Lush haul and first impressions

On bank holiday Monday, Ollie and I went back to Tunbridge Wells and back into Lush- after I spent an evening there on Saturday. Read about it here. I had tried their Prince Charming soap I got in my goodie bag- there will be a separate post on that, and thought about switching my shampoo and conditioner to natural products. I spent the entire evening on Sunday going through the catalogue and circling every item I wanted- I will have to go back as I couldn't afford to get everything I wanted in one go!

 

I knew I wanted to pick up a shampoo and conditioner, but had been interested in the dry shampoo Lush do. I normally use either Tresemme or Batiste, but I don't like how they make my hair feel or the drying feeling they leave on my hands once I've worked the product through. What interested me with this product is that it is in a bottle, rather than a spray so I'm able to control how much I use and not go through it super quick like I do with the sprays. I opened the lid in the store and got the most amazing smell ever! It smells like grapefruit and lime, not chemicals which Tresemme and Batiste smell like. I knew from the moment I saw the product in store that I needed to get it, so I took the plunge and I must say I am impressed! It doesn't leave any horrible feeling in my hair or on my hands when I work the products in. I can apply it straight to my hair or into my hands and work it through that way. I have also tried applying it with a makeup brush which works just as well as I can concentrate on areas which need more dry shampoo and I know I won't waste the product. I can always apply a little more product if I need and I'm able to control how much product comes out in the first place. I would recommend this product to anyone who goes through dry shampoo crazy quick, who wants a natural dry shampoo which won't damage your hair and anyone who wants a dry shampoo which smells amazing! They only do the one fragrance, but it's not overpowering so if you don't like grapefruit that much, it doesn't smell strong!

Seeing as I have been given the challenge to go cruelty free, I saw that they do liquid lipsticks. I jumped on the bandwagon and caved into the MAC retro liquid lipsticks. This one is great apart from two reasons. Number 1) they test on animals! And number 2) it is very drying on my lips and starts to flake off and doesn't look attractive at all-a big no no for dry lips! I become a hot mess, not an attractive look! In the catalogue I couldn't decide what colour I wanted as they all looked so good, but when I saw them in the store I saw one almost identical to my MAC liquid lipstick so I knew this was the one. I got the shade decisive which is slightly lighter than my MAC liquid lipstick, but still pretty close in colour! The biggest difference I noticed was that the formulas were completely opposite! While the MAC liquid lipstick dries to a complete matte finish, the lush one doesn't and I actually think I prefer this. It gives my lips the opportunity to move rather than be stiff, dry or flake off. Lush has an amazing colour range to pick from and Seb, the consultant in Tunbridge Wells told me if I was brave enough or if I liked blues, that you can even go for the cream eyeshadows! I'm not that brave, but as it came from a Lush consultant, you are able to use the cream eyeshadows on your lips. I am super impressed with the liquid lipstick that Lush have to offer, I was kinda expecting them to be drying and make my lips look flakey and gross, but they don't at all. A big thumbs up from me! If you suffer with dry lips but love the liquid lipstick look, go get yourself a Lush Liquid lipstick! I promise you won't be disappointed!

While browsing through the catalogue I saw the toothy tabs. I was curious as to what this product was, so naturally I had to try it. I picked up boom as it contains active charcoal- which help to whiten teeth. When I opened the bottle, it smelt like cherry coke, which I'm not a big fan of but it didn't tatse like it. It has an aniseed taste which I'm able to get over- even though I hate aniseed! As it's a natural ingredient, I wanted to try to whiten my teeth this way rather than pay stupid amounts of money to end up with white, but sensitve teeth. In the tube you get 100 tabs, which for £5.95 is a little much in my opinion considering you only get 100 tabs, but there are other tabs for £4.95 containing 100 tabs also. I used one the other night, doing exactly as the label instructed- nibble until it starts to foam. Once it started to foam, I rinsed my toothbrush under running water and proceeded to brush my teeth. What happened next I should have been prepared for, all of a sudden there was black all in my sink! I really don't know how I didn't expect that to happen, but it did! Luckily when I rinsed my mouth out, there wasn't any black remaining in my mouth so I felt relieved. As I've only used this product once, I can't say I saw much of a difference, but I will keep a log of how my teeth look after I use it each time and see if there is a difference. I would recommend this to anyone who wants a natural tooth 'paste' and to check out the other options. They even do powders which you mix with a little water!

As I mentioned earlier, I wanted to try a shampoo and conditioner. The shampoo I picked up was Big. It's a sea salt shampoo which helps to cleanse the scalp. The sea salt helps to lift hair and add body, which helps with volume- yes I have thick hair but I don't always get the volume I want. The seaweed is protein-rich and coconut oil helps to make the hair feel soft. There is also lemon and lime included in which helps the hair to shine and reflects light. So far I've used this once and already my hair feels a lot healthier compared to my normal shampoo. I've noticed a slight bit of volume, but I let my hair air dry, whereas I'd probably got more volume if I had used a hair dryer. The conditioner I chose to go for was Veganese. I was drawn to this product as it didn't weigh the hair down but still makes your hair feel super soft. It contains seaweed which helps to soften the hair and it also contains lemon oil and juice- like the shampoo to help with shine. This conditioner also contains lavender and rosemary to help soothe the scalp. My hair feels so soft, even after I straightened it which doesn't happen after using my normal conditioner. It would feel soft after I washed it and let it air dry but as soon as it came in contact with heat, game over! I will defiantly be using lush shampoo and conditioners from now on and I can't wait to use the rest in the range and the solid shampoo and conditioners too! 

Now I didn't actually use the massage bar as I don't feel too stressed at the moment. But when I do use it, I'll let you know what I think of it. I picked up therapy and Seb told me a cool fact about it. It's a good bar for pregnant woman as it helps to reduce stretch marks and it has the weird bump sticking out because 1 in 4 babies is an outie! How cute is that! As soon as Seb told me, I had to get it! It smells incredible and I really can't wait to use it!

I will post a mini review of therapy on Instagram so make sure you're following me! 

Xx

Sara

Possible giveaway?

So I see a lot of other bloggers doing giveaways and I want to do one, but I don't want to feel like I'm leaving people out when doing this giveaway- if you understand what I'm saying..
I want to include EVERYONE in this giveaway so it's not just aimed at beauty bloggers or lifestyle bloggers. I will be doing a poll on twitter- make sure to follow me to vote saralouisehxo, and I also want you to comment on this post as to what items you would like to see in a giveaway.

Please bear in mind that this will be coming from my own money, so I won't be able to go crazy and give you everything that is commented, I wish I could, I just can't offer that right now.

Also can someone tell me if I've used the right bear, or if it's bare I need to be using.. I really have no idea, my brain can't seem to function after the bank holiday weekend!

Xoxo

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Lush blogger event

So on Saturday evening Lush in Tunbridge Wells held their first blogger event. I was lucky enough to grab an invite and I'm so glad I did. I haven't been to a blogger event before so I wasn't quite sure what to expect, only that I would be experiencing how they make their products and information about the seasonal products they have.

When I first got there and was waiting outside with Ollie, I was really nervous as there were a lot of people around- some who were attending the event and some who weren't. As I have social anxiety I wasn't 100% sure I could do this on my own but as the doors opened and I said goodbye to Ollie, I started to feel at ease. As soon as we entered the store we were given sticky labels with our name and blog name on so we could identify who everyone was. 

To begin with there weren't that many people in the store so I thought only a few people had got an invite. Once I had been given my name, I started talking to a couple of other bloggers- shoutout to amylilyanne, courtneydoesbeauty and mslilypad for making me feel a bit more comfortable! We started talking about if we were bloggers or youtubers- amylilyanne and courtneydoesbeauty are bloggers, go check them out! And mslilypad is a youtuber, make sure to subscribe to her channel! After we had been talking for a little bit we went upstairs and put our coats and bags to one side. By this point there were a lot more bloggers and youtubers around and Amy spotted Ottilie- check out her blog oisforottilie. I also met Jen- tabbycatcollars from Instagram, make sure to check out her page too. 

We then moved around the table to where there was a demonstration of a bathbomb was happening. It was interesting to see the ingredients used and how the ball shape was formed. I had a go at making my own bathbomb which I'm still waiting to test out- we were told to leave it for at least 24h but I think I overpacked mine! 

After we had made the bathbombs, we moved on to making Cupcake, the face mask. I will admit that I've tried this mask a long time ago when I was at college and due to the products we used there, anything would react to my skin- including this mask. I wanted to give this mask another shot as it was a few years ago that I was at college and my skin doesn't tend to react to many products nowadays. As soon as the cocoa was added to the mixture the room was filled with this yummy chocolate smell. Again I am waiting to use this product as a little part of me is worried I will react so I will try it over the weekend. 

After everyone had taken some of the face mask we went downstairs and were shown how a few of the products worked. We were shown Humpty Dumpty, which came first?, golden egg, bunch of carrots and ultraviolet. We were shown what was inside Humpty Dumpty and which came first? As well as how frothy bunch of carrots and ultraviolet were. The smells of these were incredible and the colours were bright and inviting. Golden egg was shown last and smelt unreal! It's a toffee smell and I couldn't get over how glittery it was! I wanted to drink the water as it smelt so good- don't worry, I wouldn't actually drink the water! We were also shown sunnyside as we were going to be making these later. The way it left the water was so pretty and sparkly!

After we had been shown the different seasonal products, we went back upstairs and created our own sunnyside bubble bars. We got to create whatever shape we wanted so I chose a heart. Sunnyside is packed full of orange and tangerine oils so smells amazing! It has glitter in which doesn't have a coating over the top making it safer to use meaning it's not bad for your skin or the environment! 

When all the fun of creating our own products was over, we got a goodie bag. In the goodie bag was a catalogue, our bits we made earlier and then some treats we got to pick. I picked Prince Charming shower gel, rub rub rub body scrub, yuzu and cocoa bubbleroon and it started with a kiss lip tint. I also had vanillary thrown in my bag which smells so good, even if Ollie doesn't like it. It's a solid perfume so it's perfect for on the go! 

I had an amazing time, I want to thank all the staff at Lush in Tunbridge Wells for the invite, making it a great night and want to say well done on your first blogger event, it went really well! I also want to thank the amazing people I met on Saturday for making me feel at ease with my anxiety- even though I didn't look like I was freaking out, I was on the inside, so thank you Amy, Courtney, Ottilie and Jen for talking to me and making me feel super comfortable. I can't wait to attend more blogger events in the future! 

Xoxo

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Lush blogger event makeup

So yesterday evening Lush in Tunbridge Wells held their first blogger event- I will be doing another post this week. I thought I'd post the makeup I wore last night. 

I started by cleansing my face with the Liz Earle cleanse and polish. As I'm still testing this out, I won't go into too much detail on it as I'll be doing a review soon. This makes me skin feel really soft and I love the tingling feeling it gives. After I had cleansed my face I used my Clinique pep-start and turnaround overnight revitalising moisturiser. I know this is meant for using at night but my skin has been so dry lately that I need a heavier moisturiser. 

Primer- Smashbox pore minimising primer.

Foundation- Estée Lauder double wear.

Powder- No7 loose powder.

Bronzer- Benefit hoola bronzer.

Blusher- No7 powder blusher.

Highlighter- Makeup Revolution sculpt and contour kit.

Eyeshadow primer- Urban Decay primer potion.

Eyeshadow- Urban Decay naked 2 palette.

Eyebrows- Makeup Revolution arch and shape brow pen, Benefit gimme brow.

Mascara- Too Faced better than sex.

Setting spray- Makeup Revolution oil control fixing spray.

I will have my lush blogger event post up this week and my Liz Earle cleanse and polish review up soon.

Xoxo

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My thoughts are with Belgium

Sitting here at work reading the Telegraph's update on the unfortunate events that have happened in Belgium this morning.

We live in such a cruel world where a small minority think they can decide that blowing up places is acceptable. It is NOT acceptable! It's cruel and devastating for everyone effected and the rest of the world. Reading the update earlier showed pictures of armed police in Copenhagen, Spain, Amsterdam, Frankfurt. This needs to stop! People need to stop thinking they can go around and destroy people's lives, who gave them the right to ruin and end innocent people's lives?! How many more times are we going to have to endure such heartache and loss before it comes to an end?

Please whatever you do, don't blame a whole religion or race or ethnic group like people have in the past. It is only a small amount of these religions, races and ethnic groups which cause such heart ache and pain and blaming the whole religion, race or ethnic group will only make things worse. We want to stand together and build each other up, not tear each other down in times of need and help.

I was looking through the hashtag #prayforbrussels on Instagram and one user posted a picture which said 'I see humans, not humanity'. 

My heart aches for all these attacks, they need to stop and no matter how much we pray, or protest, or have those effected in our thoughts and hearts, it will never change and that's the worst part of all!

Let's pray and keep all those effected in our thoughts. We are stronger than any terrorist attack and we will stand together to help and fight back!

Mini haul

Yesterday Ollie and I went to Tunbridge Wells. I, of course, had to do a bit of shopping and kinda went a little crazy. I can't help it when it comes to shopping, I have to buy everything I see!

I started by going to boots. In boots there was a woman handing out samples of Sanctuary foaming Micellar water. I got a sample and I can't wait to try it out and see how well it removes my mascara. I also found some face tanning mitts in the clearence section for 50p so I got 3 as it'll be good if I want to apply tan to my face or mix it into my moisturiser.

Of course I went into MAC and got another paint pot. I own painterly and I love it, but I wanted a different colour as I use painterly as a base. I had seen camel coat before but chose not to get it. I decided this time I was going to get it and I'm glad I did. I love the colour of it and it applies so smooth to the lids.

I then went into accessorise and brought some rose gold plated rings from their Z collection. These rings are to die for! They're so small and the design of them is just so cute. They came with 4 rings which you can stack or wear along. They also have little 'diamonds' in which give an amazing sparkle!

While waiting for our friends to meet us, we went into Superdrug. I was just having a little look and came across NKD SKN wash off tan in medium for 85p! This I thought was perfect as I don't tan often and when I do it goes orange and patchy. This wash off tan is perfect as I'll be able to wash it off it goes orange or patchy- kinda like a practice tan to help me apply tan properly! I can also build up the tan to reach the colour I desire. I also brought some hand sanitiser as Ollie was complaining that I didn't have any on me.

After we had met our friends we got a coffee. I got a vanilla bean Macchiato- my new fave, and a Montery Jack cheese toastie. This was so good, it had a chillie jelly inside so it had a bit of a kick but wasn't too overpowering.

We then left Tunbridge Wells town centre and went to the industrial estate just down the road. Here they have all sorts of shops such as Johl Lweis home, New Looks, Next TKMaxx, Asda, Hobby Craft, M&S, McDonalds, KFC, Subway and Costa- and so much more. We went into TKMaxx and straight away I went to the makeup to see what discounts they had. I picked up a few products but put them back as I didn't need the products I picked up. I did however buy a wine glass. This was to keep at Ollie's in case we have a drink in the evening but I ended up taking it home and using it last night. It has a slight mirror effect at the top which is a nice effect as it can help me see if I've drunk too much- all jokes aside, I don't tend to drink.

After we had been into TKMaxx, Ollie and his friend Luke went back to the car while Danielle and I went into New Look. I was looking around at the sale items as well as bags and seeing what they had in which was new. I was looking to buy a smart top which I could wear with leggings, but I realised that I have lots of tops similar to the ones I had seen and decided I didn't need anything.

I didn't need half of what I brought but I liked them and had seen some of the products before and had debated whether or not to get them.

If you want to see more haul posts, let me know. Or if you have any posts you'd like to see, tell me and I'll be happy to post them.

Xoxo

Instagram- saralouisehxo
Twitter- saralouisehxo



 

Something exciting

So a few weeks ago Lush in Tunbridge Wells posted to their Instagram saying they're having a blogger event and for all interested bloggers/vloggers/youtubers to send them a message. I thought it was worth a shot so I sent them a message- without posting my blog and thought nothing of it but when I hadn't heard back and saw they were still advertising, I sent another email tagging my blog this time. Now I'm never normally lucky when it comes to things like this or winning prizes so It wasn't normal for me to start thinking I won't get this. A few days went by and I still hadn't heard anything, until I was checking my emails at work and noticed one with #LushSpring in the subjet box. I thought to myself I'm never this lucky so opened the email up and found my invite for the event! I was over the moon and I just couldn't believe it. I was going to the Lush blogger event!

The event is this Saturday at 6:30pm, so I will see if I'm able to get some behind the scenes pictures and will have a whole post on it next week! I am so excited to go and meet other bloggers/vloggers in the area. Watch this space next week to see all the behind the scenes, products I've made and people I've met

Xoxo

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My favourite drugstore beauty buy

I wear a lot of high end makeup as I prefer the formula and the colour pay off. I also like that I know it's going to be better quality than some drugstore brands and dupes I've tried. I was really thinking had about products I love from the drugstore and one brand stuck out- of course Makeup Revolution! I love their products so I was trying to narrow it down to one specific product and then I thought of the Death by chocolate eyeshadow palette. This is such a great palette as it has a lot of neutral colours which is perfect for an everyday look. Now I know I'm contradicting myself as I said I love the naked palettes but this is a great drugstore brand which has great colour pay off, good quality and doesn't break the bank.

It contains a mixture of shimmer and matte finishes which I like as I can switch up the look I want. I tend to wear either a light shimmer or matte all over the lid and go in with a matte colour into the crease. During the day I tend to use only 1 colour in the crease for a natural look, but when I'm going out somewhere either in the evening or on the weekend (when I can be a bit more daring with my makeup) I use a darker colour in the crease to add depth and dimension. This palette costs £7.99 which is a lot less than the Urban Decay naked palettes and I find it gives the same colour pay off and has the same quality.

I love any Makeup Revolution products and I want to try more. Let me know in the comments which are your favourite Makeup Revolution products and which you're wanting to try out so I can see and try!

Xoxo

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5 high end products worth buying

I love high end products, I mean LOVE them. The skincare doesn't tend to react to my skin meaning I don't tend to break out and the makeup in my opinion lasts longer and looks better on the face. I've narrowed it down to 5 products I would 100% recommend to anyone who is just starting to get into higher end products. A little disclaimer- these are products that work for me and my skin type, oily, so you may find a few won't work for you or your skin type.

1) Clinique Anti-Blemish Solutions clarifying lotion. This stuff is amazing and works wonders with my skin! I get blemishes a lot and when I've seemed to have clear skin, I get about 10 more. This is because I have super oily skin and Poly-Cystic Ovary Syndrome (I may have mentioned it before but I can't remember) I'm more prone to spots. Since using this product my skin has changed massively. I can control the spots now due to this product, my skin just looks more clear and bright, and I've noticed a big difference in the texture of my skin. This is totally worth the money if you have oily or spot-prone skin like me. You shake the bottle to mix the medicated part with the liquid and sweep it over your face morning and night. I will warn you not to get it too close to your eyes as it does sting a little due to the medicated part.

2) Urban Decay naked palettes. I say palettes because I own all 4 and couldn't pick just one. Each palette has a good range of colours, all with different finishes which I like as I can mix and match the colours. One look I tend to wear a lot is from the original naked palette. I start by applying naked as a transition shade in my crease. I then apply sidecar all over my lid and mix buck and naked into the crease. I use buck on the outter V to really darken up the crease and add dimension. These are good palettes to have as they offer a range of eye looks. I am wanting to try the naked basics palettes as they're small enough to fit into your purse or bag so can be taken on the go and I tend to wear most of the colours in both palettes as an everyday eye look.

3) MAC lipsticks. I love MAC lipsticks. They're so pigmented, glide on the lips and smell amazing! I'm not a big lipstick wearer, but I love wearing the MAC lipsticks. They have a range of colours and they all come in different finishes. The formula is so creamy and just feels so moisturising on the lips. I am a sucker for MAC lipsticks and I'm always looking at new colours, but I always get drawn to the colours I already own. I can't wear really nude colours as it makes me look ill and washed out, but I'd love to find the perfect nude shade from MAC. Comment what your favourite nude shade is (I wear NW13 foundation).

4) Clinique dramatically different moisturising gel. I was told by a girl on the Clinique counter that for oily skin using a gel based moisturiser is better as it isn't as greasy on the skin and because it's a gel, it's quickly absorbed into the skin. It is such a mild moisturiser and it doesn't react with my skin or break me out. I use this moisturiser in the morning and it's lasted me ages! I got this just before Christmas and it looks like I hardly use it. I got the one with the pump for a more controlled way of getting the product out rather than wasting loads of product I've accidently poured out. I like using this under my makeup as it gives such a nice base to work with and absorbs into the skin really quickly so I'm not sat there waiting for it to soak in. It is so worth the money as the product lasts forever and you get a big pot of it.

5) Too Faced better than sex mascara. This mascara is the best I've ever had. It is literally better than sex! My lashes look so full and voluminous and dark. The hourglass shaped wand is so unusual but grabs every lash and coats each lashes. It gives so much volume that it looks like you've applied falsies as it really grabs the root of the lashes making them look false. I can't apply false lashes to save my life- probably because I have long, curled lashes, but with this mascara I don't have a need for false lashes. If you want to see how voluminous my lashes look, let me know and I'll post a picture on Instagram. 

Now I am going to mention one other product because I do think this is worth the money! I have a whole blog post about it so I won't add too much detail but the Clinique Sonic Brush is such a great investment into your skincare routine. Please go and check out the post all about my opinions on the Sonic Brush, but I would advise getting yourself one!

Xoxo

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Getting to know me

Today I thought I'd try a different kind of post. Now I love doing my beauty posts, but I thought to myself that you guys don't know me that well. I mean you know me through my beauty posts and can tell what kind of person I am, but I wanted to write a 'getting to know me' post. I think this will be a series of posts and they'll change each time so I won't write everything about me in one post, that way you'll get to know me a little better. I'm not sure how often I will be writing this series, but we'll just wing it.

Let's backtrack a little here, before my sister was born I was happy and quite an independent toddler- I was talking and understanding conversations by the age of 1 and walking before I was 1, so I was doing pretty well for myself. I would obviously have the moods and tantrums that a normal toddler would have, but everything changed when my sister was born. I was 3 and things started to go downhill. Not massively, but I would want to be carried down the stairs rather than walk and just little things like that. Things like that eventually stopped but I was still having tantrums. When my sister and I used to make games up, I would tell her what character to be and how the game was going to go. I know that sounds like I was being bossy, but it'll make sense later. I would have meltdowns and they were worse when plans changed. I remember my parents having to stop telling me where we were going incase the plans changed as I would go into this big meltdown.

When I started secondary school my teachers noticed there wasn't something quite right with me. I was developing just not like everyone else. When I was in year 8 the school called my mum up and asked if it was possible for them to run some tests with a specialist as I wasn't where everyone else in my class was. My mum agreed and I had a test done with a specialist. I remember being asked a load of questions with 4 pictures and one was the answer. I would sometimes pick the right answer and other times pick the literal answer. Once the tests had been completed we got a letter in the post saying that my tests had concluded that I had Asperger's syndrome. Asperger's is a form of autism, I don't fully understand it myself but I know that I have a type of autism. I'm not as autistic as some of the people on the spectrum, but I'm still on there as I have a mild form of it. As I was diagnosed much later than I should have been there wasn't enough evidence or proof to properly diagnose me- I had learnt to deal and cope with Asperger's long enough which is why they couldn't properly diagnose me. I still went to visit a specialist to help me cope and deal with it even more and to help me develop.

My mum says looking back on it now, she can see that my tantrums when plans changed and me telling my sister how a game was going to go weren't me being bossy or misbehaving, but my way of coping and understanding things. I would have a tantrum to cope with the fact our plans changed and I would tell my sister how the game was going to go to understand it in my own head.

I still don't fully understand autism and Asperger's but I'm getting there and one day maybe I will fully understand it and be able to help people who don't know what to do when they have a meltdown- something I still get to this day, or just help people with everyday tasks which they find difficult, for me it's getting on a crowded bus in the morning to get to work.

My next getting to know me post will be on my anxiety and how I deal with it.

Xoxo

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Freedom Makeup eyebrow pomade

Recently I've been loving brows, maybe it's because mine are starting to have an even shape and are growing or maybe it's because I can now fill them in reasonably well. Whatever the reason I just love brows. I use all sorts of things to fill them in with NYX eyebrow pencil, Soap and Glory eyebrow pencil, Benefit browzings, Benefit gimme brow, Freedom Makeup duo brow powder, Anastasia Beverly Hills dipbrow pomade and Freedom Makeup eyebrow pomade.

I've had the Anastasia Beverly Hills dipbrow pomade for just over a year and I love it. I go through long periods of not using it, but when I do use it I fall in love all over again. Now I know since because I have dark hair I should use a lighter shade to fill my brows in, but I have naturally dark brows anyway so I'll keep my brows dark if I want too. The ABH dipbrow was a Christmas present from my dad, who got it for me when he was in America, but I had lighter hair then so chose the shade soft brown. I like the colour, just not with my dark hair now so I wanted a new one but wasn't going to pay £16-£18 for a new one just because I didn't like the colour.

I've got the Freedom brow powder which in my opinion (going on looks wise) looks identical to the ABH duo drow powder so I thought that maybe they do a dupe for the dipbrow pomade. I went shopping a few weeks ago with a friend and we popped into Superdrug- as that's where Freedom is available, and I was looking at their brow products. I had noticed little pots before which looked the exact same as the dipbrow but never really paid too much attention. I picked one up and had a look and it was IDENTICAL to the dipbrow and was no where near as expensive! I looked through the colours and in the end I chose ash brown, as it's darker than my dipbrow but not as dark as dark brown. I do wish I had gone with medium brown but it cost £5-£6 so I can't really complain about picking the wrong colour.

Quick hairstyles

Now I don't know about anyone else but I'm always in a rush first thing in the morning. I wake up in plenty of time, do my makeup and then seem to never have time to do my hair. Since I know a lot of you won't have much time in the mornings, I thought this post was appropriate to give you all some ideas. Some of these are fancy, some are literally do and go so it's a mix.

The first hairstyle is one I used to wear all the time before it came back into fashion. I remember sitting in Sociology in year 13 and hearing someone make a comment about my hair. About 3 weeks later the same girls who made comments about my hair started wearing their hair like it. I'm talking about the typical Ariana Grande half up half down hairstyle. This is such an easy look and takes 2 minutes. I start by running my fingers from the tops of my ears to the crown and sectioning it off. I gather all the hair I just sectioned off and place it on top of my head, I then take a hair tie and tie my hair up. I pull it really tight and then loosen it so it's not sitting on the top of my head.
For added volume I apply some dry shampoo to my hair first then slightly tease it before sectioning off my hair.

The second style is a half up half down but with a top knot. I love doing this as it gives something extra to the style and isn't just the boring half up half down. For the top knot I tie it into the normal half up half down and spray some dry shampoo (extra if I've already sprayed some). I then tease it slightly and start twisting it round, making sure the ends are facing upwards. Once I have twisted it enough times, I start wrapping it round into a little bun on the top of my head. I secure it in place with bobby pins- loads of bobby pins! This is probably my favourite hairstyle of them all as it takes 5 minutes to do and is a go to when my hair needs a wash.

The third hairstyle is a messy bun. This is usually the 'my hair really needs a wash but it's so long and thick and I can't be bothered' look which I tend to go for on most days when my hair needs a wash. I normally swap between the half up half down top knot and this style. This is the one I go to when I'm really running out of time in the morning. I spray loads of dry shampoo into my hair and work it in. I then gather up all my hair, like I'm doing a high ponytail and start twisting it in the same method as the last top knot. I will tease it if I want more volume, but there is normally loads after working in the dry shampoo so I don't have to add more.

The last hairstyle is a high ponytail. This is such an easy hairstyle as it looks put together when in reality I flipped my head upside down, gathered all the hair on top of my head and tied it up. This is also a hairstyle I use when I need to wash my hair. Dry shampoo is a massive life saver! Let us take a moment for dry shampoo, the greatest invention since sliced bread! Of course I'm joking, but it is a great invention!

These are my quick hairstyle for when I'm in a rush, I also do nothing to my hair so I literally get out of bed and go as I don't tend to have messy hair in the morning.

Xoxo

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Makeup Revolution Sculpt and Contour kit

As you may know I am a massive fan of Makeup Revolution. I love love love their products and for the price, it's really good quality! Now it's no surprise that I'm review yet another product by MR, but I saw this contour kit and fell in love! I normally use the Seventeen contour kit in fair but I wanted a change. One reson I really like this contour kit is because it contains a bronzer, highlighter and blusher all in one. I will however admit that it could do with a bigger mirror, but who am I to complain when it means I don't have to carry a bronzer, highlighter and blusher separately! 

I chose the shade C01, which is obviously the lightest shade they do- #paleprobs, but I found it gives a really nice, natural contour to the face. The highlighter shade is gorgeous! It doesn't add too much shimmer to the face, but still gives this beautiful glow to the skin. I love the blusher too, it's a really subtle pink colour with some shimmer in, so if I'm feeling lazy I'll just go overboard on the blusher and not worry about a highlighter. What I think is the best part of this product is that it's only £3.50! This is one reason why I love MR, their products are so cheap yet have amazing quality!

I would 100% reccomend this product to anyone who is looking for a cheap contour kit and who has pale skin like I do!

Xoxo

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DIY Mother's Day gift and gift ideas

In the UK, Mother's Day is Sunday 6th March- I know I've left this post a little late, but this is a quick last minute DIY which anyone can do, even the night before. I don't recommend making this the night before, I'm just saying it's that easy!

This DIY is one I've seen all over Pinterest and wanted to make it for myself. It's a DIY manicure/pedicure in a jar. This is probably the easiest DIY as all you need is a small jar, clear nail polish, coloured nail polish, orange stick and cotton pads. You may also want to get some string or ribbon, labels, stickers, coloured pens and coloured tissue paper. These are all really inexpensive to buy and take no time to make.

• Start off by placing a small amount of tissue paper into the jar. Don't add too much as you want to see what is inside.

• Place in the clear and coloured nail polish, cotton pads and orange stick. You can arrange this in any way that you want.

• After you have added everything into the jar, take a label and stick it to the lid. Using a coloured pen write 'DIY manicure/pedicure' whichever it is you're choosing to create. Add some ribbon/string round the neck of the jar and tie it into a bow. Take some stickers and place them onto the jar- this is optional.

I was going to post another DIY but I wasn't able to get all bits I needed so I've decided to pick a few gifts I saw that you're able to get in stores. I went into Sainsburys- a big food store, and picked up a wine glass and a small bottle of bubbly as a set. As I'm sharing this gift with my sister, it cost each of us £7.50 which isn't that expensive. I know this is a gift my mum will like.

I went into Boots to have a look at some of the gifts they have in there. They have a Ted Baker set with lots of minature bath bits. I did think about getting this for my mum, but as I got her something similar at Christmas, I thought it would be nice to get something different.

Boots also have a Sancturary Spa set which is more body bits. I was tempted to get my mum this as she likes body butters and lotions, but I thought if I wanted to get her something like that, that I could make a little package up myself.

In Peacocks they have PJ sets for mums, which I thought was a cute idea if your mum enjoys lounge around the house in the evenings or weekend. I was tempted to buy myself a set but I chose a set which was more appropriate- it's covered in nail polish, lipsticks and perfume!


These are just some ideas I saw in the shops, you can get the obvious- candles, stuffed animals, DVDs and CDs depending on what it is your mum likes.

I hope you find something here which will help you pick for Mother's Day, and Happy Mother's Day to all the mums out there! (I know it's early)

Xoxo

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How I plan my blogs

Before I decided I needed a structured way to post my blogs, I was just coming up with them in thin air. This was good for a while, but then I started to struggle. I would struggle because I couldn't remember what I had previously posted about, and what I was writing was new. I first tried writing ideas down on a piece of paper and ticking them off once I had posted it, but I was always losing those bits of paper.

I Googled 'blog planner templates' and came across loads! They all seemed to have the same layout- post title, ideas, pictures, labels, page views, sponsorships, all the basics. This was a good idea but I needed something much more simpler, one that told me when the post was due, if I had added pictures, written it and the post title. I found this really simple yet great idea on Google images, which came from someones blog. As I wasn't able to find the template on her blog, I thought I'd make my own. It was simple enough to make, I just typed ' blog posts' at the top of the word document then inserted a table. The table was 5 across and 48 down, although I think I'm going to make it smaller as it doesn't need to have that many boxes going down. I moved the boxes going across the top to make them the sizes I needed and left space above to write in the due date, pictures, written, published and post title. I made the pictures, written and pubished smaller than the due date and post title so I could tick off when I had got each of those done. I made the due date box slightly bigger and then the post ideas box a lot bigger so I could get the title into the box.

This is probably the most simple way to plan my blogs, but so far it's been working for me and it'll continue to work for me as I can keep all of the past months in a folder together and then I can just flick through each month to see what I've posted and what I haven't rather than losing it!

Feel free to use this idea to help with your blog planning and use the #saralouisehxoDIY so I can see all of your creations!

Xoxo

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