Juicy Jewels Vivid Rose

I've talked at length about sex, positions and consent in past posts - thats grand. But I have yet to do a full on 'female' sex toy review, so here it is. Bare with me a little if you can, this is brand new to me (the blogging about toys that is) and if I'm honest I'm a tad scared. Its all fine and dandy to giggle over a fun pound shop Dealz bargain or a new position, but to go waving a dildo or two around on the internet? Its safe to say I'll never see the gates of heaven as I have been told in a recent email. (Please keep sending them by the way, they brighten my day considerably and make me giggle!) But when I was approached by Secrets Ireland to try out this, I couldn't say no. I'm a big fan of this company, not only because they kindly gave a talk and demo at my blogger meet up, but because they always bend over backways to help if you email or call with questions. Not only about the toys (which I have to say they have a huge knowledge on) but also happy to answer sex questions. Take a look at the blog here too. They do free postage (oh yeah, love a bit of free postage, me!) and they have plain packaging so nothing about what goodies are in your box is known to anyone but yourself. 

First to the name, 'Juicy Jewels vivid rose' By PipeDream Products. I know theres a lot of cringe worthy names slapped on toys out there, but this one really made me facepalm. I've had the same cringing reactions from friends after I've told them what its called, its just that bad. But embarrassing, badly thought out name aside, I'm a fan of the packaging. Theres nothing I like to see more then a nice air tight, totally sealed toy. Its nothing over the top and they have, thank god, spared us the half naked girl, mid orgasm with the help of whatever toy they are trying to sell on the front. Bonus points in my book! 

The instructions on the back tell you that its 'made from super-soft phthalate-free jelly' which is always important in any toy you use, silicone and phthalate free is the way to go, however the 'jelly' is new to me, although it is 100% body safe. Its claims to be waterproof, have multi speed vibrations and is easy to clean. You also need 2AA batteries that are not included - remember the tv remote if your really stuck!

The vibrator itself is a light pink colour that I must admit, I'm a fan of. Its covered in veins and ridges along with a rose petal shaped part near the base for clitoris stimulation. Its easy to bend and move - but not so easy that its structure wont stand straight on its own. What I'm not a fan of is having to screw the bottom in order to turn it on/off and to regulate the speeds. This always causes problems in general with these types of toys. Its sometimes hard to reach, it can turn itself on when its put away (whatever is that buzzing sound coming from your bedside table?!) and then it can just be hard to manage in general. I would always suggest that you totally unscrew these types of toy when storing them, it makes for less potential awkward situations.  

Apart from having to screw the bottom for speeds, the main problem I have with this is that the vibrating part of the the toy is located at the very top, which means that all the vibrations and sensations are being mainly felt there and not anywhere near the rose petal shaped part that helps to stimulate the clit. No matter how I tired (and my god, did I try) I just couldn't get it to work out for me. This could be due to the very possible chance that I'm all about the clit and if it can't stimulate that then Huston we have a problem.  If the vibrating part of the toy was located nearer to the bottom I think this might have been a very positive post, however I can understand that the space is being occupied by the batteries. Now saying that, there are a wide range of different vibrating strengths which I was very impressed with. The one negative thing though is the noise, honestly you would not want to have thin walls when using this thing. I'm a massive fan of quiet toys and unfortunately not every product will have that bonus. 

On a much more positive note, this was my first time trying out a jelly toy and I really enjoyed something a little different from the hard plastics (bold I know) and silicones of most products out there. It was extremely easy to clean and heavy enough to threaten a good smack with - you'll eat all your veg and take out the bin now, wont you!

Overall I didn't like this vibrator personally. As with any screwing functioning toys, they are hard to work and annoying and I feel the placement of the vibrating part could be rethought,  but thats not to say others will agree with me. I know I'm slightly bias (or at least my clit is) but I also do like how easy it was to clean and the novelty of a jelly toy. For €36 I don't think its going to break the bank and if you don't like the sound of this particular vibrator then I would suggest you still try out a jelly toy, they are totally different from other things out there! Have a goo at them here.

*I did not pay for this item, it was a PR gift.  Please see my disclaimer here. 

My Top 3 Body Scrubs

I liked doing the top 3 sea salts sprays post so much that I thought I may as well do another top 3! This time it comes in the form of body scrubs, something that I have taken to using along side moisturisers as if its a religion. There really is no better feeling then having freshly scrubbed squeaky-clean skin straight out of the shower! And then a quick little shhlap on of the moisturiser and bam! Its gona' be one hell of a good day. I'll admit, it was really hard picking these and I could have easily listed about 8 more. Decisions can be hard when it comes to products sometimes! (First worlds problems, am I right?).

Starting with the cheapest and working my way up, I give you the most zingy out of the lot! Anatomicals 'don't just clean it woman, scrub it' body scrub - quite the mouth full! I've talked about this little beauty before but I really think it is one of the best affordable scrubs out there and I am in love with all this ranges packaging, its so funny and eye catching. Its got the kick you need in the morning not only to leave you soft but wide awake with its pink grapefruit scent too. It has a gel like consistency with little scrubby bits mixed in to give you the best of both worlds. This is easy to apply and because its a gel it slides over your skin easily and you don't need loads to achieve a well scrubbed bod. This is defiantly an all time favourite and I have repurched it since I've just finished this one. You can get your 200ml bottle from Cloud10beauty for €4. Not too shabby.

I genuinely had such trouble picking which Soap&Glory scrub I wanted to talk about in this post. I really am a massive fan of this range and one of my all time favourites is the Scrub em' and leave em' that I did a post on way back in the day over here. But in recent times I've been making my way through Breakfast Scrub which is a lovely shea butter sugar scrub that you could almost eat. I love the gorgeous sweet smell and how you can really work it well into the skin without half of it falling or not sticking onto your skin so you can rub it in. Its scrubby and good at getting you softy soft, but it always has the added benefit that its not harsh on your skin as the beads aren't course and the shea butter makes you that extra bit silky too. Another little thing that I love about this scrub is the tub it comes in. Yes, all S&G products are beautifully packaged and my heart flutters every time I see the famous pink shades passing my vision, but this is perfect for holding in the palm of your hand. I know it sounds silly now, but just you try holding a big awkwardly shaped jar of scrub when your all wet and things are easily slipping through your hands! This yoke is a keeper, but a little dear at €13.25. However theres one of those dangerous 3for2 offers on in Boots at the moment so... Get your hat and knickers!

And last but by no means the least, the *Sugarbutter body scrub spa body essentials. I got this as part of a set from the lovely Oceana Spa Beauty. I will be doing a full review on the entire set but I couldn't not talk about this scrub right now, its just too nice. This scrub is indeed sugar, but its also creamy and once you rub some over your skin and it mixes with water it goes a little further then the other scrubs. I honestly feel that it should be marketed as a moisturiser as well as a scrub, its so soft and lovely on the skin. It does mention on the back that its a body butter and scrub all in one though, which is good! This smells both sweet and slightly tangy from the grapefruit and orange essential oils. At €14 I think that although its a bit pricey, its well worth it and will last a very long time. I might even get it again once its finished up (just to be sure its eh, working right that is.. cough!) I really love this one.

*I did not pay for this item, it was a PR gift.  Please see my disclaimer here. 

Academie Bronz'Express Self Tanner

I know. I'm back again with more tan talk. When will I learn to politely decline from reviewing tanning products and just leave it to the pros out there? Well, one because if I did that with make up all those years ago I wouldn't know half the stuff I do today! And two, its a gas bit of craic to see how badly I manage to feck up every single fake tan I use. As a novice of tanning, its always a nice challenge to find a product that totally baffles me and I end up thinking why people spend time and money on this stuff. But some people would say the same about make up or books. I get it, thats why I want to try and (badly) embrace it!

*Bronz'Express is a French brand that has been on the market since 1958, so its safe to say at this stage that they have fine tuned their products, or so you would think. This particular one is for both face and body and is immediately effective once its applied. The bottle is the first problem on the list. Out of all the tans I have tried, this was the hardest one to use. The screw off lid leaves you to pour the liquid onto your tanning mitt and then apply. But as it was totally liquid it went down the side of the bottle, onto my hands, the floor and into the bath. I could also feel it soaking into the mitt itself leaving my fingers stained once I took it off. This is not for the faint hearted, nor the busy 2 minute tanning lovers. Considering how difficult this was to just get out of the bottle I felt that so much product was wasted between it going on the floor and soaking into the mitt. 

But not all is lost just because the bottle was poorly thought out. Once you get the hang of pouring (which I just couldn't for the life of me) then the application is really simple and quick. The product has a pleasant sweet smell, that almost reminds me of a perfume I can't quite remember the name of. It drys quickly so you need to get moving fast but it leaves a really nice slight colour from the moment you apply - the photo below makes it look like I've big bruises but it just picked up badly! After the seconds it takes to dry, it takes on a different, more tan-like smell which I wasn't in love with. As its so fast drying you would really need to exfoliate well before using it as I would say it will cling to any imperfections. 

I left it for the evening and the next morning my skin was a really lovely, if somewhat dark sun kissed look. This time I was honestly not fussy with trying to tan my feet as I just can't do it and it always looks awful. So a little got slapped on, as you can see in the bottom right photo. But the upside to this is it works as a fantastic visual aid! As you can see with just the one quick application my fake tan has come up really well. Now after 3 showers and a bath over 3 days it did fade a lot, but not as much as I expected that it would. 

Overall despite the really crappy bottle, I really liked this tan. It started to give you colour from the moment it was applied, it only needed one application to give a really nice darkish tan and it stayed for a good few days even though it got  attacked with lots of water and scrubbing over it. And it can also be used for your face whcih is always handy too. If I was a tan person I would use this again without hesitation. You'd just never hear the end of my bitching about the bottle! You can get this 100ml bottle for a bargain grabbin' €10 from The Cosmetic Outlet. 

*I did not pay for this item, it was a PR gift.  Please see my disclaimer here. 

Bloggers Night In With Sex Siopa

Last weekend the owner of Sex Siopa, Shawna, invited my myself, Lisa from scatteredbrainedblogging.blogspot.ie  and Emma from Scene Designs along to an information night about her toys. I dragged my bestie along too and we all had a really lovely night eating meringues and crisps, talking about make up, the feckin amazing weather that day and of course, sex toys. I really enjoyed the night and I almost missed the last luas as time just slipped away!

So what can I tell you from spending the evening with the owner of Sex Siopa? This lady is a mind of information when it comes to providing body safe toys for customers and knows everything there is to know on the topic. She runs her business from home and is genuinely excited for the products that she sells. Its lovely to know that money doesn't power every business, some people do it because they have a genuine passion for providing a safe and beautiful product. My one negative comment is that there was a definite bad vibe when it came to talking about the kink and BDSM community. I realise that everyone has their own thoughts and opinions, but I feel its important to be very open minded and non judgmental, especially when your in the business of sex!  So now for a little on some of my favourite toys that Sex Siopa stock. Its always so much fun to actually get to see and feel things when you have looked at them online so much. (Ah, a good old three hour ramble in Boots after looking online at everything the night before.)

 The first thing that I couldn't wait to see was a male masturbation toy, surprisingly enough! I had seen these eggs around the internets and was delighted to finally get to feel them! Is it sad that I wish women could grow male organs just so I could try this out? Yes? Ok then...  There are several different kinds, the one pictured is the 'stepper' egg and reminds me of those silicone-like aliens you could get in the pound shop as a child. Each one comes with a little packet of lube and when turned inside out, (in the very last photo) it reminds me of a christmas tree. They are €10 each or you can get a cool egg pack of 6 for €50. I want to get one for all my male friends. Who doesn't want a slightly weird egg shaped, but totally posh wank? If you mind them your meant to get about 3 uses from them. Lovely!
  

Now onto the colours. Shawna pointed out that there are so many pink and purple toys on the market, but you rarely see other colours, which is so true! Because of this, she trys to stock toys in lots of other colours to give people the opportunity to mix it up a bit! Greens, blues, oranges.. The list is endless and I personally think its such a lovely touch to consider the little things that bigger companies can overlook. (Ten points to Gryff.. Ehhrr I mean Irish businesses!) Above are the two of the Fun Factory kegal balls Sex Sipoa has. I love the more unusual shapes and of course, the colours of them. From having held and shook them, I would say they can be strongly felt if you were walking or running, as they are weighty and easily moved. 

Next has to easily be the show stopper of the night, the Minna Limon vibrator. You squeeze in a rhythm and strength it repeats it back to you. This little power house is a pricie €120 but I think its the bees knees if your one of those people who loves the latest technology. I mean you programme the pattern, think of all the songs you could play on it in vibration form! Think its a little bit deadly, if I do say so myself. Plus, its a cute lemon shape and you can paint your nails to match..

Another male masturbation toy is the Tenga 3D Polygon sleeve. These are again cool little toys if you are lucky enough to have the bits required! This is like the Tenga egg but it can last up to 50 uses instead of 3. Sex Sipoa stock four different types of these so there are plenty to choose from.

I love toys that are body safe and cheap. Tantus Little Secrets vibrators are only 25 quid and they not only come in loads of colours but shapes too. I am still a little scared of the green 'tease' but it will not get the better of me! For so cheap, you could easily get the whole collection. They can be used with or without the sleeves and they have a nice little vibration that isn't noisy at all.

Two of the most colourful butt plugs in stock are from Fun Factory. Being made from silicone means that they aren't heavy and are super easy to clean too. I love the shapes and they are two of the most affordable body safe plugs I've seen. 

Fun Factory have some really fab designs as you'll know by now, but they have some really funky (yes, funky!) double ended dildos. These both have different shaped ends, a bit like having two toys in one. They are surprisingly quite heavy and super flexible but firm too. I think these are really interesting and different from other things I've seen out there. 

A palm sized green leaf shaped vibrator was too cool not to take a quick snap of. Leaf is the brand name and this little yoke has power! Its a pocket pinching €100 so it might be one for the wishlist. A more affordable dupe is the iroha mini which is a happy €25. It also comes in lots of different colours and I think its way cuter then Leaf and nearly as powerful. Its also super quiet which is always important.

How pretty is the collection of stainless steel? Its really something that sets my heart a-flutter. Sex Siopa have a beautiful selection with the Njoy butt plug and two Njoy dildo wands. These are all so weighty, especially the 'pure wand' which is the biggest one in the photo above.  Between €90 to €120 they are a more expensive toy, but I think a really good investment. They will last you for years to come, easy to clean and because they are stainless steel, they will always be as pretty as the first day you got them!

Lastly Sex Siopa has a really big range of all sorts of vibrators. I've ranted on about them so much in this post, but there are just so many fantastic ones that not only do cool stuff, (besides bringing you to orgasm that is) but also come in so many pretty colours! Above is a selection of some of the ones you can insert as well as for clitoris stimulation. These ones range for €110 to €140. 

I'd like to thank Shawna for having me and I really enjoyed my time with the girls learning about the toys and having a few laughs. I hope you have enjoyed seeing some of the ones I think are really deadly. Make sure and check out the entire range of toys over on SexSipoa.ie and say hello!

May's Powder Pocket

Yet again I am really delighted with May's Powder Pocket box, purely because of the presatation and the range of things in the box. But I'm really sad that there is not one full sized product there. So its a bit of a woo colours! And then opening it to be let down. But first lets talk about my initial reaction. I was so excited to see that the box is a beautiful baby blue and all the ribbon and sticker decorations inside the box are so bright and summery. It just makes me happy inside! As I might have said just the once or twice *cough* I am such a sucker for gorgeously done packaging and this box always gets tiny butterflies in my tummy over it! This months theme is Sweet Treats and I just love how they have done that theme so well with just the colours alone! I hope they start to bring out more box colours, especially because their normal black box in the summer is a little bit of a downer - but not for clothes. You would only be able to pry my black tshirts and leggings from my cold dead hands. That, or trade for a decent sized piece of cake. We can talk. 

 Not only was I excited by the box but the leaflet that comes with every box is always packed full of beauty related pieces as well as explanations of what you have gotten inside your box. But what did I spy on the front page? Me, ha! I tweeted about the box a few months ago and Powder Pocket decided to print it! I felt very fancy and even had to tweet about it. How sad am I!? 

So onto the goodies that were in this months box. As I said earlier I was really sad to see that not one product in this months box was a full sized product. I don't expect all the products to be full sized, but I would like at least one or two as I have forked out my pennies expecting something exciting in return. It will be interesting to see what is in this months Chic Treat Club box, as they have had totally amazing boxes since launching and I have been pondering for a month or two now if I should change over boxes. We shall see!

The first thing I noticed in my box was the Nimue Exfoliating Enzyme. Despite this brand being way out of my price range I have tried some of their products (all gifted to me) and really do love their things. My favourite has to be their face masks. You can see one in my post here. But the one thing I don't love about this brand apart from the price? Their website! Its so hard to navigate and I feel they don't explain the products properly on the packaging either. All I want is a simple life, but Nimue have other ideas. This exfoliating enzyme is an ok 30ml sample size. It will be interesting to try this out and I will definitely report back if I feel the full sized 60ml bottle is worth it for €49. Holy god!

Next is Great Lengths Daily Moisture Shampoo. I've actually heard about this brand before so I am excited to try it out. That and my poor hair needs all the help it can get considering the harsh dying routine that I expose it to! After a quick sshhniff I can report that its quite pleasant, so fingers crossed it leaves my hair just as nice. You can use this with all hair types and it has all sorts of good sounding things in it. This is a 50ml sample with a full sized 250ml bottle costing €17.99.

  

I think my little heart skipped a beat when I saw Ciate Mini Nail Polish in the box. This one is in Ferris Wheel and is the perfect summer pastel baby blue. Think this is the best part of the box! A full sized nail polish is €10.95.

The last two things I'm not at all impressed with. I think Its a waste of space in the box and feel one decent sized sample or even full product could have been better. The first is a miniscule tube of Hollywood Eye Magic Eye Magic Serum. Anything with the words 'magic' or 'hollywood' send alarm bells off in my mind as gimmicky and not worth the money. I've heard nothing about this brand before and to be honest I'm not impressed with the presentation or the crazy price of €75 for a full 15ml bottle.  I doubt I'll use it.

The second thing is Kinvara Skincare Absolute Cleansing Oil. Again I'm not impressed with the presation of the sample sized bottle, but I do think the card that it came with is beautifully eye catching. This is €19.95 for a 100ml bottle and I'm not sure I will use this as my skin is combination leaning on oily. It claims to remove all types of make up and eye make up, so I might give it a go over my really stubborn mascara some day. 

Keeping with the theme of Sweet Treats, Powder Pocket also had a mini packet of love hearts in the box, which I thought was a nice touch. Over all I am kind of at a loss. I love the look of the box and the theme, but oh so sad about the lack of full, decent sized products. Could this be the push I needed to try out Chic Treat Club?

Have you gotten this box? What do you think of the contents this month?

The Body Shop Body Sorbets

I'm a fan of The Body shop, you'll know that if you read my empties post. But oh mammy was I excited when the post man popped his head around the door and told me I had a package! These are two of the brand spankin' new *body sorbets that are the most exciting products of the summer for me so far. Let me give you the run down on these beauts, prepare to be grabbin' your hats, your knickers and running to the nearest Body Shop to get yours.

The body sorbet is a cooling skincare treatment that can be used in the summer and all year round. If its extra hot you can put on of these babies in the fridge for uber cooling down and freshening up - how cool is that?! these bottles contain soya oil to help make your skin silky smooth while giving it loads of moisture and hydration. I really like the mango scented one, its surprisingly not an overpowering sweet smell like I expected it to be. The downside however is that you'll want to eat it. Restrain yourself!

My favourite scent from all of these (I went into the Body Shop and had a sniff of the entire line!) has to be moringa. I can't pronounce it and always have to double check the spelling  but this is my dream boat in a bottle - I should write cheesy songs and sell them to Britney. Moringa is the only floral fragrance with the other four being fruity ones. 

The product has a slightly strange consistency. Its not oily and not like a cream, its a hard one to explain! Without putting anyone off (and I'm so sorry if I do!) it feels kind of silky, like lube. You only need a small amount as a little goes a long way and it sinks into the skin oh-so-beautifully so your not left to do the Flappy Cold Dance Of Doom. So don't think my poor description means your sticky and eh, ready for action! I love using this right after the shower, its such a gorgeous treat for my skin and nose. And since I've started to use them I have genuinely felt a difference in my skin. Its not doing amazing things for the really dry skin on my elbows (sexy) but the rest of me? Oh I want everyone to have a feel!

If I was to say one negative thing about them, it would be that they are pricy at €13.50. But the prices in the Body Shop in general tend to be a little more in comparison to the regular run of the mill products in Boots. I feel a lot of this is down to their fair trade ingredients and high standards that they insist upon as a brand. And for that reason, I don't give out as much when I go to buy something that might pinch the pocket a little. Now, if you'll excuse me. I here my moringa calling me, the sexy sexy bottle of love.

*I did not pay for this item, it was a PR gift.  Please see my disclaimer here. 

Empties #4 Photo/Review Heavy!

I have really long hair, I dye it all the time and wash it every single day. Man I use a lot of hair related things, I know that. But its not until I looked in my box of empties under my bed that I realised  I go through a feckin' lot of stuff! (And were not going to talk about the wardrobe full of hair stuff either, no sir.) So this is just mainly going to be a quick look at what I've used up in the past few months with links to some of the products and mini reviews of the rest! Sorry for the length of this post, but I think its a nice way to see what I really love and what I'll never buy again, all cut down into one post!

Lets start with the hair considering I have been banging on about it so much. 5 conditioners, 1 shampoo and a thickness booster. Cos' thats just how I roll. I've had loads of other shampoos but I normally throw them out and forget to save them. I think its clear by now how much I love Aussie, have a look at my review of one of my beloved Aussie conditioners here.

The blogger world went mad for L'oreal Elvive's new Fibrology range that came out a month (or two?) ago. Everyone was running to the shops to nab the shiny blue bottles. One of the things that caught my eye was their thickness booster. I read rave reviews and couldn't wait to try it out as I'm always looking for new things to give my hair that va-va-vooom! I was going to write a separate review for this but after using it I was so let down that I didn't bother to. It was hard to use in the shower as the tube was a screw off cap and when your holding a blob of conditioner, your wishing for that third hand to magically grow. The product itself makes your hair more course on the first wash, but after that I couldn't see any difference from using it. This was a big let down and a pricie one at €7.69 a pop. 

I used the LeoBancroft and HeadMasters together as they were on sale in Tesco and I can never say no to sales. I really loved both of them and if I see them on sale again I'll definitely pick them up. They smelt lovely, made my hair super soft and didn't weight it down at all. Big thumbs up here. Plus would you look at the fancy packaging? These are the types of bottles I invite people over to my house to look at. Oh yeah. I also picked up Timotei golden highlights conditioner in Tesco too. Keep an eye out for it if you can get your mitts on one! Have a look at my review of it over here. It leaves your hair silky soft. 

Next is all the necessity bits that you really can't do without. A little travel size Soleil lady shaving gel, I think I picked this up on offer a while ago. Its a really handy size and like this gel but Tesco own brand is way cheaper and you get much more product for your money. Its also easy to use, smells nice and is in a purple bottle. (but mainly cos' of the purpleness.) Two bottles of Batiste that I can't live without, but I have been using way more of the Timotei dry shampoo recently, I think Batiste has major competition there. I also have a billion deodorants as well, no one likes the thoughts of smelling anything but delightful! I love Nievas anti-white marks sprays. I did a review of the battle of  Vaseline .v. Nivea roll ons over here if you fancy a goo.

Way back at Christmas I was excited to try out Lush's new Rudolph face mask but after just one use I knew it really wasn't for me and was a major let down. It had a really odd consistency that was hard to spread across your skin with large chunks falling off. I felt the mixture was poorly thought out and wouldn't recommend it to anyone. I hope Lush don't bring it back next Christmas and work on something else instead. On the other end of the scale then two things that I really loved.
The first is my Marks&Spencers New York perfume that I have a review of over here. The smallest size is about €7 and is perfect for throwing in my handbag. I get so many compliments when I'm wearing this and I have since bought two more. Can't get enough of this stuff!

Moving away from the cheap and cheerfuls for a second to talk about No7. I got this lovely little Cleanse and Clear eye make up remover in a set and used it like it was liquid gold. I can't wait to run to my nearest Boots and pick up another one. Its a tad pricy around €11.50 but I think its too good not to get. It doesn't irriate my skin or my eyes, gets all the make up off in seconds and theres no scrubbing the life out of your eye balls to achieve a clean face. Winning!

 Anatomicals have some really great products and some really crappy ones. I've blogged about both kinds and I'm still on the fence with this anti-stress face mask that I got in a beauty box. Did I think it did much? Not really. I might pick it up just to try out again but I wouldn't go out of my way to look for it. Theres better stuff in their range to try. Look at my review of their throb head here. Another little packet is this argan oil hair mask that I picked up in Penneys for about €2. I loved this, made me feel fancy and my hair silky with added bonus of a lovely smelling head! I'll definitely be picking this up again soon, so should you!

I made my way through all of my Body Shop shea butter body scrub that I have a full review of over here and my oh so gorgeous shea shower cream. I will be running full speed to the Body Shop for more of their shower cream, this was such a lovely treat in the shower! It was easy to apply, didn't leave my skin feeling like theres was a layer of goo on it, left me feeling soft and smelling quite divine, if I do say so myself! Make sure and have a sniff next time your passing by one of their shops, its good stuff!

I managed to polish off a Cocoa butter from Marks&Spencers and a non scented moisturiser from Boots own range over the past few weeks. I liked both of these but doubt I will pick them up again. I didn't feel a massive difference in my skin after using them and felt they were both a little heavy and I had to do the Flappy Cold Dance of Doom in the bathroom to help them dry. Lets just say I feared some of my bits would fall off and not make it. Apart from that, they were those 'meh' products that you have a more or less neutral  approach to.

 Last in this pile is my Lush the olive branch body wash. I am really sad that I came to the end of this bottle and don't know if my will power will hold up until my Lush ban is over in September. This smelt really great but from talking to others its a marmite kind of preference for some. Apart from smell, this left my skin really soft and a tad oily so there was no need to moisturise after. If my hair was really uber dry I sometimes washed my hair with it to give it a mini extra condition and tlc! All rounder this bottle.

I can't even say a bad word about the lot above. My Catrice concealer holy grail has been banged on about so much. One of the reviews is over here with much better photos! Same goes for the Benefit dupe of the year, Seventeens phwoarr paint concealer. I have a rave review of it here. Both of these concealers are so cheap and work so well you would be mad to fork out for high end products that might only work half as well!

Next my two favourite foundations, Rimmels perfect match in ivory with a spf of 18 and Seventeens on the spot foundation that has spot reducing ingredients. I have gone through countless bottles and tubes of these two and if I'm having a really awful skin day, I mix the two together for a fuller coverage that works a treat. Both of these are under €10 each and Boots is doing a lot of 3 for 2 offers at the moment, might be the time to stock up!

Lastly my favourite liquid eyeliner that I have used for easily 5 years now, Essence. Its €3.09, it stays put and the applicator is so easy to use. These should be like hens teeth but you can get them in Penneys and a lot of chemists. Wonderful! Lastly is my Urban Decay eyeshadow base. I don't use eyeshadow bases a lot, but when I do I use this and have no words for the lasting results. I can see why its a cult product!

Cocoa Brown New 1 Hour Dark Tan Mousse

A few weeks ago I was lucky enough to get to go to the launch party for the new products that Cocoa Brown were bringing out. Since the Irish company launched their first product, Cocoa Brown have been going from strength to strength and now can be bought in Penneys all across Ireland and have recently ventured across the waters to sit on the shelves of SuperDrug in the UK. You might also be able to find them in your local chemist as they are ever expanding, fair play to them! 

Over the past two months I have gone from fake tan virgin to full on pro (or so I'd like to kid myself into believing!) and have been trying out lots of the different brands out there. I had a go of Cocoa Browns brand spanking new *1 hour dark tan mousse and I have to say, it was a total let down. More people then I can count have nothing but rave reviews for this product and the brand in general, but I can't say I feel the same. I might be in the minority here and I haven't used all the products in their brand yet, so perhaps I will find something to love yet.

The one hour tan is really handy to put on quick so your not flaffing about. A quick squirt of mousse-like stuff onto your tanning mitt, rub it over your skin and thats it! It suggests for a deeper tan that you leave it on for about 2 hours. After that you wash it off and your ready to go. 

My problem? Once I read the bottle and applied the tan I couldn't really do anything for the time it took to tan my legs. I wrapped a towel around myself only to find that it was taking the tan off my legs. I had to rub a little more tan on the rubbed off parts and just sit with my legs not touching anything. Which makes me think it would be really difficult to sit or do anything if you were trying to do a full body tan with this product. I eventually got comfy and sat with a book for over 2 hours- I got carried away with the book. After that I washed off the mousse and didn't really notice any difference in the colour. Maybe it took a while to come up?

The next morning there was a slight tan but nothing to write home about. The pictures above are a little misleading as it was late afternoon and dull when I took my before photo and early in the morning while it was very bright in my after photo. I didn't think that it worked very well at all and for €7.99 I feel you could get a better tan for your money, effort and all that sitting about time wasting. 

Have a look at my Baby B Browne tan review here.

*I did not pay for this item, it was a PR gift.  Please see my disclaimer here. 

New Seventeen Stay Pout

Dear people at Boots, please stop your 3 for 2 carry on. All I will do is buy things and I know thats your aim here, but seriously. I'm developing a problem. Seventeen has a new lipstick range out, Stay Pout and oh holy god its lovely. I spent easily 20 minutes painting the back of my hand with all the testers at the stand. Theres 15 different shades in the collection and I want them all, no joke.

The two I picked up are just to feckin' die for. A gorgeous dark pinky slight shimmer colour called It's A Kiss Off. And the second is the most perfect red called Date Night. I love both of them and know that I will wear the life out of the both of them. They are easy to apply, have surprisingly really great staying power and don't dry out my lips at all which is mind blowing considering I'm not expecting god-like quality from a drug store brand lip stick. All the same though, I always recommend a quick lip scrub and lip balm before throwing on any lipstick for the day. 

I love the sleek black packaging, it looks for fancy and expensive! But you can get each of these for less then a fiver at €4.79 a pop. What more could you ask for? Seventeen can just do no wrong with me. I know I'll be going back really soon to pick up a peachy shade that caught my eye while the 3 for 2 offer is still going on.  

Now don't ask me how the middle photo is bright but the other two are quite dark. Clearly the clouds were having great craic while I was trying to take photos, so please excuse me! I couldn't help the mock angry grr face in date night, its just such a great colour that screams personality and confidance. As you can see I have a great time with blog photos and can barely take anything serious. Not long after I fell over a pile of shoes too. No photographic evidence though. It was too sexy to go showing the internet.

New Garnier Micellar Cleansing Water

People have being going totally mental for micellar cleaning waters the past few months and the latest one has been Garniers. I wasn't too quick to jump on the band wagon considering I was quite happy with my L'oreal skin perfection 3 in 1 purifying micellar solution that I did a review on a while back. Everyone has been comparing the two and to be honest I really can't see that much of a difference in the two apart from a few small things. But before we get on to nit picking, what the hell is micellar water and what can it do?

This product takes off all your make up while cleansing, toning and hydrating it all in one go. It smooths, unclogs pores and removes all those nasty impurities just by dabbing a bit of this water-like stuff onto a few cotton pads and wiping it over your face. Honest to god thats a bit of gold in a bottle if I ever did see it! As with the L'oreal one, Garnier takes off lip stick very well but can take a good scrub before all the eyeliner and mascara will come off. But if your traveling or lazy like me, you wont want to go through 5 bottles trying to get all the goo off your face, so this is perfect! And it does leave your skin squeaky clean and fresh.

So whats the difference between the two? Some say that one solution or the other is better, but personally I think they are about the same and do exactly the same thing while both being sensitive to the skin - some scientific evaluation there huh! But one thing I haven't heard complaints about with Garnier is that their lid is a lot better then the L'oreal one. Less product comes out so its easier to control and your not wasting any. Bonus 1 point to Garnier. Bonus point 2 to Garnier would be the obvious fact that the bottle is bigger at 400ml in comparision to L'oreal's 200ml. Also Garnier is cheaper on sale at €3.29 (normally €6.29) then L'oreal on sale at €5.02 (normally €6.69). An extra 200ml and cheaper even when not on sale? Yeah thanks I'll go with Granier any day of the week.

Only problem now? The world and his wife are mad for Garnier and they can't keep it on the shelves in Boots. Its also currently out of stock on Boots.ie. The general population of micellar water consumers have spoken it would seem!

Have you tried either of these micellar waters? What do you think is the better one?

W7 Make Up Review - Picture Heavy

Theres a bit of a difference in what I look like before and after I shhhllapp on a bit of make up, right?! As always, I'm putting my bare mug up for all to see in the name of W7 make up. *I was kindly given all of W7 products to try out - minus the In The Buff palette.  I was very excited to try everything out as this is a brand thats new to me and is quite hard to come by here in Ireland, so I was in for a real treat! Below I have a step by step of my before and after photos with the products that I have used. All are unedited and totally untouched, just the lower set have the flash on the camera to make sure you can see all the make up as clearly as I can show it! I am in no way a make up artist and just like to feck around with goo on my face. 

w7 makeup I used:
In The Buff palette - €10
Camouflage kit concealer - €4.99
Powder blush in baby pink - €4.99
Catwalk complexion powder foundation in beige - €4.99
Liquid eyeliner in black - €2.99
The bronzer - €4.99

Other makeup used that is my own:
Stay pout lipstick by Seventeen in Its a kiss off
Match perfect foundation by Rimmel in ivory

I used all my Madison Brushes to complete this look. 

I got uber excited about all this new makeup and did a step by step of me putting it all on. Would you look at me go! I didn't end up using the Catwalk foundation for this because it was far too dark for my complexion. However I did try it out on my face just for the lols and noticed how easy it was to apply, how light it felt on my skin and how long lasting it was (yes, I kept it on for ages, I'm sexy like that). I'm going to go and buy one that is more suited to my skin tone as I really like this foundation and think it could be a keeper. Even if I only reach for it occasionally, it's only €4.99 and wont be breaking the bank!

The Concealer has an impressive 5 shades so it caters for a good few skin tones. I used mainly 2 colours, one more warm pinky shade under my eyes and a lighter one on my many blemishes. I liked this concealer kit but I felt it didn't have an amazing coverage and if I was having a really bad skin day it would be useless to use. I don't think this is something I would pick up for myself as I prefer heavy duty concealer palettes like Catrice or Wet'n'Wilds ones.

The Bronzer makes up for any loss I felt with the concealer though. I think I have finally mastered how to use this right without looking like I fell face fist into the palette! I was at my wits end when I tanned my entire body (thats a whole other post) and my face was left looking less then alive. I used this bronzer and was so impressed. I reached for it daily to help give me a bit of life back to my face and really like using it now that I'm back to pasty pale to give a tiny sun kissed look.

Next was the Blusher and I'm still unsure about it. It does give a lovely pinky colour as you can see above, but I'm not sure if it suited my skin tone all that well. Theres not a lot of fall out with this which is a bonus.

But the two things that really stole the show were the Eyeliner and the In The Buff Eyeshadow Palette. I was a bit ifie with the eyeliner, expecting it to be less then amazing but I was wrong. The little wand is stiff and gives amazing and precise application, I didn't need to clean up parts or try again with this. The black liquid itself is thick, glides on well and theres no need to go over it a second time. I am so impressed  with this total gem and at €2.99 I will recommend this to everyone with eyelids. 

As for the eyeshadow, well I have raved about this in a monthly favourites and in many more posts. I just can't get enough of the gorgeous shades, how pigmented they are and of course the fact that its meant to be a dupe for the Naked 2 but more then half the price helps too. This wasn't given to me to try, I just wanted to include it as its something everyone should own considering how cheap it is, the fab pay off and the variety of colours and looks you can create with it.

I also really like all the w7 packaging. It looks quite cheap but then again it is! What I like most is that most of the products have little mirrors  (the foundation, concealer and blush) or small brushes to use which I wasn't expecting such a cheap product to have. I also like how hard wearing the packaging itself is. All of these have been getting carted around in my handbag at different times and nothing has broken or shattered. The same can't be said for a lot of my makeup that I regularly use. Big thumbs up from me.

Bit of a mixed review on this overall, but I had a great time trying out everything and making the makeup photos above. If you buy nothing else get the eyeshadow, or if thats breaking the bank a little the €2.99 eyeliner would be perfect for you! Once I get my hands on a lighter foundation I will make sure and post up some photos to Instagram!

You can get all these w7 products and more from Paul in the Cosmetic Outlet. See their Facebook page for more details. They post nation wide too, yay!

*I did not pay for these items, it was a PR gift.  Please see my disclaimer here.

You Pure Beauty! Barry M Gelly Hi - Shine

I popped into Boots the other day for hair dye and I saw the most beautiful site on earth - 3 for 2 across all make up. I know thats a bit dramatic, but to me its honestly in my top 10 best things ever to see. I clearly have a very sad life! Anyway, I might have picked up a few bits. Heres one of them.

Barry M nail varnish has always been a favourite of mine. When I was younger I got a few of their more colourful, 'out there' lip sticks and eye shadows too. But the one thing I always go back for is the beautiful polishes. Shockingly enough though, I didn't own a single one of their gelly hi-shine polishes until now, isn't that just woeful? I thought it was, so I picked up a colour I would never normally wear to celebrate my first purchase of the line (and hopefully many more to come, oh hello there Boots points you little beauts!!)

Key Lime is a gorgeous Spring/Summer colour and just makes me want to go pick flowers. Its bright green but not in an in your face way. Two coats of this and your ready to rock 'n' roll. It lasted roughly 3 days on me, with only little chips but I'm a devil for chipping nail varnish minutes after its applied so this was impressive! Taking it off is as easy as putting it on and it doesn't leave any stains on your nails like some polishes can. 

As for the gelly hi-shine part in comparison to normal nail varnishes? When I was applying it I did definitely notice that the polish was spreading differently and that the consistency was thicker then others I have used. But once it drys I'm not sure if I can really notice a difference, it might be a little shiner then normal but that might be because I have read it on the bottle so I expect it to be. 

But either way, I really love this colour and will be wearing it lots this Summer. I'm making small steps to get away from black and throw a bit of colour in! I might have my eye on about 7 more of these Barry M nail varnishes too, just in case your wondering why theres none in Boots next time your in!! Theres 21 colours in the hi-shine range and they wont break the bank at 5.99 each.

Have you tried any Barry M Gelly Hi-Shine polishes?

Seventeen Cheek Stamp

A  few weeks ago when Boots was having one of their 3 for 2 on all make up (don't lie, everyone and their cats went mad for those 2 weeks.) I picked up this little blush along with a few other things. It caught my eye because one its Seventeen and they are so on the ball with all their products, to me they hardly ever do wrong. Secondly it was a new thing just out that was.. Stationary but make up? Some of my favorite things in life combined! I had to pick it up, it was for the good of my health. Cough.

I'm not one for using blush normally as I try to stay clear of anything that will help me to achieve a clown/did my make up in the dark look. But people I have been getting brave in the past few months! Trying fake tan, contouring and now look where I am! I think this is the perfect blush for an utter novice like myself. The little stamp part itself gives the perfect amount of product in one 'stamp' onto your cheeks and when its blended out looks gorgeous and very natural. The one I have is in 'blushing' and I love that theres no slimmer to this and that theres no fall out which I was expecting considering it looked like it could be an awkward thing to use. Its the kind of thing you can slap onto your face and go if you only have minus 5 minutes to do your make up in the morning and still look perfect leaving. 

 This blush is a little bulky in my make up bag but it has a really handy mirror in the top of it and I'm safe in the knowledge that this wont open and destroy the interior of my bag as its a screw shut packaging. For €6.29 I don't think its going to break the bank if you fancy giving it a go. This comes in 5 different shades that are a lovely range of colours, I'm well impressed.

I Broke My Ban For This!? Sakura

I know, I'm sorry. I'm not sure who I am saying sorry to, but none the less I am. I went into Lush to have a look at the Easter limited edition things one last time and thought I might pick something up but oh no. I had to go nosy at the non limited edition stuff that I'm not allowed to buy and find the shiny, pretty, colourful new thing and convince myself that its for the good of my health that I buy it, fuck the stupid ban...

Now don't ask me why the hell I took photos of it on my Audrey Hepburn book, but I did. I was feeling fancy, artist and well, it needed to be done. I thought it was going to be true love and I would look back in years to come with a fondness over our first pictures together and how wonderful they were. Getting sentimental over beauty products is what I do best, clearly. But its all been a waste. Oh Sakura, how could you?  

 On a side note, I bought this in the Henry St. Lush shop and was not at all impressed with the staff that day. Normally when I pop in they are friendly, helpful and lovely. But both my friend and myself were in agreement that it felt like a 'buy and get out' vibe was going on. When I flicked though the new Lush magazine and asked if they had a bath bomb in stock I was met with a kind of unhelpful short 'no' that was off putting and the last straw so we left. Anyway...

Sakura is new to me (and possibly a few of you too) so naturally I had to have it. Its inspired by the cherry blossom in Japan 'designed to evoke the burst of optimism the first sign of Spring brings'. It sounds pretty good huh? It has sea salt, lemon oil, orange flower and jasmine absolute and gardenia extract to name a few of the ingredients inside. Floral, uplifting and calming is what Lush is going for here, but my experience was nothing like it I'm sad to say.

With the little pop of sea salt colour on the top of the bath bomb I thought there might be more colour inside but that wasn't the case. Fear not I thought, it will be beautifully scented considering how damn good it made my room smell every time I walked into it, but nope. So that left the water itself, it has to leave my skin silky with all the lovely ingredients and oils floating about... No, can't say that it did that either. Le sigh.

I can deal with plain  looking water as long as it smells good and most of all, does something for my skin. Normally I can get the scent of a Lush bath product through most of the house but not even close up to the water could I get a decent smell of it. Even after I had finished the bath my dear mammy commented about the lack of Lush smell asking if I had used anything in the water, it was that noticeable. And then secondly my skin didn't feel any better or worse after the bath, just the same. For all the oils and extracts that have gone into this bath bomb its not impressing me. For €3.90 AND breaking my silly ban, its not been worth it. I wont be buying this fella again. 

 A few people were quick to flap on Twitter when I posted a photo of this along with my comment of disappointment purely because I used the hash tag of #whatbubbles - So just to clear this up in case anyone thought I was a total gobshite and know nothing about Lush (go on admit it, some of you think that! :D) its a reference to a joke with friends that I alwasy post pictures of my knees in bubbles when I'm having a bath. Chill lads, chill.

Have you had any nice baths recently?