BEAUTY | BD TRADE SECRET PRIMER AND FOUNDATION REVIEW

I've never been one for supermarket make up, except for when I was 16 and a 'punk' and Mary Kate and Ashley released a great range of glitter eye-liners. I've heard good things about Tesco's beauty offering 'BD Secrets' and thought I'd try out their primer and mattifying foundation. I'll be honest I was pleasantly surprised!

Bd Trade Secrets Luminescence Silk Primer, £9.99
I'm used to using either the Smashbox or Bare Mineral primers, both are a gel type texture, which can leave my skin quite oily and takes a while to soak into my skin. The BD Trade Secrets primer is not like this at all, it has a much more fluid texture, which means that it is easier to apply and soaks in a lot faster so I can move on to the foundation stage more quickly.

I have tried the primer with a Rimmel Foundation (to be objective) and found that the foundation applied smoothly and evenly. As well as prolonged the stay power of my foundation compared to when I hadn't used primer.

At first I thought £9.99 was a lot for a primer from Tesco, but considering the size of the bottle and how little you will need to use you actually get a fair bit of bang for your buck.

Bd Trade Secrets Mattifying Base Oil Free Foundation, £8.99
When it comes to foundation I usually shy away from matte, preferring a more luminescent glow, however I wanted a bit of a change for my day to day look. I find as a whole matte foundation can be a bit two dimension and not great on some skin types and applying them can be tricky. Despite that I like the way the matte foundation looked, especially once I'd completed the look.

This foundation is again more fluid than I am used to, but I found that while applying it this meant that I didn't get the brush stroke marks that I sometimes get with others. You  don't need much foundation, literally one pump gave good coverage, any more and I found that I started looking a bit jaundice.

I think £8.99 is a reasonable price for the product,  it definitely is on par with the usual brands like Rimmel and No. 7.

Have you had any beauty product surprises?

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LIFESTYLE | MAIZY KITTY LITTER REVIEW

It's no secret that I love my cats, and I'm a husband away from being a crazy cat lady. As any cat owner knows, as much as you love your feline companions, they can be a bit naughty / annoying/stubborn sometimes.

I was asked to review some Maizy Cat Litter*, as the name suggests it is made of 100% puffed corn kernels making it completely natural. On top of that it is compost-able, flushable and biodegradable. It is also unltra absorbent,omits minimal odour and free from additives or perfumes.


Before I talk about the product I feel I need to add some context. Sega, our first kitty, was bought by me from a colleague at a temp job 5ish years ago. When I got her we were told she was nine weeks old. We heavily suspect that that is not true. She has shown several signs that she was taken away from her mother too early. When we first got her she repeatedly attempted to suckle on Joes nipples, since then she has demonstrated that she was never taught to sharpen her claws and has toilet issues.

When I say she has toilet issues oddly, when she does to the loo outiside she digs a hole like a normal cat, Instead of doing her buisness in said hole, she rest her paws in it goes to the loo and covers the hole. She's kinda missed the point.

She also wees on the floor almost daily and flat out refuses to use the litter tray. Usually it occurs at night when we close the flap, but she also does it if it is raining because she doesn't want to go outside. We have a litter tray, Tobias only uses it if he is ill, otherwise, like most normal cats he goes outside. The tray is emptied regularly despite no one using it, we have tried all types of kitty litter/newspapers, got new trays, moved it about the flat and nothing ever made a difference.

So imagine the epic surprise I had when the Maizy Cat Litter arrived and Sega (who is usually scared of things like opening packets) gets all inquisitive about the bag. She usually only gets like this when I am cooking! Then again she loves popcorn, goes crazy for it so maybe it was the smell that attracted her.

But then when I changed the litter over in the tray she immediately walked over to it got in and went to the loo! Queue the Hallelujah Chorus. She has been using it sporadically in the last month and so far I have noticed no unpleasant urine smells.

Oddly *touches wood* in the three weeks since we got back from the cattery she hasn't had an accident once!

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BEAUTY | Hugo Boss Boss Orange Fragrance Womens Review

I'm not sure if this is weird, or odd, but Hubs and I often end up with ‘His and Her’ fragrances. It all started when my mum bought us the His and Her Jean Paul Gaultier fragrances as a gift, we then went on to the Paco Rabanne Millionaire range and more recently Boss Orange.

While Hubs has been a Hugo Boss wearer for many years, I've always seen the brands fragrances as very masculine. Last year he got me the Boss Orange Sunset perfume, which I love and found to be a great summer fragrance, but I had never worn or tried the standard Boss Orange Womens EDT.

Reading about the fragrance, it has Vanilla and olive tree Base notes. This really surprises me because usually I think that Vanilla is too sweet for a fragrance, but in the case of Boss Orange this is not true. The Vanilla is in no way over powering and it is complimented beautifully by White flowers and Sandalwood. The initial scent that I notice is the apple which is delightfully fresh.

It also says that the fragrance “captures today's urban, natural and modern woman” which explains why I feel just as confident wearing this perfume when I'm out with my friends, as I do in meetings with clients. I find that when I wear Boss Orange I get great compliments throughout the day, making it easy to wear – this may sound odd to say, but scent can be a really individual thing. A great example is Angel by Thierry Mugler – I love it and know loads of people that do, but Hubs isn't too keen and my Dad, who is usually oblivious to smells, hates it.

When it comes to Boss Orange for Men, it is definitely one of my favourite scents on Hubs, along with Chanel Bleu. I love catching a surprise whiff of it when he gives me a hug after work, or while I'm cooking. If you want to see what Hubs thinks of it he’s written his own fragrance review.

What do you look for in a fragrance? Please give me some recommendations!

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BEAUTY | Lilla Loves Empties #1 - My first ever video blog!

That's right this is my first ever video blog! I've been meaning to make it for ages but have been putting it of as I am a but dubious of the whole thing. Anyway please watch it and let me know what you think and if there is anything I could improve!

I know I ramble on a bit, but please forgive me, I filmed it like 6 times before I gave up and thought just post it. These are some of my empties from the past few months! I hope to make empties and tutorials a more regular content format on my blog as I think it's nice to mix it up a bit!

Hope you enjoy it!

Love Lilla xx

HAIR | TRESemmé Instant Refresh Waterless Foam Shampoo Review

TRESemmé Instant Refresh 

Recently my friend was clearing out her cupboard and gave me a few products she wasn't using. This was one of them.

The TRESemmé Instant Refresh Shampoo is similar to Batiste in the sense that it is aimes at reviving hair between washes. My hair personally does not agree with Batiste, I find that it doesn't fully remove the grease so a couple of hours later my hair will look awful again. Additionally it makes my hair all clumpy and matted at the roots.

What I like about the TRESemmé Instant Refresh is that it is just like a mini wash in a pump. The waterless foam removes oil from the roots without drying out the ends. I used two pumps, rubbed the product between my palms and then applied by combing my fingers through my hair. The hair then becomes damp, which means I can quickly restyle with my blow dryer; making it a lifesaver in the morning because I often wake up with crazy hair stuck to my head!

This is going to become a firm staple of my hair care routine!

Love Lillaxx

BEAUTY | Mudd Sea Mask - My Go To Face Mask

I don't know why I always pull such a gormless face... very unattractive! Anyway, in prep for the wedding I went to at the weekend I decided to use a face mask. I always use face masks a week or so before a big occasion to minimise the risk of spots that might appear as a result of using the mask.

I've been using the Mudd Hydrating Sea Clay Formula Mask  since I was in my teens, it is a deep pore cleansing mask that also hydrates. It contains marine protein, minerals and vitamins that combine with the pure clay to absorb excess oil and dirt, it also uses kelp, seaweed and Irish moss to hydrate the skin. 

Before applying the mask I soaked my face with warm, moist cloth and then blotted dry before applying to my entire face (except my eyes) and leaving on for 10-15minutes. The clay dries and stiffens up. To remove gut wet another cloth and gently wipe off. The mask always leaves my skin feeling really fresh and not all tight like other mask do, it's also really easy to remove! 

I really love this mask but I think I'm going to look into making my own! If you know of any good recipes let me know!

Love Lilla xx

HAIR | Dove Challenge Week 1 Overview

So I survived my first week of the Dove Colour Radiance Challenge. Above are the five pictures I submitted to them. In an earlier post I said that I wasn't impressed by the Colour Radiance Express Treatment Conditioner because my hair still felt very dry after using it, I take this back! My hair is already back to feeling nice and soft. It was obviously just very dried out from the colour treatment.  

I'm actually very impressed with all the products that Dove have given me to use. I usually worry about shampoos, as if they contain sulphates my roots get greasy in a day and my ends dry out. But I'm pleased to say that the low sulphate shampoo has done the trick. Both conditioners have worked wonders on hair and I think I am obsessed with the Leave In Conditioner, it's so light and great for refreshing dry hair between washes.

Also my colour has lasted very well which obviously is the whole point of the range.

Love Lilla x

BEAUTY | HD Brows, my beauty obsession.

Eyebrows are sensitive issues for me, I’m part Iranian so unwanted body hair is a constant battle! I grew up with luscious thick eyebrows; they were a bit too thick but nothing that a good threading couldn’t have dealt with. Unfortunately in my youthful ignorance I hated my eyebrows and wished to have thin eyebrows like all my British friends. In my eyes they were just giant furry caterpillars conquering my forehead, this unhealthy view and compulsive need to fit in with my friends lead to an over-plucking frenzy from which my brows would take a decade to recover! To be fair I never sported the pencil thin brows, but their thickness and natural shape completely disappeared.

In 2009 I embarked on a mission to be happier and change my life. After spending 2009/2010 focusing on a career change and learning to drive, 2011 became the start of my ‘taking care of me’ phase. I was working for a celebrity management company, who were managing Elen Rivas at the time, and I fell in love with her eyebrows. I decided this was one of my new wants! After a considerable amount of Googling, I came across HD Brows!

I immediately booked an appointment with my local HD Brow stylist using their very helpful salon finder! Filled with excitement I went along to my appointment but still had my doubts about whether they would be able to fix my eyebrows or if I could achieve the look I wanted! After sitting in the chair for close to an hour, I was definitely not disappointed. The lady doing my eyebrows did a fantastic job, and then showed me where I needed to grow in sections and how to use powder to achieve the look I wanted. Results are below:

Before (not the best picture I know but you can get an idea of how sparse they were):

After:

The lady who did my eyebrows also recommended the HD Brow ‘Grow Baby Grow’ which is a herbal liquid that you can paint on to over plucked brows (and can be used on your eyelashes) to help stimulate growth. I have now been using this product for nearly 2 months and the improvement in my brows is unbelievable, I honestly never thought that they would grow back as much as they have!

Since discovering HD Brows I have recommended the treatment to numerous friends who have all had the treatment and been ecstatic. My mum could not believe my eyebrow re-growth either and has now started using Grow Baby Grow as a result!

BEAUTY | Nip + Fab Sheer Make-Up Fix- Make-up bag must!

I first got hold of NIP+FAB Sheer Make-Up Fix in October, and since trying it, it has become a make up bag must for me!

The Sheer Make-up fix  is a fantastic product that helps to even out your skin tone and texture. It can be used by itself for a natural look or under make up as a primer.

Sheer Make-Up fix is an easy to apply, citrus smelling gel that soaks into your skin easily so that you can apply your make up almost immediately if you want to. The gel instantly works on your skin so it feel velvety soft and ultra smooth.

As I've previously said, it can be used with or without make up, but if used as a primer my make up stays in place more or less all day with no smudging or wearing away and helps your skin look flawless! Since I've been using it i have had endless comments on how great my skin looks.

Previous to using this, I had never used a primer, but now I am a firm believer in primer!

. This may seem steep but the product last for ages!