Showing posts with label Review. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Review. Show all posts
W7 Very Vegan Makeup Review
Cruelty Free, makeup, Review, vegan, W7The Ordinary Skincare
Beauty, Cruelty Free, Review, Skincare, The Ordinary
If you haven't seen this brand floating around the blogging community, where have you been? Over the past couple of weeks, I've seen so many bloggers raving about The Ordinary skincare products. I actually fist discovered them last year not long after they launched but I never found myself buying anything from there, I think because I didn't really know what to get (this is a problem I mention later) so I never really thought anything of them until about a month ago. There were now available to buy on ASOS which made it super easy to buy and they gave them a description wich I found easier to understand. I finally made the purchase and bought these three pieces.
New Jewellery Discoveries
ethical, Fashion, jewellery, Review
I've recently discovered two new jewellery brands that I need to share with you. I love both of these brands as they are ethical and sustainable brands - which I love and their pieces have become my everyday jewellery staples. I want to share them both with you as they are both doing some pretty amazing things.
The first brand I need to share is Edge of Ember. Edge of Ember is a London based ethical jewellery brand who are pretty great as in November they created a line that raised awareness and money for Camfed - a charity aiming to tackle poverty, inequality and giving girls the support to have an education in sub-Saharan Africa - 62 girls got the chance to go to school for one year and have all the support they need to go with it: fees, uniform, stationary but also looking after their health and wellbeing. All of this seemed so amazing which made me buy some products from their collection. All their pieces are handcrafted ethically in Indonesia, Thailand and Cambodia, by artisan groups including women run businesses, the fair trade organisation and home based worker so no sweat shops or child labour are used, instead they are supporting the local talent - I love how all the pieces have elements of the local culture included. As all the pieces are produced by local artisans in developing countries, made ethically with love, it means that they are not massed produced and a fair price is paid to the makers. Recycled materials are chosen and no animal products are used.
I brought 2 rings, both in the same style - one in gold and the other in silver as I loved them so much. The only problem with them is that I'm kind of in-between sizes. I bought 2 different sizes, they only fit on one finger but, that's okay.
The second brand I want to tell you about is YCL Jewels. I found this brand from some vegan YouTubers who always wore their pieces - since then one of them has collaborated to make a collection. I love how all their pieces are sophisticated, minimalistic, as I'm a big lover of simple, dainty pieces of jewellery. YCL is an ethical, cruelty free, vegan Australian brand, 70% of pieces are made in Australia and the other 30% are ethically produced in India. I love how they believe in that animals shouldn't suffer, that is why in their pieces and packaging there are no animal bi-products. There is minimal packaging and paper with each other as they aim to keep a low carbon footprint. I love how their mission is "to create jewellery that is not just worn for aesthetic purpose, but rather to create jewellery that holds meaning to the beholder."
I decided to choose their Infinite Chocker in gold, I went for this one as I love the simplicity and daintiness of it. It's in gold so I don't need to worry about it turning green if I get it wet, so I never take mine off. I love that you can wear it as a choker - which I do or wear it slightly longer, I also love the fact that on the end of the extender there is a tiny purple crystal as every piece is embraced with crystals. The only thing with this necklace is that it will take a couple of weeks to get to you - it takes 4-5 weeks for them to make it as every piece is handmade once ordered and then due to it being shipped it takes around 1-2 extra weeks. I was willing to wait though as I know that they are all individually handmade ethically. There are so many pieces I want, next on my list is the Constellation Disk necklace and I'm also a big fan of their rings. Another thing was inside the box there was a pink stone - I’m not too sure of the name, though.
Neal's Yard Remedies X Deliciously Ella
Beauty, Cruelty Free, Neal's Yard, Review, Skincare
I'm sure you all know who Deliciously Ella is but if not, she's a successful food blogger who alongside her blog has written multiple recipe books, has her own deli and does cookery classes. Ella promotes a plant-based and healthy lifestyle and is all about using organic and clean products, and strongly believes what you put on your skin is just as important as what you put in your body.
I was so excited when I heard Ella was collaborating with Neal's Yard this summer because they just seemed like they would create such lovely products. The line just consists of two products: a facial wash and a moisturiser. I love how there are elements of both of the brand within the bottles, of course, they are their classic blue glass bottle with a pump and then a gorgeous floral label with Ella's branding and the pump makes it so much easier as it's fuss and mess free. Inside each box, there is a card with Ella's top skincare tips. The ingredients, of course, have their benefits to the skin "balancing rose, toning lime, cooling cucumber and antioxidant-rich blueberries and acai." I brought the duo, so it came all beautifully wrapped with Neal's Yard tissue paper, a blue box and ribbon. If you were wanting to buy these for a gift then this would be the perfect option - perhaps a Christmas present.
Firstly, the Rose, Lime and Cucumber Facial Wash (£16) is gentle yet still removes all the dirt. I like to use my Forero with it because I find it helps to foam up the product more than with just my fingers that then helps remove more dirt from my skin. It leaves your skin with a gentle glow and feeling fresh but without feeling like it's stripped back all your skin like some do. Of course, both of these products are cruelty-free, vegan and organic.
The Rose, Lime and Cucumber Moisturiser (£25) is such a lovely addition to my skincare routine - if you'd like me to do a skincare routine just let me know. I find that the rose scent is stronger in the moisturiser compared to the facial wash. The moisturiser is suitable for all skin types which is great. I find it to be really moisturising but without being heavy and greasy but I do find that it does take some work to make sure it sinks into the skin. With the pump, I've found you think you don't have a lot of product but when you work it in you have more than enough. I like to use it morning and night to help give my skin more through these colder months. I fond my skin to feel smoother and more radiant.
Some people are easily put off by the rose scent especially as it's quite strong in both of these products, however, I've kind of got used to them and don't mind it now. However, they are such lovely products and I would love for Ella to bring out more products with Neal's Yard.
Rosie Bea's Collection for Elegant Touch & Eylure
Beauty, Review, Rosie Bea
Rosie Bea is a vlogger, who I've been subscribed to for quite a long time now. When she announced that she had been working on this collection I was very excited because I knew she'd bring out something amazing. If you've never watched Rosie, let me just tell you she has absolutely stunning red hair. Rosie has teamed with Elegant Touch to bring out 6 false nail designs and Eylure to bring out 6 sets of false eyelashes. Rosie's collection is available in Superdrug online and in some Superdrug stores.
I'm not really a false eyelash wearer so I decided to pick up just one pair to start with. There are 4 full eyelashes - 2 for daytime and 2 for a night, and then there are 2 3/4 sets. I went to the 3/4 lengths because I feel I can get away wearing them easily due to them being very natural and delicate. These lashes come with adhesive and can be reused which I think is great, you also get and the instruction sheet on how to apply them for eyelash novices - like me.
I decided to pick up these two patterns because these both first caught my attention when Rosie debuted them all. Each pack comes with 24 nails in 10 different sizes, then along with instructions on how to apply them, a nail buffer and glue. Spotlight is a nude nail with copper accents - aka a bloggers dream. And then I also picked up Truffle this was the one I wanted to get the most as I just find the colour really flattering with my skin tone. I'm not really a huge false nail wearer but I like the shape of these as they are not too long but also if you find them too long you can file them down a bit which is what I did with them. They lasted around 5 days before the first one came off, which to me is pretty good as normally by then if you've painted your nails they would have chipped by then.
I know that when Roise applies her nails she usually applies nail guards first, I was going to pick some up but they didn't have any in store. I still feel like I'm going to pick them up next time I'm in a store because they can make the whole process easier and protect your nails more.
Overall, I've been very pleased with Rosie's collection. In the future I defiantly plan to pick up more pieces, I've got my eye on the Sweetpea nails, which are such lovely daisy print nails. I've found them to be really affordable because you can reuse them.
Have you tried anything from Rosie's Collection?
NEAL'S YARD WILD ROSE BEAUTY BALM REVIEW
Beauty, Cruelty Free, Neal's Yard, Review, Skincare
Neal's Yard Wild Rose Beauty Balm
This is the first product I've managed to purchase and test out on my products I want to try in 2016. I mentioned how I contacted Neal's Yard asking which products were good for acne scarring and they recommend this because it contains wild rose oil. Wild rose oil also helps to repair and smooth to help to nourish the skin.
Inside the box, you also receive an organic muslin cloth which is perfect for when you're using the balm for many of its purposes. You can use this balm as an exfoliating cleanser to a moisturiser to a facial treatment. The multipurpose balm is also cruelty-free (along with all of Neal's Yard Products) and it's 99% organic - which is pretty impressive. I love to use this product before I go to bed due to it being so gentle on the skin. Recently I've been suffering from dry skin so I like to apply it directly to the skin to help nourish the skin. Although it's not the best cleanser I like to sometimes use it because of it containing rose oil it helps to reduce the acne scarring I have but also leaves my skin feeling great - soft and refreshed.
The packaging for this product packaging is different to their signature packaging because this packaging was designed for their 10th anniversary, but they decided to keep it on this product. Isn't it so pretty?
Have you ever tried any products from Neal's Yard?
LoveLula Beauty Box March 2016 & Review
Beauty, Cruelty Free, Love Lula beauty box subscription, LoveLula, Review, Skincare
This is the last of my subscription box from LoveLula, as part of my Christmas present. I thought I would you, my thoughts on the LoveLula subscription boxes now I've received them for 3 months.
Again I was extremely happy when I opened this box. The fist product I noticed and was desperate to open and try was the Hurraw lip balm. I always heard such good reviews about them, I opened it straight away and applied it to my lips - even though this is best at night. I found it helped some of the dryness with just one application. I will defiantly be building my collection with the 20% discount with the box. I received 3 items from Urban Veda: Radiance Day Cream, Radiance Exfoliating Facial Polish, and Daily Radiance Facial Wash - I hadn't heard of this brand before but I'm looking forward to trying them. Another product which I'm excited to try is TurBliss Peat Masks. Another full sized product was Skin Blossom's Cleansing Milk, it's vegan and 91% organic. This was very useful as I was on the look out for a gentle wash cleanser. As usual, I received 2 packet samples - they were both moisturizers.
I now thought I'd share my view on subscription boxes. I haven't been disappointed that's for sure, every box that has been delivered to my door has featured some pretty amazing brands and is defiantly worth the money. I loved waiting every month for the next one then opening it and seeing what's been included that month. I had my subscription as a Christmas present - for me, this has been perfect. I'm not too sure if I'm going to continue to pay for the subscription myself but I strongly believe that for following birthdays and Christmases I will be asking for it again. I have loved discovering new brands every month - this was one of the main reasons I asked for it as after switching to cruelty-free it's something I found hard, so it's defiantly helped me with that problem. However, with that comes with one problem I find with subscription boxes it that I now have a large box of unused/unopened products I'm yet to test. I feel like if I continued with the subscription my box would only get larger and then I would be a little bit pointless because I don't even get to trial the products I'm sent.
Check out what was in my January Box & February Box
What do you think about subscription beauty boxes?
LoveLula Beauty Box February 2016
Beauty, Beauty Box, Love Lula beauty box subscription, LoveLula, Review, Skincare
I received my February box in the post, again I was extremely happy with the content of the box again this month. I received 5 full sized products and 2 sample packets. I was so pleased when I opened it and saw that there were 2 full-size products from Balm Balm, because this was one of the brands I really wanted to try. I received the Lip Balm and the Coconut Cleanser. Another brand that I’m excited to try is John Masters, I got their detangled, this is one of Love Lula’s best sellers - so it must be really good. In the box was also a makeup product. This month I received Essential Care’s eye liner. When I swatched it I really liked it as it was really pigmented and smooth, another thing is that it’s really good if you have sensitive eyes. The next one I’m looking forward to trying is REN’s Eye Lift - this is actually something you can’t purchase until late February. Finally, I received 2 samples one of REN’s Beauty Shot Sample and Dr. Hauschka’s foot cream.
Love Lula Beauty Box January 2016
Beauty, Beauty Box, Cruelty Free, First impressions, Love Lula beauty box subscription, LoveLula, Review
This is my first ever subscription box, so I thought I would share my thoughts on it. I actually asked for this as a Christmas present, I received the 3-month subscription which for me and as a gift is perfect.
I chose to go for LoveLula's Beauty Box as this year I fell in love with their online store and wanted everything so when I noticed that they do a subscription box, I thought it was the perfect opportunity to trial out some of their brands also, I'm on the lookout for new cruelty free brands. LoveLula is an online beauty store, they stand for a number of manifestos such as no animal testing, minimal waste, no harmful chemicals. It's become my new favourite online beauty store, you can often find me browsing on there.
In this months box, I received three new brands but 7 new products to test out. It came in a cardboard box with shredded paper inside along with the products and a card which give me a couple of sentences about each of the products I received. Also, on the card is a code where I can receive 20% off any of the brands featured in this month's box - I really like this idea.
This month I received Madara's tinting fluid, it's a lighter version of a foundation but while you are wearing it, it helps to hydrate and illuminate the skin. Even though it's very light it gives a really good coverage. Secondly, I received Rossi's face cream, I'm yet to trial this out but it's meant to be a rich face cream to use anytime to help hydrate the skin. The final brand I received was Ontario, from this brand I got a Revive & Shine shampoo and conditioner, Hydrate & Shine shampoo and conditioner and a Restore & Shine hair masque. I feel these would be perfect for traveling. I'm unsure whether to save them or trail them out.
Overall I've been very pleased with my first ever beauty subscription box. I look forward to seeing what's in the next 2 boxes.
Have you been subscribed to a Beauty Box before?
New Phone Case
Go Customised, Lifestyle, Phone Case, Review
Recently I've upgraded my phone to this beautiful gold iPhone, and so I figured it was in need of a case to help protect it. I had been on the lookout for a pretty phone case for quite a while so when GoCustomized contacted me I thought it was perfect timing and a great opportunity to create a phone case that I actually like and looks awesome.
GoCustomized is a company that offers personalised phone cases, you can upload your own design or choose from one of their designs. I opted for the Personalised Hard Case Full Wrapped at £19.95 + free shipping. I chose the full wrap one because I like it when the design continues on the side of the phone and not just the back. I went for uploading my own design although you could have picked from one of their designs (I know their marble design is really popular), but I went for navy blue and stripes - if you know me then you will know everything has to be blue or have strips on it, so this seemed like the perfect design to put onto my phone case. The process was really simple and the site was really easy to navigate around. I simply just saved an image off Google Images and then uploaded it to the site. I wanted to add a more personal touch to my case so, I added my name to the bottom of the case, again this was totally customisable with lots of sizes, fonts and colours to choose from.
For under £20 this case is such good quality and I feel I have no fear of it breaking anytime soon. It could make a perfect Christmas gift for a someone this year because it's so customisable - make your own iPhone 6 case for a friend, or for yourself!
What do you think of my case?
Happy & Healthy: September
Fitness, Happy & Healthy, Happy and Healthy, misfit, Review
My New Fitness Gadget - Misfit
Nutrition
There isn't really much to say about this month. The only thing I would say is that because I've been back at school, I've found myself snacking less on unhealthy foods - I think it's because there is no access the biscuit barrel all day. Also, my meals have been a lot better because I'm in a routine, there has been no breakfast at 11 or skipping lunch. Oh... and should I mention that I've been addicted to Nutella this month - I can't help myself!
Fitness
Again this has improved this month due to me being back in a routine. I have completed the Fitness Blender 5-day challenge to help me get back into working out. I have to say that I actually really enjoyed doing them and it gave me more motivation to workout out, even if my whole body was so sore. Over the past week, I haven't managed to put the trainers on much as I've not been feeling the best, but defiantly going to be putting them back on soon.
The Next 30 days
During October, I'm just going to try and keep a good diet and workout more. It could be challenging as we have Halloween at the end of the month.
My New Favourite
Misfit is a wearable fitness tracker. I bought this after hearing so many reviews on it and really wanted to get my paws on it. It was on offer in Urban Outfitters - even more reasons to buy it. I have the Misfit Flash in Pink, I like the fact that you can wear it anywhere your not just limited to your wrist like many other trackers. On the face of the device, it tells you the time and how much of your daily target you've achieved. You also track this on their app where you can see; miles you've walked, the amount of sleep, calories burnt. I'm thinking of picking up another colour something like black or grey as it will go with more outfits and not look so bright on my wrist.
Happy & Healthy: August / Life Tonics
Happy & Healthy, Happy and Healthy, Life tonics, Review
Life Tonics Review
Nutrition
Okay...how can I say this. This month my more plant-based diet has kind of gone out of the window. This month I have kind of gone back to my old habits although the only good thing is that I haven't eaten as much junk food. I'm not really sure what to say as this month hasn't been that exciting. However every week I have been wanting to stuff my face with cakes and bread because the Bake Off is back on and they make so amazing pieces - that lion bread.
Exercise
Again this has been a bit of a fail this month. I have done some but know where near as much as I would like to do, at least it's a start. When I have been working out my favourite has been a Tea Bo workout my favourite is this one from YouTube. It's tough but I find myself enjoying it and pushing myself to get through the whole video. Toward the end of this month, I did a couple of yoga videos, I feel like it could help me relax more in the future. I love Yoga with Adrian especially her videos for beginners.
The Next 30 Days
I'm back to school :( so I think the biggest challenge of next month is to have a routine as I've not got to put school and homework into the picture. I'm going to try my hardest to make a routine and try my very hardest to stick to it. If anyone knows how to juggle blogging, school, homework, social life and fitness any tips would be greatly appreciated.
My Favourite
I've been loving Life Tonics this month. Life Tonics is a brand of drink that helps hydrate with coconut water from 'natural fruit extracts, vitamins and minerals'. There is an isotonic formulation in these drinks so they help absorb more water when working out. Life Tonics is a great drink and perfect to swap to if you love a sports drink after working out as they have high levels of potassium and minerals. They are also perfect if you are out running as they release energy slowly to help improve your stamina. They currently have 3 flavours available: Coconut & Mint, Elderberry & Juniper and Dalandan Orange. My favourite is the coconut & mint, I was quite surprised that I liked this one because I'm not a massive fan of coconut but I find it very refreshing. Each bottle only contains 90 calories! You can buy them for £1.49 at W H Smiths or Waitrose.
How has your August been, what's your favourite thing you've done this month?
*This post contains gifted items from Life Tonics, all opinions are my own.
The Classic Red Lip
Beauty, Lipstick, mac, Review, Ruby Woo, ruby woo review
I always feel that if you have the most simple outfit or makeup it can really complete it. Anyone else feels like with the perfect red lip you can conquer the world and is ready for anyone?
Ruby Woo is extremely matte. I do like it being matt but when it's matt it has its downsides. If you apply it to dry lips it's extremely difficult to get it when you want it to go due to it being matt and stiff. So a tip for when using this lipstick is to use an exfoliator before (love the one from Lush) to help get rid of the dry flaky skin on your lips. I then like to apply a lip balm, I always use this one from The Body Shop. I let the moisture sink into my lips and then I will apply the lipstick, so you get a smoother application. Make sure you don't apply straight onto of the lip balm otherwise the colour won't be shown to its full potential. There are a couple of more reasons why I love this lipstick and one is because it will last on the lips for hours and you hardly need to reapply throughout the day - that's the benefit of it being so matte. Another reason why I really like it that it makes your teeth look whiter and because it suits a lot of skin colours. I hate it when you get a lipstick and it doesn't suit everyone. The only thing I'm wanting is a lip liner although you don't need a lip liner I would just quite like one to get the perfect shape lip. Does anyone have any recommendations?
What's your favourite colour lipstick?
Dry Shampoo Reviews
Beauty, Dry Shampoo, Hair, Review
My hair: I have quite thin, flat hair that gets greasy very quickly, my hair will be greasy a day after washing it. I will wash my hair every other day, so I tend to use dry shampoo on a regular base.
Batiste Dry Shampoo in Eden // £3.29
I've been using Batiste dry shampoo for as long as I can remember and I would say it is the most popular dry shampoo brands. However, I have a love-hate relationship with them. Some of their products are so good and others are diabolical, it's like they have good and bad batches; I always seem to buy from the bad batch. This time I picked up 'Eden' it is a new one that they've just released. I really like the scent of this one it is a very sweet, pretty fragrance, you most probably expected that from the bottle design. I find that the scent is long-lasting and make your hair smell amazing all day, without a touch-up. The consistency is what I expect from a dry shampoo, it's not too heavy or too light, compared to the others, I would class it as the most normal. However, I find the biggest problem with Batiste is the white residue it leaves on the hair, especially with me having brown hair it looks like I'm going grey very early or I have bad dandruff. Not what I want. Normally you can rub it out but I find they're white reside extremely hard to hide.
★★★☆☆ 3/5
Herbal Essences Dry Shampoo in Citrus // £2.99
Herbal Essence is relatively new to the dry shampoo market. To be honest, they have brought a pretty good product to the market. This is the cheapest out of all of them at just under £3. I picked up the citrus scent, the scent isn't very strong and you only have a slight smell of the scent when it's in your hair. I love this dry shampoo because not only does it hide your greasy hair it will also add volume to your hair. Compared to the others the formula is rather thick and heavy; you defiantly know that you have dry shampoo in your hair, I don't quite agree with the '1st-day clean feel' because it leaves your hair so thick and voluminous. I don't really mind though because you don't need to spray as much compared to the others, I find a small spray can go a long way. Sometimes I get white residue but it's very easy to rub out.
★★★★☆ 4/5
COLAB Dry Shampoo in Paris // £3.49
The creator of COLAB is a fellow YouTuber and Blogger (most of you will know already), Ruth Crilly. Ruth has done an excellent job creating these, the bottle contains everything you could ever want in a dry shampoo. Firstly I have to say they have the best design out of all of them. I picked up 'Paris', which is a floral fragrance consisting of rose and jasmine. COLAB seems to have the strongest smell once sprayed on the hair - which isn't a bad thing. I want to use it as a perfume! Out of all the time I've been using COLAB, I have never experienced any grey hair moments - which is great. However, I feel that the only negative of COLAB dry shampoo is that you have to use a lot of it to cover the greasy patches because the formula is so light, so you tend to get through a bottle quite quick. The other side to that is that your hair isn't weighed down and you don't feel that you have any product in your hair.
★★★★★ 5/5
What's your favourite dry shampoo to use?
Urban Decay Naked Basics 2
Beauty, Review, Urban Decay
Urban Decay Naked 2 Basics
£22.00
How beautiful is the Naked Basics 2 palette? Once I saw the release of this I knew it I had to get it. When I saw it on Cohort the other week there were, even more, reasons to purchase it. I purchased it for £15.40 rather than the full price of £22.00. I didn't get the first Naked Basics because I didn't really like the shades as they are more yellow toned; I prefer this pallet so much more because they are more of taupes and browns.
Five of them are matte and the other satin. Of course, they have really good pigmentation, Urban Decay does great eyeshadows. They also have great staying power, without primer they can last around 5 hours. The shades: Skimp(pale nude satin), Stark (pink nude), Frisk (warm grey), Cover (red-brown), Primal (muted brown), Undone (deep, smokey, brown). My favorite shades are primal and frisk but there isn't one shade that I don't like. I have been using the whole pallet every day, I love it that much. A bonus to this pallet is that you can use some to fill in your eyebrows.
I love the pallet so much! It's perfect for traveling as it's so small and compact and fits perfectly into your handbag. The pallet also contains a large mirror in the lid. I think the pallet is perfect for someone just getting into makeup or someone who doesn't like to wear much eyeshadow. I have a feeling I'm going to be using this for a long time.
What's your opinion on Naked 2 basics?
