Whiteglo | Whitening toothpaste?

1/22/2013 12:23:00 am
Hola Munchkins!
Before Christmas I received a tube of toothpaste.  Toothpaste, you ask?  Well yesssssss - toothpaste.  But, a toothpaste with a difference.  Insofar as it's claims of whitening actually work.  I kid you not!  Whiteglo is an Australian brand originally created for those in the public eye - models, actors etc.  and is just bubbling under the surface of the UK Health and Beauty Industry.
First off, this contains all the ingredients you need for healthy teeth - important if you want to keep your teeth until you're old and wrinkly - so beauty is not sacrificed for health.  The Whiteglo website says:

This unique Double Strength whitening toothpaste combines state-of-the-art technology with an exclusive processing method to provide the ultimate whitening effect in a mouthwash base formula. With regular use, this product whitens tooth enamel, eliminates yellowing and offers maximum oral hygiene. As you brush, the built-in mouthwash disperses to hard to reach areas to help fight bacteria that cause bad breath. Suitable for use with an electric toothbrush.

  • Exclusive processing toothpaste with built-in mouthwash
  • Reduces bacterial that causes bad breath 
  • Extra strong whitening formula

This is quite literally a tube of amazingness.  I did try it with some scepticism, and my scepticism is well and truly blown out of the water: this stuff actually works.  After just one use (with my electric toothbrush) I noticed an immediate difference - my teeth were super clean, and slightly lighter.  After each use the whiteness continued to increase, not particularly drastically, but definitely enough to be noticeable.  The big test came when I tried to match my lower teeth to my upper ones, as I had previously had my top teeth professionally whitened, but not the bottom!  It was something that definitely niggled at me, but surprise of surprises, my teeth now match!
All in all, this is a really good toothpaste - the whitening benefits are clear, and the built-in mouthwash really keeps the old teeth and mouth super fresh, and I have already recommended it to friends and family (and my mum, dad, sister and brother have finished my first tube - now onto my second)!
Hope you liked this little post!
Love A.x
P.S. I know I use my electric toothbrush with this BUT it comes with a pretty amaze balls toothbrush and some dental picks!  Marvellous!


Triple Threat | Smoosh Facial

1/17/2013 06:00:00 am
Hola munchkins!
I'm sure you've all heard of the Triple Threat Facial by reading Anna's Blog.  I love me a good triple threat facial, but I got to wondering, what does one do when one is lacking in time?  Well if that one is me that leads to a mash-up of face masks, or as I decided to call it - a smoosh!  Basically blob a little of each of your chosen face masks together and you instantly become my favourite kind of experimenter - the alchemist!
Does it work?  Actually, somehow it does.  Shock, horror indeed.  My skin was super cleansed via the inclusion of not one but two clay-based masks, and brightening and softened thanks to Alpha H!
So short on time but need a face treat?
Smoosh it!
Love A.x


Mine | Face

1/15/2013 10:04:00 pm
Hola Munchkins,
A little look at an everyday face where you can see my home-made ombre!
Hope you like!
Love A.x

The Gruffalo's Child | Calendar

1/15/2013 01:24:00 am
Hola munchkins!
This is mine!




<3
Love A.x

Monday Morning Saviour | Givenchy Eclat Matissime

1/07/2013 06:00:00 am
Hola Munchkins!
I'm sure we all have a littttttle bit of trouble looking awake and refreshed on a Monday morning.  Now, I have my skincare routine generally down to a fine art, buttttttttttttttttt my latest foundation purchase is ay-may-zeeeeeeeeeng at brightening the skin, whilst still mattifying it.  Genius.

Housed in a sleek matte black bottle, sturdy plastic, and opening like a verrrry, very fancy cigarette lighter!  Anyways, onto the actual foundation.  First of all, I have the colour 5 honey, which is slightly dark for me, so I am planning on purchasing the colour 4 gold.  Yes, you heard me right, I am going to have 2 of these beauties!  Why?  Well, first of all, this leans incredibly well toward my yellow complexion.  Secondly, it is incredibly lightweight in feel, but easily achieves a medium coverage that can be built up.  Thirdly, it's oil control properties are pretty darn brilliant, mattifying the face whilst also allowing a semi-matte finish as opposed to a hard matte one.  

For reference, the top swatch is without flash, and the bottom is with flash.  This gives a lovely second-skin look to the skin - I advise concealer to be used on any stubborn pigmentation / spots, and then you'll be flying with this gorgeous concoction!
Love A.x

Perfect Nude | Blush | Plus Blogsale

1/06/2013 06:00:00 am
Hola Munchkins!
First things first, please have a little nosey on my ebay page - I have Laura Mercier, Aesop, Mac, Stila, Bioeffect EGF, Versace and a Kindle Touch up for sale at the moment! Check it out at http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/misfocusing/m.html?_nkw=&_armrs=1&_from=&_ipg=&_trksid=p3686
Now onto today's post!  As you may or may not be aware, I am almost exclusively a pink blusher fan - Barbie is perfection!  However, occaaaaaasionally I feel like I need a slightly more grown up look, and that is when I turn to this:

L'oreal Paris The Blush in Rose Nude.  As the name suggests, it leans toward the nude-r side of cheek colours, but what I really love about this particular shade is that it has some tendencies toward both a subtle brown and a mauve-y undertone that would make this hugely flattering on all skin tones.  

The hint of shimmer allows the colour to be less stark, and to give the face a little radiance.  Colour pay-off is perfect, due to the soft-but-not-too-soft formulation!  In addition, the packaging is super-cute and functional: there is even a very, very clear mirror in the lid, and a standard L'oreal brush in the bottom compartment, making it perfect for on-the-go!
Hope you liked my more natural blush choice, which I can also see as being a lovely subtle contour on fairer-skinned girls.
Love A.x

Topshop Sale | Make Up Bag

1/05/2013 06:00:00 am
Hola Munchkins!
Topshop is generally a shop where I only buy jeans and jewellery - I find their items to be farrrrrrr out of my price range, and as such, avoid like the plague!  When browsing for jewellery a while ago I stumbled across a make up bag that I fell head over heels for, but didn't fancy paying the £8 or £10 that the price tag stated.  Enter the sales.  And enter me stumbling upon my love - reduced!

Nude, buttery-soft (fake?) leather.  Beautiful, and with some of Mary Poppin's carpet bag properties - no limit to how much it can hold!  Can quite literally fit my whole face in here!
Love A.x

Current | Eye Loves

1/04/2013 06:00:00 am
Hola Munchkins!
I had a few posts written up and planned on posting those, but decided to be a little spontaneous and just show you what's been on my eyes these last few weeks.

I've been going for a very sparkly, deep brown into black eye - generally I wear this everyday!  We have Kiko Colour Sphere Eyeshadow in 05, L'oreal Infallible in Eternal Black, Mac Greasepaint Stick in Slick Black, Givenchy Noir Couture Mascara, topped off with Kiko Volume Top Coat Mascara.  Brilliant eye that can be adjusted for day or night!  You can see this eye in action on my New Year's Eve face and in the following pics!

So there you go, my current eye loves!
Love A.x

Bookfest | December

1/03/2013 06:00:00 am
Hola!
When I was a little girl nothing and no one could get in the way of me and books.  I would read everywhere I went.  I would lug around book after book after book plus an extra book in case I finished said book!  These days, I still looooove reading, but it seems to get harder and harder to find the time to actually get down to some serious reading.  But this month I decided to do just that - make the time to really enjoy some books.  Of course my glorious Kindle makes this all the more easy.  Its not that I don't normally read, but this month I'm extra reading!  Life has been a little bit of a mixed bag lately, so I'm leaning towards more uplifting stories that I can (maybe) learn something from. 
The first book of this month was Eat,Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert.  Now, I have to say, when people found out what I was reading they did kind of turn their noses up at the book, and me, but I am going to be a bit "out there" and say that I thoroughly enjoyed it - I may have a Masters in English Literature but that does not make me a literary snob.   Eat,Pray, Love is a highly inspiring book that just helps you to realise that the world will do what it wants, and that you can actually survive what you feel to be the toughest times.  What I got from this book was a real sense of calm - I tend to be a bit frenetic, a bit frantic, and somewhat anxious, but surprisingly, I have found myself learning a lot about calm and peace from this book, as well as about life being a lot to do with being in the right place at the right time (although this does not mean don't work for something!).  Truly, this has taught me to worry a little less about what is or is not happening at a particular moment in my life: things probably will fall into place with a little hard work!

Second this month was a book I read in a day - The Life of Pi by Yann Martel.  I have to say, for some reason I have avoided this book for years - no idea why really, I just decided not to read it and kept up the habit.  Now, perusing the television as one does I saw the advert for the film and thought WOW.  Read it.  Now.  Some may say this is heresy, and no doubt it kind of it, but I read it, and am glad I did.  The book is weird.  Beautiful, but most definitely weird.  It has a surreal feel to it, none more so than at the end where my mind was wholly perplexed by what I had or hadn't read and whether the occurrences were real or not!  Confused.com to put it bluntly.  But sometimes, confusion is good for the mind - I've come to my own conclusion about the book and can't wait to see the film which looks just as beautiful and rich as the book itself.  The story is based around a family travelling from India who own a zoo, to Canada by boat to relocate.  The ship sinks, and therein starts our wonderful tale which includes a boy, hyena, gorilla and tiger on a lifeboat.  I won't mention any more plot details, because you need all the details to really get a grip on this narrative, so I suggest you read it for yourself.  Be warned though, it's not necessarily an easy read - it is fairly complex, so save it for a time when you can really concentrate!
Next up, I went for something a little lighter in feel - Sick Notes: True Stories from the GP's Surgery by Dr. Tony Copperfield.  I actually picked this book up as it was on offer in the Kindle Store, and I basically thought, Why not?!  This is quite a humorous little book, detailing how GP's deal with patients and so on and so forth.  What you also get from this book is how much red tape a GP has to go through to have anyone referred anywhere - basically it seems that we shouldn't blame them, but blame the PCT!  There are amusing little anecdotes, including how a lady brought Dr. Copperfield a present for looking after her mother who had recently died: the present was a sliced white loaf of bread!  Lovely, very interesting little read.
Fourth book this month was The Third Pig Detective Agency, a book that was recommended to me by Amazon after I had read The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde - a book that I thoroughly enjoyed, and would wholeheartedly recommend to you if you like a little bit of classic literature, mixed with a modern detective story and alternative interpretations.  It's a light-hearted read, with a little bit of suspense, perfect for when you don't really want to use your brain!
Those were my main reads in December - I do re-read books again and again when I feel the urge, and haven't included those in here.  Defos gonna try and read even more next month - tbh all these books were read in a 1 week period!
Hope you found something interesting here!
Love A.x


Disney Store Villains Cosmetics | Lip gloss Edition

1/02/2013 06:00:00 am
Hola Munchkins!
I have such a treat for you today - a collection that I thought was wholly exclusive to America was stumbled upon by chance whilst happily browsing the sale racks of the Disney Store! EEEEEEEK!  Today I bring you Disney Store's Villain collection - the Lip gloss edition (I will soon publish the Eyeshadow edition, and perhaps even the nail polish one!).  Feast your eyes!

The first thing I have to say about these are they are, in terms of both looks and functionality, brilliant cosmetic creations - just because they're Disney, I kind of expected them to not be of amazing quality, but I would go so far as to liken these to the YSL Rouge Couture Lip Stains, they really are that brilliant!  

The deep red (much deeper in real life) is Cruella De Vil, the also much deeper purple is the Evil Queen, and the gold, which is ultimately flattering is the Queen of Hearts.  The texture is non-sticky, lightweight but substantial, and colour payoff is ridiculously good.  Wear time is about 3-4 hours, which is wonderful.
All in all, these are unique, beautiful, and I just love having a load of Disney in my cosmetic collection!
Hope this was a little different and that you enjoyed reading it!
Love A.x

Faces | Christmas and New Year

1/01/2013 11:04:00 pm
Hola Munchkins!
Today I have decided to share with you my Christmas Day and New Year's Eve faces.  Christmas is always a cosy affair at home, so I do the bare minimum:

I can't really remember the products I used, but as an educated guess I'm going to say I used my Givenchy Eclat Matissime in 5 Honey on the face, with a little ELF Bronzer and Blush, Eyes were Kiko Colour Sphere in 04, with Mac Greasepaint Stick as liner, and smudged out, finished off with Givenchy Noir Couture Mascara on curled lashes - a very, very simple look for me!  Hair was scraped into a high ponytail and wrapped around my fave huge hair doughnut.
New Year's Eve our family actually went to a gathering at one of my Aunty's houses, so I made a bit of an effort - as seen from the straightened hair!  Base-wise, I started with my Vichy Dermablend Stick, topped with Givenchy Eclat Matissime mixed with Estee Lauder Doublewear.  I powdered twice (yup twice!) - Rimmel Stay matte for the extra colour and coverage, then Kiko Soft Light Powder for radiance.  Cheekbones were enhanced with NYX Taupe, Famous by Sue Moxley Highlighter, and Stila Convertible Colour in Lillium.  Base for eyes was my Mac Greasepaint Stick all over the lid, with Kiko Colour Sphere Shadow in 05 patted over, and the corners blended out with L'oreal Infallible Shadow in Eternal Black, lined with the Greasepaint Stick, lashes curled and painted with Givenchy Noir Couture Mascara, with Kiko Volume top coat on top.  Last but not least, lips were Maybelline Windsor Rose.  I actually really liked this face - it's one that I like to do at a leisurely pace!
Hope you liked,
Love A.x
p.s. Happy New Year!

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