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What's In My Glossybox | April 2016

24/4/2016

Hello Everyone!
Happy Sunday!
Did you see my Freedom Makeup Haul last week? (HERE).
This is my third Glossybox that I've received (Starter box) (March box)
I wasn't as thrilled with this one to be honest, but then not every box can be spot on!
I did get a couple of items that I am loving, though.

Essence Mosaic Compact Powder

A nice compact powder, mattifies the skin well and adds a touch of coverage and colour. I don't like how much glitter there is though - I'm not trying to be Edward Cullen.
It looks nice swept over the cheekbones and nose to add a bit of a shimmer.
Full size is only £3.

The Body Shop Oils of Life Facial Oil

I'm a little bit in love with this one! I love the little pipette too.
At first I was a bit reluctant to use it as I've never used a facial oil before and it frightened me a bit, so I read up on how to use it (I know, what sort of beauty blogger am I?) and have been loving it.
It claims to be an 'intensely revitalising facial oil' and I agree with that statement.
Once I've taken my make up off, I dab this along my T-Zone and the rest of my face using my finger tips, and then sometimes pat my moisturiser over the top to lock in the moisture while I sleep.
I wake up with healthier looking, hydrated skin.
The full size is £28 so I'm not sure I would pay that but I love this little tester and it is a great facial oil.

Leighton Denny Miracle Mist

I was a bit sceptical of this one too as I already have lots of nail drying sprays and this doesn't really scream 'beauty' at me, but I used it and loved it.
It actually did dry my nails in about 2 minutes, and I am talking dry dry not touch dry.
I also love that it doesn't have a chemical smell that sucks all the oxygen from the room like some others do. It really is a great nail drying spray.
Full size is £12, a bit pricey but it is worth the money.

STYLondon Temporary 'Henna' Tattoos

Now this was the dud item in the box - this is not beauty to me.
I haven't worn temporary tattoos since I was about 12 and don't intend to again.
I haven't tried them so I can't tell you anything about them (sorry !).
These will be going in my nail art draw in case I ever feel inspired to use them on my nails.
Full size is £5.99.

Studio 10 Brow Lift Perfecting Liner

Essence Mosaic Compact Powder / Studio 10 Eyebrow Pencil and Highlighter

This is a lovely eyebrow pencil, it's a really hard consistency so you can create a really natural brow look and create tiny fine lines to resemble hairs. It's double ended so you have the defining pencil on one end and the highlighter pencil on the other. Personally I would have preferred a spooli as opposed to a highlighter pencil, purely because I just don't get on with highlighter pencils.
It's a tiny bit warm toned for me but I'll definitely be using it again.
Full size is £22.

So not my favourite Glossybox but I got a couple of goodies out of it!
What did you think of the April Glossybox?
I'd love to hear your thoughts so leave me a comment!

Thanks for reading and I'll be back next week.

Abi xxx

Pssst, you can follow me on Twitter | Instagram | Bloglovin', y'know, only if you want to...

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Freedom Makeup Haul

17/4/2016

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Hello Everyone!
Happy Sunday!
I hope you enjoyed last week's post 'The 5 Product Face' (here), it's so difficult to narrow it down.
As you may know, I made a big ol' Freedom Makeup order the other week, so today I'll be showing you what I bought and what I think of it.

Freedom Makeup is SUPER affordable, is a sister brand to Make Up Revolution and doesn't test on animals.
Here's the run down of what I bought:
- Pro 12 Audacious 3 eyeshadow palette, £4
- Mono Eyshadows in Glided 217 and Gilded 218, 75p each
- Pro Studio Priming Water, £6
- Blush Professional Pro Blush 3 in 'True Loved', £1
- Pro Lipstick Pink 103 in 'Pink Lust', 75p
- Makeup Artist Pro Favourites Collection (5 lipstick set) £3.50

Freedom Makeup Pro 12 Audacious 3 | abibailey.co.uk

Freedom Makeup Pro 12 Audacious 3 swatches | abibailey.co.uk

Mono Eyeshadow in Glided 217 (left) and Gilded 218 (right)

Eyeshadows

The eyeshadows swatch really nicely, but when applying them with a brush they're not overly pigmented.
They are glittery as opposed to shimmery,
They blend well,
They don't crease.

They're not fantastic but when you're getting 12 eyeshadows for £3.50, what can you expect?

Verdict: Probably wouldn't buy again.

Blush Professional Pro Blush 3 'True Loved' | abibailey.co.uk

Priming Water

I only have good things to say about these two items!
I was a bit sceptical about the priming water as I thought 'how is vitamin water going to make a difference?' but oh man was I wrong.
It is packed with multi vitamins which is supposed to hydrate the skin for hours, boost radiance and revitalise your complexion.
I spray it on top of my usual primer as a boost and it makes my foundation apply so much nicer! It stops it from looking cakey and it makes me look less shiny throughout the day.
It's also stopped my make up from breaking up on my nose.
Plus who doesn't want revitalised skin?

Verdict: Absolute must have!

Blush

The blush gives a subtle pink 'flushed' look to the skin, it looks quite natural which is nice.
It blends really well and didn't go patchy.
It isn't the most pigmented but at least that way you can build up the intensity.

Verdict: Lovely blush, especially for £1

Freedom Makeup Pro Lipstick 'Pink 103 Pink Lust' | abibailey.co.uk

Freedom Makeup Makeup Artist Pro Favourites Collection | abibailey.co.uk

Freedom Makeup Makeup Artist Pro Favourites Collection swatches | abibailey.co.uk

(Left to Right) Pink Lust, Untouched, Candy Sweet, Expression, True Power, Dusk Till Dawn

Lipsticks

The lipsticks in this 5 set are the 'favourite' picks from each of the other available 5 sets:
Untouched is from Bare (111)
Candy Sweet is from Pink (102)
Expression is from Red (108)
True Power is from Now (120)
Dusk Till Dawn is from Vamp Noire

They're very smooth,
Not overly pigmented but give a nice wash of colour,
Didn't bleed,
Absorbs quite quickly, so needs topping up often.

Verdict: Probably wouldn't buy again, but it was nice to try new shades.
If you like a wash of colour as opposed to opaque colour, you'll like these.

Over all not a bad little spending spree!
Absolutely love the priming water and the blush is great too.
Nothing was 'bad' but the eyeshadows could be better, even at the cheap price they are, I would expect more from them.

Have you bought anything from Freedom?
What are your thoughts?
Leave me a comment!

Thanks for reading and I'll speak to you next Sunday.
Next week's post is 'What's In My Glossybox? April 2016'
So look out for that (or follow me on Bloglovin' so you don't miss it)

Abi xxx

You can follow me on Twitter | Instagram | Bloglovin'

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The 5 Product Face

10/4/2016

2 Comments

Hello everyone!
Happy Sunday!
Did you see last week's post about the TRESemmé Beauty-Full Volume Reverse System (here)?
Today I thought I'd do the '5 Product Face' tag as I thought it'd be a challenge as I am not a minimal make up kinda gal.
The idea is pretty self explanatory; if you could only pick 5 products to wear, what would you pick and why?

The 5 products I chose, and can be considered my 'ryde or die' products, are:

- L'Oreal Infallible 24-H Matte foundation (here) in '12 Natural Rose'
- Maybelline Lash Sensational Mascara in 'Very Black'
Rimmel Professional Eyebrow Pencil in 'Black/Brown'
- Revlon Super Lustrous Lipstick in 'Revlon Red'
- Maybelline Eye Studio Gel Liner in 'Black'

Considering I wear 12 make up products a day, narrowing it down to just 5 essentials was quite difficult but I figured I could look quite put together with the items I chose.

I could easily survive without concealer, as my foundation gives a lot of good coverage and it dries matte so I could skip powder too.
I would miss my blush but I could get by without it!

There is no way in hell I'm leaving the house without my eyebrows so my eyebrow pencil is a non-negotiable must have.

I would really miss my eyeshadows and eyeshadow crayons but just eyeliner and mascara would give a nice classic look so I could get by without them, although it pains me just to think about it!

I need lipstick in my life and I pretty much always wear Revon Red. Paired with a classic winged liner look and lashings of mascara I think it would add to the classic 1940's look.

Maybe one day I will actually do the look!

I'd love to hear what your 5 Product Face would consist of so please leave me some comments!
If you've done the tag please link me to it as I'd love to give it a read.

As always thanks for reading and I will speak to you next Sunday.
My Freedom Make Up order arrived the other day so I'm hoping to blog about that next!

Abi xxx

You can follow me on Twitter | Instagram | Bloglovin'

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TRESemmé Beauty-Full Volume Reverse System

3/4/2016

5 Comments

Hello Everyone!
Happy Sunday!
Did you see last week's post reviewing Colourpop's Ultra Matte Lip liquid lipsticks? (here)
Today we'll be talking hair care as opposed to make up, but don't worry! Make up will be back here soon as I made a huge Freedom Make Up order and I'm dying for that to arrive so I can use it and review it here. Keep your eyes peeled.
Today's post is about the TRESemmé Beauty-Full Volume Reverse System.

TRESemmé Beauty-Full Volume Collection | abibailey.co.uk

I'm a big fan of TRESemmé and tend to be drawn to them when looking for new hair care products.
This collection is different to normal as you use them in the reverse order - i.e. you condition first and then shampoo.
Doing it in this order is supposed to stop your hair from being weighed down.
Reversing your hair washing routine has become quite popular recently, along with using just conditioner between washes to help boost your hair's volume and general health.
Washing your hair too often (like every day) is actually quite damaging to your hair and scalp's natural oils.
This collection has been out for a few weeks now, but when it was new, these were about £2 something each (Regular price is £5) so how could I say no? I'm always trying to give my hair a boost anyway and for that price you can't complain!
They're currently on a 'better than half price!' deal at Superdrug at the moment so hop to it!

The Boots website says that the TRESemmé Beauty-Full Volume Pre-Wash Conditioner:

- Delivers 2 x volume, 2 x smoothnes
- Formulated with Fleximax Volumizers and Fibre Polishing Actives the formula preps hair for voluminous bounce and binds to the cuticle to leave hair smooth and polished, even after you shampoo
- Hair is left beautifully voluminised and touchably soft

The conditioner is really nice; it absorbs quickly and rinses out well and it leaves your hair feeling cared for even before you've shampooed and the added bonus of the pump is great as you don't pump out too much product.
My hair is quite long and thick so I use around 5 pumps, rub it between my palms and smooth through the lengths and tips. I leave it on for a minute and then rinse it out.

Again, on the Boots website it says the TRESemmé Beauty-Full Volume Shampoo is:

Formulated with fleximax volumisers, the shampoo helps control static, infusing your hair with volume and leaving it perfectly prepped for styling. Volume really can feel as good as it looks.

The shampoo is great; it foams up nicely and rinses out well, leaving your hair feeling clean, refreshed, nourished and smooth.
What more could you want?
I put a hearty squidge into my palm, rub my hands together and then massage it into my roots and through the lengths.
I then rinse it out and give my hair a blast with cold water to help close the hair follicles and keep my hair looking smooth and shiny.

I think this is the game changer though!
It's a 'Hair Maximiser' and it does just that.
I squeeze out a small amount about the size of a £1 coin (squeezing from the centre of the tube - not sure why it's so important but it is) into my palm and distribute between my hands applying it to damp hair from root to tip, focussing on the lengths and tips.
Give it a minute to settle in then give it a good old blow dry, for added volume, I blow dry my hair upside down.
Voila! Smooth, bouncy hair.

I really like this system and think it is certainly worth the money.
If you didn't want to buy all three I would suggest you try the Hair Maximiser as I think that's what does the most work and has the greatest effect- it really helps boost my limp hair.

Thanks for reading and I'll speak to you next Sunday!

Abi xxx

P.S. You can follow me on Twitter | Instagram | Bloglovin'

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What's In My Glossybox | April 2016

Essence Mosaic Compact Powder

The Body Shop Oils of Life Facial Oil

Leighton Denny Miracle Mist

STYLondon Temporary 'Henna' Tattoos

Studio 10 Brow Lift Perfecting Liner

Freedom Makeup Haul

Eyeshadows

Priming Water

Blush

Lipsticks

The 5 Product Face

TRESemmé Beauty-Full Volume Reverse System

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