FOTD - Wedding Guest Face

Attended an absolutely amazing wedding recently.  Good food, company and beautiful venue (West Tower in Aughton if you're interested).

I made the error of bringing an un-charged camera!  Was gutted but it's always such a busy lead up to weekend events isn't it!

So all the photos I got were using my trusty iPhone.  I was aiming for a natural(ish) look.  And one that I did not have to refresh too much.

- Foundation - Estee Lauder Double Wear in Fresco and Shell Beige mixed
- Blush - Nars Orgasm
- Eyeshadow - Urban Decay Naked 2 Palette in Various
- Eyeliner - Lancome
- Lipstain - Maybelline New York Super Stay 24 Hour Lip Colour in Plum Seduction (which is amazing)
- Highlighter - MAC Cream Colour Base in Shell
- Brows - Benefit Brow Zings
- Mascara - Revlon Fabulash

It was a bit of an action shot - hence the seatbelt!

Read More

OOTN - shiny disco pants

I literally live in my disco pants.  I don't even know if people think that they are still ok to wear or whether that fashion has died a death.  I also don't care because I love mine.  They are just so versatile and make me feel like I am from another era! An era when everyone did crazy disco dancing to Donna Summers music.

Anyway, I digress.

So it was a friend's 30th this weekend and they are always the kind of events that you don't want to be the most over dressed in the room so I opted for the disco pants again.  With a cami and blazer.  Perfecto!

Disco Pants - River Island
Cami - New Look (massive bargain)
Blazer - Jane Norman
Clutch Bag - House of Fraser
Shoes - Red Herring at Debenhams
Large Pearl Ring - Gift
Bracelets - Pandora and Ernest Jones - Gifts
Earrings - Mosaic-Creativity
Necklace - Claires Accessories (old)

Read More

Guest Post - Review: Lush Soak and Float, Veganese and Sweetie Pie hair and body products

I was guilt tripped by the BBC's Orangutan Diaries recently. I couldn't cope with seeing baby Orangutans losing their habitat because of unsustainable palm oil plantations, then Michaela Strachan proceeding to lecture about how we buy far too many products containing palm oil produced from these plantations. I was already aware of the problem before watching Orangutan Diaries but my busy life saw me consuming whatever was convenient. This time, I decided to do something about it. 

One of my new year resolutions was to be more conscious in my decision making. That's not only things I buy, but in life in general. Even if it's something small. I don't profess to be able to change the world and be the perfect human being. But if I can make a slight change for the better with my actions, it's good enough for me. I thought beauty products would be a good place to start so I took some time to look into brands which are palm oil conscious. Lush came up high on the list (http://www.rainforestfoundationuk.org/Hair_Products). Most people usually talk about how nice the bath bombs are from Lush and that's about it. So I was pleasantly surprised to find they offer a whole range of beauty products.

Changing my hair routine is a big deal. My natural curls, which I definitely don't have time to straighten day in, day out, require moisture and lots of it. As long as there's a good cut going on, products are my focus. So, that's: shampoo, conditioner, an intensive condition once in a while, serum to de frizz, styling cream to boost and styling spray to set. Complicated, potentially expensive and long-winded, yes. But pretty much essential when it comes to keeping my curls, well, curly. Looking for something which was going to be able to do this was an important factor when considering using more ethically-sound products. Here is my verdict. 

Soak and Float shampoo

My requirements: Hair needs to be squeaky clean and keeps those pesky flakes away. My dark hair makes them much more noticeable, you see.

Name: It sounds a bit wrong. Or is that just me?

Appearance: Round soap bar with a beige vibe. Even more natural than natural.

Smell: Wow. And this isn't a good wow. It's the cade oil, which has a "strong smoky, woodsy aroma", apparently.Hmm. Cade oil is also known as juniper tar, which according to Lush has antiseptic, antimicrobial and fungicidal properties. 

Feel on hands: A good amount of lather but not over the top.

Feel on head: The lather continues to stay normal and is straight to the point. .

Rinse: Rinses out quickly and easy.

Result: After over 3 weeks of using it, so far, so good. For me, I have to use it twice. It may smell strong but an affordable product that's natural and can meet my requirements wins hands down over the chemical alternative. Plus the smell doesn't linger in your hair after you rinse it out. 

Ingredients: Sodium Lauryl Sulfate, Water, Cade Oil, Lavender Oil, Marigold Petals, Rose Petals, *Limonene, *Linalool, Perfume

*occurs naturally in essential oils

Veganese conditioner

My requirements: MOISTURE.

Name: You don't have to be vegan to use it but it's a good indicator for those who are dedicated to that lifestyle. For this, I will give it at least a point for function.

Appearance: Creamy with very faint pistachio tint.

Smell: Sweet, sweet lemon.

Feel on hands: Slightly runny, which didn't fill me with too much joy. However, my quest for moisture meant that in the past I was going for thick conditioners that weighed my fine hair down. The feel is something I'll have to get used to. 

Feel on head: Soaks in very quickly.

Rinse: Again, rinses out quickly and easily.

Result: Love it. My hair is manageable, smooth, shiny plus it had a really pleasant, long-lasting lemony smell. It's quite pricey (but value for money when considering how long a big bottle will last), so I went for the smallest size, just to test. I'll be purchasing the largest bottle possible of the Veganese once pay day comes around because it really does the trick. My favourite purchase out of the 3.

Ingredients: Lavender Flower Infusion, Fresh Rosemary Infusion, Agar Agar Gel, Cetearyl Alcohol, Propylene Glycol, Cetearyl Alcohol and Sodium Lauryl Sulfate, Cetrimonium Bromide, Lemon Oil, Benzoin Resinoid, Fresh Organic Lemon Juice, *Citral, *Limonene, Perfume, Methylparaben

*occurs naturally in essential oils

Sweetie Pie shower jelly

My requirements: Clean me.

Name: This is cute and it encouraged me to pick it up on a whim. 

Appearance: Purple, wobbly jelly. It's supposed be sparkly but I couldn't see the sparkles. Upsetting. 

Smell: Cherry.

Feel on hands: Wobbly, stretchy and very difficult to get out of the pot.

Feel on body: It just stays the same. Where's the lather?

Rinse: After some hard work, the lather appears. It rinses off quickly.

Result: A fun idea but it doesn't translate into an effective shower gel in my eyes. I should have known what I was getting, seen as the packaging clearly describes it as shower jelly. Unfortunately the novelty wore off after the fact it wasn't easy to use. 

Ingredients: Glycerine, Cherry Infusion, Sodium Laureth Sulfate, Coconut Infusion, Propylene Glycol, Carrageenan Extract, Perfume, Bergamot Oil, Cassis Absolute, Cypress Oil, *Limonene, *Linalool, Snowflake Lustre, Colour 17200, Colour 42090, Methylparaben, Propylparaben

*occurs naturally in essential oils

Overall verdict

When it comes to shopping at Lush, I'd honestly suggest browsing the engaging website and buying on line after a trip to the Arndale shop. Staff were a bit pushy plus you only have to walk by the entrance to be overawed by the combination of flowery, powdery aromas coming from inside.

Their products are what makes the experience in my opinion. On top of their palm oil policy, they don't test on animals plus it's an easily accessible brand. The shampoo and conditioner gets a big thumbs up from me. Guilt free, effective and similarly priced to to higher-end chemical-based products; I've been converted.   

https://www.lush.co.uk/

     

About me: My name is Karolyn, I'm a writer and I've been friends with Dani for 5 or 6 years. I also blog like Dani but my Wordpress site Gone Out is focussed on events, culture and occasional rants.Check it out at www.goneout.wordpress.com or follow me on Twitter: @karolynsgoneout.

Read More