Beauty Boxes...

As we all know there are a lot of beauty boxes on the market now, sending out samples and sometimes full sized items as well for £10-£12.95 a month, possibly more if you choose. I'm subscribed to 4 and I think it's too much, not only do I already have beauty products spilling out of my entire room but now I'm having to make space to place the boxes themselves. They're all a great treat and I get to blog about them and review the products I receive too, which is something I really enjoy. However, for someone who really wants to save up after spending like there's no tomorrow I do feel I should make some cutbacks.

The 4 I'm subscribed to are:

- GlossyBox £12.95
- Boudoir Privé £10
- Amarya £10
- Feel Unique £9.95

I've received at least 1 of all of them apart from the Feel Unique box which I've yet to experience. If you have any ideas on how to cut down or which you think would be best to keep and so on please help! I personally dislike GlossyBox's "ethics" if you will, of adding an additional postage and packaging charge and including a mini of a very clearly non-luxury product but I like their boxes, and I like that they seem to bring me brands I'd never previously heard of and I also like that a lot of the time they provide full-sized products too!

I like Boudoir Privé so far, they've given me brands I hadn't previously heard of and are very luxurious and exclusive if you will - or have that feel about them at least. The issue I have with Boudoir Privé is that sometimes  their samples really don't feel deluxe to me... Amarya is one I think I will be sticking with because of the organic and ethical stance they have on their box and I like that a lot. They've also promised at least one full sized item so that's good.

I was debating between cancelling Feel Unique and/or Boudoir Privé...but I really do like Boudoir Privé's boxes, but I was thinking that I could just buy from the new shop they're launching soon. I really don't know, I'm very stuck! I'll also be posting my thoughts on September's Boudoir Privé beauty box within the next few days if that'll help anyone help me!

I also am a little worried that as soon as I cancel my boxes they're going to put stuff that I really wanted to try in them!

Please leave your thoughts! Thank you so much for reading x

Tell Me About Yourself Award!

I was awarded this by the lovely Cas from Hair and Beautylicious so thank you to her! 

The Rules:

- Thank and link back to the person who awarded you

- Write 7 random things about yourself

- Spread the love to 15 other blogs

1) I can sleep very late and wake up very late or early but I have a very odd sleeping pattern which I need to change asap.

2) I spend way too much money on makeup/beauty related items even though I hardly wear it!

3) I hate it when people swear/curse, and when at me I won't talk to them for days.

4) I'm a hygiene freak - I won't say clean freak because my bedroom has been a mess for ages now!

5) I've never eaten Chinese food.

6) I love Autumn/Winter clothing - anything that will keep me warm and wrapped up.

7) I hate getting a tan - usually because my face/hands/body become different colours.

I'm only going to spread the love to 5 blogs as again, I'm very tired and I seem to blog at night nowadays...hmm...when I get back on here I may add some more!

1) For the Love of Makeup!

2) The Budget Beauty Book

3) The London Beauty Review

4) Modesty Brown

5) Ditzy Glamour 

I hope you enjoyed! :)

Guest Writers Needed!

Hi everyone!

I'd like to start up a new series where I post a guest post every week, I've chosen Wednesday as the day of posting.

So every Wednesday a guest post will go up, if you are interested please send me an email with the following, you don't have to have a blog, just the desire to write!

Please email with:

• The article - please provide text and images
• Article can be about anything you want, related to beauty/fashion/lifestyle
• Your name and blog link (if you have a blog)

Depending on the number of emails and level of interest this receives I will inform you of when each post will go up and how long I'll keep this series going. I'd like to begin this as soon as possible so please drop me an email at naviliciousbeauty@yahoo.com with everything and I'll get your post up!

I will also be having a clear-out of makeup and beauty soon, a lot of items I don't want or need will be either put up onto the blog sale or I'll write another post/page where I can send things out to you to review, those reviews will have to have a deadline though.

Thank you so much!

Nav x

Winners of my 1st Blog Birthday Giveaway!

Thank you so much to everyone who entered, I had an amazing 85 valid entries and from those the 3 winners are:

RosieHannah - You have won Sleek's Monaco Eyeshadow Palette, Monte Carlo Pout Polish and Santorini Blush


Holly - You have won 2 17 GWPs including nail polish and a palette


Hair and Beautylicious - You have won a 17 GWP, Rebel Nails Nail Wraps and a So Kiss Me...? Lip Palette

If all the winners would be kind enough to please email me their addresses to naviliciousbeauty@yahoo.com as soon as possible and I'll get everything posted to you as soon as I can! If I do not hear from anyone of the winners within 48hrs I will redraw a number and therefore a new winner.

Thank you everyone for entering! I'm sorry if you didn't win anything this time, but I'd like to make giveaways a regular feature provided I have a reason to hold them. I have so many ideas for so many different ones but I don't have any honest reason to hold them. Once I do there will be many more!

Thank you again!

Review: No7 Revitalising Hand Saviour

I picked this up recently with a No7 voucher at Boots and it's most definitely a unique product. It is available for £11 at Boots.

It is hypo-allergenic like all No7 products, and here are a few snippets of what was on the packaging:

Exfoliates and moisturises for softer hands, in an instant

Exfoliating salt crystals to gently smooth and renew

Leaves hands wrapped in moisture and feeling petal soft

It also contains a nourishing blend of almond and grapeseed oil and intensively moisturising brazilian cupuacu butter.

This is an exfoliator specifically for the hands, the ingredients and nourishing oils result in a very runny consistency. You use it like a soap but on dry hands, so shake the tube lightly to ensure the oils and the exfoliating crystals mix together well, then take a little product onto your hands and rub in well, it feels very silky but with the harshness of the crystals combined allow this to be an effective exfoliator. I use this about 4-5 times a week even though I'm constantly washing my hands I don't want to over exfoliate.

Despite the crystals being quite harsh, the silky texture of this exfoliator ensures that your hands don't completely dry out. Your hands are left feeling nice but I wouldn't necessarily say that they are as moisturised as using a handcream, I would still suggest using a hand cream afterwards for the full treatment. Applying this initially wasn't the easiest because of the runny liquid formula, but you get used to it quite quickly, the packaging is also fine, but maybe having some form of leakage prevention on the squeezy part would have been useful.

At £11 for 75ml I wouldn't repurchase, when using a body exfoliator or scrub in the bath/shower that can also be used to exfoliate hands, so I wouldn't deem this product as a necessity.

Product: 8/10

Effectiveness: 8/10

Texture/Formula: 9/10

Value: 7/10

Packaging: 4/5
Application: 4/5
Repurchase: No

Overall: 8/10

Please Allow Me To Introduce...Klorane

Hi!

I'd like to talk a bit about a brand I learnt so much about at a fantastic event I was fortunate enough to be invited to. I was also given a few products to try and I'll be reviewing them as soon as I can.

Klorane Laboratories is a company with a simple concept, the usage of one plant to treat one specific hair condition. They specialise in haircare but have also recently added eye makeup remover products.

Klorane use a unique plant production system which guarantees a constant quality of the selected plants and therefore products, this allows for optimum choosing of plants, cultivation methods and best of all no fertilisers or pesticides are present throughout the entire process. Klorane is such a recognised brand that celebrities use and love it too! - Especially the award winning dry shampoo!

Klorane have chosen the specific plants for individual hair conditions and they are as follows:

For Coloured Hair - Pomegranate from Morocco

For Dry & Damaged Hair - Mango Butter from India

For Normal Hair - Oat Milk from France

For Blonde Hair - Camomile from Egypt

Klorane are available in the UK in John Lewis and many online stores. I'll be putting up many more posts reviewing Klorane's haircare and eye makeup removing products with more information on each.

Have you tried Klorane? What are your thoughts?

Quick Reminder! - CLOSED

You have only 2 days left to get all your entries in to win:

- Sleek's Mediterranean Collection
OR
- 17 Nail Polishes and 17's Summer 2011 Palette
OR
- 17 Nail Polishes and Rebel Nail Wraps

Please read all the rules and click here to enter.

No Nail Polish Challenge Fail!

I couldn't be without having my nails painted so I painted them...I lasted 2 weeks...hopefully I'll do better next time! I painted them using No7's Speed Dry Nail Colour in Foxglove. A post on this will be up soon! :)

Link Love - 18/09/2011

This is a new series I'm adding to the blog, where I link you to my favourite posts of the past week. I'm going to stick with 5 for the moment.

British Beauty Blogger tells us about Benefit's Limited Edition Eye Wanna! and Eye Gotta!
Kandee's amazing phone case
Bare Minerals Masterclass with Madame Gourmand
How to achieve bright glowy skin with Nicoletta
A lipstick tag by Claire

I hope you enjoy!

Please Click!

Below each post there are various ways to "like", share and leave your reactions to the post. I would be really grateful if you could "+1", share the post and click your reactions to the post or the product I'm reviewing. This will allow me to see if my posts are helpful and if you like them enough!

If you don't want to, you're certainly not obliged to do so. I'd love to see your comments as well and I've been getting alot better at replying to them, so please check back to see my response some time later.

I'd also like to see if after reading my review posts you feel you would be interested in the product enough to purchase it or you feel completely opposite.

Thank you so much for reading! :)

Monthly Facials!

I've decided to get monthly facials for my blemished skin, I'm going to try different facials each month, and review them, then the next month I'll let you know whether I felt that particular facial made an important change to my skin.

For the month of September I shall be experiencing a Deep Cleansing Facial at a local salon. I'll be trying different salons as well which may be priced differently too.

I do think that paying for a facial every month is a little indulgent but I also hope to see a visible improvement in my skin tone and hopefully not have to wish I had skin like the girl sitting opposite me on the tube, and instead have the skin I want, without makeup.

I'll have the facial a few days before the end of each month so I can give a review of it on the 1st of each month. I'm really excited - especially as I haven't even had a facial before!

I hope you enjoy my upcoming posts and please let me know if you have any questions or suggestions on how to even skin tone and ditch the blemishes and post-acne scars!

GlossyBox - September 2011

I received my GlossyBox in the post today and here's what I got!

HD Brows Eye&Brow Palette - Full size - £24.95

Nuxe Huile Prodigieuse - 10ml sample - £2.75

Rahua Shampoo and Conditioner - 2x 10ml and 8ml samples - £1.60 and £1.37

Plum by Mary Greenwell - 1.5ml sample - £1.80

Omorovicza Thermal Cleansing Balm - 5ml sample - £4.60

Total Value: £37.07 

Amount Paid: £12.95

Saving: £24.12

I've looked at and already used some items and here are my thoughts.

I really appreciate the addition of a full sized HD eye&brow palette in this month's box because I don't own anything for my brows at the moment and wanted to experiment with them. My eyebrows are very dark though so I'm not entirely sure if I would benefit from this palette for my eyebrows, however I may use it as an eyeshadow palette too - which is also one of the recommended uses.

The Nuxe multi-purpose dry oil is something I've been wanting to try for absolutely ages, so I'm very glad I got this in my box! I wish it had been slightly larger though, but it's fine!

The Rahua (pronounced RA-WA) Shampoo and Conditioner sachets haven't really gone down very well with me, I took one of the sachets into the shower and it was nowhere near enough the amount of shampoo and conditioner I would usually use, I also found it didn't lather very well. This may be because there wasn't enough product for my hair, so I can't really give a full opinion on this, but my first impressions aren't great. The scent of both products is lovely though.

Plum by Mary Greenwell is the signature fragrance of celebrity makeup artist Mary Greenwell, when I smelt this in the bottle, to me it was a wine made from plums, however now that I've worn it all day, it smells different to me, I really like it and I think it's very unique. It lingers on the skin for ages and the scent is quite noticeable, even with a little application.

Finally, the Omorovicza Thermal Cleansing Balm, by a Hungarian brand. I opened it and it's black! I was a little horrified because I don't think I've ever seen or used anything that looks quite grimy to cleanse my face. It is an award winning balm and created with minerals, so naturally I'm excited to try this.

Overall, I really like this month's GlossyBox, I admit that I would have liked to try a salt scrub or a hair treatment, but my box was great. I award this month's box 8/10. It would have received a 9/10 if it wasn't for the random addition of £2.95 P&P charge for the September box and future months! (Yes, I am still sulking about that. It wasn't advertised initially.)

What do you think of this month's box? Did you receive anything different? Are you tempted to join up to GlossyBox yet?


Click here to sign up!

What Bothers You Most? - Beauty

I've been assessing my skin lately and I hate it. There are post acne blemish scars everywhere, although it's a lot better now in comparison to what it has been in the past, when I look closely in the mirror I really feel so uncomfortable...my skin is the main issue I have with myself.

I've tried using so many cleansers, routines and so on that I sort of have given up hope. I've never found it in me to be consistent though...so I've got some Proactiv things to try and hopefully I'll be consistent with them and maybe they'll help my skin? The Dr Nick Lowe routine hasn't really helped much so far, but I'll keep at it until I use everything up!

What's your biggest concern with regards to beauty?

Complete Beauty Spending Ban: Update #1

It has now been over a month in which I haven't permitted myself to spend any money on beauty, this has been the case, but I have cheated and asked someone lovely to get things for me! - Occasionally. From now on I'm not allowing myself any beauty aside from the beauty boxes I receive, regardless if I pay for the things or my friends/family do!

I've been tidying up recently and I have no storage room left to put all the shower gels, body butters, hand creams, makeup, nail polishes or my beloved Urban Decay Eyeshadow Palettes. I feel as though I should continue with this ban until 12th October 2011 and then try to wean myself off completely. Or continue with it but not so officially, so the odd nail polish would be acceptable provided it's a colour I don't already own, (highly unlikely!) But I'm sure you get the idea. I've decided to list my monthly expenditure on beauty on a new page to embarrass myself into not spending so much. This will go up tonight and begin from today as well until 12th October. I'll also keep it going and update it every month to see how much I spend and try to cut it down for the following months.

It is very difficult to control my spending urges, especially when I see new releases, and are from brands I love. I also noticed my increased interest in fashion because I wasn't spending so much on beauty! (This really has to stop!)

Thank you for all your support, (and your tempting me with gorgeous new beauty items!) and I hope I can restrain myself from any new purchases for a month!

I got a Blog Award and Didn't Even Realise...

Talk about thick right? I honestly don't know how I missed it because I read every post that pops up in my dashboard by this lovely lady...KAT! You can check out her awesome blog here: http://www.katsbeautyreviews.co.uk/

I think that's the cutest little badge ever and I love it! A huggeee thank you to Kat and I'm so sorry I missed this...*sobs*

The Rules:

1) Answer the following questions

2) Mention and link who passed you the award

3) Share 7 facts about yourself

4) Award 15 blogs

The Questions:

What is your favourite colour?

Deep colours, red, blue, green. Don't have one! If absolutely necessary to choose then deep red.

What is your favourite song?

I really don't have one, I love Coldplay though?

What is your favourite dessert?

Probably any rich fattening ice-cream sundae and/or cake :)

What's pissing you off?

Nothing at the moment, a lot of things annoy me but they're not that important for me to bother myself with! Oh and rude, impolite, disrespectful people. Especially ones that kiss their teeth at me. Them I want to kill.

When you're upset you...

I run to someone who cheers me up, makes me laugh and I forget all about it :) and makes me see it's only small and doesn't matter.

Black OR white?

Definitely white :)

Biggest Fear?

Do not wish to disclose - but I only have one fear. And it's the biggest!

Your best feature?

My eyes? Lips? Legs? Who knows?

Everyday attitude...

This was inspired by my friend Dan, who has an amazing blog and it was from a post, that we all have 86400 seconds in everyday and they need to be utilised in the best possible way. They're never coming back. Also, I think everyone should be open-minded, I think I'm very open-minded, I'll pretty much be ok with whatever you throw at me - (unless of course it's sick and twisted).

What is Perfection?

Achieving all my dreams/goals/ambitions, or just being happy, but my happiness lies within my goals.

Guilty Pleasure...

Makeup...Fashion...Spending on everything possible!

7 Random Facts About Me

- I want a 50th Wedding Anniversary.

- I don't like what a lot of people like...so am a bit weird like that.

- I love Harry Potter and Twilight, and most vampire-based entertainment.

- I have very large ambitions, hopes and dreams.

- From about age6/7 I read a book nearly everyday/night until I hit 15.

- People that actually annoy me are usually preventing me from being me.

- I love animals and want so many pets but don't like reptiles...

Passing the Award onto...

The Award does say Best Blog and not Best Beauty Blog so I'd like to pass it onto my friend Dan :)

Again because it says BEST BLOG aahha passing to my friends Mike&Paige. Who live so far away but are so special to me :)

EllyBellyBaybee because I love her blog and I think she's lovely too.

Madame Gourmand because quite frankly she's just plain awesome.

Pyari Beauty because I love her posts and her!

The Budget Beauty Book - I love reading her posts and I can relate to her quite a bit.

For the Love Of Makeup! - I love the blog and the Youtube channel :)
Twilight Underworld - A unique blog that stands out and a very talented author.
Hair and Beautylicious - Another lovely blog by a lovely lady.
It is all about Creativity! - I love her posts and she's a very sweet young girl.

Just a repeat so it drums in, this award was given to me by the gorgeous Kat - who I am genuinely very proud of! ;)

I think I'm going to stick with 10 because I found it difficult staying awake to type this post and telling you 7 things about me was a challenge in itself! 15 is also a very large number!

Thank you so much for reading :)

50% Off ELF Haul

I picked up a lot in one of ELF's frequent 50% off sales and I thought I'd share what I got, I'll slowly be using and reviewing everything too. All prices given are full prices.

The box filled with ELF products

Face Products (All Studio Line) - Mineral Infused Face Primer £6, Tinted Moisturiser SPF15 Beige £3.50,  Blushes - £3.50 each, Candid Coral, Tickled Pink, Fuschia Fusion, High Definition Powder £6, Flawless Finish Foundation £6.50.

I have no idea whether the foundation will be the correct shade for my skintone, I ordered Caramel but on the bottom there is a little sticker saying Buff...and I found it very difficult choosing a shade in the first place from the website...

Another HD Powder £6, 3pc Eyelid Primer Set £3.50, 3pk Shine Eraser Set £3.50.

I have yet to use the Eyelid Primers, although already use ELF's Mineral Eyelid Primer and love it, the HD Powders are repurchases, and I've tried the Blotting Sheets and find that they're too small and I use about 10 of them after a few hours of moisturiser in a busy day.

Mineral Lipglosses, Night Owl, Sorority Girl, Daring £3 each (not in order), Studio Conditioning Lip Balms SPF15,  Mellow Melon, Romantic Rouge, Blissful Berry, £3.50 each, Mineral Lipstick, Barely Bitten £3.50.

I haven't tried any of the lip products yet, the shades of the lipglosses look very similar although I'll see if that's true when on the lips.

My beloved Nourishing Cuticle Pens, £1.50 each, Angled Contour Brush, Angled Foundation Brush, Angled Eyeliner Brush, £3.50 each.

I love the Nourishing Cuticle Pen, read about it here. The brushes I have yet to use!

Powder Brush, Fan Brush, £3.50 each.

Again I haven't used much of my order to be able to give you first impressions or full reviews on them, when I have done I will be putting up reviews!

I hope this maybe gives you some ideas of what to try when ordering from ELF as I think they have yet another 50% off sale on at the moment!

Review: ELF Nourishing Cuticle Pen

This is one of many ELF products I hauled on one of their 50% off sales, it costs £1.50 for 3.2g from their website, but I picked up two for 75p each! At the time I didn't know how brilliant this little pen was, so I'm very lucky that it is so useful otherwise my purchases would have been pointless.

It is a cuticle pen so you put it onto the cuticle area of your nails (near the base) and it helps to nourish and moisturise the cuticles and nails for healthier nails, this is very true. Before I stopped painting my nails regularly they were peeling, weak, stained, horrible nails, so came the nail painting ban. Everyday for about a month now I have been using this pen on my entire nails and they seem stronger, the peeling is no more and they look healthier too. Before I used it on painted nails and I don't think it could penetrate through the nail polish to the actual nail but helped the appearance of cuticles only.

I would recommend using this pen over the entire bare nail, this pen has made such a difference to my nails, I love it! Key ingredients included are almond oils, avocado oil and vitamins A, C, E and provitamin B5. The packaging and the nib are also very fresh and clean, the nib doesn't need cleaning which is a huge plus. I thought the pen would dry out after about a week, but no! I don't know how it works, I'm assuming there is liquid in the actual plastic packaging which then spills into the nib, as opposed to just having a wet nib.

Application is a breeze, just glide the tip over your nails and cuticles, it is also fantastic value for money, especially at only 75p! I will definitely be repurchasing when both run out! The only slight improvement I would suggest is to make the tip a brush instead, sometimes the sponge tip can feel a little harsh, but it's not a huge problem.

Product: 18/20

Effectiveness: 9/10

Value: 10/10

Packaging: 4/5
Application: 4/5
Repurchase: Yes

Overall: 9/10

My ShoeDazzle Lindy Boots

I received my ShoeDazzle orders yesterday morning, which equates to speedy delivery so I was happy with that. The shoes I didn't like in reality, they were nice but just not what I was expecting or what I wanted so they'll be posted back later today.

So onto my lovely boots...

The ShoeDazzle Shoe Box Outer Packaging

The Dustbag, Information and Small Free Gift Bag

My lovely boots!

I absolutely adore these, they were £31.96 with my first order 20% off discount, they fit perfectly, they look amazing and seem to be of great quality too! The only thing is that I haven't worn them out yet, so maybe after a few months of wearing them I'll give you a little update, typically my shoes wear out about a year after regular use (not completely though, they'll tend to become unusable after 3-4years), so I hope I won't experience any problems with these.

In the package, included was a cute bag as a free gift! A dustbag to keep the boots in, although I think 2 would have been better as they are knee-high boots...and I'm just really very happy with my entire purchase. I've been wearing them around the house to "break in" to them properly. I can't wait for October's shoe selection now! I think I would definitely recommend ShoeDazzle and their services to anyone who wants a new pair of shoes, is obsessed with shoes, or just wants to treat themselves.

I'll also add some artsy images when I do wear them to go out! If you'd like to join ShoeDazzle click here, you'll also receive 20% off your first order! :)

Amarya Beauty Box - September 2011

I received my Amarya Beauty Box in the post this morning and I'm quite happy with it - especially with one item. I've also decided to do a comparison post of all the beauty boxes available in the UK every month as I'm now subscribed to all 4. I'll put this post up closer to the end of the month so that I'm able to use the products for a little while. The Amarya Beauty Box costs £10 per month for a selection of organic products and is available from here.

This is my first ever Amarya Beauty Box and here are some pictures showing you the packaging and the items:

The Box and the Amarya logo

I got an Amarya Beauty Cloth Bag!

The smaller box inside...

Leaflet with more information on other products

Beautifully presented information on each product inside the box

The box wrapped

The box when opened

The products inside the box

Finally! The products themselves!

 Lavera Hand Cream - 20ml sample - worth £1.00

REN Active 7 Radiant Eye Gel - 3ml sample - worth £3.60

Dr Hauschka Skincare Samples - 1.5ml each - worth £1.99 and £2.70

Madara Moon Flower Tinting Fluid - 50ml full size - worth £23

Total Value of Box: £32.29

Amount Paid: £10

Total Saving: £22.29

The values/totals calculated are excluding the lovely bag I received! My first impressions of Amarya are as follows:

- They themselves are very polite and helpful.

- The box was on time, so punctual.

- Everything in the box was as promised and more.

First Impressions of the contents of the box and the box itself:

- I wouldn't keep the actual boxes purely because I have no room left for anything in my room, but the quality is fine and very reusable.

- All products are organic and a lot of them cruelty free - huge tick from me.

- The Lavera Handcream smells very fresh albeit natural, and moisturises my hands well, also the full size (75ml) is only £3.75 so if I do fall in love with it, I may repurchase.

- I don't use eye creams/gels very often but probably should so I'm happy I received the REN eye gel.

- The Dr Hauschka skincare I believe was from the regenerating line and therefore anti-aging so I've given those away.

- The Madara Tinting Fluid looks amazing, so luxurious and I was very happy to see it in my box, I can't wait to try it and it's full size!

Based on my first impressions and everything so far I'd like to award this box a 9/10! :)

Changes!

As you've probably noticed the blog layout has changed quite a bit, my header was created/designed by the amazing @MidnightDraven on twitter and her blog can be found here. I decided I wanted a change in template but still wanted the deep red theme going on and she incorporated that so well, and I'm very grateful.

My blog is still under construction, I need to add pages, social media buttons and various other bits and pieces, but hopefully it'll be complete soon.

So please bear with me and thank you so much for reading and following! :)

Review: John Frieda Brilliant Brunette Multi-Tone Revealing Moisturising Shampoo and Conditioner

I bought both the shampoo and conditioner at £1.99 each for 50ml, and both lasted for 5 washes of my mid-back length hair, pretty good value I think. There are full sizes available too from Boots, Superdrug and supermarkets. I don't have completely brown hair, in fact I'd say it's leaning towards the more black side, but I do have dark brown and medium brown hair on my head randomly. Especially towards the front and top of my head my hair is lighter.

Using this pair for the first time I thought it was pretty average and didn't notice any change in the colour of my hair or brightness/shiny-ness. The second time onwards my hair seemed to have more colour in it, as though I'd added highlights but not as strongly to that effect of course. The natural brown tones in my hair were definitely 100% more prominent and noticeable and I absolutely loved it, I've always wanted to colour my hair and switch it up a bit but haven't done so due to various reasons as of yet.

My hair was clean and felt moisturised and healthy too which was great. To make sure I don't confuse anyone, this will not magically give you highlights or a change in hair colour, however it did reveal my hair colour's undertones and make them more visible to the naked eye - something which I really liked. My hair is pretty normal, occasionally on the dry brittle side when in need of a haircut, but not highly so ever.

I will definitely be repurchasing these in the full size when all my shampoos and conditioners run out and I would recommend it. Maybe you could pick up the one made for your hair colour and let me know what you think! Or if you've already tried it, what did you think? 9/10 for this pair of haircare! :)

ShoeDazzle - The Beauty Box for Fashion/Shoe Addicts

I found this site sometime back when the blogosphere went a little mad over ShoeDazzle, the company with a major influence from Kim Kardashian providing monthly shoes for £39.95 (and free delivery) in the UK and $39.95 in the US. The pricing system annoys me because with the exchange rate it means UK pays around $65 for a pair of shoes and the US around £25. But moving on from the unfairness that is exchange rate...

The UK site launched in September and I have joined up and bought two pairs of shoes already, and yes I'm supposed to be on a spending ban but seeing as I'm not purchasing makeup, I seem to have gone back to fashion again...it's a vicious circle.

So a little about how the site works, you sign up, answer a few questions on your preferences with regards to shoes and fashion, and each month your personal stylists pick a selection of shoes, jewellery and handbags based on your preferences. If you decide nothing is for you, a new selection can be requested. Every month on the 6th £39.95 is taken from your account (from your first purchase) unless you select "skip this month" meaning nothing is taken. If you forget to click that, then a credit is added to your account and for each credit you can pick one of your showroom's items and after you have 6 six credits and still haven't picked anything, money will stop being taken from your account and your credits used.

There is also a loyalty programme called style points, 100 points for each purchase and 200 for every friend you sign up and 20% off your first purchase. If you would like to join as an invite from me I'd be very grateful and please leave your email address below!

I've become a little obsessed with this site hoping a new pair of shoes will appear everyday which is not the case! I didn't like my selection for September initially but then decided I wanted a certain pair of shoes anyway...after discussion with my trusty friend Paige, I decided I wouldn't purchase them. I then rethought and came to the decision that I don't own that many heels and maybe I should get these as obviously the pressure of the shoes possibly not being available later was on me too! Heels make me very tall though but oh well!

I also bought some boots but they're no longer in my showroom. I personally don't think I'd pick their jewellery because £39.95 is too much and the designs aren't fantastic - in my opinion and I probably wouldn't wear them. The handbags however, aren't too bad but I didn't fall for any of this month's selections.

All the shoes are picked and recommended by various stylists, the ones above have been recommended by Kim Kardashian. Just on a side note, I've never understood the fascination with her and her family, I could say a lot more on this topic but I don't wish to offend. I like this site though so goody for me!

This has made me want to change my blog into a fashion, health, lifestyle and beauty blog, but I'm not sure if readers would like that. Please let me know what you think!

I will post an update on this regarding delivery, the quality of the shoes and sizes, etc. I'm hoping they'll be awesome! :) If you'd like to sign up too click here!

August Empties - 2011

This month I have used up the following products, I was aiming for at least 10 empties every month but I guess I'll have to try harder in September! (Please click on names to be taken to the review post on my blog.)

1) No7 Radiance Boosting Hot Cloth Cleanser (200ml) - The first hot cloth cleanser I've ever used, I really liked this, it cleansed well and removed makeup too, the cloth with it was the only downside I think.

2) No7 Radiance Revealed Exfoliator (75ml) - I've used this exfoliator a lot, I think this was my second tube, it's a lovely creamy exfoliator suitable for more sensitive skin as well.

3) Olavie Chardonnay Wine Therapy Antioxidant Body Butter (30ml) - I received this in my Boudoir Privé box and I loved it, the only downside to this is the price for the full size, otherwise a fantastic, luxurious feeling, thick body butter.

4) Lush It's Raining Men Shower Gel + Shampoo (100g) - I didn't love this shower gel, it says that it's a shampoo too, and it absolutely sucked at lathering as a shampoo for me. As a shower gel it was fine, I used it with a puff and it did the job well enough but again lathering up was an issue and the smell wasn't as addicting as it is in the Honey I Washed The Kids soap.

5) The Body Shop Seaweed Clarifying Night Treatment (30ml) - I really like this, the only issue was that it makes me wake up to an exploded oil rig on my face...however it works very well. After I wash my face in the morning my pores look better and my overall complexion is improved. Works best with the entire Seaweed Range.

6) Simple Sun Sensitive Protecting Lip Balm (5g) - SPF 20 with 3star UVA protection, this lip balm is in a lipstick format and I love this. If I only were permitted to use one lip balm for the rest of my life (from everything I've tried so far...but then again I do have a lip balm addiction...) this would be it. Why? It glides on perfectly, no smudging, yellowing of the product, no seeping or separation of formula like some liquid lip balms, easy to use, one swipe is perfect and with added vitamins and SPF protection.

7) I managed to use up all the samples Amarya Beauty kindly sent and the perfume samples from Beauty Boxes.

Hopefully I will meet my minimum of 10 empties target for September! Thank you for reading :)

Challenge: No Nail Polish

The state of my nails is horrible, they are stained, much weaker than they used to be and now peeling as well. I put this down to the obsession I have with constantly changing my nail colour and using so many different products on my nails. So I have come to the decision not to wear any nail polish for the next few months to allow them to grow out, stop being yucky and orange-yellow and hopefully it'll improve their condition too. The only things I'll be using is either cuticle creams or nail and cuticle creams...(same thing really hmm...)

I'm not sure how long I'll last because I always feel less confident without my nails painted but I think it's best for my nails to leave them alone and to "let them breathe" for a bit!

What do you think? Would you be able to stay away from nail polish?

Review: No7 Radiance Boosting Hot Cloth Cleanser

This is one of many hot cloth cleansers and the first I ever used, it is available from Boots at £9 for 200ml, and with the £5 off No7 vouchers it is only £4! It is packaged in a plastic pump bottle which dispenses an adequate amount of cleanser in one pump for the entire face, I occasionally used two pumps if I wanted to use it on my neck too. A cloth is also provided although the quality and longevity isn't too brilliant. The entire bottle lasted me 2 months, using it once a day and sometimes twice. The cloth remained usable throughout the 2 months but became increasingly more difficult to use and less effective as time went on.

The texture of the cleanser is a soft cream, which rubs into the skin well and feels lovely to work with. Once the cleanser has been applied and massaged in slightly, or more so if you'd like, taking the cloth and rinsing it in hot water you slowly rub the cleanser off in circular motions to encourage exfoliation (after placing it on your face to open pores for a while - but this step did nothing for me so I began to leave it out). After about 3-4weeks use I noticed a considerable difference in my skin, it was a lot smoother, fewer breakouts, and despite me assuming that it wouldn't make my skin feel clean, it felt incredibly clean and refreshed after each use (apart from when the cloth seemed to wear down!) I feel that my skin did look more radiant, but as with all skincare products you need to allow time to see a noticeable improvement.

The value of this product works out to be 4.5p per ml at £9 and 2p per ml at £4 so I do think that in terms of value this is a great product. I have already repurchased this but I'm not sure if I would repurchase again because of the competition the hot cloth cleanser has in general. I have two more from different brands waiting to be used so will use those, and compare, then maybe stick to one - or try the last one I seem to have missed as well!

Product: 8.5/10

Effectiveness: 9/10

Texture/Formula: 8.5/10

Value: 9.5/10

Packaging: 4/5
Application: 4/5
Repurchase: Yes

Overall: 8.7/10

This new rating system is to provide a quick snapshot of my experiences with the product. The product itself, effectiveness - the level of truth in comparison to the claims made, the texture and/or formula of the product. Value is the comparison of price per ml, packaging and application are also reviewed. The repurchase line is whether I would repurchase the item again or not. Overall shows the average scoring of the product out of 10.

Cherry Chapstick Goes Pink for Breast Cancer Care

Hi all!

This post is a press release however I'd like to talk about Breast Cancer a bit before I post the press release. It affects so many women in the world - and men. In the UK alone nearly 50,000 cases were diagnosed in 2008 and presumably due to the constant improvement in technology and techniques more so every year onwards. Breast cancer is something that I have experienced, not myself but within my circle and it was a very upsetting ordeal, not only for the sufferer but for everyone around them too.

All cancers are so horrific and unfortunately common in so many different people that I think it's important to take some time out and help in whichever way you feel is appropriate for you. If not cancer, there's heart disease, there's the homeless to take care of, there are many charities and ways in which we can help. I took part in Cancer Research UK's Race4Life a few years ago and I didn't get many sponsors but whatever funds I raise I hope will help. I'd also love to race again, I believe next summer will be fundraising time again!

I am not forcing you to purchase anything, or to give all your money away to any charities or anything like that. The point of this post is to remind you that we can always be of some assistance to someone, and also to remind myself.

I received this press release sometime ago and thought it would be appropriate to post about it now, I did not ask for or receive a sample and will be purchasing the pack wherever available.

CHERRY CHAPSTICK® GOES PINK TO RAISE FUNDS FOR BREAST CANCER CARE

 

This year, ChapStick® is supporting the charity Breast Cancer Care with the introduction of the pink stick, donating 20p from each sale to help people affected by breast cancer.

Breast Cancer Care’s Judy Beard said:

“One person is diagnosed with breast cancer every 10 minutes in the UK.  That’s a shocking statistic and Breast Cancer Care strives to be there for each and every one of them.  But we couldn’t even dream of doing it without the support from companies such as ChapStick and their customers, so thank you.”

Breast Cancer Care ChapStick® twin pack can be bought from supermarkets and pharmacies and is priced at £2.49. Available from September in readiness for October Breast Cancer Awareness month.

Thank you very much for reading.