Do Your Feet a Favour! | Badger Foot Balm Review

Hello lovelies. How gorgeous has the weather been recently? I don't know about you but I have loved it! With all the warm sunshine this week, I'm sure many of you who are like me have ditched the boots and opted for sandals and flip flops. It may still be March, but most days this week have felt like a summer’s day and I for one will jump at any opportunity to wear summer footwear. 

So our feet have been hibernating away over the winter months, and I have to admit that I've not really pampered my tootsies as much as I should have done. Therefore I made the decision this week to start getting my feet summer ready! 

One product I swear by has to be the Badger Foot Balm made by the Badger Company. It's truly amazing and works wonders on making your feet feel super soft to the touch. Say goodbye to cracked heels and get ready to paint your toes red as the Badger Foot Balm works wonders at taking that dry feeling away from your feet, especially around the heel and toe area. 

The Balm comes in this gorgeous tin with a picture of a badger on the front and inside you get 21g of product. I've always noticed that most foot repair products come in a cream based formula, but as you guessed by the name ‘Badger Foot Balm’, it's a balm! I will be honest, when I first got this product a year ago, I wasn't sure that I would like the balm, but I pretty much used this everyday in the summer last year and my feet loved it! With this product and any Badger Balm a little really does go along way. 

The Badger Foot Balm is an oil based formula and its best applied after you've exfoliated your feet after the bath or shower. Once your feet are clean you just rub the balm onto your feet, then pop clean cotton socks on and let the balm do its work. One thing I love about Badger Balms is that the company only use natural organic ingredients and do not test on animals, so this is brilliant for all you animal lovers and natural beauties. The balm is an Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil based formula and contains some wonderful ingredients such as Eucalyptus, which is great for skin care and muscle pain and Jojoba which have great antibacterial properties; Always a plus for feet which are prone to getting dirty and do I need to say, smelly!

One thing I've noticed with Badger Balms is that they do have a unique smell which is ever so slightly medicinal; however I've always found this strangely pleasant. The Badger Foot Balm is no exception to this and when I apply this I really can smell hints of rosemary and peppermint, which have also been used in the ingredients. The oils in the foot balm really work into the skin and sooth them. You can really feel these effects, especially if you’ve been on your feet all day. 

The only downside with this balm I would have to say is that once you have it applied to your feet, you are still left with all the oils on your hands. It does wash off easily but it can be a little annoying, however if it makes your feet super soft, then it will do wonders for dry hands as well. I for one love this little tin and I know that it will be getting lots of use again this year. Normally the Badger Balm tins retail at £5.00 from Boots, but I have'nt seen them on the website in ages, but another place to look is Amazon.

For those of you who haven’t heard about the Badger Company I defiantly recommend that you check out some of their fabulous products. I've tried and tested a few of their products over the years after they were introduced to me by a friend and they really do what they say on the tin. I've only had the pleasure of testing out the Badger Balms that come in a cute tin, my favourite one being their famous 'Hard Working Hands'. I really wished I had it to review, but a few months ago I ran out of my third tin, so when I make a re-purchase I will be sure to share with all you beauties. 

To find more information on the Badger Company take a look at their website which you can find here, or follow them on Twitter at

@BadgerBalmUK

and

@BadgerBalmUSA

I hope you enjoyed this review and would love to know what Badger Balm products you have tried. 

This Girls Gotta Have Em | O.P.I New York City Ballet Collection

Image taken from weheartit

Hello beauties. A few of you may have guessed from today's title that this weeks 'This Girls Gotta Have Em' post is staying well away from key fashion finds. However nail polish lovers do read on. I'm sure a lot of you are all aware about the new O.P.I New York City Ballet collection which is due to hit the UK towards the end of April. I cannot express how excited I am about this collection and I'm not lying when I say that I want all six shades. 

From Left to right

Pirouette My Whistle

My Pointe Exactly 

Care to Danse?

Don't Touch My Tutu!

You Callin' Me a Lyre?

Barre My Soul!

I don't think that there is anything new here, in terms of colour, I'm sure there are many collections and brands which have these gorgeous neutral shades. Five of the six polishes are all sheer and have a touch of shimmer to them,  while the sixth polish is a pretty silver glitter which can be used on its own, or as a top coat to add some sparkle to existing polishes. 

One  thing which really gets me excited about these polishes from O.P.I has to be the names of them. I know the name of a polish shouldn't be the deciding factor as to whether you go out and buy them, but for me the New York City Ballet collection is the ultimate exception!  As a former ballet dancer I adore the play on words they have used for each name and love how its incorporates ballet terminology. My favourite one being 'My Pointe Exactly' as every ballet dancer loves her pointe shoes! 

I think all these shades are adorable and I am 100% going to be treating myself when this collection comes out, I am so excited! If any of you lovelies are just exited as me about this, then let me know in the comments below. Which shade do you think I should get first?

Hello Sailor! | OOTD & FOTD

Hello beauties, another quick post for you this evening! I promise that this one will be much shorter than my last!. I Just wanted to share with you all my nautical inspired outfit that I had chosen to wear today and the makeup which I paired with it. Enjoy!

                                                           

 

      

Top: River Island £16.00 

Jeans: River Island £40.00

Shoes: Top Shop (last years stock)

Bracelet: Pandora 

Face

Foundation: Clinique Anti Blemish Solutions in 05 Fresh Sand

Powder: Maybelline Dream Matte Powder in 03 Golden Beige 

Concealer: 17 Hide Away (colour has rubbed off)

Blush: No7 Blossoming Lip and Cheek Duo by Poppy King

Highlighter: Mac MSF in Soft and Gentle

Eyes

Lid Colour: Barbra Daily for Tesco in 08 Mushroom

Crease Colour: Mac Eye Shaddow in Tempting 

Highlight and Inner corner: Mac MSF in Soft and Gentle

Eyeliner: Mayblline Eyestudio Lasting Drama Gel Eyeliner in Intense Black

Mascara: Maybelline, The Colossal Volume Express Mascara in Cat Eyes

Lips

No7 Blossoming Lip and Cheek Duo by Poppy King

Have a lovely weekend beauties! 

My Hair Story | L'Oreal Casting Creme Gloss | Review

Hello beauties. As you may have guessed from today's blog post title, I will be having a look at the L'Oreal Casting Crème Gloss hair dye. I must admit I was a tad excited to try out this hair dye purely because I've not died my hair in the longest of time and have not used this product but have always heard a lot of good things about it. 

My Hair Story

First of all let me start by telling you all that my natural hair colour is very fair and has a mousey tone to it. I was born blonde but through the years my hair slowly got darker and darker till it reached this shade which was not blonde nor brown, but somewhere in between. Although I'm not blonde anymore I do still get the odd few streaks of natural blonde that almost look like highlights. I suppose I'm quite fortunate as I can go either way when it comes to colouring my hair. 

From the age of seventeen to twenty-three I lived my life as a blonde and had it died every shade of blonde you could imagine. It was only a year ago I decided that I wanted a change and decided that brunettes could have just as much fun as blondes! I loved the new change and felt that being a rich chocolate brown suited me a lot more than blonde. However my hair did not want to stay brown for long at all and after a few weeks I would end up with my hair looking a very washed out brown with a coppery rusty feel to it, and this is the look I've been sporting for the last few months!

SO I really needed another change and instead of going for another chocolate shade I decided to dye my hair a mahogany colour as I thought that this would help to balance out the blonde and brown in my hair. I've always loved Cheryl Cole's hair colour when she had it that gorgeous mahogany colour and whist I was flicking though the magazine at work, there was the L'Oreal Casting Crème Gloss page with the lovely Cheryl showing off their mahogany shade. This is the reason why I decided to choose the L'Oreal hair dye out of all the other brands that my local Boots had to offer. 

The Review

On first impression the L'Oreal Casting Crème Gloss looks pretty much like any other hair dye that's out there in the market. For me there is nothing special nor unique about its packaging which draws me in. I've tried other L'Oreal hair dyes, but not the Casting Crème Gloss formula, so I thought I would give it ago. I was impressed with how many shades that they had to offer. If I had not known in the back of my mind what colour I was going for, I reckon I could have been there hours choosing the right shade. So I walked out of Boots with number 550 in Mahogany. 

I will be honest by saying I don't really have a clue in what makes a great hair dye, but box on the L'Oreal Casting Crème Gloss stated that: It gives you a rich glossy shine in colour, blends away any grey and will give your hair a satin soft feel. The covering of grey hair doesn't apply to me and not for a long time I hope. But I defiantly won’t say no to glossy hair and a satin soft feel! One thing I did notice on the box was that the actual dye contained no ammonia, which is always a bonus as anyone who has their hair dyed will know that that stuff stinks and does not make a pleasant experience!

The next thing that we beauties always look at on any hair dye packaging has to be the little colour chart which is always put on the side or at the back of the packaging. For me, personally I've given up on looking at these charts as my hair colour never turns out to be any of the colours shown in the chart. But for those of you who are interested here it is.

When looking inside the box, you get all your usual standard things you get with a hair dye: A trusty information leaflet, parts A and B to the hair dye, the applicator, conditioner and of course the much needed gloves which are always made for giants!

As far as application goes, I found the process really easy! I do dye my hair myself and by no means am an expert, but I found that the little nozzle applicator was really easy to use and was so accurate. Because it was me dying my own hair, there was the usual splatters of hair dye up my arm, in my ear and around the back of my neck, but if you had someone else to do this for you then I'm pretty sure you would be o.k. for splatters. I really liked that there was no nasty smell to the dye and it was as simple as the instructions made it out to be.

The Results 

 Before

After

I have to say I was pleased as punch with the results and absolutely love the colour of my new hair. I think it’s a colour that defiantly suits me and I it really has worked wonders on giving my hair a healthy look with lots of shine and volume. However as much as I love the colour and this product, I will be re-dying my hair again very shortly just because I don't feel that the colour is an intense as I would like it. I do put this down to me having long hair though and I was warned by my friend who is a hairdresser that I should go for two boxes. If you have short hair I think you will be absolutely fine with just the one box!

So I when it comes to re-dying I will be using the same L'Oreal Casting Creme Gloss in the 550 Mahogany shade and will be sure to keep you beauties updated on the final result. I hope you enjoyed this review and I would love to know your thoughts!

This Girls Gotta Have Em | H&M

Hi beauties! Hope your week is going well and that you've have been lucky enough to enjoy the bit of sunshine that we've had over the last few days. All shops right now are deffiantly getting ready in full swing for Spring/Summer and are sporting great trends right now. I'm really loving some of the key pieces that  H&M have to offer right now and thought that they would be perfect featured in 'This Girls Gotta Have Em' post. Enjoy lovelies!

From Left to Right

Jersey Chain Print Top | Chain Print Scarf | Blue Print Short Dress| Canvas Snakeskin Bag | Pleated Gold Dress | Crochet Shorts | Pink Cork Wedge | Belt Loop Shorts 

Jersey Chain Print Top £7.99

Chain prints are going to be popping up everywhere this season and they are a must have item in your wardrobe. I've seen them in loads of shops recently but this yellow jersey chain print top caught my eye and is one of the best I've seen. I think there is the perfect amount of detail on the top, making it easy to wear. I was also super impressed with the price of this key piece and is worth every penny. If yellow is not your colour, it also comes in hot pink!

Chain Print Scarf £7.99

Another chain print, but this one is on this lovely scarf. I am loving all these prints right now and having it on a scarf if a great way to rock this trend, especially if you don't want to go all out and want to opt for the more subtle look.

Blue Print Short Dress £24.99 

I was really 50/50 about adding this dress onto this weeks post. But the more I looked at this dress, the more I seamed to like it. If you follow my blog, I'm guessing its because you have similar tastes and likes to me, so maybe you might like this too. I love the bright blue and I can imagine this will look great when the sun is shining!

Canvas Snakeskin Bag £19.99

Although snakeskin is nothing new, I totally adore the style of this bag. I am a sucker for big bags and I think that this would look great with any outfit. I also think it would be fabulous if you’re travelling as it will fit a lot in and comes with an attachable strap.

Crochet Shorts £14.99

These crochet shorts are super cute and have so much detail on them. They would look amazing with any printed top this season. These shorts make me want it to be summer time already!

Pleated Gold Dress £12.99

I'm amazed at this dress and can't quite believe its only £12.99. I think it's gorgeous and if you have a look on the H&M website you can see one of the models wearing it. It's a great dress just to put on and go. The pleats give it texture and movement whilst the gold design is so eye catching.

Pink Cork Wedge £14.99

How cute are these shoes? The wedge defiantly has to be my favourite kind of heel as it is by far the easiest to walk in, agreed? They are the brightest hot pink and would look amazing on, I'm sure. Again super impressed with H&M's price for these beauties and I'm pretty sure I will pick a pair of these up. They also come in black, tanned, green and white with a cherry pattern on.

Belt Loop Shorts £14.99

These are the perfect statement shorts and I love the belt loop design on top of the hot pink background. They are high waisted which is great if you want to tuck a simple vest into them, or be daring and pair with a clashing printed top!

I hoped you enjoyed today's picks lovelies and maybe I've given some of you a little inspiration. H&M have so many fashionable bits you can pick up in store right now at some fabulous prices; it’s a great shop where you can keep up with the latest trends at affordable prices. 

As always I would love to know your thoughts, and if any of you have seen some great chain print pieces anywhere else I would love to know.

River Island Shorts

Hello lovelies. So last week on my 'This Girls Gotta Have Em' post, I showcased some gorgeous shorts from River Island (you can see that post here). I'm really excited to say that the day after I went out and bought them as a treat to me. I still had a gift voucher which needed using up and thought it would be the prefect opportunity to spend it. Seeing I'm a beauty blogger and all, I thought it would only be right that I have a post just on these shorts! 

These River Island Shorts were are bargain at £25.00 and included the waist belt. They are high waisted and are fairly short shorts, they look amazing on! These would look super with a little black vest top tucked in, or a nice white blouse like you saw in my last post.

I think the belt added in is just lovely and can be worn with many other outfits, which is a bonus. I know that I've bought other items of clothing in the past that have had belts attached which can be a little bit naff. But this belt as a lovely bow detailing with gold plates at the end.

The River Island shorts also have a lovely quality feel to the material and have this very small waffle like texture which you can see from the above picture.

I an in love with these at the moment and I can't wait to wear them. I know that I will be getting a lot of use out of these in the summer and they would look perfect in the day or dressed up for the evening. I will be sure to to an OOTD post with these in for you. If any of you would like to get these for yourself you can so here.

Take Care Lovelies!

Mark Hill Love Big Hair! | Review

Hello beauties! Today I thought I would share with you a review on some recent shampoo and conditioner that I bought. Normally I'm a right fuss pot when it comes to hair products and can get a little carried away smelling everything on the shelves before I choose the ones that I want to take home with me. 

When I was in Boots the new Mark Hill hair care products immediately caught my eye as the packaging looked fabulous and they defiantly passed the smell test! There are 4 different collections from the new range each with a different kind of treatment/purpose for you hair, they also all have a unique design ranging from leopard print to zebra print (these are super pretty) . I opted for the Love Big Hair collection and decided to try the shampoo and conditioner. 

As you can see from the above picture, the 'Love Big Hair!' products have this random spot design with blues, greens and blacks, which I think is really cool. I love the fact that these are in a squeezey tube as it means you will be able to get every last bit of product out.

I have really thin hair that always needs all the extra volume it can get, and these products state to thicken your hair whilst never leaving a horrible build up (perfect). I've always been a little sceptical with thickening products as I've found them not to work. But I have to say I was really impressed with these two products as they did make a big difference to my hair. 

I've been using the Love Big Hair! Shampoo and Conditioner for almost two weeks now and I've found that they really don't weigh my hair down in any way and I think this is why my locks feel a lot thicker and fuller. When you’re in the shower using these products I found that the shampoo especially was really light and felt really similar to the Pantene Aqua Shampoo. There wasn’t a huge amount of lather like you get with your normal shampoo, but my hair still felt really clean afterwards. 

I would really recommend the Love Big Hair! Shampoo and Conditioner if you like curling your hair, or if your like me and like to let your natural waves take over as I find that it really does make a noticeable difference to how your hair looks and feels. I don't know if it was just because I was having a good hair day or because of the use of these two products, but it felt that my curls/waves stayed in place and had a lot more definition (but I shall you get back to you on that when I find out). On the days that I did straighten my hair, I found that I had lots of swish and movement which I liked as it made me feel as though in staring in a L'Oreal advert! 

The only slightly negative thing I've found with these products is that they don't really tame those little flyaway’s you get around the top of your head, which my Aussie Luscious Long Shampoo and Conditioner did such a fantastic job at doing. Other than that I can not fault Mark Hill's Love Big Hair! Shampoo and Conditioner in any way. 

The other thing that really floats my boat with these two beauties has to be the smell. The smell unfortunately I can't describe to you as I have no idea what the scent is, but it does have a very salon kind of smell to it. It is also one of those smells that take me back to a holiday a long long time ago as it has the same smell as the hair care products I used back then. Therefore I know I will love using these in the summer time, the weather will be nice and hot (hopefully) and my hair will be looking full, thick, swishy and smelling good!

If you've tried any of the other hair care products in the new Mark Hill range or can recommend any other volume boosting/thickening hair care products, I would love to know your thoughts. 

Take care lovelies!

'Get To Know Me' Tag

Hello lovely readers! I orrignally had another post planned for this evening on some lovely haircare products... But changed my mind just beacuse I've seen the 'Get To Know Me' Tag flying around blogs everywhere right now and I absolutley love reading these kinds of posts, so I thought it would be exciting to do it. I think it's getting a snippet into a someone's personal life and its always nice to know a bit more about the person who's behind the writing. I know that sounds like I'm awfully nosey, but I'm not going to lie, I am! I thought that adding this post would be a lovely touch to add on Miss Sunshine and Sparkle and I hope you beauties enjoy reading!

1. Are you named after anyone?

Nope no one at all, I'm just Danielle

2. When was the last time you cried?

About a week ago. I can be a bit of a cry baby, especially when there's a lot of weight or stress on my shoulders. For me crying is the way I release a lot of my emotions. I find that the older I'm getting the more often I cry and the smallest thing can make me cry, anyone else find this? Gosh I sound like a right sap haha.

3. Do you have kids?

Not right now, but I can wait to have a family in the future.

4. If you were another person, would you be a friend of yourself.

I would like to thing I am a positive person with a big heart, so I think the answer would have to be yes. 

5. Do you use sarcasm a lot?

Not really no. I'm a bit ditzy most of the time and am just not quick enough to make a sarcastic comment. I probably do with out realising sometimes though, on rare occasions, but don't we all?

6. Will you ever bungee jump?

No way I can't think of anything more terrifying. But I would jump out of a plane beacuse I would have a man strapped to my back and he would be taking that initial plunge, not me.

7. What's your favorite cereal? 

Mine has to be Krave, its so delishious. Im a sucker for anything that has a bit of chocolate in. 

8. What's the first thing you notice about people? 

I notice their looks and love to see how a person dresses. I somtimes try to work out what their style is and think what kind of person are they, what background they have etc. Working in retail, I see loads of people from all walks of life and I love trying to think about their individual character. 

9. What is your eye colour?

Brown

10. Scary movie or happy endings?

It has to be a happy ending. I am not a fan of scary films at all as they play on my mind for hours afterwards. You know in ghost films like Paranormal Activity, scary stuff always happens at three in the morning, well my boyfriend told me that was the whithcing hour or the hour of the devil (something like that). Now everytime I wake up in the middle of the night beacuse of needing the bathroom or a drink and its around three O'clock (I always check the time) I get too scared to move! 

11. Favorite smell? 

The smell of home. You never know your own home smell, till your away from home for a little while. I find it so comforting when you smell your home and know your back there.

12. Summer or Winter?

It has to be the Summer, I am a Summer girl at heart indeed. I love the warmth, bright colours, wearing flip flops, holidays and OMGosh.. BBQ's! I love everything about the Summer season and everyones seams in a much better mood when the sun is shining.

13. Computer or Television?

I think I equally love both, but I would have to go for the computer as it's able to do so much more, and besides you can watch all your fave films and T.V shows on the computer.

14. What's the furthest you've been away from home?

Going on holiday to America has to be the furthest I've been. I've been twice and loved it. I would love to go back there any day!

15. Do you have any special talents?

I don't know if you would call it a talent, but I'm a natural dancer with good flexibilty. I work hard at it, but learning a routine is something I pick up very quickly and easily.

16. Where were you born?

I was born in Watford, for those of you not in the UK its very close to London.

17. What are your hobbies?

Well my most recent has to be Blogging! But I'm also a very dedicated cheerleader!

18.  Do you have any pets?

I do, but none that live at home with me. When I moved out of my mums I had to leave my Cholcolate Labrador behind. His name is Glover and he is our baby. Best doggie in the world!

19.  What is your favorite movie?

Ooooh this is a toughie as there are so many films I love and it really depends what mood I'm in. Some of my fave girly films have to be, Love Actually, P.S I Love You, Bridget Jones Diary. I am a complete sucker for anything that has a love story in, but at the same time I love a good action/adventure movie, like The Mummy, X-Men and any film with pirates in. 

20. Do you have any siblings?

I have a younger sister who is four years younger than me, although if you were to look at her you would think she were older. everybody thinks I'm the younger one. I love her to bits, we maybe chalk and cheese, but are the best of friends. 

So thats all questions answered and maybe you all got to find out a bit more about me, I think this tag is a great idea and I tag all of you to do this on your blog. If you do please let me know in the comments below and I will be sure to check your post out.

Lots of Love