Hello my lovelies!

I'm on a bit of a blogging roll at the moment, thanks to some much needed time-off and access to my family's electricals (thank you dad, thank you Nats...)

Today I wanted to show you two lovely cream eyeshadows I've fallen in love with over the past month, to the extent that they've almost (almost!) replaced my beloved Naked palette for every-day make-up.

The first is Chanel's Illusion D'Ombre Longwear Luminous eyeshadow in Ebloui (86). It's a gorgeous red-toned brown that can be sheered out for a soft daytime look or built up for a more dramatic effect. I like to use it either in the crease for a soft smoky eye or as an eyeliner as it's such a beautifully rich colour. Swatches ahoy!

Benefit's Creaseless Cream Eyeshadow in Birthday Suit was my first venture into cream eyeshadows and began what I feel will be a long love affair with these eyeshadows (MAC's Indianwood Paintpot is on its way to me now after perusing the Debenhams site...)

This is a lovely natural shimmer which helps to brighten up my eyes and also looks gorgeous as a highlight if you like your products to multi-task (I do, they should earn their keep!). I like using this all over the eyelid or in the inner corners when I'm rocking my 50s eyeliner look. It also works well with Ebloui for a lovely shimmery daytime eye, finished off with heaps of mascara!

Chanel Illusion D'Ombre eyeshadows are available from all Chanel counters for £21.50; Benefit Creaseless Cream eyeshadows are £14 from all the usual suspects!

Do you favour cream or powder eyeshadows? Would you recommend any? Let me know!

xoxo

Hello my lovelies!

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and that all your wishes came true! I received pretty much everything I asked for (the result of creating multiple lists tailored to the people I gave them to... Oh yes, even Christmas can be organised haha) and I hope/think my presents to others were all well received!

I got some lovely beauty products as you can see below and which will need no introduction if you read beauty blogs! I'm loving the Moroccanoil already as my hair is simply drinking it up. I feel it has improved the condition of it already if that is possible! The Kérastase Elixir Ultime is such a gorgeous luxurious treat for hair as well, I'm so chuffed to have both of these in my arsenal!

However what I am most looking forward to is the gift I purchased with Christmas money and my savings...a lovely shiny new laptop to blog on! My old one has been in pieces the last few months and I've been reliant on my phone to blog which although adequate is not the easiest task...so I'm really looking forward to using my lovely new one! Hopefully blogging can become more of a regular activity once I have it all set up, as currently I have had to pinch my dad's laptop and my sister's camera to blog...

What did you receive this Christmas? I am terribly nosy as you all know so do feel free to direct me to your Christmas posts!

xoxo

Hello my lovelies!

Whilst at home in Luxembourg over the Christmas period I couldn't help but notice this lovely new offering from Chanel which I wasn't expecting to see until January! Of course a much-debated après-Christmas splurge ensued...

I was able to get this for 37€ thanks to my mum's discount card, which works out at roughly £32. It's still a lot for a foundation but I have heard nothing but good things about this and from the moment I heard about it I knew I was going to be tempted into buying it! It is replacing both Mat Lumière and Pro Lumière and as I quite liked the former it was only a matter of time before this ended up in my make-up collection...

It's billed as a long-wear foundation with light-medium coverage, so I thought it could be a good alternative to my beloved Double Wear on days when my skin is behaving slightly better. What I particularly enjoy is the feel of this foundation as it is truly silky soft and velvety, as well as glowy whereas Double Wear can sometimes appear quite flat. It also photographs rather well in artificial light, which is unusual for a foundation containing SPF!

Another bonus for many people will be the shade selection as Chanel are finally catering to different tones rather than simply shades. I picked the shade Beige Rosé (12) as my skin is very pale at the moment (NW15 for reference) and although quite pale on application it blends beautifully with my skin! It also doesn't oxidise the way my previous Mat Lumière used to. Below are some terrifying close-ups so you can see the finish - as you can see, it looks incredibly natural (hello freckles) but covers imperfections, leaving the skin lovely and soft. I used a teeny dab of concealer under my eyes and a light dusting of MAC MSF Natural as well to finish it off.

All in all I'm rather pleased with how this foundation performs. I already prefer this to Mat Lumière, partly because of the colour selection and partly because of the luxurious finish. I shall certainly be using this on a regular basis and I think it may perform beautifully when mixed with others for a fuller coverage!

Chanel Perfection Lumière is released in the UK on January 13th and should be available from all the usual retailers. I purchased mine at Paris 8 parfumerie in Luxembourg, hence the early review!

xoxo

Hello my lovelies!

I am so terribly sorry for my prolonged absence, what a dreadful blogger I am! Isn't it horrendous how quickly time passes? I can't believe there are only eight days until Christmas, I really need to sort out my present-buying soon!

Today I bring you more photographic evidence of the after-effects of the Charles Worthington straightening treatment, as well as my final verdict. As you may recall from Part 1, I was suitably impressed by how quickly the effects took hold...but how did they last?

These photos are cobbled together from the week immediately following the treatment application. This is what I was greeted with the morning after:

 Erm...not straight? Fortunately though, a quick run through with the ghds and my hair was back to its straight self. I snapped some photos on my way to work and during my lunch break on the first and second days respectively.

As you can see, my hair is noticeably straighter and sleeker (especially sleeker) and although I disliked not being able to wash my hair initially (the smell is overpowering) I was pleasantly surprised by the lack of oiliness as the third day approached.

Impressively my hair was much sleeker after blowdrying and I didn't get any funny kinks at the back near the scalp like I usually do. It did start to curl in damp conditions and wasn't any less curly than usual by the time I got to work, but after using hair straighteners it really stayed straight for a wonderfully long time. Even my fringe stayed straight which is a novelty for me!

However, two and a half weeks on the results have faded and my hair is almost back to its curly self after blowdrying, the frizz is back and my hair is basically the same as it was before the treatment was applied, which is a shame because I had hoped it would last until Christmas! Below is a photo of me after simply blowdrying my hair last Sunday.

My final verdict? It certainly makes a difference to your hair; I never thought anything could tame my wild curls but this definitely did and I was impressed that the effect lasted through several washes. In all honesty though, I think my expectations were a little high as I hoped I would be left with poker straight locks for the six weeks the box promises...in reality, my hair is now slightly easier to tame and it does stay a little less frizzy when I style it, but this could also simply be achieved with straighteners. I also didn't like that I had to straighten my hair to get the best results as I hoped this treatment would allow me to ease off the straighteners.

However, for the price (£19.99) you can't really expect salon-style results, and I am sure it would work far better on wavy hair than on my curly, frizzy mess! I would recommend for anyone in the build-up to a big party or event (as long as it was applied a few days in advance so the smell wears off!) but as a long term solution, it just doesn't quite go the distance.

Have any of you tried it? Would you be tempted to?

xoxo

Hello my lovelies,

Last weekend we pottered off to Canterbury for a weekend of pretending to be at uni again, so what better occasion to debut the lovely Motel Gabby dress I received after their recent event wih Glossybox?

I must confess, as a (generous) size 12-14, when the dress arrived I was sceptical to say the least. I even debated wearing it as a top as it is just so clingy and short! I think bodycon dresses are what Motel is known for though, so I decided to suck it up (and suck it IN with some heavy-duty big knickers) and wear it to Alberrys for some girlie cocktails!

(all photos courtesy of Stephie and Naomi as I forgot my memory card...doh.)

I absolutely love watching it catch the light, it's so sparkly and really put me in the Christmas mood! I don't think it's something I would wear out again until I've lost some weight though as it was constantly riding up and I felt very exposed, regardless of the opaque tights! I think I will wear it on Christmas Day with some cranberry leggings or with a skirt over the top to make it more PG-13. Despite it being out of my comfort zone I did feel rather special putting it on and it felt so glamourous as well!

All in all though it was a fab night out (with a wonderful Wetherspoons breakfast the morning after - perfect!) and I am super grateful to Motel for gifting me such a lovely dress. Now...to start the stomach crunches!

What do you think of Motel clothing? 

xoxo