Category: reviews

beauty, make up, reviews

Make Up Menu – Revlon Ultra HD Matte Liquid Lipstick

ramblingmads

I like a bold matte lip, gloss just sticks my hair to my mouth and recently I swatched the new Revlon liquid lipsticks (a product I love btw, much easier to apply and slides on easy).

Revlon seems to be reformatting a lot of their products and streamlining their range and I think these beauties are here to stay.

Despite being blonde with very pale skin, I don’t really go for pale lip colours, preferring a bold purple or red, so I made a beeline for the purple hued one, sadly Superdrug were out of stock, but I will return for it.

Instead I went for the deep pink of Obsession (one of my personal bugbears – the terrible names given to make up shades), which, while it could be punchier, is great for every day wear.

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Devotion (top), Obsession (bottom)

In my Glamour Summer Edit from Latest in Beauty there was the nude/pink shade Devotion – which they reckon is the perfect shade for anyone, which I’m not 100% sure about as different skin tones suit different shades, even before you take personality and taste into consideration.

To be honest I don’t think you need to build up the colour as they’re quite pigmented, perhaps if you were using the paler shades you might want to.

It lasted fairly well, although I’m not the best judge as I have a terrible habit of licking and chewing on my bottom lip, having to reapply lip balm all the time, so I probably eat more lip products than anything else. 

If you prefer a glossy lip, slick a clear gloss over the top for added shimmer.

Have you tried Revlon’s new liquid lipsticks? Thoughts? Let me know in the comments.

books, reviews

Book Review: The Haunting of Hill House – Shirley Jackson

ramblingmads

I don’t believe in ghosts, in things that go bump in the night, I grew up in a house that’s the best part of 200 years old and felt perfectly happy, I wandered around Hampton Court Palace and didn’t notice a single cold spot or headless Ann Boleyn.

I think ghost hunters and stories work best if you’re susceptible to them, and that’s certainly what happens when Eleanor is invited to spend a summer in the supposedly sinister Hill House by Dr Montague.

There are strange noises, cold spots, singing coming from empty rooms and blood dripping down the walls. As Eleanor, Theodora, Luke and the Doctor spend their nights trapped in Hill House, they all start to go a bit odd.

They become suspicious of one another, listening at doors and watching each other. Their paranoia knows no bounds. When Dr Montague’s wife and her ‘friend’ arrive to test the house’s manifestations, the whole thing begins to boil over.

The claustrophobia of the house, combined with the sinister layout and the apparent religious fervour of its builder, create a heady atmosphere for people, like Eleanor and Theodora (picked by the Dr for their supposed psychic sensitivity), and drives things to a tragic conclusion.

Jackson is a wonderful writer, her work is atmospheric and sinister, I loved We Have Always Lived in the Castle, which played out like an extended locked room mystery with its cast of characters self-imposed prisoners in one big, slightly creepy house, and here she presents another.

I wasn’t scared, but intrigued by the premise, is the house sinister because the Dr has told them it is, or is there truly something there? You decide.

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beauty, beauty boxes, latest in beauty, make up, reviews

Latest in Beauty – The Girls’ Night Out Box

ramblingmads

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This box is absolutely heaving with goodies for the ultimate girls’ night out – or in!

🌌Kitsch glitter hair bands
🌌Perfection Fashion Tape (aka tit tape)
🌌Styl London Temporary Tattoos
🌌Styl London Instant Gel Nail Wraps
🌌Fudge Urban Colour Hair Art Coral Crush
🌌Balmi Super Cube Roseberry Lip Balm
🌌Lord & Berry black glitter eyeliner pencil
🌌Model Co Crème Rouge for lips & cheeks
🌌Revlon Ultra HD Lipstick in Gladiolus
🌌Model Co Lip gloss in Fairy Floss
🌌L’Oreal Elnett Satin Hairspray
🌌Rimmel London Nail Polish in Glastonberry
🌌he-shi Quick + Easy Express Liquid Tan
🌌Collection Lengthening Mascara
🌌Narciso Eau De Toilette

£20 + P&P available now.

beauty, beauty boxes, reviews, skincare

Blogger Beauty Box

ramblingmads

This is steadily becoming a hugely popular beauty box. Set up and run by two bloggers alongside their fulltime jobs, it’s a bargain at £10 and always arrives crammed with great new products.

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This month there’s five products in the box and I think they’ll all find a place in my routine.

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Veeda 100% Natural Cotton tampons – sneaking around the utterly sexist Tampon Tax by sending out body friendly essentials – I like it!

The Hair Experts Root Touch-Up in Blonde – as a natural blonde I’ve become so used to products for brunettes popping up in beauty boxes and as freebies on magazines that this was a real surprise. However as I don’t currently possess grey hair or roots I might just use this more as a highlighter.

Merumaya Everything Everywhere Beauty Oil – this can be applied pretty much everywhere for different effects.

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Puriskin by Vanessa Blake Cosmetics Nurse Aid Cream – designed to heal up the various daily affronts to your hands and nails, from soft nails to burns and rashes.

Richard Ward The Chelsea Collection Keratin Rehab Deep Conditioner – after shampooing, smooth into hair, leave for five minutes and rinse. Boost your hair to happy!

happy mail, lifestyle boxes, mental health, mindfulness, reviews

The Blurt Foundation Buddy Box

ramblingmads

After a week in which depression kicked my butt (again) I really need this hug in a box from The Blurt Foundation.

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Designed specifically for depression sufferers, each box is filled with things to help you manage your condition and give you something to smile about.

As well as the goodies, there’s also a postcard written by the Blurt team.

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As well as one for you to fill in and leave for someone else to find and pass on that love.

In my box this month are some really sweet things that made me smile while unboxing.

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Clippers Mint Green Tea – I love mint tea, and green tea’s good for you too!

Toucan badge – my favourite Spike Milligan cartoon is the Strawberry Moose one but my second favourite is the One Can Toucan one (google them and grin) so this colourful badge is going on my bag to cheer me up.

Letters To My Future Self – a paper time capsule. This little book has themed envelopes and papers for you to write letters to your future self, so you can look back and see how things have changed.

Six Colour Pen – for writing those letters! I had one of these as a kid and loved changing the colours.

Cooling Panda Eye Pads – sometimes you need to cry it out and these soothing eye pads will reduce puffiness and made you look like a panda too! Pop them in the fridge and then on your face, for instant refreshment.

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This is such a wonderful box of joy, and something I really needed this week.

beauty, beauty boxes, latest in beauty, make up, reviews, skincare

The Glamour Summer Edit – Latest in Beauty

ramblingmads

The newest Glamour edit beauty box has landed at Latest in Beauty and for £20 (inc P&P) you get 8 products to keep you looking fab this summer.

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Grounded Chocolate Orange Scrub – natural coffee granule body scrub that leaves a chocolate orange scent and exfoliate to baby soft skin.

Revlon Ultra HD Matte Lipcolour in Devotion – I love these lip colours, they apply beautifully and don’t run or crack. This nude pink shade isn’t one I would necessarily pick, I prefer a stronger colour but it’s a great colour for most skin tones.

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Oribe Dry Texturizing Spray – handbag sized for styling in the office loos before heading out for post-work fun, this adds texture and volume.

St Tropez Self Tan Classic Bronzing Mist – apparently this is foolproof but we’ll see. The mist should leave a streak-free golden colour.

Ladival Sun Protection Spray SPF30 – spray on sunscreen, protecting you from UVA, UVA and infrared A rays too.

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Aurelia Miracle Cleanser and Bamboo Muslin Cloth – a creamy cleanser with a super soft cloth perfect for a weekend away.

Nuxe Prodigieux Shower Oil – with orange blossom, vanilla and magnolia this smells delicious and leaves skin soft.

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Wow Mask Luxury Facial Mask – a collagen boosting sheet mask to plump and firm your face. 

These boxes are always absolutely packed with great products curated by Glamour’s Beauty Director, and I love everything in this box, certainly I’ll be giving it all a whirl.

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beauty, beauty boxes, birchbox, glossybox, reviews

June: Birchbox vs Glossybox

ramblingmads

Ding ding!

We’re back for another round of beauty box battles and once again familiar foes Birchbox and Glossybox are in the ring. Let’s see how they stack up.

Birchbox – Paradise Found

Ok, firstly I love a literary pun, Paradise Lost is a beast of a poem so points for that. Secondly the drawer box is definitely scoring points, and it’s covered in the current ‘It’ fruit – pineapple.

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Inside the jaunty exterior lurk five beauty products. All sample size except one.

Percy & Reed Reassuringly Firm Session Hold Hairspray – handbag sized for fixing your ‘do on the go, this has been nabbed by the Mr, who has run out of his manly spray for manly hair and been reduced to stealing my much girlier stuff.

Monuspa Warming Ginger Bath & Body Oil – nope, it’s either for washing or moisturising, not both.

Pure & Light Organic Skincare Essential Face Cream – the bottle isn’t particularly “ooh look at me!” but is filled with antioxidants and skin friendly natural ingredients – the rest of which is always does my sensitive excema and rosacea prone skin like it?

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BioNike Defence Tolerance – this is basically a tiny bottle (15ml) of micellar water. Something that only just manages to cleanse my face on a make up free day (I wash it after with more deep cleansing stuff), so not exactly wow.

Stila Lip Glaze – I watched the BBC documentary about figure skaters ‘Making an Ice Princess’ recently and I am pretty sure the 11-year-old was wearing this gloss. I’m 29, so I’ll pass.

Finally, this month for £8 you could upgrade your box with a pair of Quay Australia sunglasses. Now I rarely bother adding extras and nonprescription glasses are wasted on me but these would be perfect for a friend, so I got them to treat her (she doesn’t read the blog so I can tell you).

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Onto our second contender:

Glossybox – new discoveries

The box is in GB’s standard pink and black livery this month with five items (plus a wee bonus) three full size and 3 sample.

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The product they’re most excited by this month is the Konjac Sponge – hailing from Japan and Korea (2016’s skincare top place) these sponges are made from the porous root vegetable konjac, gentler than a sponge, 100% natural and very squidgy, this is perfect for anyone like me who finds some cleansing tools too abrasive on their skin.

Origins GinZing Refreshing Eye Cream – now GB are notorious for midgy samples like this 5ml tube, so tiny I couldn’t find it in the box straightaway. Considering the full size is £20 and Origins are supposedly focusing on expanding their UK market, a bigger sample would have been nice. This might just do my eyes twice before expiring, not that I’m reassured that ginseng and my sensitive eye skin will get along.

De Bruyère After Sun Lotion Monoï – monoï is apparently gardenia petals soaked in coconut oil and this combined with skin fave vitamin E is designed to calm angry, red and peeling flesh after you forget to apply sunscreen to the back of your neck (what? I can’t see it!)

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Ladival Sun Protection Spray SPF15 – designed for sensitive skin but not nearly strong enough (SPF30 or higher or stay indoors) but protecting against UVA, UVB and infrared A-rays, a non-greasy spray on would prevent the aforementioned burnt neck situation.

Emitè Make Up Cheek & Lip Tint – theoretically I love two-in-one products, realistically it’s Benetint all over again. Great colour on lips, looks like I tried to do clown make up and mistook my cheeks for my nose. This is quite a deep red, and even with a bit o’ blending way too dark for my skin, but perfect for vampy lips.

The bonus item is a sachet of Aussie Hair Care’s famous 3 Minute Miracle Reconstructor Deep Conditioner.

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So at the final bell, what do we think this month’s winner is?

It’s a mixed bag really. Can I have the Birchbox box with the Glossybox products? After a few truly dismal months GB have really pulled it out of the bag product wise while BB have backslid, although both could stand with having more generous sample sizes, you need a good few goes before drawing a conclusion on a product altogether.

What do you think? Were you wowed by this month’s boxes, or left feeling a little cheated? Let me know in the comments.

beauty, beauty boxes, my little box, reviews

My Little Box – Summer Vibes

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The MLB gang are getting all set for summer with June’s box, featuring a lovely beach vista on the box and a host of summery themed items.

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First up is a Kusmi iced tea powder sachet – I love iced tea so will be whipping up a jug of this (and taking advantage of the discount voucher) asap.

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There’s a bikini pouch to keep your wet cossie in so your bag (and book) stay dry.

A cute tank top with the title of a great 80s classic across it.

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But what I’m interested in most is what beauty treats MLB has in store for subscribers this month.

Too Faced Glitter Glue – designed to keep your glitter on your eyelids, not everywhere else, this primer holds your summer shimmer steady.

Ciate mini polish in the glossip – this coral orange shade is very similar to my usual summer go-to so may just join the ranks of my polish army.

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From their own My Little Beauty range comes Beach Hair – a sea salt spray designed to give you beachy waves and surfer chic hair – my hair hates salt water (and chlorine) protesting by going a funny colour so my sister will be getting this to use, her hair is much less stroppy (weird when she’s the angsty one).

The box this month was: ok I guess. I’m not blown away by any of it really, the tank top is way too small for my boobs to fit in and the bikini bag will probably get forgotten all about before my next holiday, but the polish and iced tea will definitely get used at some point.

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books, reviews

Book Review; Uprooted by Naomi Novik

ramblingmads

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One of my favourite forms of story telling is the re-imagining of fairy tales and myths, I wrote part of my MA dissertation on this form of literature and whenever I find an old story in new words I am really excited to read it. Naomi Novik doesn’t disappoint.

Set in what might just be Poland, near the Russian border in a village plagued by an evil Wood, there’s a wizard called Dragon and a heroine called Agnieszka (after a Polish fairy tale), a legendary witch called Baba Jaga, and a tragedy that started it all.

It is absolutely beautifully written, totally captivating from the brilliant opening

line;

“Our Dragon doesn’t eat the girls he takes, no matter what stories they tell outside our valley.”

to the fairytale ending where the heroes, having overcome terrible odds, live happily once more.

One of the things that interested me most was the changes made to the story of Baba Jaga (or Yaga) – a witch I was genuinely terrified of as a child having read about her. She lived in a house on chicken legs that could walk and when in one place it was surrounded by a fence made of human bones and she ate people. Oh and she travelled in a giant pestle and mortar. I was absolutely convinced she was real and going to come and get me.

Here, however, she is recast as a historic figure, her spells those of ordinary folk not educated wizards, her power rooted in the earth. I think I would have been less terrified if she had been presented a little more sympathetically than in my book of fairy tales as a child.

This is one of the things I find more intriguing than anything in these retellings, the subtle changes made to the stories, so that while still familiar, they are also wholly new and fresh every time.

Have you read Uprooted? What did you think? Let me know in the comments below.

beauty, beauty boxes, make up, reviews, skincare

Look Incredible – pick a box

ramblingmads

Look Incredible does two different beauty boxes – their standard costs £18.95 and is usually worth approximately £70-80, the deluxe box costs £35 with approximately £100 worth of products. But which one is the best purchase.

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This month I ordered both to do a comparison.

The standard box contained 5 items worth £76.50 in total. All items are full sized.

Stila All Over Shimmer Liquid Luminizer (RRP £16) – a shimmery summery liquid designed to give you a lovely glow. Most likely this will be used as a liquid highlighter for those days I need a bit more shine.

Velvet 59 Matte to the Max Liquid Lipstick in Pink Cadillac (RRP £17) – I quite like liquid lipsticks but this baby pink shade isn’t for me.

Ciate Manicure Set (RRP £16) – this set comes with polish, foil fix glue and metallic colourfoil sheets for a glam, shiny finish. I will definitely be giving this a whirl.

No7 Exceptional Definition Mascara (RRP £11.50) – as regular readers will know I can’t stand getting mascaras in beauty boxes, it feels lazy and I’m fussy. However, my mum is a huge No7 fan and will be thrilled that she still doesn’t have to buy any mascara!

The Body Shop Moroccan Rhassoul Body Clay (RRP £16) – this is a clay mask for your body, Rhassoul clay is famed for its skin firming powers, and I will be busting it out to get my milk white pins looking summer ready.

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The Deluxe box contains four items, all full size and worth £112.

Nars Audacious Mascara (RRP £21) – another beauty box, another mascara. This is a fancier one with a heftier price tag and a friend of mine swears by this one.

Tarte MultiEye Primer (RRP £20) – lash primers seem to be a big new thing this year, I don’t really get it to be completely honest. This one makes lots of claims to condition, nourish and lengthen lashes before you apply your mascara.

BareMinerals Marvellous Moxie Lip gloss in Hypnotist (RRP £16) – not a huge lip gloss fan, my hair sticks to it and it doesn’t always suit me, but I do quite like this one. It’s full of natural ingredients and the colour isn’t too glittery.

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BareMinerals 3 Piece Champagne Crystal Collection (RRP £55) – a chunky make up case, complete with a brush and shimmer powder – this screams Christmas gift set to me. Which might be a bit harsh but I honestly don’t think it’s worth the hefty price tag for one product and a brush.

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The verdict – personally I think the mix of products and value of the standard box outweighs the deluxe box. It might seem more a bargain, but considering one item was more empty space than beauty product it just doesn’t seem so deluxe and I would have liked it if all the items were from different brands.