Thursday 28 May 2015

Clinique Mild Clarifying Lotion - A Review

Clinique Mild Clarifying Lotion Review

Hello Lovelies, 

If you've been a regular reader of my blog for a while you'll know I am a bit of a lot of a skin care geek, I love skin care and started to take an interest in it around 4 years ago when my skin was horrendously bad and since then I have had a real passion for skin care products. My skin is extremely dry and dehydrated and one of the steps in my skin care routine that I find really helpful for my skin is using an acid tone after cleansing my skin. For almost 2 years now I have been using the Pixi Glow Tonic (review post here) and before that I used the Clarins brightening toner both of which I love but I recently saw the Clinique Clarifying lotion on line whilst I was par taking in my favourite hobby which is on line window shopping, years ago I tried the clarifying lotion number 2 but found it incredibly drying and to be honest I wasn't keen on it so I haven't ever looked at the other clarifying lotions until now, I did a bit of reading into the mild clarifying lotion and wondered if it could be a possible contender for the acid tone step in my skin care routine. Shortly after finding the clarifying lotion I was kindly given a Debenhams voucher from my lovely friend Emma and her husband Chris for my birthday and I knew immediately what I would spend it on.

Clinique Mild Clarifying Lotion Review
Clinique Mild Clarifying Lotion £16.50 

My First Impressions & Thoughts

The Clinique mild clarifying lotion contains salicylic acid, is alcohol free and is suitable for dry/ very dry skins and sensitive skins. I use it by popping some onto a cotton pad and sweeping it all over my face and down my neck. The first time I used it I noticed it left my skin feeling nice and fresh without feeling dry, it left me with lovely smooth, fresh feeling plumped up skin and I was really impressed with it. It is a pale green colour and is somehow thicker in consistency than any other toners I have tried which probably sounds odd but it's hard to explain, it isn't a watery consistency it's thicker but not by any means a lotion it's like a water but a little bit thicker, I apologise as this is probably the most bizarre explanation of a product you've read! There isn't much of a scent to it at all and it applies well, as I said it leaves my skin feeling really fresh and cool and looking awake and vibrant not dull at all, it helps with the removal of dead skin cells and keeps my very dry and dehydrated skin looking lovely and also prepared for the rest of my skin care products. This would be great for those of you who suffer with breakouts as it contains salicylic acid or for those of you who want an acid tone but can't use products containing glycolic acid as most do, it is a lovely product and made my skin feel lovely too.

Overall Thoughts & Would I Re Purchase?

I really like the mild clarifying lotion, I didn't think I would love it as much as the pixi glow tonic but I do and I will definitely be re purchasing it, it left my skin feeling lovely and the results were brilliant as it helped with my dry patches and left my skin feeling fresh and plump and looking bright which is exactly what I want from an acid toner, I am so glad I found the mild clarifying lotion as it is something I wouldn't have ever looked at, so if like me you're a lover of acid toners and haven't yet tried this one I would definitely recommend it, and as I said if you can't use products with glycolic acid in them but love the idea of an acid toner or if you suffer with breakouts this would be brilliant for you. It's a definite winner in my eyes and I'm so glad I discovered it. If you would like to try the Clinique Mild Clarifying Lotion you can find it on line at House Of Fraser (currently on sale for £14.85) BootsDebenhams and the Clinique website (free gift with a £40 spend) for £16.50. 

Are you a skin care geek like me? Do you like to use acid toners? Have you got any recommendations for me? Please let me know in the comments and I will get back to you as soon as possible.

Thank you for reading, much love as always,

Zoe x









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Wednesday 27 May 2015

Estee Lauder Double Wear Eye Pencil In Onyx - A Review


 

Hello Lovelies,

I have struggled for what seems like the longest time to find a black eye liner to apply to my top and or bottom water line that will stay in place and not transfer or gather in the corners of my eyes, the struggle is real let me tell you and I know it's hardly a first world problem but it's a definite Zoe problem and it's been driving me mad over the last few months or so and no matter what eye liner I use, it transfers and gathers which drives me mad.

At the beginning of the year I saw a review of the Estee Lauder Double Wear Stay In Place Eye Pencil on the blog of one of the bloggers/you tuber/you tubers I trusted the opinion of, they said it was brilliant and fantastic to use on the lower water line as it didn't gather and stayed in place all day and they highly recommended it, so I decided I'd try the pencils out.

What Estee Lauder Say About The Double Wear Pencils

Wears for 12 hours. Sets in seconds.

This long-wearing, water-resistant eye pencil lines and defines with smooth, even colour that looks fresh all day.

The lightweight, creamy formula glides on effortlessly. Rich, stay-true colour won't feather or bleed.

Double-ended pencil has smudger on one end, colour on the other. Sharpens easily with the Estée Lauder Pencil Sharpener.

My First Impressions & Thoughts

My first thought when I opened the box and took the pencil out was "wow it's long" because it is quite a long pencil, I thought this would be a great advantage as the pencil would maybe last longer than others I have tried.

Estee Lauder Double Wear Stay In Place Eye Pencil In Onyx £16.50 

Without the lid

The pencil looked really black, that sounds strange I know because you'd think black would be black wouldn't you? But some blacks are deeper in pigmentation than others and I do always try to find an eye pencil that is a deeper black so I was pleased this looked so black. 

The first time I used the pencil I used it to line my upper lash line using it above my top lashes and smudging it out with a small brush I have, it was ok for this purpose but I was disappointed in the pigmentation, considering it looked so black in the pencil it didn't transfer onto my lid the same and I had to apply 2 coats of the pencil, I have tried applying the pencil to the back of my hand and then to my upper lash line and it does come off a little darker but I still need to apply the pencil twice to get the look I want. I then used the pencil on my lower water line but found despite it's claims it did gather in the inner corners of my eye, I was disappointed in this as the review I trusted claimed it didn't do gather and Estee Lauder also claimed this, I have tried the pencil several times on my water line and it always gathers, maybe not as quickly as other brands I've tried but it still gathers and I couldn't wear the pencil and go out without constantly checking to see if it had gathered and who wants to do that every 5 minutes? Not me! 

Another way I wanted to use the eye pencil was on my upper waterline and since Estee Lauder claimed the pencil doesn't transfer and "stays in place" I thought I'd be onto a winner although it gathered when I used it on my lower water line I thought I'd be ok on my upper one, how wrong could I be? I applied the pencil and so it would "set" I looked up for about 30 seconds as it claims to set in seconds, I continued to apply the rest of my make up and then noticed almost immediately in the mirror that the pencil had transferred onto my lower water line and underneath my lower lash line, completely ruining my eye make up, I was not a happy bunny at all! 

Overall Thoughts & Would I Re Purchase?

I am so very disappointed in this pencil, it really does not do what it says on the tin in this case, it doesn't set at all, it gathers in the inner corners of my eyes, it goes all over the place and ruins my make up if I use it on my upper water line and it isn't very pigmented either and for £16.50 I expected more to be honest, I would not re purchase this is a million years it is awful. To be fair I usually love Estee Lauder products and a couple of their products are my holy grail items but this eye pencil is atrocious to be honest and I wouldn't waste your money. The only redeeming feature is the length of the pencil it is quite long and I think it would last a long time but that unfortunately is the only pro I can find about the pencil. There are 15 shades to choose from and some of them are very beautiful but in all honesty I have been put off by the black one, sorry Estee Lauder but this is a definite no no for me. 

If you would like to try the Estee Lauder Double Wear Stay In Place Eye Pencils you can find them on line at the Estee Lauder website, Boots and House Of Fraser for £16.50. 

Have you had a bad experience with a product from a brand you usually love? Tell me in the comments section it will make me feel better that I'm not alone :) 

Thank you for reading, much love as always, 

Zoe x














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Monday 25 May 2015

Real Techniques Sculpting Brush


Hello Lovelies, 

I own whats fair to say quite a few, well ok then a lot of make up brushes, I'm not loyal to any one brand and have different brands in my collection as I like different brands for different things. One brand I like for my base products is Real Techniques, I love their Expert Face brush (review in this post) and it is my go to brush to apply my foundation and I also love the Miracle Complexion Sponge (review post here) for applying my foundation and concealer.

When I purchased the miracle complexion sponge I also bought the Sculpting Brush, it does also come as part of a set with the setting brush and a fan brush but I already own the setting brush and have fan brushes so I went for the sculpting brush on its own. 

Real Techniques Sculpting Brush £9.99

Out of the packaging

The brush is a dense angled brush made from synthetic fibres, the head of the brush is quite wide if that makes sense. The handle is pink metal with a black rubber base which is flat so you can stand the brush up if desired. 

My Thoughts

I own both the MAC Sculpt powder and Sculpt cream contour products and have used the brush with both the powder and cream and I am sorry to say I hated it, the brush is too wide and leaves a really wide line of product and it is terrible for blending, it really isn't good at all as a contour brush, it is just too wide and too dense to blend out product. The "line" of product it leaves is wide because of the width of the brush and it's terrible for blending, the brush is far to dense to blend out the contour powder or cream and I was left with a big wide patch of contour that looked horrendous. I really didn't like the brush at all and I showed the brush to my daughter who is a professional make up artist and she was shocked at how wide and dense the brush was, she said it wouldn't be good for blending and the application would be too wide and she is right, I just wish I'd shown her the brush before I used it! 

I have used the brush for applying my foundation and it does apply my foundation well but in a very similar way to the way it applies when I use the expert face brush, I'd say the application is a little more sheer but it does apply in a very similar way, the sculpting brush does remind me of an angled and slightly wider version of the expert face brush.

Overall Thoughts & Would I Recommend & Re Purchase? 

I am so disappointed in the sculpting brush, as I said I have a couple of other brushes from the brand and I use those all the time as well as the miracle complexion sponge but this was a huge disappointment for me and I wish I hadn't bought it to be honest, it was a waste of money. I will make use of it by using it for foundation but I wouldn't recommend it at all and I would say if you have the expert face brush to turn it on it's side and use that for contour as it might not be ideal but in my opinion it would work better than this and you can use it for foundation too. I think you may have already gathered that I won't be re purchasing another sculpting brush, overall a huge disappointment from a brand I usually like. 

If you would like to try the Real Techniques Sculpting brush, you can find it online at SuperdrugFeel Unique and Boots for £9.99 but the best price I found it for was on the Look Fantastic website where it is £8.49, they currently have a 15% discount on all RT products. 

Have you ever bought something you had high hopes for and it wasn't so good when you used it? Let me know in the comments. 

Thank you for reading, much love as always,

Zoe x






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Thursday 21 May 2015

NOTD - Pink To Make The Boys Wink


Hello Lovelies, 

Today I have a NOTD post and if you read my post about the nailbox you'll have seen that I got a gorgeous Essie polish in my box, the polish was Status Symbol which happens to be one of my favourite Essie polishes ever, it's gorgeous! 

Essie Status Symbol*
Two Coats

Status Symbol is a beautiful fuchsia pink shade and a perfect shade for the spring and summer months but does look lovely all year round and makes a great toe colour as well as fingers. 




I used two coats of status symbol and then applied 1 coat of my holy grail top coat, the Orly glosser top coat. My nails lasted 6 days before chipping and even then it was a tiny chip on the edge of one nail and at the time of writing this post I've had the polish on my nails for 8 days with only the tiny chip I got on day 6 so not bad going at all, however I do think my Orly glosser top coat helps my polish last, so that combined with Essie lasting a good while on my nails I'm onto a winner. 

I love pink it's my favourite colour and pinks and corals are my go to spring and summer colours for nail polish, status symbol looks lovely and I've received many compliments on my nails over the last week of wearing it, so if like me you like pink you'll love status symbol.  

If you'd like to try Essie Status Symbol you can find it online at Boots and Superdrug for £7.99.

Have you tried status symbol? Whats your favourite Essie polish? Let me know in the comments.

Thank you for reading, much love as always, 

Zoe x




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Monday 18 May 2015

Smashbox Photo Finish Primer Water


Hello Lovelies, 

If you've been reading my blog a while, you'll have heard me use and rave about the Smashbox Hydrating Photo Finish Primer (review post here) I love it and it is the best primer I have ever used and makes a huge difference in the way my foundation applies and looks. A few months ago I saw the Smashbox photo finish primer water was due for release and I was intrigued by it, it also claimed to be hydrating and I wondered if it could be a contender for a replacement for my usual hydrating photo finish primer, I didn't give it much more thought because at the time I had plenty of my primer left and it wasn't due to be released for a couple of weeks (mid February) but I was pleased to find it was one of my Mothers day gifts from my girls in March and couldn't wait to try it. I've seen several blog posts on it recently so I thought I'd give you my take on it too. 

What Smashbox Says About The Primer Water 

WHAT IT IS: Think priming benefits, hydration and sheer radiance—all in just 1 spritz! Primer water is free of silicone, alcohol and oil, but it’s packed with revitalizing electrolytes to wake up skin and restore moisture. Passed through positive energy fields during the production process, our enriched water instantly absorbs into skin for lasting hydration (and when skin is hydrated, makeup looks better). 

JUST THE FACTS:

Silicone-free. Alcohol-free. Oil-free, creates the sheerest canvas for makeup application, wakes up skin, leaving it vibrant and radiant for hours, restores moisture and hydrates skin for hours—shine free, refreshes throughout the day, perfect for all skin types.

Mist on this multitasking water in 3 ways:
Prime to create our sheerest canvas for makeup application, set your makeup to lock on your look or refresh throughout the day to wake up skin.
Hold bottle 8”-10” away from face and mist evenly. Keep it cool! For an extra refreshing, ultra-cooling mist, store in the fridge. 

My Thoughts

I'm quite sure you know by now that I have extremely dry skin so I was keen to see if the primer water would give me the same amount of hydration as the hydrating photo finish primer. The first thing I noticed when using the primer water for the first time was the scent of it, it has a lovely rose scent to it, not an old lady rose scent but a nice fresh scent and it is lovely. When I used the primer water for the first time I spritzed it all over my face before applying my foundation, I could tell immediately that I wasn't going to get the same level of hydration by the way my foundation applied but I finished my makeup and spritzed my face again to set my makeup, my make up did stay on all day but this isn't something I have a problem with anyway.


Smashbox Photo Finish Primer Water £20

I liked that the primer water was alcohol free as I do try to steer away from products containing alcohol as they dry my skin out even more. I have used the primer water over the last couple of months now and in different ways, I have used it before make up to prime and hydrate, after make up as a setting spray and throughout the day to refresh my make up, refreshing my make up isn't something I would usually do but I wanted to try the primer water out thoroughly and use it in the 3 ways Smashbox advise. I have also used the primer water to dampen my make up sponge before using it as I thought this would be a good way of using it also. 

Overall Thoughts & Would I Re Purchase?

I wanted to love this product I really did, mainly because it is so easy to use and smells divine and a little goes a long way, I have used my primer water a lot and there isn't much gone out of the bottle at all. Unfortunately though I really didn't love it, it doesn't hydrate my skin, my make up doesn't look flawless like it does when I use the hydrating photo finish primer, I couldn't say if it keeps my make up in place as I don't have a problem with that and I also wouldn't buy a product to refresh my make up either so for me it is a pretty pointless product and I could get the same effect if I sprayed my La Roche Posay Serozinc on my face before I applied my make up or if I put my hydrating toner into a spray bottle and spritzed that onto my face. I did find that when I used the primer water with a foundation I was trying out that can make me look a little cakey as a setting spray, the foundation didn't look as cakey, and looked better but that is the only benefit I have seen from using the primer water and it didn't make that much of a difference to be honest. 

I wouldn't re purchase the primer water, it really didn't do enough for me to make me want to buy it again when my current bottle runs out, I imagine it would be nice kept in the fridge on a hot day to spritz on your face and it could be nice as a setting spray but there are cheaper options out there and as I said I feel you could obtain the same result from putting your toner in a spray bottle and spritzing that onto your face instead. In my opinion it is a mediocre setting spray that did nothing to hydrate my skin at all. 

This product is currently sold out on line and I've been told is one of Smashbox's biggest sellers, the girl on my local counter told me that as soon as they re stock they sell out, so blogger hype is clearly doing the rounds, but I honestly can't see why and I was hugely disappointed in it. I will use it up by using it to dampen my make up sponge but I certainly won't be re purchasing when it runs out it is a massively over hyped product that doesn't do what it claims and there are much cheaper products on the market. I will definitely be sticking with my hydrating photo finish primer from now on! 

If you would like to try the Smashbox Photo Finish Primer Water you can find it online at Boots or the Smashbox website for £20.00.

Have you tried the Smashbox Primer Water? What did you think? 

Thank you for reading, much love as always, 

Zoe x




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Sunday 17 May 2015

A Dupe For Barry M Sunset Nail Paint In Preach For The Stars



Hello Lovelies,

Today I have a dupe product for you, if you're a regular reader of my blog you'll have seen my recent review of the Barry M Sunset Nail Paints (click here to read the post) in that review I featured 2 of the sunset nail paints, one of which was Preach For The Stars, a lovely Coral colour.

Coral is one of my favourite nail polish colours for the spring and summer, I love it and I always gravitate towards polishes of that colour and around the same time I bought the Barry M polish I also bought an NYC nail polish on the recommendation of one of my friends Gemma, she had told me how much she liked the polishes and when I went online to check them out I was instantly drawn the the Coral shade, Spring Tulip.

When I first painted my nails with the NYC polish I thought it looked very similar to the Barry M polish so I decided to test it out and they are extremely similar and I would say they are definitely a dupe.
Left NYC Spring Tulip & Right Barry M Preach For The Stars

As you can see from the photograph above the polishes are extremely similar in colour, but there is a huge difference in the quality of the polishes. I had to use 4 coats of the Barry M polish to achieve the shade in the photograph and the polish chipped after 3 days despite Barry M claiming 10 days wear time. I used 2 coats of the NYC polish in the photograph above and I can get anything from 4 to 6 days wear time from the polish. 

The amount of coats and wear time isn't the only difference in these polishes, the price of the polishes is very different too with the Barry M polish being £4.99 and you have to buy a special curing top coat which is also £4.99  and the NYC polish being just £1.79, so the NYC polish is less than half the price of the Barry M polish and I used half the amount of coats and got double the wear time from it. 

I am super impressed with the NYC polish and so pleased Gemma recommended it to me, it applies well and dries quite fast and is opaque in 2 coats, I use my holy grail Orly glosser top coat over the top and like I said I can get anything from 4 to 6 days wear time from the polish and for £1.79 I think that's brilliant. I won't waffle on about the NYC polish now as I have a full NOTD and review post of it here if you would like to read it. 

I wanted to share my find with you as a lot of people commented on what a lovely shade the Barry M polish was but they didn't want to waste money on it if it wasn't really that good, but now you can have a beautiful Coral nail polish that looks great, won't chip and is an amazing price too. 

If you would like to buy the NYC polish you can find it online at Superdrug priced at £1.79 (at the time of writing this post the polishes are on offer for buy one get one half price)

Do you enjoy dupe posts? Would you like to see more of them on my blog? Please let me know in the comments.  

Thank you for reading, much love as always,

Zoe x
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Thursday 14 May 2015

WaxBox - An Unboxing and Review


Hello Lovelies, 

Today's post is a post about an exciting parcel I received recently from the company WaxBox and I have to say it is the nicest smelling parcel I have ever received! 

WaxBox is a monthly subscription service but it's not your usual monthly box subscription of beauty products or food or even pet products, WaxBox is a monthly subscription service dedicated to wax melts and small candles. I think it's a fabulous idea and I couldn't wait to open my box which was the May WaxBox, as I said the box smelled beautiful, even our post lady commented on how nice it smelled when she delivered it. 

I'll show you what was in my May WaxBox and then tell you all the information you need. 

What Was In My Box?

The box the products come in is a standard cardboard box, it was well sealed and had my name and address on the front and the box had been posted with Royal Mail recorded delivery. I thought the box was adequate and well sealed, I'd rather a company just use a regular cardboard box than charge more because of packing costs so I found the box and packaging to be absolutely fine. 

My WaxBox
(my address label is removed for privacy reasons) 

The contents of the box were wrapped in Black tissue paper and there was a little sticker saying "enjoy" on it with a love heart which I thought was a nice touch. Stuck onto the inside of the lid of the box was a list of all the products inside, with the name of the company and a description of each product.



Once I'd removed the tissue paper the first thing I saw was an envelope with my name on. The products were safely encased in what I call "brown paper spaghetti like stuff" but I am pretty certain there is a "proper" name for this type of packing. 


Inside the envelope was a really nice note from the lovely lady Paula who had contacted me regarding me reviewing the box, I thought this was a really nice thing to do, a lovely personal touch. 



So now onto the bit you've all been waiting for, what products did I get in my box? I will list them below with the name of the company in bold then the name of the product and the description of the product from the information in the box and then the best bit, how it smells. Because this is an unboxing review post I have not yet burned the wax melts and candles but I will be checking back on my blog and You Tube channel to let you know how I got on when using them. 


Heart & Home - Fresh Linen Wax Melt - Refreshing, clean and pure. Wrap your senses in the comforting scent of freshly laundered sheets and fluffy towels. This wax melt smells lovely, it really is a nice fresh scent and does remind me exactly of fresh clean fluffy towels, this sort of scent is the sort of scent I would go for if I were buying a candle. 


Butterfly Scents - Red Velvet Cake - Sweet rich red velvet cake, full of chocolate goodness. This small wax melt smells divine, it has a gorgeous sweet smell and really does smell of cake, it has a vanilla scent to it but you can smell chocolate too and it has little pinky red sparkles on top, perfect! Again this is a scent I would go for when buying a candle. On the back of the business card in the packet there was a 10% discount code off your next order from Butterfly Scents, which I thought was a nice touch. 



Totally Tarty Licious - Raspberry Lemonade - Ice cold lemonade with sweet undertones of juicy raspberries. This has a lovely scent and is a mix of sweet and fresh and it really does smell of raspberries and lemonade, it's a lovely scent and one that's perfect for the time of year. I really like how there are pieces of red and white inside the pink candle too. 



Scented Heaven - Black cherry bomb/Cherry apple - Lovingly handmade soy wax melts. These smell amazing and exactly as the names would suggest they are heavily scented of cherry which is one of Simon's favourite candle scents. Now I'm not a connoisseur of scents but I could smell cinnamon too, these smell lovely and if you've been reading my blog for a while you'll know I love anything heart shaped so these were a definite winner for me, even though Simon appears to have claimed them for his own! 


Cali's Handmade Candle Co - Baby Powder - Smells just like the popular brand of baby powder. Our melts are hand poured in Yorkshire using natural soya bean wax and high quality fragrance oils. This is a lovely scent and does smell just like baby powder, I love scents like this one, nice and fresh and clean smelling, a really lovely scent and smells just like the description, lovely!


Country Candle Company - Amber and Lavender - A rich and sophisticated opening of citrus notes including bergamot, lemon, tropical pineapple and fresh apple mixed with nuances of rose and spicy highlights of black pepper. The herbal heart combines classic lavender with rosemary, sage patchouli and amber. The musky, sweet base closes with mossy notes. Being brutally honest as I always am, when I saw this I thought "oh no" because lavender is one of the scents I hate the most, I just don't like herbal type scents, they're just not me but to be fair when I opened this and smelled it, because it has the amber in and the other things too it isn't too over powering and smells quite nice, it isn't something I would perhaps choose myself but it isn't what I thought it would be and does smell quite nice and fresh and I'm interested to burn it and see how it smells. The shape of this is a bit like cubes of jelly which I liked and thought was useful because you can burn as much or little as you like. 

Pricing, Subscription Choices & Delivery Info

The WaxBox is £10.00 plus £3.95 postage and packaging and the boxes are sent out via Royal Mail second class recorded delivery, the boxes are sent out between the 1st and the 7th of each month. To order this May box you must sign up before the 15th of May so you'll need to hurry scurry if you like the sound of this box but if you order after that date it will roll over to the June box instead so if you'd prefer a surprise maybe sign up after the 15th for the June box. The products inside the box will always meet the value of the box but more often than not they will exceed the value of the box. 

There are 3 different subscriptions you can choose from (shipping £3.95) these are -  

Monthly - £10.00 charged per month 
3 Months Prepay - £30.00 charged every 3 months 
6 Months Prepay - £55.00 charged every 6 months 

You can also purchase the subscription as a gift so if you know someone who loves candles this would be a great gift for them.

My Overall Thoughts 

I think the WaxBox is a really great idea, especially if like me you always go for the same scents when looking at candles and wax melts, I like that the products are small candles and wax melts too as I've only recently over the last 12 months been able to burn candles because of an accident Simon had involving fire so I only ever buy or look at small candles and wax melts anyway so the contents of the box are perfect for us but if you do like bigger candles the box gives you the opportunity to try scents and brands you might never have tried or heard of,  I wouldn't ever have picked up the lavender and amber melt but it does actually smell nice so it's good to be taken out of my comfort zone a little and try new things. I think the WaxBox is a great idea, a great way of trying out new scents and brands and if you're a candle lover this is right up your street, you'll love it and it would make a lovely gift for someone too so it's great you can buy a subscription as a gift for someone. I like that the postage is recorded delivery so you're not waiting for ages for your parcel to arrive too and the products were packaged well and safely and all the information you need is in the box, there is also a FAQ section here on the website. Overall I think it's a great box with lovely products inside and it's the most amazing smelling parcel you'll ever have delivered, whats not to like? My favourite pick from the unboxing is definitely the Red Velvet Cake and Simon's is the Black Cherry Bomb/Cherry Apple but we might think differently and love something else more when we've burned them, I'll keep you posted on my blog and You Tube channel. 

If you would like to sign up to WaxBox you can do so by clicking onto this link

WaxBox also have Twitter here, Instagram here, Facebook here and Pinterest here

Do you love candles? Let me know which product you liked the sound of most from the May WaxBox in the comments below. 

Thank you for reading, much love as always, 

Zoe x




















here
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Wednesday 13 May 2015

Bumble And Bumble All Style Blow Dry


Hello Lovelies, 

I suffer with really oily hair and have done since becoming pregnant with my youngest daughter who is now 18, I think it must have been a shift in my hormones at the time but I went from having normal hair to very oily hair and it has remained oily and the bane of my life ever since. 

I've tried many different shampoos over the years and recently I have found some that work really well for me (hair care routine post coming soon) but I have never really been able to use styling products on my hair because they all make my hair really oily. I have tried so many different products on my hair and in the past I used the Wella Luxe Oil on the ends of my hair and liked that but something changed, whether it is the oil or my hair I don't know but I can't use it anymore so I was despairing a bit because using a hair dryer and straighteners/wands on my hair without any sort of treatment to protect my hair bothered me. Then I saw the Bumble & Bumble All Style Blow Dry and I was intrigued.

Bumble & Bumble All Style Blow Dry rrp £23 150ml 

What Bumble & Bumble Say About The Product

Bumble and Bumble All-Style Blow Dry is the one-step wonder creme for healthy, fine and even oil-prone hair fights frizz, protects against heat damage, and has (invisible) microfine oil-absorbing powders to extend the life of your blow dry right from the start. 
What: This one-step wonder creme for healthy, fine and even oil-prone hair fights frizz, protects against heat damage, and has (invisible) microfine oil-absorbing powders to extend the life of your blow dry right from the start. 
Who: For healthy hair, even fine or oil-prone. When: On clean, damp hair before blow-drying. 
How: Work evenly through damp hair. Blow-dry, section by section, until dry using a flat brush for sleek looks or a round brush for more movement and bend. For pin-straight styles, finish with a flat iron.

My First Impressions & Thoughts

Because of my medical condition I struggle to style my hair, I can't blow dry it and my version of a blow dry is my hair being blasted off with the hair dryer and then straightened with hair straighteners, but when it has been blasted off despite being so thin (thanks PCOS) and poker straight it looks frizzy and unruly before it's been straightened and the ends look sort of bitty even though I have a trim every 5 weeks and my hair is in good condition. 

The first time I used the all style blow dry I worried so much my hair would look oily straight away because it usually does when I use a styling or heat protecting product, so I used a small amount of the product just on the ends of my hair after combing through and before drying with the hairdryer. The product is a white coloured product and is quite a thick product in constancy, if it were a body cream it would be a cross between a lotion and a body butter if that makes any sense at all? The product was easy to distribute through my hair and smells lovely it has a nice fresh scent to it. 


The first thing I noticed after using the product for the first time was how smooth my hair looked after it had been dried with the hair dryer, it wasn't frizzy and the ends didn't look bitty at all, my hair also seemed to take less time to dry.  My hair looked so much smoother and also shiny, my hair is blonde so shiny isn't something I am used to my hair being at all. And when it came to straightening my hair it didn't need much straightening at all, I was really pleased and it didn't look oily, but although I was happy I worried the oil would come throughout the day and the day after and it would look terrible, but it didn't! The day after my hair looked fine and I was able to have the ends straightened over and that was me done. This is unheard of for me, usually by using my current shampoo and conditioner I can get away with not washing my hair the day after but I can't have my hair down it always has to be up. 

The next time I used the all style blow dry I used more of the product and again brushed my hair through after washing and then distributed the all style but this time I distributed it all through my hair and not just on the ends, my hair looked so much better after it had been dried with the hair dryer and when it came to straightening my hair it didn't have to be sectioned off first it was fine with just being straightened over a little bit, I was so impressed, this cut down the time it took me to have my hair washed, dried and styled by a lot which for me is important. The next day my hair didn't look oily at all and I was able to wear it down again, and then the day after that I used a small amount of dry shampoo on my crown area and wore my hair up and then washed it the day after. I also noticed that my hair stayed straight all day, although my hair is long and very straight it does have a tendency to kink out at the ends but it didn't do that and my hair stayed the way it looked straight after it had been straightened all day, I was so impressed, never before have I had results like that from a hair treatment or styling product.

Overall Thoughts & Would I Re Purchase?

I am super impressed with the Bumble & Bumble All Style Blow Dry it has made such a difference to my hair, it looks so much healthier and shinier and it doesn't go greasy quickly meaning I can go 2 days without washing my hair which for me is unheard of, so now if I wash my hair on a Monday I can go Tuesday and Wednesday without washing and then wash it on Thursday, I do have to have my hair up on the Wednesday and by Thursday it resembles an oil slick but I really don't care because it has made my life a lot easier in terms of washing my hair and the time it takes to dry and straighten it the oil slick head by Thursday is soooo worth it! 

Although this isn't what I would call a cheap product I do think it's well worth it and if you're like me and suffer with oily hair I'm sure you'd agree, both myself and Alicia use this and we have had our current tube for around 5 weeks and we have around a third of the tube left, I wash my hair 2-3 times a week depending on how I wear my hair (if I wear it down more it needs washing 3 times) and Alicia washes her hair every day, not because she needs to but because she likes to. So the tube lasts well and I use less shampoo because I'm not washing it as much and less electricity when styling so it's a win win situation. 

You can pick up a sample of the all style blow dry from any Bumble & Bumble counter and I would definitely recommend you do especially if you suffer with oily hair but this is suitable for all healthy hair types (not damaged or very damaged) so if your hair is frizzy or like me your hair looks a little lot unruly when it's been dried off with the hairdryer I'd definitely get a sample and give this a whirl because it's a great heat protector and if you do blow dry your hair it keeps the style and even if like me you just have your hair dried off with a hair dryer and then straightened it stays in place all day. 

I would most definitely re purchase this product it does exactly what it says on the tin and is the first hair styling product I have tried that does, writing a blog means I get to try a lot of hair products but this is something else it really is fantastic and I would 1 million percent recommend it. 

If you do want to purchase the Bumble & Bumble All Style Blow Dry you can buy it online from the Bumble & Bumble website and Boots priced at £23.00 for 150ml or you can buy a smaller tube from Look Fantastic priced at £12.00 for 60ml. 

Do you suffer from oily hair? Do you have any products you can recommend to me or have you tried the all style blow dry? Let me know in the comments. 

Thank you for reading, much love as always, 

Zoe x














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Thursday 7 May 2015

NOTD Essie Sunday Funday


Hello Lovelies, 

Today I have a NOTD post for you, today's NOTD or nail of the day is Essie's Sunday Funday, a lovely coral colour with a hint of shimmer running through it, a perfect spring/summer shade. 


Sunday Funday was part of Essie's Summer 2013 collection and I have had it since it's release and it is still lovely to apply and not gloopy at all. I love the brush on the Essie polishes it is a nice wide brush making application much easier. I applied 3 coats of Sunday Funday allowing each coat to dry fully in between and then I applied 1 coat of my holy grail top coat, the Orly Glosser top coat (available to buy here) giving my nails a lovely opaque and very glossy finish. 


I really love coral shades on my nails for the spring and summer and this is a beautiful colour, it does have a very subtle shimmer running through it which if you look very closely you can see in the photograph. I've been a big fan of Essie polishes for many years now and will continue to purchase them, I can get a lot of wear from an Essie polish and Sunday Funday lasted for 6 days on my nails before it started to chip, I actually took a photograph of my nails on day 6 just a couple of hours before they chipped. 


As you can see there is a gap round the base of the nail where I've had some re growth but the nail polish isn't chipped at all, please also excuse my cuticles they were in dire need of sorting out in this photograph, but it does show you how well the polish lasted on my nails. 

I really like Essie nail polishes, they apply well and with my Orly glosser top coat I do get a good amount of wear time from them, and they have an extensive shade range which is great, there is definitely something for everyone. 

 Essie polishes can be bought in store at Boots and Superdrug but if you, like me shop online and would like to purchase Sunday Funday online you can find it online at SuperdrugBoots and Nail Polish Direct

Do you like Essie polishes? Which is your favourite? 

Thank you for reading, much love as always, 

Zoe x





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Saturday 2 May 2015

My Spring Fashion Wishlist

Hello Lovelies,

If you're a regular reader of my blog or a regular viewer of my You Tube channel you'll know that I do 99% of my shopping on line, I have a medical condition which is very restricting meaning going shopping is difficult so on line shopping is an absolute god send for me. Today I have just a few of the things I've seen whilst browsing on line that I quite fancy for spring.


1. ASOS Curve Black off the shoulder t shirt £12.00, I really like this t shirt, it comes in White too and I think it would look great with skinny jeans and converse.

2. River Island White clog sandals  £35.00. I love these sandals and think they would look lovely dressed up or down, I could put these with so many outfits and being White they'd go with everything. 

3. Dorothy Perkins pastel poppy print joggers £24.00. I am in love with these trousers, unfortunately my size is out of stock at the moment it could be because there has recently been a money off event so I am hoping they will come back in stock soon, they'd be perfect for my holidays or shopping days or lunch out with friends, so versatile and pretty too.

4. Accessorize pretty flower necklace  £6.00. I love statement necklaces and this is so pretty and only £6.00 which is a great price and especially for Accessorize, it may be tiny in the flesh (hopefully not) but I love it and it would go with so many things, I love statement necklaces they jazz up a simple outfit nicely and this one is super pretty as it's name suggests.

5. River Island Coral long line vest top  £6.00 (2 for £10) I really like the longline vest tops from River Island, I have a few of them and they are great for wearing with skinny jeans or even leggings, I have a few of them and they wash and wear really well, I was hoping this would go nicely with the pastel poppy joggers but even if they don't become available in my size this is still nice for the spring and summer, I love Coral. 

6. Topshop mid stone Joni jeans £36.00. I bought my first pair of Joni jeans a few months ago and I really like them, they don't give after I've had them on for an hour like so many other skinny jeans I've tried and they come up to a nice point on my waist, I struggle with clothes that fit to my tummy area because of my illness and can find them uncomfortable but these are great. They are expensive but if I figure if I get a lot of wear out of them it's not so bad. 

7. New Look Lime Green wrap front sleeveless top £14.99. I really like this top and think it would look lovely with the skinny jeans, I think it would be quite flattering too with the low neck and loose fitting style, it also comes in 8 other colours so if this is a bit bright for you there are other options.

8. Next Bright Pink linen mix cardigan  £24.00. I love cardigans like this and wear them with a pair of skinny jeans with a vest top and statement necklace and it gives a really nice look, the reviews on the website say this is more of a neon pink than bright pink so if neon isn't your thing it may be too much, I personally don't mind bright colours in the spring and summer and think this would add a lovely pop of colour to any outfit.

9. New Look Stone metal trim ankle strap sandals  £7.99. These sandals are lovely and such a great price too, and they come in a variety of different colours and at £7.99 I can afford to have a couple of pairs to maybe match some to an outfit, I chose the stone ones as I find nude coloured shoes go with a lot but like I said at that price I could maybe go for a couple of coloured pairs too, these are a wide fit but in previous experience I haven't noticed much difference in the wide fit shoes from New Look, I don't have wide feet and the ones I've tried before have been ok, and for the price they're definitely worth a try. 

So they are a few things I've had my eye on over the last week or so while I've been doing a spot of on line window shopping. Do you do your shopping on line and if so do you have any recommendations of websites for me? I'm always on the lookout for new places to shop. My lovely friend Emma has recently introduced me to Yours clothing, she has some lovely pieces from there so I am off to check them out now. 

Thank you for reading, much love as always, 

Zoe x
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