Goodbye Coffee, Hello Pukka!

I've always been a healthy person, but within the last year I've really started to think about what I'm eating and drinking, both for health reasons and just to feel generally better. 

I'm by no means someone who cuts out carbs, ALL sugar, counts calories, etc but I do watch what I'm eating. I don't like having much sugar, e.g. fizzy drinks, sweets, cakes, I make sure I have healthy snacks throughout the day instead of crisps or the like. 

But I realised a few months ago I was drinking coffee everyday, I wanted a healthier alternative…that's where Pukka comes in. 

Pukka is a brand that have created organic, herbal teas that are delicious and rich in health benefits.

If you'd said to be a year or two ago that I'd be drinking herbal teas everyday I wouldn't believe you, I never liked the thought of them, I imagined they'd taste bland or unexciting - I was wrong.

Every morning I have the Pukka cleanse tea, which is organic nettle, fennel and peppermint. It says this one purifies your skin and I have found my skin looks brighter since drinking it! Plus, it tastes amazing.

In the evenings I have either the Mint Green tea which is organic whole leaf tea with sweet spearmint, or Three Mint which is organic peppermint, spearmint and field mint, which is meant to refresh and soothe digestion. The latter is my personal favourite, as a lover of mint flavour it's perfect!

Pukka do a whole range of teas, with flavours such as cinnamon, cardamon and ginger, cinnamon and sweet vanilla, lemon, ginger and honey, peppermint and liquorice, rose, vanilla and camomile and many more amazing flavours, there's something for everyone!

If you're looking for a healthier hot drink, or just to try something new I can't recommend these enough.
You can see the whole range of Pukka teas here!

What's In My Handbag Makeup Bag?

Yesterday I had a little trip up to London for a meeting, and in my handbag was my little makeup bag that I carry products in that I might need to use for a touch up during the day, I thought I'd share it with you!

My makeup is new, my gran gave it to me so I have no idea where you can get it but it's by Hardwells.
It's so nice, the fabric feels really durable and it's such a cute design.

You may think I carry too many products around, but actually I only normally touch up with powder, sometimes concealer, and of course lipstick throughout the average day…but I always carry around things just in case! The day I don't will probably be the day I need the products!

My Rimmel Stay Matte powder is always with me, it's the best powder I've used - not heavy but doesn't let shine through and lasts well. I have a NYX blush in peach which is actually pink, and also my Nars luguna bronzer which I adore. I carried my Real Techniques blush brush to apply those 3 products.
The fashionista eyebrow kit is something I can't live without, so that was with me! As was the concealer I'm loving at the moment - Rimmel Wake Me Up in Ivory, perfect for covering up those under eye circles which were in full force on the day - getting up at 5:30am on a Saturday wasn't ideal…damn early trains! I had Maybelline's rocket mascara which I love, and I think I now prefer it to the falsies.
Lastly the two lip products, Carmex to keep my lips soft, and my new lipstick which I might do a review on - Kate Moss for Rimmel in 03, it's beautiful nude that doesn't completely blank the lips out.

What makeup products do you carry around in your

handbag?

x

Rimmel Lasting Finish Soft Colour Blush - Pink Rose

As it's now Autumn I'm swapping in my peach and coral blushes for more pink and mauve toned blushes, and the one I've been wearing the last week is Rimmel's Lasting Finish Soft Colour Blush in Pink Rose (what a mouthful!).

I've had this blush for about a year but haven't actually worn it that much because I wasn't at all impressed when I first got it.
Rimmel are my favourite high street/drugstore brand for makeup, they're very affordable and do brilliant lipsticks, lip glosses, foundation, concealer, I even love their nail varnishes, but I think they slack when it comes to blushes.
The packaging is shockingly bad, it's flimsy plastic, the lid always falls off yet it's hard to open and it just feels tacky!
However, the blush inside isn't as bad as the packaging (thank goodness).

Pink Rose is a rosy darkish pink (hence the name) colour, with a slight bit of silver shimmer in it - just enough to brighten up the face on these cold, dark Autumn days.
I find the texture of this blush isn't amazing, it's quite soft but still rather powdery but very pigmented! You really do only need a bit on your brush, and when applied like that it looks very natural and just brings a bit of colour and glow to your face.
Rimmel say it glides on smoothly, but I found it quite difficult to blend…maybe I've just been spoilt with Sleek.
Rimmel also claim the blush lasts 6 hours, which it might do…until it completely disappears, but it fades on me after about 3 hours.

Overall though, aside from the very poor packaging and not amazing texture, I do like this blush.
The colour is gorgeous, and it's great for an everyday look and if you don't need the makeup to last for ages!

For £3.99 I'd say this product is worth a buy, just don't carry it around loose in your handbag or it won't last long! Buy here.

Autumn blush recommendations

would be very welcome!

x

My Favourite Fake Tan - St Moriz

I'm not a big tanner, in fact I only ever really put on fake tan when I'm having a night out or it's some other special occasion, but it always makes me feel a lot more confident and brightens my mood. 

The tan I always reach for and it's never let me down is St Moriz.

St Moriz is a brilliant self tanner that isn't too dark, isn't orange and doesn't make you look green either (like St Tropez can). I use the tanning lotion in medium (it's also available in dark), but St Moriz also do a spray which I find quite difficult to apply, and a mousse which I found was quite drying.
The lotion is definitely the best in my opinion, I apply it with the St Moriz tanning glove at night then go to bed, the lotion sinks in really quickly, and I wake up looking quite dark but once you have a shower and apply some moisturiser the tan looks natural, even and doesn't smell either.

I don't know why I don't see more hype on blogs about this tan because it really is great, it's won awards and been nominated for lots as well - very deserved.
The only negative thing I have to say about it is they've changed the packaging of the lotion, it used to come with a pump and now you have to tip it upside down and squeeze it out…not ideal, and I have no idea why they changed it.
Oh and don't use this on your face, I learnt the hard way. I didn't apply much and did exfoliate and moisturise before but it goes patchy and your face soaks up more than your body so it'll end up looking very dark. It also broke me out. I use Clarins Liquid Bronze on my face, review here.

The absolute best thing about this tan though is the price, you can buy it HERE from Feel Unique for £4.99! I know they also sell this is Savers, Tesco, Wilkinsons and now Boots as well for the same price. BARGIN.

What's your favourite fake tan?

Bourjois Colour Edition Eye Shadow in Petale de Glace - REVIEW

Bourjois have brought out their own range of cream to powder eyeshadows in their AW13 colour edition collection! I don't actually see many of these on the highstreet, apart from the Maybelline Colour Tattoo 24 hour ones, which I absolutely love, and when I received the Bourjois product I thought how similar it looks! Both state they last 24 hours, which seems to be an obsession in the makeup world currently, but really who wears makeup for that long? The packaging is similar, although Maybelline's is a glass pot and feels more expensive compared to the plastic Bourjois pot and they're both a similar concept.

As the concept and packaging is very similar to the Maybelline colour tattoos I expected the product to be similar too, but it's really not.
These bourjois shadows are much less cream, more powder. They are quite dry and also fairly firm when you try to get some on your finger (I found my fingers was the best way to apply them), however I found them very easy to work with once on the eyelid and blend beautifully.
The shade I got was Petale de Glace, nowhere on the pot itself does it say a name so I had to go from other blogs, it's a gorgeous shade but quite difficult to describe, it'd say it's a browny champagney colour with a hint of purple and lovely and shimmery.
The colour payoff of this shadow is good, not amazing but good and can definitely be built up.

Bourjois claim these last 24 hours but I highly doubt it, after about 8 hours it started to fade but didn't crease (hurrah!).

I do love this product and it's a welcome addition to my makeup stash and the colour is right up my street and really looks lovely, but I still prefer the Maybelline colour tattoos and as the Bourjois ones are £2 more (retail for £6.99 as apposed to Maybelline's £4.99) I would recommend Maybelline more.

Buy them HERE!


(Bourjois very kindly sent me this product, thank you Bourjois!)

My Top 5 Autumn Lip Products!

Ahhhh October, when real Autumn starts to kick in. Colder weather, brown leaves covering the ground, jumpers and boots start to appear and it's time to change over from the summery makeup and go for more season appropriate choices, so I'm going to share with you my top 5 Autumn lip products!

L-R Rimmel Kate Moss 19, Revlon Lip Butter in Berry Smoothie,
Rimmel Kate Moss 01, Rimmel Apocalips in Celestial

(note - the colours look VERY similar in that photo but check the swatches below)

Lets get the boring, but essential, product out the way first - Carmex. Best lip balm I have used so far.

There, done. Now onto the pretty ones -

Autumn is the time for darker lip colours, berry tones and of course reds! 

It's no secret that I'm a massive fan of the Kate Moss for Rimmel lipsticks, and surprise surprise 2 of them have made it into my top 5 Autumn lip products! The first being number 19, I ADORE this shade - it's actually a lot more natural than it may look, it's a dark pinky brown and so perfect for a natural Autumnal shade, I often wear this dabbed in gently to my lips for a nice nude colour.

The other Kate Moss lipstick is 01, which is a true red. I've only worn this a few times (I'm not brave enough to wear it for an everyday look) but I love it a lot. It's a lot brighter than it looks in the tube, quite glossy and the lasting power is phenomenal. Reds are definitely are brilliant choice for Autumn and Winter!

Next is the Revlon Lip Butter in Berry Smoothie. I wear these lip butters all the time, they're the perfect thing if you're not into wearing heavy lipsticks or want something with nice colour payoff but still looks very natural. Berry Smoothie is a pinky purple with no shimmer in it but it's lovely and glossy.

Last but by no means least is Rimmel Apocalips in Celestial, I wore this to death last Autumn! It's a deep pinky purple, it applies like a dream and dries fairly matte and lasts a lot longer than you may 

think. 

Top to bottom - Rimmel Kate Moss 19, Revlon Lip Butter in Berry Smoothie,Rimmel Kate Moss 01, Rimmel Apocalips in Celestial

All these products can be purchased HERE!

What are your Autumn must-have lip products?