Maybelline Baby Lips Cherry Me || Review

I think it's fair to say that the beauty world has gone a little crazy over the ever so hyped 'Baby Lips' lip balm from Maybelline and I'm sure your timeline has been filled with thousands of reviews of this product - So I appologise in advance for adding another one into the mix, but I really wanted to give you my thoughts on this hugely talked about product. I have to say when I saw vloggers from across the pond talk about the Baby Lips, I was desperate to get my hands on one or two. But as soon as they were released in the UK my excitement seamed to have faded a little and I was in no rush whatsoever rush down to Boots, get in line and pop one in my basket. I can only put this down to hearing so many mixed reviews about the product since it hit our shelves - So many of you girls were telling me that it's just a lip balm and was completely overrated. I seriously contemplated not picking one up just because I have far too many lip balms floating around in my collection. However, I had to take a little trip into Boots the other day and when I saw the Baby Lips sat on the shelf the beauty blogger in me could not resit and without giving it a second thought I popped one in my basket and headed straight to the till...

There was quite a selection of Baby Lips to choose from, but I decided to limit myself to just one and picked up 'Cherry Me'. As you can see from the pictures it's lip balm that is a bright cherry pink colour and in the tube the colour looks gorgeous. I usually stay well away from tinted lip balms as I'm always disappointed with the colour pay out, but this one looked so pretty that I couldn't resist. I have to say when I applied 'Cherry Me' to my lips I was pleasantly surprised with the colour payout. It gives your lips a lovely flush of colour which does resemble the colour that you see in its packaging - It's a very berry pink toned red. Although it does look really bright, the actual colour of these applied is really sheer which it's perfect for those minimal makeup days where your just wanting give your lips the faintest pop of colour.

As for moisturising and keeping your lips hydrated the Maybelline Baby Lips does a pretty good job at just doing that. As soon as you apply it, it feels ever so silky and smooth on your lips and it doesn't feel too waxy on either. However I do find that after an hour or so my lips can feel a little dry and you do need reapply quite a few times if your wanting to keep your lips looking glossy and shiny and of course keep the flush of colour on your lips as this can fade pretty sharpish too. 

Overall I really like the product and I'm pleased that I picked one up. I don't think that I'm in any rush to get the whole collection as there are much better lip balms out there, but I think for now this will be my most reached for lip balm and the fact that it has SPF 20 is a nice little plus. For me, I really think the packaging of the Baby Lips adds to the whole appeal of this product, from the big fat lettering on the packaging to the bright orange tube that holds the product - It's very fun and for some reason reminds me of my childhood which gives it that nostalgic feel to it. 

If your like me and have been debating on picking up a Baby Lips then I would definitely say they are worth picking up and for £2.99 you can't really go wrong and I'm quite enjoying using it - Just keep in mind that it is just a lip balm and it's not going to blow your socks off, but it's a fun cute product all the same and for this reason it gets a thumbs up from me. 

I would love to know what your thoughts are on the Baby Lips and if your enjoying using them. If I were to pick up another one, what one would you recommend I pick up? Let me know your favourite!

Lots of Love

Hair Tutorial || Boho Bun

The summer months are just the perfect time of year to allow us ladies to be a little more carefree with our hair and wear it a little messy. With the summer being festival season, I think big loose curls and messy boho buns are the perfect way to style your hair. I always find it a little funny how us ladies can sometimes spend ages tweaking and adding products to our hair just to make it look messy. However styling your hair a little messy doesn't have to be time consuming and today I want to share with you all a completely fuss free way to achieve a simple boho bun.  I am a huge fan of the messy bun but sometimes I want a bit more umph and volume to my buns and the hair donut is a fantastic hair tool that can be used to achieve quite a few looks. If you would like to recreate the look in the top picture then read on...

A hair dounut - 

(Choose a size on your hair length and how big you would like your bun)

Kirby Grips/Bobby Pins 

A hair bobble

A hairbrush 

Your favourite hairspray

Step One: For maximum volume and for easy styling I find that creating this hair style works so much better on second or third day hair. This way your hair isn't as soft and it makes wrapping it around the hair donut so much easier. I thought I'd pop a picture in of my sexy just got out of bed hair... I did whack in a load of dry shampoo just to freshen my hair up before hand and just give my roots a bit more volume.

Step Two: Take your hair brush and comb your hair into a ponytail, I find it much easier to comb the hair back neat and tight as it makes messying it up a lot easier before trying it up. To achieve more of a boho look I tend to go quite high with my ponytail so that the bun will sit quite nicely on the top of my head.

Step Three: Before tying my hair up with a hair bobble, I will always use my fingers to loosen up the hair at the front - This way my ponytail wont look too perfect once its held in place with the bobble. 

Step Four: You just want to place the hair donut around your ponytail, so that it's ready for the hair to be wrapped around it.

Step Five: For a more messy bun I like to backcomb the hair at the very top of the ponytail. This step is not essential, but I find that it creates a little more volume and gives your bun a more boho look to it for the finished result.

Step Six: Wrap your hair evenly around the donut - Keep twisting the hair around so that the donut it completely hidden and out of sight. For a a neat ballerina bun a hair bobble could be used here to secure the hair, but as this is a messy bun I use plenty of bobby pins/kirby grips to hold the bun in place. As I don't want to bun to look too perfect, I pull out little stands of hair as I grip and go along just to give it that boho look. I find that the more flyaway hairs you have, the more it looks as though your not even using a hair donut - When I wear my hair like this people often think that its all my own hair underneath that bun which is always a nice little plus.

Tip: Don't worry about being too perfect when placing your pins, it's a messy bun!

Step Seven: Once you are happy with the way your bun is looking, you will want to hairspray it to hold it all in place. When it comes to hairspray the Schwarzkoph Got2Be Happy Hour Hairspray is one of my favourites - It's a great hairspray for keeping your bun in place all day; It's not too heavy on your hair either, nor does it coat it so much that the hair feels crispy or hard. If your not wanting to wash your hair the next day, this hairspray is easily brushed out so restyling your hair is ever so easy. I also love its purple and blue ombre packaging - Amazing!

Step Eight: If your really wanting your bun to look cute, girly and summer ready then add some accessories - When it comes to hair styling I'm forever reaching for flowers as they just because I love them. For this tutorial I've added an elastic floral headband from River Island around the bun and secured it with some grips. I think this just completes the look and gives your hair festival boho look... and it is as simple as that!

I am forever reaching for this hairstyle ladies, not only does it look good, but it is so easy to do and takes me no more than five minutes to style - Perfect for those of you who are on the go in the early morning. I love how this type of hairstyle doesn't have to be neat or perfect which is what makes it so easy. Each time I style my hair this way, my bun always looks a little different and I'm forever adding different accessories to jazz it up a little. If you decided to give this ago please let me know, I would love to know how you get on. 

Are you a fan of big messy buns or the hair dounut? I would love to know your thoughts!

Lots of Love

Bourjois BB Bronzing Cream 8 in 1 || Review

When it comes to BB Creams I can honestly say I've never been a fan and have always been slightly confused with the hype around them. I tried my very best to get along with a few and they just did nothing for me, caused my makeup to slide off my face within a few hours and they certainly didn't even out my skin tone. It wasn't long before I gave up and stopped wasting my money on makeup that was just going to sit there on my beauty counter and collect dust. I never thought I would purchase another BB Cream until I spotted this 8 in 1 Bronzing BB Cream from Bourjois and they beauty blogger in me just had to pop this straight into my basket! The fact that that this BB cream has a bronze tint to it really appealed to me as  bronzing products are a favourite of mine. I swatched the tester bottle in Boots right away and I have to say on first impressions I was pretty impressed which is why I took it home with me.

Not only was I impressed with the actual Bronzing BB Cream itself, the packaging also made quite a few claims, which makes sense seeing as its an 8 in 1 cream. With so many claims I was really interested to see if this BB Cream from Bourjois really would live up to all its claims.

When it comes to evening out your skin tone, this BB cream does an amazing job and I was really impressed at how flawless my skin looked afterwards. I'm positive that this is down to the bronzing tint that you get with this BB cream as I've never found one to do this as of yet. By no means does it give you full coverage, but it will take away any redness giving you a nice even complexion. 

I absoltley love the sheer tint of bronze that you get with this BB cream and seeing how dark it looks in the bottle it in no way appears too dark on your skin - I think that this would even work well with those of you who do have fair skin. However I find that it does take some work to buff this BB cream into your skin. The more that you blend it, the lighter the cream seams to become and end result is a lovely summer glow to your skin. 

Again I completley agree with this claim, the Bourjois BB Bronzing cream really does give your skin a little pick me up and does a great job at adding a touch of radiance to your skin. After application, it looks as though you've treated yourself to a little bit of sunshine. The finish is quite a dewy one which helps make your skin look fresh and natural at the same time.

I really don't know how I feel about this claim on the bottle as when I wear this on its own without any foundation over the top, I find that the actual product doesn't have the greatest amount of wear time. My skin does feel hydrated once its applied and continues to feel this way, however I feel that this cream is a little too moisturising and those of you who have oily to combination skin my find this product sliding off your face midday which is a right pain in the bum - Hello powder! When wearing this on it's own I can deal with the odd sliding around midday, but I wouldn't dream of adding a foundation or any other heavy products over the top of this BB cream as I think you'll find yourself in a slippery slidey makeup mess! If you have dry skin though, you probably wont have this problem at all and will love this creams moisturising benefits. 

When it comes to soothing skin, this BB cream definitely has a cooling effect when you apply it and when applied it can feel a little wet on your skin. This wet feeling doesn't last too long, but it does take some time to dry - Just like when applying a moisturiser you have to wait a little before you can add more product on to your skin. This wet feeling does create a lovely soothing effect on your skin though, as its very cooling and makes applying this BB cream very pleasant. 

Out of all the claims written on this bottle, this is the one that slightly baffles me as I really don't understand how this BB cream works wonders at prolonging your tan. When I read this I was under the impression that this BB cream would do well at prolonging a natural tan but as the bronzing tint in the BB cream is not permanent and washes off easily, I don't understand at all how it works at prolonging your tan. Whenever I've used this and washed my face at the end of the day, I find that my skin is the exact same shade as I started off with in the morning. Even when I've used a false tanner on my face, I find that it doesn't make the fake tan last any longer. I think due to the bronzing tint in this cream, it just does a great job at enhancing any kind of tan you have whilst your wearing the product.

There's not much that I can add to this claim, other than what a big fat bonus that it contains SPF 15. I'm really terrible when it comes to protecting my skin from the sun - Not so much when I'm on holiday, but when I'm at home I never think to apply any kind of product that contains SPF. I suppose I convince myself that I don't really need it as I never see much sun, but I know those harmful rays can still reach you though the clouds and all so wearing this makes me feel quite pleased with myself that I'm doing a little bit more to protect my skin.

I think this refreshing sensation goes along side with the cooling feeling you get when applying this, which I mentioned earlier. However the scent of this BB cream is just amazing and I think it adds to the refeshingness of it all. If your a fan of the Bourjois bronzing range you will know that a lot of their products have that yummy chocolate smell to them and this BB cream definitely has that familiar smell that all us beauty bloggers know and love... It's LUSH! 

Overall I've been really impressed with this BB cream, and although I've not tried many BB creams to compare it too, it has by far been the best one that I've tried. Yes I am a little disappointed that it tends to slide off my face after a couple of hours in, but I only reach for a BB cream on certain days or for certain actives I'm doing that day. For example, on those lazy Sunday's where I'm not planning on wearing much makeup this is perfect for me to just pop on. It gives me enough coverage that I'm looking for and if I'm just lazing around the house and happen to catch a glimpse of myself in the mirror (which is often) then it's nice to be looking fresh faced and have a touch of radiance to my nearly naked skin. I also love using this for those mornings that I take a trip down to the gym. I absolutely hate walking out the house without any makeup on whatsoever, but I really don't see the point in slapping on foundation and other lotions and potions to sweat it all off again doing a workout. However I will apply this BB cream and a little powder just so I don't have that 'I've just gotten out of bed look' when walking though the front doors, and for that reason its been a little lifesaver. I actually look quite awake when I've popped this on.

I don't think I can go as far to say I've been converted and am now a total BB Cream kinda girl, this one from Bourjois hasn't done that. But it has given me use out of a BB cream which is a first for me and although I don't reach for this all the time, I can definitely see myself making a repurchase once this runs out. 

Have you tried this Bronzing BB Cream? What BB Creams can you recommend? I would love to know!

Lots of Love

Slazenger Sports Bikini || Review

Slazenger Sports Bikini* £8.99

Choosing the right swim wear for any occasion can be seriously tricky business, and sometimes you need a bikini that has more to it than a few bits of string in which to keep all your lady parts private. If you've been reading my previous posts you ladies will know that I've trying my best to keep fit and healthy and you may have seen my 'Gym For The Win' posts which tell you all about my experience at the gym. 

Now when it comes to swimming I absolutely love it and was always called a water baby as a child, however the thought of using the swimming pool at the gym was always so daunting. I can only put this down to the fact that I never had the appropriate swimwear for the gym. Yes pretty bikinis with frills and flowers look cute on holiday and lounging around the pool, but the thought of wearing such a bikini at the gym put all sorts of doubts into my head and made me feel incredibly self conscious - especially as all the gyms personal trainers could quite easily overlook the swimming pool from their office, total cringe or what?! Luckily for me, Sports Direct must have heard my silent worries, got in touch with me and kindly asked if I would like to review one of their sports bikinis. It never occurred to me at the time that I could actually buy a sports bikini which would take away all my embarrassment at the gym - I always thought the only alternative to a bikini was one of those oh so sexy speedo swimming costumes that you used to wear for swimming at school and as an adult they have never appealed to me at all.

I absolutely love my new sports bikini which is made by the brand 'Slazenger' and it couldn't be more perfect for those times in the pool where you just need to keep everything in one place! The bikini top is very much like a sports bra and has this cute blue cross detailing on the back and the bottoms do a great job at covering your butt - they remind me of my spankies which I use for cheer. The bikini is made from your standard swimming costume material and it feels ever so comfy on. I also love the blue pipping detail around the edges of the bikini as its such a bright turquoise blue and its matches my cheer colours perfectly, which is always a huge plus for me. This bikini has definitely given me that extra bit of confidence that I will need to take a plunge in the pool down at the gym - as soon as I renew my gym membership I plan on making the pool one of my first points of call. 

Although this is a bikini, I definitely think it is multipurpose and I can see me using this for a few other activities other than swimming.  Like I mentioned earlier the bottoms are just like my spankies which I use at every cheer practice. For those of you who don't know, spanks are really tight short shorts made from Lycra which you place underneath your normal training shorts or cheer skirt to avoid any embarrassing or awkward moments - I think these bottoms will do the job quite nicely underneath my funky cheer zebra printed shorts. As for the top, it fits just like a sports bra but with a little less support - I could easily wear a bra underneath the top and wear the bikini top for light training such as working on flexibility or flexacising as I like to call it. 

Overall I'm super impressed with my new sports bikini and whats more impressive is its price - Originally the blue Slazenger Sports bikini was £24.99 but Sports Direct currently have a sale on all their ladies swimwear so you could pick this up for a cheap and cheerful £8.99. Total bargain or what? If you would like to pick yourself one up you can find this bikini and many others on this link here.

What do you think of the sportswear bikini? I would love to know your thoughts!

Lots of Love

P.S For the purpose of this review I really wanted to show you ladies what the bikini looked like on as ordering swimwear online is so tricky and I know how much of a pain it can be - I was really nervous about posting these images as they are a little more on the revealing side to my usual OOTDs, but I really hope from these pictures you can get a good idea how the bikini will look and fit once on. 

LullaBellz || Layla Rose Floral Crown

Summer is the perfect time of year to accessorise your outfits with everything pretty and girly and having a floral crown is an essential for any for any summer loving kinda girl. I love wearing flowers in my hair, not only does it add a pretty touch to your outfits, I find that adding them uplifts my mood completely and makes me a feel a little whimsical - ahh the simple things in life :) 

I know I'm not alone in my love for flowers, as there seams to be a huge buzz around overly large floral crowns at the moment. This year I have fallen in love with my gorgeous handmade Layla Rose Floral Crown from LullaBellz - I was lucky enough to win in it a Twitter competition and since receiving it, it has been my go too accessory this summer. The Layla Rose floral crown has six beautiful roses placed evenly around a gold headband and as you can see from the pictures there is so much detailing on each rose. I adore the burnt orange colour that they come in as orange has to be one of my favourite colours and it's the perfect colour to wear this time of year. 

As the roses on this headband are on the larger side and I have a really small head, I tend to wear this headband when I'm wearing my hair in loose boho curls and it looks so pretty and romantic on - I always get so many compliments whenever I wear it as it's such a pretty and unique headpiece. With festival season being upon us, it's the perfect excuse to give 'flower power' a huge thumbs up and a floral crown is an essential accessory to complete any festival look. Last weekend I went to the Boardmasters festival down in Newquay and my Layla Rose Floral Crown turned out to be such a head turner, everyone loved it and was asking me where I had gotten it from, so I thought it was about time I shared it here on my blog. 

If you are looking to add some flowers to your hair this summer LullaBellz have an amazing selection of floral crowns, big or small and in every colour imaginable - All of them look so beautiful and I know I have my eye on a few to add to my flower collection. It's lovely knowing my crown was handmade, which means it was made with love and it arrived in a little bag, which you can see in the pictures, for me to keep it safe in. If you are interested in picking up a floral crown then you can find loads on the LullaBellz website, I can't recommend them enough.

The above pictures are from Boardmasters last weekend and as you can see the Layla Rose Floral Crown looks gorgeous on and completes the festival look that I was going for.

I would love to know what you've been wearing in your hair recently and if your a fan of the floral crown too.

Lots of Love