Tuesday 25 November 2014

Miss Photogenic MakeUp Brushes




I know some people get set in their ways when it comes to make up brushes, only using the same ones, or from one or two particular brands, and I know you may think this is a case of ‘if it ain’t broke then why fix it?’ but sometimes you can miss out on some really great products because you are hesitant to try something new.

Recently I became the proud owner of 3 Miss Photogenic makeup brushes, there are 10 in their range. 5 for face, 4 for eyes and 1 for lips. They come in a range of synthetic, goat hair, pony hair or rubber (the term ‘goat hair’ put me off slightly too, but keep reading!) I received a Foundation Brush, Colour Diffuser and an Eye Crease Brush.



Now let me start by chatting a little bit about the packaging. I don’t know about you – but I love it. It looks so luxurious and gives the feel of high quality brushes before you’ve even opened the box. All packaging is really easy to get into, no scissors needed which is a bonus. Each brush is black with gold on them, with a small logo and the brush name – very minimal and very classy! Absolutely love how they look. Now onto what you really care about – do they work?







I’ll start off with the foundation brush, this retails at £15. It’s a synthetic brush but it is super soft. It feels really sturdy, not like some brushes that feel like all the bristles are going to start falling out as soon as you start using it. The brush bristles are shaped in a zig zag, this is to aid application so that liquid is evenly distributed, which helps to ensure it’s not applied too thickly. Now my first thought when I saw this brush was that it was going to leave streaks and brush marks all over my face and I was going to have to go over it with a buffing brush, but I couldn’t have been more wrong. It works like a dream, it really does keep your foundation thin and even, no brush marks at all! Gives a really gorgeous finish.





Next the Colour Diffuser Brush, retailing at £15. This brush is synthetic and can be used for buffing and blending colour, and can be used on liquid, cream or powder.  I tried this out, and it definitely works equally well on liquid, powder and creams. Creams need a little more buffing, but that’s just the nature of creams. It’s very soft and it feels very light, it’s great for buffing in blusher and great at contouring to give a seamless finish.






And finally the Eye Crease Brush also made from goat hair and retails at £9. This is my favourite! It’s super soft and fabulous quality. It’s great for applying mid-tone and darker shades and blending them out. This is the perfect tool for a smokey eye! It adds a lot of depth to your eye shadow. It’s also great for nude and golden eye shadows to give a more natural blend. Amazing brush!





Totally underrated brand and for such a great price, you can’t complain. You need to try them out, would make great tools for Christmas party makeup, or would make amazing stocking fillers. You can buy them from John Lewis or on http://www.missphotogeniconline.com/shop/beauty


Let me know if you’ve tried any of the other Miss Photogenic makeup brushes and tell me what you thought.

A Foot Cream That Works!

Finally Found A Foot Cream That Works





I love walking round bare foot, not in like a spiritual ‘I like to feel the Earth beneath my toes’ kind of way, just in a normal walking around the house kind of way. I rarely wear socks. Because of this I have developed hard skin on the bottom on my feet. It’s gross and I hate it – don’t worry there won’t be any photos of my feet.

Over the past fortnight I have decided that enough is enough and I need to start taking care of my feet. I have tried A LOT of foot creams over the past few years, and in their defence, I forget to use them regularly, but I have never used a product that makes a difference after just a couple of uses.

Then I spotted this in Superdrug – Freeman bare foot Heel & Callus balm – peppermint and plum. It retails at £4.25 for 150ml. It has a range of different products scrubs and lotions to do different things, each having a different smell. For example Lemon and Sage foot scrub. The peppermint + plum balm is the only one that I have currently tried. I originally chose this because of the packaging, the bottle looks like it has toes, so I bought it – naturally. You can also buy sachets for 99p each.

The balm smells nice, quite a subtle smell and quite relaxing. It’s a lot more plum than peppermint, but they surprisingly go together quite well. It’s quite thick and quite greasy, so I’ve been using it before I go to bed, putting on bed socks and getting under the duvet. Probably not a good idea to smoother it all over your feet then walk around bare foot.

I don’t know how this balm works so well, but it really does. It’s the best foot cream I’ve ever used. After just one use I could tell the difference. The hard skin felt much softer. It was absolutely amazing. I’ve used this balm a few times now and each time it improves my skin so much! So pleased that I picked this up! I’ve used it a few times and I still have loads left. You don’t need to use a lot on feet at one time, a little goes a long way. I can’t vouch for any other product in their range, but if you suffer from hard skin on your heels and the balls of your feet, make sure you pick this up!

Monday 24 November 2014

Bourjois Bronzing Powder, Worth The Hype?

Is Bourjois Bronzing Powder, Worth The Hype?




I have always avoided Bourjois products, I’ve never really bothered to spend money on them and haven’t really given them much of a chance. A few years ago I tried a Bourjois blusher – I actually stole it from my Mum. And it was awful! A whole other level of awful. It was hard to use and looked dreadful on. You couldn’t just rub your brush on it, you had to scrub your brush in to pick up any powder as the blusher was so compressed. It was like a solid block. Since this, I ignored everything that I have heard and read about Bourjois and continued to use other bronzers even though most people I know, and most beauty bloggers own a Bourjois Bronzing Powder.



The other day I was doing my usual hour long stroll around Superdrug and I saw the Bourjois stand. There were so many more products that looked new and exciting, and so well presented. I thought that it was about time to take the plunge and give Bourjois another chance, hoping that over the past few years it had amended it’s flaws and really was worth the hype. I bought the Bourjois Bronzing Powder Tanned 52 for £7.99.
Now, I can’t comment on any other product that they do, or the blusher that they now sell, but the Bronzing Powder definitely didn’t disappoint. It looks great for, the chocolate image is different and looks really cool. The magnetic case is very practical and means it can easily go in your handbag and you can use it on the go. And it smells absolutely lovely. It has a slight shimmer in it which gives your skin a nice, warm glow. And it is a fabulous colour, not too light or too dark, and has a slightly red tone. Overall it’s great, I absolutely love it, I only wish I had given Bourjois a chance sooner. I will definitely be going back and picking up some other Bourjois products!




What do you think of the Bourjois Bronzing Powder? And what other Bourjois products do you love?

Sunday 23 November 2014

Queen Bee Vaseline

Queen Bee






I am a BIG Vaseline fan. A really really big Vaseline fan. For as long as I can remember, I have loved it. It’s such a great product especially now that we are in the winter months and we are all trying to keep chapped lips at bay. I began to get a little bit obsessed with getting all of the new limited edition lip petroleum jelly tins to complete my collection. I have original, aloe vera, rosy lips, cocoa butter, sun protection (the yellow one that is a nightmare to hunt down) and another limited edition ‘paint the town’ which is a red jelly. It’s gorgeous and is really pigmented, it looks great on and like all the others makes your lips super soft. I also have the cocoa butter moisturiser – it smells divine! It keeps skin so soft but isn’t greasy like some lotions. Perfect for moisturising before fake tanning as it soaks in really quickly and due to it not being too oily, it stops tan from streaking.




So when I saw the new limited edition Queen Bee tin, I started my mission to find it. After 2 weeks, many trips to different Boots and Superdrug stores around my home town and scrolling through the internet, I finally got my hands on it (well technically two, due to it being limited edition I talked myself into getting two)

It’s lovely, it works just like all of the others, keeps your lips lovely and soft and has a gorgeous smell of honey! The tin looks really cool and every time I get it out of my bag – people always ask what it is. It retails at £3.99 at Boots.



When collecting all of my Vaselines together I started to find them all over the place – I had one in my desk at work, handbag, makeup bag, next to my bed and dotted around my rooms and in many clutch bags from nights out partying. Vaseline is great to carry with you on the go to keep your lips soft but I use it for so many things. I put some on my eye lashes at night to keep lashes soft and healthy. I use it on my cuticles to keep them soft and stop them from snagging. I apply it to my lips straight after applying my foundation to get rid of any foundation-lip. I use it on my elbows and knees before fake tanning. I use it on my nose during flu season to prevent chapping on my nose from blowing it all of the time. It’s so versatile and I don’t know a single person that doesn’t love Vaseline.
If you haven’t already, go out and grab yourself a Queen Bee tin – it smells good enough to eat.

Do you have any limited edition Vaselines that I haven’t got? Which is your favourite?

Do you have any weird collection habits?

Thursday 20 November 2014

Glossybox October 2014

Glossybox October 2014





I know I'm a bit late in writing my October Glossybox review as I have just received my Nov box, and I apologise! I like to make sure that I've tried each product a few times to be able to give a thorough review, and this month I’ve been very busy so have been a bit behind. The reason why I am so keen to review the Glossyboxes that I receive is because when I was debating whether or not to sign up to Glossybox I tried to find a good review online but struggled to find one that reviewed the products, most of them were just a list of what products were in the box, so if you're umming and ahhing about whether or not to sign up, make sure you have a good read.




So for those of you that don't know what a Glossybox is, it's a beauty box. A few products are selected for you and sent out each month. It's just £10 a month, but with p+p, you are looking at more like £14. The great thing about this is that you get to try before you buy and sometimes get introduced to brands that you might not have heard of before. The downside is that you might pay £10 for a collection of things that you would never buy in a million years or the colour or shade might be totally wrong!





October was Pop Art month, hence the box above. I actually really liked the theme. The box looks great! I'm currently using it to house some bits and bobs. From images that I saw on social media there were a few different boxes circulating using different images and colours. In October Glossybox were trying to be more green and instead of giving you a product card listing all of the products and their retail price, they uploaded it all online. It was a little annoying but when you think of the impact environmentally it isn't really a bit deal to have a look on your phone for the details.





So I'll start off with the Nuxe Creme Fraiche de Beaute Mask. Ignoring all of the fancy French words it's a hydrating face mask. I started with this because every month when you receive your Glossybox you get a 'Sneak Peak' card that shows you a product in next month’s box (I love surprises, so I'm not overly fond of the card). This came as full sized, which was very nice. I've used it a few times and I've still got loads left so that's always good. It retails at £19.50 for 50ml. Now the instructions for this say to put it on your face, leave for 10 minutes, then gently massage in any excess. So the first few times I used this, I smothered it on, left it alone for 10 minutes then all of the mask started to peel off. It sort of looks like when you've had sun burn and your skin peels off - it looks gross! It doesn't cause much harm, it's just a little annoying and doesn’t look very nice. So I have just been using cotton wool to wipe over my face to get rid of the clumps of mask. Or alternatively, if you just apply a thin layer like with your morning moisturiser, it doesn't peel or clump at all. It's really nice to put on, smells extremely floral (not my thing, but not an awful smell) and more importantly it definitely works. It leaves your skin feeling very softy and looking great. Would I say this is worth £19.50 for 50ml? YES!
Check out this product and other Nuxe products here: https://uk.nuxe.com/



Now next I'll tell you about the Ciate paint pots. They are nail varnishes that were meant to add the 'pop' of colour that the box design was coinciding with. Well the colour I received was white. A bit disappointing, especially after seeing all of the lovely, interesting, bright colours that other people had received on social media. But none the less. I'd never tried Ciate nail varnishes before, even though I'd heard great things about them. It applied very easily and I love the design and shape of the bottle. The brush is great and it dries pretty quickly. The white is nice enough and takes about 3 coats for full coverage. In conclusion – great brand, boring colour. These retail at £9.00 each.





I also received a So Susan Flutter mascara. Now whenever I buy or receive a new mascara I get very excited. I naturally have long eyelashes (although sadly not very full) so I can get away with lots of mascara and fake eyelashes, so when I pulled this out of my Glossybox I was very pleased. However it turned out to be quite disappointing. Now the brush is very small, at first I was looking forward to it because I thought I'd be able to get at more lashes and give more of a fuller look. However all that really happened is that it all got a bit messy. It ends up going everywhere. Because my lashes are quite long if a mascara is too watery it ends up going all over my eye lids, which was exactly what happened. All in all, a bit of a disaster. However when I used cotton buds and concealer to hide all the mascara all over my face it looked alright. It lasted all day, and didn’t start to crumble like some do. It came in black and was a full size sample - not a mini. Retails at £14.95.





Now - on to my FAVOURITE. I love this!! So so pleased this came in my box. This is a small sample (very small) of Quelques Notes D'Amour. And WOW! What I love about this is that I never would have sampled this if it wasn't for it being in my Glossybox. I never would have picked this brand up but wow, it is gorgeous. It's a little tiny bit floral, a little bit fruity and a little bit musky. It kind of smells a bit similar to Alien by Thierry Mugler (which I adore!).  I can't really describe but if you haven't already, get down to a fragrance shop and give it a sniff. I will definitely be buying it when my little sample runs out. It retails at £33.00 for 30ml



I also received a little BB Matte Mini by Rimmel. Now this is a bit ridiculous - but I've never tried a BB cream before. I always stick to a foundation or a tinted moisturiser if I'm just nipping to the shop. So I was very very excited that it finally gave me a push to try a BB cream. Now this retails at £6.99 for 30ml so it's completely reasonable and this is something that you could add into your daily routine. Now it's meant to be a multitasking 9-in-1 skin perfecting makeup with a natural formula to give a flawless Matte Look. And it said you can apply with a foundation brush or with fingers. Well I recently went away with my boyfriend to the Lake District and I took this with me. One morning we had over slept and he was moaning at how long I had taken in the shower so I thought I better speed up my extensive morning make up ritual, I whacked this on using my fingers, put on some blusher, penciled in my eye brows and put on some eye liner and mascara
and I was ready. And this worked a treat. It is very light to wear, and doesn't go shiny throughout the day like some thick foundations. It made my skin feel really soft but did also give enough coverage to hide all my red splodges. It was great and I am definitely converted. And when I walked out my boyfriend even complimented my on how good I looked - so it's a win-win.




And lastly is the etrebelle lip peel. Now this looks like a lip gloss when you unscrew the lid, but it is an exfoliator for your lips. It smells lovely, very sweet and rubs onto your lips very easily. You lightly squeeze the tube (like a lip gloss) and rub along your lips, you then rub it in on your lips and it gets rid of your chapped lips and takes off flakey skin. Now I’ve used a few of these, the e.l.f one is one of my favourites. But unlike the e.l.f one, this has much smaller beads and isn’t as harsh on your lips, this is more like an exfoliator that you could use every day. It’s very soft, not too harsh, but it definitely does the trick. A fantastic product. Retails at £12.95 for 15ml.


Another fantastic month's Glossybox! Well worth signing up guys!
Let me know what you thought on October's Glossybox, or what other great beauty boxes there are out there.

Wednesday 12 November 2014

Chrismas Gifts for Her £20 or Less







It's never too early to think about the perfect Christmas present, these things definitely take good planning. I thought I'd share with you a few things that I've been looking at in the run up to Christmas Present buying Season. These are small presents for £20 or less, perfect for your Mum, Sister, Friends or any other special girls in your life.

Lee Stafford LSGS09 Frizz OFF Hairdryer Kit this is reduced from £50 to £20 on Very.co.uk. The Kit includes a 2200 watt hair dryer with 6 heat/speeds and a cool shot, a round brush, a quilted cosmetic bag and 200 ml Lee Stafford Dehumidifier.

Little Hottie gift pack, this featured in my last blog post - http://megandoesbeauty1.blogspot.co.uk/2014/11/little-hotties-great-for-candle-lovers.html
These are little wax melts that are put into an oil burner to make your own fragrances, perfect gift for candle lovers. This Gift pack retails at £15 in selected stores and on their website.

The Soap and Glory - All The Right Smoothes gift set contains 3 gorgeous body butters retailing at just £8 at Boots.

8 Pack Assorted Lip Smackers. These feel like a mix between a lip balm and a gloss. They look great on and keep your lips very smooth. They smell exactly like the drinks flavour. My favourite is orange Fanta. These retail at Claire's for £12.
Myleene Klass Lip Stick Collection look great, I haven't tried these yet but have read countless reviews about how fabulous and long lasting they are. They retail at Littlewood's for just £10



And of course Yankee Candle 6 Christmas Votive Collection. Everyone loves a Yankee Candle, these are all Christmassy Scents and would make the perfect Christmas pressie for any Yankee Candle fan. These retail at Boots for £10.99











Little Hotties Great For Candle Lovers!



Recently I have been on a weeks holiday to the Lake District with my boyfriend. I absolutely loved it! We stayed in a gorgeous log cabin in the picturesque town of Windermere. We went to a museum, an aquarium, a zoo, a farm and on a lovely walk to a waterfall called Aira Force (definitely worth a visit if you ever go) along with some great other places. I have a habit of buying too many souvenirs! We have a fridge magnet from every place that we have visited together (we go on a lot of weekends away) and I have a scrap book filled with pictures, post cards and ticket stubs from our trips! So on our last day I dragged my boyfriend round many souvenir shops buying little presents for my family, a fridge magnet, too many post cards and 'lake district' shot glasses (I have no idea why?!). It was in one of these souvenir shops, where I stumbled upon Little Hotties by Bomb Cosmetics.









If you are a candle lover then this is a must read!! But they would also make an amazing Christmas present! A Little Hottie feels like a little piece of wax, they were all spread out in like a pick'n'mix kind of table. Each hottie has a cute design and a bright colour, each one of those represents a different smell, when these are heated they melt down to what looks like an oil. 




I didn't already have an oil burner, so I bought this silver one which was also in the souvenir shop, I absolutely love it! But if you don't already have an oil burner then Bomb Cosmetics sell them on their website. They are plain white but are only £8.99 or if you buy a Little Hotties gift pack, there is an oil burner in there and also some wax melts for just £15.00.


Now how you use them is pretty much up to you. I just went along the pick'n'mix table smelling each Hottie and if I loved the smell then I put it into my Hottie box. The full box cost £6.99 and is said to have up to 132 hours of aroma in it. I'm not really a floral loving person, so I chose a lot of fruity scents and some like coconut, almond, vanilla and biscuit. The only floral scent that I can't resist is Jasmine. When using the Little Hotties, you put three or four hotties into the top of your oil burner and light a plain scented tea light underneath (Bomb Cosmetics also sell these on their website), as the Hotties start to melt they mix together to create an oil and the smell fills the room. On their own as little pieces of wax they smell amazing, but when melted down it is gorgeous! Every time I go into my bedroom I light it, I am obsessed!! You can pop in 3 or 4 of the same scent, for example all coconut or all Almond, or you can follow a Menu for example Blackcurrant, Cranberry, Strawberry and Raspberry Ripple makes a scent called Very Berry. This Menu comes in a little booklet which you can pick up when choosing your Hotties or you can download it off of their website! If you're adventurous, you can try and make your own by adding in 3 or 4 Hotties of different scents.





I haven't had chance to try all of my scents yet, so I can't really recommend many to you but I have tried all Vanilla, which was lovely and very long lasting and strong smelling. And I have also made one of my own combinations using Biscuit, Vanilla and Citrus Blizzard. It smells lovely, quite fruity but not over powering, quite a warming fresh smell. It is lovely!!



In terms of my other wax melts, I haven't melted them down yet but as a solid piece of wax my favourites are Coconut, Mango, Log Fire (very Christmassy), Pink Marshmallow, Strawberry and Banana. Not all of the scents that they have were sold in the shop I was in, but all are available online some of the more interesting ones that I would love to smell are Chocolate Orange, Bottle of Bubbly, Morning Coffee and Xmas Pudding. They currently have 57 different scents on their Menu. I have been recommended to try Gingerbread, Citrus Blizzard and Cinnamon for a Christmassy Gingerbread Man Scent! If you order a box of Little Hotties online you pick just 4 scents, so if I were you I would try to go into a store first to have a browse at all the different smells and have a play around with all the different scents to try and make your own lovely fragrance. There is a list of retailers on their website, a lot seem to be in garden centres, but I am sure there would be one near you. When the tea light isn’t on the oil solidifies back to a wax block and can be reheated until the scent runs out.










Bomb Cosmetics also sell Candles, Bath Bombs and handmade Soaps however I am yet to try any of these, but I think it would definitely be worth a browse around their website!