A Frosty Sunday

What better way to spend a cold, snowy (well a pitiful, slush down here) Sunday afternoon?

I haven't bought an ELLE in foreevvver! I'm a subscriber and squee with glee when the new issue plonks through the letterbox each month, but I'm not going home until end of March and couldn't wait eight weeks to read the March issue!! So I now have two - and what a blooming good issue to have two of! :) Plus the free Soap&Glory mascara was too tempting to resist - not that impressive though but I'll save that for another time.

How are you spending this wintery Sunday? Please send your snow my way!

Lancôme Hypnôse Doll Eyes Mascara

I finally made up my mind. After a lot of deliberating, internet searching and make-up counter browsing I bought a new mascara in the hope that this will be my perfect match. Something that lengthens and teases my ultra-straight lashes into some form of curl. After reading and being told that they were the world’s No1 in mascaras, I opted for the Lancôme Hypnôse Doll Eyes in black which retails at £21.

On first reception it looks promising. It is packaged beautifully in a sleek, shiny tube that mirrors an hour-glass shape, and is dotted with a rose print. It is the most comfortable mascara to hold (a strange comment but very true), and the smooth, pointed handle fits well between thumb and index-finger.

It has a cone shaped brush, with the bristles at the tip of the wand being mere millimetres long in order to reach the teeny tiny lashes. I wasn’t sure how I would get on with this at first as I was concerned the shape would make it hard to coat the longer lashes but it works brilliantly, ensuring that every hair is coated.

The next thing noticed about the product once opened is the fragrance. Now not many mascaras come fragranced but this one does – a quality that will either entice or put-off. It is fairly potent with a floral perfume, however once applied, I can’t smell it (maybe that’s because my nose is below my eyes!) She jokes! :)




But does it lengthen and curl?? It’s supposed to do both plus volumise and separate eyelashes. It certainly makes mine longer and gives them a fanned out, clump-free look. It gives them a slight curl too but not as much as I would have liked. Although maybe I’m a difficult case to work with, naturally they are as curly as a brick wall! It has great staying power too. I’ve read that some women find it smudges easily but I haven’t noticed this.

Overall I give it an 8/10. I think if I invested in some decent curlers in combination with this mascara, it would probably raise to a 9.5! Do you have any recommendations for curlers at all?

I’m still in two-minds as to whether to try the Benefit They’re Real too...hmmmm

Sorry that posts have been very beauty-centred of late. What with Christmas presents and my incessant need to keep trying new things, I just have so much to share with you. Is this a good thing or a bad thing? Let me know...

Part of your world

Despite a lipstick being the only product I was certain I wanted from MAC during my pre-MAC spree/love, I walked out of the store with everything but. Don’t get me wrong, they are truly beautiful and I will definitely go back for one (or five) soon, but I have fallen a little bit in love with Rimmel’s Kate Moss lipstick. I bought 05 aggges ago which is a muted pink colour but it’s the texture and slight sheen finish that I adore most, which I blogged about here.

But seeing that MAC’s delicious lippy’s were around £13 a pop (plus knowing I had a couple more Rimmel shades for Christmas), I thought I’d stick with my highstreet brands for now. And low and behold these two beauties were in my stocking! The coral shade is another Kate Moss lipstick in 12, and the other is a Rimmel Lasting Finish in Alarm which is also lovely but not as smooth to apply.

These are two ultra rich colours that I was slightly hesitant to wear at first purely because I haven’t dared anything so bold or bright on my lips before (only recently breaking away from my love of neutral Lancôme Juicy Tube glosses in favour of lipstick). But they look amazing on and help to complete an outfit. I use Boots Strawberry Lipsalve as a base which helps the product to glide on smoothly, enhancing the slight shine too. However I find that it wears off quite easily, and I’m conscious of being left with a ring of colour around the edge of my lips whilst the centre fades with eating and drinking...

But these are my new go-to lipsticks and I’m thinking about getting the Kate Moss shade 02 too!

I’m now shamefully off to watch Celebrity Big Brother. I literally can’t stand the show but this year I’ve become a little hooked! Rooting for Frankie to win I think – how about you?

Ps, these colours reminded me of a certain Disney princess so this post’s title is taken from her film :)

And so I was bamboozled

Yesterday evening I skipped (yes skipped because I was excited) on down to Debenhams in town in preparation for my free facial, make-over and gift with Benefit. Do you remember I'd been given a voucher with my Boi-ing purchase for this in November? It sounded like a fab freebie non? Perhaps too good to be true? Well you're right, it was pretty pants actually and was all for Benefit's benefit (!) opposed to mine...

I arrived ten minutes early and no-one was there. 'That's ok, I am early so I'll just wait'. At 5pm (time of my appointment) no one was there. Then just after 5, Chloe my therapist arrived and asked me to take a seat ~ I did wonder if Benefit actually offered facials as I'd never heard of them doing so, but when asked to sit in a chair rather than lay as you would on a couch, I knew that a 'facial' actually meant makeover ~

There I was, face full of make-up (new MAC products may I add!) which was gently removed - so much so that I'm sure just the transluscent powder came off! - with cleanser and toner which was deemed a 'facial'. I was asked what products I would like to try. 'Well I've already got pretty much what's on your counter so only really the new mascara', I thought.

So primer, foundation, powder, blusher, eyeshadow, and mascara were applied and they were all lovely products. But I went with the intention of being pampered, not as a guinea pig to be tried and tested on in order for me to part with money - naieve I know.

And so with a face full of two lots of make-up (the remnants of mine, and then newly applied Benefit bits), I left. Without a purchase. And without my bloody free gift!!

But my dilemma now is that i actually looove the Coralista blusher applied to me and the They're Real! mascara (so Benefit's evil plan worked) which are both really overpriced I think. I know they last a long time but the mascara is itsy-bitsy! Plus as a MAC-convert, do I really buy back into Benefit or stick with my new beloved brand?

What do you think? Coralista or Peachykeen? They're Real! or another mascara that I have yet to find?

Ps, points for where 'bamboozled' is from...

I'm back, armed with MAC

(Left: Mineralize SkinFinish Natural in medium dark, Right: Pressed Blot Powder)
Guess where I am? Yep, back sitting in my usual place (the desk chair!) in my flat where I have embarked on my last EVER semester at uni! Scary is an understatement! So to sidetrack my mind from a panicked, frenzy of jobs, internships and applications overdrive, I thought I’d distract myself with a simple pastime that I take great pleasure in – beauty products.

As you know, I’ve wanted to break into the MAC buying business for a while now, and guess what? I’ve only gone and done it! Yes the lovely Cambridge shop now have 100 pounds of my birthday money in exchange for six beautiful products (plus a pump!) that I don’t know how I lived without.

Studio Fix Fluid in NW15 | Pressed Blot Powder in medium | Mineralise Skin Finish Natural in medium dark | Cream Colour Base in Hush | Eyeshadow in All that Glitters and Brown Down

These were my purchases and I love love love love them! Skin products were what I wanted mainly and after explaining that I like a matte finish due to an oily t-zone, I was made-over (?) with these beauties. I’m really impressed with all of them but especially love the foundation and highlighter. The mineralise skin finish works well as a bronzer giving a light glow opposed to an orange tango-effect too but I feel I need the tapered 138 brush to really enhance it.



(Left: All that Glitters, Right: Brown Down)

I didn’t intend to get eye make-up but how could I say no to the pretty shimmery-ness of All that Glitters?! And of course, it needed a darker accompaniment. But now I literally want every eyeshadow pot they have on their swanky display!! *sigh* If only I could do it the justice it deserves with my application. I am getting better but if you know of any great MAC eye make-up tutorials, please link me to them – would be very much appreciated. The girls in the shop make it look so darn easy!

I’m also looking into getting a MAC blusher and a mascara. Do you have any recommendations?

The Saturdays All Fired Up Tour!

Last Friday my friend and I went to see The Sats in Bournemouth again! They were so good and we had a lovely evening, so I thought I'd share the pictures with you (I'm sure there are some fellow Sats fans among you!). See if you can spot an extra 'famous' face who used to be in a band with Rochelle and Frankie...









Doesn't it look like the guy is stroking Una's baby bump?! :)