Argan Dew Review

After agreeing to do a review on the company Argan Dew (http://www.argandew.com), I received a lovely package in the post from them last week. It had come all the way from Israel as well!

They sent me some Hair Mask and Argan Oil samples to try out and I was expecting one or two sachets like most companies send but no, I got a whole package of them!

Although I only received samples, they had the cutest packaging. 

The customer service of this company is also a-maz-ing! They replied to my emails within a day, were polite, helpful and really, really kind! 

I already reviewed the Argan Oil they sent me and I have got some advice from fellow bloggers and will be retrying it. 

I also received hair mask samples and I have actually just bought a proper size bottle of it because it is hands down the best hair product I've ever used. 

I have such long, thick hair and it is just the biggest chore. I have considered chopping it all off so many times. This hair mask has made my hair feel light and a lot thinner. 

I usually wash my hair every 2-3 days but since I did this hair mask, it hasn't felt greasy at all. I did although wash it after 4 days but even after 4 day old hair, it didn't feel or look greasy at all. 

My hair has never felt better, I couldn't be more satisfied with the product or company! 

Grease Is The Word - Argan Oil Review

I was sent some samples of Argan Oil by the lovely company, Argan Dew (review on the company to come). 

I've heard so many good things about Argan Oil but it just didn't seem to agree with my hair. I put it in after I had washed my hair, just like the pack recommended. I then blow dried my hair with it in. 

Overnight, I felt my hair getting drier and drier, it just felt like straw. When I woke up in the morning, my hair looked so greasy! 

(Please excuse the half blonde, half brown hair - it's desperate to be redyed!)

I haven't retried this procedure as I've been busy this half term and I don't particularly want to leave the house with greasy hair. I took me a hour in the shower the next morning removing all the Argan Oil from my hair!

Does anyone know where I went wrong?! 

Deep Sea Premier Mud Mask Review

This is the Deep Sea Premier Mask Miracle Noir and it's basically a mud mask that you use weekly. I've been using it for about a month now and I've really been loving it. 

This is something my mum found in her little stockpile that's been building up over the last few years and I'm not even sure if they sell this anymore!

You basically use the spatula provided to cover your face is this, as you would any other facemask, and you leave it on for 5 minutes. After the 5 minutes is up, you use the magnet provided covered in a bit of tissue, I use toilet paper, to take the mask off. It removes all the grey colour and leaves you with pretty much a greasy layer. You then just use cleansing oil and water as usual to remove to remove this grease layer.

I honestly can't recommend this enough, it just works wonders. It's brought so much life and healthiness to my skin. It's not recommended for irritable skin though (hence why my mums never used it). 

My mum is sure she paid around £80 for this mask but I can't believe it cost that much. I can't find it anywhere on the internet!

March Favourites

In March, I tried a lot of new products. If you read my Beauty Stockpile post then you'll know I got a lot of stuff from my mum this month and I've been trying out loads of them. 

I've picked my favourites based on what I've used most in March.

Lush Face Mask- Cupcake

I haven't used a facemask from Lush in about a year as recently I've been buying the peel on peel off ones. I was in Lush, looking at the facemasks and I thought some of them looked absolutely disgusting. What would possess you to make a face mask out of onions? 

At £5.95 (what I paid, looking at the lush mobile - YEEEES!! - website, it looks like it's gone up to £6.25?) this facemask is so worth it. Although the pot is small, it is quite solid and it is full. It's also so thick so you don't have to use much.  

Soap and Glory - Foam Call

Although I bought this for my mum for Mother's Day, I may have 'borrowed' it ;). 

I absolutely love the Soap and Glory names, it reminds me of Benefit. This shower gel smells amazing and it lathers so well. I like to use it in the bath as well, it makes so many bubbles!

RRP: £6.50 

Barry M Nail Varnish - Aquatic Collection

I have only bought 2 of the nail varnishes from this collection but they are my new favourites. The colours are just absolutely gorgeous and really remind me of mermaids. 

I will be purchasing the whole collection but for now, I've just got these two. 

RRP: £3.99 

No7 Beautiful Skin- BB Cream

I feel like I'm not complete without something under my foundation but on top of my moistruiser. I know a lot of people use Primer but I hate it. I think it's overpriced, overrated and very hard to blend. 

This BB cream is quite thin but thick enough to cover your spots and blemishes. It really reduces the amount of concealor I have to use as well. 

RRP: £13.50 

Yves Saint Laurent - Paris Perfume

I'm never sure how to write the name of this brand let alone say it. I've never been sure if it's YvesSaintLaurent or Yves Saint Laurent (please tell me if you know!). I just call it YSL. 

This was a perfume I got from my mum's beauty stockpile and it just smells amazing. It's so sweet and so strong. 

I had it on yesterday morning and I walked past strangers on my way to school and even they turned around and said 'mm what perfume are you wearing?!'

It's so strong, you really don't need much. I didn't use any this morning but I did yesterday and I can still smell it! 

I'm not sure if they still sell it anymore and they probably have nicer scents but I really like this one. 

Deep Sea Premiere - Mud Mask

This a very strange thing. It's a mud mask but instead of just applying it and rubbing it off, it comes with a magnet to remove it. 

You put it all over your face, leave it for 5 minutes and then take it off with the magnet. You're left with an oily layer that you then remove with cleansing milk. It works absolute miracles for your skin.

This was also a product I got off my mum. She spent £80 on this and was always too scared to use it as she has sensitive skin. It's such a shame as it's such a great product.  

The 1975 

This is a bit if a random favourite. The 1975 are a band that remind me of Bastille and Arctic Monkeys (my two favourite bands!)

Their songs are so beautiful and their voices are just perfect. I've really enjoyed listening to them first thing in the morning. 

5SOS - She Looks So Perfect

I noticed a while ago that people on twitter were going crazy about this band and I thought they were just another All Time Low or Bring Me To The Horizon - two amazing bands but very out of my comfort zone. 

I first heard this song at the end of February on the radio and I've had it stuck in my head for the rest of March! I've been singing it so much and annoying everyone!  

* THIS POST WAS UPLOADED AT THE BEGINNING OF MARCH BUT I WENT TO CHANGE A SPELLING MISTAKE AND SOMEHOW REUPLOADED IT, GRRRRRR *

Manuka Doctor and Giveaway

I've noticed recently that my skin has been getting very oily. I've been looking around for something to reduce the greasiness and I found Manuka Doctor has really done the trick.

They use Manuka Honey (hence the name) in their products which is really, really good for your skin. It makes your skin so soft and amazing. 

Manuka Doctor make a whole range of products from facemasks to wrinkle fillers, eye cream, age defying serum and loads more. 

The packaging is so cute and the customer service is really, really great.

Now, as you may of noticed, the title of this blog post also has the word giveaway in it! I do have a few Manuka Doctor products to give away. To celebrate 1000 views on my blog, 50 bloglovin followers and 25 GFC followers. 

YOU MUST LIVE IN THE UK!!! 

The winner will win: 

♥ 7ml Rejuvenating Face Mask

♥ 7ml Age-Defying Serum

♥ 7ml Restoring Night Cream

I am very excited for this as it's my first giveaway! It is already open by the time this blog post goes up and will end on the 10th May 2014 at midnight (GMT). 

Good luck! 

Thank you very much to Manuka Doctor for sending me these samples and providing for this giveaway. 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

No7 Extreme Length Mascara Review

Whilst searching through my 'make up 
draw' a couple of weeks ago, I came across a few things I had forgotten I owned, this mascara being one of them. 

I'm not sure where I got it from but I'm pretty sure it's an old one that's not even sold anymore!

This is actually a mini, travel size version of the mascara. The brush is really small, I'm not sure if that's just because it's a travel size one or if it's like that on the full sized version but it is absolutely fantastic. I use this mascara for my bottom lashes and I find the brush is brilliant. 

The mascara isn't clumpy, it's easy to apply and it doesn't spread all round your face when you blink! It dries really quickly so you don't have to stand there with your eyes wide open for 20 minutes either!

It's just absolutey amazing and I will be looking for the full sized version so I can buy it. 

My O.P.I Nail Varnishes

At nearly £12 a nail varnish, I've always asked myself if it's worth it. I have 6 O.P.I nail varnishes at the moment and I am hoping to get more. 

If I'm honest, they're overrated. In my opinion, they're not actually that good. They are obviously quite good but there's so many high street products that are about the same quality. 

I'm a bit of an obsessor when it comes to nail varnish. I have a whole stand of Barry M ones! 

O.P.I are very good, just not my favourite. 

My New Favourite Shower Gel

I am probably one of the only people who has never tried anything from Soap and Glory. I don't know how, just never have!

I've had my eye on this shower gel, Sugar Crush, for a while but I've always been very resistant as it's very pricey and I keep asking myself if it's worth it. 

My answer, yes. It is worth it. I finally bought it and I'm flipping glad I did. Boots had 3 for 2 on at the moment so I also bought Foam Call and Clean On Me but this one's by far the nicest. 

It has a very tangy smell and it's lemon scented. It's honestly the nicest thing I've ever smelt. I keep opening it and sniffing it!

RRP: £6.50. 

Fake Bobbi Brown

After my foundation brush pretty much falling apart, I decided it was time for some new make-up brushes. I didn't want to splash out on expensive brushes as I just don't feel it's necessary so I went on eBay and ordered some.

I found just a plain 9 piece set for £6 so I thought let's just give it a go. I completey forgot about them as it had been a month and they still hadn't arrived. Yesterday, I had a parcel in the post so I opened it up to my brushes. 

 

My mum came over and said 'Bobbi Brown? How on earth did you afford that?' 

I don't know how, but I've never heard of Bobbi Brown before now. I went onto the website and saw a set of brushes for £144. It wasn't a brush roll like I had but it was a set like mine. 

I realised mine were fake after looking through a few posts about fake Bobbi Brown. Even though they are fake, they are great quality brushes and I will continue to use them. 

Brushes left to right:
 ♥ Powder
 ♥ Foundation
 ♥ Ultra Fine Eye Liner
 ♥ Blush
 ♥ Eye Contour
 ♥ Touch Up
 ♥ Eye Shadow
 ♥ Eye Definer
 ♥ Eye Liner

Clumpy Mascara?

I'm not the best at doing my mascara, infact I'm probably the worst. I'm always looking for tips to stop getting such clumpy lashes as I think it's more my technique than the mascara I'm using. 

My older sister knows a lot about makeup so I went to her and asked for some help and she said that my mascara (Maybelline The Falsies' has dried out and that I should add some salvine solution. At first it really helped but after a few days, I found my clumpy, disgusting lashes returning. 

The other day I was flicking through a beauty magazine that my mum bought during her lunch break and I noticed it said 'clumpy lashes?' So I started reading. 

It said that to stop clumpy lashes, you should put a bit of olive oil on a cotton bud and just run it through your eyelashes. I went into the kitchen and asked my dad if we had any olive oil. His reply was 'yes, we have loads. Why do you want it?' I explained as best as I could that it stops clumpy mascara and he, the absolutey hilarious man he is (sarcasm!), said that he gets that problem as well. 

I poured a bit of olive oil into my old eye makeup remover bottle as I was instructed to not put cotton buds into the bottle of olive oil as we need that to cook. 

The next morning I tried it and the results are so noticeable! It really does stop clumpiness. 

However, the only downside is that it's very greasy and feels horrible if you accidentally get it on your skin, like I did. 

Excuse the awful pictures, I'm not a photographer (as you can probably tell!) I didn't realise how hard it was to take a picture of your own eye!

Before:

After:

My Pamper Evening Essentials

Every now and then, it is nice to just relax. People relax in different ways but I find for me, pamper evenings are the one.

I like to use a lot of products when I have a pamper night. I like to have a really bubbly bath but then use a few more skin products than I usually do. I chose these ones:

Products left to right:
 ♥  Facemask - Manuka Doctor website
♥ Vanilla Rose bath soap - Christmas present
♥ Snow Fairy shower gel - Lush (no longer available)
♥ Body Lotion - Christmas present (in set)
♥ Candy Mountain bubble bar - Lush (no longer available)
♥ Ted Baker body scrub - Christmas present (in set)

In the bath, I get quite bored. I find that when you have to leave a facemask on for half a hour, it can get a bit boring. A book or your phone/tablet is perfect. I'm currently reading Looking For Alaska by John Green and I'm really enjoying it! 

I like to turn the lights and light some candles. I find it really relaxes me and sets the mood. I also like to put some music on, I'm currently loving Bastille. 

♥ Pink Sands Yankee Candle
♥ Pink Dragon Fruit Yankee Candle
♥ Looking For Alaska by John Green
♥ Mum's old HTC headphones

Make The Most Of Your Products

I was always brought up to not throw anything away until it's defiantly empty. In my family, we all hate wasting stuff. 

My mum always told me to make sure everything was definatly finished before throwing it away, it started years ago when I had my L'Oreal kids shampoo and carried on from then. 

Me and my older sister were always told to cut the bottle when it's started to get empty, then fill it with water and use what's left. 

Most skincare and beauty products come in plastic bottles which are surprisingly easy to cut open. Most people just take the lid off and give it a shake but you'll get much more out of it by cutting it open. 

Please be careful when cutting your product open! 

The High Street Holy Grail

As I've said before, it is really nice to have an alternative to high end makeup products. At 13, I don't work. My monthly income is dependent of my parents and I get a lot more than most people my age do, but not enough to always afford nice high end makeup.

After using Nars Sheer Glow for so long, me and my skin were so used to it. I was desperate to repurchase it but just couldn't afford it. I decided to buy a cheap foundation to keep me going until payday. 

After hearing so much about Rimmel's Wake Me Up, I bought it. I'm pretty sure I'm the only person who hasn't actually tried it until recently!

This foundation is occasionally used by people like Tanya Burr and Zoella and I can see why. I think it's a great foundation, it's got amazing coverage and the packaging looks so nice. 

It gives an amazing glow and an anti-fatigue effect. It makes my skin look so healthy and shiny. It also blends really well and looks really natural. 

If you read my Collection Lasting Perfection concealer review, you'll know that I have awful undereye circles. I've never actually found a foundation that covers them as well as this one. With a bit of concealer on top, they're completely gone! 

I've decided that this one is going to be my everyday foundation for now. I can see why everybody loves it so much! 

At just £8.99, to me it's worth around £20.

MUA Lipsticks

As much as I love my Mac and high end lipsticks, I think it's nice to have a cheaper option as well. My sister told me about MUA and said the whole brand really cheap but really worth the money. 

After buying more foundation on the Superdrug website last week, I saw I needed to spend £3 more to qualify for free delivery. I thought I might as well spend £3 on makeup than £4 on delivery.  I looked on the MUA section and looked through the products and decided I have enough bronzers, blushers etc and don't need anymore as I won't use them. I clicked on lipsticks and picked out 3 colours I liked. 

These lipsticks are good for the price but I was a bit disappointed. My expectations were so high as I'm used to high end lipsticks. You have to put quite a lot on for the colour to show and it comes off very quickly. 

I really do like the packaging, I also think it's really cute how at the end, they have a screw-on screw-off lip balm in the same colour. 

My mum has always told me that you get what you pay. At just £1 each, they are pretty decent. They can be a nice alternative if like me, you can't always afford high end stuff. 

 (From left to right. Shade 3, Wild Berry, Scarlet Siren.)

Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer

It's no secret that this concealer isn't unknown to the 'online beauty world'. It seems as if every beauty guru has loved it at some point or another. I decided that it was time for a concealer change, before I was using the Barry M Correction Pen and I realised that it just wasn't enough coverage anymore. After searching around for a bit, I decided to try the Collection Lasting Perfection concealer. The only other Collection product I've owned is the Collection Lasting Perfection powder and to be honest, I wasn't the slightest bit impressed with it.

I've inherited very dark under eye circles (thanks Dad!) and they make me feel really insecure sometimes. This concealer definitely has a lot more coverage and covers them up better, but it's still not good enough. I do have to use another concealer underneath to make sure it's fully covered.

Although this concealer is no good for under eye circles, it's great for spots and blemishes. I do have quite a lot of spots, 13 is an awkward age for spots and hormones, and it works miracles on them.

This concealer does claim to last for 16 hours but I find it rubs off within about 3, which was very disappointing. Even with a ton of Stay Matte powder over the top, it just tends to rub off. I would actually be very impressed if a concealer did last 16 hours.

The packaging is very basic and can also be opinionated as looking quite cheap. I found the writing rubs off really easily and quickly. The wand brush applicator style is also really unhygienic and can spread bacteria around your face, however, it is very easy to apply and blend.

This concealer is just £4.19, which I think is great for a concealer and I would really recommend it for covering up spots and blemishes. You could probably even use it for light under eye circles.

You can buy this concealer here and it is currently on sale in superdrug for £3.99.