Hiatus

Hi everyone! 

So this is just a quick post to say I'll be taking quite a long hiatus from blogging. Some family circumstances have arisen that, combined with my final year in uni, have resulted in me not being able to dedicate as much time to the blog as I want and need to.

I'll be back up and running again in June! 

See you soon :)

Heather

xo

Vlog; Seven Deadly Beauty Sins tag

A quick video for the popular Youtube tag "Seven Deadly Sins of Beauty".

The Sins;

GREED - What is your most inexpensive beauty product? What is your most expensive? 

WRATH - What beauty products do you have a love/hate relationship with? What has been hardest to find?

GLUTTONY - What are your most delicious beauty products?

SLOTH - What beauty product do you neglect due to laziness?

PRIDE - What beauty product gives you more confidence?

LUST - What attributes do you find most attractive in the opposite sex?

ENVY - What item would you most like to receive as a gift?

Hopefully they aren't too bad! Although, it took me so long to choose products for each question that I'm thinking I'm definitely a bit greedy. But aren't we all? ;)

What are your deadly sins?

Heather 

xo

Body Wash & Body Moisturiser Ban Project

When I was in Boots a few days ago, I was sorely tempted to by the Soap & Glory Clean on Me as it was £5.69 and on 3 for 2. But I flexed my will power muscle and resisted. My friend was so impressed by this that she 'yayed' and said how proud she was - proof of the generally low opinion of my will power.

Despite the title of this post, I am not banning myself from body wash all together; I like to smell nice and not like I recently emerged from the gym changing room. However, what I do not like is the fact I own thirteen various different washing products,  fifteen different body moisturisers; I am seriously running out of room in my toiletries cabinet. (Make that fourteen and fifteen. The postman has just been....). My house mate's say it's like having a small pharmacy in the basement.

The products I have vary from samples, to miniatures, to full sized products I have recieved in gift sets. And to be honest, the collection above doesn't even include the stash of toiletries I have at my mum's house.

So, I am embarking on a Ban Project. I hereby vow that I will not purchase any more body washes or moisturisers until I am down to just two of each - one at home and one miniature in my gym/overnight kit. I have no idea how long it will take but what I plan to do is when I've finished two or three products, I'll review them. Two birds, one stone. I have no idea how long this will take me. Perhaps it will give me more of an incentive to go to the gym! But I promise, I'll keep you all updated :).

Heather

xo

Naughty No7 haul...

I've had a horribly depressing week in uni. It has been rubbish. I just happened to be in town today when I 'spotted' a No7 £5 off voucher lingering in my purse and decided to go in and treat myself to something pretty. I also purchased some other bits and bobs that I needed and managed to wangle myself some more vouchers. Inevitably, one thing leads to another and I ended up with 5 very pretty things....

Beautiful Skin Hydration Mask - £12.50 £7.50

I'll be having a go with this, this evening so a review will come soon!

Stay Perfect nail colour in Lucky Lilac - £7 £2

Stay Perfect nail colour in Cheeky Chops (best name for a product ever?) - £7 £2

Vital Brights Cream Blush in Blossoming Pink - £10 £5

This is such a lovely shade. I'd actually say it's distinctly more coral than pink. I find coral colours a bit weird on my fair skin tone (anyone else have the same problem?) but this is perfect. The formula is lovely but I'm finding cream blushes in general very difficult to work with.

Vital Brights Lipstick in Blooming Pink - £10 £5

Blogging sin! Already used it. I couldn't resist :)

 I love eveything about this lipstick! It looks ridiculously garish at first but the formula is just wonderful; moisturising, long lasting, opaque but with enough sheerness not to make the colour too much. I have a feeling I'll be using and abusing this, this summer!

Wearing the Blossoming pink lipstick and blooming pick blush

On a side note, The Vital Brights spring range in general is wonderful, aside from it being some of the prettiest packaging I've seen in a long time. I almost got the highlighter after seeing it reviewed but I managed to restrain myself. Be proud.

I know I'm not supposed to be spending money but when you look at it, I've actually saved myself £25 on things I would have bought anyway. Kind of.

How have you spent your No7 vouchers girls?

Heather 

xo

NOTD - Rimmel Lasting Finish 053 Apricot Punch & Gold Sparkle

Ahh finally, spring has sprung! I smelt my first bout of freshly cut grass a few days ago (is there anything else that encapsulate the smell of summer better?! Answers on a postcard please) and I can finally see the light at the end of this long wintery tunnel. 

In celebration I opted for a beautiful, bright apricot colour from Rimmel paired with a spangley gold flecked varnish from Saffron - which quite frankly has become a bit of an obsession after seeing it on Meg's blog

Isn't that such a pretty pairing? It's much more wearable in the daytime than I expected and when I caught a glimpse of my nails, it gave me a bit of a lift when the clouds inevitably came back.

I used three coats of the Apricot Punch as I wanted the colour to be really opaque but two coats still gave good coverage. The brush isn't the best but it dried quickly between coats unlike other cheap varnishes - *ahem* I'm looking at you E.L.F.

I then used a single coat of Saffron and a coat of a new Sally Hansen top coat. All this, combined with a base coat gave me a very good 4 days wear but it could have lasted longer (I have a terrible habit of peeling off nail varnish when I'm bored in lectures...)

Any other Hex glitter obsessives out there or is it just me? :)

Heather xo

Video; February Favourites!

It's the end of the month and that can only mean one thing; some product loving!

Products I jabbered about;

Rusk Sensories Clarify Shampoo.

Percy & Reed Superstar Supersized Bodyfying cream.

Arm & Hammer Advanced White Complete Care toothpaste.

Eve Lom Intense Hydration Serum.

Weleda One Step Cleanse and Tone.

Boots Botanics Organic Cleansing Balm.

Benefit They're Real! Mascara

Monu Line Smoothing Skin Perfecter.

L'oreal Infallible Foundation in 015 Porcelain

NARS Illuminator in Orgasm

How was your February? Any of these your favourites too?

Heather xo

Magazine beauty bargins!

In case you haven't seen them on the shelves yet, two of the biggest women's magazines in Britian, Glamour and Cosmopolitan, are doing some awesome product give aways this month.

Glamour are giving away a choice of four Percy & Reed hair products which include the Moisturising Shampoo, Moisturising Conditioner, TLC Mask and Finishing Polish.





Meanwhile, Cosmopolitan have teamed up with Clinique to celebrate 40 years of the magazine.  They are giving away the Superbalm Moisturising gloss (which is absolutely, the best gloss/lip balm I've ever used), High Impact Mascara, 7 Day Exfoliating Scrub and their much coveted Moisture Surge (which, 3 newsagents later, I still cannot find)

This is a ridiculously good offer this month; I'm stocking up whilst I can. Race you to the shops!

Heather xo

Percy & Reed Superstar Supersized Bodifying Cream

On a job a few months ago I was incredibly lucky and got to work with the amazing Adam Reed who very kindly gave us all some products to take home after we had finished. One of them was the Percy & Reed Superstar Supersized Bodifying Cream (the other being their Dry Conditioner which Agnes Deyn recently proclaimed her love for on twitter If it's good enough for Aggy, it's good enough for me!).

The product claims to give beautiful, bountiful body whilst still leaving your hair your with a natural swish. And I have to say, it delivers. It's now become a staple in my hair routine and I genuinely notice the difference without it. 

At first, I really was sceptical about how this could possibly give my hair a lift when it came out as a thin, creamy formula. I have fine hair, but lots of it and it really loses its body quickly so I was worried that this would weigh it down. However, after using this product not only is my hair lifted, it feels some how more substantial, like each hair has expanded and it's just thicker. It also gives great body even when I blow dry it properly (when I can be bothered to of course!)

It's easy to dispense and long lasting; I've used it at least once a week near enough every week since November and there is around 3/4 left. I usually find 2 pumps of this is enough for my hair but it's advertised as having an accumulative hold meaning the more you add, the stronger the hold will be. I adore the scent, it smells expensive and fresh, just as a salon quality product should do. 

You can buy it for £14 in Selfridges or on ASOS or QVC. There's also some great travel sized sets if you fancy trying a few other products before buying full size. I'm definitely eyeing up the voluminous mouse (can you tell I love big hair yet??) next.

Over all, I wouldn't usually spend £14 on a hair product. However, I've used this so often now I know it works for me and it lasts forever so it's definitely worth the price tag for me.

Have you tried any of the the Percy & Reed range yet? Any favourites?

Heather xo

Disclaimer; this post is not sponsored in any way and the product wasn't give to me for review . The views here are entirely my own. I will give honest opinion, always.

Notd- Deborah Lippmann Valentine's Day nails

So, I'm 4 days late but better late than never. I have been ridiculous busy travelling for job interviews as well as trying to pass my degree so apologies for the lateness of this post!

Even though I'm single, I absolutely love Valentine's day as I see it as a chance to tell the people who mean the most to me that I love them. It is perhaps a little ridiculous but I always send my mum and my best friend's a card. On the big day I was a very lucky girl who was spoilt by my beautiful house mates and I also recieved a very beautiful, unexpected bouquet of flowers from a friend who lives in Holland :).

In honor of the day (and taking advantage of any opportunity to coordinate my nail varnish), I wore the Deborah Lippmann nail varnish that I received in December's Glossy Box. The shade is Razzle Dazzle which is a beautiful blackened raspberry/purple glitter varnish.

3 coats, no top coat. 3 days wear.

I'll be the first to admit that when I did a quick swipe of this at first, I was not in love; the first coat is sheer, unpigmented with glitter and just generally underwhelming, especially considering the packaging feels heavy and good quality. But everyone else in the blogoshere seemed to be raving over it, so where was I going wrong?

However, I realised the secret to lasting love was perseverance. The first coat looks rubbish, the second coat is better but the third coat is to die for. Nails look like they've been dipped in full on in glitter, its got a long lasting formula; I ran out of top coat but I'm on my 3rd day of basically chip-free wear in the picture above and I've been receiving compliments galore!

Down sides? It's £16 a bottle which by anyone's standards is pretty steep for a nail varnish. Not only that but I would expect to achieve the right look in 2 coats for that price. Would I repurchase? No probably not, unless I won the lottery. However, I wouldn't say no to another bottle.

You can buy it at the House of Fraser for £16.

I hope you all had a lovely Valentine's day, single or not. You are loved.

My gift to my house mates, with 'You are loved' inscribed on to the bottom.

Vlog - daytime make-up and Betty's Tea Rooms

As promised, here is my daytime make up routine. I bought a new camera last week so you all get to see my lovely, make-up free face in HD, yay! In the Vlog I also witter on about eyelash curlers- Shu Uemura; yay or nay?

I wanted a very pretty, light daytime look because I was visiting the lovely Betty's Tea Rooms in Harrogate for a very posh and lady like afternoon tea with friends. If you've never been before, you really must go if you're ever in Yorkshire; they have branches in Ilkley, York and Harrogate but the one in Harrogate is the original. It's a great place for lunch with Grandparents (especially if they're paying!). The food is divine, décor traditional but luxurious and the staff have been wearing the same uniforms since 1919 (washed, obviously). All in all it's the epitome of English loveliness.

The beautiful Diviya and I; potential ladies who lunch?

What are you thoughts on the Shu Umera Eyelash curlers? Have any of you guys been on nice trips recently?  Leave me a comment, I'd love to hear about it :)

Heather xo

NOTD - French pink & ELF Twinkle

Recently, I've really been loving neutral, soft nails that are just a little bit different.


 I placed my first order on E.L.F a few days ago (video haul to come soon) and ordered 4 of their nail varnishes one of them in Twinkle. It was only £1 so I thought I'd give it ago. It's not the best quality varnish in the world but it considering the price, it was an absolute bargain! I find that whilst the glitter in this is nice, the varnish itself has a weird semi-matte finish which isn't to my liking so I like to use a top coat over the top as well. 

I just used two coats of classic french pink, added a layer of Twinkle and then finished with a layer of my Seche Vite Top Coat (which is almost out - sob!). I really love the tiny iridescent flecks of pinkish-blue glitter and I think it adds just a bit of interest to an otherwise boring nail colour. What's your favourite varnish combinations of the moment? Comment below :)


Heather xo

January Glossy Box

I'm not really in to girly pink colours, I'm more of a greens, browns and golds kinda gal. However, today's post is in fact super girly and super pink and super lovely!
My January Glossy Box arrived this morning; Valentine's themed in a hot pink box the theme is pretty in pink. I love the Glossy Box box itself and this one will make a very cute addition to my ever-growing make-up storage collection. What's more exciting is that I resisted looking on beauty blogs before I got my box so everything was a total surprise (especially my self-restraint)!

EYEKO Skinny eyeliner in Plum - Full sized

I've not tried this out on my eyes yet but it'd describe this colour as a plum colour with just a hint of brown. The box says it's a "long-lasting wax based formula with a blendable cream finish". It'd say that's pretty much spot on but I have swatched on my hand and I'm not sure how long lasting it will actually be.


ORLY Nail Lacquer in Ruby - 5.3ml

Never tried Orly varnish before but I know that some people absolutely love it. This is a sweet little sample sized bottle, perfect for in your handbag or travelling. I love the colour, I do have something similar but I don't think you can ever have enough of this beautiful, classic red shade.


WELEDA One Step Cleanser & Toner - 10ml

Again, another company that I haven't used before but I've been wanting to try the Weleda Skin Food moisturising cream (opinions please!) for a while now so was very pleased to see this in the box. It smells very fresh with a hint of a medical smell (which I happen to like). It's a bit odd putting it on the skin as it doesn't foam like traditional cleansers; I took my make-up off first and then applied this to a slightly damp face and wiped off with a wash cloth. My skin felt absolutely lovely! Smooth and moisturised. Very impressed, I'll continue to use it for a little while but this may well be a future, full sized purchase. 


FAB Gentle Body Wash - 56.7g

If you've had Glossy Box before, you'll remember that there was a FAB face wash in the last box so I was a little surprised to see anther product from them in this box. I must say, I'm not crazy on this product; it has a nice formula and it smells fresh enough but it doesn't blow me away. What I will say is that it doesn't dry my skin out quite as much as some other body washes I've tried in the past. Having said that, it does what it's supposed to and gets me clean! It's also a great size bottle to take in my gym kit. 


MURAD Hybrids Skin Perfecting primer - Dewy Finish - 5ml

Murad isn't a brand that I've heard anything about however this primer is really intriguing. It claims to "create a smooth resilient canvas" whilst minimising pores. When swatched it comes out as quite a dark runny liquid which worries me as I'm incredible fair (NC15 would be my "I've just spent 4 weeks on a holiday to the sun" shade. Maybe that's an exaggeration). It seems to sink in nicely though and does deliver on the dewy finish it promises. However, I've going to reserve judgement on this one for a few weeks.




And that's it! In terms of products that I'll actually use, this month's glossy box has been the best by far! It hasn't made my heart race due to the lack of luxury brands. Having said that though, when I find a product I like in Glossy box, I'm much more likely to buy it full sized so it works for my student purse.


So girls, what do you think of this month Glossy Box? How does it compare to other beauty boxes that you've tried?


Heather xo

Claridge's, good slippers and a moisturising dilemmas

It's 10pm on Wednesday which means that I have now officially been up for 40 hours and yet here I am, blogging. If that doesn't show dedication I don't know what does! :) 


As I said in my last post, I had a job yesterday for Claridge's Hotel which is an incredible 5 star, art deco hotel in Mayfair, London. We were shooting the hotel's new promotional material which will be used in the Maybourne magazine, as well as the website and worldwide brochures. 


The shoot went well; it was pretty tough going as we worked right through the night but what made it bearable (apart from a constant stream of cake to keep sugar levels up and slippers that felt like you were walking on clouds) was the makeup, courtesy of the lovely Karen Mason, and the preeeety clothes and bags - mainly from Mulberry. 


The brief was decedant elegance - make-up was kept in soft nude browns eyes, using Chanel Illusion D'ombre, a glossy nude lip from Bobbie Brown and loads of highlight. Karen also finished off the look with some corner lashes on the outer edges of the eye which is something I've never tried on myself before but it just finished off the look perfectly. 

Odd colour difference because of rubbish hotel lighting. 

The hair was changed several times but the base itself started off with barrel curling the hair and then pinning it up to keep it in shape. This allowed the hair a bit more texture when going in to the up do's and made the look more modern. Here's a little sample of one of the finished looks.

Dress by Amanda Wakeley

Even though it was tough to stay awake, I enjoyed this shoot a lot, the whole team were so friendly and I cant wait to see the finished shots - which I of course will be sharing with you once I'm allowed :).

However, on the shoot, Karen noted that colour just "falls of your skin", meaning that for some reason, make up finds it really hard to just. stay. on. my. face. It's something that I've noticed before now and when I asked why, she said it was because of two things; 1. Not drinking enough water (oops!) 2. Moisturiser's that don't work for my skin. In the past, I've blamed it on bad foundations/no primer, not really knowing any better.

So with that, I'm now embarking on a hunt for a new moisturiser for my combination skin! I currently use the Boots Botanics Pore Perfecting Day Moisture Lotion, which is lovely and light but clearly isn't doing enough for my skin in the day. Ideally, I want to keep it under £20 as my mother already thinks less of me for using anything other than baby lotion!

So ladies, what's your favourite moisturiser? 

Heather xo

What's in my bag? First video :)

Hi everyone!



So, this is my first attempt at a video. It's really exciting for me, it took me ages to film (I filmed it 3 times and it still wasn't right!) and I'm diabolical at editing. Please bear with me, I'm still learning but I appreciate any support and advice you can give me :).

I also have a few posts planned for the next week or so - every day makeup, haul and maybe even a nail post as I've gone a bit mental on the nail varnish front recently!


I also have a job in London tomorrow for Claridge's (!!) so I'll take some picture of the make up looks from that shoot if they let me and do a post on Thursday or Friday; I'll be shooting through the night and finishing at 8am Wednesday so I expect to be dead most of the day haha.


Enjoy and leave me a comment, let me know what you think!


Heather xo

One small step for (wo)man...

Hi everyone!



So, this is my not-so-very-exciting-for-you-but-very-exciting-for-me first post! Really it's an introduction as to who I am & why I started this blog. So here it goes; 


I'm Heather. I am a 21 year old Philosophy student currently living in Leeds. I'm also a model with Boss Model Management. and full time tea drinker.


My two loves in this world are travel and beauty, which are both turning out to be very expensive love affairs! My collection of beauty and preening products has now overflowed from my bedroom (at home AND a uni) in to the communal area's in my house and so I think it's only proper they now go on to the internet as well. :)


I'm starting this blog for a few reasons I guess; firstly, because I was told to by a Make-up Artist on a shoot recently as I wouldn't stop jabbering on about all things make-up. Secondly, because I've been following beauty blogs for a while now, it consumes a lot of my spare time and I really enjoy it - anything from homemade hair masks to reviews of new products to blog sales, I lap it all up. However, it's been a somewhat secret obsession so far and my housemates have started to worry why I spend so much time in my room. So in order to put their minds at ease, I have decided to 'come out'.


I guess I hope this blog is going to be an amalgamation of things; beauty reviews, hauls, tutorials and tips that I pick up from professionals. With a few other things like baking and ridiculous craft projects I embark on thrown in for good measure. 


So here's my two pennies worth, I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I will enjoy writing it!

Colour co-ordinated drinking in Dublin

Heather xo