Another LUSH Review - Footcare

Sorry for the all LUSH Reviews, they're the only products I have pictures of already that I've been testing lately!!

Since my marathon, it's fairly obvious that my feet are suffering! I decided to give them a good pampering with my LUSH Stepping Stone Foot Scrub and Fair Trade Foot Lotion. I've fallen in love with these, this is the second Stepping Stone that I've owned and I just love the scent!

Stepping Stone is almost like a bath bomb in texture and the way it reacts to water, but you get it wet on your skin instead of submerging it in water. It's incredibly moisturising, and really scrubs away any dry skin. I know that LUSH try to use as little packaging as possible, but my one issue with their paper wrapping and yellow bags is that any oil in the product will soak through these within a few hours. You can see this in the dark area on the label of the Stepping Stone scrub. I've found that by using a ziplock bag I can avoid any oil damaging any surfaces where I store my products. I recieved my first foot scrub in one of LUSH's ten pound boxes so that was definately good value for money, it normally retails at 2.75 which I think it great value. If you use this in the shower, you may not get more than one use out of it as it may crumble in the moisture. However, I used a home foot spa and kept the scrub dry and my feet wet and got 2-3 uses out of each one I bought.

So to sum up:

Price: Great value, even better in the summer beach box.

Product: Love it, love it, love it. It does exactly what it says it will.

Packaging: Not my favourite, but there's a solution to every problem.

I wasn't expecting a whole lot from the Fair Trade Foot Lotion, simply because I tested it on my hand instore and just didn't like the texture. When I got a sample pot in the summer beach box I figured I had to give it a try. And let me tell you.. paired with a scrub, it's incredible. Probably didn't feel so great on my hand since it's a foot cream. Again I have a packaging woe.. I just prefer pumps when creams are involved, and that's completely a hygiene thing. However, this is a trial size, so I'll let it go for now :) I've been using this at night over the soles of my feet and on any dry patches I find. Since it doesn't quite soak in straight away, I go to bed with sleeper socks on and wake up with soft, moisturised tootsies! A little goes a hell of a long way with this cream, so 7.95 for a 225g pot is amazing value. I can't see myself going through a pot of this too quickly, so it would be a great beauty investment. So pick yourself up a trial size, I think alone they're about a pound, so if you don't like it, it's not a massive loss. My feet feel sooooo soft, and since I'm a moisturiser nut, I love that!

Sum, sum, sum:

Price: Great option with the trial size, and good value on the pot. I do wish they did a 100g or smaller for travelling, etc.

Product: Definately better than I expected, comes up trumps on my recently tested!

Packaging: I love the amount of recycling that LUSH do, but I do wish there was a pump. I'm being a hygiene freak but it is a foot cream...

I'm going to carry on pampering myself with these for a while I think, at least until my foot cream is used up. I'd like to see the true long term effects before deciding to purchase a full size, I can always stick it in a pump bottle after all!

xoxo

LUSH Review - Cynthia Sylvia Stout & American Cream

This week I used another shampoo and conditioner from my LUSH samples.

I decided to use Cynthia Sylvia Stout and American Cream, a combination recommended by my local LUSH team :)

I'm told Cynthia Sylvia Stout is a shampoo designed for brown hair and it's made with beer which is supposed to make your hair shiny and glossy. This is the part of this shampoo I absolutely love. My gran used to tell me how she would rinse beer through her hair to get shine and gloss, and now I can see why! My hair dries beautifully frizz free (which is not normal!). This shampoo doesn't lather up like a normal shampoo, there are bubbles but nowhere near to the extent of a 'normal' shampoo I quite like this as I feel like the product gets all the way through my hair, which is saying something because I have THICK hair. Sometimes it takes me 2 shampoos to get my hair clean, simply because I don't manage to get the product through and into the roots and mid-lengths, but after one shampoo and rinse (and with very little effort) my hair was squeaky clean :) I am definately planning to purchase this shampoo in a 100g size as I would like to try it for about a month to see if it really makes a difference to my hair over time :)

I also used American Cream, and I'm a bit disappointed because, as with Veganese, I felt it was just a bit average. I can't say it was amazing, because to get it through my thick hair, I had to use the whole sample pot, which it actually a lot of conditioner. This is simply because it didn't spread and felt more like a hair mask than a conditioner. My hair was soft and smooth after using this, but I can't help but feel it was nothing special. I'm one of those people that I really have to love something to rave about it and I just haven't found a LUSH conditioner that I truly love. I would use both of these without complaint, they are not bad products, they just don't do wonders for me. If they are ever on offer to try I would buy them and give them another go, I might have just left them in the sample pots too long.

So far I'm loving the shampoos but the conditioners need further examination. I suppose it wouldn't hurt to get a 100g size of one and give it a full test run.. therefore I'm going to remain undecided.

What are your opinions of LUSH conditioners? Anyone recommend a great one?

xoxo

Sorry for the lack of new pictures, still confined to the 90s laptop!

Quick Heads Up..

I've briefly mentioned that my fan in my laptop was making stupid noises and preventing me from starting on my videos, so today I took it to my local Apple Store and it's been sent away to be fixed. Now this means I'm stuck writing to you guys on my million year old laptop that I bought when I was about 8. It doesn't even have Picasa because I don't think it was invented when I used it last! So I have a few programs to download and sort out, but it could be up to 3 weeks before I get my Mac back. So if I'm sluggish to reply to your comments or not posting as regularly as I normally do, that's why!

Also, this weekend I'm walking a MARATHON (why, I do not know!) in Edinburgh, Scotland, so will not be on here from Friday afternoon until Sunday evening. I'm doing it with my mum in aid of the charity Walk the Walk and if anyone would like to donate I'm on Just Giving here. Any amount would be so appreciated!

Finally, I'm also flat hunting for August/September. So I'm super busy!

Hope you're all well and I'll get my act together soon!

xoxo

Pink Nouveau and Loud & Lovely Lip Swatches (RAVE!!)

So here is the third in my MAC Lipsticks Lip Swatch Series, and I have a total rave! I have always loved my Pink Nouveau, and now I have discovered the perfect gloss for it too!! I love to pair this colour with green liner on my lower lash line and a bare lid, or a green shirt.

So without further ado..

Pink Nouveau! This is my favourite bright lip, I've been told it takes confidence to wear a colour like this, but I say it gives me confidence to wear it!

About a month ago I bought Loud & Lovely Cremesheen Glass from Rachel at Lady Danger Makeup. She was selling it because she simply didn't pick it up enough, but I'm addicted!

I think it look sooooo beautiful. As much as I hate to say it, I just love the 'plastic' look on the lip. According to Glamour I'm a 'Jordanista': fake hair, fake tan, fake lashes.. etc, etc, but whatever, I like what I like and I look how I like.

Now, the reason I'm so impressed with this gloss, is because it doesn't feel sticky WHAT-SO-EVER! I have NEVER EVER owned a gloss, that doesn't stick at all... I'm actually in shock. I haven't actually tried this since I bought it, purely becuase it looked so sticky in the tube.

What Cremesheen Glasses do you lovelies have? I want to try Boy Bait!

xoxo

Fresh Academy Photo Shoot FOTD & HOTD

So today was about the funnest and craziest day ever... I haven't said anything on here because I really wasn't sure what would come of all this. About 2 weeks I recieved a phone call telling me I had made it through to the 2nd round of a modelling competition to be The Face Of The Hair Group 2010! I had to go to the Fresh Academy and Studio today to take my entry shots plus 3 other outfits. I had a brilliant day, arriving and having my hair and makeup done, choosing 3 outfits and shooting on a variety of sets. All I have at the moment is photos my mom and I took in the dressing rooms, I should recieve my prints and CD in about 5-6 weeks. I love the pictures, I'm truly proud of them and I can't wait to share some of them with you guys. The final of the competition is in January/February 2011 so I have a while to wait to find out if I've gotten anywhere, but as soon as I know anything I'll let you guys know :)

Getting my hair done and making

use of my new extensions

Finished hair :)

Makeup almost done

Lipstick :)

Ready to go :)

Sorry for the weird expression, mum caught me candid!

Can't wait to see my prints when they come through :) Have any of you ladies done any professional modelling?

xoxo

Quick FOTD

Being me, I forgot to take a picture of this this morning :( and also being me, I couldn't find my UDPP. So this is pretty rubbish and smudged after 8 hours of wear. But I thought I'd show you anyway because I like the colours.

I was going for a smokey crease with a lighter lid, and it worked when I did it. But since I've been working over hot water all afternoon the steam has made the colours bleed together. Blegh.. this looked nice this morning. I should have some fun looks, a HOTD and some interesting pics tomorrow :)

xoxo

London Day Out

Yesterday in London I had a lovely day out after my hair, we went to Madame Tussaud's and got some really fun photo's :) Just thought I'd share my favourites.

(Yum:))

 (Double Yum :))

(But my boy is yummier :))

xoxo

Foxy Locks Extensions Review & HOTD

Yesterday morning I recieved my Deluxe 160g Foxy Locks Extensions in Chocolate Brown. They were a touch too dark but as I was getting my hair dyed today it wasn't  a problem. For the price I'm happy with the amount and quality of the hair I received, but to be honest I wasn't too impressed with the customer service.

The packaging is cute, but really caters to those who know what they are doing with extensions. However, this minor flaw is saved by Imogen's (the creator) Youtube channel where she has filmed a complete tutorial and FAQ.

Upon arrival the hair looks like this:

It is very smooth, very soft and clearly high quality. When unfolded the hair amounts to:

4 1-clip wefts, 2 2-clip wefts, 2 3-clip wefts and 2 4-clip wefts. (Sorry for the rubbish laying out and the fact that it's on my bed!!)

As I said I had my hair dyed, heavily trimmed and a side fringe cut in today. I did not have the extensions cut at all, I merely had my hairdresser match my hair colour. The fact that there are 4 different size wefts makes these extensions really easy to apply. Once I got used to the initial weight I barely noticed they were there, the clips are comfortable and the hair feels just like my own. I put a few curls in the extensions (and in my own hair) before putting them in because I think it helped to blend the hair together. I definately want to try my hair straight too :)

(Click to see larger)

EDIT 11/06: Since this blog post, I have made contact with Imogen via Twitter. She never recieved my email, hence the lack of reply. As far as I know I have only heard good things about her (she replied to 150 emails tonight) and I'll blame my minor niggle on technology!

My only niggle with this purchase was the.. I guess lack(?) of customer service/communication. When I placed my order I knew I wanted to have the extensions asap since I have been trying to order them for months (they sell out very fast!). I paid £5.99 for the fastest shipping. Since I ordered 11am Saturday, I figured that there was no chance of receiving on Sunday (fairly typical) but I emailed just to ask whether they considered next working day to be Monday delivery or Tuesday. I'm not annoyed that it was Tuesday, I figured they processed the order on Monday and I got it Tuesday. I was annoyed that I recieved no reply, and still haven't. It may be a dumb question but, I normally just go with regular 2-4 day shipping so I just didn't know what to expect. It was a fairly simple question and would have only taken a few minutes to answer. Yes, they are probably busy and a comparably small online company, but to me, customer service is of the utmost importance.

Overall I'm happy with my purchase and would repurchase should I ever need more clip in extensions.

You can purchase Foxy Locks Extensions from www.foxylocksextensions.com in a variety of colours ranging from £54 to £75.

xoxo

Update

Hi guys,

I just wanted to apologise for my lack of posting over the past few days. I'm helping to open a new restaurant in my town and it is somewhat time consuming! I promise I will be back. I'm headed into London on Wednesday, so my first HOTD and another FOTD to come from that. This weekend I'm walking a marathon overnight in Edinburgh and I hope to be Tweeting live from the walk (if my phone works there!!). And next week is the mine and the boyf's second anniversary, so lots coming up over the next week. I also have my final thoughts on what I've been using of the LUSH haircare proucts I picked up, I have to admit time has changed my opinions of a few!

FYI: I've been having some laptop issues recording videos, but I hope to have my first YouTube videos on the go soon! What do you all want to see?

Chat to you all on Wednesday,

Lora.

Latest NYX Jumbo Pencil Swatches

NYX recently released four new Jumbo Pencils into their line. I'm a little confused, beacause even though there are now 28 pencils, the new four use the numbers 621-624, even though these are supposedly already taken. If anyone can enlighten me it would be super appreciated :)

So on with the swatching...

 

 Without flash:

621 Pure Gold

622 Electric Blue

623 Purple Velvet

624 Rocky Mountain Green

With Flash:

621 Pure Gold

622 Electric Blue

623 Purple Velvet

624 Rocky Mountain Green

With flash was mainly to show you the purple because it came out weird in the other one.

xoxo

LUSH Haircare and Buffy Review

Tonight I tried my LUSH BIG Shampoo and Veganese Conditioner. I got samples of these (see below) on my last trip to LUSH and I have to say I am very impressed.

So I'll start with BIG, and I've got to say, I absolutely adore the smell of this! My hair is super smooth and BIG after using this. I was nervous in the shower because my hair felt very tangly (is that a word?) and I couldn't seem to wash it all out yet I thought I hadn't used enough product. However, after conditioning with Veganese, combing through my hair and allowing it to air dry, I'm very pleased with the result. To me, Veganese didn't have any truly distinct smell, although this may be because it is overpowered by the sea salt smell. It served it's purpose of conditioning my hair without overdoing it. I'm not going to say it's the most amazing conditioner ever but I would use it again and most likely purchase a full size bottle.

I also tried my Buffy Body Butter in the shower tonight. This is a really lovely scrub, it smells divine!

This did it's job and I feel totally exfoliated and moisturized, my only issue was I felt almost.. over moisturized. This was purely down to the oily nature of this product, so if you already have oily skin, I wouldn't recommend this for you. To be comfortable I did feel like I had to remove some of the residual oil from my skin before getting dressed. I will use this again, but I probably won't repurchase, simply because I found it quite time consuming to get the amount of oil that was deposited onto my skin off again.

I know a lot of you have tried BIG, has anyone tried Veganese or Buffy?

xoxo

Blog Sale - Marilyn Monroe Bath Set and Cherry Fizzers

Okay, so here's my first Blog Sale! Quite a small one, but I figured I'd see how this goes. I have a total weakness for bath stuff.. salts, scrubs, bombs, fizzers, bubbles, melts, the lot. And I've just bought too many! So I figured I'd sell these few things to lighten the collection a bit!

All prices include P&P. If you require tracking or special delivery there will be an extra charge. Open internationally but please contact me for international shipping rates. Leave a comment with what you would like and your email. First come first serve.

Marilyn Monroe Bath & Shower Gel

£6

Marilyn Monroe Bath & Shower Gel

£6

Marilyn Monroe Long Fabulous Soak Bath Salts

£5

Marilyn Monroe Long Sumptuous Soak Bath Salts

£5

£20 for entire Marilyn Set

Cherry Blossom Bath Fizzers

£4

I will entertain offers, please leave a comment with your offer. When doing this please be mindful that P&P is included!

xoxo

Day Out To Bournemouth and Swanage

Yesterday Ryan, his family and I went to visit some of his extended family in Swanage. To get there we had to take a ferry from Bournemouth. Now before that sounds fun and impressive and a great time for pictures. Turns out, it was a 400 yard crossing!

It literally took like 3 minutes to get across, but it saved us an hours driving. We didn't realise how short it was, and all had to run back to the car as it was driving off the ramp. Ryan and his brother had to jump in while we were moving!! 

Back in the car here's my FOTD. I based this around MAC's Antiqued and used matte shadows to blend it out. I did it in a super rush so I can't quite remember exactly what I used!! And being me I forgot to take a close up of my eye!

And here's me and the lover on Swanage Victorian Pier :) We don't take many pictures so I like these a whole lot!

And on a side note, I also need a bit of advice. I'm taking Law, Business, Maths and Psychology when I re-start college next year, but I've grown up doing drama and I really want to take it and it doesn't have anything to do with the career path I want to follow. But all the same, I've always loved drama, yet I need to get my future and Uni plans sorted. So.. do I focus on the future career? Or do I do what I love and give up something that may affect my chances of getting into Uni?

Any advice/thoughts are appreciated! I'm so confused!

xoxo

FOTD - Lashes Without Liner

Today was a bad day, I woke up to find that somehow my MAC palette that holds my highlighters had fallen off the shelf, broken it's clasp that holds it closed and smashed four of the shadows. I am not a happy bunny. I managed to sort and save most of the pieces, anyone know how to 're-pot' (lol?) or press the shadows back into place. If anyone could point me in the right direction it would be very much appreciated!

Anyway, Happy June everyone!!

This was from 2 days ago, and I just did quick makeup for work. I had lashes in mind when I did this because I've received several emails from my lovely readers asking about using liquid/kohl liner when applying false lashes. So, this FOTD was really to prove you don't necessarily need eye liner. Yes, it can make the look cleaner and it does give you something to aim for, but you CAN apply lashes without it.

Face

Rimmel London Lasting Finish Foundation in 201 Classic Beige

MAC Mineralize Skinfinish in Medium (Powder)

MAC Blushcreme in Ladyblush

MAC Creme Colour Base in Hush

Eyes

MAC Shroom Eyeshadow

MAC #7 Lashes

MAC Plush Lash in Plushblack

  MAC Eye Brows in Lingering

Lips

MAC Frost Lipstick in Angel 

When placed properly and blended with mascara, false lashes can be worn with a more natural look.

To be totally honest, I would wear smaller lashes (like MAC #31s) if I was actually going to do this as a day look, but I just wanted to emphasize my point!

So, anybody up for the challenge of lashes without liner?

xoxo

xoxo