Haul | MUA Haul...

Hiya lovelies.

You may remember a couple of weeks ago MUA held an offer for reaching 50,000 likes on Facebook, 50% off all make up online. The offer was somewhat overshadowed when their website was flooded and they told their twitter followers to 'get off their website.' Nice eh? I managed to place an order in the end and here is what I picked up...

MUA Undressed Palette

MUA Pro Brow Ultimate Eyebrow Kit

MUA Professional Eye Primer

MUA Intense Kisses Gloss 'Lips Are Sealed'

MUA Intense Kisses Gloss 'Sealed With A Kiss'

MUA Lip Boom 'Cheeky'

MUA Lip Boom 'Vibe'

MUA Brush E6 - Eyebrow Comb/Brush

MUA Brush E7 - Slanted Eyebrow/Eyeliner Brush

MUA Nail Polish 'Amaretto Crush'

MUA Nail Polish 'Pistachio Ice cream'

MUA Nail Polish 'Shade 1'

The offer had a minimum spend of £30 with free delivery & I picked up everything above for £15, bargain!

I've always been a fan of MUA make up, Twitter drama aside I was impressed with their service and would order from them again.

I'll give everything a good test & let you know what I think.

Did you pick up anything during this offer?

Sarah xx

Review | Rimmel Exaggerate Undercover Primer

Hiya lovelies.

I was recently having a mooch around Superdrug as you do when I spotted this on offer, I was intrigued as I'd never seen an eyeshadow primer available in a drugstore before & I can't resist a bargain! 

Rimmel have been on top form with the new releases lately and this is no exception.

The new Rimmel Exaggerate Undercover Primer comes in a lipgloss style tube with a a sponge doe foot applicator. I'm not usually a fan of this type of applicator but I actually find it works really well with this product. 

The formula is a white silicone based primer which when blended is almost invisible as you can see above. I personally have no problems with silicone based products but I know some people do react to them so it would be best to test this on your hand before applying it to the eye area.

I've given this a good road test both during the day and for going out and I can confirm it makes a wonderful base for eyeshadow and keeps my eyeshadow in place all day/night. Applying eyeshadow has become a breeze because there's no pulling or tugging of the eye area and it also intensifies the eyeshadow so less product is needed.

Overall I can't recommend this product enough. At last we have an eyeshadow primer readily available on the high street that does it's job & comes in at under a fiver. What more could you want?!

Rimmel Exaggerate Undercover Shadow Primer is available here priced at £4.99.

I'd love to know what your favourite eyeshadow primer is, please leave me a comment below!

Sarah xx

Review | Soap & Glory Sugar Crush Body Scrub

Hiya lovelies.

As you all know I'm a huge Soap & Glory fan, I can't even count how many of their products I own. One I'd never tried before this month was the Sugar Crush scrub, it was included in one of the Soap & Glory sets I received at Christmas & I've been loving it ever since.

Soap & Glory Say:

Soap & Glory™ Sugar Crush™ Body Scrub is a Smashed Brown Sugar Body Scrub with a fruity lime fragrance that blends sweet lime oil and almond oil with macadamia grains and glycerin from smashed brown sugar.

IT’S SUGAR, BABY: Use your Soap & Glory ™ Sugar Crush™ in the shower once, twice, or three times weekly, depending on the level of scaliness you struggle with. (Four times-even if you’ve ever been labelled ‘old lizard legs’.)

I have a fair few body scrubs in my collection but I've been reaching for this over all them for the past couple of weeks. I use it a couple of times a week in the shower & it leaves my skin beautifully soft & smelling delish.

The exfoliating grains are quite large and it really gives your skin a good scrub getting rid of all the dead skin cells that tend to build up worse in the cold winter months but I don't find this too harsh whatsoever. This scrub is perfect for prepping the skin ready for fake tan, we all know how important it is to have a good exfoliating session before slapping on the tan! The consistency is quite thick so a little goes a long way, I must have used this 10 times & I'm not even halfway into the tub yet.

Sugar Crush smells strongly of brown sugar & lime, think key lime pie, yum! If you're on the hunt for a reasonably priced body scrub I can't recommend this enough & Boots always seem to have 3 for 2 on Soap & Glory which makes it even more of a bargain! I want to try The Breakfast Scrub next but I'll certainly be repurchasing this in the future.

Soap & Glory Sugar Crush Body Scrub is available here priced at £8.00.

Have your tried any Soap & Glory exfoliators, if so what's your favourite?

Sarah xx

Baby | Nursery Peek #1

Hello my lovelies.

Since finding out I'm pregnant I've been desperate to prepare the nursery. I couldn't count the number of hours I've spent on nursery Inspiration & baby websites scouting for ideas, I never knew there are so many options! In the end we decided to keep it fairly simple. Pink & white with a few cute touches to make it personal.

We've only really just started but I thought I'd show you what we've done so far, I'll be posting further updates as we do more. Here's what we have so far!

As mentioned above we've decided to keep it quite simply with a pink & white theme, we have grey carpet throughout the top floor of our house & we thought this would go well. The furniture is the Mamas & Papas Vico set, it comes with a cotbed, wardrobe and chest of drawers/changing unit. We chose this set because it should last a couple of years rather than us having to change it when she grows out of the baby stage.

As you can see she already has a few clothes, everyone says I need to stop buying them because that's what people always buy a newborn baby but I just can't help it. I actually prefer buying her clothes now than myself & she isn't even here yet!

Both Nana's have been unable to resist buying bits & bobs and it's certainly mounting up in the drawers. Every time we pop home we hear 'I just couldn't resist!' not that I'm complaining of course! I just need a few more vests & sleep suits and her basic wardrobe should be covered. 

We still have so many things we want to do to the nursery before April even though she won't be sleeping in there to begin with & I will of course keep you updated on how it turns out.

If you have any cute ideas or good nursery inspiration websites please feel free to leave them in the comments!

Sarah xx

January Favourites 2013

Ahoy blogerinos!

It's finally Friday! i can't believe it's already time for my January favourites, where did January go?!

Here's what I've been loving in the month of January...

Soap & Glory Smoothie Star

Available here

£10.00

I received this in one of the many Soap & Glory sets I received last Christmas and I've been loving it all month. I'm a huge fan of the Soap & Glory body butters but had never tried any of their body lotions so was really excited when I saw this and I haven't been disappointed. It's great for those times when you haven't got the time for a body butter to sink in, for me this is in the morning when I'd rather have the extra 5 minutes in bed! I'm terrible at describing scents but you can definitely pick out the almond & brown sugar, it smells delicious! 

L'Oreal Elvive Extraordinary Oil

Available here

£8.49

I purchased this late last year on a whim when I saw it was on offer in Boots & I've pretty much used it every time I've washed my hair since. I'm still yet to try the infamous Maroccanoil, I just can't part with that much money at the moment so when I saw L'Oreal had produced their own version I was delighted. I really like the packaging, it's a heavy glass bottle affair which looks very salon-esque, the pump is also very handy for dispensing the correct amount of product. I rub one pump of product between my hands then apply to the bottom 3rd of damp hair before styling and it leaves my hair frizz free & with a lovely shine. I have really fine hair that can appear greasy really quickly but for those with similar hair don't panic, it won't leave your barnet looking like a grease ball like I thought it would! 

Origins Drink Up Intensive Overnight Mask

Available here

£20.00

I thought I lost this during the move & was gutted, you should have seen my grin when I spotted it at the bottom of a box! I apply this at night after cleansing & toning, I don't use a moisturiser when I apply this & then I head off to bed. My skin has really been suffering with the cold weather lately but the mornings after I've applied this I wake up with super soft deeply moisturised skin. I can't feature this product without mentioning the scent, it makes me want to lick the product from my hand! As you know I'm rubbish at describing scents but it smells very fruity, it's beautiful! 

Hydraluron

Available here

£24.99

I'd been lusting after this ever since I saw the skincare goddess that is Beautymouth recommend it & a few weeks ago I finally decided to use my Boots Advantage Card points & treat myself. I use this product once or twice a day before my choice of moisturiser & my skin has been reaping the benefits. No longer do I have 'tight forehead syndrome' & since using this product my entire face feels nourished & moisturised. I also find that when I use this before applying make up my make up sits a lot better on my skin, it doesn't tend to sink in or streak half as much. I really notice when I haven't used this for a couple of days & it will certainly be repurchased when this tube runs out.

Diesel Loverdose 

Available here

£34.50+

This had been on my wishlist since smelling it last year so I was over the moon when I received it for Christmas. With the unusual addition of Liquorice (strange I know!) this perfume is very unique, I actually don't like the scent just after I've applied it but leave it a couple of minutes & it's lovely! The bottle stands out nestled amongst my perfume collection & I've found myself reaching for it all month. If you haven't already smelt this I certainly recommend giving it a whiff next time you're in town!

So there we have my January favourites! If I'm not mistaken all products featured have never been featured in my favourites before, how fickle is the beauty world eh?!

I love reading this type of post so if you've done one similar please pop a link to it in the comments.

Sarah xx

Review | Benefit They're Real Mascara...

Hiya Lovelies!

My boyfriend really pulled it out of the bag this Christmas in regards to presents, maybe all this beauty blogging is rubbing off on him after all! One of my lovely presents from him was the Benefit They're Real mascara. It had been on my radar for the longest time but I could never justify spending so much on a mascara, so I was delighted when I unwrapped this!

It's the UK's best selling mascara & Benefit claim that it Lengthens, Curls, Volumises & Separates. What did I think of it then?

Lets start off with the brush. It's the plastic wand type affair that you either love or hate. I personally like this type of wand but I know many people prefer the natural type wand. The ball of bristles at the end help to coat hard to reach lashes and provide lift.

 A few coats of this mascara provides my lashes with intense volume & lift. It's super pigmented & black which I love. The above pictures are my lashes after 2 coats, applying 2 coats isn't a problem but it dries very fast so you have to work quickly to avoid clumping. This mascara lasted a good 6 hours before it started to look a tad 'worn' which is very impressive.

The only downside I can think of is the removal of this mascara. it takes a little longer than my normal mascara would to remove. 

Overall I'm really impressed with this mascara. I don't use it every day due to the price tag but I would certainly be happy to repurchase it when it runs/dries out.

Benefit They're Real is available here priced at £18.50.

I'd love to know if you've tried this mascara & if so what you thought of it.

Sarah xx

Recipe | Fererro Rocher Cupcakes...

Ahoy blogerinos!

I hope you're all well & having a great weekend.

When I saw this recipe featured on Milkbubbletea a couple of weeks ago, I knew I had to try it! 

This recipe is great for using any left over Fererro Rochers you have from Christmas, if you have any that is!

Here's what you'll need:

Chocolate cake mix

Eggs (dependant on the cake mix you go for, check the packet)

70ml Vegetable oil (dependant on the cake mix you go for, check the packet)

250ml water (dependant on the cake mix you go for, check the packet)

250g icing sugar

100g Butter

Nutella

Fererro Rocher

The ingredients needed will depend upon the cake mix you go for so be sure to check the packet. The above quantities will make 12 cakes, I only had 6 Fererro Rocher left but instead of wasting the cake mix I just made a further 6 plain cakes.

Start off by pre-heating your oven to 170.

Mix together your cake mix, eggs & water until the mixture is smooth. I cheated and used my new hand whisk ;)

Fill your cakes cases to about the halfway mark & pop your Fererro Rocher in the middle. Don't cover the Fererro Rocher with further mix, important!

Allow to bake for around 20 minutes, if you're unsure as to whether they're done pop a skewer or knife into the cake & ensure it comes out clean.

For the Nutella frosting mix together the icing sugar, butter & 2/3 tablespoons of Nutella depending upon taste. If it's a little too thick you can add some water. Whisk this together until you get a lump free thick frosting.

Allow your cakes to cool then slather the Nutella frosting on top.

Ta-da!

I have to say these taste delicious. My boyfriend wolfed his down & was so impressed he already wants me to make more! Milkbubbletea's cakes did look a little more professional so be sure to pop over there too but I'm sure no matter what they look like they all taste amazing!

Sarah xx

Review | Lush Think Pink Bath Bomb...

Hiya lovelies. It's nearly the weekend, yay!

As featured in my Christmas Haul post, my lovely boyfriend bought me the Quality Treats tin from Lush & the Think Pink bath bomb was one of the items that were included. 

As you can see it's the prettiest pink bath bomb!

Lush say:

In the past this ballistic wasn’t vegan because of the ingredients in the candy flowers.  But now they are suitable for vegans – because when you buy this many flowers, you can ask for the recipe to be changed!! So now, when vegans aren’t thinking cake, they can Think Pink.

The reassuring smell of tonka and vanilla, with a hit of neroli lifts you up; all wrapped in a pink and frivolous ballistic to stop you taking yourself too seriously.

How pretty does my bath look?!

As standard with most Lush bath bombs it fizzes away in a couple of minutes when held under warm running water, leaving behind a lovely pink colour & a few bubbles. I got a surprise when I noticed Think Pink also leaves behind some tiny confetti hearts, how cute!

The scent is pretty much the typical sweet Lush smell, not quite as strong as the likes of The Comforter but image Love Heart sweets & you won't be far off. 

I have to say I was a little disappointed with the bubble factor. Other than making my bath look pretty this didn't really do that much. It didn't make the water feel any different, there were few to no bubbles & the scent didn't linger once I'd got into the bath. 

Would I repurchase this? Probably not.

Available at Lush priced at £2.50

I'd love to know what your favourite Lush product is.

Sarah xx