Tara Smith Shine On Shampoo and Conditioner

As I mentioned in my last post, I have been trying to use more natural and cruelty free beauty products.
I was in the Marks and Spencer on Oxford Street recently and found myself in their newly revamped beauty department.
Marks and Spencer revamped their beauty department last year and now sell lots of different, hard to find beauty brands. I would describe it as a Beauty Emporium and there were a lot of things I found in there which I didn't even know you could get in the UK, including the Sud Pacifique perfumes.

There was one display I was immediately drawn to though and knew I had to get something, anything! I had not heard of Tara Smith's haircare range before and I'm so happy I discovered it.

Tara Smith is a celebrity hairstylist with a very impressive CV. Tara has now designed her own range of products based on her philosophy of "What you put on to your body is as important as what you put into it". All of her products are natural, 100% vegan and cruelty free.

OK I can go no further without mentioning the packaging! These are undoubtedly the most beautiful bottles of shampoo and conditioner I have ever owned. There are different ranges in the line and each range has the most beautiful picture of a tropical bird on it. Honestly I practically ran at this display! Once I had calmed down and got over my initial reaction to BUY THEM ALL! I opted for the shampoo and conditioner from the 'Shine On' range.

The 'Shine On' range is designed to hydrate, moisturise and restore gloss to damaged, thirsty or coloured hair-naturally.

I have used the shampoo and conditioner a few times now and I am very pleased with the results. I have very oily hair so I hate products that leave any kind of residue in my hair, these don't and I have to say my hair feels very 'clean' after using them, which I love. I also love that the conditioner feels very nourishing and leaves my hair feeling lovely and silky without weighing it down. I cant say I have noticed a dramatic difference shine wise but as I have only used these a few times it may be too early to notice a difference.

I would really recommend checking these out, I will definitely be trying something else when these are done and I've got my eyes on the Gorgeously Gentle shampoo and conditioner. I love Tara's philosophy of natural and cruelty free products and I am so happy I discovered her range. You can buy the Tara Smith range from Marks and Spencers online and the shampoo and conditioners are priced at £10.00 each for 250ml.

 

If like me you are interested in discovering more about cruelty free brands then check out http://www.gocrueltyfree.org/shopper

February Favourites

I don't often do monthly favourites post, so I dont know why I started with February, as its the hardest month to spell and I am now extremely paranoid about the 'ru'ary bit.

I find I love certain products, then halfway through the month find something else and love it even more. Then I never know what to include! Ahh the trouble of a fickle mind! So here is my highly edited favourites post. I have cut it down to only the products I have used and loved all month long.

Yes to Carrots Hydrating Shower Gel - I know shower gel is not the most exciting of things, so for me to mention one in a favourites post it has to be pretty special. My love for the Yes to brand is no secret and this is easily my favourite product I have tried by them so far. It feels lovely on the skin, doesn't dry my skin out or leave it feeling tight and I love that its made from natural ingredients. This will definitely be a staple for me.

Lush Big Shampoo - I am trying to use more natural, cruelty free products. Animal testing is something that I know a lot of us don't want to think about, but it does upset me to think a lot of the products I use probably have been tested on animals. Hence why I am trying to find and explore more natural brands. Now I am not a Lush fan, the smell of a Lush shop is pretty repulsive to me and I'm not a bath bomb kinda gal! But I had read some great things about this shampoo, so held my nose and in I went. Big Shampoo is a shampoo packed with sea salt. Don't let that put you off, I find it does an amazing job at making my hair feel really light and clean and it has quickly become one of my favourite shampoos. This is my second pot and I have already braved it back into lush and bought two more. If you are like me and suffer from the dreaded 'greezy' hair you should definitely try this. One thing I will say though, the price of this stuff is extortionate, £11.00! I wish I didn't like it so much!  Oh Lush you are yet to win me over.

Urban Decay De Slick Oil-Control Makeup Setting Spray - Not only is my hair prone to the 'greezies', my face is too! I work in an office (dream job I tell you....) and there is nothing worse then going to the bathroom in the afternoon, looking in the mirror and finding your makeup has completely disappeared from the centre of your face (goodness knows where it goes!) Well not anymore! De Slick is amazing, you spray it on your face before you apply your makeup and again when you are finished. My makeup lasts the whole day at work and doesn't go wandering off, brilliant stuff.

Jack Wills English Velvet Perfume - One of my favourite perfumes, I got through this in record timing (I got this bottle for Christmas). I find English Velvet to be a very distinctive but still very feminine scent. I have to confess I have already purchased another bottle of this, I just couldn't wait!

Maybelline Full 'N Soft Waterproof Mascara - Ahh my beloved £3.99 eBay bargain. Since I bought this I have barely touched another mascara. I love that this looks and feels natural-ish ;) on my lashes but still gives me the effect I want. I think I'm addicted, but for £3.99 I don't care!

Rimmel Scandal Eyes Liner in 'Nude' - I have been using this in my waterline to make myself look a bit more bright eyed and bushy tailed! The colour is very flattering, I cannot stand white eyeliner in the waterline, it looks freaky to me but this natural colour really softly brightens your eyes without making you look mega creepy!

MAC Eyebrows in 'Lingering' - I caved, I just cant be without this eyebrow pencil in my life. Slightly dramatic I know, but I have been through about 8 pencils now so maybe not an exaggeration ;) A universally flattering colour and because the pencil is so small it allows you to fill your eyebrows in but keep them looking natural. The downside, it runs out ridiculously quick (hence my self imposed ban) I get through about one of these a month!

MAC Blush in 'Dainty' - Pretty much the only blush I have used all month because a) its a really pretty, pink shimmery colour and b) pretty, pink shimmery blushes go with everything and February has been a lazy month makeup wise!

L'Oreal Lumi Magique Concealer - I have been slapping this on under my eyes ala Kim Kardashian and I am not ashamed to admit that. I have also been putting this on all those essential highlight areas, centre of the nose, brow bone, cheekbone, basically I pretty much colour the centre of my face in with this ;) It really is brightening, and doesn't crease at all. You really don't need to spend the money on a YSL touche eclat these days, as the drugstore options are far better and cheaper!

So there you have it, as I mentioned February has been a bit of a lazy makeup month. What can I say, I'm turning into a right old natural beauty..........*guffaw*

A Week In Nails Part 2

Left to right: Zoya "Skylar", Revlon "Elegant", Revlon "Dreamer", Models Own "Blizzard", Models Own "Disco Heaven", Orly "Shine On Crazy Diamond", Barry M "Indigo"

My week in nails was a bit of a disaster this past week, as all my nails broke :( I hate to be the stereotypical girl but there really is nothing worse, well obviously there is, but you know what I mean! So I have tried to make up for this by using 5 nail polishes in one manicure! Its true, glitter does makes everything better!

First up, "Skylar" by Zoya. I had forgotten all about this colour, but I'm glad I dug this out because I really do like it. Its quite a unique colour and reminds me of Chanel's "Boy" but with gold and silver glitter.

Next up, the 5 colour manicure! I used Revlon's "Elegant" which is a really lovely natural brown toned nude. Another colour I had completely forgotten I owned! For the blue I used another polish my Revlon, "Dreamer" this is a beautiful dusky blue, both of these would look lovely on their own. I really recommend Revlon nail varnishes, they do some great on trend colours and the formula is amazing.

Now onto the glitter! I used three different glitters to get just the right level of camp sparkliness! First a coat of Models Own "Blizzard" then a coat of Models Own "Disco Heaven" followed by TWO coats of Orly's "Shine on Crazy Diamond" annnnnnnnd we're done!

And finally I finished off the week with Barry M's Indigo (Please excuse the smudge!)

If you have any tips on making your nails grow fast, please send them my way!

The Beauty Graveyard

 I was quite shocked to see I hadn't done a Beauty Graveyard post since October, poor show! I had actually used up a lot of products since then but I got so fed up of them lying around, that I recycled them and didn't post, kind of regretting that now!

So without further adieu may I present to you my empties! Oh and the "*" represent how many times a product has appeared in my Beauty Graveyard posts. Basically, the more *'s the more I love it!

Chanel Vitalumiere Aqua Foundation (Shade B10)
I got this when it was first released, I was that excited. Got to my nearest Chanel counter and surprise, surprise there was no on there to serve me. As this foundation was new out it was on display but there were only four shades. With no one around to help me I assumed this was the paltry shade range on offer and picked the lightest B10. Let me tell you I hated this foundation, the colour was so chalky, I could not understand why everyone kept banging on about it. Then I discovered there were a lot more than 4 shades on offer and made the brave (or extremely stupid) decision to buy another bottle, this time in a colour that matched my skin (B20) and I'm glad I did. I ended up loving this foundation (still not this colour though!) it really is a lovely, natural, lightweight foundation. Just goes to show how important it is to get a good colour match with your foundation!

Laura Mercier Mineral Powder (Shade Natural Beige) **
I am now on my third pot of this powder and its definitely one of the products I would never be without. I still have not found a liquid foundation I like half as much as this powder. This gives my skin the glowy finish that I just cant seem to get from other liquid foundations.

Maybelline Dream Lumi Touch Concealer
One of my favourite discoveries from 2012, don't waste your money on YSL's Touche Eclat. This little beauty does a much better job at a quarter of the price!

L'Oreal False Lash Telescopic Mascara (Waterproof) **
This is one of the reasons I love doing my Beauty Graveyard posts, you really get to see the products you love and regularly use. Again another 2012 favourite, a bloody brilliant mascara.

Yes to Tomatoes Clear Skin Daily Balancing Moisturiser
I love the Yes to brand philosophy of cruelty free and natural ingredients. I would love all the products I use to be like this. This moisturiser wasn't particularly amazing, it wasn't bad but just so, so. Can't say I noticed my skin being clearer, but this hasn't put me off the brand at all. In fact I have fallen in love with another of their products which will be in my February favourites (whenever I manage to get that up!)

O.P.I Acetone Free Polish Remover
I noticed a real improvement in my nails after using this. I had been using a cheap remover and because I paint my nails so often they were weak, peeling and just generally ugh! As soon as I started using this my nails improved, the only thing I really hate about this is the smell. Now I know nail varnish remover never smells good, but this stuff is so strong. I have to wash my hands after using it, its that bad!

Aveda Pure Abundance Volumising Clay Conditioner
I was really disappointed in this conditioner, I had such high hopes *sigh* Not particularly volumising, or conditioning. Definitely not worth the money.

Estee Lauder Advanced Night Repair **
I got through another of these little sample bottles. This is a serum which you apply to your face at night (funnily enough). In the morning I find my skin is smooth and has a certain "glow" to it. I doubt I would buy the full size bottle of this though as its a lot of money and I don't know if I like it that much to fork out £40.00!

L'Occitane Hand Cream
This was a freebie in a magazine, Marie Claire I believe. I didn't use this for ages because I thought it would be really thick and sticky on the hands. Now I cant say its not at all sticky, because honestly who has ever found a hand cream that isn't! But it did actually sink in really nicely and the smell is divine, your hands will smell like babies! This is definitely something I would purchase myself. Way better then the Soap and Glory hand cream which I am currently using and not liking at all (ridiculously sticky!)

E45 Moisturising Lotion ****
You know I like to keep things simple with my body moisturiser and for a fiver you cannot go wrong with E45!

Jack Wills English Velvet Body Wash
English Velvet by Jack Wills is actually one of my favourite perfumes, and no I'm not 15 (sadly). I got the English Velvet Body Wash for Christmas and it really was a lovely stocking filler. I love this scent so it was nice to layer it and this didn't leave my skin feeling dry at all. Lets hope I find it at the bottom of my stocking this year!

MAC Archie's Girls Veronica Opulash Mascara

 I have to confess this was a moment of weakness! Personally I haven't been excited about a MAC collection in a while, I'm dying for a collection like Venomous Villains which had me practically foaming at the mouth. So while I wait for a collection to get excited about, I trawled the MAC website! Archie's Girls is their latest collection which is based on an American comic strip, I'm pretty sure that no one in the UK had ever heard of Archie's Girls before and I was actually surprised the collection even released over here, but the cute packaging sucked me in and I thought I couldn't go wrong with a mascara! See how I balanced my weak moment with a moderately sensible purchase.

I have used MAC's Opulash mascara before and remembered being quite impressed with it, so figured I couldn't go wrong. This Archie guy seems to have two love interests and I gotta say I love that he's representing for the ginger guys. His two leading ladies are Betty and Veronica. Betty is blonde and the colours in her collection are very pink, girly, cutesy if you get my drift. Veronica on the other hand has blue black hair and the colours in her collection are much more bold and dramatic. Naturally I am a Veronica fan! This mascara is in Veronica's collection and the colour is "Bad, Bad, Black" because if you have dark hair you are a bad ass ;)

Opulash has a ginormous traditional bristle brush, I'm talking Benefit Bad Gal style big. This for me is the only con of Opulash, as with a brush this big you will inevitably end up with mascara on your eyelid as I did.

But don't let that put you off too much, as this really is a great mascara. I'm sure you will agree once you see my before and after pictures below! Opulash has quite a dry formula which is good as it stops your lashes clumping into three! Its very volumising but also does a good job at lengthening.

What impresses me the most about this mascara though is the fact it does not budge, and I am typing this after wearing it for 15 hours straight! It hasn't transferred on my skin, or flaked off at all which is amazing for me as I usually have to wear waterproof mascaras to stop this happening. 

Thumbs up from me!

I decided I didn't need to label which is which on the before and after pictures ;)

Everyday Face Featuring Burberry

I feel like I really have embraced a more natural look but when I lay it all out like this....I'm not so sure! This face is a mixture of new products, everyday staples and a few re-discoveries!

For foundation I used the Chanel Vitalumiere Aqua Compact, I'm not a huge fan of this so am trying to use it up. The main reason I'm not too keen is the lasting power, I find by the end of the day its just disappeared from the centre of my face!

Laura Mercier Secret Camouflage is one of my staple items. Best concealer for covering blemishes, you can tell that its well loved by how much Ive used. This stuff lasts forever.

One of my newest purchases is the Revlon Nearly Naked pressed powder, I am really impressed by this  and tempted to buy the foundation but I really don't need another foundation, so don't let me do that! This just reaffirms my dislike for the Rimmel Stay Matte! Only thing I would say is, the shade I have "Light Pale" is quite dark. I'm not sure of the shade range but if you are very pale make sure you see the colours in person before buying.

Another well loved product is my Too Faced Chocolate Soleil Bronzer, I love the warmth this gives to my face and on extra lazy days I just put this through my crease instead of using an eyeshadow.

NARS cream blush in Cactus Flower was a rediscovery, a sheer red blush with gold shimmer it gives the perfect natural flush. Out of all the NARS blushers I own this is by far my favourite.

I know I have been raving about this recently, so I wont go on but the L'Oreal Lumi Magique really is a smashing brightening, under eye concealer.

Brows, well what can I say I have reverted back to MAC Lingering, how long did I last...a month! My favourite ever brow pencil, but be warned it does not last long. I get through one of these a month at least! My other love is the Illamasqua brow and lash gel and these two combined are an eyebrow dream! I know I should probably get a new one of these as it looks so rank and Ive had it a while now, but I cant bear to throw it away while I know there's still product in there to use!

Eyeshadow wise I kept it simple and stuck with one of true loves Burberry Almond, I have blogged about these Burberry eyeshadows before but they really are beautiful and they are exactly what I want in an eyeshadow. I'm not one for bright colours, or 'cutting that crease' I prefer my makeup to look more lived in and natural. If you only buy one Burberry eyeshadow, Almond should be the one. I just smudged this all over my lid and on my bottom lash line with a MAC 217 blending brush.

While we are on the subject of Burberry, may I present another cheeky little purchase. Burberry's Lip Mist in Rosy Red. Lip Mist's are Burberry's version of a sheer lipstick. I personally love sheer lipsticks and much prefer them to a normal lipstick. I don't do nudes they make me look like a corpse, I need a bit of colour but I don't want to look like Ive made too much of an effort if you know what I mean ;) So what I'm trying to say is, a sheer lipstick is perfect for me! Rosy Red is surprisingly pigmented and by far my favourite colour in the line.

Now onto mascara and I need to share with you my brilliant find! My Maybelline mascara love affair is still in full swing and I have always wanted to try Full 'N Soft but you cant get it here in the UK.

Well thank the lord for eBay, I found this little beauty for £3.99 and let me tell you its everything I hoped it would be. A lot of the time mascaras are given such ridiculous names but in Full 'N Soft's case its name couldn't be truer. This really defines your lashes but still gives volume and length and I love how it makes your lashes look naturally fuller and not caked and clumped together. 

The last of my new discoveries is Dior's, Diorshow Maximiser Lash Plumping Serum. I'd seen this pop up in a few YouTube videos and it peaked my interest. Its basically a primer for your eyelashes, which you apply before your mascara. Now I was a bit wary of this at first and wasn't expecting the best results but I have to say I am pleasantly surprised. I definitely notice a difference when using this and I also think it makes my mascara last longer. I have only used it a few times though, but so far so good.

See what I mean about natural looking lashes, no clumps here!

A Week In Nails Part 1

Left to Right: Barry M Gelly 'Green Berry', OPI 'Stranger Tides', Topshop 'Celestial', OPI 'You're Such a Budapest"

This will sound rather tragic but painting my nails is probably one of my favourite things to do! Its just a habit, if I'm watching TV I like to paint my nails. In fact it annoys me when my nails are painted because then I can't paint them! You will not see me without nail polish on, ever. As I go through so many colours in a week I thought it would be fun to share with you.

 Barry M Gelly Hi Shine in Green Berry - This colour is amazingly bright and shiny (hardly surprising given the name). This is the first Barry M Gelly I have tried and I really am impressed by the colour, only thing I did notice when applying was this has a much thicker consistency then normal. Making it harder to spread and I can see this getting gloopy quite quickly. None the less the colour is awesome and for £3.99 its a bargain.

OPI Stranger Tides - Hmmm can't make up my mind on this one, I want to love it I really do. If only it was a little brighter! I think its a grower!

 Topshop Celestial - One of my all time favourite colours, whenever I wear this I get compliments and strangely a lot of them are from males. Now when has a man ever complimented you on your nail polish colour! This is the brightest baby blue, and the formula is equally amazing, completely opaque in two coats. An alternative for this colour would be Barry M's Blue Berry. P.S Do you love my Babe mug? ;)

OPI You're Such a Budapest - From the new OPI Euro Centrale collection, this nail polish is a big disappointment for me, it looks amazing in the bottle, but is surprisingly sheer as you can probably see in the picture. You would definitely need to apply three coats of this.

And yes my nails have been freshly painted tonight ready for a new week :)