Reviews: Apocalips and Lash Accelerator Endless

Whaaat? She's uploading a post on a WEDNESDAY? What is this madness?

Yes that's right, the time for slacking is over and it's time to starting posting more than one post a week/month/eternity. I was actually going to post yesterday but it got lost in all the excitement of the fact that I FINALLY PASSED MY DRIVING TEST EEEEK! But  enough excuses, let's get right into it.

Anyone who knows me know that I am a big Rimmel London fan - they are pretty much my favourite high street makeup brand, and, being a 17 year old who can rarely afford high-end makeup, it dominates my makeup collection. So, when I found out about these two releases I couldn't wait to get my hands on them.

The first of these is their new mascara, the Lash Accelerator Endless, (I think?) a new version of their Lash Accelerator mascara.

Straight to the point: I love this mascara and it has quickly become my go-to in my every day makeup. This is because it adds a lot a of length, separation and colour without adding too much volume, which is exactly what I like for a simple daily makeup look.

It contains a growth complex and adds fibers to your lashes with explains the length factor.

As I said, I'm absolutely loving this and have been reaching for it every day since I bought it!

Next, onto the new Apocalips Lip Laquers, also by Rimmel London. I picked up two shades, Nova and Luna.

These products are what I can only describe as a 'lipstick in lipgloss form'. They have the pigmentation and lasting power of lipstick, but gloss and application method of a lipgloss, which I thought was absolutely brilliant.

These have a lot of pros from me: The colour payoff is great, as is the texture, and the product stays on my lips for the whole day. The lasting power is so great, in fact, that even the beloved Bioderma struggles with it! The cons, however, stem from the colours I picked out.

Nova is a an extremely bright, almost baby-pink colour and I'm just not sure if it suits me at all. I think I'll be stashing it away for the rest of the winter and trying it out again in the Spring and Summer when it may be more suitable.

I was shocked by how vividly orange Luna turned out once it was applied on my lips, however with some experimenting and blotting I've been able to get it to apply as a gorgeous peachy nude colour which has actually been working well for an everyday sort of look.

I'll definitely be picking up a couple more shade of this - I have my eye on Celstial, a lovely pink, and the nude colour Eclipse, which would be perfect for daily wear. I might even take the plunge and go for Big Bang, a shocking red.

Let me know what you think of these products if you've tried them!

Laura xo

This week #2

1 - A real classy evening alone

2 - Take me back to Disneyland!

3 - I'm not very good at dressing appropriately for the weather

4 - I own too many unread books

5 - Working with maggots in biology, yum yum yum

6 - Hilarious (?!) Hugh Jackman jokes as drawn by Lizzie

7 - What do you mean, 'only only going away for two days'?

8 - Boyfriend and pizza, perfect Friday night in

9 - Before heading out for a Sunday carvery

Two 'this week' posts in a row wasn't exactly what I had in mind when I said "getting properly into the swing of blogging", but what a week it's been!

I have at least one post lined up for the next week, so I promise this won't happen again.

Laura xo

This week #1

1- Playing around with Scandal Eyes eyeliners for a blog post that I promised but still haven't written - oops!

2 - washing makeup brushes is such a chore

3 - The bag I've been pining after is finally in my life

4 - The snow completely ruined my weekend, but at least it was pretty

5 - My boys on Skype who I should be cuddling, but can't because of aforementioned snow :(

6 - Making mind maps as final improvements for my EPQ

Remember when I said there wouldn't be another long absence? Ha. Ha ha ha. Yeah, sorry about that one. January's been pretty crazy, what with me going away, having coursework to finish off and having to panic-revise for exams (never the best method, I know) and not to mention a fever that left me bed-bound for a good couple of days. But now that all of that craziness is over I think I can properly get into the swing of blogging - who  knows, you might, might, even see a few videos crop up here or there.

Laura xo

What's in my travel wash bag & makeup bag?

Hi all! I hope you all had happy holidays and got everything you wanted and held the ones you love close. As I type I'm sat in Dover harbour on a ferry waiting to leave for DISNEYLAND with my boy :) so I thought I'd use this chance to write a general post about what I've packed, beauty-wise.

The Body Shop tea tree face wash

The Body Shop tea tree toner

The Body Shop tea tree hydrating lotion

Simple kind to skin hydrating light moisturiser

The Body Shop tea tree night lotion

The Body Shop tea tree blemish gel (I've been going a bit tea tree crazy this month, can you tell?! Look out for it in my next monthly favourites post!)

Alberto Balsam Tea Tree Tingle Herbal shampoo

Pantene conditioner

Coconut and Lime shower gel (this was a Christmas present that was a good travel size, so I can't remember the name of the maker off the top of my head)

Soap and Glory Butter Yourself (I couldn't find a smaller bottle of body lotion or body butter anywhere anywhere in my house, so this will have to do!)

Soap and Glory Hand Food

Boots electric toothbrush and Aquafresh toothpaste Listerine Smart Rinse (yes I use kid's mouthwash, shut up!)

Gillette Venus Breeze razor

TRESemmé hairspray

TRESemmé heat defence serum

Cotton wool

Hairbrush

Rimmel London Wake me Up foundation

Rimmel London Wake me Up concealer

Rimmel London Stay Matte powder

Mac prep and prime eye base 

Urban Decay Naked 2 pallet

The Body Shop coconut lip balm

Rimmel Kate lipstick in shade 01

2 No7 lip glosses from a gift set

Rimmel lip gloss in Cookie

The Body Shop lip scuff

I'm sure you've noticed that I don't quite have a full makeup collection here, and that's because I have some if my Christmas money with me and I'm planning to raid the ferry duty free and the French shopping centres for all their worth once I've posted this!

In terms of brushes, I wasn't planning to bring this many - I'd packed my ecotools brushes, but I opened up one of my Christmas presents from Cal to find a set of Cath Kidston brushes so I couldn't just not bring them too!

I may post up before the new year, but if not, have a good one!

Laura xo

P.S. Sorry about using some more shitty iPad photos - sorry, it was the easiest way to get photos for this post on short notice!

Mistletoe, wine and polka dots

Dress - BooHoo

Blazer - BooHoo

Tights - H&M

Shoes - River Island

Lips - Rimmel London Kate lipstick - 01

Merry Christmas everybody! I thought I'd use this opportunity to do a quick outfit post so that I could try up the blogger app and the camera... On my BRAND NEW IPAD!!! I'm so happy that I have it and no one will be able to get me off it today!

I'll also take this opportunity to apologise for the lack of posts this month - the college coursework load has been craaaaazy plus I have exams coming up, but hopefully once those are it the way I can work open becoming a more consistent blogger.

I do have a few posts lined up for the next couple of weeks, so don't expect another long absence from me!

Happy holidays everybody

Laura xo

November Favourites

Its December already? Where did November go? When the first came around yesterday, I didn't quite believe it and I kind of wanted some of November back... although that all changed when I got to open my advent calendar  So anyway, November coming to  close means that it's time for a November favourites post. There aren't a lot of favourites here, in comparison to other beauty vloggers and bloggers, but in the future I'm going to be sure to keep a running list throughout the month rather than struggling to think of things on the last day of the month!

1) Rimmel London Vinyl Gloss

I picked this up a few months ago, In August or September, but ended up sticking it in a drawer and forgetting about it. Earlier this month I rediscovered it and have been loving it ever since, so much that I have been wearing it most days for the past couple of weeks. I never really realised how much lip product made to my made-up face before - it stops my face looking to 'top-heavy' like when I make up my eyes and then don't bother putting anything on my lips when I'm rushing out the door to college. I adore the colour - I have it in 'lovesick' - and it stays on really well, too.

2) The Body Shop Tea Tree face mask

Oh. My. God. I love this so so so so much! My mum picked this up for when she was in town a few weeks ago and I fell in love immediately. I use it once a week and every single time, it leaves my skin feeling amazing and practically glowing afterwards! I think this is probably my favourite face mask that I've ever used and I can definitely see myself repurchasing it when it runs out. In fact, I love it so much that a few days ago I went out and bought more products from The Body Shop's tea tree range. I have problematic skins and so far I feel like it's working quite well, so I'll see how it goes and hopefully I'll be able to include more things from this range in next month's favourites!

3) Burt's Bees

(prepare for some really terrible photos because I was too lazy to retake them in better lighting)

Lip balm has been an absolute saviour recently since the weather has been getting drier and much, much colder. I've been loving this one - Burt's Bees replenishing lip balm with pomegranate oil. It smells divine and I also find it works really well for going under lip gloss - namely the one that I mentioned above. So, a big thumbs up from me!

4) Brown Boots (Dorothy Perkins)

I wanted a new pair of brown boots this year as my old ones were not only getting battered, but they also killed my feet if I walked in them for any more that 10 minutes. When I walked into Dorothy Perkins and saw these babies, I just had to get them. At £55 they were a little pricey for a pair of boots that aren't real leather, but they've still held up really well and I'm definitely going to get my money's worth out of them as I have been wearing them A LOT over the past couple of months.

5) Ready Brek

And finally, a random little food favourite to throw in. I've been looking to try and eat better breakfasts than I have been recently (a pain au chocolat or a cereal bar as I run out the door, usually) - ones that are healthier and still full of energy for the day. My first thought was porridge but going to all of the effort to cook it and stuff just seemed a little too much for my rushed mornings. Then I remembered Ready Brek. I used to eat it as a kid and I figured it would make a perfect, relatively healthy and energy-packed breakfast that I can liven up by adding things like chopped fruit.

Song of the Day - The Rolling Stones - Wild Horses

Laura xo

Review: Proactiv Solution

Just over a month ago I was in boots with my mum, and she stopped by the skincare section and picked this set up for £39.99 - we both acknowledge that my skin gets pretty bad so figured we'd try out a more expensive skincare product.

Proactiv Solution is a three-step skin treatment which you use twice a day. You start with the Renewing Cleanser, which you use by applying to a dampened face with your hands, and it cleans and exfoliates your skin. The second stage is the Revitalising Toner to sooth and balance the skin, which you saturate a cotton pad with and smooth over your face. Finally, there's the Repairing Treatment cream, designed to prevent breakouts, which you use a small amount of all over the face once the toner has dried.

All of the steps contain salicylic acid which (being a chemistry student who knows too much about these things) is a common skincare ingredient as it helps clear and prevent blemishes.

So, how has Proactiv worked for me? Well... I wish I had better things to say about it, I really do.

At first my skin seemed to get slightly worse, but I figured this was just the product 'purging' my skin - where it basically brings out the impurities from deep in your skin, meaning it has to get worse before it gets better. The spots brought out by this were cleared within another week or so, however after this my skin hasn't seemed to get much better than it originally was, just stopped it from getting worse - which the cheaper cleansers I was using before were doing anyway. So basically - I haven't seen the improvement I would have been hoping for at that price.

I have also found that Proactiv dries my skin out a lot. I was expecting the treatment cream at the end to act as a moisturiser as well but it does the complete opposite! I have to use a moisturiser after I've finished the three-step routine, and even then my skin still feels dry.

Finally, the box this came in advertised it as a 60 day set, and maybe I'm using too much but I've found this to be very optimistic. I've been using it for approximately 5 weeks, so about 35 days, and as you can see from the photo, I definitely don't have 25 days worth of toner left and I think I have even less of the repairing treatment cream.

I'm going to carry on using this until I use it up, but I don't think I'll be repurchasing it any time soon.

Let me know if you have any recommendations for any other skincare products I could use!

Song of the day - Ellie Goulding - I Know You Care

Laura xo