Friday 17 January 2014

Beautiful Bargains

Well, talk about bargain central! I popped into Tesco this morning on my way to work, as I had forgotten my eyebrow pencil and I am going to straight to an Awards Ceremony for my company straight after work. Which I am incredibly excited about – it is at The Luton Hoo 5 Star Hotel, we get dinner, drinks and a night’s stay! Can’t wait to leave work and get up there for some “me” time.




Anyway, I digress… Whilst perusing the cosmetics aisle of Tesco looking for my eyebrow pencil, I saw 3 massive boxes FULL of sale F&F and Barbara Daly make up! Ranging from 50p to £3 per item! Heaven! As you might have guessed, I have a little bit of a make up problem, I suppose it is like my guilty pleasure. Well I swiftly put back my Rimmel pencil and replaced it with a bargain F&F brow pencil priced at just £1!! Exactly the same, just with no brush on the end. I also got:



F&F Enlighten me concealer - £1
Awaken your eyes with this creamy under eye concealer in shade 2. Apply F&F Enlighten me concealer with the built-in brush to reduce the appearance of dark under eye circles. Before use, prime the pen by twisting the base until a small amount of Enlighten me becomes visible on the brush.

This is like the YSL Touche Eclat. Very creamy, good coverage but not heavy.




F&F Lips (gloss) - 50p
This pure shine lip gloss adds soft colour to your lips. Apply the super glossy Baby blush shade alone or over lip colour for a flawless finish. The perfect size to pop into your bag for touch-ups, apply your F&F lipgloss directly from the wand applicator.

A very pretty pink colour, slightly too sticky for my liking, so one to wear when your hair is up. F&F




Cream Blush - £1
Wake up your skin with a natural hint of colour. F&F cream blush in Precious pink gives any tired face a lift. Apply the blush with fingertips and dab on to your skin with a patting motion for a flattering flush of subtle colour.

Looks really pink in the dish, but once I applied with my fingers to the apples of my cheek, was a really soft, pink glow, very fresh looking.




F&F Galaxy Glow - £1 (£9.50 on the website!)
The ultimate finish touch for your skin, F&F Galaxy glow highlighter adds a glow to dull, tired looking skin. Packed with ultra fine iridescent pearls, it can be applied all over the face or to partial areas. This versatile highlighter can be worn alone to brighten the complexion or over make-up

I’ve not tried this on my face yet, but put a bit on my hand, feels lovely and smooth, would be nice to wear on naked skin if you didn’t want to wear any foundation (like if you had a glow from a tan, fake or otherwise!)



F&F Eyes (eyeshadow) – 50p
A baked eye shadow with a shimmer and shine finish for any occasion, F&F Metallics eyeshadow, in this stunning Oyster shell colour has great staying power. The wet or dry formula offers 2 different effects, use it wet for a high impact look or dry for a beautiful soft sheen.

Luckily I wore no make up to work today, as I got to try this at my desk! It is beautiful, reminds me of MAC nylon, high pigmentation, blended well with my fingers.




Barbara Daly See Through Lip Gloss - £2
Part of the beauty collection by legendary make-up artist Barbara Daly, this Lip glaze is a translucent gloss for beautifully shiny lips. With a subtle hint of Chiffon colour, this lip glaze leaves a flawless, moisturised and glossy finish Lovely gloss!

Feels really moisturising and has a pinky, almost iridescent colour.



F&F Galaxy Shine - £1
Wake up your skin with maximum glow with F&F Galaxy Shine highlighter. This pearl packed shimmer allows for a versatile application using a sponge, brush or fingertips. Use on cheeks, face and body for stunning, shimmery highlights.

Again, I’ve not tried this one, but tried it on my hand, very pinky iridescent, will be perfect as a highlighter on the cheek and brow bones. Think Benefit High Beam, but with a more iridescent finish.



From Vivo: Vivo VPL Volume & Length Mascara – 50p
Fibre formulation adds instant length to lashes coupled with volume brush technology to get the ultimate VPL

Now, this is my one disappointing buy. But it was only 50p. I think it might be “off” as the tube felt empty when getting the wand out, very dry and hardly anything went on my lashes. Which is a real shame as the brush looks amazing, and seems like it would do a really good job if the actual mascara wasn’t dried up! Its original price of £3.49 – and you can still purchase on line through Vivo, might be worth another go.



And not in the sale: Collection Glam Crystals Dazzling Gel Liner - £3
Tiny glitter particles suspended in a clear, quick-drying gel, Includes precision brush for easy application, Wear over eye shadow or alone with mascara.

WOW, I love this! I thought it might have been a bit OTT for the office, but I just had to try it! I teamed it with the Oyster eyeshadow above, and it is beautiful. My boss commented on how lovely my eyes looked. My eyes are brown/hazel and the eyeshadow/glitter are goldy so it really brings out the colour of my eyes, makes them look really bright and pretty. Loving the sparkle of the eyeliner!

What a way to start the weekend! I’m a happy bunny!

Happy Friday!
Jx

Thursday 16 January 2014

Start spreading the news...

It was my husbands 30th Birthday last week, and as a surprise, I booked a trip to The Big Apple, The Empire State, NYC, NEW YORK!!  I booked it in July, so how i managed to keep it a secret for over 6 months i don't know!  Everything was done in secret, i'd booked the time off with his boss, tickets booked, hotel arranged, ESTAS purchased, dollars exchanged - so exciting!


A very excited birthday boy!

The night before his birthday, i told him that he didnt have to go to work in the morning and that i had something planned for him.  In the middle of the night i decorated the living room, put the bubbly in the fridge and got prepared for the birthday boy!



Lounge all decorated

2 bottles of bubbly before lunch - oops!

When he opened his card, he couldnt believe it!  We were going to NYC in the morning!  We had such a lovely day, we went to The Grove for lunch, which was incredible, we were treated like kings!  Well worth a visit for a special occasion, we dined in The Stables restaurant - their website can be found here drank bubbly all day, packed our cases and his family came over in the evening.  His sisters made him such a fantastic cake!



Jamie's beautiful sisters and the fantastic cake

We were both so excited when we went to bed that night, i dont think we slept much and when the alarm went off at 4.30am it was time to get ready.  We flew with BA from LHR T5, the flight was on time, no issues, and we landed safely at JFK just after 12 noon.  Straight in a yellow taxi to the hotel.


Us on the flight

We stayed at The Milford Times Square.  A cheap and cheerful, basic, modern hotel in a prime location in the Theatre District.  We went straight to the Empire State Building after stopping at a deli for a spot of lunch)  The View from the Empire State 86th Observatory Deck was incredible, 360 degree views of Manhattan.  By the time we got there, dusk was settling and all the lights looked so beautiful.



View from the Empire State Building

We did so much in such a short space of time, Jamie is a massive Sopranos fan, so we went to Little Italy, did some shopping in Macy's, spent a fortune in Victorias Secret, walked around Central Park, Brooklyn Bridge, NY Public Library, Ground Zero, Tiffanys!!!!  We also made our own custom Muppett in FAO Schwarz, so much fun!  We met some lovely locals in a bar we popped in to for a well needed rest after walking around Bloomies. The bar is The Bar Room, at 117 East 60th Street between Lexington and Park their website can be found here.  Special thanks to Harry for the amazing choclate pudding he gave us as a treat.

A few moments from The Bar Room

Flat irons - location of The Bar Room

We only meant to stop for a one drink, then staggered out 6 hours later and got pretzels and hot dogs!


Pretzels!

Another must visit for food is Carmines Website in Times Square 200 West 44th Street.  AMAZING food, the portions are huge - so share!  Our main would have easily fed 4 people! It was packed - a good sign! 
We also went to the flicks in Times Square, we saw Paranormal Activity - so funny in the cinema, they Americans get so in to the film, so much screaming!!

Paranormal Activity in Times Square


We were incredibly sad to leave, especially only staying for 3 nights, but we will be returning, hopefully this year... Fingers crossed!

Jx

Thursday 2 January 2014

NYE Sparkly Lipglosses!

Whilst perusing Instagram, I came across a beautiful lip that i wanted to re-create for NYE. I was going for statement eyes so wanted a neutral lip with that little bit extra, this was perfect!



Stunning!

I already had the lipstick i was going to use underneath - MUA £1 Matte Lipstick Totally Nude with my Mac Naked Lip Pencil £12 but i didnt have the sparkly for the top coat!

So, i went shopping!  I tried on about 6 different glosses, including a gorgeous one from Bobbi Brown - Bare Sparkle £18 but it wasnt quite right.  I then found a stunning one from LancĂ´me - Color Fever Gloss in sparkling Light £20 but the hefty price tag put me off (for a gloss that i may potentially lose after a few vinos), so i went searching for a dupe.  And i found one!


Barry M display in Superdrug

Barry M do an almost identical version of the Lancome one and it is a quarter of the price! Lip Gloss Wand - Strawberries and Cream £4.49 It is slightly less sparkly, but not so much you would notice.
It goes on smooth, smells delicious and isnt that sticky!  I purchased from Superdrug, but have put the link direct to Barry M's website above.




Very sparkly!
Smells great

It goes to show that if you do some research and take your time, you can often find a fab dupe and save some money! 

Although i didnt end up saving much as i bought this beautiful glitter nail polish as well!  It is the Nicole by OPI range, part of the Modern Family Collection. Haley Good Lookin' £7.99 I got mine from Superdrug too pretty and girly not to take it home with me! I will probably layer it with  OPI's Mod About You.

Very glittery, perfect for layering

So, Happy New Year lovely people.  Hope 2014 brings you everything you wish for.  Hope you all had a good night brining in the New Year!

Jx



Me being silly on NYE!
Me & my sexy husband on NYE