What is my beauty number?

Today I saw a fair few blog posts on beauty numbers and was quite interested by the idea. The aim is to figure out how many of your beauty products you used on a daily basis, it is thought that the average woman uses just 12 products a day. So lets see what my beauty number is...

Morning:

1. Avon Advanced Techniques 360 Nourishment Moroccan Argan Oil Shampoo
2. Tresemme Re-moisture Conditioner
3. Johnsons Be Fresh & Escape Shower Gel
4. Olay Essentials Refreshing Face Wash
5. Clarisonic Plus
6. PitROK Crystal Roll On Deodrant
7. Avon Advanced Techniques Daily Shine - Mirror Shine Spray
8. Avon Advanced Techniques Daily Shine - Dry End Serum
9. Bio Oil
10. Dr Ceuticals Bust Boost
11. ANEW Vitale Eye Gel Cream
12. Rimmel Fix & Perfect Pro Primer
13. Collection Lasting Perfection Ultimate Wear Concealer
14. Avon Concealer
15. Loreal Nude Magique BB Powder
16. Elf Eyebrow Kit
17. Urban Decay Naked 3 Palette
18. Avon Colourtrend White Eyeliner
19. Rimmel Glameyes Professional Liquid Liner
20. Avon Supershock Blackest Black Mascara
21. Hoola Benefit Bronzer
22. Maybelline Babylips Hydrate

Tools:

1. Boots Basic Comb
2. Tigi Hardcore Professional Paddle Brush
3. Denman Medium Termalceramic Curling Brush
4. Real Techniques Face Brush
5. Real Techniques Contour Brush
6. Coastal Scents Crease Brush
7. Real Techniques Detail Brush
8. Urban Decay Naked 3 Brush
9. Real Techniques Base Shadow Brush
10. Real Techniques Brow Brush (Not Pictured - forgot to take a picture!)

Evening:

1. Johnsons Baby Extra Sensitive Fragrance Free Wipes 
2. Simple Kind to Skin Purifying Cleansing Lotion

So that's a total of 24 products used in a day and 10 tools - I think if the average woman only uses 12 products I may have bit of a makeup addiction!

So what's your beauty number?

Avon Advanced Techniques 360 Nourishment Moroccan Argan Oil Shampoo & Conditioner

Hi Everyone,

Today is a real hit & miss review on the Avon Advanced Techniques 360 Nourishment Moroccan Argan Oil Shampoo & Conditioner. This shampoo & conditioner by Avon promises to gently transform dry hair, leaving it feeling moisturised, soft, smooth & silky. It contains Argan Oil, Provitamin B5 and Vitamin E. These retail at £2.80 each and come in a 250ml bottle which is relatively small in relation to most shampoo & conditioners nowadays. 

Now I am a huge HUGE fan of this shampoo but I really dislike the conditioner. I used it after the shampoo and it did nothing to condition my hair. In fact afterwards it felt very coarse and almost worse than when I washed my hair. I'm not saying that you cant cope with it - but its definitely disappointing in relation to the shampoo. Needless to say I will not be buying this again! 

So lets forget about the conditioner and talk a bit about the shampoo. With this shampoo a little goes a long, long way. It lathers up really well and feels like it cleans your hair really well. When I use this along with a hair mask or conditioner it leaves my hair feeling so soft and it has this lovely shine to it. It feels very smooth & silky. I will definitely be buying this again :)

I think this will be a staple in my daily routine!

Let me know if you have tried these too and what you think!

Avon Mega Effects Mascara - Blackest Black

Today I am reviewing the Avon Mega Effects Mascara in Blackest Black. This mascara from Avon has created quite a buzz in the beauty field it features a completely new approach to applying mascara using the Wonderbrush. This mascara has been 6 years in the making and is a result of feedback received from over 2000 women and took 5000 hours of science to create.

This mascara can look a bit intimidating at first, it's like no mascara you have ever seen before. It doesn't feature the normal tube design or brush which you would expect from your everyday mascara. Instead it comes in a rectangular container and features an innovative new brush. I saw this in the Avon brochure and knew straight away that I had to try this and I am now on my second one so I thought it was about time to review.

This mascara promises to;

• Provide panoramic volume
• Corner to corner coverage
• Dramatic definition &
• To be flake proof & sweat proof

I can safely say that this mascara does just what it says on the tin. It provides excellent volume to my lashes, it doesn't clump at all and it makes my lashes appear fuller and more defined. I have also found that this mascara makes my eyes look bigger, I think this may be due to the new brush design.

The Wonderbrush:

This new innovative design features a multi-dimensional brush designed to fit into the curve of your eye and with an adjustable handle which can be used in 12 different angles. This helps to lift the top and bottom lashes from root to tip in a completely new way. The increased bristle area helps to comb through your lashes with ease avoiding clumping but still creating volume. This new method puts more mascara (apparently up to 40% more) onto your lashes. 

How to use this Mascara:

Step 1 - Grip It - Grip the sides and remove the cap.

Step 2 - Rock It - Rock the brush from side to side to pull out the brush and bend to desired angle.

Step 3 - Brush It - Comb through your lashes from root to tip.

Step 4 - Lock It - Insert the applicator until it looks into place.

When I first used this mascara the first thing I had some difficulty with was how to brush this new brush through my lashes. It feels odd to put something or this design near to your eyes and also having to use your hands to brush it through 

in a completely new way. However, once I saw the results I was instantly hooked. I hardly ever use any other mascara now and I will definitely be buying again once this one runs out. This retails at £10 for 9ml product, although it is often on offer at £7 so it may be waiting until this to buy!

I am hooked, how about you?

Thanks,

Loreal Paris Nude Magique BB Powder Review

Hello Everyone,

Today's review is on the Loreal Paris Nude Magique BB Powder in Light. I brought this in Boots for £6.99 which is a reasonable price for a face powder. It comes in 2 different skin tones; light and medium. The powder has pigments which adjust to your skin type to create a long lasting, matte looking complexion.

This powder claims to be a 5 in 1 'velvet skin beautifier' that 'mimics the 5 dimensions of velvety nude skin'. It claims to produce;

• No shine
• A smooth resurfaced finish
• Undetectable coverage
• A Fresh Look
• 8hr Matte complexion

I brought this powder in light to match my pale skin tone and it does so perfectly. The powder itself is light, thin and gives a gorgeous natural finish with no chalkiness or caking. I used this a setting powder on days when I apply foundation and as a base on days when I only apply some concealer. As a setting powder it keeps everything in place perfectly and doesn't budge throughout the day. It also helps to conceal any loss of coverage from your foundation throughout the day when using it to touch up. If used on its own it produces a look of natural skin but better, helps to even out your skin tone, reduces shine and gives a velvety satin finish.

I really like this packaging - yes it is plasticy but it serves its purpose perfectly. When you open the first layer it shows the pan of powder, if you open this up underneath it has a mirror and a flat sponge applicator which is perfect for touch ups during the day. I like the fact that it has all of these products in one as it makes it a perfect item to pop into your handbag for touch ups throughout the day.

Overall:

This is a lovely BB Powder - it stop shine and stays in place for up to 8 hours as it claims. It has a velvety satin finish and helps to even skin tone. This is a great powder and I will be purchasing again due to its long lasting capabilities.

Why not check this out for yourself and let me know your experiences :)

Thanks,

Urban Decay Naked 3 Palette Review

Hello Beauty Junkies, so it was my birthday on the 30th August I turned 25! As a result I received some brilliant make up / beauty gifts from my fiancé which means I can now finally get back to my reviews on my blog. For the past few months I have not had enough money to spend on make up - which is devastating. However, I am now back with plenty of new items which I hope to review in the next few months. 

The Urban Decay Naked 3 Palette can be purchase from Debenhams for £37. It comes complete with the palette, a duo ended makeup brush and a free sample of Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer Potion. I currently only have the Urban Decay Naked palette - which is the original palette and contains a number of neutral shades in different finishes. I mainly used the light shades in this palette and loved the rose tones. Therefore I chose to jump straight to the Naked 3 and skip the Naked 2. I felt that the Naked 2 contained very similar colours to the Naked palette and I wanted something different. 

This palette contains 12 completely new shades of eyeshadows. All of these eyeshadows are in the rose gold family - which really appealed to me as these tones tend to suit my skin tone perfectly.

Packaging:

I absolutely love this packaging - it is practical and pretty! After struggling with the Naked palette whilst travelling for years (having to tie hair bands to the ends to stop the case coming open) finally I have a good palette which closes effectively and will travel well.

The case reminds me somewhat of a tin pencil case that you used to use at school - but it is beautiful. It has a deep rose tone case with a wavy design and gold lettering. Inside there is a huge mirror which will be perfect for travelling.

Eyeshadows:

Strange -  Matte creamy vanilla shade, perfect for highlighting and using in the inner corners of your eyes.

Dust - Glittery pale pink shade with silver glitter - this has very good pigmentation and is almost fairy like in shade :)

Burnout - Pearl light peachy pink tone.

Limit - Matte light neutral dusty rose colour, perfect for use in the crease.

Buzz - Glittery medium pink with purple undertones and silver glitter.

Trick - Glittery warm peachy copper with gold glitter.

Nooner - Matte medium dusty rose tone, another tone perfect for use in the crease.

Liar - Pearl warm brown with with frosted mauve overlay.

Factory - Pearl medium to deep brown.

Mugshot - Pearl medium taupe.

Darkside - Matte deep brown with slight pearl sheen.

Blackheart - Glittery blackened purple base with red glitters.

The Glittery shades are better when used wet - this shows the pigmentation at its fullest and helps to reduce the amount of fallout.

The pearl shades can also be used wet to highlight the pearlescent sheen.

The matte shade Limit and Nooner are both brilliant matte colours for use in the crease however, they do require building up.

Price:

I think the price of this palette is spot on for the amount of shades and the quality of eyeshadows that you receive. I also love the fact that the packaging feels more substantial for your money than the Naked palette and the large mirror and duo ended make up brush that comes with it makes it a bargain at £37.

Overall:

I absolutely love this Urban Decay Naked 3 palette and would recommend this to anyone who loves rose gold tone eyeshadows. It is the perfect addition to my eyeshadows and I have not stopped using this since I received it. If you would like 12 completely new Urban Decay shades all in the rose gold family and all of good quality then I would highly recommend this palette to you.

I have created numerous looks with this palette already and know that it will be used excessively. 

I like the fact that this palette comes complete with a duo ended make up brush and cant wait to use the free samples :) 

If you have any thoughts on the Urban Decay Naked 3 palette or have your own review please feel free to link below so that I can see your opinions on the palette.

Thanks :)

Avon Eyeliner Review - Colour Trend Pencil Play Eyeliner, Supershock Gel Eyeliner & Glimmerstick Diamonds Eyeliner

Today's review is on a small selection of Avon's eye liners including; a Colour Trend Pencil Play Eyeliner in White, a Supershock Gel Eyeliner in Plumful and a Glimmerstick Diamonds Eyeliner in Emerald Glow. I chose these colours as I wanted something dark but not black to liner my bottom lashes. I often find that black looks a little too harsh on my eyes so wearing a pop of colour makes all the difference. I also wanted to purchase a white eyeliner to use in my waterline to open up my eyes and brighten this whole area!

So, first things first, price! The Colour Trend eyeliner is incredibly cheap and you can pick these up online or from your local Avon Representative for £3.00. For the other two ranges, the Supershock and Glimmerstick Diamonds eyeliners are £6. Which is still a very reasonably price for an eyeliner. 

Avon Colour Trend Eyeliner: White

This eyeliner promises to 'define your peepers without pulling or dragging' and boasts a 'super smooth formula'. I agree with this statement by Avon wholeheartedly these eyeliners are incredibly soft and smooth and glide onto my waterline or lower lash line with ease. I don't feel any pull whatsoever when applying and end up with a very bright white line. This is exactly what I was looking for with this product and it provides a very professional looking finish. For only £3 this eyeliner is a steal. I think I will be purchasing more of their colour range soon! 

With regards to staying power, this eyeliner will last for around 4-6 hours without any smudging! After this time it tends to start fading in the inner and outer corner of my waterline but is easy fixed with another quick application.

Value: 5/5
Longevity: 3/5
Colour Pay Off: 5/5
Formula: 4/5

Avon Supershock Gel Eyeliner: Plumful

This eyeliner is 'formulated with 20% liquid gel to smoothly create a flawless line everytime'. This eyeliner is definitely creamier than the Colour Trend versions. It glides on super smoothly and doesn't smudge throughout the day. I often find when wearing darker liners that by then end of the day everything has migrated onto my eye and into the outer corner. Which is not an attractive look. This eyeliner is very different. It has great staying power and once dry even  rubbing it with you finger does not shift the colour one little bit! It clings to your lash line perfectly.

Having said that it comes off easily with a normal eye makeup remover, so you get the best of both worlds. A liner that lasts all day long and does not hurt your eyes to remove. These eyeliners cost £6 each which is very reasonable for such a high quality liner.

Value: 5/5
Longevity: 5/5
Colour Pay Off: 5/5
Formula: 5/5

Avon Glimmerstick Diamonds Eyeliner: Emerald Glow

This eyeliner is slightly different in that it is a retractable liner which is self sharpening. I like this aspect as it cuts out on all the mess I create when sharpening eyeliners (I am extremely messy when it comes to this task!)

The formula is similar to the Supershock Eyeliner in consistency, it is very creamy and feels soft to apply. You can also wear this liner all day like the Supershock version, however I find that it does loose its vibrancy throughout the day.

The one huge selling point for me on these eyeliners though is the glimmer aspect. These liners include flecks of glitter which reflect in the light. I love this look, it provides a bit of extra depth to your eye makeup.

Value: 5/5
Longevity: 4/5
Colour Pay Off: 4/5
Formula 4/5

Overall:

I think you can clearly tell from the above reviews that the Supershock Gel Eyeliner is a stand out winner. It is great value for money, it lasts all day long with no smudging, the colour is incredibly pigmented and it has a lovely smooth and creamy consistency.

I am a huge fan of all of these eyeliners and will be purchasing more very shortly.

Let me know if you have first hand experience of these eyeliners as I love to hear your views.

Thanks for reading!

Elf Conditioning Lip Balm SPF15 in Peaceful Pink

 Hi Everyone,

Back today with a review on Elf's Conditioning Lip Balm with SPF15 in Peaceful Pink. When I was looking on Elf's website this Lip Balm really caught my eye, the packaging looked professional and sleek, the colour range was ideal for my tastes and the price sold me. These sell on the UK site for £3.95 which is a very reasonable price for a product that promises so much.

On their website they claim that this Lip Balm will provide a "sheer splash of colour that's super smooth, velvety soft and non sticky" they also state that the lip balms contain natural ingredients including Vitamin A & E to help condition dry, chapped lips. The fact that this product contains an SPF of 15 is highly beneficial to keep your lips safe in the summer months from harmful UV rays.

I am always on the look out for new natural looking lip shades, whether they be balms, lip gloss or lipsticks. I prefer the natural colours as I think they suit my complexion. This is why I chose the colour Peaceful Pink. This colour is a brighter natural tone baby pink. I like the fact that this lip balm is pigmented enough to show on my lips without looking unnatural. This is a huge selling point for me.

So first impressions: At first I wasn't very impressed with this lip balm. The consistency was really thick and hard - I couldn't seem to get any colour pay off from the lip balm - which as you can imagine was very frustrating. I had a look online and found that most peoples pot were much more liquid than mine. I tried to push a bit harder on the product and eventually managed to get some movement in the pot. I think this is a bit of a flaw as I was going to write the product off at this stage.

However, after persisting and trying this product again I can say that I am very impressed. The colour pay off is brilliant and it gives me the natural mid-baby pink tone that I was after. The colour is buildable and you only have to reapply every few hours. 

It does feel conditioning on the lips and is not sticky once applied. However, in the windy UK weather this will still cause your hair to stick to your lips. This almost seems inevitable in the UK anyway so I am happy to put up with this.

The bad point to this product which was one of the first things that drew me to it in the first place is the packaging. Being a pot it is very unhygienic and the shape makes it hard to get your finger in to apply this lip balm. I often find that I have a large clump of lip balm in my finger nail after I have applied this. Which is not ideal if you are out and about. 

Overall: I would highly recommend these lip balms and will be purchases more in the near future! I love the colour range available and feel that the sheer colour pay off is ideal for everyday wear. 

If you have experience of these Elf Conditioning Lip Balms with SPF15 please feel free to link your blog below or comment so that I can see your opinions on these :)