B is for Benefit

Sorry for the lack of posts everyone. The hours in the day seem to fly by in the last couple of days and I am exhausted. It probably isn’t helping with England’s semi heat wave. Anyways I hope you’re all good. I can’t believe its Friday already.

Rightyo, on to the blog post.  This is about an unexpected haul...honestly. This is totally true, I didn’t go out with the intention of getting products, it just happened – hand on heart....please please believe me. (anyways technically I didn’t buy this haul, my hubby2b did) just don’t want yous thinking I’m obsessed with buying things.

Story goes like this ...on Saturday lunchtime I was hanging around in my local Boots waiting for my appointment with Boots opticians. I was cruising the makeup aisles with my hubby2b slowly walking behind bored out of his mind. Then suddenly this pretty young thing called Elisha pounced on me. My first thought was “are we in trouble for hanging around?? Uh oh what have we done”. Then I noticed what she was wearing.....black apron, baby pink top and a name tag with Benefit written on it. Ooooooo!!!

Elisha said that the Benefit counter in store was taking make over bookings and was I interested? I said yes and said that I was free now if she wanted to do a makeover. After getting the OK from my bored hubby2b, we headed on over and I took my seat.

I’ve never been a massive Benefit fan. I’m not saying I hate it, I do like certain products like Powder Flarge, Hoola, 10, Coralista, their lip sticks in good to go, jing a ling and make nice. I also used to love Her Glossiness VIP Lip Glosses before they were discontinued. *sad face* , I’d be more of a fan if their products cost less £££££’s!

Elisha asked me what I'd like to concentrate on and I said my complexion. She made up my whole face (except for eyes) and i have to say i was really pleased.  Especially since one of the products was something I'd hated before.  After wards she asked if there was anything I wanted to buy from what she used one me.  And this is what I got...well my lovely hubby2b got me :- ) Yay.

Dr Feel Good, Ultra Shines Gloss, Sugarbomb & Some kind-a Gorgeous

Now the Foundation 'Some Kind-a Goregous' was the product I hated before.  I'd previously tried it about 5 years ago, used it for a while then threw away as it had no staying power.  But I have a renewed faith after Elisha said this product works better when a primer is used.  She used Benefits 'That Gal' on me.  But I didn't buy it as I have a primer from Primark for about £2.50 that looks exactly the same, so I thought I'd give that a whirl instead.  This is one that suits all and it blends with your own colouring.  There is another one for darker skin, but I think this fair one maybe too dark if you are extremely fair skinned.  It comes in this cute compact with mirror and sponge.  Very throw in your hand bag friendly. Bonus about this for me is it's oil free!! :-)

Comes with a sponge...ooooooo!

Now on to the lips; I was actually quite upset when the Her Glossiness VIP Lip Glosses were discontinued.  They were lovely non-sticky glosses that really good staying power.  There were limited colours but i loved them no matter the lack in colours.  Fortunately Benefit came back with new glosses and these Ultra Shines.  I'm usually a pink girl but this corally colour is beautiful.  It looks like a shocking orange at first but it soon calms down.  Would I buy more of these Ultra Shines. Yup.  They stay on your lips for a look while and they are not sticky.  Plus they are ultra shiny. Haha! I picked the colour Spiked Punch.

Spiked punch swatch

I'd hmmmmed and ahhhhed when Sugarbomb was first launched this year.  I'd heard that this could be easily duped using other blushers.  I did wonder how all these colours would work together, but I have to say they do. Brush this all over your face with a large brush or kabuki brush ( not the one Benefit provides, that's far too small and square) and you'll get an amazing summer glow.  I've always found that these little boxes of blush/face powder by Benefit last a life time.  I've had 10, Hoola for years and not even hit pan.

Get that summer glow with Sugarbomb 

I actually quite shocked with the Dr Feelgood product.  For years I had 'assumed' this was a lip product. Because of the Lipscription.  It looks very similar, so I put 2 and 2 together and got it all wrong.

 

But this little gem in a tin is so fab, I can't believe I have lived life without it for so long.....!  The tin contains a small sponge and this solid creamy complexion balm that is very good if you are prone to and oil break out.  Literally dab the sponge in and pat on your head and you have this velvety feeling and no more oily feeling. This product is also is meant to get rid of fine lines according to Benefits website.  Anything helps!

Doctor, Doctor.....

I've been using these products now for nearly a week and love them all.They are completely worth the price and I'd 99% purchase them again!!!

So I hope you liked this post. Leave any feed back with your thoughts :-) like to know if I need to improve anything etc. Oh one more thing, I’m think of a blog makeover. What do you think?

~ Angela xoxo

And on to world domination!!!!!

Hello my little blogger friends – howz your doin’? I expect the week so far is treating you good? 

It is officially, I’m taking over the world!!!! Firstly I have this little blog (it can only get bigger, not smaller I hope) and secondly I have just posted my very, VERY FIRST You Tube video. Yippee!!!


Oh yes world domination here I come!!!! Bring it on!!  My user name is http://www.youtube.com/user/jollybeachang.  I did a video response to a tag, Blair (aka juicystar07 / otherjuicystar07) posted on her YT channel.  And you know I thought, Why not respond :- )

The editing took me hours and I had the first 2 videos blocked for being too long.  So after even more editing, it has uploaded successfully.  I'm pleased with the final outcome.  So if you wish to see my video through You Tube, please click here!!!! 

Other news, I am now an Ambassador! Not a UN Ambassador obviously, but an EYEKO ambassador. Lets all say Yippee again!!!

As I’ve made my way around numerous blogs I’ve kept noticing this little thingy-me-giggy...

www.eyeko.com

This very cool thing.  It lets people earn revenue from other people entering their  EYEKO Code when they make a purchase.  Cool huh?  So my code is E10322.  If you make a purchase from the site, I get a little comission.  Good times.  Anyone can sign up for this, definiately worth it I say :-)  I have made a small purchase from the website.  So I am counting the days until it arrives.

On a final note which has nothing to do with this post... looky what arrived for me today : - )

Christmas came early (2 out of 3 parcels)

Whats in them....ahhhh!!! Until tomorrow folks....keeping you on your toes.

Good night xoxo

~ Angela xoxo

Go on I DARE you!!!

Hey everyone, I just wanted to share with you little find I discovered in Superdrug’s DARE magazine. (DARE is a free teeny weenie magazine that anyone can pick up in Superdrug)

I picked this up this copy the other day....

July/August copy (pictured with Ms Hilton on the front cover)

A few pages in it shows this cool offer by Collection 2000.

“be fresh and flawless this summer with naturally radiant foundation”

This offer entitles you to £1 off a £3.99 Naturally Radiant Foundation.  Now that’s a good offer

This is a super cheap foundation anyways, but to give you a £1 off is in incredible.  I purchased this foundation a while back for £3.99 and I have to say I love it and use it daily.  I think I might review it, it is THAT good.  Their comment “fresh and flawless” is completely true from my personal experience.  I couldn’t recommend this foundation enough!!!!!

So I DARE you to try to get your hands on this voucher !!!!

The voucher doesn’t expire until 30.08.10 so there is plenty of time.  FYI: Collection 2000 offer (UK only... me thinks Voucher doesn't say).  And also this is in store only, no online purchases.


:- (


Will you be buying this?


~ Angela  xoxo

As promised

Hey every one, so as promised i’m reporting back after my Bobbi Brown session tonight. And you know what, I was thoroughly impressed.
The time taken by Stephanie; her advice, her skills, her personality – first class!! Thumbs up!! I really enjoyed being her blank canvas and she even admitted when we were finished, that she really enjoyed working with me. Two happy people.

So want to see the finished look Stephanie created (plus a little help from yours truly)

Sorry for the poor lighting, it was pretty dark. Admittedly you can't really see the look

In the flesh, I describe this look as perfecto! You can see makeup in the photos but it’s not OTT – kind of natural English rose-ish.

After discussion with Stephanie, we opted for warm tones which look better on me. Warm eyes, warm blush, warm lips : -)  We used Ivory eyeshadow all over the lid and then a warm matte Taupe eyeshadow.  She also used a shadow Birch on my brows.  Lined my eyes with gel liner Espresso Ink then added mascara.  She added just a little blusher and finished off with liner and lipstick.

I purchased some of the products Stephanie used on me, i know i have some duplicates lurking around my vanity somewhere. But here i the things i did buy.

Lip stick Sandwash Tulle (54) pale neutral pink- £15.50
Lip Balm SPF 15 - £13.50
Blush Desert Rose (15) Muted pinky brown - £16.50
Lip liner Ballet pink (29) pale neutral pink - £14.00
Natural Finish Long Lasting Foundation SPF 15 Warm sands 2.5 - £28.00

sorry for dodgy face...lol

So what do you think?  Is this very bridal you think?

My second session with Stephanie is August 5th......can't wait.  Have you booked or had a makeup session with anyone recently???

Night bloggers,

~ Angela xoxo

I have a date.....

I thought I’d do a small post just to let you know I’m off to get myself beautified at House of Fraser by a Bobbi Brown Consultant after work tonight. I booked this appointment a few weeks ago whilst looking for wedding makeup ‘ideas’. I had been to the MAC counter and had a makeup session with them previously. But I wanted to try something new and I’ve never tried Bobbi Brown before. So I thought lets do it!!!!

The Bobbi Brown stand at HoF City is usually overflowing with people having looks done and you never get a chance to get to talk to any consultants. I always thought this was rude that no was there to help, but it just goes to show how popular their counter is. So when one was free the other week when I was in store and said...”you can always book for a bridal make over” my instant reaction was “oh yes please”. : - )

It is an excellent deal. It costs £30 (payable on the day), and you get two sessions. Not just one. You get two sessions an hour each. And to make it even better, the £30 fee is redeemable against any purchase you make. Niceeee!

So tonight 5.45pm I have a date with Stephanie and her Bobbi Brown wisdom. I cannot wait!!

Pictures to come on a later post tonight. And if I pick anything up I’ll let you know what I get.

Oh P.S. You don’t just have to be a bride-to-be to have a beauty lesson. They do lots of other lessons. Just ask at your local counter or look online at Bobbi Brown’s website.

Lots of blogging love,

~ Angela xoxo

I need a pick me up....

Boy, I am so thankful that Monday is finally over,  I had the journey from hell yesterday morning on the underground. And  I ended up having to get the river boat to work, travelling in style...  after all that ...I got into work 1hr 15 minutes late.  Bad huh???  To top it off after that I had a banging head ache all day after that.  Great...I love being me!

So on the way home I popped into MAC thinking I completely and definitely required so what of a cheer up.  Only fair I think.  I only purchased one thing.

 

Hue Glaze Lipstick

I am currently going through a nude phase as I did think about getting Crème de Nude, but wasn’t too sure.  I also looked at the new collection and it’s Stereo Rose Mineral blush.  Sadly Stereo Rose was all sold out. Bad times.

Want to see a dodgy lip swatch??? Pucker up Angela

 I’m liking the colour, cross between a nude, coral, light pink I think.  I might be wrong!!  Consistence is strange but nice.  I’ve never had a ‘Glaze’ lipstick before. I’m usually a Lustre kind-a-girl.

Have you ever tried this lipstick?  Are there any other nude lipstick worth trying???

~ Angela xoxo

NPOTW no.2 + OPI Gels

Hey everyone!!!!! Yay Spain won the World Cup. I’m so pleased Viva Espana. Whoop whoop!!! Anyways, so yesterday I gave myself a small treat, I had OPI gels done. Yay! It’s a reasonably new thing; it was launched March 2009 (so the lady in the beauty salon told me...)

So here are the before nails. They are pretty nice length for me and I’ve been wanted to preserve for my forth coming wedding (10 weeks left gosh...)

No polish, just plain old nails

So this NPOTW post isn’t a polish as such, more of a gel polish. I decided for a light colour. A baby pink and the lady in the salon gave me two to choose from....and the winner was OPI’s Apriotdites Pink Nightie. The system OPI use is the Axxium gel system service. It takes approximately 45-60 minutes to do. It is described as perfect for busy professionals, special occasions and holidays. - Any occasion really where you need a long lasting nail polish. OPI websites have quoted that it can last up to two weeks! Impressive.

The process for gels was something I hadn’t expected, having never had it done before. I thought you had a clear gel put on your nails then a polish applied over the top. I was surprised when I had a clear overlay gel, then a polish in gel form over the top and then a few more coats of the clear gel.

Want to see the finished look.....do you??? Here you go....

Pretty...?

I had my nails done for £25 which is about the average price in my area.  Some salons they can cost up to £40, so I'd definitely look around for the best prices.  When the 2 weeks is up, just pop back to your salon to get the gels soaked off.

So have you tried any thing like this?

~ Angela xoxo

Happy Monday!!!!

Hey everyone,  Happy Monday!!!! Hope you all had a great weekend...roll on the next one I say :- )

Anyways, I should have posted this on Sunday - but I was detained else where (I was out sun bathing in my garden, can you blame me).  This is a look I did Sunday morning,  nothing too exciting, but thought I’d share it with you all as I like it....

You like...?  It's a kind of natural looking face and nude lips with a gold/bronze lid with dark crease shading.

It's been a while since I've done a look like this, I'm usually a one shade all over the lid kind a girl. 

Products I used are a range of drugstore/high street brands as well as some MAC products....

 Randomly I forgot to use the number 3 in the pic above, don't worry i'm not crazy...yet!

1 Primark Bloominous Liquid Bronzer/illuminator

2 Revlon Photo Ready Foundation (shade 003 Shell)

4Collection 2000 Naturally Radiant Foundation (shade 02 Ivory)

5 Maybelline Stilleto Voluptuous Mascara

6 Benefit Powder flage

7 Revlon Peach Petal lip gloss

8 Dior Nior Trindad Water proof eye liner

9 Mac Feline (Ltd Edition) eye liner

10 NYX Milk Jumbo Eye Pencil 

11 Collection 2000 Lasting perfection concealer (shade 2)

12 Mac Painterly Paint pot

13 Mac Mineralised Skin Finish Natural (light medium)

Mac Mineralised Skin Finish( Perfect Topping Ltd edition)
14

15Top Shop Makeup Neon Rose Cream Blush

.....and for shadows see below 

Yes they look an odd bunch of eyeshadows, but together they look great. Click picture for names.

Close up of the eyes for you to see in more detail...

 Pretty !!!!!

It’s a very simple look to achieve,  what I did was put the MAC Painterly P.P. on the lid up to the brow bone  and blended with my finger.  Then I put Milk NYX J.E.P. on the lid and blended with my finger.  Then all over the lid I placed NYX Peach eye shadow.  Then with a stiff dome brush I took MAC Copperplate and placed this in the outer corner of the lid and lightly brought it into the crease (approx to the centre not all the way across). Then I mixed MAC’s Blanc Type and Grain for brow highlight.  I brought this down lightly into the crease so it blended Copperplate out ever so slightly.  To finish the shadows place a tiny amount of Grain into the inner corner of the eye.  Line the top  lid with MAC’s Feline liner and then rim the top water line with the Dior Water Proof liner.  And then to finish just add mascara.

For the rest of the face I mixed both the Revlon and Collection 2000 foundations and also added Primark Bloomious liquid bronzer. Concealed my dark circles and discolorations.  Applied my cream blush in Neon Rose.  Put the Powder Flage over the concealer.  And dusted a light coating of Mineralise skin finish Natural by MAC all over the face.  Finished of by highlighting with MAC’s Mineralised Skin Finish in Perfect Topping.

Revlon Peach Petal lip gloss.
To finish off apply


Tad da .....

Ready for some goofy pictures....

So what do you think?  Is this look yay or nay?  Would love to know you feed back :- )

~ Ang xoxo

8 Question Tag - Tagged by Tonia

As a follower of Tonia – she tagged everyone to respond to her Friday 2nd July - 8 questions tag. So here I go.

1. How do you imagine yourself in 10 years?
Well in 10 years time I’ll be 36, wowzer. I’ll be married (as I’m getting married September 18th this year); I’ll hopefully have a mini Jollybeach. I’ll probably be doing the same things I am now, as I’m pretty settled in life already. But I’ll always make time for some blogging.

2. Is there something you regret doing/not doing?
I regret not knowing what I wanted to do in life from an early age. I’d love to be a makeup artist/beauty therapist. But when you’re 15 – 16 and just leaving school, do you really know what you want to do for the rest of your life?? I know I didn’t. I just went where ever my life took me. I don’t have any massive regrets though.
3. If there were one thing you could change about yourself, what would it be? And why?
I’d love love love to be taller. I’m only 5 ¾ (I always say I’m 5’1.) I hate being so small. I can never reach anything on the top shelf; I have to stand on a chair. Jeans and trousers are sometimes a nightmare to get, due to leg lengths. I feel like I have a 5’8 body and frame squeezed in a 5’1 person.  It's frustrating!!

4. What is your favourite childhood memory?
Hmmmm, let’s think. My childhood seems so far away now but I thing always sticks out is me, my brother and my Mum waiting for dad to finish his night shifts. My mum would have to pick him up at about 12 at night, but my brother and I were too young to be left at home. So we’d be in our pj’s in the back of the car playing eye spy whilst waiting for my dad. I can remember that like it happened yesterday and I think I must have been about 8 years old.

5. If you could have one super power, what would it be?
Definitely flying, I always as a kid used to dream I could fly. I’d just go and explore any where I could find. I don’t think I’d like to be a mind reader or have x-ray vision. They seem too personal.

6. If you could have only one make up item, what would it be?
I hate this question; there are so many things I could choose. But I’m going to pick ....hmmm. Either bronzer or mascara. You can do a lot with a bronzer, contour, bronze, blush, eye shadow. It is a very useful makeup item. But mascara is probably my final choice. It just makes your eyes look lovely, and if you have clean beautiful skin in the first place, you will not really need any face product. Mascara it is!!!!

7. What's the best thing about being a beauty blogger?
I like being a beauty blogger so I can share my knowledge of things I have tried and tested. Also you get to meet new friends and you can learn from their own experiences...which I think is a good thing.

8. What's your best make up tip?
Don’t overdo it. A little here a little there, as they say less is more. Remember to try and embrace what you have instead of covering it up. You only live once so try and love yourself for who you are.

That’s it everyone. I tag everyone who is a follower!!!! And even the people who are not :- (

Click Tonia’s name if you wish to be taken to her blog All About Beauty.

~Ang xoxo

Bad times....

Have you ever felt completely let down by a product?  Felt like you’ve wasted your cash on something you thought might be good?  Well I did here.

From my Top Shop haul, I purchased this...

The green nail polish in Carry on Camping RRP £5. (Picture shown with 2 coats of polish)

Well people all I can say is, this polish is a no go for me.  Streaky, watery, not a good coverage.  Just not that great in my opinion.  And for £5 I feel slightly robbed, especially when I could have picked up TWO yes TWO Barry M polishes for 90p more.

I felt slightly let down by the colour too.  The polish in the bottle looks like a dirty green, a colour that I’m drawn too.  But this is more of a dark Granny Smith apple green colour.

You can see in the pictures above that after one coat, they look awful...

Would I buy any more from the Top Shop range??  I doubt it, but I don’t want to give every Top Shop Polish the same label of not being that good.  I haven’t tried them all and some might actually be nice.  Who knows.  But for now I’m going to stick to my Collection 2000’s and Barry M polishes.  I may also have a spurge on some OPI polishes on EBAY....hmmmm :- )

Have you yet been let down by a polish or any other product?

~ Ang xoxo