Products I regret buying #1

I usually research products I'm going to buy pretty well online before I make a purchase, sometimes I don't and I go on impulse, but even when researching products I still manage to buy some duds that just don't work for me.  So I thought I'd start up a blog mini-series on products that I don't like and I haven't got on with, here's what I've not been enjoying (kind of, anti-favourites!).

Dainty Doll blusher in 01

Don't get me wrong, I like Dainty Doll, I have the blusher in 02 and I really like it, but what compelled me to pick up a light lilac shade I'll never know - I'm not sure what skin tone this would work on, but pale isn't it.  I think I just got a little excited over the hype around them being on Fragrance Direct for £1.99 and panic bought - either way, I ended up with one blusher I like (002) and one I don't (001).

New Look | Kelly Brook bronzer

Now, this product I didn't actually buy (so technically it shouldn't be in this list), it was in a goody bag, but I'm adding it in here as I absolutely wouldn't repurchase it and just don't like it.  The pigmentation is insane and it's very dark & sparkly - this isn't a bronzer you could contour with, I'm actually failing to think of anywhere you could put this where it would look nice - it's certainly not one for very pale people like myself.  Sorry New Look, I love your clothes, just not this bronzer!

Maybelline Master drama liquid eyeliner in Black & L'Oreal Super liner in perfect slim

Maybelline products are normally a hit for me, but back a few months ago I was determined to find a dupe for my Chanel Ecriture liquid eyeliner (which I eventually found!) and this was one of the products I bought whilst on my endeavour.  Sadly, very quickly it transferred onto my eyelid leaving an unsightly black line there, and the product itself wasn't very black and didn't come off the pen very well.  Just a bit of an all round fail for me, this isn't something I'd consider buying again and after this post it'll be finding a new home in the bin.

The same goes for the L'Oreal one - both I had the exact same issue with (transferring onto my lid & not black enough).  They just were underperforming and underwhelming.  This will also be accompanying the Maybelline liner to it's new home in the bin.

Revlon nearly naked foundation

This actually pains me, I wanted to love this so much.  I'd seen so many amazing reviews and through it's launch I was on a 100 day spending ban, it was hard not buying it, and in a moment of weakness I nearly broke my ban to buy it, I'm so glad I didn't.  The day after my ban finishing I rushed out and picked this up, but boy oh boy was it a disappointment. It cracked over all my fine lines and pores over my face, it clung to dry patches and just looked hideous on my skin, it was really really obvious I was wearing foundation, not a good look.  I couldn't wait to get it off my face, I've tried it again and again using different applicators (hands, beauty blender, RT miracle complexion sponge, foundation brush, stippling brush) and none of them gave a good finish.  I have to admit defeat, this didn't work for me one little bit.

So there's my disappointing products and ones that won't be making it back on the shopping list in the future, did you have similar experiences with any of these?

This months Bigest-Pixi3 advertiser is the lovely Karen from Liverpool Lashes

 

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Super September advertisers

This month has seen some really lovely people advertise on Makeup-Pixi3, and now it's time to turn the spotlight on to them and more to the point, for you to hopefully pay them a visit to see their lovely blogs :)

First up and the newest member of the Makeup-Pixi3 family, is Anoushka from Anoushka loves.

She mostly blogs about beauty related products but also covers fashion, travel and lifestyle.  Here's a little bit about her taken from her 'About' page :)

"Anoushka is a self confessed beauty addict and spends way too much time in various department store beauty halls. An avid reader of blogs and beauty forums, Anoushka decided the time was right to start her very first beauty blog. Working full time as an air hostess for a large UK airline, her job enables her to visit the States and take advantage of the US brands that are highly covetable.

Anoushka hopes to bring some fun and her passion to her blog and wants to give honest reviews, videos, tutorials and much more to other beauty lovers."

BLOG | TWITTER 

Freshbeautyxox

Shona is a wonderful young beauty blogger who's just had a lovely redesign of her blog, making it super pretty (you need to check this out!).  Taken from her 'About' page, Shona says:

"My name's Shona, I'm 16 and I live in the South East of England, just outside London. Beauty is my thing and this is where I talk about it! I'm a sucker for pretty packaging and I'm a big lover of lip products, I have an obsession with any balm stain/lip crayon like products!

I started my blog in Nov. 2011 and it's the best decision I've ever made. I started out on youtube in Sept. 2011 but took down my channel in Dec. 2012, I decided that blogging was my thing and I don't regret removing my channel one bit.

There's more to me than beauty obviously. Firstly, I love animals, apart from large dogs. I have 2 cats: Marmite and Bruiser. Marmite happens to be Bruisers mum and he was adorable as a cute little kitten wobbling around everywhere! You might see them pop up on my blog now and then, I can't resist sharing funny and cute pictures of them! I also love rats and plan to get 2 when I'm a bit older, they are just adorable!"
BLOG | TWITTER

Srslylou

Can I have a big hand for the wonderful designer of my blog please (**applause**).  Amy has a wonderful talent, I really love the design she did of my blog for me, completely in love with the banner :)  Amy is a wonderful beauty blogger too (and obvs has an awesome design!) as well as rocking some amazing photo's - always lovely, clear and crisp, Amy is going to go a long way in the blogging world!

Taken from Amy's 'About' page:

"I'm Amy 'Lou', from Bedfordshire, a 21 year old almost-graduate at the University of Hertfordshire. I shall soon have my degree in English Language and Communication with New Media Publishing (does that sound interesting or boring, I never know!?).

I started blogging because I needed an outlet for all the rambles and nonsense that spin around in my head everyday. When I started this blog I never intended it have a 'beauty' or 'fashion' focus, it just came out of what I enjoy and enjoy writing about."
BLOG | TWITTER

Those stars that shine

Here we have the lovely Sarah from Scotland :) I've just seen that today she's posted my Autumn TAG on her blog (definitely have a read of that!).  Sarah's been blogging about beauty for just over a year now, with mostly great high street finds featured on her blog.  Here's what she say's about herself on her 'About' page:

"My name is Sarah, I'm an 18 year old Forensic Investigation student, and a lover of all beauty and fashion related things. Most of the posts I write are beauty based, but from time to time you may see fashion posts and maybe even the odd life post. 
I also make YouTube videos in hope of building my confidence, which currently I don't have lots of. I try to post at least one video a week, but often I don't have anything to talk about. 

My blog is my creative outlet, and the place I can come to talk about the lovely new products I've bought - my mum is a little tired of me constantly going on about it. So I hope you ebjoy reading my blog! 

I thought I would also mention here that my skin is very oily and prone to spots, my hair is also really oily and I find it hard to go more than a day without washing it. Despite my roots being oily the ends of my hair are unbelievably dry."
BLOG | TWITTER

This months Bigest-Pixi3 advertiser is the lovely Karen from Liverpool Lashes

 

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A little treat

So Wednesday night I had some bad news, my Nana who's 91 was in hospital and very very poorly, I won't go into detail, but things weren't looking good.  So when Thursday came, I went into work and choked back worried tears all day and tried hard not to think about it (she lives in Ireland, I'm in Wales, not exactly practical to pop to the Hospital to visit).  Lunchtime came and I went out for some fresh air, I found myself in Boots and staring at the Stila 'In the light' palette, one I've been lusting after for about a year now.  I didn't actually realise what a good price it is (£25) compared to the Naked palette, so I decided to pick it up as a little treat to cheer myself up.

That evening I had some good news, my Nana was getting better, she was out of ITU and the Drs think she might be able to come home early next week (whoop!), that really was a load of stress off my shoulders, so so thankful that she's on the mend, especially as she's my last grandparent I have alive, and we'll be spending Christmas with her in Ireland (fingers crossed).

Anyway, this isn't a full review or anything as I've only used it twice so far, but my first impressions are great.  I've heard SO MUCH about the shade Kitten so that was the first to go on my lid (very pretty colour, and very similar to UD Sin, but with a little less pink/champagne colour in it).  I've also used it to highlight my lid, what I mean by that is I use the MUA matte palette on the lid (Chino all over the lid, Truffle in the crease) to create a bit of a smokey look, then use a shimmery colour like Stila Sunset on the bottom part of the lid where Chino was sitting to create a bit of a sparkle - you could use this as a day to night look too, just by adding some of the Stila palette over the top to create something a little different.  I must say, the two palettes go together beautifully.

Anyway, this was just a quick post to show you what I treated myself to this week, I'll be doing a full review of it on the coming weeks so keep your eyes peeled for that :)

This months Bigest-Pixi3 advertiser is the lovely Karen from Liverpool Lashes

 

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5th Wedding anniversary

Yep, you read that right, 5 years!  It's hard to believe, it's gone so quick.  Five years ago today I married the love of my life and became Mrs Kent, leaving my old Irish surname behind to be a distant memory. We had the most amazing day, an intimate wedding with just our closest friends and immediate family. It was on quite a tight budget but there were things I didn't want to compromise on, so what we did is have a small but very elegant wedding with the people that meant the most to us in the world.

Chris and I actually met in a heavy metal night club, one I used to work at.  We'd both been dumped 3 days beforehand and had dragged our friends out to cheer us up, it was on a Tuesday, a dead night of the week for clubs.  That was the night we first kissed and I learnt his name.  Four days later (Friday) we went on our first date, which he was half an hour late for!  I nearly didn't go as I had a stinking cold, but I didn't want to miss it.  We had some drinks in the student union bar and then went back to the club, 3 days later he asked me out and the rest is history.

This December we'll have been together for 12 years, it's hard to believe we've been together so long, but time has gone really fast, which must be a good sign :)  If you want to see more photo's, or how we managed to do the wedding on a shoestring, I wrote a blog about it back in Jan, you can find it here.

The only thing that makes me sad about today is that it's also 5 years since we had a holiday (our 3 day honeymoon in NYC)... next year, next year we'll have a proper holiday!

This months Bigest-Pixi3 advertiser is the lovely Karen from Liverpool Lashes

 

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September Biggest-Pixi3 advertiser

Today's a good day.  I get to introduce you to another fantastic blog and blogger.  This is one of my favourite parts of the month, turning the spotlight on someone else - it reminds me of the old 'Monday blogger loves' series I did about a year and a half ago :)  Well, before I start waffling (too late!) I'd like to introduce this month's Biggest Pixi3 advertiser, Karen from Liverpool Lashes.  I'll let her introduce herself.

Hi there I'm Karen.  I'm a qualified nail technician and beauty therapist who has a You Tube Channel with step-by-step nail art tutorials and a jolly daily blog where I review products with a little bit of humour and a lot of honesty.  I also like to post about my work which is generally a fun set of nails I've created, advice that I've picked up during a course or anything else I think that you will find interesting. Why not come and pay me a visit?  I'll put the kettle on.

Here is Karen's favourite post, Dr Who nail art (how amazing are they!!!) http://liverpoollashes.blogspot.co.uk/2013/09/my-work-shellac-nail-art-dr-who.html

With nail art skills like that, what's not to like :)  If you'd like to visit her blog or twitter etc, here's Karens links.

BLOG | TWITTER | BLOGLOVIN | INSTAGRAM | PINTEREST

Psst - if you do head over to say Hi to Karen, tell her I sent you :)

This months Bigest-Pixi3 advertiser is the lovely Karen from Liverpool Lashes

 

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Real Techniques miracle complexion sponge

You may or may not have seen that Real Techniques have released their very own version of the beauty blender.  This one is a little different though, it has a flat side to it, if you want to see what I thought about it, keep on reading.

Bit of a blogging fail - forgot to photograph it 'before' using it :/

So, first off how do you use it?  Well, run it under the tap and give it a good few squeezes.  Then put it down for a minute or two.  Then, you'll notice it's about twice the size it was and a lot softer.  Now it's ready to put your makeup on.

Pour/pump some foundation on to the back of your hand, and dab this in it, then work it in over the face.  Which side you use is up to you, I prefer the flat side, and I use a dabbing motion to apply it.  The pointed end is great at getting into corners like around your nose or near your eyes.  Once the foundation is on, set it in the usual way and you're good to go.

Next, what I thought about it.  Months ago I was one of the lucky people to get a real beauty blender in my Birchbox (I know, cray cray).  I held off using it for ages as it pretty much scared me (no idea why), but when I did give in and try it I really liked it.  Before blogging I always applied my makeup with a sponge so it felt natural.  But then we ran into problems, the foundation just doesn't sit quite so well on my face with the beauty blender, not with my large pores and fine lines, so it was with a lot of trepidation that I tried the miracle complexion sponge.

It felt a bit bigger and softer than the beauty blender and I much preferred the colour (orange is my second favourite colour after purple).  It applied my foundation well, giving a near flawless finish.  I tried it with a couple of different foundations, ones I knew I liked (BB creams) and ones I knew I didn't like (Revlon Naked foundation *shudders*), and I have to say, even with the naked foundation it worked pretty well.  Don't get me wrong, I still had some similar problems to the beauty blender, but not to the same extent.  I like the different shape with the flat side and how well it worked. 

If you like the beauty blender, then I would say you'd definitely like this, and it's a fraction of the price, just £4.99*, bargain!  You can pick them up online here.

This months Bigest-Pixi3 advertiser is the lovely Karen from Liverpool Lashes

 

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RH Nail designs

A few weeks ago I was approached by the lovely Rachael to see if I'd like to try out a set of her hand painted stick on nails - I don't know if she'd read or noticed that my nails were super short and bitten down, or just that I was nail obsessed but clearly I jumped at the chance!  My nails were looking horrific and I needed all the help I could get, so I headed over to her blog to have a look at which nail design I wanted.  

I wanted to go for something I felt I couldn't do myself, so no polka dots as that's kinda my signature nail art thing to do (because it's super easy!)  I have to say, since I picked my pattern (cherry blossom) she's done some other amazing ones (clouds, cherries and an AMAZING cookie monster!)

The nails came numbered so you could see which was supposed to be for which nail, there was a tiny bit of damage to a couple of them (silly me had them delivered via work which meant they got squished between heavy boxes & parcels, despite them being wrapped in bubble wrap, but the cracks were easily fixed with a bit of nail glue).  They were pretty long, I prefer short nails, especially if my nails are really short underneath as they'll last longer, so after putting them on I filed them right back to a length I was happy with.  How cute do they look!?

** before filing **

Such pretty nails :)  She doesn't send them with nail glue, but that's fine, I tend to keep a bottle around anyway, I just love how they were custom made and painted just for me, such a personal service. Rachael was so lovely to deal with too.  The nails came within about a week which includes her hand painting and drying them, numbering them and posting them etc which is pretty good.

** after filing **

Here they are after I've filed them down to a more comfortable length for me.  The nails themselves were quite pliable which meant they stuck to the nail well - I hate it when they're really stiff and don't bend to your nail, they never last well then.

All in all I was really happy with the service I had from Rachael (aka RH Nail designs), you can find her blog here with all her custom nail designs on (http://rhnaildesigns.blogspot.co.uk/), prices vary depending on the design but are roughly £5-7 and inlcude 1st class Royal Mail delivery - if you're outside the UK it may be a little more than that, I'm guessing the more complex the more expensive.  If you're reading this outside the UK you'll be pleased to know she ships internationally too :)  Just send her an email if you're interested in buying a set: rachaelharman91@gmail.com. 

This months Bigest-Pixi3 advertiser is the lovely Karen from Liverpool Lashes

 

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That time of the month...

credit: weheartit

When I woke up this morning, I didn't quite envisage my day going like this - laid up on the sofa with very bad lower back ache and womb ache, it's that time of the month.  Seeing as I'm in lots of pain right now, I haven't felt inspired on what to write on the blog either - then the hubby suggested I write about, well you know, this thing we all go through every month.  I thought it could be nice for us to share our routines/fixes etc for what we do when mother nature strikes!  Sorry if this is TMI for you, feel free to pop back tomorrow for a more 'normal' post :)

I don't know about you, but I suffer from very heavy periods, they're no fun and they freakin' hurt.  One of the worst bits for me is the lower back ache, there's not really any position I can get in which helps, but there are some tips and tricks which help take the edge off.  Here's what I do.

Cura heat pads

These are sticky pads you put on the outside of your underwear and under your dress/jeans etc, it's like taping a hot water bottle to you all day.  The heat lasts for a good 6-8 hours, but be careful, sometimes they can be a little too hot (I've been burnt once).  These are an amazing help for those 'heavy' days when you feel at your worst.

Hot water bottle

If you can't get hold of cura heat pads (great if you're out and about) or if you're at home then a hot water bottle is awesome, the heat helps relax the muscles that are cramping which helps takes the edge off the pain.

Hot drinks

I think this one is just a comfort, but when I'm having my heavy days, I love having lots of tea and/or hot chocolate - it's comforting and just all round lovely :)

Chocolate

I think this will be an almost universal trend, but around the time of my period I really crave chocolate, not lots of it, but a bar of Dairy Milk is always welcomed with open arms :)  I can't explain why I crave it, but I do and when I have it, it makes me feel better :)

Lounging about on the sofa

This isn't something I normally do, I'm usually planted by my desk upstairs and on my laptop, but on my heavy days I move my laptop downstairs, put a marathon of films on and hubby makes me cups of tea.  Just the comfort of the sofa, a nice squishy seat helps, and usually my cat comes and sits with me too, so that makes it even better.

Massage

If you have a really nice other half, you might be able to convince them to give you a lower back massage.  My hubby is great with this and when my back is really bad, he's more than happy to help.  I love using the Lush Soft Coeur for this, it smells like white chocolate and isn't too oily, it absorbs in the skin well and just feels and smells amazing.  I don't know whether it's just nice or if it really helps, but I always feel better after having a lower back massage.

Painkillers

Before I talk about what I take I just want to say be very careful when taking tablets, only take them if you really need them and NEVER ever take more than 2 paracetamol in 4 hours and not more than 8 in a 24 hr period.  If you go over that, you can get irreparable liver damage which can kill - so please please be very careful with how much you take.  Depending on the ache I'll either take paracetamol or ibuprofen.  If you're not such which helps, ibuprofen is for muscular aches, paracetamol is for more normal pain - so for period pain, ibuprofen is probably the one you're more likely to reach for, make sure you always take it with/after food (it can damage your stomach if you don't).  I only take tablets if none of the above have helped.

So they're my tips, I'd love for you to comment below with any of your tips and tricks and hopefully we can all help each other :)  I hope you have enjoyed this post, I wasn't sure whether to post it or not but thought we're all in it together, lets share ideas :)

This months Bigest-Pixi3 advertiser is the lovely Karen from Liverpool Lashes

 

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My Pandora bracelet

A long time ago (well, it wasn't really that long ago, it was a couple of years ago) I was given a Pandora bracelet by my lovely in-laws, full of promise on what could be added to it in the coming years.  A year went by and it was still lonely with no adornments, so I decided to rectify that.

My first purchase was this little purple glass charm, I decided I wanted the bracelet to have purple and silver as the theme, and this marked it's beginning.  I bought it with some vouchers I had.

A few months later I won a photography competition at work and in winning that, I received £50 of vouchers which I chose to spend at Pandora :)  The winning photograph was a close up of a snail, so I wanted one of two things, either a camera or a snail.  Sadly, they don't have charms of snails, but they did have a camera, whoop!  I still had £20 left to spend, so I picked up a little hedgehog to keep the camera company.

What comes next?  Who knows :)  But I am enjoying adding to my collection over time and can't wait in years to come to see it complete :)

Do you have a Pandora bracelet? Which charms do you have?

This months Bigest-Pixi3 advertiser is the lovely Karen from Liverpool Lashes

 

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A fairly thrifty haul

Happy Saturday everyone! I don't know what the weather is like where you are, but it's miserable here in Cardiff, there's a misty rain everywhere, you know, the kind that soaks right through even though you don't feel like you're getting rained on?  

This week I did what I felt was a fairly thrifty haul, spending a total of £10.50 and for that getting quite a lot of great things, here's how I did it.

MUA

MUA doesn't really need an introduction, a very cheap high street brand who make some really good quality makeup.  At the moment, they really seem to be knocking it out of the park, they've just released a range of matte makeup (lipsticks and eye shadows), and coming late in October is their sub-brand MUA Lux which showcases matte liquid lipsticks like the Lime Crime Velvetines and other interesting looking products at the MUA prices.

This was the least thrifty of my shop as I actually had to hand over money to pay for these, but not very much.  The palette (Ever After - matte palette) was £4, each lipstick was £1 and I think P&P was £2.50, making it a total of £10.50 for 4 matte lipsticks and a matte 10 eye shadow palette - not bad if you ask me!

I haven't worn these yet so I can't comment on what they're like on the face, but on first swatching, the lipsticks seem nice, fairly sheer, not sure how matte they'll be on the lips but I'll only really know once I wear them - the red interests me the most, it seemed to have the best pigmentation.  As for the shadows, to get those swatches I had to go back to each pan for more product about 3-4 times, so they're quite light apart from the dark shades which didn't require that much going back and forth.  The dark shades are really quite pigmented - again, we'll only really know when they're on the lids just how they perform.

Dior

After seeing Estee rave about this and knowing my love of the Dior BB cream I was really keen to try it out.  Then last weekend I was sorting through all my makeup and found a sachet from a magazine I'd put in a bag of the BB eye cream, so I tried it out - there was enough there for 1 weeks usage and I loved it.  It's the first eye cream with coverage or concealer etc that hasn't creased on me at all, which isn't surprising as the BB cream doesn't either.  So with £50 of points saved up on my advantage card, I headed into boots and picked it up in shade 01 (it photographs darker than it is) for £29 of points, but seeing as they're points, I didn't have to hand over any of my own money, so the price was really £free. Thanks Boots :P  I absolutely adore this - I feel that with the Dior BB cream collection (eye and face) I won't be able to find a product that will out perform it, they're just perfect for my skin and absolutely holy grail items that I can't imagine living without now I have them.

Bioderma

For my birthday back in April my mother-in-law bought me two big bottles of Bioderma and I'm just coming to the end of the 2nd one.  Roll back to the beginning of the year and Birchbox landed on UK shores, I signed up straight away and have been enjoying them since.  One of the perks of having a Birchbox is that each month you earn points (for spending money, completing reviews, referring friends).  Well, I'd totalled up just over £20 and was waiting for something to come along to spend my points on.  Then this month's September box landed and had Bioderma in it, perfect!  If you buy a product on their store from the current box, there's no delivery charge either, so I bought myself 2 bottles of Bioderma (£9.99 each) absolutely free!  

So in all in all I bought two bottles of Bioderma, the Dior BB eye cream, and an MUA haul and all together in actual money it cost me £10.50 - that's a bargain if I do say so myself :)

This months Bigest-Pixi3 advertiser is the lovely Karen from Liverpool Lashes

 

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Revlon nail enamel in moon candy

I've actually been meaning to review this for a while.  Revlon released a few different combinations of these double ended nail pens, this shade is Moon Candy.  It's navy blue at one end, and a bright sparkly blue top coat with shimmery holographic flakes in the other end.

As you can see, the blue is very dark, but not quite black dark.  This photo was taken a couple of months ago in the height of summer when my nails were in better shape :)

Every time I've worn this, I've had so many people comment on how lovely my nails look, and I know a couple of people who've bought it themselves after seeing it on.  Sometimes it's hard to know if something will work until you've seen it on someone else in situ.  The durability on this was decent, much as I've come to expect from Revlon's nail enamels.  I had a good 3+ days out of it before it began to chip, and even then it was only very small chips.  It wasn't too horrible to remove either, you know with glitter it can so often be a horrific nightmare to remove?  Yeah well this wasn't that bad :)

Sorry this is such a short review, but I don't really have anything else to say about it :P  I picked up mine in Superdrug for £7.99.

This months Bigest-Pixi3 advertiser is the lovely Karen from Liverpool Lashes

 

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FoM Skincare

You may or may not have heard of FoM (Freshness of the Morning), they're a luxury skincare brand based in London.  Their products aren't tested on animals and they're largely paraben free.  They claim that their unique selling point is based on their use of antioxidants, vitamins, essential fatty acids, herbal extracts, essential oils and absolutes to nourish, nurture and protect your skin.

When I was asked if I'd like to review one of their products, I was quite excited!  You may have seen me saying on here or twitter that I'm really into body butter type products at the moment, good after-shower skincare.  That's where this little baby comes in.

First off, the scent.  If you like 'organic' smelling products (if you know what I mean), then you'll love this.  It smells really lovely, fresh and warm all at the same time, lots of very natural organic scents (I know that's a lame description of a scent, but it's pretty hard to convey).  The texture is strange, it's quite firm, think of a packet of butter about 10 mins after taking it out of the fridge, if you leave your hand on it it'll warm up but if you stick your finger straight in it, it'll be very firm.  Well, that's kinda like what the Botanical skin balm is like, it's quite firm, you need to dig your finger in it to get the product out, but when you do it melts really nicely in your hands.

What I do is rub it together in my hands warming it up, then I rub it all over.  It has a slightly oily residue which absorbs quickly, not leaving any oil on the skin.  It leaves my skin feeling really lovely soft and nourished.

What's the downside I hear you ask?  Well, for me it's the price.  I'm happy with the product and the packaging, in fact, I really like the product, but should I wish to replace it, it'll set me back £24* for 100g which to me is quite expensive.  Yes, you don't need to use much each time as a little goes a long way, but when it comes to body balms/butters/lotions, I'm a bit tight fisted - which is silly as I'd spend that on face moisturiser - but I tend to go through body balms/butters/lotions a hell of a lot quicker than face creams.  That's my only qualm, the price.  If you're happy to spend money on body care, I'm pretty sure you'd really like this, especially if you like that 'organic' scent, otherwise maybe chip in with a friend and share it or put it on a present wishlist for Christmas or a birthday.

If you'd like to know where to pick it up, you can get it on their website here.

This months Bigest-Pixi3 advertiser is the lovely Karen from Liverpool Lashes

 

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theBalm cheeks, lips and eyes

Up until a month or so ago, I was a complete theBalm virgin.  Lots and lots of their products have I pined after, but never did I own any, until now.

** Excuse the hideous closeup of my large pores **

Cabanaboy | £13*

This has to be my favourite of the three products, especially as we move into Autumn, I find myself reaching for the deeper berry shades on the cheeks, but of course, still careful not to apply too much of it :)  It's really well pigmented and only requires about 3-4 dabs of my real techniques blusher brush to pick up enough to do a cheek.  It's not crazily soft either, which is something I don't like as it makes it way to easy to pick up too much product, with this it's nicely firm.  You get a good amount of product for your money too, 8.5g, which compared to Benefits' new Rockateur (5g) is really good.  You've got to love the quirky packaging too which seals shut with a magnet, and has a decent sized mirror inside :) As is typical with theBalm this product is talc and paraben free.

Shady Lady eye shadow | £10* in 'Caught in the act Courtney'

This single eyeshadow is a deep mocha brown with a brown/coppery shimmer.  In the photo I've used it on the outer half of my eyelid.  I really like the leopard print packaging, very cute!  And just like the blusher, it seals shut with a magnet and has a good sized mirror inside.  Pigmentation is great, it was really quick and easy for me to build up to the level of brown you can see in the picture.  It blended really well, although I would describe it as a dry formula as opposed to some shadows which can be quite creamy (like a lot of Urban Decay ones can be).  

The shadow stayed in place all day and all night without fading, looking pretty much just as lovely at the night end when I was taking my makeup off. This would be a beautiful colour by itself, or worked through the crease and outer V - or like I did, on the outer half of your eye to darken and smoke it. You get 3.4g of product which is a lot when you compare it to an Urban Decay single shadow (1.5g).

Plump your Pucker | £9.50* in 'Cherry Cola'

First off can I just say, this smells exactly like cherry cola, which is my favourite fizzy drink!  The colour is like a dusky pink with quite a lot of shimmer in it (goldy shimmer).  It's well pigmented but not over the top, I was actually wearing a very thin layer of it as I don't like wearing too much lipgloss, otherwise it can gather in the corners of your mouth, and that's not a good look for anyone!  Durability was really good, it would last me about 4-5 hours before I felt I needed to reapply.  Also, seeing as it's a 'plumping' lip gloss, there is the obligatory tingling sensation that accompanies wearing it just as you'd expect.  Plump your pucker was a pleasant surprise and one I'd like to try some other, lighter shades of.

All in all my first experience of theBalm did not disappoint, I loved the products I tried and the blusher really was the highlight of the three for me.  It's what I found myself reaching for again and again, and will still reach for.  Now what I have my beady eyes on is the Nude Tude palette and the BalmJovi palette, they both look awesome!

What's your favourite theBalm product?

This months Bigest-Pixi3 advertiser is the lovely Karen from Liverpool Lashes

 

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September Birchbox

It's that time of the month again to see what arrived in my September Birchbox!  So without further ado, here's what I received.

I must confess, I did a little squee when I saw that teeny tiny miniature Bioderma was in there, I'm running really low on mine and it's so so cute!

Reverence de Bastien nail polish | £16 in No.14
I know it looks black in the photo, but it's actually a deep blood red/browny colour varnish.  I haven't tried wearing it yet so can't comment about it.  The only first impression I can give would be that I would have expected the packaging to feel a bit more expensive considering this is more expensive than OPI, I mean, it feels cheaper than Essie.  But, the product inside could be amazing :)  I did like the white tea moisturiser they had in a Birchbox a couple of months ago (that'll be in my next empties post).

Bioderma Sebium H20 | £9.99
Hummina hummina hummina! I freakin' love this stuff! I'm just coming to the end of my second large bottle of this (I had two for my birthday in April, so that's how well they last 4-5 months for 2 bottles). I must admit, I'm really getting into French skincare, my skin is in the best condition it's been in ever, and I can only say that since I switched to a combination of Bioderma and La Roche Posay, I sometimes add other things to the mix, but that's what I use daily.  I really highly recommend Bioderma, if you haven't tried it yet and you have some Birchbox points, now is the time to do it, as it's one of this months' products, it's free delivery with them too :)

ModelCo Party Proof Lipstick | £15.50 for a set of 3 (mine is shade Kitty)
I have really mixed views about ModelCo products, I find they're very hit and miss.  Their kohl liner I really liked, but that was about it, however, this lipstick does feel better quality than the previous lipstick of theirs I've tried, this smells lovely too.  It's a pretty nude shade with a slight sparkle, I haven't used it yet or swatched it so I can't comment on the quality of the product, but the packaging feels nice, very solid, and there's a window on the top so you can see in to see the colour, similar to Revlon lipsticks.

Aromatherapy Associates Revive Body Gel | £31
I'm actually pretty excited by this, when I went to the Christmas blogger event in London last year, I had a hand massage by AA and that was my first introduction to them, I felt so relaxed afterwards and my hands felt so soft and smelt amazing.  I haven't smelt this yet as it's sealed up, but I will be giving it a road test over the next couple of weeks and will try to remember to blog about it :)

Molton Brown Ylang-Ylang Nourishing body lotion | £18
In the August Birchbox there was a mini Molton Brown Ylang Ylang body wash in my Birchbox, so it's nice to see them follow up with another product from the same range.  It smells lovely and lets face it, it's a pretty cute bottle too!

Lifestyle extra
I'm very pleased to report the lifestyle extra this month, was a little white chocolate Green & Black's mini chocolate bar, how delicious!

This months Bigest-Pixi3 advertiser is the lovely Karen from Liverpool Lashes

 

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