Just a little something that made me laugh.

So last week some time I decided I needed to wash and deep condition my hair extensions, after about 10 minutes I was bored of waiting for them to dry but I didn't want to use any unnecessary heat. And then that's when my mom came up with the suggestion

'Why don't you hang them on the washing line'

So because it was one of those extremely rare sunny days that us English never see, that's exactly what I did. And the best thing... It worked a treat!

A little bit of everything haul

Reviews for some of these products coming soon.

This was what I picked up whilst on a recent shopping expedition with the boyfriend (needless to say he was not impressed at being dragged back and forth between boots and superdrug)

Oh, and also a couple of things off the net.

Enjoy!

Soap & Glory Glow lotion, £5 : love this, it's my new everyday moisturiser. Its really light, sinks in easily, has a pleasant smell and gives a pretty shimmer to the skin, especially on the legs.

Xen-Tan dark tanning lotion, £17.99 including delivery : I didn't actually buy this whilst shopping. I got it from feelunique.com as they were selling it at a really cheap price. The service and delivery was great, I'd definitely buy from them again.

Sleek face contour kit, £5.99 : I was unsure as to whether I was going to like this, purely because cheaper bronzers and blushers tend to go patchy on me and I was concerned this was going to do the same. BUT, I can safely say it didn't and this is my new HG bronzer/face contour. Full review and tutorial coming up.

Montagne Jeunesse mud pack face mask, 99p : This is the second one from this brand that I've tried, previously I had a peel off one, not sure which one it was. These are great value and have more than enough product to cover the face, neck and chest. I felt really fresh and clean after using this and I really think it did make my skin look clearer and my pores smaller. Would definitely recommend and for 99p what have you got to lose?!

Max factor facefinity compact foundation, £10.99 : I bought this in ivory, there was a limited shade selection and they all seemed pretty dark so I'm guessing this wouldn't be a product for people with fair skin. I actually bought this to use as a powder as I find powder foundations on there own too drying. It's not bad but I shall continue to use mac mineralize skinfinish natural and just use this for odd touch ups where my make up's come off and I need more coverage than just a new sweep of powder if that makes sense?!

Eylure Cheryl lashes, £4.89 : It's safe to say I absolutely hated these, I have never felt such a huge amount of disappointment over false eyelashes in all my life. I really wanted to love these (damn you Cheryl for being so pretty) but they just looked so... fake (but not in a good way). I like my lashes BIG, and when I wear false eyelashes I want them to make a BIG difference but these were just too drag queen-esque and I just looked as if I had got two black pieces of cardboard and stuck them on my eyes. All you could see were two big black lines, not quite the sultry, sexy look I was going for. So. What did I do?... Turn them into my all time favourite mac 7 lashes of course! I just un-knotted alternating segments of lashes to leave gaps and break up the solid line these gave. Fiddly, but worth it. I may do a tutorial on un-knotting false eye-lashes if I remember lol.

Rimmel the max volume flash mascara, £6.49 : I only picked this up because I thought the models own mascara (see below) wasn't going to come in time for my dinner dance on Friday and my Maybelline falsies was running dangerously low. It's ok, it doesn't really do anything spectacular, but will inevitably get better though when it's dried out a bit. I do like the wand on this though, it's pretty good at getting into the corners.

Models own volumising big brush mascara, £5 : This was from asos, and was bought on the basis of Imogen at foxylocks extensions saying it was good (her eyelashes always look gorgeous, false or not) I have to agree, it's pretty amazing and definitely comparable to Benefit's Bad Gal. I'm planning on reviewing this properly and have already got a few picks of this to post, they should be on really soon.

and last but not least...

Benefit pencils courtesy of Glamour magazine, £2 each ;) :

xxx

Upcoming blog posts!

Coming soon!

Collection 2000 lasting perfection review

Xen-Tan Dark lotion review

St Moriz vs St tropez

Sleek face contour kit review and tutorial

Pastel nails

Mac eyeshadow swatches with dupes

Models own Big Brush Volumising mascara review

Cheryl Cole inspired big, voluminous, hair tutorial

Favourite products right now.

I love reading what peoples favourite hair, beauty and make up products are so I thought I'd join in the fun :)

Foundation - Collection 2000 Lasting perfection foundation. Better than any mac or high end foundation I've tried ( and I've tried a lot). Full review coming soon!

Powder - MAC mineralize skin finish natural.

Concealer - MAC studio fix SPF 35 concealer

Primer - MAC prep + prime transparent finishing powder

Bronzer - NARS Laguna bronzer.

Blusher - MAC powder blush in Coppertone

Cheek Highlighter - Highlight colour out of Sleek face contouring kit

Eyebrow Highlighter - Benefit eye bright pencil

Eyebrows - Benefit brow zings in dark

Mascara - Maybelline falsies

False eyelashes - MAC 7 lash

Eyeliner - Urban Decay 24/7 glide on eye pencil in Zero

Inner corner eyeshadow - MAC Dazzlelight

Crease eyeshadow - MAC Wedge

Lipstick - MAC Creme d'Nude

Lipgloss - MAC Dazzleglass in Bare Necessity

Shampoo - VO5 volume boost elixir shampoo

Conditioner - VO5 volume boost elixir conditioner

Leave in conditioner - ION effective care intensive therapy

Hair spray - L'Oreal Elnette Very Volume extreme strength

Heat protection spray - Tresemme heat defence styling spray

Hair Extensions - Head Kandy 24" shade Hot Toffee

Face wash - Nivea Visage Young wash off! mild cleansing gel

Toner - Clearasil Deep Cleansing toner

Moisturiser - Clean and Clear oil free dual action moisturiser

Body moisturiser - Soap & Glory Glow Lotion

Perfume - Juicy Couture Viva la Juicy

The secret (or not so secret) way to flawless skin.

I'm sure you all remember when Mac first announced they were going to be launching the colour ready collection, you know the one with the promo picture of the beyond flawless, blue eyed, pink lipped gorgeous model (but in case you forgot there's a picture below). Anyway I for one was excited, especially for the prep + prime transparent finishing powder which promises 'A silky finishing powder that provides an invisible way to set makeup. Reduces shine while optically minimizing the look of pores, lines, imperfections. Available in one universal colour that suits all shades. Wear over makeup or on bare, moisturized skin.'

So when I finally got my hands on this little pot of magic white powder which was going to (I'd hoped) transform my skin into the perfect pore-less complexion of that of the promo model, I was disappointed. To me this was just your bog standard finishing powder, nothing more or nothing less. Call me naive but I'd expected at least a soft focus like effect. But I soon got over it and the little pot of magic white powder was shoved to the back of my cupboards and forgotton about.

But, the other day, a whooooleeee year after I first tried this, I decided to give it another go. (Yes, I am aware of the hygiene implications of using this year old product but it was only once and I do intend to buy a new one.) And lets just say I loveeeddd it!

BUT...

THERE IS A SECRET...

you don't use it after your foundation...

you use it before. :O

Ok, so maybe people had the common sense to try using it this way the first time round, but I didn't and my gosh do I wish I had of tried this a lonnnggg time ago.

WHAT I DO...

-Moisturise and leave to soak in

-Apply a thin layer of prep + prime transparent finishing powder

-Apply foundation

And voila! (Nearly) pore-less, flawless skin :)

BUT, THERE IS ANOTHER BUT...

This only works with certain foundations (I've tried it with four so far) and the ones I've found it to work the best with are the oily ones, you know the ones which are great but make you go shiny after a couple of hours. This stuff sort of mattifies them down, and soaks up all the oil. I also think it probably plugs your pores up to give you that silky smooth canvas. I know that doesn't sound great but I've had no break outs so far. Big thumbs up to that (Y).

All I'm gunna say is, if you dismissed this the first time round as a finishing powder like I did, maybe consider giving it another go as ... shock horror, a primer!

xxx