Mascara and Maltesers | UK Beauty Blog

Summertime Phone Wallpapers


iPhone wallpaper, phone wallpaper, iPhone background, phone background, iPhone background summer,  iPhone background tropical,  iPhone wallpaper summer, iPhone wallpaper tropical, iPhone wallpaper pink, iPhone wallpaper flowers,









So, phone wallpapers. Anyone want to share with me why I am so addicted to changing mine? Most people seem to just switch theirs once in a while, perhaps using the stock ones that come with your phone. But me? Of course not, I take it to the extreme, naturally and I will change mine weekly...yes weekly. With with weekly obsession nowhere near under control I decided to share a few of my current summertime favourites, and just maybe get some ideas for my next wallpaper choice...


What is your current favourite phone wallpaper?





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The Seventeen Instant Glow Shimmer Brick


Seventeen Instant Glow Shimmer Brick

The Seventeen Instant Glow Shimmer Brick

Seventeen Instant Glow Shimmer Brick Review


Product rave and bargain alert..

I wont beat around the bush here. I am head over heels for this. The Seventeen Instant Glow Shimmer Brick in Gold Bronze forms part of the Instant Glow collection and the minute I laid eyes on it I knew I had to buy it. I've been lusting after Bobbi Browns bronzer for years but sometimes (most) the time my wages just are not quite allowing for £32 to be spent on bronzer. So at £4.99 (!) there was no way I was not buying this, regardless of the hundreds of bronzers/blushes/cheek stains I've accluminated. Makeup is a girls prerogative right?

Well I picked the Gold Bronze rather than the pink shimmer brick, I need to look tanned, not flushed. The gold bronze contains a soft champagne, a golden sandy taupe, a rich coppery bronze and a deep rose bronze. Each shade is super pigmented and smooth. No chunks of glitter here. Phew. Also, the colours could be used as eyeshadows but I wouldn't recommend that and using it as a bronzer too...hello the Oompah Lumpha look, with added sparkle.

Safe to say I love this - seventeens best product in my opinion. Plus my purse is thanking me as this has pushed Bobbi Brown out my wish list and is very happy with the £4.99 alternative bargain.


17 Instant Glow Shimmer Brick in Gold Bronze - £4.99 -Available in Boots

Have you tried the Seventeen Instant Glow Shimmer Brick? 




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My Most Loved Candle


Jo Malone Wild Fig & Cassis Home Candle, Jo Malone, Jo Malone London Candle,

This is one big claim isn't it? For such a candle to narrow it down to that one that I will openly say is my favourite. I never venture much further than good old Yankee Candle, perhaps sometimes getting a nice one from Waitress (on offer) but I have gone to the Jo Malone side, and I am not going back. Well that is until I run out funds of course.

The Jo Malone Wild Fig & Cassis Home Candle (£42) has been taking pride of place on my bedside table, and that is when a candle knows it done well in my house, and just for this candles appearance alone it is pure luxurious.  

Jo Malone Wild Fig & Cassis Home Candle, Jo Malone, Jo Malone London Candle,


Jo Malone Wild Fig & Cassis Home Candle, Jo Malone, Jo Malone London Candle,

The wild fig and cassis scent is sweet at first, yet not sickly, and after a few minutes its more of a juicy against woody pine scent and a base note of musk. Think sun-warmed figs. If you know what they smell like. Pricey, yes, but when do you walk into Jo Malone and expect any different? Plus this has doubled up as bedside table decoration so really its a two for one deal. I do just need another one for my collection I reckon...



Have you tried any Jo Malone candles?



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The Pink Barry M Hi Shine Gel Effect Nail Paints


The Pink Barry M Hi Shine Gel Effect Nail Paints

The Pink Barry M Hi Shine Gel Effect Nail Paints Grapefruit


Something odd has happened to me. I am potentially growing up. I know. But, recently (and slightly OTT) my hair has been cut shorter, and got darker as I grew tired of long platinum-ish blonde hair, and my entire makeup tastes have changed to what could be classed as more sophisticated. In all of this, gone are my false nails for something I would never ever wear, my own nails painted pink. And I don't do pink nails.

Yet I have, and I am in love. So much so that I brought two pinks to fuel this latest passion, and of course they would be the Barry M Hi shine Gel effect Nail Paints (£3.99). Nothing for that price is as good as these Barry M ones, others do come close, Rimmel, Maybelline and Collection to name a few, but Barry M are the kings for a reason.

The two I opted for was firstly, Grapefruit, a bright vibrant pink. (You won't lose your fingers) Borderline neon pink, but not quite. Next was Dragonfruit, my favourite of the two. Slightly more subtle, not that would be hard, and stronger than a baby pink. Both of these of course have that famous Barry M Gelly texture and are thicker than most. Still, two coats is needed but I can skip the top coat, so my inner lazy nail painter in happy. Essie etc are still hold the trophy for better polishes, but these Barry M ones have given it a good shot, and they must be good, as I don't do pink nails.


Have you tried any Barry M Hi Shine Gel Effect Nail Paints?



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Goodbye Pale, Hello James Read


James Read, James Read Day Tan, James Read Sleep Mask Tan for face, James Read Enzyme Peel Masks,

My face doesn't do tan, real or fake my face insists on staying white. From a skincare point of view this is of course wonderful news, but for those who have to look at my marshmallow face? Not so much. So these James Read face tanning treats really couldn't of come at better time.

The first item I grabbed from this gold and white goodness was the Day Tan, a 'revolutionary' (their words not mine) day cream that is meant to a deliver a glowing of colour as well as instant moisture and SPF protection. Like I expected, my face wasn't too tanned from using this, but I do think there was a slight glow to my skin rather than a wash of tanned colour. Which is probably a blessing in disguise as my face wouldn't actually mess my pale body. But this mixture of glow and moisture is very welcomed.

James Read, James Read Day Tan, James Read Sleep Mask Tan for face, James Read Enzyme Peel Masks,
James Read, James Read Day Tan, James Read Sleep Mask Tan for face, James Read Enzyme Peel Masks,

Next is another product recently scare me (hiya Makeup Revolution Ultra Cream Contour Palette), with the Sleep Mask Tan for face. Who puts fake tan on and then goes to sleep with hope of waking up tanned? I do apparently. This is fact quite the skin treat, the gel mixes well with my dry skin and I do feel like I am giving myself a little facial, and this is a bit stronger in colour that the Day Tan, but nothing that would make people think 'Oh God she has been fake tanning her face'.

Lastly is one item my skin really needs, the Enzyme Peel Mask. This is meant to be the skin prep for a tan, but I just love the hydrating yet exfoliating mask that I am going to keep using this regardless of the fact I don't have a tan, but don't worry face you just tan in your own time yeah? Pfft...

Have you tried any James Read tans before?



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The mascara dream team


Maybelline Lash Sensational Mascara, Benefit Cosmetics They're Real Mascara, Mascara layering,

Maybelline Lash Sensational Mascara, Benefit Cosmetics They're Real Mascara, Mascara layering,


Unsurprisingly, I can't just use one mascara at a time. I don't have that much self restraint. Normally its two (often more) mascaras I use for both my bottom and top lashes, as I don't like to deprive them. If I use a purely lengthening mascara I end up with skinny lashes, and if its a volume centred mascara they end up too stumpy for my liking. So my natural answer, and my answer to most makeup issues, add more mascara. 

For me, at the moment its the Maybelline Lash Sensational Mascara that gets first dibs. Wand-wise this rubber offering defies normal rubberness failures of lack of volume and definition, to give me some good lashes. The brush head itself is also slightly curved, which is the perfect tool for even coated and lengthened lashes. Rarely for a high street mascara the formula is spot on; not too wet nor dry, and there is probably a technical way to describe that.

The Benefit Cosmetics They're Real Mascara comes next. This really builds the volume up without it looking clumpy and spidery. There are also bristles on the end/top of the wand whichever way you view it, and I find this helps to 'hook' any annoying lashes. Its easy to coat both the inner and outer lashes, without causing a mess, or more importantly not poking my eye out.

This is the summer jacket of mascaras for me at the moment, as its not a black but a brown. Not a full of hit of blackness which can be too strong for daily wear, but a lighter offering of brown that give the right balance of colour (and warmth if it was a jacket...). 

Do you use two or more mascaras at once?




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