Tag: makeup

Autumn Acquisitions

On By samanthaIn HEALTH, SHOPPINGLeave a comment

Although I am persevering with decluttering my entire house it is inevitable that sometimes I need to buy more “stuff”. My daughter’s six year old iPhone was becoming increasingly unreliable which was worrying me as she depends on it for everything. Train tickets, ID, payment methods etc, it’s all on her phone. I decided to upgrade my own phone to an iPhone 16 and gave her my two year old iPhone 13. I resent upgrading my phone, I never seem to notice any difference in performance and it just seems like a colossal waste of nearly nine hundred pounds. Also my new phone needed a different charger – ugh!

Of course then we both needed new phone cases. I had seen Burga continually coming up on my Facebook advertising feed, probably as my phone had been spying on my conversations about phone cases, so I took a look at their website. They have literally hundreds and hundreds of lovely designs but they are fairly expensive at around £45 each for the more basic styles. A couple of days after initially browsing a “buy two get two free ” offer appeared. Slightly annoying that it wasn’t a BOGOF as who actually needs two phone cases? I eventually chose two designs and so did my daughter. I went for a bright, citrus case and a white rabbit design and my daughter, for some reason known only to her, went for lobsters and sardines. The cases are shipped from Lithuania and the tracking is not regularly updated. After three weeks I had given up hope of ever receiving the cases and contacted Burga requesting a refund. They told me that my parcel had been returned to their warehouse and they shipped it back out. Just two days later it arrived. The packaging is minimal which is refreshing. All four cases came in cotton drawstring pouches which could be reused, I keep my power bank in mine. The phone cases themselves are really excellent quality and very attractive. The have an attractive glossy finish and the colours are very sharp. Most importantly, they also appear to offer a good level of protection.

I also treated myself to some more Boots No 7 Youthful Replenishing Facial Oil. When I first received this product as part of a gift set I didn’t think it would suit my skin but I have really been impressed. I mix a single drop with my foundation to stop it looking cakey and I use a couple of drops under my moisturiser most days. I also bought a new lipstick by Revlon in a nude shade called Bare Affair It is a subtle, every day colour but I have found the formula to be quite drying despite being infused with vitamin E and avocado oil . Lastly I bought some Double Serum by Clarins. The jury is still out on this product, I find that it is easily absorbed but I have not noticed any results. I find that too much comes out with each pump of the dispenser which seems wasteful as it it expensive at £65 for 30ml.

So a little bit of a spendy month but, on the whole, I have been pleased with my purchases.

Thank you for reading

Samantha

High Street & Amazon Beauty & Fashion Buys – Hits & Misses

On By samanthaIn HEALTHLeave a comment

It’s a sunny Saturday and my daughter and I head into London as she wants to buy some clothes for an upcoming trip she’s making to Milan with some of her university friends. We go to Regent Street which is about a two minute walk from where my daughter is working as an intern. My daughter isn’t the most confident clothes shopper, although she is finding her own style, so wanted to bring me along rather than shop by herself in her five minute lunch break. She is twenty one and athletic, in other words she looks annoyingly good in everything. We went into Hollister and I spotted this oversized striped linen shirt for £29.95 and bought it (for myself) while my daughter tried on a selection of tiny clothing. We then went into Uniqlo where she found some really nice tailored shorts and I bought a black maxi skirt for £34.90. I was tempted by a similar style dress instead but I find I seldom wear the dresses I already own, a skirt is more versatile. I have a few Marks and Spencer classic fit T shirts and will probably wear it with one of those.

We then went into Zara where my daughter looked at vest tops. I bought a bottle of their Radiant Vanilla fragrance. They had a whole range of similar vanilla scents priced at £17.99. I am pleased with this impulse buy, it doesn’t give me a migraine which is always a good start.

When we got home I realised that I hadn’t bought any casual trousers so I ordered these apricot coloured wide leg trousers. from ASOS. If you read my post Wide Leg Woes you might remember that I struggle with anything other than skinny jeans. Anyway, I love these, they fit perfectly, but was extremely irked when they reduced in price by £20 the day after I bought them.

Possibly the most exciting thing that has ever happened to me in my entire life is that I have been invited to join Amazon’s Vine programme. I can order up to three items a day, with no cost to me, as long as I write a review. I was beyond thrilled when I received the invitation email and immediately logged on to my account to choose my first items. So, it’s fair to say that I was a little disappointed at the selection. Tattoo moisturiser and silky bonnets are not really on my wishlist. However, after a ridiculously long time wasted scrolling through the list I ordered a tumeric clay face mask, some under eye patches and a collagen wrap mask, all from brands that I have never heard of . The turmeric face mask was a success, my face felt clean, soft and fresh after using it. The eye patches I did not like at all, they felt slimy and disintegrated on my face. I was wary of leaving the collagen mask on my face all night so tried it one my hands instead to no visible effect. Today I have ordered some luggage tags for my son and some sunglass pouches. As someone who does not like a lot of clutter, this could be a slippery slope.

Thank you for reading

Samantha

Budget Beauty Buys – Hits & Misses

On By samanthaIn HEALTHLeave a comment

I am at that age where I need to start taking action to prevent crepey skin on my body, in fact I probably should have begun some years ago but I have never liked using body lotion. I have noticed the sagging, wrinkled effect beginning on so many people, especially their arms and chest and it isn’t attractive but then, what part of aging is? I remember my beautiful Godmother, Josephine, complaining about her skin beginning to look wrinkled when she was eighty five but sadly I don’t have her amazing genes.

I moisturise my face and neck twice a day without fail and have done since my late teens. Sometimes I splash out and treat myself to something fancy from Chanel or Clarins but, more often than not, I will pick up a jar of something in the supermarket, Nivea Q10 or Olay. I noticed that Boots No 7 had an offer on so I ordered their Lift and Luminate gift set for £62.95. The set comprises of face oil, day and night creams and face and eye serums. I have enjoyed all the products apart from the face serum which leaves a blue, glittery sheen on my face. I will definitely repurchase the eye serum. The face oil smells gorgeous and just two tiny drops leaves my face looking hydrated and a little bit glowy. Have any of these potions made a visible difference to any signs of aging – no, but they have kept my face feeling soft, they smell nice and have represented good value for money.

I have been using the same face wash for years, Nivea Gentle Cleansing Cream Wash but it seemed to be out of stock everywhere recently so, on a visit to Tesco I picked up some L’Oreal Hyaluron Expert Wash but within two days of using it I had red, sore patches under my nose and between my brows. I don’t have particularly sensitive skin but this seems to be too strong. Maybe it would be a winner for someone with oily skin.

For my body I bought Garnier Nourishing Ceramide Body Butter which was on offer for about £5, it has a vanilla fragrance. I liked this product so much that I also bought Garnier Vitamin C Nutri Glow Body Cream in a mango scent which literally smells good enough to eat. I can’t recommend these well priced products enough, they are very effective at moisturising even the driest patches

My nails are, to be quite honest, rather a disgrace. Apart from before my wedding, I have never had a professional manicure in my life. Firstly all the young people working in these places (and there are so many nail bars in my town) seem to be from Vietnam and I worry that they are being trafficked. Also, professional nail upkeep is so expensive and time consuming. I might give them a quick file when one of them breaks but that’s about the extent of my maintenance. I do always polish my toenails in the summer though in an attempt to spruce up my hideous feet. I bought myself some Essie gel polish in a lilac shade called Strut with it. The polish and gel top coat are both £11. You can usually expect your gel manicure to last about ten days. I have tried the cheaper D-i-Y gel polishes but Essie does seem to be the best. I also recommend Mavala nail polishes, they do a beautiful icy pink shade called Glacier, perfect for toenails. I used to wear their deep burgundy shade called Las Vegas in my twenties and they still sell it thirty years later. At £6.40 it is a great alternative to Chanel’s iconic Rouge Noir.

So some great, reasonably priced beauty buys. I think just slowing down and taking the time to induge in a little self care is very important and it doesn’t really matter if the products you are using cost £50 or £5. In fact, I’m sure some of the cheaper options are just as effective.

Thank you for reading

Samantha

Makeup Bag and Cosmetics Refresh

On By samanthaIn HEALTHLeave a comment

For my recent birthday a friend gave me a pretty new make up bag from one of my favourite shops, Oliver Bonas. It has taken pride of place on my dressing table and replaced the Clarins freebie that I have been using for years. It also provided a good opportunity for me to go through my cosmetics and throw away some of the embarrassingly ancient, and probably horribly unhygienic, items. I have used the same Nars blusher everyday for about six years and it pained me to throw it away but even the case was falling apart. My optician told me that, in an ideal world, mascara should be replaced every six weeks because of the bacteria that accumulate with each use, definitely time to bin my antique Estee Lauder. I also got rid of my Clinique eyeliners, most of which had lost their caps, and replaced them with one from Lancome in a shade called Bronze. The Lancome is very creamy, easy to blend and the shade is flattering.

I also received a Clarins bronzer as a gift in the lightest shade they sell. I have never used bronzer before. I am very pale and have always thought it would just look too orange on me. I’m also not really sure how to apply it, I had to watch a YouTube video by Ali Andreea, a stunningly beautiful make up artist, to find out. Her tutorials make everything look easy and it is tempting to buy all of the high-end products she uses. The Clarins bronzer is comprised of two shades and the darker colour is definitely too deep for me so half of the product will go to waste. The lighter shade is pretty though when sparingly applied and I like the matte finish. I did buy another Nars blusher though so I am good for six more years!

I have also been trying out This Works Perfect Cleavage & Neck Serum I am not a fan of the fragrance but the product is lovely to use and easily absorbed. My neck feels well moisturised but not sticky after use. Like the rest of the planet, I spend too much time looking at a screen and am keen to avoid the dreaded “tech neck” and hopefully this may help. I have a This Works Stress Check Mood Manager spray in my home office for days when my work email inbox is filling up faster than I can empty it, it’s actually surprisingly effective and the fragrance is beautiful. I will be trying more products from this brand.

So, some successful and much appreciated gifts. Pretty things may not be important but they do make life that little bit nicer.

Thank you for reading

Samantha

A Lifetime of Lipsticks

On By samanthaIn HEALTHLeave a comment

Woolworths, Romford 1984 and teenage me is purchasing the best lipstick I will over own. Woolies own Evette brand in the colour “Mulberry Wine”. The perfect pinky brown which stayed on all day. If only I had known that it would be discontinued I would have bought all their stock with my pocket money. In the forty years since then I have been on the hunt for another colour I have liked so much.

It’s odd that I can remember the name of just about every lipstick I have ever owned. The first was Boots No 17 “Twilight Teaser”, a bluesh, iridescent mauve. I’m sure it looked terrible but it was certainly eye-catching. I wore it to a non-uniform day at school and every girl asked me what colour it was, a new experience for me as I definitely wasn’t known for my style. Another Boots No 17 favourite was the safer and very pretty “Poncho Pink”. I also loved the Miss Selfridge “Kiss and Make Up” range and wonder if Charlotte Tilbury took some of her inspiration from their lip-print embossed branding. I wore their “Iron Maiden” and “Copper Knobs” shades” around 1987. 

When I began to have some disposable income I graduated onto the more expensive brands. Estee Lauder “Spiced Cider”, a rust colour, was one I wore for years along with Lancome’s “Brun Nu” and “Rose Nu”. I went to a wedding around 1991 and actually asked one guest which lipstick she was wearing as I liked it so much and thought it may be “The One”. Clinique “Super Nectar”, I bought it the next day and it looked absolutely hideous on me.

I actually still have the lipstick I wore too my 1994 wedding, a rather daring matt red with incredible staying power, Rochas shade 56, it’s pictured below . I experimented with dark, blackberry colours at this time as well although always had to blot them so there was just the feintest stain left. My favourite which I also still have, although it smells a bit dubious after all these years, was Chanel Shade 36. I now buy Clinique’s Almost lipstick in Black Honey which is a very wearable balm-like tint.

Post Pandemic I seem to wear less make up but I don’t generally leave the house without a quick dusting of face-powder, usually Clinique, and a slick of some lip product or other. Loreal’s “Organza” is usually my go-to everyday lipstick or a tinted lip balm from Dr Paw Paw. I also love Estee Lauder’s “Pinkberry” which is the closest I can come to wearing a nude without looking totally washed out.

I never have been able to find a shade as perfect as my Woolies lipstick but perhaps it was just the thrill of being grown up enough to wear make up for the first time. I also hold fond memories of the little tins of four blushers sold by M & S around the same time but I certainly wouldn’t wear them now. Having said that. my make up choices have barely changed in all these years and perhaps it is time to change things up a little bit.

Thank you for reading,

Samantha