My AVON Haul

Hey Beauties, 

My dear friend and AVON Rep, Debbie, dropped the 3rd brochure of this year through my door and I must say I like all the offers they have available right now, their sets and the cut price of a lot of their products, from make up to skin care, hair care and even tools. It's brilliant. I also bought all the sample sized shades of AVON's new range lipsticks which are called Perfectly Matte, they currently have 15 different colours which I will talk about in a coming post for you. 

I placed an order one week, then the following week I received them. I've mainly got eye make up bits and some bath and body products. Without further-a-do, let's start. 

 

On the very first page are the glimmerstick eyeliners. I already have a lot of these and previous-discontinued shades, I absolutely love them. This time two shades in particular caught my eye, Starry Night Blue (which the model is wearing and looks amazing in!) and Emerald (which is my birthstone and also I find green really suits my eyes and make them stand out so well). Usually they are £6 each however, in this brochure they are £5 each and also have an offer placed on them Buy One Choose One Free - mix and match saving £7. 
They have 'twist-up-bottoms' rather than pencil sharpening which is a huge plus, and the formula is super soft and super creamy. Colour pay off is gorgeous and the shades in real life match the shade swatches in the brochure really well.

'Emerald'

'Starry Night'

I bought a set that AVON put together which included an Eye Dimensions Eyeshadow, a Big & Daring Glimmerstick Kohl Eyeliner and Big & Daring Volume mascara all for £10 (saving £13.50). You could choose between all 4 shades of eyeshadow, I chose the one the model was wearing which is Sultry Smoke (a pearl, champagne and black trio). There was also 6 shades of the eyeliner to pick from, I chose boldest black. They have a Brown/Black and a Black mascara, I chose the black. All what the model was wearing, all looking gorgeous! 

The eyeliner is the same soft and creamy texture as the glimmersticks above, I'd say it's most likely they share the same - if not very similar - formula. The shade is a nice dark black, colour pay off again is excellent. The mascara feels bulkier than others I have had from AVON or other brands, definitely feels larger than most. The wand is curved to really give those lashes some help to curl and the bristles look as though they will comb and coat nearly all lashes well. Sultry Smoke Eye Dimensions Eyeshadow is WOW, upon sliding the item out of the box my mouth dropped, my eyes widened and I literally said out-loud "Ooooh... That is so pretty!". The shades are phenomenal and I love the sparkles within all three shades, just gorgeous! I can't stop staring at them, it's mesmerising. I think this will be my go-to palette for Valentines Day this year. Oh My Gosh - they are gorgeous.

Big  Daring Glimmerstick & Mascara

 

'Sultry Smoke'

 

The last eye make up item is the SuperSHOCK Vivid Eyeshadow in the shade Soft Bronze, they have two other shades called 24K Gold and Sparkling Platinum which are pretty self explanatory really. In the tube it is definitely liquid form, looks like water to be fair. It doesn't dry quickly so it is blendable and it is also buildable, so you can give it a few layers and get the colour really vivid or leave it subtle with one light sweep.

'Soft Bronze'

On to Body bits, I saw this, the Skin So Soft Silky Moisture Tissue Oil, normally £8 but it's £4 in this brochure. They've named it the stretch mark superhero and claims it also reduces scars, dark spots and discolouration. I personally bought it for the discolouration aspect, I quite like my stretch marks due to my pregnancy as it's something that I nor the doctors thought was ever going to happen. I wear them with absolute pride at my body for finally conquering it! Anyways, my skin has always been quite pigment-crazy, and I'd like it to somehow even out my skin tone.

The last bits I got were simply because I liked the packaging... although my photo's really don't do the design justice. The new fragrance Red Rose and Peach in AVON's Naturals body lotion, scented sprits and shower gel. All three items are half price in this brochure, which is a bonus. They usually range between £2.70 and £3.20. Doesn't the design with the two roses and the cut open peach still with the stone inside look gorgeous against the ombre red background and clear bottles. Gorgeous. These will look good in my bathroom. On to the smell, it does smell nice - not too strong, I'm not sure the scent will last all day but should make my skin smell nice in the morning at least. We shall see when I start to use them.

As said above, I also got all 15 shades of their new matte lipstick line in their sample sizes. So many to choose from and get to know... Will talk about them in a next post!

There we have it! What I got in this brochure. My favourite within this order is definitely - hands down - the eye dimensions eye shadow in Sultry Smoke. It's stunning. So stunning. Just... Stunning!

'Sultry Smoke'

'Sultry Smoke' eye dimensions eye shadow

I am a huge fan of AVON anyway, and seeing new products and lines that they bring out do excite me. Are they a hit or miss with you?

Speak to you soon,

Have Fun - Be Good!

Find me on twitter @MissTessaLeanne

Love Tessa. x
 

The Year of More with GlossyBoxUK!

Hey Beauties,

 

Another month to go through, another beauty box to look through.

 

In its pretty baby pink box is GlossyBox! As always, wrapped in pink tissue and black high quality shredded paper are 5... I'd usually say samples but, no, not this time... we have 4 full sized products and 1 luxury size product to delve into and get to know.

 

First up we have the UNANI Dermo Defence Face Mask which says "provides skincare, protection, nutrition and hydration while removing impurities", It also claims "you will notice a profound improvement in skin regeneration". This transparent face mask is in a 100ml bottle and retails at £11.36 from comprarcosmetica.es, it smells really natural and fresh. It is recommended for sensitive skin types, although I'd say drier skin would benefit from it too. I have neither, so I won't be using it  but I do have somebody in mind who would benefit from this greatly.

 

The next product my hand finds is in a small rectangle box which is in a pretty, graphic and edgy print. The item is in exactly the same design, I like it. It's the Teeez Cosmetics Oasis Gem Lipstick in Coral Onyx. Its a matte finish which is on-trend at the moment, but doesn't feel dry on the lips, its left my lips feeling silky-satin-smooth. They claim it will last 8 hours, I'm looking forward to seeing if that's true as the colour is gorgeous and the formula is so pigmented, it's intense. Plus I'm in love with the way it feels on my lips (I've just seen it contains coconut oil). It retails in at £11.93 from teeezcosmetics.com.

 

My eyes spot something red, what is this I wonder? ANGELE PARIS Red Nail Lacquer in the shade... I have no idea, I don't understand French. Maybe 'NL 01 - Vernis a Ongles/Nail Lacquer? I'm not sure, either way its a post box red colour; very bright and very red, the type that's always on trend, on point and a complete classic. You can buy it for £6.32 which makes it an affordable product, which should last... we shall see.

 

Next we have something that is from GLOSSYBOXes very own cosmetics range, an eye shadow in Glossy Mauve. GlossyBox say, "This season, smoky purple and blue eyes were seen at Christian Dior. We've tapped into this pretty trend with this exclusive GLOSSYBOX satin eye shadow. Either apply with your fingers tips for a sheer finish or with a wet brush for dramatic colour". There is 3g's worth of product which is pretty darn good and big in size for an eye colour and only costs £7.10. Packaging is classic, black with the glossybox motif on the transparent lid top, it seems strong and sturdy as well.

 

Lastly, in the luxury size, we have the Madara Cellular Repair Serum which retails in at £38 and GlossyBox have kindly added a discount code in this months box (20% off until the end of the month). Upon reading the box, it sounds amazing. First up, It's 100% organic with 0% added water/aqua and this is suitable for all skin types! I already want to smoother this all over my face, but I need to focus... So, based on a consumer report of 30 women; 86% reported an instant lifting effect and after 4 weeks 91% had increased dermis collagen synthesis more than 15% and 69% had increased dermis collagen synthesis more than 30%. Just to explain, the Dermis is underneath the epidermis and epidermis is what you can see (skin!) the dermis is what is underneath that and holds things like your nerve endings, sensory nerves, elastin and collagen (just to name a few). Collagen is a fibrous protein which basically leaves skin plump and full, this product claims to stimulate and create more collagen. Sounds intense... but yet gentle, I am super excited to give this ago - I know, I'm only 24 and I shouldn't need it, let alone want to use it but I do.

So there we have it, January's GlossyBox! And a pretty decent beauty box at that! What do you think?

Speak soon,

Have Fun and Be Good.

Love Tessa x

Primark Design Nails... My Opinion.

Hey Beauties,

If you had read one of my last post you would know that on my last haul I bought numerous false nails from Primark to try out. The Fashion Nails did not disappoint at all, so I had high hopes for the Design Nails.

After application, I needed to file down the tips which I done and then before I could take a photograph of the final results my little girl woke and she needed me, after going to bed myself and waking in the morning I noticed two nails had already fallen off. I managed to find them, so I glued them back on and went about my daily routine. Besides the hassle with getting them to stay on my nails, I did like the design. I wasn't too keen on the triangle negative space ones, but the stripes I did like!

The following day, more of them started to fall off and so I gave in and just tore them off my nails. I know these were only £1, but I was expecting them to stay on at least 24 hours. I am disappointed.

I can't say why the Design Nails may have fallen off so much more easily then the Fashion Nails, I applied them both the same way. I believe they use the same glues, the only thing that may have been different is the material the actual false nail is made from but I could be wrong.

I'm upset to say I won't be repurchasing, not yet anyway... maybe if I'm feeling a challenge and optimistic in the future I might.

Speak soon!

Have fun, and be good.

Love Tessa. x

Pop of Green and a quick brief of how I contour my lips

Hey Beauties,

 

As promised, I am giving you a run down on all the products I used to create this look:

 

Prep: Honestly, I completely forgot to use primer but if I had remembered I would have used Benefit the Porefessional  all over my face along with the Benefit Air Patrol eyelid primer on my eye lids (top and bottom areas).  

 

Base: I used the one, the only, the best, Collection Lasting Perfection concealer in shade 1 'Fair' to make my blemishes disappear. For foundation I used the Stila Stay All Day foundation  in Number 3 Light (review coming soon) firstly stippling it on using my Real Techniques brush and then buffing it in with the RT Buffing brush (I find that technique diminishes the look of my enlarged open pores). Rimmel London Wake Me Up Concealer in 010 'Ivory' was then buffed in underneath my eyes using the same buffing RT brush. To add a bit of depth and colour to my face I used Make Up Academy (MUA) Professional Bronzed Perfection powder, brushing it all over where the sun would usually hit and to lightly sculpt my nose, under chin and under cheek bones using RT Powder Brush and a Marsk eye shadow brush (I don't know specifically what type). To illuminate my cheek bones, the bridge of my nose and my eyebrow bone I used Make Up Academy (MUA) Undress Your Skin Shimmer Highlighter in Iridescent Gold brushing it on using my RT Contour Brush.

 

Eyes: I pressed the green/blue aqua colour in a Flutter Eye Collection Palette underneath my lower water line using the brush provided (I found this gave the best result). I then applied AVON Glow Liquid Eyeliner in Green Oasis over the top. Before mascara I used an AVON eye lash curler and then for mascara I used a conditioning eyelash primer by Manna Kadar  then using the Big & False Lash mascara by AVON to give my lashes some volume and a nice deep black colour. I applied these only to my top lashes. I ran my NYX Wonder Pencil in 01 Light on my bottom water line and to conceal any mascara mis-haps on my lids and fix any pigmentation issues I used the same NYX pencil blending it with a FERO eye shadow brush (which I'm sure is their Blending Brush).

 

Eyebrows: Seventeen Brow's that! Brow Kit is my best friend at the moment. I firstly use the pencil provided to fill my eye brows in swift and gentle hair like strokes, I apply the brow wax on top using the brush provided and then go over using the powder. I seem to get the most natural realistic look with that method, otherwise I find I have to brush my eye brows through with a spoolie to remove product to make them look how I want them too. I wipe the brush on a wipe (to clean and dampen the bristles to make the product pop more on application) and then apply the highlighter provided underneath my eyebrows and in my tear duct area of my eyes to make them lighter, illuminate and open.

 

Lips: I love to contour my lips, they lack lustre and are rather thin. I apply AVON ANEW Transparent Lip Plumping Conditioner to soften (I don't personally, think they do anything to the size but I'll keep using due to wishful thinking!). I then draw a line just underneath my bottom lip with Essence Eyebrow Designer pencil in 02 Brown (Bare with me,... I'm not crazy!) and I also put a fare bit amount on the area in-between my lips and nose (I'll need to attach a photo here so you guys know what I am on about as I have no idea how to describe it lol). I blend both lines out with a Studio eyeshadow brush so it gives the appearance of a shadow. I then go on the cupids bow and the little area around the newly shadowed area between my top lip and nose with the NYX Wonder Pencil in Light blending it slightly with a clean Studio eyeshadow brush. I quite liked my natural lip colour today, so I just applied an extra layer of my AVON ANEW Transparent Lip Plumping Conditioner to piece it all together. And Viola! The puzzle (that is my face) is complete after a few spritz of Make Up Academy Pro-Base Fixing Mist for all day long wear.

How I contour my lips into making them look fuller, after application - Blend! 

 

And again, Viola!

 

When putting it all on, It doesn't seem That much. Is it too much? No... but it seems it when you write it all down.

 

Hope you enjoyed reading this, and found it some use. I was completely unsure what to call it hence the rather unimaginative "Pop of Green" and lip contour title.

 

I shall speak to you again very very soon,

 

Have Fun, Be Good.

 

Love Tessa. x

My morning eating and drinking routine!

Hey Beauties,

For a while I've been contemplating changing my eating and drinking habits. I drink way too much fizzy drinks and chocolate for my own good, and when I'm round my parents house tea and biscuits is a must. So naughty

So, I've finally decided to clean up what I put in my body, after all: A body is precious so we need to look after it, we won't get another, and once this one is up - we are up!

I took a trip into Holland & Barrett this weekend to see what they had, and of course I popped into Boots to pick up my usual A-Z Complete Vitamins & Minerals tablets.

I looked at the weight management section first in the Holland & Barrett store, nothing there apart from the BooTea 14 Day TeaTox and Fat Metaboliser Tablets caught my eye but I'd really like to know more about those before I jump in and buy them.

So I went over to the (I think it's called) healthy lifestyle cabinet, and picked up a box of tea bags and some flapjacks. I love flapjacks.

The teabags I bought are the Ideal Health Slimatee with Green Tea, a pack of ten cost £2.49 which isn't bad at all. It says that this tea is more than a drink, it says "It is sensual, comforting, mentally and spiritually calming; and an enriching part of everyday life" and because of the green tea properties it also helps with maintaining weight and "regularity" (bowel movements I'm guessing...?). I've drunk one mug full so far, I poured some boiling water over the tea bag and let it sit for about 10minutes, maybe even more (because I was a little bit busy and lost track). The first thing I noticed was the smell, it smelt so minty and it tasted like mint too. It was definitely pleasant. I look forward to another cup in the morning!

Flapjacks are also eaten as my breakfast meal, I don't know if that's a good thing or not but surely it must be better than coco pops/cheese on toast/nothing? The Holland & Barrett website say, "Flapjacks provide instant and slow-release energy to help keep you active all day. They contain soluble and insoluble fibre".  That can't be bad for breakfast, can it? They are 99p each or 3 for £2.50, so I picked up the Coconut Flapjack with Chocolate Flavour Top (which tasted delicious!); Prune, pumpkin seed, sunflower seed and raspberry 'skinny' oatbar (It is super chewy, I'm not a fan of chewy foods so I didn't eat the rest after one bite) and the Mixed Seed Flapjack (Is really nice). All Holland and Barrett's own brand.

That's all I am having for breakfast from today onwards, Slimatee with Green Tea and a flapjack alongside my vitamin tablet. Usually I don't drink anything in the mornings, if I do it's a small glass of skimmed milk. And as said above I usually don't eat anything in the mornings, but if I do it's either a bowl of coco pops or melted cheese on toast. Unhealthy (but oh so tasty)!

Let me know if you have a better alternative to anything I am having. A good friend of mine is using slimming world, and ate spaghetti and egg on toast this morning... (a tiny bit jealous).

Speak to you soon,

Have fun and Be Good.

Love Tessa. x

Having myself a little haul!

Hey Beauties,

I was very lucky last month to have a little extra money spare (especially around Christmas and New Year time! I don't know how I managed it. I feel some kind of lame achievement, *A round of applause for moi*)

Lets start with Superdrug, I got Make Up Academy (MUA) Professional Bronzed Perfection Bronzer (£3). MUA is such a good brand for low cost but good quality products, although some are hit and miss with  me (like certain lipsticks, mascaras, etc) their powder formula's and shades they have for eye shadows and blushers, etc are on point.

I picked up a Flutter Eye shadow Palette (£1.49) which have four gorgeous shades in, the blue/green one was the colour to make me buy it though. I also picked up a packet of B. Pure Micellar Wipes (49p) and a Superdrug own brand Dead Sea clay face mask (99p). I love what Micellar Wipes (and Water) does to my skin and how simple and quick it is to use them, it has completely changed my skin care routine and my skins complexion for the better.

In Boots I bought 3 things, the Seventeen Brows That! Brows Kit (£5.99) that contains a wax, powder, highlighter, mini pencil and a mini brush plus a handy how - to  card to guide you on how to achieve the perfect brows. I must admit I can not do without this kit, I adore it. I also got a Schwarzkopf LIVE Color XXL HD hair dye in the shade 86 Pure Purple (£5.49) and the

 

 No7 Illuminated Makeup Mirror (was £49.99, but on offer at the moment for £20!), I love this mirror. Its double sided, one side is standard the other has 5x magnification. Plus the light (which is all around the circular mirror) is a dimmer light, so you can have the light as soft or as hard as you want which is amazing, and the mirror swivels so you can have it any way you want too (if only everything could do that!). I honestly do not know what I would do without this mirror anymore, I really don't.

On Very Exclusive (which is Very's designer website) I got the STILA Stay All Day Foundation and Concealer (£30) in the shade 03 Light (I will be doing a review for you very soon!). It says it's oil free and is a HD, high performance foundation, inside the cap is a concealer and mirror and within the box is a foundation brush.

 

Lastly, Primark. My lovely parents got me a gift card for Christmas, so I used it to buy myself a pair of new boots. Black with thick soles, a buckle on the side with a zip on the outside for detail and a zip on the outside to put them on and take them off with, these pair caught my eye but I was in doubt at first because they aren't my typical style. I tried them on, said a few "Umm's" and "Are's" then put them in the rather large fabric basket that usually has a few rips and tears in. Those much loved Primark baskets.

 

I took a little walk around but nothing caught my eye which disappointed me, usually I end up looking at a whole bunch of stuff and spend an hour or so in there. I decided to look at practical things instead; off to the lingerie department I went. Grabbed myself two different packs of Brazilian knickers, the first pack contained 4 microfibre pairs; white with pink a black leopard print design, black, white with black and glitter gold polka dots, plain off-white. The other is a pack of 5 different coloured lace brazilian briefs; Dark Pink, Light Blue, Light Green, Neon Pink and Dark Blue, both costing £4.50 each which isn't bad at all.

 

Oh - Did you know that Primark have their own beauty range called PS...? Of course, you probably do... Have you tried it though? That's the question. I took the plunge and looked through what  they had, which to be honest wasn't a great deal. Now, considering the Primark I went to had 2 levels, I was disappointed with the stock they had. Anyway, I grabbed myself two packets of 24 Fashion Nails; one plain and the other a neutral pink/beige both almond shaped (£1 each). I got a packet of Design Nails (£1), they are a negative space design; transparent in places with a white design. I also picked up a matte nail varnish (£1) in a metallic silver shade, I had to get it and as soon as I got home I applied it and it looks so good on.

I picked up a concealer, High Coverage Concealer for blemishes in the shade Ivory (£1.50). I haven't yet tried this, I've not even opened it, I look forward to giving it a try. Lastly, I got some 'Sultry' False Eye Lashes (£1) and an Eyelash Applicator (£1.50).  Again, not yet opened but I'm super excited to try these too.
 

 

And, it's official - I'm broke! For the most part I am super happy with what I did buy and I'm super excited to try the other stuff out, of course, or I wouldn't have spent my money on  it!

 

Let me know if you'd like me to give any reviews on a particular item I have, my opinions on the STILA foundation and concealer will be coming soon! I have plenty to say on that one! So yeah,... also I'm looking to trying out more from the Primark Beauty P.S... range, any recommendations or don't you dare pick that up's?

 

Speak to you soon,

 

Have Fun. Be Good.

 

Love Tessa. x

 

Review on the Primark 'P.S' Fashion false nails with glue adhesive (+ Update!)

Hey Beauties,

Firstly... WOW! How hard is it to type when wearing pointed fake nails? Extremely! That one sentence alone has taken four times longer to type then it usually would have. This is hard.

For Christmas my parents got me a gift card to use at Primark, with that I bought a number of their beauty and cosmetics range (if you'd like to see everything I bought check out my haul post which will be up soon). One item I bought was the 'P.S. 24 Fashion Nails with Nail Adhesive', they are almond shaped false nails in a neutral muted pink/beige nude shade and I got another pack in plain white.

Instructions on the back are much like any other, 'Spread a thin, even layer of glue onto your entire nail. Place nail up to, but not touching your cuticle. Press firmly for approximately 5 seconds to set'. Clear how-to-do points, you shouldn't go wrong. Extra tips that I would recommend are; wipe nails with acetone nail varnish remover to get rid of any excess oils on the nail, lightly file your nail to give the glue and false nail extra grip and staying power and don't press the false nails straight down on to the nail, apply the base of the nail to the tip of your natural nails and slide down softly before pressing to adhere.

I followed all instructions as Primark Beauty wrote after finding the right false nails to fit my natural nails. All a pretty good sizes, they fit perfectly and they seem strong whilst not being too thick. Can't complain with that. Only complaint I do have is that not all the almond tips are in a straight line with the nail bed, so a slight bit of filing and shaping may be needed.

For £1, yes, £1 - these aren't bad at all. I look forward to seeing how long they last. They definitely need some getting used to if your not used to wearing your nails long and false, at least if they are natural you get used to the length as they grow. I'm finding it hard to do much, I feel as though they get in the way but they are pretty and a lot sexier than my natural short nails.

I actually decided to see how well they customise; so I grabbed 3 of my 3mm golden square studs, a Nail Edge nail glue (but of course you could use the primark glue or any other brand you may have) and applied them to the base of my ring finger nail to give it a bit more of an edgey look and a bit more me. I love it. They have stuck really well and fit well on the base of the false nail. I feel like a glamorous falcon. Ha! They still need some getting used too but I'm willing to persevere (typing has gotten a little easier, thank goodness, or I would be going out of my mind).

UPDATE: So, I applied these nails quite late on New Years Eve (31.12.2015) and it is now the 08th of January 2016; my nails are still going strong! I am very very very impressed, for £1 nails from Primark, these are doing a great-great job. Amazing strength and staying power. I am going to stock up on these badboys without a doubt, they can be customised with little 3D ornaments and painted which ever colour you want and they aren't budging from my fingers. 10 out of 10. If I had these done at a salon, I'd be going back in a few days to get the nail growth filled in. I'm impressed, I seriously am. The 3mm gold studs that I applied have started to come off and I adhered them to the nail using The Edge Nail Glue which is of a professional quality, so to be having those fall off now - after 7 days, but my nails still remain is unbelievable. 100% recommend, and I can't believe they are only one pound!!!

2nd UPDATE:  Two fell off after 8 days and I pulled the rest off a few hours later. So, these should last around a week! No visible damage to my natural nails and they still look shiny and strong, I'll give my nails a weeks rest and then apply my next set. Primark have me hooked on these nails already. 

What do you think? Yay or Nay? What P.S. Primark Beauty pieces have you tried?

I look forward to hearing from you and talking to you again,

Have fun, Be good.

Enjoy yourself.

Love Tessa. x