Blink & Go EOTD.

I wore this look yesterday for work and got so many compliments! I used a compact by Blink & Go, a brilliant brand who specialise in lash treatments and have recently launched a make-up range. The compacts contain a decent sized mirror, 6 eyeshadows and 2 blush colours and the shades are really pigmented. Blink & Go sent me 2 compacts, one containing the bright shades used in this look and another with some stunning shimmery bronze and grey shades which are ideal for a smokey look.

I applied the green shade to my lid and then the pink colour on my inner corner. Next I ran a line of the beautiful turquoise shade over my crease and applied the lilac colour up to my brow, I blended the two together and I think it looks rather pretty!

Face:

Superdrug Vitamin E illuminating moisture cream

Maybelline Satin Liquid foundation in cameo

Natural Collection bronzing pearls

Eyes:

Benefit It Stick

Blink & Go compact

Estee Lauder Double Wear zero smudge lengthening mascara

Lips:

Rainbow Drops Strawberry Lipgloss (ha!)

I think this look would work beautifully with a bit of liquid eyeliner but I didn't have any on me at the time- boo!

What do you think? Are you a fan of rainbow eyes?

You can find out more about Blink & Go at www.blinkandgo.co.uk

♥ Review: Yes To Tomatoes Total Treatment Mask ♥

This is my first review on Hello-Barbie so I'm hoping y'all like it. I thought I'd write about a product today that I was sent in relation to my work over at English-Wedding where I'm Bridal Fashion and Beauty Expert (I'm on a break at the moment due to crazy busy times o'clock). As I haven't got round to mentioning this on English-Wedding yet, I thought I'd do a review on here.

♥ Product and price ♥

Yes To Tomatoes Total Treatment Mask

£11.99/50ml

Available from www.victoriahealth.com

♥ What they say ♥

"Time to treat yourself. Totally treat yourself. To Tomatoes. Yes To Tomatoes Facial Mask is a total deep pore treatment that refines, purifies and even moisturises your skin, while keeping your complexion clean, clear and balanced. Filled with potent anti-oxidants that fight free radicals, and bursting with powerful sebum (acne-causing oil) absorbers, you'll be tickled red with this tantalizing treat! Go ahead, take the time to treat yourself, your skin will thank you!

Benefits:

• Encourages a balanced, clearer complexion
• Absorbs excess surface oils (perfect for balancing skin)
• Adds moisture to dry areas without clogging pores

Key ingredients:
Potassium rich avocado improves the skin's moisture retention which is essential to keep the skin hydrated.

Directions: Apply a thin layer to your clean, smiling face. Use a circular motion to thoroughly cover your face, avoiding your mouth and eyes. Gently wipe away with a damp washcloth after about 5 minutes. Refresh your gorgeous self with a splash of cool water and pat dry. "

♥ What I think ♥

This is probably the best face mask I have ever used! I have quite oily skin and a lot of masks tend to irritate me or do no good but I was delighted to see that this was suited to my troublesome skin type. The pot is really lightweight so it means I can easily pop it into my handbag if I'm going over to spend the night at the boyfriend's place. The product smooths on easily and dries rather quickly. As it only has to be left on for 5 minutes, this is a fab product to slap on first thing on a morning before you hop in the shower. Once you remove it, you're left with beautifully matt and cleansed skin that doesn't feel tight but fresh and awake. If you have any problems with pores or oily skin, this is a total must!

♥ My rating ♥ = 5/5. I'd buy this a million times over!

NOTD: Pastel Purple

This pastel purple I'm wearing on my nails today gets me soooo many compliments and people never believe me when I say it's from George at Asda and only cost me £1.52 a bottle! The colour goes on really well but the bottle and brush are small so it can be a little fiddly. You could get away with 1 coat but I went for 2. The only real gripe I have with it is the weird little blue ring forming around the top which is visible in the first photo- can anyone explain this?

Some recent NOTDs and a few photos from my weekend with the boy ♥

Hello, darling followers. I've reached 20 followers and I'm so pleased, especially as Hello-Barbie has only been running for a couple of weeks!

I thought I'd show you some recent NOTDs- excuse the slightly rubbish pics from my iPhone, I need to start carrying around my camera more!

First up is the much loved Mushroom by Barry M. Now, I don't know where I was but I totally missed the hype and drama about this nail paint and picked it up in my local Superdrug not knowing it was so hot right now. I have to say, I love this colour! The application is easy, it only takes 1 coat and it lasts for ages. Such a gorgeous colour.

Next up is this ASOS by Ciate paint in shade Pixie. This is a true grass green with and can be a little bit of an odd colour to use on nails but I haven't used it in ages and fancied a change. Can you see how super glossy this is? The application of this is ok- it needs a few coats and can look uneven in parts but the pretty bow on the bottle makes up for all this!

Last up is this one from Superdrug's MUA range. My bottle says shade 02 but, looking at the website, shade 02 is black. Weird! Anyway, I ADORE this paint- it costs £1 for 6.2ml and, although the application can be a little messy due to the small brush, it's amazing! The colour payoff is incredible, it lasts for around 3 days without chipping and there are 18 different shades in the range which I'm dying to get my mitts on. Although this looks really orange in the photo, it's actually a pretty red with quite strong orange undertones.A lovely woman in The Body Shop asked me about my nails when I was wearing this and was convinced they were fake. And, to top it off, the boyfriend also paid attention and kept complimenting me on this colour all weekend. Thumbs up!

Finally, I thought I'd share some photos from my weekend. The boyfriend had quite a bit of work to do so I chilled on the sofa with Sky+, magazines and yummy wine most of the time. I cannot comment who owns that copy of Front.

We went out on Saturday night and, as usual, had the time of our lives! I love nights out with the boyfriend, he pretends to look after me but really he spurs me on and gets me waayyyy too tipsy! When we crawled in at 330am, we shared this delightful feast.

Sunday was spent watching TV and chilling out whilst the boyfriend did yet more work prep! But, to make up for being chained to his computer, he took me out to Derby for Nandos for dinner. NOM! I wore my (current) favourite dress form Asda, my Primark Alexa, leggings from Primark and shoes from Tesco.

♥What nail colours are you hearting lately? ♥

NOTD

Hello Lovelies. Have you switched your grey nails for brighter summer colours or are we all still hooked on greige? I decided it was time to brighten up my nails and went for 3 coats of Barry M in shade 136 Tangerine and then I added these cute little nail stickers by Elegant Touch which I picked up at the weekend. What do you think? The stickers are so easy to use and, once the top coat has been applied, stay on perfectly.

My first VLOG: cosmetics and beauty books.

I say "ummm" and "ahhh" a lot in this and my eyes and looking everywhere but have a look and tell me what you think!

NOTD

Forgive me for not the best application ever, this is my first time with these little stick on gems. My lovely mum picked them up for me in a 99p store- such a bargain! You get 300 gems, 2 wooden sticks to put them in place and a top coat. I thought I'd go super simple with just one heart on each hand.

The paint I've used is Lemon Meringue by the wonderful Models Own. This took 3 coats to be fully opaque but I know a lot of their other colours only need 1 coat.

Although my nails are nothing spectacular, they're really making me smile right now!

My first MAC lipstick

I'm pretty much a MAC virgin, all I owned was a liquid liner which went missing ages ago. However, my lovely friend Jessica was a doll and spoilt me and sent me my first ever MAC lipstick

Thank you Jessica!

I've had my eye on a lot of the satin finish lipsticks but I really wanted to try snob. I normally go for quite bright lipsticks and glosses but I'm really enjoying testing out some lighter shades. When I first applied snob I thought I disliked it- it's a really strong colour that only needs to be applied lightly. I applied it again today and now I'm in love with it, it makes my lips feel really soft and gives off that perfect bubblegum pink colour which I love.

I think next on my list to try is sweetie.

Do you own any MAC lipsticks? Which ones are your favourites?

Natural Collection haul.

What counts as a haul? 3 items? Well, you'll have to make do because I am super broke and technically spent my bread/milk/orange juice fund on some cosmetic treats (like you've never done that!)

I went into Boots to get a prescription and planned on buying a lipstick from the Natural Collection range after hearing good things about them. At £1.99, I couldn't resist. And then I saw the Natural Collection tinted moisturiser and, again, at under £2 I kind of had to. Luckily for me, they were on 3 for 2 so I also picked up the lash conditioner and will be trying it out over the next week or two every night to see if I think it makes a difference.

All in all, for under £4 for 3 items, I reckon I got a bargain! The tinted moisturiser went on my hands and forehead beautifully and leaves a radiant shine- I picked up the natural shade and may well pick up some of the other shades too at the weekend. The lipstick is a sheer natural lip colour in shade honeysuckle and I'll be trying this out tomorrow.

Have you ever bought any Natural Collection products? What did you think?

An accidental LOTD!

As much as I want to go into detail about the lovely bronzed sunset look I created on my eyes this morning using lovely browns and pinks, it hasn't really shown up in the photo. However, the highlight of my look today was done totally by mistake! I applied Chanel Rouge Hydrabase lipstick in shade 136 Rosedrop and went to apply a sheer peach lipgloss over the top but, in my rush to leave, I accidentally applied a slightly more orange colour. The lipgloss used was Rimmel Volume Boost but the shade has worn away so I'm afraid I can't tell you exactly what it is.

I reckon they look fairly nice together! What do you think? Have you ever made a beauty mistake that turned out well?

Overall look:

Swatches:

L-R: Chanel Rouge Hydrabase in 136 Rose Drop, Rimmel Volume Boost lipgloss, blended together

The final LOTD:

FOTD: Bronzed eye look.

How hot is it?! Are you all enjoying the sun? I know I am but, sadly, I've been stuck indoors a lot of the time doing university work. But I did find time today to head out for a naughty TGI Friday's and Starbucks with the boyfriend. Here's the look I went for- what do you think?

Face:

Avon Face Perfection Duo in Medium

Clairns Beauty Balm

Eyes:

Nicola Roberts/Jelly Pong Pong primer

A cream colour from Rimmel's Rebel Chic pallet on my inner corner and up to my brow

Bronze shimmer eyeshadow (unknown brand) on my lids

A dark brown from the Rimmel pallet on my crease

The Body Shop Eye Definer in black on my lash line

Benefit Bad Gal mascara in black

Cheeks:

Vital Radiance blush

Lips:

Taxi lipgloss (unknown shade but a very sheer pink)

Hair-spiration: Cynthia Nixon.

In SATC, I can't really relate to Miranda and I'm much more the Charlotte type. However, for reasons beside her beautifully tailored suits, I often find Miranda being my favourite character? Why? Well, because she has such incredible hair!

Anyone who knows me will know of my obsession with ginger hair. Long and wavy, short and bobbed, bright, dull, red tones, blonde tones... if it's anywhere near orange, I love it!

The thing with Miranda/Cynthia is that she managed to work so many tones and shades into her red-head locks and it always looks great! From brighter oranges to bold tones of red, from short to wavy, blonde highlights to red lowlights... she works her carrot top!

FOTD 2! And my first EVER venture into eyeliner.

Yup, you read it right- I have never worn eyeliner before! I'd love to be able to do little cat flicks and line my eyes with lots of black pencil but it's never been something I thought I'd be particually good at. Lately, however, I've been more eager to try some kohl and liquid liners and was chuffed this morning when I discovered The Body Shop's Eye Definer in shade 01 black (I think this was a freebie with Instyle magazine a while back!)

Only having 10 minutes to do your make-up pre-lecture probably isn't the best time to try something new but, well, sod it! First, I applied a base of Clairns Beauty Balm and added the Avon concealer featured yesterday. Next I applied the mauve shade from the Jemma Kidd Eye Wardrobe Enchanted Summers set all over my eyelids. With a (not so!) steady hand, I applied the liner to lid and then applied one coat of Benefit's Bad Gal. Before leaving the house I applied a little Chanel brozer and a brilliant nude lipgloss from Taxi.

I'm actually really pleased with the result! As much as this isn't a dramatic look, it's quite different for me and I normally focus on my lips.

Do you girls have any tips for applying liner? I'd love to learn more.

My very first FOTD!

I'm a little nervous about posting this, especially as today's FOTD is as minimal as possible. I was only out of the flat today for a grand total of 20 minutes to do a brief spot of photo editing, the rest of the time was spent indoors working on my dreaded report and munching on Aldi peanuts!

Please excuse the horrible Photobooth pics halfway through, the batteries on my camera managed to die before I'd finished applying my make-up.

I only used 4 products today- Avon Face Perfecting Duo, Clarins Beauty Flash Balm, Nouveau Lashes mascara and Vaseline Rosy Lips.

Here I am with the products:

And the final look:

My mum gave me the Avon Face Pefecting Duo but I find the tinted moisturiser a little too dark for me, the shade is medium so I think next time I'll have to go for light. Saying that, the little concealer on the end of the tube is a decent enough match for me. At the moment my skin is so bad so a good concealer is a must!

After that I applied Clarins Beauty Balm all over my face for a radiant glow. Anyone who doesn't own this should! It can be used as a primer, moisturiser or a highlighter. It's brilliant stuff and you get a lot in a small tube.

After that I used Noveau Lashes mascara. I was given this to review for Florals and Cupcakes and I love it! It's the perfect daytime mascara and, although it can feel a little dry, it gives lashes a subtle lift without making them too thick. Here's a photo to show you the difference between one coat and two coats. Which do you prefer?

The first is one coat, the second photo is two coats:

And once all that was done, it was time for a quick pop of Vaseline Rosy Lips on my pout. This is such a great product, so cheap and I always get complimented when I wear it.

BBB x