Review | Soap&Glory Dr Spot

  I have very acne prone skin, and decided I would try and find a spot remover that actually worked. I alighted on Soap&Glory's Dr Spot. Soap&Glory is a very well known brand in the UK, and all the reviews I read said it was a miracle worker, so I thought I would try it out. 

  It is £8, so not the cheapest option, but it was a case of wanting to spend a little more for something really good, not be a cheapskate and get something rubbish. I have been using this for two weeks now, so I feel I am in a position to comment on how well it actually works. 

  It is a gel formula. You squeeze a little onto your finger and apply directly to the spot or breakout. The idea is that it lessens the appearance of the spot and speeds up the healing process. When you first apply the gel, it burns. And I mean it really burns. I have quite a few breakouts, so I had it on quite a few areas of my face, and it felt very VERY stingy. Not a very technical word, but that is how it felt. I was pleased, because it certainly felt like it was doing something. However, several days of twice-a-day application later and I had not seen much of an improvement. 

  I should probably have taken before/after pictures, if anything to show myself whether it has had an effect, because I couldn't really notice any, but to my eye, no change has taken place. 

  I was very disappointed, because the reviews raved about this, saying it was the best thing they had ever tried for spots. I however, especially given the price tag, would not recommend. 

If you have any good spot remover recommendations, comment down below, because I would really appreciate it!

Love Lucy xxx

Review + Swatches | Urban Decay Naked Basics palette

Up until recently, I had never owned an eyeshadow palette (apart from set of blue Maybelline shades I got when I was about 7). Then, for my recent birthday, after an unsuccessful attempt to buy it on a plane, I received the Urban Decay Naked Basics palette. This palette has been out for a while and got quite a lot of hype, which I can honestly say is totally well-founded. It is AMAZING. Seriously. I know it is getting a little late, but ASK FOR THIS FOR CHRISTMAS. It is all you will ever need, and I have literally used it every day for the last - almost - two months. 

It contains 5 matte shades and 1 satin finish one. L-R: Venus, Foxy, Walk of Shame, Naked 2, Faint, Crave. 

 I can honestly say I use every shade, and have already made a considerable dent in Foxy and Walk of Shame. 

Venus: A light cream shimmery colour, I use this for highlight on the brow bone and inner corners.

Foxy: A light yellow, good for using all over the eyelid.

Walk of Shame: Fleshy-toned, I use this for a base colour (to even out skin tone) or by itself all over the lid, for a more natural look.

Naked 2: A darker nude, good for a bit of shadow in the crease of the eyelid, or again by itself.

Faint: A plain matte brown. This is probably my least used shade, but I sometimes use it for liner along my lashline (see Crave)

Crave: Matte black. I take this on an angled brush and gently press it in all along my lashline, for a more smoky liner effect. 

So, as you might be able to tell, I love this palette very much. I will be posting again very soon!

Merry Christmas! Love Lucy xxx

Collective Boots Haul

 A combination of my birthday and my family Christmas gathering has meant that recently I have, for once, not been totally broke. Unsurprisingly, Boots was my main port of call. 
*Just to note that all these purchases were not from the same shopping trip haha*

  First was Batiste Dry shampoo. I wanted the oriental scent, but they had run out in my local Boots, so I went for the classic scent. Batiste isn't perhaps the best dry shampoo, because it leaves a lot of grey residue, but it was only £2.99, so oh well. After hearing pretty much everyone I know talk about the Rimmel Stay Matte powder, I decided to try it. I'm going to be honest I'm not blown away by it, but it does the job, and it is about as cheap as you can get. One thing I will say is that I've only been using it about a week and a half, and already I've made a sizeable dent in it, which suggests it isn't going to last very long. 

  Ever since I got my first Essie polish, quite a while ago, I've been set on adding to the (very small) collection. 'Go ginza' is that very polish. It is a pale lilacy pink colour, and has a really nice formula, just like my other Essie (playdate). I know you're supposed to stop using mascaras after a few months, and I confess I had been using the L'Oreal false lash telescopic for quite a while, so I thought it was time for a new one. Also from L'Oreal, this is the Volume million lashes waterproof mascara. I'm not a massive fan of the brush on it, but it does give a lot of volume (as the name would suggest), and it will definitely last for the next few months. Lastly is Soap&Glory's Dr Spot. I cannot say much about this because I haven't used it yet, but I am hopeful and optimistic!

Sorry I haven't posted for a while, but it is now the Christmas holidays, so expect Christmas-themed posts on the way!

Bye! Love lucy xxx 

Samples Roundup!

  I love samples, a lot. I have built up quite a collection over the last few months, and while at first I was loathe to use them, liking the look of all the packaging sitting together, I have now assigned myself to try all of them. I thought I would do a little set of reviews every so often, of 5 or so products at a time. 

Bumble and bumble Hairdresser's invisible oil primer - Its a mouthful of a name, but I do really like this primer. I use it as a heat protectant spray, and it feels so light and weightless that I would consider buying the full size version

Maybelline Baby skin primer - There have been mixed reviews on this, but I personally loved it. It has a smooth, gel-like texture and glides over the skin easily. I would definitely purchase the full size. 

Taylor Swift: Wonderstruck perfume - This is quite old, and I don't know if they even sell it any more, but the scent is quite pleasant.

Nars 'orgasm' highlighter - I don't know how you would ever use up a full size of this, because you need such a tiny amount to put on your cheeks. It gives a very nice pinky glow, but I wouldn't buy a full size because it is quite pricey, and I think this mini will last me a while.

Caudalie vinosource moisturising sorbet - I got this with my feelunique order, and I find it very refreshing and hydrating. Also, the tube it comes in is very cute.

I will be back with another samples roundup when I have tried out some more, and I hope you enjoyed this one!

Love Lucy xxx 

Favourite Eateries: Patty&Bun

  I thought, to inject some culture into this blog, I would start doing posts about my favourite cafes/restaurants, in case anyone wanted any recommendations, or were interested in new restaurants.

    Today's edition is about a restaurant in London I visited today. It's called Patty&Bun, and is a burger restaurant. There are two, one on James Street, and the other on Liverpool Street. We went to the James Street one.

   The decor is pleasantly rustic, and the small dining area is crammed with little tables. I went for the 'Ari Gold' burger, which is £7.50 and their speciality one. 

   The patty is served in a brioche bun, which has a pleasant shiny quality. The burger comes wrapped in paper, and it can be taken away, or eat in. It was, in all honesty, the most delicious burger I have ever eaten. The cheese melted in gooey, melted loveliness and the burger was squidgey to perfection. 

   I would highly recommend Patty&Bun, so if you are ever around Liverpool or James Street, I would definitely recommend checking it out. 

Love Lucy xxx

August Favourites

  Feeling very depressed because school starts tomorrow :( :( :(. These are some things I've been loving in August. 

Body Shop Argan Oil Lips - This is so moisturising and nice. The packaging is also lovely. 

Jack Wills nail polish 'Hot Pink' - I had this on my toes on holiday, and it is such a nice colour. The formula of the Jack Wills polishes is very long-lasting and doesn't chip easily.

Tanya Burr lipgloss 'Picnic in the Park' - I've talked about this before, and my high opinion of it remains the same. I hope to purchase more from this range in the future.

White Company candle 'Rose' - This candle gives off the most beautiful scent, it really perfumes the whole room. I have finished it now, and the glass is pretty to hold things in.

Sanctuary hydrating cleanser - This has a cream-like texture and removes all makeup, including waterproof mascaras. It is also easy to decant into little pots for travelling. 

Bombay Bicycle Club 'So long, see you tomorrow' - I am a big Bombay Bicycle Club fan, and this album did not disappoint. It has a really relaxed vibe, and I am in love. 

There might not be very frequent posts over the next couple of weeks, while I settle back into school, but I will be back as soon as I can with more!

Byee! Love Lucy xxx

Product Empties #1

  L'Oreal EverRiche (Nourishing&Flowing) shampoo & conditioner - I really liked these. They were quite runny and much less mousse-like than other shampoos/conditioners I have tried. They also contained quite a lot of washes, they took a while to empty.

The Body Shop Shea body butter - I am a big fan of the Body Shop body butters, and this smells amazing.

Snow Fairy shower gel - I actually finished this ages ago, but I kept it to include in a possible future favourites. I still have a big pot, which I still enjoy using, and which I'll probably still have by the time they start selling it again! 

Elf & Elemis makeup remover wipes - I have no paticular feelings about either of these, but they did their job well. I have stopped using makeup wipes now, but these were good while they lasted. 

Rimmel Scandeleyes RetroGlam mascara - I used to like this mascara, but in hindsight, it was a bit clumpy and has dried up now anyway so oh well. (<-- world's best review :P)

No7 Exquisite curl mascara - This dried up a while ago, but from what I remember, it smudged very easily. However, I liked the wand, and the colour was more of a brown, which was less harsh. 

Clinique Universal Superprimer - You may remember I got this for Christmas last year, and I have been very happy with it. Not much is needed for each usage, so it has (as you can work out) lasted over 7 months. 

Collection Illuminating Touch concealer- I've already repurchased this, because it blends wonderfully and is very cheap.

Sanctuary Pore-erasing toner - I've never used a toner before, so I cannot give an experienced view on whether this is good or not, but it certainly seemed refreshing.

Nail polish remover pads - They did their job well. Not much more to say :) 

Soap and Glory Glad hair day shampoo - This has a very bizarre consistency, almost like a gel

Top 5 Nail Polishes

    I am a massive nail polish fan. As of today, I have 36 in my collection. Actually that sounds quite bad when I write it down. In my defence quite a few were free ones from magazines, but even so, I am slightly addicted. I thought I would therefore compile a list of my favourites. I change the colour of my nails ridiculously often (not helped by my habit of picking it off within about 24 hours) so to have one which I wear consistently is a good achievement. These are some of the ones who have a particular place in my collection. 

L-R: Topshop 'Milkshake', Barry M Gelly 'Coconut', Topshop 'Hidden Treasure', Rimmel Rita Ora 'Breakfast in Bed', OPI 'Lincoln Park After Dark'

  Sadly Milkshake has been discontinued :( , but I have linked a similar colour. I like the Topshop ones, and they change their colours so often that everyone can find one they like. The Gelly range by Barry M is awesome. It is such good quality and the colour range is amazing. My favourite is the OPI one, but they are almost £12, so they are slightly out of price range. 

  I hope you enjoyed this post, and continue to put up with my nail polish addiction :/

Bye! 

Love Lucy xx

Lush products to try

  Ok, it's another Lush post. What can I say... I am in love. I picked up a catalogue from the store today, and looking at the products is very enjoyable and painful (looking at the pricetags and then at my empty piggybank) at the same time. So I have compiled a list of products that I'd like to try at some point in the future.


Sea Vegetable Soap - £3.10
The huge slabs of soap in store are always very appealing, and this one smells amazing.

Ultrabalm - £8.75
This multipurpose balm is useful for everything really, and, while it may be a little overpriced, it could come in very useful. 

Let the Good Times Roll facial cleanser - £6.40
I saw this on Amelia Liana's channel, and it comes in a very cute pot, so this is just YAY. 

R&B hair moisturiser - £11.25
This is a very overpriced product, but then again I've never tried it, and it might be magical. I have heard lots of good things about it, though. 

Jungle solid conditioner - £3.35
This is to tame wild hair. My hair can get a little wild. The design on this is also very cute, and it would give me an excuse to buy a little tin for it.

Caca Marron - £8.50
I wouldn't want to buy this for a while, but I thought I would put it in because it looks very cool. It is henna hair dye, which dyes your hair, but leaves your hair in very good condition. Lush uses finest Persian henna, which explains the pricetag. 

Vintage knot-wrap - £4.25
These are just very cool. Enough said. 

Ok, sorry for the long post, but I wanted to get all my Lush feelings out. Hope you enjoyed it!
Byee! Love Lucy xx

Review | H'Suan Wen Hua hair mask

  I have always been a fan of Lush: their ethics, their products, but recently I have become somewhat obsessed. Whilst my history of Lush products is not very extensive, I am very keen to try more, and expand my repertoire. So, I decided to try out this hair mask. H'Suan Wen Hua - £9.50 claims to be from the god of hair, and although I'm not entirely sure about this, it certainly is not like anything I've seen before. 

  You apply it straight onto your dry hair, leave it for 20 minutes, then proceed to wash you hair as usual. One thing to say is do not apply this out of your bathroom, or anywhere with carpet/furniture that cannot be wiped down, because this literally goes EVERYWHERE. It is unbelievably messy. I expected it to be a mousse like texture, but instead it is very runny and sticky. 

   I cannot say I have seen huge improvements in the 'lustre and condition' of my hair, but that may be because immediately after washing my hair, I went and played rounders outside in light rain, so maybe that washed away a bit of lustre. 

  Another point about this is that it was not a cheap product. £9.50 is expensive, I bought this rather on impulse (I have had it for a while, and only got round to using it this morning). I have medium length hair, I used over half the tub, not even covering my whole head. People with long or thick hair would probably only get one use out of it. 

  So in conclusion, buy this if you want good quality, and good ethics (not sure about the smell though... bananas and olive oil make for a heady combination), but be aware what you're paying for and long haired people might want to go for a hair mask with a better price:use ratio. 

Byee!

Love Lucy xxx

Review | OPI 'Lincoln Park After Dark'

 So aaages ago, I watched a couple of tutorials and videos on youtube by sunbeamsjess. Then I forgot about it and went on happily. Now, in the last few weeks, I have rediscovered her channel and I am OBSESSED. Consequently, I am in the 'whatever products she uses I want' phase. Whilst watching her Christmas 2013 haul, and also in several other videos, I saw this OPI nail polish, and I fell in love. It is the OPI 'Lincoln Park After Dark' - £11.95. I am of course aware that this is far from a spring colour, but bizarrely I find that the seasons do not affect my nail colour choices in any way. This is a lovely blackberry colour. It looks almost black, but is a very deep purple.
  

This is the first OPI nail polish I have ever bought, mainly because they are very overpriced. I do not own any colour like this, and its quite similar to Essie's 'Sole mate' which I was considering buying until I saw Jess's videos, and discovered this one. I hope this is the start of many more OPI nail polishes!

Love lucy xxx

Liebster Blog Awards

  I confess I had not actually heard of the Liebster Awards, but I have now researched it, and I have been nominated by Nadene Chandler. Thank you!



Here are the 11 questions: -

1. Why did you start blogging?

July of last year

2. Do you blog about one particular thing / area?

Beauty/fashion but I also have a post about bubble tea?

3. What is your favourite clothing item?

Cardigans - I have such a nice fluffy one from boohoo.com

4. What one place would you love to travel to?

Canada definitely

5. Is your blog style inspired by anyone?

Not really?

6. Favourite magazine?

Company or Frankie

7. Do you have a facebook or twitter page for your blog?

No :(

8. What are you hoping to achieve from blogging?

I don't really know, not much, I just enjoy doing it. :DDD

9. What do you think is most important to you, the design of your blog - or the content?

I need to sort out my design because its not quite how I'd like it at the moment, so content at the moment. 

10. Favourite summer colour?

Peppermint/Light blue

11. Must have handbag essential?

Boots advantage card, in case of a quick Boots trip!

Thank you so much Nadene for the nomination!

I nominate: -

Jade from sweettreatsandperfectpleats

Shan from shansemainex

Sarah from blendnsmack

Christie from iamchristiemartin

Olivia from everythingoliviagrace

My 11 questions: -

1. What's the theme of your blog?

2. Favourite spring trend?

3. Who's your style icon?

4. What are your hobbies?

5. 3 favourite music artists?

6. Where do you want to travel?

7. Favourite nail colour?

8. Coffee or tea?

9. What is your favourite makeup brand?

10. What's your favourite TV show?

11. Three words to describe you?

The rules of the Liebster awards are here:

1 .naming, linking and thanking the person that nominated you
2.answering the 11 questions they have set you
3.nominate 5-11 blogs with under 300 followers for the award
4.informing your nominee's that they have been nominated.

Love Lucy xxx

Hello earrings!

  You may remember back in July (my very first post), I mentioned that I was thinking about getting my ears pierced. Well here, nearly 9 months later, I have actually done it! I did it at Claire's. I confess I was slightly apprehensive about the Claire's ear piercing, because I have heard a lot of myths about lack of sterilisation etc., but actually the woman seemed very competent and I felt in safe hands. 

  I got the 3mm 9 carat gold bobble with rhodium around it (to make it look silver).

  In terms of pain, it was very minimal, and so fast you hardly noticed it. My ears have ached a bit since, but altogether not bad. For cleaning, you have to soak a cotton pad in this lotion and clean your ear 3 times a day. After doing that, you have to turn it 180 degrees to prevent it embedding in your ear. 

  For some reason, a while ago, a friend gave me this set of earrings from Accessorize. I'm not entirely sure why because I didn't have my ears pierced at that point, but they will be useful soon when I can wear whichever earrings I want. 

  

                     1 - Topshop                  2 - Accessorize                      3 - Claire's                        

  

Here are a couple of earrings that I have got my eye on, now that I am able to shop for them. 

Byee! Love lucy xxx

Review | Mac 'Painterly' Paint Pot

 So this is my first MAC purchase. It is also my only eyeshadow. I am not an eyeshadow person, but I was looking for a nude colour for school, that wouldn't be too obvious. I have to say this Mac Paint Pot 'Painterly' - £15 is my new obsession. 

    

It is very easy to apply and rubs easily over the eyelid. I also find it stays very well in place and does not crease.
  They may be a little pricey, but I would definitely like to purchase another colour in the range. 

 Do you have any of the Paint Pots? It seems to be a staple in most beauty lovers makeup collection, and it definitely has a firm place in mine. 

My feelunique order

  I went onto feelunique to buy the Tanya Burr products, and came away with a lot more...

Hello! I am a huge fan of Tanya Burr, and when she brought out her range of lipglosses and nail varnishes (#tanyaburrlipsandnails foreverrr) I was keen to jump on the bandwagon that thousands of instagrammers have started driving. So with them in my feelunique basket, I noticed the get £5 off when you spend £30, and also the free samples that came with a £30 spend. So it all escalated from there...

 


 So I got the Tanya Burr lipgloss in 'Picnic in the Park', and the nail polish in 'Penguin Chic'. The lipgloss is nicley pigmented and I love the packaging. The nail polish is a bit like Porchester Square (from Nails Inc.) except darker. I have been using the Elf makeup remover wipes, but they are running out, so I bought these Elemis ones because they are cheap and there are 25 of them. I am not a fan of the fake tan look, and I don't want fake tan (obviously) but I don't like bright white legs either, so this gradual tan was (for St. Tropez) quite cheap (approx £12) and more like a slowly bronzing moisturiser. The free samples were from Caudalie and Omorovizca. 

Good haul in all (rhymes :O) and I would deffo buy from feelunique again.

Yay!

Love Lucy xxx

Penny board style

  Pennyboarding - a new craze. Fans of Jacksgap will recognize it as their favourite mode of transport - that's certainly where I heard about it. My parents bought my 6-year old brother one for Christmas, not knowing what it was, thinking that it was a skateboard, or an easier version. It is, needless to say, too difficult for him, so I have adopted it, and am learning to penny. Being a Ripstik lover myself, the technique was hard to grasp, but I have to say, I am a bit of a convert. 

  Being originally for my brother, it is a slightly luminous green and orange colour, but I'm hoping that a pastel one might be a good birthday present. 

  I then turned to Polyvore, and made a couple of Penny board style sets.

1 - A mixture of pastels, daisies and NIKE AIRMAX 

2 - A bit more grunge/street. Reds, maroons and good old vans

I hope you liked this post. All the pennies here are from here.

Bye!!

Love Lucy xxx