MAC/Snob

One of my newest MAC items, a staple for all your make up bags, Snob is a really versatile shade that will suit all skin tones, and is perfect if you love nudey pinks. 

Snob is a semi matte, satin finish lipstick, slightly mauve pink in hue. 

 It's bright enough to be seen on the lips without looking too out there (think Saint Germain) 

It has real staying power this one, with wear time of a couple of hours, they do a lip glass to match which you may want to invest in if you have dry lips. 

This is a lovely shade, one I'll keep going back to time and time again. 

Do you own Snob? 

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Lime Crime/Velvetine Lip Colour

Lime Crime Velvetine Lip Colour* is the perfect lip colour for your Valentines Day date night, I am in LOVE with this beautiful velvet matte finish tube of pink gorgeousness.

The formula is like a gloss and it's completely liquid whilst you apply it, within a few moments as if by magic it turns to a beautiful matte finish, without feeling heavy. It really will hold up whilst you eat and drink, even smooch this Valentines Day, the formula is waterproof, smudge proof and wont budge, I think I've finally found a lip product that I wont need to keep applying. 

I usually find with matte finish lip sticks and products that they are really drying on the lips, I think they have to suck the moisture away so that the product stays on, whilst you can feel Velvetine is really matte its not uncomfortable and because it applies in a liquid format there is no pulling or dragging during application. 

This will be an amazing colour to wear all year round, brighten your lips especially during this dull weather. 

I know some of you are scared to wear really bright and bold colours, but don't be it's just about knowing what suits you, If you have fair skin, orange-reds are going to pop quite a bit more as brighter colours are more noticeable on paler skin.  This doesn't mean if you have pale skin, you can’t make it work- it just means, it’s going to pop more. Darker skin beauties have an easier time pulling off the orange-reds since dark skin can handle brighter colours, there’s less of a contrast. 

So next time your debating whether to buy the bright lippie or not, go for it. 

Lime Crime Cosmetics are available in the UK exclusively through Cocktail Cosmetics the Velvetine Lip Colours are priced at £13.50 each. 

currently there are 3 shades on offer but the lovely people at Lime Crime have confirmed there is a new collection in the pipeline so watch this space! 

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*PR Sample

Confessions Of A Beauty Addict/Blog Redesign

I'm in no way technically minded, and as my blog just hit it's 2 year anniversary I thought I would treat it to an overhaul. 

I got in touch with the very talented Abby at Baggle Web & Design for some help, she came back to me with some fantastic ideas, including my own customised header and font, I fell in love with her design ideas and within 2 weeks it all went live, I'm so happy with my new look, Abby has captured my ideas perfectly. 

I love how clean, crisp and modern it looks. 

What do you think of my new look? 

 

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MAC/Osbournes Collection

The secrets out, it's been leaked by Kelly herself, personally I love Sharon and Kelly O, and I'm hoping their fun and quirky styles really come out in the upcoming summer collaboration with the Osbourne ladies. 

Although this picture doesn't give us any idea of the lipstick shade I am excited by the fact it's encased in Kelly's signature shade, lilac, along with her signature of course. 

Sharon treated us to a sneak peak of her shadow quad, it's no where near as cute as the dog she's holding! 

I don't buy pieces from every MAC collection, but this one I have high hopes for and I'm looking forward to it hitting MAC counters here in the UK, which should be around June/July time. 

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River Island/Floral Blazer

My Instagram followers have been swooning over my recent uploads this past couple of weeks, I've been spying a lot of pastel, spring esque fashions. 

Topshop is full of pretty pastels, there are loads of cute prints around to, not to mention the brights on offer in River Island.

I've been eyeing up a blazer in River Island since it arrived in store last week, I saw it and it was literally love at first sight.
It is very Mary Berry (GBBO) but florals and prints are going to be huge this year so it's worth investing in a few key pieces.
I love how the bright neon colours are beautifully contrasted on the light grey background, the blazer is textured to and it really will be so versatile with so many things.

Priced at £50 and in stores and on the RI Website right now, if your looking for a blazer to take you through spring and summer then this is a great one to invest in. 

The print reminds me a lot of my beloved Ted Baker handbag with the oil painting print on it. 

I have picked up a few other lovely pieces lately, and I'm off on a shopping spree next weekend so I'll put together a haul post for you all then. 

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MAC Rihanna/Viva Glam

Rihanna has launched MAC's latest Viva Glam collection, previous launches have seen many well known celebs promoting them but the MAC & Riri partnership seems one that has latest really well, endorsing these products makes it her 4th range of products for MAC, with a spring summer collection ready to launch soon. 

The Viva Glam range features Ri's blue-red frosted hues in a limited edition lipstick in lustre finish £15.00 and lipglass £14.00, both wrapped in red so soft packaging and both feature Ri's signature. 

Wear time on the lip glass is under an hour so it doesn't have much staying power at all, the lipstick is just a beautiful rich and creamy red in MAC's signature lustre finish. 

Lipstick left & Lipglass right

I like these products but they're not something I'd say you must rush out and buy, I'd consider saving your pennies for the S/S collection featuring a certain Osbourne Duo, you might just want to buy it all.....

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Micheal Kors/Glam Jasmine

The Micheal Kors beauty collection has not long launched here in the UK, and I cant help but feel it's gone somewhat unnoticed. 

MK is a New York based fashion designer who originally started out creating sports wear for women, his range has now exploded onto the arms and wrists of ladies worldwide, his handbags and watches have become nothing short of iconic pieces to the modern woman. 

When MK announced he was to launch a beauty line last year in America, I eagerly awaited it's arrival here in the UK (we are so behind the time!) 

I've recently been reviewing the Glam Jasmine fragrance by MK*, it's the Glam Jasmine fragrance, and the notes are in the name. It's a beautiful heady scent of jasmine, and although I'm not a lover of florals this seems to have captured the fragrance beautifully It's really long lasting on the skin and retails at around £55 for the 30ml fragrance. 

one of the new fragrances that's been launched along with the brand new Beauty range which consists of three different collections Sexy, Glam & Sporty, each range consists of  lipstick, gloss and nail varnish all beautifully wrapped in the MK packaging. The products will look fab on your dresser and to be honest the womanly make up magpie in all of us will probably feel the need to own every single piece regardless of whether we need it or not! 

I better not tell my other half but I have also been perusing the handbags and watches, well I cant help it they are all just so pretty! 

Do you own any of the MK range? 

It's on sale in House Of Fraser & Harrods now.

         

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Fade Out Eye Cream/Bye Bye Dark Circles!

Dark circles are something I've unfortunately inherited from my Mum, I sleep well, I drink lots of water and I have a healthy diet, I have tried absolutely everything to combat my dark circles, and to be honest I've lost all hope of ever getting rid permanently, if you suffer with dark circles then you'll know what I mean when I say they really are depressing! 

There are lots of great products on the market to help conceal and lighten the skin around the eye area, but I've been on the search for an eye cream to treat the skin, to deal with the actual root of my problem. 

I wanted my eyes to look brighter and healthier without the need for illuminating or trying to conceal them.

I have featured Fade Out on my blog before I had a friend trial some face creams for me and she had really good results, so when I was perusing the isles of skincare in Boots a few weeks ago I saw the Fade Out eye cream, and for under £9 I thought it was well worth a shot.

It promises to deliver results in 4 weeks, and I have to say at just over 3 weeks into my trial I actually feel a bit better about my dark circles.
Fade Out claims this cream can combat dark shadows, target fine lines and wrinkles, minimises puffiness, brighter skin.
The cream is skin toned in colour, it has a hint of shimmer through it, although it does not look shimmery on the skin at all, it does lighten and brighten and smoothes the area ready for make up to go on top.  

I hope you'll agree you can see a difference, I personally feel a lot more confident about my eyes and make up seems to make them look flawless now. 

I love dusting a light sweep of the Bourjois Java Rice Powder over the cream once it's dried, the two combined are a good combo! 

The tube contains 15ml of product & using such small amounts means it'll last for ages, it's good value for money and the tiny nozzle applicator makes it easier to apply to the eye area, i dot mine on and pat in with a soft brush.

If you are on the hunt for an eye cream to lift your dark circles them I would recommend you try this, you might just be surprised. 

You can find Fade Out products in Boots stores nationwide. 

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MAC Huggable Lipcolour/MAC's Latest Collection

MAC's latest launch is one I've been waiting on for a while. 12 shades of lips hugging gorgeousness this one wont disappoint if you love your MAC lippies but you want something a little softer on the lips for the upcoming spring/summer then you should definitely try one out. 

The Huggable Lipcolour's are designed to give the look of  a gloss but the application and wear of a lipstick, I was excited at MAC's claim of 6 hour wear on these, although I have to say in the shade I've been wearing (Touché*) that's not quite the case, although I hope the brighter shades may hold up a little longer. 

I actually quote like the packaging on these, a smooth gunmetal casing give it a really modern and clean look, quite a nice touch considering it's the first product launch of the year. 

Touché is probably the most natural shade in the collection, a lovely nude with a slight shimmering undertone throughout, this will be gorgeous in the summer with a natural tan. 

The lip colours glide on the lips they feel stiff when you first apply but they literally melt to a glossy ;like texture upon application, no dragging or pulling on the delicate lip area. 

Priced at £17.50 they are a bit pricey for a glorified lip gloss, but they know us MAC gals will pay for it! 

Shop the collection now at the MAC Online Store

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The Anti Diet Post

You'll have seen it in the press this morning, and what a truly shocking suggestion for the dieters market, the which celeb are you weighing scales. 

In a nation that seems to be in an epidemic of fad dieting do you think these are a good idea or a real distasteful attempt at encouraging dieters to weight the same as their fave celeb? 

So many of my followers have been asking me how I've succeeded at loosing my weight, and the truth is... 

I QUIT DIETING! 

I enjoy a healthy clean and balanced variety of food, drink water and I exercise 5/6 times a week, that's it. 

I've been there, the low carb, low calorie, shake diets, I've done them all but I have to say since turning my lifestyle around I am now longer even in agreance with companies like Weight Watchers and Slimming world because both are guilty of taking a concept and making it a gimmick for people who are desperate to loose weight buy into them.

Weight Watchers has worked for me in the past, but I gained my weight back, and they really push the use of their own brand low fat (high sugar) diet foods, low fat options and their own branded stuff contains the real silent enemy...sugar!
In a nutshell Weight Watchers is nothing more than a calorie controlled diet, and they don't overly promote exercise in conjunction with healthy eating, which again doesn't set anybody up with the correct tools to go on in life and succeed to get to their goal. 

Slimming Worlds promotes eating as much of food as you like, again that's not teaching someone to be in control of their own portions and teaching then to learn the real tool you need to succeed in weight loss.. and that's willpower. 

If your reading this now and your thinking of embarking on your own weight loss journey, you'll need just a few things to succeed: 

• The want to change, and I mean the real want, this isn't about a half assed effort it's about giving it all you've got. 
• Willpower, you'll need this tool for life, not just for the initial stages, even I need to rely on good old fashioned willpower to not eat things when I simply don't need them. 
• The understanding that you are wanting to change your life, not just 'go on a diet' for a few months, trust me you'll fail if that's the way your thinking. 
• A gym membership, or even just some simple hand weights and some circuit exercises if you have to work out at home, now the summers on it's way a field will be helpful or even the area you live in, hit the streets and run, walk or jog, just get moving! 

In more recent months you'll have no doubt seen the latest addition to the 'fad' dieting world...
Juice Plus, nothing more than a marketing scam, a shake and capsule plan branded with the slogan
"The Next Best Thing To Vegetables" The next best thing?! what's wrong with (and lets face it a much much cheaper option is to just eat actual vegetables)
As my other half regularly points out people who are so desperate for a quick fix would be better of buying a decent tub of protein powder than drinking these sugar filled shakes.

Don't just take my word for it, I've used my own protein label and compared it to that of the Juice Plus shake label to show you just what I mean.
Packed full of unnatural  ingredients and chemicals, how can they be promoting a healthy image to people when their products are so artificial?! 

With sugar causing an obesity epidemic,not to mention the huge influx in people suffering from diabetes, when will this nation stop? 

Obesity is a huge problem for this country, and these fad diets, direct marketing and pyramid schemes are simply buying into to the empty space in the market that's being created by everyone eating too much of the wrong foods and by taking no notice of the hidden dangers in doing so. 

I feel so strongly about this, because I've personally experienced the struggle on both sides, the difference being that during my 'fad dieting' stage I always used to think 'oh it'll follow this for 6 months then I can eat what I like' I felt deprived, starved of my desired foods, and very unhappy.
It seemed such a long process that didn't really give me any results, and of course you hit the famous plateau stage where you either just give up altogether and end up back at square one, with even more weight to loose than you had to begin with, or you plod along miserable and feeling like your getting no where, and that you'll be on this diet forever.

 The truth is by dieting alone your never going to get the real results you have only ever dreamed of I'm your mind unless you combine them with exercise. Cardio exercise is brilliant if you want to increase your hearts strength, improve your stamina and generally just increase your overall fitness.
Weight lifting is brilliant for building muscle which in time speeds up your metabolism at rest, combine the two and you have a winning combination.

I can personally say also that by changing my life and developing a true love for the gym and exercise I am so much happier, everyone who knows me will tell you that, not to mention the lift its had on my general health and well being, the weight loss and toning is an added bonus. 

I used to suffer from anxiety, I couldn't leave me house at one point, I missed work for over 100 days, writing that now feels so surreal because I cant imagine that was actually me, feels like I'm describing someone I don't even know. 

I'm almost at my 1 year gym joining anniversary, and it feels so good to be beating the old me with each day that goes by, she will never come back, I have made way to much progress to ever let all the handwork I've put in go to waste.  

I have no qualifications on nutrition and I'm not a PT but I have tailored my own lifestyle change, and that's the only way your going to succeed you must have the mindset in the right place that in itself will power your drive and determination to get to your own goal, what ever it is you have all you need in your mind to do it, and it needn't cost you a penny in gimmicky diet products, or a weekly subscription to a club, you can do it if you want to do it. 

The comments and feedback I've received in the relatively short time I've been making my changes make it all the more worth while, I feel flattered that I've inspired some of you to achieve your own goals and it's been great hearing some of your feedback. 

Well done to all of you who've achieved what you wanted to achieve, and to those of you just starting out all I can say is, it wont be easy, you'll have days where you want to quit, but don't give up on yourself. You have to keep going. 

The process is simple...

Eat Clean + Work Out + Trust The Process = Your Goal 

It wont happen overnight, but it will be so worth it when you get there to know you've worked for it.

xXx

Beauty Works Double Volume Piece & 'How To' Application Video

I've tried bonded ones, wefts, weaves, and clip ins.
Yes I'm talking about hair extensions. 

The reality of bonded and permanent options isn't as glam as it may seem though, running the risk of damage to your hair, excessive itching because you can't wash your hair properly and not forgetting the look of rats tails that you've then gotta live with until you have them removed. 

Sound familiar? Then you need to get yourself one of these hair pieces from Beauty Works. The Double Volume hairpiece is a 3/4 hair piece which you can apply in minutes creating the Cheryl-esque look of a salon blow dry, whilst having the thickness and length you'd expect from a full head of extensions. 

This is the synthetic version of the hair piece and I have to say the hair quality is fab! This one retails at between £39 & £45 depending on colour, they even have ombré options. I recently wore my hair piece for the first time to my friends wedding, it was so comfortable I forgot I had it on, and everyone commented on how real and nice my hair looked.
My hair piece is the Hot Toffee shade which is 04, it has reddy tones running through it so matches mine perfectly.

Thanks to its clever comb and drawstring application it really is held firmly in place, and means its adjustable to any head shape or size.

I didn't even have to style this, took it out the box and gave it a shake, and voila... Perfect tresses even the most un hair savvy girls could apply this and create a look of hair that's taken hours to achieve in the salon, in under 5 minutes.

Of course you needn't buy any products to use along with this but if I had to suggest any here's my fave's to create a prefect look....

Umberto Gianini Backcomb In A Bottle spray, Bobby Pins, and my trusty TRESemme Salon Finish Hairspray (or your preferred spray, you'll also need a thin comb, or teasing brush, and I have an extension brush which I use to brush my hair piece without damaging it. 

I thought it would be easier to film an application video for you as it's easier than trying to take 'action shots' so I hope you find this helpful!

Do you have a fave brand of hair piece, or will you be treating yourself to one of these by Beauty Works?
Check out the full range right here at the Beauty Works Website

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