Clinique Quickliner

Hey guys! So, I don't know if you'll have heard of Clinique's Quickliner. It's a relatively old product, however I have only just discovered it, and am loving it so much I wanted to create a post on it! 

I bought the Quickliner (RRP £15) from one of my local Clinique beauty counters quite a while ago, but then let it slip into the depths of my eye makeup storage, and sort of just forgot about it I guess?! It is something I am deeply regretting now though as this product is just so, so good!

I bought the shade black/brown as I find that to be the most flattering for people with light hair and skin colouring. It is actually really well pigmented and honestly appears to be just as bold as a liquid or gel eyeliner. I applied the Quickliner today not really expecting too much. I was just using it to create an initial outline to trace over with a liquid liner, but the line that this made was so strong I didn't need to. If I had wanted quite a defined eyeliner look I would have just left it at that, but I then used the smudge stick to make it appear softer, which just looked super flattering against the saddle-brown and chocolate-brown eyeshadow combo I had applied previously. The pigmentation and the smudge stick of the Quickliner make this so easy to apply, and I would definitely buy this again. Honestly, it is so, so easy and quick, you could do this on a bus. Not that I recommend that if you have the option not to! In all seriousness, this is a really lovely product.

Sammii-Jane x

Makeup for round eyes

Today I really wanted to create a different makeup look, rather than just opting for my usual look. I wanted to try something fun and interesting, and also that was flattering for round eyes, and for my skin tone. I chose a neutral brown shadow combo for my eyes, and then lined the top and bottom lashline using a smudging applicator to apply black gel eyeliner. I also wanted to add a little pop of colour by using quite a bright pink blush, and a maroon-coloured lipgloss.

Skin

So, I prepped my skin by cleansing and moisturising with Simple Face Wash, and Simple Moisturiser. I then applied Yes to Grapefruit Correcting Serum over my face. I let that set, and once dry applied MUA Bronzer (shade 3) to my temples and cheekbones. This is actually quite a highly pigmented bronzer which I am really enjoying using. I then dusted Collection Little Mix Blush (in the shade Perrie) over the apples of my cheeks, and used my bareMinerals Flawless Face Brush to apply both my bronzer and blush. I then dusted Rimmel's Stay Matte Powder over my T-zone to cover any oiliness. 

Eyes

For my eyes, I used Collection's Work the Colour Eyeshadow Trio (in the shade Choc Chip). I dusted the lighter brown shade across my eyelid, and the darker brown shade into my crease by using my Real Techniques Base Shadow Brush. I then applied the darker brown shade to my upper and lower lashline by using my Real Techniques Accent Brush. I then traced along my upper and lower lash line again by using Maybelline Lasting Drama Gel Eyeliner. I curled my lashes before applying two coats Benefit Bad Gal Lash Mascara. For my brows, I applied the colour Sandstone from my Stila In the Light Eyeshadow Palette by using an Ecotools Angled Eye Brush. 

Lips

I prepped my lips using Burt's Bees Lip Wax, before applying Max Factor Max Effect Lip Gloss in the shade Rubylicious. 

Hair

For my hair, I blow dried it roughly after my shower last night, and left it until this morning. I then brushed it, primed it using Percy and Reed Hair Primer, and styled it into a messy bun, pulling a few strands from the front forward. I then spritzed it with Loreal Elnett Satin Hair Spray. 

I know this isn't really a super-exciting makeup look, but it is a really nice look for daywear as it just has a touch of colour to add a bit of interest. I really enjoyed framing my eyes in this way as I only ever apply eyeliner to my upper lashline, and it was just a really different look to what I would typically go for. I hope you've enjoyed this post!

Sammii-Jane x

Charity Bake Sale 2014!

Now, where would the typical beauty blogger be without showing off her love of baking, or the assortment of homemade goodies for you to feast your eyes upon? Over the course of the last week, I have been very, very busy baking cakes. A lot of cakes! However, these cakes were not for personal consumption - they were made for a charity bake sale to raise money for the Royal British Legion. 

Chocolate Crispy Cakes

I started off by making two trays of chocolate crispy cakes. I used melted dark chocolate with a teaspoon of vegetable oil, with cornflakes, and they were divine. I love that crispy cakes are just such an easy recipe and so yummy. They're definitely something I can see myself making with my son Rhys when he's older! 

Strawberry and Cream Cupcakes

I then went on to making some vanilla cupcakes, that I placed in pretty leopard and zebra print cases, and topped with squirty cream and strawberries! I wanted them to be really simple, but still look really appealing. They turned out really nicely actually! 

Butter Flapjacks

My mum made a tray of flapjacks too. This was a super easy recipe as well, just oats, melted butter, and syrup, mixed together and baked on a low heat. This is another child friendly recipe, and they taste so good! I just love a still-warm from the oven, soft, buttery flapjack. I may just have to make more tomorrow, now that I'm thinking about them! 

Loaf Cakes

I finished off by making two loaf cakes. The top one was vanilla sponge, with cranberries and white chocolate, and the bottom one was a chocolate sponge filled with chocolate chips. 

It's such a shame I didn't manage to get any pictures of the cake sale, but we actually did three cake sales that week (making fresh cakes each time of course!), and managed to raise around £100 for our chosen charity. It was so nice to just have that week to just do something to benefit someone else. Although we didn't really raise that much, we did put an awful lot of work into it which I think counts for something! 

The Royal British Legion are a charity that help serving members of the Royal Navy, Army, and Air Force. They help ex-servicemen, their carers, and their families. They aim to help the 500,000 most in need, and half the people they help are below retirement age. I think it's so important to support our forces, and the people who risk their lives for us every day. 

Hope you're all having a great week, 

Sammii-Jane 

Mac Brow Set - Full Review!

Depending on how long you've been keeping up with my blog for, you may or may not know, that absolutely aaaaaaaages ago on a haul I purchased the Mac Brow Set. I was so excited to buy this as I had been really wanting a product for subtle eyebrow definition that also came in a shade for blondes, so when I found this it was exactly what I had been looking for. When I got home, however, I tried it a couple of times, didn't initially like it that much, and then I went and dyed my hair dark anyway so my light brows just didn't look right. It has stayed in one of my makeup drawers untouched for the past few months, but as I've dyed my hair light again I've dug it out and given it another go.

May I just say, it is AMAZING! I really love this and it is now my go-to brow product. I really like mine to look natural anyway as I pretty much always sport a no-makeup look (my daily makeup consists of my Mac brow set, a couple of coats of Benefit Bad Gal mascara for my lashes, and Garnier tinted under-eye roll on under my eyes). My brows are a bit too light and sparse, but the Mac brow set literally looks like it's your natural brows, and equally gives you just enough definition. The shade Beguile is just perfect for the lighter-haired among us, where there is another shade perfect for brunettes. 

I can't believe I haven't used it for so long, this really is just the easiest and nicest brow product I've used in a really long time. I really hate the pencilled-in look so always steer clear of eyebrow pencils, and would never use a liquid brow product either as in my opinion it would just look too heavy. For me, I personally like the very traditional natural brow look. Makeup artists have been saying for decades never to over-pluck your brows, and to just brush them into their natural shape. Only recently have people been going for the HD brow look, which does look beautiful, but if you rarely wear makeup (like me) then to have your brows perfectly made up but no makeup anywhere else, it can look a bit out of place, and to be honest, it just isn't my style. Makeup fanatics and pin-up lovers have also been loving the HD brow look for recreating vintage 50's makeup looks, but that does seem inaccurate to me too... You never saw Sandy from Grease with heavily defined brows. 

Anyway (a bit off-topic there!), the Mac Brow set really is just lovely. I will just reiterate that it looks really natural, it's super-easy to apply as the applicator is basically a mascara wand so you just brush it directly on to your brows. It comes in two shades, one for blondes and one for brunettes. I believe it to be a gel product (I haven't actually checked this, but this is just what the texture feels like) which also means that it doesn't budge. Also, with the applicator being a mascara wand, it also means you don't need to brush your brows separately with an eye brow tool as that's already been done for you! It's really easy, it's really quick, and where I have a young son so am always short on time, I am always on the lookout for really quick and easy makeup, and this really is absolutely perfect. I can't fault it in any way. 

I will mention though that where it is really ideal for me, it may not be quite to your taste. As I said previously, you will never be able to create the HD brow look with this, it's also a bristle brush applicator (I'm aware that some of you aren't a fan), and the price does seem a bit expensive at £13. But you do get an awful lot in the tube and I can see this lasting a really long time, so in my opinion it's well worth it. I will definitely be purchasing this again! I'm really sorry that this is so long but I really wanted it to be quite in-depth as there is just so much to say about it! 

Hope you've been having a lovely week,

Sammii-Jane x

Simple Skin Care

Okay, okay. I know that just about everyone from Father Christmas, to the cats mother, swear by the Simple range. I've never been able to use it before as it's just never been suitable for my skin type, but ever since my skins returned back it's normal, relatively clear state (I had really bad hormonal acne while I was pregnant earlier this year) I've been able to use Simple. I've always wanted to use it, as I don't really like to wear much makeup, but I need to have relatively good skin in order to feel comfortable without makeup. So for these past couple of months I've been using it religiously. 

I wash my face with the Simple Face Wash, I cleanse with the Simple Cleansing Lotion, and I moisturise with the Simple Hydrating Moisturiser. It's been really gentle on my skin and I've been really loving it! I can finally get to leave the house, feeling comfortable in my own skin. I hate wearing foundation as I just really dislike the feeling that I'm clogging up my skin with it, and I much prefer to go natural when I can! This is what my skin has been looking like since using the product (completely unedited), and so far it really is the best thing I've ever used. I know I say that each time I try something new but this is just so gentle, yet super effective!  

Something that I really love the product is that as it's cleared up my skin so much, I have a really quick wash-and-go getting ready routine in the mornings now, which gives me more time to spend with my son as I don't feel like I have to over-compensate with makeup. It makes him happier, it makes me happier, it's a win-win! It's definitely made my mornings so much easier and made me so much less stressed, and self-conscious about my previous bad skin. (As a little disclaimer, I always like to do makeup-free selfies to show you how well the products work. I really love skin care so I tend to buy an awful lot of it if I'm honest, to test when I get home, and then I do like to show you the results too I suppose!)

I am really happy with Simple skin care. This is something I've already made a repurchase of and can see myself buying for probably quite a while yet! Hope you've all had a lovely Monday, 

Sammii-Jane x

August 2014 Wish List

Hey guys! I thought I would share with you my current up to date wish list. These are mainly beauty items, but also a tiny little bit of fashion too! 

Guerlain Terracotta Bronzer

So, the Guerlain Bronzer is probably one of the most hyped-up bronzers in the beauty blogger world. Of course I'd love to give it a try! These retail at around £35 which is really rather expensive for a bronzer, but from what I hear, they are worth every penny! I like that it has subtle pink specks for a little more colour too. I just think it looks beautiful, I bet it works beautifully, and they're also the go-to bronzers for pro MUA's to have in their kits. The Guerlain Bronzers look divine and I cannot wait until the day I own one! I always have this problem that the bronzers I buy are never pigmented enough and they never seem to make much of a difference, so I would love to try this. 

Chanel Lip Gloss

I know, I know, yet another high-end product! The Chanel lip glosses look so beautiful, sparkly, subtle yet pigmented, that I know I just have to have one! I don't really wear makeup during the day, so I think that this would just be really nice as a little touch of luxury to carry around in my handbag for when I'm out. These are just gorgeous. 

Zoeva Brushes

I've been wanting Zoeva brushes for a really long time now, and where €65 isn't exactly cheap, it's really good value for relatively high-end, amazing quality brushes. The Rose Gold set is just so beautiful to look at, but I'm just not sure whether I'd want these more for my own personal use, or for my kit. I love that it comes in it's own little brush clutch bag as well. I think that these would definitely be more of an ideal Christmas present than something I could justify treating myself to! 

Converse Dance Lace in Bright Blue

I have been really wanting a pair of sturdy new Converse trainers for a while now. I basically only ever wear Primark pumps, and as soon as it rains (which happens a lot here in the UK), they fall apart! I am so fed up of never having any practical but nice shoes to wear. These really caught my eye as I'm generally not a trainer-type person but because the style is actually quite feminine, as well as the shoe being a really pretty blue colour, I just really like them a lot. They're like the perfect in-between shoe for someone who wants pretty, feminine, and practical. 

Robin Hood Disney DVD

As some of you may know, I'm a mother to my young son, Rhys. Something that I would like to do for him is to collect up a huge bunch of Disney DVDs for him to watch for when he's a little older. I shop around a lot to find the best price for everything, and recently I've come across Robin Hood, The Sword in the Stone, and The Fox and the Hound, all being sold for £5 each with free delivery on Amazon. These would be great films to start off my collection with and they're being sold for such an amazing price! I'd love to buy them but as I'm currently saving for a little flat for us I'm struggling to justify spending money on things I don't really need right now. However, as soon as I've got the flat sorted, I think these films may just have to be bought in order to celebrate! 

So these are the current items on my wish list! I hope you've enjoyed this post, and I hope you look out for my next one! (Hint: it might just be a huuuuge homeware haul!) 

Hope you've all had a fantastic weekend,

Sammii-Jane x

L'Occitane Verbena

Hey guys! Sorry I haven't posted for a while. I've recently been starting to save for a deposit on a flat, so have been avoiding any tempting and expensive beauty purchases! Today, however, I cracked, because I just fell in love with the L'Occitane Verbena scent and knew I had to have it! I bought it in a sale at my local Tudor Williams store, who were having a 10% off all cosmetics and toiletries day. This set was priced at £20, but as I bought it at sale price I paid £18.

It is packaged in a super-cute bright yellow canvas bag, embossed with a modern silver-glitter 'L'Amour De La Provence' L'Occitane logo. I absolutely adore the colour yellow for the summer season, it is so bright, happy and cheerful that you can't help but smile and feel happy! 

Now, for the contents of the bag: this set contains a 75ml shower gel, a 75ml body lotion, a 10ml tube of hand cream, a 100g bar of hand soap, and a 10ml sample fragrance of the Verbena Eau de Toilette. 

The scent! Let me tell you the fragrance is divine! The L'Occitane Verbena smells exactly of freshly crushed sweet limes. I absolutely adore citrus scents as I find them really refreshing and so different to the usual musky/floral scent. This smells so, so, good it just has me dreaming of an icy mojito on a tropical beach! This scent is by far my favourite, even more so than my Estée Lauder Modern Muse, which has been my strong favourite since receiving it as a Christmas present last year! It's just so fresh and different to anything I own. I initially bought the set purely for the fragrance, which is a perfect size for me as (I hate to say it), but I always get bored of perfumes after the first month and never, ever manage to finish a whole bottle. So the fact that this is only 10ml makes me feel a lot less guilty about never finishing a perfume, as you never know, I might manage it with a smaller size! A 100ml bottle of the Verbena Eau de Toilette will cost you £42. This is the 10ml sample Verbena fragrance I got with the set. It's such a cute handbag size too, and would be perfect for a weekend trip away! 

I just love the sleek glass bottle, and the leaf design is beautiful! I really love L'Occitane's 'natural' cardboard packaging too, I love that there are no fussy distracting colours and I just think that with packaging, less is more! It is so simple and I love that the brand sell organic products, I feel I'm definitely getting my money's worth with top quality products. I just want to say that if you are thinking of purchasing the Verbena, definitely go in store and smell it and I promise you, you will love it! The Verbena definitely won me over, and I really hope you will love it as much as I do! 

Hope you're having a great weekend, 

Sammii-Jane x