July Favourites!

So it's that time of month... July favourites! I have never done a 'favourties' post before, but basically if you don't know what a favourties post is, it is pretty much me explaining and showing you all the different things I have been loving throughout the month. It could be anything from beauty to food to TV shows. However this month there are some makeup and skincare bits along with a TV show.

**GUYS I was going to write this as a normal post... obviously as there is all this writing! But then I made a youtube video on it. Which you can watch here. So I've now given you two options, so do which ever one you prefer!! :) **


Makeup:

Rimmel Kate Moss Nude Lipstick - shade 45. 

This month or late last month Kate Moss launched another collection to her 'Kate Moss lipsticks' these were the 'nudes'. I love the idea it's amazing and very well thought out. Basically there are 5 new lipstick shades and 5 new corresponding nail varnishes. The idea behind this is to find your perfect nude, so within these shades there are colours for warm tones, cool tones etc etc. However as much as I like this idea, and I like the way you are choosing a lipstick which is meant to be your perfect nude. I just picked a shade that I know I would wear and that I personally liked. The Kate Moss lipsticks are my favourite drugstore lipsticks, they are super creamy and really long lasting. I was so excited when I found out they had new colours. I haven't tried any of the nail varnishes, although they would be something I would love to check out!

Rimmel 60 seconds super shine nail varnish - clear

Another Rimmel product, Rimmel has done well this month with me! This is basically a clear nail polish I have been loving this month, the reason I love it so much is because it drys so fast, it says 60 seconds, it means 60 seconds. I have been wearing just this colour some days this month, it's just gives a bit of something on the nails. Otherwise I have been wearing it as a base coat and a top coat. 

MAC Omega Eyeshadow 

I discovered this shade a couple of months back. I orginally thought it would be a good brow shade, I have heard Tanya Burr talk about it as a good brow shades for blondes, and that it is. Also it is a great crease shade, I wear it every single day on my eyebrows and I wear it in my crease also. MAC eyeshadows are amazing, highly recommend. So blendable, amazing pigment and just flipping brilliant! 

Skincare:

Yes to Cucumber - sensitive skin face mask

It was about the middle of June when I went through a massive breakout (may have told you this in a post before) and my skin was just awful, I didn't know why I was breaking out so much, but I was. My friend is a makeup artist, and I told her about it and she said "have you used a face mask?" and I was like "uh, yeah of course, that was the first thing I did" and the conversation went on, she basically told me to use a calming face mask, so it doesn't bring out any more impurtities, and effect your skin anymore. She searched online and found me this one. OMG it is amazing, it sorted my skin out and my skin hasn't really broken out since, a few pimples here and there but nothing like before *touch wood*. I still use this mask now, everytime I use it, it leaves my skin feeling refreshed and clean. It's  a clay mask, you use it like you would any other face mask. It's amazing! 

No7 Beautiful Skin Pore Minimizing serum

This month I have discovered a new serum. If you have read my no7 skincare post, you will know I'm not one to be really into my skincare *slaps wrists* but I did need a new serum, because if I'm honest I have never really used one regiously. However, this one seeemed perfect for me because I always get massive pores, then my makeup never sits right, and my face just eats the makeup up. This serum has changed my makeup life, it really has. I apply it every morning before my moisturiser, it sinks into my skin within a few seconds, it doesn't feel like anything is on the skin, but you can tell it is because it makes such a difference! Within 2 weeks of using this my pore size has decreased, makeup is easier to apply, it acts as a primer as well as a serum.

Boots Smooth Care Hair removal cream
If you are looking for something that is easy to apply and easy to remove and does the job, then this is your new baby. I actually hate shaving my legs (ask my boyfriend, urgh haha) but yes it's something that bores me, and annoys me. So I recently saw this in my local Boots, and its basically a cream you apply in the shower (when the shower is off) you wait 5 minutes and then remove and all the hairs come off in the cream. It comes in a blue box with a spatular so it's easy to apply and remove. Tip - If you have waited 5 minutes, I always like to check the hairs are removing by testing a little patch on my leg.

The Body Shop Camomile silky Cleansing Oil
This is essentially an oil that removes your makeup. It's not harsh and doesn't leave an oil feeling on your skin. I have oily skin and it doesn't effect it at all. It's such a good oil and removes the makeup very good, it's the best removing oil jobby I've ever used.

Driclor Antiperspirant
Basically I don't have a sweat problem, everyone sweats even though you don't think it. I just like this stuff because it makes me feel more confident in myself. What you do with this is apply it at night, and wash it off in the morning you then carry on using your normal deodorant. I have used things like these in the past, and the difference between this one and the other ones I've used is the fact that you carry on using your normal deodorant. I would just feel weird if I didn't apply it, it's a very important step.

Thank you so much for reading or watching whatever you prefer!

♥

Everyday Makeup

I have took the plunge and uploaded a video to my youtube channel. Helen Marie  

I loved filming and editing it, I hope you have as much fun watching it, enjoy!

♥

Review: St. Tropez In the Shower Gradual Tan

I thought this was the perfect opportunity to write this post, it's raining outside and I'm all tucked up in bed in my pjs and a blanket. It feels more like winter than summer...

However, heres a product I've been using and testing out for you guys to tell you my views and explain how I got on. There are definitely some highs and lows with this product. It essentially is a GRADUAL tanner, so if you are reading this post hoping for an instant bronze tan, like your normal fake tan. This is not the one for you, this is just a gradual tan. So is perfect if you've just been on holiday and you want to keep your tan topped up or you are new to tanning and you want something that gives you a slight tanned look. Personally I do prefer using an instant fake tan, just because I'm impatient and I like to have a tan straight away (hense I'm awful at lying in the sun). You may be thinking, then why have you got this gradual tanner to try? Well it is just so different to anything I have ever seen before, I just wanted to see how it would work in the shower and mainly if it really did work. So heres how I got on...

How it works:

- After you've washed your body, turn the shower off

- Apply the product and wash your hands after application

- You then wait 3 minutes for the product to develop onto your skin 

- Then rinse off and pat dry with a towel 

Application: 

- The application of this product was very fast and efficient, it didn't take me long at all to slap it across my body. The packaging of the product is really quick and easy to use, you aren't standing there all day trying to open it, its good and simple. The product is clear so it was hard to see where I have applied the product and where I haven't, also was hard to see if I had applied it evenly. The smell wasn't the worst smell for essentially a fake tanner, I did quite like the smell funnily enough. I would say as well, be careful when you apply this product because it does get very slippy, it does state this on the actual bottle as well. 

- Once you apply the product, you then rinse your hands. This was also a challenge for me, because I had to turn the shower on and wash just my hands without getting the water on the product I just applied. This was easier for me because my shower is a bath at the same time, so I just turned the bath tap on, but if you didn't have a tap, it would be a very big challenge.

- But it was waiting the 3 minutes that was the problem for me, it doesn't seem a long time, but when you are freezing cold in a shower, trust me, it feels like a lifetime. Also, how do you know when the 3 minutes is up, I don't have a timmer or clock in my bathroom?! I found this very difficult to judge, all I could do was count to 180 (with mississippi's - haha). 

Did it work and is it worth the money?

Now this is most likely the main question that you are thinking in your head. The answer to the question is yes, yes it did work. My body had a slight gradual tan after using the product. The first time I used the product, no I couldn't see a difference. However after using it I would say 3 times, I could see a difference. So if you have already tried this product and you thought it was rubbish and didn't work at all. Apply it again, have another go! :) I would repurchase this product, because it does work and I do think it's worth the money. But I don't think that my current bottle will last me too long, I have used it around 6/7 times and my bottle is over half way empty now. I didn't think I really used that much when I was applying it, I am only small as well. So I don't know how long it will last for, I would say 2 weeks if you are using the product everyday (200ml bottle).

http://www.sttropeztan.co.uk/inshower-gradual-tan/

I hope this has helped you and thanks for reading!

♥

How to make your eyes appear larger

I am writing this post, for you peeps who want to know how to gain the illusion of bigger bolder eyes. There are a few tips I'm going to share with you, that I use on an every day basis to make my eyes pop. I do have to say, I'm not a beauty expert or a makeup artist. I purely write these posts as a hobby because I enjoy doing them. These tips I have learnt over the many years that I have been experimenting with makeup, also I have learnt these through reading books, magazines, blogs and purely trial and error.

1: Using an eyeshadow which is a very pale/light shade for example I use 'virgin - Urban Decay' a highstreet/drugstore option would might be in the 'Collection - eyes uncovered palette, shade - white chocolate' basically a very highlighty (is that a word, its got a red line underneath) colour. All I do is apply the tiniest bit of the light shade into the corner of my eye. This gives the illusion that they are bigger, because they are brighter in the corner which makes your eye stand out more.

2: Another tip is to use a white or even nude eyeliner in your water line. The ones I use are both from the drugstore/highstreet. For my white option I like to use the "Maybelline - line refine expression kajal soft kohl liner - 35 white" and for the nude days I use "Rimmel scandaleyes waterproof kohl kajal eyeliner - 005 nude" pretty much any white/nude eyeliner will do the job. I use the white liner on days where I really want my eyes to stand out and I'm going for a more bold look, usually on night outs or a special occasion. For when I want something more natural and every day like, I use the nude colour, I find the nude is more natural because it's closer to my skin tone. The reason why applying these colours to your water line brings out your eyes, is because it adds to the white of the eye and cancels out any redness inside the eyes.

3: Mascara, simply applying mascara will bring out your eyes and make them appear so much bigger. I had to include this, because if you are someone new into makeup or you just want something simple and not scary and you really want to make your eyes appear bigger, mascara is somewhere to start for you! Applying mascara to your lashes makes them appear longer, volumized and separated (depending on the mascara you have chosen). I have tried and tested out so many mascaras, it's crazy. But it is a very personal makeup item. A mascara I might think is great, you might think 'ekkkk no, that was awful' however, a mascara I love and would recommend trying is 'MaxFactor - masterpiece transform high impact volumising mascara' this mascara just is an all rounder for me, it does everything. MaxFactor mascaras I find are the best from the drugstore/highstreet, so if you really don't know where to start - I would start there!

4: Another cheat for your eyes and another eyeliner is a darker eyeliner, either black or brown - your choice! I prefer a black liner and the one I use is 'Rimmel - Exaggerate waterproof eye definer 261 noir' this one is just a basic pencil liner, which I apply to my lash line. This is scary and I was scared when I first tried it. But just go with it, just do it as slow as you wish. Also, if you prefer liquid liner, I would recommend applying this just as close to the lash line as possible. The idea of this liner is to create the illusion that your mascara is bolder and more together. I normally go for the kohl liner, just because I find it easier because I am awful at doing liquid liner. However a liquid liner I find the easiest to work with is the 'Soap and Glory - supercat liner. 

5: A tool that will help you, and that I now cannot live without! An eyelash curler. I use the 'No7 eyelash curler' it's just the best drugstore one I have found. However if you really want to splash out on one, the 'Shu Uemura eyelash curler' is very good too. For years I never invested in one, I thought they were pointless and just didn't do anything. It's only in the last year that I have realised that I actually can't live without one. I just apply it to my lashes and pump, it then creates a curl which makes applying mascara so much easier (and I find it lasts longer). Also, because you are bringing your eyelashes up, you are bringing your eyes out because the eyelashes are being brought up. I don't even know if that makes sense, but hopefully!! *fingers crossed* haha.

 

Nail varnish - Barry M Eat My Dust (speedy dry)

Thank you so much for reading, I hope this has helped some of you. I know this was a big thing when I was a teenager. I always wanted bigger eyes, because I believe they are such a beautiful feature. By all means, I'm not saying you need to do these things, every one is different for amazing reasons and you must never forget you are beautiful for your reasons :). It is just amazing how makeup brings out your features. Anyway, I'm going to stop rambling. Speak to you in the next post, seeeeeyaaa. 

♥

Harry Potter studio tour

Recently it was my birthday, as you know from 'The Body Shop' post. Therefore my boyfriend got me tickets to go to the Harry Potter studio tour in London. I was super excited, although I'm not the biggest Harry Potter fan, but I do enjoy it and think it's fascinating! Here are some pictures from the day. Enjoy!

I hope you enjoyed looking through these pictures, I honestly had the best time! Thank you so much to my wonderful boyfriend for this trip. I would totally recommend anyone going, it really was amazing. Even if you aren't a massive Harry Potter fan, I'm sure you will love it, there's all sorts of entertainment for all age ranges. 

Thanks for reading

♥

I stumbled into The Body Shop..

On the 5th of July, me and my family went shopping for my birthday. It was a lovely day, and I had so much fun! Whilst we were shopping, I stumbled into The Body Shop. I absolutely love The Body Shop, I love their products, and I love the back ground of the brand 'The Body Shop' they are against animal testing and have a fair trade community spirit. 

I didn't pick up millions of items, just a few things I have been eyeing up in there for a while! Also, I own one of The Body shop loyalty cards, therefore for my birthday I got £5 off my total.. which is fab! I would recommend getting one of those cards, they are so so so good! Side note - I haven't tried any of these products, however if I like them I will share them with you through other blog posts.

Virgin Mojito - Body Scrub 

The 'Virgin Mojito' is a new range in The Body Shop, in the range there is: shower gel, body butter, body sorbet, body splash, the body scrub which I got and then various different collections and gift sets with all the above products mentioned. The reason behind me choosing the body scrub was because recently I have been loving exfoliating my body and have really been into scrubs. My soap and glory sugar crush is slowly running out, so I was in need of a new one. Also, I find myself using body scrubs so much more in the hotter months, because I want my skin to be smooth and silky for when I have my legs out or I'm in a bikini. It's common sense really, you do tend to get more flesh out in the summer, therefore I would like my skin to smell and look great! I can't tell you how many times I've popped into The Body Shop just to smell the scent of this range, I love it!! It's such a summer, fresh, limey/minty scent. If you haven't smelt it, go in a store and just have a sniff. The scrub is also a lovely bright green shade, and has little beads in the jelly like formula of the scrub.

RRP: £15.00 (Body Scrub) 

The Body Shop 'Virgin Mojito' range - http://goo.gl/gwOZTF

Tea Tree - Squeaky-Clean Scrub

"Another scrub?" I hear you say? haha, yes however this time its for your face. I have used the 'Tea Tree' range before, (the face wash & toner). I loved them, so I thought I would give this scrub a whirl. I have never seen it before though, so I'm thinking its new.. but I could be totally wrong?! Let me know. I'm really excited to try this, the Tea Tree range is for people with blemish prone skin. When I had my big breakout in June, that's the time I would need something like this. So this time I'm prepared, so breakout.. COME AT ME! Haha. 

RRP: £6.50

Camomile - Silky Cleansing Oil 

The reason behind the purchase of this one, is the fact I've heard so many good reviews from this product. It's for all skin types, and I'm guessing you just use it as a makeup remover, so apply to dry skin, then use water to foam and rinse away. Very excited to use this one.. I haven't got any makeup on currently, as I'm chilling and writing this post. But I'm tempted to apply some makeup, just to see how this one works. A great aspect of this product, is the fact it has a pump, so you can decide how many pumps you use, so you don't use too much of the product, too quickly. Very excited. Will report back if I love it. 

RRP: £10.00

Vitamin E - Sink-In Moisture Mask & Seaweed - Iconic Clay Mask 

I picked up two different face masks, I love The Body Shop face masks, one of my favourite face masks of all time is the 'Honey & Oat' face mask from The Body Shop. The reason I picked these little sachet face mask is because I believe it's a good way of testing out a face mask to see if it suits your skin and just to see if you like it. Rather than paying £10+ for a face mask that you might hate! So I just want to see if I basically like both the face masks I have chosen. I have a feeling I may of tried the seaweed face mask before (not 100%) - hense I got it again. 

RRP: £1.00 each 

That's all I picked up from The Body Shop, see I told you I didn't get too much. As I said before I haven't tried these products yet, and all the products mentioned were brought with my own money. Thank you so much for reading! Speak to you next time. 

♥

My Top 5 Nail Varnishes

In April I wrote about my top favourite lipsticks, so this month I have decided to talk about my favourite nail varnishes. Every month I will be sharing a different topic eg; lipstick, foundation, nail varnish, mascara etc.. This month it is nail varnish!! You might be thinking 'she didn't do a top 5 last month or the month before???' Yes, you are completely correct, and I was meaning too, I just got completely caught up in everything and just forgot about it, sorry. However, I'm now back on track and plan to do one of these 'top 5s' every month! :) Now, moving on.. just like lipstick I collect so many nail varnishes. If you saw my collection you would be like :OOOOO. I literally have every colour you could think of, therefore picking my top 5 was a very big challenge.

Just for the record, these aren't in any particular order, they are just my top 5 nail varnishes. I do tend to wear one colour for like a whole month, then the next month move onto another colour. Is that normal? Probably not. Let me know if you are the same, haha. Obviously I am buying new nail varnishes all the time, so I do tend to change my mind as to which are my favourites, but these 5 I, about to show you have been my favourites for a while, and ones I just tend to go back too.

- Essie, Fiji. 

I absolutely adore this colour, it's perfect for the spring/summer months, but I do tend to wear this one all year round just because it's so darn pretty. It's just a pale pastal pink, it reminds me of the pink you wear for a French manicure, however it's more pigmented. About 2 coats does me with this one, it's just beautiful. It's easy to wear with clothes as well, because it's so neutral. 

RRP: £7.99

- No7, Porcini.

One thing I hate about No7 is that they always discontinue colours, and it's so annoying!!! But this one is still in Boots atm (only boots - no7 is a boots brand). This colour is a nude/brown shade, but it's stunning. It's one of there gel formulas, so it's super shinny. I have put this in my favourites because you literally one need one coat, it's thick and creamy and has amazing pigmentation. 

RRP: £7.00

-Nails Inc, Baker Street.

I love this colour, if you love your blues, you will love this! It's a bright colbalt blue, absolutely stunning on the nails. I just couldn't not put this in my favourites, I wear it all year around and mines nearly gone. I only have a little mini size one, but I am defiantly going to get the bigger one! I would say 2 coats for this one.

RRP:£11.00

-L'Oreal Paris colour riche, 401 Rouge Pin Up.

This is my red nail varnish shade, whenever I'm wearing a red it's pretty much always this one. I love red on the nails, I think it looks so safisticated and suits anyone! I love the formula of these nail varnishes, they dry super fast, and the brush applicator applys a thin layer on the nails so it can't get too clumpy and gloopy. Just a beautiful red, lovely. 

RRP:£4.99

-Revlon, 570 Vixen.

How could I not include this in the top 5, I love this shade. I wear this in the autumn/winter months pretty much all the freakin' time. It's a berry shade, perfect for the colder months. The reason I love this the most, is because you can wear it with one coat or two. The one coat is just a bit of a paler shade, more red undertonned. Then with two coats, you get the shade you can see through the bottle.

RRP:£6.49

I hope this was interesting to explore my top 5 nail varnishes. For next months top 5, what do you want to see???? Comment below. :)

♥