Bargain Gift!

Okay, so a slightly different type of post, but I couldn't not give this a mention! If you've got a man in your life, whether that be a brother, father, boyfriend or partner, and you struggle with what to buy them for their birthday, or dare I say it, Christmas, this is a must-purchase!

For just £19, the No7 Men Grooming Collection has all the basic toiletries a guy needs, with nothing too fancy. All full-size products, as well as being hypo-allergenic and designed for everyday use, means it's great for any age. The set, from left to right, compromises of:

• Energising Face Wash
  
• Energising Hair and Body Wash
  
• Energising Face Scrub
  
• Energising Supercharge
• Energising Moisturiser
  

If bought separately, the items would cost £44.75 altogether, with the set usually retailing at £40, this is a huge saving! The offer finishes on Thursday, and is available at larger Boots stores and at boots.com. Hence, I had to buy this set, especially as my boyfriend has a birthday coming up, as well as Christmas, of course! 

Have you spotted any bargains recently? Have you started your Christmas shopping?

Elizabeth Arden Beautiful Color Luminous Lipgloss

To be honest, I'm not usually a fan of lipgloss, I much prefer the depth of colour, comfort and wear of a lipstick. However, as soon as I saw the Elizabeth Arden Beautiful Color Luminous Lip Gloss in Intriguing Violet from their Untold Color Collection. I knew I just had to have it, so I picked it up as part of my payday haul a while back. At work, our No7 counter is right next to the Elizabeth Arden counter, so it's no wonder this lipgloss caught my eye, as it was so different to anything I had seen before: an almost neon violet-purple colour with flecks of glitter that captures and reflects the light beautifully.

I'm slightly gutted that there's no limited edition packaging for this range, however the classic gold and silver packaging you can't go too far wrong with, as it keeps the premium feel. And don't you just love the small peep-window to the product, teasing you with the wonderful violet flash of colour?! Just a quick note, that no matter how many pictures I can take of this lipgloss, it cannot capture the same magic is has in reality.

I love the big size of this doe applicator, as it means you don't have to swipe it over your lips numerous times to get the gloss on. Instead, it's a lovely thick formula that glides on easily, without having too much of a heavy, sticky feel to it, yet it's nice and moisturising too. And I just love the handy mirror on the side, why don't all lip products do this? 

OH MY GOD the glitter pigment is just OUT OF THIS WORLD, it runs through the entirety of this gloss, there is no let-go whatsoever, and on its own the violet shade of this product is actually stronger than I thought it would be. The glitter shines all colours from blue to purple to gold to silver, and like I mentioned before, my camera just can't capture the beauty of this lipgloss in its entirety. 

I thought I'd slick this gloss over the top of one of my favourite Match Made lipsticks, the shade 255 Raspberry Silk from the Stay Perfect range. Although the reformulated Stay Perfect range have a high moisture content to them, they are matte in their finish so some can find it slightly drying and heavy on the lips, so a slick of gloss can do a world of favours. I adore how the gloss adds such definition to the lipstick without altering the colour, LOOK AT ALL THAT GLITTER AND SHINE. Intriguing Violet certainly keeps me intrigued, that's for sure.

Okay, so for £17 it is a bit on the pricey side for a lipgloss, but I'm seriously impressed by this offering from Elizabeth Arden. Especially with all the current trends to be rather flat colours in lipglosses, it is great to see an offering with such a strong glitter that can be worn on its own or over the top of another colour. Not to mention that for a lipgloss it's not too bad on the wear: okay, so the gloss wears off after about an hour or so, but the glitter somehow stays put, and has little effect on wear on top of another colour. I can't wait to wear this during party season, I think it's just perfect for it if you don't want to go with a heavy glitter on the eyes.

I just need a purple lipstick/lipliner that will compliment this lipgloss perfectly, any suggestions out there?

#NOTW - Week 2

Now that autumn has well and truly made itself known, with the shift in season comes a shift in colours, and not just where clothing and eye makeup are concerned. I've been really bad recently after I grew my nails to a decent length, I gave them a good nibble and they're back down to a fairly short length, boo. So, it's back to square one and painting my nails to stop me biting them more, it's the perfect excuse to wear a mix of autumnal colours. 

I like to wear a nude colour on my nails when they're quite short as I think it distracts from their actual length. But I also like to mix it up a little bit and add a couple of accent nails: I love painting the ring finger, but I tend to throw the same colour onto my thumbnails too, I think it gives a more uniform look, if that makes sense! I think No7 banged the nail on the head when it came to this Deep Wine shade from the Gel Look Shine range. It's a perfect deep, rich wine colour, with notes of burgundy and plum, although the camera certainly picks up more of the burgundy than the plum. This makes for a perfect pairing with the Practically Perfect shade from the Stay Perfect range, the perfect nude for my pale skin.

This is three coats with the Practically Perfect shade to get it to be opaque; even with my short nails, two coats still shows the white tips. I personally don't mind using three coats to get the desired look as the coats are fast drying with this formula, and I've never actually got through a full bottle of nail varnish before, so this could be the first! The Deep Wine shade is with just one coat as this colour is so heavily pigmented, but for wear I have added another coat to ensure it will last, and keep its high shine finish.

A change from my usual bright colours I love to wear on my nails, but this is certainly weather appropriate right now in Britain, and I love the simplicity of the combination in the colours. The No7 vouchers are back in Boots again, so when you spend £4 in store you'll receive a set of vouchers which will get you £5 off the No7 skincare range and £3 off the No7 cosmetics range, and I would certainly recommend you pick up the Deep Wine shade, it's the perfect addition to anyone's range, especially for just £4 with a voucher.

What's on your nails right now? What colours are you loving?

Allocation Haul

With my position as a No7 advisor, of course we're expected to use and wear No7 products, hence we get a set allocation every three months so we can choose the products we want. My allocation has just come up, and, as usual, I'm spoilt for choice! Luckily, my decision was made easier as I have a few favourites that need replacing, not to mention some new goodies to try..

(L-R: Beautifully Matte Foundation; Protect and Perfect Advanced Serum; Exfoliating Sponge; Shine and Tint; Instant Radiance Under-Eye Concealer; Lovely Lashes Mascara; Pop and Glow Cream Blushes.)

Beautifully Matte Foundation, in the shade Cool Vanilla: One of my all-time favourite foundations..I'm actually comparing this to another foundation in an upcoming post, so I'll hold off on the detail for now.

Protect and Perfect Advanced Serum: An improved formula based on the original Protect and Perfect serum. Yet again, this product is worthy of a standalone post, but trust me, it will be worth the wait!

Exfoliating Sponge: A new product to me, as I'm used to having exfoliatiors in the form of a liquid, or even a cleansing brush, so I'll be interested to try this out..although I've now got visions of using a Brillo pad on my face, eek! (FYI: if you don't know what a Brillo pad is, it's like a metal scourer that you use when washing up to remove tough grime and dirt)

Shine and Tint, in the shade Posy: A brand new No7 product, that has just launched this week. There are five colours to choose from, and they vary from reds and berries to this more nude shade. As mentioned in my No7 Match Made Lipstick Service post I have struggled to find more nude/natural colours, so thought I'd give this one a go to add to the collection. 

Instant Radiance Under-Eye Concealer, in the shade 10: Yet another new product launch from No7 this week, and this is a much-improved formula from its predecessor; more coverage, thicker texture, light diffusion technology and a wider range of colour choices..so far, so good! 

Lovely Lashes Mascara, in the shade Black: Now my favourite mascara, both for natural volume and a more intense look, I actually reviewed this earlier in the year if you want to take a look.

Pop and Glow Cream Blushes, in the shades Mango Sorbet and Classic Rose: I already have a Pop and Glow Cream Blush in the shade Rose Blossom, I actually use it most days as it's a fabulous formulation. In actual fact, I also reviewed this earlier in the year. Because I use this one so much, I felt I needed more colours, especially as the seasons change and my make-up look changes, a pastel pink isn't always suitable hence the nod towards a more peachy and deeper pink tone.

So a couple more reviews to come to keep me busy I'm sure! What are your favourite No7 products?

Exciting News!

A lovely early morning post, as I've just woken up to the news that this very blog has reached 50 followers on Bloglovin! 

Thanks to everyone who's followed me so far, it's been great to know I have people reading out there, somewhere! If you haven't already followed me, why not?! Head to bloglovin.com/daisyloop to access my Bloglovin profile, and click here to look at this very blog via Bloglovin. :)

Back with the next post of my October Challenge this evening, keep your eyes peeled!

Autumn Wishlist

I don't know whether it's because it's been so unseasonably warm, sunny and dry these past couple of weeks or so but I can't say I'm really thinking much of autumn at the moment. And this picture sums it up perfectly: credit where it's due, this photo was actually taken by my boyfriend when we took a day-trip to Kendal, near the Lake District in the North-West of England last weekend, on our walk up to Kendal Castle - a lovely day. But with the colder mornings creeping in, it will soon be upon us no matter how much we try to cling onto the last hope of summer, and I know I need more autumnal clothes before I get caught out!

I love anything yellow; my phone, a handbag, several dresses and even one of the walls of my bedroom are some shade of yellow, so autumn is the perfect excuse to liven up my wardrobe with the mustard variety. I'm actually shocked I don't already own a mustard yellow jumper, so I'm most definitely on the look-out for one, and this beauty from H&M seems to fit the bill..I just don't like buying online, I still much prefer to try before I buy, so I'll have to see if it's made its way into my local store.

Is it bad that I also love it in grey too? I'm not usually a fan of grey, but I think my opinion has changed..I'm sure my boyfriend will be pleased! 

Keeping on the yellow theme..I'm just gutted I missed out on this when it first hit stores! If you haven't guessed already, it's the gorgeous wool mini skirt from Marks & Spencer. I've seen many women of various ages wearing it and I bloody love it! (And it's most definitely more of a yellow-lime rather than a green-lime.) I just hope it comes back into stock either online or instore, as I've got to try the red one and it's just perfect to team with some black opaque tights and a cosy black jumper over the top of a shirt..just as it's styled on the website actually, ha! Okay, so it's £25 which I wouldn't usually pay for a skirt, but for the quality and the wear I would get out of it, it's definitely worth the price tag.

Moving across to cosmetics: for as long as I can remember, I've used eyelash curlers as mine would just point downwards without that lift, and I've tried various brands throughout the years, but never the illustrious Shu Uemura offering. Lately, my bargain Primark pair just aren't cutting it anymore, especially as a couple of my lashes have disappeared from my right eye..hence why I want to try the Mavala Eye-Lite Double Lash Night Treatment to help with their growth, as they're growing back but they're taking a while. I've always suffered with shorter lashes, so I'm hoping this will help with that as well as building their strength. 

Keeping with the eye theme and I've had mine set on this L'Oreal Color Riche Mono Eyeshadow in 301 Escape in Bordeaux: the perfect autumn berry for the eyes by the looks of things, and I love to mix things up when it comes to colour on the eyes. I've also heard many mixed reviews about these eye shadows, and I'd love to give them a go as they sound almost creamy to apply, which is what I love as they tend to have less downfall.

What's on your Autumn Wishlist this year? Have you already got some of these products?