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

I was excited to receive the Christmas catalogue from Superdrug and a taste of whats on offer this year in the form of the Studio Look Book Mini Metallics Eyes set ( £6.99) What I love about a set like this is that is perfect for a make up lover of any age. The eyeshadows are pigmented and are in gorgeous colours, and the eyeliner and mascara are really handy for keeping in your handbag for the Christmas Party Nights. I love the colours on offer in these sets, there is something for everyone, and the adorable magazine style packaging is too cute- I love that they have put full instructions on how to get the look on the inside cover- it really has everything!

The Baked eye shadows are really velvety soft and blend really well. I was so impressed with their pigmentation- these photos are very light swatches so the colour is very buildable. The Shimmer in them is gorgeous- not big chunks of glitter but smooth shimmer that really catches the light. The lightest colour- Soft chiffon that is not quite as visible in this photo makes an incredible highlighter, it gives a wonderful soft focus to the tops of the cheeks and the inner eye- I am in LOVE!

I couldn’t help but get carried away and writing up an imaginary list for Santa, so here are some of my other favourite picks from Superdrug this Christmas:

 I already own the Babyliss Big Hair Styler and Babyliss Curling Wand and I would totally recommend both to anyone looking for an amazing Christmas present- these are absolutely amazing tools that give fantastic salon results. The big hair gives you huge volume, just like having a blow dry at the hairdresser, from the comfort of your own own home! The curling wand is the best I have ever used, it doesn’t have a clamp like many other curlers so the curls it gives are really natural looking and last all day and night. I would love to try out the Wave Envy tool and the Thermo Ceramic Rollers now too, so they are definitely going on my list to Santa!

Other things that are total must haves are the Gosh Primer Set and The Andrea Fullerton Nail Boutique. I have tried out lots of Primers in the past year and the Gosh one is one my favourites, on its own it costs £12.99 so this gift set means you get a gorgeous lip gloss, an eyeshadow trio and an eyeliner for only £14.99.  I love Gosh make up, the quality is amazing so anyone would be lucky to wake up to this on Christmas Morning! Andrea Fullertons Nail Boutique is a must for any nail art fans like me- this set has everything you need for sparkly nails for the sparkliest time of the year!

With all the Christmas goodies on 3 for 2 at Superdrug you can get all your shopping done in a flash and still have money to spare to get yourself a few treats too

Bx

It’s no secret these creams have gone down a storm in the beauty industry, first in East and Southeast Asia and now even here.

These creams are meant to be all things to all ladies, a moisturizer, a sun block and a light foundation all rolled into one. In fact this cream gets rid of a significant portion of the products on our vanity table.

But is it any good?

Well when I was asked to give the latest Garnier BB cream a go by Superdrug I found out.

The product packaging is nifty and pretty and the cream itself smells amazing; light and fresh.

The cream is the colour of foundation and currently there are two available shades; light and medium which is a bit of a shame as it is always nice to have an exact colour match rather than falling into a broad spectrum however Garnier has just begun making these creams and I suspect if they are popular enough and demand is high enough we’ll soon be seeing a various number of shades on the shelves.

I initially began to use the BB cream as a replacement to my usual moisturizer and while I can’t complain about the coverage during the day I can’t say that I noticed the reduction of blemishes, but that may be because I haven’t used the product for long enough. The cream did tend to leave my face feeling dry after a while as I do have skin prone to dryness; I had to “top up” my face with a little of my regular moisturizer from time to time.

However all that being said I do believe that Garnier are onto a good thing. I don’t think I’ll throw out my moisturizer anytime soon but my foundation may have had its day! The cream is perfect to use in the day time for light coverage and the sun block element of the product is a huge plus point.

All in all I’d say BB creams are a welcome addition to our skin care regimes.

B.B  stands for Blemish Balm and are cult products in East and South West Asia.  Originally designed by dermatologists for use in Laser Surgery Patients they are now  raved about because of their amazing combination of skin care healing properites, moisturiser, SPF and tinted foundation base. It is an all in one cream designed to limit the need for lots of other products on the face and provide an even tone for your skin.

So there you go- to sum it all up, BB creams sound like little tubes of magic! Garnier are one of the first companies to jump on the BB Band Wago ( try saying that with your mouth full!) and have brought it to the UK market.

Introducing the Garnier All in One B.B Cream Miracle Skin Perfector! Described as the all in one solution is promises to unify, illuminate, hydrate  and help protect skin with SPF 15.

Available in two shades and retailing at £9.99 I have been putting this cream through its paces.  The formula is creamy and easily applied with your fingers or a flat topped brush, it is not too thick and adds a decent amount of coverage to cover up redness and spots while not making me look cakey or like I am wearing a lot of foundation. The cream does leave you with a gorgeous glowy glow, which is how I prefer the finish but for any one with an incredibly oily skin I am not sure if this product would help.

The problem I have with this particular BB cream is in the shade range.-I have tried out the shade light and on me it is still too dark. Now with BB creams being so blendable this is not as much an issue that with a pure foundation as the colour blends in more, but I am not even the lightest of skinned people so I can see this one being too dark for some people which is a shame as it is great product. It is ok for me in Summer with a very slight tan, but on my winter skin I don’t know if it will work.

Overall if the colours work for you I would definately recommend trying this new cream out. I think it is perfect for summer skin when you dont want to piling lots of products on but still looking for nice even skin with a healthy dewy glow.

Will you be next on the BB Bandwagon?

Bx

PS sorry for the lack of snaps, I haven’t got my camera right now! I will upload some pics very soon!

When I was offered the chance to try out a new Argan Oil hair treatment I jumped at the chance. As someone who dyes there hair quite a lot and doesn’t condition that often I thought it was time I gave it some TLC. I usually shy away from hair treatments due to my hairs ability to go greasy even at the sight of a hair product, but after hearing of the power of Argan Oil I knew this could be something really exciting!

Argan Oil is well known for its medicinal and cosmetic properties, it can be used in many forms such as an intensive night moisturiser, for strengthening broken or weak nails, improve firmness of the skin and in the way I have tried out- for providing hair with a remarkable shine and helping mend split ends.

Sounds magical! But how did it actually perform?

They Say:

Argan Oil treatment is a unique formula based on the long known benefits of the oil from the fruit of the Argan Tree. Argan oil Treatment is enriched with Vitamin E, a natural anti- oxidant. Formulated to nourish and rejuvenate dry and damaged hair. This concentrated oil formula will help smooth frizz giving protection and shine to all hair types while reducing drying time by up to 50%

Before

I Say:

I have been very pleasantly surprised by this oil, I genuinely thought that this product would just make my hair a bit of an oil slick but it has in fact given it a long needed boost. After towel drying my hair I put 3 to 4 drops of this oil on my fingertips and spread it through my hair. I was really impressed at how far these little drops went so you would get a lot of use out of one 100ml bottle. The oil has a lovely clean smell, not too noticeable or overpowering just a subtle fresh  citrus scent that smells ‘expensive’, kind of like something I am used to getting put on my hair in a salon!

After!

My Argan Oil hair!

I then grabbed my hair dryer and gave it my usual rough attack, I was amazed that is really did take less time to dry thanks to this stuff. As a lover of all things volumising I was worried this would just weigh my hair down but it didn’t at all, my hair was left feeling incredibly soft but not coated in anyway. It made my mane feel really manageable and I can run my fingers right through it which I love, I can’t stop touching it! It has definitely made my hair looks noticeably  healthier and the shine I am getting from using it is incredible.

The very scientific hair tossing experiment to show the shine!

So there you have it , I have shown you it works great even on a greasy prone brunette like me, so I can only imagine the magic it would work on curly, frizzy, dry and sun damaged locks- I thoroughly recommend getting some Argan Oil in your life this summer!

Bx

I have used some of 2True’s cosmetics for a long time, you can read my rave review of their cheek tints HERE.  2True offer some superb products for really cheap prices, you can get any 3 things for only a fiver ( or £1.99 each)! So if you have always backed away with experimenting with a smokey eye then this is the perfect way to get the right products to try it out, a new look for pocket money prices!

First I applied a light foundation base, I left my cheeks bare for this one as with such a dramatic eye I wanted to keep the rest of the make up toned down. If you are using a glittery or mineral eyeshadow that might have a little bit of fall out to create your smokey eye then you want to avoid having product end up smudged all over your cheeks! To do  this either leave applying your foundation until last or sweep a little extra loose powder under you eye that you can then brush away it away at the end along with any dark shadow that lands down there!

Key to this look is amazing bold brows so I filled mine out and created more shape with the 2True Eyebrow pencil The way you shape your brows can open up the whole face so it is always worth taking the time to fill in gaps and thicken with a good pencil like this one.

I took the lovely silvery shade from the 2 True eyeshadow duo in shade 3 and swept it right up to my brown bone which gives the eyebrow an excellent highlight- lifting the entire look of the eye.

I then took the Twist and define liner and created a thick black line as close to the eyelids as possible, dont worry about being too neat as you then take a cotton bud and smudge the liner to keep it nice and smoky and as you smudge it onto the eyelid it creates a great dark base for when you apply your darker shadow. To help guide your shadow into the nice winged shape I am recreating here a handy tip is take your opposite arm from the one you are lining with and hold it over your head and pull your eyelid taught, that way drawing your winged shape is much easier as the twist and define liner will glide along the skin.

I then took the gorgeous grey/black glitter shade from the duo and using a fluffy brush I swept it across the lid and started blending it into the crease of my eyelid. The idea here is to build your dark colour in layers that way you can get the shade and shape you are going for. I continued blending the dark shadow out from the eye following the eye liner guide I had already created. I also used a thin brush to apply some of the charcoal shade to my lower lash line, and used the liner on my waterline to give the look the extra edge. You can either really blend the two colours together or only beldn at the edges and have a bigger distinction between the silver and black.

I then dabbed an extra layer of the light silver into the corners of my eyes to give them a lovely highlight and make them sparkle,then I went over the dark eye liner again just for added oooomph.  I finished off  by curling my eyelashes and applying a couple of coats of the Voluptulash Mascara to make my lashes stand out, then a slick of the gorgeous Plumptous Lip Gloss in shade 21 sets the bold eyes off nicely. And there you have it, this whole look really did just take a few minutes, here is me giving my model best to fully recreate the photo we were given….

The eye shadows really pack a punch being so pigmented, the twist and define liner is waterproof so perfect for dancing the night away, the mascara really made my lashes stand out and didn’t give any clumps.  It was the eyebrow pencil that really blew me away, I have tried so many different pencils and powders for filling in my sparse brows and this one is by far one of the best. The colours is an excellent deep brown and doesn’t have any or the red tinge that many do. It is precise and long lasting and just what I was looking for! In all I was really impressed by these products and put together they create a celeb smokey eye with ease.

Bx

To all the Superdrug Insiders:
You have been sent a selection of 2True cosmetics in the post, your challenge is to recreate the below look. Feel free to express your own style and individuality – post deadline 30th March 2011.

 
Superdrug Insider Vacancy!

If you are not a Superdrug Insider feel free to create your own look, we are always looking for new content and with Deafinitely Girly leaving we have a vacancy! So show us what you can do and upload your make-up looks to apply.

With love,

Superdrug

Goodbye Superdrugloves

All good things must come to an end, and for Deafinitely Girly and Superdrug, that end is here.

*sniff

I have had the most wonderful two years writing for this brilliantly funky blog and met some lovely people too – Phoebe and Holly – who are firm favourites on my Twitter feed. As well as introduced my wonderful friend Helen into the mix. I’m sure with her amazing beauty and excellent cake baking skills, she’ll be keeping you lot amused for the time to come.

Naturally, as the time approaches to leave Superdrugloves.com, it’s led me to have a wonderful reminisce about everything I got up to here.

There was the infamous Pimp my Poncho post, where I took to the streets of London with my box of Superdrug ponchos and got 50 people to model them for me… Get a blast from the past HERE.

Then, there was the highlight of winning the competition – my amazing holiday away to Barcelona with London Aunt. Such fun we had walking around this beautiful city, taking in the sites, supping a beer here and there, and enjoying our lavish five-star hotel. It’s posted HERE!

And of course, there was my Pakistan Flood Appeal sale, with the wonderful London Cousins and their friends who gave us their own view of how make-up should be worn. You can read all about it here.

There’s also the fact that for the last two years, I have been better catered for beauty wise than a celeb. I’ve got to try out the latest products for hair, skin and nails. I’ve had a different mascara almost every month and my bathroom shelves are groaning under the weight of all my wonderful products.

It’s been a treat, a time to treasure and a truly great experience and I’m terribly sad to be going…

But go I must, to pastures new. Of course, you will still be able to catch up with my antics on Deafinitelygirly.com – just this morning I super-glued my hand to a glass chopping board in my kitchen – and as you know, my life is anything but dull.

And all that’s left to do is say a massive thank you to the Superdrug peeps, for their wonderful comments, support, products, emails and opportunities they’ve thrown my way.

I hope to see you all again soon one day – come and visit me at my blog won’t you!

Lots of love

DG

xx

Rimmel Say:

The revolutionary formula, complete with a revitalizing mineral complex and moisturising aqua primer, helps to reenergise overworked skin. Feels hydrating all day. No sign of make up fatigue for up to a full 25 hours.

I say:

Pros- The finish is not cakey at all which some medium to high coverage foundations are. It is very much build able to full coverage if needed or a light hand can sheer it out nicely. What I love is it gives a very dewy base that looks incredibly natural- It has an almost waxy feel to it, which is not something I have felt before from a foundation. This made it very easy to blend it and it doesn’t dry to quickly so you have time to get it just right. With its dewiness it doesn’t look too flat on the skin, which I find is a really tell tale sign that you are wearing foundation, this one leaves you looking youthful and natural while still covering any imperfections.

I have been trying it out on some really long days now and can happily say that is lasts the whole time. I have worn it out on a Saturday night and to the gym and still when I go home I can see it is in place. Very impressive for its price range!

Cons- I was delighted that is comes with a pump as I find it is easy to get to the product and you can still be in control of how much comes out,but I am not a huge fan of the glass bottle.  I usually don’t like glass as I can’t just chuck it in my handbag for touch ups but that being said after putting this stuff through its paces I am not sure I would ever need a touch up!

My only real problem is that so far the 25 hour hour foundation does not have a very good colour range. This ivory shade is not one I could give to any of my really pale friends to use, it is just a little too dark, hopefully over time they will work on expanding the range to include lighter and more pink toned shades. Overall however I simply love this foundation, it outperforms many foundations I have used that have been 3 times the price of this £6.99 beauty,   so I definitely recommend picking one up!

Me wearing 25 Hour Foundation on a couple of recent occasions.

The Challenge:

 Now seeing as actually creating an extra hour in the day is not possible, I thought I would do the next best thing and pass on a few handy and simple tips for saving yourself some time, giving you more room in your day to fit in the more ‘fun’ stuff in life. With your foundation staying in place that long thanks to Rimmel, why not get the most out of it!

-H2T’s 5 Steps to a 25 Hour Day-

Plan your day the night before- be organised for what you have coming up and what you might need for it. I even lay out the clothes  I plan on wearing the next day, this way I can get a few more minutes in bed in the morning!

Write more lists- to go alongside being more organised, I find writing lists for myself helps me keep track of all the things that I need to be doing. It helps you prioritize when there are ones with deadlines and group together similar tasks so you can do them simultaneously, making even more ‘me’ time later on!

Limit yourself- If like me you spend a little too long catching up on all the celebrity gossip day to day, limit yourself to how long you spend online doing it. Use the rest of that time to get through all the tasks you need to and If you get through it all you can always go back online and check there has been no big bust ups of hook ups later on.

Shop online- with shops like Superdrug providing everything you could need to buy online,you can order on your lunch break and skip that trip into town- You would only have ended up buying stuff you didn’t need anyway!

Watch tv when you want- With modern technology being it what it is we no longer need to watch a programme when it first goes out. Most channels now have their own catch up player and there is youtube to watch your favourite shows on. So instead of sitting down and being sucked in by the TV only to realise 5 hours has passed, Why not fit your tv watching around the stuff you need to do and not the other way round. You can even then watch it in bed before you go to sleep to unwind at the end of a long day.

I hope some of those can help create a little more time in your day, it is amazing some of the things you can cut down on, and all the new things you can fit in their place. When Rimmel asked us insiders to think about what we would do with a 25th hour in our day, I went over loads of options in my head- sleep for longer, read more, take up a new hobby. But I think the thing  I would love to do with my new hour is volunteering, giving something back to people who need it more than me. If everyone could create a new hour in their day and lend it someone else less priviledged, I think  we could all work together and do something really great!

So there you we have it,a 25th hour thanks to Rimmel’s latest foundation and some time saving tips from me.

Question is…

How will you spend yours?

Bx

Recently, I dabbled in the world of internet dating. Honest opinions? I hated it. I didn’t like the profile requirements, the demands that people made about what they were looking for and the blatant judging of books by their covers – even I was guilty of this.

But it got me thinking… we judge everything by its cover don’t we? The food we buy, the food we eat, the people we talk to, the holidays we take, and of course the cosmetics we choose to slather on our skin – if it looks enticing, we’re much more likely to buy them.

I think it was my profile that let me down on the dating website to be honest. I didn’t really take it seriously, and I think my lack of enthusiasm for the whole thing showed a little more than it should have done. But how do you really know if your compatible for someone just by what you read? How do you know if you’re going to be a good match? You just have to try it and see…

And the same is definitely true when it comes to trying out make-up. So here, I’ve set up the Deafinitely Girly Make-up Dating Agency and here’s what happened when I went on two Maybelline dates – one with Falsies Black Drama Mascara, and one with The Eraser Foundation.

So what’s my profile like? Let’s have a look:

As you can see, what I really want it to be happy with my reflection and for it to be easy to take my make-up off at night – so I don’t want mascara that glues itself to my eyelashes or foundation that turns to cement after application.

So, my first date was with Falsies Black Drama Mascara, and at first glance, I thought it had potential.

I liked the colour of the bottle, shape of the brush and its promises of false lash effect lashes with no gaps!

On our first date, I was very impressed. The brush was relatively clog free, it went on easily and it passed the 1-hour blink test that proves it is contact-lens friendly. What’s more, at the end of the night, it came off with ease, and left me to sleep in peace!!!!

But, it did let me down in the evening, as it appeared to flake off, scattering my cheeks with a fine black veil of dust. It wasn’t a great look, especially as I didn’t notice until halfway through dinner with a friend when I popped to the ladies.

I do however believe in second chances though, so I invited it on a second date. But still, it insisted on flaking out on me. And that was that, it was dumped.

Not one to dwell on failures, I moved on to Maybelline Eraser Foundation.

This promised me a concentrated formula enriched with collagen and goji berries, plus SPF 18 sun protection. Further reading revealed that it goes beyond covering, erasing the look of dark circles fine lines and imperfections for ultimate flawless perfection.

A perfect date? Could such a thing exist?

And you know what ladies? It does!

Seriously, I am in love with this foundation.

Having never believed before that I could achieve that ‘flawless’ look, I was quite nervous about trying it. But the applicator makes it so easy, and it’s gentle enough that you can even use if under your eyes if you’re careful.

While I wouldn’t wear this for everyday, it’s perfect for a night out. It gives you a dewy complexion but with the coverage you’d expect from a heavier matte foundation. It goes on with ease and is easy to blend with your fingertips once you’ve applied the basics with the applicator.

We had a great first date, an amazing second and after the third, we were in a serious relationship.

Even better, right now it’s on offer with other Maybelline products for 3 for 2 at Superdrug.com – so if you team it with your other Maybelline products, you really will have a bargain on your hands.

So, internet dating might not work for me, but make-up dating definitely does. And while my man future might be looking quiet, my future with Maybelline Eraser Foundation is looking very positive indeed!