Bourjois Poudre de Riz de Java

Do I get distracted easily? Nope, not a chance... Did I ever tell you the time that I - GLITTER!!!! SHINY!!! PRETTY!!!. . .  I. . .  erm, where was I?

I was in Boots today and saw this little beauty and tested the powder. Wow! Illuminating and slightly glittery, this is a silky, smooth powder to set your makeup to give you that sexy glow. Bourjois are celebrating their 150th year, and they are constantly bringing out fresh, new ideas and beautiful lines. Bourjois, has, without a doubt, some of the highest quality makeup that you can find in stores without the premium price tags.

Above is the top of the lid. Apparently this is what the original print looked like when it came out in 1879. Yes, don't worry, I couldn't believe it either. I love how original and classy the label looks. But that's where the originality stops. But I'm not complaining. . .

Inside it has a small and efficient powder dispenser, sealed with this sticker to make sure no one uses it whilst in the shop. . .

I turned it upside down, gave it a gentle tap and the powder tipped onto my hand. . .

So I smudged it out across my hand. The powder is fine, scented, and glittery, but the glitter is fine and not much more than the finish of the Revlon Skinlights, which I absolutely love.

This is what it looks like blended out. I could have blended it out more but I wanted you all to see that it does have a beautiful illuminating effect. The scent is quite prominent, and although I like it, others that are "'scent' sitive" may not. The scent lingers for a while too, which, again, I like. I have not yet used this as a finishing powder, but by golly I can't wait!

Then when I was finished with it, I turned the dispenser until it clicks into place, ensuring that if you carry it around in your bag or purse, it won't slide open and pour it's precious contents into your precious bag!

Do I like it? No. I love it!
Would I recommend it? Yes and No, because of the ingredients and perfume (please see below)
Would I repurchase it? Yes, definitely.


CONTAINS TALC, SILICA & PERFUME, so all people trying to avoid these, then you may want to try before you buy or avoid this powder.

Revlon Photoready Skinlights

So when Superdrug had their 3 for 2 offer I jumped at the chance to get these little beauties.

These Illuminating liquids are so fab. . .  This one below is 100 Bare Light... I'll show you the tube, a little dot of the liquid on my hand and then that little dot blended in, all in natural light.

This is the second tube I bought, in 400 Bronze Light. . .

And thirdly, 300 Peach Light. . .

You can wear these for a light sheen all over your face, but probably best aimed at people with dry/normal skin. I wear these either mixed with foundation or blended all over the foundation for a subtle glow/dewy finish. Heavy finishing/setting powders for combination/oily skin like mine can hide all the shimmer and leave your face looking like it would normally, so take care to be light handed with that pesky powder!

Don't apply these after you've set your foundation with powder as it will only mess up your beautiful makeup!

Will I repurchase? Without a doubt, these are absolutely fantastic and give me a lovely subtle glow as Autumn arrives. I think I'll be using these for a long time to come, so please Revlon, please don't discontinue these beauties!

FAKE Urban Decay Naked Basics Palette

I have never bought any of the UD's Naked palettes. . .  I know, shame on me. . .  I should, but every time I go to buy one I think "Can I justify spending this amount of money on an eyeshadow palette?" and then I run away and don't bother.

So when I saw a Naked Basics Palette online from aliexpress.com for around £4.40 (instead of it's usual price tag of £18-20) I thought "Oh, alright then, I'll give it a go! If it's crap then it's only £4.40 wasted!". So I bought it. It took 23 days to get to my house from day of purchase, so not too bad, considering it is from China.

So this is what the little palette looks like from the outside...

And this is what it looks like opened. I'd already swatched and used the shadows, so please forgive the fingerprinted shadows haha!

The first 3 shades; Venus (shimmery white), Foxy (matte cream) and W.O.S (abbreviation for Walk Of Shame, which is a matte pale pink-cream)

The last 3 colours; Naked 2 (matte pale brown), Faint (matte mid-dark brown) and Crave (matte black)

Swatched on my hand in daylight. W.O.S & Faint are almost undetectable in this light, which is a shame.

I used the Naked Basics Palette to create this really easy look and it does look really soft and natural.



My Thoughts: 
The shadows smell kind of funny, they remind me of kiddie's makeup, to be honest. They're slightly lacking in pigment except for Venus and Crave, but on a serious note, for £4.40 I was expecting complete rubbish. I know these eyeshadows are not as pigmented as the real deal, but they're a really great dupe for beginners, people on a tight budget and those looking for a bargain. For lovers of the real thing, please don't buy this as you'll only be disappointed.

Autumn :/

After a long time of a crappy, rainy summer, followed by a monsoon Autumn (so far) I've decided that I have to come to terms with the fact that summer... Is over. But I refuse to let that little fact get me down - or get me pale! I have been using fake tan pretty much non-stop since May when I went to my friend's wedding. I went over the top with the way I used fake tan, but after turning myself into an Oompa Loompa a couple of times I've learned my lesson. So now I've got my fake tan under wraps, it's time to get my Autumn makeup on!

Warm, neutral colours on my eyes (but they are shimmery - Hell, even I won't use mattes if I can get away with it) by MUA Undressed Palette, my absolute favourite mascara of all time - Love Alpha, an old bronzer by Bourjois, a clear lipgloss and Collection 2000 Lasting Perfection foundation in Honey. Who says we have to rock being pale when we can rock being (unnaturally) tanned? So we didn't get a proper summer - well, I'll be prepared for a proper Autumn and Winter!

Review: Xen-Tan Dark Lotion

I am like the fat, unattractive version of snow white; I have skin as white as snow (except my blotchy red face), lips as red as blood (as long as I'm wearing my Russian Red MAC lipstick, but don't tell anyone I told you that) and hair as black as ebony. I do actually have partly-asian skin, so I can tan naturally - I just choose not to prematurely age my skin now I am reaching towards the end of my twenties, so I remain pale all year round, and have done since I was 18. I can't tell you how depressing being pale in the middle of summer can be, when others are walking around, tanned, golden and healthy-looking. Well, maybe not this summer in England, because all we've had is rain for months on end, but you get my point...

I came across Xen-Tan completely by mistake. Loads of people said it was totally amazeballs (not their exact words but you know what I mean), so I bought a bottle of the dark lotion from www.feelunique.com (I have VIP status with Xen-Tan on their website so this bottle cost me £16.95), and ever since then I never looked back...

This is what the bottle looks like. The bottle contains 236ml of product. On the front of the bottle it says it: rich moisturizers, instant color for face and body, natural olive undertone, long wearing, streak free and with jojoba nut oils & aloe. On the back of the bottle it gives you the directions on how to apply and also a warning about avoiding contact with eyes and not containing UVA/UVB protection.

AAAAGGGGHHHH! Please look away if sqeamish!!! This is me with Xen-Tan applied, and waiting patiently to dry. Yes, I look hideous, oh well, haha! When the dark lotion goes on it smells like a cherry bakewell tart/almonds/marzipan - it's very sweet smelling, and it feels lovely, gliding on to the skin. It is for face and body too, so there's no need to buy a second self tanner for the face - hooray! After the lotion is dry, the yummy scent wears off, leaving the biscuity scent of the DHA as it works its magic to turn you from pale-and-sunless to sun-drenched-golden-goddess.

Now you may have been wondering why my skin looks muddy-ish and dirty. It's because the base colour looks like the above photo. It really is dark, but it glides on and rubs in smoothly, especially if you have a tanning mitt. I use a soltan tanning mitt from boots, and the lotion just rubs in like a dream. If I use latex/latex-free gloves I end up with product rolling up in teeny, yucky, little, dark-brown-dead-skin-like rolls on the skin and it looks really creepy and gross. A tanning mitt stops that problem :)

They claim it has an olive undertone to keep your tan looking natural, and they certainly weren't lying; here is my tanning mitt after I left it to dry with Xen-Tan Dark Lotion on it. Green! You won't turn out orange (which is always a looming disaster just waiting to happen for all us pale girlies) with this beauty of a self-tan!
So these are two pictures I took after I'd waited overnight and showered off the base/instant colour the next day. I'm not super dark, but I'm not white anymore, hooray! I used a foundation that contains SPF 20 in it (to even out my face), so the camera flash reflected some light, making my face appear a little lighter than it should have, but you can tell I'm darker than I normally am.

This is a picture of my hand. You can see my knuckles are a bit darker than the rest of my hand, but other than that you can tell my skin is tanned, and most importantly, not Tango-ed! I forgot to use a moisturiser on my feet beforehand, so my toes went quite dark, which was embarrassing, but they're ok now after a bit of buffing haha! 


Pro's of Xen-Tan Dark Lotion:
Natural, olive based tan after base colour is washed away
Dark base colour (easy to see where it's been applied)
Doesn't gather at wrists, ankles, elbows  (so no really obvious dark patches)
Smells great right out of the bottle
Face and body (no need to buy separate tanner for face)
Leaves skin feeling soft and moisturised
Can get it for around £17 on www.feelunique.com if you use VIP for Xen-Tan (FREE SHIPPING)

Cons of Xen-Tan Dark Lotion:
Price - can cost up to £29 per bottle (depending on where you buy it from, like Xen-Tan's own website), which is very pricey for fake tan
Smell wears off, leaving DHA biscuity smell after about an hour
Some say that the tan is not dark enough after first application, and they require two applications, which means the tan can run out quickly.
CONTAINS NUT OILS so for people with a nut allergy, this product is a big NO NO :(
CONTAINS PARABENS (I'm going to fork out the extra moolah for Xen-Tan Absolute Luxe when I next order, because that one is paraben free :D)


This is not Xen-Tan - this is My-Tan! I love this fake tan and I can't wait to try the absolute luxe when my dark lotion runs out. If you can get the tan at the price I can get it, if you're not allergic to nuts and you don't have worries about parabens, then you should try this fake tan out. It's the best one I've ever used, and I've used quite a few on my self-tanning journey (St Moriz lotion, L'Oreal sublime bronze gel and the L'Oreal range of spray tanners for face and body including the pro sprays, Soltan gel, lotion and body sprays, St Tropez spray, Fake Bake mousse, spray and lotion, Solait mousse).

Does anyone else have a favourite self-tan? I'd love to know! xx

Hair Extensions

I bought some hair extensions a few weeks ago, mainly out of curiosity, from Tesco. I got a full head (7 pieces) of black, synthetic wavy, 20 inch extensions, and another full head of the same but in dark brown. The dark brown pair was by mistake - they looked the same in Tesco, and once you open them you can't take them back. Turns out they actually look really quite nice together. The reason I bought two full heads instead of one is because of the amount of hair I have - one full set of extensions simply isn't enough to look natural on me. For both sets of hair it cost me £40. They can be styled with heat up to 170 degrees centigrade, so they can be straightened, curled, etc. I like them the way they are.
When I put them in for the first time, I felt kind of stupid, but once I blended the clips under my hair and curled my hair to match them, I felt different; more confident - almost sexy! I do have to style my hair a little for my hair to blend more with the synthetic hair and make it less obvious, but I just love how the extensions make me feel...

                                                                                 I felt so inspired and sexy, I decided to pose in front of my web cam with my lustrous locks to show you how amazing these extensions make me feel. I have only worn them about three or four times, I wouldn't wear them on a regular basis because they get tangled quite easily, but I will be wearing them next Friday, as I am going out to town with some old school friends and I want to make a statement.

Do you own hair extensions? Are you tempted to buy any? Do you recommend any makes/brands? I'd love to know!

Hugs x

Remington Pearl Wand

That's right my lovelies, I have just bought the Remington Pearl Curling Wand. They've been around for rather a long time, but I've never invested in one. The reason is due to the fact that my hair is very thick (I'll get to that in a moment), slightly course and slightly curly, which tends to frizz if I leave it out to air dry, which is why my hair is always up in a ponytail or bun, because that way it's manageable, presentable and out of the way. So, I was saying my hair is thick. This is not an understatement. I have approximately 4-5 times the amount of hair that normal girls have. When I have a trim at the hair salon, women walk past and are astounded at the amount that has come off and normally comment on how most girls would have practically no hair after losing that amount. It's very embarrassing, that's all I know. I own a pair of thinning scissors, so I thin my hair out at home - not to lose volume, because my hair makes losing volume impossible - so when I straighten it or style it (both of which is rare), it is easier, takes less time and I have less hair to style ha ha! 

This is a blurry picture taken with my camcorder (I think the light setting was wrong). It's resting on a heat proof pouch, which, in turn, is resting on my leg, please excuse my chunk-tastic thighs ha ha!

And here is me holding the wand with the heat resistant glove that it comes with (here the curling wand it turned off). You can still feel the heat through the glove and it will hurt your fingers, should you lean your hand for too long against it whilst curling.

Now, I never got around to telling you why I don't curl my hair. I have, over the years, bought curling tongs, both large and small barrelled, the Babyliss Curling Press, curling tongs of all types, of all prices, etc, etc - the list goes on. Not once did I get a lovely effect that each product promises, and about 80% of the time I would get about half way through the tremendous amount of hair that I have (which normally took around 50 minutes for just one half of my hair, mind you), become frustrated at the time it was taking to make lame curls which were already falling out, turn off *insert curling item name here* and go take a shower to wash out the crappy, limp waves.

I've seen loads of YouTube videos on these wands and everyone insists it's the best thing since sliced bread, colour TV - you name it, they've said it.I don't normally get sucked into buying something because others say it's good - after all, I know my own hair better than they do - but I was intrigued. Plus, Argos are selling them for only £17 ish (on sale) at the moment, so I reserved one and bought it today. I rushed home, read the instructions and began using it.

Look, I managed to curl all the hair on my head, and it only took about 40ish minutes! I don't think it's too bad for my first try :)

I'm quite impressed with the results, more impressed than I ever was with any other curling tong/press/crappy device. It's been about an hour and a half since I finished my hair and used some hairspray to give it a little hold. The curls aren't as tight as they were when they were first done, but they haven't turned into the normal limp, unattractive tendrils I usually get, so I'm happy.

Do you own a curling wand, tong, press, etc? What do you think of it? Do you have any tips or tricks to get your curly hair to stay all day? I'd love to know!

Hugs x