Essential Items | Urban Decay Primer Potion

Hello,

Hope you have all had a nice weekend and are nicely refreshed for the upcoming week? I've had quite a relaxing weekend, on saturday i had a thoroughly lazy day where i caught up on a mountain of YouTube videos and read through the backlog of blog posts on my dashboard! Then today i drove into town with good intentions of starting my Christmas shopping... i ended up coming home with a new coat and dress, and bought a grand total of zero christmas presents. Oops!

Anyway, onto today's proper post, all about the lifesaving product that is Urban Decay's Primer Potion.



Being a gal with oily skin *sob* i have to go through the necessary steps of priming my skin before i apply any make up, otherwise by 1pm my make up has slid all over the place. For my eyelids i use Urban Decay's Primer Potion. This must be my second bottle of the stuff, you ony need a teeny bit and one bottle generally lasts me a year, so every christmas this is on my list to santa! ;)

The primer potion comes in a little squeezy tube, it used to be housed in a bottle which you could stand up which had a 'dabber' applicator *technical term* inside. However this meant that a lot of product was wasted, so this new packaging is great and diminishes any thoughts of wasted product. The tube is a metallic lilac in colour, with a decorative grey top. Altogether, very nice packaging and lightweight enough to transport around too.

The product itself is a neutral beige colour, so when you apply it to your eyelid it dries virtually translucent. The texture is quite tacky too, which allows the eyeshadow/liner you choose to apply to stay perfect and crease-free all day. The primer also helps the colours of your eyeshadow/liner to appear more vivid and have a better colour pay off.

For me, this primer is an essential item. There is no way that i could apply eyeshadows without using it. Once i've applied the primer, i feel confident that my eyeshadow will stay put until i remove it in the evening.

Urban Decay Primer Potion | £14.50
Available from most department stores and Boots.

Felicity x

TAG | Why Do You Wear Make Up?

Hello girls,

I've seen this tag on many blogs, and most recently one of my favourite beauty bloggers Kayleigh. So i thought i'd jump aboard the bandwagon and answer the questions too. :)

Image from We Heart It

1. When did you begin loving make up?
I vividly remember going throughout the whole of secondary school without wearing a scrap of make up. However, during sixth form i nabbed my sisters 'Sporty Girl' (Who remembers that brand? How retro!) brown mascara and loved how it made my lashes look. From there my make up application developed progressively onto more hardcore items... ;)

When i left sixth form, i moved into a different town, where i knew nobody, so in my copious amount of spare time i discovered beauty blogs and YouTube beauty girls, which is where my real love for make up began.

2. How do you feel without make up?
Without make up on, i feel a bit pale, and not put together. Putting make up on is to me just like getting dressed, without it i would feel a teensy bit naked! There is another slightly deeper meaning as to why i wear make up too. I had a birthmark removed from my face when i was little which resulted in the muscles in the left side of my face not working - so basically the left side of my face is more or less paralysed. So make up just makes me feel a bit better about my face, it gives me that extra bit of confidence which i wouldn't have without make up.

3. What do you like about make up?
I love the transformation aspect of make up - you can wake up in the morning with bags so big under your eyes that you could carry your shopping in them, apply a bit of concealer and you instantly look like you've had the recommended 7 hours of sleep. We've all had mornings like that, right girls?!
I also love how applying a particular item of make up can make you feel so much better about yourself, be it your YSL lippie or that Chanel blush, we all have that one product that once we apply it, we feel a million bucks!

4. Three Holy Grail Items.
1. Like Kayleigh (who i've nabbed this tag from....) i also count the Urban Decay Naked Palette as one of my all time favourite products. I remember the huge buzz about this product when it came out, a palette full of neutrals with a smattering of glitter - definitely deserves HG status! This palette is one i use religiously everyday, it can take you from a neutral daytime eye through to a smokey sultry look in the sweep of a MAC 217!

2. Urban Decay Primer Potion A bit boring and mundane? Maybe, but highly essential for me. I couldn't wear eyeshadow without this product as i suffer from oily eyelids. This primer is a slightly thick formula and dries transparent on your eyelid, it lasts all day on me and allows my eyeshadow to stay intact and creaseless.

3. Collection 2000 Lasting Perfection Concealer This concealer has reached cult beauty blogger status, even Nic and Sam from Pixiwoo are raving about it, thats a stamp of approval if i ever saw one! This concealer has a lovely creamy consistency that takes it in its stride to cover them dark circles under your eyes and those pesky blemishes, and at under a £5, its a bargain too!

Have you completed this TAG? Leave me the link in the comments if you have, i love reading these tags! If you haven't completed the tag then why not give it a go! :)

Felicity x

Review | Tresemme Heat Protection Spray

Hi girls,

Having longish hair means that taking care of it is a must. Otherwise you can be left with a tangled, dry and frizzy mess of a mane! One product which i use to keep my hair tip-top condition is the Tresemme Heat Protection Spray. A few spritzes of this sweet smelling spray, and your hair will most definitely thank you for it!

The bottle itself is quite reminiscent to me of when you visit the hairdressers, and they have them fancy bottles which sprays the product all over your hair within a couple of spritzes. It also has a 'stop' safety button on the side of the handle, which allows you to 'lock' the product so none of the product will squirt out unexpectedly - great for when you shove this in your toiletries bag when going on your holiday!

When you apply this product, it shoots out from the bottle as a fine mist and each spray covers quite a large area of your hair, so there is no need to go over board spraying here there and everywhere - a little of this stuff goes a long way. Also, as this spray disperses as a mist, it doesn't leave your hair feeling greasy at all - which means its also great to spray on your roots too. This stuff also smells gorgeous, it has that nice 'hairdressers' smell to it.

I use this spray ever morning/evening after i've washed my hair, this thoroughly prepares my hair for the onslaught of heated hair tools, which tackle my mane on a daily basis.

Tresemme have certainly come up trumps with this spray, it does exactly what it says on the bottle and doesn't cost the earth at an affordable £4.69 (Boots). This product makes my hair feel in much better condition, look shinier and also helps my split ends appear less visible. One other little thing i've noticed when using this, is that my hair seems to not take as long to dry - definitely a winner!

Tresemme Heat Defence 300ml - RRP £4.69 | Available from Boots, Superdrug and Wilkinsons.

Felicity xo

Off Topic // Driving Test

Hello,

So today's post (as you may have guessed from the title) is not about make up, hair or fashion, its about driving. Something that i've wanted to be able to do for a while now, and today i finally passed (third times a charm! ;)) I thought i'd share my experience of driving lessons/test as it may be useful to people whom are taking lessons, or are taking their test soon!

Lets start way back when...

Driving Lessons
Finding a decent driving instructor is absolutely vital to making progress with your driving and passing your test. I firstly had an instructor who told me that one hour driving lessons are useless, and that two hour lessons are far more beneficial, so i booked two hour lessons with him where all we would do is literally drive down long country roads, there were hardly any junctions and i wasn't really learning any new driving skills. After having about ten lessons with said instructor, i finally decided enough was enough and decided to change instructors.

My second instructor (who i passed with!) was recommended to me by my one of my mum's friends. If you are looking to take lessons, then definitely try and get a recommendation for a good instructor off a friend, family member, someone at work. Even if you are in the hairdressers having your hair cut, mention to your hairdresser that you're having lessons and do they know any good instructors, chances are that someone will know be able to recommend someone. My instructor was an independent instructor, so he isn't working for any of the Driving Schools such as The AA, LDC, BSM. I think independent instructors also tend to charge a little less than motoring schools.

During my driving lessons with my second instructor i was steadily progressing. We started off with going around housing estates, then onto main roads, major roundabouts, town centre traffic, dual carriageways and finally to country roads. Whilst learning to drive you will have crappy lessons where you think 'i'm never gonna be able to drive!' then you'll have good lessons where you think 'hey, this driving malarky isn't so hard after all!'. We also covered the 3 manoeuvres, Turn In The Road, Left Reverse and Parallel Parking (at my test centre, we don't do bay parking, although we did cover this in my lessons too) Manoeuvres are not my strongest point, i found Turn In The Road easy enough, but Parallel Parking and Left Reverse definitely took a lot of practice to get them to test standard, and even then i was hoping they wouldn't come up on my test! I think the key with manoeuvres is to keep them super slow, theres no rush to get them finished, and if you mess it up then you can always correct yourself. E.g. If you come a bit wide on a Left Reverse then you can take the car forward slightly and reverse back closer in.

Driving Test
Test 1 On my first test i went in thinking i was gonna pass, all was going so well until my manoeuvre, i was told to reverse around a corner. I reversed my car around the corner but turned the wheel slightly too late, which resulted in me being too wide. Then i did the worse thing that i could do and panicked and stalled the car. All my confidence was banished, and i just knew i had failed! In hindsight i should of took a deep breath, took the car forward and then reversed back closer in, but unfortunately i didn't. So that was fail number 1.

Test 2 This test was also going very well, my general driving was great, i got Turn In The Road as my manoeuvre, which i carried out perfectly - i thought to myself great i can relax now! Then my examiner told me it was time for the independent driving. For this he told me to follow signs for a particular place, most of the independent drive was in the countryside with differing speed limits (40 to 60 to 50...) I got back to the test centre, pulled up thinking i'd passed and was told i'd failed. I'd been driving 5mph over the speed limit! Yup, i failed on 5mph, such a silly mistake to fail on! So if you are driving in the countryside on your test, or anywhere with differing speed limits then keep your wits about you and watch your speed.

Test 3 - Today was the day i passed my test. My examiner was the guy who failed me for my first test, slightly awkward, but he is a really nice examiner, very friendly and calming. I did my general driving, which went fine, my independent driving was also good, and i got a Turn In The Road as a manoeuvre. This time though, i didn't get ahead of myself and didn't let myself think i'd passed. I kept calm and really concetrated on my driving. We got back to the test centre and he told me i'd passed, with 3 minor faults! :)

Driving Test Tips

• Remember to adjust your seat/head restraint so you are comfortable.
• Concentrate on your driving, even if you think you have passed.
• Be on the lookout for no entry signs, these catch a lot of people out apparently!
• Whilst doing your manoeuvre keep it slow, calm and make sure your looking out of all your windows.
• Listen to the examiner, if you can't remember what he said, ask him/her to repeat the instruction.
• Get a good nights sleep the night before and try to eat something for breakfast before your test, trust me, you'll feel a lot better with something in your stomach.

Test Cancelation Website

After i failed my second test, there was a 6 week waiting list until the next available test date. I didn't want to wait that long so i signed up to a website which emailed me when a cancellation at my chosen test centre arose. The website is www.changedrivingtest.co.uk all you do is register your email address, and when a cancelation becomes available, you'll receive an email notifying you, then simply logon to the DSA direct.gov website and take the cancelation date, you have to be quick with them though as cancellations go very quickly! 

So, thats my driving experience. I really hoped it helped someone out there! If you want to vent/talk to  anyone about driving lessons/tests then feel free to email me at felicityisherwood@yahoo.co.uk I'm no expert, but if i can pass my driving test, then anyone can! :)

Felicity xo

Brushes // Japonesque

Hello girlies,

Hope you are all having a lovely bank holiday weekend, mine has been pretty relaxing, but tomorrow i am going to my first car boot sale with the family, we've got our own little stall so are hoping to get rid of some junk - bring on the 7.30am start!

Today's post is all about some rather lovely brushes from Japonesque, a brand that has been whispered about throughout the blogging land for some time, and rightly so - the brushes are uh-mazing!




The brushes are from the Pro Long Handle Range, which is their standard range. All the brushes in the range have a long sturdy wooden handle for leverage and control.



Pro Eye Detailer - 213
This brush is very versatile, it can do anything from packing colour onto the eyelid, creating a nice shape whilst applying eyeshadow and it even work very well in the crease - a great all rounder! The bristles are soft and quite densely packed which i find helps pick up eye shadow better.

Pro Eye Shadow Crease Brush - 232
No prizes for guessing what this brush is used for... ;) This brush does exactly what it claims to do and work shadow into the crease like a dream! The brush is dense enough to get some nice definition in the crease, but i've found you do have to do a bit of blending afterwards, to give you a slightly softer finish, otherwise it can look a bit harsh.

Pro Eyeliner Brush Flat
This eyeliner brush works well with liquid and gel eyeliner, and also picks up eyeshadow really well if you prefer to use that as a liner. The brush has a nice sharp edge which allows you to get a nice precise line. I've been using this brush daily with a dark brown eyeshadow and simply pressing it against my lash line to create a very subtle daily smokey eye, works like a dream! :)



A little thing i noticed about all Japonesque brushes is that on the back of their packaging they have a little 'how to' guide as to what the brushes should be used for. I think this is very helpful for people who maybe looking for a brush for a particular purpose, or if they are simply not sure how to use it! Bravo Japonesque.

Japonesuqe are available at Boots and Amazon.

Hope you all enjoyed the post and are doing ok. Have a lovely sunday evening!

Felicity xo

My Hair Saviour . . . Batiste XXL

Hey girlies,

Hope everyone is well! :)

I've gotta admit, i love my beauty sleep, and todays review is all about what saves my hair when i've overslept and haven't got time to jump in the shower. Ladies, meet one of Batiste's recruits, the XXL.

As the name would suggest this bottle of Batiste is all about giving your hair some va-va-voom, being a girl who loves a bit of volume, i thought i'd give it a thorough testing.



The bottle itself is on the rather tall side (400ml! :o ), when sat amongst the smaller versions of Batiste in Boots/Superdrug it looks pretty monstrous! Evidently aimed at the ladies, there is a rather groovy (definitely didn't say groovy...) pink swirly pattern on the front and the usual 'how to' guide on the back which is super useful for dry shampoo novices.

So, does it work? It sure does! When sprayed and massaged (or sleepily rubbed in...) into my hair this little beauty leaves me with fuller bodied hair with volume at the roots, with no signs of greasy hair. This dry shampoo has a slightly weird texture, it leaves your hair feeling slightly 'stiff', almost like you've used a bit of hairspray. I wouldn't say thats a negative though, as it does hold the volume in place for a reasonable amount of time.

If you haven't already, i'd truly recommend checking out the Batiste products in Boots/Superdrug. They are reasonably priced and always come in handy, especially if you need that ever so vital extra 10 minutes in bed in the morning...

Felicity xoxo

Liz Earle Sheer Skin Tint

Hi girls,

I've recently cast aside my usual foundation (Revlon Colourstay) for the more sheer variety of foundations. Over the next two days i'll be telling you about my two favourite tinted moisturiser.

First up is the Liz Earle Sheer Skin Tint. Liz Earle is primarily a skincare brand so i was curious when i heard whispers that they had expanded into the world of make up.  The Sheer Skin Tint does exactly what it says on the tube, gives your skin a lovely uplifting tint of colour.



The packaging comes in the form of a royal blue cardboard box (which i helpfully threw away...) and the actual foundation is housed in a squeezy tube which allows you total control as to how much product you require. Another subtle feature of the packaging is the little silver/blue reflex which are on the squeezy tube, totally unnecessary yet very appreciated and pretty! ;)

Liz Earle have aptly named this product as a 'Sheer Skin Tint', i'd place it somewhere between a full coverage foundation and a tinted moisturiser - enough coverage to hide minor redness/little spots, but not enough coverage to hide the monthly breakouts! ;) I have Normal to Oily skin and found that this foundation gave my skin a natural dewy finish and felt nice and light on my skin too. I found it lasted around 8 hours on my skin before i felt that my skin needed touching up. I applied the skin tint simply by using my fingers which gave me a natural light-medium coverage. The formula of the foundation is quite thick and a little goes a long way.

Being a Liz Earle product, the skin tint contains ingredients which are great for your skin. Borage Oil - this helps lock moisture into your skin, Vitamin E which helps protect skin against damage caused by pollution and the sun's radiation and an SPF 15. A foundation with ingredients to care for your skin, impressive right?!

The shade range for this product is slightly disappointing. It comes in 4 shades - Bare, Beige, Beach and Deep Bisque. I'm using the shade Bare, which blends into my (rather pale at the moment :'( ) skin tone nicely.

Overall i'm really liking this foundation, it offers a natural dewy finish and has surprisingly good longevity too. The Sheer Skin Tint retails for £21.00 for 40ml and is available from the Liz Earle website.

Hope you're all having a good week!

Felicity xo

Japonesque Brushes

Hi girls,

Japonesque are a brand of brushes that i'm sure you are all aware of as they are highly proclaimed by both make up artists and beauty bloggers.

Japonesque have a variety of brush collections, from their Pro Brushes to the Travel Brushes, there is something for everyone.

I was given the opportunity to review a selection of the Travel brushes for you.




Powder Brush £27.25



Being from the Travel brush collective, this brush has a short handle. Very convenient for travelling, as you can easily store it within your make up bag. The handle is in sleek silver, with black writing stating 'Japonesque' and the brush reference number.

The brush itself is very impressive! Its fluffy, on the larger side and nice and soft against your skin - everything you could wish for in a powder brush, right?! I use this brush primarily for sweeping translucent powder on, or even bronzer if i'm seeking a little more of a bronzed look. The brush picks up product easily, and disperses the product nicely.

I've also gave this brush a good wash and can confirm that it doesn't shed, and dries super soft too. (little note: I wash my brushes in Johnsons Baby Shampoo :))


Angled Foundation Brush £17.50



I've heard lots of positive things about angled foundation brushes, so was very happy to find this in my little package. On a day to day basis i use my fingers to apply my foundation, but have heard that using either a flat foundation brush or a stippling brush gives you a much more airbrushed and flawless finish, i'm in! I dotted my foundation around my face and then started using the brush from the inside of my face to the outside in little strokes. I can confirm that using this brush gave me a more 'polished' finish. It did take me a little longer than my usual slap-dash foundation routine, but i think using a brush is definitely worth it if you can spare an extra few minutes in the morning.

The angled feature of the brush allowed me to have much more control as to where i applied the foundation, especially around my nose and eye area. The brush is soft but dense enough to apply the product and gives your skin a lovely seamless finish.


Angled Eyeliner Brush £10.75



Since receiving this brush i've found i've been wearing eyeliner a lot more frequently - namely the colours Smog/Darkhorse from the Urban Decay Naked Palette. Eyeliner is always something that i've struggled to use, i either get it too thick, too thin, or the eyeliner on each eye doesn't match, nightmare! So when i saw this brush i was determined once and for all to conquer my eyeliner trials and tribulations.

I find with eyeliner brushes that the bristles need to be soft enough to not scratch your eyelid (ouch!) but dense and firm enough to give you a good defined line, and this brush does just that! The bristles are densely packed yet still soft on your skin!

Overall, i'm very impressed with these brushes, they wash well, don't shed and are amazing quality.

Japonesque brushes are available from Boots both instore and online, and at John Lewis.

What are your favourite brand of brushes, i only own a few so would love any recommendations from you all! :)

Felicity xoxo

Encaptured by Enrapture...

Hello girlies,

A good few months back, i won the Enrapture Totem Styler via Sharmin's giveaway on her blog. I've always been interested in the Enrapture styling tools, so i couldn't wait to start using the styler!

I know there has been quite an influx of Enrapture reviews in the past few months, so i thought i'd wait till the rush calmed before i gave my opinion.

The Totem styler is very different than any other curling wand thats currently on the market. The tool is customisable, so you can determine what kind of curl or wave you would like to achieve. How is this done i hear you cry?! Well, the whizz kids over at Enrapture created a customisable barrel, which has 3 individual heated sections. You simply use the dial to select which heat setting you'd like for each section. 1 is the coolest setting, and 3 is the hottest. So whether your lusting after loose boho waves, or voluminous glamour curls, you can achieve it all with this. Genius!

The styler also has a clamp on it, which you can use without if you prefer. When i was experimenting with the styler to begin with, i used it without the clamp, purely because i've never used a curling tool with a clamp before. However i currently use it with the clamp and find it holds the hair a little tighter, so you get a more defined look.

I had such great expectations of the tool and was a little skeptical about using it, just incase it wasn't as good as the blogging world was suggesting. However, i'm pleased to report that this is probably my favourite curling styler that i've used, and it totally lives up to the hype! The main positive to me is the customisable barrel, it enables me to create so many different styles with just the turn of a dial. Its very easy to use, and fun to see what kind of styles you can create!

I've delved into the world of YouTube and actually filmed a little demo of me using the tool, so do have a little look if you would like to see me using the styler;

So yes, i'm extremely pleased with the styler, and if you're on the lookout for a curling tool, i'd recommend you keep this in mind!

Enrapture also have another couple of products out, the Amplify Jumbo Waver and the Extremity Heated Rollers. They also both look great, i'm especially lusting over the Heated Rollers after watching Corrie's (<< click on Corrie's name to watch!) video on them. They may be next on my list . . . .

The styler retails around the £74.99 price and is available from Amazon, Argos and Debenhams. I admit it is on the higher end of the price scale in terms of curling stylers, however i do believe it is worth saving up for.

Glitter & Nude

Hello :)

Truth be told, i'm not really much of a nail polish obsessive, like my wardrobe and make-up i like to keep my nails looking neutral with a bit of glitz and glamour thrown in. So when i feel like painting my nails, i often opt for a neutral base with a glittery shade on top.

My two go-to shades are, Nails Inc's Basil Street and Barry M's Silver Glitter.

Basil Street is a lovely neutral shade, with a slight toffee undertone. I apply about 2 coats to get a super opaque finish. As you would imagine coming from Nails Inc, this polish applies like a dream, non-streaky and a beautiful finish.

Silver Glitter does exactly what it says on the tin - totally glitterfies your nails! I tend to really whack the glitter meter up, and apply about 3 coats.... don't judge me! ;)

Nails Inc's Basil Street £11

Barry M's Silver Glitter £3.99

Whats your go-to nail polish, or do you have a few favourites?

Felicity xo

Get a whiff of this...

Hello girlies,

Slightly different post today, its all about my two favourite perfumes.

Its only within the last 3-4 years i've gotten into perfumes, before i used to be more than happy to spend £2.99 on a can of Impulse to keep me smelling sweet, then i discovered the perfume department in Boots and it opened up a whole other realm . . . .

My first ever fragrance was Chloe, by erm, Chloe! My mum bought it me for Christmas a couple of years back and i've still got a teeny bit left now, which i am trying to save and only use on special occasions. Not knowing anything much about perfumes, i made the stupid mistake of leaving the bottle on my windowsill, so unfortunately the metal part of the bottle has gone all mottled and horrible! :( The sunlight hasn't affected the scent though, thankfully! The bottle is cute, chic and down right girlie - quite reminiscent of the smell!

I'm gonna sound like a right idiot if i try to attempt to describe the scent, so i'll leave it to The Perfume Shop to tell you more. According to The Perfume Shop, the notes of this fragrance are, Rose, Lychee and Honey. Basically, if you like feminine, girly perfumes, this will probably be right up your street!

My second fragrance was also bought for me for Christmas by my mum (Christmas tradition?! ;)) and its the divine, Body by Burberry. I first got a whiff of this via a sample that i sent off for, consequently it was love at first sniff! As you would expect from Burberry, the bottle is stunning. The bottle is predominantly a weighty glass design, with a gold top embedded in the glass and a gold spritzer. Altogether, it looks very plush! The scent is in my opinion more of a Autumn/Winter/Evening scent, as it is does have quite a comforting 'warm' feel to it.

Again, i've resorted to The Perfume Shop's website for the ins and outs of the smell. According to The Perfume Shop, some of the notes (scents) are, Natural Rose, Creamy Vanilla, Musk, Woody Cashmeran, Sensual Amber, Peach, Freesia, Green Absinthe, Iris and Sandalwood. That does sound like a lot, but altogether, it smells gorgeous!

Both these fragrances have been reduced in Debenhams due to the 25% promotion at the moment, so if you're on the lookout for a new fragrance, nows your chance to catch a bargain!

Debenhams current promo prices;

Chloe £35.55 (30ml)

Burberry Body £49.50 (30ml)

Whats your favourite fragrance at the moment?

Hope you are all well!

Felicity xo

Benefit ♥ They're Real!

Hello :)

A couple of weeks back my mum and dad casually tootled off to Cyprus for a week, leaving me in charge of house/cat keeping and to tackle the snow we had too! On their return they surprised me with a couple of gifts - Benefit's They're Real Mascara and I'm Glam . . . Therefore I Am Kit. They also bought me a box of Lindt chocolates, but they were gobbled up in record time! ;)

I've been using the 'They're Real' mascara for a week or so, so thought it was a pretty good time to give you my verdict...

Firstly, i'm a bit of a mascara obsessive, i collect them like they're going out of fashion and i have a very clear criteria of what i like; uber black, lengthening, fans out my lashes and a slight clumsiness too (sshh, don't tell anyone i said that ;))....

As always, Benefit really went to town on the packaging. The mascara comes in a cardboard box, with some information about the product. The mascara itself is housed in a classy silver chrome tube, with the title of the product emblazoned on one side.

Now onto the most important part of any mascara, the wand! The wand on this mascara is pretty impressive. In a nutshell, its spikey and long. The spikes are what make this mascara so impressive, they grab onto any lashes and coat them easily. As the spikes continue all around the wand, this makes it really simple to individually coat any lashes with may be hard to reach. For example; i have some lashes which for some strange reason grow downwards, so i can coat these lashes easily by using the spikes on the tip of the brush.

So, what do i think? I am thoroughly impressed, it gave my lashes good separation, volume and helped lengthen them too. I've also found that its quite buildable, i applied 2 coats and didn't find it to clump. One slight negative is that its a bit of a pain to remove, you definitely need a good make-up remover to get it off your lashes. A quick whip around with a make-up wipe doesn't cut it unfortunately!

Price : £18.50

Available from : Benefit Counters and www.boots.com / www.debenhams.com

Felicity xo

Psssst... I'm now on Instagram; Felicityxoxo

Blush Love; Coralista

Hey girlies,

Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas & New Year. I had a lovely time, and was rather spoilt with my main pressie being a MacBook Pro. Feel very lucky! :)

One of my other presents this Christmas was a boxed blusher fom Benefit, the muchly talked about, Coralista! I was so happy when i unwrapped this present as Coralista is a blusher i have always pined after, but at a slightly excessive £23.50 it was hardly a product i could buy willy nilly. Thank god for Christmas, eh! ;)

The blusher is housed like any other Benefit powder, in a cardboard box, which looks pretty for a while but unfortunately in a few months time will inevitably look pretty battered! The packaging features a leopard print design, which gets a big thumbs up from me as i bloody well love a bit of animal print! (i am known to wear my Leopard print Pyjama bottoms AND Leopard print dressing gown at the same time....;))

Enough rambling about the packaging, lets get onto the product! Firstly, it smells divine, a sweet, light smell - kinda reminds me of the retro sweets, Parma Violets. The blusher itself is a peachy coral affair, with a slight satin finish. I apply Coralista in one of two ways, either on the apples of my cheeks, or along my cheekbones to give a nice peachy glow, which catches the light nicely. Like any other Benefit boxed powder, it comes with a brush. I don't use the brush, but i guess its convenient if you take this blusher out with you and need to apply it on-the-go.

For me, Coralista definitely lives unto the hype, from the leopard print packaging to the lovely glow it leaves on your skin, it gets a big thumbs up from me! The only negative is the price, but i guess with Benefit being a high end brand, you would expect those kind of prices, definitely one for Birthday/Christmas lists! ;)

What do you think about Coralista, have you got it, or does the £23.50 price tag put you off?

Felicity xo

GHD Review

Hello lovelies,

GHD have always been a bit part of my hair styling routine, i've used them for years for either simply straightening my hair or to give my hair a beautiful curl. So when i received an email asking whether i would like to review a couple of products from GHD, i was very excited! :)

GHD Final Fix Hairspray £9.95 (link)

Ever since i can remember, Loreal Elnett Hairspray has been my weapon of choice for securing my hair in place, so i was slightly apprehensive about trialling the GHD hairspray! So how did it compare against my faithful Elnett? Firstly, the smell of this stuff is gorgeous, light and not 'fumey' smelling in the slightest - thumbs up! :) I've used this hairspray when i've curled my hair, or simply used it to add some volume to my barnet and its held my hair in place for a good few hours.

GHD Curl Hold Spray £12.95 (link)

I've never used a curl hold spray before, so i was quite excited to see if this would keep my curls bouncy and full of life! You apply this spray to dry hair, then use whatever styler (hot rollers, straighteners, curling tong...) you want to achieve your curls. I found this spray helped my curls to look more defined and definitely helped them last longer throughout the day. I also loved how this spray wasn't sticky and allowed my curls to still be bouncy and swishy! This was my favourite product of the three that i trialled!

GHD Heat Protect Spray £9.95 (link)

Before i start this review i need to own upto something..... I've never used a heat protectant before, SHOCK HORROR! Yes, i know its super bad to straighten/curl/blow dry my hair without some form of protectant on, but i got into a rather naughty routine! Maybe it can be my Beauty New Years Resolution, to use Heat Protectant everyday? Anyway, enough babbling....

Since i've been using this spray i've found my hair to feel a lot less frizzy and instead it feels more smoother and manageable. If you don't use a heat protectant, i'd definitely recommend buying one, i never thought a little spray could do much good, but i seriously can't believe how much better my hair feels after using this.

Do you have any fond memories of GHD? I remember using them when i went to school/sixth-form and i'd straighten my hair to death with them, haha! Anyway, let me know what you think!

For more information on GHD products visit their website ; http://www.ghdhair.com/

Felicity xoxo