September & October Nails

Hello lovelies :)

Hope you're all well and looking forward to Christmas (is it too early?). This post is September and October nails combined as I had gel nails done at the beginning of October for my birthday and as they lasted so well I didn't really wear anything else on my nails all month! 

First up we have a couple of beauties from Bourjois, the So Laque! Ultra Shine polish in 23 Fuschia Hype and the Laser Toppings in 38 Sun Scales on the thumb and third finger. Fushcia Hype is a gorgeous berry pink, perfect all year round and the finish is so glossy and hardwearing. I'd also like to add that I applied this on the train home from Brighton, pretty steady handiwork hey?!

Here is the Bourjois Laser Toppings in Sun Scales in use again, this time teamed up with an old favourite of mine Rimmel Lasting Finish in Hot Shot which is just a fab, girly hot pink. This colour never fails to cheer me up!

 Next up is OPI 'I Don't Give a Rotterdam' a lovely light grey blue with a silver shimmer. This didn't last as long as I would've liked it to for an OPI polish but it was lovely and did wear fairly well.

Here we have my gel nails which I had done on a spa day for my birthday. It was the first time that I'd had gel nails done and I was so pleased with them, the colour is Soak Up the Sun by Jessica GELeration which was an almost corally hot pink, totally me and totally gorgeous! They lasted just over two weeks before I had to soak them off, fantastic!

Finally, another pink polish (November will be a bit more varied, I promise!) comes in the form of Barry M Textured Nail Effects polish in Princess. I wasn't sure how I would get on with the textured finish but the colour was so attractive that I had to try it out and it didn't disappoint! A beautiful light pink with lovely gold and silver micro glitter running through it that gives a stunning effect on the nails, like rose gold. Unfortunately, due to the texture of the polish this did chip quite early on and didn't last too well but a couple of days is bearable for me when it looks this pretty!

So there you have my September and October nails, I've clearly been going through a pink lovin' phase the last couple of months! What are your favourite polishes and what have you been wearing on your nails recently?

Foreo Luna Mini Cleansing System

Hello everyone! 

Hope you are all well! First of all, I'm sorry that I haven't posted in a while, things have been pretty hectic since going back to uni for my final year with lectures, assignments (already?!), placements, PGCE applications and of course my dreaded dissertation, haha! I will try to find a new routine with my blogging and keep posts as regular as possible. Also, a big hello to my new followers! I've noticed recently a little flurry of notifications from Bloglovin' letting me know that I have new followers, it's always lovely to see, especially as my blog is still very new and only has a small following. I write my blog because I enjoy it, I don't make any special efforts to gain more followers or anything so it always surprises me and makes me smile to see that someone has found Lilybet Loves and has liked my posts enough to follow me, thank you :)

Now on to what you came to see, the Foreo Luna Mini. I'll admit that I hadn't even heard of this until I received an email from Bzz Agent (a product testing panel which I am part of, more info below) inviting me to try this out at a discounted price of £27 instead of the £99 RRP. I did some quick Googling and read a few reviews but what actually swayed me to take part was seeing that the Luna Mini was being sold in Selfridges and Harvey Nichols, that's probably really silly but I thought that if they're selling it then it must be good! The Luna Mini is a smaller version of the original Luna which is obviously larger in size and comes in three colours which correspond to different skin types; white for ultra-sensitive, pink for normal/sensitive and blue for combination skin types. The Luna Mini doesn't have different versions for different skin types but does have much more choice when it comes to colour as you can choose from pink, turquoise, magenta, grey and purple; I chose the magenta.

On receiving my Luna Mini I was first impressed with the packaging, which was minimal with a clean design, sleek and stylish- very Apple-esque! The Luna Mini itself was a perfect size to fit comfortably in my hand and to use on my face, and I love the bright pink colour that I chose! The Luna Mini is very simple to use, there is just one button and the instructions were clear and easy to follow. The Luna Mini also comes with a small white USB charger (no mains adaptor but I plugged the USB into my iPhone charger and it worked fine). 

 The Luna Mini uses T-Sonic (transdermal) pulsations to deep clean the skin (don't ask me how!) from dirt, oil and make up whilst still being gentle and suitable for all skin types. The silicone body has areas of different sized bobbles that you rub over the skin whilst cleansing and a contoured edge meaning that you can easily tailor how you use the Luna Mini for different areas of your face, ensuring an all over cleanse. This design is also a lot more hygienic and cost effective than traditional cleansing brushes as the silicone is much easier to clean and doesn't hang onto dirt and residues as much as a brush does and also means you don't have the expense of buying replacements, bonus!

Using the Luna Mini makes cleansing a little more fun and as you only use it for one minute at a time, it's a very easy addition to make to your cleansing routine.  I love that there are two modes available as the vibration took a little getting used to when I first started using it but now I mostly use 'normal mode' unless my skin is feeling super sensitive, then I will switch to 'sensitive mode'. The Luna Mini will buzz when it's time to move to the next area of your face whilst cleasning so that the skin is cleansed evenly all over, this is really useful as I do tend to linger on my right cheek and forehead, neglecting my left cheek if not prompted to move on. A cute little blue light will come on when your one minute cleanse time is up too which is handy for reminding me not to overdo it! Foreo recommend avoiding cleansers that are clay or silicone based aswell as grainy cleansers when using the Luna Mini as these could cause damage to the silicone bobbles. Having tried a few different cleansers with mine I have found that although it works just fine with my cream and gel cleansers, my favourite to use it with is a balm or oil cleanser (my favourite is the Body Shop Camomile Cleansing Butter) as they seem to help the Luna Mini glide over the skin and amplify the pulsations, making me feel more relaxed and thoroughly cleansed. I love using my Luna Mini in the evenings as the face massage that Luna Mini gives is really relaxing, however, it is also great in the morning with a fresh and fruity face wash to give you and your skin a wake up call. I have seen a difference in my skin after using the Luna Mini, it feels smoother, softer and cleaner, which I think helps my skincare products (moisturisers etc.) to work better and leaves my skin looking clearer and brighter. Finally, the battery lasts for ages! I fully charged mine when I received it, as per the instructions and a month later, after daily use, I'm still waiting for it to need charging again. I would definitely recommend this product, although I'm not sure if I would pay full price for it, that seems a little expensive, however when compared with similar products (facial cleansing brushes etc.) the Luna Mini does a better job in my opinion and doesn't have any ongoing costs associated with it so would probably be better value in the long run.

What's your favourite way to cleanse? Have you tried the Luna Mini?

** For those of you who don't know Bzz Agent is a product testing panel, it's free to join and open to everyone. I joined  in March this year and have already taken part in 15 campaigns ranging from food and sweets to beauty products, deodorants, clothing dyes and stain remover! The more campaign activities you complete (reviews, conversations, social media updates etc.) to a good standard, the higher your Bzz score and the more likely you will be invited to participate in future campaigns. I've put a link in so you can check it out if you're interested (this is not sponsored by Bzz Agent or anything like that I just think it's a great way to try new things for free or at a heavy discount and thought I would share it with you all.)

Kiko Haul

Hey there, today I have a haul from Kiko Cosmetics to share with you. This is the first time I have purchased from them but having seen good reviews of a number of their products online I thought I would bite the bullet and place an order. One thing to keep in mind when ordering on the Kiko website is that the minimum order value is £25, slightly annoying especially considering they have so few stores in the UK but on the plus side if you register on the website you receive free delivery for 15 days. 

First of all we have the Invisible Lip Liner (£5.90) which I thought was a great idea for me as I never usually bother with lip liner as I only have a couple that don't match half of my lipsticks! This 'one shade suits all' approach is much more practical and I may be more inclined to wear some of my brighter shades as I won't be as worried about colour bleeding, smudging etc.

 

I also purchased three of the eyeshadows (£1.90 each) which were in the sale as Kiko are changing their eyeshadow packaging so that they can be put into palettes that you build yourself, similar to MAC. Kiko have a lovely colour selection, very broad and varied so I'm sure there will be something to suit everyone. I thought these were great value and bought three pearly, neutral shades 139 Pearly Salmon, 141 Pearly Light Pink and 132 Pearly Bronze. The pigmentation is not the best but is still good and I was really pleased with the colours I chose. The packaging does feel a little cheap but for the price and considering the eyeshadows are good, I really don't mind that. and I can see myself getting a lot of use out of these. 

 L-R: 132 Pearly Bronze, 139 Pearly Salmon and 141 Pearly Light Pink

Next up are the three Nail Laquers (£3.90 each) in shades 339 Cornflower, 361 Raspberry Pink and 389 Mint Milk. I haven't yet tried these out so can't comment on what they're like but I'm sure you'll see them in a monthly nails post soon!

Finally, I bought the 201 Eye Brush (£4.90 currently 50% off) which is an angled eyeshadow brush made of natural bristles. This is very soft and quite thick, with a lovely pencil thick handle with soft grip and a plastic dust cover to keep it clean which can be put on from the bottom so that no bristles are caught and bent. This is lovely for applying a quick wash of colour over your lids or for detailing the outer corners and crease as the shape works well.

After a quick play with the Pearly Salmon and Pearly Bronze eyeshadows applied with the 201 brush this was the end result, a relaxed, neutral daytime look. Primer underneath the eyeshadow increased their intensity and helped them to wear longer too, overall I was impressed with them for the price and would still buy them full price.

Have you tried anything from Kiko yet? What would you recommend?

Thanks for reading!

Lilybet

Face Mask Friday #10

Happy Friday everyone!

This week I have used the H&M Coconut Water Moisture Mask. This is the second of the H&M face masks that I have tried, you can read my review of the H&M Blueberry Burst Nourishing Mask here and as with the Blueberry I was impressed with the Coconut.

My skin has been feeling dehydrated lately, especially around my forehead so when I saw this mask as I was in the queue of H&M I thought I'd give it a try.

As expected this was a white colour and more of a cream, putty like texture than a clay. The scent was lovely, just a gentle coconut fragrance, not too strong or artificial smelling and actually quite refreshing. The mask was really easy to apply, not drippy or sticky at all and whilst I used all of it in one go there probably was enough for two thinner applications. I left the mask on for around 20 minutes whilst I put my feet up and during this time the mask didn't really harden like a clay mask, it just got a little drier as if my skin had sucked some moisture out of it! After washing this the mask off with warm water and a flannel my skin did feel plumper, more hydrated and also incredibly soft. Whilst the effects don't last much more than a day or two I would definitely recommend and repurchase this mask and I think it would be great if used regularly to maintain moisture levels or just as a thirst quenching treat now and again depending on your skin type.

Mini OPI Haul!

Hello everyone, I just wanted to share my OPI haul with you briefly and to alert you to that fact (if you weren't already aware) that Fragrance Direct are currently selling these OPI nail polishes for £3.99 each!

I have shopped with Fragrance Direct a couple of times in the past and they always have a great selection of cosmetics at really low prices, for example Essie nail polishes can be picked up for as little as £1.99! Their stock is a mixture of older, discontinued items (worth a look if you have an old favourite of something which you can no longer get hold of!), current items with older style packaging, past season shades etc. but they also have quite a few current lines at a fraction of the price you'd pay in the likes of Boots or Superdrug so it's worth keeping an eye out as their stock changes frequently and there is always a bargain to be found!

Delivery is a very reasonable £1.99 and is pretty speedy too! I ordered on Thursday and my order arrived on Monday.

At the time of writing this there are over 30 shades to choose from at £3.99 each and here are the three I chose...

L-R: 'I Don't Give a Rotterdam', 'Dutch 'Ya Just Love OPI?' and 'Elephantastic Pink'

I Googled swatches of these shades before making my decision so that I knew what to expect! 'I Don't Give a Rotterdam' is a grey-blue with a fine silver glitter running through, 'Dutch 'Ya Just Love OPI?' is a purple shade with a pink and gold shimmer and finally 'Elephantastic Pink' is just a lovely bright bubblegum pink. I'm sure you will be seeing swatches in one of my monthly nail posts shortly (I'm already wearing 'Elephantastic Pink'!

Let me know which shades you choose if you're taking advantage of the offer! I have a feeling that I will be returning for a couple more after deliberating over shades for ages and considering these were my first OPI purchases! 

Laidbare Beauty

Hi everyone!

Today I have two products from Laidbare that I recently came across in TKMaxx. I hadn't previously heard of the brand but was attracted by the simple, colourful packaging and the bargain prices! After a quick look at the boxes it became apparent that Laidbare products contain a lot of natural ingredients and leave out the nasties, which is perfect for me as my skin is fairly sensitive. So here they are...

(Please excuse the coffee mug ring, my bad! *slaps wrist for not using a coaster!*)

From Dusk till Dawn is a serum containing vitamins A,B.C and E, all derived from natural oils and brilliant for the skin. This serum is actually more like an oil in texture and consistency which I personally really like as I find serums a little too silicone-y (not actually a word I'm sure!) and heavy sometimes. I'm currently using this as part of my evening skincare routine under my moisturiser as I ran out of my Eve of St. Agnes Hydrating Facial Silk. This feels lovely to apply, only one pump is needed to cover the whole face without leaving it feeling too greasy or shiny and it smells of lavender which is perfect before bedtime.

Secondly, I have Spot the Difference treatment cream. I recently suffered a hormonal breakout at that time of the month (*sigh*!) so reached for this to see how I got on. Well, it honestly was amazing! I noticed a visible difference in the redness and size of my blemishes after just one use which further improved with continued use. The breakout was completely gone within a couple of days of using this! I found the formula to be a really light cream, which was quickly absorbed and pleasantly fragranced with a fresh orange scent. It did leave my skin feeling a little tight but as I used it underneath my moisturiser this wasn't a problem and I believe that's what helped to dry out my spots so quickly.

I think I paid £5.99 for the serum (RRP £9.99) and £3.00 for the spot treatment cream (RRP £6.99) in TKMaxx but if you can't find them in your local store then there are a few online stockists, including Holland & Barrett although Naturismo seem to have the widest selection.

I would definitely recommend these products and will be trying out more from the brand in the future, especially if  see them in TKMaxx again!

August Nails

Wow, I can hardly believe it's the end of August already! Time is flying by and I'm starting my 3rd year of uni in a couple of weeks, eek! Anyway, here are my August nails...

First up we have Rimmel I ♥ Lasting Finish in Hot Shot, this is an old favourite of mine as it's just a simple, gorgeous hot pink. If I'm feeling a little down or under the weather when I use this it never fails to make me feel a bit better. The power of pink, haha!

Here I have another Rimmel offering, this time from the 60 Second range in the shade Mary Mary Quite Contrary. This is quite similar to Models Own Utopia I believe and is a lovely, subtle off-white lilac shade. I have also painted my ring finger with a top coat of Models Own Jack Frost to give a little glitter.

Lastly, we have Seventeen Lasting Fix in Mint Choc Chip. I actually spotted this in the reduced to clear section of my local Boots for £1 and thought I'd give it a go as I liked the colour. I was however, disappointed as this looks more like a china blue than a minty green in daylight. This wouldn't have bothered me but I already have two other pastel blues so didn't really need another! Another disappointment was that this chipped really easily (before I managed to get a picture!), even with top coat so only lasted a few days before I had to remove it.

Skydiving!

Hi everyone!

On July 3rd I did something that I will remember for the rest of my life- a sponsored skydive! I mentioned in a previous post that I had been busy fundraising for charity, the charity was Helen and Douglas House, a hospice for children and young people based in Oxford. My older sister, Jemma was diagnosed with a rare genetic illness at the age of 2 and died at the age of 7, when I was 3. Helen House (as it was then- Douglas House was added later) opened its doors as the first children's hospice in the world the same year that Jemma was born and she started going there for respite care a couple of years later, after her diagnosis. Helen House provided invaluable care to Jemma and support to my family and is remembered as a happy and homely place to be. 

As Jemma would've been turning 30 last August, the same year as Helen House were celebrating their 30th anniversary, my family decided to raise money for H&DH to commemorate these events throughout the year ending in August this year. We organised various events including a bake sale and a 'Jazzfrezi' curry night with live jazz music, raffle and auction but it was my uncle's idea to do a skydive and as I had always wanted to do one, I jumped at the chance! Overall we raised over £3,000 which we are all really proud of!

Our first jump was actually rescheduled due to bad weather after we'd sat at the skydive centre for around 4 hours staring at the clouds willing them to clear! Our second attempt was more successful though, and on the day of our jump we arrived at the centre, went through our training brief again (make like a banana!) then waited around for a few people to jump before us which was great to watch! Finally, when it was our turn we went and got our suits on and met our tandem instructors. My instructor was really friendly and although I (surprisingly) wasn't nervous made me feel at ease, making jokes and teasing me about my footwear choice (my colourful Fred Perry plimsolls!). The atmosphere was so relaxed that it didn't really occur to me to be nervous, even the pilot drove up to the plane in a golf buggy dressed in shorts, t-shirt and trainers. Having only ever seen commercial pilots it was funny to see one without the posh uniform etc.! After all the waiting (about 4 months!) I was bursting to do it so jumped on the plane and thought to myself 'I'm going to enjoy every second of this, I'm not going to waste any time being nervous' and it honestly worked! 

As we were gradually climbing above the clouds and I knew that I would be first to jump, I focused my mind on enjoying the experience and remembering what I needed to do during the jump. Before I knew it, the doors were being opened and my instructor (very securely strapped to my back) started pushing me down the bench, onto the floor of the plane and out of the door! One minute I was sat on the edge, the next I was hanging out the door with my arms folded and head back and a second after that I could see the plane that I'd just jumped out of! 

OMG, I was falling through the air belly up! Another second later and I was up the right way with my arms out. After a gulp of cold air, I caught my breath and opened my eyes to see the camera man filming right in front of me! The feeling was incredible, I really can't express how amazing it was to feel the wind, so fresh and cold in my face, to hear it rushing past my ears like when you're driving fast with the windows open and the feeling of freedom and invincibility! My instructor encouraged me to pull silly faces at the camera and move my arms around to feel the effect it had on our speed and direction but all I could think was 'I can't believe it!' and shouted this several times at the camera man along with lines like 'this is f***ing AMAZING!' and 'WOOOOOOHOOOOOOO!!!!', haha!

All too soon it was time for my instructor to pull the cord and release the parachute, I just remember seeing the camera man pull his first and then disappear through the clouds before I was yanked upright and we too began a slow descent through the clouds. As we peeked through the clouds and the ground became visible my ears started really hurting, I had to hold my nose and blow several times to re-pressurise them like I'd been told to do. My instructor asked me how I was doing and started loosening a few straps to make to ride to the ground a bit more comfortable. We enjoyed the wonderful views for a while and did a few loopy tricks to impress the spectators before my instructor got me to practise my landing position and then pointed out my family on the ground as they came into view. I gave them a good old wave before we again assumed the landing position and gently made contact with the grass. I immediately wanted to go up again and couldn't wait to go and tell everyone all about it! However, I noticed that my throat had become very dry and sore from the shouting, oops! I saw my uncle land seconds later and he too was ecstatic! 

We collected our certificates, photos and DVD and made our way home, still on a high. It was a fantastic experience and one that I will definitely have to repeat!

Finally, if you fancy watching the video here it is on YouTube!

July Nails- Color Club for BirchBox Wanderlust Collection

There was only one set of nail polishes I wore throughout July and these were the Color Club Wanderlust Collection polishes exclusively from BirchBox. I first heard about these through FleurDeForce and Zoella and as soon as I saw their pictures I knew I had to have them! These were included in the June BirchBox but in case you missed it or want to complete your collection, the set is £10 here. This collection consists of four gorgeous pastel neon shades named Reign in Spain (orange), London Calling (green), Pardon My French (lilac) and Mod in Manhattan (off-white).

 I first wore just two of the shades (Reign in Spain and Pardon My French) and loved them so much that I wanted to try out the others straight after I finished wearing this combo! I was really impressed with how long these lasted without chipping, about 5 days using Seche Vite top coat. The finish was really glossy even without Seche Vite and the photos don't quite capture the intensity of these colours, they're beautiful!

The next time I used these polishes I couldn't resist including every colour! I love how Mod in Manhattan sets off the other 3 colours, I'd love to do some nail art with this as a base and some kind of neon splatter using the other three shades, hmm...

As you can probably tell, I'm a huge fan of these polishes and would definitely be interested to try out more from Color Club in the future.

June Nails

Hi! Sorry it's been a while since my last post, I've been busy with a mixture of dissertation preparations and fundraising activities which hasn't left me much time for blogging recently. I hope to be able to start posting regularly again soon and have a few posts planned, but for now here are my June nails...

First up we have Butter London in Disco Biscuit. I'd had my eye on this for ages after seeing it reviewed by Fleur De Force and finally spent my Boots points on it. A gorgeous pink with a really fine blue glitter running through it and an unusual textured finish. Such a unique shade and one of my new favourites!

Next up is No.7 Stay Perfect polish in Paradise Love, a gorgeous, summery aqua with very fine gold/silver glitter and larger bits of blue glitter through it. For a metallic polish this lasted longer than I expected, very impressed!

Finally, we have the Essie Sleek Stick nail wraps in Love to Love You. Having only used nail wraps once (Minx on my toes, applied in a salon by a pro!) I found these incredibly easy to apply, just peel off the sheet, press onto the nail, fold the ends over and file off the excess (Essie even included a mini emery board!). Their shape and slight stretchy feel meant that the wraps could easily be placed over the nails and flattened down edge to edge meaning no creases or big gaps down the edges, I found the size choice was good and the wraps were plenty long enough to cover my nails. I had only wanted to wear these for one night but they lasted almost a week before they started to look worn and I removed them. I had loads of compliments whilst wearing these (and people trying to read them, haha!) and many thought that I'd had them done in a salon, definitely a bonus! Overall I really liked these and would definitely repurchase them and try out some other designs.