SOAP et Dr Jart+ Water Fuse BB Cream | Review

A few weeks ago Dr Jart+ products were all 50% on the Boots website so I took the opportunity to try out their Water Fuse BB Cream. I am so glad I did! I have very oily skin with large pores and redness on my forehead and cheeks. This BB cream is oil free and claims to minimise the need for concealer or foundation.
I've still been using my trusty Benefit Porefessional underneath to cover my pores but other than that I found that I didn't need any concealer to cover the redness on my face. I don't really like to wear foundation anyway so this is a great alternative.
It also claims to control sebum (oil) and I found that wearing this all day, my skin was less shiny and looked a lot more radiant. When I first applied this it looked quite grey and pale on my skin, but it soon adapted to my skin tone.
One thing I definitely learned with this is that a little goes a very long way! This is now a staple in my make up bag and I use it almost every day.

Have you tried any of the Dr Jart+ BB creams?

SOAP et Ciate Mini Mani Month Advent Calendar

Being an avid beauty blog reader, I quickly discovered that advent calendars can be even more awesome than they used to be. When I came across this Ciate advent calendar, I KNEW I had to have it! Even so, I couldn't bring myself to spend £38 on it. Lucky for me I have the best girlfriend in the world, and she decided to buy it for me :D. This retailed at £38 at Selfridges, but I then read on someone's blog that QVC were also stocking it and at the much more wallet-friendly price of £31.50! So she bought it for me and here it is! Unfortunately it is no longer available, unless you have a look on eBay.

I had a bit of trouble with the delivery from QVC (they use Hermes - the same company used by ASOS). I was able to track the delivery and after a few days it says that the item had been signed for and was delivered. No one in my flat had signed for it so I asked my neighbours and they hadn't signed for it either. QVC were great about it, they didn't have any left at the time but luckily the team leader who was dealing with the issue found one and sent it to me straight away with a different delivery company! And here it is! The original one still hasn't been found, QVC are opening a case with the delivery company and hopefully they'll be able to sort something out.

It's not the first time I've had trouble with Hermes, they've left items on my doorstep a few times, in broad daylight, so I am going to avoid buying things from websites that use them.

I can't wait to start it on Saturday :D.

Have you got an exciting advent calendar this year?

SOAP et le NOTD | Nail Girls Silver Polish

A few weeks ago I wore my Nail Girls silver nail polish as an accent nail with Nails Inc Motcomb Street. Ever since then I've wanted to wear it on all my fingers but kept buying other colours which I had to wear! So, finally, this week I decided to test out this beauty on my hands and I am in love! It is so easy to apply, it doesn't streak at all and the end result is this gorgeous, foil-like silver on my nails. I have no idea what this colour is called as I got it in my October Joliebox and it has no name. However, I know Nail Girls released some metallic polishes in honour of the Olympics, so i assume this is a mini version of one of those.
I will definitely look into splurging on the Bronze and Gold versions in the future?

Have you tried any Nail Girls polishes?

SOAP et un giveaway

Robyn Mayday is currently holding a giveaway in honour of getting to 500 followers on GFC. I have been following her blog for a few months now and I'm so glad I do! One thing I loved about her blog the first time I cam across it is her blog design (I'm petty like that!). It just looks so cute.

I love her sense of style and her style and shopping tips. I know there aren't many of you here but if you happen to come by this post then you should definitely go and check her blog out :).

SOAP et le MUA Haul

MUA recently held a very short promotion in celebration of reaching 35,000 likes on their facebook page. The promotion was 35% off everything (for about 6 hours!) on their website plus free shipping. I've wanted to buy their Heaven and Earth eyeshadow palette for ages so I thought this would be the perfect opportunity to pick it up! The minimum spend was £10, so I filled my basket with products that cost exactly £10 altogether and spent a total of £6.50!
PS - excuse the crap quality of the photos, I had to use my iPhone camera.

The first 2 things I chose were 2 lipsticks in shade 10 (left) and shade 13 (right). Shade 10 is a nice dark, browny red with very subtle shimmer in it. I thought it was going to be more of a plum colour but nonetheless I really like the colour. It's also quite sheer which makes it easy to wear during the day time.
Shade 13, on the other hand, is a very creamy bright red lipstick. I wouldn't have bought this lipstick if it wasn't for the sale and I probably won't wear it until it starts getting warmer again but I'm glad I bought it. I wore it round the house when it arrived today and really like how it looks on me!

I also bought a lipliner in brooding plum. I love plum lip products at the moment, my favourite one being the Kate Moss Rimmel Matte Lipstick in 107, and I thought this lipliner would go perfectly with it. The lipliner is really creamy and I'm really looking forward to trying it out.

I also bought this gold glitter liquid eyeliner. I'm really excited to use this over Christmas! Its gold glitter in a clear eyeliner gel. It's packed full of glitter so it shouldn't be too patchy on the eye lid. I am a sucker for a sparkly party eye!

The one product which I might be disappointed in is this concealer. My concealer finished and I haven't bothered to buy a new one, so I decided to try one of the MUA ones. The colour is 'Radiance'. I'm not too sure what to think of it yet, I haven't tried it on my face. When I tried it on my arm it came out really thick and the colour was a bit wrong against my skin tone. Not going to say too much else as I haven't properly tried it yet!

Finally, the Heaven and Earth eyeshadow palette. I haven't swatched it as everyone and their dog has swatched this on the internet. The colours are gorgeous and I can't wait to try them all!


Did you buy anything in the MUA 35% off promotion?

SOAP et le NOTD | Nails Inc Motcomb Street and Nailgirls unnamed Silver

I picked up Nails Inc Motcomb Street free with this month's Glamour magazine. It's such a great A/W shade and such a bargain as Glamour magazine is only £2! It's a really really dark blue (which looks black in these photos cos of my crap lighting) which I decided to pair with this amazing silver from Nailgirls. I got this sample size polish in my first Joliebox last month and doesn't have a name, but it's a gorgeous bright, metallic silver and I think the two of them look really great together.

I love the formula of Nails Inc polishes. I used 2 coats for this but only out of habit. I could have easily stopped at one because over a good base coat this comes out exactly as it does with 2 coats. I've never used a Nailgirls polish before but I love the formula of this one so might have to pick up a couple more in the future!

SOAP et Instagram | Instagram Half Term

This week has been half term and as I'm a teacher, I've had a great time relaxing and having a week off. I've had lots of work too, but it's so great to be able to sit up in bed and do my work and not have to be at work by half 7! So I thought I would jump on the instagram bandwagon, and here are my photos from this week!

 Autumn shoes, nails and leaves | Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain Loves | Matching Christmas sheets and PJs :)

Wearing Revlon Just Bitten Balm Stain in 005 Crush | Stormtrooper keychain I bought for Jodie :) | Starbucks and Hotel Chocolat <3

 My beautiful Girlfriend and me | Jumping on the Lush Bubble Bar bandwagon | Wearing Kate Moss for Rimmel Matte Lipstick in 107

 First Gingerbread Latte of the year | Getting excited about Christmas like a saddo | Bought some photos from Prinstagram that I'm going to hang up somewhere

SOAP et le lips | My current Favourite Lip Products

This post is going to be divided into - Lip Sticks/Colour and Lip balms. I love lip products, and have started to develop a little collection, so I thought it would be a good time to post some of my current favourites!

Favourite Lipsticks/Colours

L-R: Revlon Kate Moss Matte Lipstick in 107; Topshop Lips in Rumour Has It; Poppy King for No7 Lipstick in No.5 Intrigue; Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain in 001 Honey.

Rimmel Kate Moss Matte Lipstick in 107
This lipstick was an impulse buy a couple of weeks ago. I was in my local tiny Boots, I needed a new cleanser and a new top coat and EVERYTHING was (and still is!) on 3 for 2, so I turned around, saw the Rimmel stand and grabbed it before I could think twice. And I am so glad i did! It's a beautiful dark, almost wine red, which is a colour I would not usually go for (as you can see from the other 3 products). To my surprise this colour really compliments my skin tone and colouring, the formula is great, it's really long-wearing, it doesn't smudge easily and it doesn't dry the lips out. Perf. This lipstick is £5.49 and available from Boots.

Poppy King for No7 Lipstick in No.5 Intrigue
This lipstick was another 3 for 2 bargain from Boots a few months ago. This is in my favourites because the colour is almost identical to my natural lip colour, so it's great for daytime because it just gives my lips a little extra oomph. However, it doesn't last very long and, compared to the other products in the line up, you don't get very much product for your money. It's quite sheer, though I don't mind too much as I only tend to wear this lipstick during the day. This lipstick is £10.95, it's currently unavailable on the Boots website.

Topshop Lips in Rumour Has It
I really enjoy wearing this Topshop lipstick. The formula is quite creamy and doesn't dry my lips out. It's not the most long-wearing lipstick, though it's easy to apply so i don't mind that too much. I wanted a brown toned neutral colour when I bought this, which was towards the end of the summer when I still had a decent tan. I don't wear this colour as much now, but I still love how it looks with a simple lined eye on a night out. This lipstick is £8 and available from Topshop.

Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain in 001 Honey
I talked about this in my previous post, so I won't ramble on about how much I love this, again.

Favourite Lip Balms

L-R: Cath Kidston Almond Lip Balm; Nivea Pure & Natural Milk & Honey Lip Balm; JASON Lips Bee Healthier Natural Lip Balm.

I absolutely love lip balms. I usually have about 2 or 3 on the go and loads of others running around. These are my three current favourites of the lot.

Cath Kidston Almond Lip Balm
Let me be clear, the main reasons I like this lip balm is because it's Cath Kidston, it smells devine, and a good friend of mine gave it to me for my birthday with a few other Cath Kidston treats. It's not the best lip balm in the world, it doesn't last on the lips very long, and I for one HATE lip balms in tins (don't like greasy fingers - ew) but, like I said earlier, the almondy smell/taste is just incredible. This lip balm is £5 and you can get it from Amazon.

Nivea Pure and Natural Milk and Honey Lip Balm
I stumbled upon this lip balm when I was pulling my hair out in Boots one day as they didn't have my all time favourite lip balm (Vaseline cocoa butter - in a tube, hate the tins) and I desperately needed something to keep me going. I'm so glad I picked this up, it's a really nourishing lip balm and it makes the lips feel instantly moisturised. It smells quite sweet and worked wonders on my lips. I don't use it as much now I've got my Jason lip balm, but I still carry it around with me just in case. This fabulous lip balm is only £1.99 and you can get it from Boots, though I get it from my local Sainsbury's.

JASON Lips Bee Healthier Natural Bees Wax Lip Balm
I got this lip balm in this month's Joliebox, I won't talk too much about it here as I spoke about it in my last post. I love it. Done!

So those are my favourite lip products at the moment. What are your favourites?

SOAP et le handbag | What's in my handbag

 I thought I would start my blog with a classic 'What's in my handbag?' post. I don't carry too much around with me because I change my bag quite often. I love bags and have loads so I try and get a lot of wear out of all them! The bag I'm currently using is the Zara bucket bag (which everyone and their mum has). I love this bag, though I think it looks a little cheap around the seam areas.

I've got the usual things, my iPhone4 (which is slowly dying an annoying death), my purse, which I bought from Pull and Bear a couple of years ago, my diary, my keys and lots of pens. I'm a teacher, so the large bag usually ends up full of sheets that need to be marked on a Friday afternoon.

These three items are my handbag essentials at the moment.

JASON Lips Bee Healthier Lip Balm

I got this lip balm in the October Joliebox and have been using every day. It's a great all natural lip balm, it smells like After Eight mints and leaves my lips feeling deliciously soft. What I like most about it is that the wax is slightly rough so it feels a little exfoliating on the lips too, which is great as my lips get really dry and flaky in the cold months. This lip balm is only £2.49 and is available from Planet Organic.

L'Occitane Mango Flower Hand Cream

This hand cream is one of my favourite finds this month. I (like many other people out there) picked this up free with a copy of Marie Claire about a month ago and have not looked back since. The smell is great and the cream is quite thick but sinks in fairly quickly. I am a lifelong fan of Soap and Glory's Hand Food, but this L'Occitane hand cream has stolen the title of My Favourite Hand Cream. This hand cream is £8 and available from the L'Occitane website.

moa The Green Balm

I also got this tiny sample of the moa green balm in this month's Joliebox. It is a moisturising balm that calm be used on any part of the body. To be honest, I've only been carrying this around because it's so small and I want to force myself to get some use out of it. The formula is very thick and quite greasy, which tends to be put me off. Also, since i have my trusty hand cream and lip balm, I don't tend to need any other moisturising products. This balm is £9 for a full size tub (50ml) and is available from Feel Unique.

As far as make up goes, I don't tend to carry anything I'm not wearing on my face that day. Since I change bags around so much, if I leave too much in one bag I often end up forgetting about it and losing half my things to fantasy-bottom-of-the-bag-land. So these are the things I wear more or less every day.

Soap and Glory Supercat Eyes Liquid Eyeliner Pen

I have been using liquid eyeliners for many years now, but haven't tried any eyeliner pens that I've liked until I met Soap and Glory's Supercat Eyes pen. Even after years of practice, my hand is never steady when I apply my eyeliner and I often have to touch up and redo hundreds of time. In came Soap and Glory. The nib of this pen is great, it's thick on the bottom and thin on the end which makes it easier to change the thickness of the line on your lid. It is highly pigmented and lasts all day (I put mine on at about 6.30am and it usually lasts till I get home at about 7pm). Love it! This pen is £6 and is available at Boots.

Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain in Honey
This was my first (and currently only) Revlon balm stain and I LOVE it. Firstly I love the colour. It looks really neutral in the tube but on me it comes out as a dark pink rather than the 'honey' colour of the packaging. I also love that it lasts quite long, and is quite moisturising (though the balmness does dry out quite quickly). These are £6.99 and available at Boots.

Clinique High Impact Mascara
I got this little sample with an Asos order towards the end of the summer and I'm so glad I did! Compared to many of the standard, high street mascaras that I've tried over the years, this Clinique one clumps a lot less, it separates the lashes without making them look spidery, and it is extremely long-wearing. This mascara is £16 and available at Boots.

Benefit The Porefessional Pore Minimizing Balm
This is my holy grail product. I have very large pores and oily skin and because of this I don't really like to wear foundation as they feel really sticky on my skin, my face gets really oily, I hate buying foundations that I ultimately don't end up wearing.. I could go on forever about my dislike for foundation! But when I met this balm back in June (thanks to Glamour's free sample!) I knew that we were a match made in heaven. Firstly, I love the texture of it. It comes out of the tube as a slightly powedery cream, but then feels powedery on the skin. This is great because it absorbs all the oil on the surface of my skin. The balm fills my pores and gives my skin an even finish. It is also slightly tinted so it covers up any redness which comes with my massive pores. I wear it almost everyday and it has never broken me out or damaged my skin in anyway. This little tube costs £23.50, though it has lasted me 4 months and is only now beginning to finish, and the miracles it works for me priceless, so I will definitely be repurchasing this soon.
Finally, I always have a snack or nibble in my bag! This is a Tasty Little Numbers white chocolate covered wafer and it is delicious! If you've never heard of Tasty Little Numbers, it's a range of snack and food products that help you count your calories easily. Most of their snacks are exactly 100 calories, so if you're counting your calories it makes it easier for you to calculate everything. Click on the link above to find out a little more about their products :).

So that's what's in my bag! Thought this would be a good way to get to know me a little bit, and it's also a post I love reading on other people's blogs and watching on YouTube.

So, What's in your bag? What are your holy grail products?

Blogisphere

A snap decision, because I want something to do outside of teaching and real life.
I have oily skin, shallow pockets and 23 years of life behind me.