Beauty Review: Perrie's Blush It! Little Mix by Collection

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Perrie's Blush It! by Collection*, £2.99 @ Superdrug & Boots

I may not be the perfect target market for the new Little Mix by Collection make up range. I know Perrie from Little Mix has lilac locks, sometimes wears something cute in tartan and she's engaged to Zayn from One Direction, but that's probably about as far as my knowledge on the pop icon goes. Screaming tween fan I am not.
Nevertheless,  I certainly am always in the market for a new hidden make up bargain and I won't let a little bit of cheesy pop-collab get in my way. So lets give this moderately-priced blush a go...

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The packaging is what you'd expect in this price bracket - nothing special - but it is functional and snaps shut well. When applied to the cheeks, the finished result is a lovely soft pink that is close to my usual MAC shade. What's more, it stayed all day without going blotchy or patchy.
So whether you're a Little Mix fan or not I'd definitely recommend this as a bargain drugstore blusher. Best of all it's great for carrying around in my makeup bag as there'll be no tears if it cracks or crumbles!

Debenhams Beauty Press Day

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I popped along to the Debenhams Beauty Press Day tonight with my friend Jemma. We were greeted by a lovely bright pink and white room jam packed with the latest beauty goodies on offer at Debenhams.
After a quick whizz around the room with a PR we were left to our own devices to spritz, sniff and have a good old nose at everything on offer. 
One of my favourite things we saw were these adorable Nails Inc crackers, each containing a different nail polish. I'd much prefer to crack one of those over my turkey then end up with any more golf tees and mini sewing kits!
Continuing with the beauty/Christmas mash up theme was this AMAZING Benefit advent calendar (£50, available at Debenhams from 27th October). Miniature versions of Benefit champion products are ready and waiting behind those tempting little doors.
The other collection I'm dying to get my hands on is the latest colours from CK One. I've already tried their mascara and lipstick and I love love their innovative take on packaging and wearable colours. This sparkly eyeshadow palette looks perfect for the festive season!
When I got home I couldn't wait to pour the goody bag out on my bed and see what treasures I have to try! As you can see there are plenty of cult beauty products and jazzy new bits and bobs for me to sink my teeth into. Expect reviews up on the blog very soon...

Bleach London DIY Dip Dye: Review

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Bleach DIY Dip Dye
Bleach London DIY Dip Dye, £7 @ Boots
Bleach London White Toner, £7 @ Boots

 When I heard Bleach were releasing a series of home dye kits I couldn't wait to try them out. The very nature of dip dyed hair is for it to look undone, so why fork out over £100 at a salon to get that dyed-at-home look?
I've previously used Loreal bleach kits to achieve this look at home with the help of YouTube tutorials and other blogs. But I thought, why not hear what the experts at Bleach have to say...?

 When you open the kit you'll find:
  • 1 bottle of developing lotion
  • 2 x sachets of bleaching powder
  • 1 sachet of blending lotion
  • 1 conditioning repair mask
  • 1 tint brush
  • 1 mixing bowl
  • 1 pair of gloves
  • 1 instruction leaflet
Bleach DIY Dip Dye Opened

Preparation

To prepare the mixture you need to mix it all together in the mixing bowl. While it made me feel like a professional using a mixing bowl and tint brush to prepare the bleach, I found it quite hard to mix. After a few worrying moments and some vigorous mixing, the powder eventually disappeared into the lotion to create a smooth mixture, but having used other dyes, I missed the traditional shake bottle!

Application

The instructions told me to apply the bleach in inch-wide sections of hair using the tint brush. While dying the first strand I lost my patience and reverted to my usual fail safe dip dye method: dunk the bleach on the ends and using gloved hands, move the dye up on separate strands to create an even fade. There was also another unfamiliar process to tackle: the blending lotion which I had to massage onto the fade area. I don't know what it was supposed to do or how, but it smelled nice, which was a welcome respite from the overwhelming smell of bleach!

 Bleach DIY Dip Dye results

Result

The result was a well-mixed dip dye with a lovely golden colour. I had bought the Bleach White Toner to combat any brassiness but I'm really happy with the tone so I'll save it for a few weeks until the freshly dyed blonde starts to fade! I have very long hair so I only used the kit on the mid-length and upper sections on my hair - but it blended in nicely with my already dyed lower lengths of hair. I'd definitely recommend getting more than one pack if you need to dye long hair from scratch.

 Bleach Super Cool Colours
Bleach London Blullini Super Cool Colour, £5 @ Boots
Bleach London Parma Violets Super Cool Colour, £5 @ Boots

What's next?

Next I've got the Bleach Blullini and Parma Violets Super Cool Colours to try. I'm planning a blue into lilac fade on the ends of my dip dye. I might leave it a while before I take the plunge though!

Have you tried any of the new Bleach range? How did you get on? Let me know in the comments below!

Vagabond Grace ankle boots and other recent purchases...

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1. Breton top @ Muji
2. Vagabond Grace ankle boots @ Urban Outfitters
3. Polka dot jeans @ Urban Outfitters

Here are a few of my favourite things I've bought recently. They're also the things I find myself repurchasing again and again. Striped tops, black ankle boots, skinny jeans. Repeat.
This breton top from Muji (1) is made from thick organic cotton so it's more like a jumper than a tee. I love to smarten up striped tops with a navy blazer for work or wear with a leather jacket for shopping on the weekend.
I was ummming and ahhhhhing over all the black ankle boots in the world this autumn. I finally settled on these clumpy boots from Vagabond. I love their chunky shape and find their simple zip much more wearable than all those fussy buckles and cut outs.
I practically live in jeans both in and out of work so I'm always looking for a new pair to add to my growing collection. These polka dots (3) were on sale in Urban Outfitters and I couldn't resist their quirky charm. I've worn them with plain jumpers so far but I can't wait to clash them up!

Insta catch up...

1. Fluffy cloud sky, meeting the dolphins in Portugal
2. Jurassic Park 3D, Kate's return to society 
3. The Kyoto Garden in Holland Park

After a four-month hiatus I'm back! A lot has happened this summer so I won't even try to sum it up, but here are some of my favourite Instagrams from the last few months. I've now gone and got myself a job as an Online Journalist so I'm writing stories and using social media every day. But I'm still really interested in blogging so hopefully creating posts in my spare time (even if it is slightly sporadic) will just add to everything I learn in work!