Instagram #2

1. Your ecards re Magic Mike and 50 Shades of Gray, 2. Choc Cherry protein shake recipe, 3. Complete protein info table, 4. Hollister joke, 5. Benny the cat, 6. Purple Sketchers GoRun, 7. Salad from Whole foods, 8. Fiji water and Kombucha from Whole foods, 9. Style crush from Grazia, 10. Ceasars Palace shops in Vegas, 11. Apex hotel London, 12. Running inspo, 13. Tweet about instagram zooming, 14. Jager, 15. Shellac Tropix, 16. My botox trip to Sk:n clinic

Recommended this week is definitely the Picfx app to add funky things to your instagram or blog photos. You can just download it from the app store.

If you would like to follow me on instagram you can click the link over to the right sidebar or my username is the same as twitter - Sarahloolaa / @sarahloolaa and I will give you a follow back - I LOVE Instagram!!

I miss blogging

I feel a bit sad when I can't blog but my internet is still not sorted out.  Sky really are ridiculous in that they can't send anyone out to install a phone line for 6 weeks from when I contacted them and started my contract.  You would think we were in 1982 not 2012! It's a bit worrying when you could probably buy drugs or weapons within a day but it takes 6 weeks to get wifi.

I miss everyone and your comments and thanks to those that have emailed me beauty questions in the meantime, it's much appreciated.

Sarah xo

Instagram #1

1. Rules to live by, 2. Spiru-tein from Whole Foods (mecca), 3. My friend Angela and her new BFF Eubank, 4. Evil Genius Benny, 5. Moi! Avec Zara handbag, 7. My clipping from Grazia,

8. Walkabout Temple during England V Ukraine, 9. Sleek Makeup Jubilee Palette,

10 & 11. My homemade chocolate fudge cupcakes for the office lot, 12. Note to self,

13. believe tattoo, 14. Manicure with L'oreal Miss Candy polish, 15. L'oreal Miss Candy nail polishes, 16. My gorgeous Dollybowbow ring, 17. Blog review items of the week.

I am seriously addicted to Instagram - my username is sarahloolaa if you would like to follow me, I am happy to follow you back xxx

St Tropez Winners - Addresses Needed

The first 10 comments and the ones receiving the St Tropez products are:

1. alittlebeauty
2. Sophie
3. Janaina Cameron
4. Emily Paterson
5. Ali Thorpe
6. Ashleigh
7. November-Rose27
8. April Edwards
9. Dawnie P
10. Georgia Edwards

Please email me your addresses for the product to be sent to - iheartcosmetics1@gmail.com by the end of tomorrow so I can pass this on to St Tropez's PR company.

Many thanks all for entering.

Sarah xxx

Cosmopolitan Blog Awards

Hi girls, I was contacted today by Cosmopolitan who advised me of their blog awards for 2012 and asked if I had entered or if I wanted to nominate myself or put a link on the blog.

The link to their blog awards nomination form is:

http://www.cosmopolitan.co.uk/blogs/cosmo-blog-awards-2012/cosmo-blog-awards-2012_nominate

If you like my blog I would be very grateful if you would nominate me, I don't know why but I would feel a bit odd nominating myself! The blog is almost 3 years old so it would be in the established beauty blog category.

Thank you very much.

Sarah xxx

Grazia and the Hurly Burly

I was excited to see my little ol face in Grazia today on page 70. I had been asked to give my comment on internet trolling but I wasn't sure if they would pick my comment to use. If you would like my opinion on the topic I think people are too quick to judge and slate other people, but if someone wants to take a pop at you there's nothing you can do apart from delete it and ignore them. I certainly wouldn't let it get to you - they must be a a bit crazy to make that much effort to go on and on about how you look or your voice or manner on youtube - I would prefer to be a person that helps others rather than one that drags them down!

In other news I have booked tickets for my friend Angeloolaa and I to go and see the Hurly Burly Show which is a Burlesque show in London, you can see a preview here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i4UTapBNesc  if it's good enough for Barry Manilow then it's good enough for me! I can't wait as I have always wanted to see a show like this but never booked tickets in time.  We wanted to see the Crazy Horse show in Vegas but we went on the day it was shut lol!

Have you ever seen a burlesque show?  What do you think of internet haters or trolls?

How to choose the right eye cream

Once you get to a certain age you start thinking about (or worrying about) fine lines and wrinkles, I certainly know that I am.  The first place to show signs of ageing is usually the eyes with dark circles, fine lines, wrinkles and redness being just a few of the lovely problems that can occur.

Lack of sleep, dehydration, sun damage and general ageing are the main causes but luckily there are products you can use to slow down the effects.

Many people have problems with eye cream irritating their eyes which makes them sting and water, some creams are too thick and contain ingredients which are common allergens.  It is important to find a product that will work with the fragile undereye skin and not cause any issues.

There are a few key ingredients to look for in an eye cream which will dramatically increase the likelihood of the cream performing well.  Hyaluronic Acid and Ceramides, Retinol, Neuropeptides and Vitamins C and E are all proven ingredients to improve the under eye area.

For saggy or puffy eyes you need to look for an eye cream which contains caffeine as that can energise the area and tighten the under eye skin giving a lifted effect.

For under eye circles you should look for the ingredients Vitamin C K or E as these will help to fade the dark circles and make your eyes appear fresher.  Dark circles can also be caused by lack of sleep and dehydration so ensure you drink enough water and get enough sleep to get the best effects.

For dry skin it is best to find an eye cream with oils such as avocado or almond oil as these are not too rich but are very moisturizing or a vitamin E eye cream which also has the added antioxidant benefits.

Whichever eye cream you choose ensure that you only use a small amount and pat onto the under eye area with your ring finger.  The patting motion dissipates any fluid if you have puffy eyes and you use your ring finger to make sure that the patting action is more gentle which is very important around the sensitive eye area.

Hope this helps!

Lily Cole for The Body Shop via www.fash-ling.com

Hello lovely readers of I Heart Cosmetics! My name is Aisling and I blog over at www.fash-ling.com. Sarah has kindly asked me to review some of the gorgeous pieces from the Lily Cole make up line at The Body Shop, and as Lily is a fellow red-head, I was very excited to try it out!

Looking at the collection as a whole (link: http://www.thebodyshop.co.uk/make-up/new-lily-cole-make-up.aspx ), you can see that a it is very girly and pink and all cruelty free. I was very excited when I first saw the range as I think it just gives us all the chance to indulge in our girly side whilst knowing that the products are kind to our skin and kind to animals.

Liquid Eyeliner - £9

First up we have the gorgeous purple liquid eyeliner. Whilst I’ve always been a fan of liquid eyeliners, I haven’t used a coloured one in quite sometime. I used to have an obsessive with the MAC ones when I was 18/19 and had them in about 10 different colours, but alas, with age I toned it down a bit. However, I think this is such a subtle colour, not very many people noticed that I was in fact, wearing purple eyeliner, but I think it helped to intensify my hazel eyes.  Purple is a colour, I believe, that always looks good with red hair, so perhaps that’s why Lily Cole decided to only have a purple. I don’t know for a fact, but I like to speculate!

In terms of usage, the pointed felt tip made it very easy to apply a clean fluid line. Although I did find it quite difficult to get a thick line with just one application. This may be a bonus for those of you who prefer a very small subtle line, but me, I like to plaster it on! Once it was in place, I found that it dried very quickly and then stayed in place for the remainder of the day. My eyes sometimes water in the wind and the edges of liner often comes off, but I found that this one stayed in place. Also, I’m a contact lense wearer and found that it was find to use with them , if any fellow contact wearers were wondering!

Lip & Cheek Dome in 20 Pinch Me Pink - £10

Secondly, we have the lip & cheek dome – the product I personally was most excited about. It’s a creamy dome packed full of pigment, easy to apply and also good for on the go makeup! I really like this product, as it’s not something you see on offer that often. I applied it directly on to the cheek and then blended it in for subtle hint of colour. I also like the creamy, dewy finish that it gives. Best of all, it has two uses, so really it’s two for the price of one! It’s definitely not one for a high impact colour, but I think it adds a soft subtle glow that you will get a lot more wear from that a bright trendy colour.

  

Mini Hi Shine Lip Treatment in 03 Go Play and 02 Go Wild - £4 each

Lastly, the hi shine lipgloss, again in quite girly and pink shades. These offer a very glossy, wet look and moisturises well but honestly, I just found these way too thick and sticky for my liking. I’m not a huge fan of lipglosses anyway, so they have to be really good to impress me. And I’m afraid this time, it just didn’t work out. I wasn’t impressed with the colour pay off either, as you can see from the photos above, there isn’t much pigment at all. I prefer quite bright and colourful lip colours, but if you like lipgloss and prefer a light, sheen rather than a colourful lip, I think this would suit you.

Here, is my overall look using the products mentioned above, with Go Wild on my lips. Overall, I think this is a well thought out line, I think it shows a bit of Lily Cole’s personality and I like that it is cruelty free. It’s also relatively inexpensive, with the most expensive product in the range at £16. I’ve heard good things about the range, and honestly I think the only disappointing aspect is the Lip Treatment. I think maybe if they had done a nice lipstick instead, that would be better, but that’s my personal opinion! There might be people out there who love the lipgloss!

www.fash-ling.com

I hope you enjoyed my little review, I’d really love to hear what you think of the range and if you’ve tried any of the pieces! Thanks again to Sarah for letting me review these bits for her!

Thank you ever so much for your review Aisling you have helped me out no end! xxxx Girls please do go and check out the wonderful Fash-Ling website at the link above xx Sarah xx

And the Bourjois winner is...

The giveaway is for some of my favourite Bourjois makeup items:

• 3 So Lacque Nail Varnishes (nicest colours I can find on the day I buy)
• 1 Delice de soleil spray bronzer
• 1 Delice de soleil powder bronzer

AND THE WINNER IS

Louisa Elizabeth Llewellyn

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Please send me an email at iheartcosmetics1@gmail.com with your postal address honey x

Using Contacts For Facial Beauty

Many people are surprisingly uncomfortable with the idea of wearing contact lenses with makeup. This is simply because makeup around the eyes already comes very close to irritating contact with the eyes, and adding in the issue of putting in and taking out contact lenses only increases the odds of ending up with makeup in your eye. It is a bit of an uncomfortable prospect. However, it is typically simple enough to manage both things at once, simply by being careful about when you put in and take out your contacts with regard to applying makeup. And, once you become comfortable with the combination, you can actually begin to use your contact lenses to assist your makeup in its task of accenting your eyes!

While contact lenses are of course designed primarily to correct your vision, they can actually do far more than that these days. Acuvue contact lenses, for example, come in many different styles and types designed to do many different things. Of course, you have the traditional distinctions, such as 1-Day vs. Monthly contacts, and contacts designed for astigmatisms, etc. However, there are also plenty of types of lenses available that are designed specifically to impact your image and appearance. These can certainly be fun to play with, particularly alongside your well-applied eye makeup.

The most popular sort of contact lens that deals with shifting your image and appearance is the coloured contact, which has actually been a popular item for some time. Whether you simply aren’t in love with the natural colour of your eyes, or you simply want to have some fun with trying out something new, coloured contact lenses can completely change how your eyes look. Naturally, this means that they can be very fun to play around with, and well worth considering from a fashion standpoint.

However, coloured contacts are not the only lenses available that can help you in terms of style and fashion. You may also want to consider the 1-Day Acuvue Define contacts, which are specifically designed to emphasize the way your eyes look naturally. This means bringing out the brightness and colour of your natural eyes, much in the same way that your eyeliner and makeup may be designed to. Combining these sorts of contact lenses with carefully applied makeup can make your eyes shine and show in a very noticeable, very attractive, and very unique way. So, if you have been looking for creative new ways to accent your face, this is certainly something worth remembering.

Dr Jart+ BB Cream Launches Today in Boots

Dr Jart is a brand that arrived in the UK today with their four BB creams which are available exclusively at Boots (in the UK).

The range was created so that instead of a one size fits all approach to skincare/BB creams their range would be cosmeceutical based to help people achieve healthy and beautiful skin whatever their skin type and requirements.

The brand originated in Korea and was launched in 2004 by a team of dermatologists who work hard to provide dermatological grade skincare at a good price point. The BB creams range from £18-£24 which surprised me for the quality and for the packaging, I had assumed by looking at the packaging they would be at least £40 each.

The BB creams in the UK at the moment are generally a 'one size fits all' product and this launch is set to break the mould here. A proper BB cream offers an anti-aging formula, a pigmented formula that conceals and acts as a foundation or a tinted moisturiser, it has brightening or illuminating properties and a high SPF. A lot of the UK BB creams don't do all of this but Dr Jart's projects do.

Dr Jart Premium Beauty Balm on it's own

Having never tried any Asian BB creams before I was seriously impressed, I chose to receive a sample of the SPF40 Premium Beauty Balm which provides a high level of coverage, high SPF protection and is lifting and illuminating which, at 27 is something I think I should start using. The packaging is expensive looking and sanitary with a squeezy tube and pump dispenser so you can get the last bit out of the tube with ease and on first application this morning my skin looks bright and glowing, my foundation went on really well over the top and I have actually had quite a few compliments about my skin (which I do get quite a lot but not this many in one day normally). I will update with a proper review after using it for a couple of weeks but on first impression I really like this.

You can buy Dr Jart+ in the UK here from Boots  and the specific one that I have here

Do you love BB creams?

*product provided as a review sample



St Tropez Spraycation and 10 St Tropez Bottle Giveaway

**GIVEAWAY **

Please note that the first 10 comments on this post will receive a free Dark St Tropez Mousse or Spray.  You must be a follower and based in the UK to count as this is being sent out by the brand and not by me. Thank you!

St. Tropez is going on tour across the country with its first ever Spraycation. Tanning the nation and bringing a Nikki Beach themed pop-up to key UK cities, the tour kicks off in London at Westfield W12 on the 15th June, then heads northwards to Bullring Birmingham for the 22nd and 23rd June, Trafford Centre in Manchester on the 28th and 29th June, Glasgow Braehead 6th and 7th July with the final stop in Dublin Pavilions on the 13th and 14th July.

The tour is backed by research conducted by St. Tropez which reveals that nearly half of the UK plans to stay put this summer rather than fly abroad for their holiday, with nearly a quarter of those polled stating that they will be taking time off work to enjoy the events and celebrations on home soil. Over half of Brits also confirmed that having a tan gives them more confidence and visiting one of the St. Tropez Spraycation venues will ensure that Brits don’t need to stray far from home to look happy, healthy and bronzed... whatever the forecast.

St. Tropez will also be running an online competition asking people to send in a 'virtual postcard' telling them where their ideal Spraycation would be across the UK and why. One lucky winner, plus their friends will see their idea become a reality as St. Tropez brings its luxury Spraycation experience worth over £8k to the winner and their friends wherever they want it in the UK. Whether it's the back garden, local pub or living room St. Tropez will make it happen.

You can enter the competition via

www.facebook.com/sttropeztanuk

Slendertone Arms Challenge Week 3

 

Week 2

Week 3

As you can probably guess due to the large gap in time between weeks 2 and weeks 3 I had a gap in using the slendertone arms machine.  Working as many hours as possible, trying to earn as much money as possible for furniture etc. (sorry about the sponsored posts by the way but a girl has gotta have a fridge) and then moving and packing/unpacking got in the way of using the slendertone arms.  I wouldn't say I lost any definition in that time as I always go to the gym anyway, I try and go 3-6 times a week and work on weights and toning as well as cardio so I did still keep up my arm muscle exercises.

I would say my arms have stayed pretty much the same in this time looks wise.  However they have come a long way strength wise.  At the beginning of the year if I was at the gym and had to do a Plank position I had to do it on my elbows like this but now I have progressed to be able to do it like this which is like the proper way of doing them rather than the modified way.  I have also been able to do a side plank which I found so tremendously difficult to start with, I first started with the easier version of the side plank and have now increased to the middle way of doing it (with the feet side by side rather than stacked on top of one another), so for me I think my upper arm strength has come a long way.  My next goals are to be able to do the proper full on side plank and then be able to do this as they are great for your muffin top.

http://www.lovehandleexercises.info/tag/planks/

 

You can buy the system arms here Slendertone Arms.

Top 10 UK Beauty Blogs

I had some really exciting news yesterday from Cision - I am ranked as #5 in the Top 10 UK Beauty Blogs!


I was so excited, and well done to the other 9 on the list too.

http://uk.cision.com/Resources/Social-Media-Index/Top-UK-Social-Media/Top-10-UK-Beauty-Blogs/


1. Lisa Eldridge MAKE UP 
2. LIPGLOSSIPING
3. Pixiwoo.com
4. Beauty aesthetic
5. I Heart Cosmetics
6. Daily Polish
7.  Vex In The City
8. Beauty Woo Me
9.  MakeupSavvy.co.uk
10. Cosmetic Candy 

Zalando The Online Shoe Shop

I’ve recently discovered Zalando , an online shoe and fashion store which has been in the UK for about a year now. The shop has a surprisingly large and varied number of different brands and products. They specialise in clothing and shoes for men, women and children, but also sell sports clothing and equipment as well as beauty products and cosmetics too. When I heard about their cosmetics range, I knew I had to check out what they had, as the site also offers free delivery and free returns on every purchase.  

In the women’s beauty section, there is a huge range of cosmetics for face, hands and feet. They sell manicure and pedicure equipment so you can do your treatments at home in between salon visits, nail polish, make-up, hair care, skin care, shower and bathing products and much much more. There’s also a great range of fragrances, including eau de toilette and eau de parfum from some of the top designer brands! Never before have I seen such a great range of beauty products in one place on the internet. There are brands which I’ve used for years, such as Burts Bees and their gorgeous skin and body care, as well as brands which I wasn’t previously aware of, such as the colourful collection of high quality make-up from the brand Makeover who have a similar packaging style to Nars:

So, if you’re looking to discover new cosmetics brands, or looking for an easy way to purchase your favourite brands and have them delivered to you for free, then make sure you check out Zalando. One of my favourite brands Clarins  is even on sale here! I love Clarins skincare especially the body creams because they are so rich and moisturising andd always smell great and it's great to be able to get them somewhere with free postage and where you can pay with Paypal. So check out Zalando and let me know what you think!

Sponsored post

Decorating and Mob Wives

I've been moving house the last few days (with no internet access due to the rudest sky representative ever) so I have been buying a few house bits and focussing on that, I have ordered a new bed but annoyingly it takes up to 4 weeks to arrive! Sleeping on an airbed isn't something I particularly want to do buy oh well I am sure it will be worth it when it finally arrives.  I am going to stick to silver, white and grey for the bedroom with mirrored furniture and maybe a little bling, why not ;P

This is the bed I have ordered from Next

I also have a lovely balcony which is decked as I live in a flat, it's really cute as you can see from the pic, BUT... I have no idea how to decorate it, I think a little table and some folding chairs but I wasn't sure about maybe a couple of those hurricane lamps and candles? Or a moroccan style lantern? Or even a few plants or a bit of bunting? I really do need some suggestions so any ideas are very welcome.

One of the first things I did in the kitchen was arrange the glasses cupboard, we haven't yet get any cups as I want to get some from Starbucks and some from Ikea and I haven't had the chance yet.  I have my small shelf for shot glasses and egg cups, the empty shelf above is for the cups and mugs and underneath are my wine glasses, tumblers and starbucks cups for my smoothies or frapps as I have a new blender.  A couple of people asked where I got them but they are literally just sold in larger starbucks where you get the bags of coffee grounds.  If you are looking for good quality glasses try TK Maxx you can get really expensive ones for £12.99.  

The bathroom is quite simple as I only need to buy towels, have some shelving put up and buy a shelving unit to put all of my beauty products in, especially as I have currently got 2 full bin bags of beauty stuff! It is a bit ridiculous how much I have but hey ho what can you do.  We got our towels in a stone colour to match the floor from Soho Living.

My main stress at the moment is a sofa, dining room table and chairs and something to put the tv on as it appears we can't have it on the wall as we usually do as the wall isn't strong enough. Talk about annoying!

In other news I have been watching a new (to me) tv reality show called Mob Wives on http://www.tv-links.eu and I love it, these girls are insane! But my favourite is from season two and she is called Big Ang. All I can say is if you love reality tv then you need to watch this. And Go Big Ang I love ya!

Sarah x