Shopper Savings

Happy August! Everyone loves saving money or even better being given free products, so I've gathered together a few of my favourite loyalty rewards cards this month that help save money and reward shopping for products I love with even more of those same products!



1.   The Boots card is by far my favourite card of those I’ve included. It’s a free membership you sign up to online at http://www.boots.com/en/Advantage-Card/ when you receive your card through the post with your name on you can start collecting 4 points every £1 you spend online and in store. Eventually these points will start to add up and allow you to use them like money – when you have enough points to pay for an item you wish to buy you will get the option to use them – effectively getting the product free! You also receive vouchers through the post allowing you to earn double points or even hundreds more than usual with a certain amount spent. It is by far the easiest card to use and own, rewarding you regularly, all for absolutely no price.

2.   The Body Shop card is equally as rewarding giving you 10% off all purchases for a year, free products when you have collected a certain amount of stamps, a free birthday present every year, exclusive offers, event accessibility and discounts as well as being the first to see new products. However, this card is not simply a reward scheme but a membership meaning it is a cost of £5 for sign up. I don’t think this is a large price to pay for what you are given and the exclusives you have access to for this quality product range. Sign up here: http://www.thebodyshop.co.uk/loyalty/love-your-body/

3.   Debenhams rewards card is a card you can pick up in store and register over the counter or online here: http://www.debenhams.com/beauty/beauty-club/about-your-beauty-club-card . It works much like the Boots card as when you shop throughout the store on beauty products you collect points which amount to monetary rewards. The rewards include discounts, free samples, make over opportunities and even free online shopping delivery!



4.   The ‘Beautycard’ from Superdrug is offered over the counter with registration in store or online at: http://www.superdrug.com/beautycard?gclid=CPeDzOOFxcoCFWj3wgodJ8wBYg&gclsrc=aw.ds . The card gives you £1 to spend for every 100 points earnt; allowing you to be rewarded with discounts, exclusive offers and specialist pricing, free online delivery and even birthday gifts every year. There are also often online offers for card holders allowing triple points to be earnt with every purchase. This is one of the most popular cards on the market with the user friendly access and availability to start earning points straight away with no upfront costs or long winded sign ups.





5.   House of Fraser also offer a recognition rewards card that can be picked up in store and registered online here: http://www.houseoffraser.co.uk/Recognition+Rewards+card/recognitionLoyalty,default,pg.html  . This is a free membership points card that can be used online or in store with card and cash transactions. You are given 1 point for every £1 spent and when you collect 500 points you are given a £5 reward to spend how you like. The card also allows access to exclusive offers and discounts, events and even bonus points throughout you birthday month. With easy online management and tracking of your card you will always know how many points you have and any upcoming events and offers.

I would recommend all 5 of these beauty rewards cards to anyone who shops regularly for new products, keeping up to date with the newest beauty trends. Before you know it you will have enough points to earn yourself something free and you will be receiving offers and discounts from nearly all the leading cosmetic shops on the high street. Having vouchers, free testers and exclusives sent to you through the post to try before you buy is always helpful for any cosmetic enthusiast.

Until next time, Toni. xo

Beautiful Skin: Winter Routine

 

Usually winter time for my skin is bliss, the cold dries out any impurities and the crisp air keeps me feeling fresh and awake. However, this year my skin hasn't reacted so well to the change in weather conditions. The cold seems to have dried out my skin a little too well leaving me feeling tired and washed out, yet the odd spot still appears! This called for emergency intervention: No.7 came to hand.

 

I have always loved the cleanser but needed something stronger that would really clean off any dead skin cells and make me feel fresh and awake like normal. After looking through the endless product choices at the No.7 stand, I opted for the 'Radiance Exfoliator' from the same 'Beautiful Skin' collection as my usual cleanser.

 

My daily routine (morning and night) consists of 3 steps, wash/rinse face with warm water, cleanse with the No.7 Cleansing Gel and finally gently scrub with the No.7 Radiance Exfoliator. This not only leaves my skin feeling clear, fresh and awake but I have noticed a drastic improvement with the dryness and blemishes.

 

No.7 have yet again provided me with a holy grail skin care product I'm sure to repeat buy and from now on, swear by. If you are looking for a cleanser and exfoliator this winter I would highly recommend both products for anyone with normal/dry skin consistency. If you are in the market for something for oily skin go down to your local No.7 stand as their extensive product range is bound to hold something to solve all your skin related problems this winter! Happy hunting.



 

 

Until next time, Toni. xo

Another Bourjois Lipstick Love Affair

 

If you have seen my recent post [here] about my Bourjois discovery and new favourite lipstick, you will notice I have found yet another loveable lipstick from the Bourjois 'Rouge Edition' range in a much more toned down, yet equally as beautiful colour! This new shade is the colour '02 / Beige Trench'. I purchased this as I felt the softer nude tones with hints of peach throughout would be very flattering against my skin tone to live out the final few weeks of summer and possibly for an understated make up look when I go back to college.  



 



'18' Alongside '02'

 

The lipstick has a slightly smoother and silky finish meaning I find application a lot easier and quicker than the previous shade '18'. This lipstick works very well with Mac's 'Whirl' lipliner as a base but also a simple, slighlty darker nude outline. Staying power isn't perfect on this lipstick due to the softer finish however, I find it quite a hydrating lip stick making it perfect for all seasons!

The colour is buildable making it wearable for near enough anyone being able to adapt to all looks.

 

I've found myself wearing this lipstick with a slight pink/gold eye shadow and soft blush on the apples of my cheeks. I am planning to try it with a dark smokey eye and defined bronzer contour very soon as I am interested to see how adaptable this colour really is!

Until next time, Toni. xo

 



Glossybox: 3 Month Subscription Review

Glossybox is an online beauty subscription box that has been going for many years - I discovered the subscription service through instagram when a sponsored avertisement popped up on my feed - I was instantly intruiged as I had never thought to sign up to a service like this one. I realised this was a great way for me to try new and different products I may otherwise never have the opportunity to.

After looking on the Glossybox website [here] I opted for the 3 month plan where you pay a set amount and get boxes for 3 months - if you like the service after 3 months the service continues in the same way with payments being taken quarterly (you can opt out at any time). There are other payment plans including monthly, half yearly and annually.
The less often you pay the cheaper it becomes!

Monthly = £10
3 Month = £9.50
6 Month = £9
12 Month = £8.50
 

 

My first subscription box was for June and arrived very quickly! I will be totally honest in saying I was slightly disspointed with this box as none of the products were make up and I'm not a lover of nail varnish. However, the actual contents of the box were good quality and worth a lot more than what I paid for my month's subscription.

 

Each month Glossybox selects a number of products from different companies across the world, ranging in price and what you get in your particular box is the luck of the draw. I know in June there was also an Essence Lipgloss I would have liked to try but my box just so happened to contain the nail varnish.

 

Out of this box I have only so far used the wipes and the body mist. I've found the wipes very gentle on the skin and the fact they're non fragranced means that sensitive skin isn't irritated! The pack is also a very handy size making it perfect for festivals along with the gold and black body tattoos. The body mist's handy bottle size is great for the bottom of your bag when you're skin is having a bad day and needs a pick me up. I've found the oil based product is a great, deeply moisturing spray that leaves your skin non-sticky and feeling refreshed. As the product is very oil based I would reccomend it only for people with dry/normal skin textures as oily skin would see no benefit.

 

 

July saw a collector's edition, French inspired Glossybox that focused on skin care! This box was very exciting to open as the packaging was completely different and I didn't know what to expect. I love the care that goes into the boxes as the products are layered with shreded tissue paper and wrapped with a sheet of tissue paper. This paper is usually black and baby pink topped off with a black ribbon bow and Glossybox logo sticker.

The July box cleverly used French flag colours throughout the box including the tissue paper, ribbon and Glossybox sticker. It is small touches like this that made me love the Glossybox packaging as I imagined each box personally put together by hand and sent off to each subscriber - giving the worldwide service a very personal touch.

 

 

When it comes to the products I was very happy with the contents as each product was amazing quality and great size. The difference with this box was that one of the products was actually a make up bag/travel pouch which I've been loving for transporting my brushes away from home! My favourite product from the box was: The Lollipop's Lip Balm. This box also had several products that you may or may not get due to luck of the draw but after looking over the other possible products on the site I was over the moon with the product selection I was sent.

 

The Lipbalm glides onto the lips effortlessly and leaves a perfect shine on the surface with long staying power and a perfect hydration impact. This is actually a product I've nearly finished and will be looking to find and repurchase as soon as I have emptied the tube. I would reccomend this product to literally anyone, I've luckily never suffered badly with dry lips but find this product locks in the natural hydration my lips have. If you have dry lips this will provide the perfect sollution to stop your lips feeling chapped or sore. Even over the top of your favourite lipstick, on a no make up day or just to give your lips a little added extra with soft makeup, this works perfectly.

 

 

August's box was back to normal packaging but the product content blew every other box I had recieved out the water! This box had set products with every subscriber recieving the same contents, I can honestly say I love every single product and they are all being used regularly within my make up and skin care collections. I struggle to pick a favoruite product from the August box as each of them have become go-to products in the recent month! However the product I have been using religiously every day is the Naobay Toner, not only have I used this to remove any make up that may be left after cleansing but also on non make up days to give my face a refreshing and hydrating boost. The bottle size is very generous and will last a while, however I know I will buying more before I run down this bottle to ensure I don't go a day without it. This product is good for all skin types and is very delicate on the skin not to irritate any sensitive areas.

 

 

I will now change my subscription to annual payments to save money and revieve boxes until my heart desires! I would reccomend this service or any similar ones to anyone wanting to try new products regularly and for an extreamly reasonable price as this service brings high end and sometimes holy grail products straight to your door offering a personal, fast and top quality service!

 

 

Until next time, Toni. xo

Current Favourite Lip Combo.

I've been reaching for these same two Mac products ever since I've bought them and I'm so glad I did.

I would reccomend this lipstick to anyone looking for a slightly deeper nude tone however, after reading a lot of other reviews a lot of people have had problems with the shading against their skin tone and found it's left a grey undertone to the skin's colouring. So when I went in and found the lipstick, I tested it out first on my hand and made sure to check it under different lights to check it complimented my complexion- turns out I'm one of the lucky ones who can wear this tone! 

I asked a friend who I was with about lip liners and if she could suggest any good matches for Velvet Teddy, as I wasn't having much luck finding one to match close enough to what I wanted - she reccomended 'Whirl' as it's one she had seen paired with this lipstick before and sure enough as soon as I tested it against the lipstick it was perfect! 

Ever since purchasing the products I haven't been able to keep them out of every make up look I've done - some how they seem to go with anything and everything - including a darker smokey eye or even a slight pink natural lid!

Thank you Mac and well done on some of the best lip products I've ever used. 

Until next time, Toni. xo

New Tries and Buys.

Recently I found myself becoming bored with my everyday make up and wanted to try a few new things out - so after reading some reviews and speaking to some friends I thought I would buy and try some different products - leaving my everyday make up becoming slightly different to what I'm used to whilst still staying in my comfort zone.

 

A product I've mentioned in the past which is one of my favourites is the colour match foundation that No.7 do here in the UK in a shop called Boots. I have always opted for the 'stay perfect' range as when speaking to the specialist originally I was looking for a long lasting foundation that evened skin tone, however I now have begun wanting something slightly different in the form of a matte finish and strong coverage foundation.

 

 

Therefore, staying with No.7 in the colour 'cool ivory' I have ventured into the range 'beautifully matte' and I love it! The foundation applies easier onto my face, provides better coverage and the perfect matte finish I was after. I also prefer the bottle this foundation is in as the pump moves up the bottle throughout use meaning less goes to waste and the bottle itself is also plastic instead of glass making it lighter to carry and less of a risk for me to break!

 

Eyeliner also plays an important part of my daily routine so I want to make sure its long lasting and easy application. I have always used liquid eyeliner and pencil for my water line however I have read a lot of people commenting on gel eyeliner so thought I would give it a go. I stumbled across a brand I had never actually heard of before called 'SmashBox' when I saw some contour pencils used in a demo from the same company, after some research I ordered a gel eyeliner pen.

 

 

Upon opening the package I knew I already loved this product from the appearance of the pen itself. The sleek and clean design with a rubber tip allows for precise and easy use and application which is exactly what I was after. After using the liner I now understand why so many people recommend gel! Not only is the application thicker on the lid but also provides an instant dry and matte finish which usually comes from minutes with your eyes closed using liquid liner. The results provided a perfect finish that not only myself noticed, it lasted all day (over 10 hours) without flaking or cracking and I honestly would recommend using the product to anyone who uses eyeliner as a key feature with their makeup.  

 

Another product I picked up from 'SmashBox' was a photo finish primer. On a daily basis I'm not a big user of primer but I recently ran out of my old primer and thought it may be the time for a change and to explore away from Benefit's golden oldie 'porefessional. ' I was sceptical at first as the price of this new one was actually slightly more than the one from benefit, that I know works wonders on my skin, however I took the plunge and went for it. Honestly, I feel that although the primer does smoothen my skin ready for my foundation application, the finish isn't as thick or long lasting as what I'm used to and however much I try I don't think I can love this as much as I do with porefessional. So for me 'Smashbox' is the place to go for eyeliner however I think I will stick with what I know and love in future when it comes to primer.

 

 

Lastly, LIPS! I have never really been a huge fan of having stand out lips and just applied some lip balm or gloss to complete a makeup look, however recently I have been relying on lip colour to be a main feature of my face! After trying and falling in love with some bare minerals colours 'pink champagne' and 'berry glace' I felt that my 'go to' collection needed expansion in the form of a nude. Kate Moss' 'Lasting Finish' collection by Rimmel is my new best friend - the colours '03' and '38' are the ones I picked up and I can honestly say I've never had a better lipstick. They really do what it says on the packaging in the format of long lasting but also perfect colour coverage. They also provide a smooth finish that doesn't dry out your lips like most lipsticks. I now cannot wait to try more shades from this collection- well done Kate Moss!

 

   

 

 Until next time, Toni. xo

 

My Everyday Eye Make-Up.

I get asked a lot how I do my eyeliner and eye make up in general and it is a bit of a strange thing to explain so I thought I would just show you exactly how I do it. I'm no expert and I'm not saying this is the right or best way to do your make-up, this is just the way I do an easy, everyday look.

 

First I always make sure I have no product on my eye lid when I begin because I find that the makeup lasts longer on my eye when it is applied straight to clean and clear skin.

 

This is the eye liner I will be using throughout this demonstration for my winged eyeliner. It is called 'Stay Precise' Liquid Liner in the colour 'Black' by No.7.

 

 I will then draw a thin outline of the wing I want. I usually start with the bottom line, drawing from the corner of my eye, very slowly outwards and gradually upwards. For the top line I start from the middle of my eye and slowly upwards to the point of the bottom line.

 

 

 Then, still using the Stay Precise Liquid Liner I simply fill in the wing with single strokes going from my eye outwards until I am happy with how it looks. Note: it doesn't have to be perfect! There is plenty of time for touch ups.

 

 To complete the flick, I draw from the inside corner of my eye to the edge of the wing, adjusting the thickness as I go to make sure the lines match up.

 

I then go to eye shadow, using W7 In The Buff Palette starting with the colour 'Buff'.

 

 Following along the flick and going right up to the brow brown, I cover my eye lid with this colour as a base.

 



Still using the W7 Palette this time with a brush and the colour 'Chocolate'.

 

 I lightly brush this colour though my crease and upwards towards the brow bone, again using the flick as a guide. It is important to always take darker eye shadows upwards to avoid your eye looking droopy and small.

 

 Going onto the colour 'Storm' now, using a brush again to apply.

 

With a darker colour I find it easiest to apply it very gradually, blending as you go to make sure you get the look you want. I apply this half way along the flick line and upwards, still following the wing.

 

For just under my brow and on the brow bone, I use The Body Shop's Radiant Highlighter. 

 

You only need a very small amount of this as it spreads very well and gives a beautiful, bright shimmer. 

 

Next, onto No.7's Extreme Length Mascara in the colour 'Black'.

 

Applying this only to my top lashes, on both sides to build up layers and keep it lasting longer and giving the perfect length and volume to my lashes.

 

For my bottom liner I use Avon's Kohl Liner in the colour 'Black' which provides a long lasting pencil liner and smudge tool.

 

I apply the liner along my water line from corner to corner, smudging outwards into the wing and onto my bottom lash line.

 

Using the No.7 Extreme Length Mascara again, I apply lightly to my bottom lashes.

 

After touch ups this is my final look, easy, quick and still very effective!

 

 

 

Products used:

• No.7's Stay Precise Liquid Liner in 'Black' [here]
• W7's In The Buff Eye Shadow Palette [here]
• The Body Shop's Radiant Highlighter [here]
• No.7's Extreme Length Mascara in 'Black' [here]
• Avon's Kohl Eyeliner Pencil in 'Black' [here]



 

Until next time, Toni. xo