October BirchBox

 So it’s Birchbox time again and we’re going back to basics with October’s box of goodies! The Birch team have designed a box that will help take you back to your beauty essentials! From cleansing products to cosmetics, this box has all the bits and bobs you’ll need to get ready for the cold months ahead!

The October box contains a full sized Eyeko: Fat liquid eyeliner, a full sized Seche Vite dry fast top coat, a Bioderma mini micellar water, a Regenerate Enamel Science advanced toothpaste, a Beaver professional Hydro Nutritive moisturising shampoo, plus a Beaver Professional Hydro Nutritive moisturising conditioner!

The Eyeko pen is a super black, anti-smudge eye liner that costs £12 from the Birch store. I love this product and it really is smudge proof, however I’ve found it to be too thick for everyday wear and have resorted to saving it for nights out where bold and black eye makeup is more acceptable! It’s the perfect product for wearing under fake eyelashes – which I’ll be wearing a lot of over the festive seasons! Buy your Eyeko fat liner HERE.

Seche Vite is a brand I’m really fond of, so I was super excited to get their top coat. You can layer on this product pretty thick and it will still dry in minutes, it’s recommended you top up the product after three days to prolong the life of your ‘at home’ mani, but I’ve found it lasts longer than three days without reapplying. This product also doubles as a great base coat if you want to make your nail polish easier to remover and reduce the risk of stained nails! You can get your top coat for £9 HERE.

I’ve already posted about how much I love Garnier’s Micellar Water in my Bedside Routine post, so I was pretty excited to try out more Micellars! The Bioderma Sensibio H2O is £10.20 for a full size product and is really good for smoothing impurities and removing make up. It’s a really good product and does exactly what it says on the tin, but I think I’ll stick to my Garnier product just because it’s better value! However if you do want to try the Sensibio you can get it HERE.

The Regenerate toothpaste was a really nice and thick product which felt really good and hard working when I brushed my teeth. However after using BOCA for so long I was really worried about the chemicals it might contain. Turns out it’s not all that bad and helps to reverse invisible signs of enamel erosion, as well as protecting against cavities and whitening your teeth. A good product over-all but I think I’ll be sticking to my BOCA. You can get Regenerate’s toothpaste for £10 HERE.

The Beaver Professional shampoo and conditioner uses the natural benefits of avocado oil and aloe vera to repair your luscious locks, leaving it soft and smooth. I loved this product the shampoo was great on its own and left my hair silky smooth and the conditioner is great for when your hair is feeling a little frazzled! I will definitely be purchasing these products in the future! The shampoo costs £11.50 and the conditioner is £12 – shop them both HERE!

There’s still time to get your hands on the October box – just follow THIS link. Have you ever tried Birchbox or any of the above products? What did you think of my reviews? Let me know in a comment below!

September Birchbox

Birchbox has been something I’ve wanted to try for a while now and as it was their birthday (or Birchday) in September I thought when better to give it a go? For those of you who don’t know what I’m on about, Birchbox is a company who send out a little box of goodies for you each month ranging from beauty samples to accessories and sweet treats!

When you sign up you go through a tonne of tick boxes to help Birchbox pick the samples that are right for you. Next you’re given the choice to pay upfront for a certain amount of boxes or pay monthly (about £12 a month including delivery). Then a few days later a little box of goodness shows up on your doorstep! Think Graze box, but with cosmetics not food!

The September box contained a Laura Mercier ‘flawless skin’ face scrub, a Benefit Porefessional: License to Blot sample, a Birchbox tangle teaser, a John Masters organic detangle serum, a Laqa & Co ‘cheeky lip’ lip pencil and a Bliss Foot Patrol softening cream.

The Laura Mercier face scrub was something I was really excited to try. I have really sensitive skin which reacts to a lot of products, however Mercier’s products have always worked really well with my skin. After trying the scrub I wasn’t disappointed, after five days of using it my skin felt a lot softer and smoother and my pores looked a lot cleaner. You can get the full sized version here.

Benefit’s Porefessional is a product I use pretty much every day! I have really visible pores and the Benefit products hide them really well, giving my skin and smoother appearance. The new roll up blotting stick, that the product now comes in, makes for easier application than the old tube version as well, so I would definitely recommend this product to those of you who wants smoother looking skin without having to spend forever applying products! Check out the full sized product here.

Thanks to the Birchbox tangle teaser and the John Masters serum, my hair has never been smoother. I apply a little of the detangler to my hair then rinse through with warm water, then I brush my hair through with the tangle teaser as I blow dry it. These two combined make for the perfect silky sleek hair look that is so desperately sought after this season!

The Laqa & Co ‘cheeky lip’ lip pencil is a really long wear lip crayon and is a really popular product in general, however I found the shade sent to be way too bright for my complexion. The bright pink colour really clashed with my pale skin and made me look pasty and drawn out, so even though it was a good quality product, it probably wouldn’t be something I’d go out of my way to buy as most of their colours are really bright and summery and I am not! *insert crying emoji here*

The final goodie in my box was the Bliss Foot Patrol softening cream. All feet go through dry, cracked periods – it’s not surprising considering what we put them through! Having a good moisturiser that targets the skin on your feet specifically is really important and I would strongly recommend the Bliss cream to be that product! After one use my feet felt a million times softer and I’ve already purchased the full sized product!

I know this was a super quick overview of each of the Birch items but I just wanted to do a mini review of each without the post going on and on! I will hopefully be doing one of these posts each month so stay tuned for more Birchbox goodness.

If you’re interested in getting your own Birch goodies then follow THIS link to get your very own box. Have you ever tried Birchbox or any of the above products? What did you think of my reviews? Let me know in a comment below!

Belissimo Lips

Oh my god I'm in love! Glitter..for your lips....like actual glitter....could you ever imagine anything so perfect!? Well no need to imagine any longer, it's here! 

On Saturday I went Christmas shopping to the Trafford Centre and was having a mooch around Topshop when I noticed a few members of staff had the most amazing sparkly lips. After stalking one poor girl around the shop to find the source of the glitter I came across a cute little pop up make up stall in the centre of the store.

There the Belissimo girls were selling their latest product 'Belissimo Lips' which is a type of glitter that can be applied to your lips using a water based adhesive. The lovely founder of Belissimo, Anita (or Missy Belissimo), was more than happy to do my lips up in shade 'Rose' (shown in the first picture) and I simply fell head over heels - I just had to get some!

After much serious consideration and discussion (involving half the staff in the store) I settled on getting shades Rose (top left), Purple (top right) and Crimson (bottom right). The wonderful Missy Belissimo also threw in a new shade which wont be released until this weekend called Moonstone (shown bottom left).

The glitter lips are SO easy to apply, all you have to do is roll on the adhesive glue with a cotton bud then roll on your glitter using the same technique. The glitter only sticks to the glue and simply brushes off anywhere else. The glitter is meant to stay on for up to twelve hours and you can still eat and drink whilst wearing it as long as you avoid greasy foods and hot drinks (so handy if you're on a diet as well!)

I left my glitter on for about nine hours then went to wipe it off with a make up wipe and it refused to budge! After scrubbing with some face wash I eventually managed to remove it - at least I know I can trust it not to budge on a night out!

I think the Belissimo Lips are such a beautiful alternative to lipstick and perfect for the festive season! I can't wait to wear mine to Christmas parties and on News Years Eve! I even plan on wearing the Rose colour casually as it's not too vibrant and attention grabbing for every day wear. The other three, however, are reserved for special nights out!

The sets are £13 for one which includes a pot of adhesive, three cotton wool applicators and a pot of glitter. However you can also buy three glitters for £30 which still includes your adhesive and applicators. My set is shown below!

For any hardcore glitter lovers like me, or anyone wanting to try something different to wow at the Christmas party, I seriously recommend checking Belissimo out! You can take a look at their website by clicking HERE where they sell a whole wide range of cool stuff as well as their glitter lips. Alternatively you can check out their products on Instagram @missybelissimo or on Twitter @belissimouk.

Comment and let me know if you've ever used Belissimo Lips or a similar product and what your favourite Belissimo Lips colour is! - Alice x

London Baby!

Those of you who follow me on Twitter and Instagram etc. will already know that I went on a mini holiday to London this weekend. Me the mother and step-father went to celebrate their wedding anniversary and because I haven't visited the capital in over ten years!

I've had an absolutely amazing weekend and just wanted to share a few pictures and stories from the trip with you all. There are more photos from the trip on my Twitter, Instagram and Facebook (links to the right) if you really want to know more about my London adventures!

The pictures from left to right - Top row: My first look at the London skyline from the overground train, Buckingham Palace at night time, Parliament and Big Ben from the open top bus tour.

Middle row: The London Aquarium and the London Eye, me and my mummy dearest outside The Tower of London, The Tower of London and a cheeky plane sneaking into my picture!

The 'Big Bus' open top bus tour that I spent most of my weekend travelling from one landmark to another on, the giant golden Freddie Mercury statue outside the Dominion Theatre where I went to see We Will Rock you, Big Ben and the London Eye taken from the open top bus tour. 

I arrived in London on Friday threw my bags in the hotel and ran back out to go see Oxford Street and for a meal at TGIF which was sooo yum! Then we went to see We Will Rock You before having cocktails at a bar next door. After this it seemed necessary to have a cheeky drunken pizza from the greasy shop next to the hotel.

The Saturday we went to see all the landmarks like the Tower of London, the Eye, Buckingham Palace and of course Hamleys toy store! We then headed to china town in a rickshaw (easily the scariest experience of my life) and had a meal at a chinese restaurant before heading back to the hotel and pretty much passing out from exhaustion.

Sunday we met up with family that live in London and had a meal and a drink at a bar/restaurant called The Alice House (I'll be doing a separate post on this later because it was so beautiful and named after me!) then my mum and my step-dad headed back to my home town Barrow and I hopped on a train back to Liverpool!

It was such a brilliant weekend and I was very sad to return home and leave my family but I'll cherish the memories forever! Let me know all about your trips to London by leaving a comment below! -Alice x