OOTD - 31/1/12

 ByeBye January!

(1) H&M Faux Leather Jacket - £25.99 - (Buy a similar one here)

(2) Topshop Cross Top - £22 - (As seen in my previous OOTD)

(3) Primark Black Leggings - £3 - (Buy similar ones here)

(4) AllSaints Washed Black Leather Boots - £185 - (Buy similar ones here)

January GlossyBox!

January's GlossyBox has taken a romantic twist. Since Valintines Day is around the corner, this months beauty items are all inspired by the special occassion; including the pretty pink box and 5 beauty products to pamper yourself with on the day.

So let's see what's inside :)

 

(1) Eyeko Skinny Eyeliner in Midnight Blue - £9.50 Full Size - Code: Enter Glossy in the comments box to get a free gift with any purchase. Expires - 1/3/12 - Get a handle on your eyeliner for precise definition and intense colour with a long-lasting finish. I was a bit disappointed that I didn't get one of the other shades. Having said this, the pencil is soft and smooth and smudges well. The pigmentation is also fabulous for this price. My only worry would be that after a long day, the pencil would end up all aroud your eyes. 

(2) Clarins Extra Firming Day Cream - £46.50 for 50ml Full Size - Infusing skin with firming benefits that are imediate and long-lasting. The thinner of the two Clarins creams in this months box. It felt a little greasy when I rubbed it into my hand. I'm not sold that it wouldn't bring out a shine on oily skin. However, I have yet to try this product in depth.

(3) Clarins Extra Firming Night Cream - £48 for 50ml Full Size - Clarins intensive night-time skin renewal complex. This cream is thicker and felt nicer when I massaged it into the skin. I felt that it absorbed better and shall try this out in more depth to review for you. Both of the Clarins face creams smelt amazing.

(4) FAB Gentle Body Wash - £10 for 226.8g Full Size - The ultimate travel companion for all skin types that provides irritant-free cleansing and hydration. This did not smell nice at all. Although it is good that this product is paraben free, fragrance free and does not use harsh chemicals, I would not want to smell like this product all day. It was more difficult to blend than the Clarins cream, due to its thicker consistancy.

(5) Murad Hybrids Skin Perfecting Primer - Dewy Finish - £29 for 30ml Full Size - Code: 33% off at Murad.co.uk with GLOSSYPR. Expires 31/3/12 - Oil free primer egnites a radiant glow, powered by light-enhancing minerals. This is not for me. I was quite suprised when i squirted a bit onto my wrist, that it had a skin colour. I was expecting it to be rather pale or even colourless. When I started to massage it in, it wasn't blending very well. The primer looked rather orange. You have to blend this one in depth. I am yet to try this on my face.

Beauty Wish List

(1) Dainty Doll Blusher by Nicola Roberts - £13.50 - Shade : Hippy Shake

(2) Fanfare Lipstick by MAC - £13.50

(3) Lollipop Nail Polish by Orly - £5.00

(4) Lycra Matte Finish Top Coat by Rimmel - £4.50

(5) Casual Sea Salt Texturising Spray by Toni and Guy - £7.19

(6) Magic Wand Brushless Mascara by Bare Escentuals - £13.50

Versatile Blogger Awards

Rebecca Louise or Autumn Leaves here on blogspot nominated me for the Versatile Blogger Award :) 

This was so sweet of her and I really appreciate it. I would have nominated her for it if she hadn't already got there before me. My job is to now tell you all 7 things about myself that you might not know and then nominate other bloggers for the award. So here we go:

(1) I have an extreme fear of all animals. Dogs, cats, hamsters... fish. Everything. If they are in a cage/bowl or behind a plate of glass or far away from me then I am fine, but if there is a chance I will come in contact with them, or do come in contact with them, I will get so scared, and run so fast that I should compete in the Olympics.

(2) I beat myself up before I buy anything. This sounds weird, but what I mean is that I find it really hard to justify buying anything. This may be a shock as I can sometimes haul multiple times in a month. However, people that know me will know that I have to fight with myself to let myself buy it. I often put things back and wish I had brought them when they have sold out. This pisses my boyfriend off quite considerably.

(3) I have size 3 feet. Why not share that with you? They are tiny, and I love it. Just not when I went to buy toms and the guy referred me to kids shoes and even those were too big.

(4) One of my biggest pet peeves is that people will deny they said things to me when someone else is around. Why make out that I am lying just because someone else is in the room? GRR!

(5) I love the brownie bites a Pinkberry. Oh my word they are the best. And if you don't know what pinkberry is, then google it. That's the best too.

(6) I have an unhealthy obsession with perfume. Literally, from where I am sitting right now, there are 7 bottles at least within arms reach :)

(7) I never drink enough. Sometimes I only drink one glass a day and it's awful but I can't help it. Maybe drinking more should be my late New Years Resolution - but I probably wouldn't keep it =/

Now to nominate bloggers I love!

Evelyn - We were raised by wolves. Laura - Through the eyes of laura. Hev - Fairwell to the fairground. Toni - Fashion Your Seatbelts. Becky - DotDotDot. Georgia - Frecklie. Allie - Allie UK Blog. 

NOTD - Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure in 670 Midnight in NY

This is the first ever Sally Hansen nail polish I had tried. I have heard good things about the creamy yellow shade she does, but as yellow isn't really my colour, I thought I'd just pick up the first one that caught my eye which was this. Initially I liked it because it wasn't an ordinary black. I liked the multi-colour shimmer that reflected in the light. It made the polish interesting and new. Unfortunately though, as you can see from the pictures, the shimmer didn't pay off. You really can't even tell it's there until you're staring at it up close. Good points to this nail polish is that it is extremely thick and you only need two coats. I applied 3 in the hope that it would intensify the shimmer, but it didn't. The brush is really wide and reminds me of the Rimmel Xpress Brush which I love. However, this brush was slightly to big for my baby finger, but that really is just nit picking. I'm sure it would be fine for most other people. The polish itself is really quite lovely. The black is glossy and really is quite nice quality. I think I am just most disappointed about the shimmer, but I will still try more of her nail polishes in the future.

Aussie Take The Heat Leave In Spray

My hair has found a new love. It literally won't behave unless I use it now. What is it? Well its Aussie Take The Heat Leave In Spray of course!

What is funny is that I didn't mean to ever pick this up. My mum tried some Aussie shampoo once and reacted to it so I have always steered clear of the brand, no matter how much brilliant press it gets. However, she must have forgotten this very important detail as she picked up this heat spray for me to take on holiday. I asked her specifically for something that was 100ml or less, so naturally this is 150ml! Bless her.

But having said this, I am very glad that she did. This stuff is amazing!! It makes me hair so smooth and soft. It doesn't weigh my hair down or linger in an unpleasant way. It just.... works! It smells amazing and allows my hair to move. Great unexpected buy.

Beijing Haul! Mulberry, Yves Saint Laurent, Shu Uemura and more!!

To see pictures from my trip to Beijing, look at my recent blog post here :)

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(1) Shu Uemura Eyelash Curler - 81 Yuan at the airport! Wanted one of these for ages! Absolutely love it. Review coming soon! (2) Makeup Forever Smokey Lash Mascara - 280 Yuan from Sephora. A repurchase for me. I brought this on my last university trip to New York and loved it. Staple beauty item for me. Review coming soon! (3) Bobbi Brown Makeup Travel Set - £29 from the plane. This was a spur of the moment buy. Can't decide if I will keep it or use it for a blog give away. (4) Yves Saint Laurent Rouge Pur Couture Lipstick in 11 Rose Carnation - 169 Yuan from Beijing Airport. I have wanted to try a lipstick by YSL for a long time but never got around to it. I wanted to pick a colour similar to my I Love Winter Lipstick by MAC because I love the shade so much. Review coming up soon! (5) Faux Mulberry Purse - 85 Yuan from the market. I had to barter hard to get this bargain but I absolutely love it and it looks pretty legit. It came with a Mulberry box and guarantee as well as the mulberry lining in the purse. One of my favourite purchases from the trip! (6) Faux Mulberry Clutch - 75 Yuan from the market as well. Gorgeous item again. Very pleased. This is a present though, so I am not keeping it. (7) Chinese Cosmo and Beauty Mag - 20 Yuan from Beijing Airport. Since I am on a Magazine Journalism course I thought it would be nice to flick through these magazines, even though I can't read Chinese! Oh well! (8) Firewater - 10 Yuan from the gift shop at the hotel. We got given some of this at a restaurant once. It is 56% vol and tastes disgusting! Another present I am giving away! (9) Pu-erh Tea and Jasmine Tea - 300 Yuan from the Tea House at Temple of Heaven. I love these and the cases are so cute! The Pu-erh Tea reminds me of PG Tips except you don't need to add milk and it can help you loose weight. WinWin. (10) Panda Cuddly Toy - 25 Yuan from a gift shop. I LOVE this toy. I think he is so adorable with such a cute face. This is a present for my boyfriend :)

Beijing 2012

I went to China last week with my University, to get an idea of the culture and different style of living over there. We went to all of the tourist sites in Beijing. Below are some pictures of the highlights from my tour. It is a beautiful place.

Unfortunately for the majority of the time we were there, there was a lot of smog. Pollution rates over there are incredible, but for the odd one or too pictures you will spot some glorious blue skies. It was an amazing once in a lifetime trip that I will never forget.

Imperial Gardens:

Temple of Heaven:

Summer Palace:

Great Wall:

Art Gallary and Sacred Road:

Acrobatics Show:

Nightime:

Wan Fu Jing Street:

View:

Random Statues:

Olympics Birds Nest:

Chinese Writing:

Copper Vase Factory:

Tasters as the Tea House:

One of the many restuarants we went to:

Any questions you may have about the pictures below, leave in the comments :) Have you been anywhere nice on holiday recently?