Helen’s Fashion, Beauty & Lifestyle Blog

Wednesday, 18 June 2014

Summer Inspiration

What does summer mean to you? Maybe it’s having a BBQ in your garden or going to the seaside. This blog post is tips for ways to enjoy summer and activity ideas. Please feel to leave your own ideas in the comments box.

1.) Go summer clothes shopping! I love all the pretty sandals and beachwear clothing that hits the shops. Maybe pick a trend you would like to incorporate into your summer wardrobe.

2.) Paint your nails/toenails bright summery colours. This is something I love to do. Models own do some fab neon shades or you could pick some pretty pastels too.

3.) Create a summer pinterest board. I’ve already done this. In fact all the images shown in this post are from my pinterest page. Link as follows: http://www.pinterest.com/capstick13/summer-awaits/

4.) Buy an ice cream from an ice cream van. This brings back memories for me as a kid always listening for the ice cream van. My favourite kind is either a 99 or a lemon top.

5.) Read a glossy magazine in your garden or in a park. Simple things like this always make me feel good. My favourite choice of magazine is either Look or Company. I love the fashion and beauty pages most :-)

6.) Go to the nearest beach. Luckily for me I live very close to the beach. If the weather is kind you can have a dip in the sea or a sunbathe.

7.) Try a new sport activity. As a family we like to play tennis on holiday. We reserve a tennis court and have a few games. It could be any sport though. Volleyball is a great one if you are at the beach.

8.) Hire a bouncy castle. Great if you have lots of younger family members but adults can have a go too. It would make a great reason for a summer party and it’s something a bit different.

9.) Watch summery films. The perfect way to do this would be on an ipad or laptop that way you can watch it in the sun. I personally love Blue Crush and Blue Crush 2.

10.) Go sightseeing. This could be anywhere. Places like Brighton and Blackpool would be ace. You could go for a day trip or a weekend away.

Friday, 13 June 2014

Revlon PhotoReady Concealer

Today I wanted to review this Revlon concealer I have been trying out for a couple of months. I’ve been on the search for the perfect concealer for a while now. I was scanning the Superdrug makeup aisle to find one which was in stick form and had a choice of shades for fair skin. I swatched light pale 002 and seemed to be a reasonable match.

After getting to know this particular product I found there were some really great qualities. The application is dreamy. It glides onto the skin so well and is very velvety to the touch. Because of this I never found crease marks after using it.

I use stick concealer to cover up under eye circles and blemishes around the face. The coverage is medium and can be built up. I did find after a couple of layers the tone of the product was more visible. Maybe because my skin is so fair.

I noticed on other reviews people disliked that there were glitter fragments in the product which I did not notice at all until peering very carefully under harsh light. I don’t see this as an issue because it gives a very natural brightening effect.

I would recommend this product because it’s a fab choice if you prefer stick concealers and liquid concealers don’t give you enough coverage. It retails at £6.49 which in my eyes is a bargain. I haven’t heard much hype about this item but let me know if you have come across it also.

Whats your fav concealer? Have you tried Revlon makeup and what did you think?

Helen
XOXO

Saturday, 31 May 2014

Wilko Citrus Lip Balm

This Wilkinson’s lip balm has a beautiful citrus scent and comes in trendy and vibrant packaging. I received the item in a hamper gift set and thought I would do a mini review.

The texture is fairly similar to Vaseline but with a slightly more jelly like feel. The product has an orange tint which is visible on the lips. Unfortunately the tint is too much to wear out with a couple of coats.

I tend to use the lip balm at home to rehydrate the lips. As mentioned before it has a Vaseline like quality. The scent is divine and thats probably why I like using it.

The product doesn’t have any staying power unfortunately and I felt didn’t do enough on the lips to repurchase. I’m unaware of the price as I received it as a gift.

Have you tried this lipbalm? What is your fav product to hydrate the lips?

Helen
XoXo

Monday, 19 May 2014

Primark Haul

I’m a little late posting this haul but a while back I popped into Primark with a friend. My favourite purchases have to be the oversized t-shirts. I’ve worn them a couple of times now and there so versatile.

I find Primark belts to be great and there is always a good selection in stores. I picked up two in different colours and I know I’ll get my use out of them.

Have you been shopping in Primark lately? Let me know if you’ve bought any fab pieces, would love to hear! Feel free to leave the link below if you have a blogpost! :-) xx

Oversized tee blue £6.00

Oversized tee navy £6.00

Purple t-shirt £3.00

50pk of hair elastics £1.00

Grey jean belt £2.00

Leopard print belt £2.00

Sunglasses £3.00

Set of rings £3.00

Friday, 25 April 2014

Origins Grapefuit Duo Set £14 (reduced from £22)

Todays post I will be reviewing an Origins bath set. I bought the set after Christmas in the Sale. Although this was a gift set you can buy the individual items throughout the year. Included in the set are two 100ml tubes including a body soufflé and combined bubble bath/shower gel.

My thoughts on these two items were extremely positive. It was one of my first high-end bath product purchases and I was so so impressed with the quality of what I had purchased.

The soufflé was beautifully scented with a fresh and stimulating fragrance. The aroma of grapefruit was so energising and I couldn’t get enough. The soufflé was a treat to use, was easy to apply and sank into the skin very well leaving a hint of the scent for a good while after.

I was equally delighted with the bath/shower gel. I used it mostly as a shower gel and it foamed up amazingly and was so refreshing to use. I adored the scent just as the soufflé and this left my bathroom smelling divine. Equally using the product as a bubble bath worked well. It’s one of the best I have tried because it foamed up extremely well.

The packaging was lovely and bold. I loved the general plastic tubes, great to get a bit of product easily out. The box was equally pretty and would have made a perfect gift too. I did notice one minor issue being that one tube was slightly bigger than the other unintentionally which I felt was a lack for attention to detail for a high end product. This was the only negative.

Overall I was amazed by the brand and will be repurchasing, maybe trying out the items full size and even trying other items by the brand. One of the best bath product sets I have ever used!!!

Have you tried any Origins products? Would you be tempted to give these products mentioned a try yourself?

Love Helen xxxx

Saturday, 19 April 2014

Easter Chocolate Cornflake Cakes, Happy Easter!

Hey beauties! :-)

Hope you having a lovely Easter weekend so far. Today I’ve been on a Horse riding beach trek. They have regular sessions at my local riding school and luckily we live near the beach. It was lovely and weather wise quite mild.

Todays post is a baking one. I made these earlier in the week and had taken a few snaps while I was doing it. Chocolate cornflakes are quite a basic recipe, in fact perfect to do with kids. I used Cadburys dime bar chocolate so it was extra tasty. I had trouble getting the chocolate even and ran out of chocolate just a little. Despite this they tasted divine! Let me know what you’re up to this weekend. Click here for the BBC online recipe I followed.

Happy Easter!

Love Helen

xxxx

Monday, 14 April 2014

Superdrug, Boots, Dorothy Perkins Collective Haul

I’ve been doing some shopping over the past month or so and have put it all together as a collective haul. There will be a separate Primark haul coming up shortly too.

I headed into Superdrug as I was in desperate need of some new makeup mostly concealer and foundation. I wanted to try a new brand for both of these before the last of my previous ones ran out completely. Luckily my new items are a great match for my skin so expect some reviews coming up.

I picked up some other makeup/toiletries items both from Superdrug and Boots. Mostly essentials really for example face wipes, shampoo, toner, cotton pads etc.

My most exciting purchases are from Dorothy Perkins. I’ve been loving there clothes recently and did another clothes haul about two months back. This time I bought two dresses in a vintage, vibrant style. The orange dress is bright and has a 60s style which I love and the blue dress is a modern and quite funky.

Let me know what you think of my purchases guys. I love doing haul posts. What have you been buying lately? Clothes? Makeup? Let me know! Helen xxx