Friday 30 August 2013

Maybelline Fit Me, please?!?!

I am forever searching for my Holy Grail foundation, at the moment, I am having a lot of breakouts which I believe to be hormone related and so really would like to find a foundation with medium to full coverage that doesn't cake, good luck with that I hear you say!  
To top it off, I have very pink tones to my skin which does not go well with the usual yellow toned offerings of most high street and high end brands.

My latest quest led me to Maybelline Fit Me foundation in shade 115.


My first plus is the packaging, it comes with a handy pump dispenser in a nice glass bottle so you can see the amount of product you have.


It is marketed as the brands first gel foundation, with no waxes and fillers which allows the skin to breathe.
The maybelline website allows you to select the shade that is right for you, judging by your answers to two simple questions.


I picked shade 115 as I am very pale (my neck is much paler than my face) and I have pink undertones, my first impression was that it was too yellow for my skin. *sob*. 


It does blend in a bit better but on my face and neck I found it to be too yellow for my tastes and also a bit dark.  It looked not too bad if you just look at my face but trying to blend it into my neck was just not happening.


I also found that it slid about my face, even with the use of primer and settled into any lines or creases in my face.  The coverage was pretty low but you could build it up a tad and the range also has a concealer and powder to go with your chosen shade.  I felt that this made my face look and feel a wee bit oily and so that didn't help it stay in place either.

All in all, not quite for me but the texture is nice and feels very lightweight on the skin and perhaps this would work better on normal to dry skin types.  

At the moment, I am using this mixed in with L'oreal Lumi Magique in 'Rose Pearl' for my at work foundation but it's really just to try and use them both up!

I have my eye on Max factor next!

Whats your Foundation of Choice?

Have you found 'The One'?

Hugs,

Jodi 
xxx






Thursday 29 August 2013

E.l.f Studio Lip Definer and Shaper

A while back in a previous post, here, I mentioned I use the e.l.f. Lip definer and shaper and as I still enjoy using it, I thought I would go into a bit more detail.

This is a dual ended device which makes it ideal for your handbag.  It also has a sharpener on it which I find to be a nice little touch.

One end has the Lip definer, which is the darker shade which I find to be an ever so slightly blue tinged pinky mauve.  The shaper end is more like a highlighter which you would use to help define your cupids bow and round the edge of your lower lip.  


The pictures have got a slightly brown looking tinge here, thank you iPhone, but it is pinkier in real life whereas the shaper end is more of a champagne pink colour.  The shaper could, at a push, be used as a highlighter elsewhere on your face if you were really strapped for space.  It would need to be blended in with fingers I think as it would need the heat to help melt it a little bit.


I like to apply this all over the lip as it gives a neutral but better look and I find it makes my teeth look a wee bit whiter thanks to the slight hint of blue. It is soft to apply and therefore does not drag, it struggled a wee bit in the summer months as it was so soft and I would definitely recommend a spell in the fridge before you try to sharpen it or you will get one messy sharpener!


For during the work day, I like to apply a wee bit of lip balm over the top, usually my trusty carmex, to give a sheen and to add some SPF


Overall, I really like this as a no fuss liner that can be worn on a day to day basis and it won't break the bank!  

Do you have a go-to lip product for daily use?

Have you tried any e.l.f. products?

Hugs,

Jodi
xxx



Wednesday 28 August 2013

Weekend Mani

I was given a new nail polish by one of my lovely work chums and couldn't wait until the weekend to try it out.
Introducing Sally Hansen's 'fuzzy coat!

Similar to Nails inc. feathers, the fuzzy coat contains strands of different colours suspended in a clear base.  The colour I was given was 'all yarned up' however, I believe there is 8 different colours in the range.

As soon as I saw this, I automatically thought of 'Porchester Square' a gorgeous Nails Inc, neutral shade, marketed as one of their hero shades.  These two polishes together give an otherwise very grown up mani a fun twist.


When I was shopping for my mum's birthday, the girl behind the counter at the jewellers even commented on my nails! 



When I was passing through Boots - it was a shortcut, I promise! I came across their new nails inc stand and couldn't resist a comparison.  This is 'All yarned up' next to 'Chester feathers', they are very similar! The Nails Inc has turquoise-y type strands as opposed to the blue in the Fuzzy coat.  

Application was pretty good although I do find the strands a pain on the end of the nail, if they hang over at all, they can catch and chip very easily.  Once applied the texture was pretty smooth, a coat of seche vite settled any bumpy bits.

What I really like about this is that it is a trend that all ages can wear, the recently retired secretary from my work came in with cake and she was wearing the Nails inc feathers! 

I'm intrigued to try the Bourjois laser toppings now.

Have you tried any of the feathers effect polishes? 

Hugs, 

Jodi
xxx




Hello Softy!

Recently, I may have mentioned a mini splurge in Boots - shock!

I couldn't help myself when I spotted this Soap & Glory 'night in shining armour' cream in the reduced section - reduced you say?! Instead of the usual £13 this cost me £3.25, happy birthday to me!



So, contained in this screw top, pearlescent tub is a myriad of skin-friendly ingredients.  There is the patented Superpeptide complex, which is scientifically proven to reduces wrinkles, increase elasticity, improve skin smoothness and also skin firming effects.  It also includes antioxidant EFA oils (I've yet to find out what the EFA stands for but it would appear to be vegan?!), Vitamins A and E and lastly, aromatic fragrance oils which include orange, mandarin, geranium and lavender.

One major thing that I will point out is that the scientific evidence and statistics are based on testers using this twice daily over two months, so unless we live on mars which has two moons, we earthlings would only be applying a NIGHT cream once per NIGHT! So, any results would possibly take up to four months to become visible.


All in all, I found this to be pretty effective at giving my skin a moisture boost, it would be awesome if it had maybe some salicylic acid or hylauronic acid in it, but for a mid price moisturiser it's pretty decent. I reckon one tub will last a good couple of months too as a little goes a long way.  My face definitely felt softer in the morning and looked a bit brighter too which is always a bonus.  The scent is a floral herby kinda mix, I don't detect so much of the citrus in it.  After applying this to my face, I feel a brief, invigorating sensation, if you have ever used original source tea tree shower gel, it's a bit similar! 
It's available at boots, in stores and online here.

Do you have a magic night time cream?

Are you a fan of soap & glory?

Hugs,

Jodi
xxx




Wednesday 21 August 2013

A clean sweep!

Last year, I purchased Caudalie's cleansing water and oh my, was it a revelation! Removed make up with the hassle of washing your face and flooding the bathroom, with no residue and no irritation afterwards - I was sold.  Alas, every bottle has to run out eventually and mine ran out just in time for L'oreal to release their 3-in-1 purifying micellar solution.



In a relatively un-fancy bottle, this is part of their new skin perfection range, fronted by the gorgeous Cheryl Cole.
It has a flip top lid and dispenses easily, with little chance of waste.  It is marketed as being hypo-allergenic and therefore suitable for sensitive skins.  It claims to remove all traces of make-up using just gentle sweeping motions across la visage, although some areas such as eyes and lips may require you to hold the cotton pad over the area for a few seconds longer.
It also claims to help tone the skin too.


Above is the finished result, this was quick and easy and left my face feeling clean with no redness or tightness.  I would like to try keeping this in the fridge and then using it on my eyes to dissolve my eye make-up, I think that would feel lovely and refreshing and I know it won't irritate my eyes.  I would say that if you had on more than one coat of mascara, this may struggle to remove it all.  I had previously got my make-up done at the Bobbi Brown counter and this took all that make-up off with no problems.
This is an affordable cleansing solution to keep in your work or gym bag or just to have handy when you're feeling lazy (like me!) and at the moment, superdrug have got them better than half-price at £2.48 instead of their r.r.p of £4.99 here.  I think I am going to go get a few back up bottles, and perhaps explore a bit more of this new range. 

Have you tried cleansing waters? 

Have you tried any of the new skin perfection range? 

Hugs,

Jodi
xxx
*Update, as of 28th August the price now seems to have gone back up to £4.99 but is now 2 for £6 

Monday 19 August 2013

Weekend indulgence


This weekend I ate far too much fine food.  We decided we were going to have a weekend of mooching about town and scoffing nice things.

Saturday consisted of a quick nip into town in the morning to to return something to New Look and a trip to the Bobbi Brown counter in John Lewis, more deets on that later though, followed by a refreshing red berry cooler from Costa.  These are my favourite thing to drink just now but the only thing that has given me brain freeze since I was about seven! Later on we had a roast chicken dinner that was huge! My man is very good in the kitchen and worked in a professional kitchen for years and his portion sizes are huge, I made sure to eat all my veg first though!

Sunday consisted of a trip to Dobbies with Grandmama and they have the most amazing cakes on display.  On the way out I spotted this strawberry tart jelly and it is exactly the same as you used to get on the proper strawberry tarts - slightly worring that strawberries are not anywhere on the ingredients list but I still bought it!


Saturday Evening was spent drinking frozen pina colada out of a pineapple and playing trivial pursuit  - I lost! 


Of course, we couldn't resist trying out the strawberry tart jelly and we even added strawberries.  It. Was. Nom!


Hope you all had a nice weekend

Do you have favourite yummy food haunts?

Hugs,

Jodi
xxx




Sunday 18 August 2013

Fresh and Juicy!

For someone who usually never wins a thing, I've been really rather lucky of late.  My latest win was this super cute juicy couture perfume duo from a competition I entered on the Glamour website.  


Contained with the plastic packing was the cutest, handiest perfume dispenser I have seen in quite some time.  The darker pink end is 5ml of 'Viva la Juicy' and the lighter pink is the slightly fresher 'Viva la Juicy la Fleur'.  These scents compliment each other very well and would take you easily from day to night.


I was even more excited to discover the fragrances were rollerballs! So handy! 


I'll be the first to admit that if someone said 'Juicy Couture' to me, my first thought would have been a big bum encased in a velour pink tracksuit but this perfume duo has really impressed me.

'Viva la Juicy' is fresh, warm and fruity all in one with top notes of mandarin and wild berries, heart notes of honeysuckle, jasmine and gardenia and warming base notes of amber, caramel woods, vanilla, sandalwood and praline.  These all combine to make a playfully sensual scent.

'Viva la Juicy la Fleur' is almost like the younger sister of the two, it has more of a fruity and fresh scent due to the addition of water lily to the top notes and without the depth of amber and praline.  This is a much more flirty, daytime fragrance.

Of the two, I felt that 'Viva la Juicy' lasted longer on my skin but both lasted a good couple of hours, detectable to me, when placed upon the usual pulse points.  

A great little handbag hero and it turns out Juicy Couture do quite a few of these nifty little gals, some of which also have lipglosses! Hurrah! 

Do you have any space saving favourites?

What's your scent of the summer? 

Hugs,

Jodi
xxx



A trio of Barrie's ...

Hey Chummers!

I couldn't go into Boots and not come out without a polish (or three) *chortle*

Pictured below is the white, ltd edition yellow (only available at boots) and the pink sequin effect. I really like the ltd edition cap, it just makes it look so much more edgy.


Below we have two coats of white on the index (pointer) finger and one coat of the yellow and the white on the following fingers.

Next up we have the two coats of the pink sequin effect over the white to give it a bit of oomph, two coats of the yellow on its own and one coat of yellow over the white.


Two things stood out for me that I did not like about these purchases, firstly, if you are testing a nail polish in a shop, please do it neatly and cleanly! In the picture below, just at the top, you can see a bit of dried up yellow polish, the lid was practically crusted on - eugh! 
Secondly, the sequin effect polish.  The formula was terrible if I'm brutally honest, the base pink was grainy and the colour itself was wishy -washy, it was not good to work with.  It also had a textured finish.  On the second coat I found that the base colour covered a fair few of the 'sequins' from the first coat giving them a much less vibrant effect.  I was gutted by this polish as I had really liked the look of it when it was first released.


The iphone pic below isn't the best, however this is two coats of the sequin effect polish, just look how patchy and meh the finish is! 


The formula of the white and the yellow polish were pretty good, if applied very carefully you could reach opacity in two coats, or if done not so carefully (like me!) you would benefit from three.

Whats your feelings on all these new textured polishes?

Hugs,

Jodi
xxx



Wednesday 14 August 2013

Blink and you'll miss it!

So the other week, I let you lot in on my latest boots goodies and up for closer inspection is the No7 Anti-Ageing sun protection spray SPF 30 and the Perfectly Bronzed self-tan quick dry tinted lotion.


The Anti-Ageing Sun Protection spray is pretty self explanatory, it is a milky white spray that blends in clear. As with most sprays, you will have to rub it in to some extent but it dries pretty quickly.  It doesn't have that 'oooh, holidays' smell about it, more of a generic 'cream' smell but that is to say, I don't find it particularly offensive either

The Perfectly Bronzed Quick dry tinted lotion was a bit more of a disappointment.  The tint was not particularly strong and therefore was lacking the 'guide colour' element I have grown so used to. 
It did dry reasonably quickly however, and did not smell any more unpleasant than any other fake tan.


Below is the same blob rubbed in, it's not obvious where this is though so very easy to get a streaky result if you are not careful.


Below is the colour payoff the next day, with flash and in natural daylight.  Not much.  I bought the light/medium version and as I am incredibly pale, that would usually suffice.  Also my legs were particularly streaky whic I never usually get with the likes of 'fake bake'.  


I should add that all fake tan was expertly applied by my boyfriend! I have him well trained! ;-)

Binx helped in the making of the blog post, obviously...



What are your favourite fake tan products?

Do you prefer the full fake tan or are you more of a gradual tanner? 

Hugs,

Jodi
xxx

Tuesday 13 August 2013

The Daily Scrub

Hey Girlies! And Guys, obvs!

Today is a short and sweet post about two of my current daily exfoliants.

The Dermalogica daily microexfoliant is a powder that you have to add water to whilst in the palm of your hand to create a finely granulated paste.  The Elizabeth Arden exfoliating cleanser is a creamy liquid with little exfoliating beads.


The Dermalogica is dispensed via a sifter whereas the Elizabeth Arden is your usual, run of the mill squeeze-it-out job.


The Dermalogica is a bit more granually (pretty sure that is not a word) but the consistency is quite hard to get right.


Both of these leave your skin feeling squeaky clean withouht felling too abrasive, I think I prefer the Elizabeth Arden cleanser as I am lazy and find it a bit of a faff getting the dermologica into a paste whilst I'm standing in the shower.  

I usually use a facecloth to remove exfoliating cleansers as I find muslin cloths too hardcore a combo for me.

Do you have a cleanser you go back to?

Are you a facecloth or muslin cloth kinda gal? (or guy, again!)

Hugs,

Jodi
xxx



Sunday 11 August 2013

Humidity + Hair = Harrumph!

Usually my hair is fine, wavy and slightly wispy at the ends but this summer my hair has been a big ball of frizz and I don't like it!!

I have been using these two products to try and help control my do and I do fell they are helping - slightly!



I have quite a lot of baby hairs so to try and avoid any broken hairs adding to my frizzball, I have been using this bulldog clip instead of a bobble.  I don't know if this is making much of a diffeernce but its nice to finish work and let my hair loose and not have a massive kink!


The John Frieda Frizz ease serum was part of my latest in Beauty Glam box and is great for everyday use.  Once I have washed my hair, I run this through the ends before drying and I feel it helps control the frizz caused by the heat.  Alternatively, if I haven't washed my hair that day or I have forgotten to use it before blowdrying, I again, just run it through the ends and quickly skim my hands across the rest of my hair to settle any flyaways.

Do you have any favourite products to beat the humidity?

Hugs,

Jodi
xxx


Saturday 10 August 2013

Mesmerising Flakies!

At Christmas last year, I noticed this Andrea Fulerton Gemstone Overcoat in Superdrug and I hummed and hay-ed about it, when I eventually went back to buy it, it wasn't there!! Sad times! Luckily enough, good ol' Amazon saw me right.


This is OPI Fly with the Gemstone Overcoat as an accent nail.


The Gemstone Overcoat  is so versatile and looks nice over a range of different colours and it can be quite mesmerising, it can go from yellows and blues to oranges and reds.


I love the way it shimmers!!

The polish is known as a 'flakie' as the particles are flake-like rather than small glitters.

How do you feel about glitters?

Have you tried 'flakies'?

Hugs,

Jodi
xxx


Friday 9 August 2013

A never ending search!

If there is one thing I have yet to find, it is my Holy Grail daily foundation.

Most of the foundations I have tried are either too dark or too yellow or both.  I have very pale skin with very rosey undertones, and I have an even paler neck which is a pain for blending! 

I got my paws on this sachet of Maybelline Dream Matte mousse from a magazine and although I had resigned myself to the fact that the shade would not be suitable for me, I was intrigued by the texture and coverage offered by this foundation.  



The sachet itself contained the shade 'Nude 21' and when I opened it I thought there was no way going to be enough to cover my whole face but I was wrong! 


It would seem a little goes a long way with this one, it comes out as a creamy mousse like texture which feels very light on the skin, it blends well but I think if you tried to build up the coverage it would start to become quite chalky. 


Again, I found the shade to be too yellow but it blended out to be more subtle.  It offers a light to medium coverage, perhaps more than the likes of a BB cream or a tinted moisturiser but not as much as Estee Lauder Double Wear.  It definitely has a matte finish, so if you are into a dewy finish this is certainly not for you.

Have you tried this foundation before?

What is your Holy Grail of daytime foundation?

Hugs,

Jodi 
xxx

Thursday 8 August 2013

Pre-birthday shopping spree! Part 2...

And then there was more...

I only bought a trio of items from Oasis but they were all on sale so that's acceptable, right?!

First up is this animal print dipped hem top, which is unfortunately no longer on their website.  I was in two minds as to whether I should keep this as the material at the front doesn't feel quite right across the bust, but I am slowly trying to lose a wee bit of weight and perhaps it might sit a bit better - I should point out, I want to lose weight for my health, not aesthetics! I stopped smoking over a year ago and have indulged in too much chocolate since!

I had my eye on this rainbow yarn tee for a while but couldn't justify £18 or so just for a top, this was down to £10 in the sale.  They also had it with blue stripes and I was a bit torn which to choose but coral suits my colourings better.


Lastly, was this dress I bought for my friends wedding.  It is a fluoro floral fit 'n' flare (trying saying that after a few celebratory champers!).  Honey is hiding the fact that it is a v-neck and the thing I loved the most is that, because it has so many different colours on it, it gives you great choice when it comes to choosing accessories! 


That was my relatively modest Oasis spree, do you like?

Have you bought anything nice for yourself  lately? 

Hugs,

Jodi
xxx





Tuesday 6 August 2013

Pre-birthday shopping spree! Part 1...

It was my birthday a few weeks ago and I always get the urge to splurge just before it so it was the prefect opportunity to browse the sales.  First up was Asos...

Boyfriend t-shirt - I got this from the maternity range as I couldn't get the colour I wanted in the normal range. These tee's are great for slobbing about with legging or with skinny jeans and pumps.
Raglan colour block t-shirt - I thought the grey and purple were a nice combo.
Cream Westie bag - this also comes in a bright tomato red.


New look inspire nerdy cat tee - Unfortunately I can't find this anymore.  This wasn't available in my size but it has a cat in glasses on it and so I had to have it! I bought it two sizes bigger.  Worryingly, it fits well so either I am deluding myself or it isn't up to plus size scratch!

And Mary Swallow ring - this was quite small and I have since sent it back, it didn't look quite as pretty as it did in the pictures.
Horse Detail purse - I am really bad at picking purses and have been after a new one for ages.  This one is big enough for all my cards etc whilst still being a bit quirky. This is now out of stock :-(
Owl Bracelet - Possibly my favourite thing, it is a dainty wee thing and adds a touch of charm to almost any outfit. Again, this is now out of stock but this is the sort of thing you can pick up similar styles of on ebay.


What do you reckon, not bad for a mini splurge?!

Have you ever shopped on asos?

Hugs,

Jodi 

xxx

P.s. If you have a cashback account you can get cashback on purchases from asos and lots of other similar retailers, you can also get access to free delivery codes.