Intu Jazz and Gin Event!

This post should have been up by now, however, due to getting bitten by a cat at work and ending up in the hospital with a load of medication it’s been delayed!

This is a post about what has to be my favourite event that the lovely ladies at Intu Victoria Centre has thrown for us bloggers (they really do spoil us rotten!)  We were met at the Nottingham Street Food Club by the fantastic Sammy and her wonderful team (situated in the upper mall) and lead inside.  I’ve been to the venue before a few times and absolutely love the vast variety of food available!

I have to admit, before the event, I had stalked the facebook and Instagram page to see which vendors were going to be available.  I was immediately drawn to the Clean Cut Kitchen as being on a strict IIFYM diet it was fantastic to have the breakdown available.

We had our own bar and bartender, as well as a large table reserved for the evening!  The gin menu featured a vast variety of different Gins, and controversially against all the popular opinions at the moment – I don’t like Gin!

The food from the Clean Cut Kitchen offered a healthy alternative to fast food, they had “clean” cheat meals which were completely customisable with all different options for different dietary requirements from vegan to gluten free!

The Jazz musicians were a fantastic background to the evening and really rounded the evening off.  I’d like to say a massive thank you to both Intu Victoria Centre for the fantastic goodie bags filled with amazing goodies and the Nottingham Street Food Club for the wonderful food and hospitality!  I had such an amazing evening with unbeatable company.

Love

Rhia xo

Illamasqua Gel Sculpt Review

I picked up this product in a recent Beauty Bay sale where it was reduced down to £20 (compared to the £25 retail price), I’ve had my eye on this product ever since my friend’s wedding where the makeup artist used it on her and it looked amazing!

The gel itself comes in three shades, two blush shades (Charm and Fluster) and one contour shade called Silhouette.  I was sceptical about buying a contour shade that appeared so dark in the tube as I’m extremely fair skinned, however the reviews on the website were very encouraging explaining that it was a very buildable product and suitable for even the most pale of people.
The product itself is a gel like (hence the name I’m sure!) cream consistency and it comes as a stick, this makes it very user-friendly.  Once applied to the skin it doesn’t feel heavy and it blends out like a dream!  I use this product either on its own without any foundation or on the top of a foundation and both finishes are fantastic.  The one thing that I would say is that I would always apply it before applying any powder products as it won’t blend out and create a “cake” face if applied after powder.

I started off quite hesitant with applying and applied a small amount to where my contour would usually sit (in the hollows of my cheeks) and blended it out, after my initial trial, I realised that I could indeed use more product for a more effective contour without it looking too dark or muddy on my complexion.

After using this a few times I have extended my application to include around my forehead and when going “full-glam” contouring my jawline and nose.

A picture of me and my sister at a family party the other day

I would say that this is an extremely versatile product and well worth the money I spent on it.

Love

Rhia xo

Lancome Teint Idole Foundation Review

Having previously raved about this foundation in my House of Fraser event post, I thought I’d write a post dedicated to this fantastic foundation!

Having been an Estee Lauder Double Wear fanatic since I can remember, it was a shock to me to find a foundation that I actually prefer.  Lancome has recently extended the shade range of the Teint Idole Foundation so I was able to get a match.

The Lancome Teint Idole Foundation retails at around £30 depending on the shop which I’d say is averagely priced for a high-end product.  It contains an SPF of 15 which isn’t an issue for me as I wear an SPF under my foundation whenever I wear it anyway, this may be a problem if you’re into flash photography as it may cause some flashback, especially if used in combination with a talc based setting powder.

It has a light floral fragrance which I find nice and it isn’t chemically smelling – which is one of the very few downsides to the Estee Lauder Double Wear foundation.  For the application, I use a flat-topped kabuki brush for buffing in and then using a beauty blender to bounce the rest of the product in (I usually spray this with setting spray for longevity).

The finish is a very natural but medium to full coverage buildable look which stays put all day.  I’ve tested this out at work (as a veterinary nurse) and it stayed in place ALL DAY, through a trip to the gym, all the way to bedtime where it removed nicely with my Garnier Micellar Water.

To conclude I think this foundation is an excellent product and I can certainly see why it is being raved about by all the current beauty gurus!

Love

Rhia xo

Swatch #Yourmove Event

I’m a massive fan of Swatch watches and when they invited me to attend their Nottingham bloggers event, I jumped at the chance.

Swatch has released a new line called the “Skin” watches, these are designed to be so thin and light that it’s like there isn’t a watch there at all.  The collection itself is stunning, with different styles and material which follow all of the current trends, along with a few statement, and timeless pieces.

We were greeted in the store with smoothies and healthy snacks which went down well as I had come straight from work.  I had a lovely strawberry smoothie which was served in a glass mason cup.

After the snacks, we had the opportunity to browse the new collection and pick a watch to take home!  I picked the Skin “Skin” watch – a pinky nude and rose gold watch which is bang on trend and gorgeous!

As with all the Swatch watches, the Skin range is totally water resistant!  This is key in my line of work as there are many different fluids that can go wrong in Veterinary Nursing!

After this, we headed to the second part of the evening – a dance class!  This was based at Signature Dance Studios in Nottingham not too far from the Theatre Royal.  The instructor taught us a dance, he was very patient with us as some of us (ok me.) took longer to grasp the moves – which if you know me in person, I am VERY uncoordinated and quite rhythmically challenged.  I had a great time and felt like I had an excellent workout after this.

(Featuring: The Gem Agenda)

A massive thank you to Swatch and the whole of the team for this fantastic event!

Love

Rhia xo

 

House of Fraser Blogging Event

Two weeks ago I had the pleasure of attending a blogging event held at House of Fraser.  The wonderful staff members there had arranged for a select group of bloggers to have treatments at some of the stalls selling products.

We were met by the lovely Jake who had arranged the whole event along with the fabulous Flo a representative from House of Fraser.  We were greeted with a glass of bubbly and began socialising!

Once we had had a good chat with the other bloggers and the organisers of the event, I headed to the counter that I had been assigned.  I was booked in to have my makeup done at the Lancome counter, this suited me fantastically as I was attending my a birthday party that evening.

The Lancome representative did a fantastic job of my makeup giving me a subtle pink smokey eye, she used the highly raved about Lancome Teint Idole foundation which I’d been meaning to get a sample of for a long time (for reference I’m shade 005), I have to say that this foundation has become my new favourite, it’s so light weight but gives an excellent coverage.  As a massive fan of Estee Lauders Double Wear foundation, I much prefer this.  I never thought I’d say that I prefer a foundation to the double wear as it has been my holy grail foundation for the past four years!

After having our treatments done, we had a chance to have a chat with the Vita Liberata representative.  I’ve always been VERY hesitant to try fake tan as I’m pale as a ghost and have a mental image of me ending up like Ross from Friends!  She applied the new body blur in the shade Light to my arms and I LOVED the look it gave me, I actually looked a healthy colour!

(Photo credit: Zoey Glitter)

At the end of the day, there was a VERY generous raffle with some amazing prizes (congrats everyone who won!) I had such an amazing day and I appreciate all of the hard work that was put in by everyone to pull this together.

Love

Rhia xo

The Ordinary Review – Revolutionary Skincare

This post is going to be an update on the skincare routine that I posted last year.  I’ve been researching into skincare and what could make my skin “better”.  What I mean is that I wanted to solve all the problems that my skin had rather than just mask them (isn’t that we all want after all).
I stumbled upon the brand The Ordinary after browsing through the internet looking at copious different bloggers and websites trying to decipher the different products and claims.  They have a simple answer to skincare which is highly customisable and, to my liking – affordable.  The products generally range from £3 to around £9 – all of which are amazing value.

The skincare range is made up of various different products, all of which are products stripped down to the basics.  I dove in at the deep end and filled my basket with different scientific looking vials all of which had highly frightening names!

The products I picked out were:

• Alpha Arbutin 2% + HA – AM and PM USE
• Lactic Acid 10% + HA 2% – PM USE
• 100% Organic Cold-Pressed Rose Hip Seed Oil – PM USE
• Niacinamide 10% + Zinc 1% – AM and PM USE
• Salicylic Acid 2% Solution – PM USE

Bare in mind my skin is OILY and NOT SENSITIVE, so what works for my skin won’t necessarily work for yours.  I used the guide which is available here and made my own routine up.

I wanted to give my skin a few month of adjusting to make sure that any change would be 100% certain that it was the products.  I’ve noticed a MASSIVE difference in my skin, the oiliness has calmed right down with the use of a facial oil at night – only at night though as it will pill.

At the end of the day I will use my usual makeup remover/cleanser to remove any makeup – my current favourite is the Garnier Micellar Water and then use my routine (not all of these products are used both morning and night but it depends on your personalised routine).  I then slather my face in the rose hip oil with a patting motion and then allow that to soak in for a few hours – if I’m pressed for time I’ll pat my face with a clean flannel to remove the excess oil and then sleep.

I’m still using the LUSH lip scrubs, followed by Vaseline or the Pawpaw lip balm in the evening to take care of my lips, and for my body I use the Vaseline spray moisturiser.

I hope this post has been informative for you and I would urge everyone to at least read into the Ordinary products and see the difference it makes in your skin.

Love

Rhia

May Favourites 2017

I haven’t done a favourites post in a long time and thought it was about time that I did one.  There has been a lot of products that I have switched around in the past few months – my skin care routine being the main one (a whole post coming soon on this!)

First is the Vaseline intensive care spray moisturiser – this suits my lifestyle perfectly, I didn’t use to moisturise my body until I found this as I hate the greasy feeling after.  I take this everywhere with me, especially to the gym where I want to get changed quite rapidly after showering.  Literally just spray it on, rub it in quickly and it’s done!

Next is the Wet Brush, I know they’ve been around for a long time now, however, I wasn’t ready to give up my tangle teaser (it was leopard print), however, when I found this marble pink version at a local shop, I HAD to have it!  Having naturally curly/wavy hair this brush is perfect as it doesn’t pull and detangles effortlessly.

Another moisturising product is this papaya gold paw paw balm, this is a MASSIVE product and is amazing for moisturising sore and chapped lips.  It’s far superior to any other product like vaseline as it can be used on other dry patches (it’s not sticky or slimy like vaseline) such as sore hands (other nurses you know what I mean).

This is one of the new products that I’ve been using on my face recently that has completely changed my skin routine and has been the reason I’ve stopped wearing foundation completely!  I won’t say too much about it apart from that they’re easy on the wallet and amazing quality.

Two beauty products are the NYX Ultimate vivid brights palette – the most pigmented and vibrant drugstore palette I’ve EVER come across, I’ve been hooked on using it ever since I got it.  Secondly is a gloss from Colourpop in the shade Finders Keepers – a lovely pinky nude which is not too opaque but not too sheer.  It’s a gorgeous finish and looks great with numerous eye looks.

Another NYX product (or two) are these two illuminating powders, they’re truly stunning as they both reflect different colours. I’ve been using these solely as highlighters for the past month (totally neglecting my other highlighters) and I am going to be picking up the other colours.

My final favourite for the month is this candle from Charismatic Cat Candles.  I was sent this candle to test out and I LOVE it.  The scent is wonderful and fills the whole house, it burns very evenly and has lasted the whole month.

What are your favourite products for the month?

Love

Rhia xo

 

LUSH Blogging Event

A few weeks ago I had the pleasure of going to the LUSH Nottingham store for their blogger’s event.

We were met by the staff which introduced themselves and gave us a run down on the different areas of the store that they were going to be covering that evening.  As usual, the store was set out beautifully with fresh produce and products all over, this strongly appeals to me as I’m always interested in smelling and being hands on with a products before buying it.

 They had different spa sections in the shop including foot soaks and hand massages, these were excellent as I’d just come from a day of work and it’s always lovely to relax!

I had a long discussion with the lovely ladies in LUSH and we were introduced to their ever expanding line of self-preserving products (my favourite is the Mask of Magnaminty!).  LUSH is trying to abolish the use of synthetic preservatives in their products (such as parabens) to be more ecologically friendly.  I even stopped at the Perfume section of the store to have a chat with the lovely lady there, she was very patient with me and even found a fragrance that I liked! This is a rarity as there are currently only 2-3 scents that I like (I’m super fussy I know!)

We were given a very generous goodie bag from LUSH which included a prod from their new fathers day collection (I got the Superdad Bathbomb), one of their self-preserving products (ocean salt face and body scrub) and also a shower gel (plum rain).  I’m so happy with all of these products (as I am with all the LUSH items!) and will definitely be coming back to the store to pick up some perfume!

I’d like to say a massive thank you to LUSH Nottingham for having me and all the other bloggers, I had an excellent time (especially with the doughnuts!)

Love

Rhia xo

P.S Pro Makeup Haul

Last Wednesday I had the day off work so we decided to head into Nottingham to do a little shopping.  I’ve heard lots of rumours about the infamous unicorn brushes coming to Primark soon so I had to check it out to see if they had them in the store – I was not disappointed!  I found myself surrounded by dupes for all cult and highly sought after products, here are a few that I picked up!

Firstly I managed to snag a pack of the “Unicorn” makeup brushes, they’re right on trend at the moment! They feature a unicorn horn handle and pastel bristles which make them look totally adorable.  I’ll be honest, I only picked these up so they could look pretty on my vanity table, however, they really surprised me with the quality and blendability (not too sure if that’s a word if I’m honest!).  At only £9 I think these are an excellent introduction to makeup brushes and even some pretty ones for the seasoned makeup collectors!

Next, I picked up the “Halographic” highlighter stick for £4 which seems to be a dupe for the Milk Holographic stick (retailing at $28).  The stick initially seemed quite dry but upon wiping the top layer off with kitchen roll, it became an exact copy for the Milk Holographic stick.  The highlight is an iridescent purple with a blue shift, it’s very hard to describe as it throws so many different colours in different lights.  I wouldn’t advise applying it straight from the stick as it can remove other makeup beneath, I used a damp beauty sponge and bounced it across my cheekbones for the best results.  This has become a firm favourite highlighter these past few days and I think it’s going to be a summer staple for me!

Finally is the Pixie Kisses lipstick for £1, this is a dupe for the Too Faced Unicorn Tears lipstick which is a highly sought after cult product (retailing for £20 – if you can find it in stock!)  This immediately drew my attention due to it’s shiny packaging (yes, I’m like a magpie) and for only £1 I couldn’t resist!  It applies nicely to the lips and shade adjusts to the pH of your skin (hence it’ll look different on everyone).  I LOVE the way this lipstick looks on me and again, will be another summer staple.

I hope you all enjoyed this post, I really enjoyed testing out these products!  Have you picked any good products up from Primark recently? If so let me know in the comments down below.

Love

Rhia xo

The PS… Pro Foundation Review

This post is on the Primark pro foundation which I’ve been testing out since last Saturday.  I wanted to give it a good test with lots of experiences (work, climbing, gym, and relaxing!) to ensure I really gave it a run for its money.

The foundation comes in a variety of shades starting at 00 porcelain – idea for a fair person like myself!

It contains a SPF of 15 which is not enough for summer in the UK for me however I routinely use SPF 50 skin cream from Mac underneath all my foundations.

The formula is very thick and reminds me of the Urban Decay All Nighter foundation.  It goes on a little streaky with my beauty blender but I found that it applied lovely with a flat topped kabuki brush (I used the real techniques one).

Coming in at a tiny £5, I found that this foundation went above and beyond all my expectations.  It stayed on all day however it did need to be set with powder as I’m oily.  It’s full coverage similar to the Estee lauder double wear foundation and really kept up with my busy lifestyle!

I even wore it to clip and clip activity centre!

I’m excited to try more Primark beauty products and I hope they’re as good as this one!

Love

Rhia xo