A potential skincare staple?

At the #nwmeet we were given some amazing products to try. One of them was this vitamin C serum by Alpha-H with the aim of improving the look of dull,tired, sun damaged and prematurly aging skin.Alpha-H also use one of Charlotte Tilburys favourite ingredients in this - Hyaluronic acid.  They state: Grape Seed and Liquorice Extracts together with New Generation Technology are blended with Botanicals to cleanse the skin and gently remove dirt and oil from clogged pores. Locking in essential moistures and keeping the skin hydrated, the high performance formula helps to reduce pigmentation on the skin whilst improving skin tone and texture. Providing ongoing protection, Vitamin C Serum repairs damaged skin cells caused by the intense heat of the sun and acne breakouts whilst preventing future skin damage.
I've been using this daily and I do notice a difference when I haven't been using this mostly in the pigmentation. My skin is visibly less red when I use this! The smell of this isn't particularily nice but it does feel refreshing on the skin and soaks up nice and quickly which means I don't have to wait long to start applying make up.  
I do really love using this but with a price tag of £58.50 I'll have to find a cheaper alternative - I'm thinking the Pai rosehip oil but if anyone could recommend one that would be fantastic!
                                                                      Ciao x
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Charlotte Tilbury light wonder foundation

I'm in love, like actually in love with this.... is it possible to be in love with a foundation? Like all things at the Charlotte Tilbury counter this really hasn't disappointed ( if you couldn't tell by my outburst) and has left me wanting MORE.  Since my trusty NARS tinted moisturiser finished I was debating picking up another bottle or getting a CT foundation. Let's be honest, it wasn't much of a debate, that gorgeous rose gold packaging drew me in very easily.  I knew she had a new foundation coming out so I popped instore to figure out which to get and after speaking with the sales assistant we figured this would be the best option for me. Just to give you the low down, generally I like my foundation very light. I don't like feeling it on my skin especially as I have combination skin and my forehead and chin can get incredibly oily. So the light wonder has a lighter more build-able coverage then the magic foundation which is a more medium to heavy coverage. The NARS tinted moisturiser was lovely don't get me wrong, I would really repurchase it but I did find my chin and forehead still getting quite oily. BUT. oh god, I had been touching my chin all day the first time I wore this like some absolute weirdo because the CT light wonder really doesn't make it feel that oily at all! It feels, hmm, I'm not 100% sure how to describe I guess it felt silky-ish in my oily spots. The coverage is really good and apart from the fact I kept touching my face in one area it stayed most of the day and  I found it covered my redness really well though there was room to comfortably add a little more if I wanted to.  The next day I didn't touch my face and it lasted all day and literally felt like I had nothing on and no oilyness! The girl at the counter also put on a lot more on me then I usually would when we tested it out and it still felt really light. At £32 I think that's a fair enough price at 40ml, which is slightly smaller then the 50ml NARS moisturiser but for all the extra goodness you can't complain and it definitely out shines NARS. ( sorry NARS) The girl at the counter was so lovely and tested out several products on me like the cleansing balm and the magic cream along with the retoucher and powder. Saaaaaafe to say even more products have been added to my CT wishlist - someone want to get me the Norma Parkinson highlighter? ...any takers?...no? Ciao x Keep up to date with my latest posts by following me! :)
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My blogging goals

Following on from the #lblogger chat the other day everyone was talking about their blogging goals. Now I do have blogging goals but I try not to take them too seriously because I used to get quite bogged down when I felt like my blog wasn't really going anywhere and I was putting my all into it.  I've got loads of ideas for posts I'm just trying to work around the fact my 18-55mm lens broke as a macro can only do so much. ( It really hates trying to take a picture of my face...) anyway.... here's a few of my goals! 1) Get my fashion blog running again! - yeah soz about that, it's real hard getting someone to take pictures you know? Plus life went a bit mental, I promise I will be picking this back up in June!! 2) Reach 500 bloglovin followers by the end of the year, - this may be overly optimistic but I won't cry if I don't get it. ( okay maybe a little... ) 3) Get 500 youtube followers, funny thing about this is I actually need to make videos... which leads me onto 4) Film at least 15 youtube videos, I've had so many idea's for over a year so this summer I really want to go about making quite a few of them, I want to spend more time filming and trying out different styles! 5) Reach 50,000 views by the end of the year, I think this will be the most realistic of them all. Would be nice if you all came back you know :)  6) Get my writing style down. I read some blogs and their writing is SO good, It feels like they are talking to you and you can see their personality come through and I want to get to this point!  I also really need to start scheduling tweets more, as I was chatting to someone, it's just so tedious. But. it does need to be done. :( I have a few other idea's about featuring more blogs on here and twitter again it's something I started to do and just stopped and I really don't know why so more blogger interaction coming up in June too!  What are your blogging goals?  Keep up to date with my latest posts by following me! :)
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The sleek contour kit in ' light' feat. the realtechniques contour brush

Before I go into this post can we just appreciate this amazing Vogue cover of Emilia Clarke?!  Okay appreciation done.... Last week I bought my first ever contour kit, being super white I've always been quite sceptical about contouring because the highlight shade just isn't going to do anything for me..... I saw the nars contour kits and was kinda like... hmm... maybe I should try one?! but at around £30 quid I just couldn't justify it. So I turned to google and found the MUCH cheaper sleek option.  I've used a sleek blush before so I knew to be quite light with the amount of product used. I found this shade quite...orange? I'm not overly sold on it, maybe I need a little more practice or perhaps a more rosy-hue'd product. as I thought the highlight didn't show too much but that really can't be blamed on the product as I use the lightest shades going. The contouring shade is matte which I really like and the highlight does have some shimmer to it so although it doesn't show up heaps on me I get a nice little shimmer going.  I will say this brush is GORGEOUS. oh god, it's so much softer then I even dreamed, it blends in amazingly. It's a bit of a splurge at £22 but honestly if you're going to get a contour brush make it this one.  I kinda loosely followed the patterns that come with the contour kit and I did like the contour but I definitely need more practice. This is a great starter kit for someone like me just trying to get into this. I found contouring the nose really simple, but my jaw looked kinda weird I think because of the orangey hue, and I won't like I don't really know how contouring my cheeks is any different from putting on bronzer?! Just me?!  any tips for a beginner?  Ciao x  Keep up to date with my latest posts by following me! :)
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A little self promotion never hurt anybody

For a long long time now I have wanted to learn to sew and start a label, but thing after thing seemed to stop me no matter how I tried to overcome it. Luckily I managed to get my machine up & running last week and managed to teach myself how to sew again. I want to raise money to start my label - getting fabrics printed, tags sorted, t shirts printed and all that jazz.  The bags come in two colours Pink with a blue zip and Black with a white zip. My camera is broke (- see everything is trying to stop me!!) so I haven't been able to get a pic of the black bags just yet. The smaller bags are 5inches and are perfect little card holders or coin purses and the bigger bags are 10 inches - perfect make up bags!  For the small bag I am asking for £6 and the larger bag £10, I think these are reasonable prices and will help me get enough to start the label, overall there are going to be 17 little bags of each colour and 42 big bags of each colour.  I have been 100% honest on my store and all bags function fine but some may have a little trim on the inside when I was initially making and testing the bags, they all look the same from the outside though! I just wanted to let you all know it was a possibility you may get a bag where the zip has been trimmed on the inside.  Please help a girl out and share the news! Maybe even buy a bag or two - I would really appreciate any help! you can buy the bags HERE ( Black and white will be available by the end of the week!) Thanks lovelies x Keep up to date with my latest posts by following me! :)
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Beauty: Charlotte Tilbury lip liner in Pillow Talk

The topic of many a blogger wishlist: Charlotte Tilbury's 'pillow talk' - described as the perfect nude. This is a most wanted for a reason and although a excellent/ much cheaper alternative had been found, I still had to own this. I am a massive fan of CT's lip products and had to see if this lived up to the hype.  It does. simple as that, it's an amazing nude with great coverage - my lips but better. It's creamy, soft and moisturising and yes the £16 price tag is a hefty one but I think Charlotte has proved her products are more than worth the price. It is definitely a treat product and I wouldn't hesitate to buy this again. I struggled to find a highstreet product that matched it and Rimmel's 'East end Snob' was the closest I could find. 'Pillow talk' has a little bit more of a browny hue to it and..well... who can deny how stunning the CT packaging is? The guys at the CT counter in Manchester are super lovely and she even gave me two ' Bitch perfect' samples which just makes me want it even more! Definitely my next purchase! What do you think of this product?  Ciao x  Keep up to date with my latest posts by following me! :)
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Beauty: Topshop Lipstick - Partition

I won't lie, I was swayed to by this because it was a Beyonce song... I had initially gone into Topshop to buy two other shades and saw this one and because of the name swatched this and I ended up loving this the most. This shade is a gorgeous pinky red shade that from memory I think is quite similar looking to MACS 'all fired up' or 'lickable'.  I love Topshop lipsticks, I think they are just the best value and feel just as good as any MAC lipstick. Creamy,moisturising and they last for a good amount of time and hey for £8 they are a bargain! I was using this lipstick for a post for my style blog(here) and unfortunately didn't get the time to take another picture as I've just had an op and having cotton taped to your nose is not attractive, so here was an 'outtake' pic!  Ciao x Keep up to date with my latest posts by following me! :)
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Beauty: Charlotte Tilbury Matte Revolution Lipstick in Amazing Grace

The worst thing about this lipstick? trying to pick it!!! I had an idea in my head of which shades I would go for to try and make it easier and this wasn't on the list. I had googled, read blogs, viewed countless swatches and studied all the shades. In my head at the top of the list was Bitch Perfect (- sadly this was out of stock) ; I knew I wanted a pink/nudey shade. Though Love Liberty and Glastonberry were very nearly going to override that want. We swatched various shades and as soon as the girl swatched this I was like - oh my gosh! We swatched a few more but I couldn't stop looking at how pink this was and decided this was the one.  I won't lie, I had a minor panic attack on the bus home, what if it was TOO PINK? I have quite big lips and some shades can make my lips look awful or they look fake. But when I took this out the packaging I knew I had made the right decision. Tried it on and it was a match made in heaven. I can't stop wearing this!

Like my other CT lippie this just glides on, it's so creamy and is just as moisturising even though it's matte. It's got great lasting power as well and as per all her products it looks great. Can someone just donate me a heck of a lot of money so I can buy them all!??! Which shade are you lusting after? Ciao x P.s I promise I'm going to get this taking pics of my lips thing down!  Keep up to date with my latest posts by following me! :)
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Beauty: Autuminal Favourites

I know I have been off the blogging radar, I got a new laptop and can't seem to get photoshop on it, to edit my pictures so I may have to get back to the old laptop again....I am pretty useless with technology!

So a lot of people are going on about their Autumn favourites and there are some excellent selections going on. Of course we all have the standard dark A/W lip, I know a lot of people are going for berry's but this dark brick red ( MAC's hearts aflame) is the one for me this Autumn( if you want a cheaper version look at the Kate Moss for Rimmel collection 07).  My daily lip is MAC's Yield to love, I love a good Mauve ( I've probably said this countless times) - mylipbutbetter. Anybody have a few good Mauve's to recommend? Illamasque seem to have some good ones going!

I got this rimmel bronzer to replace my beloved topshop bronzer and its perfect! I always prefer a bronzed cheek to a blush and this is quite subtle, I was debating the bodyshop honey bronzer but I was broke and this was cheaper...what's new? but it was a great decision, same quality! On top of this I have been loving dabbling the Rimmel stay blushed! I am going to do a review of this because I love this so much more then I ever anticipated.

A few weeks on and I am still wildly in love with the Naked basics 2, it actually hurts to debate using another palette, like I feel like such a judas I have to find a way to sneak this one in as well. I think it's brilliant to do a simple shadow sweep a long with the brick red or a brown smokey cateye with the mauve.

And lastly I have fallen back in love with my Realtechniques blush brush! I always put this aside for my Kabuki brush but recently this has been coming out on top.

What are your favourites?

Ciao xo

Beauty -Review Lush Marilyn hair Mask

I've been looking to try a hair mask for a while and with the recent ombre this was the most ideal time. Everyone knows that when you chuck some bleach on your hair the quality is going to go. So to stop my hair from becoming ratty I looked to hairmasks and where better then LUSH?

I had a look at a few different masks but this one was tailored to bleached hair and keeping off those red tones, kinda like a 2 for 1 for me really. It's around £9.50, it has quite a runny consistency which I didn't expect. I didn't use loads just on the ends of my hair, so the pot will last 3-4 times for me, if you were bleaching your hair all over you would probably need a pot a time and I would probably leave it on for longer then the recommended 20 minutes. It doesnt't really lighten my hair, I've been using it for 2-3 weeks now but it does keep the red tones at bay and it does make my hair soft so its enough for me to keep repurchasing! Extra note - you may smell like you've dipped your hair in tequila ( that's the smell I get from it! )

If you just want to look after your ombre once a week this is ideal for you!

Ciao x

Art Rookie

If posting a blog about my depop wasn't shameless enough I am imposing my ArtRookie page on you all!
                                                  http://artrookie.co.uk/LauzOfArabia

I've designed a few tshirts, phone cases and prints! I would love it if you could check them out and if you get something please let me see! It would be amazing to see someone wearing one of my designs!

Or let me know what you think of the designs, I am looking to start painting something similar to the distorted photographs.... but it would be nice to see what everyone makes of them all!

ArtRookie itself is incredibly easy to use if you are an artist yourself, you just upload your picture then reupload to the right specs onto each item you want to produce I found with the tshirts,bags and prints I didn't need to bother trying to adjust the settings of my picture!It doesn't cost anything to join or upload and you get 20% of everything you sell plus more if you sell any prints.

Have any of you got a Artrookie page? Let me see!!

Not very beauty related Sorry guys! I have a few beauty posts lined up! :)

ciao x

Beauty: Review - Korres Wild Rose Moisturiser

I think I mentioned a few times I was after this moisturiser( £20) to try. It smells really nice and it has a really nice texture to it, not as gloopy as the nivea day cream I was using but not as much as a cream as the night cream, kinda in between. Thats not overly helpful is it? Sorry! It feels nice and fresh in the morning anyway and makes your skin feel lovely and soft!
I saw my friend the other day and she said my skin was looking really good! I was like really?! I hadn't noticed a massive difference but it could be a combination of this and the NARS tinted moisturiser? I have started back at hot yoga and expected a break out and I haven't had one so this is definitely doing something!
Maybe this isn't the most helpful review, truthfully I've been putting it off because I just couldn't decide how to say what I wanted. Value for money? at £20 it is quite a lot but I got it on discount on ASOS for £16 so I didn't feel to bad. I think I will most likely be repurchasing this as I'm enjoying it a lot more then the nivea!

Have you guys tried it? what did you think?
Ciao x

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EDIT: after using this for a few weeks my skin tone is noticeable less red and much more even!

Vlog: the late april Haul

Seriously.
better late then never!
Here is Aprils vlog!
I just didn't have the time/ issues with premier pro to edit this.
I also realised I forgot my entire ASOS haul :( Oops.
I got some belts and that nars eyeshadow and some funky strawberry socks!

Ciao x