Hyped Up Products I Don't Rate!

Benefit's They're Real! mascara and Dr Jart Water Fuse Beauty Balm. Two products that have been very popular in the blogging world. Sadly these two just didn't cut it for me and I'm not that impressed with them. They're both sample sizes but I've tried enough to say that I'm definitely not that keen.
My biggest issue with the bb cream is that it's too orange for me. This surprised me as I'd heard it was good for paler skin tones but on numerous occasions I've thought I've blended it out enough and then later on discovered the dreaded tide mark! The texture is also quite unusual in that as you rub it in it becomes watery,  for want of a much better description! This isn't necessarily a bad thing but on top of a moisturiser, which I need as most foundations/bb creams cling to my dry areas, it just doesn't seem to sit right and it can end up looking quite patchy. I'm hoping to use this up when I've got more of a tan as really my main issue is that it's too dark for me. I won't be repurchasing, especially as it's quite pricey!
Now I was really looking forward to trying the Benefit mascara as I'd heard it gives amazing results, but for me, it's rather average. It doesn't seem to give much volume at all and I can't build it up and put on multiple coats without it looking awful. It does define, in the sense that it makes them darker at least, but for what I'm looking for I much prefer Seventeen's Doll'd Up mascara and Clinique High Impact mascara. I'm also not a fan of the brush as it's quite spikey and I always seem to poke myself with it!

Musings

I didn't really know what to call this post as it's just some things that have been on my mind lately. Nothing groundbreaking of course but just a peek into my little life at the moment!

* What a difference a year makes. This time last year I was really unhappy due to a crappy (in hindsight) relationship on top of the stress of job hunting and getting a lot of rejections. Now though I am the happiest I've been in a long long time- I've got the loveliest boyfriend ever, who came into my life rather unexpectedly but made it infinitely better. We've only been together for about 5 months but I feel like I've known him much longer and I feel so comfortable in his company.

*Now that I've got a job in a school 5 mins away from my boyfriends flat, I have practically moved myself in and have quickly cluttered up his place with girliness and general mess! I love having my own space again after moving back home after uni. Now that I'm being paid and can contribute, I'm thinking about having a massive sort out and moving more stuff in than a couple of holdalls. I'm a bit of a hoarder so this desperately needs doing. I'm going to have to be ruthless but hopefully it will be quite a cathartic experience! I'm looking forward to buying some storage (now that's a bit of a sad sentence) and other homeware bits and bobs together.

*I am longing for a holiday sooo much and lately me and Stu have been looking up cheap deals online. He has actually been getting very stressed out about it all, bless! It doesn't help that I can't take any term time leave so everything is more expensive. I just want some sunshine and a change of scenery. I'm not too picky on where we go, though Stu would beg to differ on that one..Anyone got any recommendations on where to find good deals?

*I've been at my new job for a while now and whilst I do enjoy it, I can't help but feel I'm going to wreck it for myself down to my lack of confidence and overall shyness. I don't think people realise how hard it is being shy sometimes and how much of a barrier it is. I'm trying to push myself but it's not easy when you feel like you regularly make an idiot of yourself! Don't suppose anyone else feels like this? 

Anywho, this is what I've been thinking about of late and I hope you didn't find it too trivial and boring!

Oh I do Like To Be Beside The Seaside!

Last Sunday I spent a lovely day at Llandudno with my dad and boyfriend. I don't live with my dad so it's nice to spend time with him and to get him out of the house as he doesn't drive. Llandudno is only about an hour away from me
It was a gorgeous sunny day and though my boyfriend wasn't completely taken with the place I enjoyed myself and the typical seaside resort tut shops and arcades. I just think he was in a grump coz he didn't get to grab an angry bird and lost to me at air hockey! There was also a Punch and Judy show which I found both creepy and amusing. Have to love a sausage stealing crocodile after all! We had a walk along the promenade and pier and munched on hot dogs and ice cream. Simple pleasures! I also had to have a blue slushie. Impossible to resist those on a hot day!  You do have to eat fast though there as the seagulls are cheeky fooks and will swoop down and help themselves. I saw a very pissed off man have half his hot dog snatched from him! Evil seagulls aside I really do like it here and will probably go back in the summer some time.

Next time I'm hoping to go up the Great Orme.

Out of focus nobbly bobbly. <3 

Evil.

Obligatory sneaky stuffing face pic for lolz.

Cool Alice In Wonderland  carved wooden statues were all around  the place

Have you had any nice day outs lately? Where's your favourite seaside location?

L'Oreal 3 in 1 Purifying Micellar Solution

Once again time has ran away from me and I've neglected my little blog. I've been pretty busy lately what with working at school as well as playscheme during the hols-any spare time has just been spent lounging on the sofa doing sod all! I will try and make more of an effort though as I hate leaving it so long between posts. Now onto the review...
Mornings are a bit of a rush for me and I'm always so tired when it comes to bedtime that doing a full cleanse tone and moisturise routine is just far too much effort. I usually use wipes but I wanted to see if a micellar cleanser would be more effective and gentle. I've been tempted by them for ages but they always seemed a bit on the pricey side so when I saw this offering from L'Oreal for about £4 I thought I might as well try it. This has been all over the blogisphere lately and I'm sure you're pretty familiar with it so I won't ramble on! Basically it's a gentle water like solution which removes makeup (including eyes and lips) leaving no residue. I've been using it for a little whilst now and overall I'm pleased with how well it works. It doesn't leave my skin dry or oily feeling and removed my makeup, even stubborn mascara, easily. My skin can be a bit temperamental but so far it hasn't broken me out. Here's hoping it stays that way! What I will say though is that I hate the bottle design. Is it just me or does anyone else find that it gets everywhere when you try and put some on a cotton pad??
Anyways, this works well and I will probably repurchase as it really does take the fuss out of cleansing when you really can't be bothered!

Cleanser Empties

The title is a bit misleading as these aren't quite empty just yet- they probably have about 2 uses left in them but knowing me when they are finished properly I will just shove them in the bin and forget to review them! I got these mini's in sample boxes, can't remember which ones though, and have been using them whilst I'm staying at my boyfriends place. The Vichy Normaderm Tri-Activ Cleanser is also a scrub and a mask. I have only used it as a mask once but it worked well and didn't make my skin feel overly tight. I love the scrubbiness of this cleanser as I feel that I'm really getting all the grime out of my pores! It is soap, paraben and alcohol free and contains salicylic acid as well as kaolin and corn starch so it's ideal for oily blemished skin. The Normaderm range is targeted towards 'imperfection prone skin' and there are lots of products in the range. I think I'll be checking out the micellar water they do next. I might repurchase this at some point, it costs a bit more than what I'd usually pay for a cleanser, but at £11 it's not too bad especially considering it's a 3 in 1 product.
I like foaming cleansers ever though they can be a little drying and whilst the Shiseido Cleansing Foam claims to be extra gentle I did find that it felt a bit 'soapy' in that there was some tightness afterwards as if I had just used bar soap- it feels squeaky clean almost. It did have a rather luxurious texture though which I have enjoyed using but it does have a strong soapy scent and found it to sting really badly if I got it in my eyes! A little goes a long way so it's lasted me ages considering it's only a 30ml tube. I won't be repurchasing this though as the full size 125ml tube costs £29 which is just ridiculous seeing as I can pick up a basic one that does the same thing for under a fiver.

Have you tried any of these? What did you think?

O.P.I You Don't Know Jacques!

When I heard that Fragrance Direct were selling O.P.I polishes for a bargainous £3.99 a pop I knew I couldn't resist temptation!  I chose this shade as it's something I haven't already got in my collection and it seems to be a bloggers fave. It's quite a 'grown up' polish but a sophisticated shade I reckon. I'm sort of reminded of Minstrels when I look at my nails too! I've never tried an O.P.I polish before but I was impressed with the formula in that it took two coats to reach full opacity, dried fairly quickly and was neither too thin or thick. I would have liked a slightly glossier finish but this can be easily rectified with a top coat that I was too lazy to apply! I will definitely look into adding more O.P.I polishes to my collection-they have such a wide range of shades and the cutest names!

What O.P.I polishes would you recommend I try?

Bargains of Late!

I had a cheeky shop at the weekend and I found some great bargains! I shouldn't of been spending but these were such steals it would of been rude not to.

In TK Maxx I picked up a bottle of Dr Bronners Citrus Orange Pure  Castile Soap for £3.00 as I have been meaning to get some for ages. I had a few samples of it in a JolieBox and it was excellent for cleaning my brushes with. It is also the only cleaning product that has gotten my beauty blender properly clean! Here I also got a 200ml tub of Nip + Fab Pistachio Sundae Body Butter for £4.99. I don't really know why I got this as I have a tonne of moisturisers already that I just don't use! I think I was lured in by the yummyness. I am glad I got it though as it smells divine and feels super nourishing. Perfect for my scaly legs! The label states the RRP is £9.94 but you can get it in Boots for £8. 49. Either way it's cheaper. 

I also popped into Poundland, as I always do, and found a rather nice cook book called 'Cooking With Coco' Even though it's based on recipes for children there are some really nice looking dishes in there. Basically it's full of simple Italian (mostly) home cooking that should please the whole family. I like that it's not full of typical fussy kiddie fare but rather a wide variety of proper food. The price on the back is £18.99 so this is a great bargain for a quality cook book. 

I also got a lightweight jumper in the sale at New Look for £7, but I am currently wearing it and have no mirror long enough to take a pic of it on! I'll try and add it in later but it's on the website so you can see it here.  

Have you picked up any bargains lately?