MakeupAlley Swap Haul

Hey girls. So im currently on project '5' pan.. and finding it extremely difficut. I dont understand how project ten panners do it, I havent even finished one product yet! Im definately getting there though, and have a couple of things I think will be finished soon including no7 perfect and protect day cream and 2true concealer. However one thing that has made it a little easier is a makeup alley swap I did last week. I dont think its cheating as its getting rid of something ive already got that I dont use! So I swapped a revlon colourstay which was too light for me (I had held out hope it would be ok in winter - it wasnt!) and a lancome juicy tube for the products below..

The Body Shop Mineral Foundation Brush

This was brand new in the wrapping, I had seen it in the body shop and felt it and thought it was amazingly soft! It really does have a gorgeous silky feel. Ive actually been using it mainly to apply blush and it does a great job, it has replaced my MAC 168 for blush, it just gives a really gorgeous pigmented yet blended look. It also comes with a handy little pouch for travelling ect. Love it.

Rimmel Shine Tempation Lipstick In '112 Tease'

 

This was also brand new. Havent actually tried this on the lips yet as they are in really bad conditon at the moment (reccomendations for actual lip fixers rather than just barriers please?!) but the swatch on my hand is gorgeous. Also seen some really great reviews on this on makeupalley. It has a really nice smell which is kind of watermelony!

YSL Tinted Matt Moisturiser

Firstly, sorry to be random, but the misspelling of matte above is actually the way they spell it on the product. I wonder if this was deliberate? Lol! Anyway, this had previously been used but I was aware of that and not too fussed, I have worn this today and it is pretty nice. Its actually the first tinted moisturiser ive tried. The colour is just a smide darker than my actual skintone, but that is the colour I tend to go for anyway because I like to add a smidge of colour to my skin (I know alot of people dont agree with this but it works for me!) so suprisingly it was perfect on the colour front for me. It has lasted really well for a tinted moisturiser, the only bad thing is the 'matt' finish, I had to add Fix plus at the end too give it a dewy look which I like. However, I know alot of people prefer a matte finish so this isnt really a general bad point, just personal to me. I will definately use it up as its just so easy when you dont want to have a lots of makeup day, but when it runs out ill be trying some less matte tinted moisturisers :)

Have you girls tried any of these? Do you have any other reccomendations?

Top 5 Nail Polishes

1 - OPI 'My Private Jet' This is not limited to just this shade, I've got a bit of a love for OPI polishes at the moment. I'm sure we all know about joliebeautystore on ebay now after lollipop26 mentioned them and I've got to say, they really are great. I've even ordered more this evening, can't wait until they arrive! However I picked My Private Jet because it's on my nails right now and it's the one I got most recently (today actually!!). Just a gorgeous dark yet shimmery shade that I can't get enough of!

2 - Revlon 'Revlon Red' This might sound really silly but I feel so sexy when I wear this on my nails. There's just something about red nail polish that makes me feel good and this is my ultimate favourite.

3 - Barry M 'Raspberry' Barry M nail polishes are all great value for money at £2.95. I've got a few of them but this one is my favourite. My mum keeps trying to steal it so have to hide this one away! haha. Always reach for this or my 'number 5' favourite when I can't decide what colour to wear.

4 - Rimmel Pro 'Beige Style' For me, the perfect nude nail polish and I was searching for quite a while! I also love the 'professional brush'. I'm not ashamed to say that I'm not the best at applying nail polish, I can be messy and often have to reach for the cotton buds whilst painting them but this brush eliminates all of my mistakes. Brilliant!

5 - Collection 2000 'Dynasty' As I said above, one of my two 'go-to' polishes. This is the most beautiful purpley pink colour and at £1.79, you really can't go wrong. I also love the shade 'Button Moon' which I also recommend you pick up.

So, that's my top 5 nail polishes. I know I cheated a bit by mentioning others but these shades really are my ultimate favourites, for now anyway! I'm sure there'll be another polish that will knock my socks off sooner or later. I ordered two OPI polishes 'Got a Date To-Knight' and 'Mad as a Hatter' from the Alice in Wonderland collection today and can't wait to recieve those in the post!

I'd love to hear what your top 5 are and if you, like me, love any of the polishes I've mentioned.

Update

For Halloween I did my friends makeup to replicate Kat Von D, and I posted a picture, but I finally got more pictures of her look. What do you think? All the temporary tats are from Temptu. Her lipstick is Nars Dragon Girl lip pencil. Eye Shadow Kat Von D Blue palette.

I've decided The Falsies mascara I've been using on the daily isn't doing the trick like it used to, so I went back to an oldie: CoverGirl Lash Blast. I'll be trying it out tomorrow, hopefully it'll do the charm.

Update on my rockin abs: Since I'm trying to get awesome abs by spring, I've been on a diet. A basic diet, making sure I don't over eat, or eat any sugars. I want my exercise to be less complex, so my eating habits are very important. Right now I have my "dot" so it's really hard to resist my cravings. I can proudly say I didn't dive into the cupcakes my mom had hidden in the house. I sat my ass on the couch with a glass of water, and sucked it up. It made me feel awesome coming up to my room to write this, not before looking in the mirror of course, to see all my hard work is starting to pay off. I've lost 3 lbs. just from watching my food intake, although I'm not trying to lose weight, I knew changing my diet would effect my weight. I can't wait to post my before and after pictures in a few months. ;)

xox

Laura Beth

How I lost the lbs. and my plans for rockin abs!

Someone recenty asked if I could blog about how I lost the weight I wanted to lose last year. So I wanted to share my dieting tricks.

First thing I did was blog about my weight loss need. I asked if anyone wanted to join in on losing weight and we could email one another to encourage eachother. I am a very goal oriented person, so once everyone is expecting something from me, I never want to let them down. So along with 14 fellow bloggers and my mother, I began to dedicate my days to losing the pounds.

My ending weight was 107 lbs.

Other then email motivation, I aso had to exercise and eat well.

Ever night I did crunches. Increasing my numbers every 2 days. I was doing over 500 crunches in just a few days. But keep in mind I've been doing crunches since I was 13. My mother who never does crunches was doing about 25-50. She found it easier after a week to do a bit more.

My mother and I went walking every other day.

That was basically all the exercise I did. But just the walking and crunches really helped tone my body, because rather than my mom and I sitting around eatting by the tv, we broke our habits and did something active.

The hardest part for me was dieting. I love food! So I had to continue to eat the foods I love, but in moderation. I avoided snacking on too much sugar though.

This is an example of my everyday meal plan:

Meal Outlook of the day:
Breakfast: Peanut Butter and Jelly on whole wheat
Starbucks mocha Frappucino with no whip cream (barely drank it though)
Lunch: Tuna Salad with 1 slice of whole wheat bread and mixed berry yogurt
Dinner: Chicken with brown gravy, brown rice, and spinach

This was the way I ate for about 2 weeks, and I reached my goal quickly.

Now this year I want to tone my body into tip top shape. So I plan on doing a hardcore workout to intensify my body. I want rockin abs! So my first step was to purchase the Ab Rocket. It's an ab workout that uses resistance to shape up your muscles. I'll be starting it tomorrow, plus doing some extra cardio. I'm also watching what foods I eat, to make sure I can reach my 6 pack goal asap! I'll take before and after pictures once my goal is reached.

Wish me luck!

xox

Laura Beth

Dior show 360 mascara- flop?

Another mascara from Dior just came out. It's called Dior show 360, because it's a rotating mascara. It turns right or left for all hand types, and also to help while painting lower or upper lashes. It's the same wax based formula from all the Dior show mascaras.

My opinion: Is it really necessary? Like we can't just do the good old fashion wiggling of the hand while applying our own drug store brand favorites. I will obviously not be purchasing this mascara. If I get one from the company to try via work, I'll let you know the deal. But for $36, no thanks.

What do you think? Is this product a must have or a flop?

xox

Laura Beth

New hair/ FOTD/ Whiter teeth

Two days ago I got my hair did! lol. I decided to go with choice no. 1 which was Jennifer Aniston's natural highlights look. It's delicate and livens up the face.

Check it out:

My new hair color brought some spunk into my eyeshadow today. With all the changes in my look lately I've been getting really excited to try more colors and changes. I went shopping for a new wardrobe, whitened my teeth, and now colored my hair. So my next move was only naturally to spunk up my eyes. Check out the shadow of the day:

Plus my new sparkiling white teeth. I used Target's cheaper whitening brand ($19). I didn't want to purchase an over priced whitener when the cheaper brand obviously does the same thing. Sometimes cheaping out doesn't work well, this is not one of those times... check it out:

Not the best picture, but the results are awesome! I can't wait to rock my brightest red lipstick!

xox

Laura Beth

Next post will be about my weight loss, and how I lost 12 lbs.