Benefits Cheeky Sweet Spot Box o' Blushes.

As soon as I saw little glimpses of this on Instagram a while back I new I had to have it, this has got to be by far the best and cutest gift set Benefit has ever produced....a perfect Christmas gift for beauty lovers. This is Benefits Cheeky Sweet Spot Box o' Blushes and housed in this adorable gingerbread house-esk gift tin are 6 of Benefits best selling blushers and look how stunning they are!

Although the Blushers are not full sized they still contain at least 4g of product in each which should still last a fair while. If you want to try out several Benefit blushes but are not keen on spending the steep £23.50 per blush then this is ideal as this entire gift set will only set you back £29....now that is great value for money.

So before we go onto the contents on this set I just have reiterate how lovely the packaging is! The box is made of tin and looks like a little sweetshop which the front of is a hinged lid revealing whats inside. This maybe a little bulky for some peoples taste but it is a lovely designed blush palette and the individual blush pans could be depotted if you prefer. So the blushes that you get in this set are:

Dandelion - The lightest most pastel matt pink, perfect for pale skin.

Bella Bamba - A brighter pink which contains a slight shimmer. (now discontinued)

Sugar Bomb - A combination of different shades which creates a shimmery peach blush when mixed.

Rockateur - A darker more dusky pink, a lovely shade for darker skin tones.

Coralista - A shimmery summer coral shade.

Hoola - A best selling matte bronzer perfect for contouring.

See below for swatches.

This kit also comes with a smaller version of the usual boxed blusher brush which makes it a great kit for travel, and also a dinky sized sample of their Watts Up cream highlighter which can actually be removed from the palette and is self contained. The hightlighter is a lovely peachy champagne colour which can be used in conjunction with the Hoola bronzer to add definition and dimension to the face. 

Overall what an amazing set for only £29! Anyone who gets this as a gift this Christmas will I'm sure be as pleased as punch, so get it while you can as I can see this one being a sell out!

Thank you for reading.

LouLouLoves. 

Rimmel Lash Accelerator Endless Mascara.

This mascara was actually a freebie when you spend over £10 Rimmel products....I seem to keep getting free mascaras recently! Again mascara isn't something that ever wows me or I find exciting to purchase, I don't often shop around but ones I have liked and bought previously are several different offerings from Clinique, Soap & Glory and not forgetting Benefits infamous They're Real mascara. 

The Rimmel Lash Accelerator Endless mascara comes with a nice slim plastic bristle brush but what you can instantly notice is the head is  very flexible in comparison to other mascaras. Now I'm not sure what effect this has but it grips the lashes well and adds good length although is slightly prone to clumping and not as natural looking as the Barry M Showgirl mascara I reviewed here. 

This mascara claims to have growth complex and fibres supposedly to encourage lash growth now Im very dubious to what extent that actually has noticeable effect but overall a nice mascara which gives quite a dramatic look. 

Thank you for reading.

LouLouLoves.  

Rimmel Apocalips Lip Velvets.

Rimmel's new release really sparked my interest and I couldn't wait to try them out, a new Rimmel Apocalips but instead of a glossy lacquer this time the promise of a velvet matte finish. Now I love a matte lip and have recently been loving all the new matte liquid lipstick offering from many brands such as the Bourjois Rouge Edition Velvets.

Now the shade range is limited with only 5 shades including nudes, pinks but to be honest I was only interested in the bolder more autumnal shades....and boy look at them! The two I picked up are so perfect for the season a deep plum called 'Meteoric Matte' and a rich pillar box red called 'Burning Lava'. Unlike the original Apocalips lacquers which were very difficult to apply, ridiculously messy and bleeds like a bitch these are a much different kettle of fish.

Ok so starting off with the pigmentation and as you can see from the above swatches they are bold, dramatic and wonderfully opaque....no problems there. I still find them a little messy to apply but no where near as bad as the lacquers, perhaps the doe foot applicator picks up too much product as I find I have to scrape off as much product as possible to gain a bit more control.

On first application one thing I did notice was that if your lips are not exfoliated it will cling to every little dry patch or uneven surface. These liquid lipsticks do feel very smooth to apply but don't ever seem to set fully dry which means they do not give a completely velvet looking finish which is quite misleading. Although I wouldn't call them a true matte lipstick, more of a satin finish they are very comfortable to wear but a little susceptible to smudging.

The wear time is very good, not so long as the Rouge Editions Velvets or the Maybelline Colour Drama Velvet pencils (read my review here) but still a lot longer then your average lipstick. Overall although it does have its flaws the new Rimmel Apocalips offering particularly these two colours give a pretty impressive bold lip perfect for the winter months.      

Thank you for reading.

LouLouLoves.

Children's Christmas Wishlist.

Now Eli's birthday has been and gone its time to focus on the next big event of the year.....CHRISTMAS! Now some people might cringe talking about Christmas in later october but when you have big family's and children if you fail to prepare....prepare to fail! Not only is it better to spread the cost of Christmas over a couple of months but being prepared means escaping the crazy Christmas shopping rush. I do most of my Christmas shopping online and maybe do one Christmasy shop in December to get the last few forgotten bits and to get into the spirit of things.

So lets start with the children.....here is what I have on their to buy lists. They both have a main present to share this year which is a wooden work bench from Vertbaudet which I picked up in the sale months ago and have been hoarding ever since. I'm so glad that they are at that age where I can buy them joint presents to share it makes things a lot easier!

For Eli I am going to get some dinosaur figures and dinosaur encyclopaedia as he is at the hight of a dinosaur obsession right now! I am also going to stock up on sticker and colouring books for his stocking as well as this cute pirate dressing up set which comes in a cute tin. Last but not least a Christmas onesie is essential and a yearly tradition and this one from Mothercare is perfect.

Now Wesley is always so much harder to buy for as we already have mountains of toys which don't seem to interest him and he generally just plays with Eli's toys! Books are always a winner no matter what and I always have a huge list of books to buy. As well as that I thought a little doctors kit and red indian dressing up set would be nice as he seems to enjoy pretend play, a Peppa Pig bath toy is bound to spark interest and also the traditional Christmas Pj's!

Now its just a case of getting round to buying it all!

Thank you for reading.

LouLouLoves.

Eli's Third Birthday Weekend.

Eli has had the best birthday weekend, how can my baby already be 3 its crazy!! His birthday was actually on the Friday so the night before we covered the whole house in bunting, balloons and banners  leading from his bedroom door all the way down stairs where he would find a special present. The vintage style bunting was reused from Wesley's first birthday and is from dotcomegiftshop the rest was from ASDA. I had to get him a giant 3 ballon which I managed to keep hidden under the stairs for several days and our table was decorated with a lovely display of pumpkins which we picked from the farm just the week before.

Eli's main present from us this year was a trike, I knew I wanted to get him some sort of bike for his birthday because he had been constantly eyeing up other children's bikes when we had taken trips to the park. I absolutely adore the classic American retro Radio Flyer Tricycle and after doing a little shopping around I knew this was the one for Eli. It was a little hard to get hold of in this country but managed to find an approved stockist which offered next day delivery which you can find here. 

Eli couldn't stop saying 'wow' when he came downstairs to find this in the middle of his living room as well as a few other presenting including books, DVD's and clothes. His birthday landed on a preschool day and he went in wearing his 'I Am 3' badge and came out with a birthday crown, card and bag of sweets!

We had a few visitors from immediate family during the day and Eli really enjoyed seeing them all and was absolutely over the moon when he unwrapped a Woody and Buzz Toy Story action figures he hasn't put them down since! 

 

We had a small birthday cake and then spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing and playing with his new toys. Wesley although feeling a little left out at first also really enjoyed the day and also took a liking to Woody! 

After spending all day baking Saturday we were ready for all our visitors on Sunday. We didn't throw a birthday party as such more like an open house for people to drop by to see the birthday boy suppling generous amounts of tea and cake. I baked carrot and raisin cupcakes, chocolate and raspberry brownies and chocolate chip cookies which all went down a storm with our family and friends. I also made Eli's birthday cake which was a 3 layered chocolate fudge cake with peanut butter frosting.....which turned out magnificently!! 

Overall the weekend was so lovely all our family and friends were so generous and Eli had such a wonderful time seeing everybody. Both my boys looked absolutely gorgeous and they are growing up way too fast for my liking! 

Both boys are wearing outfits from Next except Wesley's checked shirt which is from H&M.

Thank you for reading.

LouLouLoves.

Autumn Winter Toddler Wardrobe Update/Haul.

As I may have mentioned my two toddlers have both recently had a massive growing spurt which meant a big big wardrobe update was needed especially with it getting a lot colder these past few weeks. Now I have two boys aged 16 months and 3 years but this haul was mainly for my 16 month old Wesley who has always been on the small side and has only just moved up to 12-18 month clothes! For Wesley I much prefer shopping in H&M and Zara I find the price point, quality and fashion bang on most of the time where as for Eli I much prefer Next.

The first thing I bought wasn't from any of those places mentioned but from somewhere I hardly ever shop which is Mothercare. I found these adorable set of pants for Eli and not only do I love the design but the quality is amazing.

Next I took a trip to Zara Kids, now I adore their leggings for Wesley they come in all sorts of cool prints and are only £6.99 a pair! I picked up two in different prints but would have got a lot more if my local Zara didn't have such stocking issues, they had hardly anything in Wesley's size next time I will definitely place an online order instead! I also got Wesley four t-shirts which again were very reasonably priced and I love the little fox prints and the autumnal colours, I even picked up something very appropriate for halloween! I do find Zara sizing a little temperamental so I would recommend trying things on.

H&M is just fabulous right now for under 3 year olds, it was hard not to get carried away! They have the most beautiful jumpers and such great priced trousers. Again I have a thing about the colour mustard right now, not only is it such a lovely seasonal colour but it goes so nicely with Wesley's firey red hair.  

Although I'm not usually a fan of H&M's 3+ clothing selection I did pick up this red body warmer for Eli at a bargain price of £5.99 as its perfect for pre school as the weather turns colder to throw over a thick jumper for some added warmth. 

Thank you for reading.

LouLouLoves.