Soap & Glory: It's the Whole She-Bang Gift Set

Hi Guys.

Sorry it has taken me a while to get this blog post out but it has been one stressful time at university.  I have had deadlines for uni work and all my life has been dedicated to that...plus work.  I have a few posts in mind for the coming month, maybe into February as well.  

To kick the first blog post of 2016 off, I am going to show you a gift I received at Christmas...well I got this at New Year as I went home over this period but it was a Christmas Present from my family.  

The first day I went home, I was presented with a giant present and once opened, I realised that I had received Soap & Glory's It's the Whole She-Bang gift set.  Now before I go into what is in this glorious  gift set, I would like to point out that I have never used any Soap & Glory products (through fault of my own)  It is not because I didn't want to try this brand, I just didn't know which one to try first.  

I had seen many post of this gift set throughout the blogosphere, and fell in love as this is the perfect way for Soap and Glory novices like me who want to try the brand out but are overwhelmed by the number of products they have. 

The gift set comes with 9 items from their brand and costs £60 but at the time of sale, this price was £30 at Boots   (On finding the link for this gift set on Boots.com, I found that they are selling this at £18 in the sale, however, this is unavailable on-line and after searching through a few main cities in the UK, only a select few stores still carry this)  

So what is in this beautiful gift set?  Well, upon opening this, I found a wide selection of goodies to try out.

  

The first three items I pulled out were, Clean on Me, The Righteous Butter and Peaches and Clean.  

Clean on me is a beautifully smelling body wash which lathers up like a dream.  I have used this a few times and I love the scent and wish I had tried this earlier.  I cannot put my finger on what the scent is but it is very sweet smelling, almost marshmallow like.  

The Righteous Butter is a thick body butter which smells fresh and clean with a scent of citrus.  I have yet to try this but I am looking forward to trying this and will update you all on this when I have tried this.

Peaches and Clean is the only skincare product that is used on the face.  This smells like heaven.  The scent of this is fruity yet minty.  I think this is the best smelling of the line and I will have to see if they have this scent in a body wash or body lotion.  Again, I have yet to try this but I cannot wait to try this.  

The next four items that I pulled out are Hand Food, Heel Genius Foot Cream, Thick & Fast High Definition Mascara and Sexy Mother Pucker Lipgloss.

Hand Food say it is a hydrating hand cream which is a thick cream that smells dreamy.  I detect 

a fruity smell almost like strawberries and cream.  I currently have a hand cream that I am using but I am looking for a small size for my handbag and I am thinking of purchasing the smaller size soon.

Heel Genius Foot Cream is a very sweet scented cream and by the looks of it, very nourishing, thick cream.  I am not one for foot creams or foot care but I am looking forward to trying this cream.

Thick & Fast High Definition Mascara.  I tried this mascara the other day and I love it.  I don't think it does exactly what it says, but it separates my lashes amazingly and it is so black which is what I love in a mascara.  I think I have found my favourite mascara for the time being.

Sexy Mother Pucker in Rose & Shine is a very nice rose colour.  I am not one for lip glosses but I may have to see how this looks layered over my new MAC Lipstick (This will be featured in my haul post)

The final two items are The Scrub of your Life and The Righteous Butter Sun kissed Tint Body Lotion.

The Scrub of your Life is fresh smelling, scrub with little pink beads.  I have tried body scrubs and nothing has caught my eye to being the best in my eyes so I am excited to try this.  The scent is bergamot and mandarin, rose, jasmine, peach, strawberry, oak-moss and amber.  Once again, I am plagued by the scent of jasmine (which indirectly I am drawn to)  

The righteous Butter Sun Kissed Body Lotion is a tinted body lotion.  This lotion smells divine.  I think this smells like chocolate but I could be wrong.  All I know is this smells amazing.  I am yet to use this as I am a bit weary of tanning products as I am not used to using them but I think in time, I will love this product.

All these products, come in a very pop art zipped carry case which is beautiful and I will use this time and time again.  I am so happy to have received this  at Christmas.  And I am hoping that one of these products will become a permanent fixture in my life.

What is your favourite Soap & Glory product?  Any other recommendations?

Bye for now.

Jess. X

Merry Christmas

Hi guys.

I would like to wish everyone a belated Merry Christmas and a happy new year.  As 2015 is about to close, I would like to thank everyone who has stuck by this blog this year as I haven't been as active as I would like to have been and I am hopefully going to be more active in 2016.  

2015 has been a year of ups and downs and as I am well into my second year of university, the work load has been more intense as well as juggling 2 part time jobs and being Student Rep on my degree.  I am going to try and get at least one post out a week to begin with and see where I go from there.

I am going back to my hometown this Wednesday so I won't have any time to do any posts.  I will try and get my first post out in the second week of January and I will announce it on Twitter and Instagram so make sure you are following me on them.  I am also on Bloglovin so follow me on there to get updates of blogposts.

I hope to see you all next year so have a great new year and be safe.

Bye for now.

Jess. X

Blogmas - Day Eleven: My Foundation Collection

From L to R: Benefit Hello Flawless Oxygen WOW foundation, Chanel Vitalumiere Aqua foundation, MAC Studio Sculpt foundation & Caudalie Vinoperfect Radiance Tinted Moisturiser.

Hi guys.

Sorry that I haven't been posting over the weekend, work got a bit hectic and I was on so crazy shifts so I wasn't getting in until 11!  

For day eleven's post I am going to talk you through my foundation collection.  It is only small but I want to add to this and have a few foundations I want to try out in the new year.  

Foundation for me is a no brainer!  It has to be high end.  I know that seems a bit petty of me but I have tried drugstore foundations in the past and all of the one's I have tried all break me out the next day and I can never get one that matches perfectly.  High end foundations never break me out and all match my skin beautifully and have a flawless finish.  I don't mind paying the extra money for something that makes me feel comfortable in my skin.

Now my skin is quite dry and so I look for a foundation which has a dewy finish to it, three of which this applies to and one which I will explain below.

Benefit Hello Flawless Oxygen WOW foundation.

I first tried this out when I purchased the Flawless Complexion Makeup Kit from benefit and there was a small sample size of this foundation inside.  I instantly fell in love with this foundation and went out to purchase the full size as soon as I could.  

I have the shade "Believe in me" Ivory and this matches perfectly.  I feel this has a medium to full coverage depending on how you apply it.  I have no problems with it creasing and it covers any imperfections easily.  It also has SPF 25 built in so I don't have to think about using an SPF under it (not that we need to worry about sun protection at this time of year in the UK!)  I can't detect a scent to it which is great for those who don't like scented products.  

The price of this is £26.50 and you can purchase this from Boots.

Chanel Vitalumiere Aqua foundation.

I have recently written a post on this foundation which I will link here.  This has been my go to foundation as it is lightweight yet gives me the coverage I want.  

MAC Studio Sculpt foundation.

This was the first high end foundation I ever bought and although this is a good foundation, it isn't the one for me yet.  I find that this foundation is quite matte and sinks into my dry spots and clings to any imperfections.  It is also quite dark for me as well.  I have the shade NC25 and this is a good shade for me when I have a tan other than that, it doesn't work for me.  I am going to try and make it work by sheering it down with a primer or get a product which helps balance out the foundation.  

The price of this is £25.50 and you can purchase this from Debenhams.

Caudalie Vinoperfect Radiance Tinted Moisturiser.

My final product is a tinted moisturiser which I received in a Birchbox this year.  I used to love tinted moisturiser's growing up but as my skin has gotten older, they don't give me the best coverage I need.  

This has an OK coverage which is good for days I only want a natural look or days when my skin is behaving itself.  I don't normally reach for this but I know that when I need it, it is there for me.

The price of this is £27 and you can purchase this from Birchbox.

So that is my foundation collection.  I am going to try and purchase more drugstore foundations to see how they react to my skin but I need to get my confidence up in order to do this.

What is your favourite foundation?  Any recommendations for drug store foundations?

Bye for now.

Jess. X

Blogmas - Day Ten: Favourite YouTubers 2015

The photos here were found on Google and edited by me.   

Hi guys.

Today's post is going to be about my favourite YouTubers I like to watch regularly.  I will also link to their YouTube channels so you can go check them out.  I first got into the world of YouTube when looking up a review of a makeup product and came across some of these YouTubers reviewing it.  I then went on to watching more and more of their videos and then finding more YouTubers to watch.  I cannot tell you how many I am subscribed to and how many different genres of YouTubers I watch.  They really help me to relax after a long day of work or doing uni work plus they inspired me to create a blog to unleash my own reviews and life to which I am grateful for.

So here are my top nine YouTubers that I have been loving this year.

FleurDeForce.

I think Fleur was one of the first YouTubers I had every watched and will continue to watch for as long as I can.  She seems down to earth and her videos are so stylish as well as being funny.  She has introduced me to some high end beauty products through her channel.  Any product I have been inspired to purchase because of her, I have been 100% happy with and trust her decision.  Her channel can be found here.

Sacconejoly's.

The Saccone-Joly's run a daily Vlog channel where they document their lives everyday.  The Saccone-Joly's are Jonathon, Anna, Emilia and Eduardo.  I came across them one day when another YouTuber (I cannot remember who) mentioned them in a video.  I typed in their name and watched a few of their videos and after a few months, I was hooked and went back to watch them from about 3 years ago.  I still haven't caught up since!  Their channel can be linked here.

Zoella.

Zoe...how can I describe her?  She is adorable!  She is down-to-earth and funny. She creates beauty and fashion videos with some DIY's.   I love watching her videos and love everything about her.  Her channel can be found here.


ViviannaDoesMakeup.

Another beauty YouTuber.  Once again Vivianna has an amazing channel and is down-to-earth and honest about her opinions.  Her channel can be found here.

I Covet Thee.

There seems to be a trend here,  All the YouTubers I have mentioned are British or Irish.  Once again, Alix is British and is a sophisticated woman who has given me a few products to put on my already expanding wish list of products in my planner.  Her channel can be found here.

BeautyByKat08.

Katherine is one of my favourites because she is also at University and I can relate to her when I watch her videos.  She is a typical uni student and I love watching her videos.  Her channel can be found here.

Ingrid Nilsen.

Ingrid is the popular missglamorazzi and she is an amazing American who speaks the truth about life and beauty.  She always makes me laugh in her videos and makes sure that everyone is entertained.  I think she was one of the first American YouTubers I watched and will continue to watch her for as long as I can.  Her channel can be found here.

Eleventh Gorgeous.

Two sisters that are so entertaining that I cannot stop binge watching their videos.  Tracy and Steph know how to make serious makeup videos as well as their 'How not to' series.  I love the way they interact with each other and how much they are alike in the products that they select in their videos.  Their channel can be found here.

Jaclyn Hill.

My final Youtuber is a woman called Jaclyn Hill.  I was recently introduced to her by one of my friends friend who raved about how good she was and how amazing her makeup collection is.  I love binge watching her videos and have a few products on my wish list which may make an appearance in my collection soon.  Her channel can be found here.

So that is my favourite YouTubers which I am obsessed with this year.  There are so many more that I love but that can be for another post.

Who are your favourites from this year?  Do you watch any of the ones listed above?

Bye for now.

Jess. X