MONU

This was from the Earth day Glossybox which imo was the best box they ever produced. I had never heard of this brand and so was a bit dubious and if I'm honest didn't expect much.Apologies about the pics, camera has died :(


What is it? 
An organic cream aimed at those with dry, very dry or dehydrated skin.

What MONU say:
"A rich luxurious cream to relieve dryness and smooth fine lines".

This is definetly a rich cream. I feel it has a balmy texture without being too heavy. It sinks into the skin perfectly and doesn't leave any residue.

What's in it?

• Rose essential oil
• Gerainium essential oil
• Evening Primrose
• Blackcurrant seed oil
• Shea butter
• Sodium hyaluronate 
• Marine collagen
• Plant flavinoids
• Betanes
  

The main ingredients are Rose and Geranium essential oils. I remember reading Rose is good for dry skin so this an excellent addition.  Evening Primrose and Blackcurrant seed oil provide essential fatty acids which are supposed to repair the skins lipids. Shea butter & Sodium Hyaluronate should improve the skins barrier function and marine collagen to should smooth any fine lines. This is also a paraben free product.

How do I use it?
A little goes a long way so I alternate between just using it where I need it or a very light layer over my face. It is recommended that this is used in the morning after cleansing and toning which is exactly what I did.

What I think:
Having used this pretty much everyday since I got it I am so impressed with this moisturiser. I can vouch for it keeping my skin moisturised without leaving any stickiness which you can get with creams that are slightly balmy. This really just sinks in to my skin with ease. I do have some fine lines due to dryness and I have noticed that they have reduced. The flakiness I tend to experience on my nose and around my mouth is not a problem when I wear this although it still helps to exfoiliate.  I have also used this around the eye area which isn't suggested by the product but didn't really affect my sensitive eyes but helped with the dryness in that area. I know a dealbreaker for some people is the smell of the product, this smells of Rose which is very pleasant. The smell isn't too heavy and once it has sunk in you really don't smell it anymore. It's very rare that I repurchase and rarer still if I actively use my repurchases so I must be really impressed! 

The low down:
You can purchase this from MONU website @ £17.50 for 50ml
Its also avaliable on Look Fantastic & Amazon uk

 

Keeping up with a Kardashian.....

This is a Kim Kardashian related post, I don't think you'll see too many more of these on here!
This post was concieved when I was searching through some broken/unloved handbags and came across a very old tube of NARS Turkish Delight lipgloss.I originally purchased this in the early days of KUWTK. I had read in numerous places that this along with MAC Angel (Which I also purchased) was Kim K's go to lip colour. I don't know if I was under the illusion that I was ever going to look anything like her (early days that is) but I was damn well going to try and off I trounced to Selfridges.

What is it?
A pink, milky blue toned lipgloss.

What NARS say?
 Described as "Pink Sherbert" this gloss is said to be:
"Ultra-smooth, non-sticky, comfortable wear" 

What's in it? 
Vitamin E to keep lips soft.

How do you use it?
Turkish Delight comes with it a doe foot applicator. It can be worn alone or is commonly paired with MAC Angel.

What I think?
This as with all Nars glosses has a lovely consistency. Turkish delight is quite creamy and has quite pigmented. I get about 3 hours from one application. Sounds promising but personally, the colour on me personally is a major fail. I find this colour washes me out way too much (MAC NC30/35 for reference). This would be idealwith a tan or for those with a much darker skintone.It looks marginally better when paired with the Angel lipstick but that is also from a similar colour palette so again doesn't help. If you love these kind of shades I would urge you to try this because it is a gorgeous colour and I cannot bring myself to get rid of it. I would say don't be too generous with your application as it is very rich so has a tendency to gather between the lips.

The Lowdown:
Turkish Delight is avaliable from NARS priced at £17.50

For those of you who love the colour but feel that this is a little pricey, I did a little research and have found Dollface gloss  by Tarte which seems to be the closest match I could find. The link is to the website which is American.

What do you think of this gloss?

Yes Nurse hand cream

This was a feature in the Earth day Glossybox, I didn't get one in my box but had seen this in a few other peoples boxes.

What is it?
Yes Nurse is a hand moisturiser designed for Nurses and those with dry/cracked hands.

"Yes! Nurse was co-founded by a young paediatric nurse at the beginning of 2009. Having been signed of work with dry, cracked and sore hands, she noticed that many of her colleagues were suffering in the same way. Trying numerous hand creams with little or no effect she decided to research and develop a unique formula that actually worked".



What do Yes Nurse say about it?

• Non-Greasy
• Super Hydrating Formula
• Protects against hand washing

 Whats in it?

• Active Manuka Honey +15 
• Pomegranate Seed Oil
• Aloe vera 
• Wheat Germ Oil
• Passion fruit seed oil
• Sweet almond oil
• White willow bark extract 
• Vitamin B5
• Vitamin E

How do you use it?
You are advised to apply it 3 times a day (it says per shift but obviously if you are not a nurse this won't apply)

• You would apply in say in the morning and it acts as a barrier (Before shift)
• I would probably touch up at lunch time which is known as maintenance (Break time)
• Then in the evening or before bed which aids soothing and healing (After shift)

My thoughts:I suffer terribly with dry skin on my hands. I am a constant hand washer so you imagine my skin is depleted of all natural moisture. I hadn't been having much luck with hand creams at the time I purchased this and so by time I got this I was desperate. Most creams will leave my skin feeling moisturised and then after 30mins the dryness startes to come back. Prior to using this I had some visibly cracked skin and after 1 days application it was about 80% healed & this is no exaggeration.What I love about this is that you dont have to apply it every time you wash your hands. Even just using this once a day does alot more than most other hand creams. The texture is slightly thicker than most creams but not at all balmy. There is no residue and skin has a light sheen afterwards and generally feels soft. It has a gorgeous smell, mainly of honey. The packaging was very cute and I loved the personal (hand written) message I received which was a nice touch.

This is a really good product and I can honestly say I will definitely repurchase.
 
The Lowdown:
You can purchase Yes Nurse from Victoria Health or  Goodies For Nurses
You can also purcahse from the Yes Nurse website as a one off purchase or as a subscriber.

• One off price £5.49
• Subscription £4.99 or £3.63 if you refer a friend (bottles delivered monthly or bi-monthly)

Would you use Yes Nurse?What do you use for dry skin?

Victoria's Secret coconut passion Fragrance mist

This was a bit of an unexpected love for me as I'm not too interested in Victoria's secrets as a brand and because I haven't used a body mist since secondary school which, for those of you that are interested  interested was 12 years ago. I always thought mists were a bit dated anyway, a few months back my local PAKS (hair and beauty shop) started to stock these VS mists I decided to give into the hype. I think I was in one of my "I need to buy something stat!" moods and just randomly picked up this scent on the basis that I love coconut and vanilla. I'm so glad that I did as it smells amazing and lasts a surprisingly long time.  This pretty much smells as its supposed to (coconut and vanilla) I'm not great at describing smells! I have had a lot of people complement me when I'm wearing this which is always nice. This would be ideal for a holiday instead of using perfume.

I paid around £7 for this, I have seen it on Amazon for the same price (£5 for p&p!), ebay (various prices)  pretty sure these will be available in VS shops. There are also perfumes  and body lotions available with this scent that I will be trying out!!!

Be warned not all fragrances are nice. I had the misfortune of picking up the Apple blossom and ylang ylang mist. Definetly not a mist have (ha.sorry)

What do you think of VS body mists?

                      Monday's Child

Clarins Eau des jardins

This was a love affair that almost never was...

I received this as part of a gift set for Christmas that was never opened and remained in my office draw for 6 months. Sacrilege, I hear you cry but I have good reason. Clarins has always been a brand that has confused me. None of the products have ever really appealed to me. One of the brands most popular products (Flash beauty balm) really goes over my head so I honestly could never have imagined. I finally dusted this off and realised perfume was involved. A quick spray of this and I was hooked. To me this was like summer in a bottle.

The product is described as a treatment spray which incorporates
essential oils such as wild rose, beech and plant extracts of blackcurrant buds and sorbier (a French fruit). The result to me is a very zesty, slightly fruity smell. This is  supposed to relax, refresh and moisturise the skin. I can't really vouch for any moisturisation claims as my skin doesn't feel any more moisturised then usual but I don't feel really refreshed and strangely relaxed which is an effect I've never felt from a fragrance. In terms of lasting power this is similar to that of Eau d'toilette so doesn't last all day but for a few hours.

When I eventually got this home I  did a little research and found some other treatment sprays including Eau Dynamisante  which I have seen on many occasions and tested. Coincidently its also celebrating its 25th year! I also came across two other fragrances Eau Ressourçante and Sunshine fragrance which is an online exclusive but is not currently available.

Eau des jardins retails at £29.00 for 100ml (loads!) You can purchase it from Clarins beauty counters and the Clarins website.

What do you think of treatment sprays?

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My 1st beauty buy

I've trying to think where my obsession started and I would have to thank my mum not because she had an interest in make up or skincare..my mum has had the same beauty regime for as long as I can remember simple facewash and moisturiser followed by black kohl. We did have one beauty day out where I convinced her to get a MAC foundation and some YSL products but her regime never really took off and with the exception of the foundation (too dark) I became the beneficiary of her first and last beauty haul. I remember my mum would religiously buy cosmo and Marie Claire (for the articles! What am I adopted?) which I would then devour and make into my own magazines or collages..they sure loved to waste make up in those shoots loads of smashed up eyeshadow and crushed lipsticks (the idea!). I couldn't wait until I could get my own make up which at the time was whatever freebies cane with Mizz, Shout! J17 or Go Girl or my Barbies ..so lots of blue eyeshadow and frosty pink lipsticks..not exactly groundbreaking.

My first product was was a 13th birthday present and was L'oreal Le Grand Curl mascara. I was delighted and whilst this is now discontinued and I really can't remember if it was any good I like that after 13 years my HG mascara is also by L'oreal (Telescopic). On a side note I also got my first fragrance which was CKone I have since discovered that I prefer floral & fruity scents but I did get a CKShock for my 25th birthday which bought back memories.

What was your first beauty product?

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Ren glycolic lactic radiance renewal mask

REN is one of those brands I had heard about but never really investigated. I tend to buy from brands I have come across in shops. I'd read a few reviews so thought i'd give the brand a go. I'm always on the lookout for facial masks especially those aimed at skin with blemishes, they tend to be clay based which I find to just be too messy and too much of an effort, this is much more hassle free so for a lazy cow like me is perfection. This mask contains AHAs which stands for alpha hydroxy acids which have an exfoliating effect.

This is what REN says about this mask:

"A potent bio active peel mask designed to renew the complexion, reduce the appearance of fine lines and dramatically improve skin to A potent bio active peel mask designed to renew the complexion, reduce the appearance of fine lines and dramatically improve skin tone.

Results:

Removes dead skin cells to renew the complexion

Skin looks brighter, healthier, more radiant

Helps reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles

Combats congestion, blackheads and blemishes"

Lets start at the beginning. The packaging is is quite spa looking, not at all flimsy. It has a pump which dispenses a very small amount of the product which is great as this is not cheap!!! The product itself has thwarting smell of a sanatogen multivitamin I used to take, if you're not familiar with that is a sort of sweet orangey smell. It doesn't bother me but it is quite strong so might be off putting. The texture is VERY thick, this is like a balm. When I initially applied it I didn't feel anything, not even a tingle as the packaging suggested may happen however, on a couple occasions where I had a spot and had my eyebrows threaded this definitely stung!!! I wouldn't recommend this for people with sensitive skin as it is pretty strong.

The instructions say "Apply a generous amount onto clean skin over the face and neck. Leave for 10 minutes  and gently wipe off mask". I do just this but remove with a warm washcloth as I find this removes the mask much more efficiently with no residue. After using this my skin feels very soft. I am prone to dryness but this doesn't seem to bring that out at all. Overall my skin is a lot clearer, I believe this is due to my routine and this mask is a happy edition.

I use this once a week as part of a.mini facial. I would definetly purchase this as I love the feel of it and really think its helped to improve my complexion. Also this is free from those nasties such as parabens, sulfates, mineral oil, petrolatum, synthetic fragrance and colours, TER, DER, glycols, silicones, PEGS etc. Have to admit I didnt know what three of those were but its nice to be able to cross a lot of those ingrediants off the list as they can be responsible for breakouts!

The only "con" is the price as this is quite pricey at £30.00 for 50ml!!! Skincare is something I don't like to skimp on as I think its vital although I know not everyone can afford to have higher end products. I mix and match drug store  & luxury brands as long as they work and think of the expensive products as an investment as in I'm saving myself thousands of pounds in surgical procedure fees and knowing my luck reversals/corrections.

I purchased mine on ebay for £20, I can't find this seller anymore but have seen this on various occasions under £30. This is also avaliable  from ASOS, REN skincare, look fantastic, Amazon  and Space NK

What do you think of REN? Have you used this mask?

Treasure Hunting #1 : Benefit Dallas

I love those shopping the stash posts on blogs who doesn't like finding an old favourite or a product we were considering buying and didn't even remember we had? Dallas is one of these and in this micro summer I have used this EVERYDAY (no exaggeration). This is like a blusher/bronzer hybrid that gives skin such luminosity which comes from the finely milled shimmer in it, don't be alarmed you will not come away looking like a Christmas tree! I think my skin looks so glowing and healthy when I put it on. I find that bronzers look too muddy and unatural on my skin so this is a great alternative. I fond this looks good with or without a tan and is very buildable. Benefit describe it as "plum" it looks dusky pink to me but whatever! I usually pair this with Moonbeam (highlighter) for a bit of an extra boost or if its daytime my MAC strobe cream is enough. As with all Benefit Blushers/bronzers we ditch the brush...which lets be honest is pretty crappy unfortunately Benefit have quite cottoned on to this yet..they'll get it eventually. Apart from the brush the two other cons for me are the price as with Benefit is a bit high, yes the packaging is cute but not enough to warrant that price..that aside I overlook this. The second con is hitting pan!!!

You can find Benefit Dallas at your local Benefit counter priced at £24.50  for 12 grams.

Do you wear Dallas? What do you think?

What's in My Handbag

What’s is my handbag is a neat little site for us nosey biatches out there. I'd describe it as an online magazine/blog where you can read articles on beauty products, interviews with beauty experts, try samples of the latest products and most importantly view what’s inside lots of ladies bags. This has become my new past time.

You must sign up to be able to use this and in order to try products you have to answer a short questionnaire. For anyone who is dubious I received a sample of L'oreal Mytic oil so the system works. You can also upload your own bag for us nosey parkers.

I love the variety of this site and any freebie is a winner. Since I started using this its developed a lot, looking forward to what they have instore.

 

 

                                                        http://www.whatsinmyhandbag.com/

                                                           What do you think of this site?

Broadway Impress Nails (French Manicure)

 

 

 

I'm not a huge fan of false nails for a few reasons:

a) Because of the damage they do 

b) I'm constantly changing my nail colour

c) Most importantly, I'm too lazy to get them filled in.

That said there are certain occasions they are acceptable. I purchased these for a friends wedding and was very impressed. These are basically stick on nails, not the kind you would give to your 3 year old sister to play around with , no these are for big girls. They come in a nail polish shaped bottle which is pretty sweet (sucker for packaging). Each nail comes with an adhesive tab which you remove and then apply to your own nail. The whole process is pretty idiot proof, I applied them in my car in under 15 mins.

 A couple of points to remember:

1) Match these to your nails properly before application! I had a slight mishap here.

2) Make sure you push the nail into your cuticle so you can't see any joins.

3) If you have long nails then I wouldn't get these or be prepared to cut yours down as they are in false nail vocab Active.

I removed mine on the same night I applied them but, a friend had hers on for a full week and they were still going strong when she removed them. Obviously, if you are doing manual labour then these are not your friend. I noticed some felt loose but I still had to apply considerable force to get them off. To remove them you just pull them off from one of the sides. I doubt you'd be able to use these again. My nails looked and felt perfectly normal afterwards, no dents, residue etc.

I purchased mine from Superdrug for £7.99 but they are also available from Boots in a variety of designs and colours.

Would you wear these? What do you think of this brand?

Instagram obsession!!!

I admit it I am an absolute Instagram addict! During the great Instagram outage of 2012 I was one of those saddos checking to see when service had resumed. What can I say I love filtered pictures of make up and cakes :)

 

 

If you are an addict yourself and not quite ready to join Instrammers Anonymus then follow me for hundreds of pictures of me slowly bankrupting myself.

Follow me @mondayschild

NOTD: OPI Minnie Mouse Mini Collection - I'm all ears

This is from the Opi Minnie Mouse Mini collection. I purchased this for £7.50 on buyapowa link.

The colour is described as a glittery magenta. This picture doesn't do it justice, it is infact very bright.

What do you think of this shade? What's your favourite shade from this collection?

Disco Pant Dupes

 

 The Original "Disco pant" - £70.00

link

Disco pants seem to be the bottomsof choice at the moment, I love the look of them but I don't think they are worth a whole £70 English pounds. I've spent a fair bit of time looking around for alternatives and have sourced 3 that I think are some good, purse friendly dupes. I have yet to purchase any of these but will get around to it eventually. For your viewing pleasure...

Hearts & Bows "Rave pants"  

 Ark - £34.99

link

Black "Disco pant"

Glamourous - £29.99

link

Love Label High Shine Skinny Trousers 

Very/Littlewoods - £43.00

link

What do you think? Have you seen any other good dupes?

Nude of the day........

Today's nail of the day is bought to you by L.A Colors (I just want to correct it to colours!!)

Sorry about the cuticles!!

Shade: French Nail Creme (NP356)

A very nice nude, very flattering. What you are seeing is the result of 4 shades but I think 2-3 is sufficient I just liked applying this so much. For those of you that aren't familiar with this brand it is simply amazing. Polishes are 99p(!) there is a MASSIVE variety of colors!!!

I've always bought mine at PAKS or afro-Caribbean hair shops but I have seen these in the Westfield in Stratford in a shop called Beauty Bay which is on the Lower Ground floor near Starbucks, Deichman etc (Impressive or plain sad?)

They also do make up, which I haven't tried yet but will eventually get around to...

What do you think of this shade? Have you tried L.A Colors

My favourite Nude (1)

Nope not that kind of nude I'm afraid...

I'm a create of habit when it comes to lip colours. I tend to go for Nudes and pinks. Occasionally I branch out to a red, coral or a plum eek!!! I find that Nudes & pinks suit my skintone the best. Whilst I was going through and swatched I realsied I had two groups of nudes, Brown tone and pink toned so I decided to split my nudes post into two. This post is about the brown toned nudes.

Honey Love

This has been my go to for a while now. I love this shade. On my lips its looks so natural. The only thing I dislike is that it is matte but I just chuck a bit of lip balm over this and I'm good to go.

Naked

Another nice shade. Bit more of a 60's lipstick, looks good with a smoky eye. Doesn't really need any balm over it and wears well.

Hue

A nice neutral shade. Goes on well. As its a glaze it looks quite shiny on its own.

Nude Delight

A good everyday nude. Quite moisturising and lasts a good while. This is the perfect my lips but better colour.I find this similar to Honey Love, just more moisturising. Has a bit of a plastic smell but doesn't last for long.

Freckletone

I have blogged about this before link. This is a great nude, good finish. This has a bit more of an orange tone to it but is a firm favourite.

Bare minimum

I tend to use this with all of my nudes as its only slightly tinted so doesnt alter the colour too much and isn't too greasy feeling on the lips. I hate that it is in a pot but just tend to use a cotton bud or a lip brush.

Prices and stockists/links are as follows:

MAC lipsticks retail at £13.50 and can be purchased from MAC
Sleek True colour lipsticks retail at £4.00 and can be purchased instore from Superdrug & online from sleek.
Sleek Pout polish retails at £4.30 and can be purchased instore from  Superdrug, & online from Sleek.
Rimmel moisture renew retails at  £6.29 and can be purchased instore Superdrug & Boots

Well thats part 1 over look out for part 2...

What's your favourite nude?

Y U NO WORK? (Things I wish I hadn't bought)

Just thought I would do a post about all of the "cult" products that I have tried over the years and can't see what the fuss is about. Please note I'm not bashing these products I'm just stating that they don't work for me.

You'll have to put up with google images of these as I have either binned, given away or sold these products.

Source

YSL Touche Eclat (£25.00) What is the fuss? This confuses me. Is it a highlighter? Is it a concealer? I've tried it as both and it just does nothing for me. I assumed that maybe it was a colour issue but when YSL released other colours I tried it again...nothing...and don't get me started on the price.

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Benefit Bad gal lash (£16.50) Firstly the brush is just too damn big! I spend the majority of my experience with this trying not to injure my eye and figuring how to manoeuvre this gigantic brush. This really doesn't do much for the eyes, I find it to be much too watery and this drys up SOOOOO quickly! Again the price...

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Benefit porefessional (£23.50) I heard alot of good things about this and figured Benefit must have got something right, this had to be more than just another gimmicky product in beautiful packaging...alas no. This may work for people with teeny, tiny pores but for those of us of with visible pores that show when you put make up on...keep on searching you will find no relief here. I tried this both under and over make up and really have had no luck. The one redeeming feature is that it does mattify but, I don't have very oily skin so can't vouch on it as a mattifier. Shall I mention the price? Nah you already know! Thankfully I got a small bottle from Ebay hence the reason I didn't take part in this years Benefit/magazine freebie.

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Lancome juicy tubes (£15.50) Everyone raves about these but I find them far too sticky and those of us with long hair know that lipgloss with the texture of craft glue and hair do not mix.I don't find these to be moisturising in fact, I feel these do absolutely nothing but just sit on my lips like some kind of lip mask. I find the Clinique superbalm to be a preferable alternative.

Source

Bio oil.(£14.99) The smell of this is a real deal breaker. This aside as I can usually get past smells (with the exception of Cocoa butter/Shea butter products)  I don't feel this works and just blocks pores. I think this is hailed as a fix all product but I have tried it on a number of different ailments and have really seen no changes.

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Vaseline lip therapy (£1.79) - I felt I had to stipulate usage here because its great for alot of things but I find that for the lips this is another product that just sits on the lips and doesn't real make my lips feel nourished. I find the texture way too slippy and generally people use it in the tin form which just freaks me out. Germ city!!!

Source

Clarins Beauty flash balm (£28.00) Hmmmm what does this do exactly? Is it a mask? Is it a moisturiser? somebody tell me!? I can't help thinking this is nothing more then an expensive moisturiser...

That's enough for today. N.B: If anyone has any tips or tricks related to any of these products they would be greatly appreciated. FYI binning said product or chucking it on a beauty bonfire are not options. K thanks :)

Have you tried these products? Love or hate?