Magazines #1

Hiya Peeps,

Ok the title of this post is not very imaginative at all, but sometimes you just need something that says what is does in the tin.
We are very much blessed with the wide variety and quality of women's fashion and beauty mags in this country and I am definitely one to spend a penny or two on them. Some of them can be a bit pricey when you contemplate that it won't be long before they shuffle they way into your recycling box... but looking at pretty things is so cathartic. Another thing that draws me in every month to buy these is the amazing freebies they have with many issues... and it has seemed to become more of a common place trend over the last year.

So going forward I will be doing a regular post on the titles I pick up and the subsequent goodies I retrieve from them. As a little tip most national magazines come out on the 4th of the month... so I always nip to the Smiths in my local station before work so I can get my hands on these sometimes tricky to find samples... There is a level of rifling if you are looking for a particular one or shade... with many becoming weirdly allusive (AKA the Benefit 'That Gal' primer in last months Glamour).

So enough with the rambling here is what I picked up.

So after last month's yearly Benefit samples, Glamour has signed up with Balance Me this month offering sample sizes of their Pure Skin Face Wash, Wonder Eye Cream, Balance Face Moisturiser and Rose Otto Intensive Lip Salve. Now I picked up the face wash as I am always on the look out for good cleansers. I have tried the eye cream before and wouldn't say it wowed me... and also my consciousness told me I have far too many lip balms, although it did sound lovely. The magazine retails for £2 and the samples are priced from £11-£12. So worth a couple of quid in the least.

Next I picked up this months copy of Cosmopolitan who have signed on the Missguided brand giving away full size versions of their nail varnishes in the shades Missmatch (Orange), Misslead (Yellow) and Misstify (Hot Pink). As you can see I picked up the hot pink shade, mainly because I thought it would be the most wearable but also I already have an orange and yellow. Now this month's issue is priced at £3.50 and with the varnish worth £5 each... I am still on to a winner.

Last but no means least I also picked up ELLE Magazine which this month features quite a substantially sized tube of St Tropez's Gradual Tan Everyday Body Moisturiser in Medium/Dark. Now this has come in perfect time as Blokey has even been commenting on how pasty I look, and this item has even been lurking in my wish list for donkeys, so crazily happy to give this ago. It also says on the front there are varying shades available so have a rummage and see. ELLE is price at £3.90 and the sample roughly comes out at over £5 worth.

Well I hope you found this post useful for your sample goodies hunt. Do you like these type of posts? What have you picked up so far this month.

Glossy Box - June edition

Well what better way to start my more regular postings than to return with a review of the latest box offering from Glossy Box. I will be as fair as I can with this post but I will say I was really disapointed... not only from what I actually got but also from looking at what everyone else got . Yes I know you shouldn't covet what your neighbour has .... and I really don't this month... but let's get on with the show.

 

I got:

MEMEME Cosmetics - Sensuous Nail Gloss

Full Size £4.50 - 12ml - Sample Size £1.88 - 5ml

A 5ml high shine Nail Gloss in this season's key catwalk peach. 

I do love a good nail varnish. Its actually one of those make up items I don't hesitate picking up, but I don't actually own many nude shades. I think this is because I have tried to make sure I have all colour bases covered. It is actually a very pretty peach shade which I will probably use for work days... although it may look good with a home French mani.

It actually suits my skintone really well, without being too yellow as to make me look like I'm suffering from renal failure. I tried this and it applied well, with an opaque finish after two coats, although the first was very streaky. Drying time was reasonable as well. Without base or top coat this lasted maybe a day with chipping on the tip and thumb nail (so I would prep this to the max next time).

BM Beauty - Summer Warmth Bronzer
Full Size £8.00 - 4g : Sample Size £2.00 - 1g
Multi-purpose pure mineral bronzer. Add a touch of summer warmth to your face.
I am in the market for a bronzer, and this one does have a lovely gold shimmer to it when I swatched it. (No pics of the swatch sorry as my camera is too shocking to pick up the detail) But as I may have said in posts of the past, I don't like loose pigments. Point in fact I got a loose pigment in another BBox recently and when it arrived the whole case was cracked and was leaking bright azure blue everywhere.... if Royal Mail can do that imagine what will happen when its in my hands!!

Caudalie - Eaux Fraiches in Zeste De Vigne

Full Size £26.00 - 50ml : Sample Size £5.20 -10ml

Refresh your senses with these invigorating and energising fragrances.

I have moaned about perfume samples in the past. You know the ones that you get a piddly little plastic tube with an atomiser that doesn't work and half one wears worth of the scent (or even worse are the wet wipe samples. yuk) Anywhoo, this isn't that. This I would judge as a high end perfume sample. I didn't even know Caudalie had a perfume range, but after loving their skincare I'm looking forward to trying this. The smell in my opinion is amazing. Its of oranges, not a synthetic smell, but the true memory of bursting your fingers through the peel of a juicy and plump orange. You can almost even smell the pith. Love love love.

 

Vichy - Dermablend Ultra Corrective Foundation Cream Stick

Full Size £19.00 - 12g : Sample Size £9.50 - 6g

Vichy's expert camouflage foundation stick for minor to severe skin flaws.

I have been searching for a really good concealer to cover my under eye circles but I just don't think this is it. I am very lucky not to have flaws bad enough for me to use such products and I also think it may be a bit heavy for me to add to my under eye skin. I will give it a try but will prob end up passing this one so a bit of a fail for me.... although I am holding out to see its results, as many beauty bloggers appear to be really enthused about this entry, so we shall see.

Glossybox - Serie Exclusiv Pro Beauty Brush

Full Size £15.00 ( I am guessing this is a full size one)

I am not amused with this at all. Ok it's a brush and it will probably come in handy for blusher or bronzer, and yes it is very soft, but its a brush. Not only a brush but one by GB which they have given a French name to for some reason. I will use it but in my eyes at the moment GB are experts/experienced in sourcing beauty products for their clients.. maybe not making them. Would of preferred this as a bonus gift and then getting another sample. Also when I did try it I found it not that soft, it did shed a bit and wasn't very good at picking up the product.... may pass this on to my sister. Definitely not work £15 when RealTechniques sell theirs for less and they are amazing

Overall Box Price. £33.58
Highlights this month are definitely the Caudalie perfume sample. I will wear it out and about a bit and do the Blokey test, but I think I will buy a full size of this one. The Nail Gloss, is just a bit meh. And to be honest I don't think I will use the bronzer or concealer. And as you can see from my comment I'm not going to count the brush as an item.

This month really wasn't for me, but then again this is what I have signed up to. I reserve my right to have a moan about certain items but all in all I have really enjoyed this service and generally get a very good box most months.... here's to the next one.

What did you get? Did you get the Caudalie sample I got? don't you think it's lush?

Whoopsy

Well Haven't I Been a BAAAAD Blogger.


As you may have guessed if you follow me I have taken some time away from posting.. many reasons had confounded this with my looking for a job, starting a new one and general lifeyness getting in the way. However to put it bluntly I have just not been in the frame of mind to talk to you guys. Sorry, but its the truth. But rather than procrastinating any longer on my return I thought I better do a quick catch up for the last two months of activity and then I can resume normal proceedings.


Work
As you know I put up a post way back when about my ideas of my career and where I wanted to go. ... well it didn't quite work out the way I wanted but I am happy none the less. I think this maybe the reason I have put off posting. I left my last position and entered into temp work, one to keep myself active and the other to help in someone in paying the bills. I live on my own and from past experience living on the dole doesn't even go close to paying a third of my overall bills... which is annoying considering the amount of tax I have paid over the years. Anyway after searching the land for a role in marketing, I resided myself to the fact that the jobs market is just not buoyant enough for me to move aside... and learnt that actually what I know and am good at is not so bad, .... so have now gone back to a sales role (if not a better position). So yes I have now started my new job and am loving it and getting settled in. There is lots to do but I am happy that my abilities will mean I will succeed ( trying to drive my self confidence if I can. lol)


Also as a note work is now situated in a lovely area of London where I just have to pass a vast array of shops and a lovely little Boots on my way from the station... oh well, I will know where my salary will be going.




Rest of my world?
Well not much really tbh. lol. I have been chilling out and trying to spend as much quality time with Blokey as possible. We had a lovely Jubilee weekend... which involved an afternoon team party for my friend Jenna's birthday (there was a particular lack in tea, but ample supple of Vodka may I add. Oh my head)... then we hosted a BBQ on the Sunday with friends, which Blokey loved brandishing his hosting skills (which generally involved delegating tasks)... and since then we have just been relaxing and returning to normal

You may also notice I have had a little revamp of the look of the blog, so I hope you like. I started off like a kid in a sweet factory and wanted to have pink and sparkles and fluffyness all over it but I think this very minimal look is alot better. I may still keep playing around with it, but do let me know what you think... any suggestions?


So I hope this fills some of the gaps.. I think when I started this blog I was a bit over confident on the amount of posts I would be able to do so I am going to take a step back and try and be a bit more realistic. So hope for atleast two posts from me a week going forward. It's just one of those things that I had just not been in the writing mood... but now my classic wit and brain drivel has returned .... enjoy!!

P.s I have just finished the Fifty Shades trilogy and although I am moving onto a few classics would like some recommendations for some new books.

Haul #3: Elf Cosmectics

Hello Peeps,

Well I am definitely a bit late to the bandwagon with this website as it appears to feature so highly on alot of bloggers and youtubers lists of go to budget brands. Elf (Eyes Lips Face) cosmetics is a site with a wide range of make-up and tools starting from £1.50. Well you all know I love a good bargain and I have been attempting to try out the varying different budget ranges out there... why pay more if it all works so well.

Anywhoo I have heard alot about their range of brushes also basic face products so I thought I would pick a few bits up to see what they were really like. And here is what I got.

Just a small selection of things really. :)

As I said I picked up some brushes, these first ones being some eyeshadow brushes. I have some very cheap ones from packs I have got in Christmas's gone past but they have never really cut the mustard. And as I am actively trying to improve my make-up use at the moment I thought these would be brilliant. I've not been disappointed either, they are super soft and really easy to use. I found the blending brush particularly good.

I also picked up a kabuki brush... I am not sure why but everyone else seems to have one. lol Once again it is really soft although some of the bristles did seem a bit uneven. I used this to apply blusher to my cheeks and it was the perfect size for this. It does pick up a lot of product compared to my other brushes so you do have to tap off the excess.

My next two purchases were the concealer and also eye lid primer. I am in desperate need of a concealer to hide the dark circles under my eyes. They are really pronounced but haven't found anything that really fits the bill. Unfortunately this one doesn't at all. It has a bit of a sheen to it so just seems to highlight the area more.

The eyelid primer however is amazing. It went on well and dried quickly. It also made it easier for the pigment of my eye shadows to show up and made them last for several hours without creasing. Will be re-purchasing this again.

Last item was a nail varnish from their usual range. I picked a white shade as this is a colour missing from my collection. I' m abit annoyed with this as it arrived damaged. The lid had separated from the screw fitting so I had a bit of trouble getting into it. The colour took two coats and wasn't as opaque as I wanted with a few patchy bits. Not sure I will be buying anymore of their polishes.

When buying these I was swayed by another discount code ( yes I know I am fickle) to receive free delivery. We were also promised a special extra gift to coincide with their recent promotion. I was expecting maybe a brush or an eyeshadow or something. But instead I got a postcard stating that I could get 20% off of my next spend of minimum of £20 which needs to be used by the end of April. You can tell I was really disappointed with this... this in my eyes is no gift.

Ok it is a bit of a mixed bag. I was really impressed with the brushes and will definitely be getting more of these.. and there are few more bits I want to try as well.

So have you had experience of ELF products. What have you bought recently?

Later Peeps. xxx

My Thoughts: Pantene

Hello Peeps, 

Well I have done a bit of a whoopsie when it comes to beauty blogging rules, so please don't flog me too harshly.... I have dipped into a sample I had been sent... with out thinking to take photos first.... I know, I know, cart me off to jail already. Anyway, I do have some pics of the dishevelled packaging to show. lol. 

So what am I talking about then. Well I am really struggling with the dryness of my hair at the moment and also the never ending split ends I seem to have appropriated. The brand of shampoo and conditioner I am using at the moment just doesn't seem to be fitting the bill so I went in search of something new. I had recently signed up for some freebies from Pantene and was sent a sachet pack of their new Aqua Light range. Oh go on, like we don't all want to be able to swish our hair like Cat Deeley, or be so effortlessly elegant as Liv Tyler.(It will take more than a shampoo for this to happen to me so I'm not overly delusional). This solution also tempted me as like many people out there I have that strange mix of very fine hair but alot of it, which gives me a thick appearance but very fragile. In the pack I got a sachet of the shampoo, conditioner and also the extra strong treatment creme. So... what did I think. 

Pantene Aqua light Shampoo

Starting with the shampoo (as you do) I wet my hair and applied the shampoo solution. It really did foam up quite well. Now I have been told that this is not good for your hair but I have always found that I feel that my hair is cleaner when there is more going on with the solution. You need the foam don't you?? someone please clarify this for me as this might be another case of trying to change my habits. Anyway back to the shampoo, I then rinsed and my hair really did feel clean and it felt lighter. Even with the amount of hair I have it didn't just feel like its usual big wad of a nest.

Pantene Conditioner

After rinsing the shampoo out I then applied the conditioner. I started from the tips of my hair and massaged it through to just below my roots. I would normally comb the conditioner through with my wide tooth detangling comb (as taught by my ex-hairdresser aunt) but have heard the buzz around that brushing or combing your hair when wet damages it as your hair is the most fragile when wet, so opted for gently combing it through with my fingers. I then dunked again and rinsed this out. It did provide slight moisture and I will say slight, maybe about 30% of the nourishment my hair needed and it still felt really dry... so the range falls down on this one.

 Pantene 2minute Intensive Nourishing Treatment 

Onto the third and final stage which is the extra strength treatment. I have done these sort of cremes and masks in the past but usually on an ad hoc once a month or even more infrequently. The directions advised to apply to hair from tips to roots and leave to soak in for a good 2 minutes. (This is your chance to put the kettle on or in my case I got onto the arduous task of shaving my legs)... Ok we are back and I have then rinsed the solution... and OH MY GOD. This sounds ridiculous as it just a high street brand but my hair hasn't felt this soft in a very long time. The end of my hair are still slightly dry (but they need a cut), however the rest of my hair feels like when I was alot younger. Love this. 

So all in all? I really do love this range of formulation. It has left my hair soft and clean. It also doesn't feel as heavy as previously used products have. I would definitely use this again. I think I will buy some of the shampoo and use this every two weeks as it really cleaned and clarified my hair removing all product residues.  I do think though I will probably skip the conditioner and just apply the stronger formulation as this seems to work better with my hair. 

What hair treats have you been trying recently? What have been your hair saviours?

Later Peeps. xxx

My thoughts: StylistPick.com

Hello Peeps, 

Well I am sure you have all seen this site before. It is basically a subscription service to monthly choice of shoes, bags and jewellery which have been selected from a personal style questionnaire when you join, hoping to provide you with a list of products which will be suited your style and likes. Most items are priced at just £39.95 and if you don't like anything from a specific month then you can skip that one free of charge. They also offer a one off buy option as well but there are more benefits by joining up to the subscription. 

They also recently got a bit of a coup by collaborating with the style queen herself Cheryl Cole, who has joined up with them to design a range of shoes. She is actually on her second range I think by looking at the website. This range is slightly pricier than there normal ranges but I must admit they are delicious. 

I have been signed up to them for quite a while now but hadn't ever seen anything that really took my fancy. Mainly I think the price has put me off as £40 (well £39.95) is alot of money in my world for something you haven't really had a chance to really look at or have in your hands. As I had not used the service before I was worried about what the quality of the items would be as going by some of the pictures they have used makes some items look cheap. However they lured me in last month with a special discount code to get a last minute item from my March showroom for a rock bottom price of £12.99 (I think it was £15.95 all in with P+P), 

Well let's have a look at what I got. 

The bag came really well packaged, firstly placed in a Stylist Pick bag, which I will use again as these are always good for transporting bits and bob in a classy way. Better than a ASDA plastic carrier. 

Then within that the bag came with it's own dust bag. This was also of a fairly good quality and really made the buying experience really swish. It made it feel like you were really buying a high quality designer piece.

I opted for this lovely cream satchel bag with gold metal work as I thought it looks very luxe and also professional looking for me to use for work. I had been on the look out for a bag like this for a while as I usually have to carry alot of A4 documents and also magazines for my work meetings (or I did previously anyway).

When I first saw the size of the bag I thought it verged on the small side but after using it I know the look from the top was deceptive. The pockets on the side at the top make it look very narrow but it is what I would call a Mary Poppins bag in that respect. In one day I managed to fit inside a large hair brush, spare pair of heels for a meeting, purse, large A5 notebook, Kobo reader, bottle of water, and also my small make-up bag.... what more do you need!!. And there was still more room for other bits.

 I only have two gripes with this product after using it. The first is that the flip over panel at the front is constantly getting caught on the clips of the handle so I'm always pulling and tugging at them to release them so I can close it. And the second is more my choice of the colour. With it being a very light cream colour it seems to be attracting quite a lot of dirty smudges ( usually newsprint finger prints from my copy of the Evening Standard, I am officially obsessed with their crosswords, geek I know). However they easily come off with a quick rub with a damp sponge. 

All in all I am really pleased with me my experience of Stylist Pick. I may not of given them a try without this discount code but now I know the high quality their items are I am more likely to pay nearer the full price when I see something fantastic again. 

If you want to take a butchers Stylist Pick can be found here. www.Stylistpick.com

Let me know what you think. 

Later peeps. xxx

P.s If you want me to do a whats in my bag post, let me know and I will try and work on something. 

Pastures New!

Hello Peeps,

*Apologies for the length of this post, Get a brew and biscuit*

This phrase has recently been banded about a lot recently by myself and many people I know and I must say it is a fairly odd one. A previous colleague even noted it made me sound like a cow ambling over to the next paddock (and I must say anything that makes me sound like a cow or produce that imagery is not good). However this is what has been taking up my life a lot at the moment.After a lot of thought and soul searching I began to rethink my career path and how things have worked out for me since leaving university.

When I signed up for my course I was obviously a free-spirited and thinking 17 year old with no real idea of the comings and goings of working life. Because of this I set out with fanciful ideas of working in a gallery or on TV or for one of the many glossy magazines I read and viewing my self as another example of these types of go getting hard working girls we see in the television serials (You all know the ones; great job; great bf; great body; great friends. e..t.c).

Well as I neared the end of my course and had slaved away working in a well known retail chain full time for three years and had practically lived in the library surviving on rocket fuel amounts of caffeine and endless supplies of sweet treats this all changed. I wanted to make MONEY!. I wasn't poor by any stretch of the imagination as I had my wages coming in and no real financial responsibilities to speak of apart from my mobile phone and travel, but the allure of earning that amazing salary package won round my sense of logic and I started looking for a job straight away. At the time I didn't care what it was I just wanted one, and it had to be in the bright lights of London town.

This is the moment where that little pixie/devil on my shoulder should of pulled me backs, sat me down and gave me a good telling off. I should of really looked at what I wanted to do and where I wanted to be in the future but at the time that was just so hard to see. And with the jobs market flooded with diverse range of graduates in a similar position to myself can you imagine which job role I fell into.... yes you guessed it SALES.

So off I trotted to start work in a small publishing house working in media sales... (A few different companies and roles down the line, and also a few bouts of illness) and have done for the last 5 years. Don't get me wrong there are some amazing aspects to working in a sales role. Those initial calls when you cold call and strike up a good relationship with the client, those moments of anticipation and then jubilation when you close the deal, and of course the level of camaraderie you get working with close knit teams who are all in the same boat... BUT, Sales is not for everyone and there are some real pitfalls to this career. I won't go into all of these as I want these post to be more positive than negative but if developing a stress cycle of insomnia, losing my hair and random panic attacks (they are little and often so don't be too overly concerned) is anything to go by I have had enough.

So I took a deep breath, had a few discussions with friends, colleagues and even Blokey (well I think he was listening any way, he definitely nodded in the right places) I decided to step once more in to the breech dear friend and take the leap and change my career. But to what may you ask., Well first of all let me tell you how I got to this conclusion: I first had to figure what am I really good at and what do I enjoy;

Communication and building relationships:

Good god if anyone who knows me knows I love talking, ... generally you can't shut me up. But there is nothing better than that feeling when you know someone wants to listen. If I had a pound for all of the different people I have spoken to over the last 5 years for work... Jesus I wouldn't be working again.

Project Management

Taking an idea and bringing it to fruition.... there is nothing like it, like watching a child grow (Ok, not quite the same but you get the idea). I have been involved with starting new events , too pushing social media campaigns and I have loved every minute.

Office Administration

I know what your thinking, no one enjoys this bit of the job do they. do they? Well I tell ya put a pile of envelopes and direct mail in front of me and I will sit there contentedly stuffing away for hours. I really do find enjoyment in even the small things I do. Even more than this I loved looking after my little team, being the go to person for their website queries or being able to hand over the right documents for a proposal or presentation. Yes I just wanted to feel needed!!

Data Analysis

This is actually another geeky one, I do apologise. But whether its analysing the responses from customer surveys, keeping track of followers or members on Twitter and Linked In... or watching the numbers tick up on e-mail campaigns I love it.

So what area of business have I decided I want to focus on going forward?.....

MARKETING!!!

Yes you guessed it, why didn't I just start here in the beginning!!

Aghast you may be thinking that this would be a scary situation fraught with unemployment and rejection after rejection, and yes it has been scary but not as unsuccessful as you may think. Over the last month or so I have continually had to remind my self that I am actually a really tenacious, driven hard worker and I have amazing skills that aren't just suited to sales but are varied and.... well pretty damn amazing.

I have realised this post is very long so I am going to sign off now but will be back in next week with an update and also further details on how I went about the really nitty gritty search for my dream job.

Later Peeps. xxx