Haul: Vivo Cosmetics

This is kind of old news to all you fellow beauty bloggers by now... but yes, Tesco have released a beauty range named Vivo - and it's actually pretty darn good! 

I purchased my collection of Vivo goodies the day after the products were launched in September - it's taken an awfully long time to get round to showing them to you. *oops*!!

You can't see it much in these pictures (I stupidly took them after swatching) but the "baked" products almost look similar to the MAC MSF's. They're beautifully pearly, without too much shimmer! 

"Peaches and Cream" Blush: £4.00

"Rosy" Blush: £4.00

"Rouge Shimmer" Blush: £4.00

For some reason I didn't swatch the bronzer. I think it made my hand look totally orange. I'm so pale that it doesn't really look right... 

They also offer some wonderful blush and shadow palettes. The colours are highly pigmented and also have the "mini MSF" look. I would definitely recommend these! 

These retail for around £6.00 each.

I also use a Vivo eyebrow kit at the moment, which I'm beyond impressed with. This will be featured in a future post so I won't duplicate the review. 

Vivo also have foundation, highlighters, lipsticks and individual eyeshadows, blushes and much more in their range - I've not even scraped the surface with this!! 

Have you used any of their "stuff" so far? What do you think?

Review: Lush Ltd. - Honey Lumps

Here's my latest review!

As you're all aware, I'm a HUGE Lush Ltd. fan - this particular ballistic came from my most recent haul... I'm sad to say that I've now ran out and must purchase more - too much spending = broken bank

So what do Lush say?

Drop one of these in the tub and soak your lovely lumps in honey. It's our soothing ballistic for children and our most sensitive customers, so if you've got skin that is easily offended or especially dry, take a soak with a Honey Lumps and it'll sort you out. Crunchy honey dissolves into the warm water to soothe and refresh the skin, while the delectable fragrance of honey and myrrh is released into the air to calm your mind.

What does Katie think?

Packaging: I love Lush's packaging. It's fantastically charming and perfectly eco-friendly. Unfortunately my "pillar of fizz" is now empty - must.buy.more.

Smell: I'm not really a fan of honey in general... this is a personal thing and anything that smells like honey seems extremely potent to me, however - I know it's great for your skin and is extremely moisturising so I try to ignore it! Other people have commented that this smells amazing, it's just me!

Fizzability: As you can tell from the photos - LOTS OF BUBBLES!! It kind of disappears after a while though and it looks like plain empty bath water - weird way of describing it I know - apologies! I never get bored of watching the fizz. I'm such a child!

Relaxiness: Again - relaxing as hell! (I suppose the words "relaxing" and "hell" don't really go together - what's wrong with my adjective pairing today?) - apart from the strange honey smell, it was ace. 

Not as impressed with this as I usually am, but I'm glad I tried it and was still relaxed after using... 

Thumbs up from Cookies and Blush!!!

PS: I wanted to wish my beautiful sisters a happy 18th birthday!!! I can't believe they're both all grown up!!!!!!! Such a proud sister!

Review: Lush Ltd. "The Comforter"

Yep, you guessed it - another Lush review... I'm working my way through the products purchased during my latest visit to the Bath Lush store! There's more to come *yay*

I've been dying to get my hands on this baby for months!!! Unfortunately I've had to resist... until now! Man oh man I was excited about "The Comforter" - and it didn't disappoint! 

Firstly, the comforter smells amazing, like berries and cream, scrummy hey?! They give a hell of a lot of bubble bar for your pennies, I chopped mine into three pieces with a normal kitchen knife (surprisingly easy to do!!). There's more than enough for a long bubble filled bath in each third.Y

What do Lush say?:

"This fruity bubble bar gives the feeling of being hugged by a jolly blackcurrant. When life is getting you down, crumble The Comforter under hot, running water for purple water and creamy bubbles. The warm aroma of cassis absolute is relaxing so relaxing that you'll go to bed feeling happier and the world will seem brighter the next day."

What does Katie think?:

The best product that Lush have to offer.... by far! It looks 100% times more lovely in person that it does on the website... 

I know I say this about most products I try from them, but this truely is a joy and incredible value for money... your bath is guaranteed to be bursting with blackcurrant bubbles!! 

I honestly can't recommend this enough, maybe one day I'll find a bad Lush product?

:) x

Review: Lush Ltd. "Oatifix" Face Food

I'm pretty sure you'll be sick and tired of my Lush Ltd. reviews by now... so I apologise for adding yet another one to my ever growing list!! I just had to write a post dedicated to the decadent Oatifix face mask.... 

After another trip to my local retailer, I returned with a bag filled with goodies and a satiated "Lush" thirst!

My latest haul consisted of the following: 

1. "The comforter" bubble bar - £3.99
2. "Honey Bee" Ballistic - £2.95
3. "Eau Roma Water" Toner Spray - £6.75 (250g)
4. "Breath of Fresh Air" Toner Spray - £3.45 (100g)

5. "Oatifix" face mask - R.R.P £5.25

The team at Bath Lush threw in this face mask for me for FREE - everybody likes a freebie right? Especially when it's from the most fantastic store in the WORLD! Maybe it's because I practically live there... they decided to treat their most loyal customer? Hmmm... 

Moving on... 

Here's what Lush claim: 

"Use Oatifix to clean and soften dry and sensitive skin. You will be delighted to hear that Oatifix smells as tempting as a very posh breakfast. Oats are calming, ground almonds give you an exfoliating scrub, bananas are softning and illipe butter reduces redness. Get the Oatifix you need."

My tools:

The Almighty Oatifix mask! 

Textured body puff

Hair band

What did Katie think?:

One word:   I.N.C.R.E.D.I.B.L.E!!!! 

This is one of the best face masks I've ever used and for a face mask addict like me, that's a big statement. The texture is perfect (even if it does feel a little bit weird... ) and it melts into your skin as you apply it. Some other masks are stodgy and difficult to apply, to be honest this one looks like it would be - but it's lovely! 

You could do with a spatula of some kind to help you plaster your face in the stuff, but the "melting" does make it easier... 

The product smells gorgeous, like a cross between marzipan, oats and sweeties - good enough 

to eat (although I didn't attempt it this time!)

It was easier to remove this time after I acquired a particularly handy textured body puff... 

My face felt fresh and pampered afterwards, I love the feeling of flushed out pores and tightened skin after a good facial! 

I'm yet to try the Cupcake face mask from Lush, I think that'll be my next purchase. It'll be interesting to see how it compares to Oatifix... if it even compares at all! 

Love Love LOVE this one!!! Good going Lush Ltd. 

:) x

Review: Lush Ltd. "Dragon's Egg"

A little while ago I tested out the "Dragon's Egg" ballistic from the wonderful Lush Ltd. I can only apologise for the HORRENDOUS delay in reviewing... to be honest I'd completely forgotten about it until I was trawling through my iPhone images this morning. (Out of boredom) 

Here's what Lush say:

"As you bathe in the whirlpool of vibrant, fiery colour and inhale the refreshing sherbet scent of lemon and bergamot, you'll feel like you're up and away on the back of your own dragon. Citrus oils are known for their invigorating effect on the mind and Dragon's Egg is no exception! Drop one of these baby dragons in the bath for a serious wake-up call on groggy mornings or before evenings out."

And what did Katie think?:

I had previously used half of this ballistic as its HUGE and there's more than enough for multiple 

soaks... I'm sure anyone could manage at least four baths with one of these babies.

Firstly, I find the little pieces of confetti quite strange, when they are immersed in the water they go quite slimy and don't dissolve like the rest of the ballistic. I found myself trying to dodge the little bits of weird stuff throughout my bath! Which isn't easy in a bath full of water, especially when you're body resembles that of Shamu! Water EVERYWHERE! 

Other than that it was truly delightful. There was even a gold bar in the middle which filled my bath with specks of shimmering glitter! Completely shocked me, but it made the ballistic a million times better!

 It was tricky to get rid of the glitter... took me days to make the little gold bits disappear!

As usual, the bath water looked gorgeous and made the bath somewhat fun and even more enjoyable than usual - if that's possible? My skin felt soft once I'd dried myself off and I felt all pretty due to the sparkles! The citrus scent really did invigorate the mind (and soul - haha), it made me more alert and awake which was exactly what I needed at the time... not so good if I'd wanted to hit the sack after though. 

I'm not sure I would purchase this again as it is rather messy, my OCD can't cope with it I'm afraid, however, I would recommend this fiercely to everybody! Go and and try it - it's SCRUMMY!!! 

:) x

Review: Lush Ltd. "Magic Mushroom"

 

I've not posted in so long! I apologise!

Things have been a bit crazy over the last few days especially so unfortunately I've been unable to find time to blog between sleeping, working, shopping and preparing for the new job! ARGH!

I won't go into it all too much, I'd hate to bore you all to tears!

First of all, It's not as bad as it sounds, I promise it's not some kind of narcotic I decided to try out... again it's from the gorgeous 'Lush Cosmetics'.

I purchased the Magic Mushroom bubble bar from Lush Ltd. a few weeks ago, I meant to do a haul post as I ordered a few bits and bobs but I didn't ever get round to it - oops! Now most of the products are used up and a review post will have to suffice!

What does it do?

The 'Magic Mushroom' has two distinct scents. In the red cap, there's the nostalgic fragrance of Lush's Yummy Yummy Yummy shower gel (sniff); and in the white bit, they've used the signature creamy vanilla scent. Together, it blends to give you bubbles that smell like a bowl of fresh strawberries covered in cream.

How do we use it?

After my last Lush bath melt experience... I studied this part closely to avoid another disaster!

Crumble under running warm water as you fill the tub. The amount you need to use will vary but this bar usually yields one or two baths. The stronger your water pressure, the more bubbles you will make. To get the most out of your bubble bars, keep them in a cool, dry place.

So... do I feel that this product was worth the [almost] £5.00 spent? Yes... I actually LOVE this!

I was a little dissapointed that it didn't really smell like strawberries and cream, afterall it is my favourite smell!! It contained a flowery scent and wasn't remotely like strawberries... or cream! Anyway - that doesn't really matter, the smell actually seemed to relax me and was almost lavendar-ish... [another made up word to add to the collection!]

There wasn't a great deal of bubbles, but more than enough for me! I tend to freak out a little if the bath is over flowing with bubbles... I like to be able to see the taps at the other end of the bath so that I can add more water if I need to! I've mastered the art of turning taps on and off with my feet!

These bubbles are special bubbles though, they were very fine and were all shiny and lovely! I do love a shiny bubble!!

And it made the bath water bright pink - Bonus!!!!

Overall, I'm impressed [as usual] and I'll definately be buying this baby again - in fact - I might just order one now!!!!

:) x

Review: Lush Ltd. "Happy Blooming"

Tonight's bath was a bit of a disaster...

I think it takes a lot of skill [or not, as the case may be] to completely bugger up bath time -- but somehow I've managed it today! What a moron!

After looking at the "Happy Blooming" bath melt on lush.co.uk for some time, I thought I'd order this along with the rest of my haul and to be perfectly honest, I wasn't really sure what to do with it! Epic FAIL on the bath front, considering I'm supposed to be a bath 'pro' too... this is an awful predicament!

Anyway... moving on... here it is! The 'Happy Blooming' bath melt:

 

Lush say:

The happy, mouth-watering, fruity fragrance is down to Simon's 'Cherry Chops', named in honour of beautiful cherry blossoms. You get three baths out of each one ? just snap off one segment per soak and its blend of calamine, ylang and cocoa butter will leave your skin silky and non-greasy. We think it's blooming marvelous, and we're sure you will too.

My first mistake was to put the melt in the water AFTER the tub had filled... which turned out to be the complete opposite of what you were supposed to do... needless to say - it didn't do the melting bit!

Here's the actual instructions:

Drop half or a whole bath melt into the tub as it fills with warm water. When the tub is full, get in and let the natural oils soften and moisturize your skin.

Oops - Never mind!!! I only used a third of the melt but if you'd like an intense soak you might as well chuck the whole thing in there!

I did enjoy my bath... but unfortunately the bath melt was a little too oily for me and left a kind of residue on my skin. It's not all bad - I smell YUMMY now!

:) x

Reviews: Various Bits and Bobs from Lush Ltd.

I've not reviewed any products properly for a while and after a recent 'Lush' haul I thought I'd post a couple of paragraphs!

My selected products arrived on Monday after a total nightmare with the ordering system and late delivery! Not to mention the fact that their website had been hacked!!!!!

I placed my order on Thursday, only to receive an email that evening saying that my card details may have been "compromised", the site was hacked on 24th of October and they've waited until mid January to notify their customers, hundreds of people could have been affected. I'm sure you've all heard about this by now so I won't harp on about it... 'tis a little scary though!

Anyway, I'm still a loyal customer and will continue to shop with Lush, maybe not on the website from now on though hey?!

Firstly, I received the "Avobath" bomb for free with the rest of my delivery. The lovely people at Lush threw it in to "cheer me up" - it was a lovely gesture and as I'm a huge fan of their bath bombs, it really did brighten up my day!

This is what they say about the "Avobath" bomb:

Stimulate your senses with the essential oils of lemongrass and bergamot. Freshly squished avocados are stirred into every batch along with scoops of olive oil to moisturize and nourish your skin, leaving you soft and smooth. Happy skin and a happy disposition all in one best selling bath bomb! If you need a winter-moisturizing treat on a dark drizzly day or a cool refreshing bath in the heat, Avobath!

Here's how it went:

Now... this particular bath bomb contains just enough fizz and loveliness for one bath so there's no need to split it. I know the bath looks all murky and dirty, but I promise this wasn't because of me! This isn't my favourite ballistic but it did, however, have tiny little flecks of glitter in it and made my skin look all shiny when I was done! My legs had a lovely "sheen" to them - this would be PERFECT for a pre-party bath!

It smelt incredible and although there weren't any bubbly bits [which I normally can't live without!!!] - it did everything a pure and relaxing bath should do! I felt moisturised and pampered! YAY!!!

I even used one of my other products whilst in my "Avobath"...

"Cosmetic Warrior" is the first ever face mask I've purchased from Lush. I suffer from dry patches on my forehead and cheeks so I make sure any facial products used are at least lightly moisturising, Cosmetic Warrior sounded like it would be perfect for me!

Here's what 'Lush' claim: "A superhero face mask to combat spots, cleanse dirt and calm and soothe all troubled skins."

A little pricey at £5.75... you only get a tiny little pot, but it really is quality stuff and could easily be used three times. I love the fact that you have to "keep it chilled" because it's so fresh! Some ingredients include, garlic and crushed grapes. There was even a little label on the bottom to tell you who prepared your mask and when it should be used by - Thank you "Katrina" from Lush, my mask was lovely!

This mask is extremely thick and I actually found it quite difficult to apply... I looked an absolute idiot after I'd applied it but it really felt like it was working as soon as it was on my skin.

A lovely lumpy treat for my face! I'm no good at describing smells... but if anybody has used any of the "hemp" range from the Body Shop, this is exactly what it smelt like... but with a little more citrus in there somewhere!

It was an absolute NIGHTMARE to get off once I was done! Short of putting my head under water and waiting for 10 minutes for it to dissolve [which clearly would NOT have been a good idea for someone who can hold her breath for a whole 3 seconds] I was unsure what to do! I suppose I could have made it easier for myself by using a flannel to remove it but I always do things the hard way!!!

Overall - I thoroughly enjoyed my bath and these products have totally made up for the inconvenience caused by 'HackerGate' - Quality as ever Lush! Thank you very much!!!!!  

:) x

Review: Lush Ltd. Mrs Whippy



[Lush image]



A few days ago I enjoyed yet another bath... this time with the "Mrs Whippy" ballistic from 'Lush'. I've had so many baths lately, I genuinely think I'm addicted to hot water and bubbles -- I suppose it could be worse.

When the ballistic arrived, it didn't look exactly like the image on the 'Lush' website, many of the little pink bits had fallen from the top there weren't any "swirls" left in it. It smelt amazing though, and because they'd put the bath bomb into one of their recyclable bags, you could salvage the little pink "hundred and thousand" type things by emptying the bag into the water...

This ballistic is pretty special, there is soya milk in the middle, so the water becomes extra softened when the ballistic fizzes down to the centre.

It's a milk bath like Cleopatra used to have, and it's great for soothing skin after intense sunshine. Mrs. Whippy fizzes slowly, giving you a long-lasting soak and smooth skin. Although I haven't spent any time in any kind of sun recently... especially not "intense" sunshine.. I found that this ballistic still soothed my wind chapped skin [ew].

I should really have split the bath bomb rather than using the whole thing. It was fizzing for AGES and gave more than enough bubbles and milky - watery joy when it was half done! To be honest I was so tired and achy, I couldn't really be bothered to split it... still... a lesson for next time!

I still think the "Cinders" bath bomb that I reviewed recently is better, but this was well worth the money and I'll definatley buy this again -- another 'Lush' success!!!



[Missing it's 'pink' bits]

[Possibly the prettiest bath water ever!!]

 :) x

Review: Nailene Dreams

After seeing a post from the lovely Laura at 'The Beauty Sanctum' (click here to view post) I decided to try the Nailene 'Active Square' false nails.

I actually paid just £6.00 for 200 full nail covers from Asda - the bargain of the century right?!

I've never been very good at painting my own nails, I can do my left hand perfectly, yet when it comes to using said hand to paint my the nails on my right hand, it all falls to pieces! A total disaster!!!

I decided to paint these nails with an Avon polish, being an Avon representative I'm lucky enough to be able to get their products for a fraction of the brochure price and I truly believe that they are fantastic quality... here's how I did it!



[kit]



I used:Avon Nail Laquer - Midnight Plum

Avon Nail Laquer - Clear

Avon Nail Experts Liquid Freeze

Nailene Active Square nail covers x 200

 Firstly, Measure each nail and file to size using the file included.

Next, press a small blob of tack onto the back of the nail and stick a cotton bud to it, this will enable you to paint the nails first so that you don't smudge whilst they're drying

Thirdly, paint the nails with a thick layer of your chosen nail laquer, i wanted to achieve a dark plum finish with this particular polish so I applied two thick coats

Repeat this for all ten nails and leave on a sheet of kitchen towel to dry.

I left these overnight. Most nail varnishes take at least 4 hours to dry to the touch and another 4 hours to become resistant to knocks and smudges. If I'd put these on straight away and painted it would have been carnage! I can't seem to keep still once I've painted my nails and they develop dents all over the place!

I used a clear top coat and a spritz of Avon's "freeze" spray. This helps to dry nails (to the touch) within 30 seconds. It does work, but the nail will still be succeptable to dents and smudges for the usual drying time.

When dry, get sticking!!!!

When using the Nailene glue, you only need to put a few drops onto the middle third of the nail, press this onto your own nail (make sure they're straight!) and wait a few seconds -- the Nailene glue is fantastic and takes just 3 seconds to dry.... it is, however, harsh on the skin and does stick your fingers together (unfortunately this happened to me a few times) be careful to avoid and excess glue that appears from under the nail whilst sticking and try to avoid getting any glue on the polished nail.. unfortunately this dries "matte" on the nail so you will need to re-apply the polish to get that sheen back.

Voila! You're done!

Overall, considering I had a few mishaps with my first attempt, my nails didn't look too bad once finished and I've already had lots of comments on them. One person was so determined that they were professional I had to show her my kit!

[Excuse the terrible photography]



I would recommend these to anyone! I've now been wearing them for four days and not one has even lifted!

Very impressed!!!

:) x