February favourites

It's been long old time since I've done one of these, but after reading some favourites posts this weekend, I realised I had a few favourites of my own I wanted to share. So I thought I'd start with make up and beauty.

Now I'm not a lover of foundation. More often than not I'll only wear CC cream, eyeshadow and mascara and that's it. The one CC cream I always go back to is the 123Perfect CC Cream by Bourjois. It's a light coverage cream that doesn't feel heavy and sticky but still helps balance out uneven skin tone without looking like a mask.

I was recently given a tester of Benefit Porefessional. So far, so good. Enough for me to be tempted to look at buying the full size when I'm passing through Duty Free later this year. It's not something I'm using everyday, but on special days, it just helps minimise those pesky pores and make me feel a bit more put together.

I love to have hand creams scattered throughout the house, car, handbags etc. This hand cream from a Christmas gift set from Marks & Spencer is lavender scented and is as pretty to look at as it smells - perfect to keep on my bedside table to use last thing at night.

Revolution makeup and skincare always have a place on my favourites. Their eyeshadow primer just helps eyeshadows last that little bit longer (and helps stop you looking like the living dead in the morning...)

The One Concealer, I'm honestly heartbroken that this seems to have been discontinued. So often concealers are too drying for me. This one comes with an almost waxy/silicone surround that helps it blend and smooth. I'm not sure how good this would be for very sensitive skin but for my older, dryer skin it works just fine. The hunt for an alternative is on!

The Essence Super Curl from Wilkos is such a bargain at only £3. I wanted a cheap dupe for my absolute favourite mascara - Benefit Roller Lash and this doesn't do a bad job. It has the small plastic wand that I like and even though it can sometimes transfer as the day goes on, at that price, I can live with it. I also like being able to take something cheap and cheerful on holiday without worrying about losing it somewhere.

My next favourite is my absolute favourite, holy grail eyeshadow product - Two Faced Chocolate Bon Bon eyeshadow palette.

This was a birthday splurge in a French Sephora a couple of years ago and it's still going strong. I remember thinking that I'll never use all of the shades, esp Totally Fetch, the gorgeous deep pink/cerise but I have and I love them all. They have so little fall out and last all day. Plus they smell so good. Everytime I use it, I'm reminded of summer and holidays - and that's no bad thing.

And finally, Daisy by Marc Jacobs. I honestly haven't tried a Marc Jacobs perfume yet that I didn't like and this is my current favourite. I'm finding as I get older, my taste in perfume is moving away from citrus scents towards more floral scents.

So that's my February Favourites - I think I'll try to alternate with books and films for March (guess I better start reading!)

Thanks for reading

Cathy
xx

A Mini Flying Tiger Dream Days Haul

In theory, January was going to be a frugal month. With Christmas and a holiday to save up for I was sure I could do a no-spend January (barring essentials). Well, the intention was good... until I heard about Flying Tiger's Dream Day Promotion with everything in store for £2 or less. I decided to conveniently forget about no-spend January and see what was available giving myself a £10 spend limit. £12 later (!) I'm pretty pleased with what I got.

First up is an early birthday present. Fingers crossed the intended recipient doesn't read my blog. This was such a quirky, colourful clock and small enough not to overshadow the smallest of kitchens.

Next up, notebooks and a 5 year diary. I'm sure that like a large majority of people, I don't need any more notebooks. But this one had stars on and was padded and covered in the softest of materials...so of course it had to come home with me.

The diary - I haven't had a 5 year diary since I was at school but I thought it might be fun to try and keep this going. I'm very sure I won't post regularly and will probably be more like a 10 year diary. But I really wanted something to keep a record of key events over the coming years.

Similar to notebooks, I'm sure I didn't really need another travel make-up/travel bag but - it's cute!

And finally - the two things I really wanted and intended to buy all along. New perspex storage units for make-up and other bits and bobs I keep on my bedside cabinet.

So that was my mini Flying Tiger haul. Despite breaking my no-spend ban, I'm really pleased with what I bought. I also think this is one of those shops where it's almost impossible not to buy anything!

Thanks for reading

Cathy

New Year and a New Sheet Mask from The Body Shop - AD

As I'm writing this - Blue Monday has been and gone and the end of the month and payday is just around the corner. I don't know about you, but it can't come soon enough. I'm well and truly over all of the New Year, New Me hype. Apart from a major amount of decluttering (nothing to do with the Marie Kondo hype - more like reaching the point of frustration) it's more of a case of New Year, Same Me!

I was lucky enough to be invited with the Southampton Bloggers to the first Body Shop event of the year at West Quay Shopping Centre. We were introduced to The Body Shop's first sheet mask, part of their Drops of Youth range. The mask is vegan (perfect for Veganuary) and biodegradable. I have to admit, I didn't know too much about the Drops of Youth range, but after trying the liquid peel on our hands, I wanted to try the whole range!

The lovely staff were on hand to offer one-to-one advice on any skin care issues with a Hydration Station offering skin consultations and hydration readings. For me, the only issue was with the ever increasing number of wrinkles around the eye which seem to be multiplying at an alarming rate. The Drops of Youth Bouncy Eye Mask was recommended. It might seem like a funny name, but the gel really is bouncy and cooling to the touch. I bought the eye mask as well as the Youth Eye Concentrate which comes in a roller ball applicator which I thought would be perfect for travel. I reckon it's a bit much to expect miracles but after only a week the skin under my eyes feels so much softer and plumped up - definitely a thumbs up from me.

There was also the chance to try out the new improved BB cream which is vegan, has no flashback (none of those odd white faces in photos) and best of all, is SPF 30. I've used this before so I'll be interested to see how this new version compares to the old. It looks to be a thicker texture and I prefer lightweight creams so I'll see how I get on.

We were kindly gifted a goody bag which included the Himalayan Charcoal Purifying Face Wash. This was on my my wish list of new products to try so I was very excited to see this. So far I can honestly say it's making my skin feel so much clearer. Sometimes when I use a new product, my skin protests and becomes irritated, so far I haven't experienced this at all with the Himalayan Face Wash.

Thank you to the Body Shop at West Quay, Southampton and Southampton Bloggers for another lovely evening.

Thanks for reading

Cathy

xx

An evening at The Body Shop with Southampton Bloggers

Last week I was lucky enough to attend an event at my local Body Shop store in Southampton with other local bloggers, organised by the very lovely Alice from Alice Anne.

The evening started with drinks and nibbles and cheerful staff who immediately made us feel welcome.

After a little mooch around, we had a small talk about the new products and the history and values of The Body Shop

Although I knew the products they sold were vegetarian, I hadn't realised how many were now vegan, for example all of their make-up brushes, their Vitamin E gel moisture cream (a favourite of mine) and some of their newer products like the Oils of Life cleansing oil-in-gel.

The Body Shop are particularly known for their work against animal testing. At the moment they have a petition to get animal testing in cosmetics banned worldwide - they're aiming for 8 million signatures by end of 2018.

During April and May proceeds from the sale of some of the new ranges go towards helping the Red Panda Network save endangered red pandas in the Himalayas. If you've ever seen one of these guys, you'll know just how cute they are and how worthwhile this is.

We then had the chance to get stuck in and have a good look around at everything. I had a few questions about products old and new and everyone I spoke to was helpful and able to advise me. There was also hand massages available and lots of sampling. With so much hand cream I was beginning to be worried about being able to keep a grip on my camera!

  

It was funny to see products that I remembered from when I was a teenager - in particular the banana shampoo and conditioner (might just have bought a small bottle for old times sake).

Although I felt a bit sad when I learnt that one of my all time favourite products was discontinued, they helped me find an alternative. I even learnt about house spiders in the process...it's pretty impressive what the staff at The Body Shop know about!

We were kindly gifted an amazing goodie bag and with a 30% discount, it seemed rude not to add a few more bits to it. I've especially been wanting to try the Vitamin E eye cube for a while. Being in a stick form, it looks perfect for travel. The Peppermint foot spray is hopefully a replacement for the much loved gel which is now discontinued. Plus that Banana Conditioner which smells good enough to eat.

An overview of the contents of our goodies bags.

A big thank you to The Body Shop for looking after us and to Alice for organising the evening. I can't wait to try everything out. The face masks in particular have been squirreled away ready for a relaxing week in Devon next month.

Thanks for reading

Cathy
xx

Mini shopping spree - jewellery, nail varnish, lips and shoes

Hello there,

I'm trying so hard to be good and not spend much as I'm off on holiday soon over to Belgium. Well, that was the plan anyway. As you'll see below I didn't succeed, but I love what I bought anyway.

I'm a real magpie when it comes to jewellery and anything sparkly. I can't seem to walk past a shop without stopping to see what's for sale. I'm seriously starting to run out of storage room for it all - I think that's definitely another blog post for the future.

These little sparklies were part of 2 for 1 offer at New Look. So it was easy to persuade myself and my mother to buy a pair each.

I fell in love with this necklace from Dorothy Perkins. I love long, feature necklaces and this feels so tactile. I wore it yesterday and couldn't stop playing with it. Sainsburys are also selling the exact same necklace but for 50p more

Rings - the bigger the better! I have a love for all things coral and peach at the moment and this was a perfect buy from Peacocks. For only £2 you know you're not getting anything high end, but I really don't care. It's fun jewellery and makes me smile

After all that jewellery shopping, another favourite of mine - Poundland. I had heard about the CK lip glosses for sale in there. Now I'm not a fan of lip gloss - or any lipstick really. But for only a £1 each, it was worth a try.

The dark colour was a bit of an eek moment to be honest. I doubt it will get much use and will be destined for an evening/party look only. But the paler shade was so pretty. Plus the little pots are perfect for popping into pockets and small handbags.

No shopping trip seems to be complete without a purchase from Barry M at Superdrug. I needed a new base and topcoat and how beautiful is this glitter polish?

And finally Primark. I'm very lucky that I don't really have wide feet (just wide ankles!) so many of their cheaper fashion shoes fit perfectly. These were £4 each so I didn't feel too guilty buying one of each colour.

So often on shoes like this, I find the ankle strap isn't big enough for wide ankles. These are fine though with a bit of room to spare.

Hope you you liked having a peek at what I bought - I really must be good now though!

Cathy
xx