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 :-)

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