January 2013 Favourites

Well thank god January is over for another year! Of all the months in a year I find January to be my least favourite! Everyone's overindulged and overspent at Christmas, Christmas is now very far away indeed and just in general it's cold and miserable!
So what beauty bits have been getting me through this drag of a month I hear you cry?!
Well first on the list is Avon's Advance Techniques 360 Nourishment Moroccan Argan Oil leave in treatment. A little goes an awfully long way with this little bottle of pleasure! I like to use just one pump and rub between my hands and work it into my hair starting at the ends where I have the most damage. I always enjoy the days that I use this because my hair just feels...better! It's softer, more manageable and shinier than its been in a really long time. Too much of this though can weigh your hair down so use sparingly for best results! You can pick this up from your local Avon Rep or from their website normally £5.50 it's currently reduced to £3.85! And if you spend £20 or more you get free delivery!
Next up to the stage is The Body Shop's Mango Body Mist. A long time devotee to their Body Butters the Mango scent is my favourite! I've been using these sprays for nearly a year now and I always repurchase this one. I often use it combined with the mango Body Butter and it just gives a lovely sweet fruity scent and its highest praise was given by my friend Emma... SJ what have you sprayed? I don't know what it is but it smells like I want to eat you... Currently £5.25 these come in a variety of scents or 'flavours' if you're my friend Emma...




Ojons Glossing Mist is also a firm favourite this month, a beautifully light mist this adds instant shine to your hair without it looking greasy and although the smell is not to my taste it really does deliver on what it says on the bottle which is 'a lightweight mist of pure shine'
Two products from Rimmel made the cut in January, as always Rimmel Stay Matte powder which I just can't live without to set my make up especially with my oily Tzone! The other product is the Scandaleyes Waterproof Kohl Kajal eyeliner in 005 Nude. The perfect nude for my waterline! I hate wearing bright white eyeliner on the waterline it just makes me look scary and a bit deranged! This nude however is so natural and I just look more awake with it on!
Natural Collections waterproof mascara in black also gets a mention this month. Having left it at my boyfriends I'd almost forgotten about it but when I stay there every time I reach for this and it does a decent job, no flaking and is easily removed. It even survived a snowball to my face from a 6 year old...
Also in permanent use at the boyfriends house is Sleeks Au Naturel eye palette. I have had so many good looks out of this, its so versatile and definitely deserves a place this month!
Adorning my nails is Boots No7 Speed Dry nail varnish in 'Iced Mocha' a beautiful bronze, it's elegant and lasts a good 3-4 days without chipping!
Ahhh and now to Benefits They're Real Mascara. Our affair has now been going on since Christmas Day and I think I may be wearing it out!!! I have loved every minute with this mascara!!! It was unexpectedly put to the test recently when in a rather spontaneous act for me, I decided to get into a hot tub at my friend Beth's house! Lucky girl has a 12 seater tub on the decking in her garden so of course 11 people and 3 rubber ducks got in to enjoy an evening of drinks and laughter.... I was super hesitant oh my goodness I thought, there goes my mascara... And then it rained! Full on threw it down and blew a gale to boot! Warm from the neck down my poor face felt like it'd been slapped with an icy fish! After 10 mins I went inside to inspect the damage, fearing the worst after seeing my friend Hannah retire to the safety of the living room before me with mascara running down her cheeks... But there mine was still in tact and not budged... Think it's more than an affair now I am full on in love!

Have you used any of these? What do you think of them?

Much love,

SJ xxx

Huge Estée Lauder, MAC, Clinique, Origins, Smashbox, Ojon Haul!

As I mentioned in my last post Saturday was the day of my long awaited visit to the Estée Lauder Factory Shop! To explain a little further, I live about 30 minutes from one of Estée Lauder's factories/laboratories and every so often they kindly give their staffs friends and family access to visit the shop on site. You need to be given a ticket from an employee to be able to visit.
I was lucky enough to get a ticket for any Saturday in January so of course I waited until after pay day so I had a little extra to spend! Most of the items available in the shop are either old lines, limited editions, or discontinued and end of line although there are also current items some maybe discounted simply because they don't have a box or they may have been repackaged or redesigned. A lot is heavily discounted as you will see below. The picture is a selection of some of the bits and pieces I picked up....



As you can see its a fairly big haul but there is still other bits I haven't included simply as they are end of line or not particularly interesting!

I have tried to list them from left to right from the top on each row and swatches will follow in another post!
Ojon Damage Reverse travel kit, Clinique Repairwear Deep Wrinkle Concentrate, Good Skin Labs Filextra, Origins A Perfect World UV SPF35 Face Protector, Ojon Damage Reverse Restorative Smoothing Glaze, Estée Lauder Pure Colour Powder Gelee in 01 Shimmering Sands, Smashbox Photo Op Eyeshadow Palette in Muse, MAC Big Bounce Shadow in Trophy, Estée Lauder Idealist Pore Minimizing Skin Refinisher, MAC Lustre Lipstick in Syrup, Estée Lauder Double Wear in Dawn, MAC Mineralize Skin finish in Lightscapade, MAC Pearlmatte Face Powder in Flower Fantasy, MAC - Future Length Lash Serum, Supreme Sheen Lipstick in Insanely It, Lipglass in Casual Air, Pro Longwear Lipglass in Patience Please and Clinique Defining Power Mascara in 01 Black Onyx.

Can't wait to use these! Is there anything you want to see a more in depth review on?

Much love,

SJ xxx

Marks And Spencer's Beauty Hall

This week I went to meet a colleague for a coffee near to her home as we are currently undergoing some training together and it's handy to be able to check in on each others progress ya know? Check that your not feeling left behind and swamped down with work!

We decided upon a Marks and Spencer's cafe for our little rendezvous and after wandering through the huge building right to the middle to get to the cafe part we sat down to warm our tums with some hot chocolate for my friend and a hot lemon concoction for me! Toasty and warm and feeling rather smug about being spot on with our work and the progress we'd made we happily parted ways to go to our cars, my friend left to go out one exit and I went the opposite direction to an exit near to my car.

My exit route was of course delayed when I saw the signage happily pointing me towards the Beauty Hall and I remembered that last year sometime the Marks and Spencer's beauty sections had all been revamped! Chomping at the bit with curiosity, it's not often I go to Marks and Spencer's you see, I power walked as fast as my little legs would carry me to sneak a peak!

Wow! I was so pleasantly surprised, well lit counters with staff on hand to help you with their own brand make up which also includes a mineral line, there was a wall of perfume displaying all their different scents which incidentally are normally what I go in for! The small 100ml bottles are just right for air travel yet reasonably priced so you wouldn't be devastated if it broke in transit! There is of course all the old faves like Royal Jelly for your Nanny at Christmas but there's also a huge range of other brands as well!

Suddenly I was faced with a sizeable display of Leighton Denny nail varnish! The top coat is to die for by the way! There was a good range with everything from colour to cuticle treatments!

Turning around the corner I revelled in shelves full of Ren skincare and Nuxe products topped off with a further display for hair care housing the likes of Philip Kingsley's Elasticizer!

It took all my self restraint not to pick up some goodies on my journey through these aisles, there were so many lovely products but I knew I had to be good for on Saturday I was visiting the Estée Lauder Factory Shop! You need a friend or family member that works there to get a ticket and I'm lucky enough to come buy one a few times a year so my hard earned and saved pennies stayed in my pocket!

A little late to the party but I loved browsing this little slice of beauty heaven and next time my mum wants to go to Marks and Spencer's instead of getting my dad to take her I may just pop along with her and let her leave me in the crèche...ahem, sorry, Beauty Hall!

Have you been to your local Marks and Spencer's Beauty Hall lately and loved it?

Coming up next I'll be telling you what happened when I was let loose in the Estée Lauder factory shop...

Hope you had a lovely weekend!

Much love,

SJ xxx

Cosmopolitan Beauty Magazine Special

As most of you will know last week I had to work away in Milton Keynes (result! our hotel was opposite the maaahooosive shopping centre and the Debenhams had a MAC counter!) now unfortunatley this did involve a rather long drive, 2hours 30 minutes to be exact. Being Miss organised I naturally had my iphone stocked full of good tunes and snacks and drinks a plenty just in case but sometimes you just have to make a stop to go to the ladies room... of course I had flushable disposable toilet seat covers so no big deal and I got ready to hop back into the car but something made me wander into WH Smiths. I thought it would be nice to have a magazine to read in the bath or if I couldn't sleep and had finished the one I packed into my bag. Browsing the shelves I spotted this little ahem... Beauty!

I did um and ah about the price tag...£5.99 for a magazine?! But there's 178 pages in this bad boy solely dedicated to my favourite topic...normally I'll pay £2-3 for a mere 5-6 pages so I figured cost per page I was winning!
It took me a while to read through these 178 pages so do forgive me for not having reviewed this until now! It's the first ever issue of Cosmo Beauty and its also matched with a sister issue Cosmo Body which I also picked up! The body issue is dedicated to health, well being and exercise and costs slightly less at £4.99 although is actually a thicker volume than its more expensive Beauty counterpart but on closer inspection its just thicker paper for the pages! As someone who is trying to be more healthy this year it's definitely something I feel is worth reading and we all know that beauty starts from within! A healthy diet and exercise can work wonders for the skin hair and nails!

So back to the Beauty issue! Cosmo claim to have tried and tested gazillions of products, collated the best advice, treatments, make up, products and hairstyles to ensure the next 12 months will be beautiful!
My particular loves from this lovely little magazine were the Your Year In Nails feature on page 35 separating select colours into seasons and although I'm not one for limiting myself to reds in the winter and pastels in the summer I definitely spotted a few I wanted to add to my collection. Barry M Strawberry Ice Cream for spring, Essie's Bachelorette Bash in summer, O.P.I Nail Laquer in Glitzerland for autumn and Butter London Laquer in Big Smoke as a winter colour!
For hair care I was particularly interested to read 'Get long hair fast' to glean some tips to help my GHD ravaged hair grow faster!
One of the highlights I felt though, as this really stood out, was page 134's '82 Brilliant Beauty Buys You'll Adore'! Covering everything from make up to cleansing and anti ageing and sun care this glorious article offers premium and budget options where possible meaning even when we're in need of a beauty recommendation we can still work to our own budgets! So now when it's the end of the month and I've spent too much money (Chanel, I am looking at you with your tempting spring collection!) I know I can look to this for a beauty recommendation to suit the money, or lack of, in my account!
Finally on a similar theme if saving money is your New Years resolution then '40 Ways To Get Beautiful On A Budget' is for you! It lets you know what to spend on and what to save on!

No7 Beautiful Skin Hydration Mask

So now I am most definitely back from my work travels! Thankfully we made it through the snow and were safe and sound before the worst of it hit!

Today I want to tell you about a lovely product that has been perking up my skin no end since its trial on my trip away! It's the Boots No7 Beautiful Skin Hydration Mask, purchased as an alternative to the Origins Intensive Drink Up mask. Now I love my Origins mask but it can be a little pricey and as those generous lovelies at Boots were dishing out No7 vouchers a couple of weeks ago I thought I would pick this up and use this in conjunction with my Origins to make it last longer otherwise with all this insanely cold weather I'll be slapping a mask on almost nightly to rescue my winter skin!

Normally my skins quite oily so winter always catches me unawares and before I know it I have dry patches! I must say that on purchasing this mask it swirled round in a beautiful patter in the packaging however obviously travelling did not agree with it and it seems a little scrambled.
Designed for dry/very dry skin this mask has been 'created to help your dry skin behave like normal skin' so with cheeks as red as Rudolphs nose from walking back to my hotel that night I quickly pulled this out of my bag of tricks and descended on the bathroom, cleansing first to take off all my make up. For best results the bottle suggested sweeping generously over your face avoiding the eye area and leaving on for 3 minutes before rinsing off or using tissue to remove. It also suggests 10 minutes for a more intense treat.
I quickly pumped 3 larges pumps into my hand...it was as if I could feel my skin getting drier than a camels bottom! Quickly massaging it on it instantly felt soothing. The smell was pleasant a bit like sun cream and baby lotion but wasn't overpowering. Face mask on, pyjamas on, room service ordered... WORLD SAVED! Or at least it felt like it! 30 mins later I still had not removed the mask but the threat of room service knocking on the door was imminent so I took myself back to the bathroom to tissue off the mask before rinsing except there wasn't a lot to tissue off! My thirsty skin had drunk the lot! So I rinsed my skin and patted it dry and took it for closer inspection to the zoomy mirror thing. So far so good, redness gone! I touched my cheeks and they felt lovely and soft. It hadn't left me greasy at all! Bargain! And the best surprise was the next morning when I applied my make up it left me with no cakes dry patches at all!
I also used this again last night as I knew I had to spend several hours outside today in the cold and wow when I got back no dry patches and it didn't feel like I'd subjected my skin to the Arctic!

A lovely product I intend to keep using this winter!

What are your favourite winter skin treatments?

Much love,

SJ xxx

Clynol Colour & Care Enrich Shampoo

Now when it comes to hair care I'll admit to being easily pleased... A pleasant scent and a soft mop of hair on my bonce is enough for me! Enter stage left Bumble and Bumble Creme De Coco shampoo... Exit stage right out of the shower a happy SJ with hair smelling of coconut! This shampoo even made it onto my 2012 favourites list... So if it isn't broken why am I fixing it?

In my last post I told you about my work trip away so now i am sat in my soft hotel bed that's just asking for me to bounce up and down on it and I've spent the last two nights testing some lovely products I brought along!

Originally I packed some Clinique Happy fragranced shampoo but at the last minute I threw this little Clynol number into my bag. Discarded in a draw from a Glossybox last year being so happy with my Bumble and Bumble I had no use for it.

Having extremely heat damaged hair that's had a 9 year relationship with GHD's and every 8 weeks is subject to course of bleach and blonde highlights i really should take better care of my colour!

Stepping into the power shower in the hotel bathroom my hair was drenched in seconds. I poured on a generous 50 pence piece sized blob of the Clynol Shampoo onto my head and lathered it up a treat...

The first thing that struck me was how easy it was to work this through my hair without getting my hair horrifically tangled like it normally does under a forceful shower! I was so impressed I almost didn't notice the lovely smell enveloping me behind the shower curtain. It smelled a little like what would happen if Ghost perfume and Fairy Liquid had a baby! Beautiful but clean smelling! I like....

Now this shampoo is supposed to give diamond like shine on account of the 'liquid jewel extract' in it and its also to prevent fading thanks to its dedicated UV filter... Um well it was snowing so no chance of that today! But my hair was much more shiny than it normally is without my Ojon Glossing Mist.

All in all really glad I tried this and exceptionally tempted to purchase a bottle of this lovely goodness! I think though I am going to save this beauty for when my hair is freshly coloured and concentrate on using up 2 bottles of damage repair shampoo to try and rescue my heat tortured locks first! Definitely a well earned 4.5/5 for this shampoo though!

Much love,

SJ xxx

A night or two away...

Luckily my job involves a fair bit of travelling which normally means an overnight stay or 5 in a hotel. Now don't get me wrong I miss my boyfriend like mad and would much rather have him there with me, there's something about being in a hotel...you know what I mean! But occasionally i use these little trips away to relax in the evenings just on my own. Normally I get to use a gym and go for a relaxing swim, steam room and sauna before retiring to a posh hotel room with a big double bed (starfish alert!). I'll order myself something scrummy from room service and I always take a big bottle of fizzy peach water with me (I don't drink alcohol, messes up my skin and I hate the taste!) and after having my dinner I'll go for a nice long shower or a bath and believe me this is where it gets good...

I pile into the shower with a good shampoo and conditioner and give my hair a really good lather, think the old herbal essences ads, and whack on a conditioner before wrapping my hair in a turban whilst I concentrate on the rest of me! Tomorrows shampoo and conditioner of choice are a Clinique Happy set that are travel friendly sized and came in a set early on in 2012 and I just haven't got round to using them yet.
Keeping on the travel friendly sized theme I will then be reaching for my Body Shop White Musk shower gel, from a conveniently timed gift set my brothers lovely (hopefully sister in law to be, hint hint lil bro!) girlfriend, Hazel, bought me for Christmas.
After washing out all the conditioner and drying off I like to slip into either a fluffy white towel bathrobe or some lovely silk pyjamas and do a full on face mask or treatment! Now when I go away I like to use the alone time to test new products so tomorrow I am taking a very special additional make up bag with me containing different lotions, potions and treatments to try. Tomorrow nights post will reveal what they are!
So with face mask on and body lotion rubbed everywhere I can reach I'll be painting my toes next. I have opted for this nude 'No 7 Stay Perfect' polish, classic and timeless in colour these polishes last really well on toes! I'm currently wearing it on my fingers for that 'just manicured' look.
So after completing these I wait for them to dry before popping on my moisturising booties and settle into the big comfy bed with a magazine and a peppermint tea and have a face time sesh with the boyfriend... Blissful pamper night completed...

And lucky me this time I am staying 2 nights away so Wednesday night will be a welcomed repeat but with some slightly different products!

What are your travel essentials for short breaks away from home? Do you love these little routines as well?

Much love,

SJ xxx

2012 Favourites

Personally I loved 2012, I had an absolute ball with my friends, we laughed we cried (often with more laughter) and had a very memorable holiday celebrating the wedding of the century!

Having been such a jam packed year socially I had to up my beauty game somewhat! Like those afraid to attend multiple social occasions in the same frock I like to be experimental and outgoing with my make up and constantly look for the latest lotion potion or contraption to go for a better look than before!

Below are what I have picked to be the best of all the products I tried, tested and loved last year!
Some are firm favourites and have been for years and others are new discoveries that have gained themselves a coveted spot in my make up bag or skin care shelf. I've placed my faves into categories as ever the OCD and list maker I just find this methodical and easy. So here goes I recommend you have a cup of tea and a digestive... we could be here a while...

Favourite Nail Polish
Essie 'Fiji'
A beautiful pale pink shade this has literally been my go to colour all year! It takes a couple of coats to get a fully opaque look from this polish but it is just so easy to wear. The formulation is lovely and the new wider brush makes for an even application. Covered with a quick slick of Seche Vite top coat I can normally get a good 4-5 days wear out of this without so much as the tiniest of chips appearing.

Favourite Eye Product
Maybelline Colour Tattoo in 'On and On Bronze'
This one was a no brainer for me! It hasn't left my daily make up bag since I parted with my Boots advantage card points to buy it! A gorgeous bronze cream shadow this really is a lifesaver on those mornings where I just don't have time to anything more than a quick 10 minutes to do anything with my face. This gives the effect that you have spent a great deal more time than you actually have and is easily applied using your fingers or a brush whatever floats yours boat.

Favourite Foundation
Rimmel Wake Me Up foundation
This accolade had to go to Rimmels wake me up! Whilst I've enjoyed flirtatious with maybelline super stay and numerous bb creams many of which I have loved this product comes out on top! I've reached for this almost daily for the dewy finish it gives and the drugstore price tag just means is has winner written all over it! I wear the shade 201 classic beige in case you were wondering...

Favourite Lip Product
This was a real tough one but the winner has to be Tarte Maracuja lip gloss in the shade 'Casey'. A beautiful nude colour this is a my lips but better shade with a minty taste. It's not sticky, it's long wearing and this particular shade goes well with any look!

Favourite Mascara
Clinique High Impact Mascara in Black
I have loved this mascara for many years now and I still love it now even though I am currently having an affair with Benefits They're Real! This is the mascara I used most this year and still the one I turn to for my day to day look. It's large, thick brush separates the lashes and adds volume and length without clumping. On first use of a new tube this is very wet so I always like to start a new one before I reach the end of a tube I'm already using. The best thing I love about this mascara though is that it stays black, at the end of the day it hasn't greyed at all.

Favourite Blusher
Tarte Amazonian Clay 12 hour blush in 'Adventurous'
Tarte is a brand I only just discovered in 2012 and man am I glad I picked up this little beauty! A shimmery rose colour this blush, whilst it looks darker in the pan, actually gives a very natural 'glowy' flush to the cheeks. It's shimmery without making your cheeks sparkle like a glitterball as the shimmer seems very finely milled. Although a discovery made in the later part of 2012 it's spot as top blusher this year is well earned!

Favourite Primer
Mac prep+prime
Now I know this isn't everyone's cup of tea but something about this primer just works for me to keep my make up in place. Only needing the tiniest pea sized amount I dot this over my face, buff in and after 5 mins I have a perfect base to work with.

Favourite Brushes
Real Techniques
I love love love these brushes! Shown in the picture is the core collection, my favourite being the buffing brush which I find very multipurpose and have used it for everything from blusher to bronzer and also foundation. Soft and long lasting when taken care of I reach for these brushes every single day!

Favourite Fragrance
Michael Kors 'Very Hollywood'
As you can tell by the empty bottle this bad boy did not stick around for long! I wore this all through the end of summer into winter so it really is a scent I will purchase again. Normally I opt for a lighter, more floral fragrance in summer and the. Something a little deeper in winter but this is just the right balance to wear at any time I think.

Favourite Hair Care
This year I have loved Bumble and Bumble, and in particular the Creme de Coco shampoo and conditioner. I have quite dry and damaged hair so I always use a conditioner and I have repair masks that I love to slather on for a deep treatment but this shampoo is quite the cleanser. My hair always felt so much cleaner after using this, it's been a week since this last bottle finished and I'll be honest, I miss it! Maybe it's the clean feeling or the lovely coconut smell that reminds me of somewhere far away from my work desk but I am hanging on to the last bit of the conditioner until I can stock up on these again!

Favourite Skin Care (face)
Now for this it really was a 3 way tie!
Firstly I love a good scrub and treatment and the best I have gotten by mitts on this year is the No 7 from Boots Microdermabrasion exfoliator! Oh my goodness one use and I thought I had a new face! Honestly after using this my face just looked fresh!
Moisturisers I have been a bit of a two-timer depending on my mood using Vichy's Idealia on drier days, this little pink cream is just lovely, and L'Occitane's Ultra Matte Face Fluid which contains red rice extract and zinc to rebalance the skin for those Oily days! We all have them I am sure! Additionally the L'Occitane one is fab in the absence of a good primer!

Favourite Skin Care (body)
Although not shown I have been using Soap And Glory's Clean On Me nearly all year and the Clinique Sparkle Skin exfoliator. Both do the job and smell delicious to boot...what's not to love. This year though I am going to try and get more into trying bits for this category!

So there you have it my loves, those are my 2012 favourites!

What did you love in 2012 and what are you most looking forward to trying this year?

Much love,

SJ xxx

Really real! Really? Really!

I must of had the above exchange of words at least once a day since Christmas...

Little bro can always be relied upon at Christmas for a truly lovely present, living in London, access to a city full of some of the worlds best shopping is on his doorstep! A most generous soul he always likes to have a list that he can pick a lovely gift from so it is a surprise...all together now awwwww!

This year though I returned from my holibobs a mere 10 days before Christmas resulting in me running round like a blue bottomed creature trying to get things done. However 2 weeks blissfully shopping my little heart out in the good old US of A rendered me unable to make a Christmas list of any shape or size... Shocking I know!

You would think being a beauty addict that I would be in to trying all different brands of all different kinds of make up right? Well yes, except when it comes to mascara... I have been faithful to one product for a solid few years now! I began to get itchy feet and contemplate an alternative after seeing the launch of the Benefit They're Real in my local Boots. Well now I gazed at the display, the stunning before and after results and walked away despite the sales assistants best efforts to convince me otherwise. Later in 2012 not even the offer of a free travel size tube with full size purchase was enough to tempt me from the safety of the little dark green tube of Clinique comfort that constantly occupied my make up bag...

So I decided that, being Christmas and all and new year looming I should live dangerously and ask for a new mascara! All set to enter Selfridges and procure himself a little green tube of goodness he'd purchased for me several times before I had to gently suggest I was wanting to try something new! And so off he toddled to his nearest stockist, walked in and asked 'the nice lady with the red lipstick' where he could find the 'They're Real mascara' and happy days there it was under my tree on Christmas morning ready for me to try!

If I could rewind back to when I first walked up to the launch display in Boots I would most definitely have purchased and I kick myself now that I left it this long!

Sitting in my Christmas jumper I took it out the box and there it was a shiny grey tube and despite living in my make up bag ever since it still looks good as new! Normally I manage to get the writing on any product rubbed off within a week! Opening the bottle I saw the very same plastic wand that convinced me all that time ago that I wouldn't like it, I just don't get on with plastic mascara wands I prefer a nice big brush!

Applying it cautiously to my eyelashes I was amazed at how smoothly it went on, fairly wet and very black which I loved, the plastic wand instead of clumping the lashes together kept them separated whilst with each layer I put on the volume and length began building! Well now I was amazed and slightly in love with this mascara.

When using it though I would certainly beware of the following... I find the plastic brush a little tricky still... It's very hard and a slip of the hand and its easy to feel a little pain from this. It does also dry fairly quickly so I like to apply coats one over the other straight away. Finally it is a little hard to remove... Not really a bad point for mascara I certainly don't want it flaking off onto my face! A little Bioderma on a cotton pad followed my my normal cleanser was needed to remove it fully!

I love the results using this mascara! And people have certainly noticed a difference!

Have you tried it? If so what do you think? I would love to know leave me a comment if you have and what you thought of it!

Much love,

SJ xxx

Welcome!

Welcome to Beauty In the Bank!

My name is SJ and for my first post I just wanted to let you all know a little bit about this blog and how it came about....

Sitting comfortably?

You may be thinking what do banks and beauty have to do with each other? Well not a great deal on the surface except that my bank account suffers on a near daily basis with my addiction to all things beauty related... Thing is I actually work for a bank and owing to my endless supply of make up and skin care tips and freebies to my colleagues from the lesser used parts of my collection it was soon a case of beauty advice... In the bank!

So now I am putting pen to paper, or fingertips to my iPad keyboard if you will, to share the tips, tricks, reviews and general all round excitement that comes with finding the perfect lipstick shade!

There will be reviews, first impressions of products, a sprinkle of hauls and no doubt wish lists of wonderful products I am lusting after! I will also be on the hunt for dupes on the high street, sharing my all time favourites with you and of course tutorials and occasional 'what's on my face' posts!

Of course if there is anything you want to see or requests let me know in the comments! Thank you for reading and I really hope you enjoy Beauty In The Bank!

Much love,

SJ xxx