Dry Shampoos

Batiste Lace*

Batiste Lace

I am one of those ultra lazy people that use dry shampoo, you either love it or you hate it. I've got blonde hair so it's very rare I have the grey/silver streaks once I spray the dry shampoo on my roots so I don't have that main problem so I find I can pick up any and go. The only thing that makes me (not) want to re-purchase is the scent.

I’ve got so many Batiste dry shampoos it’s a bit of a collector’s item for me at the moment, but in my eyes you can never have too many, plus I also lose them too just as easily!

The last few weeks I've been trying out Batiste Lace* from their new collection. Unfortunately it just didn't blow me away as much as I expected from it. The bottle is quite cute and I love lace anything but the smell wasn't overly pleasant. I had to spray perfume over the top, which was a shame as I love the other Batiste scents. They have such a wide range that there is one that has to suit everyone, but my personal favourite is still the Blonde version.

Scandalous Fabulously Flirty Dry Shampoo

Scandalous Fabulously Flirty Dry Shampoo

I picked up this Scandalous dry shampoo in a cheapy shop, Savers I think whilst it was hot and sunny and of course, I needed a place to cool down (the shopping centre!). It was only £1 and I thought I may as well try it for the price. The scent isn't the best I personally don't think, but it doesn't make my hair feel as talcy as the Batiste ones can do sometimes. I'd describe it as quite a "masculine scent" but nothing wrong with that! You can't go wrong with £1! I've looked online though and can only find it on the Superdrug website here for £4.99 so if you have a Savers near you, have a look!

Batiste Brit

Batiste Brit

As we all know, it's coming up to the Queens Jubilee weekend, hoorah! What more do we celebrate a 4 day weekend than with British products galore. I loved this Brit version of Batiste. It makes me feel so patriotic seeing our flags everywhere. It's £1.45 on the Superdrug website at the moment here, I think they have a few special offers, bargain!

So that's a few of my current dry shampoos, which are your favourite?

Have you checked out my giveaway here???

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Barbara Daly Eyeshadows

I was wowed when I received a gorgeous swirl eyeshadow from the new Barbara Daly range at Tesco. It isn't a shade I normally go for but as I'm currently experimenting with different colours that suit me at the moment I couldn't wait to try it! It's a gorgeous silver/grey shade and looks great blended in the outer corners of my eyes.

Barbara Daly released the collection of Extra Dimension Eye Shadows* as a rival to Mac. They look very similar and as I haven't tried the Mac version, I can't compare but these are amazing. £8 is more than I'd usually spend on an eyeshadow, but compared to the Mac £16.50 rivals, you're making a huge saving. They have 10 shades online, mainly evening darker shades but a couple of dusty pink colours too.

They are highly pigmented and the picture below is with just one stroke. If you're looking for a cheaper alternative to the expensive Mac then have a look on the Tesco website, or even in store for the shades they do.

Below is the comparison between the Mac version and the Barbara Daly Cinder Shine shade. They're very similar and I think it was a good move by BD!

Image courtesy of Lemonaide PR
Mac Warm Thunder vs BD Cinder Shine*

You can buy them online for £8 here. Have you tried any of the Barbara Daly Extra Dimension range? What do you think?

Have you checked out my giveaway here???

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Collection Haul

Is it just me or can anybody else still not drop the "2000" part of Collection (2000)? 


I bought a few new lip items a few days ago and for the price, as always I was pretty impressed. It was on 3 for 2 at Superdrug and I thought it was only on Collection items until I left (oops)! I think the pigmentation of their lipsticks are pretty good personally. As long as it doesn't highlight the dryness on my lips then that makes me love a lipstick more, lasting power isn't highly on my list as I don't like to eat with lipstick/gloss on nor do I wear it for work so as long as I have a mirror to re-apply that's fine with me!

L-R Collection 2000 Lock n Hold Lipgloss Body Pop 1, Lipstick 06 Bubblegum, Lipstick 08 Sweet Tart

I was drawn to the lasting colour lipstick shades, if you're a regular reader you'll know I love pink anything, especially lip products but recently I've only just started to experiment in nude pink colours. I love the shade of this on my lips and it goes great with the lock n hold lipgloss over the top too!

Lipstick 08 Sweet Tart

 This is a bright pink shade, same as all my other shades I'm sure but with a slight twist haha. It's a gorgeous shade, and you can never have too many pink lipsticks!

Lipstick 06 Bubblegum

 This isn't a shade I'd normally be drawn towards but I thought for the price (£2.99) why not?! I think it suits my skin tone and it's really creamy. As I've said, underneath the Lock n Hold lipgloss, it also looks fab!

Collection 2000 Lock n Hold Shade Body Pop 1

 I'm a newbie to lipgloss and I'm trying a few out for summer in hope that I find the perfect shade and this is pretty nice. It's not too sticky and I love the smell, it's very sweet which isn't to everybody's taste but I love it! Baby pink is quite easy to wear during the day too. I haven't tested out the 6 hour wear, it's a pretty strong claim but I wouldn't try wearing it for 6 hours!

As you can see from the swatch below, it is quite a baby pink but not too in-your-face. I have had bad experiences with ultra sticky lipglosses in the past which have put me off but now I'm back in the game and getting into lipgloss again!

Lipstick swatches 08 Sweet Tart and 06 Bubblegum

As you can see they're quite different when they're applied and I love them both equally. They're great value for £2.99! I bought them from Superdrug as mentioned but they're not on their website, nor on Collection's (why don't they have an online shop?), anyway they're on the Boots website here in 11 shades! Check them out :)

Hope you're all having a great day!

Have you checked out my giveaway here???


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Giveaway anyone? - CLOSED!

Well, I decided to thank all my followers so far and what better way than with a giveaway? A few weeks ago I blogged about an Ebay Palette here and bought another specifically for a giveaway for you guys! It took weeks to arrive and I think it's fantastic. All you have to do is fill out the form with Rafflecopter and the giveaway ends on 08/06/12 so what are you waiting for?

Rules

• You must be a follower of my blog via GFC, Hellocotton or Bloglovin
• To gain extra points you can follow via Twitter, tweet my giveaway, "like" my facebook and more.

Please note: This is only for UK followers sorry!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Good luck everyone!

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Foot Works?

Quick post today. Forgive me for talking about feet, yep, feet. We use them daily, they get sore, they are prone to blisters, you name it. I found this cream at Christmas that helps get smooth heels and generally softer feet! Nobody likes dry, hard skin on their feet - especially me, a feet hater! It lasts for ages (supposedly up to 24 hours) and I wear heels on a daily basis at work so they hate me by the end of the week. I've been using this for a few months now and I completely recommend it if you have the same dry, cracked skin as I do.

I got this as a part of a set but upon further look, it's only £1.50 online here. I suggest giving it a go for all you high heel wearers!

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Get fit with me!

I'm not sure about you guys but keeping fit is something I need to do a lot more of, as well as healthy eating. There are so many hours in the day and I vow to start using more of these free hours to exercise and get toned. Recently I joined the gym again, Virgin Active if anybody is interested. I have joined so many gyms it's ridiculous but finally I have joined the best gym! Their equipment is pretty good and I love the fact they have a ladies only area too! (Although it's not exactly shut off so don't be fooled).

The do a special offer for under 25's so that's what swayed me in originally but I'm glad it did! I hate being signed up to a contract, especially 12 months for anything, but this is only a 6 month followed by a rolling contract so if I decide not to continue then I can just cancel! Simple. (Unlike my old David Lloyd gym that made me give something stupid like 6 months notice!!!)

If you're thinking of a good gym to join, even better if you're under 25 then I suggest you check out Virgin Active. If you have any workout suggestions/fitness blogs, I'd love to check them out so link them below!

So for now, as the above picture says, live happily ever active! Any of you a member at Virgin Active? What do you think?

Disclaimer: I am in no way affiliated with Virgin Active or have been sponsored to write this post!

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My Lip Balm Collection

Ok I have a confession, I am a lip balm junkie. It's something I seem to like collecting and whilst it's doing no harm, I'll show you first my home collection.

Lip Balm Collection 1

L-R Lip Balm Collection as follows:

Blistex Intensive Moisturiser
Blistex Lip Tone
Burts Bees Original
Elf Therapeutic Conditioning Lip Balm
Unidentified Lip Balm? It's apple though..
Burts Bees Tinted Lip Balm
Burts Bees Pomegranate Lip Balm
Coca Cola Vanilla Lip Smacker

Lip Balm Collection 2

L-R

Sprite Lip Smacker
Cherry Coke Lip Smacker
Chap Stick Cherry Original
Lypsyl Watermelon (Green Tube)
Lypsyl Cherry (I think)
Nivea Lip Care Cherry
Blistex Lip Tone
Blistex Intensive Moisture

My favourites are definitely the whole Burts Bees collection and also Blistex are pretty good too. I have phases when I buy stuff but this is just the ones I have lying around at the moment. I think my craze has started from a young age when I got my first ever pocket money and Chapstick was a must have item for trendy teenagers! Vaseline of course was also one of my first purchases but I can't stand it now, I only use it for my eyebrows to set them in place, other than that I hate the taste, feel, urgh. Is it just me? 

I love...Strawberries & Milkshake Lip Balm & Vaseline Original

Do you have a problem too? Which is your favourite lip balm?

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Wishlist Thursday

I haven't done one of these for a while and since I'm lusting after a pretty large amount of things, I thought I'd show you a handful of that I need in my life.

1. Shorts - Glamorous Link
I've been lusting after these shorts since I spotted them on Becky's Blog but then found the website where they were from and now I'm in love. They're a Manchester based company which is always lovely and their prices are pretty reasonable! I suggest you check them out, I know what I'll be buying on payday!

2. Maxi dress- Glamorous Link
Being 5 ft 1 means I have never really worn maxi dresses until my recent holiday where I fell in love. I absolutely love them and wish more fitted me, if anybody knows anywhere that does short/petite maxi dresses, please let me know!

3. Dress - Glamorous Link
This dress is so cute. As a birdie fan, I thought it was just adorable and it's blue! Summery! Just need my tan topping up first...

4. Lipstick - Topshop Link
Anything pink and I'm like a moth to a flame! A girl can never have too many pink lipsticks, that's what I say anyway! I'll be purchasing this soon...

5. Foundation Primer - Paul & Joe Link
I've wanted this for far too long but I don't know what's happened to it? It's either sold out everywhere or they've stopped making it. Does anybody know? I needed it in my life :(

What do you think? Is there anything you desperately need in your life too?

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Katy Perry Purr - BuyaPowa Experience

I've been stalking BuyaPowa for absolutely ages and finally took the plunge to make my first purchase. I'd remembered Jessica had mentioned on her YouTube favourite perfumes that she loved this perfume. Normally, I would never go off recommendations about a perfume from another person as everybody is different and prefers different scents. On this occasion, every other other perfume in her video I owned and loved, so I took a very deep plunge and waited for its arrival.

About a week later, I finally got a dispatch email (after chasing it a few times) and then I got a text from my Mum to say it had arrived. Hoorah! It felt like Christmas as I had no idea what it smelt like. Oh, my, days, it's pretty amazing! I've been wearing it both day and night time, although other reviews I've seen said it was mainly night time, but hey when did I follow the rules for perfume?!

As an avid lover of cats, I thought the bottle was so cute! You remove its' head and spritz away. I received a 30ml bottle which probably won't last me long at this rate! I don't know all these note scents etc so I'll list them here if this makes sense to you:

Top notes: Peach nectar, forbidden apple, green bamboo, gardenia
Heart notes: Jasmine blossom, pink freesia, Bulgarian rose
Base notes: Vanilla orchid, white amber, creamy sandalwood, musk

Overall, my experience with BuyaPowa was good, but I'm still sceptical as to where they get their products from, I guess that's business though! As for my views, prior to this I wasn't the biggest fan of "Celebrity perfumes".

Have you bought anything from BuyaPowa before? What do you think about the Katy Perry perfume?

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MUA Cosmetics

MUA Lip Gloss Shade 5

I recently purchased some cosmetics from MUA. I've never tried any of their products before and I was browsing their website and noticed a few things that caught my eye. I don't normally wear lipgloss so I thought I'd give it a go for £1. I wasn't expecting miracles but the shades were quite true to form.


I tried out the new lip boom that is fronted by Alexandra Burke. I'm not the biggest fan of hers but I put that aside as the lip packaging itself does not mention her, only the outer packaging. I got it in the shade "cheeky". One end is a lipstick, the other end a lipgloss. The lipstick was a shade I wouldn't normally wear and looked quite pink but was in fact a lot more nudey pink on the lips. It wasn't overly moisturising but it didn't make them look as dry as some products I've tried in the past. The lipgloss made it all come together and a lot more wearable in public.

Also on my shopping list was the liquid eyeliner in black. For £1 I thought I'd give it a try as I've not yet found a "holy grail" liquid eyeliner. It glides on ok but found it to smudge quite a bit and you do need a few layers to build up the colour. The brush was just the right width for me as I don't like thick brushes, it's hard enough trying to apply eyeliner perfectly! Overall, given the price, I'd definitely re-purchase.

The love hearts range caught my eye when I first saw it released but it was a bit like gold dust for a while so I let the novelty settle before I made my move. I've got far too many pastel shades at the moment so I went with a bright orange in shade "I want u." Nice name! The consistency was ok but wow what a nice shade, as always a few coats and it'll last a couple of days. What more do you expect?

The only thing that I was less than impressed with was the eye palette I received free with my order. Although it was free, I still believe that the quality should still be there and upon swatching, one of the shades completely fell apart which meant already I was down one shade. Other than that, I was really happy with the pigmentation and as someone who doesn't experiment with eye makeup that much, I want to start trying out some new things to brighten up my eyes. I did contact MUA twice but had no response to which has made my opinion of MUA cosmetics change somewhat.

I also got another lipstick in shade 4. It looked like the same shade as the lipboom lipstick but it was a lot different. The pigmentation was quite poor which meant it didn't go on very nicely and there's no other words apart from horrible. It didn't go on a shade, more of a slight glitter to it and I immediately knew I would never wear it again. 

As the saying goes, you get what you pay for and although I was happy with some of the products I received, the customer service has put me off. Does anybody else find this with brands?


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Benefit Erase Paste

Benefit Erase Paste is one of those hyped up products that I thought, do I really need this? No matter how much sleep I get, those pesky bags do not disappear with any creams or potions that I seem to find. You may have seen I mentioned in a post that when I bought the Porefessional in a kit (see here), I got this as a "sample size" from this website. It's 3.2g which I think is pretty good, as I've hardly used any in the past few weeks since I purchased it! A little goes a long way for me, mainly because the shade is a little too dark for me at the moment (summer hurry up) but I make it work around my huge, dark circles so hey ho!

I really have grown to love this product and next time will re-purchase in light to see the difference. Again, as with all Benefit products it's pretty pricey at £19.50 for 4.40g here (not much bigger than the sample size).I am yet to try out the Collection 2000 Lasting Perfection concealer so I cannot compare, but if this covers my circles, it'll be fine for the rest of you all!

Have you tried Benefit Erase Paste? What are your thoughts? Anyone done any comparisons between this and Boi-ing?

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Caudalie Beauty Elixir

Recognise this beauty (elixir)? It's been hailed as "the" product to have since Victoria Beckham went out there and said she swears by it, since then, every man and his cat seems to own it! It's not cheap by any means and I thought I'd buy just the 30ml and see how I found it before I made my investment for the 100ml. Now, Gemma has labelled this as crack in a bottle which is a pretty big statement so of course, I had to try it! Prior to this I was using Benefit Ultra Radiance Mist (see post here) which I would resemble to this.  I have been using both products in the same way to get a view of which is better over a few weeks now and decided that I do love them both equally! 

I use the spray after cleansing and moisturising and then again, after putting my make up on. I'm not really one for the smell as it's a bit over-powering but if you're into menthol things, this may be your cup of tea! It feels really refreshing and I genuinely feel like it's made my skin clearer. I don't get spots that often so I can't comment on that, but my face feels tighter afterwards in a good way and I feel a lot more awake! I've also been using it during the day whenever I need a little pick-me-up. It is a great product and I can see why VB loves it but the price does put me off investing to the 100ml. I have been alternating since testing both this and the Benefit Ultra Radiance Mist and prefer the Benefit scent but hey, it dries quickly anyway.

It makes me feel like Victoria Beckham (not) but hey, if we use the same product surely that'll bag me David no?

This was the moment everybody went wild!

Have you tried the Caudalie Beauty Elixir or even the Benefit Ultra Radiance Mist? What are your thoughts?

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