Candy Cane Bubble Bar

(I’ve got a thing for candy canes at the moment, in case you can’t tell!)
When I saw this in the store I couldn’t resist, firstly it is limited edition like the matryoshka so is only available for a few months a year, it’s a bubble bar (which is always great value for money) and it smells exactly like rockstar soap, which is one of my favourites! Unlikely their bath ballistics Lush’s Bubble Bars last for several baths as you only need to crumble off a corner to fill your bath with creamy bubbles.I was expecting a bright pink bath the comforter delivers but instead you get a milky (extremely pale) pink bath with moisturising bubbles and a lovely notable scent that actually lingers!

Definitely going to be getting another in the Christmas sale as at £2.35 for 2-3 baths is pretty good – definitely one of lush’s best bubble bars! Lush has a Christmas Sale on right now so if you’re thinking of trying some of their products now is the time to do it!! UPDATE: The online Lush sale has ended but you can still get things on offer from their stores :)

P.S I hope everyone had a lovely Christmas(or which ever holiday you celebrate)!!

Candy Cane Nails

Festive nails are a must for me at Christmas time but this year I didn’t want the classics – red, gold, silver etc. So I opted for a candy cane pattern… in pink.
I used Barry M White and Baby Pink and I used a nail art brush set that quite a few bloggers have mentioned recently (there are loads of sellers with these on ebay I bought mine from here)
If your not into having pink girly nails, you can always use a red polish instead of pink or just add a green stripe for a more traditional look.
I used my bottle of Seche Vite for the first time when I did this & I was planning to do a review on it but honestly there isn’t very much to say – it’s AH-MAZ-ING :)
It helps my polish dry incredibly fast, it doesn’t smudge my polish and it stops my colour from chipping for days! I bought mine here for £6.75 including postage which is seriously a great deal as this is normally around £8-9.

Matryoshka Review

Lush's christmas collection is their best to date, as far as I'm concerned, with a mix of their classics such as Snowfairy- a bit of a cult classic and some of their quirky ideas like the 'bearded woman' bath ballistic and their adorable 'gingerbread house'. Their complete holiday collection can be found on their website here.
I picked up one or two bits from their christmas stuff , so expect more festive Lush review in the run up to Christmas!

The matryoshka is technically a gift as you get a whole of goodies in it (but since it doesn't look like a classic christmas gift I think I can justify using this myself..)
Shaped like a russian doll and wrapped in a square of festive fabric, matryark consists of two large, hollow pieces of so white soap(which is anything but white..) which will make your whole room smell lovely, it also lasts forever as these chunks are huge!
Inside the green half you'll find CINDERS bath ballistic, the well know 'crackling' bath bomb!
Cinders was the one christmas item I was most excited about - the idea of the popping candy crackling away just sounded so festive. If anything I was worried the scent wouldn't be to my taste. As it was, I had a ton of popping candy yet none of it snapped, crackled or popped and the scent was the best bit!
It dropped to the bottom of the bath and after a little fizzing just sat there making the water a rather awkward yellow shade and making everything smell sweet.
Even turning the water on again didn't do much- I think I just got a dud one though as so many people love it.

And snuggled inside the other half of the russian doll is SO WHITE
This smelt gorgeous in the store and hasn't disapointed. It's fresh, fragrent and prefect as a little treat in winter. It delivers some creamy bubbles alongside a rich lather but the real selling point for this bath ballistic is the scent!
This is the only lush ballistic that not only made my whole bathroom smell amazing but the scent lingered on my skin for hours afterwards - which earned me a few compliments, and wasn't overpowering.

Overall for £9.95 this is a bit of bargain since you get three goodies; cinders, so white bath balistic and the so white soap. This is lovely, classic bath ballisitic which I think would be perfect for all age groups depite the quirky packaging!
And you also get a 10% off voucher:)

Botanics Sensitive Cleasing Mousse

I bought this when I was staying at a friends when i was in need of a cleanser and the mousse aspect just drew me in. (you can buy it here online)

The first thing i noticed when i used this was the rather strong herbal scent. Sadly I'm not a fan of these 'earthier' smells and so I can't help but be put off using this, however even if herbal scents are your thing I think it's too strong for face wash - no one wants to put something that strongly scented all over their face!

As far as the mousse element which i thought was interesting, I liked how the wash felt very light on the skin even once rubbed in - I think you probably use a bit more product because of the mousse but I don't mind as you get 150ml for £3.99. But I'd call this more of a foam than a mousse as it's a little to light for a mousse

The real downside of this product for me though was how my skin felt afterwards. The scent lingered - which isn't very surprising, but it also dried my skin out making it feel very tight and leaving me feeling like I still had a light layer of product on my skin.

Overall my skin simply didn't feel clean after use and it did feel uncomforable with a scent that seemed to linger for hours. Will i be repurchasing? no. would i recomend? probably not

P.S am I in the only place in the UK without Snow?!

Collection 2000 Glitter Eyeliners

(They're actually called Glam crystals dazzling gel liner but that just seems like a bit of a mouthful)
I’ve been walking past these for months and never took any notice of them, partly down the fact glitter eyeliner isn’t really part of my everyday routine and in part because I’ve tried my fair share of them and most, particularly I must say the cheaper ones, look awful with the glitter being too chunky and sparse.

But after watching Pixiwoo mention them and hearing a few other bloggers mention them I knew I had to try them out (I love a bit of sparkle in winter!)
I picked up three shades Glitz 1(Silver), Funk 3(Gold) and VaVaVoom a gorgeous mix of blue and green with red and gold glitter – not something for the fainthearted. But then glitter liner does take a certain about of bravery to wear to anything but a Christmas party!
The packaging is simple with a short applicator perfect for easy application and all three are jam-packed full of glitter.

I've used these a few times over some plain black liner and on it'd and it looks pretty good both ways but I'm defiantely be sticking with it over some black liner for christmas!
Overall for £2.99 this is a bargain - Boots currently has these for 3 for 2 so it's even better! I can't help but be tempted to go back and try out more colours from their range as they have just about every colour from red through to blue.(the blues and green look incredibly pigmented but I'm not sure I'd ever actually wear them - even at during the festive Christmas party season..)

These are anything but subtle however for christmas these are a perfect way of making your make up festive & are amazing value for the price!

Fixing Broken Eyeshadows

One of my favourite eyeshadows broke last week when I stayed over at a friends..
And I figured it was the perfect opportunity to do a little ‘How To’ post showing how to fix it..

First thing I did was to take it out of my palette and place it on a clean surface (preferably one that you can wipe down after your finished in case you spill anything)

Then crumble the broken fragments into a fine powder (the finer the better) just try not to spill any over the sides of the pan.

Next comes the alcohol ;) technically any type of alcohol would work so long as it has a high percentage but the higher the percentage the better. So I opted for surgical spirits- or rubbing alcohol if you’re from the U.S. (the lower the alcohol content the longer it will eventually take to dry) Just pout a tiny bit in the lid.

Then.. the trick with this is to apply as little as you can to make the shadow into a paste (the closer to a liquid it is the longer it will take to dry and it might not set properly)

Make sure you also have a coin that fits the pan (for mac & urban decay a 2p works perfectly) and have either some tissue or scrap fabric ready for the next step...

This is perhaps the only remotely tricky bit. Take your coin and wrap it in the cloth/tissue as tight as possible, then press the coin into the shadow to ‘set’ the paste.

This may take a few attempts if this is your first go but... then you're done!

Simply pop it back into the palette to dry and you’re all finished :)

Mine only took about an hour to dry but I tend to leave them at least overnight just in case!

Top 5 Winter Polishes

Wether you realise it or not most people change their polishes to suit the seasons – I definitely do!

This winter I’ve been loving some of the stunning deep colours that have been brought out for the party season and I figured I’d show you my Top 5 Winter Polishes (although technically it’s still autumn for ages, I class November as the start of winter)
-obsessed with this glittery gold background :)

BarryM CranberryI’m not sure why my camera wouldn’t pick up the colour properly but it’s a little darker than this - it does however look the exact same on the nails as it does in the bottle so if you’ve seen this in store you know exactly what to expect. Berry shades are always on trend for winter and this year is no exception :)

BarryM NavyIf you watch fleur you’ve probably already heard of this little number but if you’re looking for a classic wintery shade this is it. It’s deep and a little bit sultry but you can get away with it for everyday!

Clear
With all the dark polishes seen in winter sometimes it’s really nice to just have clean simple nails -this particular clear polish isn’t anything amazing (it’s just the one I have)

Model’s Own ChampagneI recently did a NOTD featuring this here. So all I’ll say on this is it’s perfect for the party season – enough said :)

Collection 2000 Inca SilverI’ve had this for ages now and I seem to use it all the time but it never seems to be getting anywhere near the end! On it’s own I actually don’t think it’s anything special but over a dark base (such as BarryM’s Gray-which I don’t like on it’s own either) I think it looks really pretty & is perfect for the festive season!

Top 5 Winter Must Haves

1. Clinique all about eyes rich.
I use this all year around just because I love the rich consistency and how quickly it sinks in. But during winter it’s even more important to keep your eye area hydrated and this does the job perfectly. Clinique has three different ‘all about eyes’ formulas; the original ‘all about eyes’, the rich version(my favourite) and their anti-gravity one. I love all three depending on the weather and how my eye area is but if you want something lighter opt for the original or if your skin is very dry try the anti-gravity one – I use the anti-gravity as a night cream and the original in summer :)

2. St Ives Blemishes Fighting Scrub.
Exfoliating is great all year around to refresh your skin, but particularly in winter when its very easy for your skin to get dull. This is my current favourite because it’s so easy to notice an improvement after using it - instant gratification. (the gentle version is great if you want to exfoliate more often or if you simply prefer a softer version)

3. Soap and Glory Flake Away.
Again exfoliating really is key in the cold weather to keep your skin healthy. This is my favourite body exfoliator- it smells yummy and leaves your skin soft and moisturised (I won’t ramble about it too much as I’m planning to review it next week!)

4. Lush Charity Pot
I bought this on a whim to try it and I love this as a hand lotion (not so keen on it as a body lotion) but you really do need only a tiny blob for both hands otherwise this can be really greasy if you use too much - smells delicious though! This is just the trial size pot, but I’ll be getting the full size as soon as I get chance to go to Lush.

5. Mac’s Mineralize Skin Finishes
-this is porcelain pink if you’re wondering :)
Or any highlighters that’ll help you achieve glowy, radiant skin. I use Mac’s MSFs but benefit's moonbeam or highbeam are gorgeous liquid highlighters too :) (In case it wasn’t obvious I have a phobia of getting dull skin in winter!)

P.S did you notice the festive background? Cue all the Christmassy themed posts :D

NOTD Champagne

I was pretty excited about this colour in the bottle but it looks even better on the nails :)
I’ve no idea how to quite describe the colour, a rich nude silvery shade with a metallic, glittery finish and bronze and gold undertones.
Because of the metallic finish it alters slightly depending on the light and the background – I’m going to be wearing this constantly during the festive season (I can’t wait to start some festive posts soon!)

NOTD Lilac

Out of all the eyeko polishes I think this one is often over looked so I didn’t think it’s be amazing but I love it!
It’s the exact same consistency as vintage polish – you definitely need 2 coats but then you get a lovely opaque colour :)
A lot of people have said this is similar to barry m’s ‘berry ice cream’ but this one is a touch darker with lots more blue undertones & I think it’s much more wearable in autumn and winter!

-I’m definitely going to be getting more of these little polishes :)

FOTD Travelling

Just a quick little FOTD of last week before I left for London – I travelled alot last week so the make up was limited :)

Face:
Bourjois ten house sleep foundation
Benefit’s erase paste
Elf’s tickled pink with benefit’s sugar bomb on top
Benefit’s high brow

Eyes:
Sleek’s storm palette – I used to slate blue tones
Maxfactor false lash effect mascara

Lips:
Boot’s rose bud – I’d forgotten how pretty this was :)