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Tuesday 4 September 2012

Yankee Candles - Tarts & Tart Burner thingy

So, I guess most people have heard of these.. I never had, until very recently when I bought one by accident thinking it was a 'mini' candle. I was then left totally perplexed as to how on earth to burn the little Tart I handn't been able to stop sniffing since I picked it up. After a bit of google-ing I had become fully educated in the art of the tart: you need a burning apparatus to be able to extract the scent from these little things.

On a trip to Sainsbury's, a day or so later, to do my usual food shop I managed to find a plain white, very dull looking, burner to use with my tart. Priced at a whopping £4.50 my husband thought I had gone a bit bonkers, but then again he thinks scented candles etc. are just a waste of money and space, until I light one and he comes home and goes, 'Oh something smells really lovely!'.

This burner did the job, but other than that I wasn't very impressed with it:



1) if I don't use a tea light/small candle in a little dish also then it just leaks out the sides and gets all over the place
2) it is seriously dull looking

Enter my new Tart burner that should resolve the above two issues:




Isn't it pretty!?! 

The lip on the edge looks like it is just about high enough to contain the melted wax from the candle I use.. we shall see....

Of course I took the opportunity to order a few more Tarts to try when I ordered the Tart burner online!


The scents I got were: 
4 x soft blanket
1 x fluffy towels
1 x baby powder




I ordered this burner from a company called TJ Reiki on Sunday afternoon for £14.99 and it arrived on Tuesday morning. Granted it is a bit more expensive than the Sainsbury's option, but I just think it's also a whole lot prettier too!

Have you tried any Yankee Candle Tarts? What do you think of them?

xxx

Jana




Monday 20 August 2012

Cobalt blue: Zara Haul.

Cobalt blue is everywhere at the moment and I am loving this bright hue for winter.

I have found a couple of  LOVELY pieces that I have been wearing both at work and casually also, and of course they are from the amazing shop that is Zara.

Firstly I love this lovely structured blazer which is part of their TRF range:





I really like pairing this blazer with a black vest and black pencil skirt to look really sharp and smart for work. I have also been pairing it with these two shirts I picked up from Zara recently also:




I don't own either of these, yet, but I think they would be great additions to my wardrobe too!




Will you be adding a dash of cobalt blue to your wardrobe?

xxx

Jana

Wednesday 18 July 2012

Lust Haves #1

As the title of this post suggest, these are a few items I have been lusting after lately :0) Unsurprisingly, given the dismal weather we have had this summer so far in the UK I am thinking only of winter wardrobes now!


This absolutely incredible shopper bag from Zara - (Image & product found here!)



This gorgeous leather jacket from Warehouse - (Image & product found here!)


This lovely looking cosy jumper from Topshop -(Image & product found here!)

This delicious Roberto Cavalli fragrance. I have been hankering after since I sniffed the advert page for it in one of my monthly glossy magazines - (Image & product found here!)


And finally if its not too much to ask I would love to go back to here and escape the awful summer in London...


Pousada Casas Brancas, Buzios, RJ, Brazil - (Image from here!)


Monday 16 July 2012

Products I cannot live without.

OK, so the title may be a bit overly dramatic, but I thought I would short-list a few of the products I have been using consistently over the past 6 months or longer at least, and that I honestly do not think I could do without.

 Jan Marini Bioglycolic Cleanser & Bioglycolic Bioclear cream





I use a whole range of products from Jan Marini and I am really torn between whether to say Bioglycolic  Bioclear Cream or just the Bioglycolic cleanser. The fact is that both these products have done wonders for my skin, and whilst I hate to be without the Bioglycolic cleanser for a prolonged period, there have been occasions where it has run out before my next order has arrived and I can just about manage to go a few days without any pimples deciding to rear their ugly head... so long as I have the Bioglycolic Bioclear cream.  If I do not have the Bioglycolic Bioclear cream to help to gently exfoliate my skin, then it all starts to go a bit wrong; dullness starts to set in again and then spots start to slowly re-appear.

The clarity of my skin since I have been using this stuff, which has been for over 6 months now, is just incredible. I have just started on my second little pot and I honestly don't think I could ever be without it. Yes, it is expensive at around approximately £50 for 28g, but it has lasted me best part of 6 months and you only need to use a teeny-tiny amount. I order mine from The Cosmetic Practice and every once in a while they do some great sales, so I keep my eyes peeled for their Jan Marini offers! I often forego foundation in all its forms on a daily basis now, opting only to use it for a more special occasion, and I get no end of compliments to how good my skin looks. Only word of warning is that these products do contain acids! So please do get professional advice before using it and don't be shocked if you feel a bit 'tingly' when you first use it, this is normal - the acid is doing its job!!

Estee Lauder Advanced Night Repair
I used to use this religiously. My mum has used it for god knows how long (and has incredibly skin at 60 yrs old by the way) and when I hit around 16/17 she bought me some and told me to never stop taking care of my skin - she believes in wrinkle prevention rather than trying to treat something when it has already manifest itself. 

Now, I honestly do not know why I stopped using this stuff. I just decided randomly to stop, probably because I took it for granted and didn't think it was doing anything any more... well I am an idiot for doing that. My skin just started looking less plump and I was noticing all these fine lines starting to crop up (probably not noticeable to anyone but me, armed with my 10x magnifying mirror - I can assure you they were there!). 

I decided it was high time I re-investigate getting myself a decent serum when I realised I still had best part of a full bottle of the Advanced Night Repair. I didn't want to be wasteful, so promised myself I would use it all up before I bought anything new. Well, I won't be buying anything 'new' once this is finished (which it is now getting closed to being) because it's bloody marvellous. Skin all soft focused looking and plump? Check! Skin all nice and smooth and hydrated? Check! Skin spot and irritation free? Check! So there you go. I was a total idiot for not using this stuff and will not stray again, ever!


Redken Extreme Anti-Snap



This stuff is liquid gold as far as I am concerned. My hair is quite weak and fine, couple that with constant highlights and years of abusing the straighteners and my hair has ended up one giant frizz ball mess; well that was the case until I discovered this stuff. Every time I wash my hair I apply it liberally throughout my damp hair before either air drying or blow drying. The final result is much softer, sleeker, more manageable hair. I am now half way through my 4th bottle and never foresee giving this stuff up. It has made such a difference. I tend to order mine from Feel Unique.



Thursday 12 July 2012

BeneFit Blush Wars: Hervana Vs Coralista

So I noticed whilst looking at my stats that a ton of people seem to reach my blog by searching 'Hervana vs Coralista' on Google. Now I am glad that they stumbled upon my little blog, but at the same time I think that they probably didn't get the information they were after! So I have decided to sort that shizz out for you all and do a post that basically answers the Hervana vs Coralista debacle!

First up Hervana:



Now this is probably my favourite blush of all (not that I am some kind of blush queen or anything, quite the contrary). I love the way it looks in the pan with all those different complimenting colours, some matte and some every so slightly shimmery.



Hervana is a really lovely, natural looking and quite matte blush; it imparts a nice soft colour that makes you look more healthy and radiant. The idea behind most blushes is that they promotes that 'flush of youth', that we naturally presume as an indicator of good health, and this one really does just that.

It's a really nice blush, probably more suited to fairer skin tones, although I haven't seen what it would look like on a darker skinned lady so I may be mistaken. It's understated, but not underwhelming. It's one that I am happy to apply on a daily basis without fear of looking too made up. However, if I want to really emphasize my cheeks then you can build this colour up gradually to get a more full on, check out these cheeks effect should you wish.


Coralista:



My this is one scary looking blush when you see it in the box - bright and what looks like just too much shimmer. Yes, it is bright, but it applies quite sheer so you can steadily build up the colour to your desired level, or you can just go all out with a massive brush and a heavy hand to have a nice pop of beautiful colour on your cheeks; and even then it't not that full on.



In fact if you look very closely you will see that the Coralista colour is incorporated in the Hervana: the shimmery coral colour next to the lightest pink swirl in the Hervana (pic 2 for Hervana). And when you look at the swatches side by side, the colour difference is quite subtle and the main difference is that one is quite matte, the Hervana, and Coralista is more shimmery and slightly my peachy.


As you can see, neither is actually that scary once you apply it (and both have been swatched heavily, just  f.y.i.) They are both very nice pink-toned blushes which have quite a nice natural effect overall. Without a doubt Coralista is a bit brighter in not just colour but finish, due to the shimmer, but its not an obnoxious shimmer just more of a sheen, similar to what you would get with a MAC satin finish eye shadow for example. Here's another more zoomed in picture of the swatches:



If you are torn between which one to get, then I would probably recommend the Hervana over the Coralista, but only because the colour is matte and slightly more subtle, which makes it a more useful blush  that can be worn easily everyday and leave you looking naturally flushed and healthy. However, I do really like wearing them both, so you should just get both!!! :0) 

Well, I hope that has helped all those of you who kept stumbling on my blog looking for a good comparison of both of these gorgeous blushes!

So which one will you chose?

xxx

Jana

Wednesday 11 July 2012

Watches, watches, watches

So about 3 or 4 months ago I broke my beloved Michael Kors watch... I had this one, the 'Jet Set':


I really, really loved my watch and have finally decided it is high time I sought a replacement to adorn my naked wrist. I have had this particular watch since 2008/2009 so it's lasted me fairly well considering how clumsy I am!

I have decided to go for a two-tone watch this time around, so that it helps tie in all the jewellery that I wear, which is often a mix of both yellow gold and white gold... or sometimes just white gold or sometimes all yellow gold... Basically I want it to complement everything and anything that I may possibly decide to use. I have short listed a few options and wanted to find out what your thoughts were?

Currently my favourite is this one below, the 'Camille' watch:



Closely followed by the 'Bradshaw', although this one is really a joint 1st place:



And the 'Ritz' two tone option is also rather fetching:



Then there are a couple of other beauties to throw into the mix: 
the 'Large Layton' and the 'Ritz' that is triple tone - it combines silver, gold and rose gold: 





I am guessing mixed metals must be making some kind of a comeback as I didn't expect to be overwhelmed by so many options from Michael Kors!

Which one do you like the best? 
I have to admit the more I look at them the more confused I get as to which one I should go for!

xxx 

Jana




Tuesday 10 July 2012

Follow me on Bloglovin'

Hi all! Just a quick post to let you know that you can now follow me on bloglovin'!


See you there!

xxx

Jana

Monday 9 July 2012

Haul! Zara, Monsoon (?!) and more...


So I have basically broken my spending ban...oops! But then again I am always on some kind of spending ban... and I didn't go that crazy and I only picked up 4 items all together... so I am pretty pleased with myself about that if I am honest.

Of course I had to get something in Zara, and the piece that I picked up was a shirt, of course. I am obsessed with shirts from Zara at the moment. This time the shirt is a bit more 'crazy' for me though, whilst still sticking to my overall understated, ahem *boring* style...and I love it. In fact when I wear it I feel like I ought to be on the set of the recently relaunched Dallas. Yee-Ha!


Zara Link - Here!



I also picked up a pretty adventurous blazer too! In fact not sure what has happened to make me so bold of late with my choices... again, this is pretty tame but if you knew me you would definitely be thinking 'Blimey, are you all right Jana!?!' I am totally obsessed with blazers to the point that my husband has specifically asked me to stop buying blazers as I am running out of hanging space, but I love them. They are so useful and can completely change up a really basic outfit. I found this one in a 50% off sale!



The blazer is by Moschino. (similar here)

I have searched high and low for a link but cannot find the exact one anywhere.You may also notice that I am wearing my ColorBlockShop necklace that I mentioned in this post. I absolutely adore this necklace, and have worn it to death! Love it! I get so many compliments on it whenever I wear it too, which is a nice little added bonus! I am also just wearing a plain white vest from Zara, obviously, which is this one.

Last but by no means least I found these little gems in Monsoon. I am not sure why I went in there as I never do, but I was on a mission to find a body so went anywhere and everywhere on my hunt...I ended up not finding a body however....





No idea what is going on with the red rash I appear to have in the picture, odd as I didn't notice one in real life! And sadly the necklace isn't on the site so I am guessing it it sold out.

What do you think? What purchases have you done recently?

xxx

Jana



Friday 6 July 2012

BeneFit Hello Flawless Oxygen Wow - a review.

I am just going to (try) write a brief review on this foundation, despite the fact that it has nothing particularly brief about its name! This  foundation has possibly the longest name ever - Hello Flawless Oxygen Wow.
(Image Link!)

First of all I really like the packaging, BeneFit really knows how to do fun and kitsch packaging, and this product definitely doesn't disappoint on this front, whilst also being hugely practical. The bottle is clear plastic with a little pump, which means not only can you see how much product is left as you go, it is both hygienic and easy to control how much you pump out. I found with this stuff a little does really go a long way, so the whole bottle should last you a long time! Granted the packing doesn't feel hugely luxurious, but then again I am not sure that is what BeneFit are striving for, but you cannot fault the quality nonetheless and the practicality.

Onto the product itself: I really loved the overall look and finish of this foundation. I tend to prefer a lighter more 'natural' yet radiant finish and this certainly doesn't disappoint. I would say the coverage is medium-sheer, rather than being super light. I had been religiously using a Estee Lauder Invisible Fluid foundation up until the point I stopped to test out he sample I was kindly given by the lady at the BeneFit counter, and relative to that it felt like it offered a bit more coverage, but having said that I do think you do still have relatively good skin in the first place to use this stuff. I would say that this in conjunction with a good concealer to hide a few blemishes would be fine, as it does a very good job of evening out the skin otherwise, but if you have a lot of acne this may not be the one for you.

The product is advertised as oil-free and whilst I do not doubt this, I do suffer from a very oily t-zone and I found that it didn't really hold up that well when compared to my Invisible Fluid foundation by Estee Lauder which gives me a good 5-6 hours before I feel the need to blot, sadly this definitely needing a blot after about 3 hours stuck in the office at my desk. The other negative is that although I do not suffer with acne, my skin is hugely temperamental at times and although I have a good skincare regimen going which means I rarely breakout, this foundation did cause a few dreaded pimples to appear after a few days of consistent use. I am not sure which ingredient or combination of ingredrients was the culprit but something definitely was giving me an issue!

I think this is a really great foundation, and I loved the finish and the fact is has a decent SPF of 25, but I won't be purchasing a full size version due to my breakout, despite it being a fairly minor breakout.  It's important to me that I  use something I know won't cause me any issues; I invest quite a bit of money on skincare to keep my very irritable skin clear so I don't want to undo any of that hard work (and money) by using something that doesn't quite agree with my skin, so for now I will stick firmly with my Invisible Fluid.

If oily skin isn't and issue for you and you don't suffer with breakouts, then this is a really lovely foundation that makes you look radiant and naturally polished.

Have any of you tried the BeneFit Hello Flawless Oxygen Wow foundation? 
What did you think?

xxx 
Jana

Saturday 2 June 2012

BeneFit Haul: Coralista and Hoola :0)

I don't think I have bought anything from BeneFit for quite a while...I did go crazy for some of the their smudge proof shadow liners in 2010 and earlier this year I acquired the first blush that I have ever owned that I actually use, the Hervana. It is amazing by the way. Other than that I have not really used anything BeneFit much since I was in high school, I think... and that was a REALLY long time ago now... sob.

After the success of the Hervana blush, which by the way I do genuinely wear every single day, I decided to go back to BeneFit and see what else took my fancy.

After looking at lots of swatches on-line and reading almost every review on MakeupAlley, I decided to plump for the Coralista blush. 


I don't know why I used to be so scared of blushes, and I also don't know why I never tried this one given its been around for a long time. It's probably because its quite a scary looking blush for the uninitiated.









The colour in the pan is really quite bright and for someone who is still relatively a blush 'virgin' it appears to be quite scarily bright. 







Despite this I took the plunge and I was even quite liberal with my first application. I found that the colour pay-off was still quite sheer, in spite of how vivid it is in the pan and really flattering. Highly recommend this one. I am in love. Yes, this does have a bit of 'sparkle' which I don't mind as I like the glowing look, but if you are into a matte finish then this may not be for you :0)

 
(quite a 'heavy' swatch)


Last weekend I smashed the bronzer I had been using adoringly for over the past year, the Clarins Mosaique bronzer (which was a huge limited edition one, I think,... and it lasted me, literally, yonks -I got it in May last year, I think ). I had obviously hit pan on this one, but it would have lasted me a good 4/5 months still I reckon. Then I dropped it (not for the first time), but this time it was beyond saving.

I destroyed what has been my only go-to bronzer whilst getting ready to go out for dinner so I wasn't best pleased that I then had to rummage through my stash to find something to use, which I recently completely streamlined (ie got rid of things that I had been hoarding for years) which is when I stumbled upon my old BeneFit Hoola bronzer.  From the first swirl of my brush over my forehead it was instant love. WHY? WHY? WHY did I stop using this stuff? It's amazing and the most natural looking 'olive' bronze tone I have found. I mean I loved my Clarins one, but even that one was a bit orange at times if I was a bit heavy handed.



My old Hoola bronzer was looking very tatty to say the least and totally smashed up and icky. So, obviously, I had to go and get a new one.

 Here it is, in all its beautiful glory. 

And even better, it comes with the magnetic flip lip cover with a mirror inside, which I much prefer to the old style. I will still finish up my old Hoola, I am determined not to be wasteful, BUT I just couldn't resist making sure I had my back-up ready for when the old one runs out,
which should be any day now.



BeneFit also managed to score brownie points as they offered me a very generous 5 ml sample of their Hello Flawless Oxygen WOW foundation (HFOW). Is that a mouthful or what?! I can't say that I was in the market for a new foundation, as I love my Invisible Fluid foundation from Estee Lauder (its amazing). But if its free, I am going to try it, and I'll make sure I let you know how I got on with it.


Have you hauled at BeneFit lately?

xxx 

Jana

Thursday 24 May 2012

Shoe dupes?

I have long admired some of the lovely simple, classic, and elegant styles of shoe that companies such as LK Bennett produce. I have on occasion been so compelled by some of their shoes that I have parted with my hard earned cash for them.

The most recent items that I was interested in purchasing were a couple of little wedge numbers:




At £175 they are quite a splurge even though they are a very elegant and sophisticated design and the heel is the perfect height to wear to work everyday. This particular style has also found a very Royal fan, in the shape of the Duchess of Cambridge a.k.a Kate Middleton.

I was really toying with buying these LK Bennett shoes and was just trying to decide between which colour to opt for, as I could not afford to buy both pairs, when I stumbled upon these:





Now they are not 100% exactly the same, but they are pretty darn close to being an exact dupe! With a much more pocket friendly price tag, coming in just under £45, I think its quite easy to see which one I opted to buy in the end... and maybe I got both colours...just maybe ;0)

Who knew Clarks were getting so stylish?

Have you found any good dupes lately?

xxx

Jana