ghd style

I'm sure all of you have heard of ghd, a company famous for their hair straighteners. Many salons use ghd hair straighteners, they heat up quickly and straighten hair effortlessly. Now ghd have brought out a product range to go alongside their hair equipment ranges, called 'ghd style'. 

I've never been one for straightening my hair or using many hair products. My hair is naturally straight, the only products I normally use is an oil to stop my ends splitting. However saying that, my hair does lack volume and I'd love to add more! I've been trying ghd style 'Total Volume Foam'. 

This foam can be used on damp hair and blow dried in, or dry hair and blow dried in. I don't like using products on dry hair as they cause my hair to become oily. I've been using this after washing my hair, and blow drying it in along side my oils to prevent split ends.

The first thing I noticed was how soft it made my hair, it made it so soft to the touch I ended up stroking my hair quite a bit! Not a good look to be honest. However once I'd got use to the softness I started to notice how healthy my hair looked, and how much volume it had. It didn't add an extreme amount of volume, but a good natural healthy looking amount.

This is by far the best volume foam I've tried. So many have left my hair greasy therefore flat and heavy, which never looks great. This foam leaves your hair light and soft enough to add volume. However I expected nothing less from ghd, a leading salon brand.

This foam costs £14.95 with free postage from 'here'. It's slightly more expensive than your typical hair foam, but the quality is totally worth it. You can find the whole style range 'here'.

Have you tried any of the new ghd style products? Are you a ghd fan?

Becca :) x

Disclosure: This product is a PR sample, however as always my reviews are my own opinion.

Liz Earle Daily Eye Repair

I love love love Liz Earle products. I've not been let down by any of their products yet especially their skincare products, which are natural and my skin loves them. All of Liz Earle's products contain 'Naturally Active Ingredients' which work to improve your skins condition but are naturally sourced. 

One problem I've always had with eye creams is the lack of SPF. Companies often only put SPF in face creams or foundations, but in actual fact it's the eye area that needs SPF the most as it's the most delicate. I'm ever so happy that this Liz Earle eye cream comes with SPF 10, perfect light coverage for the delicate eye area. 

 

Too often I don't bother with eye creams. I've not really found one I've liked yet. They all promise to improve dark circles, but I've not found any that actually do! My eye area is so delicate I've reacted to a lot of eye creams too.

However, I put my trust in Liz Earle as their products are very gentle, this eye cream didn't cause my eyes to react at all. The cream is quite thick and needs quite a bit of blending, which you have to be gentle with so not to harm the area. The cream isn't coloured as I expected it to be as it says 'conceal', it's a white cream much like a thick face cream.

Overall it concealed quite well, there was a visible difference between my two eyes. It helped brighten my eyes and moisturised loads! My eye area feels really soft now, meaning concealer applies much easier as it glides. I don't use this everyday as I don't feel my eyes need it that often, I use it mainly when my dark circles make an appearance.

This is by far the best eye cream I've tried. My eyes don't react to it and it seems to actually work. It's not stupidly over priced like a lot of eye creams are, as it's priced at £13.75 for a 10mL tube.

Liz Earle products are available from John Lewis stores and http://uk.lizearle.com/.

Have you tried this product or any of Liz Earle's products? What's your favourite eye cream?

Becca :) x

Disclosure: This product is a PR sample, this in no way sways my opinion towards the positive side.  

My Weekend Trip To The Big City

So, if you have me on Twitter I'm sure you'll know that I spent a long weekend in London with my mummy last weekend. It was amazing! We went to the Sanctuary Spa - totally amazing would recommend to anyone, shopping, on the London eye, to the palace and to see Wicked at the theatre - which was totally brilliant.

It was such a great weekend! It made my Christmas temp job pay off as I used the money I'd earned to pay for the weekend. I don't think I could ever live in London as the weekend left me drained, it's all too fast for this Derbyshire gal!

Have you been to or do you live in London? Where's your favourite place to visit? 

Becca :) x

Guest Post: Your 2012 Make-Up Bag

Hey guys! This is a great guest post from one of the writers from Cafe La Moda, a brand new fashion and beauty site, take a read :).

What are this year's biggest beauty trends going to be? What should you be filling your make-up bag with? And what are the hottest new products around?

When it comes to make-up, 2012 looks set to be the year of contradictions. It's going to be the year of less is more, except when more is more. Ladies, it's complicated and it might mean you need a bigger make-up bag. Let me explain.

The natural look is going to be big. In a money saving culture of make do and mend, it seems make-up is going the same way this year. Fake lashes and big red lips are most definitely out and au natural is in. And that's great for your wallet because except from a little powder and a hint of blusher, all you need is Garnier's BB (blemish balm) cream (£9). It came out last year and has steadily become a must-have product. It's a moisturizer, concealer, foundation and sun cream all in one.

But don't start counting those saved pennies just yet though because it's not quite that simple. You see another big look for 2012 is cat-like eyes. And that means lashings of gel eyeliner. Both Louis Vuitton and Dolce & Gabbana went for this ultra-feminine look in their spring/summer 2012 shows. For the perfect flick and swish use Bobbi Brown's long wear gel eye liner (£16.50). Maybelline also do a great cat eye range including liner, eyeshadow and mascara so keep an eye out for that too.

And it doesn't end there when it comes to more is more. Controversially for spring, metallic eyeshadow is another trend that's set to hit make-up bags everywhere. And it's not a subtle look; we're talking big, bold metallic cover to go with your cat-eye flicks. MAC's Metal-X Cream Shadow in Cyber (£15.50) should cover all metallic bases.

Keep an eye out for tiny jewels adorning faces as we head towards spring. This one may well not come to the high street but Chanel used tiny pearls to enhance make up for their spring/summer show and it looked exquisite. Head to your local craft shop or try Hobbycraft online for a selection of stick on jewels.

And as if to add a final colourful blow to au natural, lips are set to be vibrant for the early part of this year. Think lilacs, corals and even some blues and greens. Barry M is always a safe bet when it comes to bright shades. One of their lip paints in either pretty pink or palest lavender (both £4.95), should add a great slick of bold colour.

Saisha Potts writes on behalf of www.cafelamoda.co.uk, the social fashion site. Visit Cafe La Moda to find all of 2012's beauty trends in one place.

Disclosure: This is a guest post from a writer from Cafe La Moda. I was not paid to publish this post.

Nuxe Serum Creme Fraiche de Beaute (Fancy!)

This product comes from a brand I'd never heard of before. A luxury brand my student budget wouldn't normally stretch to. Nuxe is a french company which believe in 'Beauty by Nature', they use many plant extracts to create their products. Like most people, I love a natural product, I feel much better using them on my skin knowing they'll care for my skin and not be causing any harm. 

The product I've received is the Serum Creme Fraiche de Beaute, which is a 24hr moisturising, anti-fatigue concentrate. The oringnal product was the Creme Fraiche moisturiser, a best-selling moistiuriser. Nuxe then brought out this serum containing simular ingredients. 

This product contains 8 Plant Milks and essential oils. This mixture is designed to 'draw up and diffuse water throught out the skin', therefore continually hydrating the skin. I really wasn't sure if such a product would benefit my skin. From reading the information I received it seemed that the main purpose of this product is to moisturise, and keep on moisturising all day.

Having what feels like a constant battle with ache, which flares up and calms down as it likes, a serum with moisturising properties like this didn't really seem suitable. However I believe that everyones skin needs love, a little TLC goes much further than harsh chemical products, if you use harsh products on problem skin it becomes worse. So I decided I wanted to give this a whirl.

I've been using this product for around a week now and I love it. My skin just feels so much healthier, much to my surprise it didn't make my ache any worse at all, and as it's now started to calm down again my skin hasn't felt this healthly in a long time. It's a light silky liquid which is easily absorbed, leaving the skin soft and smooth but not shiny and sticky.

I've used many moistuisers and serums in the past, and I've finally found one I'm willing to buy again. During the day I use a light SPF moisturiser on top to give my skin the protection it needs, which I'm able to do as the serum isn't thick and sticky.

This serum costs £26 and is worth every penny! It's available from spacenk.co.uk.

What do you think to this serum? What's your favourite moisturising product?

Becca :) x

Disclosure: This product is a PR sample however this doesn't sway my opinion towards the positive side, I really love this product and probably will buy it once I've run out.

L'Occitane's Refreshing Verbena

It's been a while since I've blogged about my most favourite skin/body care company - L'Occitane. When I attended L'Occitane's Christmas event (read 'here') I was introduced properly to their fragrances, as many of the Christmas gift sets were based around certain fragrances. However I walked away with the almond gift set, one of the sets without a perfume present.  

In December, L'Occitane in Nottingham held an event in which you receive free hand massages and 20% off products that evening. Being a fan I brought a ticket and went along, I ended up buying two of L'Occitane's fragrances that evening! One being the Verbena fragrance, one that I've never been quite sure of, but it's grown on me loads. It's a citrus scent, it smells very lemony and 'leafy'. The lemon in it makes it ever so refreshing, when I'm feeling a little groggy I spray this and it freshens me up.

The scent doesn't stick around for as long as I'd like it too, but they never do, do they? I've found that to be the same with my other L'Occitane scent too.

I've brought the travel size which is 20mL for £13.50. I've never finished a perfume so tend to buy smaller bottles now! It also makes it perfect for slipping into your handbag for topping up the freshness during the day.

Available at L'Occitane stores, http://uk.loccitane.com/ and L'Occitane Stockists (John Lewis, Debenhams).

Becca :) x

Disclosure: I brought this product myself.

Deborah Lippmann + Nails Inc

In Decembers Glossy Box I received Deborah Lippmann 'Razzle Dazzle' which is a purple glitter polish. I've only just got around to wearing it and love the effect it gives! I applied Nails Inc 'The Vale' beforehand to give a little more colour intensity, this ended up working really well. I then applied one coat of 'Razzle Dazzle' to top it off. It's really glittery so one coat was plenty. It's such a gorgeous colour.

I'm not looking forward to removing this! What do you think to Deborah Lippmann polishes? Do you like a good glitter polish? 

Becca :) x

Disclosure: 'The Vale' was brought from a blog sale, and 'Razzle Dazzle' was out of a Glossy Box which was brought by myself. 

Benefit's Bestselling Mascara - They're Real

First of all I’d like to say a huge thank you! My blog has just reached 100 followers, which is a huge milestone; I’ve been with blogger since August last year and I still love it. I blog for fun rather than ‘stats’ and ‘pr samples’, and the fact that all you guys want to read what I ramble on about is amazing :D.

Now onto a mascara that hit the market last year after a huge build up; Benefit’s ‘They’re Real’ Mascara. This mascara comes with some pretty hefty claims, basically claiming that people would believe your eyelashes were ‘fake’ if you used this mascara. It was released in August 2011 in the UK, and by the time I finally brought it in December 2011 it was the best-selling mascara in the UK at the time. Many Benefit counters had sold out, and it was becoming pretty difficult to get your hands on (I brought it at The Clothes Show Live at Birmingham NEC). Is this mascara really as special as it’s made out to be, is it really worth the large price tag of £18.50.

Like pretty much all of Benefit’s packaging, ‘They’re Real’ stands out from many other mascaras. With a sleek grey metal look case and orange writing, it really is eye catching. It adds that little bit of elegance to your make-up bag.

This mascara is different from Benefit’s only other mascara ‘Bad Gal’, in the sense it lengthens and curls rather than adding volume. I have to admit, it does lengthen and curl really well, and it’s pretty easy to use too. Only one coat is needed to add a good length to your lashes, making them look so much more fluttery than normal. You can add more coats, which will add more volume than anything else, however after two coats I found it clumped quite a bit, so I stuck to applying 2 coats maximum. If your wanting volume rather than length I’d try ‘Bad Gal’ rather than ‘They’re Real’.

So all seems well, it curls, it lengthens and makes your lashes look ‘fluttery’. If you’re a regular reader you’ll know that my total pet hate is panda eyes. I haven’t really struggled much in the past with mascara ending up under my eyes, but this one just seems to jump straight off my lashes and under my eyes after 5 hours. I’d come home from uni and realize how bad it looked! The more of the mascara you use the more ends up under your eyes. So recently I’ve been sticking to one coat only, which makes it a little better.

Before: 

After one coat: 

All in all, I won’t buy this mascara again. It’d be perfect if it didn’t transfer, but I can’t stand the fact that it does! I’ve actually gone out and brought another mascara to replace this one. It might be because I wear glasses and they might help knock the mascara off, but I've never had anything this bad before. I'm sorry Benefit! It's a great mascara, but just isn't for me.

This mascara costs £18.50 from Benefit counters, stockists and 'here'.

Have you tried this famous mascara? What did you think to it? What's your favourite mascara?

Becca :) x

Disclosure: I brought this mascara myself.  

My new Nica bag :D

After Christmas I started to build up my bag collection in the January sales. Today while at East Midlands Shopping Outlet I brought my latest addition to my collection. It's a Nica bag, I've admired them in Topshop before, but never wanted to pay the large price tag. I picked up this beauty for £29.50 reduced from £59.00. Totally bargain! It's the perfect size too, not too small that I have to leave things at home, and it is big enough so it will fit a water bottle and some snacks in for my journeys. I plan to take this to London for my long weekend with my mummy :). 

Who's your favourite bag designer? What do you think to my new bag? Do you own any Nica bags? 

Becca :) x

Disclosure: I brought this bag myself.