Sunday 28 October 2012

Best autum blush - Nars Maui

Now im sure no one really wears the same blush everyday, but through the seasons we all have a favorite, this just so happens to be mine :) Its so perfect for darker autumn and winter makeup, it is so easy to wear a plum lip with it :)





This is the Nars Multiple in the shade Maui. Nars multiple are sticks of makeup that can be used on the cheeks, eyes, lips and body, It's creamy and sheer but can be built very well. This retails on the Nars website for £29 and is available in 15 shades including the iconic Orgasm.
 

Maui is a plumy pink colour that has sheen but no shimmer.  It complements both pale and slightly tanned skin and looks oh so natural. 
When i put this on as a blush in the morning if is still there at night, this has immense staying power. Granted i use a primer and setting spray but its still pretty impressive.



This is the colour pretty built up, the light really doesn't show its true colour too well, its truly lovely. Ive been wearing this most days at the moment because i've been rocking a very dark plum lip and this goes amazingly with it. 

I'm very sorry about this pathetic attempt at a post but ive been on consecutive 12 hour shifts and then went straight to my engagement party after and now im a bit ill. I've got twp more posts coming up in the next few days so i promise they will be better :)

Lorna xxx Follow on Bloglovin

Thursday 25 October 2012

Clarins Hydra-Quench Cream mask

This was quite a spur of the moment purchase for me (especially for the price). I picked this up in Boots for £32 and found it that night on Ecsentual.com for £25.60. My skin was really dehydrated and i really needed something to work well at night but not be too heavy, i saw this was for dehydrated skin and just went for it.


Description from Clarins
An instant, quenching boost for even the most stressed out and dehydrated skin. The Clarins HydraQuench Cream-Mask intensively moisturises and revitalizes skin, in all climates, at all times. Lines are smoothed, and the skin is left feeling fresh, soft and comfortable with unrivalled radiance all day long.
Smooth into the face twice a week, and leave on for 5-10 minutes whilst the Cream-Mask gets to work. Remove lasting traces with a cotton pad dampened with toning lotion.
  • Hyaluronic acid helps maintain its moisture reserves
  • Katafray bark restructures skin's protective outermost layers, limits dehydration
  • Sobier tree bud stimulates radiance-boosting microcirculation
  • UVA/UVB filters, Vitamin E and E3P Complex protect against UV rays, free radicals and
  • pollution
  •  

I tend to use this a little more than recommended as my skin really needs something to sort it out before it starts getting (ever more) wintery and cold. I use my clarasonic and a cleanser (at the moment im switching between Avene Eau Thermal Soap-less Gel (available here) and the REN Mayblossom balancing cleansing gel (available here) and once im through with that i dry my face and slather a layer of this on, i use just enough that you can see a little on the skin until it dries in. After about half an hour i put some toner on cotton wool and give my face a wee wipe then pop on some spot cream and moisturizer and hop into bed. In the morning my skin is lovely and soft and i have a lot less oil produced during the night than i used to. Throughout the day my skin also produces a lot less oil which means my makeup is actually staying on my face pretty well and not sliding off. Ive also been able to stop using powder throughout the day which leaves me looking caked my 5pm.


Im not claiming that this is some sort of miracle product, i have been taking a lot better care of my skin in general recently but this is definitely helping a lot. Ive been using it for about two and a half weeks now and so far it has a massive thumbs up. 

Next time though i will be making extra sure i check the price everywhere before i buy (because i WILL be repurchasing). 

What do you think about this if you've tried it?
Anything similar you would recommend?

Lorna xxx 

Wednesday 24 October 2012

Giveaway (not mine) :P

I have entered Laurzie Macks from A Day in The Life's giveaway:) There is an amazing NARS MidSummer Nights Gift Set to win :D
Head over to her blog HERE to enter.

Lorna xxx

Tuesday 23 October 2012

Favourite September Purchases.

So i am so very very very late with this but i actually had this written and just forgot to publish it. This is not my September favorites, this is my fave few of the things i've bought this September.  So here is it, better late than never right?


Seche Vite
I have been searching for a great top coat for a very very long time now and i am pretty sure i have found it. I've read a lot of reviews on Seche Vite and decided it was time i tried it. The reason i hadent tried it before now was that i (seemed to be a bit confused) and thought it was very expensive, imagine my surprise when i go into Boots and it was only £9.95, while that is still pricey for a nail polish its by no means at the high end of the price range.
Having been using it for a few weeks now i am very impressed. My nail varnish lasts a good three days with no chips and still good at the end of the week, also it is sooooo shiney and it doesnt fade either.
  
Elizabeth Arden Eight Hour Cream
Now this may shock a lot of you but last month was the first time i had ever tried this. Terrible i know and i'm kicking myself for it now. I absolutely ADORE this, its amazing. I use this on my knees, elbows and a few other patches that get quite dry, I often put it on my lips at night as well. It is very thick and quite sticky but it just works, It takes awful dry skin and fixes it. I will be re-purchasing this again, in fact i already bought the Limited Jewel Edition tub.

Nars Shimmer Eyeshadow - Fathom
This is my first Nars eyeshadow and so far im loving it. It glides on perfectly and doesnt fall all over your face, it stays where its meant to. It is quite sheer and can be worn in the day time with out looking ott but it can be built up really well for a more dramatic night eye. The shimmers last a really long time and it doesnt rub or transfer.
This exact shade is just pretty and pink and shimmery without looking childish. Below is it swatched fairly heavily but it can be built up fuller.


Lorna xxx

Saturday 20 October 2012

Amazing Back combing Brush

This is one of my best bargin finds. Im not one of those people what backcombes there hair so much they look like theyve just been dropped out of a tornado but i like a little volune in my roots as i have quite flat hair.




Now this brush may look cheap and like it would damage your hair but it doe not. It works an absolute treat. It is a kind of buildable back comb that means you can get just a little volume or, if you wanted to go for that look, back comb it to the heavens. The bristles are quite thick and very stiff (and very very plastic) but it just works.

Now do you want to know the best part??? Its £1. Yes i said it £1 from Primark.
Run, Run, Run out now and stock up on them. haha

Enjoy yer backcomin folks :D
Lorna xxx

Thursday 18 October 2012

Korres Korres and more Korres.

So as you'll probably have guessed by know im a bit obsessed with checking out the latest beauty discounts in TKMaxx and my last trip proved to be one of the most exciting yet!
I found a few Korres products hidden in the back shelves and boy i was a happy girl.


I ended up with the Body Butters in Japanese Rose, Quince and Guava and also the Shower Gel in Japanese Rose.
I am a massive fan of these body butters and i use them most nights, maybe switching it up for my Soap and Glory every so often. I think the Japanese Rose smells he best.
These moisturize so well, they spread well and evenly, they sink in fast and don't feel sticky. My skin feels soft and supple all day until the night when i reapply. The smell also lingers nicely on the skin but not in the overt way.

 
The Body Butters retail for £12.50 and the Shower Gels £7.50 (Prices from Lookfantastic.com). In TKMaxx the Body Butters were £4.99 and the Shower Gel was £3.99. So in total tha'ts a saving of £26.04!!! I'm going to go to the other TKMaxx near me and see if they have any of the Mint Tea products as they are my all time favorite.

Anyone else had some great TKMaxx finds? 

Lorna xxx

Tuesday 16 October 2012

Pretty 'Punch Studio' Trinket Soaps :D

Just a warning first that this post is basically pretty pictures.
These little beauties are something i stumbled across in TkMaxx the other day and how glad i am. They are just so beautiful that i got both of these because i couldnt choose between them, and it was a hard task to get it down to these two because there was so many designs.


 Now this photo is pretty dark but its so i can show off the sparkles better.




I really like this one as it opens like a little treasure box with a little magnet.



This one is my favourite though, between the little birds, the glitter and being a little book im totes in love with it.

These soaps smell absolutely amazing, slightly floral but zesty at the same time. Ive not tries them yet as i dont really want to open them.

Im definately going to go back and get a few more for little extra christmas pressents as they were only £2.99 and look so much more expensive.

On the Punch Studio website there is a lot of other products you can buy that all have similar decorative packaging.

Okay i know this isnt much of a post but i have a few lined up so there will be a better one up either tonight or tomorrow morning (maybe both if your lucky).

Lorna xxx

Saturday 13 October 2012

NOTD #2

I have had this on for a about 5 days now so excuse the chips in the photos.
Now this looks like a colour that a lot of bloggers such as Lily from What I Heart Today have been talking about recently from Butter London Bossy Boots but alas it is not as im a little on the poor side at the moment. This is actually Essie Navigate Her, which to be honest is very very similar as far as im concerned. Essie is slightly more minty and less pistachio-y. And it has (an old purchase) Butter London Tart With a Heart over it for a bit of sparkle haha.



 Butter London Tart with a Heart doesnt show up to well in the picures and in all honesty it doesnt show up in the bottle well either. I might put a photo up of it on its own later because it is suck a beautiful colour.

 Now as i said and i'm sure you can see, this chipped quite a lot (the photos were taken after two days of wear) which is not very good wear but keep in mind i did not use a base of top coat. I have since reapplied with my Seche Vite and its holding up better.


Now the reason for this lovely close up of my finger is because i want to point out the lumps on my nails. This is because i was a very bad girl and took my acrylic nails off myself and little bits are still left. Just wanted it put out so that you didnt think i had desiesed nails or anything. haha

Well i think its pretty anyway, and its far enough away from pastel that it looks nice and autumnal.

What do you recon?

Lorna xxx

Friday 12 October 2012

Elf Haul - Part 1

So as you may have seen on an earlier post i recently got a MEGA haul from E.L.F as they were doing an offer that if you spend over £50 you got £25 off. So i got £50.50 worth of things and it only cost me £25.50. That's basically 50% off which is amazing!!


Now as you can see i got a lot of things so i'm doing this post in 2 parts. Part one will be the eye shadows, eye primers and the blush/bronzer set and Part 2 will be the rest.




Bottom to Top: Sheer /// Sheer blended /// Pearl /// Pearl blended /// Champagne /// Champagne blended
These are the three eye primers (they can be seen in the group pictures as the three lip gloss shaped tubes. They are from bottom to top:
  • Elf Mineral Eyeshadow Primer - Sheer - £3
  • Elf Eyelid Primer - Pearl - £1.50
  • Elf Eyelid Primer - Champagne - £1.50
As you can see these are very different and i tend to use different ones depending on what eyeshadow i'm putting on. I use the mineral sheer the most, i looks great under daytime eye makeup, nudes and simple. The pearl i use for nighttime, going out looks (not a dark smokey eye as its white and bright) that have a fair bit of shimmer in them and i use the champagne for a dark smokey eye.
I think that the mineral works best as a primer, it definitely has the longer staying power although they all work incredibly well for the price.

Blush /// Bronzer
This is the Elf Contouring Blush & Bronzing Powder - £3.75.
I do quite like using this for when im contouring but i need to be very careful with it because it is a very warm toned bronzer and you can end up looking fairly orange. The blusher is a pale pink shade that works well on pale, minimal makeup days and while it does have a shimmer through it it is not over the top.
It comes in a lovely little compact duo with a mirror.


These are the four duo creme eye shadows and they are all £1.50 each . The consistency of them is lovely very creamy but not thick and they are so pigmented you only need a tiny amount. Below are closer up pictures.

Left to right this is The Butter Pecan Duo and the Black Licorice Duo.
 I really love the licorice duo for starting a smokey eye for a night out and the butter pecan duo is great for day time (its a bit less red than it looks in photo)

From lest to right this is the Olive Duo and the Berry Mix Duo.
 Ive only used the brown shade of the Olive duo as of yet and i love it however iv been using both of Berry Mix quite often. (the darker of berry mix is less red and more purple in real life).


L-R Night Owl Heavily Swatched /// Night Owl Lightly Swatched /// Baked Brown Heavily Swatched /// Baked Brown Lightly Swatched

This is the Elf Glitter Eyeshadow and the Elf Studio Eyeshadow Pigment.
From the top pictures the glitter shadow is in the circular white packaging and the pigment is in the small square tub.
  • The Glitter is in the shade Night owl  - £2.50 
  • The Pigment is in the shade Baked Brown - £3.75
I love the pigment shade for everyday makeup, its just such a perfect colour to go with blue eyes and the glitter looks good for a night out.


So this is part 1, part two will include the eyebrow kit, body shimmer, eyebrow tint and tame, clear brow and lash gel, HD under eye setting powder and the brush shampoo and daily cleaning.

What are your Elf faves?

Lorna xxx

Wednesday 10 October 2012

I bought myself a early christmas present - Benefit Sexy Little Stoyaways

I ive not been feeling great reacently and it was payday so i decided to treat myself to a little bit of everything from Benefit :) 
I first heard about this when Fee from Makeup Savvy did her Christmas Beauty Gifts post and i have been lusting after it since. 

Image from Bloomingdale's as i couldn't be bothered talking a photo with my shite camera.
It contains:
It's potent! Eye Cream 3g
Bad Gal Lash 4g
Stay Don't Stray 2.5ml
Ooh La Lift 2.5ml
Chacha Tint 2.5ml
Sun Beam 2.5ml
The Porefessional 7.5ml
Hoola 3g
Bella Bamba 3g
"That Gal" 7.5ml

This all for £25 from Boots.
I especially cant wait to try the It's Potent Eye Cream and "That Gal". I'm also thinking that Hoola might be quite good for contouring? Whats your thoughts about it? 
Im quite happt i have two mini Sun Beams now as i got the free In Style one last week. 
I use the They're Real Mascara on days im not using L'Oreal telescopic or for a night out so im hoping Bad Gal lash will live up to it.

Short post today but im really not that well (forgot to take my medication this morning) haha

Anyone else buying themselves christmas presents this week?

Lorna xxx

P.s I'm pretty sure ive convinced the Fiance to get me the Selfridges Advent Calander so fingers crossed for me and watch this space.





Sunday 7 October 2012

Product exchange???

Hi. So this is a little bit of an unusual post, but i was wondering if any of my readers from outside the uk (mainly the US) would like to do a product exchange of things we cant get? Like products available in the us that i cant get in the uk and vise verse. There are some things i really want but can only find at extortionate prices on ebay or would have to be on holiday to get. If anyone is in the same position and would be interested either leave a comment or email me at lornalouise.beautyandkittens@gmail.com.

Lorna xxx

Thursday 4 October 2012

NOTD #1

So this is my first every Nails of the day. I have only just got my French Acrylic that i got for showing my ring off off and decided to start trying out some of the pollished ive been buying and unable to use.
I decided to go for Essie Bahama Mama and Barry M Rose Quartz Glitter. 

   
These photoes are all a few days old but the polish is still not chipped at all. This is without a base of top coat (i was in a big rush).






 Because my camera is still not fixed i have had to use my phone and the photos are not the best quality but the colours are truely lovely.


Bahama Mama i think is actually i bit richer and purple than the photo, its one of my favourite polishes already. Some essie polishes (bikini so teeny anyone) get glupey and lumpy but this is not one of them, this glides on perfectly. 
Rose Quarts is not as thick as some glitter polishes but still gives great coverage (on mine it is only one coat of it) and its a nice mix of big and small glitter peices. Its a perfect glitter for bahamma mama.




 Anyone else loving these colours? What are your go to autum/winter colours?

Lorna xxx

p.s its always nice to get more followers, if you like please read on and follow if you like to.

New Yankee Candle's

I was out shopping (as per) and decided to have a wee wander into the Yankee Candle shop in the Buchanan Galleries. What i saw made me weep with joy, my favourite candles were on sale. The two that i got were the large jars and were £14 each. To be honest i have now found out that they are mostly on sale at this price online at the moment but i like buying in store, it makes me smiley :D
The large jars are 110 to 150 burning hours.  and are big enough to be a feature but not so big as to be impractical. 



Mango Peach Salsa is one of my favourite summer candles ever and im using it right now to try and cheat myself into thinking its still sunny outside. Its a very stong fruity smell but not sickly and its a georgeous colour.


I got this Mandarin Cranberry one because i really love fruity candles but they're not very wintery or cosy so i thought this smelled like a good comprimise as its fruity but also quite warm and homely.


This candle shade was soooooo pretty i just had to have it and it was only £13. My mum is always really worried about smoke coming off candles and staining the walls so this keeps her happy for m to have my little lights :) It gives off the prettiest glow when lit.


I'm really wanting to try Christmas Cookie and Pomegranate Cider.

What are your favourite candles? Anyone love these?

Monday 1 October 2012

Bobbi Brown Corrector and concealor kit

Now i have wanted to try this since i saw EssieButton (link to the post) talking about it in one of her videos, it seemed to be an amazing product and i hoped it would fix my dreadful dark circles. This was quite a while ago now though but i finally got round to stopping of at the Bobbi Brown counter. I've never actually used any Bobbi Brown products before (although i have a friend who swears by them) so i had know idea what shades i would be (the corrector has 12 shades available and the concealer 14). That's why i found myself sitting in the dreaded chair feeling like i was on display to the shoppers as she took half my make-up off so she could find my shade. 
I don't think i've ever said on here but i really hate those chairs, getting stuff slapped on my face in front of everyone, i don't know why but i would rather have a guess myself and if i'm wrong sell it on. 
But eventually my ordeal was over and i had my shades. Bisque in the corrector and Beige in the concealer.





The corrector is pink tinged to counteract the blue/purple colour and goes on first just with a concealer brush (i use the real techniques one), then the concealer goes on top and it comes with a yellow setting powder to use over lastly. 




This stuff it very creamy and very pigmented so a little goes a long way. I took my makeup and put this on again when  i got home as i didn't like the way the lady put it on, it was a bit lumpy and not blended in, but when i did it myself it was fine and looked really good. 


                                                        Corrector // Concealer // powder                                                                   Please note these are very heavily swatched to show on the camera, they really do blend well with my skin tone.

I have worn this all day and it has not budged at all, no creasing (except where i already had lines). The colour hasnt faded and no purple is showing through. Its truely remarkable how much better my face looks, how much more even my whole skin tone looks with the under eyes covered well. I would urge anyone will problem dark circles to get this, i truely think its a wonder product.
 
I think the packaging they come in is really nice, its simple and stylish and will be easy to keep clean. Although i think the concealer looks a bit like a contact lens case and i wish you got more in it, 1.4g of each of the creams.The corrector is £18 and can be found here and the concealer kit is £24 and can be found here, both from John Lewis.

Now while i was there i discovered and had a look at Bobbi Brown Brightening Finishing Powder - Brightening Nudes. I beg you go and look at this, just sit and gaze at the glory. It is the single most beautiful thing i have ever seen! Its too expensive for me to justify considering i know i would never use it but ohhhh my its divine.

Anyone else really like this or use anything else? Let me know.

Lorna xxx Follow on Bloglovin