026 Primers : Mac vs Rimmel

Hey lovelies! Primers are one of the staple products in my make-up bag and for the last couple of months I've been torn between two utterly amazing ones.. 

 Rimmel Match Perfection Fix & Perfect // £6.99 // Boots

I actually spotted this Rimmel Primer on someones Instagram feed! I'd never seen it or heard of it before but I popped along to Boots to buy it anyway, I'd been using the same primer for a while and fancied a refresh. It claims to Smooth, Resurface, Brighten, Mattify & Protect the skin. I found that it was really moisturising and blended beautifully into my skin after using my regular moisturiser. It did make applying foundation much easier and it definitely made my skin appear smoother. I don't suffer with oily skin so I'm not sure if mattifies at all! I'd love to hear from anyone else who's used it?! I did really love it and its definitely a product I'd repurchase again and again! I think you really get your moneys' worth here, I use it with Mac Matchmaster Foundation and its amazing.

Mac Prep & Prime Skin Base // £19.50 // Mac

Some of you may have seen this little beauty on my Birthday Wishlist post & again on my Birthday favourites post, I was pining for this for ages & ages, I absolutely adore Mac products and am yet to find something that I don't get on with. Their foundations are the only ones I can get away with wearing that don't make me look orange (I'm ridiculously pale!) or cakey. I figured the Mac Primer would be the best one to use along with their foundation. And I love that it has a pump. Am I the only one who loves beauty products with pumps?! Amazing. It claims to even out skin redness, blot away excess oil and improve the laydown of foundation. In all honesty, it was good. But not great. I much prefer the Rimmel Primer, my foundation didn't quite sit as well on this primer as it did with the Rimmel one. 

Left Swatch - Rimmel Match Perfection. Right Swatch - Mac Prep and Prime.

 Right photo - Couldn't resist!

I think if you're looking for something that's going to smooth out your skin before you apply foundation, the Rimmel Match Perfection is the way to go, it smells gorgeous & the texture is nice & creamy. If you're looking purely for a base, I'd opt for the Mac Prep & Prime, which had a bit of a stiffer texture. Although I did find that the Mac Prep & Prime did a better job on any skin redness. 

Whats your experience of using either of these primers? Would love to hear what you think of them!

lots of love

xxx

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025 Review : Palmers Cocoa Butter Natural Bronze

Hey Belles! Hope you're all having a lovely week! This week I've decided to give you a little review on a product that I never thought I would use... fake tan. I've always had naturally pale skin and I've always embraced my very porcelain, classic English look. It's not something that bothers me and I don't think it ever will. I love my pale skin, but I really wanted to try out some fake tan, just to see how it would look! I'm not against self tanning, but I don't really like the really false look some of them give. 

I've had a love affair with Palmers products since falling pregnant with my first son, I used to use their Massage Lotion for Stretch Marks, I put on three stone when I was pregnant with Alfie and as you can imagine, there was a fair bit of stretching going on! Six years (and another baby!) later, I still love Palmers, I use their Cocoa Butter Body Lotion after my baths, I love how moisturising it is and the scent is just to die for! I also use their Moisturising Body Oil in the bath to shave my legs with, in place of shaving cream, it leaves your skin so amazingly soft and moisturised and you can leave your legs longer between shaves!

 Palmers Cocoa Butter Natural Bronze Gradual Tanning Moisturiser / £5.35 / Boots

Containing Cocoa Butter & Vitamin E, its a really ultra moisturising, fairly heavy cream, I love that it has a pump which makes it super easy to apply, although I would advise using a tanning mitt or washing your hands after applying, I made the rookie mistake of doing neither & had super tanned hands the next day! I love how moisturising this is, it feels so luxurious when you apply it and it smells divine, literally like chocolate! I tried it on one leg first to see how tanned I was in the morning..!

 

 

As you can tell, there was a noticable difference! I was really impressed with the results, although I have to say, I'm a little wary of using it anywhere other than my legs! I've used it twice more since the first application and I can safely say I now have two tanned legs! I think its a great product if you've never tanned before and it I love how soft it leaves your skin. I didn't notice any colour transfer either, I have white bedsheets which are still white, always a bonus!

Have any of you used this? Whats your favourite tanning product?

Lots of Love 

xx

 

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024 Beauty Wishlist

Hey Belles! Hope you all had an amazing weekend, what did you guys get up to? I've got a little post for you tonight of all the little beauty pieces I'm really craving at the moment. I've put myself on a spending ban to try and save a little bit of money so for now, I'm doing mountains of window shopping!

(top to bottom, left to right!)

Too Faced Boudior Eyes, £28. ASOS I love the eyeshadow palettes by Too Faced, their shades are always so gorgeous and long-lasting. The neutral shades in this palette are really classy and I'm desperate to get my hands on it! And the packaging?! Heaven.

This Works Deep Sleep Pillow Spray, £16 (75ml). Boots. I've never used a pillow spray before but when I'm feeling a little stressed or a little under pressure I'm really prone to restless sleep, I've heard some amazing things about the This Works sleep products and I'm desperate to try these, has anyone tried them? Do they really help you sleep better?!

Mac Baking Beauties, Pink Buttercream, £21.50 - Mac. I'm a total sucker for anything cute. I love the entire Baking Beauties collection, I'm pretty gutted that Mac Collections always sell out so fast though and certain items seem to be impossible to get hold of! I love love love this face powder, designed by cake queen Peggy Porschen, the baking beauties range literally looks good enough to eat!

MOR Body Scrub - £23, ASOS. MOR is an Australian brand, known for their gorgeous packaging and rich fragrances. I love the look of this body scrub and I bet it leaves your skin feeling utterly beautiful. MOR is a brand that I've always wanted to dip my toes into but still haven't quite got around to it! Has anyone here tried their products? Are they worth the high end price tag..?

REN Moroccan Rose Otto Body Wash, £17. ASOS. REN is another brand that I'm yet to try, I've read some really good things about their skincare products on other blogs. I love anything rose scented and anything that makes you smell absolutely beautiful all day long after a shower or a bath! I really want to get my little mitts on this!

Tangle Teezer, £12.24 ASOS Pretty much all of my friends keep a tangle teezer in their handbag, I think I'm the only one yet to jump on the bandwagon! Since having my hair blonde I find that it gets really matted and really knotted, really quickly! Especially in the mornings or after getting caught in the rain. I've been meaning to invest in one of these for ages, and how cute is this gold one? Definitely need this in my life!

Liz Earle Instant Boost Skin Tonic, £13.25 - Liz Earle As some of you may know, I am utterly in love with the Liz Earle Cleanse & Polish Hot Cloth Cleanser and I am so desperate to get this toner that goes along with it! Apparently its utterly heavenly to use! Has anyone tried it at all? What do you think?!

L'Occitane Supple Skin Almond Oil, £32. L'Occitane. I am absolutely loving body oils at the moment, they leave your skin feeling so amazingly soft. I use mine to shave my legs with in the bath instead of shaving foam/cream or shower gels. It makes your legs feel amazingly smooth and soft (even the boyfriend noticed the difference!) and it lasts for days too. Body oils are definitely the way forward!

Essie Resort Nail Polish, shade In The Cab-Ana. £9.95 - ASOS The Essie Resort collection has some really gorgeous shades, but I felt really drawn to this utterly beautiful shade of blue. I don't own many blue polishes but I think this is a really cute, summery shade! 'Come Here' is definitely a second close favourite. Which is your favourite shade of the resort collection?!

Hope you're all having a good week! Whats on your beauty wishlist at the moment..?

Lots of Love
xxx

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023 May Purchases

Hey Belles! Hope you are all having a fabulous week, I really dislike Wednesdays. It's the least motivating day for me, I never feel like doing much on a Wednesday, anyone else get this or just me?! 

I've been trying to control my spending a little more this month but I couldn't resist a few naughty buys. Spending bans are way harder than they look! So, this month I've bought...

Biore Ultra Deep Cleansing Pore Strips - I've been pining after these for a little while now, I've not had a chance to use them yet but I've found as the weather changes, my skin changes too and my pores become less manageable and more noticeable, I've heard some amazing things about these. Can't wait to try them out!

Bourjois Little Round Pot Blusher (Shade 34 Rose d'Or) - I've been using 'Well Dressed' by Mac on my cheeks for the last month and I was starting to tire of it... and then I spotted this little beauty. I'm a total sucker for some cute packaging and the shade is utterly beautiful, its a really English Rose pink with a gorgeous swirl of gold through it. It looks so cute when its on and lasts literally all day. I'm in love!

Essie - Go Ginza - I spotted this in my local Boots and couldn't resist. I don't have any lilacy  nail shades, I'm not a massive fan of purple but I have almost every pink Essie nail polish and really wanted to try something different for Spring. And I'm so glad I did, this kind of reminds me of Muchi Muchi by Essie but its lilac instead of pink. It looks absolutely gorgeous with anything denim and is really chip resistant! I'm super tempted by all of the other Madison Ave-Hue shades now! 

Real Techniques Foundation Brush - I have to admit, I've been really sloppy with my foundation applying and tend to blend it in using my fingers. I've seen these brushes everywhere and they were sold out in my local Boots for ages & ages! But I finally managed to get my foundation-coated mitts on one, I am so so happy with it. I love that when you apply your foundation it doesn't leave your face covered in weird brush marks like cheaper brushes do. It feels great to use and helps to achieve a super flawless complexion. Real Techniques are going up in the world. I'm desperate for one of their stippling brushes, does anyone have it?! 

Sleek Storm Palette - I've been eyeing Sleek products on my Instagram feed for a little while now, Sleek is a brand I've never really known much about. I assumed their products would be pretty expensive and quite hard to get hold of, but then I spotted a Sleek section in Superdrug, I was shocked that this palette was only £7.99! I thought I'd give it a go and I LOVE it. The colours that come in this palette so wearable, I hate it when you get a set of eyeshadows and two thirds of them aren't really wearable colours and just look ridiculous. These shadows look gorgeous on, they blend together really well and stay put and crease free all day. I use mine without any primer on my lids at all and my make-up literally doesn't budge until I take it off in the evening! I can't wait to get some more of these.. only downside, my local Superdrug didn't have any of them on display so they all had to be pulled out of their packaging to get a look at the shades! 

 

Mac Matchmaster Foundation SPF15 (Shade 1.0) - As some of you may have read, I got a little tired of my Benefit Hello Flawless Foundation, I really wasn't getting along with it and decided enough was enough. I visited my boyfriend in Brighton this weekend and couldn't resist a little peek in Mac. I'll do a full review of this in my next post but its utterly amazing. Enough said!

Barry M TMLP Lip Paint - This was a bit of a random buy. I've heard some amazing things about this lip paint was desperate to try it out. So, it looks bright green in its casing but when you put it on, it reacts to the PH levels in your lips to give you the 'perfect' shade of pink for your skintone. I've seen it on other people and think it looks really gorgeous, but I wasn't too sure how it was on me, I think it was a little dark for my liking but I smeared a bit of Bare Minerals Buxom Lips in Katie over the top it did look really cute. Not sure I could wear it everyday!  Here's what it looked like on me! Sorry for the hideous photo! 

What are your favourite buys of this month?! Has anyone tried any of the above products?! Would love to see some links to some TMLP posts! 

lots of love xx

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022 Triple Chocolate Cupcakes

Evening Belles! I thought I'd treat you to a little recipe post tonight, I love these cupcakes. Taken from the uber cool, Cox Cookies & Cake book, these are super sweet, super chocolatey, moist cupcakes. Being Mr B's firm favourite, they tend to pop up in our kitchen quite often! Not great for the waistline, but who cares when these taste so amazing?! If anyone hasn't grabbed a copy of the Cox Cookies & Cake book, I'd definitely recommend it. It has the perfect selection of cupcakes, sweet & savoury! Cookies to delight every taste bud and some super cute yet slightly cheeky decorating techniques. I couldn't resist buying the male torso and beach bum molds! 

Anyway, you'll need..

- 75g dark chocolate (broken into pieces)
- 200g unsalted butter
- 225g caster sugar
- 3 eggs
- 25g dark chocolate chips
- 1/2 teaspoon of baking powder
- 25g cocoa powder
- 175g plain flour
- sprinkles, chocolate strands, marshmallows.. whatever you fancy to decorate!
 
for the icing you'll need..

- 200ml single cream
- 250g chopped dark chocolate
- 50g unsalted butter

1. To get started, pre-heat your oven to 200 degrees and line a muffin tin with paper muffin cases.

2. In a large saucepan, melt together your butter and chocolate, use a medium heat to stop it from burning and stir continuously. Once its all melted together, take it off the heat and allow it a few minutes to cool down.

3. Next, stir in the sugar until its well mixed, if you're using a hand/stand mixer, mix on a medium speed. Add each egg, one at a time and mix them in until you have a smooth batter, sift in the baking powder, flour and cocoa powder and mix your batter until its super smooth, then fold in your chocolate chips and you're ready to go!

4. Divide the mixture between your paper cases, this mixture should make around 12 cupcakes, fill the cases about 2/3rds full, an ice cream scoop is usually the perfect amount for a cupcake case. Bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into one of your cakes comes out clean.

5. While your cupcakes are cooling, heat your cream in a saucepan on the hob, get it nice and hot but don't allow to boil, then pour it over your chopped chocolate and stir with a wooden spoon or spatula until its nice and glossy. Mix in your butter and allow it cool, I sometimes add a little icing sugar and a little whole milk to take away the bitterness as it is a really bitter icing! It'll make it super sweet and easy to spread onto your cupcakes. Once it's cooled down, beat it with a hand/stand mixer until its super fluffy. I leave my icing in a stand mixer, mixing for ten minutes or so!

6. Once your cupcakes are completely cool, transfer them a wire rack and you're ready to decorate them! Spread the icing over the cupcakes evenly and then adorn them with your choice of topping! I chose sugar sprinkles and stars for mine to add a bit of colour!

7. Next, make a delicious cup of tea, read your favourite blog *ahem* and enjoy!


Would love to see some of your finished cupcakes!

Lots of love x


 

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021 Review : Lee Stafford Hot Shots for Blondes

Hey Belles! Hope you're all having a lovely week, I'm having one of those few weeks where you have absolutely tons to do, but just don't seem to be getting around to actually getting anything done. You know what I mean?! Yep, one of those. A list as long as my arm, but feeling so unproductive!

Anyway... As you know, I have blonde hair. My hair was blonde when I was young and as I hit my teens I began to dye it, blonde, black, brown, pink, purple.. you name it, I've been there. When I turned 17 I decided I wanted it a neutral colour again and so dyed it brown and kept it that way until I was 21. Being naturally pale, I got tired of having dark hair and pasty skin, so I opted for blonde and I've never looked back! My natural hair colour is now mousey, but easy to control.

To keep my hair blonde I tend to use Lee Stafford's Bleach Blondes Shampoo & Conditioner, which are amazing at keeping brassy tones at bay. Then I came across these little beauties..

Being a huge fan of Lee Stafford hair products, it would have been almost criminal for me not to buy them. They claim to target brassy and yellow tones and create a warming ash colour in just 2 minutes! Sounds like a dream...

So, I followed the instructions on the back of the packet, I washed my hair with Lee Stafford Bleach Blondes shampoo, then popped one of these little beauties on, the first thing I noticed was the scent, they smell utterly divine, also, the colour of the actual shampoo can be a little menacing, it is literally bright purple. But don't let it put you off, I left mine on for two minutes, followed with Lee Stafford Bleach Blonde Conditioner and then blow dried as usual. 

The results were amazing. My hair went from a brassy yellow to an ash, almost white-ish blonde. I was so impressed by these little pots of amazingness. I've used them after hair dye accidents when I was left with yellow hair and it went straight back to blonde after using these. If you're looking for a quick fix to get rid of any brassy tones in your hair, I would most definitely recommend these. Be warned though, the longer you leave them on, the more they change the tone of your hair. The last time I used them I accidentally left mine on for four minutes instead of two and was left with a lilacy-pink shade to certain parts of my hair, it did actually look like quite cute, slightly similar to the Feria Toners! 

The best part is, you don't have to use them often, so a little goes a long way. I use mine once every 6-8 weeks to eliminate brassiness, along with my coveted Lee Stafford Lightening Spray to keep my hair blonde.
Hope this helps anyone considering buying these!

You can buy Lee Stafford Hot Shots for Blondes from Boots they retail at £7.49 for 3 shots. 

What are your favourite hair products at the moment?!

Lots of love
xx

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