Birchbox Royally Good Giveaway Part 1...

Hey there folks,

Long time no see, this week has been one of those weeks where I just seem to have had no free time at all. Originally I was supposed to have a child free day on Tuesday so I had been planning on working on my blog then, but as per usual things did not go to plan and I went from 0 to 2 children in 0.3 seconds (lol). Unfortunately Hayden was sick at school on Monday and although normally I would send him to school anyway as he has a habit of randomly vomiting every now and again with no apparent rhyme or reason, as he had been sick at school in front of his teacher I had to keep him off school for the standard 48 hours. Of course I understand their reasoning for keeping your child at home for the 48 hours if they have a sickness bug, otherwise you run the risk of other children getting sick too, but knowing my son like I do I really feel like I should have been allowed to send him if I am certain that he's not ill. Anyway all that being said and done not only did I have Hayden at home but I also ended up having my nephew too which of course meant I got absolutely nothing done. I actually had my first child free day (until school pick up time at any rate) in 6 days yesterday but by the time that I had caught up with my cleaning jobs it was time to pick up the kids again. Anyway, I am here now and I've got something very exciting to share with you today, thats right folks my winnings arrived from Birchbox and being as excited as I was to rip into them, I got those babies photographed as soon as they got here just so that I could start using them straight away.

So there it is folks, check out all those lovely goodies, aren't they just the pinkest prettiest things you've ever seen? As you can tell from the pic there are quite a few products here so I'm going to put them into two posts of eight products otherwise we will end up being here all day.

Beauty blender Classic Duo Set (RRP £24.00)
https://www.birchbox.co.uk/shop/beautyblender-classic-duo-set

Benefit High Beam (RRP £19.50)
https://www.birchbox.co.uk/shop/benefit-high-beam

For me a Beautyblender is an absolute necessity in my makeup bag, when my skin is extra oily I find that when applying foundation with a brush it can sometimes look patchy or streaky and a Beautyblender is the perfect solution to that. Benefit is a fab makeup brand and although in general I tend to stay away from liquid highlighters I really like the Benefit one as it leaves such a pretty glow without affecting my foundation.

English Laundry Signature for her EDP spray for women (RRP £60.00)
https://www.birchbox.co.uk/shop/english-laundry-spray-for-women

I actually received a sample of this particular perfume in one of my previous Birchboxes and absolutely loved it, it has a subtle floral scent that isn't overpowering at all and lasts all day long. £60.00 is a little more than I would normally spend on a perfume (I know, I'm a cheap skate lol) but just look at that beautiful fantastic quality packaging.

Cynthia Rowley Beauty Eyeshadow Palette No.2 (RRP £17.00)

https://www.birchbox.co.uk/shop/cynthia-rowley-beauty-eyeshadow-palette-no-2

This pretty pastel eyeshadow palette is a perfect spring/summer accessory, my fave colour in the palette though is definitely the pink and lilac confetti shade. 

Jane Iredale Just Kissed Lip and Cheek Stain (RRP £22.00)
https://www.birchbox.co.uk/shop/search?s=all&stype=tbm&q=jane+Iredale

Ecoya Sweetpea and Jasmine Mini Metro Candle (RRP £15.00)
https://www.birchbox.co.uk/shop/ecoya-sweetpea-jasmine-mini-metro-candle

To be honest although I love the metallic packaging on the cheek and lip stain, I would really say that it is more of a balm than a stain and the colour payoff is a subtle barely there sheen and doesn't last as long as some other stains I have used (e.g Stainiac from The Balm), that being said it is nice and moisturising. 

Moving on to the candle, its got to be said that the scent is absolutely divine, I don't think I've ever had a candle (I love a good scented candle) with this particular combination of scents and boy have I been missing out. In fact I am genuinely torn over whether or not to light it, on the one hand it kind of defeats the purpose of having a scented candle (especially one that smells this good) if you aren't going to light it but on the other hand it would be such a shame to watch it burn. 

RMK Cleansing Balm (RRP £29.00)
https://www.birchbox.co.uk/shop/rmk-cleansing-balm-100g

Trilogy Rosapene Skincare Sensations (RRP £29.50)
https://www.birchbox.co.uk/shop/trilogy-rosapenetm-skincare-sensations

I'm not going to go into major detail about these particular prizes as I will be doing a more detailed piece about them when I talk about skincare and what works and doesn't work for me. As I've only just started to use these and don't like to change things up too frequently I won't be doing the post until I've had time to see for sure how well the various products work on my skin. But so far I'm really enjoying all of them. 

I've really enjoyed trying out all the lovely pink themed products and sharing them with you too, and of course I'll be back soon with part 2 and the last 8 products that I received. If there are any particular products that you'd like me to review just leave me a comment and I'll happily do one.

Thank you for stopping by and I hope that you will be back again soon 

Alice xoxo 

Makeup Revolution Ultra Brow Palette...

Hey there folks,

So as is often the case with children things didn't go quite as expected yesterday, it turns out that just having one child off sick is more demanding than when they're both at home since my daughter required 100% of my time and attention. Which of course meant that there was no time left for the taking, uploading and editing of pictures, thankfully though since I already had most of this post finished I could get everything uploaded pretty quickly.

Okay so as the title suggests this post is going to be a product review of the Makeup Revolution Brow palette that I picked up in my previous makeup haul. This palette includes so much in just one product that I felt that the only way to do it justice would be to give it its very own blog post instead of putting it in with the other brow products that I picked up in the upcoming "It's All About Them Brows" Hit, Miss or Maybe blog post.

Makeup Revolution Ultra Brow Palette in Fair to Medium (RRP £7.99) 

 Holy Moly this palette has just about everything you could possibly need to achieve perfect sculpted brows in one handy dandy palette. There are 4 brow powders in shades varying from a very light brown that would be perfect for blondes, to a medium/darker brown better suited to us lighter brunettes, there are 2 brow waxes a lighter beige sort of colour and a medium brown colour to further define and tame those stubborn hairs. There is what they call an "eyebrow arch enhancing cream" which essentially does the same job as a concealer in that it it helps you to get a cleaner, sharper finish. There is a highlighter which is perfect for your brow bone (and could double up to enhance your cheek bones too), there's even a pencil to add just a little more definition. This seemingly fantabulous palette even comes with 2 teeny tiny brushes, an angled brush for shaping your brows and a more rounded brush for filling them in and softening the look (if thats what you're going for). And if that wasn't enough there's even a pair of cute little tweezers for any on the go grooming.

Pictured above are the swatches of each colour in the palette (except for the highlighter as it wouldn't show up on camera) number 1 is the concealer shade, 2,3,and 4 are the lighter brow powers and the lighter wax and numbers 5,6 and 7 are the darker powders and wax.

Okay so now that we know exactly what is in the palette lets get down to the nitty gritty and see how this baby performs shall we? Before I can tell you how well they worked I really need to show you, be prepared though you are about to see me in all my brow-less glory and it isn't a pretty sight lol.

Looking at the 2 pictures you can (hopefully) see the huge difference it makes and why I always have to fill in my brows, although believe it or not for a long time I went au-natural where my eyebrows were concerned, we all make those beauty mistakes and boy was that one of mine lol. (On a side note I always feel the need to point out that although my eyebrows are a little sparse there is actually a lot more hair than is actually visible it's just completely blonde from around my arch onwards lol).
Starting with the pro's for this palette, the brow wax is lovely and pigmented and really creamy, you really only need to dab the brush into the product very lightly and a little amount goes a very long way. The powders work really well at filling in any areas that need a little help and I am in love with the concealer which sharpens everything up and blends out beautifully with no harsh lines. The cons for the palette (although it was a little hard to find any) are that the brow wax does have a slightly auburn tone to it which may not work for everyone, although as I have a lot of red in my hair naturally it actually worked great on me. Also although the pencil is a great touch for me it was a little too creamy and I found it needed a lot of sharpening although it did still work well.

All in all I've got to say that I really love Makeup Revolutions Ultra Brow palette, not only does it have everything you need but the price is A-Maz-Ingly low, I mean less than £8 (a penny still makes it less lol) is amazing value for money, and to top it off the quality is fantastic. I would definitely recommend this palette for anyone looking for a reasonably priced "do it all" product, I will certainly be adding it to my regular makeup routine, dare I say it? it may even take the place of my long time favourite brow product the Maybelline Brow Satin pencil, the concealer just takes it into the lead for me.
Thats all for now folks, but as always Ill be back very soon, in the meantime here's a sneak peek at an upcoming blog post.

Thats right guys my May Birchbox came yesterday :) now I've just got to wait for my Glossybox (boo) which always seems like it takes forever. On a happy note though I just won the Birchbox Royally Good Giveaway (cue girly squeal of excitement) which is a pink themed beauty bumper pack worth almost £500, which of course I will be showing you guys, me and my daughter literally jumped up and down and did a happy dance when we found out (can you tell that I never win anything? lol).
On that note it's time for me to go so thank you for stopping by.

Alice xoxo

Real Life is Unexpected ...

Hey there folks,

This is why it can be so hard to find time for blogging. It was a bank holiday here on Monday which meant I had both the kids at home and anyone who has children will tell you actually concentrating and finding the time to blog is pretty much impossible when you're day is filled with bickering siblings and choruses of "mummy, mummy, mummy" so suffice to say I already knew that Monday was going to be a bust as far as blogging was concerned. Tuesday and Wednesday I had my 1 year old nephew (easily one of the cutest little guys in the world,) who I take care of a few days a week along with his 4 year old sister (when she's not at nursery), so there was no way that there was going to be time to sit down with my lap top. Knowing that today was going to be the day where I had more time I figured that I'd rush through the tedious cleaning jobs and spend the rest of my time photographing (which takes a pretty long time too) and writing a new blog post. That is so not how the day ended up playing out, first of all cleaning took a lot longer than anticipated as I spent forever attempting to follow my unreliable nose in an attempt to discover just what the funky smell coming from my daughters room was. Then just as I get everything finished and sit down to set up the photographs I get a phone call from my children's school saying my daughter is ill and can I go and pick her up. The worst part was that since I was doing a review post on the Makeup Revolution brow palette that I picked up last week I had a full face of makeup but no eyebrows, to say I looked bizarre would be a massive understatement. All I can say is thank the Lord for oversized sunglasses and the fact that the sun was actually out today, did I look a little strange wearing sunglasses inside the school office? Probably but I looked a heck of a lot weirder with my non existent looking eyebrows and winged eyeliner lol. Anyway I have finally managed to get the pictures taken thanks to the wonders of photography lighting so all being well the post should be up tomorrow so long as my poorly girl doesn't keep me too busy. 

See you tomorrow,

Alice xoxo

Choc Chip Oatmeal Cookies - Yum...

Hey there folks,

You may have guessed from the title that today I'm going to share something a little different with you. For us Sunday is family time, where we spend some quality time together doing things that we love to do. This week though my son had his friend from next door round and so it meant a little quality time for me and Isabella while the boys played upstairs. So what do you do when you have some free time in our house? thats right we make cookies!! I'm gradually teaching both my children how to cook so that when they do grow up they have some of the necessary life skills they will need, and so that meant letting Isabella do all of the actual baking and standing back, supervising and helping out when she needed me to. I've got to say I'm always so proud of how well they do and these cookies most definitely tasted yummy. So here's a little step by step run through of the cookies being made by my not so little chef. I can't for the life of me remember where this particular recipe originated from but if I do I will put that in here.

Here's what you're going to need to make them;

125g of  Caster sugar
75g of Brown sugar (although I don't always add this and they taste just as yummy)
125g of Butter
1 tsp Vanilla extract
1 Egg
135g of Plain flour
1 tsp of Cinnamon (I personally prefer them without this)
1/2 tsp Baking powder
1/2 Bicarbonate of soda
85g Oats (not the quick cook kind)
250g of Chocolate chips

First gather all your ingredients and don't forget your apron lol

Pre-heat your oven to 190 C/375 F/Gas mark 5

First add your caster sugar to your mixing bowl

Then if you're also using brown sugar go ahead and add that

Next add your butter, (it is easier to mix if it's at room temperature)

Apparently measuring Vanilla extract is a very serious job :p

Add your egg to the bowl 

And mix that sucker like crazy
(you can do this with an electric whisk but Isabella wanted to do it old school )

Okay so now it's time to start adding the dry ingredients
so add your flour

and the baking powder and bicarbonate of soda
and then mix it all again until it's well combined

Then add your oats to your mixture (you can add more or less
depending on your preference)

Next add your chocolate chips
the little smile is because she thinks I didn't see her steal one :)

Look at all that yummy chocolate
now you can see why we love this recipe so much lol 

Mix it all up again
The extra workout means you can eat them guilt free lol

Line a tray with grease proof paper
(we had run out so we used well greased tin foil
you just have to be more careful when removing your cookies)

Next you're going to roll the mixture into little balls and slightly flatten the top
remember the mixture does spread when cooking so keep this in mind
when thinking about size and placement

Now it's time to put them in the oven, they only need around  5-10 minutes
until they're golden brown (we left ours in a little too long 

Bon Appetite

Didn't she do well? not bad for her first attempt, I love watching my children create something on their own (ish), even the little things make me as proud as when they took their first steps or smiled for the first time.
Anyway on that note I think it's time for me to sign off, I will be back soon with some makeup reviews and another Hit, Miss or Maybe is on the cards too, so thanks for stopping by and I hope to see you again soon.

Alice xoxo

Massive Superdrug Makeup Haul Part 2...

Hey there again folks,

I'm back with part two of my huge haul and I'm finishing off with all that lovely makeup, Superdrug had another 3 for 2 offer so lets face it, it would be rude not to wouldn't it?

Now be prepared I did go a tiny little bit crazy but there were so many more things that I wish I had picked up, who knows I may have to do a return trip to pick up some more lovely goodies :)

It may look as though i have gone a tiny little bit brow crazy here, but I promise there is a method to my madness. I do have plans for the various brow products so I won't be going into major detail but suffice to say I really wanted to see how these products worked for me particularly since my natural eyebrows are pretty blonde and my hair is probably more of a medium brown.

1. Makeup Revolution Ultra Brow Palette in fair to medium (£7.99)
http://www.superdrug.com/Make-Up/Eyes/Eyebrows/Makeup-Revolution-Ultra-Brow-Palette-Fair-to-Medium/p/446700#.VUaaMUJPLFI

2. BarryM Eyebrow Kit (£5.99)
http://www.superdrug.com/Barry-M/Barry-M-Eyebrow-Kit/p/883758#.VUaaiEJPLFI

3. MUA Luxe Power Brow in fair (£3.00
http://www.superdrug.com/MUA-Luxe/MUA-Luxe-Power-Brow-Fair/p/759466#.VUaa7UJPLFI

4. Rimmel Brow This Way Brow Gel in blonde (£3.99)
http://www.superdrug.com/Rimmel/Rimmel-Brow-Gel-Blonde/p/253800#.VUabHkJPLFI

When I saw this palette I just knew I had to have it, I mean not only are they all beautiful neutral colours but they're matte too. I always find that most palettes have more shimmer shades than matte, and those that have the matte shades have much more limited colour choices. With this palette though thats clearly not a problem, again I'm not going to go into too much detail as I will do a more detailed post with swatches and a full review soon but just check out that price!!!

Makeup Revolution Flawless Matte Ultra Eyeshadows Palette (£8.00)

I couldn't find this exact palette online but here is a similar one

http://www.superdrug.com/Makeup-Revolution/Makeup-Revolution-Eye-Shadow-Palette-Flawless-16G/p/240302#.VUacOEJPLFI

1. Rimmel Scandaleyes Gel Liner in Brown (£6.99)
http://www.superdrug.com/Rimmel/Rimmel-Gel-Liner-Brown/p/910761#.VUac8kJPLFI

I picked up this pretty brown gel liner as I already have this liner in black and when I was going through my makeup the other day I was shocked to find that all my other brown gel liners had completely dried up. I was not a happy bunny to say the least. I love how creamy this particular gel liner is, it's lovely and opaque whereas some other gel liners can be kind of weak and need building up to get a decent colour payoff, plus once it's dried it's really not going anywhere (I swatched it on my hand in the shop and it took For-ev-er to get off lol) so theres no need to worry about it disappearing through the day.

2. Rimmel Exaggerate Waterproof Eye Definer in shade 240 (Aqua Sparkle) (£3.99)
http://www.superdrug.com/Rimmel/Rimmel-Exaggerate-Waterproof-Eye-Definer-Aqua-Sparkle-240/p/536725?singleResultSearchPage=true#.VUdxd0JPLFI

I mean do I really need to explain why I needed this eyeliner? it's such an awesome colour. Whether you use it alone or with shadow it's a really nice summery shade that will add a perfect pop of colour.

3. Maybelline Big Eyes Eyeliner in white and black (£4.99)
http://www.superdrug.com/Maybelline/Maybelline-Big-Eyes-Eyeliner-White-%26-Black/p/908659#.VUdxyEJPLFI

I honestly didn't have a specific reason in mind when I picked this eye pencil up other than the fact that every now and then bigger is better lol.

1. Rimmel Scandaleyes Mascara in Extreme Black (£6.99)
http://www.superdrug.com/Rimmel/Rimmel-Scandal%27Eyes-Mascara-Extreme-Black-3/p/380050#.VUdyXEJPLFI

Rimmel Mascara's have been on my faves list for a while now and they still don't disappoint, the scandaleyes ones always seem to give me a great amount of volume and are a great boost to your natural eyelashes.Although I do still prefer to combine a thickening mascara with a lengthening one to give me the exact look I'm going for.

2. MUA Lash Boom Mascara in Black (£3.00)
http://www.superdrug.com/MUA/MUA-Lash-Boom-Mascara-Black/p/682452#.VUdy3UJPLFI

This mascara is a great price and l've got to say that the brush really intrigued me, it claims to be lengthening and volumising so if the claims are true I may just have found a one step mascara. I haven't tried it yet though but I'll keep you updated on whether or not it works, particularly because of the price, I mean at £3.00 you just can't go wrong.

3. Miss Sporty Mascara in Just Clear (£2.99)
http://www.superdrug.com/Miss-Sporty/Miss-Sporty-Mascara-Just-Clear-101/p/157716#.VUdzeUJPLFI

Just because everyone needs a clear mascara to tame those wild brow hairs.

1. Gosh Prime'n'Set Primer & Mattifying Setting Powder (£9.99)
http://www.superdrug.com/GOSH/GOSH-Velvet-Touch-Primer-%26-Setting-Powder---Transparent/p/879457?singleResultSearchPage=true#.VUd0C0JPLFI

It is so hard to find an actual setting powder in the pharmacy/drugstore, if you want a translucent powder then you have no worries but I really needed a setting powder. Thankfully I found this one from GOSH and I have to say that so far I am really loving it, it's lovely and matte without having too much of a powdery finish (which is the problem I was having with translucent powders) and it's nice and long lasting too, I definitely have to touch up less when I 'm using this.

2. MUA  Cover and Conceal in Fair (£1.50)
http://www.superdrug.com/Make-Up/Face/Concealer/MUA-Cover-and-Conceal-Wand-Fair/p/591752#.VUd0b0JPLFI

I have tried a couple of different concealers and illuminators from MUA and honestly I hated them, I found that they creased really easily and just didn't have the nice smooth finish that I was going for. But I figured that rather than just cast them aside I would give them one last try with the cover and conceal. I haven't actually tried this specific one, but for the price I'm hoping it works if only as a backup concealer.

Okay now on to the last, and favourite part of my haul - Lips, I am most definitely a self confessed lipstick addict.So I couldn't very well do a makeup haul without at least one lip product could I? In fact if I could have them all I would

1. MUA Sweet Sheen Lip Balm in Pink Lily (£2.00)
http://www.superdrug.com/Make-Up/Lips/Lip-Tint/MUA-Sweet-Sheen-Lip-Tint-Pink-Lilly-551/p/404302#.VUd1WUJPLFI

I already have one of these in a different shade Cherry Bomb I think, and I really liked it. It gave a lovely sheen of colour, was really moisturising and wasn't as heavy as some lipsticks can be. That being said I really didn't like this one, it could be just that the colour isn't for me but it honestly felt different too a little more waxy than moisturising so I think it's one that will be going towards my daughters ever growing makeup stash.

2. Bourjois Rouge Edition Velvet Lipstick in 07 Nude-ist
http://www.superdrug.com/Bourjois/Bourjois-Rouge-Edition-Velvet-lipstick/p/287613#.VUd18kJPLFI  (this is the closest match I could find online)

I really liked the look of the colour for this one and when I got home and tried it on my lips I was pleasantly surprised. The formula is lovely and creamy, it doesn't dry out like some more matte lipsticks can. It has a really nice looking finish and lasted a good amount of time, which on my lips is pretty unusual. (I'm something of a fidgeter lol)

3. Collection Little Mix Lipstick in Jade (£2.99)
http://www.superdrug.com/Collection/Collection-Little-Mix-Lipstick-Jade/p/754159?singleResultSearchPage=true#.VUd2VUJPLFI

For the price I figured why not? I was also looking into finding a dupe for the "Eva" nude lip shade in the new L'oreal lipsticks as that particular shade was out of stock. The Jade lipstick was the closest match I could see and it looks great on, although I do still prefer the L'oreal ones.

4 Rimmel Apocalips Lip Lacquer in Nude Eclipse 600 (£6.49)
http://www.superdrug.com/Rimmel/Rimmel-Apocalips-Lip-Lacquer-Nude-Eclipse-600/p/602658#.VUd2l0JPLFI

Again this lip lacquer is a brand I already own (I have the shade Nova) and love, so I decided to try out the nude shade too. It's a great way to layer up a few different lip products for the perfect ombre lip, just add the nude shade to the middle and blend blend blend.

5. Makeup Revolution Amazing Lipstick in Divine (£1.00)
http://www.superdrug.com/Makeup-Revolution/Makeup-Revolution-Amazing-Lipstick-Divine/p/975466#.VUd3OUJPLFI

You can never have too many lipsticks and at this price I figured why not? I thought that this shade would be a great summer colour so I picked it up, although it's really a lot more orangey on the lips than it looks it's still a really pretty colour.

Okay folks thats the whole haul, at least for now anyway. Now I need another excuse to go and get some more, any suggestions? For now though I've got one or two things planned in the near future so pop on back and follow me if you want to keep updated on my posts.
Thanks for stopping by, I hope to see you again.

Alice xoxo

Massive Superdrug Beauty Haul...Part One...

Hey there folks,

I hope you're all having a fun bank holiday weekend? unfortunately it is absolutely pouring it down with rain here in Yorkshire, the plus side though is that it means a relaxing day snuggled up with the kids watching films (in between laundry and cleaning duties lol).

Anyway, today I have a fun beauty haul to share with you (yay) I've got to say though that it was soooo hard for me to have to wait to try it all out until after I had taken all the pictures, but now I've tried out most of them so I can give you a rough idea of how I feel about everything.

 Look at that, isn't it a thing of beauty? I love shopping for makeup it's so much fun, I love wandering around the different stands and can literally spend hours watching all the different lipsticks and foundations, the only downside is that when I leave the shop my hands are a multitude of different colours (they never seem to have any wipes in the shops I go to) so I looked like a complete fool when I went to pick the kids up from school. I was going to try to keep everything in one post, but as I've been adding in the pictures, details and links I've quickly realised that that is a complete impossibility so this is going to be part one of two with all the hair products, cleansers and nail products and part two will have all the makeup items (so excited for those lol).

 1. Aussie Miracle Moist Shampoo (£2.32 was £4.69), Aussie 3 Minute Miracle Reconstructor (£2.47 was £4.99).
The Aussie hair care products are by far some of my faves since I've been lightening my hair, as many of you will know, whenever you're going from brunette to blonde hair there is always going to be a certain amount of damage particularly at the ends of your hair. I find that the Aussie Reconstructor conditioner really helps to keep the ends of my hair nice and soft instead of looking frazzled and so when I saw that they were on offer into my basket they went.
http://www.superdrug.com/search?resultsForPage=40&q=%3Aname-asc%3AsuperdrugGeneralPromotionText%3ABetter+than+1%2F2+price+on+selected+Aussie&minSel=0.0&maxSel=3.0&minSlider=0.0&maxSlider=3.0&resultsForPage=20&text=#

2. L'oreal Preference Recital Very Platinum (£5.99 was £7.49)
I've noticed that my hair has started to become slightly brassy again, but rather than just toning my hair as I normally would I decided that since I recently cut around 4 inches of my lovely long hair and lost some of my blonde colour I would re-lighten it so that I can take the colour back up a little higher.
http://www.superdrug.com/L%27Oreal-Preference/L%27Oreal-Recital-Preference-Very-Platinum-6L/p/546950#.VUY7wUJPLFI

3. Superdrug Performance Natural Light Golden Brown (£3.99 was £4.29)
As I was already going to be colouring my hair I figured why not touch up my roots too, although I have been considering changing my main hair colour for the summer hmmmm decisions decisions.
http://www.superdrug.com/Superdrug/Superdrug-Performance-Natural-Light-Golden-Brown/p/599862#.VUY8_EJPLFI

4. Got2B Oil-Licious Styling Oil (£2.70 was £4.05)
I am a huge fan of hair oils in general and although I've never tried this specific one I do have their dry oil mist and since I love that one I figured I'd give this one a whirl. I'll let you know how it goes.
http://www.superdrug.com/Schwarzkopf-Got2b/Got2b-Oil-Licious-Styling-Oil-50ml/p/599551#.VUY9vkJPLFI

5. COLAB Dry Shampoo London (£2.32 was £3.49)
I know that at it's normal price this dry shampoo is generally a little more pricey than other brands like Batiste but I've got to say that performance wise this one is definitely my top dry shampoo at the moment. One of the biggest problems I have with dry shampoo is that since I have darker hair (at the top anyway) you can usually see a slightly chalky residue at the roots of my hair and I hate it. With the COLAB dry shampoo I honestly don't get that white powdery feel at all and my hair still looks refreshed and so whenever I see it (there's never any stocked at my local store lol) I pick up a bottle.
http://www.superdrug.com/Hair/Dry-Shampoo/Dry-Shampoo/COLAB-Dry-Shampoo-LONDON-200ml/p/313401#.VUY-zEJPLFI

6. Superdrug Dry Shampoo Cocoa Brownie (£0.97 was £1.99)
You can never have too much dry shampoo (honest) and at 97p why not?
http://www.superdrug.com/Superdrug/Superdrug-Dry-Shampoo-Cocoa-Brownie-150ml/p/255451#.VUZAcUJPLFI

1. Superdrug Essential Facial Cleansing Wipes (£0.99)
I'm forever needing more makeup wipes, lord knows where they're disappearing to (although I have a feeling that my 10 year old daughter may have an idea lol) and the super drug ones are cheap, they don't break me out and above all they're nice and wet (I hate it when your makeup wipes are really dry as they just never work as well)
http://www.superdrug.com/Superdrug/Superdrug-Essential-Facial-Cleansing-Wipes/p/850157#.VUZBYUJPLFI

2. Garnier Cleansing Micellar Water (£3.32 was £4.99)
Up to now I've kind of been skeptical about the benefits of using micellar water to remove your makeup, after all there are so many other options but at £3.32 I figured why not give it a try? and boy am I converted. It removes my eye makeup without any difficulty at all, theres no scrubbing even when I use my Maybelline Lasting Drama gel eyeliner pen which is a massive pain in the bum to take off (it's kind of a dupe for Benefit push up liner) So this micellar water has quickly become a part of my daily routine.
http://www.superdrug.com/Garnier/Garnier-Cleansing-Micellar-Water-400ml/p/809257#.VUZCZEJPLFI

1. BarryM Aquarium Nail Polish shade Mermaid (£3.99)
There was no way that I was leaving the shop without buying this pretty glitter polish, I mean just look how pretty it is with the greens, blues and golds and it must be good as my daughter has already stolen it twice lol
http://www.superdrug.com/Barry-M/Barry-M-Aquarium-Nail-Polish-Mermaid-1/p/883464#.VUZFekJPLFI

2. BarryM Gelly Nail Paint shade Huckleberry (£3.99)
I am loving pretty pastel nails for the spring (which judging by the weather still hasn't actually arrived) and this pale blue is a perfect colour for me, it's so pale that it's really more of an off white colour but it looks great on and looks even better when you add the Mermaid glitter polish.
http://www.superdrug.com/Barry-M/Barry-M-Gelly-Nail-Paint-Huckleberry-19/p/883869#.VUZGPUJPLFI

3. BarryM Gelly Nail Paint shade Greenberry (£3.99)
Are you sensing a theme lol? I love BarryM Gelly polishes, they're super opaque easy to apply and the colours are always so pretty. The only thing that can be a pain is the drying time but it's definitely worth it as once it's on it stays on well, especially for someone with nails like mine which seem to be completely resistant to nail polish of any kind.
http://www.superdrug.com/Barry-M/Barry-M-Gelly-Nail-Paint-Greenberry/p/612356#.VUZHEkJPLFI

4. Rimmel  Sweetie Heart Velvet Matte Pastels shade You're Mine (£3.99)
I love a good matte nail polish when I fancy something a little different and immediately fell in love with this pretty pastel pink, it dries super fast which is great but to be honest up to now I've not been overly impressed with the quality. I had to really build it up before it would stop looking patchy and it chips really really easily and for a busy mum like me it barely lasts an hour. I will of course give it another go (if at first you don't succeed and all that) although it may be better as a way to accent another polish so maybe just on the nail tip.
http://www.superdrug.com/Make-Up/Nails/Nail-Polish/Rimmel-Sweetie-Heart-Velvet-Matte-Pastels-You%27re-Mine-5/p/412305#.VUZLH0JPLFI

5. BarryM Nail Art Pen shade Pink (£4.99)
I have to confess I already own two of these in the shades white and black and I love them, they're perfect for adding designs and little touches to your nails. They're easy to use (really similar to using a pen) and dry nice and fast and as long as you seal them in with a top coat they aren't going to budge.
http://www.superdrug.com/Barry-M/Barry-M-Nail-Art-Pen-Pink-4/p/640550#.VUZMg0JPLFI

6. MUA Super Strength Base Coat (£2.00)
I picked this up as I had run out of base coats and figured this one was a great price and the fact that it was super strength was a huge plus for me, but to be honest up to now I've been really disappointed. I thought that for sure this polish was going to help to prolong my nail polish but to be honest it came off a lot quicker than when I used the same polish without this base coat. Really not something I'm looking for in a base coat so I think I'll stick to my usual base coat and just use MUA's makeup products as they're always good quality.
http://www.superdrug.com/Make-Up/Nails/Base-Coat/MUA-Nail-polis-Super-Strength-Base-Coat/p/212301#.VUZNS0JPLFI

Okay folks so thats it for part one of my haul just typing it all out makes it feel like I bought waaaaay more than I actually did but it also makes me want to go back and get some of the products I decided not to buy. I think I might have a problem lol. Thank you for stopping by and as always I will be back soon this time with the makeup part of my huge Superdrug haul.

Alice xoxo

Lorac Pro 2 Palette Review and Swatches...

Hey there folks,

Sorry for my absence the past couple of days but I had yet another 'doh' moment where my brain apparently decided to take a little vacation without letting me know. My lovely dad got me a new case for my Macbook and wanted to do a YouTube video (you should check out his tech channel  https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCC9_eaL4jZTo5sXGfsvuuIQ he's been super supportive and reads my blog despite the fact that I'm fairly certain he doesn't wear makeup lol) and so I took my Mac through to my parents house and then completely forgot to take it home with me. I know right? I think I need to start just randomly sticking post it notes everywhere to remind me to do things. So anyway lets get on with the show shall we?

I had been wanting to try out one of the Lorac palettes for a while since I have heard such positive things but lacked the funds to get one. By that what I mean is that I have to budget everything in order of priority and most of the time I just can't justify spending £20/30 on just one makeup product no matter what it might be. So anyway I finally managed to pick one up and decided to share my opinion with you guys too.

Okay so first let me just say that, whenever I review a product I like to try the product out for at least a week before I post a review, thats simply because I honestly don't think that I can give a truly accurate opinion based on just one try. I like to try as many colour combinations and looks as I can so that I can see how it really works for different things. But it's important to rememberer that this is just my own personal opinion, and that different products work differently on different skin types, tones and textures and what works well for me won't necessarily work for you and vice versa.

Looking at the design of the palette itself I've got to say that I love the simple and professional overall look it presents, the grey tones are kind of no nonsense but really work well at showcasing the different colours and tones of the shadows inside. Its a really nice size too as it's not too wide which makes it easier to hold onto, I wasn't sure at first whether or not I liked the soft cardboard as I figured it would be less sturdy than some palettes I own but honestly I haven't had any problems so far. I love the fact that there is a mirror inside for makeup and touchups on the go as not all eyeshadow palettes do, and the fact that the palette actually came with it's own eye primer (not pictured) was definitely an added bonus. I think the only thing that let it down here was the fact that it didn't come with a brush of any kind to make it easier for applying on the go.

1. Buff, 2. Lt.Brown, 3. Cool Gray, 4. Nectar, 5. Plum, 6. Navy, 7. Charcoal, 8. Black,
9. Snow, 10. Beige, 11. Rose, 12. Mocha, 13. Chrome, 14. Silver, 15. Jade, 16. Cocoa.

Diving right on in to the shadows, there are 16 shadows in total with a good mixture of warm and cool tones, shimmers and mattes. The first thing I will say is that while the darker colours are really nice and pigmented, most of the lighter colours need to be built up in order to get any kind of colour payoff at all, this is particularly the case with the colours Buff (1), Lt.Brown (2), Nectar (4), Snow (9), Beige (10) and Silver (14). Although once you do build them up the colours are extremely pretty and versatile.I  particularly love Lt.Brown as a transition shade and Snow as a highlight colour and in the inner corner of the eye. I would say that shadows 1 through 8 are your darker more glam shades and shadows 9 through 16 are your more natural everyday shades, although to be honest I like to mix things up a bit and experiment with all the different colours, after all thats what makeup is all about- experimentation!!. All of the shadows blend out really well and are fairly creamy when applying them, although, you can get a little fallout from some of the darker shades in particular the shades Plum (5) and Navy (6).

All in all I've got to say I really like the Lorac pro palette 2, I love the colour selection and the overall quality of both the palette itself and the shadows inside. I would definitely get another Lorac palette, in fact now I have my eyes on the Lorac Mega Pro palette, now that is a thing of beauty :) if only I could persuade someone to buy it for me lol.

Anyway folks thats all for today but I'll be back as always, I'm currently trying out the Loreal Infallible foundation since I love the matte version so much to see how the regular one compares I've already been using it for around a week but I'm going to keep my opinion all to myself- for now anyway.

See you all soon,

Alice xoxo