Review // St Ives Scrub

Hello my lovelies, 

Today I'm here to talk to you about the most loved scrub in the UK. It's the St. Ives Apricot Scrub in Gentle. I picked this one up due to the fact it claims it's best for dry skin. I think the first most appealing thing about this scrub is price tag at £3.99 and lets be honest when is this product not on offer somewhere. The thing that also excites me is the fact its apricot, there is just something about that fruit that makes me think this will be good for my skin. I took some photos below to show you what it looks like out of the tube.

As you can see it has these little grain bit's, well done Alisha great description, that when you massage this into your face you can feel gently exfoliating all the dry skin away. At first I used this product everyday and soon discovered that was not the best of plans. So then I moved on to using about 2-3 times a week just to give my skin that deep clean it sometimes needs. I find doing this leaves my skin with reduced redness and breakouts as well as being slightly more glowy and alive looking, which is always a bonus. Overall after using this for about a month I can really understand why there is such a hype around this product. For the price this scrub really blows it out of the park and I can't say anymore good things about it. Have you tried this scrub yet? If so let me know!

Alisha

xoxo

Haul // I work them long nights to get a payday

Hello my lovelies, 

I have indeed been hauling. I not so recently got a part-time job as a waitress at the Buck and Bell in Long Itchington, and lets just say I love it. I get paid on a weekly basis and get tips so after saving them up, then spending a tonne of it in Topshop, ooops, then saving again I managed to save enough to make a few cheeky purchases. Quick disclaimer in the photo above there is a Primark bag but there won't be any Primark stuff in this haul it was just bits and pieces that were unnecessary. 

Boots

Yes. I went there. I just can't help myself once I'm in there and when there is 3 for 2 on skin care and body care and you need a cleanser well this happens. I've had my eye on the Soap and Glory Peaches and Clean Cleanser and I literally grabbed it off the shelf. I then some how managed to justify to myself that I needed a body scrub and I was sold on the sugar crush scent, so this cheeky little product managed to worm it's way into my basket. Then of course you can't leave a 3 for 2 without the free product so being so in love with the scrub scent I picked up the Sugar Crush Body Wash.Pretty restrained for me, I have to say.

Superdrug

Aussie was on offer. I had to try so hard not to pick everything up just on the basis it smelt good and I 'needed it'. But I was an angel and only brought the Aussie Aussome Volume Shampoo. This smells great and really works well to give my hair that extra umpft. I also picked up the Garnier Pure Active Toner. My main reason for this being it was at such a good price and it would be a good backup when I run out of my current toner. The final and only makeupish product I picked up was a MaxFactor Max Effect Nail Polish in  Fantasy Fire. It just looked so pretty. Don't Judge. 

Poundworld

I went here on a whim, we were just walking past when I thought hmm could do with something to eat for cheap so I picked up these 2 boxes of Mikado. These are just lush and have been devoured. I quickly remembered, while oaring at the Daim Mikado, that lots of BBloggers had raved about how some make up products had wormed there way into pound shops and to my surprise these 2 Garnier products were just sat there, the only difference from the ones in Boots were that these have foreign writing as well as the English on them. Can Not Complain.

Lush

As we all know this is my favourite shop ever. Ever. Ever. Especially when they release there ace Christmas range and this year it's bigger than ever. Too exciting. I only picked up two little things, to start with. I got the sweet smelling Candy Mountain and the more musky Soot Ball. Don't worry my little chickita's reviews of these will be up in the near near future. Also while in Lush I had to pick my favourite toner of all time, Breath Of Fresh Air. How lush. 

Miss Selfridge

Final place was Miss Selfridge. I never normally come here I always see all the beautiful things but never think I can afford it but with a bit of an extra cash in my pocket I braved it. I picked up this wooley jumper which I shall link here. Thank God for student discount. I also picked up these two cute pieces of jewelerry as they were half price and just so pretty. 

And that is all for today. Don't you worry though, I'm planning on going to Milton Keynes in half term and having a nice spend before I have to do my Christmas shopping. So, just before I go, what have you been buying? Have you started your Christmas shopping?

Alisha

xoxo

Review // Go TropiCORAL

Hello lovelies, 

Today we have have a much loved set of mine from none other than Benefit. Benefit is a brand that I absolutely love, not just because of the such cute packaging but the quality of the product you get. I can always seem to justify buying anything from them. The Go TropiCORAL set is no exception to this. I find this kit so versatile and that I'm able to use either just one item on its own or all of them together to create some very warm looks. So without further a do lets look at whats inside the box!

Oooooo just look at all the goodness!

So the first two products in the box are the Cha Cha Tint and High Beam. Both of which I'm you have heard of before. Cha Cha tint is a lovely orange based multi-use product that can either be used on the cheeks for a healthy glow or the lips for a nice long lasting pop of colour. I'm a huge fan of this product and as I sit here looking at my hand it is still slightly stained from this swatch. Impressed? Yes! I think I've found a Holy Grail of highlighters and its High Beam. I've never experienced such a good highlighter, ever. It's perfect for my skin with the slightly pink iridescence and it just lasts all day to give you that much hunted for dewy look. Honestly this little size has made me want to rush to Benefit and grab my self the full size.

The other two products within the kit are the Coralista Blusher (which you can see I have made a huge indent into) and the nicely complementing Coralista Lip gloss. Again another two loves. The blusher is such a flattering coral blush, it's not too sparkly and it just gives you that wash of colour that doesn't look like you tried to hard. My only gripe is that it is fixed into the kit so unlike the other products I can't remove it, which is a pain but we live with it. The last, but by no means least product is this lip gloss. Now when I hear lip gloss I think sparkly, glittery, childish mess but let me be the first and by no means the last to say this is none of those things. It is a glossy and smooth on the lips and does not leave them with that tacky feeling. I'm so gutted I didn't pick up Benefits lip gloss set last year which had them all in for such a great price because they are such a good formula and I'm smitten. 

So there we go. That was my 'I'm just going to constantly go on about how great this set is post'. But seriously if you're urming and arhring about getting this kit, take the plunge or maybe the colours in this don't quite hit the spot so be sure to check out 'Feelin' Dandy' or 'Sugarlicious'. Have you tried this kit? Let me know!

Alisha

xoxo

Empties // September

Hello my lovelies,

The long month of September has passed us and we are now in the autumnal month of October. That means it's time for my monthly empties post! I would just like to take this moment to apologies for my lack of blogging last month, I was very busy with settling into 6th form and what not but we're here now and that's all that matters. So without further a do lets take a look of what I have used up this month/last month.

Hair

Haven't really used up many hair products this month, mainly because everything I seem to own just lasts a life time. I am not complaining however because this saves me a heck of a lot of money. Firstly we have The Body Shop Banana Shampoo, this was recommended to me and I have since became a massive fan, when I use this I feel like my hair has really been deeply cleaned. I would defiantly repurchase this in the near future but for the time being I have brought a different shampoo so I can try something different. I have also finished off a travel size of the Aussie Miracle Moist Shampoo similarly I loved this, really cleaned the hair and worth the price. The final thing is the conditioner I get with my hair dye, nothing much to say other than this is the best smelling thing. Ever. That is all.

Body/Skincare

A few things in this section that I have really loved and one I have a strong dislike towards. Lets start with the negative and move to the positive. So first of all we have the B.Pure Micellar Water, I expected great things from this but was just disappointed; Okay it did remove my make-up fairly well but it stung like a bitch around my eye area and required a lot of scrubbing to get the bulk off. Not good. Next we have the Clean and Clear Deep Action Cream Wash, just your standard face wash, nothing too impssive just cleaned my skin on a day to day basis and did the job. Next is a strange on but hey why not, I finished The Body Shop Cranberry Joy Shower Gel, this smelt divine, lathered well and was just a nice shower gel to use. Would definatly recommend and Body Shop shower gels! Finally we have the Caudalie Beauty Elixir, this was one of those products that I enjoyed using but had not clue on what it actually did, so I'm glad I got this free in my Selfridges Summer Box, oh well I enjoyed it while it last.

Makeup 

Final section guys, we can do this! As you can see there is a heck of a lot of primers, concealers and foundations. I'm not going to lie to you I didn't finish all of these in September, it was just in this month that I decided to part with them. So in the primer section we have the MUA Primer, Stila One Step Corrector and the MUA Pro-Base Eye Primer. None of these products really stood out to me as being the best thing ever, they were all 'nice' but just didn't make me die at the fact I would have to live without them. Maybe its down to me and my weird dry skin. For concealer, we have two, the Rimmel Wake Me Up and the Collection Illuminating Touch. Both of these were really good highlighting concealers that not only covered well but also made the darkness under my eyes look majorly reduced. Lastly we have two foundations the No.7 Stay Perfect and the Bourjois Healthy Mix Foundation. Loved the Bourjois, and didn't really take to the No.7, just didn't do anything wonderful for my skin. 

Congratulations. You made it to the end. I promise the next post will a bit more bite size! Did you make any great discoveries last month? Let me know!

Alisha

xoxo

wishlist // Topshop Wishlist

1 // 2 // 3 // 4 // 5 // 6 // 7 // 8
Hello my lovelies,

So today I suppose is a bit of lazy post because the image was not taken by me but to be fair finding the items and links took some time so I don't know, you be the judge. Anyway's these are all the things I've been majorly lusting after at Topshop. To be frank I want everything from the damn shops but I've managed to narrow it down to a few autumnal picks that will work great between the transition of summer and winter. Is it just me that's starting to get Christmasy? Just before I carry on all links are above. I feel like my wishlist features a lot of demin, wool and leather but for me these are the staples of the cooler months. I've seen a heck of a lot of people with these lovely Chelsea Rider boots and well I just need a pair, it's not even questionable. Also the infamous daisy cami has wormed it's way into my need list. Above I've pictured the beautiful cropped lace jumper in yellow but apparently it no longer exists :( but as compensation they now make it in light pink so all order is restored! Also I slightly cheated, I now own the Biker Jacket, oooops. I just couldn't not buy it. So they are my picks! I would love to see yours, so let me know!

Alisha

xoxo

Review // Maybelline Babylips

Hey guys,

So today I think i'm going to talk to you about the most hyped up product in history ever. That's right the Maybelline Baby Lips. I currently own three, two are coloured and one is just clear. I'm sure everybody and their brother and dog now own these and have posted a review of them. But you know me, where there is a hype i'm sure to be there! The baby lips are designed to be a moisturizing lip balm with a hint of colour, claiming up to 8 hours of moisture. The main two selling points for me is the super cute packing and the £2.99 price tag. Both of which appeal to me strongly. 

The Baby Lips I picked up was 'Peach Kiss', now this claims to be one of the ones with a hint of colour but my friends do not expect the moon and back, these are now Revlon Balm Stains. The colour is a mere booster or your natural lip colour with a nice gloss over. But don't mistake me I do love these but they're not extremely pigmented. My favourite thing about this one is the scent. I love peaches whether it be peach tea or peach iced lemonade or just a peach, I love it. I find I use this on those days when I want to add moisture but don't want any colour, just plump full looking lips.

The next one is Cherry Me. This is the one I expected to have the most colour pay off due to it being bright red in the packaging and to be fair it does but again its not like a bright lipstick just a vague colour wash. Again the smell is just amazing and I think I could eat it but then again that wouldn't be very good for me. I feel this is the one I reach for the most out of the three!

The last one I own is Moisture. I thought this would be a nice everyday lip balm to throw in my bag or to seal in lipsticks with and I was right. I love this as either a base for my lipstick or over the top to add some sheen. Even on its own this balm performs well as a quick fix to chapped lips. This product smells just like lemonade a personal favourite of mine and even thought it has no colour i'm still in love with it.

Here are just a few swatches, at the top is Peach Kiss then Cherry Me and then Moisture at the bottom (which you can't see). Hopefully yo can see what i'm getting at with the whole colour pay off thing. Now at first I was a little disappointed but then I realized I could use them just to gain a smooth natural lip. Overall a thumbs up from me Maybelline. Have you tried these bad boys out? Let me know!

Alisha

xoxo

Review // Mac Nicki Minaj Viva Glam

Hey guys,

So for my birthday, which feels an extravagantly long time ago, my good friend Hope brought me what could be described as the perfect present for me. That's right a MAC Lipstick by Nicki Minaj aka Viva Glam Nicki. This is a bright, long wearing lipstick that for some may be seen as too much but for me who can't resist a bold colour on the lips then this is a perfect change from my normal reds. I've seen many swatches about and think I can safely say this yellow under toned pink suites everyone. The formula is of the same high quality MAC always seems to offer and if all that wasn't enough to tempt you into buying this lipstick, all the cost of the product (minus the VAT) goes to MAC Aids Fund which is an amazing charity for an amazing cause. So basically you should buy this product to be a model citizen.

What a grim photo! The things I do for you all. Anyways this it what it looks like on my lips and I love it, at first I thought hmm maybe this is a little too bright for everyday but actually I found it to work with a lot of my outfits and that it's not too in your face. Honestly, trust me, take the plunge and splash £15 on this lipstick you won't regret it and at the same time you'll be donating to charity! Do you own this lippy? Let me know!

Alisha

xoxo

Nails// Summer Nail Picks

 Hey guys, so today I'm going to be showing you my top 10 nail picks for the summer. I know the summer is sadly coming to a close but I still really wanted to do this post so I am and I hope y'all still enjoy it! I believe there is nothing better than having lovely painted nails in all different colours. Maybe that explains my ever growing nail polish collection but because I love you all so much I have narrowed it down to my 10 most worn colours over this summer. So enjoy!

 1,2,3,4

On the far left we have the 'summer in a bottle' nail polish, it's the Barry M Hi-Shine Nail Paint in Passion Fruit. The photo doesn't do it that much justice it's a lovely redy pink and will brighten up your nails and outfit immediately. Next along is Nails Inc for InStyle in You're A Peach. This colour, I find, looks best when you have that Miami bronzed tan ie perfect for this hot hot weather! My next favourite is Models Own in Bubblegum. This Neon pink sums up summer and I love the formula it last forever, even when worn for swimming while on holiday or at friends pool parties. This colour is really true to what you see in the bottle and is a definite must! Finally, for this bunch, we have OPI Red Lights Ahead ... Where? All I can say is love love love. This colour has been on my nails so many times because its just classic. It's a red but with a little more umph!

 5,6,7,8,9

Okay, so first of we have Rimmel Lasting Finish in Marshmallow Heaven. This is a warm lilac, basically it's a slightly more purple lilac and I love it. I have this currently on my toes and I plan for it to stay there for a while longer. Enough said. Next is another Barry M Hi-Shine Nail Paint in the shade Guava. I have included enough because the colours and formula is just so amazing and are perfect for the summer season. In the middle is an & Other Stories Nail Polish in the shade Pique Blue. This is a lovely baby blue that will just suite every skin tone and look great all year round. This has to be the most hyped up nail polish, but I can see why. I couldn't create my favourite summer nail polishes without including Essie's Bikini So Teeny. Love, love, love this blue honestly a cult classic and if this isn't in your collection then you must be living in a cave. Finally in the section we have another Rimmel Nail Polish in the shade Round and Round the Garden. I don't own too many greens but this is one I truely adore its like a vintage green that you'd find in a shabby chic shop and it's just a lovely colour to have during the summer days

10

My final pick had to be a glitter. What girl doesn't have some for of glitter polish in her collection! I have chosen Barry M in the shade Yellow Topaz Glitter. I am a huge fan of a gold glitter and this one jsut really does it for me, I love just putting this over any colour to jazz it up a bit!

Well I hope you enjoyed that and that maybe you found a new nail colour to try out. What have been your 2013 nail picks? Let me know!

Alisha

xoxo

selfie// Feeling down, well turn that frown upside down!

Hey guys, so I've been gone for a while but now I'm back for good. I'd have already put a post up explaining where I've been by the time this goes out so go read that! Anyways this post is something I came up with the other day, while thinking of things to do that would cheer me up. Lately I've felt in a bit of rut of being down and its down to some personal things with people, but I don't wanna linger on it or talk about it anymore. Instead i'm going to tell some of the things I do when I'm down that will make me laugh or make me happy! Hopefully you guys might find them useful!

1. Watch a funny movie

Now I know this may seem obvious but it is true. It helps a lot. I would recommend 'Superbad'. I don't think I've ever laughed so much in my life. Basically if a guy has got you down then watch this bunch of loser try and get laid. It's like the Inbetweeners but in a movie, so basically a brilliant cheer me up.

2. Do something impulsive or a little crazy

I find I can be quite up tight and not really a risk taker I like my comfort zone. I'm always worried what people will think so I don't do things that are a little quirky. Anyways This weekend I decided to dye the ends of my hair purple. Me and my sister did it and I just thought why not? In conclusion I love it and it's made me feel good and a little different.

3. Sing and dance

I'm not a singer. Or a dancer. Or anything cool. But nothing makes me feel better than a girl power playlist consisting of the likes of Taylor Swift or Beyonce that a can belt out every tune and dance around my house to. I feel like I'm actually a massive star when actually I sound and look like a cat having a seizure. But you know what, It makes me feel great and just completely relaxes me so I just continue on.

4.Read Harry Potter.

Harry Potter is life. I'm just a little bit of a fan and I find that it cheers me up so much. For me the best therapy is to sit and read all the books in order. I love being taken to another world where my problems mean nothing and I can focus my mind on Harry's problems. I know the books like the back of my hand but they still manage to entertain me. If you haven't read them you really should!

5. Apply a full face of make-up

Finally, my most tried and tested happiness boost is to sit and do my make-up to utter perfection no matter how long it takes and what time of day. It gets to 11pm and I'm sat there with a full smokey eye look, but I assure you ladies nothing will trouble me. Well not until I have to take it all off but still the application is the most exciting thing, if I could do it all the time I would.

I hope you found my list useful if you're feeling down! I'd love to know what you do to feel better when down because there is only so many times you can get emosh over Harry being 'Such a brave boy'. Let us know below!

Alisha

xoxo

selfie// Where have you been?

This is a story all about how my life got turned up and flipped right round. Such a fan of the prince of Bel Air. But it doesn't explain my lack of postings. I'll tell you where I have been, I've been studying very hard for my GCSE'S and sitting them. Its been intense and to say un-fun is an under statement But it's done now! Yay! That means i'm free to do whatever I want i.e Blogging! So prepare yourselves for a ton of posts from yours truly over the summer! I've been on holiday to the sunny Turkey and managed to miss prom (ooops) but it doesn't matter, barely anyone is leaving they're all coming back next year so it was just a giant disco for all. I've also just spent week mopping around the house over something ridiculous but enough is enough, I'm maning up and get back on the blog hype because this is my baby and I've been neglecting it and that is bad. Very bad. Sorry for this very unexciting post but I just felt I had to justify where I have been the last few months a why I hadn't been updating but I'm back now so we can carry on! Hope you stay tuned for all the fun fun posts to come!

Alisha

xoxo

empties // April/May

Hey guys, So this is my long over-due empties post from this month and last! As you can see a fair few things have been culminated. I feel like it is a good moment when I finish something because it means I get to try a new product without being wasteful. Win, win situation. So without further ado here we gooooooo

Hair care
First of all we have the VO5 Revive Me Daily Shampoo, I really enjoyed using this shampoo it made my hair feel clean and healthy which for me is all I really look for at it served it's purpose. I probably will re-purchase at some point but to be honest I just buy whats on offer at the moment. To accompany the shampoo we have the VO5 Give Me Moisture Conditioner, again this was a ice conditioner and it left my hair feel smooth and shinny without looking greasy so thumbs up for that. The last thing is the conditioner that came with my Garnier Nutrisse hair dye. Love the smell of this!

Body
First of all we a pot from Lush, the 'Creme Anglaise, Hand and Body Lotion'. I didn't really take to the smell of this just wasn't a fave of mine. But if I remember correctly it was pretty moisturizing so bonus points there. I didn't really enjoy it but it can go towards my 5 pots so not a total loss. Next we have a shower scrub from a Gok gift set I got at Christmas. It was nice just one of those products you used up for the sake of using. Next we have the Soap and Glory Clean On Me Shower Gel. Nice classic soap and glory scent, left me feeling clean and refreshed. I like to change the smell of my shower gel quite often, but I will probably buy this again in the near future. Lastly there is The Body Shop Sweet Lemon Body Scrub, I love love love this smell. Let me re-phrase that. Anything from the body shop. I loved used this, quite coarse, scrub and would recommend it to all.

Face
As you can see we have three Lush pots, we have two face masks 'Love lettuce' and 'Catastrophe Cosmetic'. Both of which we're nice, I personally didn't see any major skin benefits but they didn't make my skin any worse so I can't complain. The other pot is the 'Ocean Salt' which is a facial scrub. I loved this, it was really tough and cleaned all the grime out of my skin. Nice. But seriously cleaned up my skin and gave a nice refreshing smell. The last two bits are make-up. One is the 24-hours Extreme Felt-Tip Liner by Collection and the other is a lipstick from the Natural Collection. Technically this lippy isn't finished but it's snapped beyond repair! Oh well. The liner was ace and I brought another, such a good price and lasts all day!

I hope you enjoyed looking at my empties, that may be a little late. What products have you used up? Have you tried any of these products? Let us know!

Alisha 

xoxo

review // Carmex

Hey guys, 

So today I thought i'd just do a small review on this little tube of goodness. The Carmex lip balm is a much hyped up product that many swear by as their solution for chapped lips. I've been testing this strawberry one out for a few weeks and well it's alright. Now don't take that the wrong way. I do like this lip balm, it defiantly stops my lips from chapping and makes them feel soft.  Which is the aim. On the other hand, a few negatives, the strawberry taste is very brief ( when I mean brief I mean you put it on and bam its gone) so that for me is a let down because what you are left with a is a tingly minty feeling which isn't my favorite  I like fruity things on my lips not mint leafs. But when I overcome this I do enjoy using this product but for me taste is a huge thing when it comes to my lips. So overall I'd give it an 3/5! For the price its defiantly worth a try, at about £2. So have you tried this product out? Or can you recommend any good lip balms in my quest? Let us know!

Alisha

xoxo

review // Real Techniques core collection

Hey guys,

So I think we all know where this is going... It seems to me that everyone and their sister, brother and goldfish have these brushes and just can't seem to get enough of them. Sadly for me where there is a hype, there is me stood there, being a sheep. But in the case of 'The Real Techniques Core Collection' I genuinely have found love. I never really use to be a huge brush person just would use my grubby fingers to whack the make-up onto my face, but slowly I got more and more into them. One day, whilst in Birmingham, I took the plunge and brought these beauties at £21.99. Lets just say its one of the best £21.99 I have ever spent. I find this kit is great to start off your brush collection and join the path of applying make-up better. I love the fact they are synthetic and cruelty free. This makes them feel so soft and makes the application of make-up so easy and smooth. I shall run through each one of the brushes and what I use it for. 

 'The holy grail brush' or sometimes known as the 'Buffing Brush'. This brush is designed to be used for applying powders or minerals but I prefer to use it at my liquid foundation brush. Like many other bloggers I find it gives me a flawless and even application of my foundation. I can see why this brush is so hyped up because it defiantly deserves it.

 Secondly, we have the 'Contour Brush' which is meant to be used to apply highlighter and like the name suggest contour the cheek bone. I use it to apply my blush whether it be cream or powder, I feel it would work best as a contour brush if you were to use bronzer but I haven't found a bronzer for my skin yet! But it does do a brilliant job of evenly blending out my blusher.

 When then have the 'Pointed Foundation Brush' which is designed to be used with liquid foundation. I, on the other hand, use it to blend out my concealer, especially in those hard to reach areas. I love the fact I can use the pointed end to get in the crooks around my nose and then use it flat to blend it over any blemishes.  

Finally we have the brush I use the least the 'Detailer brush'. I find this is a good brush for creating a smokey eye where you don't want the liner to look straight and harsh. It also works well as a lip brush like suggested by Samantha Chapman herself.

Overall I find this an extremely useful kit of brushes that are so versatile and could be used by anybody. They are so soft and well crafted and are a must have for anyone with an interest in makeup. If you don't own these brushes then go, go and get some now! Have you done a post on this collection? Or love them as much as me? Let me know!

Alisha

xoxo