W7 Style Eyes Brow and Lash Gel

What a beautiful bank holiday weekend and yet again I worked throughout it all and the nasty flu seems to be going around my family recently and I seem to be the one next in line! Being at work at the same time is pretty darn naff so I apologise for the lack of posts and tweets (if you follow me on Twitter then you'll know, if not then you can follow me @natalieellis23) So onto slightly more exciting things, I recently made an order from Fragrance Direct which you may have seen in my last post so I've been using the products included to get up some new reviews for you ladies and here's the first one!

I seem to have been using this product the most so far so thought this would be the best one to review first as I have been able to get an all round feel for this product. I literally have been using this product every day and am really enjoying it. It's the first brow gel that I've ever tried so I don't have anything to compare it too but ever since filling in my eyebrows until now I had never even thought to use a brow gel. But when browsing the website I thought I'd give it a whirl.

It's literally like the simplest beauty product to use and it only takes a few seconds to apply, so why have I not used this before? I hate plucking my eyebrows especially those pesky ones that overnight poke out straight from your face so this product is perfect for setting them back into place. Because lets face it, we don't want to lose all our eyebrows now do we. So yes this product is simple, it sets your eyebrows in place and keeps the pesky ones at bay for the whole day (I'm a poet and I didn't even know it, sorry it had to be said haha) It also doesn't make my eyebrows feel or look like straw which was the one thing I was slightly worried about. Although quite a lot of product comes out on the brush I tend to take a little off the brush before I apply and it's perfect.

I have also been applying this before I apply my normal mascara on my lashes. I can't say I've noticed much of a difference apart from the application of my normal mascara, it just applies much more smoothly and it isn't any heavier on the eyes. It's the perfect product for a measly price of £1.99 and I really cannot pick one bad thing out about this product.

Have you tried any brow gels? I'd love to know your thoughts on them. Hope you've all had a lovely bank holiday weekend :)

Fragrance Direct Haul

So I recently stumbled across the Fragrance Direct website and what a surprise, I couldn't help myself and ordered a few new beauty bits at a fraction of the retail prices! I couldn't believe some of the bargains I found and am now officially hooked to this website. If you love high street brands then you can find a selection on this website at prices you can't turn down. Anyway onto what I purchased..

The one thing I've heard a lot of people talk about is the Essie nail varnishes on this website. We all know they retail at £7.99 and you can get them here for just £1.99! Yes you heard correctly, it's such an amazing discounted price. Although you don't get all the colours you would in places such as Boots you just have to keep checking the website in order to find a variety of colours. To be honest when I made this order the colour variation wasn't great, hence why a nail varnish addict like me only got 1, but I got this gorgeous pale pink called 'Delicacy'.

The next product I've heard a lot about is the Dainty Doll blushes, again for £1.99 it's a bargain you cannot turn down. I opted for a cream blush as I've never actually tried one before and there's a first time for everything. It's a lovely pastel pink and I'm currently enjoying using it and getting to grips with it!

I then just picked up a few random bits and bobs that I came across. First is the NYC 16 hour lip stain in a gorgeous fuchsia, it's literally just like a felt tip pen but for your lips. I'm loving the colour so far but not so sure about the lack of moisture and gloss but I wasn't really expecting that much from a stain but for only 99p I haven't lost much. I then got some T-Zone nose pore strips, a friend at work raves about nose strips and absolutely loves them so I thought I'd give them a go. I've only used one so far so I will continue to use the rest to see how I feel about them. Another nail varnish I got was the Bourjois 10 days no chips and I can't see that this one has a name but it's just a lovely ruby red. I have tried this polish and love the colour but can't say that it lasts for 10 days, it does last longer than
some other polishes I have, maybe a good 4-5 days. Then I got W7 eye and brow clear mascara, it was £1.99 and I've used it every day since I purchased. I'll give you a sneak review before I upload the full one but I am in love with it! I've been using it on my brows (hence why it's slightly brown now, ha!) and also before I apply my mascara :)

Finally I picked up a perfume, I've loved this perfume for god knows how long and finally I got myself one! It's a 30ml bottle and it was only £9.99, absolute bargain! It's Sarah Jessica Parker's NYC perfume. I'll tell you now I'm rubbish at describing scents but it's not too heavy and is very much an every day perfume. The bottle is very pretty and patterned and of course pink :) If you've never smelt it and are after a nice cheap perfume I would definitely check this one out!

I hope you enjoyed this haul and keep your eyes peeled for full reviews on the products I've been loving from this haul! If you want to check out the Frangrance Direct website then just click here

Happy Monday xo

MUA Lipstick Shade 2

Where has the sun gone? It's a completely dreary day out there and windy (I hate wind!) It seems to have gone from one extreme to the other, and typical UK people here I am talking about the weather. So I'm going to brighten up the day with this gorgeous lipstick shade, what better way to do it hey?

Let me just get this out there.. I have never really been a lipstick kinda girl. Breathe. I took to asking a load of bloggers in the blogger chat on Twitter a few weeks back how you decide which colours to go for and which high street brands do the best lipsticks. I had a reply from a lovely girl saying that she opted for MUA lipsticks due to the price to then decide which colours suited her best so if she wasn't keen on one she hasn't wasted any money, well £1. I thought this was a brilliant idea as a starter point for myself so I took to my local Superdrug MUA counter and found myself purchasing this one which is Shade 2.

As every blogger would agree I came out with a hand full of swatches from different lipsticks but found myself loving this one the best. I have at the moment only purchased this one colour (I was being naughty as I am trying not to spend any money - woops!) Anyway I picked up shade 2 which is a lovely magenta colour and if you don't already know then MUA lipsticks are only £1, yes you heard correctly. You cannot really go too far wrong when only paying £1 for a lipstick and I was surprisingly impressed! I am absolutely loving the shade of this lipstick on me, I find the colour really buildable as well which is nice if you're wanting to go for a more dramatic, night time look. I prefer more of the subtle look as I'm still getting used to looking at myself in the mirror with lipstick on!

The lasting power of this lipstick isn't great but I really cannot complain due to the price tag, it's so easy to just chuck in your handbag and reapply when needed, so who's moaning? I am definitely (when payday comes, no spending here) going to be picking up more shades from the MUA range simply to hopefully find more shades which I love.

Have you tried any lipsticks from MUA? What shades are your favourite?

Review: MUA Undress Me Too Palette

Happy Friday! It's nearly the weekend and although I'm working all weekend I've had the past two days off which have been... relaxing. I've literally slouched in front of the tv with food. I'm knackered. Anyway today's an exciting post for me, look at the fancy text I've added to the swatch pictures, there's a first time for everything hey! Onto the review...

I purchased this MUA palette in my last haul, I'd been after this palette for so long but my local Superdrug just did not have it in stock so every time I was walking out empty handed, which we all know is a hard thing to do. Anyway one day when my hope had pretty much given in, I was walking past and headed in and to my surprise it was sat there!! A full stack of them, I was gobsmacked. Anyway I quickly snatched one up, along with many other items that I couldn't resist and I was over the moon. Another bonus it was only £3 reduced from £4, not a great saving but a bargain nonetheless.

I've never really been one for eyeshadow, it's not the product that I go into a high street store for but when all the hype was up over the Naked 2 palette I can't tell you how many dupe reviews I saw comparing that palette to this one. That's when this palette first caught my eyes, the colours included all seemed day to night colours which is what I loved. Included are 12 neutral shades which can be worn and blended to make the perfect eye using so many different looks.

Since purchasing this palette I've loved using it! Now since not really knowing much about eyeshadow I took to reviews and pinterest to try and find looks which I thought I would be able to recreate myself. I've just been using more toned down looks and when in a rush for work even just quickly patting a matte colour all over for that extra little kick. This palette comes with both matte and metallic shades which is great as it gives you the balance, the best of both worlds.

The colours I've mainly been loving are Lavish, I've simply been putting this all over my eyelid, Obsessed for the outer corner and the look of eyeliner and Shy for the inner corners of my eyes. The lasting power of these eyeshadows are pretty good, I don't have much to compare them too but they do have some staying power. I think I may need to invest in an eyelid primer to help the staying power of these in the future (any recommendations?? hehe)

I would definitely recommend this palette to anyone looking for a neutral eye palette that has wearable colours. Although you may not wear all the colours, I know there's at least one I'm not keen on (probably too 'out there' for me) but at £4 you cannot complain!

Have you tried this MUA palette? Or any other eyeshadows from MUA?

I'd love to know your thoughts :)

Review: Freederm Overnight Clearing Serum

You know me, here I am again with another skin care product to help with those pesky blemishes that we all suffer from (unless you're super duper lucky). If you didn't know already then I am always keeping my eye out for new skin care products that help keep my skin calm and as spot free as possible. The search seems never ending and although I've found some lovely products I still don't believe that I have found THE product that solves all my problems. So hence why my search continues...

Recently in all the magazines scattered across the staff room table I had seen endless adverts for this particular product. I had searched the internet, my local Boots and Superdrug stores but nothing. Until one day when I had pretty much forgotten about it, I went to my sisters local Superdrug and found it! And it was also on offer, yes it's the Freederm Overnight Clearing Serum. I believe the original price for this is around £7, when I picked it up it was around £4 so a bargain.

I've been using this religiously now ever since I purchased it around 3 weeks ago now and have absolutely been loving it. It claims to 'help reduce spot size and restore healthy skin texture while visibly reducing redness' and it works whilst you sleep. So I've been keeping this on my bedside table and been applying it just before I doze off. It also says for best results apply in small light upward motions so that's what I've been doing and I can say that I have noticed a difference in my skin.

The consistency of this product isn't thick, but can take a few moments so settle into the skin so there's no applying and then losing your head in the pillow straight away but it doesn't take too long. There is a pump which is always a winner so there's no over doing the amount you need for your face. It feels moisturising on the skin and unlike most other blemish products it doesn't make your skin feel tight. The first night I used this I remember getting up the next morning and heading straight for the mirror to see the results and I was pleasantly surprised! The spots I had had reduced in size and the redness had nearly completely disappeared. As much as a spot is just a pain in the back side to begin with I find the redness the hardest part to then cover up and venture out of my bedroom (unless you have a mahusive zit that's just not workable) so the fact that this really helped with redness I was pretty much instantly in love.

I've been using this for around 3 weeks now every night and I can say that I still love it. I also find that some blemish products start off working amazingly and then after many uses it drops and they just seem to not work anymore. But this product doesn't have that and, although this product doesn't stop spots from appearing, when they decide to pop up I know that night at least the redness of the spot will go down.

I definitely recommend this product and all others within the Freederm range as they are aimed at blemish prone skin and have some other amazing products! And I believe I will definitely be repurchasing this product in the future :)

Have you tried anything from Freederm? What were your thoughts?

Wish, wish, wish... Want

1. Mini Shopper - Zara

2. Cream floral cut out playsuit - River Island

3. Chunky twist chain necklace - Matalan

4. Silver stacking ring set - Shop Dixi

5. Pansy smock tunic - Topshop

6. Scallop lace vest - Topshop

7. Real Techniques Stippling brush - Amazon

Why is it that straight after payday my wish list just grows and grows?! Payday feels as if it hasn't even happened for me this month due to having to pay a bit more of my car off and a recent garage bill of £200, OUCH! So the things on this list will probably be waiting here until next payday when I may treat myself.. It's such a beautiful day today, literally no clouds in the sky so the pretty florals and pastel colours are beautiful in this weather. I am in love with the Zara bag, it also comes in green, white, orange and black and I honestly like 3 of the colours but chose the boring black picture on this wish list. I love silver jewellery simply because my Michael Kors watch is silver and I wear it every single day. These are both totally wearable pieces of jewellery and I can never buy enough jewellery! Now I really, really want to start a new collection of brushes and the first I have my eyes on is the stippling brush as I've heard so many good reviews :)

What's on your current wish list?