25 Day’s Of Beauty: Day Four

Welcome back to Day Four of 25 Day’s Of Beauty where I share what I receive in my Marks And Spencer Beauty Advent Calender.

In today’s box I received a 30ml tube of the Alpha H Balancing Cleanser. This is a limited edition cleanser that is packed full of ingredients such as vitamin e, rose and aloe Vera to deeply cleanse skin but strip or irritate it.

This is the first product in this calendar I’ve actually wanted to use. I love Alpha H as a brand so I have no qualms about the quality of this product. It’s also the first product that fits me as a consumer and definitely go to waste. Four days in and I’ve only opened one product I like, it’s not boding well for the rest of this calendar.

Marks And Spencer Beauty Advent Calender Day Four

Welcome back to Day Three in my 25 Days of Beauty Series where I show you what I get in my Marks and Spencers Advent Calender. 

In today's box I recieved the Eyeko Lash Alert Mascara. I was a little dubious when I opened this as I really didn't like the Eyeko offering from last year but I was willing to give it a go. It has an extremely curved bristle brush that looks to hold just the right amount of product.

I was pleasently surprised when I tried it out this morning. I had a feeling I was going to like this as I am a big fan of bristle brushes but I didn't expect to like it as much as I did. It gave my lashes big volume and definition, didn't overload them with product and didn't droop or drop throughout the day. The only thing that annoyed me was how fiddly it was to apply but I think that all comes down to the fact that it's a miniature and you'd get a lot more control with the full size product. 

Marks And Spencer Beauty Advent Calender Day Four

Welcome Back to Day Four of my Mark's and Spencer's Beauty Advent Calender Unboxing.

In today's box I recieved a tube of the Gatineau Melatogenine Advanced Rejuvenating Cream. It's a thick balm like cream that claims to help with wrinkles, radiance and firmness. It combines biotechnology and natural ingredients such as Marine Collagen to help with the visible signs of advanced ageing.

I like the feel of this cream. As soon as I opened the box I popped a bit of this on the back of my hand. It's very thick, a bit too thick for a day cream in my opinion but once it's rubbed into the skin it leaves it feeling smooth, hydrated and soft to the touch. As it's aimed at anti ageing I don't think I'll be getting a lot of use out of this but may give it to my mum to try to get her thoughts, as she's been on the lookout for a new day cream for a while. However I think she may not like it that much when she sees the price. We recieved a 15ml tube in a calender which is a brilliant size to try but at £86 for a full sized 50ml pot, I don't think this would be a product I'd rush out to repurchase when this tube runs out.

Halloween Decor Ideas

Welcome Back to Halloween Week! As it's getting closer to Halloween and you may be thinking of decorating for upcoming parties I thought I'd share a few things I like to make my house look and feel ready for Halloween.

If you're not big on going all out on decorating your house for Halloween but want a little something to commemorate the holiday then window gels are the way to go. Fun, easy to do and a great way to get kids involved in as well. I got mine from local Poundlands and love the cute designs. These have filled up my window amazingly and are pretty eye catching as you walk past/leave the house. The skeleton's on the end have a little extra va va voom as they glow in the dark so as the day nears it end, they shine brighter on the window. Easy to apply, don't damage the window and a lot of fun, window gels are probably my favourite Halloween decoration.

If you're a parent and your kids want to decorate their room then the best way to go is string lights. They can be strung up anywhere, are battery operated and won't cause any harm. I picked up these uber cute pumpkins from my local Poundland where you can find a multitude of designs. I strung these over the canvases that over look my bed. There was just enough wire to make a nice dip in the middle but if your pictures are closer together you'll probably get it across both. These add a nice soft glow to a room as you relax and enjoy your favourite Halloween movie.

Another cute set of light I picked up is these uber cute ghost lights. They've been hung along my bookcase to give it a little oomph. They have the cutest expressions on their faces and give a quirky update to any room. These are also battery operated so they're easy for kids to turn on and off and won't cost the earth in electricity bills.

Tinsel! Now you may only think that tinsel is acceptable for Christmas but this Halloween tinsel is adorable and a great addition to an otherwise plain looking shelf or bookcase. These were only a £1 from Wilko's and easily fits an average sized shelf. As you can see I weaved it through my Marvel figurines to give it a different look instead of just draping it in front of them. The top shelf has silver skulls popping out at random intervals and the purple tinsel has black bats sitting randomly throughout it.

These solar powered dancing figurines are brilliant little additions to any room. They dance brilliantly when the suns out and make a nice decoration when it disappears. I have tons of these in my house for both Halloween and Christmas but this little guy is my ultimate favourite. He's wearing a bow tie so how can you not love him. These are inexpensive, self powering and uber adorable, perfect for kids rooms.

So that's it for my decor ideas. I hope these have helped you with any upcoming Halloween celebrations. I'll see you tomorrow for Halloween Week Day Five.

Lip Product Week Day Four: NYX Lingerie Liquid Lipstick Review

Welcome back to Lip Product Week Day Four. When my local Boots started stocking NYX, I went straight for the Soft Matte Lip Creams and that was it. But one day when I was looking through their many shades I spotted the Lingerie Liquid Lipsticks and was instantly drawn to one particular shade.

The shade I picked up from this range is called Exotic and is a peach toned nude that looks almost terracotta in the tube depending on lighting. However when it's on the lips it has much more of a pink tone and dries down darker than when it's first applied. This is a brilliant colour for a variety of skintones as it looks different shades once dry. As a fairer toned girl I like how it looks and makes a statement when I wear it but I'm sure it'll like completely different on girls who have more olive and deeper skintones.

Another liquid lipstick, another doe foot applicator but this one looks a little longer than ones tried before. It feels a bit more firm as well which personally works better when applying the product. It means that you get a cleaner line and aren't likely to have patchy edges or feathering along the lip line. It can hold slightly more product than necessary but once it's applied to the lips you wouldn't really know that it had that extra product on it. A lot of the time you don't need to put the want back in the tube to get more product as one swipe is enough to deposit enough colour to give a highly pigmented opaque finish.

There's a theme to this week and it's products that do not budge when they've dried down. Sure, matte finish lipsticks can be uncomfortable to wear and can leave lips dry and somewhat flaky but they do not move. This can be applied at nine in the morning and still be going strong at four or five in the afternoon. Sure it may fade a little along the inner parts of your lips but from personal experience most lipsticks/lip products do this. It's a lot to do with when you talk, eat or drink. However straight on biting down on something will not take away massive chunks of this lipstick. It may fade slightly but it will not leave massive chunks of your lip visible where the lipstick should be.

Reapplication like with every long wearing liquid lipstick can be tricky as the drier your lips are the harder it is to get an even, smooth, flawless looking colour. A bit of lip balm about ten minutes before reapplying this colour should ease reapplication and give lips some of their lost moisture back. However there really isn't a lot that can be done to give lips the same look as when this was first applied. It's just how liquid lipsticks work and it's something I've personally had to learn to deal with to enjoy the long wearing matte finish.

If you've had your eye on some of the high end liquid lipsticks I'd say put them on a wishlist and check these out instead. They have twelve shades in total, mostly nude shades but with some deeper more interesting shades as well. They only cost £6.50 so two of these will still be cheaper than some of the higher end products that claim to do exactly the same thing. Even if you can't find a shade to suit you still check this out, you never know when a brand is going to expand their colour range.

Have any of you tried these? Did you like them? Do you have any colour recommendations for me? Let me know in the comments.

Marks And Spencers Beauty Advent Calender Day Four

Holidays are coming! Welcome back to Day Four in my 24 Days of Beauty Series where I show you what I get in my Marks and Spencers Advent Calender.

Today's box is my favourite box so far. Inside the box I got the Pur Minerals Volume Vixen 4in1 Mascara. I knew this was in the box as it's listed on the back but I didn't know what day it would be in. I've been looking forward to trying this out as I was intrigued by the 4 in 1 aspect of it. It's advertised as a 4 in 1 Full Volumising Mascara with Keratin and free from any Parabens. It's supposed to give lashes intense colour, a dewy shine whilst the Keratin and Panthenol infused formula helps strengthen, thicken and seperate lashes.

And I have to say I'm impressed. The brush is more square than round and the bristles are farther apart than a normal brush. The formula looked wetter than most which made me apprehensive but on application it didn't slide everywhere. The brush made giving my lashes volume and definition easy and I was left with a volumised but natural look. A full review of this will definitely be coming soon.

See you tomorrow for Day Five.

Marks And Spencers Beauty Advent Calendar Day Three

Holidays are coming! Welcome back to Day Three in my 24 Days of Beauty Series where I show you what I get in my Marks and Spencers Advent Calender.

Today's box was a lot heavier than the first two and when I opened it I wasn't suprised at what I got. It's the Cowshed Grumpy Cow Uplifting Body Lotion. This body lotion contains Red Manadarin and Grapefruit as well as Shea and Cocoa Butter to help tone and moisturise the skin.

I really like this product. It's not a very thick formula and doesn't leave that sticky film that most moisturisers do after use. It sinks into skin quickly and leaves it feeling soft and supple. The only let down for me is the scent. I normally like citrus scents but this one is slightly too tart for me to like. However I will percieve and use this as it has left my skin feeling softer then when I use my Soap and Glory Righteous Butter.

I'll see you all tomorrow for Day Four.

Review: Collection Work The Colour Matte Lip Butters

Welcome back to Lip Product Week Day 4. Collection is a brand that I don't own too many lip products from because I'm a matte girl and they're predominatly glosses. However towards the end of last month they released a set of three Matt Lip Butters that I knew I had to try.

The two colours I picked up were 01 Marshmallow Pink and 03 Crimson Velvet. Marshmallow Pink is a very peachy pink that can come off very coral toned one certain skintones. Crimson Velvet is more a tomato red shade that looks brilliant on fairer skintones, especially in the summer. As they are in a chubby stick they are easy to apply and are opaque in one swipe. Both shades are buildable but can go streaky if you miss a patch or press your lips together too quickly after applying.

I found that while these were long wearing, they did transfer and dried my lips out. Reapplication was a no go for me as they caught all the imperfections my lips had and balled ever so slightly over dry patches. I highly recommend exfoliating lips and prepping with a lip balm before wearing these. It is definitely something I'm going to remember to do when I wear these next as they do have the potential to be very good quality lipsticks.

I always try to be honest as possible without being very negative about products I try and when it comes to these new releases I like them but I do prefer Revlon's Colourburst Matte Balms. Yes they cost five pound more but they give brillaint even colour, don't dry lips out and set down to a true matte finish. If you don't want to pay for Revlon then I would say these would suffice for a cheaper version but I do recommend sometimes paying that little bit more to get better results.

Available now from Boots and Superdrug