Boudoir Privé Beauty Box - September

Today I received this months beauty box from Boudoir Privé. I was was a little apprehensive about this month's box after being disappointed with last months treats.

This months box was all about 'Les Indispensables', products that are absolutely essential.


The box included:

Tropic Skincare - Body Smooth
A natural scrub containing Macadamia oil and Sea Minerals.
I haven't tried this as I gave it straight to my mum. It smelt to lemony for me and it us very oily which my skin isn't fond of.


Agent Provocateur - L'Agent perfume
I was surprised by this scent as I normally like Agent Provocateur scents. It smelt very floral and musty which I hate. I also felt it was a very grown up scent which I'm not sure would appeal to the normal Agent Provocateur audience.


Macadamia Natural Oil - Healing Oil Treatment
I am guessing this is rivalling the much loved Moroccan Oil range. It says it is suitable for all hair types and can be used on wet or dry hair. I am going to try this tonight to see what I think.


Colbert MD - Nourish Eye Cream
This cream claims to reduce puffiness and dark circles and is used by celebrities including Kate Middleton. It does cone with a royal price of £90 for 15ml!!
I actually was lucky enough to be given a pot of this at a previous bloggers event. It is a nice cream but I was to scared to use it up as it was so expensive, so I will try this little sample pot.


Zoya - Jem Nail Varnish
Zoya is one of the top nail varnish brands and Jem is from it's Autumn/Winter 2011 collection 'Smoke & Mirrors'.
I'll be honest this was the main reason this box excited me. I can't get Zoya near me and dying to try them out! The colour is great and I will feature it in a NOTD post tomorrow.


Cargo Cosmetics - Boogie Nights Eye Liner
This liner came in black and contains silver glitter bits.
I liked it when I swatched it but I do think you need to build it up with a couple of layers to really see the shimmer.


Mai Couture - Blot @ Bronze
This is a blotting paper that removes oil but also leaves a hint of bronzer to give skin a radiant glow.
I am not sure about this, I tend to need blotting on my T-Zone which isn't where I would bronze my skin.


Overall the box wad better then last month but I feel Boudoir Privé appeals to a more mature user so I am going to cancel and stick to my Glossy Box.


Stay Beautiful


Jane xx

Glossy box - September

I have just picked up my GlossyBox from the sorting office and found another box of treats.

This month I was treated to:

Green People - Day Solution Hydrating Balancing Day Cream
Moa - The Green Balm
Mary Greenwell - Plum Eau de Parfum
Rahua - Shampoo & Conditioner
HD Brows - Eye & Brow Palette in Vamp


My Thoughts


I love the HD Brows palette, I don't fill my brows but as a smokey eye palette I can see this being used a lot. All the colours are matt and have a good pigment.

The Plum Eau de Parfum does smell plumy as you would hope but isn't my kind of scent. It kind of reminds me of the smell you get in La Senza from those bead things!
The rest I am not sure about yet as haven't tried them.


Overall I did like this months box but I wish GlossyBox would give everyone the same. As most bloggers post each months box I always end up feeling a little disappointed that someone got one thing and I got another. This month for example I got mainly what I would call sample sized products except for the palette. Looking at other people's boxes some got mainly gull sized or bigger products. Yes mine still may be luxury but I feel they got more for their money.


Having said that I do still like my monthly delivery from GlossyBox but I am waiting for my Boudoir Prive box before I decide which to keep next month.


Stay beautiful


Jane xx

EOTD: Pink/Purple Eye

OK this is my first EOTD because I use my iPhone to take my blog pics and it doesn't work well for this sort of thing, however, today I accidentally created a really pretty eye that I wanted to share!


It was meant to be a metallic nude smokey eye as I was just popping to the shops, I started with Urban Decay Primer Potion in Sin and then used my new eyeshadow from Famous by Sue Moxley.


I know I may be a bit behind but I have never really looked Famous by Sue Moxley before. The palettes have really nice colour combinations and the prices are really good. While I was looking I spotted this really unusual shade (Shade 16). It was brown with a metallic shine to it, I decided as it was 1/2 price in Superdrug (£2 I think) I would try it. OMG I love it! 
It has great pigment which surprised me and you could really build up the colour, I love that the colour always changes, from brown to purple to grey to gold.

I added black eyeliner from my fav GOSH Velvet Touch Pencil and was going to leave my eye like this.
And then out of the corner of my eye makeup box I spotted this little pink pot from Barry M (Barry M Dazzle Dust Shade 84). I had brought it a while ago but never used it and so I popped a little on my brush and decided to give it a try.

I hope you like it, the pics don't do it justice really but it looks so pretty! I'll be honest it probably a little OTT for popping to the shops but it gave me a little boost!!
























Stay Beautiful


Jane xx

Guest Blog: Bloggers Must Have from Nanna Kate

First to take part in my 'Bloggers Must Have' series is Katy from Nanna Kate

1. Name 

Katy - not short for Kathryn or anything else, just Katy...

 

2. Tell us a little about yourself and your blog

I'm a Pisces and a left-hander so I am a dreamer, creative and sometimes rather impractical... however - through some crazy twists of fate I ended up working as a Credit Risk Analyst for the Finance Department of a major Telecoms provider in the UK; crazy because I don't even know my times table! But for as long as I can remember I've crafted. One of my best friends and I made an entire miniature village out of clay as kids, it even had it's own ambulance! I've always had some little craft project on the go to indulge my creative side, at one point I even set up a business making Wedding stationary. But work and 'life' always get in the way and there aren't enough hours in the day to work full time, follow a career development plan, have a social life, bake, go to my WI meetings AND regularly craft!

 

I decided to set up my blog as a way to escape the rigidity of my job. Initially, I intended to write about baking and craft, my two major passions - but I ended up writing about all kinds of things including beauty - did I mention I'm a product junkie? I have included links to my beauty reviews (via www.dooyoo.co.uk) on my blog, little snippets about my addiction to monthly boxes and plan lots of cool beauty stuff in future, including 'The secret skincare diary of Nanna Kate, aged 27 and a half'... which is going to chronicle my sudden battle with skin perfection and the products / treatments I'm trying to combat the outbreaks I've never experienced before!

 

3. What is your must have product?

 

£17.95, www.sheercover.co.uk

My must have product is without a doubt Sheer Cover Lip-to-Lid Highlighter.

 

4. How did you discover it?

 

I used to work in a Call Centre as a Team Leader handling calls from people wishing to buy Guthy Renker products (including the Sheer Cover brand). One of the perks of the job (in my eyes!) was that we got to try samples of the range so that we could sell products based on our user experience; we also got 50% discount on the full sized products. After leaving the company I went on to use everything up that I'd bought discounted; and couldn't resist buying the products direct at the full price - they were so amazing. 

 

5. Why can't you live without it? 

The Lip-to-Lid Highlighter is not only ridiculously versatile, amazing value for money and comes in three perfect shades to suit anyone and everyone - it's also GOOD for your skin because it's a mineral make up. It's the absolute definitive finish for day or night make up. My review of it can be read here http://www.dooyoo.co.uk/makeup/sheer-cover-lip-to-lid-highlighter/1534721/ and that's going to give you more justification (if you need it) as to why I can't live without this product!

 

6. Anything else you would like to add?

I called my blog Nanna Kate because my Sister absolutely tortures me about my 'Nanna' fashion sense. I wear vintage, floral, handmade, etc and she thinks it's hilarious. My Dad tells me I am old before my time joining the WI and putting a sewing machine at the top of my Christmas list. My Mam's a bit kinder - but that's her job after all. I originally intended to keep the blog 'anonymous' and thought this would be an ace pseudonym (Kate, short for Katy and also my real Nanna's nickname as she was Kathleen), but I kind of lost the anonymity when I told my Sister all about it (damn that sisterly bond!).

Thank you Katy for sharing your Must Have! If you would like to share your must have and do a guest post for me comment below, tweet me or email me.

Stay Beautiful,

Jane xx

New Flat Haul

Some of you may know that I am packing to move next month. I am moving to a little flat not to far from where i currently live (actually it is 2 buildings away lol) so i have started collecting things on my travels (mainly to Ikea!!) ready for my new BOY FREE home!


* Warning!!!!* If you don't like pink or purple look away now! It appears the flat will have every shade of pink and purple possible!!!


Ikea


I do love Ikea!! I love looking at the rooms for inspiration and the Market Hall is like my heaven!!


On my recent trip I purchased this gorgeous mirror, I really like that it looks vintage but being black gives a more modern feel. When I brought this I think they had got the pricing wrong as I paid £19.99 and weirdly the same frame without the mirror was £24.99. When I went yesterday the pricing seemed to have  changed but now the mirror is £25 and the frame only has stayed the same. Not sure how that works but anyway it is really cute!


Ung Drill Mirror, £25

www.ikea.com/gb

To go with my purple lounge I also purchased these flower pots, I wanted to get the pink to match but they were under all the purple ones and I couldn't get to them :( oh well good excuse to go back!!
They are a complete bargain at £1.39 each! 


Tip: If like me you can't keep plants alive Ikea do some nice artificial plants that look realistic


Papaja Plant Pot, £1.39

Ralph Lauren Home - Bicester Outlet Village

This is my big treat for when I move in! I have wanted the duvet for years! I brought the matching pillow cases about 4 or 5 years ago in a House of Fraser sale but could never justify the price, plus, the bf didn't want to sleep under a pink duvet.


I had seen this in the outlet store a few times but still thought it was a lot of money as I have to have a Superking size. On my recent trip they had an offer of £20 off which made it a little more reasonable (kinda lol!!) at £79.99 and as I am now going to be living boy free I thought why not!


The duvet matches the Oxford shirt in the main collection from Ralph Lauren collection and is in the same cotton material. I like that you can have 2 different looks, one side has the stripe, the other is just plain pink. I am so excited to put this on my bed but am resisting until the first night in my new place.




My next purchase was this gorgeous door mat with princess motif. It is made by a german website called www.giftcompany.de and is washable plus has a rubber non slip back to it.
I brought it from a little shop in a village I was visiting. The shop was closing down and had everything in the sale, I managed to get it for £12 down from £40!
I wish I could find another shop in the UK as looking at the website they do some really cute stuff and some cool doormats!

I have actually decided it is to nice to be a doormat so I am going to use it as a mat by my bed.

My last visit was to TK Maxx. Now I must admit I am not a big fan of TK Maxx purely because I hate going through rails of clothes, however I do know they are good for homeware so ventured in.

My first find was this bright pink utensil holder with four utensils. It is a shiny hot pink plastic and was only £5.99.

The other purchase was this cute baby pink metal birdcage. It has a little mirror at the bottom which I think I will actually take out. It also has 6 little hooks which you can hang necklaces from, I think I am going to buy some cheap necklaces with birds etc on to put inside and use as decoration rather then storage. I love how cute it is and was only £7.99!

So that is my haul, I will do a flat tour post when I am moved in and sorted, I am sooo excited!!


Stay Beautiful,


Jane xx