New Year Resolution

Happy New Year guys! Hope you all aren't too hungover from last night and are all having a lovely day seeing in the new year with your friends and family. 

With it being the first day of 2015 I thought it would be appropriate to finally put my resolutions and plans down in writing. I've never really been one for making resolutions, I never really saw the point in picking one day in the year to make loads of changes to myself, and then I hit 2013. 2013 was by far the worst year of my life. The life plan that I had and that I had been working towards for my whole life wasn't the life plan that the universe had for me. I spent the last few months of 2013 being miserable and wallowing, so I decided that I would start 2014 by trying to change my outlook on life and by making my first ever New Years Resolution. So at the start of 2014 I decided to have just one resolution, this was to lose weight. I started 2014 (after comfort eating my way through 2013) at the heaviest I have ever been in my life. I was a size 16 and was totally miserable. I allowed myself to have January 1st in order to enjoy our New Years family meal and I started on the 2nd. I started slimming world and then by April I started seeing a personal trainer once a week and going to the gym. By my summer holiday in August I was a comfortable size 12 and had lost 2 stone and 4 pounds. After August I put on a couple of pound but maintained a total loss of 2 stone. However during December I have allowed myself to have a month long blow out eating every fatty food that I can get my hands on. 

Argon Oil Tips

A few years ago I was complaining to my Mum’s mobile hair dresser that my hair never grows. A close friend of mine was a hairdresser and she told me that the best way to get your hair to grow is to get it cut all the time, this keeps it healthy and helps it to grow. I never found this to be the case and all it meant was that every time my hair got back to it’s original length it needed cutting again. That’s when my Mum’s hairdresser recommended Argon Oil. And I’ve been hooked ever since.

I ordered some shampoo from Avon that had Argon Oil in it - at the time it was the only place I could find that sold it. And within a few weeks my hair was quickly growing much longer than it ever had before. A few years on and my hair is the longest out of every one of my family and friends. It’s healthy, easy to maintain and the exact length that I have been hoping for throughout my entire teen years.

Now that Argon oil is much more readily available and cheaper to get hold of I have an array of Argon Oil products. I use the shampoo and conditioner most times that I wash my hair. The one that I’m currently using I got from Tesco for £1.I also use the oil about twice a week. You put a little bit on your palm and rub it over damp hair, then blow dry and style. About the size of a penny is enough for me, and I have a lot of hair! Don’t go overboard with the oil because it will make your hair look very greasy.

I have also started to completely smoother my hair in Argon Oil once every fortnight. I take a full day, when I am not going to leave the house and cover my entire hair and scalp with it. I apply around 40 pumps on to my dry hair (as opposed to the 3 that I use on a normal day before blow drying) this makes my hair look so oily that it looks soaking wet. It looks absolutely vile but I leave it on for around 8 hours. Then I wash it out. It takes a couple of rinses and I’ve found that it’s better to use a head and shoulders or a strong shampoo. But the results after are amazing. Once your hair is washed thoroughly and dried it looks completely different and as healthy as when it has been freshly cut. If you want silky hair, give it a try, but make sure you won’t need to nip to the shops.

Do you use Argon Oil? 

What other hair oils have you tried? 

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2014 Beauty Favourites

Well what an amazing year 2014 has been, I’ve been to London for the weekend to see Beyonce with my wonderful boyfriend, had a weekend in Belfast for my sister-in-laws hen party, had my brother and sister-in-laws wedding in Newcastle, spent a week in the Lakes with my boyfriend, had a week in Ayia Napa with my girlfriends, a long weekend in Wales for my boyfriend’s Sister’s fantastic wedding, had multiple romantic weekends away with my boyfriend and went to watch Lion King the musical! What a hectic, fantastic time!

Christmas Presents Review

I had a fantastic Christmas. I'm sure (and hoping) that you all did too. And just like every previous year, I received some gorgeous Christmas presents, and like all beauty fanatics, a lot of cosmetics! So I thought I would share them with you!

These are a selection of my presents this year - don't worry I won't bore you with a review of them all. My main (and favourite) present was my iPad Air 2 and my lovely purple spotty case from my parents. Which I am using right now to blog YAYYY! I also received some Nicki Minaj tickets from my boyfriend - super exciting. And a gorgeous river island bag from my sister which I'm sure will make an appearance in a blog post soon. And like everyone else I received a collection of wine, chocolates and vouchers. 

This is my new TRESemmè hair dryer from my amazing grandma. Complete with heat protection spray, 4 rollers and changeable heads. I was in desperate need of a new hairdryer as my old one was on the way out! And this one is perfect! It works really well and is really powerful. The heat protection spray has the usual TRESemmè scent - which I love. And I am yet to use the rollers but I'm a big roller fan so I’m sure they will greatly appreciated.

Here I have a vanilla candle from my mum, which is in a leopard print, glass holder. Absolutely love it and it smells gorgeous. I also received this glass tea light candle holder from my boyfriend which is from ASDA. I love it and can't wait to get some lovely Yankee tea lights to put in it. The cupcake bath bombs are from my boyfriends sister along with the wax melts. The melts are from Kaunis Koti candles, they are a pick n mix bag of handmade wax melts made from 100% Eco soy wax. They all smells lovely and come in a variety of different shapes. Can't wait to try them out! And finally my LUSH soap, I bought this myself using some Christmas money. It's called godmother and cost me £4.77 it smells lovely and has a slight sparkle to it. 

This is a perfume from Next which I bought myself using a voucher that my boyfriend's grandma got for me. It cost just £14 for 75ml and smells great it's very sweet like s fruity floral scent and smells a lot like Cacharel Amor Amor. It is very long lasting and would be a great day to night perfume.

This is my collection of No 7 goodies. The Eye Collection box is from my auntie it has a pair of eye lash curlers which are fantastic. A lash impact intense volume control mascara in black, a stay perfect amazing eye pencil in black and a stay perfect shade and define in gunmetal grey which is quite sparkly and I am so excited to try. It also has a built in sharpener in the base! Then I have my wonderful No 7 boxes set which is from my boyfriend. This contained a bath soak, cleansing lotion, body wash and a body lotion which is thick and creamy and extremely moisturising. It also contains a day cream and a night cream which are both fantastic. The day cream isn't too greasy so you can apply before make up. A dry skin rescue which you use on really dry patches of your skin which has been great after this terrible weather and hand cream which is great on the sensitive skin on my hands. And also a lovely lashes mascara which is lovely for the day time as it isn't too thick and a BB lips balm in baller in which is very shiny, neutral and keeps lips very soft. I was so impressed with this box and if any of you spot it in the sales make sure you pick it up! 

This Revlon bag I bought with my Christmas money which I plan on using in my bag to carry my on the go make up. I also bought two clay masks from Superdrug. I was also desperate to try the new B. range from Superdrug so picked up an eyeshadow in nougat which is quite neutral but sparkly and a blusher in sherbet. The bronzer is also from Superdrug from the I <3 make up range and is called chocolate desire. The lip gloss is from Benefit and is in ultra plush. It was from a cracker that my boyfriend’s sister made for me. It was a great idea and I love it. It smells lovely and the colour is a lovely neutral colour which everyone would love. 

These body butters I bought from Boots using my Christmas money. They were half price in the sale down to £4. They smell amazing and are really creamy. 

These I also bought myself using my Christmas money. The in the buff lightly toasted eye palette which I have heard so much about and am so excited to try. The I <3 make up you're gorgeous eye palette which looks great and has such a big selection of matte and shimmer eye shadows. A max factor lipstick in midnight plum which is a purpley red which is great for the rest of the winter months and Rimmel Kate lipstick in 33. It's very pink but applies do nicely and is very creamy. 

A MAC eyeshadow palette from my boyfriends mum which I absolutely LOVE. Its great for creating all kinds of looks. Definitely worth a buy. 

A ted baker nail varnish set from my boyfriend. It contains 3 varnishes, a set of nail wraps and a nail art pen. 

A revolution lip set also from my boyfriend. I love this. It contains 3 lip pencils, a gloss and a mirror. The pencils are in 3 very different colours. A bright red, a bright pink and an orangey red. Can't wait to try them out! 

This is a Retox pamper pack that I received from my friend in secret Santa. It contains eye gel pads, foot cream, a hair mask and a face mask. I am so so so excited to try these especially as I had never heard of it before. 

This benefit set is from my brother. I am so excited to try this as I haven't tried a lot of benefit products before but have heard some wonderful things about them. It contains the porefessional which I am yet to try, some eye shadows, hoopla which I am yet to try, and a lip gloss. It also contains the they're real mascara which I adore so I am very pleased to get some more of it. The tin is so cute! 

What did you get for Christmas? 

Have you received any of the same gifts. If so what did you think?

Taboo Beauty Products

I love trying out new products and recommending them to my friends, family and all of you guys. I scroll through social media and blog sites and see millions of recommendations for glamorous and gorgeous products. But there are A LOT of products out there that we all use but no one wants to talk about. We all have tried great variations and horrendous variations of the product from different brands and we all have our favourites that we would normally recommend to everyone that would listen – but these products are sometimes seen as unladylike, unattractive and sometimes just too boring. So I think it’s time to discuss some of those ‘Taboo’ products. DON’T WORRY, they aren’t too gross that you have to put down your dinner.

Let me start with deodorant. For some reason, women like to pretend that we don’t sweat, we don’t need deodorant and we always smell amazing without even trying. Unfortunately this isn’t true! We all wear deodorant, we’ve all tried rubbish brands and we all have our favourites that we ALWAYS wear, so why does no one ever talk about it? I never see blog posts comparing different brands and ‘Just tried this!’ posts. So I think it’s about time that we started. When I was going through puberty, I sweat a lot – and I mean a lot so because of this period in my life I have tried A LOT of different brands. I now use Mitchum. This was recommended to me by a friend that I lived with at Uni. Before then I had always used Sure, Sure smells lovely and comes in some many different scents, but unfortunately it was never strong enough for me. Mitchum works a dream! I use the roll on, it’s a little annoying because you have to sit down for 5 minutes after your shower to let it dry, but it definitely works the best! Now I never have to worry about sweating, even if I spend the day at work then go to the gym. I also have a spray on deodorant that I carry with me on the go just incase. It has a few scents, none are overly scented, but all smell pretty nice. Mitchum have recently changed their packaging. It was more of a darker green, so the new packaging looks much more feminine. It’s sold almost everywhere, the roll-ons sell for £2.89 in boots.

Cosmetic buds. These are quite dull and definitely not in pretty packaging, but they work a treat. If you don’t already use buds, or if you use regular cotton buds, then you need to get yourself some of these. You can get them for really cheap. These ones sell in Boots for £1.80 for 80 buds. They have one rounded end and one pointed end. They are perfect for fixing makeup! I am constantly doing my mascara, then spraying my perfume, it makes me sneeze and my eyelashes then leave little mascara dots all around my eyes, these buds are perfect for clearing that up without spoiling the rest of your makeup!

Let’s talk face wipes. Now I know some people say you shouldn’t use face wipes to remove your makeup and some people say they cause spots or dryness, but I’ve never found that to be the case. I use Simple wipes, I’ve tried many different brands and Simple seem to work best for me. They don’t irritate my skin but are strong enough to remove all of my makeup. They are super quick to use. These retail in Boots for £3.99. I have tried the exfoliating ones, but they seem too harsh for my skin.

Veet hair removal cream. Yes, we all have unwanted hair. Some more than others. I struggle to find a hair removal cream that it strong enough to work on my leg hair. So if any of you know a brand, please let me know!! My leg hair is too thick and coarse to be removed by creams – another downside of being brunette. However I love the Veet Sensitive for all other unwanted hair, it works a treat and doesn’t irritate my skin.

My Ped Egg! Now a lot of people don’t want to talk Ped Eggs. My boyfriend thinks it is the most disgusting tool that has ever been invented, but I think it is by far the best. If you feel too ashamed to walk to the counter with a Ped Egg then please please try and stifle your shame. It is amazing. It has removed all hard and rough skin on my feet and have left them looking and feeling amazing. It’s unreal how much difference it makes after just one use! It’s so easy to use, it looks like it’s going to hurt your feet but it definitely doesn’t. Give it a try!

Do you have any Taboo products that you are dying to share but feel too embarrassed?

What’s your favourite brand of deodorant or face wipes?

Clean Your Makeup Brushes

When it gets close to Christmas I start cleaning and organising EVERYTHING. As a kid I would spend weeks going through all my old toys, putting them into charity bags and making room for all the new ones that Santa was going to bring me. I think that has probably stuck with me for my whole life, and now with a few weeks to go I’m starting to get rid of old clothes, bags and shoes. This year I’ve asked Santa for some more Real Technique makeup brushes, the blush brush and the core collection to be precise – which I am veryyyy excited about. But this means that I need to clean my current brushes, find a new (bigger) home for them and sadly throw away my over loved ones.

I’ve been hunting for a new makeup brush holder for weeks – it’s a very serious commitment. And I’ve found lots of pretty ones and lots of big ones, but sadly none nice enough and big enough for me to buy. I chatted to my boyfriend and asked him if he would be able to make me one (he works in the metal industry), eventually he agreed, I’ve sent him measurements for 3 different size pots and I’m waiting patiently for them to be finished.

Now on to cleaning! I HATE cleaning my brushes. It makes me so nervous that I’m going to destroy them, so I’m constantly trying to find a new, convenient way to clean them that doesn’t mean I totally wreck the glue. And I think I’ve finally found it. (I lost a few bristles from my 17 bronzer brush, but let’s not mention that).

I was looking through Amazon and saw some Strictly Professional Cosmetic Brush Cleaner and decided to give it a go. It was only a couple of pound plus postage and thought that I may as well give it a go. It’s like an oily solution, that you stand your brushes in for 15 minutes then rinse with warm water. I decided to just use a normal bowl and used about a third of the bottle, but this cleaned all of my brushes. After the 15 minutes the liquid had all been absorbed into the brushes. Then when you rinse it the makeup just comes straight off, however the oil needs a few rinses before it’s completely gone. But it works  SO well. I rinsed them through once, left them out for a little while on a piece of tissue, then rinsed through again. The oil left them clean and really soft, they also smell lovely. However my bathroom sink was a little more difficult to clean after all that foundation!

How do you clean your makeup brushes?

Beauty Beam

I’ve recently tried out the Beauty Beam. Now this cute little devise is a small light that you can put onto your beauty tools in order to enhance your view of what you’re doing. A few years ago I tried a pair of tweezers that had a light fixed on to it. This made the tweezers really chunky and quite hard to use and most of all, once you started moving your hand and wrist around, swapping between eyes, you started blocking out the light, but the Beauty Beam is SOOO different.

It has a little elastic band around the back of the light, which means that you can move it between different tools, move it to different distances along the tool and more importantly also move it around the circumference. This means that you can adjust were the light sits depending on which way your hand is.

It comes in a variety of different colours and costs JUST £4.99. It’s fantastic. It fits on lip brushes, eye shadow brushes and even face brushes, because the band is so stretchy. You can put it on lip sticks and glosses, eye liners and eyebrow pencils and tweezers. I found that in the middle of the day, it doesn’t make a huge difference. But at night when you’re getting ready to go out to a bar or club, it’s a massive help, especially when applying false eye lashes!! I get up for work at 6am, so with these dark winter mornings it’s a great product to use. It’s also really good for plucking your eyebrows –there’s nothing worse than stepping into good light and noticing how bad your eyebrows are – you can see all the fine hairs that you sometimes miss.

This is a fantastic product, really works and is so easy to pop in your make up bag or hand bag and can be carried with you on the go. It’s light weight, easy to use and looks really cute. It also comes with a battery, which is great, so you can use it straight away.

On sale at yourbeauty247.com and amazon.

Have you tried the Beauty Beam, what did you think?