Summer blushin'

From left, Crochet, Guipure and Chantilly.

Hello all - before I get started I must quickly apologise for being a bad blogger of late, I haven't blogged in just over a week and I have felt a little bit guilty about it but it's been a combination of me being extremely busy at work, accompanied with having an uninspired blogger blip - blogger's block, we've all had this from time to time, right?

Anyway, enough of my rambling and onto my latest post, Summer blushin'... The title probably gives away the fact that I'm having a 'I love Grease phase' and also the fact that I'm wanting to tell you all about a blush palette that's sure to get you in the mood for summer. It's not quite June yet but this palette really has me looking ahead to the summer months.

Sleek's Blush by 3 Palette in Lace (RRP £9.99) is a thing of orange-toned beauty. Yep, orange. Totally out of my comfort zone but I'm totally fine with it.

The palette contains, as you'd expect, three shades. These include: 

• Crochet: a matte orange
• Guipure: a warm, coral-toned pink with a metallic gold shimmer
• Chantilly: a matte, reddy coral

My favourite shade in the palette is Crochet, which comes as a total surprise to me, as I tend to stick to pretty pinks or shimmery corals. My love for this orange shade comes as a complete shock, especially as I'm so fair skinned but surprisingly it suits me, it totally warms up my complexion and teamed with a subtle contour, adds definition to my cheekbones.

Guipure is also a winner but that's because it's one of those pinky coral shades that I would usually go for. In fact, I think it's the exact same blush that's in Sleek's Face Form Contouring and Blush Palette.

Chantilly is the only shade I'm not 100 per cent sold on... yet. On first application I looked like I'd been slapped, not good! It needed a great deal of blending out before I looked okay again. I plan to try this with my Real Techniques Stippling Blush, which should hopefully do the trick. *fingers crossed*

Despite my fair complexion I feel this palette actually works well for me, and as I've mentioned does wonders in warming up my pale face, so I have no doubt that this trio will look fabulous on darker skin tones.

As I've previously mentioned on the blog, Sleek's Blush offerings are up there with the best of them, the selection of colours is superb, the pigmentation and lasting power is excellent, and accompanied with the small price tag, they're a total winner and this palette is no exception.

What beauty products are getting you in the mood for summer?

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Beauty products that didn't live up to the hype

This post may come as a bit of a shock to some of you today, as I'm not bigging up products that I love like I usually do. Instead I'm going to give you the rundown on a few products that have disappointed me somewhat in recent months.

Before I get started, I just want to make it clear, that I'm not saying these products are dreadful, they just didn't work for me... Some of you are going to read this post and think: "NAOMI, WHAT THE HELL?!" because most of these products are adored by a multitude of beauty lovers and have a cult folloing but sadly they just didn't cut the mustard for me... That doesn't mean they won't work for you, everyone's different and I enjoy reading these types of posts, I find it interesting to discover what other bloggers just didn't "get on with". 

Right enough rambling, here goes:

NARS Blush in Orgasm - £21.50

Yep, your eyes aren't deceiving you people. This is probably the most talked about shade of blush around, it's "that blush with the funny name". NARS blushes are renowned for being just, well fantastic, and trust me it's not a bad blush by any stretch of the imagination. The formula is good, it lasts throughout the day, and Orgasm is a lovely peachy, golden pink shade but there's 501 cheaper alternatives out there. My favourite dupe being the blush in Sleek's Face Form Contouring and Blush Palette. That nifty trio contains a contour, highlight and blush, and the blush is VERY similar to Orgasm. The only difference being it's accompanied by the contour and highlight, and the overall product costs £9.99. Sorry NARS... Sleek wins it here for me this time.

Maybelline Brow Drama Sculpting Mascara in Medium Brown - £4.99

After reading many a glowing review on this product, I thought I'd give it a go myself and boy, was I disappointed with this. I've read many posts where the reviewer claims it gives them a natural looking brow, I sadly cannot vouch for this. The strange ball brush just would not allow the product to apply neatly to my brows, it just made them look messy and odd. It's a no from me...

Eyeko Skinny Liquid Eyeliner in Black - £12

I had a sample of this free with a magazine a few months back and I was SO excited to give this a whirl, especially as it's renowned for being the liquid eyeliner behind Alexa Chung's famous cat flick and who doesn't love that look? I had such high hopes prior to using this but sadly I found that it smudged terribly. Instead of the cat flick, I got the panda flick... Not a good look! I'm just thanking the liquid eyeliner Gods for Stila's Stay All Day Waterproof Liquid Eyeliner!

Maybelline Baby Lips Balm in Pink Punch - £2.99

Following its Stateside success, the UK launch of this product was a highly anticipated one. I couldn't wait to get my hands on these lip balms, being a total lip balm fiend. Once they landed in the UK I purchased Pink Punch and Mint Fresh. I love Mint Fresh, it's one of my all-time favourite lip balms, I love any mint flavoured lip products anyway but the formula is just so hydrating. However, Pink Punch does not feel like the same hydrating product to me, it dries my lips out terribly and I also don't like the hint of colour that this has. Mint Fresh applies clear, while Pink Punch goes on like a sort of bright pinky colour but sheer too, which is fine but perhaps it should be a more muted pink if it's a sheer lip product. In my opinion, Pink Punch can't decide whether it's a balm or a tint... Disappointing but thank goodness it was dirt cheap or I'd feel a lot worse about it.

Benefit They're Real Mascara - £19.50

*gulp* I'm nervous about including this in the post but well... The UK's best selling mascara just didn't do it for me okay?! I'm sorry! Every beauty lover and their mother (poet and I didn't know it ;)) loves this mascara, and honestly I wanted to love this mascara so badly but I just don't... I find it so heavy on my lashes, so much so that it makes me feel uncomfortable and when I've had this on, I've felt paranoid of it smudging. The lash look that I tend go for is one that has the right mix of length and volume, but more so on the length side. This sadly has too little length for me, and far too much volume. I'm glad I've finally got this off my chest!

I hope you've enjoyed reading this post, it's good to mix things up a little every now and then, and it's a post I've contemplated doing for some time now. Like I said, just because a product doesn't work for me, doesn't mean the same applies for you, I just thought it may interest you to know what products I just haven't taken to. I'd love to find out what hyped up products didn't really float your bloat, let me know!

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March favourites

This post has come around way too fast. I know we all say it about every month but March has whizzed by, so of course what would the end/beginning of a new month be without me sharing with you what my most loved beauty products were throughout the month?

March has been a great month for me. This is the month I kicked off all this blogging shizz and I haven't regretted it one bit. It's something I've always intended to do but never quite got my act together in doing until now - so I must say, if you're thinking about doing something that you know you'll enjoy, do it. Don't think twice about it, just get on with it!

That's my advice for the month, time to crack on with these favourites.

Seventeen Cheek Stamp Blush in Made You Look - £4.99

Ah, the product that kicked my backside into blogging. It's special to me for that reason but sentimental stuff aside, I've really enjoyed using this. Applied with no thought, you will look insane and I don't mean that in the 'insane, sick good' way - you will look like Aunt Sal if you don't blend it in properly. However, applied correctly this will give you a delightful pop of colour. I use my Real Techniques Stippling Brush with this and they make an excellent team. I bought three shades of this blush but this shade is my favourite by a country mile. I love the bright pink blush and fair skin pairing. Made You Look certainly lives up to its name. This blush still shows up on my cheeks come the end of the day, which I think is excellent for the price you pay for this. Click here for my for my initial thoughts on the product.

Real Techniques Stippling Brush - £11.99

This isn't just a March favourite, it's a 'until the end of time favourite' but this month in particular it's served me well. I only ever use this for applying blush. As I mentioned previously, this and Seventeen's Cheek Stamp Blush make a good team but this brush works fantastically with all blush products of mine, powder or cream formula. Bright pink blush signifies the beginning of spring for me and this brush has enabled me to create the 'spring bright' look effortlessly.

L'Occitane Shea Butter Subtle Violet Hand Cream (30ml) - £8

This little beauty's habitat is my desk at work. I've been using this for the past month or so and it's really improved the general condition of my hands. The harsh winter months took their toll on my hands, making me look as though I worked outside all day, doing manual labour! This isn't me saying there's anything wrong in undertaking some hard graft by the way but when you're a young woman who doesn't do manual labour, it isn't exactly the look you strive for. Anyway, enough of me rambling on about manual labour stricken hands. Basically, this product is rich and moisturising but without being greasy, plus the scent is lovely. It's not too overbearing at all. Just gotta put this out there: the best hand cream I've ever tried.

Avene Soothing Hydrating Serum - £17*

Since being sent this product for review, it's become a staple part of my skincare regime, providing my skin with a welcome boost of moisture. Post use, my skin is left feeling soft and supple, without feeling greasy. So far this has been a joy to use. Click here for my initial review on the product.

Bourjois 10 Hour Sleep Effect Foundation in 71 Abricote Clair - £9.99

This foundation is probably a blast from the past for some. This foundation isn't one that many Bourjois stands stock now but when I stumbled across this a while back something gravitated me towards it. I never got to try it back in the day, so I felt like I'd missed out in some ways I suppose. I've been using this throughout the month, as my previous everyday foundation (Rimmel's Wake Me Up Foundation) is running low. So far, I'm thoroughly enjoying it. It stays on my skin all day, the coverage is quite light, leaving me with a non-cakey looking face. I think this product could revitalise the dullest of complexions. A product that lives up to its name in my opinion - 10 hour sleep effect indeed.


Hope you've all had a wonderful March and have an even better April. I have a feeling April will be a cracking month (no Easter pun intended) but seriously the nights will be lighter and the chocolate eggs will be aplenty - what more could you ask for really?

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No7 Spring 2014 Collection

As we're finally bidding farewell to the dark, cold winter months, Boots' No7 line has launched a number of beautifully bright spring products which are sure to give us all a welcome boost.

This new season collection features plenty of on-trend brights, pastels and shimmers.

Recently Boots had 3 for 2 on pretty much EVERYTHING (make up, skincare, haircare, etc) and No7's spring collection happened to grab my attention at that time and I simply could not leave without making some naughty purchases.

I opted for the limited edition Peony Petals Blush Palette, the limited edition Stay Perfect Nail Colour in Spring Meadow and the Pop and Glow Cream Blush in Rose Blossom, which I believe isn't limited edition (YAY).

Peony Petals Blush Palette - £12

There was no chance I was going to leave Boots without picking up this gorgeous Blush/Highlighter duo. This has a pretty blend of pinks and highlighting petals, which will help you achieve a radiant looking complexion. This is a fairly shimmery product but applied lightly, this guarantees to brighten up your look, rather than make you look like a disco ball. It's not overly pigmented but it is buildable. I couldn't wait to use this but at the same time I didn't want to touch it, as it sits far too gorgeously in the pan to be ruined! It saddens me that this is limited edition.

Stay Perfect Nail Colour in Spring Meadow - £6

This is a lovely, glossy nail colour formula and it's what I'm wearing on my nails at the moment. It goes on fairly sheer, so you do need two coats of this. I think this looks a minty green shade in the bottle, whereas on my nails it looks somewhat turquoise-y green (but that could be my eyes?). Nonetheless, a great springtime shade. This is one of the two limited edition Nail Colours No7 have brought out for spring, the other being a pastel pink called Pink Blossom.

Pop and Glow Cream Blush in Rose Blossom - £9.95

This 'chubby stick-esque' packaged wonder is beautiful. This cream formula Blush gives you a real pop of colour and with it being highly pigmented, a little really does go a long way, so apply carefully or risk looking like Aunt Sally! I opted for the shade, Rose Blossom as this bright pink shade compliments my fair skin well. This also comes in two other shades, Mango Sorbet and Classic Rose. An added bonus is that this isn't limited edition (I think but correct me if I'm wrong).

I believe the limited edition products will be in Boots stores and online at www.boots.com until around May time, so I suggest you pick them up fast to avoid missing out on such loveliness!

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February favourites

As we are now well and truly into March, what would the beginning of a new month be without a blogger telling the world what products they enjoyed using and reached for the most during the past month?

My February favourites.

Urban Decay Naked Palette - £37

Usually I get the most wear out of this palette during the evenings. However, during February I used this palette a few times during the day, opting for a subtle daytime look using two extremely pretty shades, 'Sin' - a pale, champagne shadow, and 'Toasted' - a warm, bronze-y, pink(ish) shade. I wore 'Sin' all over the lids and 'Toasted' in the outer crease and I must say, they make a good shadow team! The look wasn't too heavy for the daytime and certainly brightened up my eyes. I adore this palette and I feel that I subconsciously went for the two pinkier shades in this palette because I'm (still) dying to get my hands on the third Naked Palette, which is all about the pinks and rose gold shades.

'Sin' - a pale, champagne shadow. 

'Toasted' - a warm, bronze-y, pink(ish) shade.

Bobbi Brown Corrector in Porcelain Bisque - £18.50

This little beauty served me well during the past month. For those mornings when I woke up having not quite had my solid eight hours of sleep, this worked wonders in tackling a dark under eye. The product has a slight pink tint to it, in order to cancel out any darkness. I feel this product works better than a standard concealer for me as the consistency is so creamy, it blends in extremely well, doesn't crease and really brightens my under eye area.

Bobbi Brown Corrector in Porcelain Bisque.

Sleek Blush in Pixie Pink - £4.49

A monthly favourite it certainly is, but I could go as far as to say this is one of my favourite blushers of all time. That's a big statement, as I LOVE blush. I reached for this pretty much everyday during February. It may look slightly daunting as it is very pigmented but applied with care and the Real Techniques Stippling Brush, it looks lovely on a fair complexion. A gorgeous, soft pink that makes for the perfect springtime shade and an added bonus is it's a great drugstore dupe for Nars' Gaeity, which retails at a pricier £21.50.

Swatch of Sleek's Pixie Pink.

Bourjois Color Edition 24h Eyeshadow - £6.99

Another pink(ish), bronze eyeshadow here. I'm not 100 per cent sure but I think I have the shade 'Petale de Glace'. These are a cream to powder texture, which is what drew me to purchasing it. During a few days in February I wore it and it made for a lovely, neutral daytime eye look. The product is shimmery but not too shimmery for the day. The colour pay off is good and I didn't find it to crease at all. I am tempted to try a few other shades in the range, however they look deeper than this, so will probably work best in the evenings.

(nb -I NEED to say: product is spelt 'color', I haven't made an error :P)

Swatch of Bourjois' Color Edition 24h Eyeshadow.

La Roche-Posay Effaclar Duo - £12

This is my second tube of this stuff and I must say I'm still enjoying it. I stopped using this for about a month but got well and truly back into it during February and if used everyday, does work wonders for my skin. I don't have particularly terrible skin but I find using this everyday does keep my skin pretty clear. You don't need much of it at all. It's a corrective and unclogging treatment that I find to be gentle on the skin. On the back of the tube it says it 'reduces the appearance of imperfections and unclogs sebum-blocked pores', and I think it does. The only downside for me now however, is this product has been discontinued... but fear not, La Roche-Posay have brought out Effaclar Duo [+] Plus. I believe the only difference in the revamped version is that it helps to reduce and prevent scarring, as well as what it already does. (Correct me if I'm incorrect here someone.)

Origins Clear Improvement Charcoal Mask - £22

Wow. Wow. Wow. This stuff. What a superb product. Sorry to sound over the top here but I cannot sing this mask's praises enough. I have never used a product that is so effective in such a short space of time, it makes a real difference right away. I never in a million years would have thought to have picked up this product, however I was perusing the Origins stand in Boots not so long ago and was given this sample by a lovely sales assistant. I didn't really pay it any attention and didn't use it until recently. However, a little while ago my skin was having lets just say 'a bit of a moment' and on reading up on this mask, I decided to take action fast. Many said the active charcoal in the mask draws out impurities right away and that it did! The charcoal acts as a magnet and brings those pesky impurities right to the surface. Prior to application you have to open up your pores with warm water. I apply it fairly thickly to any impurities, which mostly occur on my t-zone, I leave it 10 minutes, then rinse off with warm water. Right away my skin feels very clean and any breakouts are greatly reduced. When I eventually run out of this sample, I will certainly be purchasing the full size product. 

Stella McCartney Lily Eau De Parfum - £43.50

I had a 30ml bottle of Lily for Christmas and it's the only fragrance I've worn this year. My signature scent has been Chance by Chanel for years but I think this may well have stolen that title. I don't want to get the notes incorrect so here is how Ms McCartney herself describes it: "Top notes evoke the rich, mineral freshness of truffle. Heart notes of green and luminous lily of the valley create an irresistible addiction. Base notes reveal the earthy warmth of oak moss." For a woman's fragrance, it has a masculine sort of smell to it but in an extremely pleasant way. I tend to prefer a lot of male scents and this kind of explains that. It's a fresh, earthy yet slightly floral scent. I love it, worn day or night it lasts ages on me. Stunning.

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Seventeen Cheek Stamp Blush

What a superb gimmick. The moment I saw Seventeen's Cheek Stamp Blush in Boots I was head over heels - and can you blame me?

Boots' own brand, Seventeen have had a bit of an overhaul in recent months, however they hadn't really managed to reel me in... until now.

I have never seen a product like these before, and it demonstrates it's not just the high end brands that can bring out wonderfully innovative products.

The product, which is encased in a round compact, has a mirror on the top of it.

Personally I don't feel the mirror adds anything but it is a nice touch for those constantly on the move.

Inside the compact you get a sponge applicator, which is mounted on a spring and the blush is in the cap.

Once the product is closed, the applicator is stamped/pressed onto the blush and when you open it, the applicator has a good smattering of product on it - voila, a healthy looking flush.


I feel there is enough product on the applicator to give you a decent pop of colour.

The powder is blendable, giving your cheeks a natural flush.


The blush is also pigmented, but not too pigmented - the walloped cheek look is not for me.

At £4.99, these stamps are a steal and a super way to give you a pretty flush this spring.

I bought three... How could I resist Boots' brilliantly lethal 3 for 2 offer on at the moment?

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