July Favourites

My first favourite this month is the MUA Undressed Palette - I've really been enjoying playing around with this this month and so far I'm pretty impressed. My second favourite is the Cherry Blossom scent by Bath and Bodyworks - I have both the body lotion and the body spray and the smell is amazing, I'm going to be very sad when they both run out! Next are two polishes: OPI's Bright Lights Big Colour and Models Own' Indian Ocean - I have already featured these two polishes on my blog but I love them both so much I decided to include them in my favourites too. Both colours are so pretty for summer. Another favourite has been the Sally Hansen nail polish remover - I hate taking my nail polish off and so far this is the best remover I have used. My last favourite for this month is the Aussie 3 Minute Miracle reconstructor conditioner - I have very dry hair and this make it feel so soft and smooth!

What have been your favourites for the month of July?

Review: Balance Me Pure skin face wash and Rose Otto intensive lip salve

"Beauty that works naturally"

I haven't tried many natural beauty products so when I heard Glamour magazine were giving away some Balance Me products (a UK based brand which I had heard of before but not tried), I was excited to try some of them out. I first bought the Rose Otto lip salve and then more recently also decided to get the pure skin face wash to try too.

L-R: Face wash, lip salve

Pure skin face wash /skin balancing cleanser 98.8% natural for normal to combination skin RRP £11.00

"Enjoy benefits of balancing spruce knot extract, anti-oxidant rich rice bran oil and sense-awakening frankincense, grapefruit and ylang ylang oils. Allow wash to dissolve make up and daily grime to achieve a balanced, clean complexion without stripping away your skin's natural moisture levels'

So far I'm not the biggest fan of this face wash. It didn't give me the clean feeling that I like to have after washing my face and I felt like I wanted to wash it again using my normal facial cleanser. It has a very herbal smell which I didn't really mind in the tube but since using it to wash my face with, have decided it's a smell I don't really like.

Rose Otto intensive lip salve 100% natural RRP £12.00

"Our ultra moisturising intensive lip salve is a daily beauty must to plump, protect and smooth away dry patches to leave lops kiss-ably soft"

This lip salve is one of the smoothest and softest lip products I have used in a while and most importantly for me, I feel like it stays on your lips for a very long time before you notice it's gone and feel like you want to reapply it. The only thing I don't like about it is it's herbal/rose scent; it both smells and tastes like Turkish Delight - which I hate. Up until yesterday I was bearing the scent but then I started to not feel very well, used this lip salve and the taste actually made me feel sick. I also think at £12.00 this is a pretty expensive lip treatment to have in your collection.

If you would like to read more about Balance Me and their products you can do so on Balance Me website.

Have you tried either of these products? Do you find the scents as off putting as I do?

Review: Tangle Teezer dupe by Primark

I am someone who has very thick, naturally curly hair which is prone to tangles, so when I first heard about the Tangle Teezer I was very tempted to try it but with a £10-£12 price tag I didn't actually ever pick one up. Then I heard that Primark were doing their own version of the egg shaped brush for a steal at £1.50, so I was delighted when I spotted them whilst out shopping and grabbed one for myself to try.

I wasn't really expecting much from it because like I said, my hair can be very knotty (especially after it's been washed) and I didn't expect this to be any different from other brushes I've tried in the past. I first used it when my hair was wet and was really surprised at how smoothly it brushed through my hair and tackled all the tangles and knots and was even more surprised that it didn't hurt - at all!

I then tried it again when my hair was dry and this was where it didn't work so well for me. It was still getting rid of the tangles but I felt like because the bristles are so short it was only brushing through the top layer of my hair and not reaching through to the bottom parts. If I separate my hair into smaller sections it works well but not if I literally just brush it through my hair like I had done while it my hair wet.

I'm pleased I got this to try out and I'm very pleased with the way it brushes through my hair when it's wet but I think that will probably be the only time I really use it. At £1.50 though, I'm really not complaining. If you have thin or short hair, I think this would work a lot better for you.

If you would like to read more about the real Tangle Teezers you can look at the range Boots.com offer by clicking here.

Have you tried a Tangle Teezer or will you be getting this Primark dupe?

Monday wants!

Since the weather and lighting are both so bad meaning I can't take any photos of products for a new blog post, I decided I would do a 'Monday wants' post and show you some of the beauty products I am currently lusting after! I am still on my 'nail polish buying ban' so the list of polishes I want to get is slowly getting bigger and bigger! 

1. L'Oreal Caresse lipstick in 'Lovely Rose' £7.99 from Boots - I currently have one of these Caresse lipsticks in 'Tempting Lilac' and I love it, so I really want to try a couple more of them! I even prefer them to the Revlon lip butters and the smaller size means they are easier to apply onto your lips. 

2. Essie - Fiji £7.99 from Boots/Superdrug - I haven't bought this polish because I'm worried that I will be disappointed with the colour pay off.. but then I will see it on someone's nails and think how pretty it looks! So once I'm allowed to start buying polishes again, this one will be on my list!

3. Sleek blush in 'Rose gold' £4.29 from Superdrug - I tried to buy this blush a few days ago but they were sold out in the Superdrug I went to and from what I have heard from other bloggers, this is a tricky one to get! (I don't think the picture shows the colour well at all - do you?)

4. Barry M nail paint in 'Aqua Glitter' £2.99 from Boots/Superdrug - I'm slowly starting to like blue nail polish more and more and this one has caught my eye. I think it could look really pretty layered over other polishes.

5. Topshop highlighter in 'Sunbeam' £9.00 from Topshop - I don't currently own any highlighters and have my eye on a couple of MAC ones but this one from Topshop also looks really pretty. This isn't currently on their website though and my local Topshop don't stock their make up products.

Do you have/want any of these products? What's on your current wants list?

Haul: beauty

I just wanted to share with you a few of the beauty products I have picked up recently:

1. 'Tangle teezer' dupe from Primark - £1.50

2. Eyelash curlers from Primkar - £1.00

3. Undressed eye shadow palette from MUA at Superdrug - £4.00

4. Sleek pout polish in 'Pink cadillac' from Superdrug - £4.29

5. Balance Me rose lip salve free with Glamour magazine

6. Elvive nutri-gloss shampoo from Superdrug - £1.85

Did you get any of the Balance me items that are currently free with Glamour magazine?

Review: Chanel Vitalumiere Aqua foundation

I recently had to repurchase my Chanel Vialumiere Aqua foundation as my current one is finally running out and I thought since I have now used almost a full bottle it was about time I did a review on it! I originally bought this foundation after hearing lots (and lots) of good things about it last year and while I was at the airport and in duty free I decided to give it a go. Needless to say, it became my favourite very quickly and since buying it I have not used anything else.

The thing I love most about this foundation is the way it feels on your skin. I HATE the feeling of having a thick and heavy foundation on my face but this is so light it feels like you aren't wearing anything. It has quite a thin consistency (I decided not to include pictures as I'm sure you've seen them before) and blends into your skin really nicely. I'm am someone who worries that the more foundation I put on the more orange I am going to look and the more you will be able to tell I have slapped on my foundation but I feel like I you build this up without looking orange or having to worry.

I personally quite like the smell but I think for people who don't like the smell of rose then you might not like it, although after applying it to your face the smell fades quickly and I don't recall smelling it again during the day. I never touch up my make up during the day and this lasts really well. I also noticed that with the foundations I was using before this, my skin would look really dry and flaky in places after applying them but since I have started using this I have found that problem to be significantly better.

I am someone who doesn't wear make up every day, so I'm not sure how long a 30ml bottle of this would last someone who does but I have currently been using mine for 11 months and am only now just noticing that it is starting to run out.

The ONLY criticism I have of this product is it's coverage. I am someone with quite troublesome skin and I wish this foundation would cover better on the days when I feel like I really want a heavier coverage.. However, as far as evening out my skin tone I feel like this works really well and I like how it looks.

When I bought this I was also given a sample of their Hydra Beauty gel creme moisturiser. I haven't used this yet but I did try some out on my hand and it smells amazing!

Phew. If you read all that then it probably obvious that I love this foundation!
Have you used it? What do you think?
Do you know of a Chanel foundation with better coverage that I should try out next?

I bought mine in the shade B20 at House of Fraser at £32 for 30ml