InStyler Amazing Rotating Iron Review & Video Tutorial!

Today I am bringing you a review of a hair styling product which I’ve been playing about with and using religiously for a few weeks now!  You may have heard of it before, it is the one and only InStyler Amazing Rotating Iron. 
Thanks to this baby I can now straighten, curl and add volume to my hair with only one styling product – pretty amazing I think!



This product does look truly unique and odd but its been well thought out to allow you to achieve your desired look.  As you can see in the photographs, there is a round barrel iron and then a flat iron surrounded by soft bristles which help to brush and smooth your hair out.  When you close the iron, the round barrel spins (you can see this in action in the video below).  It is SO difficult to try and explain this so I’ve made a video which explains it all much better. 

You can wrap your hair around the barrel and close it for ten seconds to achieve gorgeous soft waves, or you can just drag the iron down your hair whilst clamped, just like you would to straighten it and it leaves your hair silky soft and straight.  You can also add volume to the roots of your hair, or flick your hair in, all explained and shown in the video!

Waves – ‘How To’ is in my YouTube video!


Before & After Straightening – My hair was really kinky after wearing it in plaits one day so I straighten it quickly with the Instyler and below is the before and after! 
 

The InStyler is available in Boots stores and online on their website here – http://shop.instyler.co.uk/index.php for £99.  This does sounds very pricey, but if you think about it, the cost of separate curling tongs and a flat iron probably amounts to the same price (mine do anyway), so this product is actually quite good value!

If you want to find out more about the InStyler you can look at their Twitter page, their facebook page, or their youtube!

Do you like the look of this hair styler?  Which is your favourite hairstyle?

xxx

Please note that this is a sponsored post through Handpicked media, but all opinions expressed in both this post and the video are honest and my own!

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Sleek Berry Collection Swatches!

This Sleek LE Christmas collection is based on matte berry colours, which are vampy yet wearable and right on trend for this autumn/winter.  This comes in a red gift box which makes the perfect pressie for makeup addicts!

 
 
L-R Lipstick in Cranberry, Eye Kohl in Mossberry and Blusher in Fenberry.

My favourite product out of these three is probably the lipstick; even through its quite dark on my pale skin, it is a gorgeous colour.  The blusher is such a beautiful browny/red shade but it is very pigmented (like all Sleek blushers), so its easy to get this completely wrong and look over the top.  I’ll be honest now and say I don’t like and have no idea how to wear the kohl pencil – I don’t think it suits me and makes me look quite ill – red eyes and all, I think I’ll be using this as a lip liner instead!

I love that Sleek have bought out a Christmas gift set and now I’ve seen this one I’m hoping they’ll make more in different colour variations – can you imagine a babydoll pink set, or a coral set?!  This is now available in Superdrug stores and online, retailing at £9.99

Do you like the look of this gift?  What colour range would you prefer?

xxx

Please note I was sent this as a PR sample, but my review is completely honest :)!

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L’Oreal ‘Cast Yourself’ in the next Casting Creme Gloss Advert: Competition!

It’s not often you get the chance to appear in an advert alongside Cheryl Cole, but with this fab competition, you might just be able to! L’Oreal Paris are looking for three girls; a blonde, a brunette and a red head to star ALONGSIDE CHERYL COLE in their next L’Oreal Casting Creme Gloss commercial.



You have from the 31st October until the 27th November (This Sunday!) to post a photograph of yourself and your luscious locks at this link – L’Oreal’s UK Facebook page.
Then, Facebook users will be able to vote for their favourite looks between 28th November to 4th December (remember, you can get family and friends to vote for you!)

The most popular brunettes, redheads and blondes will be shortlisted for a L’Oréal Paris Casting Day where you will receive a makeover by our hair & makeup artists in preparation for a live audition, in front of a panel of judges. This will be your chance to go in front of the camera and tell us why you love Casting Crème Gloss. And yes, you can even utter those famous words, "Because you're worth it!'

The winners will be chosen to appear in the exclusive new L’Oreal Paris advert alongside Cheryl Cole – this is such an exciting opportunity, just imagine standing next to Cheryl with your gorgeous bouncy hair, on TV!

I’ve already entered the competition (you can see my entry here) and my sister is as well (she recently had her hair dyed bright red!) and we’re very excited to be in with a chance!

Talking of Cheryl Cole – I do think she is the perfect spokesperson for L’Oreal Paris because she literally looks incredible with any hair colour! Whether it be red, brunette or blonde, Cheryl’s the girl that can pull it off – she’s a hair hero!

Sources – Redhead (here), Brunette (here) and Blonde (here).

Competition Disclaimer: Opens to female UK and ROI residents aged 16+. Entrants must register with L’Oréal Insider, colour their hair using Casting Crème Gloss and upload a photo on facebook. No purchase necessary. Closing date 27/11/2011. For full Terms & Conditions and to enter click here.

Will you be entering this competition? What’s your favourite hair colour on Cheryl?

xxx

(please note this is a sponsored post)

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November GLOSSY BOX!

Its that time of the month again for the arrival of Glossy Box!  The Glossy Box team say this box is ideal for sampling a few treats to then pop on your Christmas list, but in my opinion, this box is perfect for a bit of evening pampering, complete with bath salts, nail wraps, perfume, foot cream and a moisturizer!

 



The highlight of this Glossy Box for me personally are the Nail Rock nail wraps and the foot cream.  I received the classic leopard print Nail Rock design which I have been eyeing up for a while and I’m looking forward to trying this range of wraps (I normally use Nail Couture LA’s ones) so I’ll be comparing them in a separate post soon.

I never ever pamper or treat my feet; they are in pretty good condition anyway so I don’t bother, but after working so much overtime in retail in the preparation to Christmas my feet are getting tired and this cream is the perfect way to hydrate and smooth them.  This Arbonne FC.5 Cooling Foot Creme has the usual peppermint foot cream smell which I also find deodorizes feet: an added bonus. 

As you probably know if you read my blog, I can’t use bubble bath, bath bombs or soaks because I always get a certain skin reaction to them, so the bag of Dead Sea Spa Magik Bath Salts in my box aren’t going to be of much use to me, BUT after brainstorming I’ve decided using these salts in a foot bath before using the foot cream would make the perfect pampering session after work.  Also, I’m going to experiment mixing a handful of salts with some water to  try and create a body scrub – I will not give up!

I’ve used a few Monu products in the past (they have an incredible body moisturizer), but am always weary about using sample sizes of skin care on my face due to acne reactions – think I might give this to my sister to try.  Finally, the Serge Luten’s perfumes are not to my taste at all!  I hate musky scents, I don’t think they suit my personality, but because these are unisex fragrances I might see if my dad likes them!

What I think: I’m quite happy with my box, I’d rate it on a 3/5 because two of the samples aren’t to my taste.  It doesn’t have any actual makeup items, which are always a pleasure to find in the GB, but it still an all-rounded box with some great samples to try.  But I am well jel of all the girls who got the Illamsqua Freak Perfume sample their box as I’ve been curious to see what its like!

Which one of these products would you pop on your stocking list?  Which products do you use at home to pamper yourself?

xxx

I’ve recently become a Glossy Box Ambassador with a few other beauty bloggers and I’m literally so excited about it!  This means that us bloggers get a chance to talk with the brands inside your GB boxes and to even perhaps feature in a Glossy Box online video tutorial (I’d LOVE to do this!).  This also means I will get sent a GB free of charge each month, but please note this will not sway or affect my reviews, which are always honest and trustworthy.

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Look Beauty Launch!

I have been reading Look Magazine for about five years now – I remember buying it religiously in my last year of sixth form, before any of my friends read it and I loved it – especially the beauty section! (I even reviewed a bunch of blonde hair shampoo’s for the Reader Beauty Panel/Test Factor in the mag back in ‘09!). 
I was invited along to the press launch of the new Look Beauty range on Tuesday and I can tell you now – this range is going to be big and fabulous!

 
Eye Shadows – There is going to be a super variety of around 30 e/s (can’t remember exact number!) and they range from shimmers to mattes, and in a wide colour spectrum.  I drooled when I saw the shimmery browns and silvers – all of which are perfect to create a smokey eye. 


Loud Lip Lipsticks – These lipsticks are really pigmented and creamy and in the most perfect colours, from a bright pink, to a gorgeous coral to a matte pink.  The cases are great because they have a magnetic lid.  These lip colours do have a slightly weird scent, like plastic sweets but its not too off putting.
Double Lip Hits – A favourite of mine already, this is a double ended lip product which has a lipstick at one end and the exact same shade in a gloss at the other – absolutely perfect for both day and night.  I’m very excited about this and want one of every colour!
Lip Slick Glosses – The colours are beaut as you can see above – the coral orange and pink are the ones that stand out to me the most!

 

Nail Pop Polishes – One word = AMAZING!  I think I’m in love with this range of nail varnishes, the colours are just perfect.  There is pretty much every colour, and a selection of gemstone-like-topcoats and glitters.


I had a manicure at the event and chose the shade ‘Bling’!  Absolutely in love with this nail varnish, the above swatch is with 3 coats and is an opaque baby pink glitter.  I’ve never seen a nail polish like this and its my new favourite (even though it is an absolute pain to remove)!

 
Make Me Blusher & Holiday Glow Bronzer – There are a selection of four blushers and four bronzers, each are pretty standard shades, my favourite being ‘Rosy’ – a pink blush with a slight coral shimmer. 
Foundations – I didn’t actually try any of the foundations, powders or highlighters at the event, but I did look for a super pale foundation and the lightest was still too dark and orange for my skin, which is a shame.


Trip Hit Trio Eye Shadows – These discs contain three e/s shades are massive!  I bet you would never be able to finish one of these!  They are really pigmented and come in a selection of gorgeous colours – I love the brown and greys above.


Price List!

Now one of the highlights of blogger events is always hanging out with fellow bloggers – they are all incredible girls and I feel very fortunate to have them as friends *cHeEsYyY*.
At this event there was a photo booth where we could be vain and show off Look Beauty’s lipsticks on our lips!

Jen (A Beauty Junkie in London) and Natalya (Filthy Gorgeous Makeup), Lily (llymlrs), Zoe (The London Lipgloss), Kate (Gh0stParties), Milly (Pearls and Poodles), Vivianna (Vivianna Does Makeup) and Corrie (Dizzy Brunette 3)!

I’d like to say a massive thanks to Zoe for organizing this event, I had a lovely night, and for my personalized goody bag – I can’t wait to show everyone the bits I was given to review!

Look Beauty will be exclusive to Superdrug stores and will be appearing over the next few months (its already out in the store in Marble Arch I think!) – hoping it’s released in my local store so I can buy a few more bits!

What catches your eye from the range?  Do you read Look Magazine?

xxxx

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Boots Christmas Gifts!

Back in July I was invited to the Boots Christmas Gift Press Launch – the idea of looking at Christmas gifts in the summer is crazy, but I couldn’t turn this invite down as I absolutely LOVE Boot’s Xmas Beauty gifts!  Every year they have a stunning collection of makeup/nail polish/beauty kits that I absolutely adore browsing at.

Warning: quite picture heavy!

 

Front Cover – Front Cover’s beauty box kits instantly caught my eye, they have made being able to experiment with nails, lipsticks and eye shadows really easy to do with these boxes.  Each box contains a variety of products in different colours, as well as ideas allowing you to go crazy and have fun with makeup. 

Pictured below is the Front Cover Air Kiss Lipstick Collection £20 and the Front Cover Brush Work Nail Art Kit £20

Strictly Come Dancing - I’ll admit I’ve never watched Strictly come Dancing, but their Christmas gifts are quite exciting, especially the nail polish kit pictured below, how beautiful are the ballroom polishes (errr 12 nail polishes for £16, bargain!).  The eyelash kit below is also on my list to Santa.

Strictly Come Dancing Fab-u-lous The Nail Colour Collection £16 and Strictly Latin False Eye Lash Kit £12


Boots 17  - 17 is quickly becoming one of my favourite high street makeup brands.  I have never tried a product of theirs that I dislike and despite the products being cheap/affordable, the quality is actually pretty good!  17 have some gorgeous gifts this year, including a large eye shadow palette (£10) and the mini nail polish set below is adorable!

17 also have some lovely individual LE makeup items available this winter, such as the sparkly eye shadow trios below, but I will talk more about this on a separate post!

 17 Mini Nail Library £10 and 17 Starry Eyes Trio Eyeshadows £4.99 each.

Umberto Giannini - I adore Umberto Giannini because of their gorgeous packaging and amazing hair products!  This year they’ve delved into makeup and have a christmas makeup palette, as well as false eyelashes and nail stickers.  I love the gothic, dark feel of these items and might have to treat myself to a few!

Umberto Giannini Painted Lady Palette £10 and the Glam Fashion Hair Kit (includes nail stickers, lashes, eye liner, duo eye shadows and hair products) £30

Fearne Cotton – I would never normally have looked at Fearne’s makeup range but these winter items are suprisngly nice.  The theme is scarab beetles which I adore and the palettes below are gorgeous!  I didn’t get the chance to swatch the shadows but they look pigmented in the pan!

From Dusk to Dawn Eyes Handbag Compacts £8 each.


No7 – Lisa Eldridge has designed her own special Limited Edition Christmas No7 collection which is amazing!  The theme is Tim Burton, and the colours are gorgeous – lots of purples, blues and dark packaging.  The eyeshadow palettes are adorable but the actual shadows are tiny (not great) but the colours are so pretty its hard to resist.  The blushers and eyeliners look lovely too.

 
(Need this gold eyeliner in my life!  Its part of a collection of four eye liners and its silky soft and pigmented.)

Beneath the evening skies palette & Below the morning skies palette £13 each.

Links to the products on the Boots websites have been hyperlinked, so click to go to the page!

Have you picked up any of the Boots Christmas gifts already?  What will be on your Xmas list?

xxxx

Please note – all photographs were taken at the press launch.

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My Lipcote Experience!

It should be pretty apparent from reading my blog that I am well and truly a lipstick girl!  I wear lipstick every single day and much prefer it to gloss; it really is my weapon of choice – that is if it lasts all day on my lips!

I’ve known about Lipcote for a long time now and I swear by it for special occasions and when I need my lippie to stay on all day.  Lipcote is basically a clear liquid that you brush onto your lips after applying the lipstick of your choice and it locks the colour in, so you can eat, kiss and talk all you need to without worrying about the colour fading.

 

I actually own two Lipcotes; the normal one and the new Vanilla fragranced one. The formula is a clear liquid and I have no idea how it works, but it seals the lipstick in place so even after eating it’s still as bright.  The liquid does smell a lot like alcohol and it does tingle once you brush it on to your lips, but it really does the job. 

A few little tips I can give on how to get the best from using your Lipcote -
1) Once you’ve applied it, part your lips until the liquid has fully dried
2) After applying it, do not talk or move your mouth too much for about 3 minutes afterwards, I’ve found that it does slightly peel if you do starting talking and making big mouth movements immediately after applying it.  After 3 minutes you can pucker up all you want!
3) You only need a little!  Apparently you can get 100 uses out of one little bottle, so you don’t need to over do it!

Now I’ve had a lot of fun with this post, mixing up lip colours to create my perfect sahdes and I’ve been using Lipcote with all of them to test their longevity. 

Below are my personalized lippies, which I will call ‘Snooks’ smashing sexy pout shades’! All of the lip swatches below have been sealed with Lipcote!

Revlon’s 415 Pink in the Afternoon + Revlon’s 440 Cherries in the Snow = Snooks’s ‘Baby Guurrrl’
'

Revlon’s 440 Cherries in the Snow + Revlon’s 663 Va Va Violet = Snooks’s ‘Gothik Chic’ 

MAC’s Morange + Revlon’s 440 Cherries in the Snow = Snooks’s ‘Oh Haiiii’
 

Lipcote decided to spoil us bloggers and send us a special Jammy Dodger biscuit (I am the biscuit queen – couldn’t have been happier when I saw this gem!) made especially by Gosh Patisserie!  This became the most perfect opportunity for me to apply my newly created customized shade and Lipcote, to test out its staying powers!

I wore my shade ‘Oh Haiiii’ to eat my Vanilla Shortbread with Raspberry Jam biscuit with and it was delicious!  Watch the drama unfold below -

BEFORE – delicious!
 

DURING – obviously enjoying it a bit too much!


AFTER! – Lipstick is still thoroughly intact and looking marvellous! 
 

So there we have it – proof that Lipcote seals in your lippie allowing you to enjoy your day and not have to worrying about fading or re-applying! 

This is going to be a staple in my makeup bag over the following months, I need to keep my makeup looking pristine for all the Christmas parties and New Year Celebrations that are coming up, and this will do just the trick!

Have you ever used Lipcote before?  What lippie shade would you create to wear all day?

xxx

Please note this is a sponsored post!

 

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Models Own Beetlejuice Nail Polish Swatches

When I first saw the promo photographs for the Models Own Beetlejuice collection, I KNEW it was love and I knew that I had to own these nail varnishes.  I am a sucker for glitter, holographic and two-tone polishes and this range seemed to tick all the boxes, so I patiently waited till the 1st November (when these babies were released) and bought the whole lot, plus a 3-in-1 top coat for £20. 

Judging from the photograph above, they all look stunning in the bottle.  I’ll give you the swatches and then read ahead for ‘what I really think’.

Emerald Black

I thought I’d love this colour because it reminded me of a scarab beetle’s shell & because I love dark green polishes, but in real life it looks really plain and boring – like in the sunlight swatch below.  The only time I’ve seen it shimmer and glisten like in the ‘flash’ image, is when there is literally a flash of light.  I think this is a nice twist on the typical black nail, although I wouldn’t actually wear it to show off the green because I don’t think it looks green at all.

Aqua Violet

This polish is gorgeous, but I don’t think it suits me personally.  This shimmers the most beautiful blue on the nails and then shines violet in certain positions (I’ve tried to capture this in the ‘sunlight’ photograph below!) The formula of this polish is almost identical to the Golden Green polish (at the bottom of post); its easy to layer on and takes 2-3 coats to look perfect.

Pinky Brown

I think this is my favourite out of the bunch because it has the most noticeable change in colour and because it has glitter in it (two-tone & glitter = perfect!) This polish needs two coats and looks mainly a pinky purple, but shines a rusty orange shade in the light.  This colour reminds me of autumn leaves so I can see myself wearing this right up until Christmas. The ‘sunlight’ photograph below best represents how this polish looks IRL.

Purple Blue

Purple Blue is the same consistency of Pinky Brown – a two-tone glitter polish, which applies like a purple and turns a dark blue in the sun.  I really love what the texture of the glitter adds to both this and Pinky Brown – they really do look like beetles shells!

Golden Green

This is my least favourite, it looks really ugly on my nails! I think this is only lime green nail varnish I own and I now know why I haven’t ever bought one before.  This has a subtle gold shimmer running through it and is the same formula and consistency of Aqua Violet.

What I think -

I’m really sad to admit that I’m not overly impressed with this collection!  If I could travel back in time I wish I’d only bought perhaps 3 of them (Pinky Brown, Purple Blue and maybe Aqua Violet) and I can’t believe I spent £20 on them (technically I only spent £4 on them because I already had £16 in my PayPal account from selling on eBay but still…)! 

Each polish is £5 but Models Own have a few discounts if you buy a certain amount – 3 polishes for £12, 5 for £18 or 5 plus 3-in-1 topcoat for £20.

I already have too many nail polishes and I know for a fact that I’d never, ever wear Golden Green, so why did I cave in and buy the whole collection?

I also kind of wish that Models Own had popped some glitter in the non-glittery ones, I think Aqua Violet & Emerald Green would look incredible if they had glitter in them!

Will you be purchasing any of the Beetle Juice collection?  Which is your favourite?

xxx

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