Category: Beauty

Barry M Loud Mouth Liquid Lip Colour Review

When it comes to lip shades, a girl can never have too many reds right? No, I didn’t think so and so my latest addition to my collection is this Loud Mouth Liquid Lip Colour in shade Dive from Barry M. It’s been a while since I bought anything from Barry M but as soon as I saw these intriguing liquid lip colours I knew I had to give one a go.

As you can see, this lip colour is a vibrant deep red and the colour comes out as intense as it looks in the tube. It’s very glossy and more slippery as opposed to sticky on the lips. It glides onto the lips easily but you do have to be careful when it comes to perfecting the lip line and I suggest applying a lip liner first.

I think the colour looks great on and I love the intense shine. However, this isn’t a lip colour you can apply once and leave on for the rest of the day. Oh no, this stuff is high maintenance. I wore it recently on a night out and after merrily and obliviously dancing away for some time, I finally went to the ladies and immediately spotted my lips in the mirror and the major lip line bleed, which did not look attractive! So be warned, if you’re going to brave it with this bold red, regular liner top ups are required when you’re wearing this one. It certainly is not smudge proof, so I would not suggest wearing it when you’re going for food, less it might end up looking like you’ve actually chewed your beef burger straight from the carcass, just a heads up.

Samio x

April 11, 2015
JOIK Shimmering Raspberry Body Lotion Review

The sun is finally shinning here in England, so it’s finally time to whip out those pretty summer dresses and show some skin (whilst the weather lasts). If you’re like me however, the first stages of going bare legged, after a long winter of being covered up, can be a little daunting. Although I’m not shy about getting my bare legs out on a night out, I feel it’s a completely different story when the sun is shining and everyone can see my pins in all of their glory (or lack of). Luckily however, my new Joik shimmering body lotion arrived just in time and this stuff has given my legs that nice little glow that they were lacking.

The Joik shimmering body lotion comes in raspberry flavour and it actually smells delicious. After first trying it on my skin, I instantly noticed the shimmer and although the lotion isn’t actually a tinted moisturiser, I feel like it adds a very slight bronzed look to the skin.

The shimmering particles are ever so slight but when the light hits your skin it make it look radiant and glowing.

(In all honesty the picture doesn’t really show it justice, as it has lovely shimmering particles that aren’t picked up here on the shot.)

What can I say, I love this stuff. A little bit of this seems to go a long way and I have been using it after applying my regular body moisturiser to add extra hydration to my skin.

I’d definitely recommend this to anyone who feels like their skin needs a little pick me up and would like a subtle glow without using tanning lotions. This Joik body lotion will give you a nice subtle shimmer and leave your skin looking and smelling fabulous.

Samio x

April 9, 2015
H&M Nudes Eyeshadow Palette Review

I seem to have gone a little bit eyeshadow obsessed lately, or maybe I’m just makeup obsessed in general, yeah, that’s probably it. Anyway it’s appears that now, I can’t walk in any store without checking out the makeup section, as limited as it may be. If it sells makeup, I’ll be browsing.

Whilst in H&M I spotted a few makeup goodies, including this nudes Eyeshadow pallet. It’s the size that intrigued me, as its the perfect size to fit in my gym bag for if I need to apply makeup after the gym. It was only £1.99, so I thought I’d give it a go.

Once I’d got home, I was happy to find that the shadows are actually pretty decent. Each one has a lovely shimmer and the colours come and bold. Everything you’d want for an on the go eyeshadow palette and not bad for less than two pound.

I’m pleased with my little bargain purchase. I’ll be tempted to try out some of the H&M lipsticks next time. How about you, have you tried any H&M makeup?

Samio x

March 31, 2015
The Inexpensive Perfect Bright Red Lip

There’s nothing like making a statement with a bold red lip. I am lipstick obsessed (if you haven’t figured that out already) and I’m not afraid to experiment with my use of colours but if there is one shade I always come back to, it’s red and a bright red to be specific.

It’s classic, It’s chic and it instantly makes you feel that little bit more dressed up and the best part is, it needn’t be expensive! I’ll have you know that my very favourite red lipstick cost under £5. So here are my two inexpensive products for creating the perfect bright red lip…

The P.S Love lipliner from Primark is a recent purchase. Prior to that I’d gone for the Models own bright red lip liner but after discovering this one at only £1, it was a great excuse for a change. (read my full P.S Love lip liners review here)

As I’ve said, the lipstick is my favourite red lipstick. I’ve repurchased this one time and time again. It’s from Boots and it’s the Seventeen stay pout lipstick in shade Date Night. This stuff stays on your lips so well and it doesn’t dry out the lips.

I had a bit of a panic a while a go when Seventeen re-branded and I thought that this lipstick had had been discontinued. But alas, it had just had a packaging and name change, phew.

I don’t think I need to say but I’m obsessed with this lipstick, I think the photograph of it shows that it’s a well loved one and I’ll soon be in need of yet another repurchase.

So there you have it, the inexpensive perfect bright red lip.

Do you like to rock a red lip every now and then? If so, what’s your favourite red lipstick?

Samio x

March 30, 2015
The Funky £3 Manicure – Nude & Dots Nail Polish

you know me, always a sucker for a beauty bargain and as I’ve been continuously wearing nude on my nails lately, my favourite O.P.I shade (Don’t Pretzel My Buttons) has been getting it’s fair share of usage and so I’ve been on the look out for an alternative.

It was whilst I was shopping in H&M the other day that I came across these pretty polishes. I hadn’t purchased nail polish from H&M before but when I saw the price I couldn’t help but give them a go.

This nail polish in shade nude, was only 99p! It’s minature 5ml, so it’s a perfect one to pop in your handbag. I usually always carry one round with me anyway, as I can’t stand chips, so this one is the perfect size. Plus sometimes when you get a large nail polish, it can dry out before you even reach the end, so at least the mini size is bound to stay fresh until you’ve finished it.

As the polish is only small, of course the brush is too but it’s still easy enough to apply onto the nails.

It needs two coats but afterwards it looks perfect.

This funky spotty polish called, Free Your Mind, also caught my eye, it’s full of pretty blue, white, lime green and peach speckles (very summery).

This one also comes in 5ml and is £1.99. It’s been ages since I bought a fun nail polish like this. I usually avoid the confetti type polishes, as although I’m often drawn to them, in reality I know I’ll only use them a few times and then it will be a whole nail polish waisted. As this one was only small though, I thought it would be just enough and I love the colour of the speckles as I think I’ll wear this one a lot and it goes perfect with nude.

I just went for painting the ring finger this time but I think it will look great all over too. This was just after one application and the coloured spots came out on the brush really easy as the polish is full of them.

I’ve only had these polishes on my nails for a couple of days, so I’m yet to see what the longevity is like. But so far so good and I’m loving my funky £3 manicure.

What do you think? Have you tried H&M nail polish before?

Samio x

March 25, 2015
No7 Blissful Body Wash & Completely Quenched Body Lotion Review

It’s not often I blog about shower gels and body lotions, because to be honest they never seem to excite me quite the same as facial skincare products do. I’m probably not alone in saying that I quite frequently indulge in new skincare products for my face but lets not forget, the skin on the rest of our bodies deserve some TLC too. Don’t get me wrong, I always use shower gel and body moisturiser but I put much less thought into them compare to the products that I buy for my face.

No7 Blissful Body Wash

Most of the time I’ll have my usual ‘go to’ shower gels, that smell nice and do the job at keeping my skin clean but I can sometimes find that they leave my skin feeling ‘stripped’ and quite dry. I’ve really loved using this body wash on my skin as it feels more hydrating and it leaves my skin feeling soft after showering.

I must say that the price is a little steep compared to what I usually pay for day to day shower gel but like I say, sometimes your skin needs a little extra TLC and this does do the job. In terms of a repurchase, I would be tempted but I’d probably alternate it between one of my cheaper body washes and use this one when my skin is feeling a little dry.

No7 Completely Quenched Moisturising Body Lotion

I really love this body lotion. I often struggle to find creams that add enough moisture to my skin (especially to my legs after shaving), without leaving them feeling greasy. This lotion adds plenty of moisture and shine to my skin without leaving it feeling oily or sticky afterwards. It’s lightly fragranced and leaves my skin feeling so lovely and soft. I often suffer with irritated skin on my legs and I’ve found when using this I’ve had no problems. It’s certainly become a new favourite for me in terms of an everyday body moisturiser.

Shop No7 Blissful Body Wash here and No7 Completely Quenched Moisturising Body Lotion here.

Samio x

March 18, 2015
Today’s Face #2 – Nude Lips & Dollymix Blush

Today’s Makeup
On the skin – Bobbi Brown BB Cream in shade Natural
To Conceal – Naked Concealer in shade medium neutral.
To Powder – Natural Collection Loose Powder in shade neutral.
On the cheeks – MAC Sheertone Shimmer Blush in shade Dollymix
To Contour (and on the eyelids) – Sleek Contour Kit
On the lashes – Bourjois Volume Glamour Max Mascara in black.
On the lips – Primark P.S Love Lip Liner in nude and No7 BB Lips in shade Ballerina.

Samio x

March 16, 2015
The Wonder Cream – La Roche Posay Effaclar Duo anti-blemish cream Review

Most of the time, before buying a new product I like to do my research (unless of course it happens to be an impulse buy). With this product of course it was no exception and if you are a frequent reader of beauty blogs then I’m sure you’ve probably came across this product before. If however you have not, then let me tell you a bit about my experience with it.

After reading several positive reviews about this product and hearing some go as far as to say they saw results after just one day, I knew I had to finally try it for myself.

I would descibe the cream as more of a serum. You only need to apply around a pea sized amount and a small amout seems to go a long way. It soaks into the skin quickly and doesn’t leave any residue on the skin afterwards. I like to apply my regular morning/night facial moisturiser after applying the Effaclar Duo.

The cream claims to reduce blemishes and marks and I am happy to say that it does live up to those claims. After using the cream morning and night for just a week, I was able to see results. I have since been using the cream for the past couple of months and I am really pleased with the results.

Below are the before and after pictures of both the right and left side of my face after around 3 weeks of uing the La Roche Posay Effaclar Duo cream.

On first glance you may not be able to see any major differences between each of the images but if you look closer at each blemish on the above images marked ‘before’ and compare each one on the image below, I think you can tell that each blemish has actually faded.

I feel like the blemish reduction on the left side has been more significant. Lets be honest, everything looks far worse close up as you get to see the skin in so much detail but I can massively see an improvement to the fading of the dark spot under my left eye and also to the scar to the left side of my nose (right side on the image).

I’m really impressed with the Effeclar Duo cream. Since using it, I’ve seen a significant reduce to the blemishes on my skin and overall it has reduced any patches of redness on my face too. It has definitely been a wonder cream for me, which I will continue to use and most likely repurchase, so I give the product a big thumbs up.

Shop La Roche Posay Effaclar Duo anti-blemish cream here.

Samio x

March 15, 2015
Sleek Nude Lipstick & Matte Me Lip Cream Review

Okay last nude lipstick post for a while, I promise. It’s funny because I am actually more of a ‘bold colours’ kind of girl when it comes to my lipsticks. However it’s just the fact that I’ve been discovering so many nude shades that I actually really like recently, that I’ve wanted to share them all with you.

Sleek True Colour Lipstick

This lipstick has got to be the nudest nude I have come across (if that makes sense). I say this because it almost matches my skin tone. I really wasn’t sure about this shade when I first applied it, I almost felt like I muted out my lips but after trying it with a more bold eye makeup look (such as here where I’m wearing false eyelashes), it’s actually grown on me a bit. The lipstick feels nice on the lips and as it has a sheen to it, it doesn’t dry out on your lips. I think this shade would look good on lighter skin tones and would go well with smoky eyes.

Sleek Matte Me Lip Cream

I’ve worn this lip cream so much. I absolutely love the shade and I often get asked what it is when I’m wearing it. It goes on the lips like a cream and then dries. Once it has dried it stays on really well. I do like to put a little bit of lip balm on the lips before applying, in order to stop my lips from getting too dry. Like I say, I’ve worn this lip colour so much, it has certainly became one of my favourites as it seems to go with everything.

I’d recommend both the lipstick and lip cream. I especially love the lip cream and I’m sure that one will be a repurchase for me.

Samio x

March 14, 2015
Today’s Face – Pink Lips & Plain Eyes

Today’s Face
On the skin – a mix of Bobbi Brown BB Cream (shade Natural) with a small amount of Illamasqua skin base in shade 12. Natural Collection powder to decrease shine.

To conceal – Bobbi Brown colour corrector followe by Urban Decay Naked concealer.

To contour – The bronzer from the Naked on The Run palette.

On the brows – Illamasqua brow powder

On the cheeks – The pink blush from the Naked on The Run palette.

To highlight – Revlon photo ready skinlights

On the eyelids – the Naked on the run base shadow followed by the peach shimmer on the lids.

Mascara – Urban Decay Perversion mascara in black.

On the lips – 17 lipstick in shade delinquent.

Samio x

March 13, 2015