Barry M AW Launch Bloggers Event - September 2015

Barry M is one of my favourite cosmetic brands and last night I had the pleasure of attending the Barry M Autumn/Winter '15 Launch night! It was held in a spooky venue at the London Bridge Experience and it felt like Halloween had come early!

I don't know about you but I'm easily freaked out so I was a little nervous going inside!! There was an eerie feel to the venue with low green lighting, a smoky atmosphere and people in Halloween costumes walking around!

I apologise now for the picture quality! It was hard to get a good snap in the low lighting.

One of the first things that caught my eye, aside from the creepy atmosphere, was the new Barry M nail polish range – Midnight Gelly (ok I may be a little obsessed with nail polish!). The new Midnight Gelly range has four shades: Black Currant, Black Cherry, Black Pistachio and Black Grape. Perfect shades for getting you into that Autumn feeling. I have tried the Barry M Gellys before and loved them! The quality is astounding with a glossy long lasting finish. The nail polishes cost £3.99 each and are available in Superdrug and Boots (from 30th September).

Another new product is the Super Natural Eyeshadow Palette. There are eight gorgeous autumn shades, from shimmery pinks to deep browns. You can use this to give your eyes an Autumn make-over! The palette is available to buy for £6.49 exclusively from Superdrug.

The Barry M launch included a new Pout 'n' About Lip Gloss Palette to make your lips truly kissable! This palette has five lip gloss shades to choose from with pink, coral, red and berry hues. You buy the Pout 'n' About palette for £6.49 from Superdrug and Boots (from 30th September).

One of my favourite palettes from the new range is the Get Up & Glow Palette, which includes a bronzer, two light-reflecting highlighters, and two blushers. If you're unorganised like me, this will save you some of that time spent rummaging through make-up bags to find all the items to perfect your day look! It is also a practical size to pop into your bag ready for when you need a top up. The Get Up & Glow palette is available for £6.49 exclusively from Superdrug.

Last, but not least, Barry M have launched a Light Me Up liquid highlighter to give your skin a healthy glow. This has a lovely satin shimmery texture and is an excellent addition to your make-up routine. You can use it all over the face, mixed with foundation, or on the areas you want to highlight. The Light Me Up liquid highlighter is available for £4.99 from Superdrug and Boots (from 30th September).

There were lots more products in the launch, but unfortunately I didn't get to see like the new Glitter Gelly nail polishes (great for party nails), the new Eye Define liquid eyeliners and the new Flawless Primer range (one has cucumber in - I bet it smells amazing!). Be sure to check it out at your local Superdrug or Boots (from 30th September).

Overall it was a fantastic night with champagne, nibbles and free manicures! I was even lucky enough to get a Barry M goody bag! Yay!!!

Afternoon Tea in Brighton at Terre à Terre

On Saturday I met up with the lovely Lara from FlyMeToTheClouds for afternoon tea! I had only tried afternoon tea once before at Stanmer house and I loved it so I was excited to try it at another venue. As I’m such a foodie, going to a café to be presented with tiers of delights to snack away at is amazing! We decided to try Terre à Terre as neither of us had been there before, it had good reviews, and it is an iconic vegetarian restaurant that has been in Brighton for 21 years.

When we arrived, we were presented with a menu that was full of options. You could choose between savoury or sweet afternoon tea, and there was a huge selection of teas to choose from. With both of us being huge cake fans, we obviously opted for sweet afternoon tea! However, the savoury option sounded pretty appetising too. You can view the menu here.

When our plates arrived, they looked like little cake forests full of interesting colours and textures! There were real flowers included in the presentation…which I am ashamed to say I started trying to eat!!

The cakes included:

• Lemon almond cake served with lemon curd, and roasted almond and pistachio
• Mini chocolate meringues with Chantilly cream, damson purée and blackberries
• Chocolate truffle cake with white chocolate crumble
• Banana almond spice cake with griddled pineapple coffee bean praline and white miso sweet sherry caramel
• Nobbly nutty chestnut honey nougat

My favourite was the lemon almond cake and it tasted wonderful with the roasted almonds and pistachios.

The sweet afternoon tea at came to a total of £9.95 with a pot of tea and it was definitely worth the price.

It was great to meet a fellow blogger and it meant I could finally chat away to someone who actually understands what a blog is! Lara has a fantastic lifestyle blog full of inspiration, recipes, places to visit, and words of wisdom! It is definitely worth a read – FlyMeToTheClouds.

#ManiMonday - Polka Dot Nails

Today I decided to have another attempt at polka dot nails!

A few weeks ago when I was perusing all the make-up and nail polish shelves in Superdrug, I discovered the Barry M Nail Art Pens. I have tried using dotting tools in the past which you dip in nail polish but failed so miserably that my nails just ended up with messy splodges on them! So when I saw the nail art pens I was super excited at the prospect of being able to do better nail designs. The pens were available in black, white and pink so I thought I’d try out the black one first (there are more colours on the Superdrug website).

I was very impressed with how easy the nail art pens are to use. After shaking the pen, you just pump down on the tip a couple of times to get the nail polish running through it and then you can doodle and dot away!

I started with the BarryM All in One Basecoat and Topcoat and then put a couple of layers of the BarryM Gelly Hi Shine Nail Polish in Sky Blue (you only need a couple of layers because it is quick thick). Then to do the polka dots using the Barry M Black Nail Art Pen, I started with a line of dots in the middle and worked outwards in lines on either side. It doesn’t matter if you put a dot in the wrong place as the finished result still looks pretty. I then repeated this on all my nails, waited for it to dry and put another layer of the Barry M All in One. Surprisingly it didn’t take hours like I thought it might! Only 15 minutes from start to finish.

Below is my first #ManiMonday attempt at polka dot nails using white Ciate Nail Polish in SnowVirgin as a base. (They may look good now but I did have to paint over a couple of nails and start again after making a mess!). On my second attempt I think I nailed it!!

You can buy the Barry M Nail Art pens for £4.99 from Superdrug in a variety of colours and there’s also a corrector pen!

I’d recommend you having a go, it’s much easier than you think!

Have you tried the nail art pens? What do you think? Let me know in the comments below if you have any nail art tips!

What Do I Wear To Bloggers Fashion Week? Black Chic Outfit Inspiration

Bloggers Fashion Week - September 2015

I have been lucky enough to be invited to the Bloggers Fashion Week event on 7 September 2015 hosted by The Bloggers Hangout and I'm so excited!! 

The event is held in London and includes fashion shows, delicious treats, pampering booths and a gifting lounge. The best part of it is being able to meet exciting brands and sample their new collections! 

The dress code for this season's event is all black chic. If you're stuck for ideas and wondering "what do I wear?" to the event, here are a few of my faves for inspiration...

Black Chic Outfits by justjawwie on Polyvore

If you're a blogger and want to get involved in The Bloggers Hangout, they have a great website here where you can RSVP to their amazing events, request gifts from brands and much more. 

If you're attending the evening event, feel free to say hello if you see me!

June Glossybox - The Festival Edit

Glossybox

I am a long standing subscriber to Glossybox and it is one of my favourite beauty boxes. Each month I look forward to unwrapping the cute pink boxes to see which exciting beauty products they have sent! It costs £10 plus p&p which is a reasonable price considering that the boxes are generally worth around £30.

The theme for this month is festivals. 

MONU Spa Rosewood Reviving Mist

Full size £11.95 available from www.monushop.co.uk

This is super refreshing after a long day! Perfect for festivals or after work. You can use it on your face by closing your eyes and spraying evenly over your face or you can use it on your body to revitalize and hydrate skin. It has a lovely subtle fragrance and soaks into your skin without feeling sticky.

The size in the box is 50ml which means you can easily carry around in your bag all day.

Halo Facial Wipes

Travel Size £1.20 available from www.halowipes.co.uk/store-finder.

Another refreshing festival essential! I am a big fan of facial wipes and use Johnson’s facial wipes daily. Facial wipes cleanse and moisturize at the same time and are great at getting rid of make-up before bed. I particularly like that the Halo Facial Wipes are fragrance free and suitable for sensitive skin because my skin has not been happy with other facial wipes I have tried.

Essence The Gel Nail Polish ‘I don’t care’ – Full Size

Full size is £1.71 available from www.essence.eu/uk.

My nail polish obsession coupled with red being one of my favourite colours made this the best product in the box for me! I instantly wiped off my current nail polish and tried this one out. It was the first time I had used a gel nail polish and I was impressed with its long lasting nature. It has a thick texture and one coat was enough (as you can see in the photo). The colour comes out as a lovely orangey red colour, which reminded me of a tomato! I will definitely be trying more products in the Essence range.

Kueshi Anticellulite Booster – Full Size

Full size is £14.55 available from www.kueshi.com.

Who doesn’t want dimple free legs?! This product is perfect to tone your legs just in time for summer. This packs a punch as it inhibits the formulation of fat cells, stimulates blood flow, helps reduce swelling, and reduces fat tissue. It has a mild, sweet fragrance and leaves skin feeling soft. 

Glossybox Flash Tattoos – Full Size

Full size is £6.50

Ooooh shiny!! There are 8 different styles you can try from this one sheet. My favourite is the zigzag dots which will look super cute with a beach outfit and a tan! I can’t wait to try them out.

 

June Glossybox Summary

Estimated box value = £29.94

Overall, this is a fun box and is definitely perfect for festivals or the beach.

If you are interested in trying Glossybox you can sign up here.