Avon Calling...........

Now I have to say I have never really bought many Avon products in the past, the odd thing here and there when something has caught my eye, if the book has dropped through the door. But I have to say, there has been more and more about Avon products in the beauty press and magazines, and some of the products caught my eye.

Firstly was the Anew skincare range, this has been widely talked about and the eye cream was even featured in Vogue.com, Avon is massive in America and this eye cream was polled one of the best......so I thought I would have to give it a try......... http://www.avonshop.co.uk/

It comes in two parts a cream for your under eye area to smooth out fine lines, and a gel for your upper eye /brow bone to create a tightening and lifting effect! ( I could do with that!)

I have only been using this for a couple of days, so cant say anything review wise yet, but the gel part of the pot which you apply to the upper eyelid/brow bone does feel really refreshing and feels like the skin tightens after application, so we will see! The under eye part of the cream is nice I wouldn't say any different from my Clinique all about eyes, but I'm going o use the Avon one for the next two weeks and monitor the results!

Also from the Anew range I picked up one of there "Lifting Eye shadows" in the shade Moonlight

This is a really unusual colour a light lilac with shimmery pink undertones, perfectly on trend for this summers pastel shades, it's a really lovely colour, I'm not sure about the lifting bit! cant really see any eyeshadow doing that!!!

This shadow is a cream application that sets to a powder its really easy to apply, and I would say is better applied to the upper eye area as a highlighter. I tried and tried to get a good picture of this swatched on my hand but they just all came out rubbish!! having a nightmare with my camera at the minute I want to include swatches of everything I review..:(

Anyway So far so good with both of these products and I will keep you posted with a follow up review of the eye cream in a couple of weeks.

So what do you guys think of Avon? Any buys I should know about?......

P.S I know I said I was on a makeup ban but I did order this stuff over 3 weeks a go so that doesn't really count........does it???......:)

Emma x

SOTD?!?!? (Sandals of the day)



Hi everyone!.... Well sorry for the lack of posts but I'm on a self imposed make up buying ban, until after my course at AOFM..! You get really good discounts on a shopping day there and I'm saving my pennies for that......:)


Anyway I thought I would share a couple of lovely summer items I purchased over the last month or so, Im a sucker for sandals/flipflops and love banning my boots to the back of the shoe cupboard!!!


These two pairs below are my definate favourites so far, and I cant wait to wear them all the time in the balmy summer days were bound to have..?!?!!!!!

These ones are from Next, £35 I think these are gorgeous!!! they have a zip up the back and look great with Jeggings or Skinny Jeans

These ones are from Aldo, £40 I had to have these!!! again zip up the back and lovely anklet style braids, there definatly going to be worn loads!!!








Anyway I hope your enjoying buying all your lovely summer sandals too.... I think I need another trip to Primark as have seen some bloggers with some pretty nice ones there too!!....x

AOFM....

Well after years of wanting too and eventually looking into it properly, today I booked my Foundation level makeup course at the fab AOFM in Soho London.

http://www.aofmakeup.com/

This school looks amazing and I cant wait to start my course in June this year.

I have only been blogging for a few months and do love reading all the reviews from everyone, I don't really think I will ever do the youtube side of things but still like my rambles on here.

My real love is doing makeup for other people, this is my passion and I would absolutely love to have some kind of career in this field. I have spent a long time doing jobs that just pay the bills, but as my son is older now I feel I can, and deserve to dedicate the time and money into something that I have a true passion for.

I think sometimes in life it's too easy to say next week/month/year and I think also we are scared of failing at the things we love the most. Well I have decided that this is the time to take the chance and see if I'm good enough to do this semi-professionally, I don't want to look back in 20 years time and say "I wish"....So off I go!...... I'm scared and worried about how it will turn out, but sometimes I think that just drives you on to try things in life...xx

March Favourites........and a couple of products I have fallen out of love with!

Loving!!!

Photo Ready HD Foundation

Thought I would hate this as I have dry skin but I have to say I really love it!!.. nice coverage no patchy dry bits , and I personally don't find a problem with it being to "sparkly" its not as heavy as other Revlon foundations, so thumbs up!

2. Dior Kiss Lip gloss in shade " 451 Mango Soda"

I have only just started dabling in Dior Makeup I have one of there eye shadow quads from a while back, the "smokey eye" one and it is lovely, but for the price tag nearly £40 I have not used it quite as much as I would have liked. But I was passing the Dior stand recently and the lipsticks and glosses caught my eye. I was looking for a lipstick shade that Nic from Pixiwoo used in a tutorial, but they didn't have it..:( so i moved on to the glosses, ( I love a nice gloss!) and spotted this one, its a lovely peachy colour with a lot of sparkle in it, but not in a trashy glittery way just very gold flecked, it really is a lovely summer shade and tastes good too!

3. MAC 187 Brush

I absolutely adore this brush for foundation..... when I picked it up from my local MAC counter I was dubious as it is expensive, but I had seen a lot of good reviews on it online. I sometimes find that the flat foundation brushes can need a lot of blending of the product, this however just airbrushes the product into your skin, the white bristles on the end are really light and distribute everything really evenly and as you get down to the more compact black bristles its really good for buffing everything in, I use this brush every day, and I just feel it makes everything look a lot more natural.....

4. Clairol Nice'n easy colour seal gloss

I colour my hair regularly prob about every 3-4 weeks and this little tube of conditioner is a life saver, it comes as part of the Clairol Hair Colour packs, but you can now buy them singularly on there own form Tescos Boots etc, there priced at 99p and one tube prob lasts my bob length hair 3 applications..... it really does leave your hair smooth and manageable and the shine it gives is amazing. They must of had a lot of good feedback on it as a brand to start selling it on its own, it comes in 3 shades red/brunette/blonde, def worth checking out if your hair is coloured.

5. St Ives Apricot Body Scrub

This is currently on half price offer in Tescos at the moment £2.49 from £4.99 def worth stocking up on. I am a fan of the Sanctuary Salt Scrub and that pretty glass jar is always standing on the side of my bath, but it is quite expensive and as summer is fast approaching and my fake tans are looking at me longingly form the bathroom cabinet,......:) I wanted a really good exfoliating scrub to use daily in the shower...well this is it, it actually feels like it's doing something! so many of the so called body scrubs about smell delicious but when you try them on your skin you find no scrubby bits in them! rubbish!!...... Guarantee you wont be disappointed with this one, have got my friend and Mum on to it and they have only good things to say about it to0! grab on now while there on offer.

A couple of items that I wanted to love.......:(

1. NARS Mousson Eyeshadow

Now when I saw swatches of this per Christmas last year in the NARS holiday collection i loved the look of this shadow, and when I was christmas shopping last year was excited to pick it up in London. Now the colour in the pan of this cream shadow is beautiful, but every time I use it , it just creases really badly......I use either MAC bare study or UDPP as an eyeshadow base for all my colours and have no problem at all with creasing apart from with this, its really hard to build up colour with it too you just seem to shift it around your eyelid rather than getting any decent coverage. I am going to try again with this shadow, as colour wise its everything I love, a mossy golden green, we will see.

MAC Ember Glow Lipglass

This is the Lipglass from the Colour Collection, I saw this and knew I wanted it straight away so purchased without really swatching it and the colour looked great in the tube. Hmmmm.... well I do love the colour its just the consistency I'm struggling with, it's very very matte on application (sounds weird as its a gloss) but it's hard to explain it just is really hard to apply it's such a matte colour for a gloss, it's almost like putting emulsion on your lips?.... I have tried it with a clear gloss over the top and it does work better, I'm not giving up on this one, I like it too much colour wise!!!!!

Anyway what are you loving right now?.......Any tips on the application of the NARS shadow or MAC Lipglass appreciated also appreciated.......:) x

Review - Bobbi Brown Concealer!!!..... and Corrector!

(And Clinique Eye Cream)

Well after much deliberation and reading my lovely followers comments on concealers, I decided I would go ahead and purchase the Bobbi Brown concealer and powder duo!

I visited the Bobbi Brown counter in House of Fraser at the Bluewater shopping centre, and one of the lovely girls there did a colour match for me. I have to say having visited various department store makeup counters before, the girl at Bobbi Brown was very friendly and really made an effort to choose the right shade for my skin. So firstly she applied a colour corrector which they recommend you use before the concealer to take any of the dark colours away from under your eyes. I have blueish undertones to my skin and I could really see a difference when she applied this as a base, she used the shade "bisque".

Next she applied the concealer itself, in the shade "natural" she used a brush although I find I prefer to use my ring finger and pat it on. After this the last stage ( i know this seems long winded!!) she applied the powder in "pale yellow" which comes in a compact attached to the concealer, this just sets everything and helps it stay in place. I dont use face powder so this is a must for me!

Well as you would know from previous posts I have written, the dark circles under my eyes are a problem for me and I have never found a product that I have been really satisfied with..........UNTIL NOW! I love this set, and I especially love the colour corrector, I didn't think this was going to be a necessary purchase at first but after seeing the finished result I felt it was worth it. Having used it now at home for the last 4-5 days I'm really pleased, I can notice a definite difference in the colour under my eyes when the products are applied, and I definitely think they look a lot better. This is not a cheap option by any means £22 for the concealer and powder and £16 for the corrector, but I think it will last a long time and you can buy the concealer on its own if you run out before the powder is used up! ....good idea!!

Which brings me on to eye cream!!.......I had been using the No7 protect and Perfect one for a while now, but I have to say that I have not noticed any difference with this cream, which is a shame as I love the No7 skincare range. I have very dry eyes/eyelids which in turn means I can be prone to crepey skin on my eyelids, a nightmare when you trying to apply shadows. So I decided to try Clinique "all about eyes rich" which has had a lot of good reviews, and I like the Clinique skincare range in general especially if you are prone to sensitive skin. Well I have to say I have been using this cream for 5 days now and can definitely notice a difference in the skin texture around my eyelids, its smoother and not dry at all, it claims to treat puffy eyes too, I will keep you posted on that one!... at £22 I think this cream is good value for money its really rich so you don't need loads and I think it will last a while...so far so good!...

Any Eyecream fav's....??? x

To Conceal......or not to Conceal..?!?!







One product I find that I have never really found my perfect match with is......"Concealer" and boy have I tried loads....!!! Touche Eclat, Benefit, MAC, Clinique, ELF....need I go on?? I either find there to thick, sit in the fine lines under my eyes...(Benefit) Or there to thin and light and don't cover well (Touche Eclat) I think concealers are very personal to your skin texture as well as tone, and my skin is olive in colouring and i think that's where the problem lies, that and having quite bad dark circles from many years of lack of sleep from being a mummy!!



But hey, I will not be beaten there must be a wonder product out there which will make me look airbrushed and like I have just woken from a 12 hour sleep......(LOL) I just haven't found it yet. Next on my hit list is going to be Bobbi Brown, I have heard good things about this and like the idea of the cream concealer and powder in one compact!



Well I would love to hear about your favourite concealers and which ones you really love?.........Who better to ask than you guys??...xxx

No7 £5 Vouchers.....Ruby and Millie & Body Shop!

Now i dont know whether its just me, but whenever Boots do there £5 off No7/Ruby and Millie vouchers, I either forget to use mine and they sit in my purse past there date!!!...Or I end up with so many that I spend hours looking at No7 convincing myself there is something i "need" from there skincare collection..!

Now I'm loving the No7 skincare range as you will have read in previous posts, but I have the cleanser /sauna mask/day cream/eye cream,.......something of an obsession going on here you think??......So today while in my local Boots I decided to give the Ruby and Millie counter a perusal, Now when this brand first came out I loved it, but I have to say it hasn't really excited me for the last few years, and the prices are, well blommin expensive for a brand sold in Boots, especially when similar products from MAC are only a couple of pounds more...... But still I looked and picked up a couple of things, one being the lip gloss pictured below in "Lilac 51" this colour really stood out as a pretty gloss, it's a lovely Lilac shimmer with Pink and Gold undertones, it really is lovely (picture doesn't do this one justice, camera not the best hence cant get a good swatch on the skin)........ But I would recommend this one, I personally wouldn't pay the £11 they ask for it, but with the voucher it was £6 so not too bad.....

Also I got this cute make up bag, I think this is a great size and has a stiff outer case which means products not getting squashed inside!..This was £8 but with my £5 voucher only £3.....Bargain!!!

Next a trip to Body Shop.......

Now after reading a few post's on the Body Shop Facial Buffer, I thought I would get one and see what the fuss is all about. It is to be used with a facial wash to gently exfoliate your face. I sometimes feel facial exfoliater's don't really hit the mark so thought I would try this little sponge, will keep you all posted..... Also picked up the Body Shop "Tea Tree Skin Clearing Facial Cleanser " will use this with the sponge, I love the Body Shop Tea Tree products, they always make my skin feel really clean. Let me know your Body Shop Favourites.....!..:0)