but there wasn't. I was please with this one.

Lindor Chocolate Bar. I'm not going to say anything negative about this... I love chocolate. 

The seem to have redeemed themselves this month after all the negative feedback they received. One negative thing I can say about this is the fact that unlike most companies; Glossybox takes the payment WAY ahead of time before even preparing the boxes for shipment. No w I don't know how common this is in the UK but other beauty boxes I've subscribed to in the past have never done that. Another thing was that February Glossybox was "Valentine's" themed, well guess what? I got my box on the 22 of February… nearly 10 days after Valentine's day, plus I never received my shipping confirmation email. 

The box looked beautiful, well designed, good sturdy materials but again… they just don't seem to understand that most of their customer's are getting very annoyed over the fact that you see most of their budget washing away on a cardboard box instead of the contents of it. And I too agree they should focus more on the quality of the contents than the quality of the box. 

That's my opinion on this month's Glossybox and I cannot stress enough that the company really needs to stop focusing on the pretty paper, so many year long customers are giving up and unsubscribing from Glossy due to this. 

Best of luck and keep your chin up girls :)

My Nail Polish Rack Nightmare

So for those girls out there that love nail polishes as much as I do, you know it's a dream to own one of those acrylic nail polish racks that hold something like 96 or 102 nail polishes, you mount it on the wall and you have all your lovely polishes on display.

For some reason just the thought of it make me giddy. I've seen this rack several time on amazon.com and something "similar" and waaaay smaller on amazon.co.uk which is frustrating enough as it is.

But OH! I have an APO box fortunately, and most people ship to APO because in reality they're only shipping as far as NJ after that the MPS takes care of the package.

Here comes the fun part...

I've had to purchase it twice! The first time the seller eCompleteStore, everything seemed to be going fine, my card was charged, 3 days later... the seller cancelled because they were having "shipping issues". I thought "OK, sometimes people can't ship to APO or prefer not to because it's a bit of a hassle".  I waited until I got refunded to repurchase from someone else, I really should've taken that as a sign.

This time I clicked buy from the IDEAS store on amazon.com as-well, it was a little more expensive due to shipping but still only 40 something dollars. Days went by, hmm still no shipping confirmation? I get an email the next day "Cancelled due to customer exchange"... I went ballistic. I immediately went to their store front and double checked; they shipped to APO, oh but look... they changed their mind. The exact same product $84 plus shipping.

Obviously I was more upset over the second time I tried to buy this darn rack than the first time because not only did the seller cancel and say I was the one who changed her mind but also the ridiculous new price tag! (For those wondering here is the link to the store front of this fairly unprofessional company.

However, Amazon's customer service was AMAZING, guess they felt bad for me and gave me a $5 gift card and I didn't even rant. In my email to Amazon I only explained what the original price was, that I was accused of cancelling the order, and that I understood that they could've made the mistake of putting in the wrong price for this article but they could have at least informed me of this mistake instead of using me as an excuse and I highly recommend they notify the seller that it was inappropriate.

I cannot believe my inner Latina didn't go full explosion on this guy... maybe that's just me growing older and wiser :P

Anyway! This is the beauty I've been trying to get a hold of :(
Nail Polish Rack

I shall have to build my own!!!
Wish me luck.

Josie Maran 100% Pure Argan Oil Review

Several months ago I purchase several sample sized products from Sephora.com one of which was the Josie Maran Argan Love Your Skin: Cleanse & Nourish To-Go-Duo. Both products I loved but I didn't seem to convince myself enough to purchase the full size bottle of Josie's argan oil, $50 was a little too much for my budget no matter how much I loved the results.

On the 23rd of January I said to myself: "Myself... you've worked for your money, you didn't get it for free. You deserve a lil something for yourself". And I did :)

From my first experience with this oil I experienced so many positive changes and the first one was... NO SPOTS, that's right no acne. I have blemish prone skin that goes a little oily in the summer and to my dismay I have hyperpigmentation issues as-well even if I don't touch the spot at all! Now that I've been using it again for a whole month I've had one tiny spot on my cheek and that was my fault because I fell asleep with my makeup on one night (in my defense; I had a fever).

Another one of the benefits I began to notice was my skin tone began to even out. As most women, the area surrounding my nose, the corners of my mouth and the corners of the eyes tends to get a little red (I noticed this began to happen to me around the age of 26 and panicked). This problem began to diminish significantly after about 2 weeks of use.

What pushed me to buy it? I had already tried it, plus it was mid December and I had to reapply moisturizer several times throughout the day to keep my skin from going completely dry, I needed a little something extra (it has been crazy windy/rainy/cold in England this winter).

REMEMBER if you do decide to purchase this marvelous product never forget that it is an oil and you only need 3 drops for your whole face, it's very easy to get carried away. Fortunately the bottle comes with a dropper so you can be extra careful :)

So there it is, would I recommend it? Yes, very much. Especially if you live in a cold and windy area. I have yet to put it to the test during summer but it's cold and windy in the summer over here as-well so I'm not too worried.

Hope this was a helpful read and remember to send feedback, I'd appreciate it greatly.

Have an awesome weekend my lovelies.

I'm back and I'm sorry

I was beginning to have a good rhythm; writing post, filming weekly but sadly I turned away from my blog. I'm not proud of it but I am not ashamed.

The reason was that my other half was being deployed to a non combat zone yet very far away with a poor internet connection. So the past 3 to 4 weeks of our time has been dedicated to precisely that "US time" and prepping for the separation to come.

He left this Tuesday and I fell ill the night before he left so now I've also been dealing with fever, coughing, stuffy sinuses, and much more fun without my cuddle monster and as up tight and cold as many people perceive me as, I am a mushy goop of sappiness in the privacy of our own home.

So now I'm finally starting to feel better! I am filming 3 videos on Sunday, writing a butt load of posts as-well :)

I hope my readers and followers forgive me for being on hiatus but a girl needs a pity party in these sort of situations (I gave myself permission to eat tons of chocolates and not wear make up for a week, so NO you don't want to see my face right now).

I have so much to show and tell you!!! Coming up soon:
Josie Maran Pure Argan Oil Review
bareMinerals; my long lost friend (story & review)
The Collection Grows (Nail polish haul)
Taking The Plunge - Investing in a Couple of NuMe Tools (straighter & curling wand)
Interviewing My Readers (2 volunteers so far)
My Nail Polish Rack Nightmare
Overseas Beauty Haul (goodies I've purchased from all over the place and had to wait to get them all in order to write/film this! LOL)
And I'll stop now before I spoil it all!

Thank you my lovelies, I'll type to you soon :)

#deploymentsucks

New Year's Eve 2013

Garnier Olia Review

Last year around spring/summer time and after years of black hair I decided to go blonde, yes, you read correctly. BLONDE.

It didn't look bad, at all, I honestly expected to look like crap considering my Hispanic background, we don't look too great blonde unless it's our natural color. But I went for it and it look... like this:

Me & my friend Caitlin on my 28th birthday last year

It became a nightmare after a few weeks; upkeep, maintenance, constant conditioning treatments, frizziness attacking me constantly, etc. I grew tired of it fast, but I was determined to go to Oktoberfest in Munich with light hair! And I did :D

My muscular better half & me in the Paulaner tent

I tried to go back to brunette a couple times, I wen't redhead for a couple weeks which was fun (also to help the brunette adhere better), but oh sadness... a month or two later it would wash away and back to blonde.

Yesterday I was bored, I had no plans other than washing dirty dishes so on my way home from work I purchased a couple of boxes of Ganier's Olia hair dye in 5.0 (medium brown) and boy did I like it! Hopefully the results will last (haven't had great experiences with Ganier Hair Colors).

Anyway! The product; on their website it says that this is the first oil powerd hair color on the market which conditions your hair. It doesn't contain ammonia which is a BIG plus in my book. It also says that the creamy  formula is blah blah blah, yes it's creamy and that seems to avoid the dreaded dripping all over the place. 

The results, no I have to admit after doing half my head I did start to get tired of doing it because I never realized how much more difficult it would be when your hair is mid-back length! So the second half of my hair was done a lil "sloppy". The color is very true to the picture on most of my hair, again the lighter patches are my own fault.

Once the whole thing was done I noticed something odd, most of the OTHER hair dyes tend to keep a creamy/gel like texture throughout the wait, not this one. For those who have bleached their hair on more than one occasion, you might have stumbled upon or are familiar with the Redken Extreme Anti Snap line. These hair products are intended for damaged hair, when you push your luck a little too much and get nasty stringy, bubblegum textured hair. The entire line is packed with proteins that you've just magically destroyed on your beautiful tresses, and Redken was so kind enough to put it in a bottle. When you apply these products, if you get a little carried away, your hair will feel a little crunchy as if you had just applied a little too much hairspray. Ganier's Olia does the same thing while you're dying your hair, so you do have to ensure you saturate every strand of hair or you will end a tad patchy like myself (I'll blame it on my arms being tired).

YAY brown hair! 

Would I recommend it? Yeah, my hair feels great and it's not blonde anymore! Happy customer. I really hope it doesn't wash away as bad as the others have.

Thumbs up for Ganier's OLIA.

Pre-Valentine's Valentine's Manicure

So I had originally filmed a video for this design but oh surprise! Twas horrible and I was unprepared and nervous and ended up staining my bed with nail polish LOL!

But anywho! Attached are the pictures of the end result and listed and linked are the products I used and at the end I linked the manis that inspired me to do this design :)

Hope you like it!

My fav was the pinky

The pinky heart was inspired by NailArtista, the 3 layered fluffy nail was inspired by a pic I found on Google last week but I can't find it anymore to give the artist their credit so if someone finds it please be kind enough to let me know in the comments! The polka dots and hearts were just random because I had no idea what to do on those 2 fingers.

Soooo cute! 

Ignore my horrible cuticle, I've been anxious nibbling my thumb :P

So the products used were:
Bluesky Gel Polish in Romantique
Bluesky Gel Polish in Studio White
Gelish Top & Base Coat
A UV lamp I got ages ago can't find the link
Dotting Tools
China Glaze Something Sweet
Barry M Polish in Pink Silver Glitter 
And any simple white nail polish for dots here and there


So for those who are familiar with the whole Shellacs process you know how it works, and for those who don't; I give a brief explanation here on one of my previous posts.

I hope you liked the mani, it's really cute and very "ad hoc" with the love birdy season :)

My First Glossybox UK

For the longest time I had been wanting to subscribe to the UK version of Glossybox because unfortunately US Glossybox doesn't ship overseas (sad face). But I discovered that even though my credit/debit accounts have an American billing address I can still subscribe to this beauty box (happy face).

So I thought it'd be a great idea to start at the same time this new year came to visit us and today, yes today! I got my very first box!

Now I have to admit I wasn't blown away with the contents but I am still thrilled like a little kid with a new toy. I had been receiving Birch Boxes for a while a couple of years ago but sadly, because they were shipping to an APO, I would receive my box about 6 weeks after they shipped and we encountered several bump along the way. So unfortunately I had to unsubscribe (also the fact that they were starting to send me food annoyed the crap out of me).

You can subscribe to Birch Box here.

So! Here it is; I like the packaging a lot. It really does give a sense of good customer's service, someone sat down and invested their time in packaging this, the bow, the sticker with the logo, how the items are strategically placed in the box, the whole thing screams "I care". And that is something vital for a company like this to depict, people enjoy unwrapping a presents on Christmas because it gives us the sentiment that someone cares and took their time with YOU. And we humans are naturally selfish.

The item I enjoyed the most were the Vintage Cosmetic Company Tweezers (their website is badass!) which are very similar to Tweezerman style tweezers. The detail and colour was adorable.
The item I truly disliked was the Yu-Be Moisturizing Skin Cream which OK so yeah, it's good for the skin... if you can get over the smell, that the packaging looks cheap, the fact the sample sent was enough for one foot and that's probably why I was sent 2.

The product that made me think "Dafuq?" Vaseline essential moisture.... Seriously, I already buy this every time I get a new tattoo after a week or so of using the recommended ointment. I was kinda sad I got it to be completely honest. As I just mentioned a line ago, I already purchase this often enough like to have paid for a deluxe sample I already carry around in my purse.

And last but not least; I'm actually looking forward to trying the Anatomicals Puffy the Eye Bag Slayer eye patches because I DO get puffy eyes very easily. And this is why I subscribed to this, to try new beauty products I could possibly repurchase on it's own.

All in all it wasn't a complete disappointment but it wasn't mind blowing. YES, I am still excited about receiving Glossybox every month and I'm looking forward to see how things develop. Could go great or could turn shitty :) Oh the suspense!

If you're interested in signing up to Glossybox UK just click here and is you live in the US of A you can sign up here.

Don't forget to send you feedback, I more than welcome your comments and suggestions :D
Also; here's my very first video! yeah... I'm freaking out LOL hope it doesn't suck too horribly.

Happy Tuesday!!!!!!!!

Soap & Glory Girl-O-Whirl Review

I have only just recently began to broaden my makeup horizons. I still remember the first time I bought my first mascara over $10; it was the summer of 2012 and my boyfriend had taken me to Mykonos, Greece as a present and on our way back I stopped by the beauty Duty Free area and just stood there and stared at Lancôme's Hypnôse Doll Eyes mascara. Approximately 3 minutes after my purchase, I curled my lashes and BAM! Fell in love.

Before that I was familiar only with higher end eye shadows, I had a tiny collection of MAC, a palette by Too Faced and a couple of Estée Lauder products, and a lot of expensive ass skin care products from all over the world (I'm a fan/junkie of Korean skin care products) .

Now that I've been living in the UK for over 3 years I have gotten into makeup a lot more. There is far much more to pick from, high street brands are known for being just as good as the high end cosmetics.

I've come to notice Soap & Glory gaining popularity in America lately, I've seen it ridiculously over-priced at Sephora.com but I don't blame Sephora of course, it's like trying to get San Francisco's Benefit products over here (I had a mini heart attack when I saw their boi-ing concealer at nearly £18 which is $30). My first Soap & Glory makeup purchase was the One Heck of a Blot face powder and I have been hooked ever since.

Over Christmas time Boots had several beauty and spa gift ideas that I was tempted on getting for myself... selfish you say? Not at all teehee! I merely was thinking about reviewing all of them to help my readers/followers decide what to purchase and what to avoid. Good save!

Anyway! I went to Boots today for a quick browse and stumbled upon the leftovers at 70% off! I went straight for Soap & Glory's "Girl-O-Whirl" set because I wanted to try a little more than just their face powder which I already loved. I had already gotten curious about their Sexy Mother Pucker glosses and their brow shaper/highlighter.

So here it is:

 


And what it contains:

Here is the package description of what it contains.

The mascara comes in black, the brush isn't anything extraordinary but it's good for and everyday use mascara. I don't think it's water proof (doesn't state otherwise anywhere on the packaging.

This one has to be my fav. The Sexy Mother Pucker Gloss Stick in Nudist, which is a beautiful sheer pink gloss. Smells of sweets and goes on like butter. It feels great on the lips, they feel moisturized and girly :) 

The eye shadows aren't really worth talking about. Top left very light beige color is actually very well pigmented
and serves well as a base color to prime your lid. The rest of the colors were very sheer
and didn't build up very well aside from the matte grey at the bottom right.
And as you can see the eye shadow brush was an embarrassment, almost as terrible as my grammar. 

The Solar Powder multi-shade bronzer was actually quite lovely,
a little on the shimmery side for my liking but I would still use it.

And this is the Glow All Out Luminizing Face Powder which to me looked more like an adorable peachy blusher. It too is a tad shimmery and sadly for me (acne scarring and all that shit) I can't really use shimmery things on my face without looking like a bruised peach when using too much shimmer.


Also it comes with 6 panned lipsticks which are identical to the previous year's lipstick gift set Boots offered.
I'll upload a picture tomorrow with both side to side.

Sounds great right? WRONG!!! There is one unforgivable flaw with this gift set.

THE PACKAGING! It's driving me insane. It comes in a large over-sized zip bag which would be great if the mount where they glued all the eye shadows and lipsticks on wasn't made of the flimsiest plastic on earth. I was terrified to take out the mascara and gloss in fear of breaking all the eye shadows and face powders!

I honestly think this gift set would have been worth those £40 YES 40 pounds if the packaging would've had a bit more invested into it. Like Tarte's or Benefit's cardboard packaging, it's earth friendly and "hellava" lot more sturdy!

I know, I seem far too upset for something so petty BUT in my defense; our house hasn't had heating for 6 days now and cheap ass plastic isn't worth 40 quid! 

I'm out, I need to get a hold of this damn plumber and kill him. It's Winter! In England! Dafuq! 

Golddigger Manicure

Boring Monday afternoon, the BF playing some Assassin's Creed IV and I just had pasta for dinner. I don't want to move but I look at my tattered hands (more like my chipped away mani) and gather the strength to go up to the 3rd floor bathroom... where I have all my nail polishes. I hate myself for putting them soooo far away.

What shall I do? Glitter? Matte grey? Something neutral? Or should I just leave them natural for a while? ....hah! Yeah, sure.

Oh hey, I haven't actually ever tried anything with white nail polish aside from that Ruffian Manicure I did on my mom for Christmas. Let's see what crazy idea I can come um with...

A couple of coats of white later

So the white looked very purtty on it's own but a little too "blah" for someone who's trying to build up a reputation in the nail industry. So I went upstairs... again! This time I grabbed one of those eye-shadow applicators my mom got me for this sort of thing (she know I use brushes not applicators for my actual makeup). I decided to try a gold ombre with Revlon's Gold Coin which is a lovely gold color and currently one of my favorites. I began to dab away.

The results; better than I expected. Lets add a top coat, but why any top coat? I went for Bourjois Vampire Vanity with gold specks in it! 

I actually think it looked more chic without the specks but I was not willing to go upstairs again to get a different top coat LOL! It's Monday! Cut me a break :P 

Lush Bubble Bath Beauty Haul

Saturday late morning... get with the girls and get ready to go on a shopping spree!

It was one of those days where I wasn't really motivated to buy loads and loads of clothes but the moment I saw Lush had quite a few products on sale, a smile from ear to ear drew itself on my face and I'm pretty sure I looked like the Grinch for a second there.

I knew that Christmas products that were left over the holidays were on sale but unfortunately all these have been removed from their website but if you are up for hunting, go to Queensgate Shopping Centre in Peterborough they still have quite a bit of Christmas bath favourites available.

 


First one up is So White, it smells more like bergamot than it does apples and the scent is a tad strong. I'm very much looking forward to using this one early morning because of the freshness of the scent it's more of a "wake-me-up" kind of bath bomb. Also I thought it was cute that it's the size on an apple :P

So White

Next is Star Light, Star Bright, which I was doubtful about getting at first because it was glittery and what not but while I was in the shop I quickly Googled it on my phone and read some very positive reviews. It smells zesty and like citrus, leaves the skin incredibly smooth after using and I love how the water gets all glittery and pretty.  

Star Light, Star Bright

I didn't know what to expect of Bombardino, I honestly only grabbed it because I saw it on the website and thought it looked cute. I got one to try it out and it smells like straight up butter. If you've ever tried Lush's lip scrub in Popcorn it is the exact same smell. On your lips it smells nice but I'm not sure I want to smell like a buttery snack before I go to bed. I'm on the fence about this one still. 

Bombardino

And last but not least, my favourite out of the whole lot: The Melting Snowman. What can I say about this sad looking little guy? It smells spicy, Christmassy, and the presentation of it is quite adorable.

Melting Snowman

As mentioned before, I'm a sucker for a good indulgence bath and if stress is becoming overwhelming, a bubble bath is the best way to unwind.