All dressed up...

Hope you're having a lovely week! Tonight I wanted to share what I wore on my birthday night out, and I promise this is my last birthday related blog!! Hopefully you read all about Mags' outfit and make-up on Friday night, in Spring has sprung into my wardrobe and make-up

Here's what I wore:

Dress: Marks and Spencer, Bag: Ben Di Lisi
from Debenhams, Flower: H&M,
 Belt: The belt from my wedding dress

Regular readers will know how much I love a bargain, and this was found in the sale for £9 reduced from £65!!! I had wanted a classic black satin dress for a long time, and kept looking in Coast as I like the style there, but found nothing until this came along in Marks and Spencer! I felt it needed pinching in at the waist slightly, and so used the satin belt from my wedding dress, tying a bow in the back, perfect!

And my make-up:

Sparkly eyes for party time and subtle lips

I made my eyes up similar to how I did in this past post using Bourjois products. My foundation was Estee Lauder double wear, and I opted for a subtle lip colour as it was a family occasion and this was also Estee Lauder.

One product I used I wanted to focus on in more detail, was my base product Bare Minerals Bare Vitamins Rev-er Upper.

Bare Minerals Rev-er Upper
retails for about £15 for 68ml

This product is described as a 'multivitamin facial prep'. I use this product when I would normally use a primer, underneath my foundation. It goes on very easily and soaks in quickly, leaving a silky finish to the face, perfect for applying foundation.

The end result is that pores appear non-existent, and fine lines also reduced, allowing you to create a perfect flawless face! It really makes a difference having a decent base under the make-up, and this product always helps to deliver my final, glowing make-up look.

Finally, I just wanted to share with you a couple of photos of Me and Mags on Friday night!

Sharing a cosmopolitan after eating lobster in the Chinese!

A glass of champagne to finish of the evening!

Stay Beautiful!

Stace x

My all time top 10 - part 1!!

Evening all!

Next week I hit the big 3-0, (think I may have mentioned that a few times...) and so I have decided to indulge myself on the blog this week in very much 'it's my birthday and I'll blog what I want to' style. So tonight and later in the week I will be bringing you my top ten products, my desert island products, my own hall of fame. Basically the products that I have bought time and time again, and would not want to be stranded on a desert island without. So in true top ten chart stylee (and at this moment I have the da duh da da duh da duh top 40 music chart countdown music in my head) flying to take the number ten spot is...

10. Aussie Miracle moist shampoo

I love everything about the Aussie brand, the laid back marketing style, the natural ingredients, and now these fab bigger bottles!! This isn't the only Aussie product I use, but it is the one I buy time and time again, and wouldn't regularly wash my hair with anything else. It deliver results, protecting my colour, nourishing my hair with much needed moisturiser, and leaves it soft and smooth. The big bottles retail for about £5.99 in high street chemists.

9. Bare Minerals Bisque

Another brand I am really passionate about, and use a lot of their products, but when I thought about the one I really could not live without, it was Bisque. A concealer that is so multi-purpose it's definitely worth its £16 price tag. I use it to cover blemishes, bags under my eyes, little thread veins, the possibilities are endless, it hides a multitude of sins!!

8. OPI nail polish

I have been known to try many different brands of nail polish, but I always come back to OPI. Yes at £10 a bottle it's expensive, but the quality really is there. The colours are vibrant and exciting, the brand does some really great collaborations, think the Muppets collection and the Nicki Minaj collection, putting a whole new spin on nail colour and who can fail to raise a smile at the names of the colours? 'Teal the cows come home' anyone? Love it :-)

7. Estee Lauder Double wear light

I rarely wear a liquid foundation, as I use mineral make-up. But when I do it's this one I reach for. So why is it in my top ten? I have been using this foundation (originally just the double wear version) for ten years. I try other foundations, but always come back to this one. I wear it on nights out and it really delivers a comfortable flawless face. This retails for about £26.

6. Decleor Hydra Floral moisturiser

This is my go-to moisturiser. It is great for all different conditions, in the Summer it's hydrating, in Winter it's great for dry, wind beaten skin. I have used this moisturiser for years as a staple in my skin care routine, and it really suits my skin type. It retails for £32 so it is up there with the high end products, but in my opinion it's oh so worth it!

So what do you think of my 10-6 countdown? Any guesses on what product will reach my number 1? What would you have in your beauty top ten?

Let us know by leaving a comment or tweet us @beautyu.

I will bring you 5 through to 1 on Thursday night.

Until then, stay beautiful!

Stace x

Christmas Haul!

Morning all! Hope you have all had a wonderful Christmas, and Santa bought you everything you wanted. Christmas has been fun for us, with lots of great presents received, including some fab beauty pressies which I wanted to share with you in a quick Christmas haul! I also was lucky enough to get a light box for Christmas, and have just very quickly started to test it out to take these photos. I have a lot of learning to do, but straight away I am happy with the quality of these pictures, let me know what you think!

So, what did I find in my stocking???

This cute Vaseline set comes in a  big Vaseline tin with normal, rose and almond oil, cocoa butter and Aloe Vera, well handy for sticking in your bag in the cold weather!

These cute cupcake lip glosses, in the flavour of the cake! Cream tart, strawberry cream, wild berry tart and raspberry cream. They may be to cute to actually use!!

Estee Lauder Sensuous Nude, I love this scent for Winter, very understated and musky. Plus the bottle is beautiful!

Three Cath Kidson shower gels, perfect for taking on holidays.

Soap and Glory hand wash and moisturiser, perfect for my bathroom.

This Heathcote and Ivory tin, with hand wash, hand cream and nail files in it. The tin is lovely and I may be using this as a lunch box!

Hope you enjoyed this Christmas haul! I am looking forward to getting to grips with the light box and learning how to take some beautiful pictures in 2012!

What did you get from Santa? Lots of beauty products we hope, let us know, we love hearing what other people got for Christmas!

Stay Beautiful!

Stace x

Christmas party face and outfit of the night!!

Hello and a big festive, christmassy morning to you all!

Last night was my works Christmas party, and I wanted to share with you the look I went for! I have also been lucky not to have a hangover this morning! Yay!

So firstly what did I wear?

This dress came from Debenhams Red Herring. I really like how simple it is, but also looks quite dressy. I didn't like the original belt that came with it so I bought some cream ribbon and fashioned my own belt. At only £35 I was very pleased with this dress!

And what look did I go for with my make-up? I tried to keep it quite simple and 'English rose' with some bronzer applied over my neck and shoulders, and I concentrated on highlighting eyes and lips. I also had my hair done yesterday as well, so was pleased with my final look for the party!

With Flash

Without flash

Finally the tools I used to achieve this look:

• Bare Vitamins skin rev-er upper for a base under foundation
• Estee Lauder Double wear light
• Bare Minerals prime time for eyes
• Bare Minerals Flaunt eye shadow
• Bare Minerals Volumising mascara
• Bare Minerals eyeliner
• Vivo Gold Dust bronzer
• Bare Minerals Lip Gloss from the Cocktail Party set

I would love to know what you think about my Christmas party look!

If you're off to  Christmas party tonight have fun and stay beautiful!

Stace x

17th December 2011



The perfect pout?

Today I wanted to share a quick post with you about two new lipsticks I have purchased recently, and how these stack up against my old time fave.

Now I love lipstick. There is something so luxurious about the cases they come in and something glamorous about the application of lipstick. And of course the colours are phenomenal.

My default lipstick has been Chanel  Rouge Coco in Rose Dentelle since I had this lipstick for my wedding last year. It is quite expensive with a RRP of £23.00

Chanel is easily my favourite lipstick case, so bulky and smooth, a real statement in your handbag!

This shade is quite summery, and as my wedding was on a sunny island it was perfect, I still like to use this colour in the winter though, and to make it adaptable for winter I just add some clear lipgloss over the top which tones down the shade.

As you can see by the swatch, it's not to overbearing. It is easy to apply, although my only complaint is it can be a little drying so I always add a lip treatment before applying. (Vaseline will do for this!)

This lipstick has staying power, a whole day with one application.

As much as I love this lipstick, it's not an affordable year round option.

I received a free Estee Lauder lipstick in a recent Boots giveaway . The lipstick was Pure colour long lasting in blushing creme. Unfortunately it came in a plain case, not like the one on the link, but then it was free and the product was still the same. This product normally retails for about £15.00 so slightly cheaper than the Chanel option.

Not such a glamorous case! But does the job!

This deep red colour is really suitable for this time of year. The lipstick has a very creamy texture to it, and feels very silk and luxurious.

As you can see from the swatch, the colour is a very deep pink. I would probably be more inclined to use this on nights out than just a day in the office. Considering this came free in a pack I really love this product and it will be accompanying me to some Christmas parties.

And finally, I wanted to talk about another new lipstick, and new brand I have only just discovered, MUA lipstick. This new brand available exclusively at Superdrug has lipsticks for sale at an amazing £1, just think, I could have bought 23 lipsticks for the price of my Chanel one from MUA! But does it step up to the mark?

The lipstick case is actually a lot more substantial than the Estee Lauder one, and it's useful to see the colour of the lipstick on the packaging.

The lipstick doesn't feel as creamy in texture as Chanel, but a couple of thin applications are more than enough for a long lasting lip colour.

The swatch shows a really nice subtle, day colour, which would be fine for wearing to the office everyday. Application is easy and the product covers the lips well. You can tell this is a cheaper brand, when you try it against the more expensive, but for the money, it is really a good lipstick!



So while I may not be persuaded away from my Chanel lipstick permanently, I am excited about a few new editions to my lipstick collection. I am also a firm believer that a girl can never have too many lipsticks, so MUA I may be back for a visit to purchase a different lip colour for every day of the week!

Stay Beautiful!

Stace x

Estee Lauder shopping trip!

Estee Lauder shopping trip!

After much deliberation in this mornings post, I decided to buy the Estee Lauder double wear light. (Don't worry, I will still be reviewing the other foundations over the next few days!) This one really impressed me and I had to have it. Well while I bought this, it turned out Estee Lauder in Boots had a giveaway when you purchase any two products, so I did just that! See what I managed to get for £42!



Double Wear Light 30ml £26



 

Pure Colour Gloss in tempting tearose £16

And then all this for free:

 Perfectly clean splash away foaming cleanser 30ml

Perfectly clean balancing lotion 50ml

 Advanced night repair 7ml

Sumptuous bold volume lifting mascara 2.8ml

DayWear moisturiser 15ml

Lilac whimsy and peacock blue eye shadows

And it all came in this beautiful bag!

If you normally use Estee Lauder or want to try their products, this is the perfect excuse to! I personally needed the a mascara and lipstick anyway, and the moisturiser is one that I regularly use anyway. This offer is on in Boots until the 22nd October, what are you waiting for?

Part two of my foundation reviews is coming tomorrow, until then, Stay Beautiful!

Stace x

15th October 2011

Foundations put to the ultimate test!

Foundations put to the ultimate test!
Regular readers of our blog will know that when I jet off on my hols, I like to take this as a great excuse to take all my sachet samples of foundations, and put them to the ultimate test of heat, sunshine, walking and drinking!

So last week when I was in Portugal, I did exactly that, and over the next few days I will be bringing you my reviews.

First up, Estee Lauder Double Wear Light. This foundation can be picked up in Boots, Debenhams etc, and retails for £26.50 for 30 ml.

This foundation is SPF 10 so is perfect for the sunshine. The consistency was quite loose and so I worried it might not stay in place on my face, and in the heat may drop slightly (not a good look!!).

Once applied the mixture seemed thicker. It was easy to apply with fingertips, covering well and smoothly. The foundation gave full coverage and blended well, not leaving a horrible line around my chin! I have previously used Double Wear normal foundation from Estee Lauder, and this definitely felt lighter on my face.

I was really impressed with the final look, it really achieved the effect of not wearing make up which many liquid foundations fail to do. I did have some angry red spots on my face and used the remainder of the sachet as a concealer which hid these blemishes effectively. It is actually making me consider going to town today and purchasing the foundation! I wouldn't probably wear this everyday, but for nights out, weekends and days at work when I am delivering presentations, this would be perfect!

Was very pleased with the final face, and was glad I wore this on the night of my wedding anniversary. It lasted well through a dinner outside in a hot climate, and half and hour of walking. Watch this space to see if i decide to purchase later!!

Next foundation for review: Clinique Superbalanced make up teint.

Stay Beautiful!

Stace x

15th October 2011



The old ones are always the best...

The old ones are always the best...

There is nothing I love more than welcoming back an old friend. And that is just what happened with this product is. It is a product that often wins awards, and when you use it for a few weeks you can see why. What am I talking about? Estee Lauder, DayWear advanced multi-protection anti-oxidant moisturiser, that's what.

When I was in my early 20's this was a staple of my skincare, but I had to stop using it as it clogged my skin, seemed to sit on the surface and not melt into my skin, and would occasionally cause breakouts. A chance happening upon this product a few months ago in the form of a free sample, and I thought, why not try it again. With age my skin has matured, and now, knocking on 30, my skin loves this product. It turns out on closer inspection, the product boasts the technology to fight the first signs of aging. Probably a reason why when I first used it, my skin did not agree with it. And a great example that we should reassess our skincare with age.

With 50ml costing around £35 it can seem expensive but a little goes a long way. It absorbs easily, leaving my face radiant and moisturised all day, without the greasy feeling of some face creams. I can visibly see a reduction in wrinkles, with a smoother overall appearance of my skin. And the added SPF15 (which 10 years ago I would have shunned, oh how age changes us...) is that extra SPF boost we should all be using, whether or not our foundations have SPFs or not. Sun damage is the most aging damage of all.

I will be continuing to use this product, and perhaps review other products I have been using since my early 20s to see if they are still as effective as they used to be. The Summer is a great time to review your skincare so why not do the same?

So, I might be getting older, but I have the best tools in my kit to ensure my skin looks and is in great condition.

Stay Beautiful this Summer!

Stace x

8th June 2011