US/UK Swap II

Recently the lovely Lydia & I did a US/UK Beauty Swap...here is what she sent me!

Sleek Storm Palette

Gosh Darling Lipstick

Barry M. Lip Gloss #4

LUSH Bubblegum Lip Scrub

A closer look at the lip products

I absolutely LOVE everything she sent!
I am so jealous of all you UK ladies! You have access to some amazing brands like Barry M. Sleek & Gosh, as well as many others. I can't believe most of these products can be found in a drugstore. The quality is amazing.  If you are reading this, thank you so much Lydia! That card was precious & so thoughtful :) xx It was a pleasure doing this swap...I would love to do more in the future.
Does anyone else love doing beauty swaps? If so, for what items?!
♥ Nikki

Belated Birthday Look

I just wanted to apologize to everyone who reads my blog because I haven't updated in about a week! I promise I'm going to try to post more frequently. It's been a busy week full of work & school and my 24th birthday was on Monday! 

blurry blackberry photo :(

I absolutely love this picture of Hilary Duff and wanted to do my makeup similar to hers. 

Face:

Nars Sheer Glow in Barcelona

Benefit Hoola bronzer

Illamasqua Rude cream blush

Eyes:

MAC Electra inner corner

MAC Woodwinked on lid

NARS Fez & Cordura in crease & outer V

I repeated the same eyeshadows on the lower lash line but very softly. As you can see Hilary's shadows are much darker underneath. I tried doing that but I end up looking like a raccoon. Oddly I love how Electra (silver) & Woodwinked (golden bronze) look together.

Lips:

MAC Viva Glam Gaga

I wore this floral pleated top with black skinny jeans & tan leather Michael Kors heels. It's still freezing here so a faux fur coat was in order.

First my family & I had a lovely dinner at an Italian restaurant. Followed by a private table, lots of drinks & dancing at a lounge =) Thank you to my friends & family for the great evening <3

The packaging is so pretty but I can't wait to open this Wild Child up! 

Hope everyone is having a great week.

♥ Nikki

LUSH Reviews-Ocean Salt/Almond & Coconut Smoothie

In case you don't know about these products I thought I'd do a quick review.
LUSH's Ocean Salt is marketed as a cleanser/exfoliator.  This scrub is made with sea salt, coconut, lime & avocado as well as other ingredients. If you are easily irritated or have sensitive skin just know that this is a very abrasive product. The first few times using it, it stung...is that normal?  Anyway, I've come to the conclusion that Ocean Salt makes my face break out.  I've had to stop using it as a facial exfoliator and now only use it in conjunction with the Almond & Coconut Smoothie as a body scrub.
The Almond & Coconut Smoothie actually doesn't smell like coconut at all, which is somewhat disappointing.  The scent is a mix of vanilla and playdough. Once again, I don't really care for this product on its own.  It doesn't lather too well and I wouldn't use it in place of a shower gel either.  What I do love is Ocean Salt + Almond & Coconut Smoothie. I mix these two and use them on my hands, arms & legs and they work wonders! If you have dry skin I suggest you try this combo out. The smell is delicious and refreshing & your skin will feel so soft. *I wouldn't suggest using Ocean Salt before or after shaving, it will burn*
What do you think about these products?
Thanks for reading!
♥ Nikki

Too Much LUSH

So I went on a LUSH frenzy this past week.  

My friend & I took a trip to our closest store to check out the "Heads, Shoulders, Knees & Toes" promo.

If you haven't heard about this special, it includes 9 products for $25.

You get a Vitamin C Toner Tab, a mini Sugar Scrub, a mini Each Peach Massage Bar, Handy Gurugu sample, Lemony Flutter sample. Fair Trade foot lotion sample, Moisturizer (Gorgeous), Face Mask (Cupcake) & Shampoo bar (Godiva) of your choice....my shampoo is m.i.a. right now.

I think this is a fantastic deal for the price & I'm enjoying testing out these products.

*I'm not sure if this deal is still going on though! I apologize*

I had heard through the blog/twitter grapevine that Lush was also doing a "spend $50 get a free holiday gift".  I couldn't say no to that offer obviously.  

The gift set I chose was Stardust purely for the Snow Fairy shower gel which I love.  My friend spent a lot of $ and received three free gifts & gave me the second Stardust above. Thank you Ana =)

So I'm pretty stoked about all these new goodies to try out...but I am also a little lushed out. 

Does that ever happen to you?

In the near future I will be doing brief reviews of these items...if you have a specific request please tell me in the comments! Take advantage of these promo's if they're still going on!!!

♥ Nikki

What I'm Loving Right Now...Part III

I figured it's been a while since I've done one these posts, so here are my current favorite products.

♥ Bronzer from the E.l.f. studio line. Love this for contouring. The shimmer is barely there once applied. Only $3!

♥ E.l.f. Complexion Brush. Amazingly soft brush with the same low price.  I love using this for bronzer or blush or all over powder.

♥ Benefit Sugarbomb

A soft, glowy, shimmery face powder.  I would say this product is multi-purpose because you could use it as your blush or as a highlighter.  Personally I love it as a blush. It brings a subtle hint of pink & glow to my cheeks. Gorgeous!!

♥ MAC Feline Kohl Power. Blackest black pencil eyeliner.

Set it with Carbon or black eyeshadow & it lasts all day. Also great for smudging.

♥ YSL Singulier Mascara.

Love this because it separates & elongates my little lashes.

♥ NARS Sheer Glow (Barcelona)

Best foundation I've ever tried. Glowy yet matte all at once.

♥ MAC lustreglass in Pinkarat.

Applied over any lipstick this gloss looks beautiful.  It looks very sheer but leaves traces of gold flecks on your lips.

♥ Elf Concealer duo

 I bought this in the lightest shade & it works well for brightening up my dark circles. On really bad days I use this over MAC's studio finish concealer & you would never know.

♥ Lemony Flutter Cuticle Butter

I use nightly all over my dry cracked hands. It is a little bit greasy but it is so moisturizing and soothing.

A closer look @ Sugarbomb

I've also been obsessed with Lush's The Olive Branch Shower Gel. Will be purchasing the big bottle ASAP :)

Thanks for reading!

♥ Nikki

Lush Reviews-Marilyn & The Blonde

This post is my personal review of two hair care items I purchased from Lush recently.  

Marilyn Hair Moisturizer

Marilyn is intended to brighten, soften and add shine to blonde hair and to also help sooth the scalp.

Although this says it is "meant for blondes" I don't think you have to be blonde to use it.  I've read many reviews from non-blondes and how the product works wonders for them.

My personal opinion of this product is that is it just okay. I was surprised at the consistency of this product.  It is extremely thin & runny. I didn't particularly like the smell of this either, the main ingredient is Chamomile.  I left Marilyn in my dry hair for a full hour before washing out.  I can say that yes Marilyn leaves your hair extremely soft.  However I didn't notice a change of color or brightness at all.  I will continue to use this hair treatment to see if it does improve my hair any further.  If you are looking for a product to soften your hair or add shine than Marilyn may be perfect for you.

Personally for a hair treatment/mask I will always continue to repurchase Frederick Fekkai's Technician Color Care Mask because is it simply amazing! I will have to do a separate post about this.

The Blonde Solid Shampoo

I was interested in this shampoo after hearing great things from one of my readers. I also noticed that BIG shampoo was stripping my highlights.

This shampoo is also meant to brighten up blonde hair. I have never used a solid shampoo before so it was a little weird at first.  I broke off a small piece of this and massaged it into my scalp.  I was pleasantly surprised at how much is lathered. The smell was amazing as well: lemons & oranges.  After using this shampoo a few times I can say that my hair was in fact a little bit lighter & brighter.  I would definitely repurchase this. 

Please keep in mind that these are my personal opinions :)

Thanks for reading,

♥ Nikki

I Heart Lush

Here's a quick look at what I picked up yesterday from Lush. I'm glad I got to take advantage of one of the holiday sales going on right now (buy 1 soap get 2 free) because Lush is expensive!

1. The Olive Branch Shower Gel

2. Sandstone Soap (freebie)

3. The Blonde shampoo sample

4.Heavanilli Massage Bar 

5. Bohemian Soap (freebie)

6. Angels Delight soap

7. The Comforter bubble bar

8. Lemony Flutter cuticle butter 

9. Marilyn hair treatment
Unfortunately they were sold out of my beloved Snow Fairy shower gel =(
I will be testing these products out within the next few weeks
 & doing individual reviews.
What are your favorite Lush products?!
Thanks for the suggestions in advance.
♥ Nikki

Lush Goodies! & Big Shampoo Review

My first Lush haul! The only Lush close to me is in the city & although I am there pretty often I haven't managed to go. Until last weekend when my friends and I met for brunch & had some time to shop. After months of reading posts and watching Youtube videos, I pretty much knew what I wanted from Lush.

Back Row Rockstar soap, Honey I Washed the Kids soap, Flying Fox shower gel, BIG shampoo, Snow Fairy showergel*, Tea Tree Water. FrontRow Sex Bomb bath bomb, Star Melts, Lemony Flutter cuticle butter, Supernova bath bomb *I received a free large Snow Fairy for spending $100.

A closer look at Lemony Flutter & BIG
Lemony Flutter is small but smells so strong and delicious. This is perfect to throw in your bag during the winter if you get dry & cracked cuticles, hands, elbows.

BIG shampoo has the strangest consistency but it is amazing! The chunks you see above are sea salts and the shampoo smells like citrus. The salt quickly dissolves and turns into a foamy lather. From my first use I noticed that my hair was definitely smoother, silkier and shinier. I was hoping for BIG to make my hair more volumized but I haven't really noticed a difference in that area yet. Anyway, I still LOVE this shampoo.

*UPDATED*
-So I have been using this shampoo for a few weeks now and my initial thoughts were correct. For me, this shampoo makes hair very silky, shiny & clean feeling. Although, it does not make my hair volumnized at all. For this reason, I haven't been using it daily. If you are looking for a voluminzing shampoo I would recommend Redken's Full Body. I do not regret purchasing BIG, I still think it is a very cool product. I like washing my hair with it because the smell is great & the sea salt has a very interesting feel on your scalp. I hope this mini review was helpful!
I'd also love to know what your faves from Lush are?
Thanks for reading,
♥ Nikki