Love of the Week #1 - New Car!!

I wanted to start a bit of a weekly thing, perhaps every Sunday, where I post about something in particular I have loved that week. This could be anything from a product, a make-up artist or their work, food or drink, a film or TV show, website, blogger, YouTuber, you get the picture.

It just so happens that this week I got something extra special. This will probably be the biggest and most awesome thing I post about in my Love of the Week series.

This is my beautiful new car and I am loving it. It's only my second car so saying goodbye to my little X-REC was hard but I am so happy with my new one.

The car is a Vauxhall Corsa Energy 1.4 in Lime Green. I adore this colour, the colour choice wasn't very extensive but this one stood out to me from day one. It's full of awesome gadgets which are going to take some getting used to compared to my old car which had a cassette player (how retro) through which I used a cassette adapter to play my iPod through.

I don't have a name for it yet, I don't know if to give it a name, my first car only got a name due to it's reg plate. Suggestions are welcome.

xx

Tanning - St Moriz & Garnier Ambre Solaire

Aghh so day three and I already failed to post anything on day two. To be fair it was rather a busy day of trying to get car insurance organised and phoning garages and also trying to get through to the doctors for a sick note. Blogging was the last thing on my mind.

Excuses out of the way and I'm going to tell you about the Garnier Ambre Solaire No Streaks Bronze Self-Tanning Mousse and Gel.

Recently I have moved on from the Palmers Natural Bronze onto full fake tan and I was trying out the St Moriz after hearing rave reviews. For £2.99 I liked it, but in all fairness I think I was liking it mainly for the price and not for the results. I found it easy to work with, needed no real attempt to blend, the colour was good and it dried quickly. The next day it washed off to leave a nice even tan. It did however cling to my knees, feet and hands no matter how much I prepped my skin and left me feeling dry beyond belief. I had to buff my dry patches with baby oil every day and by the second day the tan was going patchy. By day three or four certain areas of my body just looked dirty and others were back to pure white. Not a good look.

 

On Thursday evening I bought the Garnier products. These were around the £7-10 mark each so a little more pricey but if they work better it's still a reasonable amount to pay. The reason I bought both was so I could use the mousse over most of my body and the gel, which is probably more hydrating, can be used on my drier areas, so hands, feet etc.

The colour is more golden than the St Moriz and these products contain shimmer. Instantly I liked the way these applied and they definitely felt more hydrating, including the mousse. The guide colour was actually very wearable, I could easily apply this and go about doing day to day stuff while it develops, unlike the St. Moriz (unless you were going mucking out a cow shed in which case you would look right at home). The shimmer wasn't overbearing and this washed off the next morning anyway. After showering off the guide colour I was left with a really natural looking finish and no awful looking dry patches. Even today (Saturday) I have no patches, look like I've naturally caught a bit of sun and feel perfectly hydrated. So far so good but I will let you know how long it lasts and how it wears off.

xx

The Beautiful Art of Body Painting

The other day I was browsing the internet looking at beautiful images of skilled body painting, so I thought I would share some of my favourite finds with you.

Before we go any further I should probably add this disclaimer:

This blog post contains images of full frontal artistic nudity.

Now that is out of the way, onto the interesting bit.

I love body painting, I just wish I was better at it. I have only really attempted a few body paints and was never really taught any techniques as such, we were just thrown in the deep end at college and told to paint. Since college I haven't really had much practice, partly due to not being well for the last 7 months, but also it can be quite hard to find a willing model that doesn't have too high an expectation of the final outcome, particularly when starting out and experimenting, especially when they have to stand/lay naked or just in underwear for a long period of time. Practising on yourself is all well and good for smaller detailed projects but really you need to have a full canvas.

There's a lot more to body painting than just slapping a bit of paint on someone. You have to take into consideration the shape and contours of the human form and incorporate these into your design. This is why it is best to have a body other than your own to practice on.

I really hope to be able to learn how to body paint properly and improve my skills and techniques. I find the works of other artists so inspiring and it is one area I enjoyed so much during my two years at college.

Below are some of my favourite images from when I was browsing a couple of days ago. None of these images belong to me and I will credit the artist or company where I can, but some of these were just random finds.

Enjoy. xx

 

Unknown artist

 Artist: Carolyn Roper

 

Artist: Carolyn Roper.

I was lucky enough to see this in progress at IMATS London in 2012.

 Artist: Carolyn Roper

Artist: John Vargas

 

 Unknown artist

 

 Artist: Lisa Berczel

Artist: Lisa Berczel

Artist: John Neyrot

Artist: John Neyrot

Artist: John Neyrot

Unknown artist

 

Unknown artist

Unknown artist

Unknown artist

Artist: Guido Daniele

 

Artist: Guido Daniele

 Artist: Guido Daniele

How To Get Even Brighter Summer Nails

Do you own any bright nail polishes but when you apply them to the nail they aren't all that opaque and lack vibrancy? Then try this really easy tip.

Before you apply your chosen nail polish apply a thin coat of an opaque white (I use China Glaze White on White). Allow to dry then apply your polish. 

 

In the above image I used Barry M Lemon Ice Cream Nail Paint to demonstrate the effect of this technique. As you can see there is a big difference with using just one coat of the yellow over the top of the white.

I hope this tip will help some of you get the most out of your brighter nail polishes this summer.

xx

A Little Update & Changes

I have been getting a little stuck with my blog, sometimes due to feeling ill, but a lot of it is lack of inspiration. I haven't been getting out and about so much and if I have it has usually been for appointments or just nipping out to get my knee feeling more mobile so I haven't been wearing much make-up. When I have gone out I've suffered the consequences including collapsing in pain in the middle of Asda. Go me.

I've also been off work which means not earning much needed pennies so I haven't been able to buy as many products as normal, only replacing the things I needed to. So really, I haven't had much to talk about.

With this in mind I have decided not to restrict this blog to just make-up, beauty and fashion. It is going to stay the main focus but if I have a recipe, food, place, or anything that I have enjoyed or experienced that I want to share I will include it. I can't see why a little variety will offend anyone but if it doesn't work out I can just revert back to an exclusive beauty blog, but this blog isn't named Laura's Beauty Blog, it is Laura's Lovely Loves and I feel that I might as well just have a bit of fun with it.

I am going to enforce my commitment to the blog by attempting to post every day in August (it might not work out but I will post as much as I can), I'd also like to try and film a video for my YouTube channel and upload once a week.

Things you can expect from the future of my blog:

- The usual product reviews, tips, techniques, Glossybox unveilings

- Showcases of make-up artists and styles I like

- Recipes (including low calorie meals, baking recipes etc)

- Photos and reviews of places I have visited

If you have any ideas or requests for anything else you would like to see listed here please let me know.

Thanks for your continued support =)

xx

Glossybox Review: July

Another month, another Glossybox. The July Glossybox is another special edition box, and I love these. It's great that now and again the boxes are designed around a theme, it adds a bit more fun to what is already a fairly exciting subscription. And being July this months theme is summer and the beach.

 

This month I received six products in my box:

Sleek Make-up Pout Paint

Shades Pin Up and Peek-a-Bloo

(Both full size 8ml products which retail at £4.99 each)

Ciate London Paint Pot Nail Polish in Speed Dial

(Full size 13.5ml, retails at £9.00)

Anatomicals Spray Misty For Me Facial Spray

(Full size product, 100ml £6.00)

Alterna Haircare Bamboo Style Boho Waves Tousled Texture Mist

(25ml sample size, full size 125ml retails at £23.00)

Coola Organic Classic Face SPF 30 Cucumber

(7ml sample, full size 50ml retails at £25.99)

Wow! What a box! Four full size products with a retail value of £24.98 plus two samples. Glossybox, I'm impressed yet again. I think Glossybox seem to be getting better and better at the moment. Don't get me wrong, not every product in every box is going to be amazing, but the range of products I'm receiving to try out for the price I pay is definitely getting better.

 

The inclusion of not one but two Sleek Pout Paints was a lovely surprise. These are a cheaper alternative to the OCC Lip Tars. The shade range isn't the best but with the inclusion of a blue and a white you can mix them to create a much wider colour selection. These are a stain and lacquer in one and they take some serious cleansing with an oil based cleanser to remove so I would assume they would be long lasting on the lips. I'm not sure how they wear off throughout the day, but will probably give them a go and do a review sometime soon. I already own the white so can have some fun mixing shades and let you know how I get on.

 

I have wanted to try the Ciate brand for so long now. It's definitely not the cheapest brand of nail polish and that's probably why I haven't gotten around to giving it a go. This shade is a gorgeous orange, perfect for summer and I can't wait to try it out. The polish itself seems nothing special in the bottle, just a fairly thin consistency of nail polish, but I've heard good things about this brand so hopefully it will live up to the hype. I want to love it simply because the bottle is so cute!

Anatomicals seems to be making a regular appearance in Glossybox lately. I wasn't too impressed with the scrub I was sent in a box a few months back, but there are a few nice things in the range which I have spotted whilst out and about although I never bought them. This is one of those refresher mists to keep the face hydrated. Unfortunately it does contain aloe so I won't be able to give this a go. It also smells quite strongly of lavender, not my favourite scent but I know a lot of people find it relaxing, perhaps I will store it up and do a giveaway on YouTube if I get enough subscribers sometime in the future. If you haven't already subscribed to my YouTube channel please do so here.

This is basically like a salt spray, you spray into damp of dry hair and scrunch or use your fingers to create beachy waves. I do already have a salt spray I'm using, I really like the effect they give for summer and they are so effortless. I hate having to use heated tools to style my hair in this weather. I'm looking forward to trying this out as I think there may be better ones out there than the one I'm currently using. I will let you know. I might try a few out and do some sort of comparison video or blog post or something.

This is the same product as I received in my June Birchbox, which I am still yet to try (I need a higher SPF on the sunniest of days so I use this). I also have another sample SPF 30 on the go and sunscreen does go off so as much as I want to try this I'm holding off opening them until my other is used up.

So they are the products I received and I'm really happy that I got value for money this month. This month I actually managed to get the review out pretty quickly so if you get your order in you stand a good chance of receiving some if not all of these products. Glossyboxes do vary from person to person so it isn't guaranteed but the way Glossybox has been on form lately you might even get something better.

Visit Glossybox here to find out more.

xx

Birchbox: The June Box & First Impressions

Again, another late post. I actually only ordered the box at the very end of June so it arrived at the start of July and this is the first opportunity I've had to sit down and blog about it.

Birchbox is pretty much the same idea as Glossybox, a monthly subscription to a box that contains beauty products and samples. I believe Birchbox does generally stick to the more high-end products so you are more likely to receive minis than full size items. 

This was my first ever subscription to Birchbox and I wasn't really impressed with how long it took my box to arrive. It took around two weeks and during that time I was sent several different emails with different tracking numbers, none of which gave me the right information about where my box was. But eventually the box arrived. A cardboard box with the Birchbox logo, the same size as the Glossybox packaging. So I opened this to find another box.

The box itself was smaller than that of Glossybox, so I highly doubt I am ever going to get anything other than travel sized items of products I won't be able to afford to buy whether I like them or not. Regardless, these can be considered as luxury treats once a month if I continue with the subscription. The magazine included with Birchbox is much better than the one in Glossybox, but to be honest although it is nice to receive it I don't care about the magazine too much. It's what is inside the box that is important.

 

So inside the box are lots of little cards, some are little postcards, one is outlining the included products and one was a welcome note. Nice little touches and they do add to the experience of the box, but again I was more interested in what products they had sent me. Inside the box was a little cloth bag, and inside this (finally, it was beginning to turn into pass the parcel without the music and friends) were the products (although there was another small cardboard box inside containing another item, a bit excessive on all the packaging really).

Okay so finally onto the items. In the box there were six items. These were as follows:

Beauty Protector Protect & Detangle Spray for Hair

(Sample size, doesn't say how much is in the sample, probably enough for 4 or 5 uses, but full size retails at £15.00)

Color Club Nail Polishes from the Wanderlust Collection

Shades Reign in Spain and Pardon My French

(7ml, retails at £10 for the full pack of four minis)

Coola Classic Face SPF 30 Cucumber

(7ml Sample, full size retails at £26 for 50ml)

ModelCo Eye Define Pencil

(Full size product, £14.00)

Noble Isle Willow Song Bath & Shower Gel

(30ml sample, full size product retails at £20.00)

I thought the products selection was quite reasonable for the price I had paid (£12.95 including P&P - the same as Glossybox) but I would like to feel like I might receive a full sized item now and again to make it really worth it (okay so the pencil was full size but I can pick up a really good eyeliner for under £4 quite easily). So far I have tried the nail polish in Reign in Spain, which is the neon pastel (is that even possible? I guess so!) peachy orange, and I love the colour but find it doesn't last at all well on me (I got about 24 hours before it started peeling and chipping). I haven't yet tried the facial SPF as I already have two on the go and sunscreen goes off fairly quickly so I'm holding off on that.

I am keeping my subscription with Birchbox for now but as it stands I much prefer Glossybox. I feel I have more chance of getting value for money with Glossybox, but what I do like about Birchbox is that it gives me the opportunity to try products I couldn't usually afford or would want to part so much money for (I mean £20 for a shower gel?? Really??).

If you have a spare £12.95 one month and feel like treating yourself why not try one of these subscriptions? It's like a present to yourself and is even more exciting because you never know what you are going to get. It's really good fun when one of these turns up on your doorstep and you unbox it and find out just what goodies you have been sent. Give it a go, you can cancel at any time so you can even just treat yourself to a one off box for your birthday or just because you feel you deserve it.

xx