A Sweet Gift for Valentine's Day

I know it's still two weeks (today) until Valentine's Day, but I wanted to show you this Yucoco chocolate bar. I personalised it online, and ordered it to my door. It arrived in 2 days in protective packaging to make sure it still in perfect condition when it got to my flat.


The inside of the box reads:
To Andy
Created by Laura
This bar has been designed especially for Yu!
Your bar is made of this delicious chocolate & toppings:
Terrific Trio Chocolate
Homemade Rocky Road
Caramel Blossom
Chocolate Fudge
Homemade Cookie Crumbs
Confetti Hearts

I absolutely love the idea of personalising your own bar, at an affordable price that tastes just as gorgeous as it sounds. The Yucoco bar* has four types of chocolate bar to choose from, with over 1 billion combinations. ONE BILLION. I would volunteer myself to try them all, of course.
Firstly, I chose a mix of milk, white and dark chocolate. Andy is a huge chocolate lover and thought he would love the idea of having even more flavours on his bar. I then went for things he eats when he is being naughty, rocky road, chocolate fudge and cookies! I thought the caramel blossom and confetti hearts gave it the whole Valentine's look about it. Yes, I'm soppy. 

The bars start off from £4.00 for a plain slab which is pretty standard for this sized chocolate bar. Toppings are between 40p and £1.50. I chose 5 toppings which brought the total to £7.50 for the personalised bar. I could have gone ridiculously soppy and included purely 'love-ly' toppings, such as the 'I love yu' plaque, love hearts, I love you chocolate and chocolate lips, but since Andy is a huge love of more handmade chocolate, I chose his favourite.

If I was making a bar for myself, I would pick the trio of chocolate, salted caramel, milk chocolate drizzle, rocky road, caramel blossom and chocolate flakes! This would be £7.80. I wish I had put chocolate drizzle on Andy's, it looks amazing. I was pleasantly surprise to see you could fruit, nuts (which I also love) and mad things like wasabi peas. The addition of glitter is another great feature, but I didn't think Andy would forgive me for substituting chocolate for some sparkles.

Once ordering, it will be delivered within 3-5 days, although mine arrived in 2 days which was great, meaning if you forget (how could you?) about Valentine's Day, you can save yourself with ordering a bar a few days before. If you don't have the willpower to look through all the toppings, you buy a pre-made bar too. If you're really forgetful, you can pay £1.75 to have a handwritten gift card posted to you. As much as I'd love to spend my time rifling through cards to pick out the perfect one, wandering in to chocolate shops to taste samples and choose from them, in modern day life, we don't tend to have such a luxury as often. 

The bars are 140 grams in weight, which you couldn't eat in one sitting, well I couldn't but I'm sure Andy would have given it a good go. He chose to share his, and was sitting looking at it for days before I gave in and let him eat it more than two weeks before V-Day. Who am I to deprive him of chocolate? 

You can make your own bar at Yucoco.com and they also have instagram, twitter and facebook!

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A-Derma Skincare Range Review


Escentual was kind enough to send me these A-Derma* beauty products a few months back, and after testing them out for a while, I can finally review them! They include the Nutrialba Nourishing Cream, Rheacalm Soothing cream, Hydralba Hydrating cream and Sensifluid Micellar water, and a cute nail file too.

Nutrialba
A hypoallergenic, paraben-free moisturising cream to protect dry and sensitive skin is lovely on the skin, especially in the winter months. The cream is a blend of rhealbose oat seedling extract and essential fatty acids to replenish your skin from dehydration, softening your skin and can work underneath makeup. I found this soothing to my sensitive skin and moisturising it too. There was no oil residue, nor an excess of moisture on my skin. As it is suitable for daily use, it is a great morning moisturiser to use once your skin is cleansed. This is now £15.00 down from £20.00.

Rheacalm
Another daily use moisturiser, it protects fragile skin and repairs reactive skin. If your skin changes when using makeup that may be unsuitable for your skin, or you're on holiday a lot in harsher climates, this rebuilds and soothes your skin's moisture. It has rhealbose oat seedling extract and vitamin E to make smoother skin. Now £11.60 from £15.50.
Hydralba
The Hydralba Light Hydrating Cream with UV SPF 20 is for sensitive, normal to combination skin. Including rhealbose oat seedling extract and vitamin E and plant glycerine, it frees your skin from tightness and leaves the surface of your skin 'silky-smooth'. The SPF 20 also protects against UVA/UVB rays and pollution to prevent premature ageing. As a 21 year old, I cannot comment as to whether it prevents anti-ageing, but it definitely moisturises the skin and smells quite fresh. Now £10.80 from £14.50

Sensifluid
This micellar water is great for dry, sensitive an eczema-prone skin types like mine. I didn't even know there were specific micellar waters for sensitive skin, so receiving this was great. It includes rhealba oat seedling extract and witch hazel water to cleanse and remove makeup and dirt. The formula is said to have a 'tissue off formula' which ensures suitability for even the driest, sensitive and eczema-prone skin types. The micellar water is great, I noticed a difference in using this to my usual L'oreal micellar water. However, the only thing that puts me off this slightly is the smell. You know those 'aliens' you had as a child, that were in a plastic egg and had the plastic smelling jelly around them? It smells like that. Don't get me wrong, it is a lovely micellar water to remove my makeup, but I think about those little alien things every time. Now £9.75 from £13.00.
I can't comment on the nail file since they sound and feel of them go through me, but I will eventually use them on false nails since that isn't as bad! Aside from the alien smell, these products are genuinely lovely for my sensitive, dry skin. I do tend to get a bit of oil on my skin, but this did not affect the usage of these skincare products.

You can buy the A-Derma range from the Escentual website here.



Fuse Gelnamel Starter Kit by Sensationail Review

Hey Guys,
This post excites me so much! If you've noticed in the past, I am a huge fan of nail products. I love wearing false nails and painting them. Although regular polish doesn't wear off as much on false nails, I love having long lasting colours on my nails, especially gel nails. I had the opportunity to review Sensationail's latest product, a Fuse Starter Kit*.




Fuse is the first Genamel kit to hit the high street and has been the most requested product in 2014. Why? Because the kit lets you have an at home manicure, for a fraction of the price. It doesn't take as long, and looking for me being asthmatic, doesn't have harmful chemicals in the air.

I had the colour 'Elec-tric or Treat' which is an orange toned red. These photos are with one coat, but you can add others on. The technology in the polish dries evenly and you cure the polish using the mini LED lamp for 30 seconds. Luckily, since the lamp is so small it has a usb cable which can plug into a mains adaptor or any usb port. I plugged mine into my laptop since it was the closest thing to me.

After curing the polish, you take the gel cleanser and wipe over your nails to take away any excess and you're done. You would think that since you paid and cure each nail individually that it would take longer than going to a salon, but surprisingly it wasn't. I tested this on my toes too, but nobody wants to see feet on the internet, do they?

There are 12 colours online at Boots currently, including solid colours and glitters. The original Sensationail kit is equally amazing, but the Fuse kit is more affordable and quicker! You can buy the Starter Kits for £35.00, individual Gelnamel colours from £15.00 and the Cleanser and Wipe Refill Kit from £9.50 all at Boots.


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The best drugstore brand around?

Hello Lovelies,

I want to introduce you to my Makeup Revolution collection. There are items I have been gifted in the past, and also won through a giveaway. I review different types of beauty products, and some of them are tried and tested, then I promise myself I'll use them, and don't get around to it much. I do this with nail polishes I buy, and that "one lipstick that I need" that looks the same as the rest I already have. This brand is different. I may not use every single shade of each product, but as a whole I love the brand and wanted to show you why!



Atomic lipsticks (post here)
These £1 lipsticks are creamy and pigmented, leaving a shine to your lips. I love the purple toned shades. You can tell I've used 'Make Me Tonight' the most!


All Day and Night pencils (post here)
Each of these are £1.99 and are also of a creamy texture. There is nothing worse than dragging a dry pencil across your eyelids and this is why I love these pencils, as they are the opposite. I've used some of these a fair bit and should probably sharpen them before my next use!


The One Fluid Blusher in 'Pink Dew' £3.
I haven't posted a full review of this yet but so far I like this blusher. Aside from Benetint, I've never used a fluid blusher, so it's taking quite a bit of getting used to. The shade is lovely against my pale skin and blonde hair. I can't comment on how long it lasts, since I've not worn a primer with it yet, just foundation, however on a full face of makeup it lasts the full day.


The One Blush Sticks (post here)
With both matte and non-matte blusher sticks, there are colours for every type of makeup look. They are £5 each, with the shade 'Malibu' being a great bronzer to contour with. I prefer the non-matte shades, as I love a bit of shimmer.


Eyeshadow Palettes. £4 each.
Romantic Smoked (post here)
Iconic Dreams
Give Them Nightmares (post here)
Girls On Film (post here)

I have posts on all but the Iconic Dreams palette so I'll share my thoughts here. It is extremely similar to the Urban Decay Naked 3 Palette (£37) whereas this is £4, a huge difference in price. If you can tell from my photos, I use these shadows a lot and have still not hit pan on any of them. They are true to colour and a true investment.


Blusher and concealer palettes. £6 each.
All About Pink
Hot Spice
 Golden Sugar
Concealer in Light/Medium

All About Pink - These are great for summer when bright cheeks are in. The lighter colours in the palette are lovely too.

Hot Spice - A lot warmer colours with some that I'd use to contour with. A highlighter is also included to brighten up you skin with. I love the look of the baked shades, they look like moons!

Golden Sugar - This is my favourite out of the blusher palettes, with highlighters, blushers and bronzers in. They are warmer toned colours but suit every skin tone.

Concealer palette - The lighter shades are the ones most suited to my skin tone, but I use different ones for under my eyes, and for blemishes. The consistency is fairly thick, so I use with foundation and not CC cream.

I also have another MUR post on the eyeshadows and primer in the first picture (here).


I hope you enjoyed my post! I know 8 palettes and everything else is a lot, but I take pride in my makeup and love using different things every day. You can never have too much makeup, right? This is over £100 worth of makeup, but compared to other drugstore brands this is very affordable for the amount you get.


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Hairaisers Live It Loud 3/4 Wig Review

Hello Beauties!

Before I get started on this post, I'll let you know that although this is technically a wig, it has a pull tie on it so you can wear it as a pony, as this was my preferred way to wear!

Hairaisers kindly sent me the Live It Loud 3/4 Wig* to review. I sent over some pictures of my hair and asked if they could match the highlights and (sort of) dip dye in my hair. It does not match my roots, which is what I wanted. This pony is the colour SB and is 22 inches long, which is really long compared to my own hair, but who doesn't love long hair?





The piece can be worn as a 3/4 wig, but since my hair is significantly shorter, I chose the pony. I put my hair in a doughnut bun, slipped this over the top and tightened it with the pull, then clipped into place. It took a bit of getting used to and my boyfriend helped a little since I couldn't see the back, but once you've gotten your head around it, it's easy to apply.

I chose the curly style as it looked more wearable and natural. I'm so fussy when it comes to hair pieces, so since the curls won't drop out, it seemed like the logical decision to pick curly hair! This does come in a straight style too, which also looks lovely. If you were indecisive as to which piece would suit you, pick a straight piece and style it yourself as the hair is made of premium high-heat fibre so it can be styled at heat up to 180 degrees. I think I'll be curlying my piece next time I wear it into thinner curls for a different look. I love that I have the option to change the style if I want to as it performs like real human hair.

It's available to buy in tons of different colours including some natural and some blended tones. If you wanted a colour match, the team at Hairaisers are very lovely and can offer you a colour match there. If you'd like to buy your own piece, or another hair piece, use the code LAURAHADLEY20 on the Hairaisers shop to receive 20& off all products on the online shop. You can also watch their video about this hair piece here.

Hope you all like these hairstyle posts!


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INM Northern Lights Holographic Nail Polish Review

I had a reason to get my nails all pretty to review the INM Northern Lights Hologram Top Coat Polishes* in silver glitter and gold glitter. I used Barry M's 'Berry' underneath so you could see the effects of the glitter.


left hand: gold glitter


right hand: silver glitter


Comparing the two, the gold stands out more than the silver. They are both gorgeous top coats, leave no chips and seal in nail varnishes together. I applied two coats of each to test them on each hand. These photos really don't do the varnish justice and I think I'll layer a coat of each on next time I use them.

I love how they are top coat polishes and not a normal varnish with tons of glitter in them. I like to be able to see the base colour along with a bit of glitter (I am very impartial to glittery nails if you haven't already noticed).


You have to shake the bottles up before using them as the glitter settles at the bottom, which is what I normally do anyway every time I paint my nails. On first impressions before use, I would have gone straight for the silver as it looks so sparkly, and silver matches my outfits more. However, upon use the gold is not as 'yellow' looking as in the bottle, shining through like little stars, hence the name 'Northern Lights'. 

You can buy the gold polish and the silver from Jica for £9.35 each.


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Heather's Winter Favourites

Hello Lovelies,

Today I have Heather from Of Beauty And Nothingness blogging today! Hope you enjoy her favourites post and check out her blog!

Hi, I'm Heather from the beauty, fashion and lifestyle blog Of Beauty & Nothingness! Here are the beauty products I have been loving recently; my November and December favourites. This post is a mixture of skincare, body care, makeup and nail products, all of which are perfect for the colder months. 



Firstly, the best part, makeup! RMK is a brand that I discovered in 2014 and it has quickly become one of my favourite brands. I have been loving the RMK Matte Shiny Eye Pencil (04) which comes with a brown chunky eyeliner on one end and a slight green tinted creamy shimmery eyeshadow on the other end. The pencil lasts well and the pencil duo is a fantastic day to night handbag essential! Next up is the Essence Soo Glow Highlighter (02) which is a beautiful cheekbone highlighter for my pale skin tone; it blends so well and looks natural and glowing. The best part is the price, it is less than £3!  The last makeup favourite is from one of my favourite brands of 2014, along with RMK and Essence, which is Yves Rocher. I have been using their Comfort Cream Foundation every time I wear makeup as it is a perfect yellow toned, medium coverage, dewy foundation which ticks all of the boxes for my skin during the colder months - I cannot recommend this foundation enough. Although a similar foundation that is a bit more assessable in the UK is the Max Factor Luminizer Foundation which I also adore. 

Now onto the two nail polish favourites, they are both from the Revlon Parfumarie range. I was lucky enough to win the entire range last year in a RevlonUK Instagram competition. The shades I have been loving the most are Spun Sugar and Espresso both of which smell great when dry, they are very pigmented and they also dry very quickly which is a big plus in my opinion. 

Last but not least, my body and skincare favourites. My skin is dry most of the time, not just due to occasional eczema flare ups so I have too keep my skin exfoliated and well moisturised to make sure it is looking as good as it can. For my facial exfoliator, I've been addicted to the Una Brennan Rose Facial Scrub which I have been using for about 6 months or more and I think its the perfect physical exfoliator for my dry, sensitive skin. Lastly, the body butter that I think is better than The Body Shop's body butters -  the My Trusty Sunflower Body Butter which not only smells incredible and is so effective but all profits go back to NHS patient care, what more could you ask for!

There are all of the products I have been loving over the past couple of months! What are your Autumn/Winter staples? 

www.twitter.com/ofbeautyand
www.instagram.com/heathernixon4
https://www.bloglovin.com/blog/4411069


Thanks,

Heather

Hello 2015!

Hey Guys,
Happy New Year! I hope everyone had a lovely Christmas and New Years Eve. I'm sorry I've not posted much, I've had two assignments and a chapter of my dissertation due in this month so Christmas for me was mostly typing up my work. 
Anyway, my posts will resume back to normal this week, including lots of reviews and brand collaborations. Make sure to look out for the occasional guest post too!
Here's a few snaps of my December and January for you to nose at.






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