Pages

Wednesday 29 January 2014

Garnier Olia

I've been my dyeing my hair on a regular basis for the last 10 years now. From the age of around 20 I started to notice grey hairs coming through eeekk and now I would say about half my hair grows through as grey. It doesn't help that my hair is naturally dark brown so they stand out!
 
I don't want to "embrace the grey" just yet so dyeing it is a necessity. I've always struggled to find a hair dye that actually covers the grey fully though. So many of them claim to 100% cover grey but for me they rarely do. I then decided to have it coloured professionally instead which DID cover the grey, however my hair grows super fast so within a few weeks I could see them again, making it a costly affair!
 
Recently I decided to revert back to trying different dyeing products and I came across a Garnier one. It is the Olia Garnier brand and I used the Deep Cherry shade. I found it easy to apply and miracle of miracles it covered my grey!!!! Yes! My hair felt softer after as well compared to hair dyes I've tried in the past. This particular shade looks great on dark brown hair and it doesn't look unnatural. 
 
There's a cool colour selector too on the website: Garnier


 

 
Its £7.00 and is on 3 for 2 in Tesco at the moment if you wanted to stock up! 
 
Has anyone else tried this brand? Any recommendations for other grey coverage products?
 
Thanks For Reading!!
 
BNTBlogger x x

Monday 27 January 2014

St Tropez Starter Kit

I'm definitely not new to the fake tanning scene but I have, however, in the past been abit lazy when it comes to the professional tanning routine i.e. polish, moisturise, tan and maintain; To the point where I've used sunbeds :/ to keep a tan from holidays rather than follow a tanning routine. Naughty I know!

After all the lectures from missbudgetbeauty and another from a tanning professional about sunbeds I figured I should really totally cut out the beds and stick to the fake! 

I've been put off by fake tanning in the past due to the stickiness that some products can leave you feeling after, along with the time it takes to dry AND the maintenance. However I have decided to persevere and I'm going to try out different tanning products letting you know my thoughts!

So over the Christmas period I tried out the St Tropez Self Tan Starter Kit. The cheapest I've seen it for is on BeautyBay.com for £11.91 free delivery. If your starting out and your not sure of the products you will need to fake tan effectively its definitely a good place to start.
The box contains a polish, moisturiser, tanning mousse and mitt for applying. The polish and moisturiser should be applied 24 hours before the mousse. I've been rubbish for using polishes in the past, just wanting to get on with the tanning; However I think that in order for it to fade evenly a proper tanning routine needs to be followed. My tan faded evenly using all 3 products together.
So my thoughts!!!!....

Pros..
The mousse dries REALLY quickly which is a big plus for me. I'm so impatient and I was able to dress quickly.
It doesn't have a strong smell so it shouldn't bother people close by lol.
The volume of product is sufficient in my opinion to use over a month if you tan twice a week. I've been told this should be enough per week to maintain.
It didn't look patchy and it faded evenly.
Cons..
I didn't like the feel of the polish on my skin. I know the idea is to get rid of any dead skin cells however and I haven't tried other polishes so I can't really compare at the moment.
That is my only con at this point in time. Obviously when trying out other products I can make some comparisons, but in the main this tanning mousse gave me an even tan over the Christmas period and didn't make me smell like a biscuit!!
Has anyone else tried this? Can anyone recommend a good polish?
Thanks for reading!


Recommendations welcome as always.
BNTBlogger x x 

Thursday 23 January 2014

Max Factor Excess Volume Mascara

I'm always on the look out for a good mascara..what girl isn't! I've purchased the occasional £20 plus one and haven't found one yet that I prefer to, well , cheaper ones! 
Max Factor Excess Volume is a two step mascara, hence having two brushes.


 Step one gives a volumising base and step two gives a jet black finish.
Typically I don't like to use more than two coats of mascara. However for this mascara,  according to the Max Factor website you should apply 3 coats using the step one brush and 2 coats with the step 2 brush, while your lashes are still tacky. I have to say, I really noticed a difference in doing this to doing one or two coats.

So..pros..
It lasted all day without needing to reapply.
It definitely volumised my lashes!

Cons..
It is quite bulky so it isn't ideal for travel but in saying that you shouldn't need to reapply during the day.
I don't like the size of the brushes. I can be a tad clumsy with mascaras at times and it doesn't help when the brush is big. Just a personal preference!
On occasion my eyelashes have clumped together when applying this.
I wouldn't say step two made much of a difference to step one.
On the whole I liked this mascara, despite the number of cons! Volume is what I look for in a mascara as I already have quite long lashes and it really gave them great volume!
 
With one coat of each step.
Natural close up....no makeup..scary!
The recommended number of coats.
 It's £9.99 in Boots at the moment then goes up to £12.99 late February.

Has anyone else purchased this? What did you think? Can anyone recommend any good volumising mascaras?

Thanks for reading!

BNTBlogger x x





Friday 17 January 2014

This months favourite blusher duo.


Okay....I say it's this months favourite but its been mine for quite sometime!! I've also mentioned it on my YouTube channel http://youtu.be/-XgVOgxP9MM  I actually bought it when I went to imats in London last year and Nars had 60% off their products!!

Beforehand I was typically using a blusher then a shimmer separately over the top. One in particular being Girl meets pearl by Benefit. It's great having the two together and the colours are great for my skin tone.


The shades are Albatross and Sin. Perfect size for travel and great for touch ups during the day. I've had a look on the website and I can't see it on there now so I'm not sure if you can still get it from anywhere else....!





I have both on above for my barbie themed Hen do lol.


If anyone can recommend any other fab duos comments are welcome!

BNTBlogger x x

Wednesday 15 January 2014

Fab Cleanser For Dry Skin



I'm loving this melting cleansing balm. I have dry skin and find that a lot of cleansers, even specifically for dry skin leave my skin feeling tight after I use them. I hadn't heard of melting balms until but thought I would give this one a try from MERUMAYA.

 

Its applied to dry skin, massaged in, and has a little heat to it hence the 'melting' feel. A little water is then added making it milky in texture. Then it can be removed with a warm face cloth.
 
It smells gorgeous! Like having a facial if that makes sense! And after using it for a week my skin feels softer, I don't have any dry patches and I don't have the tight feeling after cleansing.
 
I think its something I will use every other day so my skin doesn't start to get oily.
 
Any recommendations or thoughts on melting balms feel free to leave comments below.
 
Thanks!!
 
BNTB x x 


Initial thoughts on DIY gel nails

 
 



I've always paid to have my nails done professionally either with gel or acrylics, probably paying around £20 every 3 weeks. So recently I decided to invest in some products that I think in the long term will save money....but also gives me an excuse to shop!!
 
I decided to try gel products rather than acrylics to protect my nails and essentially allow them to grow. I do tend to pick my nails and gel stops me from doing that.
 


SensatioNail, from what I've read, is a well established brand so I decided to try one of their starter kits.  Deluxe Pink Chiffon SensatioNail Starter Kit was £105 before Christmas but it is now £70 on the official website. In the set you have everything you need to get you started! However you do need to purchase separately a product to soak off the gel.

My thoughts so far......

I'm so used to nail varnish, the first time I applied the gel I put it on too thick and it chipped within a couple of days. Each layer needs to be applied thinly; initially I thought this would effect the impact of the colour but as long as you apply one coat, cure, then apply another coat of the colour it won't. Also make sure you seal the free edge as again I didn't and they chipped. Its all trial and error. I have watched many youtube tutorials and I'm getting the hang of it!
 
Its great if you enjoy doing your own and experimenting! I've spent around £100 on gel products, equivalent to five trips to a salon so it really is worth it.
 
I've also ordered some Harmony Gelish products which I'll blog about when they arrive!!



 
Allure magnetic gel polish from SensatioNail
 
 
Any recommendations or comments are welcome!!! 
 
BNTB x x

Tuesday 14 January 2014

The Naked Palette 3!!!!!!

 
 
 
The Naked Palette 3!!
Urban Decay
 
So I'm a little behind with this..I know its been out a while now. I have to say I'm really liking the third palette. I LOVE shimmery eye shadows and there's definitely enough shimmer in here. There are twelve rose-hued eye shadows in this palette, and a good mixture of shimmer and matte. 
 
The packaging is great for travel, clasps tightly and in my opinion looks good.
 
 

Unlike the naked palette 1 and 2 this one has 12 pink toned eye shadows, instead of the warm toned neutrals in the first two.


I especially LOVE the shimmery ones...a sucker for the shimmer!!


The eye shadows are to a high quality and you will definitely be able to make a variety of looks with them. I particularly love the look of Buzz and Dust together.
 
 
BNTB x x
 
 

Saturday 11 January 2014

My pooches

 
 
 
 
 It wouldn't be right if I didn't mention my doggies in a blog post. They're my babies! I have three..the plan was to have two. However after a year of having two I managed to convince my husband that we needed a third. I may have got him drunk and then broached the subject! So here they are, my three pooches.
 
Charlie the Cavottish
Hes a Cavalier crossed with a Scottish terrier. When he was a puppy he was so naughty. Clearly the terrier in him. He was so snappy but within about nine months he had calmed down!
 
 
 
Yes I'm wearing a poodle onesie in the below photo. It was a nightmare to find one apparently..it was a Christmas present and was on Ebay. Originally from Primark but they don't have them in stock now as far I know.
 
Lola the Cavapoo
She is a Cavalier crossed with a Miniature poodle. We failed to research the term "miniature" when deciding on a third pooch, thinking she would be small but she's actually classed as medium sized. However we wouldn't have her any other way..she's great..if not a tad looney!!

 
 
Millie The Cavalier....no cross this time!
She is so cute and little. At times I've thought maybe she is a cross as she isn't a standard size cavalier. Come to think of it there was a Chiauau puppy hanging around when we picked her up lol. But anyway she is a tri-coloured Cavalier, hates birds and loves being clingy.
 
 
My three pooches in a nut shell.
 
BNTB x x

Wednesday 8 January 2014

Got to love Ikea!

 



When I mentioned to Khila...miss budget beauty that I was in need of a...I can't decide on the name..dressing room? Make up room? Well anyway she took on the challenge without my needing to ask! Ha. Having been to Ikea on a Sunday morning, she was at mine and had made over my spare room by 1pm! The photo opposite shows the table and stool Khila purchased from Ikea. I also love having my wedding dress on show. It was just laying around without a home!
The opposite photo is classed as a candle holder on the Ikea website but can easily be used as a holder for make up supplies. Khila put coffee beans in them and brushes can then quite easily stand upright....plus if you love coffee like I do you have that lovely aroma in your room. These are just £1.25 each from Ikea. I have others that I use to store nail files etc in, they look really pretty!!

Having an organised room now I couldn't resist taking a visit to Ikea and purchasing a couple of the white storage cubes. You can get different sized ones. This one is a four cube storage unit and it was £40. You can have doors put on them but I prefer without. They're great for storage and the top surface looks great with decoration or perfumes.
All the bits in the cube opposite are from Ikea. The white decorations are both classed as candle holders. The top one named SKURAR is £6 and the other named ROTERA is £2.
You can also purchase the storage baskets. I've put hair products in one and handbags in the other.



All my nail products arranged in one of the cubes opposite....check me out with the organisation!!

BNTB x x



http://www.ikea.com/gb/en/catalog/products/S99001010/#/S39001013

Tuesday 7 January 2014

My attempts to volumize my thin hair!

 
 
 
I have such fine hair and I'm forever on the look out for products to give it a bit of volume. I, at times, will attempt to backcomb my hair to give it some volume before a night out but it can be a pain to do and I worry that I may be damaging my already thin hair.  
 
The below is a photo of my hair after my usual blow drying routine.
 
 Before....
 
 
I recently came across a product by Umberto Giannini and I have to say I was very impressed. It claims to give volume and "sexy texture" without damaging your hair with backcombing. I'm always sceptical that such products work but I'm open to try anything! 
 
 
Its really easy to use. Simply spray 6inches to where you want the backcomb effect and then jujj hair into shape. After doing this through my hair it felt thicker and more textured and it only took a few minutes to do. It could also be used for up dos and does the job without damaging your hair back combing.
 
After....
 
 
 
 
Any comments or recommendations on what works for you are welcome!
 
 
 
 
You can purchase this from Boots for £5.61
 
 
BNTB x x
 
 
 

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...