Seventeen Stay Time foundation

Seventeen Stay Time foundation in "Soft Ivory"

If you have read my previous post on the Gosh x-ceptional wear foundation, forget I ever posted it. This foundation has literally stolen my number 1 position for foundations! Don't be fooled by the simple packaging, this really does pack a punch and is worth the money.

 Last weekend my boyfriend took me shopping (as any other weekend...) and I needed some more foundation due to the Gosh I recently purchased finally running out! I was completely torn between two. Revlon Colorstay which is my absolute all time favourite foundation, or Seventeen Stay Time. I'd seen really good reviews of the Seventeen and obviously have previous experience of Colorstay. So me being me, I bought both and ended up spending £20 on foundation...the day I got paid. Whoops. Priorities all wrong! 

From the picture above, you can see this foundation promises a lot. Up to 25 hours wear time, SPF 25 and full coverage. I needed to try this out as it just really seemed too good to be true. I've never used a foundation from the Seventeen range before (exclusive to Boots) and I'm so happy I picked this up. 

I eagerly removed my makeup I was wearing and opened the packaging on this bottle. I love the fact it has a built in pump in the lid. It's very similar to a MAC lid (however, never used their foundation but have seen a LOT of videos on youtube using it!) which instantly had me drawn to this product. It's actually quite robust and deposits the product really nicely and doesn't feel like you're pumping nothing if you know what I mean! The packing as I've previously mentioned is actually quite simple and reminds me a little of Benefit makeup...a bit. The shade Soft Ivory matches my skin tone perfectly although I feel like if my hair was any darker, it really would wash my complexion out as it's quite a...dull? colour. Basically I'm trying to say it has no depth but don't know how to say it! 

As we can see from the photo above, I have quite red and patchy skin. Thank my teenage years for giving me horrific acne and hormonal skin (luckily I'm not left with too many scars..) with dry patches. I'm also covered in freckles although they're not showing up too much on this photo. Now I'm into my early 20's, my skin has taken a turn and is now more combination/oily. I really do have a hard time finding a foundation that I can build up to a high coverage without it feeling super cakey and having my face end up as an oil slick after a couple of hours. This claimed to be a full coverage and boy, it really is. I apply my foundation with the Real Techniques Miracle Complexion Sponge by stippling my face after I've dampened it slightly with water. (This sponge, may I add, is a newbie in my collection and I'm LOVING it. I'll do another review for this, I just haven't gotten round to it!) I love the finish this foundation gives me. It's not sticky, it's not dewy but not overly matte. I only need 1 to 2 pumps to cover my whole face and neck as it blends really easily but I'm not sure if this is due to how I apply it as the foundation itself is really quite thick in consistency. You could quite easily add another layer to make it super full coverage but I find that this amount is enough for me. I don't have to use concealer when using this foundation either as it's that good at covering blemishes! Once it's sat on my skin for a minute or two I then powder my face with my regular powder. 

Now the question you're all waiting for, how long does it actually last? Well put it this way, on a 10 hour shift at work where heavy lifting is included and so is working is a hotbox of a warehouse, it has actually lasted all day and even goes on to last all night. I'm yet to test if it's really going to last for 25 hours but I'm impressed at how long it lasts even now. I don't get a shiny nose either which is huge for me as I usually get to about 4-5 hours then find myself powdering my nose. It genuinely looks the same at the end of the day as it does first thing in the morning when I apply it.

This is after wearing it for around 7-8 hours and I took this photo in natural light. I'm so in looooove. I'm so impressed with this foundation and already want to go out and purchase another ready for when I finish this one, I'm scared Seventeen will discontinue it in the mean time! I really would like to try some more products from the Seventeen range as I haven't done since my early teenage years and it seems like they have more to give now judging by their makeup stands! 

If you're looking for a full coverage foundation for a really good price, I'd suggest this one to anyone. It retails for £6.49 and is only available from Boots as far as I'm aware. Go on, try it. You'll be surprised. 

♥

Lush Godiva solid shampoo bar

There's no beating around the bush about my absolute love for Lush. I've shopped there for years and I just adore going into the shops. 

I decided to bite the bullet and try their shampoo bar range after getting so tired of liquid shampoo making my hair dry, brittle and dull. I had a good chat with the sales assistant who went through the pros of each shampoo bar, what I'd expect them to do and how long they'd last etc. I was so impressed at the service, I'd even go as far as to consider telling the girl the next time I'm in there how impressed I was! 

After our chat, she suggested Godiva shampoo bar. I was told it has large chunks of shea butter to help moisturise and all sorts of oils in it. This is Lush's description of Godiva:

"There’s no need to be modest about having great hair once you’ve used this -you’ll want to parade around town. Godiva cleans and conditions with a host of nut oils and butters, and then leaves a heady, lingering scent of jasmine on your newly-glossy tresses. It’s stuffed with butters and oils to condition, moisturise and soften the hair: cocoa butter, cupuaçu butter, shea butter, camellia oil, organic macadamia nut oil and extra virgin coconut oil."

I really didn't know what to expect from this shampoo bar but I can tell you from the first use, I am in love. It's so simple to use, you literally get your hair wet, swipe the bar a couple of times either on your hands or your head (I done it straight onto my hair) and lather it up. And boy, doesn't it lather. The smell is absolutely divine too, it reminds me of a soap sample I received from there a couple of years ago. It's not the sort of lather that when you massage it in it disappears (I'm sure you know what I mean, I know what I mean..haha!), it really does stay on your hair and I could actually feel how soft it was making my hair. I've not had a problem with bits flaking off because as you can see from the photo, it has parts of flowers of some sort in it. After leaving it on my hair for a minute or two, I washed it out. My hair was soooo soft! I've never had that from a shampoo before, even from expensive ones I've purchased. The smell was so nice I'm happy it stayed in my hair. It didn't leave any greasy residue and it washed out really easily. I followed it up using Jungle conditioner (again, will do a separate review) and these two paired together really made my hair like I've always wanted it and for literally a fraction of the price. I also used R&B hair moisturiser on damp hair as my leave in conditioner and this just made my hair even better. 

The list of ingredients:

• Sodium Lauryl Sulfate, 
• Cocoa Butter, 
• Cetearyl Alcohol & Sodium Lauryl Sulfate, 
• Glyceryl Stearate & PEG-100 Stearate, 
• Propylene Glycol, 
• Perfume, 
• Hibiscus Extract, 
• Stearic Acid, 
• Shea Butter, 
• Cetearyl Alcohol, 
• Camellia Oil, 
• Organic Jojoba Oil, 
• Organic Macadamia Nut Oil, 
• Extra Virgin Coconut Oil, 
• Cupuacu Butter, 
• Jasmine Absolute, 
• Ylang Ylang Oil, 
• Cypress Oil, 
• Palmarosa Oil, 
• Jasmine Flowers, 
• Cetrimonium Bromide, 
• Gardenia Extract, 
• Benzyl Alcohol*, 
• Geraniol*, 
• Limonene*, 
• Linalool*

If you've read my previous posts, I only wash my hair maximum of twice a week. I'm now on day 4 of "dirty hair" and it honestly doesn't feel greasy like it would do from using a "normal" shampoo. I haven't changed the way I style my hair, straightening products, hairspray or whatever. It feels exactly the same as the day I washed it and it really has surprised me. I've not even had to use dry shampoo this week and I thought I'd end up having shares in Batiste! I could probably push it another day before I feel like I have to wash my hair.

Godiva retails at £6.50, which at a first glance, looks too expensive for this hockey puck sized item. I definitely took a risk on this, but it paid off. But if you think about it, a big bottle of Tresemme costs what, £5-6? So really, it's not that expensive. I'm just trying to put it into perspective!

Seriously, I am so pleased I took the plunge into using Lush haircare range. I can tell that this is going to be a regular purchase of mine, I might even stock up in case they discontinue it! Go ahead and give it a try if you're a bit dubious, I'm sure you'll be pleasantly surprised. 

♥

Top 3: lip balms

In true blogging style, I'm going to start doing these "top" posts e.g top 3 foundations , blah blah. You know what I mean. All products will be linked to a website where they are available from (mostly Boots...) and all will have prices. I hope these posts are helpful to some as I love reading posts like these on other blogs. 

I'm going to start off with my Top 3 with lip balms. I'm only slightly obsessed with lip care, lipsticks, anything you can buy for lips, I want it! There's nothing better than the feeling of nourished lips after using a good lip balm. And in the last couple of years I've spent my fair share of money on lip balms...

1. Let's start this off with Palmer's Cocoa Butter lip balm. Iv'e used this for so many years, literally about 5 years! I'm a huge fan of Palmer's, their products really do wonders for my skin. The smell is delicious, I literally want to eat it! It's the classic Palmer's cocoa butter scent, which lasts quite long on the lips. The formulation is lovely, smooth and goes on the lips really easily without feeling too heavy and greasy. These last me AGES, and even some have been through the washing machine and survived as the packaging is really robust...it retails for £1.89 in Boots but is widely available at different prices.

2. One of my newest addictions is down to my sister (as are many of them!). This was a gift from her trip to Florida, which I am so happy to have received. It's absolutely delicious! It's Cake Batter Chapstick. I'm not sure if this is available in the UK as I said, it was originally from Florida. Like all Chapsticks, the packaging is really simple and the product lasts quite a long time. This specific one smells to me like really strong vanilla. If you're not a fan of strong scents, this might not be the right one for you. I've loved Chapstick for years because they're really good value for money and they actually work. They're not greasy, they last a while on the lips and are in really cute packaging. I love any sort of Chapstick, not just this specific one. And it smells so good I just want to eat it. 

3. No one can resist a pot of Vaseline. I'm sorry but I genuinely don't think I've ever been without a tin of this lying about somewhere! I use it for so many things, not just a lip balm. It's been a life saver for my hairline when I'm dying my hair, it's made my skin less dry when I've used it and of course, it's really good as a lip balm. It's quite greasy but I find if you don't use a huge thick layer, it's actually really nice and super moisturising as to be expected. It's widely available and is also available in different types i.e aloe vera, rosy lips. I'll be buying this for years to come as it's just so versatile. It ranges in prices, I think even as little as £1. 

So there we have it, 3 really well priced products and certainly ones that work. I've always got some form of lip balm on the go and I've got a couple floating around in my handbag waiting to be used/are half used. Some might say I have a slight addiction, I just shrug it off. I tend not to admit to things haha! I could have put more in this post such as the Balmi lip balms, but they just don't cut it as much as these three do. 

♥

Lush Tiny Hands

It comes to no surprise that I'm addicted to shopping at Lush. I'm going to blame my older sisters for getting me into it! I love the whole Lush ethos, their attractive store layouts and the smell...oh the smell. To me, Lush is like heaven.

I recently decided to spend a bit of money in my local store as I hadn't shopped there since I purchased their Caca henna range (which I did review...I'll have to dig it out, I was highly impressed!). I needed a pick me up, and this was totally the right place to go. It was tipping down with rain yesterday which gave me a reason to properly browse the store and have a chat with the lady about their haircare range (I'll do a separate review for those).

I purchased a couple of items (Godiva shampoo bar, Jungle conditioner bar, tiny hands hand moisturiser and tins to keep them in.) so I ended up spending around £20. Oh, and the kind lady gave me a sample of R&B to try! 

This review is for the Tiny Hands moisturiser bar which I've used before. I love this product and I don't know why. I don't know if its the shape, smell or texture but it suits my skin perfectly. It's really simple, all you do is literally rub it on your hands so the product deposits some onto your skin. To begin with it feels SO oily but when you've rubbed it in, it's so moisturising and softening, I just can't even explain it. It takes a while to soak in but it's really effective as it almost instantly relieves dry skin and sore spots, even from the first use. My line of work means I'm constantly lifting heavy items so I'm forever scraping my hands. This is the perfect product to give them a little TLC.

The list of ingredients:

• Cocoa Butter, 
• Talc, 
• Fair Trade Shea Butter, 
• Extract of Marigold petals in Argan Oil, 
• Sago and Safflower Petals, Decoction, 
• Perfume, 
• Aloe Vera Extract, 
• Vanilla Extract, 
• Chamomile Blue Oil, 
• Chamomile Oil, 
• African Marigold Oil, 
• Citral*
• Coumarin*, 
• Geraniol, 
• Lilial, 
• Linalool*, 
• Limonene*, 
• Talc

From previous experience with this product, it lasts absolutely ages. You barely use any even when you think you've used loads. The smell lasts quite a while on your skin which you'd presume means its heavily perfumed. It doesn't irritate my skin like most perfumed products I've used which is such a relief because I hate the feeling of itchy skin from overly perfumed moisturisers! I'm just so impressed with this little hand shaped bar. And for £4.25, I really do think it's cost effective.

If you've never used anything from Lush before, please do. It seems expensive from the first view but when you understand the ethics of Lush and see how much work goes into their products, you'd understand. I feel better for using these products knowing they're not tested on animals and the natural ingredients used should suit most people's skin. The staff in Lush are so helpful and will make sure a product will suit you before purchasing it (eg shampoo bars, specialist skin care). I like how personalised the shopping experience is with Lush which is why I return time and time again. Basically, go and check it out and I'm sure you'll find something you love! 

♥