Staying bronzed...

I love being tanned as much as the next Northern girl, so when I've been on holiday I am determined to maintain my tan for as long as possible!! So I just thought I'd give you a run down of some of the products I use to gain and maintain a bronzed body as well as some little tips that I find help me personally!!!

Firstly and most importantly is use a good sun lotion. Always use the SPF that is correct for you. There is nothing more dangerous (and unattractive) about burning. Your tan won't thank you for it and neither will your appearance in 10 years time!! Personally I use Piz Buin's Tan Intensifier cream. It's a real bargain at only £3.99 in Home Bargains and I feel it really does help my tan. As I am quite fair skinned, I always use SPF 15.

Next is a good after sun product! This holiday I discovered Avon's After Sun Shimmer Tan Enhancer (£4.00 in the sale, originally £7.00). I don't think I noticed whether the tan enhancer part of this worked, however it does have a slight shimmer to it which just makes you sparkle especially while it's still light outside on a night! Perfect for making your body look glorious and shimmery!!

I'm a massive scrubaholic. I love using body and facial scrubs as I believe they are the best way to make sure your skin is healthy and glowing with or without a tan. My personal favourite is Scrub of your Life from Soap and Glory. Whilst on holiday, I took the travel version which ended up lasting more than the week, so you don't need a lot. It stops your tan getting patchy and ensures all the dead skin is scrubbed away!

Moisturising is always key to a good tan. Although I use after sun whilst on holiday, I also use a moisturiser as it really sinks into your skin maintaining your skin's shine. I love Soap and Glory's The Righteous Butter which smells divine as well as being a great product.

Always wax/epilate over shaving when trying to maintain a natural tan. Shaving can remove dead skin cells, which can also removes your tan. My epilating/waxing you're focussing primarily on the hairs, so your skin (and ergo your tan) is left alone!!

But my number one tip for having a bronzed beautiful body.... FAKE IT!!! There's a wide range of false tans out there with my personal favourites being St Moriz Instant Self Tanning Mousse (£3.99) and St Tropez's Self Tan Bronzing Spray (£17.49). Both of these tans develop over a few hours then wash them off for an all over bronzed glow!


Mwah xxx

Holidays and OotH...

I know I haven't blogged recently (well for the last month) and I'm so sorry, just with going on holiday then moving house it's been quite crazy so haven't had time to sit down and get blogging. However, I just thought I would share with you guys some of my holiday snaps and a OotH (Outfit of the Holiday)!

So I went to Tunisia with my Mam for a week as a kind of 'You've finished your master's' reward. I don't get to see my Mam a lot so it was sooo nice to spend a full week just us girls.

So when we got to the hotel (at 1am may I add) there was a lovely salad waiting for us.

We were staying all inclusive so just stayed on the beach during the day and round the terrace bar on the night.. A few of my outfits are shown below....The dress in the middle (floral drop hem dress, £17 Primark) was definitely my OotH though. Felt so beautiful in it and fit perfectly!!!

During the day it got up to about 34 degrees celsius (which is about 93 farenheit I think), what a lovely view we had on the beach and we even saw a few camels!!

All and all a fantastic holiday :) I promise I will get back to blogging again!!

Mwah xxx

May Favourites and over £20 giveaway...

So the end of another month and another favourites post!! Been soo much to choose from so chose my top 6 products and hopefully the ones I've left out I'll still love next month!! Anyhow, let's get going with the favourites!!


1. L'Oreal Colour Infallible in 002 Hourglass Beige. I've had this for quite a while but have always used trios or duos when applying eyeshadows as I like to blend lighter and darker colours. However, whilst having a clear out I discovered this and found just how beautiful it is! It's a loose powder, but has a stopper in the top to keep it pressed and the pigmentation is absolutely unbelievable! It stays on well even without a primer, and feels so soft and smooth on the skin!


2. Benefit They're Real Mascara. Now I'm quite sceptical about mascaras as I have next to no eyelashes and don't want to waste money to have no effect.. I've been loving L'Oreal's Million Lashes mascara, but it's slowly getting to the bottom and I needed to replace it. I've heard so many people rave about this so thought I'd give it a shot and it's amazing!! It more than doubles my lashes and it looks like I'm wearing falsies even though I'm not! Exactly what you want :)


3. John Freida Radiant Red Shampoo. As an unnatural redhead, I have to do everything I can to maintain the colour as long as possible after dying it so as not to damage it too much by dying it too often. My hairdresser recommended this and it is unreal, I've never had a shampoo that makes my hair appear redder than when I went in the shower! It's so light to wash in and doesn't smell to bad!


4. All About Nails in Bellini. My bargain 99p Model's Own Tropical Sun dupe! It was 99p, it looks gorgeous on and it barely chipped before the 4th day, all in all a definite summer long favourite in this one!!! Full review can be found HERE


5. Soap and Glory The Righteous Butter. I love having a tan, fake or otherwise and it is a well known fact being moisturised is essential to maintain a good tan. I love this one as it's a body butter over a moisturiser as I feel they go further and last longer and since I get bad psoriasis breakouts, body butters are softer to the skin than normal moisturisers. 


6. MAC Viva Glam Gaga 2 lipstick. This is my first official MAC purchase and I think it will be the first of many! It's creamy and soft and the perfect nudey colour, as it is a darker nude which I favour over a pinky colour. Full review can be seen HERE




DON'T FORGET MY GIVEAWAY HERE. THE CONTENTS IS CURRENTLY WORTH £22 AND MAY BE GETTING MORE ADDED TO IT..


Here's to a great June!!! Mwah xx

YBF Neutralising Creme..

I'm sorry for the long introduction but when I was younger me and my Mam used to watch QVC together, and in particular I loved it when the cosmetics brand 'Models Prefer' was on. (I've included links to a video from the American version of QVC at the bottom of the post) It was a company founded by Stacey Schieffelin and each hour she would come on with no make-up and her hair wasn't done and she would transform throughout the hour using the Models Prefer cosmetics. As an extension of this she now does a line called YBF (Your Best Friend) which includes products similar to those in the Models Prefer collection.


So after reliving these memories with my Mam in the last few days, I thought I would look into perhaps buying one of the products, in particular I always wanted to try the Neutralizing Creme..

At only £5.47, it's incredibly affordable so I thought I may as well treat myself for finishing my exams for the summer. It;s only a small compact cream, yet it seems to work wonders on my patchy (and freckly) skin. It goes on a slightly yellowy colour like most concealers but it is amazingly light and a little goes a long way.

I would definitely recommend this over a normal liquid or even stick concealer as it is a lot creamier so doesn't seem to hold in the fine lines as much. Definitely a 5* product!!


Have you guys tried using Models Prefer/YBF products before? Let me know :)


Also don't forget about my giveaway.. a box of secret treasures worth over £15 to giveaway HERE

YBF on HSN

Summer Giveaway..

Okay, so with my university year coming to an end and it coming into summer, I'm in a great and giving mood!! Therefore thought I would partake in a little giveaway for my lovely followers!! Now to add an edge, I'm not going to announce what the contents will be but will confirm that the goodies will be worth over £15 and will include travel size skin/body care products and cosmetics and maybe a few suprises :)

The giveaway has started and will run for two weeks until the 8th June 2012. All you need to do is fill in your details below and I'll contact the lucky winner on the 8th June :)


GOOD LUCK!!!

Mwah xx


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Topshop Hidden Treasure polish...

I'm not a big lover of Topshop if I'm honest *shock horror*. Just their size 16 clothing doesn't even get round my leg let alone over my ass, which is a bit of a joke.. But after seeing so many nice reviews about their cosmetics I thought I'd pop in and have a gander when I discovered this beauty....

The colour is Hidden Treasure and I just thought it was gorgeous!! At first I thought it was just going on gold, however after the second coat you could see the green tinges. Yes, it is still more gold than green but I love it..and for only £6 it really is treasure!!

I shall definitely be checking out Topshop cosmetics more in the future. I love the high street price as well as the cute packaging, I love polka dots :)


Mwah xx

Losing my MAC virginity...

Okay, so I've got a couple of MAC brushes, yet never actually bought any MAC products as the price has always managed to put me off.. However after seeing blog after blog raving about MAC cosmetics, I thought I'd bite the bullet and treat myself. However, I came across a MAC lipstick on ebay for the bargain price of £6.99. It was the Viva Glam Gaga II lipstick, which is perfect for me as I love more nudey, understated colours.... A lipgloss was also launched at the same time..

So the moment I even did the swatch on my hand (which appears pinkier than the actual lipstick) I fell in love. I've never been a lipstick wearer but my these are soft and make your lips feel so good!!!

Quite a deep swatch..

Sorry for the awful photo, just my normal camera is broken so having to use my back up!! As you can see it's more natural on my lips than my hand (probably more pigmented due to my lips) but I absolutely love it. Not only am I now a lipstick convert, I am a MAC convert!! I'll apologise to my bank balance now shall I???

Does anyone else have any favourite MAC shades or products they wish to recommend me????

Mwah xx