Tag Challenge: Day 04: Favourite Book

Day 04: Favourite Book

When I was a kid, books were a huge part of my life. and I practically lived in various local libraries. Unfortunately, as I've gotten older, and life has gotten a bit more "hectic", I can't get my head to settle into a book and I've found that I've become incredibly picky about what i read....I have a growing pile of books that I've started reading, and just couldn't get into.

Despite that, I was recently encouraged to read a book, that appeared to be everywhere at some point. Everyone seemed to be reading it, everyone seemed to be reviewing it and everyone seemed to be loving it (with a small group of individuals that hated it with a passion, or refused to even give it a try, purely because it was so well known!)

I ended up absolutely loving the book so much, that I even tried to read it slower to prolong it! That book was...

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

Personally, I've never read a book set in World War 2 where the main protagonist wasn't Jewish (When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit and Anne Frank's Diary), so I actually liked the fact that it was from a very different point of view. It was nice to read a story from another side of the coin, showing that not all German's were sucked into Hitler's web of "crap"!!

I know a few people have complained that using Death as the narrator was "gimmicky", but I thought it fit perfectly, and worked nicely. The writing sucked me in, and refused to spit me out until I was (without revealing any plot) floating in floods of tears, it was so emotive.

I would definitely read it again! Unfortunately, I've not been able to find anything good enough to follow it!!

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Tag Challenge: Day 03: Favourite TV Programme

Day 03: Favourite TV Programme

Would you believe that picking just one, was really difficult again. I love so many shows, including Friends, Being Human, Heroes, Gilmore Girls, Big Bang Theory, How I Met Your Mother...but in the end, I opted for the one thing that I am really loving at the minute, that I hate when I miss an episode of, and that is....

Being Erica

What Channel: E4 (in the UK)

What Time: 12:05am...which is absolutely ridiculous! It used to be on at 10pm, right after One Tree Hill, but the so-called Top Dogs at E4 decided to stupidly replace it with a Sex Education programme, and place it at ridiculous o'clock after a repeat of Shameless!!

Synopsis: Erica's life isn't quite going to plan, despite her best efforts. And so pop up Doctor Tom, a rather eccentric man who loves to quote random randomness! Thanks to Doctor Tom, Erica is given the chance to go back to various points in her life, in order to do things differently, or at least to learn where she's gone wrong.

Why I love it: Being Erica has been such a breathe of fresh air, with it's light humour and charm. Plus, I can't help be really jealous of a girl who can go correct some of her past wrongs. It's a great programme with a lot of heart, and we can all relate to how Erica feels about her life, because we all do stupid things, and/or make mistakes that we'd love to sort out.

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Tag Challenge: Day 02: Favourite Movie

Day 02: Favourite Movie

Oh god! I thought that picking a favourite song was tough, but picking a favourite film? I could be here all day, so I’ve decided to pick a different film from different genres, because I cannot pick just one film…it’s too hard! And, I don’t care if this is cheating heehee!! Some rules are just begging to be broken!!

Sooo, here we go, in no particular order!!

Favourite Disney: 

Aladdin

Favourite Pixar: 

Monster’s Inc

Favourite Studio Ghibli: 

Laputa Castle in the Sky

Favourite Oldie: 

Little Women

Favourite Action: 

Transformers

Favourite Sci-Fi: 

Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith

Favourite Fantasy: 

Pan's Labyrinth

Favourite Romantic Comedy: 

Bridget Jones

Favourite Comedy: 

Simpsons: The Movie

Favourite Mystery Thriller: 

The Sixth Sense

Favourite Adventure: 

The Goonies

Favourite Coming-of-Age: 

Stand by Me

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Dictionary: SLS

SLS stands for Sodium Lauryl Sulfate. It is typically found in beauty products, such as shampoos, soaps and cleansers, and is what makes your favourite fancies foam, thanks to its emulsifying and foaming agents.

SLS has received a lot of press recently, some of it exaggerated, and some if possibly true, and as is the case with Paraben, it is becoming increasingly difficult to determine what is Fact and what is Fiction. And the reason for the frenzy is down to the fact that SLS can cause skin irritation, as well as allergic reactions.

I don’t know how high the chance is of getting irritated, because I’m not an expert, but there are certainly growing amounts of companies that have jumped on the scaremongering bandwagon, by promoting themselves on them being SLS-Free. Also plenty companies legitimately don’t include SLS, so there are plenty of products that should be safe to use.

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Nivea Caregloss & Shine Review

Lip Gloss and Me: To be honest, I’m not really a fan of lip gloss. In fact, I really, really, REALLY hate them. The problem with most lip glosses I’ve ever owned has been that they just feel really “icky” on my lips, which in turn makes them feel heavy and n turn irritates me, and I end up wiping the stuff off my lips in sheer annoyance.

I received three free lip glosses with my recent purchase from ELF, and I have to brutally honest that I’m really glad that I didn’t pay for them, because they did nothing but boost my hatred for lip glosses. They were sticky, heavy, messy and had a weird plastic taste to them. I’m sure other people really love them, but they’re not for me.

That said, I’m not really a lipstick girl either, but I’ll wear one if needs must. Instead, I prefer lip balms especially Anita Grant’s Lippy Puckers and Lush’s Honey-based one, which I typically cannot remember the name of.

Nivea and Me: I don’t remember a time when I didn’t use Nivea. When I was a kid, there was always a huge blue tub of their moisturising cream in my mum and dad’s room, or a smaller-sized blue tin lying around somewhere. Up until I left home, I cannot remember using anything other than Nivea.

As a full-fledged grown up (theoretically), it’s amazing how much Nivea stuff I still purchase. The big blue pot has morphed into a big white pot (alongside the matching baby-sized one…Oooh, how cute!!), my two hand creams are both Nivea, one of my sun creams is Nivea, my Firming Lotion is Nivea and my Anti-Aging Day and Night Creams are both Nivea!

Before I discovered the powers of Lush, I also swore by Nivea Lip balms, but I haven’t really bought one in years!

Nivea and Lip Gloss? So, noting my hatred for Lip Gloss, and my family-bred love for Nivea, Iwas really intrigued by this Nivea Caregloss & Shine, that came in a set of Nivea products that my mum bought in a Charity Shop last week.

At first I wasn’t really that keen on, because like most other lip glosses it felt sticky and heavy. However, after rubbing it in, it actually comes across as being quite moisturising, which I have to say I’m quite chuffed about, because I’ve tried a couple of lip glosses that have ended up drying my lips out. It’s really nice to have found something that not only has gorgeous moisturising qualities, but a little colour to it as well!

Of course, it’s not going to be that good to use when I have chapped lips when winter rolls around, but during the summer when I like to wear something to stop them drying our and/or burning in the summer sun, I personally think that these are great.

As I said, I got these from a Gift Set, but you can get them sold separately from the typical shops, such as Superdrug, Boots, ASDA, Morrison’s, Savers etc.

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Tag Challenge: Day 01: Favourite Song

Day 01: Seeing Beauty in Music

Personally, I think that music is one of the most beautiful art forms, purely because of it's emotive abilities. 9 times out of 10, if a film is creepy it's down to the music, or if a film makes you cry, it's very likely that you'd hear some really sad music to go with the scenes. With that in mind, I shall pick my favourite song...

I actually really struggled to choose just one favourite song, because I love so many. So, I ended the torture of having to choose, by going into my Windows Media Player and picking the track that I’ve listened to the most times.

*Drum roll please*

With 84 plays, the winner is…

Wind Blows by All-American Rejects

The eleventh song from the bands 2009 album “When the World Come Down”, “Wind Blows” is a truly haunting song that blew me away (ha, bad wording, but it describes perfectly how I felt about this song). It is such a beautiful song, even if it does have a little bit of a creepy undertone going on in it’s lyrics.

When I first heard it, I had this vision in my head of what the video for the song would be like, and I imagined a girl climbing up the side of this mountain, in a bad storm, that is so strong, she really has to fight to get up there. Then just in time for the last chorus, she makes it and the band is at the top of this mountain, literally playing in a gale-force wind.

Evidently, when the band eventually released the track as a single, that wasn’t what the video panned out like at all. But hey, for me, every time I hear the song, that’s still what I imagine is going in.

Upon doing a bit of research into the track, I discovered that it was initially written with Gwen Stefani in mind, however, she turned it down. And, I have to say that as talented as Gwen Stefani is, I’m really glad that she turned it down, because although the version AAR do is different to the version touted for Stefani, they do a brilliant job at it, and I can’t imagine anyone else doing it so beautifully.

For anyone who hasn't had the joy of hearing the track, or for anyone who loves the track as much as I do, here's the video for you to enjoy.

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30 Day Tag Challenge

Well, you all know how much I love these Tag Games, and I've seen this one on quite a few blogs, so I thought I'd give it a go for the month of August (starting a little early I know, but my brain is frazzled today, so I thought this would be a good time to get moving!). The reason this one really stuck out for me, because beauty isn't just about make up and looking good, it's about music, nature and every little aspect of life that makes it special.

Anyway, this is how the next 30 days (fingers crossed) are going to pan out:

Day 01 - Your favourite song

Day 02 - Your favourite movie

Day 03 - Your favourite TV programme

Day 04 - Your favourite book

Day 05 - Your favourite quote

Day 06 - Whatever tickles your fancy

Day 07 - A photo that makes you happy

Day 08 - A photo that makes you angry/sad

Day 09 - A photo that you took

Day 10 - A photo of you taken over 10 years ago

Day 11 - A photo of you taken recently

Day 12 - Whatever tickles your fancy

Day 13 - A fictional book

Day 14 - A non-fictional book

Day 15 - A fanfic

Day 16 - A song that makes you cry (or nearly)

Day 17 - An art piece (painting, drawing, sculpture etc.)

Day 18 - Whatever tickles your fancy

Day 19 - A talent of yours

Day 20 - A hobby of yours

Day 21 - A recipe

Day 22 - A website

Day 23 - A YouTube video

Day 24 - Whatever tickles your fancy

Day 25 - Your day, in great detail

Day 26 - Your week, in great detail

Day 27 - This month, in great detail

Day 28 - This year, in great detail

Day 29 - Hopes, dreams and plans for the next 365 days

Day 30 - Whatever tickles your fancy

But, don't worry, this game doesn't mean that I won't be doing reviews. This game is more about adding something different to the blog :)

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Tagged - What I'm Using...

So, I stole this from Stavroula...another one, I know, but you have to admit that doing these things is actually kinda fun!


Hair
Shampoo: Simple Gentle Shampoo
Conditioner: Pantene Pro-V Nature Fusion
Hair Mask: Alberto Balsam Intensive Conditioning Treatment with Honey and Almond Extracts
Styling Products: Schwarzkopf Heat Protection Straightening Spray


Body
Body Moisturiser: Nivea Body Firming Lotion
Deodorant: Vaseline Aloe Vera Roll-on
Fake Tan: None. Yuck.


Face
Make Up Remover: Simple Gentle Eye Make Up Remover
Cleanser: Nivea Visage 2 in 1 Cleanser and Toner
Exfoliator: Either Simple Oil Balancing Exfoliating Wash or Egg white with Demerara Sugar and Aloe Vera.
Moisturiser: Neutrogena Visibly Clear Oil-Free Moisturiser


Make Up
Primer: GOSH Velvet Touch Foundation Primer
Foundation: L'Oreal True Match Minerals in Rose Vanilla
Concealer: Collection 2000 Illuminating Touch: Light Diffusing Concealer and GOSH "Touch Up" Concealer
Blush: Maybelline ExpertWear Blush in Chestnut Brown
Bronzer: None
Highlighter: None
Eyebase: Urban Decay Primer Potion
Eyeliner: BarryM Liquid Eyeliner, Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencils and Eyeko Graffiti Eyeliner Pen
Curler: Boots own-brand...very rarely used!!
Mascara: Rimmel London 3 Looks Mascara
Lipstick: Virgin Vie Peachy Kiss
Gloss: Nivea Caregloss and Shine, and Lippy Pucker: Dark Mint Choc from Anita Grant
Lip Liner: None
Nail Varnish: BarryM Block Orange Nail Paint

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Me and my Oily Skin

For as long as I can remember, I've always had what I referred to as "shiny" skin, which generally culminated around the obvious areas of my forehead, nose, cheeks and chin. When in my teens, I once had a sample of some "Blotting" sheets, but that was really as far as my combating ever went.

Unfortunately, as I've gotten further out of my teens, my skin never seemed to shake-off the "spotty skin" that I had always assumed only teenagers got (thanks to the lovely people in the media!!), but it's only been the past couple of years that I've begun to realise that it's most likely down to the fact that my skin is oily.

Why does Oily Skin cause break outs? Oily skin occurs when our body produces excess amounts of Sebum, due to an over-active sebaceous-gland. As a result, the extra sebum builds up on the surface and blocks pores, meaning that any dirt gets trapped and results in outbreaks of spots. It also causes a build-up of dead skin cells that further clog pores, and generally make skin look dull.

The excess sebum is thought to also be the cause of hair becoming greasy quickly, which is also a common cause of outbreaks across the forehead (especially on people who have a fringe/bangs) and around the hairline.

What can I do to combat Oily Skin? The most common "attack" on breakout is to wash your face lots and lots, but the problem with a lot of products that so many of us use for Spot Treatments (face washes, cleansers, toners etc) is that the majority of them are too harsh for oily skin, and a lot of them end up either drying our skin out, or just pumping copious amounts of oil into our already overly oily skin. Inevitably, neither of these are very good for our skin.

Instead, you want to opt for skin care products that are gentle on your skin, and/or that are oil-free. Your skin is, as you are aware,already oily, so packing it with more oil is not going to do you any favours. A lot people think that using an oil-free product means that you're stripping away your skins natural oils, but you're actually not, because although these products are oil-free, many of them are water-based which is very moisturising, but the moisture is controlled in such a way that your skin gets just the right balance.

So, for your skin care, look for the following things:

• Oil-free
• Non-Comedogenic, which means that it won't clog your pores (you can find out more here)
• Gentle
• Contain Salicylic Acid,which is known to combat  oily skin (you can find out more here)

Skin Care Products to Try:

• Neutrogena Oil-Free Moisturiser (you can find a Review here)
• Simple's Clear Skin Oil Balancing Range, including
• Oil Balancing Cleansing Wipes (you can find a Review here)
• Oil Balancing Exfoliating Facial Wash (you can find a Review here)
• Oil Balancing Facial Scrub
• Oil Balancing Moisturiser
• Simple Oil-Free Eye Make Up Remover
• L'Oreal Paris Perfect Clean Wash with Salicylic Acid for Oily Skin (the Scrublet gets right into your pores, whilst the Salicylic Acid balances the oil).

What Make Up should you use on Oily Skin? Not too long ago, I was under the misconception that I should be hiding my breakouts behind concealer and high coverage foundation, but without realising it, all I was doing was suffocating my skin. But our skin needs to breathe, so smothering it in heavy cosmetics is actually more likely to encourage more breakouts.

If you have your skin care regime whipped and in good shape, you should notice that your skin looks clearer, so opt for lighter foundations that allow your skin to breathe. Your best option, is Mineral Products, but why?

Mineral Products:

1. Are 100% oil-free, making them non-comedogenic...say hello to unclogged pores!
2. Generally contain absolutely no harsh chemicals that harm your skin
3. Are so light, you'll feel like you're not wearing any, and your skin will be able to breathe!

However, despite a good skin care routine, and the use of lighter cosmetics, some women still experience breakouts, and this could easily be down to your brushes.

Every time that you wipe a brush across your face, to apply foundations, eye shadows, blushers etc., the brush is picking up sebum from your skin. The next time you use your brush, that sebum has manifested into bacteria, and in effect you are then transferring bacteria to your skin, which will cause spots.  This is why it is so incredibly important to wash your make up brushes properly.

Summary:

• Opt for gentle oil-free products
• Look for products that are Non-Comedogenic
• Look for products that contain Salicylic Acid
• Try mineral-based products that don't contain oils, and are light
• Clean your brushes regularly
• Remember that there is no cure, but there is a way to control it
• Love your skin. People with oily skin tend to wrinkle less!!

NB: Regulars will know that I am not a trained Beautician, all these things are what I have learnt from experience, and might not be suitable for everyone. We're all unique and what works for me, might not work for you. But, as a general rule of thumb, if you have oily skin, these ideas are definitely worth a try!

This post is just meant as guidance in a world full of misinformation.

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ELF Make Up Brushes Review

I've actually had my EyesLipsFace (ELF) make up brushes for a couple of weeks now, but I wanted to really test them, before I reviewed them, so here they are!

Packaging: My initial reaction to the packaging, was that there seemed to be too much of it for one simple brush, and it's even more annoying when I know that all I'm going to do is throw it away. I wondered if the intention was for the pouches to be used to store the brushes, but I can't imagine anyone keeping them in these pouches, especially when most people have a collection that is kept in a pot/box/wrap/bag etc.

Design: The design of the brush was really nice, with the handles being slightly fatter than ones that I already own from other brands, which I really liked. For a group of brushes that only cost £1.50 each, I was impressed at how nice the handles are, with them looking "almost" as good as they expensive brushes I own, and even better than the "bargain" ones that were actually a little more expensive.

i was a little disappointed that the handle and bristle "area" came apart on one brush, and since I don't have any superglue, I haven't been able to fix it yet. Luckily, this has only happened wih one brush, but I've heard other people complaining about the same issue.

Bristles: The bristles are all really soft, and whilst they've shed a little, it's nowhere near as much as my more expensive brushes have shed! I've washed the brushes once since I bought them (using a mix of Oil and Gentle Shampoo in water), and once dried the bristles are still incredibly soft and didn't shed at all.

Worth the Price: Definitely. At only £1.50 I wasn't really expecting much, and for £1.50 I wasn't really that bothered. In this case, however, I don't believe that you get what you pay for, and I'm not convinced that you need to pay a fortune to get yourself some good quality brushes. I never tried anything like MAC, but I know so many make up artists swear by them, and I actually think these are a cheaper rival to them. They're cheap but generally good quality, and I recommend them to anyone, especially new make up users!

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Barry M Block Orange Nail Paint Review

I've been craving an Orange nail polish for quite some time now, well, since I get my collection of Konad image plates, including the one with an orange on it anyway. The plan had basically been to stamp the orange in white special polish over a bright orange background. But, I'd never been able to find an orange I liked and I hadn'treally been looking that hard!

Fast forward to last week, and I had myself a £10 Boots voucher, so I thought I'd treat myself (everything else I bought were boring essentials for the other half and myself!) to some Barry M nail paint and Block Orange is the one that I chose.

Orange is one of those colours that is bright and bold no matter which shade you buy. A subtle shade of orange just doesn't exist, so I have to admit that I was a little sceptical about how the colour was going to look. And, I desperately hoped it wasn't going to look like the hideously bright shades I wore when I was thirteen (primarily bought from Boyes...not exactly the best place to buy nail polishes!!).

Since setting up this blog a few months back, I've found myself venturing across a huge amount of blogs, and since Barry M was the brand that started this whole expedition (alongside Lauren Luke), I often enjoy reading people's reviews of Barry M products. But, one thing that baffles me is that the general "feeling" amongst American users of the Nail Paints, is the fact that they think that the bottles are "tacky" and "old-fashioned" and I don't really get that! To be fair, I've never really paid that much attention to the bottles, but I guess all I could really say is that they are most definitely different to other companies, opting for more squared bottles than most, and the bottles feel bigger for it (Barry M bottles are 10ml, most other brands such as Rimmel, Nails Inc etc are 8ml and Miss Sporty is a mere 7ml). As for the "dated gold writing", I find it classic simple and arty-looking personally.

Overall, the colour was a lot brighter than I'd expected, kind of like the colour of the cones you get on the roads during Road Works, and it took me a long time to decide whether I like wearing orange or not. With regards to the oranges, I managed to stamp them on my thumbs, and for some reason it didn't feel right to me, so I ended up doing a different fruit on each nail instead (strawberries, melons, apples etc).Was this any better? Honestly? No.

In the end I came to the conclusion that I prefer the colour by itself without any nail art, so I guess I like the colour more than I was expecting too. It's definitely really great to have such a bright, bold and cheerful colour for this time of year!

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Dictionary: Hypoallergenic

If a product states that it is "Hypoallergenic", this simply means that it is less likely to contain ingredients that could cause an allergic reaction, so by theory, Hypoallergenic Products should be suitable for most people.

However, it's important to remember that Hypo comes from the Greek word meaning "below normal", so it can not be entirely ruled as 100% safe, especially if you are particularly sensitive to allergens, and often suffer allergic reactions, such as rashes, breathing difficulties (typically asthma-related), then it is still important to be very careful whenever possible.

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Avon Sun Quick Dry Clear Spray SPF20

Sun Sprays and me: I am a huge fan of Sun Sprays, and think that they are so much more practical than Sun Creams/Lotions, especially when you're on the go (I also imagine that they're ideal for parents, because spraying is so much less hassle then having to pin kids down and wipe lotions into the skin!) So, when my mum asked me to review her Avon Sun Spray, I was really keen to give it a try.

Avon and me: To be honest, I haven't really used much Avon stuff throughout my life,and I think I'm of that generation when Avon wasn't really around that much. The last time I had someone deliver an Avon Catalogue through my door I was about six, and I feel like I've just missed out on this online boom for Avon, mainly because the teenage me really thought Avon was "uncool" (because Avon really was uncool when I was a teenager!), and I struggle to get myself out of that line-of-thought.

During a recent clear out, I did actually find the one thing that I've ever bought from Avon: A Lilac Eye Shadow! But, I think that was about eleven years old (my friend was an "Avon Girl" in Year 11 at School!), so I took it upon myself to throw it away!

Initial Thoughts: My first actual thought was "ah, only SPF20"...which is a little low for my liking, but for this review I'll just have to ignore that, because it's not really a huge issue!

My second thought was actually a little more serious, and that was my slight annoyance at the lack of instructions...in English anyway. On the pull-up stick I found instructions in several languages, none of which I am fluent and the only thing that I could decipher was "15-20 minut" in what I believe to be Polish! 15-20 minutes what? I could guess that it's telling me to re-spray every 15 to 20 minutes, but let's be honest here, I shouldn't have to guess!

I know the product is "Made in Poland", but it's made for Avon Cosmetics in England, which suggests it's purpose is to be despatched in England, so surely having English instructions goes without saying. It's even more silly when you notice that they've managed to get the details on the sticker on the front in English!

Using the Product: On spraying my arms, I was instantly hit by the incredibly strong smell of Alcohol, which in a product that is supposed to protect the sun, I'd have thought (in my non-professional experience) that Alcohol was a bad ingredient to include, but expectedly it was first on the list of ingredients.

Although I didn't try this myself, as I was wearing SPF-rich facial moisturiser and make up, my boyfriend sprayed his face with the product (as his face is always the first place to catch the sun) and his face instantly began stinging, I imagine as a result of the alcohol content. This led me to question whether this product is suitable for the face, but without English instructions or access to a Translation, how would we ever know?

Are there any Good Points? I did , actually really like the fact that the spray is transparent, because this meant that I didn't feel paranoid that I hadn't rubbed it in properly, and I knew it hadn't left white marks on my clothing.

It also doesn't feel as greasy or sticky on my skin as I had initially expected.

So, would I buy it again? No. Well, only if they gave me instructions in a language I understand, and toned down the Alcohol content, but if that's all I want, there are plenty of other brands that already offer that!

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Tagged - Would you Rather

Okay, so I stole this from Stavroula, over at Drugstore & Bargain Lover, and I thought that I'd give this a go..eek!

1. Would you rather go out with messy hair and nice make up, or nice hair and no make up?
This one is actually really easy for me, because without question I would much rather go out with nice hair and no make up.

2. Would you rather shave your eyebrows or have your eyelashes fall out?
Another easy one! I wear glasses, so I can hide my lack of eyelashes, but I couldn't really hide a lack of eyebrows, so I think I'd rather have my eyelashes fall out!

3. Would you rather be forced to shop at only MAC or Sephora for the rest of your life?
Hmm...well, I've never shopped at either, since I'm UK-based, and usually on a tight budget, buuut, Sephora sell Lauren Luke stuff, so I guess I'd have to choose Sephora :)

4. Would you rather wear lipgloss/lipliner look or 80's perm?
Oh god...I don't particularly like the idea of either, but that's the whole point! So, I'll pick lipgloss/lipliner, because it could potentially look nice. Although, if I chose the 80's perm, because I have such fine hair, I doubt a perm would hold very well in my hair, so it'd probably fall out in a matter of days :-P So, I think I'll take the perm....mwahaha to clever thinking!!

5. Would you rather leave the house with an obvious foundation line or overdone blush?
Well, I don't wear blusher very often, but both are pretty disgusting, but hmm...I guess an obvious foundation line.

6. Would you rather wear MC Hammer pants or biker shorts in public?
Well, neither are particularly attractive, buuuut I guess I'll take the MC Hammer pants, and be very thankful that this isn't real!!

7. Would you rather have a bad orange-y spray tan or really weird tan lines that can't be covered?
This one is EASY. I've never had any kind of spray tan, but I have had weird tan lines, on my face, I might add...along with the one I currently have across my chest from my bag strap!! So, yes, I'll take that out of experience!!

8. Would you rather have a bad haircut or bad hair colour?
Well, I've had several bad hair colours, usually when the original colour has faded (at one point my hair was orange!) so, again, I guess I'll take that out of experience! Plus, there are ways of getting rid of a bad colour, it isn't always so easy to sort out a really bad haircut!!

9. Would you rather have YouTube or Twitter taken away forever?
Twitter. I mean, I use it to promote my blog and business, but there are other ways of going about it, and I just love watching videos on YouTube, not just make up tutorials, but Ghost Hunters too :)

10. Would you rather give up using make up brushes or mascara?
Mascara. You can dye your eyelashes if necessary, but brushes are just the best and easiest way of applying make up, personally I don't think sponges/applicators/fingers are any good, especially not at blending.

It's interesting to see how different people answer these question, so TAG, now it's your turn to answer the questions, either in your own blog, or in the comments :) Have fun!

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Justine's Giveaway

Wowsers, would you take a look at all of those goodies. Absolutely all of these nice little trinkets could be yours to keep, if you are the winner of Justine at Productrater!'s 100 Followers Competition!

Included in the first prize (as pictured above) are:

MAC Lipstick or Eyeshadow of your choice

* Revlon Colorburst in Soft Nude

* ELF Undereye Concealer and Highlighter

* ELF Mineral Lipstick in Runway Pink

* ELF Mineral Eyeshadow Primer

* Maybelline The Falsies Mascara (Very Black)

* China Glaze Nail Polish in Flyin' High

* Joe Fresh Nail Polish in Powder Blue

Second Prize:

 * MAC Lipstick or Eyeshadow of your choice

* Maybelline Lipgloss in Lolly Pink

* Revlon Colorburst in Baby Pink

* ELF Mineral Lipstick in Natural Nymph

* ELF Lipstain in Birthday Suit

* Maybelline Colossal Volume Mascara

* Joe Fresh Polish in Powder Blue

Finally:

 * MAC Zoomlash Sample Size

* Milani Neon Nail Polish in Pink Rocks!

* Revlon Super Lustrous Lipgloss in Nude Lustre

* Maybelline Sensational Born with it Lipgloss

* Annabelle Smoothliner in Black

* ELF Eyelash Wand

*ELF Blending Eye Brush

To enter the giveaway, just leave a comment at the bottom of the original blog, over at Justine's site, and you'll be entered - easy peasy!

Of course, as with most things, there are a few rules:

Rules:
- This is a giveaway for followers, so you must be a follower (of Justine's site).
- This is open internationally, so anyone can enter.
- Enter only once (in the comments of Justine's Giveaway blog). Duplicate entries will be disqualified.  
- Please enter a comment (in the comments of Justine's Giveaway blog) with how you found this blog, whether it was searching google, friends' blog roll, whatever, I am curious how people came across Productrater.
- Leave a link to your blog and your email (so that I can contact you if you win) along with your comment.
- If you would like to link me on your blog or post about this giveaway in your sidebar, that would be totally cool, just let me know if you did for an added entry into the giveaway!
- Oh and the MAC eyeshadow/lipstick choices must be from ones readily available currently on the mac website, I am not going to go running around for any from past limited edition collections. 

This giveaway officially opens today, June 21 and will run for a month and ends July 21! I will chose three winners through random.org and will announce it shortly after the deadline.

Good luck to everyone who enters, and yay :)

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Introducing... ELF

So, I was browsing blogs the other day (as I do a heck of a lot, in this job!), and I stumbled upon Blush, Pout and Pose! A couple of months a go she wrote a blog about a cosmetic company called ELF (Eyes. Lips. Face), and well, she had me at:

... eyeshadow brush at £1.50.

Like, what?£1.50...for a eyeshadow brush? Nooo, I must have read that wrong? Right?
Well, I've been looking into buying some new brushes for quite a while, because the one's I bought last year have started shredding really bad, and they've turned really "icky". All the one's I've seen in the past, have just been incredibly out of my price range, and I'd half been saving up for the Lauren Luke brushes that have have been "coming soon" for the past seven or eight months (that has to be the longest "coming soon" in existence!)
So I thought that I'd go check the ELF website out.

When I got there, I was thinking that maybe these brushes were in some kind of Sale, but when I had a gander around the website, practically everything was dirt cheap. I couldn't believe it.

First Impressions: From reading more of the Blush, Pout, Pose blog, I discovered that on the ELF Facebook page, they offer discounts/free shipping/free gifts whenever their page gets 1,000 more fans, and it turned out that I joined just as they'd hit one of these "landmarks", and were intending to have a Code Available on Friday 2nd July, to join their impending stock delivery (which was good, since half of what I was looking for, was "Coming Soon"...). Soooo, wisely I decided to make a note of everything that I wanted, and wait til the next day!

I arrived at the ELF Facebook page first thing Friday morning, and the buzz amongst expectant fans, along with the regular updates from ELF themselves was really exciting. Throughout the morning, ELF really proved that if nothing else they have customer relation-skills to die for, making sure we knew what was going on, AND including a live video of the Delivery arriving,and eventually the staff packing orders. Personally, I thought this was a great touch, because as a buyer, I felt like I was being made a part of the process (even if I did feel a bit creepy, and that I was spying...yeah, I didn't watch for more than 30seconds, but the idea is still a good one!)

The Offer was definitely worth waiting for, as I got Free Delivery on orders over £10 (my order was £11.25!) AND a free gift of three lipglosses - KERCHING!

So, what did I get? Well, I spent ages trying to decide, adding things, removing them, adding other things, removing them, adding, tweaking, but here's what I ended up with though:

2 x Eye Shadow Brush - £3
1 x Cuticle Pushers - £1.50
1 x Blendin5g Eye Brush - £1.50
1 x Eyeliner Brush - £1.50
1 x Smudge Eye Sponge - £1.50
1 x Blending Wedge - £1.50
1 x Nail File Set - £0.75




What I'm Expecting: I'm very aware at how cheap these things are, but the nail file and blending wedges...well, it really doesn't matter for the price how well they perform, because you don't really expect that much out of either of them, noting what they're used for. The brushes on the other hand, I will admit that I'm worried about the old "you get what you pay for", but I keep telling myself that it's not the end of the world if I don't like them, because I haven't spent too much on them. And, for the cheap price, I want to at least give them a chance, just so that I know!

But, when they arrive, I will definitely let you know what I think.

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The Hottie and the Nottie: July

Don't look so worried, a certain Paris Hilton has nothing to do with this blog (thank goodness!) But, since it's the beginning of the month, I thought I'd share with you some stuff that I'm loving and hating right now.


Loving

Mineral Foundations: There is nothing worse, at this time of year, when the weather is hot/muggy/humid and typically British, than having your skin suffocated behind a mask of foundation. Well, it's not really good any time of the year, but especially in the summer months. 
Mineral Foundations are a god-send, because they are light and airy, won't clog up your pores and best of all they still offer great coverage.
There are so many companies that sell mineral products, including L'Oreal, ELF etc, so you shouldn't have too much trouble finding a good one within your price range.

Sun Cream Sprays: One of the most annoying things about summer in the past, was having to carry around huge big bottles of sun cream, and then having to haul them out to re-apply. With Sun Cream Sprays, this doesn't have to be quite so annoying, because sprays tends to be lighter and most of the time smaller.
With lotions, you have to struggle to apply it quickly so it doesn't drip everywhere, holding the bottle in your free hand, in the process, and then swapping to do the other side, and almost dropping it with your greasy hands. With sprays, you just spray, put it away and rub into your skin. Simple.

Nail Art: Nail Art is a huge trend this year, not only on the catwalks, but Lady Gaga, Rihanna and Beyonce, have all been seen wearing it. Plus, beauty companies appear to be getting in on the act, with rumours of Rimmel launching a range spreading across the internet.
The thing with Nail Art, is that it's stereotyped as being all about long nails, and looking tacky. But,the current trend is more shorter nails with simple designs that can look incredibly classy. I love using Konad, if you hadn't guessed, and definitely recommend them to anyone who wants to give Nail Art a try, but doesn't have the time, patience or steady hand to create art with brushes.


Hating

Ugg Boots: Ugg Boots, in general really bug me. I can half understand them in the winter, because they are warm, but they're still bloody ugly! But, seriously, why do girls insist on wearing them in the summer heat?
I own a pair that I wear around the house in the winter, as slippers, and boy do I know how much they stink, so I really don't want to think how bad they must smell in the summer....gross!

Fall Collections: A lot of make up companies are launching their Fall Collections, and I'm really not a fan of this years colours.
Urban Decay, for instance, have announced several palettes that are very "earthy" with browns, bronzes and golds, and for a company that boasts colour, this for me, is really boring. I mean, I know a lot of girls love neutral shades, and relish this, but browns always make me look like someone punched both my eyes...they just don't seem to suit me at all.

Face "Scrubbers": Neutrogena has the "Wave", L'Oreal has the "Scrublet" and Garnier has the  "Exfo-Scrubber Brush". Each of them are promising to be that miracle cure to dull, blemished skin, claiming to be the most revolutionary piece of kit, that will reach all those tough to reach spots.
But,the truth is that none of these over-priced gadgets will really do anything more than you could get out of a home made and 100% natural face wash, applied to your face with an everyday toothbrush to exfoliate!
Personally, I think they're a complete waste of money.

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