Just a very quick post today I'm afraid. I've been royally pissed off this weekend by an order I made over EBay a few days ago. I ordered the brand new Naked 3 palette thinking I was getting a bargain. Idiot. this was the first time I'd used EBay as I found it confusing and somehow i'd managed to get round it. so i was feeling pretty clever having finally worked out Paypal, I thought I'd order what i had wanted for months but hadn't the courage to purchase. Man I wish I'd just waited till Debenhams got it back in stock. this is quite obviously a fake. The packaging isn't the same, the pictures on the back are ever so slightly blurry, the eye shadows are probably pretty good but they don't feel the same as my Naked 1 & 2 Palletes do and the colours are way off. The colour black heart is black rather than the very dark burgundy shade, Strange the first shade is a medium pink. So please please please don't do what I did. Buy it from a proper retailer, I only wish I'd done more research but the seller had brilliant reviews so I trusted him, silly moo. you never know it might be a faulty one (doubt it) either way that's £30 spent on a shoddy eyeshadow pallete. lesson learnt.
back later in the week with a proper post (promise)
A Beauty and Lifestyle Blogger with a Tiny* Addiction to makeup. Still learning the ways of the Beauty world and trialing products. I'm a university student with a tight budget trying to find the perfect makeup products to take to NewYork in summer.
Sunday, 12 January 2014
Monday, 6 January 2014
Basics Review
Happy 2014 to you, my dear reader. I hope
all your New Year resolutions are going well. Today I am going to be reviewing
a few basic products which I have purchased recently. I want to also create 2013
favourites but unfortunately some of my products are at university and I can’t
review them until maybe next week (boo). So today instead I'm looking at a few
bits and pieces that i may or may not like but I wished to share with you.
My first product has been out for a little
while now, I think it was a new release in 2013 (or at least I hadn't seen it
before then), this is the Vaseline Spray & Go Body Moisturizer(£4.99 190ml).
I have found I am incredibly lazy with body moisturizers, body butters or body
lotions. Purchasing this item was meant to be the solution to this problem. This
product comes in a choice of 3 "scents" Cocoa, Aloe and Oat.
Naturally I chose the cocoa butter which is meant to be non-greasy, Bonus. The
smell is amazing. It reminds me of a body-wash I had as a kid, but it’s not too
over powering and it won’t tamper with your perfume too much. I think the
packaging is convenient for this product as well, with no lids and just a twist
lock cap for easy traveling, and no leakage (so far). The actual product is a
great idea, a quick and easy way to moisturize which absorbs instantly.
Unfortunately this isn't as efficient as
other moisturizers I have used in the past. It helps and it does moisturize the
skin but I prefer this as a top up product, meaning I might use body butter in
the evening after having a shower but in the morning I may use this product to
top it up when I don’t have as much time. It’s therefore not a solution to my
problem but it smells nice and it is a nice thing to have when you have no time
but feel really dry. I think with all those things in mind I would give it 6/10.
Meaning I may repurchase this item, but I don’t think it will be missed if I didn’t.
The second product is the Nivea Express
Hydration Primer (£3.99 50ml) from their Daily Essentials range. At £3.99 this
is a very cheap primer, and honestly it isn’t the worst primer I’ve tried (ahem
Rimmel). It works as a moisturiser as well as a primer and therefore in typical
Nivea fashion, leaves your skin feeling beautiful, no debate. I am a strong believer
in mouse primers like the L’Oreal studio secrets or even the Garnier 5 second
perfect blur. I have never been a huge fan on the creamy gel like consistency primers.
This unfortunately falls into that category. It minimalizes pores, to an extent
but not as well as I would like. The product does very little to stop blemishes
and imperfections showing through and does little to dark circles. As for
keeping my makeup in place for longer, there isn’t any evidence to say it
prolongs my makeup, but it make it any worse. Overall I think it’s a nice
product, it’s another time saver product which sort of does its job half-heartedly.
But although I’ve given this product a hard time, it does make my skin appear
better, and if I use a better primer and a good concealer in those problem
areas, it comes out well. I would give this product a 7/10 for its hydration
and its skin improvement qualities. Had it been a primer on its own it would
have got a lot lower score.
The Bourjois Bronzing Primer was an impulse purchase I decided I
really needed for New Year’s Eve. I’ve only tried this product a few times and
it can be a little tricky to get right, especially when trying to contour, but
when done correctly it looks so natural and beautiful. I have found that it can
be worn on bare skin, just to add a little bit of a bronze glow to a bare face,
or on top of foundation or for the best result under foundation for a really
seamless glow which appears to radiating from within. I have heard of others
using it as a full face primer but I think it is a little dark for me. I’ve
also used this as a contour on my temples and the sides of my nose, as it’s a little
more subtle than some bronzers or contour powders. Apparently this product smooth’s,
evens and matifies the skin which it does seem to. Overall I am very impressed
with this product, it is a little difficult to apply and therefore I may not
use it every day but I hope when I master the application process this will
make its way into my regular makeup bag. I think I’ll give it 9/10 its only
down side being the application process. But this is made easier if you apply
less rather than more.
Coming soon—Face of the day and maybe a health and fitness diary.
Friday, 27 December 2013
farewell 2013
So its the end of another year, 2013 will soon enough, be just another memory. So it is of course the time of year we start thinking about next years new year resolution. So what will it be this time? fitness, stop smoking, eat better or even just say yes more. So why not all of these. Why not instead aim to make 2014 the best year of our lives.
2014 will be the year that I will be moving to the USA. I want to iron out all my kinks before I go. I want to stop spending as much money on things I wont be able to take with me in 6 months. I want to be fit enough to make the most of my time there. I want to make every day count. I want to be tidier, and better at keeping to my routines. Mainly I want 2014 to be the year I buckle down at uni and work my ass off to get what I want. I feel I'm stuck in a rut and maybe I need to give myself a kick up the bum. Maybe a new year is what I need.
So.... starting from here I am going to be posting a lifestyle or a beauty entry at least once a week. On this blog I will be posting about my preparation for my trip, fitness, food and maybe reverting back to my roots with a good old beauty review.
I wish you all the best ending to 2013 and I hope 2014 brings you everything you could wish for.
2014 will be the year that I will be moving to the USA. I want to iron out all my kinks before I go. I want to stop spending as much money on things I wont be able to take with me in 6 months. I want to be fit enough to make the most of my time there. I want to make every day count. I want to be tidier, and better at keeping to my routines. Mainly I want 2014 to be the year I buckle down at uni and work my ass off to get what I want. I feel I'm stuck in a rut and maybe I need to give myself a kick up the bum. Maybe a new year is what I need.
So.... starting from here I am going to be posting a lifestyle or a beauty entry at least once a week. On this blog I will be posting about my preparation for my trip, fitness, food and maybe reverting back to my roots with a good old beauty review.
I wish you all the best ending to 2013 and I hope 2014 brings you everything you could wish for.
Saturday, 31 August 2013
GlossyBox Summer Sale package 2013 -April/July boxes
This is a weird one guys. I was planning to do this on my youtube channel (you can watch my newest video here- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZbydT8G7o10 please subscribe) but it arrived really late and I just wanted to do a blog post as I thought my anger might overwhelm the video. I have settled down a lot since then so now its time to review the boxes. So I guess it seems strange to do a Glossybox review at the end of the month instead of half way through, but this is no ordinary Glossybox. This is the Summer Sale package. The boxes were £12 plus the usual £2.95 for postage. I chose to order these boxes as I began subscribing to Glossybox in may and therefore missed the April Pearl Lowe box. I had seen reviews on this box and I was really excited to try it hoping to receive a Sleek Blush/ Essie Nail Varnish/ Illamasqua Eye pencil. The box itself looked beautiful. So I ordered the box on the 23rd August and it arrived this morning on the 31st August. Normally they are much quicker than that but I wont get caught up in that again.
The boxes arrive packaged separately as they normally would which makes me happy as I have no storage in my room at the moment so i'm using the outer glossy box in my drawers for a little extra storage. But looking at first at the April box. I love the design so much for this box, if i had received the April box through my normal subscription i would have ordered another just to own another of these boxes. But anyway we're not here to assess the overall design we wanna know what we got.
List of products recieved
Richard Ward Couture Hair Optimiser Style Reviver. Hundred and 150 ml for £19.00 (£6.34)
Yves Rocher France. Nutritive vegetal 24 hour comfort nourishing cream. 50 mL for £13.50. (£4.05).
Nip+Fab dry skin fix body butter in mango. 200 mL for £9.95. (£2.49).
sun sense daily face SPF. 75 g for £18.50. (£2.47).
Etre Belle collagen and Aloe Vera Hydro mask. 10 masks for €25.95. (€2.56/£2.19).
Total box value = £17.54.
Looking at the products there is very little variation in the type of product I have received. There is a lot of skin products but absolutely no make up of any sort, making this box very uninspiring. I feel that make up and nail varnishes of things that make Glossyboxes really exciting. When there is of variety in the products, you can't help but feel slightly ripped off.
The first products went to look at is the Richard Ward couture hair optimiser style reviver. The leaflet says "the ultimate multitasker: Richard Ward couture hair has been designed to your head every styling need, giving you effortless achievable and long-lasting results. With absolutely fallen in love with the lightweight optimiser style reviver spray with wheat protein and Kukui oil from the Couture hair range! Not only does it counteract phrase and increase shine, but it also creates amazing volume without the typical residue or stickiness."
This is very simply spray on product to hold a particular hairstyle. I do have something very similar to this from the July glossybox which I feel suits my hair type better. This could maybe be an interesting product but the big thing that jumps out at me is on the front of the bottle it says normal/fine hair. This is not me. Before purchasing my glossybox I filled out along the survey saying what sorts of products would be best for me, in this survey I explained I had thick hair. I didn't write it down I ticked a box. Does that not then mean that they would try to send me products which are not for thin hair, it makes no sense to me. I may try this product just because for £19 for the original size I would expect this product to be good. But looking more at the product the size of the bottle is fairly decent, this would be good for taking on holiday or just throwing into your bag if you're away for a weekend. Packaging is a little dull and wouldn't jump out on the shelf at me.
Yves Rocher France is a brand that I feel I have heard of but I have never owned anything from this brand. I issue that this brand is fairly open markets just from the name and from the price. According to the leaflet this moisturizer contains ash tree sap extract, macadamia oil, Shea butter and organic witch hazel water. The product is meant to make your skin feel soft and subtle for 24 hours. And it's free from parabens and colouring which can only be good. Now as I have only just opened these boxes I haven't really tested it, but as I am writing I am testing things on my hand just to see how they feel. First things first the smell, there is an overpowering smell of this product, it smells fairly natural and I think most people could bear this. The product blends very easily into the skin and makes the skin feel very soft and smooth. But you can almost feel the product there is still after rubbing it in. Looking at the packaging the package says that this cream is meant for dry to very dry skin which is a problem I don't have, for this upsets me a little, But I feel I will use this product, I just probably won't repurchase it.
Third products is the Nip+Fab mango smoothie dry skin fix body butter. Again a dry skin product, but I'll let them off because I am quite excited about this one. I am a big fan of body butters, I regularly get the body shop body butters and I am very happy I received mango instead of the other options of pistachio or coconut. nip+fab are a brand I have used in the past, I have used their bust fix cream (which is rather embarrassing, but who wouldn't want better boobs). I know this is a slightly more expensive brand but is available in Boots sot his product will be easier to buy in the shops. The leaflet says this product includes the ingredient "Aquaxyl" which improves skins water reserve. Yeah i'm clueless too. Looking at the size and quite happy with this, yes I would have preferred it to be bigger but then who wouldn't. This size is very portable and manageable, so I don't mind too much. The mixture is very light and blends into the skin beautifully leaving no residue or stickiness. The smell is very delicate and if I'm honest isn't as strong as I would like. I enjoy the body shop body butters because they really do smell like what they are supposed to smell like and when you apply its people will comment on the fact that you smell like strawberries. I couldn't see anyone commenting on the fact I smell of mangoes after applying this but if its subtlety that you want then this will be the product for you. I think I'll quickly get through this tub, but I won't be repurchasing this product.
Next is the Sunsense daily face SPF cream. This cream has SPF 50+ in it and is apparently oil free. I am all for suncare products as it is so important to protect your skin from the suns harsh rays. I am however not so impressed with this sample. The packaging is like a sort of capsule with a break away tip which means the packaging cannot be resealed. 10g is rather a lot to use in one sitting and therefore i will have to hope for a really sunny few days or waste half the product I don't want to waste it on an average blustery day. The instructions on the leaflet do not mention this but the packaging suggests this is a sheer tint with a matt finish. I am not sure what to make of this. I am also deeply offended by the fact the packaging says in big letters on the back "FREE SAMPLE". I cannot say if i would buy this as I haven't tried it but so far i'm not impressed.
The final item from the April Glossybox is the Etre Belle collagen and Aloe Vera hydro mask. The staff at Glossybox explain this is a "Deeply restorative and moisturising mask with collagen and aloe vera. Improves the skin's natural elasticity, providing optimum skin hydration. The perfect bundle don't remedy to achieve fresh and even looking skin." So this is looking a little better. I enjoy using facemasks as a special treat once in awhile. This mask is a kind of material mask you apply to the face (and who would want to look like a psycho for 15 minutes). Again this is a difficult one for me to try but I will update this blog as soon as I do. I look forward to using this on a pamper evening. The packaging seems a little unclear of the instructions so thankfully the glossybox leaflets tells you exactly what to do.
So overall the April box has been very disappointing to me. I was expecting brands such as Essie, Illamasqua and Sleek. But instead I received a lot of things I didn't really want, and that didn't fit my skin type or hair type. I'm just hoping the July box can redeem itself.
So the July box is this lovely blue and coral coloured box just as it was the last time I reviewed it. (http://chicpicnique.blogspot.co.uk/2013/07/july-glossybox-and-miss-glossybox-alike.html) which doesnt go with my room but hey thats what paint and wrapping paper is for (the next Glossybox is a union jack to that will be equally as annoying).
Products included.
Alterna Haircare Bamboo style Boho Tousled texture mist. 125ml £23.00 (£4.60)
Coola Organic Suncare Collection. Mineral Face SPF 20 Unscented. 50ml £29.99 (£4.20)
Inecto Pure Coconut Refreshing Dry shampoo. 150ml £2.49 (full size)
Ila Spa Face Oil for Glowing Radiance. 30ml £75.00 (£4.38)
Ciate London Paint Pot in Island Hopping 13.5ml £9.00 (full size)
Total = £24.67
Having recieved the Alterna Haircare Bamboo tousled texture mist before and having nothing new to say on the subject means i can skin this particular product. The review i wrote previously in linked above. I don't mind having a bit more of this as I think its a decent enough product.
So when I opened my Glossybox and spotted the Coola mineral sunscreen, I wont lie, my heart sank. I had a very similar product in my previous box. although unlike the previous Coola product i received, this is not tinted and this is also unscented. Much better. I am still a little skeptical as the previous Coola sample made me break out and my skin hasn't been right since then. I might pluck up the courage to use this soon enough but for now no thank you.

I quite like the Inecto Pure cocnut Refreshing Dry Shampoo,but who doesn't like a good dry shampoo, especially a handbag sized dry shampoo. I cant say too much as i have fairly clean hair at the moment but it doesnt leave me with a grey scalp which is always a good sign. I am a big fan of coconut so the smell makes me happy. what else can I say. the price is a little high, over a pound dearer than the Batiste equivalent but this is probably better for your hair. I'm cheap so I dont think I'd choose this over a cheaper product but hey, its better than a kick in the teeth.
Okay so dry oils, been there done that ought the t-shirt and donated it to charity. This one is just mental. this is of course the Ila Spa Face oil. £75 for 30ml!!! just no. I can honestly say i will never be buying this off my own back. But the product is lovely (as it should be). I have only used a little on the back of my hand but where I rubbed it in there is a definate radiant glow. It is so smooth and smells beautiful this will be my luxury product until it runs out. I may consider repurchasing if the product was under £25 but as it stands not a chance. Heaven forbid I should spill it.

So the product i am probably most happy with is the Ciate London Paint Pot in Island Hopping. I thought at first it would be the same as my Rimmel Cocktail colour in Shirley Temple but it is a lot more colourful and rich. Island hopping is a glittery orange/red colour with golden glitter. orange being my favorite colour I love this. it dries so quickly aswell and I know from previous experience that Ciate lasts for a while without chipping. this will get plenty of use.
Summary
List of products recieved
Richard Ward Couture Hair Optimiser Style Reviver. Hundred and 150 ml for £19.00 (£6.34)
Yves Rocher France. Nutritive vegetal 24 hour comfort nourishing cream. 50 mL for £13.50. (£4.05).
Nip+Fab dry skin fix body butter in mango. 200 mL for £9.95. (£2.49).
sun sense daily face SPF. 75 g for £18.50. (£2.47).
Etre Belle collagen and Aloe Vera Hydro mask. 10 masks for €25.95. (€2.56/£2.19).
Looking at the products there is very little variation in the type of product I have received. There is a lot of skin products but absolutely no make up of any sort, making this box very uninspiring. I feel that make up and nail varnishes of things that make Glossyboxes really exciting. When there is of variety in the products, you can't help but feel slightly ripped off.
This is very simply spray on product to hold a particular hairstyle. I do have something very similar to this from the July glossybox which I feel suits my hair type better. This could maybe be an interesting product but the big thing that jumps out at me is on the front of the bottle it says normal/fine hair. This is not me. Before purchasing my glossybox I filled out along the survey saying what sorts of products would be best for me, in this survey I explained I had thick hair. I didn't write it down I ticked a box. Does that not then mean that they would try to send me products which are not for thin hair, it makes no sense to me. I may try this product just because for £19 for the original size I would expect this product to be good. But looking more at the product the size of the bottle is fairly decent, this would be good for taking on holiday or just throwing into your bag if you're away for a weekend. Packaging is a little dull and wouldn't jump out on the shelf at me.
So overall the April box has been very disappointing to me. I was expecting brands such as Essie, Illamasqua and Sleek. But instead I received a lot of things I didn't really want, and that didn't fit my skin type or hair type. I'm just hoping the July box can redeem itself.
Products included.
Alterna Haircare Bamboo style Boho Tousled texture mist. 125ml £23.00 (£4.60)
Coola Organic Suncare Collection. Mineral Face SPF 20 Unscented. 50ml £29.99 (£4.20)
Inecto Pure Coconut Refreshing Dry shampoo. 150ml £2.49 (full size)
Ila Spa Face Oil for Glowing Radiance. 30ml £75.00 (£4.38)
Ciate London Paint Pot in Island Hopping 13.5ml £9.00 (full size)
Total = £24.67
So when I opened my Glossybox and spotted the Coola mineral sunscreen, I wont lie, my heart sank. I had a very similar product in my previous box. although unlike the previous Coola product i received, this is not tinted and this is also unscented. Much better. I am still a little skeptical as the previous Coola sample made me break out and my skin hasn't been right since then. I might pluck up the courage to use this soon enough but for now no thank you.
I quite like the Inecto Pure cocnut Refreshing Dry Shampoo,but who doesn't like a good dry shampoo, especially a handbag sized dry shampoo. I cant say too much as i have fairly clean hair at the moment but it doesnt leave me with a grey scalp which is always a good sign. I am a big fan of coconut so the smell makes me happy. what else can I say. the price is a little high, over a pound dearer than the Batiste equivalent but this is probably better for your hair. I'm cheap so I dont think I'd choose this over a cheaper product but hey, its better than a kick in the teeth.
So the product i am probably most happy with is the Ciate London Paint Pot in Island Hopping. I thought at first it would be the same as my Rimmel Cocktail colour in Shirley Temple but it is a lot more colourful and rich. Island hopping is a glittery orange/red colour with golden glitter. orange being my favorite colour I love this. it dries so quickly aswell and I know from previous experience that Ciate lasts for a while without chipping. this will get plenty of use.
Summary
Two boxes together equal £42.21 (box cost £14.95 so bonus value of £27.26) so the value of the products add up to nearly 3 times the value of the box. My problem with these two sale boxes is that there was only one product that really excited me even then it was one I had received before. I expected so much more and maybe that was the problem, but I am planning to test these sale boxes again so I can really tell if they are just an overall dud or that I just received a bad batch. the March "city chic" box is on its way to me and this really will be the decider for the Sale Glossyboxes. only time will tell.
Monday, 19 August 2013
Glossybox august 2013
So it's that time of the month again, time for the monthly glossy box review. This month is a real doozy. I have already seen some of the glossy box reviews from this month, and I can see that most people have received the same products (give or take a few). I'm very happy with this month box and feel that I will get plenty of use are each product. This is the first box that I have been really happy with, the products are more diverse and varied, with an item for hair care, skin care, make up, beauty and make-up removal.
The second product in the box was the Oceane make-up remover pen. I haven't tried this on my face yet but instead used it to remove some swatches from the back of my hand. I thought this was a useful tool and it removed the product nicely. My only issue is that the nib of the pen is a little thick. Having tried in the past the simple make-up remover pen I feel that that is easier to remove small imperfections due to the fine point of the pen. This pen however contains three spare pen nibs which is useful as my simple brand product didn't last long as it got dirty very quickly. I think I enjoy using this product, it seems kind on your skin and virtually odourless.
Overall I am so happy with all my products and feel that everything has a use and has a place in my make-up drawer. I really hope that glossy box keep producing boxes like this. I'm currently in the market for another subscription box as I am not sure I am going to keep up my subscription to my miss glossy box. But if you have any suggestions of a good UK based subscription box I would be very happy to hear your comments.
Thank you for reading and I hope to see you all soon.
Love you all.
Wednesday, 24 July 2013
July Glossybox and Miss Glossybox alike!
Whoopsy maybe a little late with these, to be fair my Miss Glossybox didn’t arrive till two days ago but never the less, cracking on.
Firstly I will review my Glossy Box. The July Glossybox was a beautiful
turquoise design with orange starfish and coral on the outside. I always love
the Glossybox boxes and keep them for my continuously growing makeup and beauty
collection. In fact at the moment I have to use the boxes which my glossy boxes
are delivered in as storage as my collection is becoming so vast, moving on. I
have sampled the majority of the samples from this box and I feel I prefer this
box to some I have received in the past. The products are as follows.
- Alterna Hair care Bamboo Style Boho waves Tousled Texture Mist 25ml £4.60
- Coola Organic Sun care Collection Mineral Face SPF20 Rose Essence tint 7ml £4.20
- Pukka Ayurveda Radiance Serum 10ml £6.40
- Anatomicals Spray Misty for me Facial Spritz 100ml £6.00
- Ciate London nail polish in "107 Pocket Money" 13.5ml £9.00
Total £30.20
I can’t believe that I received triple the value of the box this month,
and in all honesty I can see myself making some repurchases.
Miss Patisserie Starlight Macaroon Bath Fizzy 50g £2.00
Glossybox False eyelashes and glue (no price. Closest equivalent £4.00)
Kiss Nail Wrap £5.99
BeyoncĂ© Midnight Heat 2ml £1.20
VO5 Plump it up dry backcomb spray 200ml £3.69
Total £16.88
Over double the price of the box.
X
New Name?
I recently found out that my old name "NixiPixie" was taken by another popular YouTube beauty blogger so I decided it was best for me to change my name. So I came up with the Name "ChicPicnique". I decided this new name was the little push I needed to really get my blog on the radar. I will be creating videos for YouTube and posting reviews and blog posts on this blog, hopefully every week. Now I just need to push myself to make that first and scariest video. I hope you can join me in this journey and help me along the way and I will be seeing you all very soon hopefully. :) x
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