First Ever Jolie Box UK Review!

DING DONG, there has been a marriage this winter, and it involves Boudoir Prive and Jolie Box!  Both beauty sample subscription boxes have joined forces, creating Jolie Box UK.  Jolie Box was primarily a French sub box which have some great brand names behind them, so I was really excited to see what they had devised for their first UK box. 

Jolie Box UK is still £10 + p+p to order and you will receive a box with deluxe 5 samples in monthly.  The box itself is slightly smaller than Boudoir Prive and is now an elegant black with a lift lid (much better than the magnetic lid on the old box).

Read on for sample swatches and reviews!

 
New Cid Cosmetics i-gloss in Baby Doll – I was so happy when I saw this in my box.  I absolutely adore New Cid products and their lip glosses are especially lovely – you can see a previous review in this post.  This particular shade, Baby Doll,  is a stunning milky pink cream shade which matches my favourite nude lipsticks.  I love that this lip gloss has a mirror on the side, a brush applicator instead of a sponge and the fact that it lights up when you apply it!

 
OPI Gold Shatter Nail Varnish – Bit of a confession here; this is the first OPI nail polish I now own AND the first shatter polish I own!  I love the colour of this varnish, its a stunning, glistening gold which will look gorgeous over any other nail polish.  I’ve applied it over a nude Stargazer polish in the swatches above and its subtle but striking.  I’ve heard you can also layer this on bare nails to avoid the crackle effect.

 
Jane Iredale 24-Karat Gold Dust Shimmer Powder-  Another product that I adore and will use again and again.  I absolutely adore glitters and anything sparkly and so this multi-use product is perfect.  You can use this as eyeshadow, a highlighter on your cheeks, on your body (mix a bit with moisturizer) or in your hair.  The possibilities are endless! 

 
Kusmi Detox Tea in Green Tea & Lemongrass – I am a big fan of green tea and I like to sip it before bed (my personal favourite is Tick Tock’s Green rooibos) so I am very excited to try this one.  This is perfect for the party season in my opinion – after all the partying and eating it is nice to drink something that makes you feel like you are being healthy!  I also adore the cute little tin it comes in, very sweet.

 
Jolie Box Concealer Brush – Very happy with this little bonus in the box – its the perfect size to carry around daily for makeup touch ups!  Can also be used to apply this gold dust in the box!

Mitchell and Peach Shower Wash – If this did smell of peaches it would be divine, but alas its just the brand name!  I will probably pass this on to someone else or save it for holiday as I’m not a fan of shower gels.  This smells like essential and massage oils; very relaxing but I prefer sickly sweet scents.

 
Yon-Ka Vital Defense Moisturizer – Again, I don’t like using sample sizes of skin care in case it irritates my acne, but recently I’ve noticed a few lines (wrinkles?) on my forehead and because this cream is anti-aging it might help!  I’ll give it a try on that area but am not expecting big results.

Do you like the look of the first Jolie Box UK?  Which product above would you most like to see underneath your Christmas tree?

xxx

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Bourjois So Laque Nail Varnish Swatches!

I’ve had these polishes for a while now and I have been loving them recently to add a bit of colour to the dreary, chilly winter days.  These three polishes are part of the Bourjois So Laque Ultra Shine range and they come in 7 different vibrant shades.

 

44 Bleu Model – This is my favourite out of the three, its a gorgeous creamy, bright baby blue.  I normally detest blue nail varnish on my fingers but I really like this one.  The first layer of this comes out quite streaky but the second coat normally evens it out a lot more.
 

42 Orange Creation – I’m really not sure how I feel about orange nail polish in general, this shade in particular is so garish and bright, but I guess its different and unique!
 

40 Violet Couture – I think this is a beautiful colour but am put off that you can ever so slightly see the whites of my nails underneath the purple (this also happened with a purple No7 one, here).  However I think this is a gorgeous purple that almost seems sophisticated.  The second photograph below is in sunlight so you can see how shiny it is!
 

What I think - I love how bright and daring these nail polishes are but because of that I’m a bit scared to wear them!  Saying that, I keep finding myself lusting after the mustard yellow polish in the range whenever I pass the stand in Boots!  These three polishes do live up to their name ‘Ultra Shine’, they are beautifully shiny and don’t require a topcoat.
I have to sing praise to Bourjois for the formula of these polishes too, they are intensely pigmented and need two coats max to be incredibly colourful. 

These nail varnishes retail in Boots and Superdrug for £5.99 – which I personally think is a little pricey, but the quality makes up for it!

What’s your favourite Bourjois nail polish shade?  Do you own an orange nail varnish?!

xxx

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My L’Oreal Paris Audition Tape!

Heyyyy girls!  So this is a bit of an impromptu blog post!

I don’t know if any of you know but I got through to the semi finals of the L’Oreal Paris Casting Creme Gloss competition that I wrote about here.  I have no idea how I made it to the semi finals, but thank you to every one that voted for me!

The casting audition day was a lot of fun – we each got our hair and makeup done, followed by a photo shoot with a photographer and then a filmed interview in front of the judges.  I was SO nervous on the day but I had a lot of fun and enjoyed being pampered!

 

L’Oreal have popped up everyone’s audition tapes and photographs on their you tube and facebook for the public to view so now you can all have a laugh and watch mine!  Ignore the screen cap of it below, it is truly horrendous, aaha!!

On Monday 5 blondes, 5 brunettes and 5 redheads find out if they are the finalists and then those 15 audition tapes are played back to Cheryl Cole, who then decides who will join her in the advert!  Crazy, huh!

I really doubt I’ll make it to the final but it has been a great experience being involved and seeing what goes on daily in a models life!  Enjoy my cringey video, haha!

What do you think of my hair flick?  I’d been practising it every day in the run up, ha!

xxx

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Yardley London Christmas Gift Ideas!

I realised that I’ve been a terrible blogger this Christmas and haven’t given you any Christmas gift idea’s apart from my overview of Boots 2011 Xmas Gifts! 

I thought I’d show you a few smellies that I think would make nice gifts this winter, from Yardley London.  I think Yardley need more recognition – they have been around for a few hundred years now and make such beautiful smelling bath products, but I think most people just dismiss them as they are mainly stereotyped as gifts for nannies etc. 

 

Well this year, I am in fact giving my twenty year old sister an English Rose talc and soap gift set (pictured above).  My little sis (Becky – who I hope is not reading this right now!) loves Yardley talc powder because of the vintage, girly, shabby chic packaging and because of its gorgeous, delicate fragrance.

 

A few other gift sets available from Yardley are their EDT & Body Spray gifts, available in their main fragrances of English Lavender, Rose, Lily of the Valley, April Violets and Royal English Daisy which I have.  Royal English Daisy reminds me of the fragrances I used to wear in my teens, growing up – light, floral and fresh.  I like that these sets come with a body mist – I almost always carry around a body mist with me to keep me smelling sweet throughout the day.

The EDT & Body Spray gifts are £9.99 and the Talc & Soap gifts retail at £8.99.  These are available at Boots and remember they are included in the 3 for 2 gift offer so you can get a third free! 

Do you use any Yardley products?  Which is your favourite Yardley scent?

xxxx

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Babyliss Root Boost Tutorial & Giveaway!

I don’t know about you, but if I’m having a bad hair day, its mostly because of my hair looking lank, flat and not having enough volume.  Enter the Babyliss Root Boost!

This hair product is a genius idea and I don’t know why it hadn’t been thought up before.  Its basically a really slim crimper that allows you to crimp your roots as close to the scalp as possible, which gives the same effect as backcombing just without all the tangling and saves a lot more time! 

I’ve filmed a video to show you exactly how to use it, which you can watch below to see how I create a hair style full of volume!  Again, this was my second attempt at filming this video, sorry for being so awkward.

I have a few more things I’d like to add that I forgot to say in the video – I think this will really suit and look amazing on girls with shorter hair.  Because my hair is so long it weighs down my roots, but I think girls with shoulder length hair would really benefit from the volume this tool gives.  Also – do watch out for burning your scalp – because the crimp is so thin it is very easy to accidentally touch it to your head and it has taken me a while to get used to not burning myself!  Other than that, I think its a really good product for helping add texture and volume to any hairstyle.

Now I have the chance to giveaway one Babyliss Root Boost to one of my followers!  All you have to do is be a follower of my blog and leave a comment on this post telling me your hair icon for some hair inspiration PLUS your email address so I can contact the winner! 
The giveaway ends on Friday 16th December and I will choose a winner via a random generator.

Good luck everyone!

GIVEAWAY CLOSED!

To choose the winner, I deleted all the double comments and was left with 101 entries.  I used random.org to choose a number between 1 & 101 and was given the number 54, which is Whimsical Wolf!

CONGRATUALATIONS!! Keep an eye on your email inbox!

Thank you to every one that entered – I’m getting together a few treats for my own personal little giveaway in the New Year so stay tuned for that!

Please note this is a sponsored post courtesy of Babyliss!

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December Christmas Glossybox!

It may be because of my special supernatural powers but I knew December’s GlossyBox was going to be a good’un and I wasn’t disappointed.  I think this may be my favourite box to date!  I know a lot of girls will be happy with this because it includes not one, not two, but three items of makeup!

I received my box a few days early because I am a Glossybox ambassador so I’ve had a while to experiment and play around with the contents and I am super impressed and really happy with what I received.

 


Deborah Lippmann Mini Nail Varnish in Razzle Dazzle – I couldn’t sum up Christmas in a nail varnish better.  This is a stunning dark red based nail varnish with specs of red glitter.  I popped this on as soon as I opened my box and fell in love.  It needs around three coats to look perfect, and I’d recommend wearing a topcoat if you want extra sparkle!
Also included with this polish is a Deborah Lippmann nail polish remover finger mitt which is apparently perfect for removing glitter nails.  I’m saving this to remove my Christmas day nails!
 

Blink + Go Eyeshadow and Blush Palette – I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw this in the box, a full size eyeshadow and blush palette!  Not only that, but the quality of the powders in this palette are immense, so pigmented and gorgeous.  I could not have picked a more gorgeous range of colours if I had tried.  I love the smokey silvers, golden browns and I even adore the olive green shadow – a colour which I have never worn before.  This palette is designed perfectly for being on the go – it has a mirror in the lid, and you lift up the eye shadows to reveal the blushers and a blush/eye sponge brush.  I am looking forward to seeing the other colour variations that people got because I might have to invest in them!
 

Cargo Classic Mini Lip Gloss – A beautiful pink, shimmery lip gloss, and the most perfect size for carrying around daily. 


Bionova Eye Wrinkle Treatment – This eye cream comes beautifully packaged in small glass pot, inside a box and it feels very luxurious.  A full sized cream is worth £43 so it must be good!  This does smell like sour milk but feels really creamy and sinks into the skin well. 

Rituals Foaming Shower Gel – Another full size product!  I’ve never used a foaming shower gel before so this should be interesting.  I received the fragrance Yogi Flow – Indian Rose & Sweet Almond oil which smells delicious but which I have not yet used properly. 

What I think – I would like to say a massive thank you to GlossyBox for introducing me to the Blink + Go palette.  I would never normally have looked at it but because I’ve now used it I want to get my hands on more.  I think that this box is an amazing value for money, £12.95 for over (I’m guessing) £35 worth of products. 
This box has made me understand what the whole concept of GB is about – trying new products which you perhaps wouldn’t have normally got the chance to try, that you then may find you love. 

Have you signed up to this month’s GlossyBox?  Which product would you most like to try!?

xxx

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Lacoste Touch of Pink Giveaway!

One gift I always adore receiving at Christmas is perfume. I love how they can transform not only your outfit but your mood. Lacoste’s Touch of Pink is exactly one of those fragrances that I could wear all year round, with its base notes of sandalwood and vanilla (two of my upmost favourite scents, ever), and its heart notes of jasmine and violets, it makes the most perfect sensual fruity, floral fragrance.

I’m holding a giveaway today, courtesy of Lacoste, for you to win your very own Lacoste Touch of Pink gift set – which will arrive just in time for Christmas. The gift set includes not only the Touch of Pink EDT, but also a body lotion and shower gel to match (pictured above!).

All you need to do to enter is be a follower of my blog, and leave a comment (which includes your email address so that I can contact you if you win). The giveaway will close on Friday 16th December (next Friday) to ensure that the winner receives it before Xmas! I will be choosing the winner via an online random generator.

You can purchase Lacoste’s Touch of Pink at large Boots stores, The Perfume Shop and online at the Lacoste website – here.

Leave a comment to enter, good luck!

GIVEAWAY CLOSED!

I deleted double entries/comments which left me with 78 entries.  I used Random.org to choose a number between 1 & 78 and the winner is number 29 – which is Evie!

Congratulations Evie – have sent you an email!

Please note this is a sponsored giveaway courtesy of Lacoste.

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MUA Heaven & Earth Palette Swatches & Review!

Being a complete eyeshadow palette addict that I am, I have spent an awful lot of time searching high and low in Superdrug stores for this much talked about MUA palette.  Named ‘Heaven and Earth’, this is been sold out in most stores that I’ve been looking in for a very long time, until last week when I spotted it and swiftly snapped it up.

I am a sucker for neutral shimmery eye shadows (as you probably know!) and this palette contains 12 of the most perfect shades to create a smokey brown look or a natural golden eye.

What I think:  I have not been disappointed with this palette.  The swatches above are on an un-primed arm and are surprisingly pigmented for the price of the palette.  There are a good variety of golden browns, light shimmers and chocolates to suit every skin tone.  I do find that I get a bit of drop out after using these shadows but these are easy to sweep away with a fluffy brush. 
I would recommend this to any who is looking for a similar but cheaper version of the Urban Decay Naked Palette – this is just as good and a lot more affordable! 
In terms of whether or not I prefer this to the famous Sleek palettes, I must admit I prefer Sleek a little more – the packaging of their palettes are more stable, I like the fact that Sleek name each individual eyeshadow and I like that they usually include a mix of matt and shimmer shadows.

Just to give an example of the kind of look I’ve been creating with the MUA Heaven and Earth palette, check out the EOTD below! 
I use the lightest shades all over the eye, right up to the brow bone and then add a selection of the darker browns to the crease of my eye.  I then run a tad of 2+4 from the bottom row along my lower lash line after using a black kohl pencil.  Finished with liquid liner on the top lash line and mascara!

 

This palette is available in Superdrug stores for £4!

What is your favourite brown eye shadow palette?  What other MUA palettes do you recommend?

xxxx

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November Favourites 2011!

Hello all!

So the last time I did a post on my favourite products of a certain month was way back in February this year!  I don’t know why I stopped writing them as they were personally one of my favourite posts to write, but I’m back with my November 2011 favourites, in form of a video post!

Now I had a proper giggle whilst filming this – I am generally really awkward and cringe on video and I think I am proper embarrassing in this particular one.  It didn’t help that my sister was in the next room and was listening and laughing at me talking to myself.  Skip to 7.25 and 9.55 for if you fancy having a laugh!

Products mentioned –
Shu-uemura UV Under Base Mousse SPF30 – A gorgeous light mousse primer in the shade beige.  I’ve been using it throughout November and it has ensured my makeup always looks flawless after foundation!
Sigma Duo Fibre Brush – I usually use my fingers to apply my foundation but I’ve recently started using this brush to buff my cream foundation (MAC’s Studio Finish Foundation) in to my skin and it makes my skin look really natural and not cakey at all.
Look Beauty Nail Pop in Bling, Blush in Sculpt Shade 5 and Double Hit Lip in Rose Riot Shade 5 – I am in the middle of writing a massive post on lots of Look Beauty products so I am going to save swatches and mini reviews until then! 
The Body Shop Cocoa Butter Lip Balm and Hemp Lip Protector – Gorgeous lip balms to keep my lips soft this winter.  The cocoa butter one smells like chocolate, which is a nice touch!
Boots 17 Nail Polish in Fury – The most perfect, shimmery, golden nail polish for this autumn, I adore wearing this shade. 
BC Hair Therapy Oil Miracle Light Finishing Treatment – I am going to write a big review on the products I’ve been using on my hair ever since changing hair colour and this will be included.  This really is a miracle product and I adore how soft and manageable it makes my hair!
The Body Shop Spiced Pumpkin Shower Gel – I love this limited edition shower gel because it smells like Christmas – it is the most perfect spicy winter scent.  Need to stock up on this before it goes!

I hope you’ve liked this post – please let me know if you’d like me to film a favourites video each month, I’ve quite enjoyed doing it, give me your suggestions!

What products have you been using lots this month?  Would you like more ‘favourites’ videos?

And finally, do you know how to pronounce ‘Schwarzkopf’? Haha!

xxxx

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Colour Xtreme Hair Art Review & Photographs!

After absolutely falling in love with my baby pink & green hair extensions and how mermaid like they made my hair (in this post), I began searching for more products that could produce the same outcome, but that were a little more affordable.  Queue Colour Xtreme Hair Art sprays.  I was sent an email asking if I would like to try some and I said yes, it was just what I was looking for… but now I honestly wish I hadn’t!

As you might be able to tell looking at the photographs below, these photographs were taken before my hair cut and before my change of hair colour, read on for more details!

These coloured sprays are really easy (but messy) to use.  You use it just like a hair spray, but you can select certain strands in your hair to spray for streaks of gorgeous colour.  I decided to build up my hair colour by colour to create ‘My Little Pony’ hair.

I selected small strands of my hair, popped a piece of paper behind it so my other hair was protected from the colour, and sprayed all over.

Now, I’ve got to admit, the end result looks pretty amazing and I adore the look it left my bleached locks with.  I went out quite a few times with this look and all of my friends and work mates loved it, although I’ll admit my spraying was shoddy and I was left with quite a few uneven patches of colour in my hair – it’s not noticeable in the photographs above though.

The colour is really easy to wash out in the shower with lots of shampoo (two rinses) and warm water.  My hair wasn’t left tinted at all after I had washed it out which is good.

Then I became a bit obsessed with pink dip dye ends and decided to spray just the pink spray on to the ends of my hair, which looked fun (not great) and I’m sure you can tell from the photographs below that my hair was beginning to look quite dry at the ends.  When worn in a pony tail I looked like a troll (remember those?), which was hilarious.

I washed this out the next morning and a few days later I noticed that the ends of my hair were completely frazzled and horrid looking.  For some reason half of my hair was okay, but the other half was completely dead, dry and rough, it looked and felt like straw and it stood out like a sore thumb against my clothing.  I went ahead and got a hair cut a few days later and said goodbye to my 27 inch hair.

Now one of the main ingredients in this hair colorant is alcohol, which explains a lot and is obviously the reason that my hair died.  On the can it does say that if you have bleached your hair, you shouldn’t use this product.  Obviously it was my fault that my hair ended up like this, but I would have thought that because someone who knew the product well (and knew I had bleach blonde hair) recommended it to me, then it should be okay. 

I think these products are so much fun and look really pretty in blonde hair but I definitely won’t be purchasing or using any again.  I haven’t tried it on brunette hair so I’m not sure how well the colour will show and I’m hoping that the damage wouldn’t happen to darker hair colours, but I’m not risking it again!  These cans are available in Boots for around £4 in a variety of colours.

Have you ever used a hair colorant spray?  Has a product ever ruined your hair before?

xxxx

(Please note that I was sent these products as PR samples but this does not affect my review or opinion!)

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