TANYA BURR LIPGLOSS REVIEW AND SWATCHES

I hate to admit it but although I am a fan of Tanya's youtube tutorials, I wasn't exactly excited for the release of her nail varnishes and lipglosses. I like lipgloss but never really bother wearing it because I'm too lazy to touch up throughout the day. Another, I'm sorry Tanya, but I just presumed that they wouldn't be that great quality wise. I take it back, I promise! 

I narrowed it down to three shades to start off with and to try them out and see if it was worth getting more. Luckily they were on 3 for 2 at the time... I definitely did not purposely wait for this offer - okay I did. I chose Chic, Picnic in the Park and Exotic Island. All of the shades that I chose are a cream formular with no shimmer, just incredible glossy! Chic is a perfect nude shade; a beige pink shade that isn't too light on the lips but just gives the perfect finish to either a natural make up look or a heavy eye look, where you only want something subtle in colour on the lips. Picnic in the Park seems to be one of Tanya's favourites as she always seems to be wearing it. It's a pretty bubblegum, but easy to wear pink shade. Both Chic and Picnic in the PArl are the perfect 'pick me up' shades that you can easily wear if you're feeling like you're looking a little run down throughout the day or want to pretty up your make up. Exotic Island is possibly my favourite shade, as it's such a gorgeous magenta colour, with so much pigmentation. It's easy to wear in the day and would also look amazing for a more dressed up look, either as a statement lip with a more neutral eye or if you wanted something more dramatic it's still wearable enough to pair with a heavier eye. 

I was really impressed with the scent, finish and longevity of these glosses. As everyone else has said they do have the sweet strawberry scent, which seems pretty unique. Once applied on the lips they are very glossy and not sticky, yet they seem to have enough texture to feel like they wont just immediately disappear off the lips. On me, without eating or drinking much they seem to last a good few hours, with the gloss fading but the colour, especially of Exotic Island stains the lips so you are still left with the colour. They retail for £6.99, which I think for the quality and amount of product you get, is pretty good. I have compared them to a high end brand and these are far better. The high end lipgloss contained half the amount of product and only stays on the lips for about an hour and fades a little patchy. 

At first I found the applicator a little stiff to easily apply to the top lip, as it just didn't seem to be flexible enough. This doesn't bother me, it's just something I noticed, but after using them more I've got used to it. I've also noticed that 1 of my glosses is a slightly different size to the other two, the lid is longer, which is pretty strange but still, who really cares about that when it works great.

Chic 

 

     Picnic in the Park

  

   Exotic Island

I love these lipglosses and obviously now I need want more. I've got my eye on Vampire Kiss, Lets Travel the World and possibly Just Peachy, although I'm not sure if it's too light, so if you have tried it let me know! I also like Afternoon Tea and maybe Aurora... Okay lets calm down now before I list all of them. 

You can get Tanya's range from Superdrug or online at feelunique. 

                                   Which shades are your favourite?

SO... I HAVE A LAW DEGREE

As I write this I have just found out that I have achieved a 2.1 for my Law degree, but when I post this I would have known for a few days now. This was one of the days that I was really dreading. My coursework marks were very good this year but my exams were worth a much higher percentage, so really they would be the overall decider of my final grade so I was so nervous to find out what my grade would be. 

The photos show my core text books over the three years studying law, which to me looks bad enough as it is, but I also had so many more hand outs to read which saying hand outs makes it sound like a couple pages but really It was huge wads of papers every week for each seminar. Thinking back, I'm not sure how I got through some of the days; I would wake up knowing I had to do so much work all day. In my second year, we were only able to choose one module and the rest were compulsory. One of the modules was Land Law, which was pretty horrific; the text book was like reading a different language, I couldn't understand it at all and every week while I was trying to do the work for the seminar I'd end up in tears because I just felt like I didn't know anything and I knew my tutor would be randomly picking on people the whole seminar so I had to know what she was talking about. The assignments were so scary as I would initially read the questions set and think, I have absolutely no idea about any of this and then while writing I would think, am I even answering the question, or am I even talking about the right stuff? Some of my essays I was definitely surprised that the results were good for those exact reasons. 

The third year surprisingly was the best one for me. Every year had been intense so it wasn't exactly a surprise when I found myself working every day, every night, every weekend, every bank holiday and even all over Christmas. This year we were able to choose all of our modules and that made things a lot more... I'm not sure I would say enjoyable but at least I knew I was more interested in Medical law, Human Rights, Evidence etc, more so than Land Law and Contract Law *yawwwn* I'm not sure if it was because I found the modules more interesting in third year or just because I'd learned to be better but I found it so much easier to understand what I was reading. Exam time was the most strange as the previous years I'd felt so stressed, scared, sick... etc but this year it had kind of hit me that stressing so much wasn't going to help and you have to just deal with it and get on with it. Although I really wanted a 2.1, I realised that at the end of the day there's more to life than what degree classification you get, so I calmed down and just got on with revision and it worked so much better and I managed to do well in my exams and get a 2.1 overall.

I hated first and second year so much and then by third year I had just had enough of being stuck inside working while everyone else seemed to be relaxing or out doing fun things. Although I was constantly working I knew I wasn't always giving 100% so I do kind of wish I had so I would have been more likely to receive a 1st class degree, especially now that I'm looking into teaching and I would have got a £9000 bursary instead of a £4000, damn...but then again I'm not going to dwell on that, I'm still proud of my 2.1 degree. 

When I looked online this morning (Tuesday 24th), I wasn't actually very nervous. It was a week or so ago that they put the final result section on the uni website that you couldn't then access but as it was there I was freaking out, my heart was pounding when I saw it and I thought I'd never be able to actually check back on the date that they said the result would be available. When I finally was able to see my result I was home alone so couldn't even tell anyone. I text my boyfriend as he had already wished me good luck earlier that morning and gave me a little pep talk... so sweet. As I write this, hours after seeing my result I still haven't actually told anyone else, apart from a friend who was also on my course but that was only because he asked. I was so relieved when I saw the 1 (2.1) next to the 2 instead of a 2 (2.2) but apart from that I'm not really feeling much emotion. I'm not sure why as it was such a tough three years but for some reason I haven't told anyone, yet everyone else has broadcast it on facebook and is now showing photos and sharing their parents proud status'. Maybe it just hasn't sunk in? How dramatic... 

I'm so grateful to my boyfriend and sister who have been the only ones to really support me throughout the three years of tears, stress etc.  It's safe to say they both know a lot more of the law than they really want to, after listening to me ramble on about everything while trying to revise! 

Anyway, I'm off to add 'llb' to the end of my name. Congratulations if you have just found out your final degree grade whatever it is, it's a great achievement. If you did make it to the end of this I'm impressed! I now need to find a suitable dress for graduation and try to wear in and make my heels comfortable? well at least not excruciating... so really the real hardship starts now! 

SKINCARE SAVIOURS

I've only really got into skincare in the last couple of years; before I have to admit I was often guilty of... dun, dun, dun...... not taking my make up off before bed. I now cannot go to bed without a clean face. I have no idea what type my skin is as it seems to play tricks a lot and go from completely normal, to dry, dehydrated, to oily, to spot prone, it's combination in the most varied sense. During my skincare journey, I've come across some staple products that I turn to for each of my problem types. 

Dry Skin

I have never been someone who suffers from dry skin, so I was really unprepared when this drought hit... haha get it?! I found that The Body Shop's Camomile Cleansing Butter worked really well, as it felt very nourishing on the skin and didn't feel drying at all but instead left my skin so soft to touch. Luckily with a purchase from Clarins I received the Santal Face Treatment Oil sample. At the time I didn't think this was lucky at all as I was actually buying the same oil but for dehydrated skin and I had never suffered from dry skin so I thought it was a bit of a waste of a sample. When I did suffer from dry skin, it was a blessing; it's so nourishing! The hazel nut oil helps to soothe and calm dry and irritated skin, so it's the perfect skin rescue product. I used the Kielh's Avocado eye treatment when my eyes were really dry and horrible and it worked so well as it's quite thick and creamy and really soothed the skin. 

Dehydrated skin

My favourite products to use when my skin feels dehydrated are the Hydraluron serum and the Clarins Blue Orchid Face Treatment Oil, for, you guessed it, dehydrated skin. I normally use the serum during the day and the facial oil at night and if I'm feeling dehydrated I use both at night. Both leave the skin feeling and looking so plumb and fresh. I always find that any fine lines look diminished and my make up applies smoother as my skin is in better condition. 

Blemish prone skin 

I thought I was so lucky to not have bad skin throughout my teenage years, however, now in my 20's, I've started to constantly get break outs. Really, they're not that bad at all, compared to some things that you can suffer with, but that doesn't mean they're any less annoying or that I'm any less self concious of them. My favourite cleanser to use whenever I have a particular bad break out is the REN Clarifying Clay Cleanser. It is specifically aimed at blemish prone skin and it just feels so refreshing on the skin and really does a great job at calming the area and bringing down the spot size. It's also doesn't contain any harmful ingredients. treatment wise, the Bare Minerals Blemish Remedy is very good as it helps treat the spots but doesn't dry them out or leave the horrible whiter residue that most do. I also like to use the Lush Mask of Magnaminty, as it really seems to calm down any problems on the skin. 

Dull Skin

I like to use the Bare Minerals, Biolucent serum when my skin is looking a little tired. It really helps noticeably, brighten the skin and make it more radiant and luminous. 

I hope that has given you some ideas for when your skin is playing up. I didn't include oily skin as I don't think I have any specific products that really help. 

Have you found any amazing products for any of these skin problems?

REVIEW: LAUREN'S WAY SOLUTION 60 RAPID MOUSSE

I seem to have some kind of immunity against self tans; for some reason even the darkest do not show up much on me at all. I've been using self tan for around 8 years (omg... that's pretty insane). I thought maybe because I'm so used to being fairly tanned all the time, I may have turned into some kind of 'tanorexic' who doesn't notice that I'm tanned... but, last year my suspicions were confirmed. I had a spray tan for my boyfriend's mum's wedding and used the second darkest tan level and still my boyfriend's mum admitted that I still didn't look very tanned, especially considering it was supposed to be very dark and I'd just had it done the day before. 

Enough with the rambling, my point is that even the dark tans by Sienna x, St Tropez, Xen tan... don't look very dark on me at all. I'd heard so many good reviews about Lauren's Way but then again there were just as many great reviews about the other tans I had tried, which didn't live up to my expectations. The 'darker than dark' range appealed to me as it seemed exactly what I was looking for and it was, it's the best tan I've used and really does give a long lasting dark colour. When Lauren's Way released their new Solution 60 tan, I knew I needed to try it. I bought it when there was 20% off, so it was a lot cheaper than other tans.

The tan claims to develop within 1- 2 hours for a medium bronzed glow and 3 for a deeper bronzed colour. It is a mousse formula and therefore very easy to apply. It immediately gives a dark colour to the skin and I think darker than the 'darker than dark' tan did, which shows it's quickness in developing. 

I was a little naughty the first time I applied the tan and instead of the recommend 3 hours I left it on all day. The colour developed amazingly and very dark but a natural dark, so not orange and it wasn't streaky at all. Even I, who normally can't even notice that I'm wearing a 'dark' fake tan, can see that this is a dark tan. The next time I tried it I played by the rules and left it on for the 3 hours. It developed just as well and left a beautiful dark colour, only slightly lighter than before. If you don't want such a dark colour, I would definitely stick to the 1-2 hours, as you can tell that it does what it says and develops very quickly. I've read a few reviews that have moaned about it drying too fast and therefore, finding it hard to rub into the skin. I didn't notice any difference from the usual Lauren's Way tan and found it very easy to apply with a mitt. The tan lasts longer than any of the other brands I have tried and fades well, so you're not left with horrible patches. 

Overall I adore this tan and I'm so happy that I finally feel like I've found an amazing brand. I would recommend this to anyone who wants a quick medium - dark, to very dark tan and who wants it quick! I love that you can leave it longer for an even deeper colour but also, you don't need to wait the normal 8 + hours, as often I don't get 8 hours sleep so I normally find that I don't sleep long enough for the tan to develop in time, from when I apply it, go to bed and then have to get up and wash it off. 

Have you tried Lauren's Way Solution 60? You can order online 'here' and it's also stocked in some Debenhams stores, I would order online and wait for a sale, so to get an even better bargain! 

"IT JUST HAPPENED"... MAC, TANYA BURR, KIEHL'S, NARS, LUSH, LAUREN'S WAY...

I had been pretty good at not spending much lately and using up products I already had, so I hadn't really bought much for a few months. This month I ran out of a few things and succumbed to the hype and needed to try a few other products and didn't really realise it was all adding up so much, not horrendously for most but more than I expected so it's safe to say I'll be going back to the boring world of saving money.

First, Lauren's Way had a 20% off weekend. I'm not exactly running low on fake tan but it's become the only one that really works for me so I thought I'd take advantage as I will eventually need it. I decided to try the new Rapid 60 minute tan and the Glam Tan Darker than Dark. I've only ever had the Darker than Dark foam tan before so I hope both of these are just as good if not better.

My skin has completely flipped lately and started to go from normal and very pleasant to blemish prone, sensitive and dry. I think I had some kind of reaction but I have no idea what from but it caused the skin around my eyes to go very sore and dry and the rest of my face very sensitive (eeww)? I decided to try the Kiehl's avocado eye cream as it's got such good reviews and the avocado makes it sound so soothing and nourishing, which I needed.  Luckily House of Fraser were having 10% off and I also got an extra 10% off with unidays, so I had to also order NARS Sheer Glow - obviously. I've been wanting to try it for a while now and the discounts brought it down to around £24 which seemed a tiny bit more reasonable than its normal price tag! I also got an eyeshadow from MAC called plumage, a dark green blue colour, as I'd also wanted it for a while and definitely don't have anything like it, plus I needed to spend a little more to get free postage - I'm a sucker for free postage.

Next was Superdrug. As Tanya Burr's range were 3 for 2, I had completely run out of reasons not to try them. I bought Picnic in the Park, Chic and Exotic Island for lip glosses and New York Night, Bright and Early and Peaches and Cream for nail varnishes. I'll definitely be posting a separate post showing them properly and reviewing them, so if you're interested, keep your eyes peeled! I also picked up some Ardell lashes as they were also on offer... such a bargain hunter! I was running out of moisturiser, after forcing myself to use up the hundreds that I already had, so I bought the Dove one. It smells good but I wont be repurchasing it as it has parabens in, which may or may not be bad but I'm not going to take the risk! Likewise, the Ponds cream also does, so maybe I just need to check ingredients more!

Speaking of parabens, Lush have now started to re formulate some of their products which did contain parabens, without them, yey! I really liked the Mask of Magnaminty but when I realised it contained parabens it really put me off and I wasn't going to repurchase but as it's now self preserving I just had to. I also bought the Tender is the night massage balm, which with some sniffs smells a little like old women, like really floral and not too great but in others it's quite nice... Probably would have preferred a different scent, but it's a good shape and when you're in lush you have no idea what you're actually smelling!

Are we done?! I think so.

I'm not going to do any more shopping for a while (I make no promises). Overall I saved a lot as everything I bought was on offer, apart from the Lush bits, so there's my justification.

I'll most likely be reviewing a lot of the products mentioned individually. Have you tried any of these, or different colours, scents etc?

OOTD & MAKE UP | DATE NIGHT

Since being at university, I've had barely any free time to just relax and not need to be doing any work. My final year at uni was especially horrendous and It lead to me constantly moaning about never going out and my poor boyfriend had to suffer the, "we never go out, but you always go out with your friends." I moaned even though I knew it was because I was doing work all the time and I work weekends, so when he was free I definitely wasn't... Typical girl.

Anyway, as a kind of finishing uni treat my boyfriend took me to one of our favourite restaurants. Actually that's kind of a lie as I drove as his car was having an MOT, but he did plan it... and second, I say 'one of our favourite,' like we have several but really the only other place we seem to go is Nandos so this one was a huge step up. Anyway, back to reality, It's a beautiful country barn style restaurant, in the middle of no where, it's quite fancy inside, with candles and smart waiters, plus canapés and sorbet between courses. I always feel like dressing up a bit more when we go so I decided to wear this red flower dress from Red Herring. It's so pretty and easy to wear as it's a good length and  covers all the right places. I decided to wear my Zara heels to kind of spruce up the outfit and add a little edge to it, with the lace up style... I know what I mean! The heels are around 4 inches so they're not too high and fairly easy and comfortable to walk in, as heels go! 

For my make up I used MAC Studio Fix Fluid, Pro longwear concealer with Bare Minerals Stroke of light under my eyes. For my eyes I used MAC's Sable all over the lid, Twinks in the outer corner with embark to deepen the crease and outer corner. I used Texture and Rule through the crease and Make up Geek's Shimma Shimma eyeshadow under the brow and in the inner corner. On My cheeks I used MAC's Peaches blush and Give me sun to bronze. My lipstick is the L'oreal Eva's nude. Finally... Lashes are Lauren's Way. 

I really need to take more photos, as I now wish I had some of the food to show as it's always very impressive looking. I had crab and prawn tian with mango for starter, which was very nice, I had no idea what it was but I knew I liked prawns so just went with it. For main I had the best chicken ever... sorry Nandos, it just doesn't compare. I'm trying to eat better and cut down some pounds which I think joined me through exam period... thanks for that guys... so I passed on dessert. Plus I'm not all that into desserts anyway and tend to only go for ice cream, which I hate paying restaurant prices for. 

Do you have any good date places that you like to go or any new ideas on what to do? I hope you're all having a good week and I'll be back soon! :) 

MAY FAVOURITES

 May is the month that I always dread most, as it means one thing and one thing only for students, exam season! This month saw my last ever university exams completed and fingers crossed, passed with good marks! I now cannot wait to enjoy all of the future Aprils and Mays, as they're normally so sunny and being stuck inside revising really puts a damper on things.  Although make-up wasn't worn as much as I would have liked and shopping definitely didn't take place, I've still managed to collect together a few products that I really enjoyed last month.

First, a month of essay writing and revision tends to lead to a lack of sleep, so I've been really packing on the under eye brighteners! First I use the MAC Pro Longwear Concealer, then the Bare Minerals Stroke of Light to brighten and then set with MAC's emphasize powder. The concealer covers any darkness and then the pink toned Stroke of Light helps counteract any left over darkness while also brightening, with that duo and emphasize to set, I looked like I'd had my 8 hours every night! 

The Bare Minerals Ready foundation has been a new favourite of mine for the last few months; it's so quick and easy to apply and far more long wearing than any of my liquid foundations so it worked great when I just couldn't face no make up and also on exam days. It provides medium to full coverage, which is very surprising coming from a powder product. Peaches blush has been my go to lately; it's a gorgeous peach colour...obviously, but easy to wear. To add to the quickness of May's make up, you could call it laziness or I'd prefer smart thinking... I've been multi tasking the Real Techniques Blush brush. I've been using it for foundation, powder, bronzer and blush and it works great. The tapered top makes it ideal for blush and bronzer but it's still big and round enough for buffing in foundation and powder. 

The Urban Decay Chill setting spray has finally made an appearance this month. I got it for my birthday or Christmas last year, I can't remember which - they're only 2 weeks apart! As it started to get warmer and I needed my make up to last longer, as my drive to uni is 2 hours, plus exams being 3 hours and then 4 hours ahead of the exam to cram and a further 2 to drive home, I wanted my make up to last. The spray seemed to do a good job at helping the staying power of my make up but it's also really nice just to spray to refresh, especially as it has a cooling effect which has been great with the heat and my skin has been playing up lately and feeling a lot drier than usual. 

Finally, the Laura Mercier ambre vanille fragrance. I first smelt this scent from heaven in February when my sister and I went to see Taylor Swift in London. I couldn't stop smelling my wrist all day and knew I needed it! My sister Hannah kindly bought it for me at the beginning of May as an early finishing uni present and I've worn it everyday since! It's quite strong, as in a little goes a long way - which my boyfriend and Hannah frequently told me, after I'd been spraying quite freely. 

I hope you've all had an enjoyable May and I will now be back to regular posting - yeyey! :)