DM fragrance sampling service review

Hey Ladies,

I was reading the british beauty bloggers blog & she requested a tester for a perfume sampling service so i put my name forward and my review is on her blog, so i thought i'd stick it on here for you as well, as it's a really great service.

I think the concept of the sampling service is a great one, the only fragrances I've ever purchased online are ones that are my favorites that I've already had before, and so to be able to pick samples before you commit to a whole bottle is a great idea it saves me scouring ebay for them which I have done before purchasing a new fragrance. The price of the samples vary depending on how many you buy so the more you buy the cheaper each fragrance sample becomes but the added bonus of 10% off a full sized bottle is a nice touch. You can pick from a range of 20 fragrances for women and 16 mens scents, which will be increasing if this service becomes popular. The samples arrived the day after the order was placed which is great and was packaged as simply as possible in a bit of bubble wrap so there was no breakages, the samples come in a glass 5ml tube without a spray top which could be annoying if you're using the service to add some new smells into your scent wardrobe without the intention of purchasing a full size bottle as I don't like to dab perfume I like a good spritz. I had no problems with my order, its a very smooth service and all the fragrances sent we're the right ones. Overall I think it's a great idea and should prove popular and as it does the range of fragrances will increase making it a better service to try.

The Website is http://www.dmfragrances.co.uk/perfume-samples/
So there you go, give it a try if you're thinking of a new scent to try, or need a mini fragrance for in the handbag, sadly they didnt do a Coco Chanel Mademoiselle one! i could do with a smaller size the eu perfume bottle weighs a tonne in my handbag!! sadly a crooked spine from the weight of my handbag is the price we pay for beauty & smelling divine!

Hope you're having a lovely week
Cya Soon
Nicola!
xxx

Natural Beauty Part 1

Hey Ladies,

I thought i'd do a bit of a series of posts on natural beauty every now and then. Now when i say natural beauty i don't mean wear less makeup, i mean natural remedies and lotions and potions that are not only good for yourself and your skin but good on your purse and lets face it less chemicals in our lives can only lead to good stuff. Most of the treatments may be aimed at my skin type and that would be combination skin, but i have roped a little testing buddy who is willing to try any dry skin remedies i unearth so you can have a review on it.

So this is a light start

Good old fashioned plain organic yogurt

This is to smooth skin and even the tone also, by applying a thin layer of the yogurt to your face & leaving it on for 10 to 15 minutes, due to the lactic acid in the yogurt it is a light peeling agent that renews the skin, almost like a gentle chemical peel. Its safe to do every other day and leaves the skin looking really radiant.

Also if you've been a little slack on the sunscreen and get burnt natural yogurt applied to the burnt bits helps take the sting out of your burns, so if you're on holiday & cant find an aloe vera plant its a great alternative.

So there you have it, hope this may be useful to someone i hate eating yogurt but do slap it on my face at times for a bit of radiance!

Thanks for reading & i'll cya soon
Nicola
x

FOTD!

Hey Ladies,

Bit of a quick FOTD! Nice simple look was all that was required mainly because i'm too lazy for anything else at the moment, i'm in a bit of a makeup blip! so many colours no occasion to use them for! ah well!!






Excuse the vaccuum, i'm in my dads room because of the lighting!


So heres what i used:

Eyes
Mac Rubenesque paint pot
Mac Vanilla pigment
Mac impassioned solar bits
Bobbi brown long wear gel eyeliner in black
Rimmel Sexy curves mascara

Face
RMK creamy makeup base mat
Estee Lauder double wear light foundation
Mac Mineralized skin finish natural in medium dark
Bobbi brown creamy concealer
No7 Natural Blush in Soft apricot
Clinique true bronze in sunkissed

Lips
Dior Lip glow

So there you go a nice quick one for you, i've not done a fotd in ages since before my exams, mainly because my skins been shocking so didnt want to put you through my stress induced spots. I got my results and didnt fail my degree like i thought, i really was convinced i failed every exam & i managed to pass one exam so i can resit the rest i was crying with happiness to be honest!! anyway i hope you've all had a fantastic weekend :) and are well!

Thanks for reading
Cya Later
Nicola x

My Skin Care Snobbery!

Hey ladies,

Today i thought i'd share my skin care snobbery with you, i have to admit that if i have some money in my pocket i do invest in high priced skin care, i think if you can spend the money on the high end stuff most of the time you will reap the rewards. I used to use all Philosophy and Dermalogica as my skin care routine, however now due to me having no money i've had to switch to different less expensive products & i have to say i'm pleasantly surprised. As today is the Garnier event i thought i'd share my love for a couple of their products that have slotted into my routine quite nicely as well.

As i was on the dermalogica double cleanse theory when i used their products i still stick to it as i really believe it works for me, & i have a different method of skin care for day & night, so here it is (the amount of stuff i use at night is quite embarrassing)


So when i wake up in the morning i keep it nice & light.
Garnier Pure Deep Clean Foam Wash - £2.38
This is a really good wash for in the morning as it has menthol in it so you feel so refreshed & awake immediately & has really helped with the oilyness of my skin.
Mac oil contol lotion - £18.60
Amazing for controlling the oil on my face during the day & it absorbs immediately which is brilliant as i can apply makeup almost as soon as its on my skin, i have found an alternative which does just a good job for a fraction of the price & its a evian affinity mattifying lotion.
Mac Fast Response eye cream - £19.09
A good eye cream for in the morning as it feels like nothings on as soon as you apply it so any makeup can be applied on top without a problem, but i wouldn't rush to get it as i dont see any benefits of it.


This is the long one!
Philosophy Purity Made Simple Cleanser - £30 for 470ml or £17 for 237ml
I cannot be without this, i have used it for about 4 or 5 years now & it is a god send. I am so lazy that i hate taking makeup off with cream cleansers that require cotton pads i really cant be arsed with it! i've got better things to do with my time, so i take my makeup off with this, it gets rid of it all in one go, even waterproof mascara so is worth the money for me plus you dont need too much product so it lasts a long time as well.
Garnier Pure Deep Cleanse Foam Wash
This is the double cleanse i was on about before, you dont need that in the morning but at night you cleanse once to rid yourself of makeup & cleanse the second time to actually clean your skin it may be harsh on some people but my skin can hack it!
Good Skin microcrystal skin refinisher - $25 - available in superdrug
I got sent this before christmas to test out & i've used it once or twice a week as my exfoliator & it leaves my skin feeling great.
Garnier Pure Pore Purifyer Toner - £3.62
This is quite a harsh toner so be warned & i dont bother with the cotton pad way of applying, Dermalogica got me far too lazy with their pump spray toner so i just put this into the dermalogica bottle & spray instead. It tightens my skin & reduces the oilyness as well.
Philosophy Hope In A Tube - £27
This is a highly dense eye cream which is really moisturising & thick but as i have no deep set lines its really not one that i should bother with but i've used it for a few years as i have purchased it in Philosophy kits so have just used it instead of buying others.
Superdrug Vitamin E Moisturising Cream - £2.44
I switched back to my philosophy hope in a jar a while ago & i used to swear by it but i cant see the benefits of it compared to this superdrug one, the philosophy one is really light & not really moisturising enough compared to the superdrug one. The philosophy one is £35 & the superdrug one is £2.50 you cant argue with that! So this is my new favorite for at night, it is a day cream but too rich on my oily skin during the day so i prefer it at night, smells really good as well!

So there you have it, if any of you lovely people out there could suggest an alternative for the philosophy cleanser that's cheaper i'd love to try it, to see if anythings as good as it. I am going to be testing the new superdrug one that everyones raving about as its very easy on the purse but i'll be good & wait til i've run out of my current products. Oh & if you want any full reviews on anything mentioned just comment or email me & i'll be happy to do one!

Hope you're having a lovely week & thanks for reading
Cya soon
Nicola

My Jolly Holiday!!

Hey Ladies,

Thought i'd do a post on my holiday for you all with a few pics & stories.
I spent the 1st couple of days with my folks so got to see my dog, which was lovely & then travelled to a near by town to meet helen, my ex's other woman! very strange situation we were in but so glad we decided to do it, she was lovely & there was no awkwardness just giggling non stop! The town we stayed is in the mountains & it was like the film cocoon, a retirement village but was great for relaxing the only night with any fit men was the final night when we encountered our pirate.

The couple of days at my folks!


This was a gorgeous restaurant on the beach! unbelievably expensive! glad my dad paid!!



Me & my lovely dad terry!



My baby snag! i call him frog dog when he lies like this!! hes so pretty!

The girly part of my hol


The pueblo, it was a gorgeous town in the mountains



Down by the beach



Always need a funny pic!! who would eat these?!



A bar with a pool in it! quite cool!! They did amazing cocktails!



Me & helen! really loved her & hopefully made a friend for life!



I called her Tits McGee (if you've not seen anchorman you may not get that)
she had no bra on so her boobs were resting on her knees & her makeup was atrocious!



Ah the pirate! i call him captain jack! i dont think his sexiness translates on pictures, none of my friends or stu gets it! me & helen did we were like school girls with him. we had a cocktail with him at night & then the next day he came bounding out from the shade when he saw us bless, & bought us a coffee! so hot! his hands were filthy the kind of dirt that wont scrub out after 20 years of bathing! he just smelt of leather & metal, the jewellery he made was beautiful. He's a free spirit so i couldnt tie him down for long! (resisting all urge to make a comment that he could tie me down all he liked! hehe ... sorry) so must move on i'm afraid! *sigh*



There was a religious festival on the last night we were there & they walked for miles in these amazing costumes! they must have been boiling!! it looked amazing though!



So there you go, just a quick recap didnt want to bore you, i took loads of pics it took hours putting them on facebook & tagging them all but i had an amazing time. The apartment where we stayed was our ex's & i had been there before so it was a bit weird at first but then i forgot all about it & had fun & also i got to see his parents again who are lovely.

Thanks for reading, have any of you got any holidays planned?! i seriously love how brown i am compared to everyone, i go a caramel colour so look a really different colour than most people as i dont have a pink undertone to my skin!

Anyway have a great day
Cya Soon
Nicola
x

My duty free haul & a bit of jewellery from a pirate!!

Hey Ladies,

I'm back from my hols & had the best time ever, i will do a separate little blog about that with a few pics but this is my naughtiness at duty free for you all to see!! (that rhymed hehe) Actually i was quite reserved, i gave myself a budget of £60 & i spent about £55! . So here's what i got!




Mac Style Warriors
Sun rush lustre drops
Impassioned Solar bits
Mac medium dark mineralized skin finish natural
Dior Lip glow

Elf elegant mineral eyeshadow (won in the elf give away on youtube!)

Love everything i bought, i loved getting colour matched for the skin finish i was a medium dark before my holiday i thought i'd be a light medium so that put a smile on my face! i'm not naturally pale!! yay!
The lustre drops are just pure porn for me its such a pretty colour & i'm a fan of the packaging ok! there i said it! & the lip glow is brilliant as its so easy to just shove on & not drying as some lippys can be! i asked for glam balm when i was at the counter like a geek! she loved it though so thats what i call it instead of lip glow!!

Swatches


From the top
Sun Rush lustre drops
Impassioned solar bits
Elf Elegant eyeshadow
Medium dark skin finish

The jewellery

So i met a pirate who was the most amazing man i've ever met, so unbelivably sexy & gorgeous, more of him in the next blog but i must say its love for me (i got his number & email address hehe) anyway he made jewellery so i thought i'd buy some of his treasures, mainly so i could stand next to him & talk to him more, me & my friend were like school girls!! ah well it worked!




This ring was from ebay actually & i love it, it was delivered when i was away!!

The ring the pirate made!! its so pretty! i'm never taking it off he crafted it with his own hands! grrr!




So that was my little haul, as i said i'll blog a little about the holiday mainly so i can show a pic of the pirate he is yummy & coming to Ipswich in the summer & offered to buy me & my friend dinner!! hehe! :D i'm in!!

Hope you've all had a great couple of weeks whilst i've been away! i have so many blogs to read & youtube vids to watch!

Thanks for reading
Cya later
Nicola

My holiday makeup shame!!

Hey Ladies,

I thought i'd share my shame with you of how much crap I take on holiday with me. Basically i have loads of summer stuff already in Spain so only take carry on luggage, it means the flights cheaper, you can turn up to the airport later & dont have to wait around when you get there to get going & start on the funsies! The only down size is you cant take much & all the liquids have to be under 100mls i think!& have to fit in those sandwich bags, if i manage to fit everything in the plastic bag this time i'm officially a ninza packer like people say i am!

So heres the makeup & skin care i take out!! ... i'm ashamed

Everything!!



My emergency skin care kit!! ala Bubblegarm!!



Basically, my philosophy cleanser & garnier cleanser & toner, mattifying moisturizer, philosophy moisurizer & some mac eye cream & a few other bits & bobs! (they're in my dermalogica bottles, such a good use of them when you finish with them)

Eye shadows



Always take stuff in 5g jars! saves so much space
Painterly & rubenesque paintpot, a couple of pressed pigments in naked & teal, juxt, newly minted & black tied & an elizabeth arden pallette

Mascaras & eyeliners



A water proof one - loreal telescopic & then my badgal lash & mac pro lash. Then my elizabeth arden eyeliner & a fake mac pencil liner i got sent in an ebay order of lashes ages ago!

Lip stuff



Lip brush (i use it for paintpots so should be with them) natural collection lipstick, chanel gloss, loreal lipstick & body shop lip butter! (sorry kass :p)

Face stuff


Concealers, blush, bronzes, contour duo & a really dark foundation & my normal foundation (so i can mix to what ever colour i turn in the sun) & mini estee lauder primer

Highlighters (can u tell they're my favorite)


Benefit high beam & ooh la la, couple of mac cream colour bases, a bobbi brown pot rouge & a stackable jar thing with my eyeko bronzing cream & highlighter cream.

Brows



Elf brow & lash clear gloss, elf tweezers (amazing by the way ladies) & vital radiance brow duo

Brushes


No idea why i'm taking so many but hey you never know, i may get caught up in a photo shoot & they need someone to help! i'm prepared!

So theres my shame for you all to see, i wont use half of it but since i'll be having nights out i may use some of it & variety is the spice of life so i can chop & change when the mood suits me!!

Any way i'll probably be gone for a couple of weeks so if i dont update this i do apologize, i'm flying out in the morning so have to get up at 4 in the morning & plan to go wild at duty free!!

I hope you all have a lovely couple of weeks & give me lots of blog posts & youtube vids to come back to!! & stay safe i will worry! i'm really gonna miss everyone on twitter that i interact with everyday, you'll all have new obsessions that i dont know about!! i'll need a week to catch up on everything! i will still have the internet in spain up until the 15th but wont be on it all day like now, but after the 15th it'll be an internet blackout! i'm dreading the number of emails i'll come back to!!

I'll cya in a couple of weeks, take care of yourselves & dont have too much fun without me

Nicola
xxx

RMK cosmetics review!

Hey Ladies,

This is an epic tale of love & heartbreak! not quite Romeo & Juliet but in my sad life as a makeup addict it felt that tragic.

I have been in love with my Bobbi Brown Skin Smoothing Foundation for quite some time its priced at £23.49 (V.A.T reduction included for UK) for 30ml, which is expensive but worth it for me as its a medium to full coverage & smooths your skin (you could have guessed that from the name). Whenever i wear it i always get compliments on how flawless my skin looks, & believe me when i say my skin is far from flawless. The only drawback of this foundation i felt was that it was very heavy on my skin & felt mask like! but for flawless skin i put up with it & didnt wear it every day just when i needed to look my best. Anyway last weekend i had those 2 events to attend so brought out the holy Bobbi Brown pot & we fell out big style! it might be to do with the increased temperature but it wasnt blending into my skin! i managed to make it work but wasnt impressed.

Then on thursday i had a job interview & needed to look my best, a couple of days earlier i found a RMK sample bag i won in a giveaway which included a couple of samples of the primer & foundation. I tweeted about it & the lovely Mizzworthy was raving about the primer to me, so i thought i'd give them a try for my interview! Well lets just say i fell in love with it immediately.

Lets start with the primer,
RMK Make Up Base - £22.00 for 30ml
I normally use the Smashbox Photo Finish primer which is like a gel in its consistency, the RMK is like milk & has no distinguishable smell once its in your skin & makes it feel like silk. I think its completely different than the smashbox as it feels like nothing on your skin as it sinks in whereas the smashbox makes your skin feels like silk but it coats your skin rather than sinking into it, if that makes sense.

The Foundation
RMK Creamy Foundation - £29.00 for 30g - Available in 8 colours, 5 are yellow based & 3 pink based (not gospel so dont hold me to it, but i did some research into it & that was the impression i got, i am a 1o3 which is yellow based)
Now i have oily skin so probably shouldn't use this foundation as its described as;

With its water holding oil formula which has a great moisture retaining quality, this luxurious, creamy type foundation replenishes the skin for a radiant & lustrous finish.

As i said i have oily skin but it worked brilliantly on me, I applied it like any other foundation, so my mac oil control lotion instead of moisturiser after washing my face, then applied the RMK primer & then the foundation & finally set it with my lily lolo flawless matt powder.
It smooths onto the primed skin beautifully & gives great coverage as its highly pigmented but doesn't feel too heavy which is great and has no smell if you're worried about that.
I applied this at 8am & at 11pm it was still in place as if i just applied it! i was amazed & kinda didnt want to take it off, i never sleep in my makeup but wanted to see if it lasted all night, just in case i ever get lucky! hehe! but resisted & took it off!!
Now i know £29.00 is a lot of money but i needed hardly any to cover my skin & get the coverage i require, the sample sizes i have are 1g of the primer & foundation & those lasted me two uses generously, so it will last you a while.

I got some other samples in the kit as well which are the cleansing milk, skin smoother & eye refresher masks, i havent tried these yet but will do & let you know what they're like.

RMK are the number one selling brand in Japan but a pain in the arse to get hold of in this country, they have a website www.rmkrmk.com but its half in Japanese & half English so a little difficult to grasp & you cant buy the products from there anyway just read up on them. The only places i know for sure you can get them in this country are Selfridges in London & the Trafford Centre in Manchester, If you of any others let me know. I manically searched for hours on the web the other night trying to get hold of them online but struggled to say the least, i bought some samples from a site & will let you know about the service as you can get the full sized products from there as well but its a Japanese site so could prove troublesome, up until this point its been fine but customs could cock it up! i'll keep you informed!

Below are a couple of pics of the stuff i got sent & the brochures.




How gorgeous are these two girls, one word ... unfair!




The Makeup (From the brochure, taken with my camera so not the best quality)

The Blushes

How gorgeous do these looked with the speckled effect!


The Eyeshadows

Again the speckled effect, even if they're rubbish i still want one just to look at, they're so pretty!!



The Lipstick

Like a marbled effect! want want want!!



A bit epic but there you go, as soon as i'm back from my holiday i'm running to the trafford centre to buy the primer & foundation, i cant rave about them enough! they're a bit of a pain to get hold of for some people but i'll post a review of where i got some more samples from because the postage was $4!! from japan to the UK which is brilliant so worth a go if you want to try before you buy because its a lot of money to part with if it doesnt work for you.

Thanks for reading that mainly nonsense blog but i think you get the point!

I am heading on holiday as you know on thursday morning, & can now afford food which is great & also afford a little spree in duty free! (that rhymes hehe) i plan to get a mineralized skin finish natural & the dior glam balm thingi, so do you have any recommendations i should try out, kinda tempted to look at the mac style warrior lustre drops or whatever they're called as well!

Hope you're having a lovely weekend
Cya Later, i'll try & get in one more post before i leave for spain!
Nicola
xxx

Pre holiday Prep!!

Hey Ladies,

So the time is here when i have to prepare my self for my jollys, i think if you prep your skin properly it just makes for a better more even tan i find. Because my mum lives in spain i do have some last minute trips & have found that if i dont do my rituals my tan is patchy & i dont look as glowing, so with 7 days until i go i've got plenty of time to get sorted.

So this is what i do;

Exfoliate like mad!!!

I use a home made one or if i'm being lazy use my blue st tropez one

My home made one i make from course sea salt, olive oil & sometimes a little honey as it makes it a bit more workable (if thats a word) & it's moisturising at the same time as exfoliating & just basically combine all the ingredients until a paste. Stand in the shower or bath so it doesnt go everywhere & go to town & scrub scrub scrub!

I'll do this twice before i go & whilst i'm there i use my scrub gloves with body wash every morning.

Then of course moisturize!!






I use blueberry body butter on my arms & chest & then nivea body lotion boobies down.

I do have a reason for this method so hear me out! i hate strong smells & cant cope with them under my nose all night, the smell of these two products aren't nice to me.
At first smell the blueberry body butter smells lovely but when its sitting on your skin constantly its a little overpowering! The nivea one is even worse hence why its boobies down on me but they're both amazing moisturizers so i put up with it!! I know my ex liked the smell of it but i think its foul personally!

I moisturize not only after exfoliating but morning & night regardless. a little OCD but i've got skin like a babys botty! so its worth the hassle for me!

Hair

I make a strange concoction of intensive deep conditions & slap them on my hair over night a few nights before i go so that if i neglect my hair over the holiday it has a good starting point to go down hill from, then as soon as i'm home get another one on!

Also i colour my hair so its a darker blond, my hair goes practically white in the sun so i figure if i dye it darker it might just lighten to my normal shade! fingers crossed for me ladies!!

And i think thats about it apart from a trip to the waxers but no one wants to read about that i'm guessing!

What are you pre holiday rituals ladies? got any good tips!!
Hope you've all had a lovely week & thanks for reading
Cya later
Nicola

Loving & hating & update

Hey ladies,

Been absent for a while so thought i'd do a quick update & in's and outs for y'all!

So last week looked after my cousin & had a lovely time doing it, very tiring but loads of fun, on the friday it was glorious outside so i got her off her botty & walked to my nans which is quite a walk & she was complaining from minute one!! ah well, saw my nan who i adore & one of my aunts stopped by!! if you havent already guessed it i love my family!
On the saturday attended my 2 parties & had a great time, got very drunk in the evening saw some old friends & generally went to sleep very cheerful. Then Sunday night my ex boyfriend who moved to australia last year flew back & i left my door open for him to come & crash at mine which was code for wake me up when you get here, Stu always lets me sleep, probably because we went out for 2 years & knows how grumpy i am when i've not slept, so woke up on monday morning being cuddled! heaven i think you call it!!

Anyhoo! i'm off to spain on the 11th which will be good, really cant afford it! my flights are every penny i have so i'm gonna be living off thin air when i'm there! ah well, it wouldnt be the 1st time! a bottle of vodka is four euros so a couple of them & i'm set for the week!! :) i shall be off the internet for a week & twitter which may hurt but will try & have a good time!

So heres the stoof i'm loving & hating

Loving!

THE SUN - seriously hot but i sat in the sun on monday & got such a tan, i tan in about 5 minutes which is useful as i dont have to be in the suns harmful rays for hours to get brown! yay!!

Naps - theres nothing better than having a guilt free afternoon nap sat on my bed with the sun streaming through the window!

Stu - i love seeing him again, just kind of makes me realize how much i loved him & missed him! & he's so hot!!! which always helps but very tanned so need to catch him up when i'm in spain!

Mineral Foundation - Now on its own its terrible on me, but to set my liquid foundation its genius, my skin has been so awful that i've needed this step to even out my skin, i'm thinking its like a loose version of macs mineralised skin finish natural.

Mac 150 brush - The big powder brush is genius, i'm so lazy at times & this is perfect for those moments, i use it to splodge on setting powder, blush & bronzer!! its brilliant at all these things because i find it blends everything really nicely so looks natural as you're overlapping the products so the seams of the products are practically invisible.

You all!! - I love all of you & just want to give you all a big old snog for taking time out of your lives to read my nonsense & comment on it so thanks it means the world to me!

Hating!

Feeding a rugby player - not a fan of but love secretly love it i think, i should put a post up of how much they have to eat a day its ridiculous, i had 2 years of feeding one & he's back with a bang! i love cooking & baking so loving that aspect of it but he has to eat ridiculous amounts very frequently so i'm in the kitchen most of the time when we're together, he keeps me company & buys me nice things to say thanks so i suppose i cant complain! i should tell you all a very funny story about when we first got together when he had to increase his calorie intake, i dont think i need to point out why!hehe!

My Quilt - i have the bestest most comfortable feather quilt in the world i loves it & its sad when i cant snuggle in bed with it because its too hot! i suppose its good at the same time as it means its warm but i miss it!

Liquid foundation - i dont know why but it just wont work on my face without the mineral foundation over it at the minute, its not because of the heat, i will be switching to a light weight coverage soon its just being a mo fo!! ah well, do you guys find that one day you can do your makeup & its great the next day you do it the exact same & you look like shit!! unfair!

Bit of a babbling one but there you have it! thanks for reading!!

Cya Soon
Nicola