Going Cruelty Free? | Vlog/Update

OOTN: Stripes & Sandals

Another quick OOTN!  We went for Mexian food tonight which was alright then played pool at the pool bar (no pun intended...).  I was pretty casual tonight as I wasn't really feeling up for going out at all.  

Dress - Very (buy here!)

Bag - Primark

Shoes - Primark 

Hair Tie - Primark 

OOTN: Feeling 50s

I thought it might be fun to do some outfit posts on here as I'm on holiday so I'm wearing clothes I wouldn't normally be able to wear in cold Scotland.  I don't know how many posts I'll do but here's one anyway! 

My mum did take the pictures so I'll have to teach her how to use my camera properly! 

I was unintentionally going for a 50s vibe clearly but I like how it turned out! 

Top - Asos (buy here!)

Skirt - New Look (buy here!)

Bag - Primark

Shoes - Primark 

I hope you enjoyed this little post and lemme know if you'd like to see more! 

Jodie x 

MUA Spring Break Eyeshadow Palette | Review & Swatches

I've always been a fan of MUA eyeshadows (you can hear me talk more about this on my Youtube channel here!) so I thought I would pick up the Spring Break Palette when I seen that my local Superdrug has started carrying a lot more MUA products.  

This palette is only £4 which is amazing as you get 12 eyeshadows (buy here!) and the quality of the eyeshadows is outstanding for the price.  As I've mentioned previously, the matte shadows in cheaper palettes tend to be not the best but the shimmer shades are to die for, especially the bronze/copper colour called amber which honestly is the reason I bought the palette.  As you can see from the swatches above, the darker/brown toned shadows give off the most pigment then the lighter shimmer shades are more of a glittery shade.  I absolutely love this palette and I'm going to try my hardest to create some looks using the super fun blue tones.  

Overall I think this is definitely worth the money and as it is so cheap then it doesn't really matter if you hate it but for me, the quality is amazing for £4. 

I hope you enjoyed this post and thank you for reading!

Watch my 'Let's Talk About Affordable Eyeshadows' video here! if you want to hear more about MUA and other similar brands.  

Jodie x 

Nars Velvet Matte Lip Pencil vs Maybelline Colour Drama Lip Pencil | Is It A Dupe?

Apologies for lack of posts blah blah blah but I've been trying to get into doing Youtube and prepping for a college interview I had (which I got into course woo) and yeah, my blog has suffered but I'm here to have a chat about how everyone has been calling the Nars Velvet Matte Lip Pencil and the Maybelline Colour Drama Lip Pencil a dupe, is it really a dupe though? 

First off, I apologise for how shocking the products are looking but I can't for the life of me find a sharpener that fits either of these which is so annoying because the Nars one was pretty damn expensive.  

The price is probably one of the biggest difference from these with the Nars lip pencil retailing at £19 and the Maybelline lip pencil retailing at £4.99.  The price is a massive gap so I'm gonna talk about the pros and cons for both and if they're a dupe for each other to see which one would suit you best and if it's worth forking out of the real deal or just sticking to the drug store gem.  

I have the Nars velvet matte lip pencil in the shade Dragon Girl which is a cool toned red and I have the Maybelline colour drama lip pencil in the shade Fab Orange which as you've probably guess is an orange toned red.  Both are very different in colour but I'm not really focusing on that today as I'm sure Nars have an orange toned red and vice versa.  The Nars lip pencil is matte and you can tell this straight away when you're applying it but it's not drag on your lips matte it's more of a velvet feeling matte, however, the Maybelline lip pencil is straight up glossy when you first apply it so I'm unsure where they're getting intense velvet lip pencil as it claims on the packaging.  The Nars lip pencil isn't as pigmented as I'd hoped but it doesn't come off straight away when eating or drinking but it certainly doesn't last anywhere near as long as most matte lip products I own.  The Maybelline lip pencil doesn't really set so it will transfer if you eat or drink which is kind of annoying as I feel this product could have been an amazing dupe for the Nars velvet matte lip pencil if it was just that smidgen more matte but for how glossy it is (I'm not saying it's like lip gloss but it's definitely not traditionally matte) it does stay on for a fair while so it's not all bad.  

Overall, I wouldn't say these were exact dupes but if you're looking for something that's similar to the Nars velvet matte lip pencils and are worried they might dry out your lips or don't want to pay the price tag then I'd definitely recommend the Maybelline lip pencils but if you have the money or want to treat yourself then the Nars lip pencil is a little more long wearing and has a matte finish.  

I hope you enjoyed this post and I hope to get blogging game up. 

I have been posting once a week on my Youtube channel which you can find here! if I haven't been posting on here then there will be beauty related videos on there.

Thank you for reading!

Jodie 

Cornerhouse | Manchester Eats

A couple of weeks ago, Luke and I ate out at The Cornerhouse in Manchester as we were going to see a band and Luke suggested we go as he'd been before and loved it.  

I got the veggie burger as I pretty much always have to get a burger the first time I go somewhere, it's something that I've unknowingly made a habit but I'm not complaining.  The burger was very nice, it was one of those fall apart in your hands type of veggie burgers which is good because you know it's fresh and handmade etc but bad cause you're in a public place and you have burger hands... (not actual burger hands but like a lot of burger on and around your hands.. yeah).  Luke got the weird egg pizza which I'm not a fan of at all because I hate sunny side up eggs but I tried a bit that was well away from the egg and it was super tasty so I'd definitely be into trying another pizza next time.  We also got the garlic dough balls which were a little burnt but you can tell they had good intentions.  

Overall I'm very impressed, the atmosphere and the staff were lovely too and I could imagine it would be lovely and also handy to grab a bite to eat there before going to the Cornerhouse cinema or the Theatre.

I don't know how often I'll be talking about food in Manchester as I'm not personally a fan of Manchester as a place, I just don't enjoy the vibes I get when I'm there but definitely keep an eye out for more Glasgow eats and maybe some Liverpool Eats too.  I like doing this little food series and I hope to get at least one foodie post up a week!

I hope you enjoyed this post and thank you for reading!
Jodie x 

Lush Ambrosia Shaving Cream Review

I recently bought the Ambrosia Shaving Cream from Lush when I made an online order a couple of weeks ago.  I had no idea what it felt or smelt like so it was quite a risky purchase but I’ve been wanting to branch out in Lush and try their body, hair and skin products so I thought I’d give this a go as it was the cheapest out of all the shaving creams.  

Overall I’m neither here nor there with it, I don’t think I’ll repurchase it again but I think if I was to buy another shaving cream from Lush I would have to see how it felt in store and maybe try and get a sample before buying.  The smell is very neutral, I don’t love the smell but I’m not overly fussed about it either.  It feels very nice when you apply it to the skin and a little goes a long way.  When I first used it my hairs were quite short and I find that when I shave when my hairs are short I get very bad razor burn but using Ambrosia helped stop that, although it didn’t stop it completely.  The second time I used it my hairs were longer and I couldn’t work with it at all.  It was clogging up my razor as the product itself is very thick and oily and all it was doing was wrecking my razor.  It also never gave me a close shave and it was quite patchy.  I’ve heard people say it’s good for dry shaving so I’ll need to try that but to be honest I don’t want to keep wrecking razors because I feel that’s just the nature of the product no matter how you use it.  

I hope this little review was helpful but just because this product didn’t work for me it doesn’t mean it won’t work for you, be sure to pop into Lush and see if you can get a sample!

Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed this post, I also apologise for the lack of posts, as you know 2 weeks ago I got tonsillitis and that’s why there was a lack of posts, well I have tonsillitis again and my blog and Youtube are suffering because of that but for now I’m sorry and hopefully I’m better and blogging soon!

Jodie x

Lush Haul | March 2015

First off, hello.. remember me? probably not.  But yeah, I'm back and I've got an exciting post because it's a lush haul!  I've also done a video on my Youtube (link here) which I haven't posted about on here yet but I've started Youtube again!  I'll probably write another post on the whole process of wanting to do Youtube then not and so on but for now let's talk about Lush! 

I really shouldn't have been buying Lush products as I'm supposed to be saving but I couldn't help myself, plus I needed to get some Easter bits, obviously...

Phoenix Rising Bath Bomb - £3.35 (buy here)

Let's start off with the one I couldn't show in my video as I'd already used it!  Phoenix Rising is one I always pick up in store and scoff at because it's very strong when you smell it straight away but when I used it I was pleasantly surprised that it's bloody amazing and I could kick myself for not picking it up before as it doesn't smell as strong in the bath!  It also leaves the bath looking absolutely amazing and I'm so impressed with this one.

Big Blue Bath Bomb - £3.35 (buy here)

Another one that I've never picked up before but always wanted to try is Big Blue.  I'm not sure why I've never really grabbed this one because it smells amazing!  It's very fresh and ocean like and I could imagine is a very universal scent.  

Twilight Bath Bomb - £3.35 (buy here)

One of my all time favourites is Twilight.  It smells so soothing and creamy (if that makes any sense) and it makes you feel very relaxed which as you can tell by the name is it's main purpose.  

Space Girl Bath Bomb - £2.35 (buy here)

Another all time favourite of mine is Space Girl which smells like parma violets to me although there is no actual violet scent in it.  The main scents are lemon oil and grapefruit so this one is very refreshing and uplifting.  

Hoppity Poppity Bath Bomb - £2.50 (buy here)

A new one for Lush in their current Easter collection is Hoppity Poppity which I could not resist buying as look how freaking cute it is.  This one smells very grassy as it has violet absolute in it but it's not too overpowering.  I'm excited to see how this one looks in the bath as it looks pretty colourless on the outside! 

Fluffy Egg Bath Bomb - £2.95 (buy here)

An old favourite and the last of the bath bombs that they have come out with for a few Easters now is Fluffy Egg.  All I'm gonna say is bubblegum.  Straight up bubblegum.  If you like the bubblegum lip scrub and the Godmother soap you will LOVE this! 

Ambrosia Shaving Cream - £4.95 (buy here)

I want to branch out in Lush as I've recently been into their hair care and skin care and I think it would be good for not only me but the whole environment side of things if I was using more natural hair, body and face products.  I mean don't get me wrong, Lush doesn't have everything but it's nice to use what I can and if I enjoy it then of course I'm going to, right?  Anyway, I decided to pick up the Ambrosia Shaving Cream as it was the cheapest out of all the shaving creams and I wanted to test the waters before I invested in a more pricey one but so far I'm loving this!  Usually when there's no shaving foam left I'll use conditioner to shave my legs but it often leaves me with razor burn and redness but this didn't which I was surprised about as it has the same consistency as a really thick conditioner. The smell is very neutral, it smells like cream for dry skin or rashes so it's not at all offensive.  I've only used it once so far but I'm loving it and I'll be sure to check in if anything changes!

Yummy Mummy Shower Gel - £4.75 (sorry not available as part of Mother's Day collection!)

I smelled this in the store and it smelled very different to what it smelled when I got it home but basically it smells like grass.  It smells a lot more like parma violets on the skin when you use it but straight out the bottle it smells like grass.  Lush shower gels are lovely nonetheless so I'm neither impressed nor unimpressed.  It's nice!

Tea Tree Toner Tab - £1 (buy here)

Lastly is the Tea Tree Toner Tab which is this lil baby tab which you plop into water to steam your face and open your pores.  I haven't tried this yet but I'm excited to as I always look at them in the store but never pick them up.  

I hope you enjoyed this post and be sure to check out my Youtube channel for the Lush haul in video form, I just wanted to write a post for those who don't like videos and to share the correct prices and stuff as you'll learn I didn't do so in the video... (watch it here) 

Thank you for reading and I hope you check back next time!

Jodie x 

Gourmet Burger Kitchen | Glasgow Eats

My mum took Luke and I out for dinner last week and Luke and I wanted to try Gourmet Burger Kitchen as it's always busy inside and it looked interesting. 

The halloumi bites were nice but you can't really go wrong with halloumi... right?  The chips were good too, we tried three different types of chips and they were all pretty good.  However, the burgers were really bad.  Like I eat burgers pretty much every time Luke and I eat out and these were just bad.  The meat itself tasted really cheap like it was just bought out the supermarket and the bun was so dry.  Gourmet Burger Kitchen is on the pricey side for just burgers as well so I definitely wouldn't recommend it at all.  Luke said his veggie burger was okay but he probably wouldn't buy it again.  You also have to go up and order your own food and for the price, that's not really appealing.  Overall, not impressed and will probably never visit there again. 

I hope you enjoyed this post and thank you for reading!

Jodie x 

Rimmel Provocalips 16 Hour Kiss Proof Lip Colour | Review & Swatches

I was excited when these came out as I do love a good liquid lipstick and I've heard good things so I thought I would share my thoughts on them. 

I have two colours in the Rimmel Provocalips lip colours and both come out very different on the lips than what they look like in the tube.  These retail for £6.99 which is pretty standard for the drugstore.  First off, they come in a double ended tube, one side being the colour and the other being the balm stuff you put on top to lock it in place.  Something I wasn't expecting with these is once you put the balm on it stays shiny but it's completely kiss proof and doesn't budge, so much so that it gets stuck to your lips and is very difficult to remove once you've had it on for a while.  I use liquid lipsticks regularly but I find these ones to be quite messy to apply so watch out for that.  The first colour I bought was Play With Fire which is the darker one of the two, this looks more red in the packaging but it's more brown when you apply it to the lips.  The second colour I bought is Kiss Me You Fool which looks how I expected the other one to look like on my lips.  They feel really nice after application but after about an hour or two of wearing them, they start to crumble and get all weird on your lips.  I'm unsure if it's something I'm doing but every time I've worn them out, my lips just look nasty after an hour or so which is frustrating as you can't reapply on top as it just makes it go all thick and weird.  Overall, I'm not that impressed with these and I find they're more of a faff than what they're worth.  

I hope you enjoyed this post and be sure to check back in a few days for a new post! 

Jodie x