Saturday, 30 July 2011

Week in Post #7

The postman has been very kind to me this week, despite the fact that he woke me up at 8:30 this morning after I drank a bottle of wine last night. I think he does it on purpose. Twice now he has woke me up and actually laughed at me! It makes me so paranoid when he laughs at me because I've literally jumped out of bed and opened the door, not looked in any mirrors or anything! Damn you Mr Postie!

You may notice that this post is a day earlier than usual, that is because I am going to a Christening tomorrow so may not get chance to post it then. I figured that I may as well post it today as I won't be receiving any more post now. I may even move it to a Saturday from now on, I'll see.

Here is what I've received this week...

A sample of Lift Activ

I took part in a 30 day skin trial with Nelsens, which unfortunately didn't agree with my skin. I gave them feedback on the products and they very kindly sent me this as a thank you! They also gave me a £5 Boots voucher at the beginning of the trial!

The biggie :) This is the main reason for not hitting the postman when he woke me up this morning, because he had my MUA goodies! I took advantage of the Superdrug free delivery to stock up on the products that I can't get in my local store.

Zoe sent me these eyelashes to try, which I am super excited about as I've wanted to give these a whirl for a while now! She also very kindly gave me a nail polish which was a lovely unexpected little treat! Thank you so much Zoe and you got featured in 'week in post'!! 

The Dog's Doodahs very kindly sent me a blogger support pack! LOVE!

July Glossy Box : Review & Swatches

Unfortunately my GlossyBox was a little later than everyone else this month. I contacted GlossyBox on Monday evening as I hadn't received my box and they informed me that it was a Royal Mail error and they would send a replacement. My replacement box arrived on Thursday, as a result I am quite impressed with the customer service.

I couldn't wait to open my box as I had heard such rave reviews about this months products! I wasn't disappointed!




The products...

 Weleda Pomegranate Regenerating Body Oil 100 ml (full size) value £19.95

GlossyBox say : Weleda Pomegranate Regenerating Body Oil contains only pure plant oils. Rich in essential fatty acids and anti-oxidising vitamins, slather on this oil for more elastic, hydrated, smooth and supple skin. Suitable for vegans.
They have given us a code for £5 off a spend of £15 or more.

I say : I'm really impressed with this product. I suffer with sensitive, dry skin on my body so am hoping that this will be a saviour product! The smell is initially quite overpowering but it does fade and leave a lovely subtle smell. I thought that it would leave my skin sticky with it being an oil, but to my joy it doesn't, it just dissolves straight into my skin leaving it feeling lovely and smooth. I'm really pleased with this.


 Inlight Organic Daily Face Oil 30 ml (full size) value £25.00

GlossyBox say : A moisturising and nourishing daytime oil with a high concentration of natural antioxidants, vitamins and essential oils. Easily absorbed with a soothing, restorative and anti-inflammatory action. Suitable for all skin types. 
They have given us a code for 20% off this product.

I say :  When I first saw that GlossyBox had sent me this I was wondering if anyone would swap it with me. I have very greasy skin on my face so don't like the idea of rubbing oil into it. This morning I decided to try a little bit. I was completely wrong, this product is lovely even with my greasy skin! It absorbs straight into the skin and doesn't leave any greasy traces behind. I'm hoping that the anti-inflammatory action will work well for reducing spots.

 XEN-Tan, dark 30 ml value approx £3.69

GlossyBox say : Winner of Best Ever Beauty Buy by Elle Magazine, this ultra-sheer instant colour formula gives you a gorgeous, natural olive glow that'll last for up to seven days. Easy to apply, it glides on evenly and completely streak free.
They have given us a code for 25% off our next purchase.

I say : to be honest this scares the hell out of me! I haven't dabbled with DIY tanning for years. When fake tan first became popular I tried several. They all went awful on my horribly dry legs. I'm sure fake tans have improved dramatically since then and have been wanting to try one so here is my opportunity! I may be brave and attempt to use this today for a Christening that I am attending tomorrow - I will keep you posted!


Ciate Nail Enamel, Big Yellow Taxi 13.5ml (full size) value £9.00

GlossyBox say : From the ergonomically designed bottle, the deliberately long cap for ease of use and the 250 bristle flat brush for long lasting, full coverage: Ciate takes exceptional care to make applying their beautiful enamel colours a please. Formaldehyde, dibutyl phthalate and toluene free.
They have given us a code to receive a free Speed coat with every purchase of two Ciate Paint Pots.

I say :  I was really excited to receive this. I love the colour and the bottle is so pretty! The colour is just as gorgeous on and will look lovely against tanned skin. If I'm brave enough to use the XEN this polish will be worn with it! Unfortunately it is quite streaky. I applied it without a base coat so am hoping that with a base coat it may apply a little easier. Otherwise I will need three coats to avoid the streaking. If I'd paid £9 for this I would be annoyed at having to use three coats for decent coverage.


Illamasqua Pure Pigment, Marvel 1.3g (full size) value £15.50

GlossyBox say : Pure Pigment gives a high-shine metallic finish of pure colour to eyes and cheeks. Mix with Illamasqua Sealing Gel to create a water-resistant shimmering eye liner. Making professional make-up available to all for the first time. Illamasqua is taking the world by storm with their fearless dedication to self-expression.
They have given us a code for 20% off all courses at Illamasqua's School of Make-up Art.

I say : This is the item that I really, really hoped I would receive! I was so chuffed to see it in my box and am not disappointed with it at all. I love it! I won't be using it on my cheeks as suggested but I think it will make a lovely addition to a nice brown eye. This should last me a while as a little goes a long way. The swatch was a tiny little dab on the tip of my finger, as you may notice in the picture I even had excess after the swatch hence the little bit down the bottom! The discount code given with this isn't the best out of the bunch but its still nice of them.

Overall Verdict : GlossyBox have totally stepped up their game this month. The customer service impressed me, the fact that I got four full size products wowed me! I will be using at least four of the five products. The only one that may not get used is the fake tan, and that is down to fear! If I don't use it my sister, the tanning expert, has offered to take it off my hands so it won't be wasted!  I love that GlossyBox have also managed to secure discount codes for everyone of the products, this is a lovely idea.

I'm assuming that this amount of full sized products is a one off, they have written on the little card "please do remember that GlossyBox is a luxury sample and product miniature subscription service. Whenever possible, we are happy to place full-sizes in GlossyBox. We hpe you appreciate it when you receive them, without expecting it to be a regular feature." I for one really do appreciate it when I receive full size products and would never expect to receive them all the time.

Thursday, 28 July 2011

Rouge Bunny Rouge Goody Bag

A while back I was lucky enough to win a Rouge Bunny Rouge goody bag via GlossyBox's Twitter. I was very excited to receive this as I loved the Rouge Bunny Rouge lipgloss that I received in my June GlossyBox.

My goodies arrived packaged in the normal GlossyBox outer packaging, which confused me somewhat as I hadn't long received my GlossyBox, I opened it to reveal the Rouge Bunny Rouge bag along with a lovely card from GlossyBox congratulating me.


Inside my goody bag I had a Decadent Duo in Flamenco Duende and a Long Lasting Eyeshadow in Unforgettable Oriole.





The eye shadow is described as a Delicate, metallic, white gold. Perfect as a highlighting eye shadow or full on dazzle effect for the evening.

As you can see the eye shadow is a lovely golden colour. This is very pigmented and as with all Rouge Bunny Rouge products the packaging is to die for! I don't want to use it because I don't want to ruin it!

You can buy it from Zuneta for £22.00.






This decadent duo is described as Creamy, sheerest, delicate honey-peach-beige lipgloss, with a hint of glitter paired with a silky, delicate illuminating tawny liquid blush.

As expected this lipgloss is gorgeous! I'm not so sure on the blush yet, I'm not really a fan of liquid blushers to be honest so can't really comment fairly on this. I will continue to play around with it as I can see that it does have a lot of potential.

You can buy this from Zuneta for £28.00.

Overall I adore Rouge Bunny Rouge products, being on the tight budget that I am I will not be repurchasing these products. If there was an amazing offer for Rouge Bunny Rouge, for say 75% off, then I would rush out and buy it all!! As that is highly unlikely I will continue to admire the gorgeous packaging of these products and use them for special occasions.

Thank you so much GlossyBox and Rouge Bunny Rouge for holding this giveaway and for picking me as a winner!

please note that even though I didn't pay for these products I was never asked to blog about them, I decided to share them with you as I genuinely do like the products. The views expressed are my own, personal views.

Wednesday, 27 July 2011

AMAZING Bargain Alert!

Before I go to bed I had to do a quick post to tell you all about this amazing offer I've just come across. I've just ordered myself a free 40 x 60 cm Canvas print of a photo of my choice! They even take the postage off so it doesn't cost a penny! I'm not sure how long this offer is about for so I'd act quickly.

The code is canon50photo and you can order one here.

I just did one with a pretty photo I took of a rose, may order another tomorrow with the partners email address, I might do a photo of my niece for a Christmas present for my sister.

Bargain Watch #13

Discount Codes

Eyeko - free Super Star Line and Shine this week when you enter my ambassador code E14173 on a spend of over £15.

The Body Shop - £5 off £20 spend with code BODY5, expires at noon 01 September 2011 they also have 30% off their summer essentials until noon 01 August 2011.

Nails Inc – 20% off with code Fabulous11, expires 31 July 2011.

Misguided – 15% off with code SPLASHMG15, expires 20 August 2011.

ELF – 50% off a spend over £30 with code SUPERELF50, expires 31 July 2011.

Evans – 10% off orders of £40 or more with code DISCOUNTV, expires 31 July 2011.

Superdrug have free delivery on all orders until 08 August 2011 – I’ve taken advantage of this to finally get my hands on some of the MUA pro line, can’t wait to receive my goodies!

People Tree – 15% off  £35 spend with code 15GOODY, expires 03 August 2011.

Freebies

Free Helen E lipgloss (£1.99 p&p) - Enter code LIPS at checkout, expires 31 July 2011 while stocks last.

Free Elizabeth Arden mascara in electric blue (£2.95 p&p) – Enter code PPMM at Beauty Outlet Direct until they run out. 

Tuesday, 26 July 2011

Replica Bag & Scarf

I tweeted a while back saying that I wanted to treat myself to a nice replica bag but wasn't sure which one. The lovely Leanne-Marie tweeted me back linking me to her replica Alexandra Wang Rocco, I instantly fell in love and had to have one!

I ordered mine from this UK seller on ebay. While I was there I couldn't resist adding a cheeky scarf to my order!


The items arrived soooo quickly! I paid on Thursday evening, the bag arrived by recorded delivery on the Monday and the scarf arrived on the Tuesday.

The bag is medium in nude and cost £28.99 plus £2.99 postage, the scarf is in white and cost £4.99 with £0.99 postage.

The bag came in a little dust sleeve...





 inside zip pocket

 two inside pouches, phone & ipod maybe





 two zip compartments on the side


detachable shoulder strap

I've taken photos both with and without the flash so that you can get more of a feel of it! The only downside I do have with this bag is the 'fishy' smell. I've heard that this is the glue and am hoping it will fade over time!

What do you think of these items? Good replicas? Do you have any nice replica items?

Positive Beauty Pledge

Hi all, how are you today? I massively failed at getting back into being healthy today. I arrived at work to see a HUGE bar of chocolate on my desk, plus there were mini Dimes in reception - not good! My other half then rang to see if I wanted to go for a meal after work, which meant no gym! I did stick to my Weight Watchers meal for lunch and had pork steak with baked potato and salad at the meal so that wasn't too bad I guess. I really do need to cut down on chocolate and get my sorry self to the gym though!

You may notice that I'm supporting a new badge, over there somewhere>>>>>>
That is because the lovely Kat of Kat's Beauty Reviews posted my Beauty pledge today. You can check that out and view a awful photo of me here. There is a link to email Kat on the end of that post if you too are interested in pledging positiveness!

Also, while I'm rambling, I want to take this opportunity to say a MASSIVE thank you to each and every one of my followers! I hit 200 last night, I'm on 204 today, this is crazy! Thank you so much to everyone that has taken the time to hit that 'follow' button, it really does mean a lot!

Last but not least, have you added yourself to the UK bloggers map? That is a fantastic idea, its so lovely to see who your neighbours are and discover new blogs.

Tomorrow motivation will find me and I will go to the gym....

Monday, 25 July 2011

London Meet Up with ZoZo, Kirsti and Me :)

As some of you may be aware ZoeKirsti and myself have been arranging a day out in London. 

We have made plans to meet at Victoria Coach Station on Saturday 20 August at 11:45am. 

I am catching the coach from Newport at 9am in the morning, if anyone cares to join me I'd be very happy to have company! I've booked with National Express and am coming back on the 7pm coach.

We are planning on a river trip, grub, shopping and cocktails! It is going to be amaze-balls!! I cannot wait to meet these two ladies and would love if some more of you could come along too.

You can find all the details over on Zoe's blog here, please let one of us know if you would like to come.

Hopefully see you soon :)

Sunday, 24 July 2011

Week in Post #6

This is what the postman has been bringing me this week, along with bills :(

 Iceland were giving coupons for free books a little while ago, I finally received mine this week

 I was lucky enough to win a Witch Concealer from Sarah's blog, I was actually chosen to win three but I asked for the second two to be re-drawn! 


 I got these from Emma's blog sale, they arrived super quickly and very well packaged.

I treated myself to the famous 'Focco' bag, I also sneakily added a scarf to my order while I was there! I will be doing a separate post to show you these two babies in all their glory soon!