Get 29% off at www.axparis.co.uk

Applies now to all clothes online at www.axparis.co.uk

From now and all of tomorrow (the 29th)

Enter code Leap29 at the checkout

Happy shopping, and tell me if you ordered something!  

How to get beachy hair with www.icelolly.com

Today http://www.icelolly.com/ have very kindly given me a forum for a guest post in their holiday beauty section, and what better to talk about than how to get sexy beachy waves in your hair with minimum effort, and how to make your own salt spray.

Here is the link http://www.icelolly.com/hair-and-beauty you just need to scroll down a bit and there I am!  I would be ever so grateful if you leave me a comment, let me know if you like the secret tip of what to scrunch your hair with!

Kimberley Walsh and Elegant Touch

 

In a move that I have to say, does seem a bit random, Kimberley Walsh has launched a new body care range in collaboration with Elegant Touch.

 

The products have been designed to prep, moisturise and nourish, whilst giving your skin a subtle, sexy shimmer or naturally healthy glow and Kimberley was quoted as saying “I am absolutely delighted to launch my own body care range. I have always believed that the secret to looking and feeling good is to look after your body and give your skin the attention it deserves.  All the products in my range will help you achieve this whilst leaving you smelling and feeling fabulous too. I am so excited about the collection and hope you love it as much as I do!”  

 

The line contains four products which are coconut fragranced:

• Luxurious Body Lotion, £8.95
• Illuminating Body Butter, £7.95
• Nourishing Body Scrub, £7.95
• Fragranced Shimmering Body Oil, £9.95 

The range will be exclusively in Superdrug stores nationwide from February 2012, rolling out to additional stockists from May 2012. See more on www.eleganttouch.co.uk

 

I think I might pick up one or two of the products and see what they are like, my first impression was just that it seemed a bit of a bizarre collaboration, in that I wouldn't say she is particularly known for her body?  Not that she has a bad body! Just that I have never heard anyone talk about it particularly whereas when Elle had that 'The Body' range for Boots that kind of made sense as she was known as 'The Body'.  I also think the packaging seems quite blah and the price point higher than I would have expected.  Not to be deterred I would quite like to see if they are worth the money or not.  Off to Superdrug at lunchtime it seems!

 

Have you tried any of these products?  What are they like? 

YSL Faux Cils for £17 with BuyaPowa!

I was very kindly asked to pick my favourite product to be one of the Bloggers Week picks on the website Buyapowa.   I picked YSL Faux Cils mascara which has an RRP of £23 and if you join the co buy you can get it for £17 today! Here is the link http://www.buyapowa.com/deal/402

In case you have never heard of Buyapowa please read the info below and please do take advantage of this fab deal you have 47 hours from now!

How do they source their products?

Buyapowa can bring you these fab deals by buying in bulk to save you money! Just like shops like TK Maxx they buy directly from the brands themselves where possible but where that's not possible then the same thing from authorised distributors so you get the best deal.

What is a co-buy?

Co-buying is a new form of shopping which brings shoppers together into a single transaction, so that you can benefit from the sort of discounts which have until now only been available to retailers buying in bulk.

A co-buy is the mechanism we use to group buyers together in order to drive the price down. Each co-buy features a limited number of a particular product and is open for only a few hours. The co-buy closes after all the products sell out, or after the time runs out - whichever comes first. As more people join the co-buy the price comes down.

How long will a co-buy last?

The longest a co-buy will last is 99 hours though they will vary depending on how quickly an item sells out.

How many co-buys run at any one time?

There are usually 3-4 co-buys running at any one time. These deals aren’t easy to find so we ration ourselves. A new co-buy will pop up after the current co-buy sells out. Follow us on Twitter and we’ll let you know when that happens.

What is the current price?

This is the price that you would pay if nobody else joins the co-buy.

What is the best price?

This is the best possible price that the co-buy could close at, and is achieved after 75% buyers have entered the co-buy.

How do I join a co-buy?

Just click the big ‘JOIN NOW’ button on the co-buy page. Joining is incredibly easy and you can even speed things up by connecting via Facebook. You can also hide your name (and picture, if you’ve connected via Facebook) on our co-buy leaderboard (see below) by clicking the ‘Please don't include my details on the Leaderboard’ box on the Personal Details section of the checkout.

What should I do after I join a co-buy?

Don’t just keep your fingers crossed that the price will fall. Go out and tell people. Use our email, Facebook and Twitter buttons to spread the word. Remember that the more people you bring in, the greater the chance of getting your product for free

What are the incentives for people to share co-buys with their friends?

As more people join, the price comes down, so everyone benefits from sharing co-buys with their friends to help find more buyers. As an added bonus, the person who brings the most other people into the co-buy receives their product for free.

If you get a chance tweet me @sarahloolaa and let me know if you bought it!

Please note that I do not earn money or anything from this, I just wanted to get involved because I thought it was a fun way for people to save money on a YSL product.

My Birthday Giveaway - Mac

You may or may not know it's my Birthday next Saturday (I will be 27... sad face) anyway as I am a bit obsessed with bright lipstick I ordered my favourite two Mac lipsticks and I  thought I would do a giveaway, I also added a mini fix plus to the cart as I thought it was so cute and good for your handbag or gym bag to freshen up. One lucky reader will win the items in the below picture with an added surprise.

Rules

You must be a follower of my blog, either through GFC or bloglovin' as i would love this prize to go to a reader

It is open internationally, so anyone in the world can enter! 

Leave a comment below and your email/twitter address/some other way to contact you - so i can contact you if you win.

Giveaway ends 1 week from today, so  Sunday 4th March 2012.

Good luck! 

♥

Real Steel?

Yes I actually watched the film Real Steel yesterday haha! It's about fighting robots...but...damn how HOTTT does Hugh Jackman look??? I think I need a cold shower.

New, but not improved

I do sometimes wonder if anyone else shares my thought about 'new and improved' items.  Half the time I think hey..whyyyy it didn't need improving!  The new product also never seems to actually have improved, quite the contrary it usually goes from being a great item to being totally crap and you never purchase it again, yet it says it's new and improved.

The case in point today is Nail Rock's Nail Wraps.  I have used these plenty of times in the past, not the new improved heat-free version but the old-not improved version that meant you needed to use a heat source to apply them.

I use Minx nail designs on my beauty therapy clients and they love it, Minx is most definitely heated with a heat source (my Minx mobile lamp) before application to gain better adhesion, smooth any creases and ensure a perfect fit as the wraps are slightly stretchy when warm.  The Nail Rock wraps used to work under a similar premise but were for home use, so I could recommend them to my clients to buy themselves.

The 'improved' version of the Nail Rock wraps arrived in the post with lots of gorgeous patterns and, as ever, Nail Rock had got the spot on nail trends and designs for their wraps.  Unfortunately that is where my praise for these goes out of the window.  I found that without using a heat source the wraps were not pliable enough, were difficult to apply, not as sticky as I was used to and they continually creased, especially bearing in mind I was applying these to my mum, and not even myself as you would probably be doing if you bought these wraps. I tried to file the excess at the free edge and as you can see from the picture of the pink, they just went all raggedy.  In the  picture with the green I had lifted and smoothed the wrap three times but it just kept creasing down the middle.  I have got no idea how these would last the 10 days it says they will as they barely adhered at all in the first place and my mum made me take them off straight away.

Overall I could no longer recommend purchasing these, I used to recommend the old ones all the time as they did the job perfectly without creasing. I think it's a real shame that they felt they should change their winning formula and I have only posted this in the hope that they may rethink and make them the same as they were before, which I thought were great.

Lash Control Mascara Review

Today's post is about Lash Control Mascara.  It's the first mascara I have ever heard of with Squeeze Control!

I normally like a bit of a blingier looking mascara like YSL but this is well packaged and the tube is well made, the squeeze control section is designed to allow you to control the amount of mascara that is on the brush as you can squeeze the coloured sleeve in the centre as you pull the brush out to remove excess product so the brush doesn't have clumps and it isn't too wet.  Your brush is then evenly coated and separates the lashes as it brushes through them meaning that they are really defined and separated.

Two coats of Lash Control Mascara

You can also choose to squeeze the sleeve A LOT as you pull the brush out for a natural, enhanced look.  Or just A LITTLE if you are looking for drama and layer, layer, layer!  No more need for blotting on a tissue, your hand or wiping on the side of the bottle.  No need for pumping the wand in and out of the tube (which is very bad for your mascara).

There are different types of mascara, lengthening, volumising etc. and they are colour coded with the sleeves being different colours for each type.  Mine is the pink sleeve for Black and Lengthened lashes. I do think that the colour is very pigmented and dark and the formulation is thin but not too wet and dries quickly so you can go straight on to another coat.  My lashes do look much more defined although sadly, as you can see, my own lashes are awful and pretty invisible to start with so I can't get a dramatic result with any mascara just having them show up and be curled is fab.  I definitely think it does a good job of defining and fanning out the lashes without any clumps.

The mascara is apparently a big hit in the US and is now available to buy in the UK on www.cloud10beauty.com for £18. For more information about Lash Control click here http://www.lashcontrol.com/index.php


I think this is definitely one of the best inventions in mascara for a very long time, I am certainly impressed and will continue to use it, it's  a hit!


Sample provided free for review, honest review obviously as always

How to make your Shellac last longer

You might be getting your Shellac, Gelish, Geleration etc. etc. nails done at a salon, by a mobile therapist or even (ahem) doing it yourself.

But what most people seem to ask me is....  How can I make my Shellac last longer?  Some say "it only lasts 10 days" or "I was sitting there and they fell off"!

So here are some tips to help them last longer

• Use your Solar oil or the cuticle oil that your nail tech recommends.  Solar oil is recommended by me (and Instyle) as the best cuticle oil available to help your Shellac last longer.  It contains oils that can reptate through the Shellac and moisturise the nail bed, and Shellac will perform much better if your nail bed is moisturised and not dry and dehydrated.  It may seem boring to apply your cuticle oil twice a day, but it works.
• Use rubber gloves when washing up and performing household tasks such as cleaning.  Chemicals such as those in Cillit Bang can dissolve Shellac and repeated exposure to such chemicals can make the product weak and likely to chip.  Repeatedly putting your hands and nails in the hot washing up water makes your natural nail under the Shellac bendy, but the Shellac stays fairly in the same shape, this can cause lifting if you are doing it repeatedly.
• When on holiday try not to get SPF or DEET from insect repellent on your nails, these are chemicals and again can intefere with the chemicals that are in Shellac.
• Do not pick or peel your Shellac off.  Let's be serious, if you want to prise and peel Shellac off your nail, of course you can, we've probably all done it at one time or another, but it is bad with a capital B!  You are peeling off the top layer of your nail bed which then leaves it thinner and weaker than before, even more likely to chip next time you have Shellac
• Continually filing your nails.  Some people like to keep their nails short and can't live with them being longer for 2 weeks, but file gently and sparingly!  If you are continually aggravating the Shellac at the free edge there is a good chance you can cause it to chip.

That's all from me today but if I think of any more I will be sure to add them in!

What I Ate Wednesday

This week's tasty treats include a new fish, pictured above called Tilapia which I had grilled with asparagus and salad.  I sort of managed to set fire to the side of my plastic bowl as well...oops!  Tilapia is delicious and meatier than cod. I will definitely be having this more regularly now.

For one breakfast I had my tone it up protein pancake with blueberries, raspberries and ground flaxseeds sprinkled on top.

A delicious salad I had from pret, I took out the bacon and the dressing and just had a bit of lemon and olive oil instead, it had tomato, onion, chicken, avocado and for some reason peas! Delish.

Kale chips! I had some leftover Kale from salads during the week so I used this easy peasy recipe and made these, they are very crunchy.

Have you had any tasty dinners this week?

Shop Mac Cook Mac

Attention Mac lovers.  Shop M·A·C, Cook M·A·C has launched in every aisle of the M·A·C counters, exclusively at Selfridges from Tuesday 14 February to Sunday 11 March.

Ladle on an extra helping of foodie fun with Tendertones, nearly black Fluidlines, Studio Careblend/Pressed Powder, Opulash Mascara, two Brushes and nosh-worthy Nail Lacquers,

For your chance to win they are giving away 30 sets of pop art inspired Shop M·A·C, Cook M·A·C stickers. Simply tell them what products from the collection would make your make-up bag complete by commenting on Facebook and Tweeting Selfridges.  You can click on any of the pictures below to enlarge and see the pictures much clearer.

Hopefully my order will arrive soon so I can swatch!  Have you made an order or gone and bought any shop mac cook mac?

Winners of John Frieda Precision Foam Colour Giveaway!

Further to my post here http://www.iheartcosmetics.co.uk/2012/01/winning-john-frieda-precision-foam.html
there were not a lot of entries! Perhaps my readership is as snobby as me and refuses to dye their own hair out of ...sheer laziness really haha! 

The winners are:

Medium Burgundy =Sarah Morris
Medium Copper Brown = Leanne
Dark Natural Blonde = Phoebegill1991
Medium Ash Brown - Rocolondon
Extra Light Ash Blonde - Natasha 
Luminous Blue Black = Christina Stephens


Thanks for entering and I will contact you via the details you left in the comments 
to get your addresses xx

Boots 17 Spring Fling Eyeshadow Palettes

How pretty are these eyeshadow palettes?  Boots  17 say 'get into the groove and find a crescendo of colour this spring with these brand new collections from 17'.  I think they look lovely, rather Paul and Joe -esque.

17 Spring Fling Limited Edition Eye Palettes, £6.99 in Spring Bright or Hazy Days are available from 22nd Feb 2012. 17 products are available at Boots and http://www.boots.com/

What do you think? Click the pics to enlarge.

Sleek Lash Out Mascara Review

Hello there Lovelies! Its PinkSweetSz (Sharmin) here, taking over IHeartCosmetics for a little while. Sit back relax and enjoy!

So the Lash out Mascara is one of the latest releases by Sleek Makeup. The hot Pink packaging and black designs on the tube say rebel to me. Think Very dark long lashes. Personally I like the more luxurious packaging for mascaras, but for a  drugstore mascara its hit the right spot. 

As you can see the brush on this mascara is quite thin. Most mascaras on the market today either have thick fibre brushes, or the thin comb ones, so Its nice to see a thin fibre brush. It coats the bottom lashes well without getting mascara all over the bottom of my eyes. 

The Results

So as you can see it does add lots of length as it claims to do, and it doesn't look at all clumpy but I fear a few more coats may lead to it being clumpy. Its long lasting, and doesn't flake away come evening time. Overall its a really good mascara and I would give it a 8/10. Definitely one to try out if your looking for a new mascara. 

Don’t forget to check out my blog over at http://PinkSweetSz.blogspot.com!

Over and out!

Sharmin x

Product provided for review purposes. Lash Out Mascara by Sleek Makeup costs £7.00 and can be purchased here http://www.sleekmakeup.com/en/products/lash-out-lash-out-554.aspx

POTM - Liz Earle Energising Hip and Thigh Gel

My product of the month, mainly because it is one of my long term favourites and repurchases but I just realised that I had not ever mentioned it is, of course, Liz Earle Energising Hip and Thigh Gel.  I have had it for a while and I use it every day  and I really do feel that it makes a difference to my thighs and my arms as I use it there too, the texture of the skin is so much better and feels more taut.

Full ingredients list

At Liz Earle, high performance, quality and safe ingredients are our priority.
The ingredients in this product are:

Aqua (water), Rosa damascena (rose) flower water, PEG-40 hydrogenated castor oil, Glycerin, Aesculus hippocastanum (horse chestnut) extract, Ginkgo biloba (ginkgo) extract, Hedera helix (ivy) extract, Ruscus aculeatus (butcher’s broom) extract, Melaleuca cajuputi (cajuput) oil, Eucalyptus
globulus (eucalyptus) oil, Pelargonium odoratissimum (geranium) oil, Citrus grandis (grapefruit) oil, Pogostemon cablin (patchouli) oil, Mentha piperita (peppermint) oil, Citrus aurantium dulcis (sweet orange) oil, Pinus sylvestris (pine) oil, Rosmarinus officinalis (rosemary) oil, Citrus aurantium amara
(petitgrain) leaf oil, Caffeine, Carbomer, Citronellol, Geraniol, Limonene, Linalool, Triethanolamine, Polyaminopropyl biguanide, Ethylhexylglycerin, Phenoxyethanol, Benzoic acid, Dehydroacetic acid.

I use two pumps for each thigh and one pump for both arms.  It does feel a bit cold but then you get quite a refreshing zingy feeling which wakes you up after your shower and it smells absolutely gorgeous.  You can also intensify the results by dry body brushing (which is one of those things I know is a good idea, but I just can't be bothered).  It costs £21.50 for 200ml so it lasts a good few months and is reasonably priced in my opinion.


Not much more to say - I love it! 

iHerb.com and Under Amour Mini Haul

I Can't believe what a crazy busy week I have had, sometimes I wonder how I fit it all in! Well actually I don't really, yesterday I got in at 12, fell asleep at 1 and then was back up again at half six for work. There aren't enough hours in the day!  I hope working hard now will reap the benefits later but I do realise my blogging hasn't been great so apologies for that.

The highlight of my week has been my two delivieries, my www.iherb.com www.iherb.com order and my www.fitnessbox.co.uk order.

Iherb sell healthy food online and have lots of things we can't get here in Europe like Larabar's, Puffins, Blue Diamond products and what I really wanted which was some Stevia which is a natural sweetner and much better for you than the likes of aspartame.  Above is my pic of my (mini) haul.  I didn't want to order too much because of the weight as it increases the postage price.  If you want to get $5 off your first order you can use the code listed in the sidebar.

Barbara's puffins are recommended by the girls on www.toneitup.com as a healthy altenative to breakfast cereal and since I love peanut butter (it's an addiction) I got some of them. Oh my they are delicious, super sweet but nice for a treat breakfast.  The almond nut thins are so yummy, they sound weird but they are much nicer than rice cakes and would also be pefect to have instead of crisps or use if you are having people round as a base for some snacks.  The vanilla stevia is fabulous and even the Cherry Organic Tea that they sent as a free sample was delicious.  If you need things that you can't easily get in the UK then I would definitely recommend buying from here (and I am not affiliated with them or anything) I heard about the website from Laura at www.keepinghealthygettingstylish.com the order came within a week from the USA.

The other thing that made me happy this week was my new gym back from Under Armour. This is like my perfect gym bag in the world ever! They have thought absolutely everything through and given you every single type of compartment you could ever need, added to the fact that it is lightweight, has a funky zebra style lining and is stylish! I am so happy with this purchase and it was only £35 which is such a bargain for a fantastic bag.  The little zippy compartment on the side can be used to store dirty clothes or wet swimming stuff separately or you can put a water bottle or an umbrella in there, or snacks if you want to keep them cold as it is lined with this silver stuff.  The compartment at the front has a space for your purse, phone, keys and some small change so you don't need to take your handbag too.  Overall this is a winner!

I want to do a little shop at Selfridges for the new Mac items and get my eyebrows threaded at blinc but I just don't seem to ever have the time or a long enough break at work to go. My eyebrows look like scary caterpillars!

Have you bought any nice workout clothes recently? Where are they from I need ideas!

Lynx Attract for Women Review

When I received the Lynx attraction sample I can't deny, I did think it was just a dodgy gimmicky product that I would be unlikely to ever use.  Fast forward a couple of weeks but not only do I use it every morning, the girls in the office have borrowed it too and the general consensus is, it smells pretty good! 


It has a nicer scent than those impulse style body sprays and the twist around cap is great for slinging in your handbag or gym bag so the spray doesn't just accidentally go off.  The description of the scent is 'A vibrant colourful mixture of succulent fruit creates an enticing fusion while floral notes leave a feminine accord. 'Bottom notes of wood, musk and vanilla give the fragrance a sheer creaminess.'

Personally I thought it smelled like cucumbers, which I like, and it definitely smells fresh and clean so great for a post gym spritz.

I have to be honest I think the packaging is terrible, the A in a circle looks like a pair of boxer shorts! I think keeping the entire can pink might have looked nicer.  I am not sure what the men's Attract version smells like but I do find it amusing that the 48 hour technology isn't mentioned on the women's can just the men's - I guess they are presuming that women do tend to wash at least every other day! Overall I think this is an 8/10 as it is a deodorant and a body spray in one, is cheap and cheerful and the can is quite large so it's good value at only £2.99 for one or at the moment £5 for two in www.boots.com

What do you think? Would you wear Lynx?

Neom Candle - New Scent - Happiness

I love a Neom candle, and have mentioned them a few times before.  I was sadly unable to attend their recent bloggers event (I think the last event I went to way in May 2011!) but they have sent me through the info which was good of them, most pr's forget if you don't attend the event.


The new candly is called Happiness, I fancy ordering one just because of the name! I could use some happiness right now.  The scent is described as 'A sparkling blend of White Neroli, Mimosa and Lemon is combined with natural fresh grass notes to create the awakening of spring.'


The massive 3 wick candle is priced at £37.50 and the travel candle at £13 which I think is the perfect size for a bedside table or mantle piece or just to try out the new fragrance.  The candles in all of the scents would make gorgeous mother's day presents or for Easter for people on a diet or who can't eat chocolate.  I think I will see if I can have one for my birthday, although it might be one of my usual 'self gifts' haha!


Until I try this one out, in which case I will of course review it, if you've tried it please do comment below and let me know what you think.


http://neomorganics.com/happiness-travel-candle.html

Snoxin Review - better than botox?

The first I heard of Snoxin was when I opened an envelope and it flopped out onto my desk at work.  It is the sister product to Nanoblur but Indeed Labs.  Impressed as I was initially by Nanoblur I couldn't use it long term as it contained so much silicone which makes my skin very dry.


Snoxin is the skincare anti ageing product vs the Nanoblur instant gratification product.  Snoxin is the treatment that you would use before your moisturiser in the am and pm to treat the appearance of fine lines and It has the highest allowable concentration of anti-aging peptides however why does Snoxin therefore contain silicone too and quite a lot considering it's near the top of the list of ingredients? It claims to be 4x better than $500 serums but that's a bit of an empty claim when the $500 serum might also be crap? 


Ingredients in Snoxin: Water / Aqua / Eau, Glycerin, Dimethicone, Cyclopentasiloxane, Sodium Acrylate/Acryloyldimethyl Taurate Copolymer, Butylene Glycol, Acetyl Octapeptide-3, Palmitoyl Oligopeptide, Palmitoyl Tetrapeptide-7, Dipeptide Diaminobutyroyl Benzylamide Diacetate, Isohexadecane, Cyclohexasiloxane, Polysilicone-11, Polysorbate 80, Polysorbate 20, Carbomer, Caprylyl Glycol, Phenoxyethanol


You can read the full information from Indeed Labs here http://www.indeedlabs.com/snoxin/  and there are also some pictures.  The bottom line for me is, it contains so much silicone that it makes my skin dry - therefore making it look more liney rather than less!  If you don't have a problem with silicone then by all means give this a go but I think Nanoblur is a better product and £10 cheaper (£19.99 vs the Snoxin's £29.99).


For long term anti ageing look for a true anti ageing product. I would personally stick to Retinol, Quercetin and Glycolic Acid products. Preferably from a well known brand with published clinical results. Dermatologists have recommended Roc and Skinceuticals products to me before for both Retinol (vitamin A) and Glycolic products and I like to use Korres's Quercetin and Oak moisturiser.

Monday ramble and update

In case you wondered the healthy eating is going fab!  I am so enjoying eating proper food and not obsessing about protein all the time!  Here are some of the foods that I have been enjoying this week.

Lemon and pepper quorn escalope with a big mixed salad of grated carrot, spinach, 

mixed leaves, courgette and lemon juice 1 tsp olive oil as a dressing

Oatmeal cooked with almond milk and blueberries

2 tbs greek yoghurt and flax seed sprinkle

Grilled chicken marinaded in soy sauce and chilli

Whole grain rice and half a bag of spinach (steamed)

A wholewheat wrap spread with 1 tbs garlic houmous

quinoa, salad and kale

I have so much more energy and my undereye bags look better. Yay! I might even have enough energy to go through my stuff again and finish off that blogsale from the other week.  I still have so much stuff!

Yesterday Matt and I went to the cinema to watch Woman in Black.  I finished the film and though "that ghost is so vindictive"! If you've seen it, do you agree? I mean what a cow! After all that effort he made as well.  I was a bit surprised that it was a 12a, must be some hardcore 12 year olds out there cos I was a bit scared haha! I like that it's an old school type of thing not full of blood and gore like maybe Saw but it plays on your mind and is really jumpy. Below is the trailer.  Let me know if you have seen it or are thinking about it. I would probably watch it again so I could properly see all the bits where I had my hand over my face haha!

The film The Devil Inside was shown as a trailer before the film I was at and oh my, now that looks really freaky, it seems a cross between paranormal activity 2 and the exorcist. Now I like scary films but I think i'll pass on that one as I won't be able to sleep for a month! Good acting though as I was scared just from the trailer.

I like to take a yummy healthy snack and a bottle of water into the cinema as Matt sits munching popcorn and nachos so I am tempted to share them otherwise. This time I took some drench plain water and a flax 9 bar. Nom nom, cravings averted (and no rustling to annoy the other film watchers).  9 bars are my favourite mid morning or afternoon snack and flax is my favourite as Flax Seeds are a good source of alpha linolenic acid, omega 3 fatty acid.  Most of the 9Bars are more than 57% seeds and coated with a lovely carob layer which tastes like chocolate but is dairy free.  Carob contains minerals and vitamins too. All in all its lush.  

I would love to try Larabars, Luna Bars and Think Thin bars but unfortuantely they are really hard to get in the UK apart from iHerb and I have already made my iHerb order this month to get some Puffins cereal and some Stevia. So it will have to wait unless I can find a kind soul to send me some larabars.  

Do you like healthy food and scary films?  

Urban Decay Naked 2 Palette Review

I am the very excited owner of both the first and second Urban Decay naked palettes and I must say, these are the two best palettes that I own. I love both and use both week after week.  As you can tell from how battered the first palette looks! Here is the link to my review of the first palette http://www.iheartcosmetics.co.uk/2010/08/urban-decay-naked-palette-swatches.html

I can't honestly say which one is my favourite as I love them both, I would definitely buy both if you can afford them.  I have used Urban Decay since I was a teenager, which is depressingly quite a while ago now I come to think of it!  The pigmentation and application has always been fantastic and they do seem to generally have fixed the problems with glitter fallout that I used to experience, glittery cheeks doesn't look good when you are over 20 unfortunately (for me).

From the Naked 2 palette my favourite colours are Half Baked, YDK, Pistol and Suspect. Gorgeous!

I used Foxy and Tease for this, and Red Cherry lashes

The Naked 2 palette comes with a mini lipgloss which is gorgeous but so small I have lost it already and a brush which I think is a bit crap so I have no idea where I put that. Stick with your Mac 224 and 239 and you won't go far wrong.  If you want a black shadow then definitely go for the Naked 2 palette.

The Naked 1 palette came with a double ended eyeliner which I lost as well, there's a recurring theme here...

I recommend both of these palettes 100% They cost £36 each and you can get them from Debenhams, House of Fraser. You can get the original Naked Palette for £32 from Beauty Bay.

John Frieda Full Repair Root Lift Foam - Fail

I love volumising hair mousse, spray mousse and well, anything that gives my limp hair a bit of a boost and some lift.  I walked past one of those new product stands in Boots about a month ago and saw the new John Frieda Full Repair range.  The range is based on the added ingredient Inca Inchi Oil which they say revives overworked hair, repairing the look and feel of damage from frequent heat styling and colouring, without weighing hair down. Hair is instantly transformed into full-bodied style with natural movement.

Well it doesn't, in fact it made my hair limp, sticky (and this was with less than half the amount of mousse I normally use) and dull.  The mousse is far too wet to be able to give any volume, I tried it every day for a week and tried to use it when hair was sopping wet, damp, nearly dry and every time it looked the same.  Such a shame as there is definitely a gap in the market for a fabulous low cost volumising mousse for limp hair that doesn't weigh it down. 

If you want a fab mousse that really does give volume all of the below mousses are tried and tested and get 9-10/10 from me: 

L'oreal TecNi Art Spray Mousse

Tigi Bed Head Spray Mousse - Queen For A Day

Tigi Candy Fixations Totally Baked Mousse

X Rated Beauty Adverts?

Is it just me or do you watch this clip and think a) what the actual **** has this got to do with beauty products? b) all I am really focussing on is that giant beard....

........is it me? Not quite sure what'll come next after this type of advert...someone fellating a mascara tube? Paha I am so prudey!

Monday - it always comes around so fast!

I've been doing well at my healthy eating and have had lots of yummy meals now.  I tried Total's 2% Greek yoghurt which was delicious, I normally have the 0% fat one and then use sweetener but I figured it made just as much sense to simply have the 2% and not use the sweetener.  It tastes so much nicer! I had it for a dessert with flaxseed sprinkle, raspberries and a teaspoon of thyme honey.

Then today I had a little bit of it on my porridge which I made with oatbran and a little light soy milk and five rasperries so it turned the porridge pink!  Then I sprinkled over a tablespoon of the flax seed sprinkle - well that's what I call it - it's milled organic flaxseed from  http://www.linwoodshealthfoods.com/

I've always wanted a tattoo in theory but never seen or thought of anything that I particularly liked enough to have on me forever, but I saw the picture above on pinterest and I really like it - what do you think?  I don't know anything about tattoos lol!

Makeup wise I have been sent some L'oreal eyeliner and mascara to test out so hopefully the review will be up this week.

Hope you had a lovely weekend x