Beauty Product of the Month: April - Lush Shower Jellies

I currently have two shower jellies on the go so just wanted to share my love of them with you. I got one as part of a Lush gift set, and the other was given to me for free from a Lush store that was about to be renovated and they needed to clear a lot of stock. Sweetie Pie was from a gift set I was given a while back and is overpowered with the smell of blackcurrant and a hint of bergamot. It also has glittery bits in which are more for an aesthetic purpose and wash off before you notice them on your skin.

The one I was given was called Whoosh which has contains a blend of lemon, lime and grapefuit juices as well as rosemary and geranium making it a very fresh scent, one that I immediately associated with a masculine smell so this is a great one to buy for your man.

When I first used the shower jellies, admittedly I was not impressed. I found them messy, and very difficult to use. On the packet it recommends how to use them, by crumbling, freezing or storing at bathroom temperature. I froze Sweetie Pie, which made a nice treat during the brief hot spell we had a few weeks ago (where has the lovely spring weather gone by the way??), it didn't freeze completely due to how it's made which is from a seaweed derivative, but it hardened and was easier to break a piece off. For the most part though, I store this in the bathroom, and use it with a shower poof. You need to crumble off a generous amount, probably a little bigger than a pea size amount, and bury it in the shower poof, hold it under the shower and then it's ready to use. This technique means it lathers pretty well and you don't end up wasting a load of product. Now I've found a manageable way to use it I can comment more on the product's value for money and am able to say at £2.30 this is actually brilliant value. It's lasted longer than a bottle of shower gel, and like the majority of Lush products, the smell lingers long after you've used the product, not something you find with conventional shower gels, but something I appreciate since I choose my bath and shower products based almost solely on the smell, and would like them to last longer than the duration I'm using them! The carrageen extract which holds them together helps to infuse the ingredients and acts as a natural surfactant which helps the product lather up which is why these have long lasting smelling power!

The only down side I'd bring up about this product is the choice. I've mentioned two of the shower jellies available, and asides from these, there's only The Joy Of Jelly left to try. I know Lush are famed for their bath products, most notably the bath ballistic, but I would like to see a brand that I deem to be one of the most "green" out there, to recognise most people shower, since it's quicker, cheaper and overall better for the environment. So I would like to see a wider range of the shower jellies available, maybe featuring some of Lush's classic, signature scents.

Has anyone tried and liked the shower jellies?

Nearly finished MAC palette...

My palette is slowly making progress. I had three new additions for Christmas, Nylon, Greensmoke and Espresso. I’m finding it more and more difficult to choose the final few colours. I look at blogs and the MAC website and think I’ve decided on the colours I want, then go in to the MAC store and walk out with completely different colours.

With flash.

And without.
I really didn’t think I would ever buy Nylon. I’d seen pictures of it, watched videos about it, thought it looked pretty but decided that since I had Shroom, I didn’t need another highlight colour. Obviously I was wrong because here I am with it in my collection. There’s just something really attractive about this colour, it has a frost finish, compared to the satin finish of Shroom and has almost a creamy texture to it and is very shimmery. I think the shimmer at first put me off because I’m not really into that look, but sometimes a bit of shimmer is just necessary and the shade also has enough of a hint of beigey gold in it to not look too brassy as a highlight.

Greensmoke is my new favourite eyeshadow. Green is by far my favourite colour to wear (if it’s not neutral!) and I love a green smoky eye, hence Greensmoke. As a lustre, it’s not amazingly pigmented but it is buildable. I like to wear this either on the lid with Espresso in the crease for a dark green smoky eye, or wear it in the crease with a shade like All That Glitters on the lid, for a lighter look. I’m thinking of getting either Swimming or Humid to wear with it, but not sure which would work best.

Espresso is probably one of the most popular shades by MAC. It’s pretty universal, making a great crease or outer corner colour for most people. Whether you’re just starting out with MAC or have a tonne of it, I’d recommend adding this to your collection. You can never have too many browns now anyway, can you?

(top row,l to r: Typographic, Twinks, Tempting, Greensmoke, Espresso, middle row, l to r: Satin Taupe, Patina, Woodwinked, bottom row, l to r: All That Glitters, Hush, Nylon, Shroom.)

I suppose this looks like a very unadventurous palette so far but neutral/earthy tones are my favourite and suit me best so I keep going back to them. There are some amazing and unique colours by MAC but I wanted my first palette to be full of staples I will actually use. If anyone has any recommendations for my remainder pans please let me know! I’d love to know what colour combinations work for you.

Neutral every day makeup with a splash of colour

If you're like me, you enjoy wearing make-up and find yourself coming back to easy neutral colours for every day use. Neutral can become quite boring though, so I will show you how to create a neutral look with a splash of colour. To see the look created live, you can visit the Youtube tutorial.
This is a look that I find myself returning to a lot of the time. It’s very easy to wear and easy to apply as all the colours are from the same palette. The palette I use is Maybelline’s expertwear eye shadow in Enchanted Forest. I bought this in the US but if you’re in the UK, similar colours can be found in one of the Revlon quads (sorry I can't remember the exact name).
The Maybelline quad has great quality eyeshadows, especially for the price. They’re not brilliantly pigmented, but they’re long lasting, and quite shimmery, and because we’re going for a natural look, they’re perfect. You can always layer up the shadow if you wanted a more intense look.
I use this quad because it contains an olive/moss green colour. The trick to wearing colour in a subtle way is to match the colour of your eye and incorporate this colour into your eyeshadow. It doesn’t have to be exact, but if you have blue eyes, look for a suitable blue. If you have brown eyes, maybe look for a coppery brown coloured shadow for the crease, and for grey eyes, a purple grey, for a subtle hint of colour.
I start off with my primer, I use two faced shadow insurance. Then, using the darker beigey gold colour take a brush and sweep it all across the lid. To build the colour up a little bit, it helps to dab the brush in to the colour, then dab it on to the lid. It takes more time but can see the colour more clearly. Next I use another brush to apply the green in to the crease. I use the dark brown on the outer corner, blending it with the green in my crease. I use this colour because I want a colour that is neutral but darker than the crease colour. If you have brown eyes and are using brown on your crease, apply black or a darker brown to your outer corner. Nothing ground breaking, just easy to wear makeup that's subtle, suitable for work/school and a little more interesting than your typical nudes/neutrals.