Real Techniques from iHerb.com

I introduce to you, iHerb. I would like to thank Lily Melrose for introducing me to the site, unfortunately I can not find her post to show you! I had been meaning to get my hands on some Real Techniques for months now, and just hadn't got round to ordering them. iHerb is an American website which sells nutritional supplements and lots of other healthy products.
Hayley and I chipped in together for the shipping as we both treat ourselves to some new brushes. I ordered the Core Collection set and the Stippling Brush, whereas Hayley ordered the Blush Brush and the Setting Brush. This came to a total of $39.96 including $4.00 shipping costs.
A friend told us to be weary of shipping from America as they do spot checks on parcels which charges about £30 a pop, an inconvenience but a price me and Hayley were prepared to pay if it got checked. Mainly because we were getting the brushes so cheap anyway!

$39.96 works out about £24.33, and for 7 Real Techniques brushes, that is just crazy cheap.
The shipping was only £2.44 and between the two of us it was pittance. We ordered end of November and received our parcel on 19th December, so it took about 20 days for our order to arrive. You can pay more, I think its $8.00 to get it delivered to you earlier, but we saw no point.
We'd rather wait 20 days and pay £24.33 for the brushes rather than walking in to Boots, freely and paying £52.96 for the same thing!
The brushes are just the same quality and fortunately they didn't arrive damaged, which is always a risk. iHerb also emailed me a couple days before arrival asking if our parcel had arrived yet and if not to let them to know when and if there is any problems. Which reassured me that they were there to help if there was a delivery problem.

I actually haven't looked properly on the site for anything else other than the Real Techniques, however I do plan to see what their skincare and makeup section is like, see if I can any more bargains!

Have you ever used iHerb before?

Shopcade Competition #Christmassorted

I have an exciting competition for you!

Shopcade are advertising their #Christmassorted campaign by featuring two lists each week to help you have a more organised and giving you the best ideas for everyones christmas presents this year. Basically Shopcade is your Christmas Elf.

#7 Sssh! Secret Santa Under £15: Play it Safe vs. Silly & Stupid

This week features my list went and today it went live (Play it Safe). I have listed a load of safe, cute and ideal presents whether it for a friend or for your random work colleagues that you barely speak to, I have arranged a tonne of gifts for you!
If you want to be in the chance of winning a £50 Prezzybox Gift Card - just think, you could buy a good couple of christmas presents (or a good couple of presents for yourself) especially because Prezzybox have a lot of classic stocking fillers for great prices!

Interest? This is how to enter:
1. You need to sign up to Shopcade if you haven't already. You can do this here...
2. Follow either or both lists (Obviously mine, hehe) Play it Safe vs. Silly & Stupid
and it's as simple as that!

But if you think YOU can do BETTER then join in with the fun?
Make your own Christmas wishlist on the site (sign up here) and share it with the world. Let @Shopcade know about your list using the hastags #shopcade and #christmassorted and they will feature their favourites on the Trending feed.
Of course, there are some brilliant prizes to be won, so make sure your list is fab!
1st Place: Will win a personal shopping experience complete with £200 spending money. wow, just wow.
2nd Place: A beauty treat for yourself! After a stress free Shopcade Christmas, it's just what you'll need.
3rd Place: A jam-packed Hamper full of Christmas goodies!

Shopcade is a brilliant shopping app, packed with brands and the latest trends, make sure you've signed up to be in the chance of winning some ideal christmas goodies!

Car Booty'ing Bargains!

Over this summer, I didn't really do anything major fab, a lot of students (well young peeps, I just said peeps and I don't care, hehe) go travelling, clubbing holidays, festivals etc. but I spent mine with Family and I wouldn't have changed that if I could. To be honest I did that all last year, I went to Magaluf with my girls, saw a lot of bands I loved, even visited places around the UK and went to Leeds Festival, it was a great year. This year I found myself getting up at 5am to go to a carboot with my mum, we so crazay. I love carboots, they are just so fun - maybe not the early start but it's only for a couple of hours.

The first day, Sunday Morning of the Bank Holiday. Got there for about 6am, and before we had even set anything up, the proper car booters were already looking into our boxes and watching me unwrap the Crockery and China that we had cleared out from my Grandma's house. The first day was very successful we made about £80 and only £20 on the second day, a nice £50 each. Mum however was practically giving all of our stuff away, so it was a very good thing that I came along to help with the bartering - which I found out I'm not that shabby at ;) When my stepdad came to see how we were doing and delivered the clothes rail, me and mum went off to have a nosey at the other stalls. I purposely didn't bring my purse along with me so I didn't give into the temptation of buying anything... I obviously went back to get it but look what bargains I got!

Document bag/Leather Clutch - 50p

Charlotte Candle - Free

Clinique Pore Refining Solution - 50p

I found this gorgeous Brown Real Leather Clutch, the woman got up and straight away offered me it for 50p, yes, 50p. Instantly sold. It's actually meant to be a document holder for like passports and travel money etc, but I thought it would make a good clutch for a night out as it's just the right size to hold everything in and it seems pretty secure to hold everything when i'm a drunken mess (not that I ever get in such a state...). The lady saved it for me and I ran back to get my purse, my plan of not bringing it didn't work. When I got back I saw this cute Charlotte Candle and was like oh look mum, the lady then gave it to me as she had given up hope that there was any more Charlotte's left, bless. It does smell really nice and apparently i'm a lady of mystery, cheeky.
I also got this Clinique Pore Refining Solution. It was a bit of a risk buying this and I didn't really know what it was or did. I just saw Clinique and bought it, I had a spare 50p so why not? I actually really like this though, it makes my skin look and feel great and totally mattified. Definitely worth the risk, I may even buy it.

On the second day, Bank Holiday Monday, we didn't sell as much. Probably because we sold all the good stuff the day before. We even saw the same pro car-booty-goers and the same happened when we got there at 6.30am (had an extra 30 mins in bed) someone already wanted to buy our table. They didn't in the end, but the table had a lot of interest, a young lad wanted to buy it and said he would think about it. A man then came up to the stall and asked how much we were selling it for, we said about £6, he rudely said 'don't mean to offend you but I'll give you £3 for it.' bearing in mind that this a proper wood little coffee table, me and mum just looked at each other and sold it for £4 as we just wanted rid. We then saw the young lad walk past our stall with OUR TABLE which the man must have sold for more on his carboot, WHAT THE HELL IS THAT... (sorry, I re-lived my anger again, opps ahahaha) I actually was so shocked, and we were already not enjoying ourselves as much as yesterday as the buyers were rude and not saying morning back to me and no one was buying anything. So I angrily bought thee best Bacon Burger (with ketchup and BBQ sauce and obviously onions) I have ever had, cheered us both straight up! As soon as the clock hit 12pm we had already packed up and left.

However I did get this really cute Henry Holland Dress (well a long top) which was not a bad price and such a good find. I didn't think it would fit as it was a 12 and my boobs have never been in a size 12 for a good couple of years however it fits perfect, if anything it's a bit big of me. Proper confidence boost for me!

Henry Holland Dress £2.50

(sorry about the bad quality!)

Are you a regular car-booty-goer?

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Charlotte's August/September Buys

After my June/July post, I realised that I had a lot more too show you, which is why I waited til the end of August (now 1/4 through September oppps) to show you the rest of my buys, well bargains!

Primark £1.50
Sorry about the rubbed off label, I didn't even realise until I photographed it! But I bought this out of curiosity and because I'm very bad when it comes to queue impulse buying... why do you always think you need something in the little bowls or hangers just before you go to pay?! Very clever advertising if you ask me.
Anyway, at £1.50 it was a brilliant purchase. I love the colour and the good thing about this lipgloss stick, is that it doesn't have the sticky quality of a normal lipgloss.

Republic £4 (was £30)

I definitely think we all need to appreciate this beautiful bag. I have been on the hunt for months for a black leather rucksack and was having no luck. Until I went for an adventure checking out the new surroundings of my new house, and got a call from Lucy (my housemate/best friend) saying she has bought me a rucksack and she hopes I like it. 

When she got back home from town, I was in love. She was going to buy me the bag for my birthday, the bag is should have been £30 to £15 but when she got to the checkout, it scanned in at £4! Yes, only 4 little pounds! So she went back and got herself one too. I have already worn out my bag and broken the clasps off from carrying too much however I do plan to fix this and I still have been using it regardless, it just goes with everything. 

Urban Outfitters Boxes £5 (was £25 ish)

A while back we wandered into Urban Outfitters Sale and me and lucy saw this really cute box (the top picture, bottom box), it felt heavy so we were intrigued to see what was in the box, only to find a smaller box. I would have loved to of filmed our reaction because the smaller the boxes got, the more (over) excited we got. 5 lovely patterned boxes later, we were gutted that it ended, however rushed to the counter to buy them. For a fiver? A pound a box, bargain! I currently have my perfume and body/face bits in one, grips and bobbles etc in another, and some jewellery one and the a couple are empty! 

Tesco £6

I've been after a brown leather, small strap watch for AGES now and I finally found one in Tesco. Never thought I would have found it there, but hey ho, I love it. It's just what I wanted and all for £6. I currently have the problem that one hole is too tight and one hole is too loose, not a big problem but I don't want to break it!

I'm in love with The Body Shop at the moment. If you saw in my June/July post then you read that I bought The Body Shop 'Love Your Body' card. Such a good purchase, I went in a couple days after my birthday to use my free £5 off present they give you in your birthday month. I decided to buy the Beautifying Oil as I asked the lady what would be good for my dry hair and she suggested this as you can use it on your hair, body and face and even said you could use it a cuticle oil as well. I have used this on my face and sometimes my hair for nearly a month and I still have the majority of the bottle left. I really love this product at the moment and for £9 I did at first think it was a bit pricey however I only paid £3.10 for it - with my Body Card 10% discount and my £5 birthday deduction, the lady also put a Banana Shampoo and Conditioner sample (to see if it help with my damaged hair) and samples of Hemp Hand Protector and Almond Hand and Nail Cream.
I am going to do a full Birthday The Body Shop Haul very soon (promise! I may even do more than one post about it) as I got a lot more products and I want to tell you my opinions of them to you!

Here's an instagram picture of all the buys me and mother bought (the body butter and lipgloss is momma's)

What do you think of my buys?

Make sure you link me any of your recent buys, I love being nosey!

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REVIEW // Maybelline Colorshow Polka Dots in Rainforest Canopy

I'm a little slow on this bandwagon. I have heard only great things about the Limited Edition Maybelline Colorshow Polka Dot collection, which is available in four colours (Shooting Stars, Rainforest Canopy, Chalk Dust and Speckled Pink) and so far I'm not enjoying them as much as everyone else seems to be...

I was really excited to try these glitter/confetti nail varnishes. I only bought one shade, Rainforest Canopy, in this collection to try it out, admittedly I do wish I'd got the Shooting Stars shade however when I popped in to Superdrug there was literally none left so Rainforest Canopy it was.

I've tried this a couple of times now, and still having doubts about it but I'm going to try layering it on top of another nail varnish next.
First of all, I really like this colour, even though I wish I bought the Shooting Stars shade, I still really like this colour. If you have me on Instagram then you would have seen the post of my nails and my matching gym trousers, I have a couple of dresses the same colour too definitely a favourite of mine.
I found the nail varnish easy to apply, a little difficult around the sides of the nail but that's not much of a problem, and I love how quick it takes to dry, literally seconds.
I advise about 2-3 coats depending on the look you want to go for, I have been applying 3 coats as I like the green base to be fully covered, however I think that this is where the problem is. Every time I've painted my nails, they chip and peel off SO easily, it literally doesn't last over a day or two, which is what really annoys me. You are also best of peeling the nail varnish off (yes, I know its bad for the nail but it literally peels off) than using remover as it just takes the colour away and leaves the speckles on the nail, and then the cotton wool rips which is just a lot more effort!

I have been applying a topcoat onto my nails after they have dried to make sure they stay down and to give a more smoother texture, to stop the hex glitter catching on anything and everything.
I'm still a bit unsure about this nail varnish, I have just applied 2 coats and that seemed to last a bit longer. I've also found after painting my nails only a couple of times, I seem to have used just under half of the 7ml bottle already but for £2.99 I suppose it's not that bad!

Have you had the same troubles with Colorshow Polka Dots or are you loving it?

Link me your reviews!

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REVIEW // Topshop Lipstick Shade Rio Rio

When I was in London, I decided to finally treat myself to a couple of bits other than a meal out. So when we hit the massive Topshop in Oxford Street, I just couldn't help myself! I got a pair of awesome new sunglasses as my current ones are wonky and have been since I bought them from New Look last year. I decided it was time for a new, less embarrassing pair of sunnies which was a wise purchase as how amazing is this sun recently?! I'm writing this post very red and burnt and hopefully soon to be brown!

I also having been wanting a Topshop Lipstick since forever and have never been able to justify splashing out on a £8 lipstick (that's what unemployed student life does to you!). But I am now so glad I did, I got Lips in shade Rio Rio, something a little more daring to add to my lipstick collection, and I was getting a bit bored of my favourite Estée Lauder shade.

The Lips in Rio Rio is such a cute and adorable colour, especially when teamed with pink rosey cheeks and hair up in a little bun - which is how I have been styling it. Since I bought it I have worn it every day, it lasts all day you only have to apply it once and then you're set for a good couple of hours. I love the feel of the matte finish of this lipstick and how it doesn't come off that easily, which is always ideal when you have a boyfriend who is avoids a kiss when you have lipstick on!

Overall I really recommend this lipstick especially in this shade, I'm really hard to find good lipstick colour as not much really suits me (especially black and purple...) so I've found that as Rio Rio isn't too much of a deep red for me and it goes with basically everything. Who doesn't love a red lip?! Now I just want to buy the whole Topshop Lips collection, regardless if they don't all suit me.

What's your favourite shade in Topshop's Lips? Have you got any other shade recommendations?

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Benefit Mini Makeover in Debenhams

As we were trawling round the shops looking for our awkward friends birthday present- how annoying when you have a really picky friend and you just have no idea what she wants/needs! Anyway, in the end we came back with nothing other than a makeover which I suppose is better.

We were making our way round Debenhams and a woman stopped us and asked us if we had used any Benefit Cosmetics before, and honestly, both us haven't really used any of the Benefit range. Other than Charlotte, who's just got the 'Fake Up Mascara' sample with this months Elle magazine, which she has fallen in love with! So were thought we'd do a blog post of the outcome and what products they used on us, however unfortunately we haven't got any decent pictures of what it looked like after the makeover.

Charlotte:
First of all, we were both quite surprised that neither of the sales assistants didn't take off our make up before they applied their Benefit products.
The girl who did my make up was so cool, actually it's very rude of me to forget her name, oppsey. We was chatted about uni and bars/clubs in Leeds, she told us some really cool new places to go to. She used a lot more products on my face than Tori's sales assistant did, which I was happy about as I've got a huge make up to buy list, which I just keep adding stuff onto so this really didn't help.

She did half of my face first to compare to what my face actually looked like without their products on, this is what she put on my face in order (from what I can remember):

1. It's potent! Eye cream £24.50
This felt brilliant on my eyes, not only can you feel the cold freshness when you're putting it on but it just feels like it is working. It treats the dark circles under your eyes- which at the moment I have a lot of, leaving your eyes looking brighter and smoother under eyes.
2. The POREfessional £24.50
This is the UK's best selling primer, which I didn't know. I've heard such great things about this, and I have never worn a primer before ever and I've been very eager to try out one, and I just don't know why I haven't got this in my life. She blended it onto my skin, and it just felt unreal, it was so smooth and silky over my face and it has Vitamin E in it. This is definitely on my to buy list!
3. Boo Boo Zap! £13.50
I've not heard of this product before and I do find the description a bit unbelievable 'say "bye bye" to boo boos with this fast-acting invisible acne treatment. It purifies and dries out blemishes and reduces the appearance of acne-related redness and swelling' which just seems like a magic potion, but the lady was like no, I thought the same and then I tried it! So she put a bit on my lovely blemish that I have at the moment, but I think that for it to work you may have to put it on more than once to see the effects work, so I can't really say if it works or not.
4. Erase Paste £19.50
The lady then brought a pot of this Erase Paste over, and she said 'this is like industrial strength stuff' which worried me a bit. This concealer doesn't just cover up the blemish amazingly (it was basically gone and it's not a small blemish either) but it also brightens the skin and helps heal the spot.
She put the Paste on next to the spot and then blended it over, she must have been blending for a good couple of minutes which was so awkward. By this point Tori had finished her makeover and was watching the woman basically massage my spot, not something I'd want to do to myself, regardless to someone else!
5. Fake Up £18.50
This product again has had so much rave about, this isn't just your average concealer. It has a hydrating ring around the outside, with Vitamin E and apple seed extract which gives immediate hydration and a concealing core which helps hide them dark circles, smoothes the skin and diffuses light. I found that it does the whole lot, my eyes looked so much brighter and less 'exam period' looking, they also feel great now!
6. You Rebel £24.50
I'm not sure whether I liked this product or not, I quite like my pale look with (attempted) contoured cheeks, nothing too bronzed or blushed. With this tinted moisturiser I just wasn't keen on it, especially after taking photos of the make over, my skin just looks really blotchy and a funny orange/tanned colour.
7. Hervana £23.50
I love the idea of this blush you have the best of everything, you can swirl your brush around them all for an orchid blossom blush colour or just use each colour separately for blush, contouring and highlighting.
8. They're Real £19.50
I already had this one my eyelashes, as I have this mascara and I love it, the brush is amazing, it makes my eyelashes look really long, however she shouldn't have put another coat on as it made them all clump together.
9. Ultra Plush Lip Gloss £14.50
The make up artist put this really nice lip gloss in shade 'All MH' an orange colour on my lips, it smelt and tasted amazing, however i'm not a fan of lip gloss because it's just more faff than it's worth, getting your hair all in it and it comes off too quickly, so I wouldn't buy this product.
0. Refined Finish Facial Polish £18.50
The lady actually just put this on the back of my hand to show me the difference from one hand to the other, and it difference was incredible, the exfoliator left my skin brighten and so much more smoother. The polish contains natural clay and seaweed extract to purify the skin.

Overall I was quite happy with my time at the Benefit counter, the makeup artist also put some eyeshadow on my eyes which looks really nice, and as much as I wanted most of the products she used on my face we both awkwardly had to say we'll come back soon! God, having no money sucks!


Tori:
My makeup artist also did half of my face to compare with the other half!

1. It's potent! Eye cream £24.50
I really liked this product. It's not something I normally use but the cool cream on your face did make your skin feel refreshed and mineralised and it did make a difference the skin around your eyes. The down side to a product like this is maybe the price.

2. The POREfessional £24.50
I have been wanting a primer for a while but wasn't sure what was the best brand to get. I love how smooth it made your skin feel and you could really tell the difference. I am definitely going to consider buying this product.

3. High Beam £19.50

I have thought about buying enhancer before and as it's nice to draw attention to your eyes and applying it on your cheek bones however I would like to try another brand maybe to compare and i thought the women might have applied it a little bit too heavily on my face.

4. You Rebel £24.50
I have never really worn tinted moisturiser before and although it felt nice and may be suitable for around the house and a trip to the gym but I don't intend on purchasing it. I prefer a better coverage achieved by foundation it made our skin look slightly strange.

5. Benetint £24.50
When I normally do my own makeup I use the Mac Mineralise Metallic Finish Bronzing Powder for my cheeks, however the makeup artist used a the Benetint in Rose for my cheeks which is water based. She applied it by three whiskers on my cheeks and then blending them in while I was smiling. She also applied this to my lips. This is a personal choice but I wouldn't recommend this Cheek stain as it looked a little bit too much however it did look quite nice on my lips and it lasted ages, so would be great on a night out.

Overall I didn't really enjoy my experience at the Benefit counter, the woman was more bothered about trying to sell the products to me than what products would look best on me.


Also, on another note, we have a blog button, a Facebook page and a Twitter account! Hooray for us! You can get our blog button off the sidebar and let us know if you use it because we'd love to swap buttons. Our Facebook and Twitter links are on the bunting on the sidebar too, but we have just linked them on the post as well.
Make sure you check out Abby from Beauty and a Blogger and Kerri from Lorella Lily they are great beauty blogs!

What Primers do you recommend? We are both looking for one!

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A little bit of me...

Hey, I'm Tori!
I thought I'd do a brief introduction of myself so you know a little bit about me!

Age:
18
Studying:
English Literature
Star sign:
Leo
Favourite food:
Ready salted crisp, creamy mash, steak!
If you could have anyone's wardrobe who would it be:
Alex Chung, Fearne Cotton, Cara Delevingne
What is your favourite item in your wardrobe at the moment:
Topshop boyfriend jacket/blazer
Favourite animal:
PUGS
Favourite shop:
Topshop, Urban Outfitters, Primark, Charity and vintage shops
Favourite magazine:
from Look and company to Vogue
Man crush:
Harry Styles, Channing Tatum, Olly Murs, Jude Law
Favourite programme:
An idiot abroad, Coronation street, Made in Chelsea
If you could go back in time where would you go:
60s
Hobbies:
Running, Skiing, Shopping, Socialising, Reading and BLOGGING