Overrated beauty products #1

I'm sure we have all been guilty of rushing out to buy the latest hyped product in the beauty world. Some more than others.

I'm a sucker. Sucker for the hype. Sucker for the advertising. Sucker for the promise. Advertiser's dream that is me. If this is you too then you are sure to have suffered that disappoint when your skin wasn't miraculously flawless and you didn't look like Kate Moss despite trying to emulate the 'London look' with Rimmel.  Oh well it happens to the best of us.....

Here are my top 6 expensive beauty disappointments of late. I daren't add up how much I paid to experience disappointment.

Rimmel Apocalips- Big Bang

Sucked in by: Blogger hype

These were everywhere on the internet. I think Viviannadoesmakeup may have spurred on this purchase with her beautiful photograph of her wearing this. This isn't sticky but the lack of stickiness has pitfalls, especially with long hair. My hair would constantly attach to this and spread this formula across my face like strawberry jam. Not a good look at all.

Clairns Instant Smooth Self Tanning

Sucked in by: Blogger hype

This broke me out. I didn't want to believe it but from my experiments this is definitely the culprit. Sensitive skin beware. This also doesn't smell pleasant, as with most fake tans and no attempt to disguise the smell has been made.

Maybelline FIT Me foundation

Sucked in by: Desperation

I was feeling desperately pale and was looking for a drugstore foundation to tide me over until I got to picking a new high end foundation. The FIT Me range is designed to offer a shade for everyone however in my opinion the shades all tilt towards pink and orange undertones when i need a yellow undertone. Shade issues aside I  picked up the closest match and gave it a go. I had read a review where somebody had described it as quite matte and therefore I was excited to try this. Matte it is not. This stuff will not set. I expect to use a small amount of powder with a foundation but this was beyond help.  If I touched my face hours later I could actually wipe this stuff off. Horrid.

Benefit They're Real Mascara

Sucked in by: Blogger hype

I saw some amazing before and after photos of this but it didn't quite have the same effect on me. I have straight elephant lashes and this did not hold a curl plus it is a pain to remove. The last thing I want at night is to me fighting with my mascara. May work for some but not for me.

Laura Mercier Foundation primer

Sucked in by: Cult status

I don't hate this product, I just don't think it is worth the money. This does create a nice base for makeup and makes it slightly easier to apply however it doesn't significantly increase longevity in my opinion, or keep my skin matte. I think the hype may have stemmed from when there were less primers on the market and they were relatively innovative. I will use this up but the Hourglass primer is a far superior option in my opinion, if you are looking for a high end primer nowadays.

Giorgio Armani Maestro Foundation

Sucked in by: Innovation

I should learn that innovative doesn't been better. Reinventing the wheel comes to mind. Meg has done a wonderful job of explaining how it works so i won't try to recreate it. This does feel weightless on the skin but in my experience leaves me with a face that is as flat as pancake and clings to any dry patches I have. Glowing this is not. At £38 this is one expensive disappointment.


Have you taken a dislike to any of the above? What do you think are the most overrated beauty products out there?

HOME: Rob Ryan- Please Smell Us Vase

When Not the Usual asked me if I would like to feature one of their products off of their lovely website I jumped at the chance. I had bought the amazing Nice to see you To See you Nice door mat from them previously and had featured it on my home post here. Since then we have moved into a two up two down house a stones throw from work and dangerously late lie-ins have commenced.

The product I chose is from the range by the most famous paper cut artist, Rob Ryan, who I was already a big fan of. Rob Ryan has fantastically intricate designs with a magical feel, now if only he could design my wedding invitations! Definitely a range to check out or drop hints about for Valentine's Day.

This vase is beautiful and everyone who has been round this weekend has complemented it! The design is fun whilst being grown up, a difficult balance in my opinion, making a lovely addition to my dining room table and guaranteed to raise a smile. My gripe with some stylish vases is that they are actually very odd shapes and therefore it requires oasis and a lot of hard work to make your flowers look nice, my Seletti Trophy Vase is the case in point. This however is a functional vase with a nice wide shape and is ready to drop your bouquet into, I'm a lazy one more often than not! At £34.99 this isn't your usual Homebase vase but it would make a beautiful gift, with flowers or without! I know I would have been overjoyed to have received this.

I've actually booked on to a papercut class in March which I'm really excited about, I'm not expecting to become Rob Ryan over night but I'm hoping i can produce something half decent to adorn my walls. Have any of you tried papercut?

Rob Ryan, papercut or just a general vase fan?

Elle x

DIY #1: Gold Animals

I'm fully aware that all that glitters is not gold however I do like a bit of gold. Slight tacky I know but it brought some cheer to my snowed in Sunday. I had asked my mum to keep an eye out for me for some plastic animals after I saw some of these on Pinterest. She did have a whole bag of my old ones but for some nostalgic reason I was reluctant to get spraying. For this DIY all you need is a plastic animal and some gold spray paint. Cover the table and away you go. I want to create a zoo of these gold animals for my bell jar but I'm worried the fiancé will think I'm slightly mad.....

Tacktastic or tempted to give it ago?

Elle x

Essential Waitrose: Cinnamon Cakes Body Wash

I love nothing more than a mooch around Waitrose; empty aisles and mini avocados being the ultimate selling points.  My most recent discovery however has been the toiletry aisle. In this aisle you can find a very nice of budget beauty products in the form of essential Waitrose. Before you click the cross in the corner this isn't your standard 'value' range featuring 30p shampoo and the like, this is a bit more special!

The winning scent by far is Cinnamon Cakes. A rich and creamy cinnamon scent that is perfect for these chilly winter mornings and keeping a little bit of the festive spirit alive! There is bubble bath and hand wash in each of the scent ranges and I can't wait to get my hands on the matching hand wash. Next on my try list is the ginger and clementine, I'm being good and saving it until I've finished the cinanamon cakes but it smells divine!

Admittedly these are not going to win any awards for the ingredients list however neither would some of the more expensive shower gel ranges sucy as Philosophy. These however don't irritate my skin at all and I have quite sensitive skin.

At just over £1 I think these are an absolute bargain buy and a great cheap treat in January when we are all watching the pounds, both monetary and weight related!

Elle x

Vintage Style Luxury Gift Wrapping Ideas: Odd shapped presents

  

An odd shaped present can soon become a wrapping nightmare. Normally i'm left with two options, some dodgy wrapping or putting it in a gift box. I've picked up some beautiful knitted nativity sets for Christmas so i knew a wrapping plan had to come into action! Inspired by the dodgy santa sacks and the Ghost of Christmas Past i found myself some housewife pillowcases and adorned them with some thrifted finds. Pretty and practical, what is there not to love?

Elle x

Vintage Style Gift Wrapping Ideas- Part 1

We all spend so long picking out that perfect gift and then what? In my opinion the wrapping should live up to the gift inside. Everybody loves the outer casing of  a Tom Ford lipstick as much as what is in side! Gift wrapping is most definitely one of my favourite parts of Christmas. I love getting out all my bits and pieces, making a total mess and creating something that sits beautifully under the Christmas tree. Above are the two presents which i have wrapped so far this year on the cold miserable nights that seem to have made an appearance all too early!

I've picked up a lot of fabric remnants, old baubles and buttons, music books and stamps from charity shops, recycling and donating at the same time. What is there not to love? I hate shop bought Christmas wrapping and this actually works out cheaper plus you end up with a totally unique present. People are guaranteed to coo!

If you want to get crafty this Christmas the things that i would recommend to buy as a first point of call are as follows: 

Paper Doilies (link to seller i use)

Luggage labels

Natural Raffia

Brown Parcel Paper 

Cinnamon Sticks

Old books from a charity shop (slightly aged is better)

Get looking in the sewing box as well, i stole the buttons off of my mum plus the lace. Parents seem to have unlimited stashes of 'stuff''. 

I'm thinking of doing a Christmas crafting series on my blog so let me know if you would be interested or if you would be interested in a tutorial for the rosettes! 

Elle x

New York in Photos

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

5 days in New York was not enough to satisfy all my curiosities despite this being my second visit. 5 years and i still don't think i would be finished. This time was extra special as i got in the engaged, i don't think he could of picked a city more perfect. It really is the city that doesn't sleep and always eats which is fine by me. If you haven't been you must go at least once. Go on, i know you want to..........