New BARGAIN Super Serum!

Hello again beauty seekers!! 

Tonight i wanna talk about hair.... again. Specifically, i would like to tell you about a great little discovery i made lately over a cuppa with the lovely Kate from Soapbox PR. We'd arranged to meet up for a cup of tea and a catch up but i just HAD to rummage through all the lovely Twisted Sista goodies in her office to see if there were any new ones i hadn't sampled.... and i found THIS!!

Twisted Sista 'Different Strokes' Hair Serum

I'd been looking for a new serum as i've drained all my posh hair oils dry and can't afford to buy any more posh hair oils for a while. My ultimate favourite serum of all time is the Paul Mitchell Super Skinny serum but, unfortunately, i can't afford that EITHER (boooooo), but boy am i glad i found this one!! A very lucky coincidence that Kate let me take this home really!

Twisted Sista by Urban Therapy are a brand i have mentioned before on this blog. They are a London based brand but have recently expanded to the US market. They have consistently impressed me because of the AMAZING quality you get for the price of their products (the RRP for this particular serum is £4.99 but I've seen it for less depending on where you buy it). 

Different Strokes contains Argan Oil and Green Tea as well as Vitamin E antioxidants. It is a serum and not an oil product so it does contain silicones (that's what gives that extra shine you always get with serums), but with all the extra yummy ingredients you get in this one and the fact that it is completely free from sulphates, parabens and other such synthetic nasties, i reckon it's a winner!! 

The product itself is on the thicker side for a serum, but a little goes a long way. I tend to apply two pumps rubbed in my hands to my damp hair before i blow dry (or dry naturally) and maybe run a little through my ends if i've straightened my hair. I just find it makes my hair REALLY soft, shiny and easy to comb through. 

The product protects from UV damage and colour fade, even on hair that has been dyed, and the Vitamin E also helps protect your hair from the elements. 

I'm extremely impressed by this product! For a budget product i think it performs fantastically and i am not missing my Moroccan Oil at all at the moment. Of course i will repurchase it as a special treat once i have more cash to play with, but for me this is a perfectly adequate substitute. I'm not saying it's comparable with Moroccan Oil, just that i love the finish it gives just as much. 

Twisted Sista products are sold in Tesco stores and selected Superdrug stores. They have a great range of products for all hair types, straight or curly. This is definitely a product that i could not live without at the moment as, as we all know i've given my hair a bit of a battering lately. 

What are your everyday hair favourites?? Do you have any drugstore hair products you can't live without??

Getting Lippy with Japonesque...

Good evening lovelies!! 

Today's post is dedicated to all things LIPPY, but without being about ACTUAL lippy haha. I was lucky enough to be sent another beautiful parcel from the lovely peeps at Japonesque full of amazing lip goodies! This post is more of a show and tell than an instructional but i'd just like to have my 2 cents worth and tell you what i think of the products and my first impressions....

My parcel contained the Following...

Travel Retractable Lip Brush

Lipstick Palette Kit

And a lovely travel sized makeup bag!! 

If you're a newbie to Japonesque products i'll give you a little intro before launching straight into the products. They are a San Francisco based company who specialise in precision crafted beauty products made from high quality materials and are a heavyweight name among makeup artists, professionals and beauty lovers just about everywhere. In fact i don't think i've read a bad review of a Japonesque product yet (and i've read a few). I posted a while ago now about their Travel Sized Blush brush and Angled Foundation brush and both have remained firm favourites of mine.

Travel Retractable Lip Brush:

I'll be honest and say i have never fully appreciated lip brushes. Call me lazy, but i just tend to whack my lippy on straight from the bullet and hope for the best. Howeverrrrr.... I have to say that this has prompted me to change my ways slightly!! 

This brush is great for precision application of lip products and i really appreciate it for the clean lines and how it evens out any crinkles in my lips (I'm getting on a bit in years now haha). One thing i particularly didn't like about lip brushes in the past was that i couldn't really carry them around with me as, once they've been used the dirty brush transferred product all over the inside of my handbag, but the retractable nature of this one means that the brush itself is kept well contained within the handle. 

Japonesque Makeup Bag

I'm not short of makeup bags by any stretch. I seem to have one for every occasion these days, but the second i saw this i just had this overwhelming urge to put all my lipsticks in it. It's actually the perfect size and fits most of my lipsticks in it (apart from the handful that reside in my various handbags and my everyday makeup bag). 

Not an awful lot else to say really other than that i love how sleek and professional it looks, and anything with Japonesque branding on it just makes my makeup look that much more posh haha.

Lipstick Palette Kit

This concept is COMPLETELY new to me but something i had been curious about attempting. Japonesque must have read my mind! As much as i do love to admire my lipsticks in the bullet, i sometimes wish that i could carry more than one shade around with me without ending up with 5 different lipsticks floating around in my bag. 

I also LOVE to mix my lipsticks up a bit. I absolutely adore MAC Myth for using as a base for a brighter colour to create a different shade completely! Favourite combos of mine are Myth/Vegas Volt and Myth/Lovelorn amongst others and i'm still experimenting. I see this kit as an ideal opportunity to pre-mix my shades so i don't have to be putting on two lipsticks all night. 

What you get:

8 Well Lipstick Palette with Mirror

Lip Brush

Mini Spatula

Melting Cup

The idea is that you cut of a piece/s of the lipstick/s you wish to depot into the palette into the melting cup, pop it in the microwave for 1min then mix thoroughly before pouring into one of the wells in the palette. Of course, for me, there is always a catch... My new flat in London does not yet have a microwave so i will be attempting this over a pan of hot water instead (kind of a bain-marie style thing) to melt the lipstick. 

I think a seperate blog post will be in order so you guys can see how i got on with mixing my lippies and creating my palette, as well as giving me the chance to show you what amazing colour blends i have created. It's honestly like having a whole new lipstick just by mixing two or more that you have already!! 

Many thanks to Japonesque for my new toys!! I can't wait to get in there properly and experiment with them all!!

You can buy Japonesque products in selected Boots stores and other retailers, or you can browse the full range at www.japonesque.com

Are you a pro at depotting lippy?? What colour mixtures get you going?? What are your favourite Japonesque products??

July 2012 Favourites!

AAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH!!! 

Great news ladies!! After all the stress and organisation (aka chaos) that has surrounded me over the last 2 months i have finally come out the other side and am ecstatic to announce that I NOW LIVE IN LONDON!! I moved into my new flat on Saturday and, so far, am loving my London experience. I'm giving myself some well-earned time off to catch up on my neglected blog and thought i'd start afresh with a few of the products that i have been reaching for the most over the month of July...

Amie 'Morning Dew' Matte Finish Moisturiser:

This is a product i featured in my Summer series of posts and i mentioned that i loved it for keeping my skin soft and hydrated without making it greasy and minimising shine. Well i am now on my SECOND bottle and my love for it has not lessened. This is a great product for oilier or combination skins (i am the latter) and it smells AMAZING. Amie use completely natural ingredients and no synthetic muck or parabens so you know you're putting the good stuff on your face. Best bit is it's only £4.95 for 75ml. Check out and buy this product and others in the range HERE

Figs & Rouge Balm: Cherry and Vanilla:

I'll admit i've never actually gone searching to buy these products and i've always got them out of various beauty subscription boxes (think this one was Glossybox) but i've found myself popping this in my handbag a lot lately. I kind of alternate it with my Supergoop SPF30 lip balm but it feels very refreshing on the lips and has a medicated kind of zing to it. I've never felt the need to use it anywhere but my lips but at least i'm prepared should i ever need to!

BeneFit Brow-Zings (Medium):

I've never been one that paid a lot of attention to my brows. !'ve had a full fringe for what seems like forever now and it always covered them so i got away with being lazy. However, i'm trying to be patient enough to grow it out now and, as a result, my brows have started seeing the light of day again. I have the HD brows palette also (which is brilliant) but this really is my number one choice for my brows. It's a wax/powder combo and i love how it controls my thick brows, whilst filling in and adding colour. There are similar products on the market (some of which are probably cheaper) but i am really enjoying this one.

Collection 2000 Lasting Perfection Concealer (03 Medium):

This has lasted me ages! I got this before Collection changed its branding and i'm nowhere near done with it yet. I love how only a tiny dab of this goes such a long way and works really well at covering up blemishes and brightening problem areas. I go through phases with concealer where one minute i don't need any, then the next i can't live without it. The last month (probably due to the weather), i have found myself needing it more and this is the one i have been reaching for the most.

BeneFit Dallas:

This is the second of THREE BeneFit products featuring in this post. I really seem to be loving their stuff more and more recently. I was going to feature their Creaseless Cream shadows in this post as well but i mentioned them fairly recently and want to do a post exclusively about them very soon so i'm keeping them back for now. 

BeneFit Dallas is an old favourite of mine from last year which i neglected for a while but have fallen in love with all over again since the sun decided to reappear. I just love how versatile it is. It can be a blush, a bronzer, a contour, just whatever you want it to be and it gives a gorgeous glow to the face. It looks a bit mucky in the pot but it swatched to a beautiful burnt peach/plum sort of shade. It's in my all time Top 3 cheek products for sure! 

MUA Cosmetics 'Chocolate Box' Eyeshadow Trio:

This is a GREAT little compact for everyday and perfect for handbag touch ups. As with most MUA shadows i find they can be as natural or as RAWR as you want them to be and they are very easy to apply and blend. This is another product that i'd like to do a FOTD with at some point so keep your eye out for that, but i am really thankful that i have it for a 'no-brainer' day-to-night trio.

MAC Honeylove Lipstick (Matte):

This is, by FAR, my most worn lipstick of the last 2 months. It has never been out of my handbag since i got it. It is actually my most recent lipstick purchase from MAC but i have been using it non stop. The most interesting thing i found about it is that the bullet colour is almost unrecognisable once you apply it to the lips and it is much paler but i absolutely adore it and am gonna repurchase the HELL out of it. I also love MAC's matte formula. It feels much creamier on than most other matte lipsticks i've tried. 

BeneFit BadGal Lash:

BeneFit product number three was the best magazine freebie i EVER snapped up. The brush is HUGE (right up my street) and doesn't get overloaded with product which results in no clumps, even application and means i am able to build my lashes up gradually. It gets mine really big too. I will definitely be purchasing the full size of this once i've run down all my other samples (waste not want not). I had been wanting to purchase 'They're Real' but i don't think i will be able to live without this and i can't justify both at the moment. 

St Moriz Instant Self Tanning Mist:

This is another one i mentioned in my Summer series. The reason i'm loving it lately is that it takes hardly any effort to apply (it's an aerosol) and it really easy to blend with minimal streaking. I'd usually go for a darker formula than this but, as i've managed to get a bit of sun on myself just lately i have been using this just to enhance what Mr Sunshine has given me. St Moriz is such an affordable brand too. 

So those were my favourites from July '12. I also hereby pledge to you, my lovely readers, that i will never desert you like that again. I don't plan on moving house again for a long, long time and, now that i'm closer to the action i hope to bring you even more exciting posts than ever! I appreciate you all staying with me through this period of quiet and look forward to sharing more with you soon!! 

What were your favourite products of July? Link me to your posts, i would love to read them!