Moisture Surge

Brands have started to produce in shower moisturising products. I'm definitely on board for saving time that would be spent moisturising by using a quick and easy product in the shower! Although the accident prone like myself ought to tread with caution, it can get pretty slippery if you are overly generous with the amount you squeeze into your hands!

The only downside is that the bottles of in shower loveliness don't seem to last me very long. One reason for this was that I was unaware that my partner was using it too (!) and because I have a lot of dry skin to cover! I recently saw an Australian blogger mention that she uses Lush massage bars whilst she is in the shower. The massage bars have lots of skin softening ingredients in them and it's a lot harder to over-use a product like that. You may have seen recently that some Lush customers were having problems with the plugholes in their showers. They'd been using the 'Wiccy Magic Muscles' bar that contains aduki beans, the knobbly texture acts well for massaging limbs. Unfortunately the beans were being broken down away from the bar and were being washed down the drain. A few months later some people had an in-shower garden sprouting up! At least we know that they definitely use natural ingredients in their products! At the time I was wondering why on earth they'd been using a massage bar in the shower. Now it makes sense to me.

Of course I'm not going to recommend that particular product. Any other plainer bars would be suitable for this purpose. I selected 'Dirty' a mint chocolate scented bar that looks like it came out of a milk tray, 'Hottie' a deep tissue warming ginger based bar or 'Each Peach (and two's a pear)' a sweet and uplifting citrus scented bar. You can of course use these for their intended purpose or rub them onto limbs as a solid moisturiser.

Follow  

Make It Glisten

As festival season approaches our favourite magazines and social media sites will be flooded with images of make-up and clothing trends for the big events of the Summer. This is the first installment of my festival make-up pictorials. I've got a few fairly simple looks which might seem over the top for every day wear but will fit in nicely at music festivals! Think of plenty of glitter, sequins and bold colours and you'll soon master the trends! 

 Apply some eye primer all over the lid to ensure the look stays in place all day. Primer also helps enhance eyeshadow colours and makes them look as they do in the pan/palette. Take a small strip of masking type and remove some of the adhesive on the back of your hand before apply to the skin. Make a line from the outer corner of the eye to where your eyebrow ends to create a flick shape. 

 Take a neutral brown eyeshadow on a flat brush and apply all over the lid. Next, take a slightly darker brown and blend it into the outer corner of the eye and into the crease to define the eyelid. Take the shadow right up to the tape. 

 Remove the tape to reveal a sharp flick. Take a fluffy brush to blend out the line slightly. 

 Use a soft black khol liner to tightline the upper waterline. Curl eyelashes and apply mascara, preferably waterproof mascara if you're attending a British festival as rain is inevitable!

 Using your favourite eyebrow products, define your brows to make them look sharp! 

Apply some eyelash glue to the skin just below your eyebrows. Allow the glue to become slightly tacky to the touch before applying some glitter. I used some Eyelure glue which will dry clear, and I used some large glitter from Topshop's make-up collection. 

The application doesn't need to be neat! Attempt to keep it concentrated in a line underneath the eyebrows. Use a small make-up brush such as a flat lip liner brush, make it slightly damp with some water and dip it into the glitter. A damp brush makes it easier to pick up the glitter to apply it to the skin! You can leave the look here or add some eyeshadow to the lower lash line. Match the shadow to the glitter for an additional pop of colour and smudge it up into a flick against the eyeshadow on the lid. 

Follow  

Bubble Toil and Trouble

I recently stocked up on some of my favourite products from Lush and also picked up a few new products to try. Expect to see a few Lush based posts over the coming weeks! Don't worry, they'll be broken up over time with other product reviews as well as a couple of photo tutorials (something new I'm trying for the blog). 

This week I'm showing you some of my favourite Lush products, bubble bars! I probably do an online order every 3 or 4 months to stock up on these. Usually they are pretty enormous which means I can break them up into 4 pieces for some lovely bubbly baths. My favourite bubble bars are 'Brightside' which has a lovely orange scent and 'The Comforter' which smells like blackcurrant. Both of them remind me of Starburst sweets! 

Lush often do limited edition collections to tie in with seasons and special occasions such as Father's Day! My dad isn't a fan of Lush, but I did pick up the bubble bar that's in stores and online for the occasion. 'The Modfather' with it's fitting design also smells of orange and will give your bath a bright blue colour. 

I also picked up a couple of products from the full time collection that I haven't tried before. 'Karma' pictured second also consists of orange oil as well as mango butter to soften the skin. Be prepared for shimmery bath water and a sparkling bathtub once the water has drained! Not to worry though, the glitter washes off easily. The fragrance might seem a bit strong initially, but once it's diluted in water it's a lot more pleasant. 

The final product I selected was 'Granny Takes a Dip' which has a lemony citrus fragrance combined with a spicy punch of ginger and peppercorns. 

They might be on the pricier side, but as I said most of Lush's bubble bars are quite big. You'll end up getting a few luxurious baths out of each one.  

Back With a Beauty Blender

 L-R Before using cleanser and after.

It's been a while since I've posted! I wasn't sure of how much time I needed to take off from blogging, but it seems a solid two months have passed by. I definitely needed the time to grieve for a beloved pet, get my health back on track and generally take better care of myself.

I'm back with a review on the Lottie Soap Star solid brush cleanser. I've previously posted about my love of Beauty Blenders. The only difficulty I've had with it is when it comes to cleaning it. I usually use baby shampoo on my make-up brushes as the formula is gentle enough for the bristles. I'd considered getting the solid cleanser by the Beauty Blender brand, but it is pretty pricey and isn't readily available in the UK. I've noticed that some Boots stores have started stocking the original Beauty Blenders so perhaps they'll introduce the cleanser some time soon as well.

After hearing about an alternative that was seemingly a perfect dupe for the Beauty Blender cleanser, I thought I'd give it a go! My current sponge has been well loved as you can see. Although I keep it in the original pot the sponge does get dirty from other bits in my make-up bag, particularly from a kohl eyeliner that has a missing cap! I held the sponge under running water and then rubbed it against the solid cleanser to create a lather, rinsing in between reapplying the cleanser. It cleaned out a lot of foundation as I could see it coming out in the sink, but the black spots remained. I think this cleaner would be pretty effective for weekly cleans, just remember to be gentle with the sponge as it can start to rip.

The cleanser did get my sponge closer to resembling a brand new one. Unfortunately I think it's time to chuck that one away as it has been in use for a while and is starting to tear in places. You can find the Lottie Soap Star online or in some Superdrug stores with the make-up applicators or in a stand for the brand as a whole.

Follow