HOUSE: Jewellery table make over ...

I absolutely love jewellery and make up  and as a result I have a lot of clutter on my jewellery table so now we have settled into the new house and sorted the big things out its time to have a jewellery table make over.

This was my jewellery table when I first bought it, since then I have replaced the little plastic handles with nice silver metal ones and when we moved I painted the three draw fronts in a warm white. Now its time to step up my make over.

After having a bit of a blog trawl and Pinterest search I have decided to swap the shelves on the left with another drawer unit. I found this really cute 6 drawer Alex unit from Ikea in white that would be perfect to store all my lotions and potions in. Once I get some space on the top I am going to add this add on Alex drawer unit from the same Ikea range and then its time to make with the jewellery and trinket boxes. At the minute most of mine are ones I have acquired over the years and they are looking a bit sad so I'm going to swap them for some nice new acrylic and glass ones. Here is my current inspiration slash wish list.

The two white drawer units are from the IKEA Alex range, the acrylic drawers are MUJI and the white pots on the left are actually IKEA plant pots but I am planning on repurposing them. The two little pots at the top are examples of trinket pots I found on the Dunelm Mill website but I have seen similar in other shops so I am just going to pick them up when I see them. I also really want to get some nice glass jewellery boxes with some sort of detailling on them. BHS had some in before xmas but they appear to be sold out now so I will keep having a look about. Cant wait to show you guys the finished article. It might take me a while as I save up and buy bits but I am really looking forward to getting started. 

What do you think? What does your jewellery table look like? Do you have any good storage ideas to pass on? 

Treats from my mam ...

My mam went into M&S a couple of weeks ago to pick up some new PJs for her, turns out they had this offer on where if you spent so much you got a free box of cosmetic treats. When we went over to see her today she gave me some of the freebees that she didn't want. 

I have to hand it to M&S these are all full size and after checking them out on the website they were very generous, the items mam gave me retail at over £50 combined with the face cream alone £27. 

I'm really looking forward to trying the hair treatment as my hair is being very fuzzy at the minute and looks in quite bad condition. I will also be trying out some coconut oil in a later post to see if that can help restore my hair, I would love to be able to reduce the amount of washes I need a week but when we go to the gym and sweat I have to wash my hair afterwards. 

The mascara looks really nice to, I like the addition of argan oil as this should hopefully keep moisture in my lashes. As I am sure most of you will know sometimes your mascara can leave lashes quite dry and the best way to keep them healthy and looking full is to keep them conditioned like you would with your hair. 

I am thinking of trying out the nail colour later on tonight so keep an eye on my Instagram feed, ema_jane47 for the results.  Also keep an eye out for my reviews as I try these products, but for the minute I just want to say well done to M&S for actually giving away full size full price goodies. 

xXx

Clean skin, Clear skin

With the wedding just under 9 months away I have decided its time to find a good beauty routine and stick to it. This includes  a complete skin care routine, I'm quite good with my skin but not overly consistent which is where my downfall is. 

So to try and improve my skin care routine I have been doing some research into different techniques and came across the facial brush. This works a bit like a body brush exfoliating and rejuvenating by sloughing off dead cells whilst stimulating the skin underneath. See when you use a bristle brush to slough off cells you are also manipulating the underlying cells in your sub dermal layer this promotes increased blood flow and gets all you other fluids moving through your skin so keeps it... well fresh. This is the same principle as using a body brush on your legs to stave off cellulite and improve your pins. 

The main difference is that on your legs you use long strokes towards your heart to get all your lymphatic system draining, where as with your face you go in small circular motions all round your face to gently rub off the dead skin. 

 After deciding on a facial brush I needed to decide which one to go for. I liked the look of the No7 Beautiful Cleansing Brush available at Boots as it was only £25. But at the same time I didn't want to jump straight in with a product that I might end up not liking or not using very often. So I looked for cheaper alternatives to trial first then might put the No7 brush on my birthday list. 

I found there are a lot of manual alternatives my favourite was this little one from the Body Shop. Its about an inch and a half wide and has a nice little handle on the top, best part is the price ... its only £4. I like the handle on the top as it allows you to rotate the brush nicely on your face and the size means it can get right in around your nose.  

 Review: 

The bristles are just rough enough to stimulate and exfoliate without being too scratchy or irritating. After using it my skin felt nice and tingly but that could also be from the Tea Tree in the cleansing wash. I have been using it nearly everyday for about 2 weeks and my skin feels really nice. The lady in the shop recommended using their own brand tea tree cleansing facial wash. Its really nice, very refreshing and the tea tree is obviously good for clearing up your skin. 

After I finish my current exfoliant, a Boots tea tree and witch hazel one, I think I am going to try the Body shop one. The lady recommend trying to use the brush and cleanser everyday and an exfoliant once a week. So for the past two weeks I have been giving my face a quick wash off with some warm water to remove the thick of my makeup then using the brush with a squirt of cleanser. Like I said above my skin is starting to look really nice. It looks healthy and refreshed afterwards, and it feels really smooth. I think this will be £4 well spent, I will write up another short review in a few more weeks as you have to give new skin care regimes at least a month to start working and three to really take effect. 

So if anyone is looking for a good skin brush and cleanser but doesn't want to or have the money to shell out on the electric ones I would highly recommend the Body Shop £4 facial brush. 

xXx 

Ever growing nail varnish collection ....

As you will know from my previous posts, I am a big fan of nail varnish and a big fan of a bargain. This week I popped in to Durham with the fiancé and had a cheeky look in Superdrug I wasn't looking for anything in particular but ended up coming out with 2 lovely new nail varnishes. One of them I could have done with the other week for our friends wedding when I was frantically searching round Boots for a nice light pink colour and couldn't find a decent priced one.

The two colours I bought are Late Night Latte and City Blackout. I love the pink its really shimmery and you cant beat a good black in prep for autumn/winter.

These were £2.49 each or multi-buy 2 for £3 bargain for polish bottles this big.  

I currently have the Late Night Latte on. I used Avon illuminator base coat then two coats of the colour followed by a clear top coat. Going to see how long it lasts, supposed to be long lasting 10 days but we shall see how it fairs with my typing at work, which tends to rub the ends of my colour off and see if it chips from wear and tear. 

Here are the colours in person, sometimes I think website images can blow out the colour a little so you really need to see them for yourself before you buy them. 

You can see in this pic how much the pearl quality catches the light. Its a really light natural colour which I think will work with a lot of different colours. I think it will also work as a shimmer top coat over some of my other colours but I will try that at a later date. 

As this colour is so light but still shimmery I am thinking of wearing it to the wedding in a few weeks time. As that outfit is neutral and blush this colour should work really well. 

Hehe last pic is my toes, I currently have NYC Raindop blue on them, as I wanted a pop of colour. The weather isn't quite bad enough for socks all the time yet so I am making the most of having my toes out in sandals hehe plus I don't see the need to always match hands and feet, I will sometimes but other times I like having a contrast. 

What do we think? Do you have any new colours in your nail varnish collection? 

xXx

Make up summery update ...

So a couple of weeks ago I posted my 7 step make up routine, I have a little addition to make. Bronzer!

If you are like me and you tan quite easily you will know that once you get a tan your makeup all goes to pot. See the colours you would normally wear don't look quite right and your foundation isn't the right shade.

Enter bronzer ... this can even out foundation and add a little extra tan tint. The only downside can be finding the right one. Its a bit like finding a blush they come in shades, tints and types. I've always had a bit of  a problem finding a nice bronzer thats not too sparkly or orange!

Last summer it was so warm that I decided to forgo foundation most days and just wanted a powder but most of them were too light for my newly bronzed skin. I tired using my usual bronzer as an overall powder but its a it too sparkly for everyday wear. Now if you read my above post you will know I'm a bit fan of drugstore make up and so I searched in every Boots & Superdrug looking at different shades and tones. I couldn't find anything!!

Then when we were on holiday down south with fiancés family I went into superdrug with his sister and she showed me the 2true collection. This is usually on a turning stand so I hadn't looked at it before, they have a lot of nail varnish (which you will note in a previous post I have some of)  and other face bits, everything is about £1.99 so really good price. V was looking for nail varnish but I spotted the bronzers and picked one up. Just so happens this was exactly what I was looking for!!

This has a really nice colour and isn't shiny/sparkly at all so you can use it as an overall power without getting the tanned twilight vampire look going on hehe At the minute I'm a little bit tan but its not nearly warm enough to just be rocking bronzer and sunnies so instead I have been using it to contour.

This is basically where you use a different shade to define different areas of your face, its a bit like highlighting your cheeks with blush. I take a blusher brush and apply a little bronzer to the edge of my face by my hair line then down the side of my face then along my jaw line. I also use just a little either side of my nose ... not too much or you look a bit odd and we dont want random mide face tide lines where foundation ends and bronzer begins hehe

So if your looking for a summer tan powder for a light coverage or just for a bronzer to contour with take a look at 2True in Superdrug.

xXx

My mini cosmetics haul ....

So today I had to pop into town to get some birthday cards, 3 inside a week! So while I was in I took a look about since it had turned out to be quite a nice day. I first took a look in New Look and found quite a few nice pieces, I'm really liking the tribal prints in at the minute ... But that's for another post.

After I had taken a look in a few shops I decided to take a look at some make up .. I wanted a clear mascara for day to day wear. My normal clear mascara is natural collection from Boots but I passed Superdrug first so popped in there. 

I wasn't really looking for anything in particular, though I did fancy a new bright red lipstick so just had a general browse. After Superdrug I took a look in Boots and would you believe it they had a deal on, buy one get one half price mix and match across nearly every cosmetics range. I took a look at the more expensive stuff but at the minute I just can't justify spending much on non essential make up. So I stuck to the 1.99 ranges of Natural Collection and 2True. 

So here is my mini haul from today ... 

1. NYC Expert last nail varnish in Mint Macaroon - £2.49 Superdrug 

2. Natural Collection LashCare Mascara in Clear - £1.99 Boots 

3. 2True Colour Drench Lip Gloss in Shade 9 - £1.99 Superdrug 

4. Rimmel Instand Tan, 24hr Water Resistant - £3.49 Superdrug (on offer) 

5. Natural Collection Moisture Shine lipstick in Crimson - £1.99 Boots 

6. 2True nail varnish in Shade 15 - £1.99 Superdrug 

7. 2True nail varnish in Shade 18 - £1.99 Superdrug 

8.  NYC nail varnish in Rainbow - £1.79 Superdrug (a lot lighter more pale sky blue in person) 

Total = £17.72 

Except I got: 

     

                      3 2True items for £5 

                      2 Natural Collection items for £2.98 

                      2 NYC items for £3

                                                                       BARGAIN!!! 

I cant wait to try the new colours, I really like the light pastels in at the minute. Didn't think I would but recently I've been wanting an everyday colour that can mix and match with different outfits but that isn't beige or brown base. Don't get me wrong I love my bright colours but its nice to have a change every now and then, mix it up a bit. I will be sure to post some pics. Same with the lipstick which I plan on wearing either alone, with the gloss on top for some shine or even just the gloss alone depending on how strong the colour it is. 

                                                                                xXx