Sunday, 19 July 2015

Pop Beauty : Peach Patfait Bright Up Your Life

Fresh from this months BirchBox or should I say BirchBAG is the Pop Beauty eye shadow trio.

I was a little apprehensive about this eye shadow set when I first pulled it out of the bag. Being a converted MakeUpGeek eye shadow lover, I thought 'argh I bet they are going to be so chalky' but I was so so wrong!

These colours are so far from chalky I almost couldn't believe it. The original palette comes with not 3 (like the BirchBox sample) but 10 colours for £15.50! That, is a bargain.

The full palette looks like this...


(https://www.birchbox.co.uk/shop/pop-beauty-bright-up-your-life)


The palette in my birchBAG however had just three colours and can be seen below. The colour on the far left is a beautiful opal/white colour and also makes an amazing highlight.

The middle colour is a pink shade with flecks of gold making it a stunning rose gold colour and then finally the colour on the far right is a warm brown, again with undertones of gold. 



Here are some watches of the three shadows.




I seriously cannot fault these eyeshadows. The colours are beautiful, the texture is creamy and not the slightest bit chalky and the pigment is great. Then there is the added bonus that the whole palette is just £15.50! I serious bargain I think.

I would rate these as being on the same level as the MakeUpGeek shadows. And they are my fav eye shadows so that's saying a lot!,,

Shock up ladies and gents. This palette is a keeper! 

DLJ
Xoxo


Wednesday, 15 July 2015

July BirchBox ... BirchBAG!!

July's BirchBox came with a little twist. Rather than being in the traditional box, this months products came in a super chic pool ready bag.



There were a selection of four different coloured bags, St Tropez (Orange), Hydra (Green), Somerset (Yellow) and Ibiza (Pink). Mine was this beautiful Yellow which personally I feel should have been named SunShine instead of Somerset!



I have to admit, I was pretty disappointed with my June BirchBox, so there was a lot riding on this months selection.



Of the 6 items in my box, I used 3 within the first few hours, which is a pretty good sign of a good box!

Soigen Nail Lacquer - The first thing I reached for was the nail varnish (shocker) which is this AMAZING baby blue shade. at £11 a bottle, I would defiantly by this baby again and have already been eyeing up some of their other shades. I haven't had any issues with my nails become weak or chipping like I have had with other nail products such as LOLA Barcelona.


SpaToYou Nail Buffer - The perfect accessory to go with this nail colour was also in my bag. It has four different surfaces you can use while giving yourself a mini mani. 


Pop Cosmetics Eyeshadow Trio - When I first pulled out this next item, I was a little apprehensive. After being converted to Make Up Geek eyeshadows, I was worried these eye colours would be 'chalky' and dry. But they are incredible. I was so shocked when I discovered how creamy and pigmented they were! All three colours are beautiful. I will be doing a blog about this eye shadow palette specifically on Sunday along with swatches!



There are still three products that I am yet to try which are below, mainly because I haven't had the chance / opportunity to do so

1) Unani Aloe Vera Gel - great for using after long exposure to the sun to add extra moisture back into your skin.



2) Indemne Eau De Genie - 100% organic skin 'spritz' to enhance your usual cleanser.


3) Benefit Cosmetics Dream Screen - ultra lightweight, matte finish sunscreen. I'm excited to try this when I go off on honeymoon in September. I always hate applying sunscreen to my face as it can be so oily, but is so important to protect your face from the suns dangerous rays! 




My only 'nag' is that I have seen other boxes that have a Beauty Blender instead of the Nail Buffer and personally I would have much rather had the Beauty Blender. So that was a bit of a bummer but hey ho. 

Otherwise I am pretty happy with this months box. I will be doing more specific product blogs over the coming weeks. So keep your eyes pealed! The first will be the Pop Beauty Eyeshadow Trio this Sunday! 

DLJ
Xoxo


Wednesday, 8 July 2015

Cowshed : Knackered Cow

The Knackered Cow relaxing body lotion is packed with essential oils which include lavender and eucalyptus.

The bottle itself is pretty cute. Normally, they come in 300ml sizes, but this bottle came in my June BirchBox so is a 3rd of the size.

    
   

I have seen these products a few times, mainly in John Lewis and have always thought the packaging was really nice but never actually picked up a bottle, so I was quite excited to try this product out. The Cowshed range is centred around the therapeutic nature of botanical oils and are produced in England.

The blend of lavender and eucalyptus is designed to help you 'slow down and unwind'. According to the bottle, lavender helps to restore harmony whilst eucalyptus clarifies the mind. So with this in mind, I have been using this lotion before bed.




The lotion itself smells divine and really does help to relax and sooth you. My mum has always used lavender products before bed, so the smell remind me of sitting in bed reading or watching TV with my mum as a little girl after her lavender infused baths.

In terms of hydrating and moisturising, I would say that it is okay. After application, I wasn't blown away by how soft my skin felt. My favourite body moisturisers are from The Body Shop and I just didn't feel like Cowshed provided as much moisture to my skin. Don't get my wrong, my skin felt soft after application, I just didn't feel like it was a 'wow' moment, you know what I mean?

Price : on the John Lewis website, a 300ml bottle os £20. To be 100% honest, I can't see myself going and picking up a bottle of this once I have finished it. The smell is incredible but can be achieved by using oils and the moisture just isn't good enough for me to part with £20 for a bottle. Sorry Cowshed!

DLJ
Xoxo