May Beauty Box

Look Fantastic do a beauty box every month which is £15 per box and is full of 6 beauty products worth £45. If you get a subscription to the box then you get a discount too. I got the May box and this post is on what was in it.

The box is packaged really nicely, all sleek and black with tissue paper.

The first thing I saw in my box was the Eylure pre-glued eye lashes.  The set I got are quite natural looking so they will be perfect to add a little extra volume without looking too over the top.

Also in the box was the Erno Laszlo transphuse night serum. This is quite a small sample but would be enough to figure out if you like it enough to buy the rather pricey full size version.

The Omorovicza cleansing balm is also quite a small tub but it looks really interesting and I can't wait to try it. It is a black balm which can be used to remove make up, including waterproof mascara, while leaving your skin soft and hydrated.

One of the products I am most excited to try is the NUXE Huile Prodigieuse Or which is a luxury oil to soften and illuminate your face, body and hair.

There was a TanWorx self tanning lotion in the box which I haven't yet tried but have heard good things about! It is for a fair-medium tan too which is perfect as it shouldn't be too dark for my pale skin.

Finally was a Christophe Robin regenerating hair mask. I have used this a couple of times and it does make my hair feel super soft. My hair is waist length so even though I used the minimum amount I could, I still only managed to get three uses out of the sample in the box which was a shame as I did love the product.

Overall, I think that it is quite good value for the £15 and as the full sized products are quite pricey, this box gives you a good idea of what you would like to purchase. However, I would personally be willing to pay a little extra so the samples could be a little bigger!

Look Fantastic / The Hut

I recently got a lovely bag of goodies from The Hut / Look Fantastic who sell loads of different brands at really good prices so I thought I would share what I got.

I got a few nail bits, one of them being Nailtiques cuticle and skin gel. I have used this a couple of times and it is really moisturising, a little bit goes a long way!

I also got an Orly nail polish in the shade 'Dare to Bare'. I have been really loving nude colours like this recently and this one is perfect because it is opaque after just one coat. It also looks amazing with a matte top coat.

Also in the package were some hair bits, including Label.M brunette texturising volume spray. You use it in the same way as dry shampoo, just teasing your hair with your fingers to add extra volume. It smells amazing and keeps its hold all day.
I am a massive fan of tangle teezers. I have quite a few and until now, I hadn't found any brush that was anywhere near as good at detangling as they are. However, one of the things sent was the 'Wet brush-pro' and it is amazing! It is designed to use on wet hair as it detangles without causing split ends or frizz. I love this and will definitely be using it along with my tangle teezers!

Another hair product I got was Redken's Iron Shape 11 finishing thermal spray. I haven't used this yet but I'm excited to try it. I also got La Roche-Posay's Effaclar purifying foaming gel. This is another product which I haven't tried yet but am excited to because I have heard some amazing things about the brand!

The final thing I received was a little sample of Kiss the Moon after dark bath oil. You put a few drops in the bath and it helps with relaxing so I will definitely be using it a lot over the exam period! It has rose, frankincense and yiang yiang in so it smells amazing!

That's everything I got and I love it all! If you want to see what I thought of any of the products that I haven't tried yet, I will probably be posting about them soon on my Instagram (@tierneyellen) so feel free to follow me there!

Spring MK Haul

Whenever I go to Milton Keynes shopping, I always seem to spend too much money. I went a couple of weeks ago and the same happened then so I thought I would share what I bought!

Starting with shoes, I bought these two pairs. The black ones are from New Look and are so comfy, I have been wearing them loads since I got them. They were only £19.99 too. I do love the white ones (which are from Bank) but I am saving them until the weather is better as I don't want to ruin them by wearing them in the rain! They were only around £12 as Bank was closing down so I couldn't resist buying them.

I went into Deichmann for the first time and found these trainers for £19.99 as I have been going to the gym a lot recently and wanted some new trainers to match the rest of my gym clothes. They are really comfortable and definitely worth the money.

I also picked up this little teal satchel from Deichmann for £12.99. I have been looking at the Topshop versions for a long time but they are a lot more expensive so when I saw this one I had to get it!

Mint green is one of my favourite colours and I love Aztec print too so how could I not buy this dress which has both! It is from H&M and was only £12.99. I love the cut out details around the waist and at the top, it makes it that little bit different and I can't wait to wear it in the summer with the satchel.

I have to get bubble tea whenever I see it so this time I got watermelon with mixed popping boba. It is so nice and I would definitely recommend it. We also got mango and passionfruit coolers from Costa because who doesn't love them!

I picked up a few things from The Body Shop. I got the tea tree face mask for £10 as I have heard such good things about it and so far it has not been disappointing. I also joined their reward card scheme so I got a free shower gel from that which smells amazing!

It is really hard for me to find concealers that are the right colour for me as I am so pale, but this one from The Body Shop is absolutely perfect. I usually prefer liquid ones but as this is such a perfect match I am more than happy to use it.  It was £8.50 and I got the shade '01'.

Hotel Chocolat do the nicest chocolate and I especially love their caramel buttons so I picked up a little pot of them for £1.95.

Finally, I obviously had to stop off at Lush so I bought the 'floating flower' and 'fluffy egg' bath bombs and the 'unicorn horn' bubble bar and I am excited to try them all!

I also bought some presents for various people's birthdays but obviously I won't be posting those! Hope you enjoyed reading :)

Longer Lashes

At the start of the year, I began using LiLash eyelash and LiBrow brow serums and I have been so pleased with the results!

As you will know if you have been reading my blog for a while, packaging is a big part of the product for me and this definitely did not disappoint! It is all sleek and black with purple ribbons and even came with a little pocket mirror.

The LiLash serum is designed to condition and fortify lash follicles to improve the length and strength of your lashes. I got the demi size which is enough for an application daily for three months. I have been using it for that long already and still have some left so you can see that the product goes a long way! To use, you just have to apply directly to your upper lash line in the same way as you would use a liquid liner. It suggests alternating the direction you apply it each day for even application. It is quite pricey at £53.50 but I will show you some before and after photos so you can decide for yourselves if it is worth it!

I also used the LiBrow serum which is the same idea but used to enhance the fullness of your eyebrows by fortifying and conditioning the brow follicles and gently darkening the hairs. It has the same kind of brush applicator as the LiLash just a little bit thicker and you apply it in the same way along the skin just under your brow. This is the same price at £53.50.

I am not wearing mascara in any of these photos so you can see quite clearly the massive difference that the LiLash serum made to the length of my lashes! I barely need to wear any mascara now and if I do use the same as I would have before it makes my lashes look so much thicker and longer than they used to.

I will definitely continue to use LiLash serum as I would love to keep these results!

Updated Skincare Routine + Magnitone Review

My skincare routine has changed a bit in the past few months so I thought I would share my updated version.

I start off by using Garnier's micellar cleansing water on a cotton pad to remove my make-up. It removes it all so easily and is really gentle on the skin too. However, if I am travelling or staying overnight somewhere then I will use Soap & Glory's 'Off Your Face' purifying cloths as they are easier to pack than the bottle which is quite large.

I then wet both my face and my Magnitone Lucid Cleansing brush with warm water and apply some of Soap & Glory's 'Peaches and Clean' wash-off cleanser (which smells amazing) directly to my face, I use the Magnitone brush as the instructions suggest, moving it in gentle circles on my face for 20 seconds on my forehead, 10 seconds on each cheek and then 20 seconds on my chin/nose. It has a handy timer to tell you after every 20 seconds and the brush turns itself off after a minute so you don't do any damage by over-exfoliating. For the first few days of using my Magnitone brush I used it once a day on the sensitive setting so my skin could get used to it and I didn't really notice a massive difference in my skin. However after five days I started using it both morning and night and almost instantly my skin felt a lot softer and cleaner. I made the mistake of using it on the 'Daily Cleanse' setting once rather than the 'Sensitive' mode which did actually irritate my skin a bit! I have been using it for a couple of weeks now and would say that it is definitely worth the money though.

After cleansing, I spray some of Lush's Tea Tree Water onto my face and wipe any excess off with a cotton pad before applying my Simple moisturiser. Tea tree is antibacterial, antiseptic and antimicrobial which makes it perfect for preventing and treating spots so I will also sometimes apply Tea Tree Oil to any obvious blemishes that I have.

And that's all that I do in terms of skincare on an everyday basis.

How To: Clean Make-up Brushes

Cleaning make-up brushes is one of those things that no one enjoys but it has to be done. You don't want to be using dirty make-up brushes as the bristles gather all sorts of bacteria and can lead to breakouts. There are different ways of cleaning them but this is the one that I use and find the most effective!

Step 1: Run your brushes under warm water to wet the bristles.

Step 2: Apply shampoo to the bristles. I use baby shampoo as it has no added extras like colour, scent etc so it is more gentle on the brush.

Step 3: Swirl the brush around on the palm of your hand gently or you can get special cleaning pads like this one from RC Cosmetics for only a couple of pounds. They are designed to gently clean the brushes without damaging the bristles themselves, just be sure not to press too hard!

Step 4: Keep on doing this, applying more shampoo if necessary, until you can run it under warm water and it rinses clean.

Step 5: Lay your brushes out on a towel to dry. It sometimes takes a few hours for them to dry completely so I usually clean them in the evening and leave them to dry overnight, then they're ready to use again in the morning.

Hope you found this helpful!

DIY Lipbalm

One of my friends gave me a 'make your own lipbalm kit' from Sweet Cecily's for Christmas which contains everything you need to make 5 little pots of strawberry, mint or unscented lipbalm. I made them the other day and thought I would share how!

The kit contains shea butter, beeswax, almond and calendula oil, cocoa butter and flavouring (my kit contained strawberry flavouring). You also need a bowl, a saucepan of boiling water and something to stir with like a fork or a whisk.

The first thing to do is mix the solid ingredients together (shea butter, beeswax and cocoa butter).

Next, put them in a bowl over water and heat until they are all melted.

Then add the bottle of almond and calendula oil and mix well.

When this has melted in and it is all mixed together, take it off the heat and add the flavouring.

Mix well again and pour it into the tins that come in the set. I did this using a teaspoon because it was easier and it needs to be done quickly as it sets fast!

The kit comes with labels and I really didn't know what to put on mine but this is how they turned out :)