Benefit x Birchbox Bridal Collection - The Ultimate Benebride

Now that it's June wedding season has well and truely began!! Benefit cosmetics and birchbox have teamed up together and created 3 amazing beauty boxes filled full of fantastic products, the first one is called 'Girls Just Want To Have Fun', its a perfect hen night box. The secnd box is called 'Wedding Belle' it's your wedding day box and the last box is called 'To Honeymoon and To Hold' it's for taking away on your honeymoon :)! 

All 3 boxes are packed full of sample sized benefit products and one extra item that goes hand in hand with the box too.

Lets start with the Hen night box since usually your hen night comes first. This box has 8 sample sized products and a purse to store them all in. Before i get into whats in the box i personally think this would be a perfect gift for bridesmaids, mother of the bride, mother of the groom as well as the bride too.  I wish there was something like this when i got married 3 years ago, all my bridesmaids, my mum and my mother in law would have loved to have received a box of goodies like this! So lets get into whats in the box.

Girls Just Want To Have Fun..

Porefessional - primer

They're Real! Push up Liner

Roller Lash Mascara

Lollitint

Dream Screen - Lightweight suncream with SPF 45

They're Real Remover

Puff Off!

It's Potent! Eye Cream

and the bonus item is a Candy Striped Purse.

Wedding Belle..

In this box you also get 8 sample sized products and an extra bonus gift too. This box is a perfect little touch to any brides day especially during those few 'getting ready' hours just before the wedding ceremony. In this box there is,

Stay Flawless 15 hour Primer 

Lolibalm Hydrating Lip Balm 

Roller Lash Mascara

Triple Performing Facial Emulsion

It's Potent! Eye Cream

Puff Off!

Instant Comeback Serum

Lollitint

and the bonus item is a blue garter - your 'something blue'!

To Honeymoon and To Hold..

As in the last 2 boxes this one also has 8 sample sized products for you to take away on your honeymoon. 

Roller Lash Mascara

Porefessional - License to Blot (brand-new product)

Lollitint

Dream Screen

Total Moisture

Instant Comeback Serum

Porefessional Primer 

it's Potent! Eye Cream

and the bonus item is a lovely luggage tag for your suitcase!

These 3 boxes in my personal opinion are fantastic and are great value for money. They are perfect for just getting to try out the products before committing to the full sized products. the boxes are £25 each but if you buy all 3 together it is £60 which saves you £15! You can buy them from the birchbox website, i'll leave the link to the boxes here! As i mentioned above i wished there had been boxes like thesewhen i was getting married 3 years ago, all the females in our bridal party would have loved to receive beauty boxes, especially the hen night box, i also think for a gift from bridesmaids to a bride this would be the perfect one!

Let me know what you think of these boxes!

And if you are getting married i send you the biggest congratulations and wish you a lifetime of happiness! Enjoy every second of your big day, it goes passed in a flash! 

Lisa xo

Cohorted Beauty Box - May 2015

Sorry i'm a little behind in getting this post up but i've been run off my feet for the last week!! So last month i was very lucky to pre-order the Cohorted beauty box for the month of May (I also managed to pre-order the June & July boxes too!!) I had read a few blog post's and seen a few instagram photos so i thought i'd try my luck to see if i could pre order a box before they all sold out! What a mission it was let me tell you, i had Laptops running, tablets running, i was on mine and my husbands phones and i eventually after about 10 mins i managed to get a box without the website crashing!

You can find out all about Cohorted and the company here. It's a great website that has new weekly great deals on make up items ect, it's becoming quite a favourite of mine.

Cohorted's beauty box cost's £19.99 so it's on the higher end of the price range for beauty boxes but let me tell you it is worth every single penny and more! In this months box i received 4 full sized high end products which i was happy about!

The first item in the box i saw was a Dolce & Gabbana Lace Nail Lacquer in the shade 'Perfection 220'. It is a gorgeous Nude colour, i'll definitely get lots of use out of this especially since it's coming into the summer! The Price of this is £19.00

Next up was a single eye shadow from the brand Too faced in the shade 'Poison Orchid'. It's a purple colour with almost like a petrol sheen to it, it's a very pretty colour and i don't have a colour that is similar in my collection so it's a happy addition to my eye shadow drawer. The price of this is £15.00

Next up was a Lip Lacquer from Michael Kors in the shade 'Dame'. I think this is my favourite item in the box, this shade is the exact shade i would have bought for myself so to receive it in a beauty box i'm over the moon! i absolutely love it! it's a dark vampy berry pinky colour. Reminds me very much of MAC Rebel which is a very big favourite of mine! The Price of this is £23.50

And last thing in the box was the Vintage Escape eye shadow palette by the brand Cargo Cosmetics. This has 12 neutral spring time shades with a mixture of mattes and shimmery shades in it and it also comes with a double sided brush! I think i'll get a lot of use out of this palette. This palette palette retails for £35.00.

The grand total of all items in my box is £92.50 so considering this box cost's £19.99 it is very worth the money! I'm already looking forward to getting Junes box!!

Let me know what you think and if you got the cohorted beauty box, what was your thoughts. I'm interested to hear other peoples opinions :)!

Lisa xo

Birchbox - May 2015

So it's that time of the month again when all the beauty boxes i have ordered start to land on my doorstep!! Birchbox is the first one to arrive this month and since i hadn't really seen any spoilers about this months box i was very excited to see what was inside! 

Firstly birchbox is £12.95 per month, with p&p included in the price! You can sign up to birchbox using my link here - Birchbox Sign Up If you sign up using my link you will also get 50 Birchbox points that amounts to £5 to spend in the birchbox online shop!! 

So lets get onto what i got in my box this month.. its a good one this month with 7 goodies inside :).

Can i just say how much i love the actual box that the products came in this month, you can colour it in!! The Theme of this months box is 'Free Your Mind'. No matter how old you are, colouring something in is somewhat relaxing and it's always fun too :)!

First thing i seen when i opened my box was a hair masque sachet by the brand Number4. It's a moisturising treatment with soy proteins  shea butter, sunflower seed and jojoba seed oils in it. It says it will leave your hair smooth, strengthened and shiney after using it so will see how it gets on with my hair! The Full size of this product is £36 so i'm expecting a good result!

Second out the box (and the only full sized product in the box) was a set of press on nails by the brand Wah London, I received the pattern 'The Pink Blush' and i really really like them! They'll be perfect to wear in the summer time! Birchbox have started letting you pick one of 3 products from a certain brand each month so that you get something in your box that you want. I wasn't too fussed at what i received from this brand so i left it for Birchbox to send me a surprise and i haven't been disappointed at all! These are on sale in the Birchbox shop for £9.

Third thing i see in my box is something from a brand birchbox has sent us before, it's RMK's point make-up remover. It's one of these ones that separates when your not using it so you have to give it a good shake before you use it on your face. It's an oil based make up remover that you put on a cotton pad then sweep it across your eyes to remove your waterproof mascara and eyeliner and across your lips to remove the stains from those lippys that just won't budge after a few hours of wear. It's a good sized sample we got,  50ml so i'll be popping that straight into my travel make up bag! The full size retails for £20.

Fourth product i pull out is a Mattfinity Lip Rouge in the shade New York by the brand Mirenesse. It's a brand i've never heard off so i'm looking forward to trying this lip stain out. Although i don't think i'll be wearing the shade i got all that often, it's a very bright red with orangey undertones too it and that unfortunately isn't my kind of lip colour i wear but i will give it a try and see how i like it :). The other 2 shades Paris - a plumy purply shade and Sydney - a bright pinky shade would have been better suited to me but it's ok. The full size of this costs £21.

Fifth thing i see in my box is another hair product. It's a moisturising Sea Salt Spray by the brand Parlour by Jeff Chastain. You spray this evenly onto damp or dry hair and style as normal for a tousled look. I'm excited to try this, i love trying new hair products hat might give my hair a little bit of structure, i have very fine hair so it ofter looks a little limp. It says it has a scent of 'ripe peaches and freshly cut grass' i wasn't sure at all when i red that but it actually smells really nice!! The size i received in my box is 30ml, that will last me a little while so i'm happy with that. The full size retails for £17 and it is a Birchbox Exclusive.

The Sixth item i got was probably my favourite product in the whole box. It's the Caudalie vinoperfect radiance tinted moisturiser that is oil free and has an SPF20, i got it in the shade light. I was really excited to see this in my box, i love the caudalie brand with the caudalie elixir being one of my favourite ever face products. Usually when a beauty box sends me a tinted moisturiser or a foundation ect it's always way to dark or orange for me because i do have quite a light shin tone but this tinted moisturiser is a really good match to my skin. It gives my skin a little bit of colour and a little bit of coverage and moisturises all at the same time. I have an oily/combo skin type so i usually stay away from any type of tinted moisturiser but this i found great. It's lightweight on my skin which is good. I am actually going to use it as a primer under my foundation and see how that looks too. The sample size we got was 15ml, a really good sized sample. It's big enough to let me try it enough times to see if i really like it or not. It also smells AMAZING, very lemony and fresh! The full size of this costs £27.

and the last thing in my box Was a little extra bonus, It was a pack of 6 colouring pencils so i can colour in my box! I think the design of this months box is amazing, 10 out of 10 this month Birchbox!!

I hope everyone else that got a box this month likes there box as much as i like mine! 

You can sign up to birchbox and get this box using my link above, and as i have said above you also get £5 worth of Birchbox points to spend in the birchbox online shop too. 

Lisa xo

Too Faced - Melted Kisses

When i saw this set on debenhams i just knew i had to have it! I've always wanted to try out Too Faced Melted liquified long wear lipsticks before but i'd just never got round to deciding on what colour i'd like to try first! So when i saw the Melted Kisses set i jumped at the chance to get it! This set cost £22 from debenhams and it includes 4 mini melted lipsticks!

 L-R, Melted Nude, Melted Peony, Melted Fuchsia and Melted Berry

Melted Nude is very much what the name suggests, it's a soft matte nude colour. I have never really found a nude i like but this i do! 
Melted Peony is a soft natural pink shade that again is a matte colour.
Melted Fuchsia is a bright pink that has slight blue undertones to it, its a very summery bright colour.
Melted Berry is a beautiful deep pinky red colour, it's probably my favourite colour out of the 4 as it's the colour i most often wear. 

I love trying new lip products and these do not disappoint! 

These melted lipsticks are lovely, they glide on and are not sticky at all. They also seem to have good staying power too which is always a bonus! I will note that the Melted Fuchsia and berry shades do tend to stain your lips so you might need to exfoliate your lips a little to remove all traces of colour after using them!

Lisa xo

Nars All Day Luminous Weightless Foundation

Hi guys, its been a long time since i wrote on my blog but I'm back after having my beautiful baby boy in February, settling into life with another little person to look after and I'm looking forward to writing on my blog more often again!

Anyway, onto what this blog is about, the new Nars All Day Luminous Weightless Foundation. This foundation claims it is a full coverage, weightless foundation that will give you 16 hours of wear and natural looking skin! I was really looking forward to trying this foundation and after reading some rave reviews online i ordered it.

I have an oily/combo skin type, I cleanse, tone, moisturise, remove my make up and look after my skin daily! I had read a few blogs to say this foundation was good for an oily skin type so i thought i'd give it a go! To start off with, the shade i ordered was Gobi (i'm an NC15 in mac SFF incase anyone is wondering) and it is a perfect match! The first time i tried this foundation, i primed my skin with Nars Oil Free Pore Refining Primer and applied it with my Sigma F80 flat top kabuki brush and it looked awful on my skin! It looked as though i had just caked my skin in foundation which is never a good look!! So i took it all off and started again! Again priming my skin with the same primer i then decided to apply the foundation with a beauty blender and it went on much better, i found it went on more even and i got thinner layers! It blended into my skin a lot better than what it did when i put it on with the brush. I found that when using a beauty blender you could build this foundation up, i put 2 layers all over my face and an extra layer around my nose and chin and it covered all my skin perfectly. I think i only used 4 or 5 pumps of foundation. The foundation it's self is very runny and when you are applying it you do need to work quite fast with it as i felt it set pretty quickly! With the 2/3 layers i put on my face it doesn't even feel like i have a full coverage foundation on, it felt very light and silky soft! Nars claims that it's a 16 hour wear foundation, now i don't know about you but i certainly don't wear my foundation for 16 hours a day so i can't comment on that length of time but what i can say is i found that after about 4 and half hours i noticed it was starting to wear off my skin a bit. The redness around my nose and chin was noticeable again, and it had started to look slightly cakey on my forehead and cheeks as well. I think all in all this could be a fantastic foundation, if you have a perfect normal skin type. I think on dry skin this foundation could possibly stick to dry patches, although i can't comment on that personally. 

I bought this foundation for £32.00 plus £5 p+p from SpaceNK website & you can order from Nars own website too but there p+p is £7.

If you have tried this foundation please let me know your own thoughts on it too :)

Lisa xo

My Boutique Box - new UK beauty subscription box!!

My boutique box is the newest and latest company to release a monthly box in the UK and i was lucky enough to get a box in the 1st month :)! As like most other beauty boxes, in My Boutique Box you get a range of beauty products & i like what i got this month. 

The box cost's £10 plus p&p which i think was £3.95 if i remember correctly. Which is the same as most other beauty boxes in the UK.

I received 5 products in my box and will honestly use each and every product which doesn't happen a lot with beauty boxes (i can't be the only one that has boxes of samples you won't ever use laying around taking up room!) 

First thing i got was a Collagen Woven Facial Mask from the brand Azure Intrenationale Spa. For me personally you can never go wrong with a face-mask that will repair and moisturise your skin! This mask is suitable for all skin types too. 

Next i got a W7 angled eye shadow brush. I love angled brushes, you can use them to fill in your brows, line your upper and lower lash lines with shadow or gel eye liner. I always think it's a good idea to have a couple of these handy, one for your eyebrows, one for your shadow, one for your gel liner ect. Saves you having to clean your brushes inbetween doing your make up. Also this brush is super soft.

There was a tin of Vaseline lip therapy in the aloe vera scent. Some people will maybe not appreciate a tin of vaseline in there box as it is readily available almost everywhere but for me this is great! I have been meaning to purchase myself a new tin of the aloe vera vaseline as the one i had melted in my car over the summer so i had to throw it away and i keep forgetting to replace it when i'm shopping. This product is a staple in my make up bag all year round, it keeps my lips soft and moisturised! 

Next up is a soft matt lipcream from the brand Manhattan. This smells and goes on the exact same as the NYX soft matte lip creams. It's very smooth. It is a neutral cool toned pink, perfect for every day wear :), i can't figure out what the shade is called!

And lastly there was a quick dry nail polish by the brand NYC in the shade 004 wild with passion! This is a really nice pinky/purply colour which suits me 100%!

All in all i am very happy with this new subscription box. If you want to subscribe i'll leave a link to there website here. 

Lisa xx

My Top 5 High-End Foundations for Oily Skin

Firstly i'd like to appologise for being m.i.a on my blog for the last couple of months. I found out i am pregnant and i have been suffering from horrible morning/afternoon/night-time sickness to the extent of not being able to do pretty much anything. I am now a little over the 12 weeks and i couldn't be happier about being pregnant again :) well i would be even happier if the sickness would stop completely but i am starting to feel better these days so i thought i'd get back into writing on my blog as i have missed it!

Now that i have gotten that out of the way lets get onto what this blog post is actually about.. My top 5 high-end foundations for oily skin. having oily skin is a nightmare at times, trying to find a foundation that stays on your face for more than 4 hours is a challenge but i have found some that do work for my skin and do last too. I'll list them lowest price to the highest price and leave links as to where you can purchase them also.

(I would also like to add that before i apply any foundation to my face i make sure i have cleansed, toned, moisturised and primed my skin! Also always try to use clean brushes, you will be surprised at how much this helps too.)

First up is probably one of my oldest yet favourite beauty product ever. I have gone through bottles of it over the years. It's the MAC Cosmetics Studio Fix Fluid with SPF15, i love this stuff. it's a high coverage foundation on my skin and it always makes it look flawless! I tend to wear this on nights out as it stays put and covers all blemishes on my skin without looking weird! I personally find that it is too much for an everyday foundation! I currently have mine in the shade NC20 but i plan on getting the shade NC15 for over the winter time since my skin will get pale and i cant have a spray tan for a while. I either use my beauty blender or my SigmaF80 kabuki to apply this you can buy this from the MAC Cosmetics website HERE for £21.50.

Next up is a new one to my collection that i have only had for a few weeks but i love it already! Its the new BareMinerals BareSkin brightening serum foundation with SPF20. this is the lightest foundation i have ever put on my face, 1 drop of this foundation covered one half of my face! I use 3 drops each half of my face to achieve the coverage i am happy with. It's a light to medium coverage but it is a buildable foundation. This foundation isn't great for covering big blemishes either but it covers little ones and corrects skin tone with no problems at all. It does say you have to purchase the brush that goes with this foundation but i have that many brushes i didn't want to so i use my Sigma F80 flat topped kabuki brush to apply it and it works great. i have the shade Bare Linen 02. You can purchase this from the BareMinerals website HERE for £26.00.

The next foundation is one my hubby actually suggested i try - why i don't know but i am glad he did :)! Its the Urban Decay Naked Skin weightless ultra definition liquid make-up, (what a mouthful that is!!) I like this foundation, it gives a medium coverage and blends so easily into your skin using a beauty blender. its got good staying power and it's lightweight too. There isn't much more i can think of to say about it! i have it in the shade 1.0. You can buy this from Debenhams HERE for £27.00.

Whilst i was in London at IMATS i decided to pick up a Make Up Forever HD foundation. I freaking LOVE this foundation, it covers everything like the MAC SFF but it doesn't look to heavy for day time wear. It's a medium to full coverage depending on if you build it up. I apply this with my beauty blender. (TIP ALERT: I find applying foundations with a beauty blender look more natural and they get buffed and bounced into the skin better giving an overall better finish, beauty blenders only work for certain foundations though.) You can buy this from GuruMakeupEmporium HERE for £30.95

Last but not least in my Chanel Vitalumiere Aqua SPF15 foundation. Tjis foundation is perfect for when your having one of those perfect skin days that just needs a little foundation! It's a lightweight, light/medium coverage foundation that blends onto your skin lovely. It does give you the perfect finish providing you are having a blemish free day. It doesn't cover blemishes that well at all but it does cover skin redness ect. I apply this using my SigmaF80 brush. You can also buy this from debenhams HERE for £33.00

I have found that all of these foundations do need to be set with a powder, i don't have a specific powder i use as i chop and change powders quite a lot. They all lasted roughly the same amount of time on my face (10 hours roughly) with only a little powder touch up needed on my T-zone after 5/6 hours.

I hope you have found this useful, please let me know in the comments below what your favourite foundation is for your skin type and if there is any other foundations that i should try out for oily skin! 

Thanks for reading

Lisa xo

Discount Codes:

Save Between 10% and 25% on Lookfantastic.com buy clicking the link & using the code ANON. The discount amount changes every hour! Valid until 19th August 2014. You could also save on the UrbanDecay & the Bareminerals foundation mentioned above too if they have your shade in stock!

For New customers to Lookfantastic.com you can save 20% on your order by clicking the link & using the code FIRSTORDER! Valid until 19th August 2014.