Today's post is another photography one yay. This is my most recent shoot with my friend (all of the photos are taken of her: @oliviawnu.k)
natalia x
Sunday, 1 May 2016
Sunday, 24 April 2016
LEE STAFFORD HAIR GROWTH PRODUCTS REVIEW
Lee Stafford, let's say, it breaks the bank but I am thankful for all these offers. So recently, I wanted to try out this Hair Growth line and so I got a few for christmas, then I saw a 3 for 2 offer in Boots and so I bought 3 more products. Let me tell you about each product in more detail - and of course the prices. Besides the prices and the really small shampoo and conditioner bottles than honestly last you about 3 weeks or less, I love how all the Lee Stafford products have 9 different product ranges as you see in the photo below. (screenshot from the boots website)
So back to the products that i have..
Hair Growth Shampoo - 200ml £7.49
This shampoo is a protein based complex to fertilize your follicles which creates a healthy environment on the scalp to help hair grow faster and reach its maximum potential length. After using this product joined with the Conditioner, your hair smells amazing and also feels so soft and nourished. All of that is great but you have to keep using this product until your hair grows out to your wanted length and this means that you may have to spend a lot on this to get your through it. This 200ml bottle lasts less than around 3 weeks.
Hair Growth Connditioner - 200ml £7.49
So similar thing, these two product need to be used together to get the maximum potential out of this process. The shampoo and conditioner really leave your hair feeling really nice and soft but it doesn't weigh your hair down.
Hair Growth Treatment - 200ml £8.49
This treatment is like the cherry on top to the Shampoo and Conditioner, but instead you use it in between those rather than on top. Yeah I make no sense. This is the product that works the most wonders, you lather on an 'egg sized' amount and massage your scalp with it for around 5 minutes. It's the most daunting task but the most effective. Now that both my shampoo and conditioner ran out a while ago now, this has still helped me out. "If the earth's not nourished, you'll never grow beautiful flowers" is the philosophy behind Lee Stafford Hair Growth Treatment
Hair Growth Leave In Treatment - 100ml £11.99
This is another treatment that you can optionally use after all of the others. You don't wash this product out so it is continuously working on stimulating and strengthening from within. To use this effectively, you towel dry your hair and then spray evenly throughout roots to ends and brush through.
If you want to get your hands on this collection - well only 3 different products - then head over to Boots because its on sale so it's a great opportunity to get a whole batch of them for less!
natalia
xXx
xXx
Sunday, 17 April 2016
YOUR HAIR GUIDE TO SUMMER (Part 3 of 3)
Click one of these to be redirected to another part of this guide:
This is the short but sweet and to the point guide for hair. I don't know about you, but in the summer when it's hot I don't feel like doing anything particularly great with my hair. So here are the three great products that will help you out.
This isn't like any other dry shampoo that I've used in the past, you know when you have that horrible dry shampoo feeling in your hair and you can't bare to touch it or put your hands through it. Those make your hair feel dirtier than it was before you put it in your hair. So unlike other ones, this one leaves movement in your hair and also masks excess oils. It is very weightless and fine but one downside to this product is that it doesn't volumise your hair to the maximum - but if you needed that you'd buy an actual volumising product. This product just lifts your hair slightly but still manages to keep your hair feeling fresh. This Instant Refresh Collection comes with three different products that suit best for you. There is a Cleansing, Translucent and Volumising one.
Any lazy hair girl out there? This is what you need. Wash your hair, put this foam in your hair, plait two dutch braids either side of your head, sleep, wake up and you're ready to go. Overnight heatless curls have been a life hack for girls since I can remember. But no one really put anything else in their hair when they did that. This product will keep the curl in your hair for about 2-3 days. It will also leave your hair with a natural shine but not greasy or oily looking - it is very subtle. I love to use this because it never leaves my hair feeling crunchy and I found many products like this one that always feel hard and unnatural.
Do you ever look at photoshoots on a beach and you see a girl with amazing wavy hair - sort of a beach vibe. Well this will kind of help with that in minutes. This product creates texture and body with light to medium hold so unfortunately it won't be intense and looking as if you just curled your hair and messed it up slightly. You can use this on damp or dry hair and it will leave your hair looking, lets say, 'beachy'. You can use this on the days where your hair is looking particularly dull and just boring.
natalia x
natalia x
Sunday, 10 April 2016
YOUR BEAUTY GUIDE TO SUMMER (Part 2 of 3)
As promised, here is the beauty part of this Guide. I could've put all of these into one whole post and just titled it "your ultimate guide to summer" however it would be extremely long and I doubt that anyone would want to sit and read over 1,000 words of my rambling. So this part of the guide is about body sprays and face creams etc. Keep on reading to find out what I think are some of your summer essentials.
Click one of these to be redirected to another part of this guide:
Part 3 - Hair (available on 18-04-16)
I've really been enjoying wearing this scent for Spring, but before I try describe how this smells, I'm just going to copy and paste the description from the Debenhams website: A lush and fruity floral, Daisy eau so fresh delight edition puts a twist on the original with an enticing rush of blood orange flourished with exotic tiare tahiti, mingled with the sweetness of raspberry. Velvety apricot leaves a lingering impression. Have you pictured the scent yet? I like how its not too over powering or too sweet, it's the perfect fresh and fruity scent.
This is another refreshing, wake me up product in the morning or just throughout the day, however it has the benefits of making your skin better. You can spray this directly onto your face and then let it dry or wipe away with a cotton pad. Alternatively, you can spray it on your cotton pad and then apply to your face to help remove any left over makeup or cleanser. I like to use this because it has Tea Tree which is antibacterial, anti fungal and antimicrobial, which in normal words means it keeps away the bacteria that can cause spots.
I really like this mist too as an addition to the perfume throughout the day as a touch up. Again with the bad scent descriptions, here is the description from the Hollister website: Juicy watermelon and California poppy come together to create a brilliant, playful scent. I definitely think that this scent is watermelon, poppy and sugary woods combined into one. This scent isn't sickly or too sweet but it's more fresh and enlightening. Since this is a mist, it won't stay on as long as a perfume would so bare that in mind that it doesn't last very long.
This is the best deodorant that I have ever used and I mean it. I've repurchased this about 3 times now - it's also good to mention that it lasts a fairly long time e.g. it doesn't dry up or run out. You know when you feel like you really need to reapply your deodorant through out the day. Well, now you won't because this will keep you smelling fresh all day - or 48hours as they say. You will no longer have to worry about if you're the one that smells really bad.
This is a new and recent purchase of mine but i've really been liking this demagogically tested moisturiser. It is suitable for normal to dry skin and it hydrates any areas of your skin that are dry. This claims to be a 3in1 moisturiser in the sense that..
1) it has a SolaSheerTM technology with broad spectrum UVA/UVB protection SPF15 gently protects the surface of your skin from daily incidental UV exposure.
2) It has many nourishing vitals such as B3, E and Pro-V B5 which help strengthen your skins natural moisture barrier
3) The 24 hour moisture hydrates your skin 7 layers deep to let your inner glow come through.
Now, if that doesn't tick all of the boxes of a normal simple moisturiser with all the benefits that you need then i don't know what else will at the price of only £4.99 (on offer now as of April '16 - costs £9.99 when it isn't)
Stay tuned for the last part of the guide next week :)
Natalia x
Monday, 4 April 2016
YOUR MAKEUP GUIDE TO SUMMER (Part 1 of 3)
Hello Spring! It's finally time for the warm weather, colourful clothes and lipstick, and of course my guide to Spring/Summer. I'll be doing a guide which consists of three different posts, them being Makeup, Beauty and Hair. As you can tell the first one is all about makeup that prevents meltdown in the hot weather. Keep on reading to see what I think you need to buy for Spring and Summer...
Click one of these to be redirected to another part of this guide:
Part 2 - Beauty (available on 11-04-16)
Part 3 - Hair (available on 18-04-16)
So gurl, I feel your pain when it's hot and your mascara is literally running down your eyes, slowly melting hour after hour. I have you covered! I love the Maybelline Colossal Volum' Express Waterproof Mascara and I know (seriously, I know) that I talk about this mascara as if it's the only one i have - it's basically the only one I swear by. You can read a full review on this mascara if you click here. All I'm saying is, if you curl your lashes and you need the curl to hold all day, and at the same time you don't want your mascara melting in the summer then buy this now!
This product prevents makeup meltdown and it controls oil. Even if you don't have oily skin, you can still use this product during summer since you will usually have more oily skin during summer than other seasons. An alternative to this will be the Original Setting Spray by Urban Decay which will just help hold your makeup in place. I like this product because it helps your makeup stay on for longer than without it, also, it feels really cool and refreshing when you spray it on your face.
When I was gifted my Naked 2 Palette, it came with all 4 primer potion testers. So far i only opened 'Sin' and 'Eden' and I really enjoy using both. Unfortunately 'Sin' has been reformulated to a more sheer finish so it won't be as opaque as the old one, and that shade was in fact my favourite one because you can use it on it's own to create an easy eye look when you didn't even put a lot of effort in. The shade 'Eden' has the same consistency as a concealer and it's got a fair skin tone shade. Firstly, this helps your eyeshadow to stay on longer and look more vibrant. It also prevents your eyelids from creasing, which is a must for summer.
You can probably find better Eyebrow gels that are waterproof but I chose to mention this product in this post because it is only £4.99 and it works very well i.e. it acts as if it's made to be waterproof. So as i said, it isn't waterproof but it has a smudge proof formula that seals the brows in place - it won't come off easily unless you use a makeup wipe or when you take your makeup off. I find that this keeps my brows in place throughout the whole day until i take it off.
I've been really loving this powder recently because it absorbs oil and locks makeup in place. My one is in the shade 'Original' which is just simply translucent and it even claims to protect your skin from UVA/UVB rays since it has a SPF25. I really like this powder because it doesn't build up more texture on your skin after you applied foundation etc.
This product is so far the best one I've come across yet in the sense that stays on you eyes without creasing or smudging all day. My one is in the shade '07 Golden Beige' which is just a golden champagne shade with undertones of pink/purple. It is water resistant which makes it great for hot summer days and even for going in the pool. All you need to do it swipe this on your eyelid and blend it out on the edges to create an effortless but pretty eye look. I struggle sometimes to take it off with only a makeup wipe for waterproof makeup. You might need to invest in the Clinique Take the Day Off Eye Makeup Remover to take this off without hurting or pulling too much on your eyelids - it takes it off completely! This product is offered in 32 different shades and around half of them are vibrant shades like blue, pink and even green so you have a variety if you like to play around with crazy eyeshadow colours. However, they also offer a range of golden and browny shades if you like to have neutral eyeshadows.
Stay tuned next week for my next Beauty Guide!
Natalia x
Natalia x
Monday, 29 February 2016
EVERYDAY MAKEUP ROUTINE FEB 2016
When i first made my blog, one of my first posts was an everyday makeup routine so i thought that it's finally time to update it since basically all of the products have changed.
First i start my base with the Mac Studio Fix Foundation using the Original Beauty Blender sponge and blending it in. This foundation is a medium to full coverage foundation, it blends easily and it is demi-matte but not flat looking. Then i use my new favourite trusty concealer, the Nars Radiant Creamy Concealer and can i just say this is the best concealer I've come across so far. Since it's such a light shade, i use this under my eyes and then use whatever is left on the sponge to blend on my chin and a bit on my forehead to highlight.
Then i use the Real Techniques Setting Brush to apply the Bare Minerals Mineral Veil Loose Powder to set my under eye concealer. This prevents the concealer from creasing and keeps it looking as if the concealer was freshly applied all day. I also find that if i don't use this powder under my eyes, I find that my mascara smudges under my eyes so it also prevents that! Next i use the Mac Studio Fix Powder with the same Real Techniques Setting Brush everywhere else on my face. I love this powder for adding more coverage and it doesn't make your foundation look as textured. I would prefer it if it had more properties that prevent and take away shine.
Then for the contour and highlight, I use the Anastasia Beverly Hills Contour Kit. I use the middle shade ('Fawn') from the bronzers to contour my cheekbones and also bring it up to my temples. To do this I use the Real Techniques Contour Brush. I also sometimes use the 'Banana' Powder to highlight more under my eyes and I like this because It's very light so it doesn't build up texture under the eyes. Then I use the shade 'Sand' to highlight on top of my cheeks and dust a little bit on my brow bone too.
I don't do much eye shadow on a daily basis but i use this Mac Paint Pot in 'Painterly' to prevent creasing. I just put this on my eye lid.
I use this Urban Decay Naked 2 Basics Palette to fill in my eyebrows and also define my eyes. I alternate between the shades 'Frisk' or 'Cover' and i only use this lightly through my crease to define my eyes using the Sigma E25 Blending Brush. Then i use the shade 'Primal' to fill in my eyebrows using an angled brush. Then to finish off my brows i use the Benefit Gimme Brow in the shade 'Medium/Deep' to set them in place.
I only do this step if i remember which isn't everyday, I use the Sephora Long Lasting Kohl Liner in '07 Infinite Beige' on my water line to open up my eyes a bit.
And lastly there's mascara. First i curl my lashes using the Champney's Eyelash Curler - which is the best one that I've tried yet (you can see a eyelash curler review HERE). Then I use the Maybelline Colossal Volum' Express Waterproof Mascara and apply about two coats on my top lashes and one on my bottom lashes. Then a new re-discovery was using the Maybelline Big Eyes Mascara but only the Lower Lash brush on my lower lashes. I love doing this because it has such a small wand and I find that it really lengthens and blackens my lashes. However, I wish I had bought this in waterproof the first time round because then I have to go over that coat again with the other maybelline waterproof mascara so it doesn't end up under my eyes at the end of the day.
What are your 3 absolute favourite makeup products form your makeup collection?
natalia
x
Monday, 22 February 2016
Monday, 15 February 2016
NARS ALL DAY LUMINOUS WEIGHTLESS FOUNDATION & RADIANT CREAMY CONCEALER
This blog post is aka the longest title ever.
Sadly the foundation is my mums purchase but i thought that i would test these out together and write about them. I actually really really love this concealer so it will be a definite repurchase for me, carry on reading to find out why..
Besides the fact that this foundation is way to dark for me (it's in the shade Barcelona) it has a really nice finish. As for the texture it is quite watery but has light to medium finish. When i was trying this on i did two layers of it on the other side of my face and it had a lot more coverage yet still looked exactly the same as the one layer. So far this foundation is the closest one that looks like skin because it doesn't build up as much texture as a thicker and fuller coverage foundation. It also blends in seamlessly with this concealer. When buying online, if you choose the shade of foundation, it shows you what shade of concealer will help you achieve a good highlight and that shade is Chantily for this foundation shade. I almost thought i had the Kim Kardashian countour and highlight - no kidding.
If you love the Collection Concealer then you will love this Radiant Creamy Concealer. I like to use this under my eyes and if i want to highlight anywhere else. A lot goes a long way as to how much you reply but if you layer up, it still doesnt look as cakey as the Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer would look. This concealer already has a lot of coverage so there's no need to layer up too much, but if you're trying to contour a lot then get yourself a really light powder to not build up as much texture. I find that it blends well when using a beauty blender under the eyes but a brush works just as well - i just figure that it works better for me with a beauty blender (both damp or not damp is good). I also thought i'd mention that this concealer doesn't have any shine to it or shimmer.
As you see, the shade difference is very different. On the left is the Foundation in the shade 'Barcelona' and on the right is the Concealer in 'Chantilly'. When they blend together on the face it looks amazing!
N x
Monday, 8 February 2016
URBAN DECAY NAKED 2 PALETTE REVIEW
This Urban Decay Naked 2 Palette is my new favourite, and a step up from my Naked 2 Basics Palette. I use the Naked 2 Basics palette daily and religiously - It's by far the best eyeshadow quality i have come across yet. However, there are 5 fully matte shades and 1 demi matte highlight shade so you can't do a lot of eye looks.
The Naked 2 is a very versatile palette because it has the first 6 shades that are quite lighter and can be worn as an everyday eye look. My favourite shades are 'Half Baked', 'Booty Call' and 'Tease' from the first 6. As for the quality of these eyeshadows, they're really buttery and smooth to apply. But, i do find that the matte shade 'Tease' is less pigmented than the others which is really inconvenient since it's the only suitable matte crease shade.
The only negative i have about this Naked 2 palette is that it has 9 shimmery shades and 3 matte shades, otherwise i'm really happy with this product and i'll definitely be checking out more Urban Decay products. As for the 6 rather darker shades, my favourites are "Suspect" and "YDK".
I did swatches of all the shades in order and due to my poor focusing skills one handedly, you can't really seee the first 4 shades clearly. But you do see the shimmer and the colour so it's all good. Anway, as you see the first shade on the left (it's the one before the gold), which is almost invisible, is more of shade you would use after appying primer to sort of set it while making it matte, and only using a light brown shade in the crease. The fifth shade 'Tease' comes out quite sheer as i said before but overall it is a very pretty colour.
Also, i didn't mention that this palette had four samples of all of their primer potions which i loved. The samples included are:
- Sin: Which is like a purple toned champage shade (nice explaining i know), this looks quite metallic when on however it doesnt stay as metallic by the end of the day. I like to use this alone or with other eyeshadows too. (Sin has now been reworked into Minor Sin and reviews say it is much thinner and not as opaque so try it before you buy it)
- Original: Which is my favourite, it's like a creaseless concealer because it manages to cover any veins visible but also prevents your eyeshadow from creasing.
- Eden: This is just your usual clear primer so it won't be like the original one.
- Anti Aging: Similar to Eden but has anti-aging properties apparently.
n
Monday, 1 February 2016
PHOTOGRAPHY VIII: LONDON AT NIGHT
London at night is truly a great experience - it is just as beautiful as it is in daylight.
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