Testing, Testing // New In Products

TESTING, TESTING, 1, 2, 3

I've bought a few new things recently and I thought I'd give you the low-down on those products. So here we go...

BIODERMA SENSIBIO H20

The Bioderma micelle water is something I have wanted to try for so long as I hear about it on youtube all the time. However I found it really hard to buy in the UK for a reasonable price, which is why I didn't hesitate when I saw that a local health store had some in stock! I got two bottles for £10.20 which makes one bottle come to £5.10 which is a price I was very happy to pay.

I've been really enjoying using Bioderma and it's a quick but effective way of removing makeup, which is great for nights when I can't be bothered to do a long makeup removing routine. It's very gentle and can even be used on your eyes. However, as much as I like this product it's very similar to my usual Nspa Micellar Water and I can barely find a difference between the two products, except that I can get my Nspa one easier and it's cruelty free whereas Bioderma is not. So whilst I do really like Bioderma I think I'll be switching back to my Nspa Micellar water once I've used it all up. 

URBAN DECAY EYE PRIMER POTION

After getting some samples of the Urban Decay primer potions with my Naked 3 palette I was hooked. I have a real struggle with keeping my eye shadow crease-free and when I had used other eye primers the shadow still wouldn't last all day (struggles of having oily eyelids yo). AND THEN I DISCOVERED THIS. The Urban Decay primer potions keep my eye shadow looking amazing literally all day and I love it. Once I'd finished all my samples (the samples were of Original, Sin, Eden and Anti-aging by the way) I headed straight to the Urban Decay counter in House of Fraser and picked up a full size version of the Original primer potion. So in love. 

YES TO CARROTS NIGHT CREAM 

My Nspa Night Repair cream is my holy grail product that I can't live without, however when I ran out I decided to try a different one, because hey, maybe there were better options on the market. And that may well be true, but this Yes To Carrots night cream was not the product that showed me that. My first disappointment came when I excitedly opened up the box to see the words 'fragrance free' written on it, WHY WOULD YOU MAKE IT FRAGRANCE FREE WHEN IT COULD SMELL LIKE LOVELY GARDEN FRESH CARROTS? It just doesn't make sense to me! (Calm Chloe....) But I pushed that aside and went ahead and slathered the cream onto my face. It wasn't as thick and rich as my nspa one, which I didn't mind too much, however a few minutes after applying it my skin started to sting a little bit, which really isn't what you want out of a night cream! The stinging only lasted a few minutes but it really wasn't an enjoyable experience. I've been using this product for a week now and the stinging doesn't happen every time but it's occurred at least 3 times. Plus, it hasn't really had any effect on my skin. When I use my Nspa night cream I notice a difference in the appearance of my skin after just one use, whereas this doesn't seem to doing much at all. Overall, I'm disappointed with this product and I definitely won't be repurchasing it. 

HEMA DAY CREAM

I've never used a day cream before, but I decided it was time to start dabbling in the world of day creams. So when I was out shopping I picked up a HEMA day cream. HEMA is a Dutch shop which sells a huge range of things from homeware to food to beauty items. I've used some of there beauty range before and so I know they're pretty great, which is why I picked up their day cream to try out. The one I chose is particularly good for oily or combination skin as it has ingredients in it that help to stop the skin from producing excessive oils. It's a very gentle day cream, but has a lovely rich, thick texture to it. And HEMA is incredibly affordable, with this day cream coming in at just £3! Plus, bonus points because it's cruelty-free! HEMA literally ticks all the boxes when it comes to beauty products.

SOAP AND GLORY ARCHERY D.I.Y BROW BAR

Because I'm really good at packing when I come home from university I managed to leave my Naked 2 palette in my university bathroom...  which is not good for my eyebrows! For about 2 years now I have been using the shade 'Tease' from that palette to fill in my eyebrows, and so when I didn't have Tease to hand, I thought it would be the perfect opportunity to test out some of the eyebrow products from Soap and Glory as I'd heard so much about them. This D.I.Y Brow Bar has four products within it - a Clearfix wax, a light brown powder called 'Love is Blonde', a dark brown powder called ' Hot Chocolate' and an Arch Highlighter (plus two brushes for application). I found it a little hard to match my eyebrows at first as I was mixing the two powders, but once I got into a routine of mixing one dip of Love is Blonde and one dip of Hot Chocolate until my brows were done, I managed to get on top of that problem. I actually prefer using this to using Tease as I find it creates a more precise and defined brow, and I can get my brows to look a bit darker and more dramatic (is dramatic the word?) than I could when using Tease. My only issue with this palette is the highlighter as I find it has that weird texture and finish to it sort of makeup you might use when you're a child and you're playing dress up. But that might just be my own personal taste toward highlighters, so don't let it put you off!

TESTING COMPLETE
And that's it for my new products at the moment. Other than the Yes To Carrots night cream I would recommend all of these products, plus they're all quite affordable (even the primer potion, considering it's from Urban Decay - a high end brand!), so if you like the sound of them definitely go pick it up!

Thanks for reading, remember to follow my blog for new posts at least once a week.

Hope you're having a rad day and I'll see you agin soon.

Love Chloe x


HAVE SOME LINKS
> BIODERMA: http://www.feelunique.com/p/BIODERMA-Sensibio-H2O-Make-up-Removing-Micelle-Solution-250ml
> PRIMER POTION: http://www.urbandecay.co.uk/eyes/eye-shadow-primer/eyeshadow-primer-potion
> NIGHT CREAM: http://yesto.co.uk/product/yes-to-carrots-fragrancefree-intense-hydration-night-cream?product_id=1317102
> DAY CREAM: http://www.hemashop.com/gb/shop?fh_location=%2F%2Fgbhema%2Fen_GB%2Fpgb_product_type%3E%7Bshop%7D%2F%24s%3DDAY&fh_secondid=pgb_17800011
> D.I.Y BROW BAR: http://www.soapandglory.com/archery-d-i-y-brow-bartm

Reunited With My True Love

TRUE LOVE
This week I was reunited with my one true love... My MAC retro lipstick.

I lost this gorgeous lipstick  a few weeks ago, and after searching my dad's car and sadly not finding it, I resigned myself to the fact that it was gone. I decided I'd buy a new one to replace it as soon as I could because this lipstick colour is just too lovely to not have in my life. BUT THEN, my dad phoned me and told me the good news: the man he works with had found it under the car seat! I was probably a little bit too happy since it is just a lipstick (don't tell it I said that...) but my week had been made! And we were finally reunited later that day. It was a good day for my lips.

RETRO
MAC retro is a very 90s shade, with hints of burgundy and brown running through it. It's a lovely colour for the winter months particularly, but you can totally rock it in the spring and summer too (I know I will be, gotta make up for lost time, yo). This lipstick is from MAC's matte line, but it's not too drying. I find that if you just apply a little bit of lip balm before you put it on it's fine. Being matte means that it's a fairly long-lasting lipstick. The colour doesn't really fade when eating or drinking, and you could probably get away with not reapplying throughout the day - perfect for us lazy lipstick wearers!

THAT'S IT
Just a little post today, but I had to document this happy moment. God, I love MAC Retro <3

Thanks for reading, make sure to follow me for weekly posts :)

Hope you're having a rad day.

Love Chloe x

HAVE SOME LINKS
MAC Retro - http://www.maccosmetics.co.uk/products/spp/shaded.tmpl?CATEGORY_ID=CAT168&PRODUCT_ID=PROD310&SKU_ID=SKU3061
Me on youtube - https://www.youtube.com/user/TheGiddyElf

The Daily Traveller // 18th April 2015

HOMETOWN HOLIDAY
So I live in Bath for university, and I feel so lucky every time I think about the fact that I can say "I live in one of my favourite cities". Now I love it when my family come down to Bath to visit me as it gives me an excuse to go to some of the more touristy spots around the city. And that's what happened this weekend.

AFTERNOON TEA WITH MR DARCY

We began the weekend by having afternoon in the Jane Austen Centre, which actually used to be where Jane Austen lived and is now a museum with a Pride and Prejudice themed tea room on the top floor. I'm actually not a fan of Jane Austen (sorry), but we had heard good things about the tea rooms so decided to give it a go. And boy am I glad we did. It was one of the best afternoon teas I have ever had, and I've had a good few. It was a selection of finger sandwiches, scones and delicious cakes to finish.

These cakes tasted exactly as good as they look.

Endless coffee.

SPACE NK ANTICS
We then did a bit of shopping. My sister and I went into Space NK, to look at the gorgeous makeup they have. I asked one of the ladies in there about foundation that was good for oily skin and she offered to do my makeup to test out a couple of products. Now this wasn't my original plan, but when you're offered a free face of makeup, done by an actual makeup artist, AND using high end products, I ain't gunna say no. She used mostly Laura Mercier products, but with an wonderful Oskia moisturiser. And oh my god, I fell madly in love with everything she used. She then gave us some free samples to test out at home, and basically it was amazing.

This was my makeup about 7 HOURS after she had done it. I'm very much not used to my foundation lasting that long and still looking perfect. 

A VERY CASTLE-Y HOTEL
We were booked into the Tracey Hotel for the night, and this is such a rad hotel. It feels like you're staying a castle and I want to permanently live there if possible. Our room had a four poster bed, a chandelier and a bath where water ran from out the side and into the tub!

I think I'm sticking my tongue out and my sister isn't looking, classic. 

Bath puts on a good sunset.

The castle!

The restaurant had some very Hogwarts vibes going on.

BEDTIME
We ended the day by watching a chat with Russell Brand and the cast of Sons of Anarchy (my two huge loves all in one <3) on youtube before going to bed in the four poster bed that I never wanted to leave.

So my weekend was wonderful, as I'm sure you gathered. I want to do it all over again!

How was your weekend? Let me know what you did in the comments, even if you were just watching netflix in bed all day, haha!

Thanks for reading, remember to follow me for at least one post a week, and sometimes more :)

Love Chloe x

SOME MORE PHOTOS AROUND THE HOTEL

My eyes started watering when we tried to take a selfie, but here's my sister and I at the castle!

My MAC Eyeshadows

MAC eyeshadows are amazing. Like seriously amazing. And every time I'm in a MAC store, I spend ages studying their eyeshadow stand, reading the colour names and swatching them on my hand. At the moment I only own four of their eyeshadows, but if I wasn't a student who needed to use my money for food, I would definitely own more! 

They're incredibly pigmented, and the colour will stay on for hours without creasing (when I use primer anyway... Darn my oily eyelids, haha!).

But you've probably heard all this before, so let's begin the short tour of my MAC eyeshadow collection. The theme of my shadows (yes, they have a theme, bit fancy, eh?) is The Great Gatsby. This is because my sister bought me two of these shadows for my eighteenth birthday, which was Gatsby themed, and so when I purchased the other two I made sure they could be linked to Gatsby too. 

AMBER LIGHTS

Amber Lights is a gorgeous bronze coloured shadow, and was actually my first MAC eyeshadow. It has a little bit of glimmer in it which means it's perfect for adding some sparkle to your look. As I have brown eyes I can't confirm this, but I've heard that Amber Lights makes blue eyes appear a more intense blue, so all you blue-eyed kids need to try this shadow out! The Gatsby theme comes in here because of the black and gold style that was fashionable in the 1920's. 

'Amber Lights'

SUMPTUOUS OLIVE

I love the name of this shadow, it always just makes me picture really glamorous, curvy olives for some reason and it just makes me laugh. It's also a lovely eyeshadow. It's a sort of forest green colour, so it isn't too in your face, but really compliments green outfits (obviously). I chose a green eyeshadow for this palette to represent the green light that is in The Great Gatsby. 

'Sumptuous Olive'

NYLON

Nylon is the perfect inner corner colour. It's pure white with a little glitter speckled in it. I tend to use this on the inner third of my eye to highlight, but as it's such a stark white, I extend the highlight further into my lid and blend it out with the rest of my eyeshadow. I also like to wear Nylon as an all of over the lid colour, especially in the winter as it creates a lovely frosty look. I have to admit I mostly bought nylon because I'd heard so many people talking about how good it was, but hey, white can fit in with Gatsby aswell... I don't have a definite reason why, but let's just go with it.

'Nylon'

BLACK TIED

Black Tied is a gorgeous black shadow, and it's full of glitter too. And because of the glitter, this is perfect for wearing on a special occasion. I tend to wear this blended with nylon, as the two colours obviously contrast well against each other. This shade ties in with The Great Gatsby theme as gold and black was a fashionable design in that era, as previously said. 

'Black Tied'

And that's it. Those are my four shadows and I love them all! I hope you enjoyed this post, and if you have any MAC eyeshadows, or recommendations for MAC products, let me know in the comments; I'm always keen to know what I should treat myself to next! 

Love Chloe x