Haus of Gloi's Samhain

"Samhain (/ˈsɑːwɪn/, /ˈsaʊ.ɪn/, or /ˈsaʊn/) is a Gaelic harvest festival held on October 31–November 1. It was linked to festivals held around the same time in other Celtic cultures, and was popularised as the "Celtic New Year" from the late 19th century.

The medieval Goidelic festival of Samhain marked the end of the harvest, the end of the "lighter half" of the year and beginning of the "darker half". It was celebrated over the course of several days and had some elements of a Festival of the Dead. Bonfires played a large part in the festivities. People and their livestock would often walk between two bonfires as a cleansing ritual, and the bones of slaughtered livestock were cast into its flames."

What has this got to do with a beauty blog, and have I gone pagan, celebrating Samhain?

Everything and nothing and no I'm not celebrating any part of Samhain or Halloween. This is simply the name of my latest acquisition from the Haus of Gloi.

Described as smelling like 'Freshly turned earth, wet leaves, and a cool spectre ridden wind.' this pumpkin butter puts me in mind of strolls through the forest on a damp evening, there is a sweet dirty smell to it.

At first the scent is very strong, not headache inducing strong but a powerful hit none-the-less, to my nose at first it's all fresh sweetness, like that smell you bring home when you've been out in a meadow or on a nature walk.

Once it starts to settle down I can smell autamnal leaves, freshly shed. It puts me in mind of all my favourite essential oils, Vetivert and Pathouli but without the overwhelming earthy smell they usually have. There is also a touch of spicyness to it, maybe a nutmeg something mellow and relaxing.

Hark at me waxing lyrical over the scent of this, but it is SO complex. Definately the kind of scent I love, as I'm not a floral fan.

As for the actual pumpkin butter itself, it's quite a wet lotion but still very thick. Although it doesn't need a lot of rubbing to sink into your skin. It sinks in very quickly indeed leaving my skin soft but not sticky.

It contains Shea butter and (not surprisingly) unrefined Pumpkin seed oil both of which are ideal moisturisers for the winter months.

This purchase added to my last purchase of the bubbling scrub just cements my love for all things Haus of Gloi.

A 6oz jar will cost you $10.00 (approx £6.24) which is completely worth it.

 (Haus of Gloi are American but ship worldwide)

Naked Skin. Bare Faced Cheek Face Wash

It's been quite a while since I last wrote about facial washes, quite possibly because they seem to last forever. Or at least my last one, Organic Surge Daily Care Face wash, did.

When I ran out of that I bought the one I'm using currently to replace it, and I bought this one because I was curious if the skincare was a good as (I'd heard) the haircare was.

The facial wash I'm talking about is Naked Skin Bare Faced Cheek.

Advertised as being a softening face wash this product contains extract of Damask Rose lauded for it's 'soothing' properties.

Designed for sensitive skin this face wash contains no sulphates, parabens, petrochemicals or silicone. It also has no synthetic fragrance added, so what you can smell is a mix of the Damask Rose and the other ingredients used to make it up. Not unpleasant, but also not overwhelmingly rosy either.

The actual product is a clear gel which lathers slightly, but not into vast amounts. It spreads easily and leaves my skin clean and fresh when I use it, it doesn't leave that nasty tight feeling when I use it but my skin is more oily/combination than dry so I couldn't say how it would be for drier skins.

I wouldn't hail it as being a super product, but it certainly isn't bad either. It's not going to do you a damage to use it, but I'm always wary of claims made of face washes, considering you wash it off after 10 seconds.

I bought this from Boots for £4.49 but I can't find a link for it, so I'll leave you with a link direct to the Naked website.

Naked Volume Body Building Shampoo

After my less than thrilling experience with Liz Earle Botanical Shine Shampoo I had to go on the hunt for a shampoo that could cleanse my hair of the build up of Shea butter which was weighing it down, making it lank and nasty.

And so I picked up Naked Volume body building shampoo with Chicory & Wheat protein for Fine, Limp hair. My hair to be exact.

I vaguely remember another blogger loving this (well, the Naked range) and thought I'd try it. And phew I am SO glad I did.

My hair is very fine, but also rather oily. Unfortunately when I tried out the Liz Earle shampoo it was far to rich for my hair. But even though I stopped using that shampoo it had left my hair, greasy, for want of a better word.

This Naked shampoo has come along and changed all that, my hair is plump and full of bounce, no longer weighed down by ickiness. It's soft without being oily and it smells fresh.

(Random bouncy hair picture)

The Naked shampoo has a very pungent scent, quite sharp but not a nasty smell. It smells like it will clean your hair (if you know what I mean) and it does, the strangest thing I find is it lathers better on a second application than on the first. No idea why, but I've taken to wetting my hair, applying a tiny amount and half heartedly rubbing it in, rinsing it slightly, then actually going in for the proper wash where it actually lathers up nicely.

I've got to admit one of the things that drew me to Naked (other than another bloggers endorsement) is the fact it is without sulphates, parabens or petrochemicals. It also isn't tested on animals.

It's £4.07 for 250ml at Boots.

Aqua, Cocamidopropyl betaine, Sodium lauroyl sarcosinate, Sodium cocoamphoacetate, Coco-glucoside, Glyceryl oleate, Glycerin, Parfum, Panthenol (vitamin B5), Chichorium intybus (chicory) root extract, Wheat amino acids, Lauryldimonium hydroxypropyl hydrolyzed soy protein, Guar hydroxypropyltrimonium chloride, Sodium hydroxymethylglycinate, Sodium chloride, Phenoxyethanol, Ethylhexylglycerin, Potassium sorbate, Sodium benzoate, Linalool, Limonene, Citronellol, Geraniol.

Playing with Make-Up

This week I have been off work, so in between being very lazy I've been playing with make-up creating 'looks' that I probably wouldn't wear out in public.

Who wants to see some of my 'looks'?

Okay, first up is a EOTD, using Vivo Blue Lagoon this looks good in these photos but the whole look wasn't something I could wear outside. To 80's over all which is why I was asking on Twitter how to make blue eyeshadow more wearable. (Taupe is the answer)

Next up is a creepy FOTD I've done using the Sleek Storm palette and Sleek Pout Paint. Along with a little black eyeliner. I kind of got the urge to do this after watching 'The Hole' last night. Sort of a creepy doll/child look.

 I actually really like the lip colour, it's a combination of a black eyeliner used as lip liner and Sleek Pout Paint in Pin Up.

I then had a little fun playing around with the 'Blue' look to make them more funky.

Eye Eye

Have you ever messed around with your make-up to create funky looks?

Nail Art, using O.P.I & 17 Supreme Shine Nail Polish

Little bit of a nail 'art' post for you today, especially after I was asked on Twitter by several people, including the official twitter for 17, how I managed to get my smile line so neat.  

 The easy answer is, I cheated.

 Using O.P.I Extravagance as my base colour I left it to dry until it was completely and utterly set dry. Painting your nails the day before is best, there must be no underlying tackiness or you'll ruin all your hard work.  

Before applying any detail colour I apply these;

Nail art stencils for perfect smiles every time. I got mine off eBay, they won't cost much on there.

They are a little faffy to get straight so you don't end up with wonky smiles, but a little patience and doing one hand at a time allowing the other to dry first will ensure a good finish. 

 Then I choose my 'detail' colour.

In this case 17's Supreme Shine nail polish in Risky Red and paint just my tips with it.

Leave to dry as you can see in the photo before this, peel off slowly and apply a coat of clear polish over the top.

Et Voila, perfect smiles and a great look for your nails.

Vivo Cosmetics Pearl Eyeshadows

I finally managed to make it to a Tesco's superstore where they are selling Vivo Cosmetics using the 'I need to do the weekly shop lets go to this Tescos here' excuse.

(actually Mr Red was kind enough not to be fussed we were driving out of our way to do the shoppng)

Unfortunately I was a bit disappointed when I got there as there was only a tiny little stand with Vivo Cosmetics on and it was in a deplorable state, under stocked and very dirty/messy.

Still I managed to pick up two of the several pearl eyeshadows I want, and those were Blue Lagoon and Electric Purple.

Such amazing depth of colour for eyeshadows that cost me £1.50 each. Can you say bargain?

Oh, what's that you say? Swatches? Yes I have swatches to show you...

Aren't these colours drool worthy?

Both eyeshadows have the stunning deep pearlescent, iridescent finish you'd expect of more expensive items. It's just a shame the Tescos I went to didn't have the other ones I want.

L'Oreal Volume Million Lashes Luminizer Mascara

How many of you have been tempted by L'oreal's latest Volume Million Luminizer mascara, the one which promises to enhance your blue/green/brown eyes?

Well I bought it, mostly because the new one was at £8.99 in Superdrug rather than £11.99 for the original one and I can't resist a bargain.

Reading the information on the L'Oreal website is interesting because it gives you these 'product benefits.'

"Light-up your eyes with Volume Million Lashes Luminizer. For fanned-out, maxed-up lash look in 3 dazzling shades.

Put the twinkle in your eyes!"

Pretty much what the original does but in 'colour'.

So does it live up to its claim of lighting up the eyes?

See for yourself.

Not really. In my opinion the only time I see the 'blue' of the mascara is when I hold the wand up to the light, on my lashes it looks black to me. This is probably a good thing as I wouldn't really want to walk around with bright blue lashes, but I also don't think it 'lights up my eyes' or 'puts a twinkle' in my eyes other than what you'd normally get with light reflecting off your eyes.

I still think it's a good mascara in terms of lifting and defining the lashes. And I'm not hugely fussed you can't tell it's 'blue' because I love the original in black. But I do think it's an un-needed claim stretched a little thin by L'Oreal just to make extra sales.

Still for £8.99 introductionary offer I snapped it up, better than £11.99 full price, right?

Liz Earle. Botanical Shine Shampoo.

I have been so lazy the past few days, but I have a good reason honest.

It is SO hard to get the PC to blog as Mr Red likes to play his games in the evening... I really need a new laptop and quick.

What I've got for today is none other than Liz Earles Botanical Shine Shampoo.

"With West African shea butter, natural source vitamin E, shine-boosting apple and orange extracts plus naturally derived cleansers, our shampoo gently cleans without stripping to leave hair soft, shiny and smooth. Contains no sodium lauryl/laureth sulphate."

The shampoo smells gorgeous, very fresh and delicate and it lathers up nicely considering it has no nasties in it. But then it all goes pear shaped, as I have very fine, oily hair the shea butter in this is far to rich for me. And it leaves my hair lank once dry and styled.

I hate, hate, hate having to write a (slightly) negative thing about Liz Earle as I really like their products, but this really isn't for all hair types, more for dry or damaged/older hair. Certainly not fine, oily hair like mine.

(Insert Ms Red's very sad face here)

How have you got on with this shampoo if you've tried it?

Aqua (water), Sodium lauroyl methyl isethionate, Aloe barbadensis (aloe vera) leaf juice, Sorbitan sesquicaprylate, Glycerin, Cocamidopropyl betaine, Sodium methyl isethionate, Lauric acid, Vitellaria paradoxa (shea butter), Pyrus malus (apple) fruit extract, Citrus aurantium dulcis (orange) fruit extract, Tocopherol (vitamin E), Phenoxyethanol, Panthenol, Citronellyl methylcrotonate, Trisodium ethylenediamine disuccinate, Sodium chloride, Limonene, Sodium cocoyl glycinate, Parfum (fragrance), Guar hydroxypropyltrimonium chloride, Xanthan gum, Linalool, Citric acid, Methyl hydrogenated rosinate, Acrylates/C10-30 alkyl acrylate crosspolymer, Phytantriol, Methylisothiazolinone, Biosaccharide Gum-1.

I want...

You know what it's like, as soon as somebody asks you what you want your mind goes blank.

No?

Oh well my mind does...

Anyway, I've done a little 'mood' board of things I like incase anyone was wondering.

So from top to bottom, left to right we have:

Lancome. All I want this Christmas advent calender.
(please note this is the name of the product, over which I have no control)

Includes

Lancôme Teint Miracle 03 5ml, Trésor eau de parfum 7.5ml, Miracle eau de parfum 5ml, Hypnôse Drama Mascara 2ml, Hypnôse Classic Mascara 2ml, Absolu Nu 302 Mini, Mini Juicy Tube 19 – Lychee, Visionnaire 7ml, Génifique 7ml, Génifique Yeux 5ml, Rénergie Lift Volumetry Day 15ml, Eau Micellaire Douceur 50ml, Bi–Facil 30ml

Giorgio Armani⁄Emporio Armani Armani Code Femme eau de parfum 3ml, Emporio Armani Diamonds eau de parfum 5ml

Kiehl's Kiehl's Ultra Facial Cream 7ml, Kiehl's Crème De Corps 30ml, Kiehl's Hand Salve 30ml, Kiehl's Midnight Recovery Concentrate 4ml

Shu Uemura Cleansing Oil 20ml

Viktor & Rolf Flowerbomb eau de parfum 7ml

YSL Belle D'Opium eau de parfum 7.5ml, Rouge Pur Couture Mini, Khol Pencil Mini

£80.00

Clarins Pure Melt Cleansing Gel.

What can I say, I love this.

£18.50

Lancome Bi-Facil.

I love this too.

£20.00

Deborah Lippmann Nail Polish.

Specifically the Across the Universe one, but I wouldn't say no to any of the glitter ones.

£14.00-£18.00

Christain Dior Ladies Mini Fragrance set.

Includes

Miss Dior Cherie Eau de Parfum 5ml

J'adore Eau de Toilette 4ml

Dior Addict Eau de Toilette 5ml

Hypnotic Poison Eau de Toilette 5ml

£25.00

Tom Ford Black Orchid.

I'll be nice and say I'd like the roll on which comes in at

£30.00

A laptop, not one in particular just one that works (unlike my own currently)

Price - Unknown.

And last but not least some nice,

Knee High Black Leather Boots.

Size 6.5-7 if you're asking.

£85.00

Nice.

Maybelline Dream Touch Blush

I bought this blusher ages ago, I also took photos and had them all ready to blog with. Until my laptop went kaboom the first time, and then I lost a whole heap of photos. It's taken till now for me to remember I didn't blog about it and get some new photos taken for that purpose.

So here we are.

Maybellines Dream Touch Blush in Berry.



One tiny bug bare I have with this is the opening to get your finger in, while looking quite large here, is actually quite small, and when you have long nails it gets even smaller, making it rather hard to get any product out. I'd prefer this in a squishy tube if you ask me.

Other than that the colour is fab, a very natural flushed look, once blended in. And you only need a tiny amount to get a full on blush look.

I found it hard to get photos of me wearing it, because once I'd blended it to looking natural it didn't seem to show up. And I wasn't about to do the 'clown' look to make it show as I'm heading out right after I finish typing this up.

(eick blurry photo :O)

It shows a bit better in the close up of my cheek.



Maybelline Dream Touch Blush is available from Boots for £6.49, I think if I recall rightly I got mine while it was on offer. As to be honest I wouldn't pay that much for this.

Jewellery Making

I hate not having a laptop. I managed to get Mr Red to lend me his PC while he was playing on the PlayStation, but today's post is a lazy one to be honest.

It's a collection of photos of jewellery I've been making recently. Having gotten interested in it in the last month or so.

I would appreciate it muchly if you could tell me if they look okay, or ugly, or to pink.... just FEEDBACK would be much loved.

Crackle bead bracelet with Fairy charm.

Angel earrings, I have two sets of these.

Glass heart Angel necklace, I also have the same Angel twice again but in mobile phone charm/bag charm form.

 Fairy with a Crystal ball earrings.

This is using my best beads, white glass with flowers inside. So pretty.

The first earrings I made, flower beads.

A rose garden charm bracelet, with fairys, roses and lots of pretty beads.


Purple Charm Bracelet.

Purple & Hematite Earrings

Glass Rose & Moonstone beads bracelet.

Beaded necklace on memory wire.

So that's all so far, I did make a necklace, but it's not all that.

PLEASE tell me what you think because if I'm good enough I'm thinking of selling what I make.

Super Glittery Nails

I've had a lot of questions recently over what polish I used to make my nails so glittery, truth is I used not one but three polishes and layered a lot of coats on to create a super glittery look.

The polishes I used were; Barry M Holgraphic glitter, Maybelline Diamonds and GOSH Magic Star.

It took a lot of layers before they became really glittery but I got there in the end.

I couldn't resist a blurred photo shot as I think glitter looks fantastic blurred out.

I loved the look and I've had so many comments on it, but I will say I do believe the Gosh Magic Star leans towards a yellowish tinged glitter. So go lightly on that if you plan on reproducing this, unless you like yellow stained looks.



Is glitter your thing, would you do this look?