Aussie to the Rescue!

Last wednesday I was lucky enough to be invited to an event Aussie were holding in Manchester. They said it was a girls night in and we could take clothes along and get prepared for anything we have going on this summer! I didn't take any clothes because there wasn't really any point with my clothes haha!

Anyway, it was being held in the penthouse suit of the Light Boutique Hotel in Manchester city centre and the view was fab! *Some photo's are the property of Aussie and my sister :) *

Having my hair done..I asked for volume!

Yummy Cocktails...Barry M Mint Green looks good accessorized with a Sea Breeze doesn't it?

I had a fab night meeting the lovely bloggers that were there and the girls from Aussie they were really friendly.

At the end of the night we were given some Aussie products to take home and try

So far I am really impressed with the products, the hairsprays are great for keeping my hair in place, giving it more lift and they smell gorgeous! Thanks for a great night Aussie x

May Favourites!

Its that time again, where the heck has May gone? I feel like we only had bank holiday last weekend?!



Here's this months favourite's





NouriFusion Multivitamin Cleanser - I won this in Sophie's http://makeupwonderland.blogspot.com/ giveaway with the toner and moisteriser. I really like the whole range but the cleanser is fab because its the first cleanser to not break me out! So I'm really impressed.


Aussie Hi-Hold+ Hi-Shine spray - Does what it says on the tin! And it smells lovely.


Xen Tan Deep Bronze and Bronzer - Apparently its nearly summer (or is it already summer?) with us not getting more than a few days of sunshine I need this stuff! See my review http://all-that-glitters-and-sparkles.blogspot.com/2010/05/xen-tan-review.html


Barry M Metallic liquid liner - I've had this since October but I really love it, I have been wearing winged liner a lot recently and this makes it so easy! I usually go over it with my Urban Decay 24/7 Zero liner to make it darker.


Nars Orgasm blush - So pretty for summer! That's all I'll say because I know how many posts you can read on it. But one thing I'll say is I hate how dirty Nars packaging gets.


Nails Inc Diet Coke polish in London - I know there have been a million posts about this so I'll just say I really love it and I'll put my swatch at the bottom!


Maybelline ColorSensational Ambre Rose - I must've forgotten about this but I have found my love for it again.

Xen Tan Review

You all know I had a spray tan done by Xen Tan a few weeks ago and that it did end up streaky. It also didn't last very long but I was really impressed by the colour.


So the girls from Xen Tan sent me some stuff to try at home and when I eventually received them (Royal Mail are shocking, I actually ended up with 2 parcels because it took almost a week for the first to arrive) and used them I was really impressed so I thought I'd share my thoughts with you.











I was sent Deep Bronze instant self tan, Perfect Bronze bronzer, Transform Luxe daily tanner and Face Tanner.





Firstly, the Deep Bronze and Face Tanner. I have nothing bad to say about either of them, Deep Bronze comes out a browny green colour and smells quite nice. I applied it with my hands rather than the mitt they sent and I had no streaks. The Face Tanner is just white and smells really lovely. They both include the new Time Release Ingredient which makes your tan last longer. I ended up doing 2 applications on separate nights to get a deeper colour and it lasted for a week which I thought was really good. I did wake up in the morning with the usual biscuit false tan smell but when I went to bed it didn't smell as bad as other tanners I have used. I got lots of compliments on my tan last week and was told it was really natural looking which I agree with. I love the colour of it.











This week I only did one application of the tan and today I have topped up with the Transform Luxe to make it a bit darker and so it lasts me over the bank holiday weekend. This is the same colour as the Face Tanner but it has that marzipan smell like Deep Bronze. I've had it on for about 5 hours now and its come out a really gorgeous colour. I do have that biscuit smell but I'll be showering tonight anyway.





And lastly the bronzer

I really like the bronzer, usually I use one from a make up brand like Rimmel or Max Factor. The only other time I have used a bronzer from a tanning range is the St Tropez bronzer which seemed to be really strong and quite orange, plus it smelt like old style make up - you know like the kind your nan has? So I wasn't keen on it.


The packaging is cute, its round with a gold flip up lid with a mirror inside, you can see glitter in the pan but once its on the face it looks quite matte. If you use it with a slight hand you can get a gorgeous natural look with it.







I'm really impressed with Xen Tan products and have recommended them to my friends (who have bought them and have also been really impressed!)


Disclaimer: These products were sent to me for review purposes, I am neither paid for my reviews or affiliated with Xen Tan. My reviews are honest based on my own experience.

Sorry!!

Hi everyone!

I just wanted to do a quick post to say I'm really sorry for the lack of posts this past week, I've had so much on. We've put the house on the market so we've had lots of cleaning and sorting for that and I'm doing a childminding course at the moment which requires lots of things doing for it and I've not had the time to blog. I am trying to do some bits this week but I think I've lost my mojo :(

I promise I'll do some posts at some point this week x

Giveaway Winner!!

Thank you all for all of your entries, I checked them all and counted them up then used Random.org to pick the winner

And entry number 48 was the ever so lovely Liloo!!

Congratulations, DM me and send me your address

x

Cloud Nine Review..

This is the final post on Cloud Nine. I really hope I haven't bored you all, and that you've found it interesting to see how to recreate the gorgeous Cloud Nine looks.

At the end of our visit to the photo shoot Guillaume showed me and Emily how to recreate the looks on each other.

Firstly I did "Beachy Waves" on Emily, obviously they are nowhere near as good as Guillaume's



I was quite proud of how it turned out, I curl my own hair a lot with the straighteners but Guillaume showed me a new way to do it to create a more relaxed look and its fab! And really easy.

Then he showed Emily how to kind of do "Kinky Straight" on my hair, obviously mine is a lot shorter than the model's and my hair had already been straightened in the morning.





It was so interesting to see behind the scenes of a photo shoot and the looks Cloud Nine came up with are gorgeous! Guillaume was really lovely too and had a chat with us both about his work and was happy to show us how to do things.

Now onto my review of the straighteners...



The packaging is very sleek and gives a good first impression, the box is nice and sturdy so won't get ruined. Alice has actually been using mine as a step!










A lot of people have said how handy the heatproof cap is for the straighteners, which it it but I never use it as I leave my straighteners on the side and it doesn't bother me that they're open. Very handy if you like to put them away, or for travelling!




The irons have low, medium and high heat options, six in total going from 100 degrees upto 200. I really like this feature, I have been using them for 4 weeks now and I can tell my hair is a lot healthier than it was when I was using GHD's - obviously because I'm not using so much heat. My hair looks shinier after using them, whereas before, the straighteners never really gave my hair any shine. And it feels a lot smoother, the irons glide through my hair. I started to notice before that my GHD's kept snagging little bits of my hair as I was straightening my hair. Some people obviously like a lot of heat, but that's not really good for your hair. With these irons you have the option to use less heat maybe during the week for work and then heat them right upto 200 degrees on weekends when you're going out.

I find curling my hair with them so much easier than with the GHD's, again the hair just glides through them effortlessly. The irons look nice, and they do look like GHD's but so do a lot of straighteners I don't think many straighteners look much different. A few people who have done reviews previously have said they have caught their hand in the joint at the bottom of the straighteners just under where it says Cloud Nine..



Personally, I haven't had that problem but my GHD's have the same joint so maybe I'm just used to it. They beep when you turn them on and the numbers flash up the line until they get to your chosen heat. The straighteners also have a Hibernation Mode, if you don't pick up your irons for 10 minutes they will turn themselves off and will only re-heat when you switch them back on. Which is another good feature, my GHD's do have it but they even turn themselves off when I'm actually styling my hair.

Here is my hair before straightening..



And here it is after..


Yes, they're on seperate days, I forgot to day a before picture the day I did my after picture!

My hair feels fuller and doesn't feel so flat and shapeless. I honestly can't find a fault with these irons, I know some people will be thinking "Course you can't you got them for free" but this is my honest opinion and I have stopped using my GHD's now because I prefer the Cloud Nine iron. I know I have compared these to GHD's a lot in my post but that's because that was my previous styler, and obviously they are one of the more obvious choices when choosing new hair straighteners. If someone was to say they were considering buying a pair, I would tell them to look for a salon with Cloud Nines and go and try them and then decide because if I was in their position I would pick Cloud Nine.

You can buy the irons from selected salons around the UK, check for for salon locations, you can also purchase the irons from the website. They also sell a wide plate styler which is the same price as the standard one. As you will have seen in my first post on Cloud Nine, you can buy a Micro Iron which is about the same size as a stapler, and is great for short hair and for men!


Thank you Cloud Nine for letting me have a little insight into how your looks are put together, and for letting me attend the photo shoot and see it all happen!




Disclaimer: I am neither affiliated with Cloud Nine or paid for my reviews. My reviews are honest and are based on my own experience.

New Hair colour!

I mentioned the other day that I have dyed my hair again recently. I have had red hair now since september I think? But I'm always trying new dyes rather than sticking with just one. The one I really liked and used the most was Loreal Ferria Plum Power, but at the beginning of april I decided to try and lighten my hair and see if I could get a bit of blonde back in it. Well it was a disaster and I ended up with ginger roots and brown hair. So I put Plum Power back on 2 days afterwards and it went really bright! Which was okay but I don't want bright red hair I like it dark red so last week I bought Loreal Casting Creme Gloss in Black Cherry and I really like it

Ir probably doesn't look much different but I can tell the difference and I'm really pleased with it!

And yes I managed to curl my hair with the Cloud Nine's! My hair has started to grow back which I'm so glad about because I have been regretting cutting it all off.

This was just before I went to a christening yesterday, if you follow me on Twitter you'll know I had a nightmare trying to find something to wear but I found a dress on saturday and I didn't think I'd like it but it was nice on and was flattering and I didn't feel mumsy or frumpy in it like I felt in a lot of the dresses I tried on last week. I wore it with leggings and black patent peep toe shoes, I don't have a full length picture of me because I forgot but here is the picture from the website

But I really didn't know what to do with my make up because of all the different colours, and obviously I was a christening, but I didn't want to just do plain winged liner so I used a few of the gold colours from Urban Decay BOS II and I think it looked nice! And I wore Ever Hip lipstick to add a bit of brightness to my face!

x

Cloud Nine summer hair: Beachy Waves & Kinky Straight

The second look Cloud Nine came up with was Beachy Waves..

This is a gorgeous, stylish summer look that anybody with mid length hair can recreate! It looks effortless and is really easy to do yourself.

Set the iron to 100, starting at the nape of the neck take one inch sections and wrap once around the iron, slowly glide down the length of the hair

As you get closer to the top of the scalp, do the same thing but start a few inches down the length of the hair


Separate the curls with serum


Its such a gorgeous style and the photo's of it are beautiful (it helps that the model is gorgeous too obviously!)

This third style is Kinky Straight. I don't have step by step photo's but I do have instructions for you



Step 1 - Whilst blow drying the hair, use a big round brush to add extra volume to the roots.

Step 2 - Starting at the nape of the neck, take one inch deep sections and insert the irons at the roots. Give them a slight rotation and glide along the length of the hair. Make sure you turn the ends under.

Step 3 - When working closer to the scalp, start a few inches away to create a lift.

Step 4 - Flip your head upside down and use a soft brush


Step 5 - Tip the head back and style into place.

It looks simple and pretty and again is really easy for you to recreate. All the videos of how to recreate the looks will be on the Cloud Nine website.

My next post will be me and Emily having a go ourselves and my review on the irons!


All photo's are property of Propaganda.

Barry M Pale Pink..

Or Strawberry ice cream (is that what they're calling it when they made it part of the Ice Cream collection?)





I rebought this last week after Col smashed my other one and I kind of wish I hadn't bothered.


The colour would be quite pretty if the formula was better. This is 2 coats, it probably needs 3 but I don't think it would ever dry if I put 3 on. There's not much else to say about it!

Cloud Nine Summer Hair: The Crimp

Anyone who has used Cloud 9 stylers or even if you have browsed their website will know their motto is "Less heat more style" , they are made by the original creators of GHD's. They don't try to say they're better than GHD, but they do say they give you more options on the amount of heat you use on your hair, as the stylers go up to 200 degrees.

All of their new summer looks from the photo shoot were created with less than 150 degrees! Which is fantastic. I'll just share a bit of the press release with you

" Drop The Heat And Have Amazing Hair With Cloud Nine This Summer

Cloud Nine, the styling iron brand that’s taken the hairdressing world by storm, with fans including James Brown and Richard Ward, has created a range of stunning summer looks that can all be achieved using lower temperatures of 150 and less – regular straighteners are set at temperatures around 200.

The Cloud Nine styling iron, which boasts a digital temperature control panel, was used by session stylist, Guillaume Vappereau, to create three key looks for summer – Beach Waves, Kinky Straight and The Crimp.

The looks, which all echo Guillaume’s work at London & New York Fashion Week and this year’s Oscars, have all been created to show women that they can have breathtaking summer hair, without using searing heat.

Tousled, Beach Waves are perfect for summer – easy relaxed and chic – and with a lower temperature, you can achieve a softer wave, rather than tight curls. Alternatively, Kinky Straight is a look that’s groomed, yet natural looking – but allowing the ends to have a slight kink, rather than a curl, is a must.

For a bolder, high fashion look, The Crimp is a show-stopping style that taps into the resurgence of crimped hair that was seen on Spring/Summer and Autumn/Winter catwalks. To pull off this look, it’s essential you contrast dramatic crimped front sections with more natural waves or straight hair to achieve dual texture perfection. It’s also essential you get the look with a maximum temperature of 150, to style without burning your hair. "

I love all of the styles! Even The Crimp, I know a lot of people are very wary of crimping and how it could look dated but the way Guillaume styled it, made it look fantastic!



Here are some step by step photo's

First, heat the styler to 150, then you make plaits in the section of hair you want to crimp..


Then, run the iron down each plait several times and leave them to cool down


Release the plaits, and run a soft brush lightly through the hair




I think this is a great way to wear crimped hair, it looks effective and stylish and is something I have been wanting to try out since I saw it, but I haven't had the chance yet.

In my next post I'll show you the other two styles. Cloud Nine do have video's on how to recreate this exact look which will be on their website soon.

All photo's are property of Propaganda.

A Taupe FOTD

Just a quick one







I'll just list the eye products as I used my usual face products which can be found on any of my FOTD's...

MUA Pearl 11
MAC Satin Taupe in crease
Black Sleek shadow in the outer corner
Urban Decay 24/7 liner in Zero
Maybelline Falsies mascara

My hair looks pretty orange in the sun, I have just changed my colour to Black Cherry by Loreal Casting Creme Gloss, so next time we get a sunny day (or minute) I will take a picture of it! x

Cloud Nine photoshoot...

So I mentioned a while ago that I was lucky enough to be invited to the Cloud Nine summer hair photoshoot about 4 weeks ago! And now I can share with you all what we got up to. This may be split up into a few posts as there are loads of pictures that I want to share with you because they had some fantastic looks!


So for now I'll give you a few sneak peeks into what we saw...




Have you seen how tiny the mini styler is?




Lots of lovely make up!













How gorgeous is her hair colour?

More will be revealed over the next couple of days!

Sleek Turqouise...

I bought this one on Thursday night and put it on as soon as I got home. I don't think this picture shows the true colour of it, I think its more of a bright mint colour than turqouise. The formula is great and it dries quickly, this is two coats.

I'm a bit confused though as I thought Sleek were marketing these new polishes as Pastels, but they're all quite bright. But a lot different to the other shades that Sleek already do which mostly are very dark.

Tag: Our Story..

I saw this on another blog and thought I would have a go! Basically, you tell the story of how you met your boyfriend, husband best friend whatever!

We met in November 2002, I was 16 and I was out with my friends in the club we went to every thursday and saturday night. And I spotted a guy who we had seen a few weeks earlier who had been completely wasted and had poured a drink down my friends back and then thrown the glass on my toe. I'd also seen him during the week when I got off the bus from work, so I went over to give him a piece of my mind, I don't really know why! Anyway, to get away from my ear bashing he introduced me to his friend, and we spent the rest of the night together. We swapped numbers and he went home on his own, and I went back to my friends. When I got home I phoned him, yes I was keen, I was 16 I didn't knowany better but I knew I really liked him. He was 21 and a lot of the "boys" I'd been involved with up until then had been really immature and I hated it so I knew I needed somebody older than me - I've always been old headed. Anyway, we talked for a while and then the next morning I phoned him and said "So are we going out today" And we went to the cinema that night. That was a sunday, I saw him again that week and then on the thursday I went out for my friends birthday and he came to meet us and that was when we decided to "go out properly" haha.

I think we both fell in love very quickly, I remember Col telling me so within less than a month. We got engaged in July 2003, which I know isn't long especially when I was only 17 and I was terrified of telling my parents but I just knew he was the man I would spend the rest of my life with. We bought our house in 2005, and it was a bit rocky at first. We argued a lot, its very hard to get used to living together. We had spent a lot of time together beforehand, he used to stay at my parents from thursday til monday morning but nothing prepares you for seeing each other 7 days a week for so much time and them being there when you walk through the door from work when you might be a bit stressed. I even moved back to my parents at the end of 2006, which did us the world of good as it made us both realise how much we loved each other and how we didn't like to be apart. In May 2007, we found out we were expecting a baby. Which wasn't a surprise, we'd had a very drunken conversation in the march and said "Ooh lets have a baby" this was in a kebab shop waiting for our takeaway!! Alice was born in December 2007 which was amazing. We both love being parents and she is just the light of our lives and makes us so proud. I think we both have moments where we look at her, then look at each other and we're like "We made her" but we don't say it, you can just tell we're thinking it.

We got married in September 2008 in Florida which was fun! But we also missed some of Col's family there, we kept expecting them to show up on the holiday to surprise us. It was our fault as we only decided 6 weeks before we were due to go on holiday, that we'd get married there. We did have a big party when we got home, and I got to wear my dress again.

Col always tells me it's fate that we met, as him and his friend went to a different club that night originally but they wouldn't let them in because of a silly joke they made. I'm so glad, I can't imagine myself with anybody else and I can't wait to grow old with him and have more babies and grandchildren :) I hope I didn't bore you all anyway! I thought I'd share a couple more pictures with you - prepare yourself for 16 year old me with blonde hair!!

The night we decided to "go out properly"

September 2005 in Portugal

And very tired, but very happy parents!

I tag you all, please let me know when you've done it as I love hearing how people met! x