The Weekend In Pictures

mr whippy; new phone bling; blue sky; lazy day; wedges; sunglasses; pink blossoms; pear cider; nachos; no nachos; banoffee mess; frappes

Pink Friday

When the sun comes out I embrace my inner Barbie and flaunt my shameless love of all thing pink! Me and the boy have been invited to the first BBQ of the year at his brother's house tonight, so bring on the pink heels, pink nails, pink lips and pink cheeks! Slight overkill but it has to be done, no?

Have a lovely Friday night!

Colour Pop Lips!

17 Lasting Fix Lipstick £4.29 from Boots

Six months ago I wasn't a lipstick girl at all!

My collection has been steadily growing though and I've become a bit braver with bright colours - these two are definitely going to become my Spring/Summer staples.

Hot Chilli looks scarily orange in the tube but once applied it is a gorgeous bright coral and once blotted it is a lot less scary and very wearable.

Hawaii Pink is just beautiful - very bright but still suitable for everyday office wear.

The packaging is very sleek, and both lipsticks are creamy, moisturising and incredibly pigmented.

I'm very impressed and pleased with my new additions!

What colours will you be wearing on your lips this Summer?

3 Weeks To Pretty Feet! Garra Rufa Fish & Ped Egg

The weather has definitely been getting nicer over the last few days, and to me this only means one thing - flip flops! I practically live in my flip flops during the late spring/summer months but before I'm ready to bear my toes to the world I need to get my feet looking their prettiest!

This three week guide will leave your feet feeling soft, smooth and beautiful - I hope you enjoy it!

Garra Rufa Fish Pedicure

On Saturday just gone I had an appointment for a Garra Rufa Fish Pedicure. If you've never heard of this, you basically dip your feet into a big fish tank and tiny little Garra Rufa fish nibble away at any hard, dry skin, leaving your tootsies feeling lovely and smooth again! As it was my first time I decided to go for the shortest treatment time of fifteen minutes which cost £10.

I had to put my feet into a foot spa first, then I hopped onto the bench and dangled my feet in the fish tanks. It was a very strange feeling to begin with! The fish all swarmed onto my feet and in-between my toes and immediately got to work.

The feeling can be compared to putting your feet into bubbling water, like a tiny jacuzzi - by no means unpleasant, and after a few minutes I relaxed and really enjoyed the experience; so much so that I was really disappointed when my 15 minutes were up!

After I took my feet out the beautician dried them off and applied a nice foot cream. I have to say, I'm really pleased with the result! The majority of hard skin was on my heels and I wasn't expecting a massive difference after one treatment but they feel so much smoother now - I'll probably book a couple more sessions in the coming weeks to make sure all traces of dry/dead skin are completely gone.

I was chatting to the beautician while I was being nibbled on and she told me the fish are fed everyday and the tank is very regularly cleaned out - the water may look a funny colour in the photos but this is due to the funky lighting in the room I was in.
If you are close to a salon that offers this treatment, and you're not too squeamish, then I definitely recommend it!

Ped Egg

If the idea of fish nibbling on your toes isn't your cup of tea then I highly recommend a Ped Egg to gently but effectively remove any build up of dry skin on your feet.
You can purchase Ped Eggs from Boots for £10.21 - I actually bought mine from eBay for just a couple of pounds however I'm pretty sure it's a fake! The quality of it just doesn't seem up to scratch but it still does the job - I think I'm going to buy a new one from an actual shop though, I'm sure the real thing will be a lot better than mine.

Use this once, twice, three times a week depending on how often you think you need to! It effectively works like a cheese grater - sounds really icky but you are basically scraping away all the dead skin build up from your feet. This is great for your heels in particular and after a couple of uses you will see such a difference in the condition of your skin. 

I plan on using mine in-between fish treatments to keep the hard skin at bay - nobody wants dry, cracked heels for all the world to see!


Would you consider a Garra Rufa Fish Pedicure? Have you already tried one?

Next week I'll be testing and reviewing a range of foot creams to give you soft, silky, moisturised feet! 

Eye Majic - Instant Eyeshadow

Eye Majic

£3.50 for two sets of eyeshadow applications

www.beautywall.co.uk

I bought these on impulse after seeing them first on Gok's Fashion Fix (I think) and then they were featured on a full page in More magazine. They looked like a pretty fresh and interesting idea and I wanted to try them out! 

In the box you get two pairs of thin foam applicators that are already loaded with eyeshadow colours - there are ten different shades to choose from, ranging from a dark, smokey eye to neutral, natural colours and pretty pastels. I did want to try a smokey eye but they had sold out so I went for Shade No 4, a lovely natural, bronzy colour.

The instructions on the box are very simple and are as follows:

Step 1.

Press the Eye Majic applicator evenly against the eyelid using sufficient pressure for approx. four seconds.

Step 2.

Slide the applicator across the eyelid in an outward direction.

Step 3.

Use the reverse side of the applicator to blend or tone the eyeshadow for a softer look or to correct any errors.

I really wasn't expecting these to work but I was so pleased with the results!

The applicator fits my eye perfectly and the colours are so pigmented and pretty.

This shows the eyeshadow with no blending - you can see the colours are really strong and they all compliment each other.

This is the eyeshadow after blending with the back of the foam applicator and with added eyeliner and mascara/eyelashes.

If there are any areas that are missed you can just wipe your brush/finger over the remaining traces on the foam applicator and fill in any gaps. I only had to go over the outer edges of my eye as I think I was a bit heavy handed with the blending and may have rubbed a bit off.

Overall I have to say I am so impressed with these! You may only get one wear out of them, but you get two pairs in a pack for only £3.50 which is a total bargain for a product as good as this! The colour lasted around six hours before it started to crease, but I neglected to apply a primer first so they would probably last quite a bit longer.

They are perfect if, like me, you are not brilliant at layering and blending eyeshadows, or if you are just in a rush and don't want to waste time faffing with lots of makeup.

I am definitely going to stock up on these, especially the smokey eye look when it comes back into stock!

Have you ever used these before? Would you consider using them?

Sunday Nails - Crystal Lilac

No7 Stay Perfect Nail Colour in Crystal Lilac with a cute 3D flower.

Me and the boy are going to a Christening today so I wanted something fairly natural but not too plain so I jazzed it up a bit with a flower on one finger on each hand.

I hope everyone has a lovely Sunday, and that you are spoiling your mums! I bought my mum a set of No7 day and night hand cream and my brother gave her a box of Baileys chocolates, yum!

Pamper Yourself For Free - Banana & Honey Face Mask

Following on from my 'pamper yourself for less than £5' post I thought I'd do a little post on pampering yourself for free! I'm definitely a creature of comfort and I love to indulge myself so I found this little beauty treatment a lot of fun! And everything can be found in your kitchen so you (technically) don't need to spend a penny!

Banana and Honey Face Mask.

Making your own banana face mask is easy, inexpensive and fun!

Ingredients:

1 ripe banana

1tbsp natural honey

4tbsp ground oats

Water

Method:

1. Mash the banana until it has a smooth texture.
Banana is a natural moisturiser that helps the skin rebuild its own moisture level.

2. Add the natural honey.
Honey has been used as a natural remedy for centuries for a variety of ailments. It is known to reduce inflammation and swelling in wounds and can kill germs.

3. Stir in the ground oats and enough water to give the face mask a creamy consistency.
The oats in the face mask help to exfoliate the skin, removing dirt and dead skin cells.

4. Apply the banana mask evenly to your face.

5. Relax for 15 to 20 minutes before rinsing the mask off with warm water.

Enjoy!