Saturday, October 29

My mum's recent trip to New York for her boyfriend's birthday meant I got to request lots of things for her to fetch in Sephora for me. These Nail Art Stickers however were one of the many surprises I received and I finally got round to trying them out! With Halloween coming up, I thought it was the perfect time to get away with them, especially for a night out and a day at college.

This design is absolutely gorgeous, although there are plenty to choose from. They are $7 for 18 stickers in 9 different sizes. I have to admit, they aren't the easiest things to apply though, I had to get my mum to give me a hand! All you need is a small pair of scissors and a nail file and the application isn't too difficult. I also added a top and base coat as recommended.

They feel kind of weird, a bit bumpy and not that smooth round the edges. Other than that, they seem to have lasted well! I would love to try these on my toes, how cute would that look?!

Friday, October 28

Hey guys! So this month I have been loving quite a few items. I fell in love with a new foundation, jumped on the 'naked palette' bandwagon and bought my first ever MAC Brush! The skin care products I have been using have worked wonders and I can honestly say I use all this products every day.

Wednesday, October 26

I took advantage of Superdrug's 3 for 2 across all cosmetics today and am so pleased with my purchases. I thought I would just say stop in, say hi and show you, but I will take some better pictures tomorrow.

Here the haul I just uploaded onto my channel where I talk about them more! Hope your all having a nice week! Brogan.

Monday, October 17

Hi girlies!
If you follow me on twitter you'll know that I got the opportunity to travel up to Birmingham and visit the Autumn Fair Trade Show at the NEC with my mum in August. We spent two days there with the mind set of finding products for my new website including jewellery, accessories and makeup.

I really wanted to take the time to get your opinions, thoughts and suggestions. My website sells a variety of things. One of the things I'm really interested in selling are products from a Makeup Company called TheBalm. It is already sold in Sephora and is fairly well-known in the US, but not mentioned enough on YouTube. It definitely deserves more recognition and I've just recently seen it appear in the new Carmine Beauty Boxes!

I thought I would review two of their products to give you a feel of it. The concept behind the brand themselves is simple. Founder Marissa Shipman wanted to create her own world of all things beautiful, and so theBalm was born. The brand caught my eye by its funky package which is highly similar to Benefit. "The sassy names we give out products reflect the personality of theBalm...a mix of sexy and serious, smart and funny, romantic and rebellious"

Hot Mama! - Blush/Eye Shadow

Hot Mama Blush/Shadow - £12.50

Like I said, the packaging is amazing. Similar to Benefit, but much more exciting. Hot Mama is an all-in-one essential, a blush, eyeshadow and subtle highlighter. Personally, I love it as a blush.

The packaging itself is a hard, almost cardboard-like rectangle with a magnet inside to keep your product protected from getting damaged. It also comes with a case which is important as the corners could get damaged easily.

The colour is absolutely gorgeous! It kind of reminded me of Nars Orgasm when I first opened it, and it looks similar on too. Its a pinky-peach hue and the perfect shade for cheeks, it compliments my skin tone perfectly!

When I applied it using my Elf Kabuki Brush, it felt so smooth and easy to blend. Plus, it almost felt like a blush and bronzer in one. I'm so useless when it comes to blending and contouring so this is definitely my new favourite product for my cheeks. Just whizz a bit on and hey, ready to go!

Balm Shelter

When I was at the counter, I also tried out another one of the lipglosses which I'll definitely have to talk about in the near future!

Balm Shelter Tinted Lipgloss - £12.00

Again, packaging is so cute and eye-catching. The Balm Shelter is basically a lipgloss with SPF 17 in for protection.

I have the shade 'Valley Girl' although the range comes in 8 colours including names such as dream girl, daddy's girl, girl next door, material girl, pinup girl and girly girl. Cute names, right?!

Valley Girl is a gorgeous pink with specks of gold. It comes out fairly sheer on the lips, which is perfect to wear out and about, especially with the extra protection! It is one of the lighter shades in the range, definitely one I would buy.

The feel of the gloss on my lips was lovely, not too sticky and definitely long-wearing. I didn't need to touch up for a couple of hours. It's not too strong of a colour, so its even ideal for wearing to school.

I also got given some samples of their lip and cheek stain which I'll save for another day. Please let me know what you think, I really value your opinions as I want to sell this brand on my website!

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Sunday, October 16

I know, sunday summary is meant to be at the end of the day but I'm still snuggled in bed at 11am and am in a very 'bloggy' (is that a word?) mood and this rarely happens with my hectic schedule) so here we go!

Some lovely friends of ours, Gemma & Simon had a beautiful baby boy called Beau about 3 weeks ago. I went to visit him in the hospital and oh my, he is so adorable! I can't help but want endless hours of cuddles with him! When we had that ridiculously hot weekend a while ago, I slept down the beach hut for the last time and they came over for a bbq. I loveeee him.

I have been no-stop wearing my black earrings from my website (Heart Vintage Earrings). I wore them to college and my friend bought herself a pair. Plus, someone ordered the pink and blue yesterday so I can definitely see these being a popular product!

College went better this week: I managed to hand in TWO business assignments and was given a better understand of what I need to do for photography, so I feel a little bit better in that sense. But I'm still having problems in English Literature, I feel really stupid in my class. Everyone uses 'big words' that I don't understand and I'm kind of struggling. Second year is waaaayy too hard! I was talking to a lovely girl called Chelle on twitter (@chelle2788) and she said she feels the same, so it's nice to know I'm not the only one. I've managed to find a tutor who is going to help me, so I'm really grateful for that. Chelle's blog is feel informative too, you should definitely check her out - http://chellesbeauty.blogspot.com/

Driving: okay, I don't know if any of you know but I have my driving test in about a week and I am absolutely petrified. I only have 3 hours of lesson left (eeeek) but I think I'm ready. I've got a dvd I'm going to watch today to give me a better understand of how the day is going to run but I really hope I pass first time.

This is my car, isn't she cute?! I named her Pippa. I got her for my birthday in March so I've driven her with my mum plenty of times. I cannot wait to pass and drive her myself though!!

My to do list goes something along these lines today: Photography Coursework, clean bedroom, have a shower, dry my hair, possibly film a video? Ring mark, read my book and eat. Good.

FINALLY, I bought some things from blog sale on friday! It was the first time I have ever bought from a blog before and I'm really excited for them to arrive so I'll definitely do a post on them. I got 2 nail varnishes and a lipgloss from Lottie (http://lottiesdottieworld.blogspot.com/) so I highly recommend you check her sale out, she has plenty of things left and so reasonably priced!!

I hope you enjoyed this summary and your having a lovely sunday where ever you are or whatever your doing. Lots of lurrrveee,

I am so excited to be sharing some fantastic news with you! I have finally launched my very own website called The Beauty
Closet (www.thebeautycloset.co.uk)
selling jewellery and all things girly!

My mum has had her own business for 10 years now and growing
up I’ve always been inspired by her. She has taught me that us women need to be
independent and strong. In July this year, we started discussing the
possibilities of having a partnership to a new and exciting concept; targeting
the world of beauty and fashion and girls my age. In August, we visited a few
trade shows in Birmingham and London, which gave me the opportunity to meet new
people and learn about the latest trends and fashions.

After brainstorming, plenty of research, endless flicks
through magazines and catalogues, we finally decided on a name and so The
Beauty Closet was born. It was quite unreal at first, the concept of having my
own business at 17 years old. I’m the type of person who writes lists and plans
every stage in their life. This wasn’t in my ‘plan’, which makes it even more
exciting.

The website has been up and running since the beginning of
October now. I usually have people place orders everyday, and even had one
customer who came back and bought again in only two days of launching! Between
juggling my Business BTEC and two A-Levels at college, I am usually packing
orders up in tissue paper and little organza bags. I also have a range called
‘decoration’, which includes jewellery stands, hooks, photo frames, garlands
and even dream catchers. With Christmas coming, I’m sure you might find some
little gifts.

I wouldn’t have been able to achieve my goals without my
mum, and am so grateful that I have had the opportunity to start something,
which will hopefully be very successful. I would really appreciate it if you
followed me in the journey of my new business by visiting the site and
spreading the word. We also have a Facebook page (www.facebook.com/thebeautycloset.co.uk)
where you can like the page for updates and write your feedback on the wall.

AND... if that is not overwhealming enough, I have made a full video on the site and I'm currently holding a competition until the end of October!

Sunday, October 9

Firstly, I apologise for not blogging in two weeks, I can't even begin to tell you how hectic my life is right now and I figured that you wouldn't mind waiting!? Anyway, the reason I have dedicated time today to blog is to tell you about a fantastic offer happening at boots right now. I always love to tell you!

Thanks to iamfabulicious, I spotted this advert which she blogged about last week and rushed straight down to my larger boots store. As some of you know I LOVE Benefit, and if I can get my hands on some of the skin care samples then I'm definitely there! I'm actually in the market for a new skincare range and this was the perfect chance.

So the deal is, you bring in ANY empty bottle of a skincare product and can choose between the 'Triple Performing' emulsion or their 'It's potent' eye cream.I actually took my Garnier 7 Days Intense Mosituriser and cheated because I de-canted it into a pump to place by my table! So I hadn't actually finished the product but I brought an empty bottle and thats all the matters, right?! HA.

I knew I wanted the Triple Performing facial emulsion because I've heard so many good things about it and quite frankly, wasn't interested in the eye cream even though the full version is more money - £19.50 for the Triple Performing and £23.50 for the It's Potent! When I went to the Benefit counter, it wasn't advertised anywhere and when I asked the women she seemed confused. Luckily, I printed off the advert (above) and she remembered. My advise would definitely print it off, just in case they aren't sure. Also, it says I can get a 'free skincare consultation' but the woman definitely didn't dedicate any of her time to chat to me (she seemed super busy) so I thanked her and walked off feeling slightly disappointed.

I was a little impressed when she popped it in this super cute bag though! They take such care with attention to detail, I didn't even pay for it and I got a little bag!

So far, so good. I've used it every morning for about four days and I love it. I have dry skin that can sometimes get quite oily, but its definitely more dry than oily. Therefore this is a perfect light-weight moisturiser for me. Its meant to hydrate, protect (it has SPF 15!) and comfort the skin with an oil-free formula. I think it lives up to this claim, and I am currently considering purchasing the full size. The sample is a 'tip and pour' so its quite hard to get the product out, but I researched and the full size has a pump.

Overall, it does a good job but I sometimes feel that my dry skin needs that extra hydration. The packaging is an amazing glass jar, very sleek!

I hope you enjoyed this review and you pop to your nearest boots to grab yourself a sample! I love when companies do this and definitely couldn't miss out. Let me know if you manage to get one and your thoughts!