Origins Face Mask Pods Review

As soon as I heard about the Origins Face Mask Pods, I knew that I needed to give them a try for myself. I have always wanted to try Origins but found it all a bit too pricey, but these new pods are fantastic as they make it so affordable to indulge in some Origins treats. Here's what I bought and what I thought of them.


What I've Loved This Week: Superdrug Vitamin E Skin Care

Rather than choosing one product this week I have decided to focus on some products that I have recently starting using from the Superdrug Vitamin E Skin Care range. I only have 2 of the products to show you in more detail, but I have just started using another product from the range which I will touch upon too. Read on to see why I love Vitamin E Skin Care so much.

Summer Blushers: My Top Picks

Following on from my top summer lipsticks and nail polishes posts, I have my top summer blushers to share with you today. I have picked some gorgeous bright shades from affordable, easily accessible brands so you can get your hands on any that take your fancy. Here is what I have picked and why.

Summer Nail Polishes: My Top Picks

So carrying on from my Summer Lipsticks post from last week, which you can find here, I thought that I would do a summer nail polish post too so you can really be summer ready. Here are my favourite polishes for summer and why I love them so much.

What I've Loved This Week: Soap & Glory Whipped Clean Shower Butter

I'm back again with my product of the week, and have opted for something a bit different to my usual makeup posts. As much as I love makeup, I'm a sucker for a good bit of skin care too so wanted to share one of my recent discoveries with you. Read on to see why I love this product so much and why I think you need it too.

Summer Lipsticks: My Top Picks


I thought that I would share my top lipsticks for summer with you tonight as things are heating up and the sun is desperate to show his face! Lipsticks are a really easy way to brighten up any look, and because it's summer, anything goes. Here is what I have picked and why.

My Nail Care Routine

I'm back from a week away and back to blogging so I thought that I would do a quick post tonight to share my nail care routine with you all. I love painting my nails but pure acetone and polish remover takes it toll on them after a while so I use a few products to keep my nails looking and feeling great. Here is what I use and why.

Summer Makeup Essentials

As summer is fast approaching (hopefully!) and the summery dresses are coming out, I thought that I would share some of my summer makeup essentials with you. I've started reaching for some of these products everyday now, and I won't be able to live without them this summer. Here's what I have picked and why.

What I've Loved This Week: W7 - The Honey Queen Honeycomb Blusher

I've been giving my regular Sunday 'Lippie of the Week' post some thought and I have decided to expand it out and do a general what I've been loving post instead. As much as I love lipsitcks, I thought it would be nice to share my favourite product of the week which could be anything from a blusher to a bath bomb, and hopefully give you some shopping inspiration. I've picked a blusher to share with you this week and I am totally in love with it. Read on to see why I love it so much and why I think you need it.


MUA 5th Birthday Limited Edition Eyeshadow Palette

I have a review of the gorgeous limited edition 5th Birthday Eyeshadow palette from MUA for you today. This is a recent MUA release which is available from Superdrug or the MUA website priced at just £4 and it is stunning! Read on to see what I thought of it and for swatches.

Mini Barry M Beauty Haul

Today I have a quick review for you on some gorgeous Barry M products that I picked up recently. They have a really good offer on in Superdrug at the moment, where you get a free Gelly Nail Paint when you spend over £6 on Barry M, so I thought it would be rude not to make the most of the offer. Here's what I bought with a little review of each item.

My Top 5 Under £5

I've lost my blogging mojo a bit recently, and I've been feeling really uninspired, but when the idea for this post popped into my head I got really excited about it so just had to post it. I know that posts like these aren't very original, but I thought it would give you a chance to see exactly what I'm loving at the minute, and it also shows what amazing budget products are readily available to you right now. So here are my top 5 products under £5.

Lippie of the Week - No7 Moisture Drench 'Soft Cherry'

It soon rolls round to be Sunday again, and that means only one thing...it's time for my next Lippie of the Week. My lips have been really dry and sore this week so I haven't been wearing much up on my lips apart from my trusty PawPaw balm, so this week I have chosen my favourite ever lipstick to share with you. Read on to see why I love it so much.


Beauty Crowd Haul

Firstly, I'd like to quickly apologise for being absent recently, I've started a new job which is quite stressful and I've been far too tired to blog, but I'm back and I'm going to make an effort to start posting regularly again. So I decided that I needed to try some make up from new brands, so what better place to go for a little haul than the Beauty Crowd website. If you haven't heard of Beauty Crowd before then you are seriously missing out. They make it so easy to get hold of unique make up that you can't find easily on the high street. 

Here's what I bought and my first impressions of everything.


Lippie of the Week - W7 Lip Paint 'Naughty'

I'm back again this week with my Lippie of the Week. I'm sorry that I didn't post one last week but I was away so didn't get a chance. But the main thing is that I'm back this week, and I have a pretty amazing lippie to share with you. Here is what I picked this week.

Frightfully Spectacular Review*

I was sent some lovely polishes for review from Lolly of Frightfully Spectacular and I couldn't wait to swatch them and show them to my lovely readers. Here are the gorgeous polishes that were sent to me and what I thought of them.


Natural Collection Makeup Review

When I popped into a local Boots on my lunch break one day last week, I came across the Natural Collection stand when I was browsing around. I'll be honest, I normally ignore the Natural Collection stand because I get drawn in by other more exciting brands, but the Boots by my work is tiny so I was limited on choice. I'm really glad that I stopped to take a look and here is what I picked up.

Shopping my Stash Part 3 - Nail Polishes

The final installment of the Shopping my Stash series is finally upon us, and I had the very difficult job of shopping my ever growing nail polish stash. I have around 400 polishes so it was really difficult for me to pick 5 out, but I'm really happy with what I chose.

Here is what I have picked and why.

Primark PS Love Beauty Haul & Review

Me and the lovely Kat over at +All Hail The Nails decided that it would be good fun if we both took £5 into Primark to see what make up we could get for our money. Everything is price for around £1-£3 each so I knew that I would be able to get a few bits for my money, and here is what I managed to find.

Lippie of the Week - Rimmel Colour Rush Balm 'Viva Violet'

For my Lippie of the Week this week I decided to mix it up a bit and choose a lip crayon instead of a normal lipstick. I love lip crayons, they're so easy to use and I find them more moisturising than normal lipsticks so I have quite a few in my collection. Here is what I picked this week and why I love it so much.


Shopping my Stash Part 2 - Make Up

In a bid to use more of my unloved products, I decided to do a 'Shop my Stash' mini series, and this week it's the turn of my make up. I shopped my hair and skin care stash in a previous post and you can read that here. I have a lot of unloved and unused make up floating about in my bedroom, so I have rounded up a few products that I am going to make an effort to start using. Here is what I found in my stash.

May's Pink Parcel

After being slightly disappointed with last month's Pink Parcel, I decided to give it a go for one more month to see if it got any better, and I'm glad that I stuck with it. Pink Parcel had commented on my post on Instagram regarding April's box and said that May's box was a good one, and they weren't lying.

Here's what I got this month.

Lippie of the Week - KIKO Smart Lipstick '914 Amaranth'

It's that time of the week again where I have to pick my Lippie of the Week, and this week was a total no brainer for me! I only bought the lipstick that I chose 3 days ago but I love it and HAD to choose it. Here's what I picked and why I love it.

April Beauty Favourites

It soon rolls round, but it's that time of the month again when I round up my favourite beauty products. You can really tell that winter is behind us now as I'm started to opt for the softer lighter shades with my make up, and I'm really loving nudes for spring...but then again, who doesn't love nudes! I haven't bought a massive amount of new make up this month, but what I've have bought, I've totally loved. 

So here are my choices for this month.


April's Stamping Challenge

At the end of last year, I created a Facebook group for everyone in the UK who loves stamping as much as I do. It is a group for people to share manis, ideas and tips, and each week we run a weekly theme for everyone on the group. However; we decided it would make a nice change to have a monthly theme for April instead of the usual weekly themes, so that's how #ukstampersapril was born. The admins decided on 9 prompts between us spread out over the month, and here is how I tackled each prompt with a quick run down of what I used for each mani.


Lippie of the Week - MUA Makeup Academy 'Lilac Belle'

I introduced the 'Lippie of the Week' feature on my blog last week, and as it was a big success, I will be continuing it, so it's time for me to pick again this week. I deliberated this week as there was two I wanted to feature, but as the sun is out today and I'm feeling rather colourful, I went for the brighter of the two.

So here is this week's Lippie of the Week.


Shopping My Stash Part 1 - Hair & Skin Care

As it is getting towards the end of the month, and pay day is still a whole week away, I thought that I would satisfy my need for more beauty products by shopping my existing stash. I have seen this particular activity feature on blogs quite a lot and I always love seeing what unloved products people have lying around, so I thought that I would do the same. I don't know about you, but I seem to gain an awful lot of hair and skin care from either beauty boxes or gift sets, and I always seem to neglect to use them all. I have mounds of shower gels, body lotions and facial moisturisers stacking up in my bathroom that are gathering dust, so it's time to get these used.


Spring Nail Polishes: My Top Picks

I know I'm a little bit late to the party in terms of choosing my top polishes for Spring, but we're technically only a month into Spring so it's all good. I decided to do this post as I've been moving more and more towards the pastel shades recently for my nails, and I'm definitely feeling the brighter colours now that the nights are lighter and the days are warmer. So here are my top 5 nail polishes for Spring.


Lippie of the Week - Essence 'Come Naturally'

I have decided to introduce a new feature on my blog, which is called 'Lippie of the Week'. I'm totally obsessed with all things lips at the moment, anything from lipsticks, to lip lacquers, to lip glosses, so I thought that I would share my obsession with all of you. I will be picking my favourite lip product from the week and doing a short post about it, explaining why I have picked it, and what my overall thoughts of it were. I am aiming to do this post every Sunday so do keep your eye out for it. 

So here is the lippie I have picked this week and why.


Makeup Revolution Vivid Baked Highlighter

I have been wanting to try a new highlighter for a while now as my current MUA one is getting a little bit tired. I'm not as fond of my liquid highlighters as I am of powder ones, so I picked this gorgeous Makeup Revolution Vivid Baked Highlighter up in the current 3 for 2 offer on in Superdug, and here is what I thought of it.


5 Beauty Products For £5

In this current climate, a lot of people are looking to save themselves some money here and there, whether it be on food shopping or beauty products, making your money go that little bit further is so important. As a lot of you may know, I love a good bargain, and I specifically love beauty bargains....especially when they are amazing quality. I have picked out 5 fantastic products that all cost me £1 or less, and hopefully this will make you see just how far you can make a fiver stretch.




April's Pink Parcel

Last month I started my subscription to the Pink Parcel, and after March's amazing box, I have been so excited to receive April's. You can find my review of the March box here, and this will give you all of the basic information about the box that you need to know. So here is what I got this month.


March Beauty Favourites

March is now over and we're officially into spring, so that means it's time for my monthly beauty favourites. I'm sorry for the delay with getting this posted, but I've had a pretty manic start to April and it doesn't look like it will be slowing down anytime soon. Argh! I'll still have time to post lots this month though hopefully. 

I found it hard to pick just 5 favourites as I've used so many new products this month and I've loved them all. I've tried to pick out a good range, so hopefully you all like my choices as much as I do.


MUA Luxe Velvet Lip Lacquer

I have been wanting to try the MUA Luxe Velvet Lip Lacquers for quite some time now, and couldn't resist buying one when I popped into Superdrug the other week. I only picked up one as I wanted to test the water before buying more. I chose the shade 'Halcyon' which is a peachy nude shade. Here is what I thought of it.



Dr Organic Dead Sea Mineral Bio-Plasma Mud Mask

Today I have a review of the fab Dr Organic Dead Sea Mineral Bio-Plasma Mud Mask for you. This was kindly given to me by my boyfriend's sister, Lauren, as she knows that I love all things beauty and especially face masks. You can find a link to Lauren's blog here (I would recommend giving it a read if you love beauty and healthy eating). I was intrigued to try the mask straight away as it certainly sounded like a bit of a wonder product. Here is what I thought of it.


MUA Sweet Sheen Lip Balm

I have a lovely post for you tonight about the new Sweet Sheen Lip Balms from MUA Cosmetics. These tinted lip balms were released as part of the new spring collection, and there are 6 shades to collect. I picked up just one shade to try, a lovely bright red called Rogue Rumba.


Geometric Stamping

I thought I would share a quick post with you today on some geometric stamping I did for the weekly theme on the Facebook group, UK Stamping Community. UK Stamping Community was created by me so that all polish and nail art addicts in the UK would have a place where they could share not only their stamping manis, but also tips and advice. If you are based in the UK and love stamping, or would love to get into it, then please do join. *Shameless plug there*. 

Anyway, onto the manicure...


March's Pink Parcel

After last month's disappointing Glossybox, I went on the hunt for a new monthly beauty box, and I stumbled upon Pink Parcel on Twitter. This box is unlike any other I have seen before, and I was really intrigued to give it a try. 

The whole idea of the box is to make your time of the month a little easier and more enjoyable. You have to go through some basic steps when signing up which include giving the date of your next period and choosing the right sanitary product for you. You get the choice of tampons or towels, and you can choose from your favourite brands which include; Tampax, Kotex, Lil-Lets & Always. As well as containing the essentials you need during your period, you also get some gorgeous make up and skin care treats, and some well needed chocolate and a teabag. 


Effiena's Nail Polish Review - Part 2*

The lovely and talented Effiena of Effiena's Nail Polish very kindly sent me 4 more polishes for review last month, and as I loved the last set of polishes that I reviewed, I was more than happy to receive more. You can find my post about the last set of polishes here. This time I was sent 4 polishes from the Chameleon Collection which is a really unique and interesting collection. Here is what I received and what I thought of them.


I will be showing you 4 photographs of each polish to demonstrate how these polishes change over different base coats. I will show you the polish over the natural nail and then over a black base coat. I will also do a comparison and macro shot of each one.

I'll begin by talking about 'Fresh Glow'.

3 coats over the natural nail.
 1 coat over a black base coat.
 Comparison of the two.
Macro shot.

This polish suits it's name perfectly as it really is such a lovely fresh colour. It looks really pretty over the natural nail, giving a nice subtle colouring which would be great as a base to some nail art. You can really see all the colours come out when it is shown over the black base, and it looks so rich and vibrant. 

Next is 'Periwinkle'. 

 3 coats over the natural nail.
 1 coat over a black base coat.
 Comparison of the two.
Macro shot.

This is the one that I was most worried about swatching as it is so light in the bottle, and I had no idea how to show if off properly. As you can see, it isn't ideal as a stand alone polish as there is visible nail line, and the colour doesn't really pop. However; if you are looking for a really shimmery almost natural colour, then this would be perfect for you. 

What Periwinkle lacks as a stand alone polish, it makes up for in leaps and bounds when it is over a black base. This is hands down my favourite of the 4 as the colour is just pure perfection. It is super shiny and the colour transition between the blue and purple is fantastic. I wore this on my nails for around 3 days and could not stop staring at it.

Next up is 'Plum Ultra Marine'.


 3 coats over the natural nail.
 1 coat over a black base coat.
 Comparison of the two.
Macro shot.

Plum Ultra Marine is a great all rounder as it looks lovely over the natural nail, and looks just as nice over the black base. I really love the green shimmer you can see coming through on the swatch of the polish over the natural nails, it makes for a really pretty effect. The colour transition in this is really interesting as it initially looks almost pure green, but when you take a look at the macro shot, you can really see those pretty purple tones coming through.

Finally we have 'Rich Tan'.

 3 coats over the natural nail.
 1 coat over a black base coat.
 Comparison shot of the two.
Macro shot.

Like the others, Plum Ultra Marine really comes to life over the black base coat and you can really see those beautiful tones coming through. I would say, like Periwinkle, this is probably a little bit too sheer to wear on its own unless you are looking for a really subtle polish, but you can see the purple tones coming through which is nice. This transitions from a gorgeous bronze into a really pretty purple effortlessly, and like the others, it's really sparkly which is always a winner.

 Comparison collage.
Macro collage.

In terms of application, I can't fault any of these polishes at all. Effiena has just released a new bottle shape which these 4 came in, and they have a lovely flat brush which makes application a doddle. They also dry really quickly and last really well.

All of these polishes are £5 each from Effiena's Etsy shop which you can find here.

You can also find Effiena on the following social media pages: FacebookTwitter & Instagram.

Are you a fan on Indie Polishes? Which of these 4 is your favourite? Let me know in the comments.

Sam x

*These products have been sent to me for review*

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