Free Benefit with Glamour!

Hello!

I'm sure you've all heard about the Glamour freebie this month - free Benefit!

Just in case you haven't, you can chose one of three samples - that girl primer, porefessional or the bad gal mascara :)

I picked up a mere two copies - hello, restraint! 

I've borrowed my flatmate's that gal before and I liked it, so I got one of those and a porefessional, which is amazing stuff.

You get 7.5ml in each, which works out at £10 worth of porefessional and £15 worth of that gal - bargain!

Any of you picked up Glamour yet?

What did you go for?

Laura xx

They're real! (honest)

'Ello!

Here's my review of the tres popular Benefit They're real mascara :)

Love the box - very kitsch, classic Benefit. The tube itself is also very nice, it's silver chrome, tres sophisticated. 

The mascara claims to lengthen, curl, add volume, lift and separate.

94% of women saw dramatic length and volume,

90% saw base-to-tip curl,

94% saw visible lift. - Benefit packaging.

With these pretty bold claims, I was expecting good things and was also pretty much expecting it to not live up to the claims. 

I have never really found an amazing mascara, one that does everything. 

My mum actually got this for me in America for my birthday, so it was a bit cheaper than it is in the UK. 

This is two thin coats, and it looks pretty good I think ;)

I love the brush, it has loads of teeny tiny bristles, and the end has a ball which you can us to lengthen the lashes more. 

What do you guys think?

Any of you tried it?

Available at Debenhams (link) & Benefit website (link)

Laura xx

Clynol challenge: accepted.

Hello :)

Immediate PR recently tweeted saying they were looking for bloggers to take part in a competition testing out a new hairspray. 

The Clynol hairspray is extra strong and designed to give complete control to extreme styles. 

Clynol grip hairspray is used by hair professionals to create crazy styles that last. 

I decided to go for a back-combed look - ever the fan of big hair ;)

I did a sort of quiff by backcombing my fringe to add volume and then pushing it back and clipping it, before spraying it with the Clynol hairspray. 

I then used my Denman finishing brush to go mental on my hair - backcombing left, right & centre. 

It was insanely big when I'd finished with it, and then sprayed a liberal amount of Clynol to hold it in place. 

I pinned one side of my hair down so it would make the other side look bigger. 

It was really fun making the look :)

What do you guys think?

Laura xx

Caudalie Beauty Elixir

Bonjour, 

I'm sure you've all heard of this product, it seems to have exploded all over the blogging scene lately.

If I see Anna (Viviannadoesmakeup) talk about something enough, I will eventually want it. 

The elixir is allegedly inspired by the 'elixir of youth' used by Queen Isabelle of Hungary, and it claims to smooth features and tighten pores. 

First up, the packaging. It comes in a frosted glass bottle, with elegant green lettering and a silver lid. it definitely feels very high end and luxurious, and looks pretty fancy in your makeup bag. 

It smells AMAZING! Like, the most addictive scent ever. I'm having to ration my spritzes, haha. 

It has Grape, orange blossom, roses, mint and rosemary to name a few ingredients, which all merge together to make an earthy, fresh scent. I've never smelt anything like it before, it's so unusual. Mmm, I want to spray it on my face again. Must. Resist. 

It's definitely a complex kind of smell, with different layers, but they all work together so nicely.

I've been using it for the past week to set my makeup, and by spritzing a few squirts on my face in the afternoon as a revision treat... see how exciting my life is? Hmm.

I have had to restrain myself from using too much though, it's actually so addictive.

I saw someone on twitter compare it to crack, and they're so right! 

I purchased the 30ml from Feel Unique (link) where it was the cheapest online and with free delivery.

Have any of you tried it? Any other addicts? 

Laura xx

Montagne Jeunesse's Travel Pamper pack

Bonjour, my lovelies!

This week Montagne Jeunesse sent me a little book full of pampery goodness, which I have to show you :D

It's such a cool idea - a little portable book with 6 products inside, which you could easily pop into your suitcase, or just use at home to indulge yourself. 

I've been pretty stressed out with exams the last couple of weeks, so I was more than ready for an opportunity to pamper myself and relax for a bit.

I really like Montagne Jeunesse as a brand, they always try and use natural products and don't use animal parts/test on animals. 

In this travel pack you get 2 shower gels, a face mask, an exfoliator, a hair masque and a foot cooler mask. 

The foot cooler

This smells amazing! Really fresh & minty, but with a fruity smell too.

The texture is initially very liquidy but it transforms into a powder which you leave on your feet. Never seen anything like that before.

It feels very fresh when you first apply - not tingly, but definitely very 'cooling' as the name suggests.

Skin Smoother

On the packet it says you can use this on your face but I feel it's much too rough to use on your face - it felt quite rough on my arms, let alone my face. It did make my skin soft though. It reminded of Saint Ive's Apricot scrub, in terms of texture, only with bigger grains. 

Body Wash

Again with the amazing smells! I'm tres impressed. This smelt like oranges and general awesomeness. I just can't get over the smells Montagne Jeunesse makes, they're amazing. It lathers up well, you get a good amount... standard shower gel really? 

Hair Masque

This is actually the best smell ever! It smells like margarita or lime starburst. It just smells so good! It makes me happy. After I washed it off, I could still smell margarita on my hair (in a good way, not an alcoholic way... haha) and it's so lush! Yumyummmm. You all have to smell it!

I really like the idea of this pack, it's so cute and easy to take away with you. 

My favourite was definitely the hair masque, it just smells out of this world amazing. 

The Travel pamper pack retails for £5 on the Montagne Jeunesse website here. 

Laura xx

Rediscovering an old flame, Urban Decay's Scratch

Hello :)

I was rummaging around in my makeup drawers (anything to avoid revision :[) and found this gem floating around.

It's an Urban decay Deluxe shadow, in the shade 'Scratch'.

This was my absolute favourite eyeshadow a couple of years ago, before I got more into makeup.

I used to use it every day, until I hit pan pretty nicely, but since then I've got a few more eyeshadows...

I love the packaging of the Urban Decay deluxe eyeshadows, each shade has a different design. 

It's looking pretty battered/well-loved... 

The colour itself is a frosty pale champagne pink. It has gold and silver shimmer, and isn't too warm or cool. I think it really brightens up the eye area, and it makes my eyes look bluer.. (shadow win!)

Have any of you guys tried the Urban Decay Deluxe shadows?

Judging by this one, they're definitely in my top shadow list. 

They're pigmented, creamy and last ages (I never used to know about the magic that was primer potion)

Laura xx

Top 5 Summer Nail polishes

Hello :)

I've been loving pastels and bright colours on my nails lately, so I thought I'd show you my top 5..

From L-R: 

Barry M limited edition from Boots - awesome purple toned pink. Classic Barry M formula, creamy and two coats. I think they still have this in Boots, I'd check it out while it's still there.

China Glaze Electric Beat (ignore the gouges on the handle...) - 

OPI Planks a lot - One of my all time favourites. A murky pastel purple. I love OPI, and I just love this. I love the name as well, yay for Pirates. 

Model's Own Utopia - I'm wearing this at the moment with pink glitter on top, but I love it on its own. It's a fairly elegant shade, and looks nice and classy. Two coats and it's completely opaque. 

Essie Mint Candy Apple - My only Essie! A bit of a cult favourite, and the newest to my collection. This is from the new boots diffusion range, and I really want more! The brush is awesome, covers the whole nail and the formula is great.

What are you favourite spring/summer polishes?

Any Essie recommendations? Looking to expand my collection ;)

Laura xx

Benefit Hello Flawless Oxygen Wow Foundation: Review!

Hello!

What a foundation mouthful! Haha :)

As I'm sure you all know, this is Benefit's eagerly anticipated first liquid foundation.

Benefit claims that the foundation "builds from light to medium coverage for a natural complexion you can believe in. It’s you…just more luminous & healthy looking."

- Benefit website

It's a foundation designed to give you a completely natural, yet buildable, coverage.

I love the Benefit packaging, it's always so kitschy and cute. I am a total sucker for packaging. 

I really like this foundation, I like how it makes my skin look like my skin, only better.

It's fairly liquid-y, and blends really easily. I use my Real techniques buffing brush, as I do with all my foundations, and I like the finish. I use 2 pumps to do my entire face, which seems enough. 

I am usually a fan of fuller coverage foundations, but lately I've been craving a lighter base and this fits the bill nicely. 

The only thing is the longevity. It does last, but just not as long as I'd perhaps like. I'm not sure, maybe I've been spoilt by the magic of MAC pro long wear, but this lasts around 6-8 hours on my skin before it needs touching up, mostly on my cheeks and chin. It does last a bit longer with a primer and powder, but I would like it to last a little longer on my skin. 

Overall, I do like it. It's a good match for my skin, blends nicely and makes my skin look nice. 

Laura xx

Bourjois MAGIC Nail Polish remover..

Hello,

I was intrigued when i heard about this... I vaguely remembered my auntie having something like this to remove fake nails at one point, but I also remember it stinging.

Anyway, I digress!

I LOVE nail varnish, but I also get bored of it on my nails in about 3 days max. So I like to change it a lot, but I can rarely be bothered to get a cotton pad and soak it (i always spill the polish remover as well, no matter how hard I try not to) and take off all my polish and then blablaaaabla.

So when Bourjois launched a magical pot of laziness, it had my name all over it.

You basically dip your finger in the pot (not for one second, c'mon Bourjois, you're not wizards) for a few seconds and twist your nail around and then voila, pull out your finger polish free.

Sounds good, non?

This did work really, really quickly at removing nail varnish, which excited me.

Yay! A product that lives up to its claims!

I have yet to test this with glitter - I HATE removing glitter polish, it just takes so long.

It makes me not want to wear it, because it takes so long to remove.

I'm going to paint my nails with so much glitter, oh yes my friend.

I'm talking multiple layers of glitter here.

Mmm.

Have any of you tried it?

Laura xx

Wonderland & polka dots.

Hello, :)

Hope you're all well.

I'm mid exam period, and have 5 more. I can almost see the light at the end of the tunnel, but not quite.

I have 4 exams next week, and a philosophy on a Saturday. Urgh. 

Anyway, I've been making more of an effort to do OOTD's more, let me know if you're enjoying them? :)

I got this top after seeing it on my new style crush's page, Sparkly Vodka - check her out for awesome style posts. Love her! *girl crush*

*Top - The orphan arms @ ASOS/Skirt - New look/Bracelets - topshop, asos, new look, accessorize (bit of a random selection)/ nails - Essie mint candy apple*

Laura xx

EOS lip balm

Bonjour,

I'd been lusting after one of these balms for ages, I love the shape - it's so crazy. 

I like the shape, you don't have to dip your finger in the pot which makes it more hygienic.

EOS claims that the balm has:

"Long-lasting moisture

Shea butter & vitamin E

Smoothes on clear

New smooth sphere precisely glides on to lips

Twist-off top

Gluten-free

Paraben-free

Petrolatum-free

Phthalate-free

EOS lipbalm is 100% natural. Packed with antioxidant-rich vitamin E, soothing shea butter and jojoba oil, EOS keeps your lips moist, soft and sensationally smooth. Not tested on animals."

I have the strawberry one, and it smells AMAZING. Like those strawberry laces sweets.

It's not sticky, but is super moisturising. It doesn't have any colour or tint, which makes it ridiculously easy to apply on the go, sans mirror. 

The design makes it easy to hold, better than a pot. 

I got mine from here from cutECOsmetics (awesome website, check it out!) , with free delivery. 

Laura xx

Clarisonic Mia, first impression.

'Ello,

For my birthday I got my very own Mia - yaaaaaay!

I chose the sapphire coloured one, which I love. It's a blurple kind of colour, it's so pretty.

I ordered it online and carried it home all excited, and then waited impatiently for it to charge for the 24 hours. 

I used it twice yesterday, I was too excited to only use it once ;)

It's so easy to use - you press the button and you have one minute before it shuts itself off. 

I timed it so I had 10 seconds each on my forehead, nose & chin and 20 seconds on each cheek. 

I used the sample Clarisonic cleanser that came free, which seemed ok. Not amazing, but ok. 

My skin did feel super soft afterwards, and I applied my serum and moisturiser... yay!

I've only used it for 5 days so far, so it's obviously far too early to know how it will make my skin, but I'm enjoying it so far.

Any Clarisonic converts?

Laura xx

Born to Rebel, featuring out of control hair.

Bonjour,

Top - Topshop / Skirt - Zara 

Have another OOTD all up on your monitor. 

I completely forgot I owned this skirt, and found it today when digging through my wardrobe and re-organising everything. It's a bright tomato red and has little zebra's all over it, and pockets. I love pockets, I wish all skirts and dresses had pockets. 

I love the jumper, it's all grey and slouchy and has a slightly 'edgy' feel, completely my style. 

Also, have a little peak into my room - check out my birthday balloons, still going strong over a week after my birthday :D They make me happy! 

Laura xx