Gym Makeup Look

Whether you love or loath the gym, the gym is the place to get fit!  I would of never thought of myself as a gym bunny... ever!  If I'd said to myself 18 months ago that I'd be going to the gym for at least 1 hour 30 minutes a week... four times a week and that I'd have a personal trainer... I would of rolled over and laughed in your face and said whatever!

Oh how ones life has changed.

I personally am more than happy to step into the gym practically bare faced... I will never put on a full face.  I see no point, that's not the reason I attend a gym.  However there are some ladies out there who like to go the distance and wear a face like they are going out clubbing.  Seriously why!?

This post and accompanying video is all about what makeup to wear at the gym, if you wish to wear some.

So if I'm attending the gym on a weekend I like to wear a light face product, generally a BB Cream or tinted moisturiser. Botanics BB Cream in Light is the perfect product as it's good for you (Radiant Youth!) and it covers well... but it doesn't clog pores. Winner!

Now, I personally would be happy with just a BB Cream but to make it long lasting and for an extra bit of coverage I've added Rimmel Stay Matte Powder in Mohair to my face.  A light dusting is all.

For a wash of colour to the lids, a cream based shadow is perfect. The Clinique Quick Eyes Cream Shadow in Starlit Pink, which is discontinued... sob sob! is perfect.  It gives a nice sheer wash of colour to the lids.

Now no one enjoys looking like a cute furry panda, so I highly recommend a waterproof mascara to avoid that situation. The Maybelline Waterproof Illegal Lengths Mascara is my choice for the job!  This doesn't budge.

Now to finish off, just use your favourite lip balm and I'm opting for Fresh Lip Treatment in Sugar.   It tastes yummy is excellent treatment for lips which need some TLC!

So that's everything I used.  You could use these items for every day minimal makeup if you wish, not just the gym.  The video below is a short demo of the application and a general chit chat from yours truly!

That's it folks!  Enjoy and have a fantastic day and remember the gym never killed anyone... it's a good place!

Angela xox

Sephora | My Favourite Jeans

I've been on the hunt for the perfect blue polish and I think Sephora have hit the nail on the head with this hue.  My Favourite Jeans has that indigo blue jeans look about it and is exactly what I've been looking for.

Favourite Jeans

At only about €4.50 I love these dainty bottles from Sephora. I only wish the UK had Sephora's :-(  Perhaps one day!  To achieve this look I applied 2-3 coats and it lasts a good few days.  And the shine of this polish is great before I even added the top coat!

If you want to see what else I picked up in France when I was there, click here.

Angela xox

How do you clean yours?

For me there is nothing more frustrating than cleaning makeup brushes. It is one of those tasks I dread and can put off.  However you shouldn't skip cleaning your makeup brushes ... Can you imagine Monet painting the Waterlillies with dirty brushes??? I think not!

Makeup brushes and tools are the key to perfect, flawless makeup.  If they are dirty, well who knows what grime and yucky stuff you are applying to your face.  Also, you dip you brushes into your eyeshadow for example... Your just spreading the germs around. It's not good.

I have found that once I started to take care of my brushes, my brushes then took care of me by not making me break out with blemishes. So my advice is clean clean clean!

I like to clean my brushes at least once a week using Johnson's Baby Shampoo.  Obviously this is super gentle for washing baby hair, so this is perfect for taking good care of your tools.

I have made a little video of how I like to clean mine, pretty simple all you need is a dirty brush, water and Johnson's. Once you start cleaning you won't stop!

How do you clean yours?

Angela xox

Cath Kidston Haul

So I’m supposed to be saving the pennies for my little US road trip in April (yay it’s finally booked!)  However I recently went to Covent Garden on a little adventure and waltzed into Cath Kidston.  I wanted to shop in there to pick myself up a new ID/train ticket holder and a new luggage tag for my case.  But me being me purchased some a little extra.

So as I was oooooing and ahhhhing at the fancy pretty things Cath Kidston had to offer, I headed to their sale section and like a giant foam finger pointing down from the sky I found this makeup bag... on sale from £16 to £10!

Punches fist into the sky!!

Anna from Vivianna Does Makeup first showed this (or one like it) last year in one of her travel makeup videos and I had lusted after it ever since.  But I couldn’t justify spending £16 on a makeup bag.  So when I saw the makeup bag on sale, I latched on to it like the last remaining life vest on a sinking ship.

I’m glad I held out and didn’t get straight away.  There is always a sale lurking around the corner... be patient and hold out.  You never know what you’re going to get.  You can buy your very own Cath Kidston goodies here.

Have you bought any yummy sale items at all?

Angela xox

Superdrug Vitamin E Hot Cloth Cleanser

When ever I see a new hot cloth cleanser hit the beauty stands I always say to myself 'I wonder if it's as good as my Liz Earle?'

Hands down my cleanser from Liz Earle is my ultimate favourite, but I like to try new things.  So I thought I'd give this cheaper version from Superdrug a whirl.

At £4.99 this cleanser is peanuts compared to Liz and other brands. I was skeptical about trying it at first as I didn't believe anything could live up to my beloved Liz.  Sadly I was correct with my gut feeling. Let me explain...

Even though this is a nice product and the bonus is it comes with its own muslin cloth (a good quality one too I might add), I feel like I need to cleanser more than once to remove all the dirt and grime from the day.

LE removes everything in one sweep but with this I've sometimes had to apply and reapply three times... which is quite a hand full. Even after that I don't feel like I'm completely cleansed. The small print says this provides a gentle exfoliation to the skin, but I do not think so personally. The only exfoliation you get is from the muslin cloth when you remove the product from the face.

Resembling LE in consistency, the white cream to me smells more like a moisturiser than a cleanser. It is a little off putting. You are also advised not to use this around the eyes, I have done and it has been fine.  But I find this struggles to remove mascara and eye liner, even if it isn't waterproof.

I'd personally recommend this to someone who likes to wear light makeup, like a powder and minimal eye makeup. But if you are someone like me who likes three coats of mascara, eye liner and a long lasting foundation... you may struggle to remove it from your face with this product.  I would however recommend this for morning cleansing, where you've worn no makeup... so it is cleaning a 'clean' face.

So on that note once this has finished, I wouldn't repurchase :-( *sigh*  Can you recommend any nice cleansers that do the job well?

Angela xox

Taaj and I.

Heeeeey you guuuuuys! Who doesn't loves the Goonies!! 

So yes I know I have been a little absent on the blogging front.  I went through and am still going through a loss of blogging ‘mojo’.  Every blogger gets it now and again and it can strike at any time just like flu.  I’ve mostly been concentrating on life and living it.  Reviewing a mascara and a lipstick just wasn’t on my list of must do’s.  Hitting the gym and eating pancakes has been on my to do list...  even though they kind of cancel one another out!!  However the Breakfast Club pancakes sure were yummy! See my Instagram for a picture :-)

So enough of me, I’m back with a mini review of the Taaj Ayurveda Mains Delhicates Hand Cream.  I got this recently in my January Birchbox.  I’m not usually a fan of receiving hand creams as I find them quite a personal thing.  That may sound strange to say that about a hand cream but its a cream/lotion which you apply to your hands.  People have a personal preference of what they may like.... however the Taaj has not disappointed.

A light cream which is quickly absorbed into the skin without leaving a yucky residue on the hands.  The scent is light and fresh with a hint of a natural smell, almost like the sea but without smelling salty (in my opinion anyway).  This is also good for your nails and cuticles... a excellent all round product.

Containing ingredients like shea butter, wheat germ oil, cinnamon, aloe vera and sweet almond oil this certainly adds that well needed moisture to your hands.  For those of you who are animal testing conscious, you'll be pleased to know that this is not tested. Plus it doesn't contains parabens either. Yay!

This is my first experience with the brand Taaj and I give them a high five for their creation.  You can pickup your very own tube of Taaj from here and a mere cost of £10.

Angela xox

H&M Jewellery Haul

I do love a bit of bling... so I recently hauled these beauties.  I really like a good statement piece of jewellery and the necklaces below are big hello look at me statement pieces.

Whilst I picked these up, I also picked up so clothes and shoes which you can see here and here.

All from H&M

All of these came to a shocking £25 ish, which I think a big thumbs up.  For me these are timeless pieces which will never look old. I really H&M for their jewellery items... there is always something I could buy there.

Where do you like to buy your statement jewellery pieces from?

Angela xox

Twistband Beauty Bound

Twistband's are new hair tie phenomena slowly taking over the beauty world.  The product first hit the beauty scene in the US and it is slowly making its way to us Brits.

The unique selling point aka the difference compared to any other hair ties is that the Twistband's do not leave bumps or dents in the hair after you have finished using it.  The Twistband is simply a piece of elastic tied together to form a simple look hair tie. The band is basically made from the same elastic you'd find in your Granny's sewing box.

The simple Twistband

Unfortunately for me these are not a necessity... they are good but I'll explain my reasons for them being slightly impractical. First they are stretchy... well duh! Of course they are. They are too elasticated for my personally taste as for the second reason you see why they are a fail.  

I have thick heavy hair.  When I use these my thick hair stretches the elastic to the point my ponytail or bun is not as secure as I'd like.  If you have light to medium thickness hair then I can see this working for you.  However if like me you have an overwhelming amount of mane then this might not work as good for you.

The Twistband by Beautybound are available from Birchbox in an assortment of colours and come in packs of six or tweleve. Prices range between £10 to £15.

Do you think these will be a hit or miss?

Angela xox

Favourite Makeup Brushes

So I thought I'd dazzle you with a new video telling you all about my favourite makeup brushes.  I had so many to talk about I thought a video would do nicely.

I hope you like!  If you want to follow my YouTube channel you can subscribe to me right here

I hope you've had a great weekend so far!

Angela xox