Lesley on October favourites

Hey guys,

I always seem to do my favourite posts in the middle of the month! Last month i tended to use my old favourites. Here are my three October favourites... Note * i lost all of this blog post after working on it for over an hour so i was pissssssed!*

Benefit Speed Brow Quick Set - 3g, £12.00

This is a product i reviewed and compared it to MAC a couple months ago HERE. I've been using it so much for day time looks without anything under it, or over Browzings, I've nearly finished now and will miss it dearly. I do really like it as it's not tinted and looks natural. However,  I'm going to buy a clear one next as if i apply too much to my eyebrows it looks only what can be described as when you put PVA glue on your finger and it dries and then you peel it off (anyone else used to do that as a child?) So yeah that's not a good look to have peeling eyebrows!

Debhenhams are having a 10% off and Speed Brow is available for £10.80 with free delivery if you have a beauty card  HERE.

V05 Miracle concentrate Elixir with Argon Oil - 50mls £4.99

I got this from Boots with the 3 for 2 offer along with other V05 beauties. I have seen many reviews raving about it and i wanted to know what the fuss was about...  i can tell you this is certainly is something to be fussed over! Argon Oil is from the Moroccan Argon tree and is known for being extremely rich in Vitamin E and anti oxidants, which fights free radicals. As it is a leave-in treatment i use it when my hair is wet after washing it and style it as usual, or as an overnight treatment when the ends of my hair is really dry. Also i use it on dry hair for a little pick-me-up when its feeling dull. The light formula leaves my hair so shiny and in good condition. I also love the pipette top with the bright pink handle: it is so good for controlling the amount you want. I only use a 50p size amount because it is so potent and if i use more than that my hair will be greasy the next day. I love this product and it is fast becoming my favourite hair product beside Boots Curl Creme. I think after this is finished i want to buy pure Argon Oil to see if its any different without the added ingredients.

Devon Apple Cider Vinegar (ACV) 1 litre -  £11.35

This is a very non-makeup post and more like a health post. I wanted something that would build up my immune system: i get awful colds and sicknesses at least once a month. I was researching products online and saw this on Amazon. I read in reviews that only does it help your immune system it also aids with weight loss, cellulite, acne, allergies, fatigue with exercise, sore throats, arthritis and high cholesterol (sounds like a miracle drink right?!) 

In fact, I've had an awful dry throat that kept me awake all of Saturday night and after drinking a glass of this my symptoms dramatically improved. I drank this most of September and October and didn't get sick. Although i didn't lose any weight, i found myself craving for less sugary foods and was fuller for longer. I've now started to slack and only drink it once a week if that ( i MUST get back into the habit of drinking it!) It can also be given to animals to make their coat shiny and help with flea and bites.

The bottle states: 

" Our traditional Devon Natural Cider Vinegar is made from only freshly crushed whole apples, grown and hand picked on the edge of Eurozz then allowed to mature. Our traditional apple cider Vinegar is natural and contains no additives. There are no insecticides, herbicides, fungicides, preservatives or any other additives whatsoever.

This is a natural and un-filtered, un-processed product and is cloudy containing many particles, minerals and living enzymes known as "the mother." The presence of the mother shows that the best part of the apples have not been damaged or destroyed by processing.

Take three dessertspoons of ACV in warm water three times a day at meal times. Never use hot water. Shake well before each use. ACV does not require a use by date and will continue to mature over time and to increase the mother store in light, other wise in a cool dark place."

"The mother," is such an important part of the ACV because it is where most of the beneficial properties come from. It has a high potassium content and contains living bacteria which fights off toxins. In the bottle you will see the cobweb like features of the mother, which looks a bit gross in the cup but i ignore it and you can't feel it in your mouth or anything like that.

I use three dessert spoons often in a mug or glass

 

i boil the kettle only until it is warm (10 seconds maybe) never use hot or boiled water

 

The taste takes a couple days of getting used to. At first i didn't like to drink a warm drink tasting of just vinegar but after i got used to it i was actually craving my next one! However, I  hate the strong vinegary smell but its something I've also become used to over time.

I bought the 1 litre bottle and finished that within a few weeks so bought a 5 litre for around £35.00 and have been using that to restock the 1 litre bottle, which is handy as i don't have to carry a huge bottle around with me if I'm travelling! I bought the ACV online as opposed to a supermarket because many commercial ACVs are pasteurised and unfiltered and contain chemicals.

Bobby's health shop also donates all their profits and products to helping children with cancer which is fantastic as you know the money is going towards a great cause.

Finished P10P and sharing some love

After 44 days i am happy to announce that i have finished my Project 10 (makeup) Pan!!! Hurrayyy!! I cannot believe its been nearly two months of not buying any makeup for myself and staying true to my word. It feels liberating to finish ten products which i have enjoyed using immensely and are some of my very favourite products. It was like i was bursting to buy some new makeup so I've already put in a small order to E.L.F to try new coloured primers. Post to come soon!

Now on to the last two products:

Benefit Speed Brow

L'Oreal Voluminous Carbon Black X5 Mascara - 8mls £8.49

my worn out tube - with the extra volume brush

I've had this mascara for so long now, I'm glad I've finally finished it. I bought it and it was one of my favourite mascaras, then bought the MAC Haute & Naughty and in the drawer it went. I had forgotten how much i  really loved this mascara and will buy it again in my next shopping trip. Voluminous mascara lifts and lengthens my lashes but doesn't give the clumpy affect, like most mascaras I've tried does (even MAC does sometimes eeep!) 

You can buy Voluminous Mascara from the Boots website HERE (sorry i could only find x3 and not x5 though)

I took these pictures - 15 hours after applying around 3 coats of mascara, even my eyeshadow with primer didn't stay put for that amount of time!

I was going to put this in a separate post but thought i would share this in one post. Since i haven't been buying makeup I've been into buying clothes and jewellery to jazz up my wardrobe (as mentioned in my previous jewels post) i have really grown to admire jewellery with writing or quotes on them. In particular i  adore items of jewellery with "love" written on them. My grandma died and i got her handwriting from a letter saying "love" on the side of my stomach. I cherish it so much and these pieces of "love" jewellery also remind me of her.

I'm also getting into jewellery with crosses in them. I'm going to have to purchase a nice ring and necklace soon. What certain kinds of jewellery do you guys love and always end up buying? Please leave your comments i'd love to know :)

love, love, love, love, love!!
L-R: my tattoo, gold bracelet (set of four) from Love Hearts and Crosses, black chunky bracelet from Accessorize, silver ring from LH and Crosses (set of four), black and gold bracelet from River Island

Lesley on Another one down the pan!

Just yesterday i posted 5 products for my P10P, I've now only got a teeny bit left of my tinted moisturiser (yes i even cut it in two) making it my eighth product to finish in my makeup! Yay!!

Luckily i bought another one before my ban, although now i really want the Laura Mercier tinted moisturiser!

Only two more products to go :)

Lesley on Battle of the Brows

Recently, as you all may know I've gone a little eyebrow crazy and I'm attempting to have the perfect, neat, symmetrical eyebrows. I'm going to do a little comparison post on two eye gels and see which one in my opinion, is better.

Mac vs Benefit: which one is better?

Benefit's 'speed BROW'

I have to admit i have a love/hate relationship with this 'speedBROW'. I got it unexpectedly as a free gift when i ordered lots of makeup off of a website. Here are my high and lows of it so far...

We will start with the negatives...

• The tube is SO small! I admit it has lasted me months and I'm only halfway, but for only 3g a bottle and using one/two coats everyday, i think i will get through a few during the year.
• Although the gel looks brown in the tube, it actually comes out a very light almost clear brown, it might as well be a clear gel.
• If i put on more than two coats, it flakes badly.
• It takes a little while to dry: i would use this as a final part of my routine.
• If i use it on its own it won't last the whole day.

The positives: 

• I love it as a lazy girl product, just two coats and my eyebrows will stay in place (after applying with brow zings of course!)
• It's a good travel size, so i might buy one just to keep in my travel makeup bag.
• As it is quite clear, it's not messy to apply and you can't see if I've missed and gone past my eyebrow.
• The wand is big for a quick and easy appliance
• Doesn't dry "crunchy"- I've heard a lot of gels that do this and i would not use a product that did that.
• No smell.

MAC's 'BROW SET'

My first impression on 'Brow Set' was "why does it look shimmery?" Also, it wasn't the brown i was expecting. I recently bought it online from the Debhenhams 10% off, otherwise i wouldn't have tried it.

The negatives...

• A bit messy to apply, i kinda just went for it and applied liberally like i do my with my Speedbrow - you can't do this! It went all over my skin and took a while to clean up, not a great start as i was in a rush.
• The colour is dark, so again, less is definitely more!
• Strongly scented
• My eyebrows look perfect, literally perfect! Which is not always a good thing, as i do like the natural look. My brother asked me why my eyebrows looked weird when i used this with Browzings for day time. 

The positives...

• 8g for this baby! Because you only have to apply a little bit, it will last for ages and ages!
• The gel and wand reminds me of mascara (which makes sense really) the brush is compact and the gel is so strong and it lasts a full day on my thick unruly eyebrows.
• The colour is a very deep brown and highly pigmented, which is a good thing for me as my eyebrows are almost black. However, if you have medium or light hair i wouldn't recommend this for you, as it is noticeable.
• As this has such a good colour pay-off, i don't have to worry so much about filling in my eyebrows with browzings, perfect lazy girl product for me and also great when i have no time!
• Doesn't flake
• Also doesn't dry crunchy, and my brows look highly defined.

MAC and Benefit

VERDICT: MAC is £11.50 for 8g, Benefit is £12 for 3g, instantly i would reach for MAC as it is more value for money. The two eyebrow gels itself are so different, they are rather like cousins than sisters. The most important thing for me is staying power.

 Benefit's 'Speed BROW' i will use after complete time and effort filling in my eyebrows with 'Browzings.' I think it makes a good finishing touch. However, you can use clear gel or vaseline with hairspray and the results would be exactly the same. It is better suited on its own for a natural day time look.

MAC's 'Brow Set' is more for the night time look. I used 'Brow Set' on its own today for work with a natural face of makeup, and every time i looked in the mirror i thought "woah!" To me, my eyebrows stood out so much! It has a better staying power than Benefit, which is important to me as my eyebrows always 'drop' making them look messy.





THE WINNER.... MAC!

(However, I'm not going to stick with this forever, i am willing to try others in the near future.)


 

Lesley on Browzings

I did a spot of shopping today and noticed that Debenhams were having a 10% off all their makeup. Cha ching! I have been waiting for AGES for their 10% off so i can get my Benefit You Rebel tinted moisturiser, as mine is now running dangerously low and i refuse to pay the full price. So as well as You Rebel i decided to ditch my Elf eyebrow kit and buy the Daddy of them all... Browzings! My friends rave so much about it so i cannot wait to try it out properly! It comes in three different shades: light, medium and dark. I opted for the dark as my eyebrows look almost black.

It is very compact and comes with a mirror, blending brush, tweezers and angled brush, although i have just ordered a Benefit angled brush and still waiting for it to arrive. Browzings even come with little instructions!

Wax 1.7g and powder 2.6g - but you only need to "dab" a bit on the brush each time

The wax is so good! I can see a difference in my eyebrows straight away, but because they are quite thick i still have to put Benefit's Speed Brow to set them at the end, otherwise a few tend to drop. The powder is quite good too, and i love the blending brush! Last night i went out so took the effort to slowly fill them in, and i was impressed with myself for doing quite a good job (so was Sophia!) Although it is normally £22.50, i think it is really worth the money as this is going to last me for years.

Debhenhams are having a 10% off makeup, you can buy Browzings for £20.25 HERE

(i do not know how long this offer is going to last)

Lesley - Review of top ten

 1) W7 bronzer - Now I'm a huge fan of bronzer and I've bought every type from the cheapest to the most expensive. Although this is a value-for-your-money bronzer, the results are amazing and the colours are beautiful. It comes in a cute leopard print like pattern with pinks and browns, and also contains a brush (i use a separate brush though) I use it on my face, chest and shoulders and had many compliments on a number of occasions that I've worn it. You can buy it from amazon from £3.99.

2) Stila eyeshadow in Nando Devi - I bought a bunch of makeup on a cheap website (cheapsmells) and i found that the dark brown matte was perfect for my eyebrows. I use Benefit's Speed Brow eye gel to set the shape and then use a tiny amount of eyeshadow to fill in the gaps.

nando devi with mac 'rule' and mac 'rubenesque' - looks very Autumn like!

3) MAC eyeshadows- I bought a MAC pro palette for £11.50 and have been adding refill eyeshadows to my collection every couple of months. I love that you can pick and choose what colours you want to add (£9.50 each) to the palette. Also the colours go on so vibrantly and strong and last for hours, even on a night out! They are 1.5g, but you only have to use a little bit to make your eyes pop so it looks like I've hardly used any, when in fact i use them often on special occasions! You can see more about my palette in my MAC makeup haul HERE

4) Boots No 7 Amazing eye pencil - I always get this eye pencil when they are on offer with a £5 off voucher from Boots, they are normally £7.75 but with the voucher its £2.75, which is think is pretty darn good! There are two different ends, one for the pencil and the other is a smudger, to create a smokey effect and not make your eyes look so sharp. I love that the pencil is so soft and creamy so that you don't have to drag it on your eyes at all. The only disadvantage of this is that it does 'bleed' a little bit, especially when I'm tired, but i don't think there is an eye liner that doesn't melt. Also, because it is so soft, i have to sharpen the pencil often.

Get the Amazing eye pencil HERE

Amazing eye pencil in 05 Black - 1g

5) MAC prep + prime - After trial and error with eye primers, i found this creamy texture was perfect for my eyes. It goes on smoothly and keeps my eyeshadow on for hours without creasing. Its 5g a pot and looks like its hardly been used -  although I've been using it for months, so it will last a very long time! I bought mine from America as it is a tiny bit cheaper but you can get them for £12.00 from mac. More about prep and prime HERE

6) Natural collection eyeshadow in Milk Chocolate - This is my most used eyeshadow, and it is SO CHEAP! It is £1.79 or 3 for £5 from Boots, and it is sooo value for money. After the primer, i use "milk chocolate" as a base eyeshadow before applying my actual colour. If I'm going for a natural daytime look i will just use this eyeshadow on its own as it has great pigment and brings out the green in my hazel eyes. My skin tone matches really well and the pot lasted me ages. The packaging is cute and simple and focuses mainly on the colour, which i like. I'm almost onto my second pot now.

 

7) MAC mascara - I LOVE THIS MASCARA! I find it really hard to find a good mascara, especially one that doesn't clump (i hate that!) So when the MAC website was down and i ordered an eyeshadow, i got the mascara free and i am now onto my second tube.

£17.50 - 9g

after wearing it for 6 hours

8) Guerlain bronzing powder 10g - This is definetly the most expensive piece of makeup i own, but it was so worth it! It always looks like i have a gorgeous natural glow all year round. I use a kabuki brush and "dab" so that too much isn't on the brush. If you overload the brush you look like you have a deeply tanned face with a white body! You can buy it for £33.00 from Debhenams.

Eyes: MAC "Rubenesque" Paint Pot

MAC "Rule"

Stila "Nano Devi"

Haute and naughty mascara

Face: Guerlain terracotta bronzer

9) Benefit You Rebel in dark 50mls - I don't like using foundation as it's quite heavy on my skin. So the tinted moisturiser is perfect for me, its not too shiny or dry and it lasts a full working day and night out. Plus it has SPF 15 to protect you from damaging rays. It comes in two shades: light and dark. I use the dark as i have a tanned complexion and i use a blob and apply it with a foundation brush. I think I'm going to be onto my fourth tube. The only disadvantage of this product is that it takes a little while to sink into my face, so it looks quite shiny when I've first applied it.

I apply it onto my hand first to warm it up as it blends into the face better 

 

10) Barry M Dazzle Dust - I have so many of these in all different colours! The pots are so value for your money as you only use a tiny bit with your finger or a brush. Reviews to come

1 - #unknown

2- #2

3- #unknown

4- #3 pink/gold

5- #10 Gold

6- #39 Tan

7- #92 Aqua Gold

8- #15