Feeling Wild...

*Not my image*

Evening Everyone!

I know that I am arriving realllly late to the 'ombre' party, but I'm finally here! I decided yesterday on a bit of a whim to give my hair the 'home dip dye' treatment and bought myself a L'Oreal 'Wild Ombres' kit in colour No. 2.

Personally I was pretty nervous about doing this at home- although I've dyed my hair before I have never bleached it, and I have been severely put off from doing so listening to some of my friends' horror stories. In fact, I deliberated over this for ages in my bathroom at home, kit in hand, and even dug out an emergency semi-perm kit in case it all went horribly wrong!

As it happens I don't think it did go horribly wrong, although I wouldn't say that this is the easiest kit in the world to use. I chose colour No. 2 which is the shade for 'dark blonde to medium brown' hair, purely because I preferred the photo on the front (in the photo for dark hair the model's dip dye looks decidedly ginger..). The kit contained all of the usual suspects: gloves, powdered bleach, colour solution, nourishing shampoo etc, as well as an odd little brush to apply the bleach. The kit suggested starting midway down your hair and brushing through to the ends, but I worried that the ends would end up darker than the middle-bits, and so I found myself starting at the bottom and working my way up.

It's really nerve-racking trying to blend the bleach into your hair in a way that isn't going to come out all stripy. I did use the brush provided but found a lot of the bleach clung to the brush rather than to my hair, and so I ended up combing it through with a wide tooth comb. I also tried to do a little bit of backcombing to try and achieve a graduated colour effect.

L'Oreal suggest leaving the solution on for up to 45 minutes, although I was completely paranoid after 25 minutes and ended up washing it off early. I'm actually really glad I did- the effect I've ended up with is not blonde and thankfully not ginger; it is more of a caramel tone that blends quite nicely with my natural colour. I used barely half of the bleach solution provided and threw the rest away, but I would say that the key to this kit is to be cautious with it and to do the ombre in stages- if you are not happy with it then you can always do a second bleach at a later date. It is always a bit of a risk bleaching your hair at home, but I found that this kit was a great way to give my hair a bit of a lift and a revamp without the salon price tag. Plus I think it looks pretty cool!

Have you tried the L'Oreal Wild Ombre kit? Let me know what you think!

PS. OMG I almost forgot!! Thanks to all of those that entered my giveaway- it is now closed and congratulations to my winner Katie Nelson from Curled Fantasies who has won all of those Revlon goodies!

Rosie x

'Before' Shot

'After' Shot

Product Review: Revlon Photoready Sculpting Palette in 001 Pink Rose

Left to Right: Blush, Bronze and Highlighter

Hi Everyone,

I hope you all had an amazing Bank Holiday weekend. I spent mine in a wet field at Reading Festival watching Eminem, Chase & Status, Azealia Banks, Disclosure and loads of other amazing acts! I wanted to do a little lifestyle post about it today but unfortunately my phone died early on and I took absolutely no photos, so it probably wouldn't be the most interesting post in the world. Also I was put to shame by all of the trendy outfits that everyone else seemed to be wearing- for me it was a miracle if I could just about find a clean pair of pants in my tent!

Anyway, that was my weekend, now on to today's post: a review of the Revlon Sculpting Blush Palette. I was so excited to get this as it looks like such a useful product; a combination of a highlighter, blusher and bronzer all in one place. This is another sneaky Revlon product that isn't coming out in the UK, but I was lucky enough to pick one up through a friend. 

The first thing that struck me about this product is the size- the palette itself is a good, handbag-ready size but the product isn't. For some reason, Revlon have chosen to make the blush the biggest product in the palette and the bronzer and highlighter both half the size. This for me just makes no sense, as I can barely get my brush into the smaller sections, and I'm far more likely to use the blush more sparingly than the bronzer.

As you can see in the swatches, the blush is quite pigmented but the bronzer is less so, which is another thing that disappointed me about this palette. The colour of the blush and the highlighter are actually both really pretty on the face, although I found it difficult to see any colour from the bronzer at all and I certainly wouldn't use it for contouring. I also found all three products to be really powdery and already the blush has started to crumble after just a few uses. 

All things considered, I think this product is a great idea that unfortunately just hasn't been executed very well. It is nowhere near as good as the Sleek Face Contour Kit (here) but I do really like the fact that Revlon have thrown a blusher into the mix as well. This product could be hugely improved if they rethought the sizes, got rid of the tiny brush that is included as I don't think it's really necessary, and put in a more matte bronze that could actually be used for contouring. All in all a bit of a disappointment for me I'm afraid, although I will continue to use the highlighter and blush from time to time.

Have you tried this product? Let me know whether you agree!

Rosie x

Product Review - Dove Nourishing Oil Care Conditioner

Hi Everyone,

I recently switched up my haircare routine a little bit when I reached the end of my Tresemme Split Remedy Intense Repair Mask, a faithful friend of mine for sometime now. Instead I purchased this Dove Nourishing Oil Care Express Treatment Conditioner which was on offer in Superdrug for just £1.97 (because who doesn't love a bargain?!).

My hair has been through a lot in years gone by (bleaching, highlights, even a perm!) and I am trying to be kind to it at the moment, so have invested in lots of 'hair-friendly' products: from heat protection sprays to special hairbrushes and even a new hairdryer. I am particularly drawn to products containing Argan or Moroccan oil for its nourishing qualities, and so this Dove conditioner immediately stood out for me. It contains 'weightless nutri-oils' as well as Argan Oil, and claims to have 3x the nourishing power of a conditioner.

The texture of this conditioner is a thick cream with stripes of white frizz treatment and yellowy conditioner running through it. I really like the yellow and white stripes, I think it makes the product look very visually appealing, and you don't need to use much per application. I have been mainly applying this product to just the ends of my hair rather than all over to avoid any residue that might make my hair greasy. 

After trialing this product for 1 week it has left my hair noticeably softer to the touch and more shiny than before, so I'm a happy lady! I feel my hair was desperate for a change to my usual routine, and this product was so reasonably priced that I would be happy to recommend it to anyone looking for a break from their usual conditioner. 

One thing I really like about this product is that it is not a hair mask, although it acts like one, and therefore you can use it every day like a normal conditioner rather than limiting the use to once a week. This is a big plus for me as it means I can get that super-soft feeling I usually get from a hair mask every time I wash my hair! In summary, this Nourishing Oil Care Conditioner is a high street brand product that doesn't claim to do anything spectacular; it promises nourished, soft hair, which for me is exactly what it's delivered.

Have you tried this Dove conditioner? Let me know your thoughts!

Rosie x

P.S. There is still time to enter my giveaway!! Just click on the link here.

Current Lust List!

Hello!

Today I am doing another Lust List post, as once again my eyes are bigger than my wallet and there seem to be a million things that I'm lusting after at the moment!

The first thing on my list are these amazing studded boots from New Look. Like so many people, I'm a huge fan of New Look shoes as they're so reasonably priced and very on trend, even if the quality isn't built to last a lifetime. I would wear these either with tights and a floaty dress or punk it up a bit with skinny jeans, a leather jacket and a huge scarf (another one of my current obsessions!).

I also currently have a big clothes-crush on this Topshop dress, £36. I am not particularly edgy in my style and often find Topshop clothes a bit too 'trendy' for me, if I can say that without sounding like my grandma! In fact, I usually spend hours browsing and coming out with 3 plain vest tops and a necklace or two- I prefer to keep things simple and accessorise to dress an outfit up. This dress though I really like- I love all things lime green at the moment, and I think the splash of colour really jazzes this dress up and makes it ideal for nights out or even for work.

I've had a full basket on Fragrance Direct and Feel Unique for ages now, just laying in wait for payday! On my current wishlist is the Bare Minerals matte foundation in Medium Beige, which I still haven't tried yet. Recently in this hot weather I have been favouring a lighter coverage during the day and I'm hoping this will be the perfect everyday foundation for me that will last out on my oily skin.

I'm also dying to get my hands on one of the YSL Rouge Volupte lipsticks, preferably this one in Nude Beige. These lipsticks seem to be absolutely everywhere at the moment and I've heard nothing but good things, although at £24 each this is definitely an end-of-the-month type purchase!

Finally, to wear for work I also have my eye on this skirt from ASOS. I love the detail on this, from the hi-lo hem to the orange, leather-look stripe along the side. I would like to wear this with a white boyfriend tee, heels and a statement necklace for during the day, and maybe a cami and blazer in the evening. I really struggle with dressing for work in the warm weather and pencil skirts have become something of a staple for me recently as they can be worn so many ways.

That's the end of my Lust List for now, but I could go on and on as there are so many products that I'd love to buy if only my purse would allow it! Let me know what you're lusting after though as I'd love to hear.

Rosie x

PS. Please note that the images here are NOT my own.

Face Of The Day

Hi Everyone,

Today I am doing my second Face Of The Day post so that I can share with you my first EVER mineral foundation (yes, I know, about time!!). This is a new purchase for me but I'm already a huge fan- the powder formula is so silky on my skin and just last and lasts. 

I am using the ELF Personal Blend Mineral Foundation which I bought as part of my recent ELF haul. I have to admit that I'm not a huge fan of the packaging- the product comes with four different shades of foundation which you are meant to mix to find your 'personal blend'. Unfortunately, this makes it quite difficult to mix the exact same shade every time, and the powder does not come out as easily as I would like. Nevertheless, I still really like the product itself, and it is a fraction of the price of the other big mineral foundation brands.

On my face today I am wearing:

Prep:

Benefit The Porefessional Primer

Face:

Garnier Miracle Skin Perfector Oil Free - Light

ELF Mineral Personal Blend Foundation - Medium

MAC Mineralize Concealer in NW20

Brow:

The usual - GOSH Eye Brow Kit

Cheeks:

Too Faced The Bronzed and The Beautiful Palette (Chocolate Soleil to Bronze and Powdered Sun to highlight)

Maybelline Dream Touch Blush in No.2 Peach

Eyes:

Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer Potion

Natural Collection Eye Shadow Duo in Mink & Sable

Maybelline Eye Studio Colour Tattoo Eyeshadow in On & On Bronze

No.7 Stay Perfect Amazing Eyes Pencil in Black

Benefit They're Real! Mascara

Lips:

Barry M Lip Paint in 154 - Pale Nude

YSL Glossy Stain in 19 - Beige Aquarelle

I used my Real Techniques Expert Face Brush for buffing in the mineral powder, which made application really smooth and simple. The rest of my make-up I tried to keep relatively neutral so as not to detract from the nice, fresh-faced look of the mineral foundation.

And that's my face of the day, I hope you like it! Have any of you tried the ELF Personal Blend Foundation?

ELF Personal Blend Foundation

Feel free to leave me a comment as always and send me your links!

Rosie x

Product Review - Gatineau Purifying Almond Cleanser

Evening Everyone,

I've been tweaking my blog a bit over the past few days, I hope you like the new look. I'm so indecisive when it comes to choosing a layout, I seem to change my mind every day about what looks good!

Today I thought I'd review a skincare product that I've been getting quite a lot of use out of lately; the Gatineau Purifying Almond Cleanser. This product aims to 'melt away' impurities whilst removing make-up and re-balancing oily to combination skins. In other words, it's a big multi-tasker and I have been favouring it over my other cleansers recently in a big way.

If you have read my previous posts then you'll know that I have quite oily skin, and in general I stay away from creamy cleansers in favour of gel formulas as I find them more drying. This one is the exception, as despite its creamy formula it hasn't caused me any skin problems and it feels really luxurious and soft on the skin. I have been using this in the evenings before bed and find it really cleansing and refreshing, particularly after a long day.

One downside of this cleanser is the smell- it is scented with almond, although it struck me as being quite a strong, sweet marzipan smell. Personally I am not a marzipan fan and I was really put off by the smell at first, but I have persevered with this as I do think it's a great product that removes my make-up easily and leaves my skin feeling really clean and soft. 

I also really love the packaging- it's smart and simple, and despite knowing that this product probably doesn't offer any ground-breaking benefits I would repurchase it just for the treat-factor of having it sat on my bathroom shelf.

Gatineau was originally a French brand and can be purchased here for a pricey £35, but you get a free toner too! Also available on QVC and elsewhere online.

Have you tried any Gatineau products?

Rosie x

Product Review- Revlon Colorstay Whipped Foundation

In natural daylight

Close-Up

With indoor lighting

Hi Everyone,

Today I have been trialing my new Revlon Colorstay Whipped Creme Foundation which I received courtesy of my lovely friend Sarah at Revlon (thank you Sarah if you're reading this!). This foundation is not available in the UK but is a big seller across the pond, and having read some rave reviews online I was dying to try it.

Revlon claim that this foundation offers 'All day flexible wear without flaking, caking or feeling heavy'. The texture is described as 'mousse-like' although I have to say it was quite different from what I was expecting. Having tried Maybelline's Dream Matte Mousse I was expecting something similar in terms of feel, but this is a much thicker, liquid formula that I would liken to thick, whipped cream.

I was given the shade 'Buff' which honestly is a little bit lighter than I would normally choose for myself, although having tried it I was soon won over. Usually I opt for yellow-based or neutral foundations to offset the red in my skin tone, and in the pot this foundation looked very dull, almost grey in colour which did put me off a bit initially. Once I'd warmed it up with a bit of blush and bronzer though I really liked the finished look, and it certainly doesn't feel heavy or caked on despite the thick texture.

Overall I am really impressed with this foundation. It has great staying power and is very light and comfortable on the skin. I can also imagine it would work with most skin types as it is very matte without being drying. The coverage is light to medium and this will probably become a make-up bag staple for me during Winter when I'm a bit paler. Sadly Revlon will not be releasing this lovely foundation in the UK so us Brits will have to either stock up the next time we're Stateside (which for me is not very often!) or else turn to Ebay where you can pick up a pot for about £10. If you are a fan of lighter coverage and want a long-lasting, everyday foundation then I would definitely recommend giving this one a try- let me know if it works for you as well!

Rosie x

P.S. There is still time to enter my giveaway to win a haul of Revlon goodies- just click on the link here!

ELF Blush

Hello Fellow Beauty Lovers,

Earlier this week I received my first ever haul from ELF. This brand was something of a mystery to me before I started blogging, but when I heard they were having a huge 50% off sale I couldn't resist picking up a few items. I will do another post showing you exactly what I got, but in the meantime I just wanted to introduce you to this gorgeous ELF mineral blusher that has fast become one of my favourites!

I picked up the colour 'Coral' for just £2.50- it is usually £5.00. I have been getting a bit bored of my regular blushers recently, and this blush is great as it gives me a real, healthy flush of colour without being over the top. This is the first time I've purchased a mineral blush, and I love how pigmented it is, although the packaging is a little awkward to use and I tend to just tip the powder into the cap - is that what you're meant to do?!

As you can see, the colour is actually very subtle on my hand (I had trouble even getting any out for my swatch!) but trust me it is really pretty on the face, and ELF have now extended their 50% off sale so I may go back and pick up a few more shades!

Have you tried any ELF products? What would you recommend?

Don't forget to enter my giveaway to win a load of Revlon goodies here!

Rosie x

100 Follower Giveaway!

Hi Everyone!

Today has been a good day for me, as it was the day that my blog reached 100 followers!! A huge thank you to all you lovelies that follow me, it really does bring a huge smile to my face.

To celebrate this momentous occasion I have also decided to host my first ever giveaway (hooray!). I'm obsessed with giveaways and have been for some time (who doesn't love something for free, eh?!). I love to enter these and I hope you will too, so in my giveaway today we have (drumroll....)

Revlon Colourstay 16 Hour Eye Shadow Palette in 560 Serene
Revlon Nearly Naked Pressed Powder in 030 Medium

Revlon Point Tip Tweezer

Revlon Colourburst Lipgloss in Rosegold

Revlon Colourstay Ultimate Lipcolour in 075 Nude

Revlon Colourstay Ultimate Lipcolour in 060 Stellar Sunrise

Revlon Colourburst Lipstick in 065 Rosy Nude

Revlon Colourburst Lip Butter in 096 Macaroon

Revlon Nail Art French Mix in Chance Encounter

Revlon Nail Enamel in 380 Elegant

Sinful Colors Professional Nail Varnish in 387 Bali Mist

Sinful Colors Professional Nail Varnish in 952 Hazard

Sinful Colors Professional Nail Varnish in 858 You Just Wait

That's 13 products in total, all of which are brand new and unopened. You may have clocked that there are rather a lot of Revlon products in my giveaway, and for this I have my lovely friend Sarah at Revlon to thank for bagging me so many amazing goodies.

All you need to do to enter is use the widget below and follow me on Bloglovin'- couldn't be simpler! The winner will be chosen at random in 2 weeks time. If the winner doesn't respond within 3 days then an alternative winner will be chosen. I'm very sorry to any international readers, but this time the giveaway is for the UK only- hopefully I can run an international one soon.

Good luck!!!

Rosie x


a Rafflecopter giveaway

A Lifestyle Post- London Zoo

Hi Everyone,

Today I spent most of the day at London Zoo, so haven't had much of a chance to write about anything beauty related I'm afraid. Instead I am going to have a go at writing my first ever lifestyle post, so please forgive me if you are not remotely interested in what I get up to at the weekend (I wouldn't blame you!). I promise this is just a trial run and I will be returning to my usual beauty talk in the next post, so I hope you enjoy this and if not then I'm sorry and please ignore my ramblings!

I've been meaning to take a trip to London Zoo for ages but it was one of those things that went on my 'London Sightseeing List' and just never seemed to get done (along with Madame Tussauds, Hampton Court Palace and MANY others). I've now been living in London for 3 years and STILL feel that there's so much I haven't seen, so my boyfriend and I decided to finally tick something off our to-do list and go to the zoo.

Zoos I know can be a little controversial and there are all sorts of ethical concerns around keeping animals in captivity. This is something I am very aware of and hope no-one takes offence from this post or the photos in it. ZSL is a registered charity and does loads of conservation work to protect endangered species and their habitats, so I like to think I was supporting its charitable work in visiting. That said, some of the animals do look so bored in their enclosures that you can't help but feel uncomfortable, and so I can definitely sympathise with the cruelty argument. It is, however, just incredible to be able to see some of the world's most amazing animals up close.

We got the train to the zoo from Ealing as part of National Rail's 2-for-1 deal that they're currently doing on London attractions. We had to queue for a while to get in (curse the school holidays!) but it was probably about 20 minutes in all which was a lot better than I was expecting. Upon arrival we headed into the Aquarium first and then the Reptile House, where they had the biggest snake I have ever seen!! Honestly, he was absolutely huge and looked like he was digesting something as he had loads of lumps and bumps in different places.

We then crossed over to the 'African' area of the zoo where they had zebra, giraffes, warthogs, hunting dogs and loads more. They also had a nightlife enclosure which was full of rats and bats- not my favourite place!

One of the most amazing parts of our visit for me was seeing the gorillas in Gorilla Kingdom. They are just such amazing, intelligent creatures and whilst some of them were running around others seemed to be doing some rather impressive yoga poses. London Zoo is home to loads of species of monkeys which were a real treat to see, and these two were very sweet grooming each other before having a bit of a nap.

After a spot of lunch (very expensive lunch, might I add!) we went to check out other areas like the 'Outback', the lion enclosure, tiger territory and Penguin Beach. I'm afraid I didn't take that many photos as it felt a bit intrusive whilst many of the animals were snoozing. My boyfriend got very excited at one point when he thought he saw a lion, but it turned out to be a man walking his dog in nearby Regent's Park haha.

It is really tiring walking around the zoo for so long, and I would recommend bringing your own food and drinks in if you're planning to go. The penguin beach was nice although I wonder how they deal with the heat on a day like today when most people were in shorts and t-shirts. They didn't seem too bothered by it in the water though so I suspect that this nice looking pool is actually pretty chilly!

Overall we had a really lovely day and managed to see so much whilst we were there. Some of the most amazing creatures for me were in the reptile house or the various monkey enclosures, which also contain other animals such as sloths, armadillos and the occasional big spider. It is not the cheapest of days out and they take every opportunity to try and cash in with photos and a ridiculously expensive gift shop! We managed to dodge all of that and overall I'm really glad that I got to go.

Right, that is my first lifestyle post done! I hope I haven't bored you all silly and promise I will be doing more beauty posts this week including my recent ELF haul and hopefully my giveaway! In the meantime I hope you all have a fantastic start to the week.

Rosie x

Aztec Nails

Hi Everyone,

Today I have had another go at doing a spot of nail art, this time with an Aztec theme. I love this nail trend, I think it looks really summery and perfect for festivals. As I am still a newbie to the nail art thing I have been choosing pretty simple patterns and found that this one was not too difficult to do (just a bit fiddly!) and actually I'm pretty happy with the end result.

To do this pattern I used four different colour polishes for the base, and then the gold and black to decorate. I still haven't got round to actually buying a proper nail art pen, so again I have used my Estee Lauder liquid eyeliner in Black Sands, which worked pretty well. The polishes I used for the base are (L to R): Barry M Gelly polish in Lychee, Barry M Nail Paint in Blue Moon, Barry M Gelly polish in Passion Fruit and finally the bronze colour from the Revlon Expressionist Nail Art Duo in Jackson Polish. I am really in love with the Barry M Gelly nail varnishes at the moment because the colours are so vivid and shiny, and the Lychee and Passion Fruit colours are my favourite.

To start with I did a base coat, and then painted my base colour over the top. I chose to start with the Passion Fruit shade, but any colour would work.

Once that dries, apply a stripe of another colour through the middle of the nail. The Gelly polishes are really good for this as the colour is very bold and will create a clear stripe over the bases colour in a single application.

Using the other two colours create a thin stripe down either side of the nail too.

Finally, take your nail art pens (or eyeliner in my case) to decorate the nail. I drew triangles down the centre stripe and then lines and zig zags in either corner using the black. Then with the gold I just made a line of small dots down the remaining red colour. Finally, seal with a top coat and you're done!

That's all there is to it! If you have any suggestions of other patterns that I could try then I'd love to hear them and maybe give them a go in my next nail art post.

Rosie x

P.S. I hope you like my blog's new look!

Avon Ideal Flawless Invisible Coverage Foundation Review

Hi Everyone,

I hope you all are looking forward to the weekend- I know I am!

I was really excited yesterday when my Avon delivery arrived containing the Ideal Flawless Invisible Coverage Foundation. I had read rave reviews about this foundation on loads of different blogs with people comparing it to the likes of Estee Lauder Doublewear in terms of quality, and I couldn't wait to try it. This was the first time that I'd ordered cosmetics from Avon, and I spent sooo long researching this foundation to try and work out what shade I should order. A lot of the reviews that I read stated that the foundation is quite orange in colour and that even the ivory shades are too dark for light skin tones, so I was particularly cautious with my decision and eventually went for the shade 'Nude'.

This foundation feels quite high end and I love the fact that it comes with both a pump and a cap to avoid spillages. The texture is very similar to Doublewear or MAC Studio Fix and is neither creamy nor watery in my opinion. One thing I did notice was that in the bottle it seemed to be almost shimmery which I worried would be too 'dewy' for my oily skin to take, but in reality I was pleased to find the finish was very matte.

I have to say that when it arrived it struck me as being a little lighter than I'd expected, and not the orange-colour that others had suggested. I usually use shade NW20 from MAC and this foundation, when held against my MAC Studio Fix, looks a fair bit lighter. However, the Ideal Flawless foundation does blend beautifully and as shown in the swatches below it actually matched my tone really well once applied.

I applied this foundation using the Real Techniques Expert Face Brush. As you can see, it was a fair bit paler than the rest of my body upon application (I have been using my Cocoa Brown fake tan, review of that here), but this was barely noticeable once I'd done the finished look. I personally do think that this foundation oxidises slightly over the course of the day, but I found that I didn't really mind this as thankfully I bought a lighter shade than I normally would. If you are thinking of buying this foundation for yourself I would definitely suggest doing the same!

Overall I was really pleased with the Ideal Flawless foundation's performance over the course of the day- it was very matte upon application and pretty much stayed put, I only needed to apply powder once in the late afternoon (due to travelling on the sweaty London underground!). I would say that this is every bit as good as others in its price range like the Revlon Colourstay foundation, and I am really pleased to have found a good, reasonably priced, everyday foundation (it retails on the Avon website for £12). The coverage is medium to full but feels quite light on the skin, and I think my face did take on an almost flawless look- YAY! I think this might be the start of my love affair with Avon...

Can you recommend any Avon products that you think I should try?? Feel free to leave me a comment, as always!

Rosie x

PS. I have not forgotten about my promise to run a giveaway to celebrate reaching 50 followers- it is coming soon!

Foundation alone (and eyebrows- I need the eyebrows!)

The same foundation but this time with a full face of slap on!

Too Faced- The Bronzed & The Beautiful Palette Review (and some freebies!)

Hi Guys,

How have your weeks been so far? Mine has been busy, lots of dinners and drinks after work, and I've been dying to do a review on my new Too Faced palette all week but just haven't found the time (until now!).

As I mentioned in my last post, this palette was a bit of an impulse-buy after drooling over it at my friend's house on Saturday. I am a bit of a bronzer addict to be honest, and despite my best efforts I just haven't managed to find my ultimate bronzer in my quest for the perfect, healthy glow. My recent favourite has been Chanel's Bronze Universel, but I am always on the lookout for a great new product, and after trying this I just had to get it for myself.

I bought this Too Faced palette from ASOS, primarily because I am a regular ASOS shopper and have signed up to their free Next Day Delivery service. It also had the added benefit of offering a 10% student discount off the original price of the palette (£28), so I snatched it up for just £25.20. Given that a full sized bronzer from Too Faced would set you back £25, this palette (containing 5 different products) seemed like a pretty good deal!

This palette is the 'French Riviera edition' so is decorated with lots of 50's style beach scenes, which I love. I think Too Faced package all of their products really well, although the size of this palette does not make it ideal to just slip into your handbag. The products within the palette are: 

- Chocolate Soleil Matte Bronzer

- Snow Bunny Perfecting Bronze

- Sun Bunny Classic Bronze

- Powdered Sun Highlighter (exclusive to this palette)

- Primed and Poreless Bronze Tint Primer (5g)

The Chocolate Soleil is my current favourite as it really does smell deliciously chocolatey and reminds me of the Bourjois Delice de Poudre. I have been using this shade for contouring and then highlighting my cheekbones with the Powdered Sun, which is a great shade for Summer as it is yellow toned. 

Sun Bunny is one of Too Faced's more popular products, although it is quite shimmery rather than matte and so more of a night time product in my eyes. I like the fact that it is two-toned so can be made as subtle or as defined as you like, and I can't wait to use some of this on my next night out with my Costa Chic lipstick from MAC- such a great summer look! 

The Snow Bunny bronzer on the other hand is described by Too Faced as a Winter bronzer, probably due to the pinker tones in the highlighter, and I really like the idea that this palette will see me through all seasons! I have used some of the highlighter alone on days when I have not been wearing much makeup and it is a great product for lifting the complexion and making skin look a bit brighter.

Top Left: Chocolate Soleil, Top Right: Sun Bunny, Bottom Left: Powdered Sun, Bottom Right: Snow Bunny

I also love that this product comes with a primer. I bought myself a Too Faced primer some time ago and deliberated for ages whether to get the bronzing primer or the normal.. I settled for the normal in the end, so I'm so pleased to have a chance to try this one! This just gives a really subtle, healthy colour to the skin and leaves a really smooth base to apply foundation. I find the Too Faced primers quite silky and not remotely greasy, and I love that they are quite thick so you can really tell the difference after applying.

Finally, also included were some instruction cards on how to create different looks using the palette. This is great for those that are new to contouring and need a bit of help, or just for those that need a bit of inspiration! Personally I have not tried to follow any of the looks given in the instructions yet, but would be interested to try them out at some point.

All in all I think this palette is one of my favourite purchases recently, and one that I will certainly get a lot of use out of. There is not a single product that I'm not sure about or that I won't use, the sign of a good palette, and I can't wait to take it with me when I go to Reading Festival in a few weeks. Have you tried any Too Faced products recently? What is your  current favourite bronzer??

Before I go I also wanted to share with you a couple of the freebies that I've picked up recently! I have been wanting to try out a few different foundations, particularly after reading good reviews, so after work yesterday I nipped to Oxford Street to hit up some of the beauty counters. I didn't buy anything, but picked up foundation samples of Clinique Stay Matte, Estee Lauder Double Wear, Chanel Perfection Lumiere and Kiehl's BB Cream. Samples for me are an absolute lifesaver as I am so indecisive when it comes to foundations and I love to road test any new products before committing to a big purchase. Is that just me, or do you do the same?!

Finally, I also picked up the September issue of Elle magazine and got this Bumble & Bumble Thickening Spray as a free gift! I love B&B products but they are a little pricey, so I can't wait to try this out and let you know what I thought.

Have you picked up any good freebies lately?

Anyway, that's all from me today, night night all!

Rosie x