2 February 2012

Rimmel volume flash scandal eyes mascara review

Rimmel Volume Flash Scandal Eyes Mascara 001
'no lash can escape - Scandalous volume - no clumps!'


I was in need of a new mascara, and I had previously been using 17 Falsifeye mascara and found it to be really good! I originally bought it because it came with a free Gel Eyeliner (which is really good!) but the brush it comes with is pretty awful, so I had to use one out of my E.L.F Professional Brush Set (£5 - and well worth it!) which worked really well!

 Anyway I looked for the 17 mascara again but it had gone up in price, so I looked at the Rimmel stand and saw this beauty! It's very in your face, but I love the packaging! 





So I wanted something to thicken up my lashes, they're already naturally long, so I wanted a fuller 'black' look which I can build up especially for nights out (don't really like wearing fake lashes). 
Plenty of product comes out on the brush, so I don't have to 'pump' it which you're not supposed to do as it created are pockets in the mascara (therefore drying it out).




It doesn't separate the lashes much so it might be a good idea to comb the lashes through before hand with an eyelash brush (you get one in the E.L.F brush kit) however it does create a fuller look which I was after! (apologies its a crap picture, I can't get the hang of my front facing camera on the iPhone!) but it gives you some idea of the effect it gives :)

Thanks for reading!

Lucy xx






1 February 2012

Something a bit different....healthy eating week!



Me and my flatmate Jess (click to go to her blog!) have decided to try 
healthy eating.... we're students living in Manchester and rarely eat fruit and veg. We drink way too many fizzy  drinks and generally eat ready meals and snack throughout the day. This isn't about losing weight as such, but just to see if we can feel better through eating healthier stuff! We have made a meal plan, covering breakfast, dinner & tea Monday to Friday (excluded weekends as we both work and it's difficult to keep up with it....)
Below are a few of the meals we've already had. We're now on day three and we're doing well! Snacks we allow ourselves are nuts and dried fruit, sunbite crisps (soooo tasty!!) and sugar free jelly/custard/rice pudding pots.





Day #2 lunch 
- Reduced fat humous (1 tablespoon)
- carrot sticks (handful)
- wholemeal pitta bread (1)
- mixed leaves, spinach, watercress, rocket (handful)
- light salad dressing (drizzle)

Washed down with some sugar free cordial!











Day #2 tea Homemade Quorn Bolognese
serves 3-4

- 200g Quorn Mince
- one white onion
- half clove of garlic
- drizzle of olive oil
- 1 red pepper
- handful of mushrooms sliced
- tin chopped tomatoes
- 5  tsp red wine vinegar (to taste)
- parmesan cheese (optional)
- linguini or spaghetti pasta



This was a  really tasty meal, and Quorn is a great substitute for mince meat as it's 75% less fat! (e.g 75g mince = 220kcal & Quorn Mince = 79kcal)





Day #3 breakfast 

- 2x small seeded bread
- honey
- peanut butter
- half ruby grapefruit (tasty!!)
- cup of tea

I guess we're trying to cut out coffee and tea as well, but there's nothing wrong with a cup of tea now and again, especially with breakfast! Nice healthy way to start the day today :)



Other breakfasts have included....
- scrambled eggs on seeded bread
- porridge with honey






Today's lunch day #3

- small soft tortilla wraps (x3)
- roast chicken slices (wafer thin)
- cous cous (tomato & garlic flavour)
- dash of salad cream (light)
- handful of mixed leaves (spinach, watercress, rocket)

after lunch snack 
- sugar free hartley's raspberry jelly pot










We seem to be doing quite well with the healthy eating and haven't had anything naughty (i.e chocolate, crisps, fizzy, red meat...) so I'll probably try and update this post with other meals we've had! It's good to find filling meals to enjoy. We've actually been looking forward to all the meals, turns out we really like healthy food, we've just not been bothered to make any of it before!


If you can think of any healthy meal ideas then please let me know! We've made a weeks worth of meal plans, but we're running out of ideas!

Thanks for reading and check back for any updates on the health kick!!

Lucy x

MAC dupe? And blusher collection

I think that the MUA blush £1 at Superdrug is a great dupe for MAC Pink Swoon, and a fraction of the price! I've only just started to take notice of this range in Superdrug but the stuff seems really good for the price! 


I know a lot of people find that you have to be careful with Pink Swoon when applying it, but I really do have to apply a lot to get a result! Also I think it's slightly too light for my pale skin, as I prefer a deeper pink (the MUA shade 2 is slightly deeper) I should also say that MUA does a lighter shade of the blush 'shade 1' which could be even more like Pink Swoon... worth trying for only £1! 

The only thing about MUA is that it's very powdery, so you have to be careful using your brush.One swipe of the brush should be enough to do one cheek, and the excess powder from the first swipe for the second cheek :) I was finding with the pink swoon that I had to run the brush around the pan for a while before getting a suitable colour.... the upside is that it's not powdery so I don't feel like I'm wasting the product!




On the right is a pic of my blush collection. Various makes and shades, and the MAC Mineralised blush and Clinique (came with two eyeshadows) are my favourite! here's a list of the blushes going clockwise from the MAC Mineralised....

- MAC mineralize blush 'conjour up'
- Accessorize baked blush '6 scandal'

- MAC Sheertone blush 'pink swoon'
- Clinique blushing blush 'iced lotus'
- Boots natural collection 'blushed cheeks'
- MUA blusher 'shade 2'
- 17 blusher 'plum puff' (love this one!!)
- No7 Natural blush '20 honey'



Really good collection of blushers I think, although I'd like to get a few more 'honey' toned ones, as I tend to go for the same sort of colours! I really want to try MAC mineralised skin finishes as an overall colour and bronzer so I'll do a review once I've tested a few of those out :) It's all about finding cheaper version too as MAC etc can be very expensive, the 17 blush is really good for every day, I've used it a lot and had it for ages!

If there's any blush you can recommend for me then please leave a message! 



Thanks for reading! Lucy xx