Joico K-Pak Intense Hydrator for dry, damaged hair - Pink Ribbon Edition

I've heard good things about this so thought I'd try it. As you can see, I bought the 250ml Pink Ribbon Edition.

When I first opened it, I noticed the smell - it's nice, a clean, slightly fruity scent. The product is white so shouldn't interfere with hair colour, it also feels quite thick and luxurious. You can feel it detangling your hair with ease!

After drying, this made my hair really shiny, manageable and soft - almost a little too soft as I struggled to get any height in at the roots of my hair! As my hair is blonde, I sometimes struggle to get enough shine in my hair without it lookin weighed down, but this really seemed to do the trick (sorry for the slightly dodgy pic, I cropped my friends face out!)

I definately would buy this again, it was a real treat for my hair, it's made me nterested to try their Joico K-Pak Deep Penetrating Reconstructor Treatment for Damaged Hair, which I suspect may be even more moisturising on my hair.

Last day to enter my Hotel Chocolat Giant Milk Chocolate Truffle Tree giveaway

My final November giveaway ends at midnight GMT today, if you haven't already entered, info and details of how to enter can be found here

I have lash extensions again, yay!

I was not blessed in the eyelash department - they're dark and there's loads of them but they're so short it's like "what's the point?", this has made me obsessed with false lashes and constantly trying new mascaras. Let's face it though, a mascara is going to have to work miracles to make my lashes the length I want (see the pic below!)

About a year ago I got lash extensions and I loved them, finally my lashes looked like I wanted them to! No more messing around with primers and mascaras on a morning either. They were actually the first thing I ever blogged about a year ago. But due to the cost (and me feeling vain to be spending so much money on something so insignificant to most people) and struggling to get appointments with the girl who did them I ended up stopping in the new year. But after seeing a brilliant deal on Wahanda near me for a full set of Nouveau lashes with 50% off, making them £54, I decided it was time for my lash extensions to make a return!

I got them done at The Beauty Lounge at the Radisson Blu hotel at Manchester airport. The Beauty Lounge is a little small, and is in the corner of the gym, but the actual treatment room is nice and the girls that work there are really friendly and good at what they do. I got a file and polish on my toes and my lash extensions, I would definately recommend this salon, the girl who did my lashes was great (as was the girl who did my toes), she really knew what she was doing and she didn't skimp with the lashes to save time either! They don't look totally false or ridiculous either, it just looks like I've got naturally gorgeous lashes, which is what you want really when you've got them on all day every day - I don't want to be in the office looking like Cher Lloyd! I also got a complimentary lash/brow brush and a waterproof mascara as well, which was a nice touch.

Oh, and sorry for the slightly rubbish pics - I managed to leave my camera at my parents house in Cumbria and probably won't have it back until December sometime so I'm relying on my Blackberry at the moment, which isn't half as good as my normal camera.

Lash extensions require a bit of maintenance - I don't use mascara or eyeliner when I wear these, just a line of MAC Carbon applied above the lashline and I try not to get them wet or rub at my eyes. It saves me loads of time in the morning though as I normally have to apply loads of mascara! You do need to get them infilled as well as time goes on, I think it was generally about 4-5 weeks when I started needing mine done again last time I had them.

P.S. Remember, if you sign up at Beauty Heaven by Wahanda, you'll get a £5 off voucher just for signing up as well as more prizes and discounts the more people you share with! So, the lashes could actually cost you £49.

Xen Tan Dark Lotion - Weekly Self Tan

I've got a lot less high-maintenance with my beauty routine of late (read: much lazier) - I can't remember the last time I fake tanned or wore extensions. I still rock my false lashes on nights out but no longer change the polish on my toes every few days or go to the gym a few times a week like I did a couple of years ago - it's partly to do with time; I work full time, I'm studying for a degree part time along with a project management qualification and I have a lovely boyfriend, and occassionally a life. So when I do have a night free, I no longer feel like I can devote it to just lazing around painting my toes/sitting with a hair mask on for ages/fully body fake tan/hitting the gym etc., I always have "something" to do. Which is totally my choice, so I shouldn't moan, it just means that my once extensive beauty routine is on the back burner.

I'm not feeling so great about the way I look at the min so I decided to change what I can for now, and deal with the other stuff on an ongoing basis (hello, spare tyre!). I started with an instant boost for feeling slimmer and just feeling a little bit better, fake tan. Namely Xen Tan Dark lotion. I have used normal Xen Tan before and liked it as it's olive toned, not orange, so I went for the dark version.

It looks kind of scary in the bottle:


Application was easy, the lotion is really creamy, applies well and as shown above, the guide colour is nice and dark so you can see where you've applied. It smells nice too, like marzipan. I applied the tan using my bare hands, and thoroughly scrubbed my palms after each area to make sure I didn't have orange palms - using a glove is miles better for not getting orange palms but I find it hard to apply with gloves on. They recommend using their fake tan mitt so might try that in future. After application, the tan dried pretty quickly on my skin and actually left my skin feeling moisturised rather than sticky or coated.

The instructions said to wait at least 3 hours before showering or swimming - I'm sure this is miles quicker than other tans I've used? That's great if that's the case, no more having to sleep in my tan and getting the sheets all manky! But I left it on for about 8 hours as I applied on the Saturday morning to go out on the Saturday night. The tell-tale fake tan smell does turn up eventually as the tan develops, but it isn't as strong as other tans.

I was a bit worried as I got someone to help me do my back and they slapped on a LOT of product on my back and shoulders (and worryingly, whilst liberally applying product asked "does putting more tan on mean you go browner? Er...you're going to be brown if so."), but it turned out fine - a gorgeous, even olive colour with no streaks, and amazingly no tell-tale dark patches on my (extremely dry) elbows where the tan had stuck. I actually even used it on my face too and it looked ok.

I had done a little test patch on the inside of my arm which you can see below, and this was the difference in colour to my skin - it looks much more golden in real life though!

Xen Tan, you have now become part of my new and improved beauty routine!

Hotel Chocolat Giant Milk Chocolate Truffle Tree Review and GIVEAWAY!

Ok, I know this is predominantly a beauty blog but you can't tell me that this isn't beautiful:

Seriously, though, without sounding gushy, I LOVE Hotel Chocolat - I always pop in when I'm in town and I've specifically requested some goodies for Christmas from my boyfriend (including their fancy Advent Calendar yeah!). It's a brand I'm genuinely interested in and that I hope that those of you that read my blog would be interested in too! So when I was contacted by Hotel Chocolat to ask if I'd like to host a giveaway I was more than happy to do so.

REVIEW

I had the Milk Chocolate Truffle Tree, but it's also available in Dark Chocolate. Described as "A thrilling blend of mellow 40% milk chocolate with crunchy roasted almonds, hand cut caramel florentines and the colourful contrast of Christmassy cranberries. Decked out with ultimate baubles – super smooth gianduja truffles", this definately doesn't disappoint! Have a look at http://www.hotelchocolat.co.uk/christmas-chocolate-trees-CHCTree/ for more info about the tree.

The tree is a massive 580g, so it's definately for sharing - if you can eat this on your own, I commend you as it's meant to serve 12 people! As well as it being aesthetically pleasing and festive, the chocolate is really thick and the milk chocolate actually wasn't overly sickly sweet but definately wasn't bitter, basically a good quality milk chocolate. It's also packed with "stuff" - almonds, florentines, dried cranberry and truffles. My favourite were the truffles, they were lovely and smooth with just the right amount of crunch to the outside. In fact, me and my boyfriend got a bit territorial/possessive over the truffles which was a bit daft as there was loads of them!

I think this would make a lovely gift or be nice to have on Christmas Eve/Day but after looking at the website properly, Hotel Chocolat actually do loads of other Christmassy stuff too, there are Christmas Gifts and even Stocking Fillers, which I think is a really nice touch. I'd be chuffed to bits if got something like this on Christmas (hint hint!)

P.S. As you might be able to tell from the pics, I got overexcited by my tree and I dropped it and cracked it, oops!

GIVEAWAY
So, if you'd like to win this gorgeous Christmas treat (you could even give it away as a Christmas present...yeah right!) in dark or milk chocolate, worth £22, all you have to do is:

1. Be a follower of my blog
2. Go to the http://www.hotelchocolat.co.uk/, then comment below and tell me what your favourite Hotel Chocolat product on their website is - don't forget to leave your email so I can get in touch with you if you're the winner!

For extra entries you can:

1. Follow Hotel Chocolat on Twitter @HotelChocolat
2. Tweet or blog (or both) about this giveaway - don't forget to use #hotelchocolat
3. Like Hotel Chocolat on Facebook

Don't forget to say in your comment if you've done any of the extra entries, and provide a link where possible! This giveaway will close at midnight (GMT) on November 28th 2010, and the winner will be chosen at random and notified by email. Prizes will be sent directly from Hotel Chocolat. Good luck and thanks for entering!

Last day to win a Miss Budd make up bag today!

If you haven't already entered my competition to win a Miss Budd make up bag, see my previous post for more info and details of how to enter here

Mini MAC Haul - Lovelorn and Chatterbox

I had a £30 Selfridges voucher that I got for my birthday, and let's face it, it was always going to be spent on MAC stuff! I bought Lovelorn and Chatterbox plus some lashes and Duo glue. Both the lipsticks are pink, which is all I tend to wear at the moment.

I had also planned to buy a Penultimate liner too but to be honest I wasn't that impressed with it - I think there are cheaper ones out there (Bourjois or 17) that do the job better at half the price! It was Halloween weekend and all the Sales Assistants/MUA's had amazing Halloween type make up looks, they were fab! It was also bloody rammed at MAC, I hate going on a Saturday but I was in town anyway.

Chatterbox

Amplified creme, mid pink - perfect for wearing everyday without it being too boring and neutral. I really like this and this is my repurchase, as I used the one I had in a few months!

Lovelorn

Lustre finish, light-mid pink. I think this might be a little too pale and sheer for me, I felt a bit like I layered loads on to get the look I wanted. I've got a little scar on my top lip on the left hand side (you might have noticed it in pics, if not, I've probably just drawn your attention to it, oops!) and I didn't feel like this covered it enough. To be honest though, I think my main issue with it is that it doesn't look hugely different to my actual lip colour, just better - it does look nice on though and is probably going to be what I wear for work a lot.

And just a little pic of the lashes (7's, my favourite lash ever) and Duo glue too!

Do you like my new Miss Budd make up bag? Well, you can win one, GIVEAWAY here!

It's quite small so it's a "day" makeup bag rather than something I'd take for a few nights away (need something much more heavy duty than that) but isn't it lovely? I absolutely love the print on it, and the bag is handmade. I got it from the ASOS sale and used my 20% off student discount to make it even more bargainous, yeah!


And, this is what I had inside it for the day - I don't bother carrying my foundation around with me, I use Estee Lauder Doublewear so I don't have to retouch through the day. Knowing my luck if I carried my foundation around I'd end up smashing the bottle or the lid coming off in my bag or something... Here we have Pixi Lip Blush, Sephora Gloss, Clarins Lip Balm, my little H&M heart mirror, Clinique mascara, Collection 2000 Pressed Powder, random powder brush, 17 Eyeliner and Pop Beauty Blush Cake.

GIVEAWAY

Do you fancy winning a Miss Budd make up bag? To enter, you need to:

1. Be a follower of my blog 2. Leave a comment below telling me what your make up bag at the moment looks like (make sure you leave your email address in there so I can contact you if you win)

For an extra entry:

1. Tweet and/or do a blog post about this giveaway (remember to include a link in your comment)

So, we have a maximum of 2 entries per person. The giveaway will close at midnight (GMT) on November 21st 2010, the giveaway is open internationally and the winner will be chosen at random and notified by email. Good luck!

Max Factor Lipfinity Lip Tint - 03 Pink Princess

I love lipstains and tints - the fact I don't have to reapply all the time is great! I also used to be a big fan of the original Lipfinity stuff, you know where you apply the colour first and the gloss second? In my opinion it's the best long lasting lipstick around. I'm a little less high maintenance now though, so I don't mind too much if my lipstick wears off.

So, when I found out Max Factor had brought out a lip stain I really wanted to try it! I had a bit of a swatching session and chose what looked to be the lightest (shown at the bottom, the other colours are the other colours available from 03-06, there isn't loads of choice), Pink Princess:

Like most lip stains, this had a felt tip style applicator and had a vague smell to it, not awful or nice, just a brief whiff of something. The applicator is actually one of the better lip stain ones I've used, it isn't rock hard or scratchy and there isn't any colour bleed on application.

On the lips, it was a much brighter and darker colour, however - this doesn't bother me as I quite like the colour it turned out, but still I was a bit surprised!

This is long lasting, it survived me eating and drinking and lasted 5 hours before it started to look a little faded. It is matte, putting gloss over it would reduce the longevity, and I would imagine if you wore this all the time it migt be a bit drying, but that's what I tend to expect from a lip stain/tint. You don't notice it's on your lips either. Would repurchase this but would like a few more colours?

These are on offer for £4.99 at Superdrug at the moment, so if you're wanting to check them out, now may be the time.

Girls With Attitude Nail Impact! Designer Nail Art for Tips and Toes

These were ridiculously easy to use - they come on a sheet as shown, are already sticky so you literally peel them off the sheet and stick them on to your painted nails. They're so cute aren't they? I love the little flower design, it's nice and subtle but it isn't boring. Plus they don't feel too bumpy or look like stickers on the nail either.

They also look even better on toes (is it not summer yet?!) and with topcoat are pretty hardwearing.

Priced at £2.50 and available from http://www.boots.com/ and http://www.girlswithattitude.co.uk/, these are ideal for those of you that are looking for quick and effective nail art with minimal effort (or those of you that are a little bit lazy or pushed for time, me on both counts!). They're also on Twitter @Girls_Attitude for those of you that like to tweet!

Beauty Heaven by Wahanda - sign up, share, win prizes and discounts. £5 Wahanda voucher just for signing up!

So, all of you know by now that I love Wahanda, and their MobDeals, right? If you don't know what Wahanda is, you might want to check out my previous post about Wahanda.

Well, they've come up with something new now...Beauty Heaven, perfect for the time of year when everyones pockets are a bit more stretched than usual (especially during this joyful recession). It's all about sharing, and reaping the rewards for doing so, Wahanda have over £10,000 of products and prizes to give away!

If you go to www.mybeautyheaven.com/beautyblogger and sign up, you get a £5 Wahanda voucher, just for taking part. Share Beauty Heaven with 5 friends (and if they sign up) and you get £25 worth of beauty treats including skincare products, nail polish and shampoo plus a £10 Wahanda voucher and a 50% discount from Mama Mio. The 50 people with the most friends get £125 of beauty treats plus a £50 Wahanda voucher.

The person who shares with the most people gets a massive Beauty Goddess prize -

£1000 Wahanda voucher* PLUS VIP Card
£500 worth of Pixi Makeup
A Pixi Makeup Master Class
A Champneys Spa Day for 2
£100 of Mama Mio products
A Mama Mio Party
Scandalous hair products

Easily done if you work in a big office, have a big family, have loads of mates, are part of an online community or even if you're a student, so get visiting www.mybeautyheaven.com/beautyblogger and get spreading the word!