Christmas Beauty Wish List

I always struggle with buying presents of any sort, which is probably because I am awful at making decisions. I've been reading Christmas wish lists on other blogs and I find them really useful, so thought it is only right that I make my own.

Rimmel Brow This Way Styling Gel Review

I feel like I'm having such a battle with my eyebrows at the moment. I'm trying my best to let them grow but it is so hard giving the tweezers a rest! I think I'm starting to win with them and have got some growth in areas where it is needed, however I still need to use either a powder or a pencil to make them look fuller. I'm all for quick and easy make-up and really liked the sound of this gel product. In the description it says you can get perfectly groomed eyebrows, in one easy, smooth application. But as you will see in my review this really isn't the case with this product!

The product is priced at £3.99, which is great in comparison with similar products. It comes in three different shades and a clear shade (I chose the dark brown shade). The formula is meant to be long-lasting and comfortable. It claims to have a precision brush to define eyebrows.

Nivea BB Cream 5 in 1 Beautifying Moisturiser

I'm a big fan of Nivea. I really rate their moisturisers and face washes. I love the fresh smell and the quality of their products and I think they tend to be great value for money. I saw this BB cream in Tesco for £2.99 reduced down from £5.99 (it would have been rude not to buy it!) and with the 'new lighter shade' advertised on the front, I thought I must be onto a winner!

Nivea's BB cream is enriched with minerals, provitamin B5 and a hint of colour. The product promises to even out skin tone, refine the appearance of pores and boost the skin's natural glow. It also protects the skin against the sun and premature aging.

Scholl Foot Spa Review

Being on your feet all day long can be pretty painful, which is why I decided to invest in the Scholl Foot Spa. I decided to buy this from the Very website for £30 as I can get it delivered free to the shop near me, but you can actually get it slightly cheaper on eBay for around £25.

It took me ages to decide on which foot spa to buy - there are so many mixed reviews on a lot of them. I went for this one in the end because of the brand and because it came with some little extra accessories which the other ones didn't have and I thought it was nice extra touch. 

Sanctuary Spa Thermal Mask and Cleanser Review

Wow. It's been a while since I last did a blog post! I've still quite not got the hang of juggling a full time job and blogging! The sunshine today has really inspired me to write today's blog post - these two products from Sanctuary Spa have been awesome to use and I wanted to share my thoughts with you! They are products I have recently purchased from Boots with the buy one get one half price deal. I wouldn't normally spend that much on facial products, but I wanted to treat myself (£10.50 each).

Sanctuary Spa is a brand that my mum loves! I'm always buying her products from this range at Christmas time. I've only tried a body moisturiser before, but I really enjoyed using that. Anyway, I was inspired to buy the cleanser having heard that using face wipes isn't great for your skin. Cleansers are meant to be better at making sure makeup is properly off. I also really wanted to get a new face mask type product!

John Frieda Frizz Curl Around Style

I tend to always straighten my hair and rarely have the energy to curl it - it takes agggessss and then never lasts the whole day. I've not really tried hair curling products before, but when given the opportunity (by BzzAgent) to try some from the John Frieda range I thought I'd give it a go and see if they would work as a styling agent, at the very least.

These products are meant to enhance your curls and keep them frizz free! I got both a shampoo and conditioner, as well as a heat defense spray which all aim to do the same thing. My hair is normally straight, with a slight wavyness to it. It's very thick too, which is why it takes so long to curl it all.

March Favourites

This month has been whizzing by so quickly! I didn't realise it was so long since I last blogged! I thought I would write a blog post on my favourite products this month. I have accumulated quite a few new products this month and some of them have made it to this list already.

So one of the products I have bought recently is the W7 blusher - this product has been raved about quite a bit and I can understand why now. It doesn't provide great colour, but it does give the skin a really nice glow. It has a shimmering effect, which looks lovely over a pinky blusher. The brush included is so soft too - I will write a full product review on this soon! This cost around £3.99 and I ordered it from Xtras.com.

Bourjois 123 Perfect CC Cream

To be honest I'm not fully sure what the difference is between a BB cream and a CC cream. Even now comparing my Maybelline BB cream to the new Bourjois CC cream, I'm not sure how they compare in terms of overall appearance on the skin. Saying that, I have really loved using this Bourjois CC cream and it has certainly met my expectations.

This CC cream has three colour correcting pigments, which are meant to give a fresh and luminous result. It contains apricot for anti-fatigue, green for anti-redness and white for anti-dark spots. It also has SPF 15 and provides 24hr hydration. 

Rimmel Match Perfection Illuminating Concealer Review

A few months back I sadly lost my Benefit Fake Up concealer, which I'm still really annoyed about, as I really liked the coverage it gave and it cost £18.50! I really didn't fancy spending another £18.50 on the same concealer and so I decided to try Rimmel's Match Perfection Illuminating concealer, which is a lot cheaper at £5.99. 

This concealer is aimed to help conceal signs of fatigue. It should illuminate and highlight the eye area, giving the appearance that you're wide awake! The product only comes in three shades; ivory, soft beige and classic beige. I have ivory - which is a perfect match for my skin tone.

Herbal Essences Beautiful Ends Review

I put my hair through quite a bit with using my hair dryer and straighteners at least once every other day. It can become quite dry at times and I do get worried about getting split ends. I have used Herbal Essences Beautiful Ends shampoo and conditioner before and really loved the smell and the result from using it and so the other week I decided to try this intensive hair mask from the same range. It is designed for dry and damaged hair.

There are two types you can buy - one which you leave in your hair and the other which you wash out after 5 minutes. I decided to get the one which you wash out, as I'm not too sure I like the idea of leaving a conditioner in my hair.

HD Brows Grow Baby Grow

(Currently £14.98 on HDBrows.com)

The battle with my eyebrows has been going on since secondary school, when I realised that my big bushy brows were not cool at school and decided to get my hands on some tweezers! I think quite a lot of us girls go through the phase of over-plucking our brows and just not realising it, until we look back at photos. I was definitely someone who over-plucked - and now my brows are quite sparse and in some parts just refusing to grow back.

I decided to give HD Brows Grow Baby Grow a try, as it seemed quite promising from some of the reviews I read. Normal price, it's quite a lot of money (£29.95) but I thought if it works then it's worth it.

January 2014 Glossybox Review

I decided in December that the January Glossybox was going to be the last box that I received from my subscription. I had some glossy points to use up and so I didn't have to pay for this month's one - and I am SO glad that I didn't pay for it, as I reckon it's the worst box I have received since joining over a year ago.

I don't think I'm the only one who was disappointed this month - in fact the best thing about the Glossybox this month was the box itself! And the lovely ribbon!

The Tangle Teezer Brush

The tangle teezer brush has been around for quite some time now and there has been quite a bit of hype around the little product. I got my tangle teezer at Christmas and now I don't know why I didn't get myself one sooner! I absolutely love it!

The tangle teezer is designed to help detangle your hair when you get out the shower. It is meant to be a lot kinder to your hair than using a normal hair brush. The way it is is designed means that it pulls on your hair less and so brushing is a lot easier and nicer to do. Because it pulls on the hair less, it means you are doing less damage to your hair and so your hair should get more healthier over time too. 

Le Volume De Chanel

This is one of my favourite mascaras that I discovered last year. I'm yet to buy a full version of this, but I definitely want too. I just found that it really helped to separate my lashes and the colour is great. Lack of photos with this post, as they have disappeared, but couldn't resist posting it up. 

(Boots £24.00)

I was lucky enough to get sent a free sample of this mascara from Chanel. I would usually spend up to £10 on a mascara but I am actually considering saving up my pennies to buy this.

This mascara should give instant volume and intense curves from the first stroke. It will also make lashes longer, plumper and thicker.

Bourjois Bronzing Powder

This is one of my favourite bronzers! I really love the colour I can get from it and it still smells great! Apologies for the quality of photos btw - this post again is from a couple of years ago, but I think this is a great product to own! 

(Boots £6.99, ASOS £6.99, Superdrug £6.99)

So soon I shall be in Rome with my best friend and I can't wait! I have been thinking about which beauty products to take with me and I think a bronzer is definitely needed. I have chosen Bourjois bronzing powder. I was attracted to this bronzer due to the sweet chocolate fragrance it has and its reasonable price.

This product says it has glints of sunshine in the powder, which gives an immediate boost to your complexion. It has a lovely smell and an ultra-soft texture, which apparently will make you melt with pleasure! There is a choice of two shades, I have peaux claires (51) which is slightly lighter than the peaux mates (52).

Benefit Bad Gal Mascara

This post was written a couple of years ago now, but I still love this mascara and is a definite repurchase. 

When I saw Glamour Magazine was giving away free Benefit make-up, I couldn't resist buying it! And for only £2 for the magazine, I thought that it was a real bargain, especially as Benefit make-up is usually quite expensive. After much deliberation, I chose Benefit Bad Gal Lash Mascara (I have wanted to try a new mascara for ages too!). 

I think it is quite nice to have a sample sized item, as it means it's not a total waste if you don't like it.

New Year, New Blog (Kinda)

It's taken a little while to get back into blogging, especially as my original blog site lost all of it's photos in the transfer back over to blogspot. I really enjoyed being involved in the beauty blogging community and I think the new year has inspired me to start blogging again. I thought the best thing to do would be to start a new blog.

I'm going to post a few of my favourite blog posts from my original blog (Grace Louise Beauty) over the next few days (if I can find the photos on my computer) and then post some new ones! 

Thanks so much for reading!

Grace Louise Beauty x