USA Beauty Goodies | Part 1: Flower Power

When I visited the US in May my wonderful cousins very kindly gave me some make up bags filled with beauty goodies to try. They had all contributed a few of their favourite beauty products and I was so excited and overwhelmed by how thoughtful this was. If you're reading this guys...you're the best!

I have been using the American beauty goodies for three months now, so I thought it was time to write a series of posts and share my thoughts on them. Each one of my cousins included a hand written statement about the favourites they has chosen, explaining why they love them so much. This post includes some brilliant make up and thoughts from Christina.  

In today's post, I'm going to be talking about some make up from the beauty products line 'Flower' by Drew Barrymore. You'll be pleased to know that her products are not tested on animals! I was particularly excited to try things from this line because as far as I'm aware none of her products are available in the UK. 

My favourite is the lipstick. Firstly, just look at how beautiful that packaging is. My cousin Christina said- "Cherry Chiffon is a heavily pigmented red. It can be sheer and neutral if applied lightly and then you can build if you want more colour. It's my go to lip butter". Well let me tell you, this has become my own go to lip product. It's very well pigmented for a lip butter and has a slightly glossy finish. It claims to have a plumping effect and I think the texture helps to achieve this. (See a photo of the lip butter applied below). 

Next up, is a Lip and Cheek Chubby Stick. Christina said- "Raisin the Roof is a beautiful deep berry red. Be sure to use a light touch and build. It has a velvet texture when used on moisturised skin." She's right about not applying too much. This stuff comes out pretty dark so I haven't been using it on my cheeks. But it makes a nice lip tint. I just use my finger to apply a little bit at a time as the tip of the product is way too big to apply like a lip stick. This is probably my least favourite product out of the three. 

Again, look at the beautiful packaging! This is a Créme Blush from the range. When I first saw it I wasn't sure how I would use it because it's a brown shade. Christina said- "I know Rose-o-den-dron looks more like a bronzer than a blush, but it works great as both! It has a butter texture and a small amount gives me a nice natural glow". She was so right. The fact that this blush is so creamy and buttery means that applying a tiny bit to your cheeks using either your fingers or a brush gives your cheeks a lovely natural glow. I am really enjoying using this on a daily basis at the moment. 

Here, I have used the Créme Blush and the Lip Butter to create a minimal summer make up look. I'm visiting the US again in September and hope to pick up more products from this range because I've really enjoyed using the Lip Butter and Blush. I do like the lip and cheek stick but I think I'll use it more during the winter time because it's a darker shade.

Christina also gave me two 'Flower' nail polishes so expect a separate review on these soon!

Have you tried any of the products from Drew Barrymore's line? Which is your favourite? 

Looking for Deer...

I've lived in London for almost a year and have never been to Richmond Park. It had been on my list of things to do for a while, so I finally hopped on a bus and set off for a day of exploration.

It is so humid in London at the moment, which makes it difficult to know what to wear. I went for this giant blue T Shirt that I picked up in H&M recently and it did the job perfectly. I think I will invest in a few more of these because they are so easy to throw on and are incredibly comfortable. They will be great for wearing with leggings or tights when the weather gets a bit cooler again. 

These shoes are from Primark and I can't stop wearing them. I love the way they look and they are unbelievably comfortable so I can walk around in them all day long.

Have you been to Richmond Park? It's such an incredible place! We even spotted some deer in the end...

I will be moving out of London in a few weeks so I'm trying to tick off as many places as possible, can you recommend anywhere else to visit?

The Olive Branch Shower Gel | Review

I was delighted to discover 'The Olive Branch' shower gel in a gorgeous Lush gift set I received for my birthday last month. I absolutely love anything with bergamot as an ingredient, so I couldn't wait to hop in the shower and cover myself in this heavenly scent.
This shower gel contains fair trade olive oil. I have only ever used olive oil as a cooking ingredient, i've never thought of covering my body in it. But this stuff really works. It leaves your skin feeling silky smooth and smelling delicious. A friend of mine (who used to work in Lush) advised me to shake before use in order to mix in the oil. Thanks for the heads up Sid! The consistency of this shower gel is very strange because it's not 'gel' like at all...it's actually very runny. However, this doesn't stop you from lathering it up. I would suggest only pouring a small amount onto your hand though so that you don't waste any, as it tends to run all over the place.

Overall, this has quickly become one of my favourite scents from Lush and I would definitely recommend it if you want smooth, Mediterranean smelling skin...or hair!

What's your favourite Lush product to use during the summer? 

L'Oreal Nude Magique Eau De Teint | Review

I used to wear fairly heavy foundation with a medium coverage but recently I've found that it just doesn't agree with my skin and I end up feeling unfomfortable throughout the day. I don't know about you but now that it's summer in the UK I only ever feel like wearing something light on my skin...or nothing at all. But the problem is I haven't quite built up enough confidence to go out with a completely bare face. (I am getting better though!) I'd heard great things about the L'Oreal Nude Magique Eau De Teint and was sold after reading the words 'Fresh Feel' and 'Weightless' on the bottle so decided to give it a go. 

After using this foundation on and off for the past few months I wanted to share my honest thoughts with you because I don't feel like this foundation is for me. The main thing I found difficult when choosing the foundation was the limited range of shades. There weren't many to choose from at all and they all seemed to be pretty dark. I haven't got fair skin and would usually go for something between medium and light (if they have it). I went for shade 110 'Warm Ivory' after trying a tester in the shop and hoped for the best! It's not an awful match but it does seem to have a very orangey tone to it...yes I know the shade does have the word warm in it! But it was literally the only shade that remotely matched my skin. 

The formulation of this foundation is very thin and liquid-y (which is obviously the point), I'd never seen a foundation like it before. The bottle instructs you to give it a shake before using and the good thing about this foundation is that a tiny bit of product tipped out onto your finger seems to go a long way.

Like I said before, the whole reason I wanted to try this is because I wanted a lighter foundation and didn't want to cake my face in product. But I still found myself using this and then applying a layer of bareMinerals foundation over the top, just to even everything out. That's probably just me being weird though and applying much more make up than I need! I think this foundation would be great for taking on holiday with you to a hot country if you didn't want to wear much make up. But I don't think I'll be continuing to use it and will just stick to the bareMinerals foundation alone. I will be sure to give the bareMinerals foundation it's very own review because it definitely deserves it! 

Have you tried this foundation? What are your thoughts?