We've only had a hint of spring and....

.... I'm lusting after a convertible. My absolute favourite is the convertible Morris Minor.

Pic courtesy of Wikipedia

Shame I have no skills for tinkering with old cars and can only drive automatics eh! Oh well, I can still gaze at them in wonder.

Amy x

Flower Prints and Handbags

Happy middle of the week, friends! We're really excited about all of the new colorful pieces that just arrived at Meadow this last week. We certainly have something for everyone :)

Colorful, floral printed dress:

Coral-flowered, sheer and flowy blouse:

Teal dress with small flower beads:

Sweet white dress with gold metallic polka-dots:

Lovely green printed dress- flattering on all body types!

In addition to many more fun clothes, we also have some great handbags and purses. Take a look!

We're so thrilled spring is right around the corner and the colors in our boutique is just one of the ways we prepare for spring's arrival! Hope to see you in Meadow soon :)

xoxo

Benefit Hervana- Good Karma!

Benefits Hervana was another of the items that Feel Unique were kind enough to send me to review.

I have had my eye on it since seeing blog posts on the product launch event, and am very happy that it's now become apart of my make up collection.

I really do like Benefit as a brand, and I think the majority of there products are beautiful.

The packaging is delightful and is definitely to my taste.

I've always been a fan of the boxed powder products and used Coralista and Hoola until hitting pan was well and truly an understatement!

Benefit Hervana is the latest in the boxed powder family, and it is a Peachy Pink dream.

Lucky Shell, Divine Peach, Heavenly Rose & Berry Delight have been swirled together to provide you with four complimentary shades to brighten up your face.

 Swirled together the four shades make Hervana- how Benefit describe as an Orchid Blossom shade blush.

This product is supposed to be used as one shade, however, you can choose to just use two or three of the shades if you'd prefer for a different look. I used Lucky Shell underneath my brow and it worked a treat!

"What goes around comes around"

When I first received this product, I was a little concerned that the darkest and lightest shade might work together and make the product a cooler shade rather than warmer. I much prefer a warmer shade on my face and fortunately, this does create a warmer tone to my face and the Peach and Pinks tones of the pan definitely outweigh the Berry.

One thing I am really pleased about, is that Benefit have now introduced a mirror to the box. This is something I have always moaned about when purchasing Benefit products in the past, so I'm very happy indeed. It just makes it so much easier when your on the go.

I never really use the brushes in the Benefit boxes, but they can come in handy and this one in particular is a lot nicer with a slanted finish which is more practical for a more accurate application on the cheeks.

Benefit Hervana is available here on Feel Unique as well as Benefit stores and counters and costs £23.50

It is quite a high priced product, but with the free delivery and frequent discount codes that Feel Unique offer maybe you could treat your cheeks to a little bit of good karma..

Have you tried Hervana and what are your thoughts?

xx

My perfect lip combination.

I mentioned before in this MUA post that I really wanted to get my hands on the MUA Love Hearts lip balm in Sweet Kiss and fortunately enough, I did. 

When I first saw this lip balm, I thought it was such a beautiful colour, and definitely the sort of shade I love and I am in no way disappointed. It's the most beautiful Coral Peach shade and like the other lip balms from the collection, smells like a vanilla sweet dream! 

The colour pay off on the lips isn't the most pigmented, but it is just a lip balm and doesn't claim to add a huge amount of colour. Used on its own or on top of another lip product it literally is wonderful and works delightfully well paired up with Topshop Coy- so much so that it is my new favourite lip combo.

MUA Lip Balms are available along with the rest of the collection from Superdrug and cost just £2

Topshop Coy is very possibly my dream lip colour. It's a brightened combination of a Coral, a Pink and a Peach which all together could only create a beautiful shade.  

If this was in a satin lipstick formula it would probably be my favourite ever, however what it actually is, is a lip colour stick which is unfortunately incredibly drying- boo!

It's super pigmented but with it being so drying, you couldn't possibly wear it alone and personally, I wouldn't ever want to.

I've been wearing it with my MUA gloss in Candy Pink up until now, but since getting Sweet Kiss, that has now been replaced. 

Topshop Coy is available from Topshop and costs £7 

These two products compliment each other so well. The shades and the formulations work together like a match made in heaven.

The moisturising lip balm takes away the dryness of how Coy feels on the lips and completes the look with a slight sheer/glossed finish which I think Coy lacks.

Sweet Kiss keeps your lips soft and adds a little confidence when wearing Coy, I know when I'm wearing a drying lipstick I'm constantly checking in the mirror that it doesn't look as bad as how it feels.

Although it's slightly annoying having to wear two products to get the look you long for, it can't be helped if your perfect shade and your perfect finish haven't yet been invented in one tube. Anyway, mixing it up a little bit is always fun!

 Costing only £9 together, this is my latest perfect lip combo and I would highly recommend it and both of the products. 

Have you tried Coy? Have you tried Sweet Kiss? Whats your favourite lip combo?

xx

17 Miracle Matte Foundation

I wouldn't call myself a foundation snob, because for years and years I would never even have dreamt of spending more than about £12 on a foundation, but since trying higher end- mainly MAC, I have never wanted to go back.

On occasion I have gone back to L'oreal Infallible and Revlon Photo Ready but in all honestly "drug store" foundations just don't do for me what "higher end" foundations do.

I recently got the 17 Miracle Matte Foundation as apart of a goodie bag, and after reading quite a few positive reviews on it I was quite looking forward to trying it.

First and foremost, this is in the shade Fair. Which is definitely not the shade I would ever go for, because I'm pretty much always tanned. But for the odd occasion that I'm my natural colour it would be great, and I was excited at the prospect of it being my possible go-to drugstore/high street foundation. 

Well, I always try to give products a fair chance, and if I don't like something I will at least try to think of things that I do for instance the texture or the shade, because as much as I may not like how something works on me- it may work great for someone else and it's only fair that my readers hear everything about it- right?

I am a beauty blogger because I like to give my honest opinion on products and as much as I don't like to go all out on a bad review, I can quite honestly say that unfortunately, this is the worst foundation I have ever used.  It doesn't work for me one bit.

I have read quite a few positive reviews on this foundation and so I'm a little concerned that maybe I have a dodgy one, because it doesn't seem to be right at all.

As you may be able to see from the pictures above it is extremely thick and doesn't move around the bottle very much at all. It is a full coverage foundation, but I don't feel its necessary for it to be so thick and gloopy.

On application, yes it did glide quite softly on my skin which on the product description it says it will, but it doesn't blend out at all and immediately goes extremely cakey and how I can only describe as bitty? I really hope you understand what I mean.

I found the application incredibly uneven and it was impossible for me with fingers, brushes and blenders to get the promised "flawless, matte satin finish".    

I can't comment on the longevity of this product because after applying it three times now, hoping for a different outcome I have ended up taking it off and applying another product.

The bottle is nice, with a sweet little Pink Pump, but in terms of the rest of the packaging half of the text on the label has already rubbed off. This is quite common on a few drugstore products, and isn't a huge deal in the slightest.

I have mentioned before that I have a thing about the smell of make up and any products to be fair, and although it's completely bearable and not dissimilar to a lot of foundations this has the typical playdoh like smell.  

It's an inexpensive product at £5.99 for 30ml, but I think for the same kind of price you could probably find a better product.

I've never ever had a problem with 17 products. I really like a couple of there lipsticks, and at the moment I'm also using the 17 Va Va Voom mascara which I am really enjoying using. I just really wish the foundation would give as good an effect.

17 Miracle Matte Foundation costs £5.99 and is available in six shades.

If you wanted to try it out for yourself, it can be purchaed online here and in Boots stores. 

I would love to know if you have tried this product and what your thoughts are on it.

xx

Tweezerman Tweezers- Pretty In Pink

I was recently given the opportunity to review a few items from Feel Unique and being such a fan girl of the site, I was a very happy girl.
 I'm sure you're aware that I am a huge fan of Feel Unique and continue to recommend them for there quick and super reasonable service. It's the first site I will go to when I want a product, but want it a little bit cheaper. I always, always purchase my Xen Tan from there, as the price literally cannot be beaten. It also helps that they offer free delivery and there is always some kind of discount code floating around the web!

Since the day I came home from school and plucked up the courage (no pun intended) to ask my mum if I could borrow her tweezers, my eyebrows and I have had such a love hate relationship.

Through the years they have been both over plucked and under plucked (mostly horrifically over plucked) and to be honest it's always been quite traumatic subject.

After a lot of time and patience, my eyebrows are finally, kind of how I want them. Wider, straighter and fuller.

I have had HD Brows in the past and a couple of waxing treatments, but other than them few times I have always been a plucker. 

It's easy, I feel in control and it's a lot more reliable as you can just pluck your strays as and when you see them. I always pluck my brows at night time so the redness can disappear whilst I sleep. 

Up until now, the tweezers I have used have been nothing special as I never really thought there was a difference between a £2 pair and a £20 pair. To be honest, I was happy with my cheap and cheerful set, until I started using these and realised that what I had been using was in fact an extremely blunt and not very precise pair.

I must say, I have always eyed up Tweezerman tweezers in the past, the beautiful designs always catch my eye whenever I see them. I can't believe they have so many different versions of what I have always thought was a pretty standard tool.

When I picked these, I picked them because firstly because I have heard such good things and wanted to see why they were so raved about and secondly, they was Pretty in Pink and I thought they would look lovely in my make up bag, now I've used them I'm not sure I could go back to my £2 little pair. Okay, I could, but what I mean is I'm not sure I will ever want to.

They are slanted, which is the style of tweezer I always use and are so incredibly precise when plucking. They literally (I have no idea how) grab the smallest of hairs every single time. I can't stand when you have a hair coming through and it looks like a dot, and fortunately these little wonders grab them first time saving me a lot of aggravation and picked at brows. 

They're really sharp and have quite a narrow tip, which I guess is how they are so precise.

At £20, they are a little more pricey than most tweezers but I am so pleased to have had the opportunity to try these and would really recommend them if you did want to spend a little more on a pretty amazing, award winning little tool for your kit. 

If you are interested, these are available here on Feel Unique and are available in a range of different colours and styles.

What do you use for your brows? Are you a plucker?

xx

Almost Time!

The Blighty Boutique Fair will be taking place a week on Sunday and Mum and I have been working our socks off with the preparations. If you get chance please do come along, it's always nice to put faces to names!

Elsie Sparrow, one of our 24 stall holders

 Click on the flyer to be taken to the Fair blog, where you'll also find links to the Fair's Facebook event page and Blighty Boutique's Facebook page.

Amy xxx

Xen Tan Dark Lotion- The new look

In December 2010, I posted about my favourite fake tan ever (here) and can you believe that I am still raving about the same product? Since, then I have tried so many self tanning products but Xen Tan Dark Lotion is the one I always find myself going back to. 

Every single day, I am tweeted with questions such as "Whats your favourite fake tan?" and every single  time I reply with the same answer, and continue to make Xen Tan tweeter blush with my love and raves for this brand.

I ordered this one last week, and when it came I was a little terrified as I saw the bottle had changed, and for a few moments I was pretty terrified that the formula may have too. 

Fear not, it's still the wonderful sweet marzipan smelling tan that I have loved for all this time and it still gives a beautiful, long lasting colour to your skin- without leaving you all patchy like most self tanners do.

When I saw pictures of the new packaging online, I was really excited and thought it looked a lot better but in real life, I must say, I am a little disappointed. I thought it would look a lot more expensive and luxurious, but my thoughts are quite the opposite. I prefer simple looking bottles and the fancy font changes aren't my favourite. 

In terms of the olive based colour, I have found a few tanning products that give slightly similar (not too orange) colour but overall none come close to lovely shade Xen Tan Dark Lotion gives you and so if you haven't tried it already, then I highly recommend that you do. 

The texture, the smell, the colour guide and the quick drying formula cannot be beaten in my opinion and so I will continue to be Xen Tans top fan. 

This award winning tan retails for £28.99 in stores and on the Xen Tan website, but I purchase mine from Feel Unique, as I have done every few months for nearly two years where it costs only £17.99 and is delivered in a super quick time.  

For more information about Xen Tan Dark Lotion and a little more in depth review, see my post here. 

xx

Superdrug Event- Sleek

This evening I popped along to the wonderful Haymarket Hotel to the Superdrug Press Show, which was showcasing all there new things for the Summer.

One brand that I always think of when it comes to Superdrug, is Sleek and so it is no surprise that whilst in the event I seemed to be quite attracted to the Sleek stand. 

They have launched some absolutely beautiful new products and have a couple in the pipeline. There were two that especially stood out to me and I couldn't wait to share them with you.

First of all, Sleek Blush By 3.

These products are amazing. I want all of them and am pretty sure when I get a few spare pennies I will be treating myself.

There is five compacts in the Blush By 3 range, all of which include three shades of blushes;

Pumpkin

 Lace

 Pink Sprint

Flame

Sugar

I need Lace desperately (the top photo furthest to the right), its a combination of three Orange and Coral coloured blushes and is a delight.

The shades of all five palettes can be layered for a deeper intensity or worn on there own for a highly pigmented shade for your cheeks. 

Pink Spirit is the only palette to be made up of three mattes as they others all have at least one shimmer shade, which although I'm not a huge fan of shimmer- these are all quite subtle. 

These are fortunately available now from Superdrug and cost £9.99

Secondly are these amazing amazing additions to the very popular Contour Kit family.
 Originally created with the two shade Contour Kit, Sleek have now created Face Form. A contour kit with a third product- either a highlighter or a blush. 

These are available in four shades;

Fair- Contouring powder, highlighting powder and Rose Gold Blush

Light- Contouring powder, highlighting powder and Rose Gold Blush

Medium- Contouring powder, highlighting powder and a bronzer

Dark- Contouring powder, highlighting powder and a darker bronzer.

I really like the size of these products, and the fact that even with a mirror they are still very compact and sleek.

I can see these being a very popular product so will be grabbing one as soon as I can.

These will be available in Superdrug in March and will cost just £8.99

Have you seen any of the Sleek Blush By 3 palettes and will you be keeping a little eye out for the Face Form Palettes?

xx

Teds Beauty Spot- Shellac nails and Blink & Go lashes

On Monday evening, I visited One Aldwych, a beautiful hotel situated opposite Somerset House to pop into visit the beautiful Handpicked Media Suite, which for the day was home to Ted Baker for LFW.

I had an absolutely wonderful time and was completely spoilt by both the Ted Baker and Handpicked Media team. 

The room was full of all of such beautiful clothes and I have absolutely fallen in love with a couple of bags and bikinis that you may have seen me tweet.

 As well as offering very generous goodie bags, which included the most amazing Laptop Bag ever, they also offered treatments and I was very kindly given the chance to get some Blink & Go Noveau Eyelash Extensions and my first Shellac manicure! I felt like an absolute princess being pampered in such a beautiful suite, quite the dream.

You may or may not be aware, but Ted Baker has a beauty salon in there London Cheapside store- Teds Beauty Spot and as well as Eyebrow shaping and tinting, these are a couple of the treatments that they offer.

My eyelashes took about thirty minutes to apply. It went surprisingly well seeing as I usually hate anyone touching my eyes (applying lashes for me etc). The lashes were glued very delicately to my natural lashes and applied in an extremely natural looking fashion. I didn't want them to be too in your face and I am so pleased with how they look.

They are said to last for about two weeks, but I have had a couple fall out already. This isn't necessarily a bad thing right now, as if anything, they look a little more natural.

I was very, very excited to be given a Shellac manicure, so many of my friends rave about Shellac but because I usually have falsies its never been something I gone for.

After each application being set and dried in with the UV light, my nails look absolutely shiny and near perfect.

I forgot to write down the shade that was used, but its a very dark Chocolate Brown with ever such a slight Red tone.

Four days on, and I'm pleased to say they still look absolutely fabulous and theres not a scratch or chip in sight.

The downside to Shellac is that you have to have it removed, but the good thing is that I will be taking a trip to Teds Spot to do so and will be treating myself to my eyebrow goodness at the same time.

Overall, a very lovely day was had and I can't wait to visit the quirky Teds Spot now.

For the full treatment list that Teds Spot has to offer, visit there website here