Friday 31 July 2015

Hello August 2015

What Happened in July;

- I turned 26 boohoooo :( My birthday however was amazing. Started off with breakfast at Frankie & Bennys. I went gliding and finished off with a fab meal at a local BBQ restaurant. 

- I brought a new car, gotta wait until September until I can have it though. #newcarproblems

- A couple of very drunken nights out. 

Whats Happening in August;

- My blog turns 2! 

- I get to meet Kenzie from Lemonaid Lies, look out for that post!

- I am going to Center Parcs for the first time. Only a day pass but I can't wait.

- Going camping with the boyfriend for a couple of days

- Finally going on holiday with my best friend and her family for a week in Palma Nova, so excited for this.

- Watching Batman at Wayne Manor, or Wollerton Park - OUTSIDE. 

So after a pretty steady July, August is going to be amazing. I literally don't have a single free weekend. I am really looking forward to making the memories :)! 

What have you got planned for August?

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Tuesday 28 July 2015

July 2015 Favourites

Sian Marie Beauty July 2015 Favourites

It was really hard to pick my favourites this month as I have been loving so many items. After a lot of debating with myself I narrowed it down to these four items. The easiest out of the bunch to pick was Pixi Glow Tonic. I picked this up from the flagship store in London on Carnaby Street. As soon as I used this one I was at home my skin loved it. Its the first toner I have used that contains 5% glycolic acid and I am more than impressed with the outcome!

Next up is an oldie but a goodie. Benefit Rockateur has featured in a previous favourite but as a beauty blogger new blushers come into your life and the older blushers get pushed to one side. Sadly this is what happened to my Rockateur it went into my Alex draws and well that is where it stayed. But I have took it out of its retirement and boy I forgot how much I loved this blusher. It gives me the perfect amount of colour on my cheeks giving them a flushed look and if I fancy skipping highlighter; no problem with the slight shimmer in giving a subtle glow.

Now I have two items that came into my life in July. My friend Katie went to America and as I am cheeky I asked her to pop into a Sephora and grab me a Kat Von D Tattoo eyeliner. This eyeliner does not budge an inch, I am very impressed with it. Its not as black as I thought it was going to be but its staying power certainly makes up for it. Lastly is Soap & Glory Archery this is in Blondshell. I have my brows done by Katie who I previously mentioned and she treats them to Billion Dollar Brows, so they tend to be a little more darker but once that dye has faded this brow product is the perfect shade to fill in sparse areas of my brows without them looking overly done. And its a dupe for the ABH Brow Wizz for £8 what isn't to love?! 

What have you been loving this month?!

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Friday 24 July 2015

July 2015 Empties #2

Lip Smacker "Coca-Cola Cherry" | $2.50 - I love these Lip Smackers and this one wasn't a let down. Smelling really fruity and also leaving a nice hint of red on my lips. I got asked several times at work which lipstick I was wearing and to there amazement it was a lip balm.

Dr Bronners Magic Soap "Citrus" | £1.99 - Best makeup brush cleaner EVER. Made all my brushes smell like oranges. I am already using my next one. Definitely always going to use Dr Bronner for my makeup brushes.

Motives Lustrafy Mascara | £14 - Not my most favourite mascara ever. Was okay for day to day wear but nothing too fancy from this lil guy sadly.

Urban Decay Subversion Lash Primer | £15.50 - I LOVED this! Like literally obsessed over it. Really need to go purchase the full size version of this asap. Worked so well to help give my lashes length and volume, one of the best lash primers I have come across.

T Darjeeling Bath & Shower Gel | £3.50 - This stuff smelt amazing, like tea. Captain obvious over here. I used it as a shower gel, it filled the room with its scent and it lingered on my skin for around 3 hours after. Would get this again.

Nude ProGenius Omega Treatment Oil | £58 - Obviously this little guy didn't cost me £58. I think this was out of a BirchBox from way back when. I hated the smell of this but loved what it did to my skin. I easily got a good 10 uses out of this bottle. A fab size for a sample. If it wasn't for the large price tag I would purchase the full size.

FaceTheory Exfoliating Cleanser | 75p - I am aware it says ForYou on the packaging but they have since changed their name to FaceTheory, so now that is covered... I really liked this facial exfoliate, it wasn't too harsh for my face. 

Aromatherapy Associates "Revive Evening" | £45 -  I got sent this last year for my birthday from a PR company and yes it has lasted me this long. You hardly need any in a bath for it to be a smell overload. I used this on very special occasions and it helped relax me loads. 

Lush Ocean Salt | £7.75 - I loved this scrub THAT much I went out and brought the larger version. So need I say more?! 

Have you used up anything exciting yet?!


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Tuesday 21 July 2015

Kiss Brow Kit*

 Not to sound big headed, but I have been told enough times in my life that I have pretty good eyebrows. Naturally. Apart from the odd uno brow incidents when I was younger I have always kept them pretty tame. I never over plucked them when I was a teen and I am more than thankful for my younger lazy self for that. I don't think a full brow will ever go out of style now, Cara Delevinge brows all the way please. 

But saying that, I do like to keep mine maintained. Especially now as I love to fill them in it is actually my favourite part of my makeup routine. I think brows frame the face beautifully so they have to be done right. I am lucky enough to have a very talented beautician as a friend who does my brows on the regular but every girl needs a holiday and sometimes Katie is pretty booked up. So I need a plan B! When I was emailed about trying out the Kiss Beautiful Brows kit, how could I turn it down?

Kiss Beautiful Brow Kit
Kiss Beautiful Brow Kit

Within this kit you get 2 brow shades, a highlight shade, a wax and a little razor to trim down them pesky longer brow hairs. 
The darker shade at the moment is a little too dark for me but the lighter brown is spot on. Maybe I could use the darker one just to add a little more definition if I was feeling fancy. The highlighter shade is stunning perfect for the brow bone and also the inner corner of your eye. And the wax actually works, I have tried a few of these brow kits and I have been disappointed with the wax as it just sits on top of the brow; but this one hasn't let me down at all. As a added bonus you also get a tiny spooly and double ended brush for on the go. The only thing is this lacking is a mirror but I won't hold it against it too much. But what makes this kit EXTRA special are these next for items.

Kiss Beautiful Brow Kit

STENCILS!
How amazing are these?! They make applying your brow powder so much more easy, you don't even have to think. Just colour in really. My personal favourite is delicate with that slight arch. They are made of a rubbery material that makes them easy to clean.

All of this for $7.99 which is around £5! I don't think which I am more impressed with how cheap it is to buy for what you get or how amazing the product actually is. 

Is this something that you would go for?!

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Sunday 19 July 2015

HAPPY BIRTHDAYYYYYY TO MEEEEE

I love looking back on old photos and remembering the good times. The fact that the photo above is 5 years ago baffles me. When did I turn 26?! Where has all the years gone?!  

But yes, today I am 26 years old. I have a VERY exciting day ahead of me. Keep your eyes peeled for what I have in store in an upcoming post. 


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Thursday 16 July 2015

Dusty Girls

Back in June I went to Sheffield to attend THIS blogging event and one of the people giving a talk there was MooGoo. MooGoo is an Australian brand that is as natural as it can get. Their sister company Dusty Girls is that natural that you can eat the makeup, if you reallllllly wanted to. Although I highly doubt that it will taste night, but yano whatever floats your boat. Within the goodie bags MooGoo kindly gave us two products. The two I received are "Sunshine" Natural Mineral Bronzer and "Argyle Pink" Natural Mineral Lip Shine.
 
 

Argyle Pink is a super moisturising lip balm, that leaves a lovely hint of pink. As the name suggest it is slightly more towards the gloss side of lip balms as boy does this give your lips a sheen. It's very comfortable to wear, not heavy or sticky in the slightest. I adore the packaging on this too, its a very cute pink and slim enough to keep in your back pocket. At £9.50 it isn't the cheapest lip balm on the market but again you are paying for quality.

The Sunshine bronzer is next up, this all natural mineral bronzer is stunning. It isn't matte which I would prefer but luckily the shimmer in this is so slight it doesn't transfer onto the skin as much as I thought it would do. This isn't a bronzer I would contour with as its too deep toned for me, but to warm up my face its perfect. Sunshine really gives me that glow, that "I spent all yesterday in the sun, look at my tanned face" glow. At £15 I think its a fair price for the amount that you get. 

From using these two products, I really want to try more from the range, to see all of their products click here. What would you pick of the website?!


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Tuesday 14 July 2015

Make A Splash - July 2015 BirchBox

BirchBox July 2015 - Make A Splash
BirchBox July 2015 - Make A Splash

Unani Aloe Vera Gel | £15 - This is a fast drying super soothing miracle gel and it will 100% be coming away with me next month when I go to Palma Nova. There is scent either which I really like because when I am on holiday there is nothing more than I hate when my after sun smell masks my perfume scent.

Pop Beauty "Peach Parfait" | £15.50 - My lord this little trio is gorgeous. The colours are to die for all shimmer, super creamy and blend like a dream. My favourite is the champagne colour which will be great for highlighting my brow bone.

Barley Prep, Blot & Blend Sponge | £5.99 - Ill be honest I am not struck on these sponges I will be honest. I have the Beauty Blender and nope, I think I need to sit and practise a little more.

Balance Me Congested Skin Serum | £16 - I think I now own nearly every Balance Me product, granted mostly in sample size but I seem to attract this brand. Not that I mind, I bloody love Balance Me. I have never used anything like this before and at the moment for some reason my skin is reverting back to its 14 year old self. So fingers crossed this helps get rid of them pesky spots. Oh it smells amazing too with a mixture of lavender, chamomile and aloe vera.

Benefit Dream Screen | £25 - Ill be honest, when I think of sun protection I don't think of Benefit. Dream Screen has a SPF 45 which is so amazing, with this size I will use this for my face. As there is no way this sample size will cover my arms and legs. And I know it sounds daft, but shaking this bottle up is strangely stratifying.

Cowshed Cow Pat Hand Cream | £18 - My first ever Cowshed product, this is a brand that I have been meaning to try for a long while. I have heard very good things. I am not overly keen on the scent of this hand cream, personally I didn't think grapefruit and coriander would ever be mixed but hey Cowshed you do you. I am yet to give it a test drive as I have 4568945894 hand creams but watch this space.

The products in this months box are perfectly matched to the Make A Splash theme and I am loving the bag that came with it, it will be perfect for when I am pool side on holiday.

What did you think of this months Birch-Bag?


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Vote for Vanity Vemon for the UK NYX Face Awards here

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Sunday 12 July 2015

NYX Face Awards UK - Vanity Vemon


Well my little sugar plums, I am here today to ask a favour. My friend Emily or Vanity Vemon as she is more commonly known as on the Internet; has just placed in the top 10 of the NYX Face Awards.
Amazing I know! So what I want is you to vote for her when the voting is open. I will be tweeting out links and placing the link at the bottom of my upcoming blog posts.

Emily is one of the sweetest people I know, she is a fantastic makeup artist and is willing to give you advice whenever you ask. Her Facebook page Vanity Venom (you can find here) has exploded with over 11k likes on it and all for good reason. Her looks on herself and on other people are incredible, Emily's imagination knows no boundaries. How she comes up with these looks I have no idea, I obviously do not own the creative gene. One of Emily's biggest achievements to date was being flown out to America to be featured on Transformations with James St. James and you can watch that video here! Emily is a massive lover of the drag queen scene and has been featured appearing as some of the UKs top night clubs looking absolutely fabulous. But these are just words, I will let the following photos do the talking. 


Her two looks she has done for the UK NYX Face Awards have been amazing of course. The first round was based on the phrase "Quintessentially British" and the second round was based on a Festival theme. Below are both of Emily's video entries enjoy watching them and please watch this space for the voting links from me! For someone who comes from a smallish town in Nottinghamshire this girl is going to go far and we are all backing her!




VOTE FOR EMILY HERE

Thank you from myself and Emily!

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Friday 10 July 2015

Benefit Top Picks

Benefit Cosmetics Top Picks

Benefit are one of my favourite brands. FACT. I am slowly building up quite a collection, I probably have items I don't even remember buying somewhere in my stash. But in this post here are six of my most used Benefit products. I couldn't quite narrow it down to five....

Yes, I have picked two eye creams but I love these both for different reasons. It's Potent was the first skin care product I tried from Benefit. This is my favourite eye cream to use at night, I find it super hydrating and in the morning I can certainly see the different to my eye area. The only downside to this I feel is the pot, I end up with cream under my nails I would much prefer my creams to be in pumps. But to solve mt cream-behind-nails issue, I grab a cotton bud and scoop it out that way; very multi use cotton buds aren't they. The second eye cream is Puff Off! when this was first launched my initial thoughts was gimmicky, oh look at the iron tip how cute, that surely won't do anything. Well let me eat my words please. The iron is amazing! I find this eye cream is best in the morning, it has a more gel like consistency than It's Potent allowing to soak in faster. Back to that little iron, it is always cold so upon applying the product de puffs your eye area; now this is something that I need in the morning. It is actually a little miracle worker.

If you haven't heard of They're Real then I suggest you unpack your rock and come into the big wide world. This is a number one best seller for a reason, its the dogs dangly bits. If you are looking for fuller, longer looking lashes then this is your guy. It doesn't flake off, it doesn't crumble off, it holds a curl and it has a fantastic brush to help you achieve the ultimate fake lash look. A downside is that is a sod to remove, I found a oil based remover helps but I fully forgive it for being stubborn to get off as I just gosh darn love it so much. From eyes to lips Posie Balm is one of the prettiest lip balms I own. It leaves a subtle hint of pink, it hydrates and well the packaging is stunning.

Last two on my top picks are two items I will forever repurchase. Rockateur was massively hyped up when it was launched, just as the rose gold hype started. So naturally I had to have it. It leaves the most natural flushed look on your cheeks. I don't pile this on as it is very pigmented and no one wants to look like a clown. Well unless you do, then please feel free no judgements here. But personally I like the natural "I've just be on a little jog look at my cute lil rosy cheeks" look. And I don't know if its just me, but it smells amazing a light floral smell. Anyone else noticed this? Now for my last and all time favourite Benefit product. Hoola. I have several bronzers in my stash and I flirt with them now and again but I always come crawling back to Hoola. This matte bronzer is perfect for contouring my cheeks, tanning up my face and one of my all time favourite tricks hiding my double chins. Hoola blends out beautifully and when done right can look super natural.

What are your favourite Benefit items?! What would you suggest I try next?


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Tuesday 7 July 2015

July 2015 Empties

Feels like forever since I have done an empties, yet I have all of these and my bag is getting full fast. I really am getting through my stash now and it make me super happy! 


 Lush Snow Fairy | Christmas Exclusive - If you don't like the scent of Snow Fairy, get out right now. This is my all time favourite Lush product and the fact that it only comes out at Christmas upsets me deeply. This Christmas I will 100% be getting lots more, I'm already excited. 

Garnier Micellar Cleansing Water 400ml | £4.99 - What can I say about this cleansing water that hasn't already been said? Nothing. It takes my makeup off, it doesn't dry out my skin, it works. Oh and it's cheap as chips! Will 100% repurchase this when I have used up my other cleansers. 

Urban Decay All Nighter Setting Spray 118ml | £21 - Well you can tell how long I have had this, its the old bottle design. I adored this setting spray before I became an oily mess. Now I would have to purchase De Slick, but like the cleansing water I will repurchase this once I have used up my other setting sprays. 

Victoria Secret "Hello Darling" Mist 250ml | £14.99 - THIS SMELLS AMAZING. Very sweet and floral with a mixture of white nectarine and peony, its just urghhhhh. I have had this forever also, it took me well over a year to use up. These are regularly on offer at Victoria Secrets so keep a look out! 

Maybelline The Rocket Volum' Express | £7.99 - Purely brought this because of Tati (Glam Life Guru) she used to rave about it. So when I saw it at work for I think it was £2 in a sale, well it would have only been rude to leave it there. Its a good mascara giving lots of volume, the only downside to this is it flaked off quite bit toward the end of the day. 

Garnier Mineral InvisiDry - Didn't like this, at all. 

Simple Oil Balancing Cleansing Wipes | £3.29 - You know how I feel about these. My favourite wipes. Simple ;)

Drummers Drumming | Christmas Exclusive - A little cute pink and yellow bubble bar. It smelt lovely, it made my skin feel lovely. All I can remember really, its been a while since I used it now.

Phoenix Rising | £3.35 - The smell of this is just URGH! It made my skin feel heavenly, one that I will always repurchase. It just so god damn pretty.

Dragon's Egg | £3.35 - Another of my all time favourite Lush products. One bath bomb that I usually have in my stash. I love the colour it makes my bath, I love how it makes my skin feel and I also love the scent. Not a massive fan of the little circle paper things that sticks to me but yano nothing is perfect. 

What have you used up this month?!


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Sunday 5 July 2015

An Ode to The Comforter


The Comforter Lush

Ever became so obsessed with a scent that you must own everything in it or your life isn't complete? That is The Comforter to me. I adore sweet black current scent that this gives off. Ever since buying my first ever Comforter bubble bar and falling madly in love with it, I knew I couldn't live without one of these in my life at all times. As soon as I break off the first bit of bubble bar I will order a new one, plus a few extra goodies obviously. At £4.75 it is a little up there in price for what is essentially a solid bath gel, but from these bars I will get roughly 2-3 baths. Maybe a cheeky fourth if I am only fancying a few bubbles. That's the thing with these bars you get a lot of control over them, how much you put in for bubbles and also what sort of Lush cocktails you can make up. A lot of fun to be had.

The next one to be added to my little collection is the Comforter Body Lotion, I saw this on the Lush Kitchen Instagram, which guys if you don't already follow I suggest you do because they tell you each week which product they are making and what day they will be on sale. I think this body lotion was around the £10-£15 mark for 225g, but I could be wrong I have had it a while now. The scent of this I find is a lot stronger than the bubble bar and once it is applied you will be able to smell yourself for hours after, its super hydrating too my skin is always so soft after use. Due to it being a limited edition I use this sparingly as I think I will cry on the day it runs out. 

Welcome to the last member of the trio, Comforter Moisturising Shower Cream. If you have read my recently Lush Oxford Street Haul, you will have already seen this lil guy. Sadly like the body lotion this is a limited edition (I guess) for the Oxford Street store. I know they are going to start rolling out some of these exclusive items into the other stores over the next few months, good news I know. Anyways lets get back on track, when I saw that the Oxford Street store was going to be selling a Comforter shower gel obviously I was going to HAVE to have it. It smells just as amazing as its two siblings. I haven't used this yet as I currently have about 3 shower gels on the go and well my OCD just can't handle it, its struggling on having 3 open. 

What scents/products from Lush do you obsess over?! 


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Friday 3 July 2015

Smart Sun*



I love the sun. Yes controversial I know. I get all of the reasons why I shouldn't sit in to for hours, skin cancer, drying your skin out etc... But I actually love sitting/laying there with a good book or my music baking. Now I am not silly enough to do it without protection, I will always wear sun cream but a downside to sun cream is that it will sweat off. 

Am I the only one who is never sure when you reapply your sun cream?! I highly doubt I am. So when Smart Sun got in contact with me regarding the UV Indicator Wristbands well I knew I had to give them a chance, they sound to good to be true! A wristband that you will hardly tell you are wearing due to them being so thin that tells you when to reapply suncream and when to get out of the sun.

Image from SmartSun
As you can see from the diagram above the colour changes to indicate what you should be doing. How bloody clever are these little bands! I know I will be taking these on holiday with me in August to help me to know when I need to top up my sun cream and also when I should perhaps go into the shade for a little while. Maybe I will listen if I have a band that is glowing pink at me?

At £4.99 for a pack of 5 I do think these are a bargain, especially when it comes to your health. For more information click here to go to the Smart Sun website and here to buy them off Amazon.


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