Superdrug Makeup Haul // Makeup Revolution, Real Techniques & More!!!

Afternoon ladies and gents.

I hope you are all well? I cannot believe how quick the time is going, we are soon to be in October and then all the best times happen from there on in. 

HALLOWEEN, BONFIRE NIGHT and then the ultimate... CHRISTMAS!! 

I am soooooooo excited for all of those things. Last week I started my new job so I haven't really had much time to write apart from today. I have been so busy and so tired it's ridiculous. Even so, I did have some time yesterday to do some shopping. I am going to do two separate hauls rather than it all at the same time because some of the stuff is home related. 

As you can tell from the title I went into Superdrug to have a look around and I was soooo excited when I saw that my store now has a 'Makeup Revolution' stand and it was fully stocked and I wanted it all. They also had another new stand by the make 'I ♥ Makeup' and they had some very cool things too.

I will show you what I bought :)

Real Techniques 'Powder Brush'.

£10.99

I have three of their brushes now (one of which will be included in my next post) which are the 'Expert Face Brush' the 'Blusher Brush' and this one the 'Powder Brush'. I am completely new to using tools such as makeup brushes as I have always used my fingers to blend in my foundation. Yesterday though I decided to try out my 'Expert Face Brush' which I bought for my birthday and see what it's like. 

I cannot give my full opinion on them at the moment as I have only used them once and it wouldn't be fair to comment based on this. However so far I really like them... Obviously I have no other high quality makeup brushes to make a comparison against, but I have a feeling we are going to get on like a house on fire. The bristles on all of them are really soft and I found that the 'Expert Face Brush' blends my foundation in really nicely. I used the 'Powder Brush' afterwards to apply my Rimmel powder to set it and it gave a really nice finish.

If I really like these brushes I will be definitely purchasing some more.

Makeup Revolution Vivid Baked Highlighter in 'Peach Lights'

£3

I found this brand for the first time on my birthday back in August and ever since then I have been addicted to their products. Everyone is talking about them and rightly so. They are so affordable and they have some super awesome things, one of which is this baked highlighter.

These babies have been flying off the shelves and they come in three different shades. I was going to go for the gold version but this one was a lot warmer and complimented my skin tone more suitably. This product is brilliant, I applied it on my cheekbones and bridge of my nose over my bronzer and it gives me the nicest, subtle glow. I love powdered highlighters and this one is so light to wear and catches the light beautifully. I really like this product... A LOT!!

Makeup Revolution Blusher in 'Wow!'

£1

This blusher really stood out to me on the rack because of the vibrancy of it. I usually go for a more subtle blush but I thought for £1 which is a mega bargain I would try this out.

The product is really soft and the colour pay off is true to it's appearance. It is highly pigmented too so you only need a little amount for a more natural look, or if like me you like to experiment you can apply a little more.

Again, another brilliant product.

Such a nice creamy pink!!



Makeup Revolution Awesome Metals Foil Finish in 'Rose Gold'

£5 

I saw someone demonstrate this on their YouTube channel and I instantly fell in love with this eyeshadow!

I haven't used this yet and I cannot wait to do so, I LOVE rose gold so this was perfect for me and it comes with a liquid eye primer, mixing tray and the Awesome Metals Eyeshadow. Apparently you put a little bit of the primer and shadow into the tray and mix it and OMG the outcome is unreal!! It's sooooo pigmented, eye-catching and looks like you have foil on your eyelids. I am totally in love with this and cannot wait for the time I can try this out. 

Makeup Revolution Scandalous Lipstick in 'Depraved'.

£1

The colour of this lipstick is awesome, I love how vibrant the purple is. I thought there could be a chance that I would look awful in it but bought it anyway because it was only £1 and wanted to try it out. Since taking this photo I have tried it on and did have a little giggle to myself because I had no makeup on (so I was really pale), I think I could pull it off...Maybe for Halloween? Ha. 

Rimmel Stay Matte Finishing Powder in 'Sandstorm'

£3.99

I don't usually wear a finishing powder on my face but I have seen Tanya Burr use this powder in her makeup tutorials and it left her with a really nice finish, so I decided to give it a go. It's not a product that breaks the bank and again I have only used this once so I cannot give an objective opinion as of yet. So far, it does the job, it takes away any shine and it does alter the appearance of my base slightly, I cannot work out if that's for the better or not? I will give it a few more goes before I make my mind up fully. I cannot remember what shade Tanya uses but I think it's similar. I also used my new powder brush with it!! 

I ♥ Makeup Eyeshadow Palette in 'No Photo's Please'

£4.99 

I have never heard of this brand before and I was sooooo attracted to their eyeshadow palette's because each one of them has lenticular packaging (image changes when you move it). 

They are super cool!!

They have bigger palettes too and I was going to get another one as well as this but I thought I would try the handbag sized one first just in case I didn't get on with it.

I LOVE the colours in this palette they are super pigmented and the colour payoff is true to appearance. They have some really nice neutral tones then progressing to some more darker shades, all of them shimmery.

I cannot wait to use this!!

And there we are. The end of this particular haul. I adore buying makeup... More so than clothes so expect some more to come your way. 

I will be adding this makeup to my other makeup bits I bought on my birthday. 

♥

New Job Lookbook // H & M & Primark Haul.

Hello my lovelies!!!

I am baaaacccckkkkk "mwahahahaha".

I have some information for you guys, you might be interested to know, or you may not care one bit. 

Either way I am going to tell you anyway... I have FINALLY got myself a job!!! After frickin ages of searching I was finally offered a position!! You can now call me a Finance Department Administrator & Office Assistant. :) 

I am sooooo happy that I finally have a job, especially for Christmas too, I was really worried I wasn't going to find anything and it was baffling me as to why I wasn't getting any offers. After attending a couple of interviews it all boils down to the fact that so many people are applying for the same jobs, and if someone has a tiny bit more experience than you, you won't be getting the job. It's so cut throat right now it's ridiculous and really disheartening. Anyway, this position is only temporary until Christmas, but if I do a good job and they like me and obviously if I like the job and the company I might get offered to stay on permanently. 

Fingers crossed on all aspects, and obviously because it is a temp job I will still be job searching for something permanent for afterwards. Ooohh and it's little two minutes from where I live so it's only a quick drive to work and back, I will be saving a huge amount on petrol. 

Now, I had to make a quick dash around the shops in a bid to find some suitable 'smart-casual' work clothes and shoes, because as you know (if you follow my blog posts) I love my fashion and I have a pretty laid back approach to what I wear. I can't for obvious reasons rock up to the office in my Doc's and leather look trousers so I had to tone it down a bit but still have my personality in there somewhere. 

I have done a little 'Lookbook' & haul for you guys to see what I bought and how I styled it for the "office life". 

I hope you like it. :) 

Skinny Stretchy Trousers

H&M

£12.99

Black

Size 8

I found these trousers in my local H & M, I was looking for an alternative to normal bootcut, work style trousers and these are perfect. They have the same material as the bootcut's but for me in a more flattering shape. They are also high waisted and remind me of disco pants without the high-shine, perfect for tucking a shirt or blouse into.

They are really comfortable too and go with everything, you cannot go wrong with black!

Black & White Poker Dot Shirt

H&M

£12.99

Size 10

Bag: Primark £6

Necklace: Gift 

Trousers: As pictured above

Lipstick: Bourjois Rouge Edition Velvet, Olé Flamingo! £8.99

I "spotted" (ha, get it?!) this shirt when it came into store and I wasn't totally sold on it, when I found out I had got the job I was on the hunt for a stand-out shirt. I had tried on soooooo many of them, I am not a massive fan of shirts as I haven't really included them as a staple in my day to day look, saying that though I actually really like this one. I love how the majority of it is black which means I can wear it with most things and the white spots make what would be a boring top half, stand out. 

Fine Knitt Jumper

H&M

£7.99

Size Large

I really like this jumper, it's light weight and comfortable, it has that 'cosy' look to it and it's great for layering. I did originally pick up a teal jumper which I liked and that was in a very similar style to the jumper here. It was £14.99 and then I spotted this one and preferred it, plus it was a fraction of the price. 

This piece is more of the 'casual' to the the 'smart' and it looks great either skimming your trouser hem or loosely tucked in. I hate being cold so this is ideal for layering if the office air-con is too overwhelming. 

Black Shirt Dress

Primark

£10

Size 12

Hat: H&M £12.99

Bag: Primark £8

I am not loving my local Primark at the moment, it has all the same things in and not much new and I don't know if you have noticed this too but their prices are really going up. I am actually finding H & M cheaper than Primark and it's better quality. What's going on Primark, you used to be cheap?! 

The bigger stores seem to have more of a selection but I did come across this shirt dress a while back and I was hoping that they still had it. They did. 

I am a size 8-10 usually depending on what store I am in because a lot of shops I am finding, that their clothes are not true to size, they come up real small. So I got this dress in a size 12 as I didn't want it clingy, more free flowing. I love the design of this shirt dress and even though it's smart, it carries the casual too. I love the little tie string too so you can alter the waistline and it would look great with a pair of leggings, black tights or even for the autumn/winter months a berry coloured pair of tights.

It's a cute dress and you can layer with this too which is great as I love layering and I love autumn. 

 Black Dolly Shoes with Gold Hardware

Primark

£8

Like I said, I cannot rock up to the office in my docs and I NEVER wear shoes like this, so all of this is quite new to me, but I obviously needed a nice pair of shoes that would go with my outfits and my style. I liked these ones as the are a velvet material and a deep black and with black socks on, it actually looks really nice. I am thinking about teaming these with some black thrill socks for added cuteness. I love the gold hardware too. I have bought shoes from Primani before and they are made so badly, so I am hoping these one's don't fall apart.

I hoped you liked my little lookbook/haul and that I may have given you some inspiration into some ideas for yourself?

I start my new job tomorrow and I am extremely nervous, so much so I feel a little sick in my mouth. Ha.

I will be mainly posting at the weekends now as I will be working in the week, if I have enough time I might post late at night in the week like I usually do.

Either way if you like my blog give me a follow on Bloglovin' or leave me a comment as I love reading your feedback.

♥

Colour B4 Hair Stripper // Is It Worth It? My Review.

I love to change my appearance, especially where my hair is concerned. I have coloured my hair for years now, never myself though as I have mainly worked in hairdressers, so I have always had it done there.

Almost two years ago I was bleached, white blonde and I have always wanted to go this colour. After having a lot of my hair cut off to go that colour I soon managed to have the shade I desired and began to grow my hair again. 

 This is what it looked like not long before I dyed it brown.

I have always had like little nightmares about going dark but one morning I just decided to do it. Now that I have been dark for almost 2 years I have decided I want a bit of a change. I want to go lighter but not as white as I went before.

Obviously I have bleach under the colour I have now as that will always stay there until it eventually grows out or I have it cut out. Having it cut out is NOT an option for me.

No way!!!

To get my hair remotely lighter I would need to strip the colour I have on it currently, which you can see in the above picture. I have had bleach baths done before at the hairdressers and it does damage your hair and I didn't want to stress my hair out again and risk it snapping off. 

I was told about the at home stripper called 'Colour B4' which was originally created by Scott Cornwall, but he has since done another similar product and this one has been taken over by Katie Price, as the Ambassador. 

The product claims to strip your hair without the use of bleach or ammonia which would damage your hair but instead shrink the hair colourant particles and they get washed out by using Colour B4, leaving your hair in its natural state. 

I hesitated buying this product because I was unsure about it but because it claims to not damage your hair but take it back to the colour underneath, I thought "what do I have to lose?"

Big mistake. 

I will now tell you why.

I bought the Colour B4 in'extra strength' because that was what was needed for my hair colour and got the argon oil version as I thought it would put some nourishment back into my hair.

These are £11.99 a pop and I ended up using 3 boxes, two boxes on my first application to make sure I saturated my hair fully as it is long, and one on my second application just to get the remaining dark patches. 

I had watched YouTube video's on how this applied but I went through all the instructions that came with it with a fine tooth comb to make sure I did everything right.

Before I even touched my hair with this product I did a strand test to see what colour my hair would go. 

This was the result. 

After the processing time.

Once dried. 

This is the contents of the box.

It came with gloves, instructions and bottles A, B and C. You then pour (A) the activator into bottle (B)the remover and shake for 30 seconds, I timed EVERYTHING to make sure it was all done properly. Part (C) is the buffer which you use in the rinsing stage at the end. Once (A) & (B) are mixed together you are good to go. 

 

I sectioned my hair because I had a lot of it and need to make sure every strand of hair had the remover on it. 

And let me tell you now, this stuff stinks. At first it smells like perm lotion which I was fine with but after a while it smelt of eggs and when it was drying to me it smelt like a 3 day old kebab. It actually made me feel sick. 

Anyway, I coated all my hair in the remover and used two boxes. It was safe to say my hair was fully saturated in the stuff. I also combed it through too to make sure it was evenly distributed. I then proceeded to wrap my head in cling film so it would trap my head heat. You need to keep the product on your hair warm so it processes. I put a towel and two hats on too to make double sure it would all go smoothly. I kept mine on for 60 minutes. 

Once the time was up I was a bit apprehensive to take the cling film off because I had no idea on what was underneath and if I still had hair on my head. I say this because a lot of my hair was coming out when I was combing the product through in the beginning. 

I looked in the mirror and my hair was a bright copper colour all over. I was shocked it actually worked. It took the whole lot of my colour off, or so I thought!

The next step was the gruelling task of the wash off. I then had to rinse my hair for 10 minutes non stop to ensure the product had come off my hair. I then had to use the buffer (bottle C) and lather up and leave on for 1 minute, again all this was timed. I then had to rinse again for another 10 minutes and once that was done I then had to use bottle (C) again and do a normal shampoo. It didn't say to use conditioner after so I didn't. As I was washing it off I did notice my hair was progressively getting darker...Not like the copper colour it first came out like.

This is what it looked like once dried.

The strand test against my colour before it was stripped.

As you can see after the first application it had lightened my root area and only slightly on my mid-length and ends. It looked like I had a reverse dip-dye colour and definitely not the outcome it looked like I was going to have when I took the cling film off.

Far from the all over copper colour it was perceived I was going to have. 

I thought about it and decided that I must have had quite a bit of colour build up on the mid-length and ends so decided to get another box and re-do those parts and not touch the ends. You can re- apply up to three times in one go, or so it claims.

So a couple of days later I re-did it. This time it had lightened some more but the ends were a little darker still than the rest and it was really patchy and there were some dark parts in my root area which I couldn't explain as they weren't there before. And, I hadn't applied any colour there. I left my roots out of the second application.

When I had seen everyone's "supposed" outcomes from the product their hair is all one colour and even. Mine wasn't at all and a far cry from anything similar. I wasn't impressed but thought I'd live with it until I had it highlighted. It came out quite red/auburn and I kind of liked it. 

As you can see it went a really nice colour and I actually really liked it. It looked more even at night time but obviously in the day light you could tell it was slightly two tone. I could of lived with it though.

Now this is where it started to go wrong.

I decided to wash my hair 3 days later because it felt REALLY dry and disgusting. I wanted to wash it to make it feel like I had hair on my head and not an egg. Now this product had done some sort of damage because my hair felt so dry and a lot had snapped off.

After I had finished washing and my hair I noticed it seemed to be quite darker even when wet. I ignored it and thought it would be back to how it was before I had washed it when it was dry.

Nope. 

After I had dried it this is how my colour looked.

I mean "WHAT THE ACTUAL HELL"? 

All I did was wash my hair, there was NO reason for it to go darker. I just don't understand. I followed the instructions EXACTLY, after the second application it lightened and you can see from the pictures that it had. I washed everything out and now it's significantly darker.

Why? That is what I want to know. I have not applied any colour and it can't re-oxidise from just a simple wash 3 days later. I am actually flabbergasted with the results and to be honest disgusted with the product as a whole. I have shown hairdressers' these pictures and none of them have ever seen this happen with a product before and most of them have never heard or even used Colour B4 so couldn't advise me on why this has happened. 

I have emailed the company a complaint but as of yet I have heard nothing back off them. 

I will be completely honest with you now, this product is complete crap and I wouldn't recommend it to anyone. I am aware I had a lot of colour build up and I wouldn't get all the dark colour out due to cuticle staining. But after the second application it came out a 'decent' colour even though it was patchy, I cannot for the love of God understand why on earth it would almost go back to my original dark colour just through washing my hair. I would of had to have coloured it to get it that dark again as the colour was stripped out.

I am completely baffled.

It's left my hair in horrible condition, it's thinned out a lot and now I am left with what looks like massive roots that I am going to have to have corrected professionally. 

Not cool... Not cool at all.

I am actually quite annoyed about the whole thing and the fact I have wasted quite a bit of money. That is the whole reason I did a strand test, and I cut the hair where there was most colour build up and you can see from the picture's that it had lifted really well. 

On their website it shows 'before and after' pictures and a lot of the people have obviously had their hair re-coloured and bleached which is not actually showing the true results a lot of the time. It's deceptive and by all means if you still want to try this product that it totally up to you, but I highly wouldn't recommend it at all. It's an awful product and not worth the risk. 

If anyone reading this could explain to me why my colour darkened after washing I would love to know, or if you yourself have had a similar experience I would love to hear from you. 

I hope this has helped you overall in regards of what to expect from this product and the procedure you have to endure. 

♥