Simple Valentines Day Look

With Valentines Day lurking around the corner I thought it would be kinda nice to do a little hair and make-up look for the day. So far I think my boyfriend's plan for the day is to go out in the stormy, windy, rainy weather that's creating all kinds of devastation across the south-east of England at the moment, and I quote, 'test our waterproofs out'. Super romantic, I know. But its time spent together, plus I get a Domino's pizza at the end of the day!

The make-up look is super easy and very natural looking perfect if your like me and don't like anything too over the top and the hair is cute and girly.

So lets start with the list of make-up I used to achieve the look:

For starters I primed my face with my MUA Matte Perfect Primer to give an even complexion. Then I used my Avon Ideal Flawless Foundation, all over my face. For a cheeky burst of colour I applied my MUA blusher in Bubble Gum to the apples of my cheeks, then swept a little highlighter across the top of my cheeks, I used the MUA Undress Your Skin Shimmer Highlighter. (I bought a few new MUA products so I've been trying them out!) Using my Maybelline New York Brow Pencil and Brow Drama Brow Mascara I filled in my brows to help frame my face. Next up is the eyes....

MUA Glamour Days Eye Shadow Pallette

Click the photo to enlarge for a better image.

Taking shadow 1 a pale gold colour, I applied this all over my lid just using my ring finger(1). Next up I used shadow 2 a slightly darker gold colour, I applied this from the center of my eye, out (2) Again just using my finger. Final shadow 3, a pretty pink colour, I applied this to the outer corner of the eye (3). All 3 of these colours are fairly shimmery so they make the eye appear bright. After applying my shadows I used my MUA Waterproof Liquid Liner to draw a thin-ish line along my eye with a gentle flick at the end(4). Then a quick slick of L'Oreal's Lash Millions Mascara in Ultra Black(5) and I'm almost done! The Finishing touch is highlighting my brow. With such shimmery shadows my brows needed a little lift and to do this I used my NXY Jumbo Eye Pencil in Cottage Cheese to draw a line under my brow and over(6), then blend it out with my ring finger (7).

Lastly I used a combination of Revlon Colour Burst Lip Butter in Strawberry Shortcake and L'Oreal Caresse in Rose Mademoiselle to create a subdued pink pout.

My hair style is simple but effective looking. Start by dividing hair into a deep side part and continue it down to the nape of the neck so you have 2 sections. Clip the biggest section to the side out the way. Then dutch braid in a diagonal line towards the back of your head and tie off. To create some girly dimension to my hair I used my Babyliss Curling wand to create some deep curls to the hair that I had left. Sweeping all hair to one side (the side we curled) pull the braid through so it rest next to your neck. Pull out the hair elastic and get a grip on your 3 strands of braid. Add a little section of hair (from the curled hair) to the strand furthest from your face, then braid once. Then add another little section of hair, to the same side and braid again. Continue this till you are almost fully down your hair, then braid normally and tie off. So we only added hair to one side of the braid, this is called a lace braid. I'll do a post of different braids in the future so you'll get to know what I'm taking about in my hair posts. So if these instructions were confusing, (which I assume they were!) click HERE to see the video where I learnt how to do this :) 

The completed look. Natural looking and girly. And yes I burnt my neck with my wand.

I hope you enjoyed this post, let me know if you try the look out! And remember you don't have to have a partner to feel special on Valentines Day. Have a day to pamper yourself and relax. Self Love is the most important Love of all :)

Jeni x

Review | Avon Ideal Flawless Cream to Powder Foundation

Hi guys!

Today I'm reviewing the Avon Ideal Flawless Cream to Powder Foundation.

Information

Brand| Avon

Price| £12 currently £6.50 on offer

Size| 9g

Colour| Shell

Packaging| Black plastic compact style, with a mirror and sponge included

Would I re-purchase| I don't think so

So I've had this for a few months now and I have bit of a mixed view on this. Its meant to apply as a cream and turn to a powder and in my experience there is no powdery finish. 

The colour match with my skin tone is OK although is a little on the orange side for me. In the catalogue and online it shows much lighter than it actually is, I would say it was more on the Soft Honey side rather than Shell.

The foundation is of light to medium coverage and does a pretty good job of covering up my blemishes and open pores and evening out my skin tone. I apply this with my little orange sponge and it just glides on to the skin like butter and has a super creamy consistency which gives a soft dewy finish making the skin look so luminous and healthy, but I do have to set this with a powder. Powder is a must for me with this foundation, if I skip it, its not long before my whole face begins to look overly dewy, and by that I mean an oil slick. I think if my skin was dryer this would be an amazing foundation, but I really wouldn't recommend it to someone with oily skin. 

Overall I've found this to be bit of a hit and miss. It works really well with my skin some days and not so well other days, but I guess that's really just to do with my skin type. I was a bit disappointed that it doesn't turn in to a powder like the packaging says it should but what can you do! I don't think I'll be repurchasing it any time soon. 

Have a great weekend!

Jeni x

Review | L'Oreal Triple Active Anti Shine Day Cream

Happy Happy Monday!

Today I'm going to share my thoughts on the L'Oreal Triple Active Anti-shine Day Cream

Information

Brand| L'Oreal Paris

Price| £6.49

Size| 50ml glass jar

Purchased at| Superdrug

Would I re-purchase| Yes

 The product has lasted me about 3 months and probably has at least another 2 weeks worth of product left, which isn't bad. I find face cream last me a long time in general. 

It says to use both morning and evening but at night I'm not worried about keeping my skin matte so I only use this in the morning, though perhaps using it both morning and evening would produce better results.

I don't overly love that you have to dip your fingers in the product to use it, its not overly sanitary and I find I end up with horrid bits of fluff hiding out in my cream, which I then have to pluck out. But on the plus side you do get use use up 100% of the product. 

It is a very light cream, with a citrusy fresh scent that I find appealing. On first application skin is appears mattified and looks oil free. The cream contains Perlite - which is amorphous volcanic glass? Say what?! And Salicylic Acid - which is used in lots of skin care but can be a bit hit and miss for some as it can clog pores.

Now I have pretty oily skin so when I picked this up I was hoping it would really work. I've tried several different mattifying moisturisers over the years, including a Clinique one which I was very disappointed with. However the Triple Active has worked pretty well. 

It keeps my cheeks fairly matte all day long, but on the flip side, my forehead is still incredibly oily. 

Another thing that I have noticed is that it doesn't form a barrier from the additional oils/moisture from my foundation (depending on what one I use). So dependenet on which foundation I use will dertermin how matte my skin will stay throughout the day. For example when I use my B. Naked foundation my oiliness is kept mostly at bay, but if I wear my Avon Flawless foundation, because its a very dewy formula my oil levels are, well oily. (Review still to come)

It really is an experimental game when looking for a moisturiser that will keep the skin matte.

Overall I do really like this moisturiser and will purchase it again in the future. And if your skin is like mine its definatley worth a go, but take in to consideration what foundation your using.

Hope this was helpful!

Jeni x

Christmas Pressies!

Hi guys!

Hope you had a wonderful Christmas and got everything you hoped for and more :)

I had a lovely day full with food, family and pressies!

...Also a sew your own sock reindeer that I still need to finish, I spent 3 and a half hours making it!

Today I wanted to share the lovely presents I received over Christmas, but before I start this is in no way a bragging post, I feel very lucky to have gotten what I did and feel very spoilt!

Just some of my amazing presents!

I got 4 new perfumes so I should smell lovely for the rest of the year!

Hugo Boss Jour & Avon Little Black Dress

Jour is lovely and fresh like a spring day! Kind of a care free kind of fragrance.

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Little Black Dress is what I think of as a classic fragrance reminds me of both my grandma's and Chanel no.5 - I'm not saying its a dupe for Chanel no.5 I can barely remember what it smells like, but when I was little one of my grandma's gave me her almost used bottle of Chanel no.5 and this reminds me of how I remember it smelling, but I doubt it smells the same!

Britney Spears Midnight Fantasy & Circus Fantasy

Midnight Fantasy is so super fruity it honestly smell good enough to eat with its top not of Cherry.

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Circus Fantasy is just as fruity but has more of a citrus scent to it - both super lovely and a good price!

Katy Perry Prism, Britney Spears Britney Jean, The Vampire Diaries Seasons 1-4, Rachel Caine Terminated, R J Anderson Quicksilver & Lauren Conrad Beauty.

I also got Lady GaGa ArtPop but that's currently in my car :P

I haven't had chance to listen to all the cd's enough to formulate a proper opinion of them, I'm currently listening to Britney Jean right now - poppy! plus I love Britney anyway!

I'm super excited to watch The Vampire Diaries, I managed to watch the first season then missed every one since then! So a mega catch up is in order!

I have loved this series by Rachel Caine and can't wait so sink my reading teeth in to Terminated!

Quicksilver is a spin off? of the book Ultraviolet by the same author a "what happened after" to one of the characters from this sci-fi book.

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Lauren Conrad's Beauty bible, I'm so excited to read this. I've flicked through it a few times and read the odd page. I think its going to be a great book for those starting on their hair/beauty/makeup journey. I think I will do a proper review of it once I've read this beauty!

Radley Mirror, Cosy Up Kitty Handwarmers, Warhammer 40,000 miniature & Me to You Teddy.

My boyfriends started buying me little Radley pieces and this adorable little mirror is one of my newest additions :)

Cosy Up Hand warmers because my hands are always cold!

Warhammer 40, 000 miniature model. Warhammer I hear you say! Yup my little brother loves warhammer and loves to paint them, my dad also paints figures and I said a while back I fancy painting something again so my lil bro bought me this to paint at some point! Bless him!

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My Me to You teddy from lil bro!

Hunger Games Bracelet, Swatch Watch, Radley Watch & Unicorn Pandora Charm

I LOVE the Hunger Games so this was just a lil fun present from the boyfriend.

A beautiful Swatch watch from my dad, has a tortoise shellesque bracelet style strap

A Radley watch from the boyfriend, as these cute little Westies all over the inside strap

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A precious Unicorn Pandora charm to add to my collection - been collecting for 4 years that's why there are so many!

A Nivea box set including: Irresistibly Smooth Lotion, Express Hydration Hand Lotion, Soft Face, Body&Hand cream, Daily Moisturiser, Pearly Shine Lip Balm, Cleansing Wipes (not pictured) Nourishing Honey Mask sample (not pictured) Avon Skin So Soft, Avon Advanced Techniques Argon Oil Hair Mask, Ted Baker box including: Body Spray, Bath Soak, Body Wash, Hand Cream, Body Souffle & Head Band.

I haven't had chance to use all these products yet but I could always do a post on each set.

I also go some underwear - not gonna show that, loads of socks, one of those weird spidery looking head massagers and a little chocolate!

I would love to know what you all got too!

Have a great day!

Jeni x

Get Ready With Me: Christmas Party

Christmas is getting closer and closer guys!

Sunday just gone (15th) I had my work Christmas Party, and so I thought it would be fun to have a go at a 'Get Ready With Me' post. I love watching these sort of videos and thought I'd give a go at translating it in to a post!

So here it is!

So lets start out with the face!

To start out I primed my face with my Garnier 5sec Perfect Blur. Once all lovely and blurred I applied a thin covering of my Avon Ideal Flawless foundation, then a thin layer of my B. Naked  foundation to keep my colouring as natural as possible. Once dry I used my Mac Pro Longwear concealer brought out for special occasions or when my skin is particularly bad, to just hide any blemishes. Finally I set all this with a sweep of my Maybelline Fit Me! powder. 

To colour my cheeks I used my MUA blush in shade 1 on the apples of my cheeks. For lips I used one of my favourite lipsticks the Barry M Magic Lipstick, I also topped this with a NYC lip gloss in a bright pink shade that I forgot to photograph. This was the perfect lip combo for the evening as the lipstick doesn't budge and to keep it looking vibrant all that is needed is a slick of gloss to brighten it up. Perfect!

My eyes I kept really simple as I was pushed for time. To start I filled in my brows using my Maybelline brow pencil, then added my NXY Eyebrow Cake on top to add more depth and definition. Finally finishing with a sweep of my Maybelline Browdrama to keep it all in place. 

To give my eyes a little bit of sparkle I used one of my favourite eye shadow/shimmers by Collection, Dazzle Me! in Magical - its amazing like fairy dust. It has a slight gold undertone, so pretty.

Once all lightly sparkeld I added a thick sweeping cat line of my Revlon Colour Stay liner and a generous helping of Natural Collection Lash Length mascara. 

And then my makeup was done!

Annoyingly your can't see the shimmer! But its there I promise just too subtle I guess!

Love this pretty combination!

Hair again is super simple I used my faithful ghd's to give my hair soft curls. Once cool I love to comb through my curls to give them a soft, fluffy, natural finish. Then using a pump of argon oil I rub this through the curls to keep them shiny and hydrated.

The completed hair and makeup. 

I wanted to keep it simple and flawless look as my dress is sparkly!

For nails I picked a contrasting yellow to go with my blue dress, this ones by Miss Sporty.

My dress is from Lipsy, Shoes and Bag both from New Look and Necklace George at Asda.

I don't have a full photo of the outfit, but I do have this rather sassy picture taken on the night!

Suits me no?

Hope this post wasn't too long for you!

Let me know what you think :)

8 More Days!

Jeni x

Autumn Favourites

Hi Guys!

As its now officially winter..I think, I thought it time to do a Autumn Favourites post.

Autumns such a pretty time of year the leaves turn such a lovely colour and we get to wrap up toasty warm in our winter wooleys and drink copious amounts of tea and hot chocolate.

Anyway on to my favourite items/products of the season.

 

First up is my favourite Autumn/Winter perfume Armani Code.

I have been wearing this for years. Ever since I smelt it in a magazine and fell in love.

Then purchased it on a boat coming home from a school trip visiting the Somme I believe.

To me its such a warm and intense scent perfect for the cooler weather.

Next up is my Real Techniques Miracle Complexion Sponge and my Avon Ideal Flawless Foundation.

I have a review post of the foundation in the pipe line, but lets just say I'm loving it!

I'm a total book worm and these 2 have been instant favourites.

Stephen King's Carrie - Just OMG was amazing!I really hope I get to see the new film!

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Kiera Cass's The Elite - Which is the second book in The Selection series. Its a dystopian fantasy which I love.

Collection's Gothic Glam Lipstick in no.3 Revenge.

A great dark burgundy colour which I have been loving.

L'Oreal Caress Lipstick in no.202 Impulsive Fuchsia.

This has been my go to lip colour all season. Its bright and fun! Great for when I'm not feeling the dark lip!

Quick swatch of the 2.

Samantha Rose Flutter Ear-rings.

I bought these at the Desire Jewellery & Silver Smithing show back at the beginning of November and I love them so much!

And Sam just happens to be a friend!

She's very talented!

CLICK! CLICK! CLICK!

And Finally..

L'Oreal's Age Perfect Refeshing Toner.

My skin was looking really horrid and tired with the cold weather change so I picked up the toner hoping it may refresh my skin and make it happy. It really is a great toner, it has quite a fresh almost citrus scent and makes my skin feel so soft, moisturised and happy.

 It maybe For Mature Skin but who cares.

Palmer's Cocoa Butter Night Renewal Cream.

Such a lovely thick cream and feels so nice and cool to put on. My skin always feels soft in the morning.

I'm not crazy about the scent though.

So these are my Autumn Favourites.

I hope you enjoyed.

Tell me what have been your favourite things of the past season? 

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A quick note, I got myself a Twitter account a few weeks ago, so if your interested come follow me!

@ElfsBeauty

Jeni x

Avon Swatches | Lipstick & Nail Polish

Hey!

As promised here are the proper swatches for the lipstick I brought and the nail polish!

Kiss n' Go lipstick in Intimate

Still loving this is so buttery to put on and moisturising and a pretty cool toned pale mauve/pink colour.

Dazzlers top coat in Rose Golden

This I was disappointed with. It looked completely different in the book.

Print screen from web.

Its pretty enough, I put 3 coats on top of a bronze/brown polish.

As it dried off completely it seemed to shrink my nail colour away from my nail tips, if that makes sense so it look like I had been wearing it a while and the tips had chipped off.

Also it chipped really easy and as all glitter polish, is a bugger to get off.

Thanks!

Jeni x