February Wishlist

January was a chilly month wasn't it! February is set to be just as cold, if not colder, than January so its likely that I'll end up doing plenty of online shopping while I'm keeping cosy at home because, well that's just how it goes.

February Wishlist by casey-byrne featuring Essie

I had some decent uni results last week, as well as some work wins and got (yet another) exam out of the way so I think a few treats are in order to celebrate...
The majority of my current lusts are beauty products as I seem to have done an about turn in my product preferences and moved fully to the beauty side from fashion in recent months. I'm actually missing working in beauty retail (which is something I never thought I'd say!) and just want to try everything and anything going. Well maybe not anything but you get the gist. Foundation is a big one for me at the minute and unfortunately there aren't any CT or Illamasqua counters or stores anywhere near me so I'm reluctant to actually purchase these online having not been able to test the colour on me first, but who knows where my winter splurge will take me!
Andy and I just booked a trip to the US for spring and I'm beyond excited for my first long haul adventure! With that in mind, I've decided it's time to invest in some decent sunnies and what better way to do it than with Saint Laurent.
All in all, it's a pricey list to come back with but I'm of the 'work hard spend hard' mindset (for now!).
What have you got your eye on this month?

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Lash Out

Every now and then I indulge in getting semi-permanent lashes. My friend is a beautician and she does beauty treatments at home at a much cheaper rate than salons so I get cluster lashes done when I go away for a weekend or if I've got a lot of early starts coming up so that I don't have to take make-up in hand luggage or get up extra early to put make-up on. No mascara, no fiddling around with strip lashes, they're a dream.

Little Benefits

Say what you see!

It's Potent!

This month I received my third Birchbox and although I'm still quite pleased with their selection of samples Im going to unsubscribe so I can try a different company, just for a bit of variety ya know.

Happy Birthday To Me, From Me

As much as I hate to admit it, this month I turned 25 years old. 25! This is such an awful age for any girl because people begin to remind you of the imminent negatives that come with the big two-five - 'quarter of a century', 'half way to fifty' and 'smear tests' are some of the phrases to have reared their ugly heads in my birthday cards this year and I grimaced with the opening of each envelope. It's the horrifying realisations that (trust me) everyone is so keen to remind you of that make you want to cancel your birthday full stop and never utter a word of its existence to another human being, but that kind of comes with the territory of hitting those dreaded mid 20's.

So, since being a proper grown-up is so terrible I decided to treat myself to a few things to make turning 25 that little bit easier...

#veryontrend

Last week I attended a Very.co.uk beauty event at The Deck in London which celebrated the launch of a number of brands now being stocked on the Very site. An evening of pamper sessions with an awesome view of the London skyline alongside champagne, canapés and shoulder brushing with some industry hot shots... What's not to love?!

I've only been to one other event since I started blogging and it was a real let down so I tried not to get too excited about this one in the days leading up to it. However, this evening was a great success in my book. Murad, GHD, Bourjois, NailsInc, and Illamasqua were some of the brands at the event offering treatments and tutorials on a first come first serve basis so as soon as we arrived at the venue we got stuck in to avoid disappointment.

The new NailsInc gel polish in Porchester Road

Catherine gets some Babylis tong action...

I think we both had three beauty treatments each; Cat went for hair, nails and an Illamasqua tutorial and I went for nails, hair and an eyebrow tutorial with Bourjois (which directly resulted in me buying a few of their products the other day, you can see them here) and we were both really pleased with the pamper sessions we chose. There was a really nice vibe at the event and everyone was keen to chat and get involved. At one point I was chatting to Kate Turner, Beauty Editor for Cosmopolitan, but didn't realise until afterwards *kicks self very hard*. In addition to the actual event being great, the goody bag was out of this world! There was a 90ml fragrance in amongst these products too but I had a men's aftershave so it's already been shipped off to Andys.

I'm excited to try out all of my new beauty products and I'll definitely post reviews of them as I go. Very definitely delivered a brilliant evening and you can now check out more photos and step-by-steps at www.veryontrend.co.uk

If you get the opportunity to attend a Very event in the near future, do it. You will not be disappointed.

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Bourjois Beauty Haul

I've been spending again...

Rimmel Colour Rush Nail Collection

I'm sad to say that the sun has pretty much given up on Kent so as an ode to Summer 2014 I'm sharing the nail polish shades that I've been addicted to over the (few) summer months.

Sun, Sea & Sand - Birchbox Review

When I first started blogging my beauty posts primarily centred around my Glossybox subscription. To be frank, that didn't last long as unfortunately I didn't feel like they were living up to the hype. It's been about a year since I cancelled the subscription but recently I have been taken in by some of the other boxes on the market, particularly as I'm seeing so many being reviewed on other blogs.

I finally gave in and took up a new subscription, this time with Birchbox.

Believe The Hype - Micellar Cleansing Water

    I have read so many reviews of this product since it stormed the shelves a few months back and I didn't believe it could ever live up to the hype, but boy was I wrong. 

Nailed It

Ah Rimmel. I never used to be a huge fan of this brand but after becoming addicted to a couple of their mascara's (Lash Accelerator and Scandaleyes) I decided to give their nail polishes a second chance. This nicely coincided with the release of the Rita Ora Colour Rush line which feature some pastel shades that I really couldn't take my eye off, as well some awesome lip crayons but that's a whole other post waiting to happen. Choosing shades was a lengthy process but I finally settled on 'Lose Your Lingerie' and 'White Hot Love', two really cute pastel shades, one pink and white.

Cracks in our Foundations

    I've never really had much luck with foundations to be honest. Whether the colour selections are too warm (tango is not my preferred look) or whether the consistency irritates or doesn't suit my skin type, it's always been a make-up minefield.
Working in Superdrug gave me plenty of time to try out different brands and types of foundation and a few years ago I settled on Maxfactor's Miracle Touch. I have two shades, one of which is slightly darker/warmer and I use this on the centre of my face as a second layer as I'm very self-conscious of my red cheeks and sometimes dark under-eyes. I only use this if I'm going out because, at over a tenner a go, it's an expensive insecurity; but I have a routine that works.
Just lately I've been hankering after that flawless look all day, everyday. Why should I only have picture perfect skin when I'm on a night out, I should be able to have it 24/7 and not have to look like a washed out zombie who's been dipped in a vat of oil by lunchtime if I only use a bit of make-up that day. I hate taking make up to work or out with me - I'm just not that kind of girl, but where can I find a foundation that gives a decent level of coverage, suits my skin tone and stays put?
It's a nightmare.

Health and Beauty Insider

A little while back I received an email from the lovely Rosemary at Health and Beauty insider requesting that I do a short, online interview for the new website. For those of you that haven't heard of it, Health and Beauty Insider is a website that features interviews of bloggers and industry professionals, from C.E.O's to Marketing Executives.

So anyway, Rosemary emailed me after seeing my little space on the internet and I did a short interview for her which is now up on their website! HOW EXCITING!

 

I know I don't have hundreds of followers, and sometimes it's easy to lose sight of why I started blogging in the first place, but it's so nice to receive recognition from a third party. It's really convinced me to continue blogging and the lovely comments from you guys has just emphasised it.

 

You can check out the website here and see my feature at http://www.healthandbeautyinsider.co.uk/casey-bee/

 

My blogging interest has been reignited! Now to get those draft posts published...

 

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Birthday Beauty

    It was my birthday this month and among all the lovely things I was given I received lots of beauty products that I just had to share with you.
    First and foremost, this little box of wonders has made me desperate to go to a festival STAT. So far I've tried the brighter colours, but didn't have much luck with the white as I think my hair is just too dark.
   

    I got nail polish by the gallon too so have a bundle of new shades to try out.    

   
  I've already found my favourite; Maybelline SuperStay in Mint for Life (because as you may have already guessed, I LOVE MINT) and although I've never tried Maybelline polishes before I couldn't be happier with it! My nails never look good for very long as they chip and flake so easily but this has been on for days now and there's not a chip in sight.
    I also received some beaut clothes, including some off of the wish list, but unfortunately none of them fit me :( I must have dropped a dress size because they were all too big, BOOO!
    Something that did fit though were these lush Vans in beach glass which were bought for me by the boyfriend. They were on this months wish list too so he must have taken a sneak peek at the blog but I'm so glad he did! 

   All in all I've been a very lucky girl.

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Nuxe Huile Prodigieuse® OR



    I didn't do a Glossybox review for the June box as I was, again, unimpressed with it and had no motivation to review the products. Also, I didn't fancy writing a negative post because that's no fun! I've since unsubscribed to Glossybox and am on the prowl for a new beautybox subscription so if you have any recommendations please let me know.

There is one good thing that came out of that box though, Huile Prodigieuse OR by Nuxe. I love this product so much that I just want to scream about it from rooftops! I won't do that, but my blog is the next best thing so I will share it with you.

 

 

    Huile Prodigieuse OR is a multi purpose dry oil that is compiled of 92% ingredients that are sourced naturally. Among these are 6 precious plant oils (Borage, Sweet Almond, Macademia, St.Johnswort, Hazelnut and Camellia) which Nuxe have combined with Vitamin E to create a nourishing formula that will repair and protect skin and hair.
     Each review of this product I've seen has focussed on the products benefits for skin but I used it on my hair and couldn't be happier with the results.
I worked the oil through damp hair from tips to scalp, wrapped my hair in a dry towel and left for about 25minutes and then washed my hair normally.
The directions for use suggest 15-20 but I went for a little over 20 as my hair is very thick and quite damaged from so much heat styling. I was worried that this would mean that it would take more to get the oil out of my hair and was concerned about a greasy after effect but there was no such issue.
    This left my hair so smooth and manageable without making it feel heavy. It did wonders for product build up and made my hair feel a little stronger and in better condition all round. After one use, there's still quite a bit left in the bottle, which was a 10ml sample, so I'm going to use it every few weeks to give my hair a more deep cleanse treatment and to revitalise it a bit. In the mean time, I'm going to attempt to find some products which will deliver the same results but that are more in my price range because at £34.00 for 100ml, I won't be able to afford this one for a while yet! You can shop the Nuxe range here and if you have any recommendations I'd love to hear from you.

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Lips Bee Healthier!

    One thing you must know about me is that I have an unhealthy obsession with lip balm. Yep, lip balm. No colour, no gloss; just the everyday, bottom-of-your-handbag essential. I literally have a draw full of the stuff!

So, when I opened my January Glossybox, I couldn't have been happier to find a full sized 'Lips Bee Healthier' lip balm by JĀSÖN. YES!

    The JĀSÖN brand only use ingredients that are naturally sourced and this particular product is 70% organic, made from Aloe and Beeswax, is paraben free and doesn't contain any petroleum. Annnnd to top it all off, it tastes like an After Eight. Perfect! All that matched with a cute play on words title, you seriously can't go wrong here!



Lips Bee Healthier, JĀSÖN, £1.99

    I haven't come across JĀSÖN before and being featured in Glossybox I was partly expecting to cower at the price when I saw what I'd have to pay to feed my new found beauty addiction, but at £1.99 this product is going to be a permanant fixture in my handbag (although I won't go as far as to say I won't buy any other lip balms!).

Thank you Glossybox for introducing me to JĀSÖN products.

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