First off I am a big fan of the fact this comes in an easy to carry (and travel with) 50ml tube, hygienic, practical and fresh looking makes it a winner on the packaging front. I love that with the tube you can be in control of how much you are getting out, and the click close lid is properly sturdy so there should be no mishaps in your make up bags.

When blended in it gives a gorgeous golden shimmer glow- without gathering in my crater pores, as you can see from the snap it does have a really golden shine which you can mix down with some moisturiser like I do for day time, or wear on its own under your base for a night time look. I have been using it for a while now and am really happy with the finish, It absorbs into the skin quickly and doesn’t feel overly greasy whilst still giving that golden glow I like. I think this is going to be great for summer time as you could easily wear this alone on tanned skin to get that healthy look, and it would also look fab on the collar bones, or up the front of bare legs to make them look longer. Right now for winter is definitely doing to job of perking up my dull looking skin, those light reflecting particles are amazing.

I am in love with it because it also has SPF 15 in it, which is something I like to look for. I haven’t experienced any flash back while wearing it for photos which is a must know for beauty bloggers Overall I am thrilled with this little find, a totally inexpensive but versatile product that performs well.

I really want to try the Vitamin E face oil next, I have heard some excellent things about it! I noticed on Superdrugs Website today that it is 2 for £3.99 on the Vitamin E range so now might be the time to try it out.

Bx

Being the lovely company they are they didn’t leave me bereft but sent me a bunch of make up to help me along.

The first goodie in my envelope was the MUA Matte Foundation in Shade 2 Honeycomb which went perfectly with my skin tone and ladies you may need to sit down when I tell you the price…£2!

The foundation went on well, gave very good coverage and a little of it went a long way. I always advise girls to stick to their tried and tested foundation as it is the one piece of make up I don’t like to mess with; one mistake and we get break out central. However the super duper cheap price and the good results from MUA means it’s worth giving it a try and finding out whether or not the foundation is for you.

Then for the eyes, I used a blue eye shadow from a pre existing palette I own. It’s nothing special and to be honest any other base colour would have done just as well. The thing that really set it apart was the 2 True Eyeshadow Dazzlers (£1.99) which I applied liberally to give me a sparkle-tastic effect on the lids.

I then popped on some NYC natural eyelashes (£1.99). I don’t like wearing the whole shebang when it comes to lashes and just cut a little portion of the lash and apply to the outer part of my eyelid. I find this gives a much more natural final look.

And then finally I applied the Collection 2000 Hot Looks Polish in Lemon Soda (£1.79) for a brilliant yellow nail look. The polish was rather hard to apply, a little bit streaky but after some patience and three or four coats later I was rewarded with a fab pop of colour.

And finally I finished off the lips with a bit of vaseline and a maroon lip liner I had in my bag; again any lip liner/ stick or gloss would have done.

And so there you have it, my high fashion look for the grand total of £7.77!

They have challenged us to use products adding up to under £10 to give our interpretation of this photo…

So much more colour than I would usually wear, but that is what I want to be better at in 2012, experimenting more with looks, trying out new things and discovering new favourite products. And what better way to experiment with products as affordable as these! For my look I have chosen to use three 2true products which are a very pocket friendly 3 products for £5, a Collection 2000 Hot look nail polish and a bargain-tastic MUA eye shadow and foundation.

The Collection 2000 nail polish in shade 45 Lemon Soda is not something I would ever normally wear, but I am so glad I tried it out! The formulation was superb, it was opaque for me in two coats, I loved the brush on it for even application and it dried incredibly quickly. As for the colour, I Loved it! It really brightens up my nails and puts a smile on my face in the dreary winter. I can’t wait to try out more of the bright colours in the range, For £1.79 it won’t break the bank!

The 2True 3 for a fiver range is great value, I have used lots of their products now,and am always impressed with how well they perform. When thinking of putting a look together for under £10, this is the perfect range to do it with. I chose to use the Eye Dazzle in shade 13 which had great pigmentation, a real shimmery lilac shade that made my eyes looked instantly brighter and fresh. I used the 2True Effortless eyeliner in Black to help enhance the winged look, the nib on the applicator helps create a really smooth line that lasts. The last 2True product I chose was the cheek and lip tint in shade 2 Blush Pink I used this to add a subtle, healthy glow to the cheeks and also to add a hint of natural colour to the lips. I have used this cheek tint for years and find it outperforms some far more expensive competitors, I just use my finger to apply and blend and it lasts all day.

Make Up Academy (MUA)  is another range I now use regularly, with  amazing products for only £1 it is not to be missed. I chose one of my favourite eye shadows from the range (no 9) to recreate the big winged look from the picture. Pulling my eye taught, I used a damp thin eyeliner brush to created the shape and then filled in the colour from there. I love this shade as it shines different colours in the light with puirple and bluish tones to it is really eye-catching. The newest MUA product to come in to my life is the Professional Matte Foundation in shade 2 Honeycomb which is what I used to create my base, for only £2 I was apprehensive to how this would perform but I was pleasantly surprised. It is rare to get any foundation for that price, never mind a nice velvety matte one that gives such a smooth looking base! I found I did need to move fast with it to blend it out as it has a very creamy texture, but it was worth it for the finished result. I love how it looked and it lasted all day.

So here it is all together- TA DA!

There are so many affordable products in Superdrug right now, that there was lots of choice for making up my £10, other things you could use to recreate this fab look is an amazing set of falsies like these NYC ones, costing only £1.99 these are wonderful value, show stopping volume and glamour, in a range of styles. I am USELESS at applying false lashes normally but these one are self adhesive which makes them so easy to apply. The other thing I almost used was one of these gorgeous BeautyUK glitter eyeliners, that paired with the falsies could make this a really gorgeous night-time eye, the glitter goes on easily, really pops and doesn’t flake, well worth the £1.50 you can pick up some of the shades for right now.

I hope there has been some inspiration in there for everyone, you could go for any colours/combinations you want- and because you can get your new year new look in store now for under £10, there is no excuse

Bx

If you’re looking for a whole new you with a new face of make up, then this is for you. You can get a fierce face of make-up for under £10! Everything considered.
Superdrug sent me the basics and challenged me to recreate this look…

The very first step was the nails. I used Collection 2000 Hot Looks, in number 45, Lemon Soda. Yellow nail polish is notoriously hard to apply. It’s generally quite chalky and no matter how many coats, will still have streaks. This took me three coats (which is one more than I usually go for!), but I love the finish. Not a streak in sight!

I started my face with the MUA Matte Foundation, needless to say a full review will be coming soon. But, you don’t even need concealer with this, which I never thought I’d be saying, but the coverage is that good! I just used my fingers to melt it into the skin.

Next up was the main feature, the eyes. The 2True products are great for make up on a budget as all the products are £2, with three for £5 year round.
I dabbed on the Eyeshadow Dazzler all over the lid and used sticky tape lined up with the edge of the eye for a defined wing. This colour really needs building up to get to the pigmentation in the pot, although it is a lot more vibrant in real life than on camera.
To deepen the edge of the wing I added the black from another 2True duo – featured here – along the edge and blended it out with a pencil brush. I recreated the look a second time and used the purple from the original Sleek palette (54p a shadow!) as well, which I think worked a lot better.

The last touch for the eyes was the falsies. I’ve become so obsessed with false lashes recently I was so glad to receive a couple of the NYC ones. I used the number 973 ones, with my own Eyelure glue, as it wasn’t included. I would never say I was a pro at putting on falsies, but I eventually get them down. No matter how hard I tried the inner corner of these just wouldn’t stay put! I usually go for something a bit thinner, so maybe it was the thickness that my eyes weren’t used to!

Last but not least I glossed my lips with the 2True Plumptuous Lip Gloss and ta da!

My look for less!

MUA Matte Foundation £2

2True Eyeshadow Dazzler £1.99

NYC Eyelashes £1.99

Sleek purple 54p (£6.49)

Collection 2000 Hot Looks Nail Polish £1.79

2True Plumptuous Lip Gloss £1.99

Total = £8.32!

 The colours I was sent are absolutely perfect for me, and most of these have actually already made it in to my day-to-day routine.  The colour of this blush and lipstick are the perfect pairing and have been perfect for living up my dull winter skin. What I love about this Blush in shade 43 Flower Power is the fact it is matte, which is hard to come by in a high street brand. For day-to-day wear I find a matte blusher is really good for creating a really natural winter flush, that is subtle but can be built up. You get a huge amount of product for the price and I love the packaging as it is really handy for just dipping your brush onto.

The lipstick in shade 150 Kitten Pink  is incredible, I love the colour pay off and the formula is really creamy, moisturising and best of all long lasting. I am only just starting to experiment with colour on my lips and this has made it much easier, it is not too in your face but looks great with some black liner and mascara, perfect from going to work to out.

This is my first experience of a Gosh nail varnish and the shade Splish Splash (12) is really lovely. It is not the kind of colour i would have necessarily picked myself but I am so glad I have tried it, it looks great with so many of my clothes! This is only after one v quick coat, but it looks nice, even and opaque in 2 coats. It dries quickly which is always what I want in a nail varnish, and what I love is how easy it is to remove. With bold colours I always think it is going to be a nightmare to get them off and they will stain my nails but this was so easy! I am looking forward to trying more of their colours.

Lipstick??

Last but by no means least is this incredibly Smokey Eyes Pallette in shade 2  Browns. I am in love with this, and have used it every day since I got it- it is the perfect thing to carry with you to create a really subtle day to day look, or layer up for beautiful smokey brown colour. I love the size of it, as it is quite flat which is perfect for any bag and the fact it comes with a little advice diagram showing where to use each colour is a fantastic idea. Most importantly the colour from the shadow is really lovely. At first glance I thought they looked like matte shades but on closer inspection they have a very tiny amount of shimmer in them which just gives a little boost to brightening up my eyes. I have experimented with just using two shades and all four together and I am really impressed with the results. This is possibly my favourite beauty find in 2011!

Happy New Year everyone, I hope you all had a lovely festive season.

Bx

The first thing that caught my eye was this gorgeous volumising mascara-the packaging is right up my street! The tube feels really expensive and looks amazing sitting out on my make up counter, and for only £5 I am blown away by it. The brush is slightly larger but not huge which I love as it means it doesnt spread all over your eyelid, and it is tapered at the edges which makes it so much easier for getting all the little lashes that are hard to get at. I was really impressed with how this makes my lashes look, lengthened and well seperated with much more volume. I have found it the perfect mascara to keep in my bag and add another coat at night time to take me from work to the bar, looks gorgeous in my make up bag and gives me deep dark fluttery lashes. Hurrah!

 This was my first time using an Accessorize Icon eyeshadow and as I have come to expect with the brand, it really performs. It is silky smooth to touch, applies like a dream and the colour pay off is fab. I tried the colour silver dove and it is such a handy shade, it looks good on its on, matched with a darker shade in the crease and even as a great under brow bone highlight. I have ended up using it in so many different make up looks!

Along side I tried out  a beautiful eyeliner in the shade gilt green which looks really nice with my brown eyes. it is not a shade I wear very often but at the price it means you can afford to experiment with new shades and find something new to wear. It goes on really smoothly and doesn’t drag the eye lid at all- the colour is gorgeous, it has a little gold in it when you see it in the light, and I love that it comes with a smudge brush attached! For only £4 for an eyeshadow and £3 for the eye pencils they are fantastic bargains.

The last thing I have been playing around with and loving (and not just because it looks so nice!) is the Bronzing Block. I am such a sucker for animal print so I was in love with the colours, but luckily it looks just as good applied too and has been perfect for giving my dull winter skin a bit of colour! I found the brush wasnt too much use because of the shape of the box, so I have been using a big fluffy powder brush instead.

Over all I am still having a love affair with Accessorize, their products have just continued to impress and I can’t recommend trying them enough. The gorgeous packaging mean they would make wonderful presents too!

Bx

I watched a film the other night, called The Prince and The Showgirl, in which an older woman tells an already unfairly beautiful Marilyn Monroe to wear more make-up. She says something like, “She should use more mascara. When one is young, one should use a lot of mascara. When one is older, one should use much more”, and then tells her to also wear more rouge.

Marilyn Monroe in The Prince and The Showgirl

It may sound odd, but I was really pleased by this! Even though famous people, models and magazines are plastered with make-up, I feel like its still seen as a bit bad, and vain, to wear a lot of make-up every day. When I was in college I think I was almost the only girl who wore a full face of make-up, and even now people say to me “ohh you shouldn’t wear foundation (not in an oh-my-skin-is-so-fabulous-way-haha) it’s bad for your skin”- and one girl in work even calls me her ‘lipstick twin’ because we are the only ones who wear lipstick everyday! 

I have probably ranted about this before in a previous blog- but it annoys me so much when people think you are bad for wearing lots of make-up. They think you’re damaging your skin, covering up or look too over the top! Fair enough if you are a natural Snow White with blemish free skin and lips red as a rose. But if you’re more like me- who doesn’t even look like a fully formed human being without the whole hog- A LOT of mascara, eyeliner and tons of foundation- then you probably find this view infuriating too! And you also probably find someone having the nerve to tell Marilyn Monroe (even to dare to write it in a script!) to wear more make-up a bit of a relief.

My argument is that make-up IS GOOD FOR YOU! It not only makes me feel better, and so much more confident and happier with how I look, but I also believe that make-up being bad for your skin is a huge myth! This is where we finally get to L’Oreal’s Paris Studio Secrets Universal Lip Glow.

The 'Lip Glow'

This is a lipstick with a difference- IT IS GOOD FOR YOU! It acts as a lip balm to moisturise and nourish your lips whilst also giving you a unique colour to suit your skin tone. I was worried it was going to be lacklustre and ‘barely there’, like a coloured lip balm- but it has given me several really nice varying shades of pink.

It gave me a really nice, bright pink!

Just using this product also made me feel good because of its delicious smell and its appearance reminded me of my childhood- its translucent look made me think of these-

Ring pop!

and a lipstick that makes you look good, feel good, smell good, remember good memories and is actually good for your skin….well, L’Oreal are on to a winner! I was also really pleased to see recently that L’Oreal are looking for ways to eliminate animal testing- so hopefully one day soon their products will be good for animals too (at the moment their finished products are not tested on animals, but this does not mean the products they use haven’t been.)

So, there you go, wear as much foundation, mascara, blusher and lipstick as makes you happy- because being happy is what is important! And looking beautiful makes you happy : )

This brilliant product is available at Superdrug for £8.49.

Rosanna xxx

Retailing at around the £4.99 mark most people have no idea of precisely the level of quality they will get. Not only do they go on smoothly and require very little coats for a brilliant colour, they are quick drying and last an incredibly long time as well as being very chip resistant. After applying a coat of GOSH nail polish I can clean the house from top to bottom and still be pretty confident that my nails will look as pretty as ever.

GOSH have released a special edition range and lovely Superdrug sent me four colours to try out; 009 Bright Idea (an ivory white), 011 Boot Camp (between a bronze and gold colour), 010 Prima Donna (a vibrant orange) and 012 Splish Splash (a pretty green).

Being already favourably predisposed to GOSH nail lacquers I wasn’t disappointed. They performed just as well as all the other polishes I have used from GOSH and the colours are a nice edition to the range, my favourites being the ivory white and green ones.

I think if anyone likes nail polish but doesn’t want to blow the budget then GOSH is definitely the way to go.

And I can tell you right now they lived up to the promise.

The lashes I got came in a range of varying degrees of funkiness; the club queen lashes (£2.99) were made fit for a drag queen, the diamond diva lashes (£2.99)  guaranteed extra sparkle and the NY blues lashes (£2.99) combined length and drama although remaining rather more subtle compared to the former two.

As a general rule I like my false lashes to look very demure however during the Christmas party season it is great to go all out and when wearing these babies I knew I stood out from the crowd.

The lashes go on easily, the glue attaches them securely and there is no fear of them falling off half way through the night. They are good quality and I definitely recommend them; in fact in the new year I’ll probably stock up on the more natural looking ones which at £1.99 a pop are a real bargain!

Now onto the lip stains (£3.99) which were fab! Having tried lip stains before I was really a bit dubious about the need for them. However having tried these I’ve changed my mind; not only are they fun to use but they give a great colour.

Opening it up you discover a felt tip point so all you have to do is colour in your lips. The stain feels rather watery and takes a bit of getting used to after years of using thick sticky glosses. The product settles into the lips and gives a colour which seems almost part of your lip. I liked the effect so much that I have used the stain to replace my blush on more than one occasion as it gives the cheeks a very nice, natural looking flush. Another plus point is how long lasting it is, they promise 16 hours and you get pretty much that unless you decide to indulge in ice cream or a bout of vigorous kissing

As you can probably tell, I’m a fan and totally understand the buzz about NYC; quality products and reasonable prices….happy days!

Tower of London Ice Rink

I got in the festive spirit this evening and joined the Superdrug team at Tower of London ice rink where I got to skate, view the exclusive Superdrug winter skincare range, drink mulled wine and mingle with other beauty bloggers!

The Tower of London, one of the most iconic landmarks in London, is the perfect location for an ice rink and I got to take in the scenes of the Tower and sip on one of  my favourite Christmas treats – mulled wine!

Me and bloggers PinkSweetsz (l) and London Beauty Queen (m)

If you are looking for Christmas present ideas or simply beauty and skincare products to get you through this winter then here are a few of my favourites from Superdrug…

Totally Lush Collection

There is nothing I love better than snuggling with a hot water bottle and a cup of cocoa on a cold Winter’s night so Superdrug’s Totally Lush collection is right up my street! The collection comes with a matching mug and cosy socks too. Perfect for those cold nights in!

Studio Lash Set

Halloween, Bonfire night, Christmas parties and New Year’s Eve, this is definitely the season to party! False lashes are a cheap and easy way to instantly glam up a look for a night out.  I love the Studio London false lash collection, see my previous post on their nail set, which offer four different lashes in their set. Go for “winged” lashes for fancy dress, “intense” lashes for a night out, “super intense” lashes if you want to stand out from the crowd or if you prefer a less dramatic look opt for the “natural” lashes instead.