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Hello Blogging Beauties!

After the stresses of second year Uni, Exams and all other work related drama, I have finally come around to blogging again! 

With the Summer rapidly approaching (I cant believe its mid May already?! ) there are so many new products being released onto the market which means lots of reviews, tutorials and hauls from yours truly now that school is officially out for summer! I'm looking forward to neon nails, sandals and sunshine!

You can be prepared to expect the best of pre summer tans, holiday beach essentials and perfect lashes all to be tried, tested and blogged now that my focus is less on revision and more on reviews :) I have a list of blog posts ready in my 'I hear and I forget' Smythson note book which I cannot wait to get started! (Possibly even a new look for the site as well)

Bye for now

Ali x.

(Get INSPIRED) 

 

The 3 day miracle worker

At long last I have found a product I can safely say I am in love with. Quite literally is a life saver and I feel like I need to share it with the world!

 John Frieda I salute you.

Frizz-Ease 3 Day straight styling spray is what I'm talking about and my god is it good. I am a girl who typically has Russel Brandy style hair when I wake up in the morning and until Ive straightened any life out it does it change, until I get caught in the beautiful English weather and then it resorts back to its curly mess.

So when I heard about this new semi permanent straightening product I literally ran to my local Boots and picked it up for £6.99. Its a generous sized bottle and it smells to die for, so is defiantly good value.

So the product claims to 'transform curly,frizzy hair into straight, smooth style that lasts up to 3days'

I must admit when I saw my first review on this I didn't rate that it would work but I can honestly say it does. I simply spray it on wet hair, blow dry, attack/activate it with my GHD's and voila!

Super shiny, silky and STRAIGHT hair!

Even my boyfriend will testify what a life saver this is to me, I usually spend at least an hour on my hair but over Valentines weekend I was able to drive to London, get the tube, walk to the 02 on a miserable night weather wise, have dinner at Gaucho,stay the night in a hotel and then spend the whole next day shopping without a pair of GHD's in sight!

On the morning of day 3 I did cave and go for the straighteners but that was simply to run them over my hair for 5 minutes max!

x.

Pandora perfection.

Today my jewellery box got a new edition to the family.

I have quite a love for silver wrist wear and today Pandora made an appearance to go along with my Tiffany, Links of London and Rolex pieces. I'm not a huge fan of the traditional Pandora silver charm bracelets, so when i saw the new leather bands i was sold. They come in all different colours with the opportunity to add a few charms on, without seeming like a typical 'charm braclet' which i think is its beauty.

So here is a picture of this little baby! Thank you very much to my boy :)

I initially wanted the limited edition 'Breast Cancer pink' however my wrists were too tiny and they only had the large left in stock. So i went for grey in size medium and will now add pink charms. It is a very dainty bracelet and the catch is easy to do up, unlike some of my jewellery where i have no hope of wearing it unless someones around to help! and it was also a reasonable £45.

The Bracelet not only looks good on its own, but i feel its best work with a combination of other items, at least until i get a few charms to go on it, which will then really make it pop with colour.

I also was able to look at the 'Unforgettable Moments' current Valentines day collection in store and ill show you some of my favourites below. The ring upon ring is to die for!

 

One love always so precious and so true. Be my valentine because I'm so in love with you.

Spa Paradisa! Where beautiful things happen.

I have recently discovered a new brand that I've instantly fallen in love with. A range of products where everything you buy simply seems too good to be true. But its not! which is the best thing ever :)

Spa Paradisa's phrase 'where beautiful things happen' is defiantly not a statement to be underestimated. They offer a line of 4 different product stories and 'fragrance experiences' and having only tried one, i can only imagine what the others will be like.

The love your skin story so far.....

This product makes me feel like a pacific island princess!

(isn't the packaging to die for?!)

My first impression of the product was its fragrance! A fantastic and seductive passion fruit aroma, which is nothing like id ever tried before. It reminds me of sherbet and summer and if i could only smell one thing for the rest of my life, this would be it! I'm addicted.

It knocks the likes of body butters from Lush and The Body Shop out of the park. 

The gorgeous packaging makes it all the more desirable, with a cute little velvet puff for application.

 (Nails by 'he loves me' Alessandro and diamante by jns beauty supplies)

The body balm itself has a radiant sheen to it and highlights your skin in all the right places. It really is luminous and gives you a fantastic summer time glow. The products in the range are made from all natural ingredients. 

I was lucky enough to scoop this product up from my local TK Maxx for under £6 but after doing my research I have found that the full ranges can be found in UK Next stores and are also available online. The body balm retails for £10 and is worth every penny.

 I will defiantly be adding Spa Paradisa to my birthday present list! I cannot wait to try out the self tanner from this range! Hopefully it will smell just as good. If anyone has tried out the products before, I'd love to here your thoughts and reviews.

x.

Alejandro 'alessandro'....

Every now and again I will take a trip to my local Tk Maxx in search of some hidden beauties. My trip this weeks was no exception and did not disappoint!

When a beauty product is in stock in TK Maxx, the brand generally usually circulates around the UK. So after seeing on a few beauty girls blogs, i decided to hunt down the nail varnish brand 'alessandro'. The company is a German brand (and i believe is stocked in Switzerland) that I'd never heard of before so i thought id give it a try and here was what i found ( a little out of my comfort zone of either Barry M or Chanel!!)

The most beautiful collection of miniature fresh spring colours! Perfect for this time of year when all you can think of is shopping for new season embellished sandals and sun dresses!

The Alessandro 'He Loves Me' Colours of Spring current season collection

 1: Soft violet/lavender colour

 2: Candy floss pink :)

 3: Coral/tangerine and again on my pinkie'

 

This set originally retailed at £13.25 but I picked it up in TK Maxx for only £5.99 and it is undoubtedly worth the money! The application of the product is smooth and it also has lasted my for three days with no chips! (one layer of top coat)

My favourite colour has to be the coral/tangerine colour out of the three!

I would highly recommend this brand to anyone on the market for some spring fling polishes! The pink is also a perfect valentines option <3 Let me know if anyone else has tried 'Alessandro' go check out your TK Maxx ASAP!

x.

Clinique loving.

For as long as I can remember Clinique has always been my high end makeup brand of choice. Possible due to the fact that all the generations of women in my family wear it, i still remember the days of spending hours at the endless beauty counters in department stores like Fenwicks with my nan and mum and always been drawn to Clinique due to the fun skin type chart!

So recently I decided to invest in some more Clinique to add to my growing collection; a new counter has opened in my local Boots so i thought it would be rude not to :)

I purchased two items; 1 the Superbalanced liquid foundation which i have been using for about two years now and 2 a new product which was actually recommended to me by my nan, the Instant lift for brows pencil and highlighter. The other two items pictured above were freebie samples a liquid facial soap and a take the day off makeup remover, which i am yet to try.

 

This foundation is in the colour 03 Ivory, for normal to oily skin. After numerous bottles of this and temptations to try other foundations on the market i always come back to what i know. I find that the super balanced texture is perfect for me as it is completely fragrance free and give a natural and moderate cover finish. I apply it with a standard cosmopolitan foundation brush and feel that it blends perfectly with my skin colour. The only downside of this product is the lasting life; if you want a product that is going to last 24hours this isn't the foundation for you. But its a gentle and light foundation to wear and I have decided that with this bottle, i will be using a foundation primer by Number 7 to see if this will help increase it lasting power.

                                Clinique instant lift for brows: Colour 02 soft brown and highlighter

                                              (LOVE the fact it all comes in one applicator)

I am on a quest to get the perfect eyebrows. Like most women, i aspire to have perfectly shaped, arched, high definition eyebrows and i feel slowly but surly i am getting there. So when seeing this product, i could not resist 'an instant lift' I have fairly light eyebrows but dark brown hair, therefore i need a pencil that will make them stand out. The applicator for the product is perfect for clean sweeps along the brows so you don't get any nasty smudges. This product has very good lasting power and I've had no need to reapply throughout a day.

The highlighter, designed to sit just below the brow hairs has a coppery orange shimmer to it which i feel helps lift the brows whilst leaving a nice eye base for shadows too. Look fabulous with an nice olive tanned glow!

So that's it for my recent Clinique purchases, feel free to leave me any questions and let me know what you make of the product if you have tried them! I'm always looking for an excuse to pay the ladies in there horrible white lab coats a visit (you really need to re think that Mr/Mrs Clinique) :)

x.

Sisterly love.

My big sister has just recently got a new FANTASTIC job. Her most recent face book status's include:

'Free MAC goodies, champagne and gluten free macaroons... I love my job'

'Thinks the mandarin oriental is probably the nicest place I will ever go for breakfast!'

' Work are sending me to ballet class on Thursday followed by a screening of The Black Swan... Good toes, naughty toes'

'A complimentary massage with my Bellini? Don't mind if I do!'

The least i can say is that Lauren, I am mucho jealous of you and also kicking myself that i was born four years younger than you and cannot wait for the day i graduate and take your job of your hands for the freebies alone!

http://www.quintessentially.com/insider/author/lauren-clarke/ Check out her fabulous work! I'd like it a lot if i could be this good of a writer but i guess you got the creative gene! Ill stick to my business and politics but i will happily take any free Mac goodies you get off your hands!

Looking forward to Gaucho polo and the 5 course meal at the O2 next month!

Love love x.