Miss Sunshine and Sparkle

Sunday, 30 December 2012

Christmas Goodies and a Big Hello

Hi girls and guys, first of all I want to say a huge hello/sorry and an even bigger Merry Christmas to you all. For lots of reasons (mainly my Internet going down) I've piratically missed out on a whole month of blogging and taking a step out of the beauty blogging world has been a bit of a killer. But I am so happy to say that I am back and I am really looking forward to catching up with all your blogs and read what each and everyone of you have been up too though the month of December.

I can't quite believe Christmas has now been and gone and were just a few hours away from saying hello to 2013! I hope you all had an amazing Christmas and that Santa brought you all lots of lovely bits. Christmas goodies posts seam to be the number one thing to blog about right now - and why not, I know I'm not alone when I say I love having a good nose to see what everyone got - So I thought my first post would show you all what I got on Christmas morning. I will warn you in advance that this post is slightly picture heavy!

I feel well and truly lucky this Christmas as I received so many things on my forever growing wishlist as well as goodies that were thrown in which I wasn't even expecting. I am over the moon to finally have the Naked Pallet... There was seriously the biggest 'yay' ever when I opened this gem and I cannot wait experiment with all the different looks I can create with it. I also adore the gold glittery handbag, its absolutely gorgeous, especially the way it reflects off all the light.

I love how most of my Christmas goodies all tie in very nicely with one another this year - I have enough beauty products to make myself look glam, perfume to keep me smelling lovely, winter accessories to keep me warm and cosy and enough nail polish to keep me entertained for a good few months.

If you have done a 'what I've got for Christmas' type of post beauties, please let me know as I will be sure to check it out. Like I say I am back now and hopefully for a long time - that's assuming that I don't have another Internet disaster. Expect to see me popping all over your comments boxes over the next few weeks as I will be catching up!

Lot's of Love and Christmas Kisses

Hello Hugo

Hi guys, I just wanted to get up a little chit chat post for you all this evening and introduce you all to a new family member! I am sure there will be some nodding heads already, especially if you follow me on Instagram or Twitter (sunshinesprkle) but for those of you who have no idea who or what I am talking about....This weekend my mum and I went on a puppy hunt! And we were not looking for any pup... don't get me wrong all puppies are simply adorable but we were specifically after a Chocolate Labrador puppy, and it had to be a boy of course (I don't know why, but we've only ever had boy doggies).

Hunting for the right pup has been a bit of a mission itself, my step dad has been making calls after calls to enquire about chocolate lab pups, and each time he made the call, he would get the call back saying that the puppies had been sold. Last week he made an oh so important call to a lady in Nottingham as her doggie had a litter of eight pups and there was one little boy left - But she also said that there was a man coming all the way from Scotland to see him and maybe put a deposit down on him and that she would let us know. Well the man came down and obviously couldn't resist the cuteness of the puppy and wanted to take him. So we were left starting our search once again. Come Friday we received another call from the same lady saying the man from Scotland was messing her around and that she didn't really trust him, and although she had plenty of other calls that week showing interest in the little one she loved our story so much so that she wanted us to see him the following day.

What's our story you might be wondering? Well I wont go into too much detail as I am planning on dedicating a whole blog post to my wonderful Chocolate Lab Glover who we lost in the summer - I just haven't brought myself to write it yet as it just gets me upset. But like I say we lost Glover in the summer and it was the most heartbreaking thing in the world. He was never just a dog, but a part of the family and held a very special place in all our hearts. We had him from a pup and for 10 years of my life I was lucky enough to have him there... Anyone who has a pet, especially a dog will know just how attached you become to these lovable bulls of fluff and fur, and they not only become a family member but a friend who will be there to listen and offer as many cuddles and kisses as you need. My mum, sister and I all miss him loads but seeing as he was the baby of the family, the house feels quiet, empty and lonely without him and it was decided that it was time to let our hearts love once again and cherish and spoil another Chocolate Labrador. By no means are we trying to replace Glover, but life is short and why not have another bundle of joy to look after?

So come Saturday, three of us took the 2 and a half hour car journey to see that last puppy that the lady had left, as soon as we entered her living room there were eight gorgeous 6 week old puppies all chocolate little puddings wanting fuss, cuddles and kisses. The lady handed us a little sleepy fellow - the one we had done all the travelling for and it was love at first sight. We already had a name in mind - Hugo and after cuddles and lots of fuss it was decided that he was the one! I can't tell you how unbelievably excited I am that he is coming home with us (hes not ready to leave his mum for another 2 weeks) and even though I no longer live with my mum, I am so happy and pleased that she has another little baby to look after. I just know that he will bring so much joy and happiness to everyone in my family and it has been an early Christmas present to us all. So a week on Friday he will be at my mums, just in time for my birthday, so expect to see lots of pictures and post about the adorable puppy that is Hugo. I cannot wait!

I'll leave this post here beauties as I'm aware I've rambled on and gotten and probably overboard with the sweetness and soppyiness... But I'm just excited.

Glover - Gone, but never forgotten - Miss and love him always

Lot's of Love

Birthday Wishlist

Hi gorgeous girls and guys. Hope your all having an amazing week, nearly half way though the weekdays and 3 days counting till the weekend... Hurrah! I thought this evening seeing as my birthday is a just a little over a week away that I would share my Birthday Wishlist with you all, and maybe just maybe family and friends who are struggling for some ideas might get the hint :). I've popped together a fancy collage for you all thanks to the amazing site that is Beauty Sets, a huge thank you to Kayleigh from Couture Girl for sharing this blogging secret with us all... I bet any of beauty bloggers could spend hours on here creating little masterpieces.. I know that I most certainly could! So my Birthday Wishlist is as follows....

1 Urban Decay Naked Pallet!

I feel that its almost criminal to have the Urban Decay Naked Pallet here on my wishlist! Simply because I must be the only beauty blogger or beauty fanatic in the whole entire world who does not own it! Therefore it goes without saying why this wonderful pallet has made it to the top spot.

2 YSL Manifesto Perfume

A little while ago I got me a sample of this sweet smelling fragrance and I have to say I fell in love. I am terrible as describing scents, but I think this perfume is simply divine, its long lasting and I love how you get little whiffs of it throughout the day. While I was wearing this (my sample has long gone now) I had nothing but compliments and I would love to get my hands on a full sized bottle.

3 Soap & Glory - The Breakfast Scrub

Every time I have a sleepover around my sisters, without fail I end up using her Soap & Glory Breakfast Scrub. It's one of those products I am always lusting after but always forget to buy when I pop into Boots..How? Why? I adore everything about this body scrub, from the way it feels on your skin, all the way to its wonderful exfoliation. But the best bit has to be it's delicious smell. Seriously this thing smells good enough to eat, it reminds me of a maple syrup sort of smell and once I've used it, it's all I can smell on my skin throughout the day, therefore making you just yummy and edible.

4 Benefit Brow Zing

I am totally blaming Kayleigh from Couture Girl for this making it on to my wishlist, since I saw her review of this product up on her blog a little while ago, I've wanted to get my hands on it. This looks like the perfect kit for perfect eyebrows

5 Nars eyeshadow in 'Mekong'

I've seen this Nars eyeshadow receive a lot of hype in the beauty blogger world and when I saw the swatches and review over on Beth from Birds Words Blog, I fell in love. This looks as though it is the perfect shade to get a smokey eye and will be perfect for the party season coming up. I want I want I want :)

6 Benefit Coralista Blush

I've had this blush before and I loved it so much that I just want it in my life again. When it comes to picking out blush I always gravitate towards the coral shades and this one from Benefit is by far the best one I have ever used. I would simply love to have it safely back in my everyday makeup case.

So that's my top six most lusted after beauty items. I am hoping that I might get at least one of them for my birthday (fingers crossed) if not then a girl can dream, can't she? I would love to know your thoughts, especially if you've tried and tested any of them items and would love to know whats made it to your wishlists for Christmas!

Lot's of Love

Bad Beauty Habits

Image We Heart It (edited by me)

Hi girls, the most random thing happened to me this morning. I woke up way before my alarm and beauty blogger inspiration struck. At 5.30 this morning I woke up thinking it would be great do to a post on my bad beauty habits... Lord knows I have quite a few of them and I thought it would be great to share, see if anyone else can relate and most importantly, see if I can train myself to break some of these bad habits.

I always brush my hair when its wet - Nope I don't use a wide tooth comb to do so, it's a normal standard hair brush and every time my hair is wet, without fail I will try and brush all the knots out. I know that this is not good for your hair at all and I hate seeing the little bits of hair snap off. In my defence, always apply a leave in conditioner to help the knots come out with ease, but ultimately this is my number one bad beauty habit that I need to break. Any advice ladies?

Whilst on the subject of hair, bad beauty habit number two has to be slacking big time when it comes to using a heat defencive spray. If I've got one to hand I'll always spray it in - but when I run out it takes me forever to repurchase one. I'm currently not protecting my hair from the heat in anyway (hello Boots) what do you beauties recommend?

Bad beauty habit number three - as soon as I start to see my nails chip, which is regularly with my work, I can't help but pick...yes pick the nail polish off. Does anyone else do this? I find it so satisfying peeling away the polish, especially when I've done a few coats, it comes off with ease. However my nails are not a fan of this so much. Sometimes my nails will really hurt the next day and it can leave really nasty ridges on your nails, which is not a good look! Seriously though, does anyone else find this satisfying? The only way I can break this bad habit, is not to give into temptation - we shall see how that goes.

Hardly ever cleaning your makeup brushes - guilty!! I know that I'm not alone here on this one ladies, I'm forever seeing tweets, talking about the cleanliness (lack off) of our makeup brushes. I'm just plain lazy when it comes to doing this mundane task. When I do wash them, I'm always surprised at how much crap comes out of them! But it's just a task I keep putting off again and again. I think someone needs to come up with a national 'clean your makeup brush day', maybe this is something we can do together?

And my final bad beauty habit, is a little bit of a weird one. When the night is coming to an end, I'll be sat watching t.v or doing something similar, I know that I need to wash my makeup off, but before I do... sometimes I like to sit there and pick off my mascara. Yes I get the messiest finger nails in the world and I only do this when I have a thick layers of mascara on - Yet it's another one of these things that I find strangely satisfying! I know that this really needs to stop as I can't be doing my lashes any favours what so ever, especially when the odd eyelash comes off with the clumped mascara.. eww! I'm not entirely sure how to combat this bad habit, but maybe you beauties can offer some tips.

So there you have it, my five bad beauty habits! This is by no means a tag, but a kind of post that I love reading on other blogs, so feel free to do a post yourself and share your bad beauty habits and maybe we can all help one another to become the perfect beauties.

Love you all

Real Techniques Blush Brush & Stippling Brush

Good evening ladies! Hope your all having a fantastic week. For those of you who follow me on Twitter and Instagram (sunshinesprkle) you may have noticed me pop up a few images of my Boots Gift Card which came though the post, thanks to Aussie. Around September time, myself and two other Aussie Angels, Sarah and Lauren, put together a blog post for you all about the new Aussie Shine Range, and we won! So as a treat for being super, Aussie sent the girls and I a Boots voucher. Now I received this on the Friday, but Beauty Blogger instincts took over immediately and the voucher was simply burning a whole in my pocket, so much so that I got me down to Boots the next day to treat myself.

One thing that has been on my forever growing wishlist has to be the Real Techniques Brushes, they have been raved about in the world of beauty blogging, and I can totally see why. Real Techniques have a fair bit of choice when it comes to brush selection, but the Blush Brush and the Stippling Brush were the ones I wanted to get my hands on the most.

I've only been using these two brushes since last weekend, but personally I have already fallen in love with them and can completley get all the hype that surrounds the Real Techniques Brushes. The bristles on both the blush and stippling brush are ever so soft and make applying your makeup an absolute dream.

I bought the stippling brush, mainly to use it to apply my liquid foundation as I was getting a little fed up of my standard foundation brush and really wanted a brush that would give my foundation a lovely finish once applied. The Reach Techniques Stippling Brush is amazing at giving you an airbrushed look, by simply allowing you to 'dot' and 'buff' the foundation into your skin. The end result looks incredible and I was wowed by the sheer fact that a brush can simply make your foundation look so much better. The stippling brush can also be used for blush and highlighting, which I've not tried and tested yet, but I'm sure it has the same great effect and is something I will be trying out very soon.

The Real Techniques Blush Brush is also wonderful to use, the bristles on this brush are so soft and feel lovely on your face. The brush also has a tapered end, which makes it perfect for contouring. One thing I noticed with the blush brush, is that it picks up enough product to apply your blush in one easy clean sweep and because the bristles are soft, I've found out that there is a lot less product fall out when swirling my brush around in the blush - meaning my blushers will last a lot longer!

Not only are both these brushes brilliant, I adore the look of them - everything from the bright pink metallic finish, which is so girly (just how a makeup brush should look). I also love the fact that these brushes stand up on their own, with their flat bottoms! Nobody wants a makeup brush that's laying down and can get all manky.

I can't reccomened these brushes enough beauties, and in my opinion are really affordable and do the job wonderfully. For those of you thinking about treating yourself or popping them onto your Christmas Wish List, the Stippling Brush retails at £11.99 and the Blush Brush from £10.99, both from Boots... And Boots where running their buy one get one half price across all the makeup and beauty items, so I got these for a bargain.

I'm looking to add more of the Real Techniques brushes to add to my collection and would love to know which ones I should get next, let me know!

Lot's of Love

Halo Hair Extensions | 20" Deluxe Clip-Ins vs The Halo

Hi ladies, hope your all having a fantastic weekend. This post is a little overdue, but one that I have been meaning to get up for you all, for the longest of time. As a lot of you will all know by now, I am well and truly hair obsessed, I'm pretty sure most girls are! But for me, the longer the hair, the better. Unfortunately growing it to a desired length can be a right pain in the bum! For those of you who see my regular pictures on Instagram (sunshinesprkle) will know that my hair is fairly long anyway, but my desired dream hair length, would have to be for my locks to go all the way down my back and past 'boob' length. My hair seams to always grow just above my boobs and forever seams to stay there, the only way I can achieve lovely mermaid long hair, is with the use of hair extensions!

A little while ago I was lucky enough to become apart of Halo Hair Extensions, Project Halo...WOW! They have been super kind enough to set up a little scheme with some lovely beauty bloggers, send them out some hair extensions, in return for a few posts. Those who follow my blog will know that I've already had a set of hair extensions sent out to me from Halo via a Twitter Competition (you can see the post here) and I opted to try The Halo, which is hair extensions without the faff and by far the most easiest type of hair extensions to apply...Ever!

So this time round, I decided to try Halo's 20" Deluxe Clip-In set, which is in the shade 'Darkest Brown'. As with The Halo, the clip-in set from Halo is made from 100% human remy hair, which means the actual hair has all the cuticles running in the same direction, which will prevent tangles and matting - it also means that the hair looks very natural and will blend perfectly into your own hair, giving you the illusion of thick, gorgeous, natural long hair.

The deluxe clip-in set contains a total of 12 different sets of clip-ins (wefts) - you a set of

3 three clip-in wefts
3 two clip-in wefts
and 6 one clip-in wefts

The clips are the same colour as the hair, going un-noticed when clipped into your hair. I'm sure a lot of you have all had a go with clip-in hair extensions at some point - But Halo's clip-in set are easy to pop in your hair, with minimum fuss. The clips are sturdy and stay well put once in your hair and they don't weigh your own natural hair down in anyway. There is nothing worse than having hair extensions which can cause headaches and tug on your locks - I've worn the Halo clip-ins for hours on end, gone though a whole day of work, without the extensions budging or causing any discomfort. I opted for the 20 inch length as my hair is fairly long, but they also come in 16" and 24", so there is something to choose for every hair length.

Halo sent me the deluxe set of clip-ins, and as my hair is slightly on the thinner side, I can't get all 12 sets of wefts to fit in my hair, every time I pop the deluxe set in my hair I am always left with one 3 clip-in weft and one 2 clip-in weft left over. I don't mind this as I feel that I now have some spares, but for those of you who are thinking about ordering your own set of Halo Hair, I would suggest if you do have hair on the thinner side, then opt for Halo's 'Full Head Clip-Ins' as they contain less wefts, but still enough to cover the whole of your head.

So which is best, The Halo or Halo's Clip-Ins

After trying and testing, both kinds of hair extensions that Halo have to offer, I can honestly say I can't pick a favourite, they both have different methods of applying, but the end result is always beautiful long hair. If you are struggling to decide between the two, I can list a few points that may help you with deciding.

The Halo

The easiest type of hair extension to apply, can be fitted into your hair in less than 5 minutes and the wire is completely invisible.

Would be perfect for those who have never tried hair extensions before

Great if your wanting to make your hair feel thicker and look longer.

You are limited to certain hair styles with the Halo, as the wire band can make it a little diffiuclt if your wanting to achieve an 'updo', but is perfect for those of you wanting to style your hair down with the extensions.

Halo Hair Deluxe Clip-Ins

The clip-ins are easy to apply, but will take longer to pop in than the Halo - Sectioning off each section of your hair can be a little time consuming, but the end results look amazing.

The individual wefts of hair let you choose where you want the extensions to be placed and you can choose where you want to add volume and thickness.

The clip-ins stay put and wont budge

Perfect for all hair styles, up-do's, braids and wearing your hair down. For those of you who like to experiment with your hair, the clip-ins will be perfect for you.

Like always the service that Halo offer is next to none, all of their emails are responded to very quickly and the team are most helpful, especially when it comes to helping you pick the right shade for your hair. The delivery is fast, so if you do order, expect to have your extensions with you in no time at all.

If you are considering choosing Halo for your next set of hair extensions then you can head over to their website. The Halo retails for £89.99 for the 16" and £99.99 for the 20", whilst the Deluxe Clip-In set can be bought for £74.99 for the 16" and £84.99 for the 20"

For my next post I am thinking about doing a tutorial on how I apply the clip-in set, so if there are any questions that you would like me to answer, or anything you would like to see, then let me know in the comments below.

Lot's of Love

IKandi Jewellery

Hi ladies, recently I was emailed by the gorgeous India from The Jewel Beauty Blog. I am sure you all know her by now, if not go follow, follow her now, she is a total babe! So.. India wrote me a lovely email, introducing me to an online jewellery called IKandi who are planning on re-launching there online store in the new week. I hopped over to have a look to see what kind of jewels IKandi had on there site and was 'wowed' with some of the pieces that they have on there, so much so I wanted to write a blog post on my favourite items and share them with you beauties.

1 Love As Though .. Quote Tie Bracelet £12.00

2 Gunmetal Crystal Cross Bead Bracelet £12.00

3 Gold Crystal Skull Shamballa Brecelet £12.00

IKandi have some amazing jewellery bits on their site which are very suited to all the current fashion trends, making accessorising your outfits easy and the prices are very purse friendly. When it comes to picking out accessories, bracelets and bangles have to be one my most favourite and most purchased items of jewellery (who can say no to a bit of arm candy!) and Ikandi have loads of bracelets that compliment one another and can be worn together to give you amazing arm candy!

I've picked out three of my favourite bracelets from the site, and think these would look lovely layered together on the wrist and would really add a bit of excitement to your chosen outfit. I am in love with anything that has a jewels or crystals, especially when they are combined with skulls and crosses which give you that rock/grunge look whilst adding a touch of glam. I would wear all three of the bracelets in the above picture stacked together along with some PU Leather Leggings, an over sized printed tee and an army/military jacket to complete the look. Skulls are everywhere this season and I love how IKandi have taken the idea of the Shamballa bracelet and given it a little bit of a twist.

1 Agata Purple Crystal Sunburst Spike Earrings £18.00

2 Silver Crystal Spike Drop Earrings £12.00

3 Vita Purple Crystal Spike Earrings £14.00

IKandi have some gorgeous statement earrings on their website too, which really will add a lot of sparkle and va va voom to the most simplest of outfits. Whenever I am wearing my hair in a up-do or a simple messy bun, I love to add earrings that dangle as it can really take your look from looking everyday, to something a bit more special. Earring's that dangle add movement and can help to frame your face, especially when your hair is up. I'm in love with the designs of the earrings shown in the picture (I can't possibly pick out a favourite one) and I think these would look stunning with a really simple outfit or would make your outfit look extra special on a night out.

I would definitely recommend taking a peek at the IKandi website beauties, especially if your looking to spice up your outfits with some accessories. I think I'm going to be making a few purchases myself when payday comes around.

Lots of Love

Mac Chatterbox | Swatches and Review

Recently I added another Lipstick to my fast growing collection of lip products, and being a huge fan of Mac, I decided to splurge a little and bought Mac's Chatterbox. Now I know that this beautiful bubblegum pink shade is not the most appropriate shade of colour for this time of year, but 'Chatterbox' has been on that forever growing wishlist that we all have, and when visiting my local Mac counter, I finally gave into temptation! I can't tell you how pleased I am that I did!

When it comes to lip products, I am always instantly drawn to pretty pinks and corals, and Chatterbox has definitely one of those really pretty pinks that really adds warmth and a pop of colour to your look. As bright and bold as it looks in the bullet, the shade is really wearable and is not too bright once applied to your lips. I've never had any problems with applying Mac Lipsticks, I know some can say they can be a little drying on the lips, especially the 'amplified' ones. But Chatterbox applies like a dream, and because it is an 'amplified' its very pigmented and long lasting. The colour payout is fabulous and I love that even when the shade does start to wear, your still left with pink stained lips without any showing signs of it flaking away.

I'm so pleased to finally have Chatterbox in my collection and I know that it will be well loved and that I shall get much use from it, especially when the sunnier months come around again. With having a lovely Mac lipstick, there is always the more expensive price tag that comes with it! Chatterbox retails at £14.00 from the Mac Website, but in my opinion is worth every penny. It looks gorgeous on and the formula is so creamy and smooth, that it makes your lips look amazing. Chatterbox is definitely one for any girly girls out there and would suit most skin tones.