Sephora Haul!

From time to time you just need to indulge in a little self love and treat yourself to some well hyped about products, and what better a place to let you do this than Sephora! 

Since it's very hard to get some popular U.S brands here in the UK, Sephora offers the perfect opportunity to get your hands on these with low cost shipping fees and the duties fee included in the overall cost. This way you won't get slapped with having to pay a fee before the post office gives you your eagerly awaited parcel.  

So what did I buy: 

Kat Von D

Kat Von D is one of the most hyped brands in America right now, and really only possible to get in the UK if shipped from the states.

After seeing everyone rave on Instagram and YouTube about the Shade and Light eye contour palette, and seeing that the colour selection offered a stunning selection of warm, cool and neutral tone eye-shadows within, I knew it would be perfect for everyday use. The shadows themselves are very well pigmented, although be careful as they do let off a lot if 'dust'/'kickback' so make sure to tap the excess off your brush and off the palette itself.  For me this is a must have if you need an everyday eye-shadow palette as it gives you a true range of different cool, neutral and warms tones in a smooth blendable matte formula, with a couple of light coloured satin shadows drawn into the mix so you're able to add a highlight/sheen where needed. 

The tattoo liner in Trooper is another staple you must get if you decide to buy some products from Kat Von D's makeup line. Unlike most felt tip liners that come as a stiff felt nib, this liner is actually made up of individual hairs, much like a paint brush, so you are able to get much more precision in creating either thick or thin lines. It is also very well pigmented with one line creating a deep intense black, and lasts all day on the eye but can come off in the inner and outer corners of your eyes if they tend to get watery easily. One of the best features of this product though is that the lid clicks shut, so you won't open up your make up bag to find black streaks everywhere and a dried out eyeliner.

Becca Cosmetics

When one of the most well known brands for creating stunning highlighters pairs up with one of YouTube's biggest makeup guru's you know the end product is going to be truly amazing. So its no surprise that the Becca X Jaclyn Hill shimmering skin perfector pressed in Champagne Pop became such a success. The mixture of Becca's intensely pigmented and perfectly smooth formula for its powder highlighters, along with the light golden gorgeousness of the Champagne Pop colour creates such a stunning highlight! However you may want to avoid this colour if you are very pale or if you don't like an intense highlight, but I feel that almost any skin tone could pull this colour off, and really who doesn't love a glow nowadays.

Too Faced

When I didn't think Too Faced could get any cuter with their packaging they brought out the Love Flush blushes, and I instantly feel in love! The formula of these blushes are wonderfully smooth and very blendable and are very well pigments so make sure to tap of the excess powder on your brush. They also come in a huge range of colours and different finishes so theirs something for everybody. Also they do live up to their long lasting statement as I didn't need to reapply throughout the day.

If you're in the UK and itching to get your hands on some hard to get American brands then I would definitely head over to http://www.sephora.com/ and start spending! Also you can choose free samples if you spend over a certain amount and who doesn't love that!

Enjoy browsing my dears,

Becky. xx

Hello Kitty's Serect Garden Afternoon Tea - Cutter and Squidge

I first heard about Cutter and Squidge through Instagram, like you do most popular bakery's/restaurants nowadays. Then after visiting them for the first time whilst on a day out in London, and deciding that they definitely lived up to their online reputation, I've wanted to head back ever since. So when my Instagram feed started to be flooded with Cutter and Squidge's pictures of delicious looking food in the shape of Hello Kitty, claiming to be part of the menu for Europe's first official Hello Kitty Afternoon Tea, I called my sister into the room and within the next 5 minutes a reservation had been made.

A few weeks later off we popped to Soho to experience our first themed cafe. For us this was especially exciting as earlier in the year we had visited Japan which has a very high reputation for themed cafes pulling them off immensely well! But unfortunately we weren't able to visit any during our stay :(

When we arrived we were greeted by windows filled with the cutest Hello Kitty X Cutter and Squidge merchandise and immediately we wanted to buy everything, but first came the food!

So cute!!! Don't the cakes also look delicious!

Waiting to receive our wrist bands 

So here's how the process went:

First we entered and told them we were here for the Hello Kitty Afternoon Tea and we were given a wrist band, much like one you would receive at a night club expect much much cuter, with the official Hello Kitty X Cutter and Squidge logo on it. Then we waited up stairs for them to set up our table whilst enjoying a free glass of pink lemonade and boy it was good!

Once everything was set up they called us to the counter where we were then lead down the stairs and oh my what awaited us was beautiful! Along the wall into the room where we would be having our afternoon tea was a map of London's biggest tourist attractions all in the Hello Kitty style of illustration and next to it was a tree made up of Hello Kitty plushies, along with a huge light up Hello Kitty figure! Oh if only my childhood self could have had these in my room, it would have been paradise!

Then we were taken to our table which was towards the back of the room, although there was plenty of room once you were sitting at the table unfortunately getting there was a bit of a tight squeeze, but nothing really that bothersome.

At the table we were presented with the sweetest menus explaining what would be offered in the afternoon tea and a selection of teas and drinks to choose from. The waitress also explained this to us, saying that everything could be refilled for free, definitely making the £40 price mark worth it!

After choosing our drinks came the event we have been excitingly anticipating all day, THE FOOD!!!

Just look at it!!!!!!!

Oh the excitement we felt when she brought over the 5 layer tower was intense! She explained to us what was in each and then left us as we started arranging the food readying it for all the obligatorily Instagram and blog shots. I don't think there was one table that didn't do this!

The Afternoon tea included six courses, 2 savory (the sandwiches and cheese scones) and then 4 sweet (the last course was soft serve ice cream with strawberry or salted caramel sauce but sorry I forgot to take a picture.)

Every course was delicious, perfectly cooked and full of flavour, but i'll warn you not to eat any lunch or breakfast as all this will completely stuff you, we had to take some bits away in a doggy bag there was just so much!

Vanilla cookies, cookie bites, strawberry milkshake Biskie, Matcha and chocolate dips.

Overall the sweets in the picture above were my favourite, everything was the perfect size and went so well with the matcha and chocolate dipping sauces. The strawberry milkshake Biskies were so delicious as well, a must have if you're visiting the store as they also sell them upstairs in the main area.

Mimmy's very berry jelly kiss, Mimmy's pink lemonade marshmallow, cake truffle and chocolate dipped strawberries.

Mama's apple pie mousse and Kitty's Chocolate mud pie.

Kitty's Snacktime Sandwiches - cucumber and cream cheese/hummus and pepper/cheese and red onion/salmon and chives
Behind poking through are the savoury cheese scones and the coronation crackers which were served with a red pepper relish and cream cheese dip.

Overall we had a brilliant time, taking pictures, enjoying the delicious food and the extremely cute scenery. You're aloud to spend up to an hour and half there which gives you enough time for all of this, although they were a little slow bringing out our ice cream so we had to wolf it down, but we didn't mind as the experience had been a magical one.

At the back there is a table for larger parties than just the regular two or three which is perfect for taking pictures in, so if you're lucky and the spot happens to be free make sure to ask one of the staff to take a picture for you, everyone that works there is super lovely and willing to help if you need anything.

Me and my sister :) 

After finishing almost all our food we headed upstairs (which by that point was very crowded) and brought the limited edition goodies we had had our eyes on earlier.

The mugs were £6 each if i'm correct and were just to cute to pass up! 

I can't remember exactly how much the bag was but it wasn't too pricey and is the perfect size for shopping trips and really good quality. Also here's two designs available.

My last comment for the day would be to book earlier than later in terms of book a few weeks ahead, as its very popular at the moment and there were only two spots left on the day we tried to book. Also aim for an earlier or later time if you want to be able to take lots of pictures and look around the shop freely as towards lunch time, when we left, it was extremely busy and was difficult to squeeze past everyone to leave the shop. Our reservation was at 12:30pm and it was pretty quiet when we arrived.

You can click the link below to book your own : http://cutterandsquidge.com/pages/hellokitty , it's £40 per person and such a pleasant experience, definitely perfect for any birthday's or celebrations or any Hello Kitty lovers in your life!

Becky. xx

It's been a very long time... Very long! (Explanation + Haul)

I'm back after a long old year to say the least! The craziness of Sixth form is over, results are in, summer holidays have come to an end and the friends and the boyfriend are moving off to uni, so I thought it's time to get back into blogging (fingers crossed this will help me not go mad in between visits). I'm hoping this time around though since I now have free range to do what I want on my blog, no longer limited to the guidelines of my EP project, that now I will be able to combine my love for SFX makeup along with beauty makeup and general product reviews and the occasion haul - which in fact is what I have for you today, I thought it'd be a nice reintroduction post rather than how to create a rancid zombie or mangy infected bites, I mean you guys have October to look forward to that! But lets start with Boots the highstreet wonder shop where you go in to buy a chicken wrap and then come out 9 new products because the 3 for 2 deals was just too sweet to resist!

(Where to buy the products are linked on product titles)

Boots

L'oreal 'Extraordinary oil-in-cream':(£6.99)

This is a nourishing leave in cream to be used on wet hair, its claims to revive shine, smooth and tame fly-away's while nourishing your hair at the same time. For someone who has waist length hair with a lot of damage from previous bleaching and dying, especially on the ends of my hair from the whole dip dye craze, this product really stood out to me for something I could use on days where I don't want something as heavy as an oil in the thin ends of my hair and also as a product that could be used throughout the lengths of my hair rather just in the ends of it. After using this product a few times I can definitely say it lives up to its nourishing yet lightweight claims as it didn't weigh my hair down or leave it greasy, and even though the smell isn't extremely appealing it's nothing offensive and doesn't linger in my hair after I've blow dried it. 

Aussie 3 Miracle oil - 'Reconstructor':(£9.99)

Aussie has always been a brand that has never failed to please me when it comes to their hair products, they constantly live up their claims and I love the mixture of natural nut and fruit oils and extracts they use in their products. The reason I picked this up is because of it's lightweight claims and the miracle range has always been one that has worked brilliantly on my damaged hair. I've recently just finished up my Ojon rare blend oil and although I adore this oil it is rather heavy and if I apply just a little too much it makes the ends of my hair look oily and I end up having to spray dry shampoo on them. But I was really surprised at how much of the Aussie oil I was able to put in my hair and how after blow drying it it didn't leave it greasy at all, and I even used it all throughout the lengths of my hair. Also as all Aussie products this smells incredible!!! Using this in conjunction with the L'oreal oil-in-cream left my hair feeling really soft and definitely tamed any fizz.

Sally Hansen Airbrush legs - 'Medium Glow':(£9.99)

Now this has been a cult product for so many years now, widely being known as spray on tan/make up for your legs claiming to cover up stretch marks, bites, razor bumps and irritation. But for me as someone who has had too many bad fake tan experiences this has always been a product I've put in my basket and then at the last minute chickened out of buying and put it back. But since hearing so many people rave about it I thought let’s take the plunge, and now that it's getting colder here in England I thought this could help me look less pasty in the autumn/winter months. I got medium glow as I do have a tan from going to Japan this summer and I've heard that the one lighter than this and the lightest in the range is really a little too light if you're aiming for a tan colour. They do three more colours in the range light, deep and tan glow, and just to clarify this is a wash off product and not a long term fake tanner. I'm yet to try this out but I'm very excited to and I shall let you know how I got on with it.

Real Techniques 'Eye-lining Set' and 'Blush Brush': (£19.99 set/£9.99 blush)

Real Techniques brushes are for me the best quality and range of affordable brushes. They have a large selection of face and eye brushes, many of which frequent in my makeup bag. The blush brush is a personal favourite of mine, along with the setting brush, not only is this brush brilliant at applying and blending out blush its fine tipped bristle make it perfect for applying and blending bronzer and contouring and also applying powder.

The Eye-lining set is a new brush set featuring four different types of brushes to create different eye liner effects. The set contains the precision liner brush, the pointed liner brush, the eyeliner brush and the smudge brush. I'm really excited to try this set out, all the brushes are soft and good quality and this is the perfect kit if you want to experiment with different types of liner and not have to spend a bomb on different brushes.

Blush Brush and Eye-lining Set

Smudge Brush (Left), Pointed liner brush (center left), Eyeliner brush (center right), Precision liner brush (right) 

Fleur De Force Lashes by Eylure in 'Fleur Loves': (£5.25)

After watching Fleur's video where she announced her lash collaboration with Eylure I knew that the 'Fleur loves' lashes were ones that I had to get my hands on! And after using these lashes I can say that I definitely wasn't disappointed with the effect they gave or the ease of application especially due to the 'invisible' lash band. Unlike other 3/4 lashes I've used, these lashes fan into a clean sharp tip just like real eyelashes meaning that when they're on they really blend in well with your natural lashes, as well as adding a beautiful winged out effect in the outer corners and volume all over. The set also includes Eylure glue so there's no need to go out and buy any. Also if you're new to lashes these would be a brilliant pair to start with, as 3/4 lashes are a lot easier to apply then a full strip lash as there's no having to make sure they don't stab or pop off your eyes inner corners, but a little tip for applying any lashes is once you've applied the glue to the lash blow on it for about 30 seconds before you apply it, as this lets the glue become tacky so its actually sticks on your lashline when you apply it instead of just popping off.

'Fleur Loves' Lashes

Rimmel London Stay Matte Powder - 'Translucent': (£3.99)

This is a holy grail powder for me, it keeps you matte but still lets your natural oils come through, it doesn't cake up on the skin and it lasts a long time on the skin. The only down side to the product is the packaging which is very flimsy and can break if dropped, but for being so cheap I don't mind it at all. The only other bad note for this product is the very poor colour range, I'd say really only people with pale to lightly tanned skin could wear this powder as unfortunately there's no colours to cater for tanned or dark skin tones which seems to be a frequent disappointment in drugstore product ranges.

Rimmel London Kate Moss Nude Collection - '45': (£5.49)

After hearing frequently good comments about the Kate Moss for Rimmel London lipsticks, the release of her new nude collection made me decide to finally pick one up. In the range there's a very pale neutral nude (number 40), a more pinky pale nude (number 42), a really beige nude (number 43) and then the a beigey pink (number 45) the colour I picked up and also a dark pinky brown (number 48) and finally a clear lip balm (number 01). After wearing this a few times the lipstick is really well pigmented and due to its satin texture it lasts well on the lip but does come off when you eat and drink, so you would have to reapply throughout the day.

'Translucent' Stay Matte Powder (left), Rimmel Kate Moss Nude Collection '45' (right)

Rimmel London Kate Moss Nude collection lipstick Number '45'

MAC

Sheertone Blush - 'Blush baby': (£15)

Surprisingly this is the first MAC blush I've tried, and damn I was missing out! This blush is a neutral slightly warm toned pink blush which is really flattering with cooler toned eyeshadows and it's creamy, highly pigmented and blends extremely easily on the skin. Just be careful to tap your brush off before you apply this though, otherwise you can quickly turn rather clownish! I love to apply this with the Real Techniques blush brush shown above.

MAC Sized to go Pigments - Old Gold/Kitschmas: (£10 each)

I love these sized to go pigment, they're a great way of being able to try out different pigments without having to commit to buying a full sized one which is very hard to use up, and unlike some smaller versions of products these don't compromise on quality. Kitschmas is a cool toned light pink/lilac with a silver glitter reflects, really beautiful on the lid and inner corner to add drama to eyeshadow looks and Old gold is a dark yellow gold colour with green and yellow glitter reflects, it looks beautiful on the lid and under the eye to create an intense look.

Eyebrow retractable pencil - 'Fling': (£14)

These retractable eyebrow pencils are brilliant, they are very pigmented and come in a wide range of colours so there's a colour to suite everybody. 'Fling' is a cool toned taupe brown which is amazing for dark blondes and light brunettes, the only thing that is a problem with these pencils is you have to make sure to only wind these up a every small amount as their dry texture makes it really easy for chunks to fall off the pencil while using it which means you lose quite a few uses of the product.

Kitschmas (left) and Old Gold pigment (right)

Sheertone Blush in 'Blush baby'

Fling eyebrow pencil (left), Old Golf pigment (left center), Kitschmas pigment (center right), Blush baby blush (right)

Blushbaby blush (left), Kitschmas pigment (center left), Old gold pigment (right center), Fling eyebrow pencil (right)
Picture taken with Iphone torch shinned on products

SpaceNK

thisworks 'Sleep plus+ pillow spray': (£25)

A theme of this haul is buying products that I've wanted for a long time, put in my basket and then been like 'Nah I'll get this next time,' to only say that again the next time I go to buy it. Again this is true for this product, and I almost didn't buy it again until my lovely mum offered to buy it for me knowing my problem with getting to sleep at night. I'm the type of sleeper who tosses and turns for about 1-2 hours before actually falling asleep and frequently stays up till 4am. But after using this spray for the last week, I definitely think this product has helped me fall asleep quicker due to its herbal lavender scent, but make sure to not drench your pillows in this as the scent is really intense so a few sprays over your pillows will do you fine.

Caudalie 'Beauty Elixir': (£11.50)

This definitely takes the prize of the Princess product, and its not really an item you have to have but it is one I love to have laying around as its great on planes as a face spritz to re-hydrate your skin and also its good sprayed over top of makeup to help take away any cakeiness. To sum up, not essential but a lovely product to have.

Lush

'Softy' Foot lotion: (£6.95 - 100g)

Although this is probably quite a TMI subject to be discussing with you guys, flakey dry feet are unfortunately a thing that run in my family and it means every summer I have to constantly exfoliate and moisturise my feet to make sure they aren't a dry mess. So after hearing good things about Lush feet products I thought I'd pick this up, and after using it a few times, I have to say that I really like it. At first I was a bit put off by its thin consistency but after applying a large amount all over my feet and popping on a moisture night sock and leaving it on for the night I am really happy with how it's helped to hydrate my feet and I can see them getting better and better the more I use this. So definitely pick this up if you suffer with the same foot infliction as me!

'Damaged' hot oil treatment: (£6.50)

This is one of three new solid hair oil treatments that Lush have just brought out, also in the range there is the 'Kinky' to help curly hair and 'Tangled' to help knotty hair. I'm yet to use this product but I'm usually impressed with Lush hair treatment products, H'snan wen hna is brilliant, so I have high hopes. This is slightly different to their other products as with this you have to add hot water to the block and stir it till it becomes a thick liquid and then leave on the hair for 20 minutes, but I always do an hour or two.

Ultrabalm: (£8.95 - 40g)

I've always been put off  by this product due to the price and size, worried that I wouldn't be able to use it all up within the 1 year and 2 month expiry date, but then as I was scrolling through missjazminad's Instagram, the lip swatch model for JeffreeStar cosmetics and Anastasia Beverly Hills, and seeing that she used this along with the Lush lip scrubs that, I already own (they're brilliant!), I thought I need to try this out as her lips always look so soft and hydrated! And after trying this out for a few days it's a success, it has a much thinner consistency then I thought and it is a little grainy at first but as you work it into your lips that disappears and its leaves yours lips feeling really nourished. Other huge upside is that it only contains 3 ingredients, can be used all over the body and it's vegan.  

'Rub Rub Rub' Shower Scrub: (£14.95 - 665g)

I love this scrub, from its bright blue colour and zingy fresh scent to its powerful scrubbing abilitie, it's a repurchase for me and I definitely recommend this if you are looking for a powerful salt scrub. This leaves your skin feeling extremely soft and now Lush stock huge versions of these products so you get a lot more for your money and they last much longer, which is a huge bonus. I also love the fact that it uses salt as the exfoliating ingredient as there's a huge problem at the moment with body scrubs and exfoliators using small plastic particles as the main scrubbing product which is really harmful to small sealife, which in turns effect larger sea life, so I would recommend looking out for this before you purchase any sort of scrub whether it's for your face or body. The only downside to this scrub is be careful if you have any cuts on your body as the salt in this will make them sting a little.

'Rub Rub Rub Shower scrub (top), Ultrabalm (bottom)