Wow Free Marc Jacobs Dot Gift With Purchase at The Perfume Shop

I read this on BritishBeautyBlogger and thought I would share it as it's such a fantastic GWP opportunity!

Get this amazing Marc Jacobs Dot umbrella it free with a purchase of any Marc Jacobs Perfume 50ml and above in February at The Perfume Shop. Perhaps an idea for a Valentines day gift for your lady gents?

My Totally Guilty Pleasures!

Guilty pleasure

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

For other uses, see Guilty pleasure (disambiguation).

A guilty pleasure is something one enjoys and considers pleasurable despite feeling guilt for enjoying it. The "guilt" involved is sometimes simply fear of others discovering one's lowbrow or otherwise embarrassing tastes, such as campy styles of entertainment. Fashion, video games, music,^[1] films,^[2] and junk food can be examples of guilty pleasures.^[3

So *gulp* here are mine. 

Starting with...

1. ONE DIRECTION

Yes that's right. The cheesy (but cute) boy band discovered on the X factor and now taking over the world. I defy any girl to not fall a little bit in love with Niall, Zain, Harry, Liam and Louis after watching this video. Oh gosh I even know all of their names.  

I have sat and watched their 'funniest moments' on youtube and downloaded their album. In fact I am listening to it while I write this. And one more thing, I will be going to see them on their UK tour!!

A One Direction fan and proud!!

2. PRIMARK

So you know that "fabulous top" I was wearing that I told you I couldn't remember where it was from because it was last season? Well It was actually £4 from Primark. And those amazing studded trainers I have? Also from Primark. And they are the most comfortable wearable footwear I have ever owned.

My Fabulous Studded Primark Trainers :-)

So thank you Primark for giving me the smuggest smile when the Sloan with the £4,000 Birkin bag would rather have my £4 top from you than a £75 Zoe Karssen :-)


3. BRITISH AIRWAYS GOLD CARD

What could possible be bad about this? Entry in to the 1st class lounge, que jumping at the airport...

If only it wasn't Expired!!! Thats right I keep an expired Gold BA card in my wallet. And the fact it is expired doesn't stop me from using it for the above mentioned (amongst other things) but its not my fault I just can't part with it. So what if I deserted BA for Virgin Airlines, It is gold and shiny and makes me feel fabulous!!!! :-)


So ladies I would love to hear your guilty Pleasures. Do you steal all the toiletries in hotels you can get your hands on, do you secretly go dress shopping and hide it in the cupboard from your boyf to bring out and declare "oh look at this old thing", or do you rent your handbags and tell your snobby friend they are yours?

What are your guilty pleasures?

REVIEW - UTAN ULTIMO SELF TAN MOUSSE Brazilian Bronze

It's that time again when I review a new fake tan. A very scary prospect as I never know how it will turn out.

The one I chose is Ultimo Utan.

First of all i have to say the bottle design is very nice. I like the silver on the bottle and the box. very chic.

Ultimo Utan in self-tan mousse Brazilian Bronze

 So lets take a look at what they say it does...

Utan Claims 

For a warm and exotic tan. Gives a warm and exotic bronze tint upon application as the deeper, sensual colour develops over 3-4 hours.


• Deeper, richer long-lasting colour
• Streak-free
• Guide colour for ease of application
• Moisturising with skin enhancing benefits Plus Body Sculpting Technology.


Our advanced formulation contains; Ultimo Tanning Complex, Wild Indigo Flower and Rainforest Extracts. Designed to deliver an even, longer-lasting colour, improving the appearance of the skin for smoother, firmer contours, plus assists in re-shaping and re-sculpting the body.

The application

 
After bathing and exfoliating, I was ready to apply. I decided to apply Utan with this gorgeous black velvet mit I got from Harrods.(it actually directs you to use gloves)

The texture on the mitt of the mousse is much like St Tropez but the colour is much more even (make sure you shake the bottle well before hand).

It doesn't smell much at all. In fact you wouldn't know it was fake tan you were applying, unlike most brands which tend to have at least a smidgen of a fake tan smell, this really doesn't.

So I began applying starting with my face and working my way down to my feet. Another point to mention is that I had read online Utan graps to dry patches so I made sure I applied a small amount of moisturiser on my elbows, knees, feet, ankles and to my hands before applying the tan.

My first impression was that on my face it looked very dark and I was very worried about how it would look in the morning.  The colour was a light brown everywhere else. Because of the colour on my face I wouldn't recommend applying it and then going out for the day, however if you wanted a bit more colour on your legs or arms it is a totally acceptable colour post application to go out.

One thing I noticed is that when using the mitt it is actually quite difficult to blend, if you rub it too much it crumbles very slightly.  This may be why they direct you to use gloves, I will make sure I do next time.

So off I went to bed, slightly concerned. After about 15 minutes I totally forgot I had applied it. It wasn't sticky or smelly... very smooth and absorbed incredibly well.

Straight after applying Utan

8 hours later...

Lets see how it did

I woke up in the morning expecting to look very brown and I was disappointed when the colour wasn't as deep as I thought it would be. But after showering I am really pleased with the colour. It is actually nice and dark and very even. Unfortunately I do have an uneven patch on my leg where I slept with my hand on my leg. Luckily it is a horrible day so I am wearing trousers.

Day 4 and it has faded quite a bit, I am going to stretch 1 more day out of it before I re-applying.

Day 5 and it hasn't faded much more than yesterday so I will wait till tomorrow evening to apply. I am really pleased with how evenly it has faded. No patchy parts. Normally I find fake tan comes off my chest and face first but this is about the same all over.

So lets review the claims

For a warm and exotic tan. Gives a warm and exotic bronze tint upon application as the deeper, sensual colour develops over 3-4 hours.- I would agree with this. The tan is warm and not orange at all. I wouldn't know if it developed fully after 4 hours because I kept it on for 8.

• Deeper, richer long-lasting colour

- Not sure I would call it long last at 4-5 days.
• Streak-free

- I am a seasoned fake tan wearer and I would say I found it a bit of effort to get it even but now I know how it goes on it will be easier the second time.
• Guide colour for ease of application

- Yup
• Moisturising with skin enhancing benefits
- My skin felt soft after I had applied and it has soaked in

Plus Body Sculpting Technology.

- I am not sure what this means to be honest.


Our advanced formulation contains; Ultimo Tanning Complex, Wild Indigo Flower and Rainforest Extracts. Designed to deliver an even, longer-lasting colour, improving the appearance of the skin for smoother, firmer contours, plus assists in re-shaping and re-sculpting the body.

- Surely you could 'sculpt' the body with any fake tanner by applying more in certain areas so I am not sure about this. I would say it does improve the appearance of the skin.

Summary 


Overall I am impressed and I will buy it again. A very nice colour, even and natural looking.

Next time I will deffinitely apply it with gloves like the directions stipulate.

I normally use Xen Tan or St Tropez dark mousse but I think the more I use this the more I will love this Utan Mousse!!

8/10

*** Update ***

I wanted to do an update as I have now re applied using gloves... it is a whole lot better and easier.  I also put moisturiser on my face before applying and it was a fab colour so I went out for the day and felt.. well very brown!  I met up with a friend who told me she had never seen me so tanned (I took it as a compliment)

So with this in mind, I am now upgrading Utan to a 9/10!!!

Ashly xx

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TUTORIAL - D.I.Y How to - Dip Dye Your Own Nails!!

For this tutorial you will need:

• Nail varnish ( you can use more than 2 colours if you wish)
• A sponge
• Cotton buds
• Nail polish remover

1. Ok first thing is first, shape your nails and make sure they are tidy. 

2. Paint your chosen nail polish on to the sponge like so

3. Place the sponge adjacent to your nail ready for application. I apply variably, so one coat I do left to right then the next I do right to left. This helps to maintain an even application per nail.

Press down on your nail with the sponge. 

4. Repeat with every nail on one hand. 

After first coat

5. Reaply nail varnish to the sponge after every coat and repeat steps 3 and 4 until you are satisfied with the coverage on your nails.

I apply slightly differently after the first coat, you might find rolling with the sponge over the nail like this easier.

After 4 coats, I am going to do one more because the tips of some of my nails are still not fully covered.

Okay I would say that is enough, 5 coats.

After 5 coats.

5. Next, let them dry 2-3 mins. 

6. Pour some varnish remover in to the bottles lid, dip your cotton buds in and remove excess varnish from your fingers.

7. Apply some clear varnish as a top coat. I find this prolongs chipping so worth doing.

after removing excess varnish

8. Done, now you have beautiful 'dip dyed' nails your friends will be envious of! So the secret it out... get painting. 

 

L'Oreal 207 & 602

Lots of Love A x