Well, what a lovely day that was.

In fact I've had more than one lovely day. On Wednesday I spent the day at Chester Zoo with my b/f and housemates, yesterday I attended the Garnier event in London, and today I had a job interview - and got the job! Fab!

These lovely days and the fact I am moving house next week may explain why I have been a bit slow on the blogging front lately (for which I do apologise). However I plan to make up for this over the weekend and by also telling you all about the wonderful Garnier event that I attended yesterday. Now I am aware you are probably a bit sick to death of hearing about this event, but it really was a fantastic day and I wanted to share my experience with you. Warning: This may be a bit of a ramble style post!

So when I first arrived at London I met up with Rebecca -panda does make up, Jen -Mizz worthy and Janaka - JJ26. I was extremely nervous about meeting them as I was pretty sure no-one would know who I was, but luckily everyone was absolutely lovely and made me feel at ease. Thank you so much guys! A big thank you to Rebecca, you made the day so much easier and it was wonderful to finally meet you - oh and cheers for showing me how to use my oyster card :-P

So next we moved on to the make-up mecca that is Selfridges, where I got my first look at illamasqua; true to form it didn't disappoint. The MA's were very helpful and the products speak for themselves - I ended up getting 2 blushers (Lover and Lies - thank you Jen for helping me pick them!). Other than that nothing stood out for me make up wise, so we left and managed to navigate ourselves to the Loreal headquarters where the event was being held.

The building itself is beautiful; modern interior with plenty of 'power dressed' women running around looking busy yet immaculately presented. We had security badges with our names on given out to us and were taken upstairs where a beautiful spread of drink, food and sweets were laid out for us.

After after a spot to eat (the buffet was amazing, I could have scoffed the whole thing) we sat down and were given a talk about Garnier and all the ranges they produce - I never knew there were so many! The presenter was lovely and whilst there were a few buzz words being thrown about the talk itself was very enjoyable and it was interesting to hear about Garnier's ethos and environmental commitments - of which there were many you'll be happy to know :-)

Finally we got onto what the event was a bout, the launch of a new range of skincare called 'pure active'. This is a medicated skincare range with a stonking 2% of salicylic acid - the highest amount any consumer brand has (this acid is basically the stuff that stops spots appearing). The marketing behind this stuff is that results should be seen from day 1.

The range itself.

From left to right we have the scrub - which we were advised was to be used as a weekly deep cleanse, a moisturizer, daily wash, roll on spot stick and then a toner.

I can't remember the prices of these products, I think they ranged from around £5-8 which I think is reasonable for these sort of products. Also these products are also aimed at reduced red marks that spots can leave on the skin, which is pretty impressive - can't wait to see if it actually works!

Now I do have sensitive, dry skin so am not sure if I am going to be able to use all these products, however my boyfriend says he will happily try them out (he is such a girl) so will keep you updated on how they are working for him. However since I got home I have been using the roll on spot stick and moisturizer, the spot stick I absolutely LOVE - this thing is going to be as big as the caffeine eye roll on in my opinion and I have already noticed the spots on my chin have reduced in size and redness since using it. Also I was pleasantly surprised as to how nice the moisturizer felt, it was slightly tingly and very refreshing on the skin but doesn't contain an SPF so will probably apply a thin layer of this before my SPF.

So what do you guys think, do you like the sound and look of the range? Does it appeal to you, if so why, if not why not? I'd love to hear your opinions :-)

After the talk was finished we got to look at the products (not just this range but all ranges from garnier - hair care, ambre solaire, anti-aging stuff - you name it, they had it!) This event was originally billed as a Garnier and Maybelline event, however there wasn't enough time for the maybelli e event but we did get some maybelline products in the goodie bags which was fab - it would have been too much to look at maybelline products as well.

Speaking of the goodies...

Major haulage. A right pain to take on the train, but worth it! We got some great stuff - and if you think this haul is big you should have seen some of the others! I got loads of the suncare range, because I love this range. I was also really excited to try the after sun with a hint of tanner. We also got 3 mascaras (lash stiletto, great lash and colossal volume express) in the maybelline stuff, and also the dream matte mousse - which I am very excited to try. I also picked up some anti-aging creams to give to my mum, which she is very pleased about, and some of the sensitive face products - wipes, cleansing milk and wash, which I am looking forward to trying.

So overall I had a fantastic day, the event was very well organised and I felt really honoured to have been invited. It was wonderful meeting everyone - you were all so lovely and thank you to everyone for being so kind and making me feel welcome. You stars :-)

Amazing website find - 77 colour pallette for under £5!

I am very excited to share with you a website I found recently. Well, actually I spied it on the lovely wallowpea's blog so she takes the credit. The website in question is called www.beautyspot.co.uk and to quote it's front page offers "a wide range of branded cosmetics and fragrances such as skin care products, eyeliners, eye shadow and more at discounted prices".

Now I am a bit of a bargain hunter (well, when I start hitting my overdraft limit!) so have come across a few such websites, such as www.saveonmakeup.co.uk or www.love-makeup.co.uk - but have never been a fan of the former as the products are a bit rubbish, and the latter doesn't seem all that cheap to me. However beauty-spot fits nicely in the middle, it has a range of low to mid/borderline high range products and a couple of awesome finds, which I am going to share with you now.

Now the most amazing product on this site is (as mentioned in the blog title) a 77 colour palette by the brand w7 for under £5. Yep, kid you not. Apparently it's RRP price is £10, but beauty-spot sells it for £4.95. That's half the price of a MAC shadow and a fraction of the price of any similar coastal scents palettes.

Now whilst me blabbing on to you is all good and well, I think it's only fair I show you some photos, so let's start with this palette and I will move onto some other items I got.

Firstly the 77 palette. I have placed a MAC eyeshadow on the side (I think it's wedge) so you can get an idea of the size of each colour.

Photo without flash - colours are more vibrant in true light



With flash - a better representation of the colour.

Now I did think about doing swatches of this, but I have had a very long day (got up at 6am for work, got back at half 5 this evening) so am going to leave it. However if you really want to see the swatches then leave a note in the comments and I will try to sort that out. All I can say for pigmentation is that 75% of the colours are excellent, and then rest are ok - which for the price isn't bad. They are certainly all wearable, you will just have to work a little harder to get better payoff on some of the colours. It does come with two applicators, which I have thrown away because they are always utter poo.

Next we have another palette from the same w7 brand; this contains 10 colours and comes in at £3.95. There are three sets of these on beauty-spot, and I purchased the gold and brown set which has some lovely colours for blue eyes.

With flash

And swatches without flash...

The swatches don't do it justice I'm afraid.

Now this for me is the star palette, the colours are lovely and warm, all with a bit of sparkle and a good amount of pigmentation. I used this palette the other day and found that my shadow stayed on all day and applied well. Thumbs up from me! And at £3.95 you really can't go wrong.

Next we have a dazzle dust dupe for £1.95. Yep, less than £2. I told you this website was amazing :-)

SO there are called carnival dust and are again from w7.

Colours left to right (top row) Glam lime, Gold gold, Gold turquoise
(bottom row) Papaya, Glamour fudge, Glitter olive.

I have popped a dazzledust on the side and as you can see they are the same size. You do get a little more product in the dazzle dust, as BarryM fill them right to the top, but otherwise they are exactly the same. The w7 range is pretty limited colour wise - I think there are maybe 15 in total, but still, for £1-95 it's not too much of a big deal because other than that I don't think you can spot a difference in quality.

Finally these items were also purchased from beauty spot. We have a sally hanson cream eyeshadow palette, which is tiny (you can fit this palette in your hand) so I doubt it will get much use.

And finally we have a stila it lip gloss at £3.95 and a w7 glitter eyelinerat £1.95 . I did get another one of these in a jade colour, but I have misplaced it (which if you saw the state of my room you would understand why). Both of these are pretty decent products, the lip gloss does exactly what it says on the tin and the eye liner has very small finely filled glitter so is easily applied and lasts all day. If you find the collection 2000 glam crystals too heavy glitter wise this is certainly a better (and cheaper) option.

So what do we all think, yay or nay to beauty-spot.co.uk? I think yay, not only are these prices crazy, but you get a free gift with orders over £20 and free shipping with orders over £40. Unfortunately I think I now own everything worth owning on this site, but may check back for offers every now and again.

Finally I am still working on how to do this high/low end product challenge. I was thinking of posting a photo of each look I do and then get you to guess which is the high and which is the low end. Then at the end of the week tell you how much each look costs. Let me know if you like the sound of this and I will start on Monday :-)

Style warriors! haul/swatch/EOTD

I know everyone has it and I know everyone has been blogging about it, but still, I want to share my style warriors haul with you! Now I had to order offline so I only actually saw the products in the flesh this morning, and I have to say I am extremely happy with my purchase.

So here's what arrived for me this morning...

NB - The brush in the 228 - really lovely brush for applying e/s to the lid.

I have to say I personally like the packaging, I don't think it is too tacky. I think the actual pots are beautifully deigned, the bronze packaging is lurvely.

Now for the products; I purchased a whopping 5 items from this collection. We have (left to right) bright future e/s, on a mission beauty powder blush, vibrant grape e/s, fierce and fabulous lipglass and brave new bronze lipstick.

NB - this was taken using flash, on a mission looks a lot darker in true light and the lipstick looks less pink and more bronze, however if you prefer a more pinky colour then try Hue lipstick by Mac.

You can imagine how happy I as when I opened these, the colours are beautiful! On that note it's swatch time...

(Left to right - Brave new bronze lipstick, fierce and fabulous lipglass
vibrant grape e/s, bright future e/s and on a mission beauty powder blush - you can see how dark it is here, eh)

So what's the verdict? Erm, thumbs up clearly! Brave new bronze is the most beautiful soft lipstick, perfect for daywear. The e/s are also great, I heard a few complaints saying that vibrant grape didn't have great colour payoff, and when I swatched it with my finger I thought that was going to be the case. But as soon as I picked it up with a brush it applied beautifully, and the colour payoff was astounding with no fallout. The same can also be said for bright future which is such a stunning colour. On a mission is also a lovely blush. I didn't expect it to be so dark (it looks pretty purple) but as long as I don't go mad with it it really suits my skin tone. Finally my stand out product for me is the lipglass. This is my first lipglass from MAC that I have owned and I am really impressed with it. The colour is amazing, so pigmented and rich. I don't normally go for dark or bright colour on the lips. but this has made me think otherwise. Top tip - try this lipglass with bright future on the eyelids, it makes a lovely combo.

Finally I had to have a play and create a look with my new colours. I did do a FOTD with on a mission and the lipglass but my skin is looking terrible tonight so didn't feel confident in showing it off - heat rash has mostly gone but my rosacea is playing up, so I have decided to show you my EOTD

Sorry I look so glum - not only is my skin giving my grief but I have a really badly knotted tense back (going to see the physio on Monday to get it sorted) so general activity, even taking photos, causes me great pain, hence the glum expression!

This was created by using bright future applied on the lid, with vanilla pigment in the inner corner of the eye and to highlight the browbone. Then I applied vibrant grape on the lower lashline and lined my upper eyelid with MAC fluidline in macroviolet, winging it out. Finally a coat of loreal telescopic mascara on the lashes - which I have fallen out of love with. I couldn't find my sexy curves so used this instead and found it clumpy and the wand useless when trying to add a bit of a curl to my lashes. What are your views on this mascara?

So I think that's about it. I often think I cram too much into a single post, as technically this could be made into three, but I like keeping it all together, what do you all think - yay or nay to the long posts? Also is there anything anything would like to see me do, reviews, more looks etc. Please let me know, as after all you are the ones that have to read my ramblings :-)

Big Love - and thank you to everyone who is following, it's in some ways a little daunting to think people actually read this!

xx