The best of the after Christmas sales

I like a good bargain like anyone, but I am not one for standing outside a store at dawn or facing the madness of Boxing Day shoppers. These are just a few things I managed to find after the frenzy had died down. 

My lil stahs of goodies 

Kurt Gieger Mabel flats 

Laura Mercier Mini Eyeliners 

        

Soap and glory Eyeliners

Laura Mercier Mini glosses 

I did not get much but I picked up a few good things. 

The Kurt Gieger flats are super comfy,

 the Laura Mercier glosses are moisturizing with 

great colour payoff plus they are travel sized, lol. 

I love coloured eyeliner, that is just my thing. 

This year I did not pick up any of the urban decay eyeliner sets, 

but these two are more than making up for it. 

Have a great day my lovelies.

xx

Face Of The Day

Take no notice of my backyard selfie. I refrained from cropping the shadow of my hand across the photo, because it adds to the authenticity of the image. lol lol 

Face of the Day includes 

MAC Studio Fix Powder + Foundation -  NW45

IMAN Powder -  Earth Dark

Nars Blush - Outlaw ( I still love that name, lol)  

Soap and Glory Thick and Fast Super Volume Mascara

MAC Moisture Cover Concealer - NW45 & NC45  (under eyes)

MAC Studio Finish Concealer - NW45 (shaping brows and covering blemishes)

MAC Prep and Prime Eye - Dark

MAC Retro Matte Lipstick - Flat out Fabulous

MAC Lip pencil  - Magenta 

xo xo 

Christmas Wishlist 2013

        Keeping it short and sweet this year on the gifting front. Top of the list are two books which I am dying to get my hands on. Next on the list up are makeup brushes and the ever essential headphones for listening to music on my nano.

David and Goliath: Underdogs, Misfits and the Art of Battling Giants  by Malcolm Gladwell

Gentlewoman by Enitan Bereola

Never Wrestle with a Pig - Mark McCormack

Don't Waste Your Pretty -  Demetria Lucas

Models Own Angle Blush Brush

Eco Tools Retractable Kabuki Brush 

Apple Headphones - White

Eco Tools Powder Brush 

Soap and Glory Good, Butter, Best Gift set

Soap and Glory Once Upon a Lime Gift set.

MAC vouchers

 Boots vouchers

Current Bath Time Routine

Dove Creme Mouse Body Wash 

Dove Original Anti -Perspirant Deodorant

Vaseline Cocoa Radiant Body Butter 
Soap and Glory Mist You Madly Body Spray

Zara Rose Eau De Toilette 

The Body Shop Raspberry Body Scrub 

These are the bath products I currently have in rotation. With the weather still behaving crazy, snow/hail/sleet,  the cold air and fake heating it is too easy to fall into the trap of not taking care of the skin on your body. To combat this I am trying to use as many moisturizing products as possible and exfoliating regularly.


Stay warm my lovlies 
xx

Soap and Glory

Soap and Glory is a brand which has been around for a few years. The quirky packaging and catchy product names have made them a hit, not to mention they are not too badly priced. These are few of the Soap and Glory products in my life. 

The Righteous Butter Body Lotion, I also had the Righteous Butter Body butter in my collection but that has long finished. This is a light weight moisturizer which absorbs quickly into the skin leaving no greasy residue. Did I mention that it is famous for smelling exactly like Miss Dior Cherie EDP?

The easiest way to describe this is "a spray on body shimmer" this is a light spray oil which contains reflective particles. I usually apply this over the righteous body lotion( or any other moisturizer which I am wearing) on nights out.

I have mentioned this before , last year in my spring scents post. It is still alive and yes that is the same bottle. This is a body mist with a citrus fragrance, great for the late spring when the weather starts heating up properly. It is also good if  you are just tired of the cold weather and need a pick me up. 

Love and Light

xx

Spring Beauty Clean Project 10 Pan 2013

     The time has come to get rid of a few things. I am by no means a hoarder or a product junkie, but I do like choice.  At any one time I usually have 2 shower gels/body washes in rotation, sometimes three. This has lead to me having a few half bottles/ tubs of products which I have decided to use up. Today I might smell like water melon, tomorrow I might like to smell like a mango, on Friday I might desire to smell like a rain forest or what ever concoction these various, deodorants, body sprays, shower gels or body creams would have me believe. 

      This is my version of a spring clean, there is nothing adversely wrong with these products. I have no reason to just throw them out, hence I have imposed a project 10 pan (even though there are more than 10 things on this list). I will NOT be purchasing any new beauty products or cosmetics until everything on this list has been used up. By my calculations that should take me 2 months.  update (I think to fully use everything I will extend this til the end of May.  I  have not bought any beauty products, since starting this project 10 pan apart from the two bottles of Almond oil.)

Spring Beauty Clean Project 10 Pan List:

Darcy's Botanicals Sweet Cocoa Bean curl smoothing Cream (1/4 bottle)  

Avon Light moisturizing gel cream (4/5 tub)   gave this to my lil sis.

Almond Glaze (1/5 tub)  finished 

Origins Oil Cleanser ( 1/5 bottle)  finished 

Elasta QP Anti-Breakage Serum (1/5 bottle)  finished 

Radox Cherry Shower Gel (1/3 bottle)  finished 

Botanics Brightening Night Cream (1/2 tub)

Soap and Glory The righteous Butter Body Lotion (1/4 bottle)

Afroveda B. A. R. E. (1/4 tub) update (about 3 uses left 10/04/2013)

Sk:n Vitamin Rich cleanser for Oily skin (2/3 bottle) update (1/2 bottle on 10/04/2013)

The Body Shop Tea Tree Cleansing pads (nearly full container) update (1/2 full container on 10/04/2013)

Clean and Clear Brightening Lotion (1/3 bottle)

Matrix Total Results Conditioner (1/4 bottle)

Matrix Total Results Intensive Treatment (4/5 tub)

Nivea Sunblock (1/2 bottle)

Love and Light

xx

The Summer Body Mist - FCUK,Ted Baker, Soap and Glory

Everytime I see Soap and Glory I am tempted to say Glorayyy, lol. 

     Summer is here, though you would not think that from the crazy weather we always have in England. However I have decided to rage against the machine, I refuse to be upset and not have fun just because the weather is poor. That being said I wanted some nice fragrances for the summer. I chose not to go with a perfume from one of the traditional fragrance houses because that would mean shelling out alot of dosh, and committing to wear that scent all summer. I for one when I spend a bit of money on an item I  use it to death. Instead I went rummaging through my stash and I found a Strawberry body mist from The Body Shop which I bought 3 years ago, the scent was so overpowering I have placed that aside to give to my little sister. I also found the Body Shop Green Apple body mist (I have the entire set) which my dad bought me a few years ago on a shopping trip on Oxford Street (the first and last time I ever saw my dads gold credit card I tell you), 1. that fragrance has sentimental value and 2. the way I like to spritz up that would not last a week. 

      Off to the shops I went, after much much perusing I picked 3 body mists, 1 from Soap and Glory and 2 from Ted Baker. 

    Soap and Glory "Mist You Madly." - spritz mist you madly on whenever you need a flash of fabulousness. I def agree with this somewhat, this scent is def the most summer appropriate out of the three mists, it is very light, fruity and refreshing with a hint of (what I think is grapefruit).

    Ted Baker "Butterfly" - for all you social butterflies you'll certainly stand out from the crowd with a quick spritz of this beautiful body spray scented with elegant bergamot, and red fruit, highlighted with tuberose and patchouli. To me this scent is more floral, it has a bit more body to it, its more grown up than the "Mist You Madly."

  

Ted Baker "Origami" - A vivacious body spray of rose , sandalwood, and juicy raspberry and a touch of vanilla might look good on paper, but you better believe it smells even better on your skin. this is the most heavy out of all three scents, I do like it, it dries down to a lovely finish. I did rotate it with the other two fragrances, but when I was going out in the evenings I wore this alot, since it so much heavier than the other two.

FCUK "Signature" - accessorize your body with a fruity oriental fragrance. FCUK signature a sparkling oriental fragrance simply exotic. This is another noteworthy fragrance, it has depth, but it is not an overpowering or cloying scent. 

I do recommend these if you are on a budget or you would like to try some inexpensive fragrance alternatives. they have lasted quite a while and I am a person who wear fragrance every day. 

stay sweet my lovelies

My 11 most reached for Beauty products.........

    This is a tag that has been around in the online beauty community for a while with beauty bloggers and vloggers. I find that with beauty being such a huge area we are constantly trying to find ways to set ourselves apart, however there is nothing wrong with conforming at times. Beauty tags in my opinion are a great way to find out what products, persons with similar interest are using. Other bloggers may be using a product you are using but in multiple ways, where as you may be only using it one way. These tags are a quick and easy way to share information. 

My 11 most reached for Beauty products

Victoria Jackson face palette (£20 with 3 other products) - 16 eye shadows, 6 lipsticks, a translucent powder, a bronzer and a blush.  -------> do not buy

L'oreal Made for Me Naturals, Brow and Eye Duo, Dark Skin Tones (£7) - 2 eye shadows and a brow powder.

Mascara - at the moment I am using the Soap and Glory Thick and Fast mascara (£10)

MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Natural  Deep Dark  (£18.50)one of my girl friends aka the pageant junkie put me onto this a few years ago and I have loved it ever since. It gives me life!!!!! 

Estee Lauder  Bronzing brush  (£23) - a kabuki brush (but you know everybody is trying to be fancy)  when I bought this brush I though damn this is expensive, but its been 3 years and it works just as amazing now as it did the first day I bought it. 

Avene Rich hydrating creme spf 20 (£10.50) - this is what I am currently using as sunblock/spf protection. (trying to be as well preserved as possible for as long as possible, lol. 

L'Occitane Shea Butter hand cream (£7.50) - This hand cream is rich, but absorbs into skin very very easy. There is none of that greasy feeling after application. I absolutely love it. I am going to admit I have 3 of these as backups, no I am not shamed. They are always giving these away in magazines and I cop the freebies. Ain't NO shame in this L'Occitane game. 

Rimmel Professional Eyebrow Pencil 004 Black Brown (£2.99) - if you do not have one of these -----> you need to get your life. 

Black eyeliner - at the moment I am using Maybelline Khol express water proof eyeliner glam black (4£4.99) - a blatant copy of the Urban decay 24/7 eyeliner, it does the job.

Coloured Eyeliner - I do not discriminate, in ratation i have from Urban decay -> Lucky, Lust, Electric, and Covet, H & M eyepens -> Bronze, Dark Grey, Maybelline Khol Express waterproof Eyeliner pencils -> Metallic Blue, Metallic Green, Rimmel Exaggerate Waterproof Eye Definers -> Pink impact, Aqua sparkle, MAC Powerpoint Eye Pencil -> Navy Stain, Barry M Khol pencil -> 19, Rimmel Special Eyes Precision Eye liner pencil -> Azure Shimmer. 

Lip Balm - At the moment I am using Blistex lip massage, Nivea Pure and Natural milk and honey, Blistex Daily lip conditioner.

miss mai

xx

Comment below and let me know what products you reach for most often (even if its your grandmas face cream, wink wink)

Mascara Stash, Soap and Glory, Body Shop, Clinique

Mascara Stash

Elle Magazine Feb 2012 Soap and Glory Thick and Fast mascara
Red Magazine November 2011 The Body Shop Volume mascara
Glamour Magazine May 2012 Clinique travel sized High Impact mascara
Aunty - Sample size The Body shop Volume mascara 


xx

Spring Summer Fragrances 2012 - Review

Spring/Summer Fragrance #1 Diesel fuel for life Denim collection - light fragrance, appropriate for everyday use in spring months and early summer available in varied sizes 30ml, 50ml and 75ml. 


Spring/Summer Fragrance #2 Soap and Glory Mist you madly - a flirty, floral, fragrance body mist with hints of citrus (my nose detects grapefruit) appropriate for everyday use in the spring, suited to the summer as well, available in 100ml. 


Spring/Summer Fragrance #3 Zara Rose edt - light and lady like fragrance,  non intrusive, appropriate for everyday, daytime as well as evening use, suites for Spring more than summer with its slightly, floral scent, can be used in the summer as well.


Spring/summer Fragrance #4 Ted baker Origami body mist -  A vivacious body mist with tones of Sandalwood, Raspberry, and Vanilla. This body mist has a gorgeous fragrance, for their first foray into mists TB has definitely made a winner with this fragrance. Though it is a "mist" one of the more diluted forms of fragrance, the scent lingers on the skin. It is not an intrusive fragrance, everydya wearable. Available in 50ml and 150ml sizes

Summer Fragrance #5 Zara White edt -  smells clean and fresh - (think body shop white cotton fragrance), it lasts on the skin, very wearable, suitable for everyday use   available in 30ml

Evening Edition - Summer Fragrance #6 Diesel Fuel for life edp pour femme -  this is a lovely fragrance, very suited to special occasions and evening. It is an eau de parfum, therefore the fragrance will last longer on the skin due to the higher concentration of perfumed oils. Available in 30ml, 50ml and 75ml    

Summer Fragrance #7 Stella McCartney L.I.L.Y. - a must have fragrance gorgeous, very light and floral/citrus scent, but not overpowering, lasts forever on the skin, suitable for everyday wear - but I reserve mine for special occasions or days when I need an extra oomph,this fragrance can be worn in the evening as well. Available in 50ml

Evening Edition - Summer Fragrance #8 Burberry Body - if you don't have this you need to own it. It smells that great, a luxurious scent, slightly floral with a hint of musk, easy on the nose, suited to special occasions and evenings. available is various sizes 30ml, 50ml 100ml

Spring Summer Fragrance list - 2012

Spring/Summer Fragrance #1 Diesel fuel for life Denim collection - light fragrance, appropriate for everyday use in spring months and early summer available in varied sizes 30ml, 50ml and 75ml

Spring/Summer Fragrance #2 Soap and Glory Mist you madly - a flirty, floral, fragrance body mist with hints of citrus (my nose detects grapefruit) appropriate for everyday use in the spring, suited to the summer as well, available in 100ml.


Spring/Summer Fragrance #3 Zara Rose edt - light and lady like fragrance,  non intrusive, appropriate for everyday, daytime as well as evening use, suites for Spring more than summer with its slightly, floral scent, can be used in the summer as well.


Spring/summer Fragrance #4 Ted baker Origami body mist -  A vivacious body mist with tones of Sandalwood, Raspberry, and Vanilla. This body mist has a gorgeous fragrance, for their first foray into mists TB has definitely made a winner with this fragrance. Though it is a "mist" one of the more diluted forms of fragrance, the scent lingers on the skin. It is not an intrusive fragrance, everydya wearable. Available in 50ml and 150ml sizes

Summer Fragrance #5 Zara White edt -  smells clean and fresh - (think body shop white cotton fragrance), it lasts on the skin, very wearable, suitable for everyday use   available in 30ml

Evening Edition - Summer Fragrance #6 Diesel Fuel for life edp pour femme -  this is a lovely fragrance, very suited to special occasions and evening. It is an eau de parfum, therefore the fragrance will last longer on the skin due to the higher concentration of perfumed oils. Available in 30ml, 50ml and 75ml     

Summer Fragrance #7 Stella McCartney L.I.L.Y. - a must have fragrance gorgeous, very light and floral/citrus scent, but not overpowering, lasts forever on the skin, suitable for everyday wear - but I reserve mine for special occasions or days when I need an extra oomph,this fragrance can be worn in the evening as well. Available in 50ml

Evening Edition - Summer Fragrance #8 Burberry Body - if you don't have this you need to own it. It smells that great, a luxurious scent, slightly floral with a hint of musk, easy on the nose, suited to special occasions and evenings. available is various sizes 30ml, 50ml 100ml

Hand Bag Edition -  Spring/Summer Fragrance Ted Baker Origami body mist 50ml - The Ted Baker Origami spray is available in a 50ml size. Since the bottle is made from plastic, this makes it a very portable weight, great for carrying around to refresh yourself on the go.  All in all it is affordable, lightweight, and smells great the perfect fragrance to take around with you. 


Hand Bag Edition - Jack Wills Poppy roller ball - light scent, not intrusive, very playful, appropriate for Summer. Light weight and easy to carry around


Hand Bag Edition - Jack Wills Rose roller ball - slightly heavier scent, though light much more suited to Spring. Light weight and easy to carry around. 




**Please note that fragrances react differently with everyone's natural body chemistry. Therefore two people can wear the same fragrance yet it smells distinctly different on both of them.**

My Winter Beauty Essentials

     Hello there I thought with the weather turning you guys would be interested to see what items I think are vital to me at the moment. It is a mixture of products some skincare, others are bodycare and some makeup. 

Nivea Essential Care lip balm  (the one with the dark blue cover) - the first item on the list is a lip product, with the weather so dry at the moment, lips are so easy to get chapped. I have been purchasing this for over 10 years. It is an oldie but a goodie, plus it's recession proof (aka very affordable). It is such a good product for me to quickly put on my lips to keep them moisturized and it is small so I can easily put in it in my handbag or my cosmetics case/makeup bag.

Palmers Shea Body Butter - this is another product which is very winter proof and recession proof, with the central heating and the cold air outside, I have been using this to keep my skin supple and away from  *the ash*.

Purell Hygienic Hand Rub - winter is the feeding ground for colds and flu, I have been using this hand sanitiser to keep myself germ free.what I love about the Purell sanitiser compared to others on the market, is the fact that it does not dry out your hands. 

Lotus Olbas oil Vapour Release Tissues - *whatyouknowaboutthat* yes its winter so runny noses come with the territory. I have been using these tissues to keep my nose dry, but also to keep my sinus passage clear. These tissues have been sprayed with tiny capsules of Olbas oil, so when I am going to use them I just crush the tissues up to release the oil vapour. Then I breathe in the vapours as I blow my nose.

 Boots Anti -Viral Tissues -  they claim to kill 99% of the cold and flu virus, cannot hurt I use them interchangeably with the Olbas oil tissues. Essential for the random runny nose.

Wet ones Be zingy Antibacterial Wipes - these are great, the original wet wipes, I use them on my hands, face or body as needed, and the citrus scent is great for the winter when everything is so blah. 

Shower Creams -  now I know that there is a great debate going on regarding shower gel and if it gets your body as clean as soap does. However I love shower gels/body washes.  For the winter I have been loving shower creams, shower creams are like shower gels/body washes but they have in more moisturizers and less sulphates ( the ingredient that causes the bubbles/lather). Products which contain less or no sulphates are less drying on the skin. The ones that I have been using are Original source Shea Butter and Honey shower cream (I have gone through 2 bottles already), Original source Vanilla and Raspberry shower cream ( this smells good enough to eat, reminds me of cupcake toppings), The Body Shop Shea shower cream, and The Body Shop Coconut shower cream.

Soap and Glory Some like it hot body softening Thermal Scrub - its an exfoliator, with all these layers upon layers, I make sure to keep my skin smooth by exfoliating twice a week. 

 Cowshed Cowslip soothing hand cream - Got to keep away the ash, I use this hand cream to keep my hands moisturized. As you know the hands are the first to show signs of aging , I am keeping them looking as young as possible for as long as possible. lol

xx

Miss Mai