Monthly Archives

July 2013

Beauty Boxes, Hair, Skincare

Latest in Beauty – Little Beauty Box

July 18, 2013

LIB little beauty box

 

I love my beauty boxes, but sometimes waiting a whole month for the next one can be so tedious! Latest in Beauty offer two different types of box that offer some much needed “ooooh a shiny box” in between Glossybox and Birchbox deliveries.

Firstly are their LIB collections, themed sets of pre-determined products where you can see exactly what you are going to get before ordering. The collections are usually somewhere between £7-£20 depending on the nature of the theme, but often sell out very quickly! Amie got her hands on the Glamour Beauty Edit which you can read about here.

Second is the package than popped through my letterbox this morning, the Little Beauty Box.

 

LIB box

 

The Little Beauty Box consists of three small samples, and as with the LIB collections you get to see what you will receive in advance, in fact you get to pick which products you want before committing to the box. There is no recurring subscription as payment is taken via a premium text message for £1.50.

Here’s what I chose.

 

Liz earle LIB box

 

Liz Earle Superskin Concentrate 

With an ingredient list that is almost entirely natural essential oils I had to give this a shot. The concentrate is a aromatic oil intended for use as part of the evening skincare routine, and proclaims to clear toxins, reduce puffiness, boost circulation, encourage cell renewal and aid lymphatic drainage.

It smells gorgeous and is a generous 2ml vial of sample, so enough for a few nights at least.

 

Lavera LIB box

Lavera Liposome Intensive Cream

Again, it was the organic, natural ingredients that drew me towards picking a wrinkle cream that I don’t really need. I received three 1ml sachets, yet somehow they aren’t nearly as exciting as the lovely packaging from Liz Earle.

Curiosity made me open one straight away and the rose scent is just gorgeous, it did feel a little too greasy for my skin, however I will be donating these to Amie’s somewhat dryer skin where I think they will find a happier home!

 

Aveda LIB box

Aveda Invati Exfoliating Shampoo & Thickening Conditioner

You can opt for one of your samples to be a surprise, and with nothing in the third option making me particularly excited that’s what I went for.

These cute little 10ml tubes smell absolutely amazing, and if my hair takes a liking to them I just might have to go for a full sized based on that alone!

 

You can order a LIB little beauty box here for £1.50.

Totally hellbent for smelling like a herb garden thanks to my organic picks!

– Gem

 

 

 

 

 

Nails, NOTD

NOTD – OPI I don’t give a Rotterdam & Revlon Stunning

July 17, 2013

NOTD stunning and rotterdam

 

This was my first OPI varnish and I have to admit it was the name, not the colour that sold it to me. I purchased “I don’t give a Rotterdam” purely on the basis that I missed my boyfriend (who lives in Rotterdam!) and the name cheered me up!

Luckily I found it on Fragrance Direct for £3.99 so managed to grab a bargain with full RRP at around £11.50!

 

opi rotterdam 1

 

It’s a lovely bluey grey with a light shimmer, a really unique shade that I’ve never seen elsewhere. It applies as well as you would expect an OPI shade to, and is quite lovely alone.

 

NOTD stunning

 

I decided however that I needed to up the game a little, so added two layers of Revlon Stunning for a little extra va-va-voom! Stunning is a mix of micro and hexagonal glitter that is slightly holographic. I found it in a local Poundland saving myself a few pennies, and it is quickly becoming my new favourite glitter varnish.

Finally a touch of Sally Hanson Clear for take-off to stop that horrible scratchy glitter feeling! This is a great top-coat, both fast to dry and long lasting. You can find it here on Amazon for £6.99.

Totally hellbent for giving a Rotterdam about fabulous nails!

– Gem

 

 

Make-up, Nails

Elf haul part 1 – Gemma

July 17, 2013

Elf haul 1

 

I accidentally talked Amie into ordering a massive Elf haul with me on one of their frequent 50% off days recently and here’s what I chose!

 

Elf haul - primer

 

Mineral Infused Face Primer – Clear

This has been on my wishlist for a very long time! I love a good primer and I’ve heard nothing but good things about this one! I’m also tempted by the green toned one at some point to deal with my awful red cheeks.

 

Elf clarifying pressed powder

 

Clarifying Pressed Powder – Ivory

Can’t ever have too many pressed powders, right? This photographed quite dark, but at first look it should be okay for summer. Definitely not Ivory enough for my pasty winter skin though!

 

Elf haul - concealer stick

 

All over cover stick – Ivory

Despite having a long term love affair with the much hyped Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer I figured I could use something with a little more coverage for stage wear.

 

Elf haul eye primers

 

Eyelid Primer – Sheer & Pearl

I’ve been a huge fan of the sheer eyelid primer for a long time, in fact I think this is my third or fourth repurchase, so I figured I’d give the pearl finish a try too.

 

Elf haul - lip crayon

 

Jumbo Lip Gloss Stick – Movie Star

Lip crayons have been big news for absolutely ages and I can’t believe this is the first one in my make-up collection! When I try out a new lip product I absolutely always for a bright red because it’s my most worn colour.

 

Elf haul - lip stain

 

Lip Stain – Crimson Crush

This has been out of stock for every ELF order I’ve placed since they released the line about a year ago, so I’m very pleased to finally get my hands on it! I love lipstains for day wear as they are so long lasting. Note also bright red!

 

Elf haul lipstick

 

Lipstick – Fearless & Nostalgic

Last time I bought Fearless I managed to fall in love with it and swiftly break it in half a few hours later, again this has been out of stock for a while so I grabbed one whilst I could. I love the ELF lipstick formulas so I could have gone mad and happily ordered all the ones I don’t own if Mr. credit card hadn’t frowned at me so sternly.

Nostalgic looks a lot more cream than nude and I’m crossing my fingers that it doesn’t give me “concealer lips”…

 

Elf haul - brushes

 

Bamboo flat brush & smudge brush

Like discount eco tools – bamboo handles and synthetic soft bristles. I already have a few brushes from this line and they are lovely.

 

elf haul - nails

 

Nail Polish – Metal Madness, Glitter Glam, Chocolate, Fire Coral, Smokey Brown & Innocent. 

I have such terrible issues with my nail varnish collection that I didn’t even realise till the order arrived that I already own two of these…oops! Elf nail polishes aren’t my favourite, but are far from terrible and were only 50p each…I just couldn’t help myself!

Also I have a feeling that I will be very good friends with Metal Madness for a very long time!

 

So there you have it, now do excuse me whilst I go dive into my big box of make up! Swatches and reviews coming soon as well as Amie’s ELF spoils!

All products can be found at http://eyeslipsface.co.uk/

Totally hellbent for another ELF bargain haul!

– Gem

 

NOTD

NOTD – essie “braziliant”

July 15, 2013

NOTD essie braziliant

A few months ago I had a coral Revlon nail varnish sent to me in a beauty box. I though “hmm not really my colour” but gave it a whirl anyway. What can I say, I am not a convert! I am really into the coral shades at the moment, especially with the sun turning my hair into a lovely “coralesque” shade *frowns*, but no a real beautiful shade that works well with most skin tones and just the right amount of red-pink-orange ratio.

This essie shade is only a 5ml bottle but it’s so adorable and I really love the shine it gives off.

Downsides – erm my bank balance after wanting the whole essie collection?

Totally hellbent for “not quite orange”

-Pants

 

 

Clothing and Fashion, Jewellery

Shirley Carnival Spoils!

July 14, 2013

A large part of my job as the co-owner of a part time music school involves hanging around at carnivals, fetes and other community events promoting the joys of learning music, so of course I take up every opportunity I can to peruse the plethora of craft, jewellery, organic and plant stalls that often crop up at such events!

Yesterday was Shirley Carnival and it was blisteringly hot so I only had one quick sprint around, however there were three shiny treasure (or jewellery to those without a magpie-esque addiction to all things shimmery!) stalls and I bought something from each of them!

Not only did I get the lovely feeling from supporting other small business owners but i also got a massive bargain on all counts.

Flower earrings £2.00

Pandora-esque bracelets (a blue one for me and a red one for Amie too of course!) £1.50 each

Blue flower pin £3.50

shirly carnival earings Shirly carnival spoils bracelets Shirly carnival spoils scarf pin

 

So, yes, obviously they aren’t going to look very suitable with a Gorgoroth shirt, but I’ll definitely be indulging my girly side to team them with a few summer dresses (whilst listening to Gorgorth)

Totally hellbent for summery costume jewellery!

– Gem

Beauty Boxes, Make-up

Trial By “Sweating”

July 14, 2013

brth1

 

This evening I went to see Blood Red Throne, Flayed Disciple and our good friends Kataleptic. It’s been a scorching hot day but despite this, I thought I would try out some new products. I was originally going to write about this pre gig, but I’m glad I waited!

 

brt2

So this is my face pre gig, before leaving the house.

brt3brt4brt5

And here the low down on what I used:

Face

This was the first time I used the elf primer and I have to say, my face felt absolutely glorious! Due to my slightly tanned face at this time of year, I mixed my moisturiser in with my foundation and have used three different shades for some light coverage. Unfortunately my usual alabaster look doesn’t work when the sun comes out! Also, the Olay foundation – which is amazing – is so old that I don’t think they even make this any more, so if anyone does find it, please let me know! MUA blusher too – enough said really and I absolutely love their new shades. They are very pigmented so only a little bit is needed else you run the risk of looking like a china doll!

Eyes

The Maybelline eye shadow was a first try, I absolutely love this colour. As I have brown/hazel eyes, green is a really good shade for me but I thought this was quite subtle compared to some shades. I blended it with the sparkly grey colour from my elf eye shadow in the crease of my eyes just to finish this off. I usually use liquid eyeliner after my eyeshadow, and since Gem has been raving about the Eyeko Mini Liquid Eyeliner pen so much, I gave it a whirl. Oh my god!!! Where has this product been all my life? I have used a pen only once but it dried up very quickly, but this went on flawlessly, I didn’t have to keep going over my line to darken it and it was so easy to apply. I really hope this lasts longer than most because I have definitely found my new eyeliner love.

So the jelly pong pong mascara is one I have been using for a while. Perfect, clump free lashes for both a dramatic and subtle look depending on how you layer this. I combined this with my first ever use of false eyelashes. I had every intention of taking them off before I went out, but I loved how they looked so much! I can’t believe how easy they were to apply and I was absolutely convinced they would have come off by the end of the night.

Eyebrows

This is my staple eyebrow product. If I don’t have any make up on, I at least have this! My eyebrows are quite light and it looks very strange as though I have no eyebrows if I don’t go over them. This is by far, the best I have found to match my natural eyebrow shade. I usually mix both colours together as well.

Lips

I don’t usually wear lipliner, but as it was so hot I wanted a nice defined line so my lipstick wouldn’t run. I have to say this was a nice subtle colour and went very well with my lipstick.

The lipstick is from my latest elf haul (a complete accident – Gemma definitely encouraged me to buy makeup …), I am always searching for lovely subtle colours for when I don’t want to wear a bright red shade. I have a feeling this is going to become a regular choice for me.

Anyway, after completing my face and heading to the gig, I was a little concerned as to how I would look by the end of it. It was so hot, that the sweat was literally dripping off people. In fact, half way through the night even the ladies were suffering and nearly everyone looked as though they had been doused with a hose pipe. There was eyeliner and mascara everywhere! Dreading the moment I looked in the mirror, once the gig was over, I was actually pleasantly surprised to see that I still looked marginally acceptable. Even my eyelashes stayed on!

Here is my post gig face, completely unedited, a bit red, but overall pretty damn good! (look how amazing the eyeliner is!!!)

brt6

So all in all, a successful night of metal, friends and faces of all varieties.

Totally hellbent for post gig makeup winning

-Pants

 

 

Beauty Boxes, Festivals, Hair, Make-up, Nails

July 2013 Glossybox

July 13, 2013

July glossybox

 

Glossybox day is always the most exciting day of the month!

I’ve been doubly excited about the July box since I saw the gorgeous turquoise print a few days ago as part of the “ready for summer” theme, and I’m glad to say the contents were just as exciting!

 

GB inside July

 

After a long day in the sun at work organising a performance for some pupils at my music school, I was filled with glee at my lovely blue box. Despite my hot, sweaty, impatient demeanour I took my time drawing that lovely blue ribbon to reveal the treasures inside.

 

July Glossybox inside

I am happy to say I will use everything inside the box, in fact I’d used the first item within seconds of spotting it!

 

 

Glossybox July anatomicals spray

Anatomiocals spray misty for me facial spritz

Anatomicals is not a brand I’ve heard of before but I rushed to cover my face in this cooling lavender and peppermint spray the moment I realized what it was. I was still wearing a full face of make-up at the time and it cooled me down and made my face feel refreshed without budging my war paint even a bit!

 

 

July Glossybox Alterna boho waves

Alterna Haircare bamboo style boho waves tousled texture mist

I love the wavy just-come-from-the-beach-or-alternatively-from-a-vicious-headbanging-session look so I’m sure I’ll get lots of use out of this. It has a very light summery scent so I’m sure I’ll enjoy that regardless of how good it is at giving me big blue summery waves.

 

 

Glossybox july Pukka radiance serum

Pukka Ayurveda radiance serum

I’ve become slightly less excited about skincare items in my Glossybox as I find I never really get a chance to properly try them out. I have so many skincare samples and minis I fear I’ll never get around to really giving them a go, but the tripple whammy of Wacken > Bloodstock > Sunkfest next month means I should have plenty of reasons to pack my skincare minis and leave my full sized staples at home!

 

 

July GB ciate

Ciate paint pot in “Pocket Money”

I’ve been meaning to try a Ciante polish for a long time, but begrudge £9.00 for something I will use one or two times then relegate to the back of my nail varnish drawer, so this was a nice surprise.

I love the warm neutral shade, and the packaging is very pretty however my boyfriend broke the trademark bow within two seconds of seeing it proclaiming “I want to eat it, it looks like dessert”…..

 

 

Glossybox July Coola mineral sunscreen

Coola Organic Suncare Collection mineral face SPF 20 rose essence tint

I hate hate hate the feeling of oily sun lotion on my face and sadly stick to foundations with SPF rather than a dedicated cream, reluctantly using a light spray sun protection in the hottest of weather. This however looks like it might be my new favourite product!

The full size product is a tad on the pricey side at £29.99 got 50ml as you have to throw away suncare products every year, but if it protects my face and keeps my skin from looking like an oil slick I might be swayed.

 

Overall verdict

Although I prefer a mix of more make-up products I’m really happy and impressed with this box, and I think I will get a lot of use out of it on my adventures next month!

You can order a Glossybox here for £10 (+ P&P) per monthly box. 

Totally hellbent at almost being set for adventures thanks to my new miniatures! 

– Gem

 

Nails, News, NOTD

NOTD – Etos Quick Dry 8

July 13, 2013

NOTD Etos green

This was a bit of a rushed job on the way to work, but I loved the colour so much I had to do a post (my poor cuticles)!

I picked this up in Rotterdam on a visit to see my lovely other half for the bargain price of €2.50! I’ve got a few of the Etos quick dry range, you could consider Etos to be the Dutch equivalent of Boots and thus this is a bargain own range line.

It applies very easily and dries faster than any UK quick dry formula I’ve tried!

Downsides? Hrm, well I’m not the biggest fan of numbered shades rather than names but I suppose I can let that slip!

The left hand picture with flash is a much closer to the true colour than the shot on the right without!

I can’t seem to find an online purchase link but you can check out the Etos range here.

Totally hellbent for summer brights

– Gem

 

Music, News

The first band practice

July 12, 2013

Just a quick post about practice tonight – sans pictures I’m afraid, we were all a bit wrapped up in music and excitement (and very hot, sweaty and shiny!)

So obviously things were sounding very different with the lack of a male lead voice, a second guitar and keyboards, but it really feels like all the songs have a new lease of life! We also tried out a few new cover ideas for a bit of fun, and well, had lots of fun in general.

I wont lie, singing for three hours straight has very much tired me out, but I’ve got a lot of faith in my vocals (and Amie, Matt and Adam’s backing vocals!) after getting through it!

Things feel different. Very very different, but you know what they say – change is good =)

Now I just can’t wait to get up on stage and rip these songs a new behind in front of an audience!

Totally hellbent for a great night making music with my best friends

– Gem

News, Vegetarian

Veggie vs Vaccine

July 12, 2013
vegvvacc1

Me, feeding a baby calf, on a recent adventure to a farm.

 

I don’t know how many people know, but I am a Psychiatric Nurse in my spare time (OK for 37.5 hours of the week when I am not playing with metulz and makeup). Part of this role, exposes me to lots of health risks as I work in an environment where lots of bugs are passed on.

Today I had to attend Occupational Health regarding my immunisation status. I was given an MMR (measles, mumps and rubella) vaccine when I was a child to protect me like most others. Unfortunately, there was a large population of parents who didn’t vaccinate their children around the 80’s due to fears that it would make their children autistic and as a result there have been a few outbreaks of measles recently throughout this non vaccinated population. Thus panic ensues across healthcare organisations everywhere, and I have to prove my immunity to this!

Now, I’m not sure whether ingredients are common knowledge to people in the production of vaccinations, but as a Vegetarian I hold some very strong morals and beliefs about harming animals unnecessarily. I don’t eat any animal based produce besides milk and free range eggs/cheese – which is more acceptable to me because the animals are either dairy cows or -should- come from free range chickens. They are not butchered unnecessarily for my consumption.

(Before I go on to share with you some horrific news, I want to post some pictures of some cute animals I have recently encountered to get you in the mooood ….)

vegvac2 vegvac3

 

Alas, it is interesting to know some of the ingredients that are still and have been used in vaccinations:

  • Chicken Embryo (still used in most vaccines)
  •  Pork Gelatin/Hydrolyzed Gelatin
  •  Monkey Kidney
  •  Chicken Kidney
  •  Mouse Brain Culture (used in Japanese vaccines)
  •  Fetal Bovine Serum (I believe this is used in MMR vacines)

Now most of these are self explanatory – although actual kidneys and brains aren’t used, the cells are taken to produce live cultures (to the best of my knowledge anyway). Gelatin is mainly animal by products, and the sheer thought of fetal bovine serum actually sickens me. The process of this involves the collection of blood from the bovine fetus. Or to simplify this, when they take cows to the slaughterhouse, they collect blood from the baby calf inside and allow this blood to clot to use in a serum for vaccines. Now funnily enough, there has been some “ethical” debate/discussion between some people high up there, about whether or not the “bovine embryo/fetus” experiences pain when they are removing this blood from it.

Can you image the uproar involved if you took Ms Smith, a 25 year old woman who was pregnant, to a slaughter house. Whilst killing her with a bolt through the brain, you then proceeded to take blood from her unborn baby to use in a vaccination – and then you proceeded to raise some discussion as to whether said unborn baby experienced any pain during this!

Now I understand that vaccinations are important to prevent some life threatening diseases and of course I would take this into consideration if I too were being put at risk. Working in a very risky environment such as the criminal justice system, where I am around IV drug users and people of poor health who may pass on various infections to me, I have to consider carefully what vaccinations I do need for my own health. In most cases I can justify this – for example, my first hepatitis B course – if I become ill or unwell, not only can I not care for others, but I can also pass illness onto other people who will also then have to go on to use medications that animals have been used for. So in having this vaccine, hopefully I will prevent this.

It turns out that after two courses of Hep B and a booster I still wasn’t immune and as for the MMR I already had that as a child so I presume I have some sort of immunity to that. I had already made the decision before my appointment this afternoon that if my blood results say I am not immune I will not have the MMR due to this. I have to say, the lady I saw (either a nurse of phlebotomist/vampire) was absolutely lovely. She had piercings and slightly zaney hair and she completely supported me, believing that I should stand up for my views and I signed a disclaimer to say this dependent on the results of my test.

I mean in this day and age, are they really unable to produce a vaccination that is animal friendly? Do they really have to use animal by products/animal kidneys or the blood of calves!!! People often frown upon our heavy metal culture and throw ridiculous statements into the mix such as “oh do you worship the devil then and sacrifice goats to Satan whilst dancing around naked?” – perhaps it’s the drug company’s that they should turn to instead of those who are trying to lead a lifestyle that involves being good, kind-hearted people and protecting animals and nature!

Hellbent on saving the animals!

– Pants