The Beauty Of Life

Embracing my natural skin tone! - This is a big change for me, I hate the natural colour of my skin. I'm very, very pale and for the last 6 years I've been somewhat tanorexic (although I have only used a sunbed twice! Donatella Versace has put me off 'natural' tanning) and applying fake tan has been compulsory! However, I'm currently having problems with my skin and fake tan seems to be exacerbating it so as it's winter and I can cover up more, it seemed like the perfect time to wean myself off fake tan. Not sure how long this will last though, it's been quite a struggle so far!

Lipstick - I've not really been a fan of lipstick. To be honest...it scares me! I'm always worried that I'll think that a colour will look good when really people will be thinking 'What the hell is she wearing?' So I usually avoid it or I stick to colours that are the same as my natural lip colour - my perfect match is ELF mineral lipstick in 'nicely nude'. So to start off I've purchased 2 lipsticks from the Maybelline colorsensational range; the colours are 'Fatal red' and 'Delicate pearl' and I purchased 2 from the Rimmel Lasting Finish range in the colours 'Sweetie' and 'Asia'. I will do a review of these. If anyone has any recommendations, please let me know!

Maybelline Dream Satin Liquid Foundation - I've tried this twice before and wasn't impressed at all. It was one of those products that didn't live up to the expectations I had about it and I couldn't make it work at all so I gave it to my Mum, who happens to love it! She recently bought a bottle that was too light for her so she gave it to me. Due to embracing my paleness the only foundations I had that matched my skin were this and Chanel Vitalumiere - which I do love but the coverage is light and the state my skin is in at the moment that's a no-go! So I had to opt for maybelline dream satin and I have to say I'm quite impressed. It doesn't give me 'flawless' skin but the coverage is quite good, my skin looks smoother and it gives it a nice glow.

Online shopping - I actually always love online shopping but from November until January this becomes my only shopping outlet as I refuse to step foot in shops. People seem to go into psycho mode at this time of the year and I find going shopping really stressful; all manners seem to go out the window; people race you to get things and it's just really stressful and chaotic. I really don't get it. It seems to be like a competition to buy anything and people buy like it's going out of fashion.

Snow!!! - Today is the first day we've had snow so that explains why I'm loving it. By tomorrow I'll hate it but for today I'm definitely loving it! It's really starting to feel like Christmas even though it's still almost 4 weeks away! I've actually been wanting to put my Christmas tree up but I haven't...I'm not that mad! Honestly! :D

Twitter - I've had twitter for a while now but I've only recently kind of figured out how to use it...I'm still a complete novice! I love reading other people's tweets though, some of them are really funny. It's also really nice to get to know other bloggers better, although there are some bloggers I follow on twitter but can't find their blogs :( I'm starting to see why it can be addictive though! If you would like to follow me on twitter, you can here.

It's been a while since I last done my last post and I was supposed to record photo evidence of the results of Rimmel's lash accelerator mascara, unfortunately my camera broke and had to be sent away to be repaired (which is bloody typical!) and the camera on my phone is completely useless, anyone else think the quality of camera phones is getting worse?, so to cut a long story short I wasn't able to take pictures of the 'growth' at different stages. I have got my camera back today and I will take a picture to compare the difference in lash length from the first day I applied it, which you can see here, and how my lashes look now, which is 6 weeks later.

I absolutely love this mascara but personally I don't think it has made my lashes grow at all, maybe my opinion will change when I compare the pictures. When I've applied the mascara my lashes are lengthened, my theory is that the shape and size of the wand allows the lashes to be pulled from the root which has a kind of straightening effect (you know how your hair seems a bit longer when you straighten it). I have also received compliments on how long my lashes are looked when wearing it but as I said when my lashes are bare I don't notice any increase.

As a mascara I would recommend it 100%, I love that it doesn't clump at all after 2 coats, which is a problem I usually have with mascaras. It's is a little bit wet but not a bad as some i've tried: Maybelline Pulse Perfection for example! so that really doesn't bother.

The only downsides of this mascara is that when I first started using it, I did experience lash loss and it almost made me stop using it as I worried that in my quest for long lashes I would end up with none! But I did try it again and thankfully I haven't had any more lashes fall out. The other downside is that it isn't waterproof, as someone who has a tendency this is an essential requirement when choosing a new mascara!

If you haven't tried this Superdrug still have it on offer for £6.99 - usual price will be £8.99

Until the end of October elemis.com have 2 offers running;

The first is 10% off all elemis products, which you can claim by entering this promotional code: AFF1010

The second is a free Devils Mint Body Scrub (20mls) with no minimum spend - To claim this enter promotional code AFFDEVIL

So thats my update for now, I will hopefully get a picture of my current lash length up tomorrow when I've been reacquainted with my camera!

Have any of you tried Lash accelerator and are there any elemis products you recommend?

So last week Rimmel launched their brand new mascara. They describe lash accelerator as 'a breakthrough...mascara that actually helps to promote the natural growth of beautifully long, remarkably strong lashes.' They also go on to say that 'Instantly, your lashes will look up to 80% longer, but then after 30 days of continued use, they'll appear up to 117% longer looking.' The 'breakthrough' is the growth lash complex which the mascara contains and claims to have 3 superior lash enhancing benefits:

As a mascara I really like it. The wand is small which means I can get to the tiny lashes and get right to the lash line comfortably (and without making a mess!). I think being able to get the wand right into the lash line (something I usually struggle to do) had a pulling effect on my lashes making them look slightly longer. Nowhere near up to the 80% claim though. However, I will continue to use the mascara for the 30 days and cross my fingers and toes that it works!