Spring Scented Beauty Finds

I don't know about you, but I am always sucked into a beauty product by it's smell. If I don't like the smell, I generally refuse to wear the product(Elizabeth Arden 8hr Cream, anyone?). However, if I love the smell of a beauty product, it always makes the 'experience' of putting on and wearing the product so much more enjoyable, doesn't it?

These four products are my favourite spring smelling products, and if you've ever smelt any of them, you'd know why. They all smell so fresh! (Also, sorry for the bad lighting in the picture.)

Garnier PureActive Daily Energising Gel Scrub
I actually picked up this face scrub on a whim, and because my Clean and Clear one had just run out(and because it was half price!), and I love it. It lathers up a lot, and it smells like 'grapefruit and pomegranate . I love the smell- it is really bright(I know, a retarded way of describing scents, but you know what I mean).

The Body Shop Born Lippy Lipbalm in Pink Guava
This lipbalm smells amazing! Literally, whenever I put it on, anyone in the close area asks what the smell is, and then begs to smell my lipbalm(not kidding, this does happen!). Not only does it smell like spring(so fresh and fruity), but it is also very moisturising, and it leaves you lips with a ice shine without being sticky.

Batiste Dry Shampoo in Blush
While I am still deciding whether I like this product or not, I cannot deny that it smell like Spring. It smells like a mixture of your Gran's floral perfume and smelling a bunch of garden flowers, but in a good way! Love the smell of this, and it does last in your hair all day, which is a bonus!

Neutrogena Pink Grapefruit Facial Wash
Everything that has 'grapefruit' in the title automatically pulls me in, and I need to smell it. This face wash smeels AH-Mazing, and I love the feeling that it gives my skin; a really fresh and clean face. Love this product for Spring!

What are your favourite smelling products for this Spring?
Jennifer xx

L'Oreal Rouge Caresse Lipstick in Rebel Red

I know, I know- I am so behind the times with this one. The L'Oreal Rouge Caresse lipstick have been going strong for around 10 months now, but I wanted to feature them in a post because I am really loving sheer lipsticks for this Spring(trend forecast alert!).

I got the colour Rebel Red, and I love the packaging! It looks(as with all L'Oreal products) very sleek, and much more expensive than it actually is. The lid snaps on shut, and pretty tightly too, so it will not fall off if you chuck it into your bag for a day out.

In all Superdrug stores, there is a section that sells discounted goods because they are damaged. I am not ashamed to say that I picked this little lippy up in the discounted section. As you can see from the picture, the lipstick looks pristine  except from a dent in the product. However, this will easily be rubbed off, on application. I paid £3, but the regular retail price is around £7.99(depending on where you buy).

 Top; without flash, bottom; with flash.

As you can see from the 'with flash' pictures, the lipstick is super shiny and moisturising. It is sort of a lip salve but more pigmented.

The top swatch shows the lipstick lightly swatched, and the bottom one shows it heavily swatched.

Here it is on the lips.

What do you think? Also, how are you liking my attempt at better swatches?

Jennifer xx

How To: Contour and Highlight

Everyone wants a thin face. Not necessarily a gaunt, anorexic looking one, but a thin, chiseled face with those supermodel cheekbones. Contouring, highlighting and blushing are your new best friends from now on. Here's how to use them:

Below is an image of the face, marked with where your highlights and contouring should be. Obviously, the white is a highlight, and the brown is contours. In the space on the cheeks between the contouring and the highlight, you should apply the blush. 

This image is very advanced. I don't have a lot of time in the mornings, and I only contour and highlight maybe 1/3 of what this picture is showing. I like to run a bronzer under my cheekbones and chin, and onto my temples. I use a contour brush for the application of the product, but then I use a fluffy brush to blend it out. I could blend with the contour brush, but it takes longer, and as I said, I don't have time.

In terms of highlight, I find that if i applied as much highlight as in the picture, then I would look like a disco-ball. I like to apply my highlight sparingly, and only onto the tops of my cheekbones and up to my temples(only a bit). I find that this gives my face a subtle glow without looking tacky or shiny.

I apply my blush onto the tops of my cheeks. I think that I may have mentioned this before, but you should never apply blush onto the apples of your cheeks when you are smiling. When you are not smiling(i.e the rest of the day with a normal face), your blush drags down your face. However, if you apply blush onto the tops of your cheeks and outwards, your makeup will look youthful.

while this routine does sound like a lot of effort, it is worth it, and I can tell a difference in my face when I don't bother with this routine.

 Bronzer(Countouring)

The only cheap high street contour powder that I have found is MUA's Bronzed Perfection bronzer. This is a matte bronzer, which is why it is goof for contouring, however I would like something a bit more grey toned(to create a more realistic shadow). I apply this product with a Real Techniques Contour brush,and blend it with a big fluffy brush(this one is from Primark).

Highlight

I use the Sleek Glo highlight powder (the whitest shade), and a small fluffy brush from Claire's(I know, weird).

Blush

This blush is a gorgeous bright coral shimmery blush from Me Me Me, and the small brush is from Forever  21, but is similar to the Claire's one.

Cream Blush

My favourite cream blush is my limited edition Louise Grey for Topshop one. It's called Up In The Air. I use a Real Techniques buffing brush to apply this, but only because I haven't had time to get the Real Techniques stippling brush(which is apparently a lifesaver when applying cream blush.)

I hope this has helped you to achieve total face perfection, I would love to know what product you have found for contouring, and blush; leave me a comment!

Jennifer xx

L'Occitane Mango Hand Cream

I got this hand cream from a magazine(I think it was Marie Claire) about a month ago, and I have been loving it. Believe it or not, this is only the second L'Occitane product that I own, the first being a lipbalm, and I can't fault the quality of their products. Both the hand cream and the lipbalm are very moisturising. The hand cream is made with 20% shea butter, which contributes to the moisturising effect. Also, the smell? It lasts for ages.

My one vice with this product is that I feel like I have to put a lot on, in order to make my hands feel truly moisturised. However, this hand cream has lasted for longer than I was expecting, especially since the tube is quite small.

Overall: this cream is the perfect handbag essential- it's small, smells ahmazing, and looks cute, too!

Have you been loving any new hand creams recently?
Jennifer xx

Cleaning Your Makeup Brushes

As I mentioned in my DIY Brush Holder post, I am going to show you how I clean my makeup brushes. I only clean them every two to three week, as I am not one to smother my face in makeup(as you can see from my relatively clean dirty brushes). However, I suggest cleaning your brushes, especially a foundation brush, once a week. Here is how I clean them;

I use the Johnson's Baby shampoo in Chamomile, as I like the smell and it leaves my brushes feeling very soft. However, if you feel like you need to really deep clean your brushes, Lisa Eldridge sugessts using the cheapest supermarket-own-branded clarifying shampoo, as it will really strip the brushes of any makeup.

Some people use a brush cleaner, but I really do not feel like spending my money on something when I can do it for next to nothing already. How do you clean your makeup brushes?

Jennifer xx

Weekend Manicure; Moody Mink Look & Review

So the other day I picked up a new nail varnish- kind of a spur of the moment thing, because I really don't need to be buying anymore nail varnish, but oh well. And to justify my unnecessary spending, I thought that I would write a post for you guys about it.

Please excuse the state of my nails in these photographs- they have recently started breaking really badly, and I just can't seem to leave them alone- any tips?

The nail varnish that I 'splurged' on was, in fact, carrying a mere £1 price tag. It is by MUA, a Superdrug own brand make up line that sells dirt cheap and remarkably good products. I bought the shade Moody Mink. It is a beautiful colour, but so hard to describe. I would say that it was a neutral taupe-y mauve, but that sounds disgusting! It looks really nice on the nails; it stands out, but at the same time, is neutral. I would class this as the perfect colour if you we're going to work or school, and bright colours are looked down upon. However, you could probably dress up this colour with a little glitter topcoat- I think a gold glitter would work really nicely.

For my manicure I simply painted two coats of Moody Mink, and had my ring finger as an accent nail. Having an accent nail is a really easy way to jazz up a plain manicure, and can look great with similar colours or contrasting ones! For the accent nail I used a Claire's Accessories nail polish.

This look is so budget, but still manages to look sophisticated and glamourous!

What do you think?

 MUA Moody Mink, Claire's Accessories Polish

Have a nice weekend!

Jenny xx

Rimmel Apocalips

Rimmel Apocalips, Top:Stellar, Bottom:Celestial

The plenty raved about Rimmel Apocalips landed in my Boots basket a few weeks ago(who put them there?) and I have been loving trying them out. The colours are very bright, but I think that's a good thing-so many high street beauty brands are crap at pigmenting their products. The range contains numerous colours for all skin tones and preferences, and the packaging is pretty cool. The lid looks a bit like a black ice-berg! although, they did steal Illamasqua's  Apocalips teal lipstick with the name, and I can't say I like that very much.

The shades I picked up were: 501 Stellar, and 101 Celestial. Stellar is a bright, brighter than a fire engine red, but oddly enough it looked quite pink in the tube. On the lips it is a true red, and really stands out on the face. Celestial is a dusky rose colour, perfect for many skin tones, and all seasons. This colour is my favourite of the collection(I also liked Nova, but I really didn't need another bright barbie pink).

The packaging includes a little suction near the top(where you pull the wand from). This means that there is barely any product on the wand, as it is all concentrated on the doe-foot. This is great as the top of the lip gloss doesn't get all gross and dirty.

The doe-foot applicator allows for full coverage on the lips with minimal effort. I have really been loving this applicator, and the actual plastic wand bit is quite bendy, so it is even easier to work the product into the lips.

 L-R: Stellar, Celestial

 Swatches in daylight/sunset.

 Swatches from after I removed the lip lacquer with a makeup remover that removes waterproof mascara.

Apocalips in Celestial

Overall, I really like these lipsticks. My only vice being that they transfer like crazy. I was expecting more of a glossy stain, but true to the branding, this product really is a lipgloss, and a tranfer-prone lipgloss in such bright colours will surely not end well. Apart from that, I would definitely like to purchase more from this collection, and I think that these products were of a great quality.

Have you tried the Rimmel Apocalips Lip Lacquers?

Jennifer xx

Also, what do think of my swatches, as promised in my Blog Resolution?

Real Techniques Kabuki Brush

This kabuki brush by Real Techniques is packed full of the softest bristles. The angle of the brush means that it is great for contouring as well as all-over-powder. I like to use this with my favourite face powder, Rimmel Stay Matte, down the centre of my face. 

 The clever thing about the brush is that it is split into two, connected by a middle hinge. The pars are held together by a magnetised centre, and when the brush opens you get an even bigger area to apply procut with. This is such an innovative idea , and definitely something that I could see being cool for powder o blush brushes in the future.

A real techniques brush for £2.75? I knew that they were cheap, but when I saw this unbelieveable deal in Superdrug(not online), and I simply couldn't pass it up. I am not sure if this deal is on at all Superdrugs(they have only recently started selling the Real Techniques brushes), but compared to the £11.99 that Boots are charging, I think that I may have to go back and stock up!

Do you think you'll be picking on up? 

Jennifer xx

Hair Routine; Styling Appliances

I rarely use anything other than my GHD's and my Andrew Barton hairdryer to style my hair(except products). I have had my GHD's for about 5-6 years now, and they are just as good as they were when new. They heat up in 10-15 seconds, and get truly hot(not medium hot like most straighteners). I own the original Gold IV Styler, and I find that it is the perfect size for straightening large amounts of hair, or small baby hairs. I also like to use the straighteners for curling my hair. Being the most expensive item in my 'beauty collection', I can see why this would be a no-go purchase for some people, but I literally could not see me styling my hair without them.

My hairdryer is essential to my styling routine, and even though I do not use it everyday, my Andrew Barton hairdryer is the best one that I have tried. This is actually my second hairdryer of this model as the first one broke(but after a year and a half), and it shows how much I love it as I purchased this exact one again . My mum even has the same one! I like that there are multiple setting on this hairdryer; heat settings, strength of blowing settings, and a cool setting. It also came with a diffuser and nozzle attachments  There are many options for this hairdryer, and it is easy to achieve the look that I want.

What electricals do your use to style your hair?

Jennifer xx

Girly Valentine's Makeup Look

Today, in honour of Valentines I am going to show you how to achieve a girly, pretty makeup look, perfect for a date.

The Products:

L-R: Sleek Lip Conditioner, MUA Pearl Shadow, MUA Matte Shadow, Maybelline Colour Tattoo, GOSH Effect Powder, Rimmel Matte Powder, Sleek Highlighter, Natural Collection Blush, Rimmel Mascara(not pictured).

I am going to write this in the order that I would put makeup on, eyes first, then face, and lastly, lips. This makeup look is made using entirely high street(or drugstore) products to make it as achievable as possible. However, you can switch the products for more expensive dupes, or your favourite products in similar shades.

Start by applying the matte pastel pink shade all over the eyelid, and then apply the colour tattoo directly on to the inner and middle lid. Buff the cranberry pearl shade into the crease- this create a softer crease look that a matte brown shade(the typical crease shade). Blend all of the shades where they meet, to make the eye look a bit softer and more romantic, and finish the look with a small dotting of the loose shadow powder in the tearduct area, and as a brow highlight.

Finish the eyes with one-two coats of mascara. I live the Scandaleyes mascara by Rimmel, as the wand it really thick and makes the eyelashes look really long. However, if you want a more natural look, try a brown mascara, or a purple one(this Benefit one is my all time fave!).

Keeping the face very simple and romantic, start with some pale Barbie pink blush on the cheeks, just above the apple; by applying blush just above the apple of the cheeks, you create a much more youthful look, as applying it on tha apple only looks natural when smiling- if you're not smiling, it pulls the face down. Dust a small amount of pearly highlighter(the top two shades) on the tips of your cheeks, to give more glow to your face. Finish with a dusting of pressed powder all over the face, paying close attention to the middle of the face, prone to oiliness. I have skipped foundation for this makeup look, as I wanted it to be as fresh-faced and natural as possible, but you can always add foundation if you want.

The idea of a bright lip transferring onto your dates lips after a sneaky end-of-date kiss is mortifying to me. Also, I'm pretty sure that all guys are terrified of gloss(it is very sticky). This Sleek tinted lip balm is the perfect alternative to lipgloss or lipstick. Simply pat it on the lips, and after a few seconds it will stain. It isn't sticky, and the colour lasts for hours- perfect. The Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain is a great alternative to this lipballm, if you don't have access to it, I think that the shades Honey or Cherish are really cute for a date.

I hope that you all have a great Valentines day, and that this makeup look scores you some points with your date! 

Jennifer xx

January Favourites

Hi everyone!

I've decided to jump onto the bandwagon of monthly favourites posts. I did a November Best and Worst, and a 2012 Favourites post, but this is a bit different. Beauty bloggers such as myself can talk all day about products that they like, or even love using, but when a product makes a 'monthly favourites' post, you know it's the best, especially if you've heard about it from a blogger whose opinion you trust. The monthly favourites will feature the 'Creme de la creme' of beauty items, and the items most used, and loved from that month. But as this is A Sprinkling Of Euphoria I will be including books, and other little 'favourites' of the month.  Since it is the beginning month of the new year, a new year of opportunities, I thought that I would try my hand at monthly favourites.

Rimmel 'Princess Pink' Polish: This has been my go-to polish for the month of January. I like the sheer tones for thhe beggining of a new year, especially since I am still having flashbacks of all of the berry nails from the back end of last year. This stuff lasts for ages too, so I can forget about my nails, but trust that they look good.

L'Occitane Mango Flower Hand Cream: This stuff has saved my hands from many hours of cold British weather. It smells AH-MAZING too. Unfortunately, mine has nearly run out; I will definitely repurchase.

Blistex Daily Lip Conditioner: I bought this after Estee from essiebutton.com reved on about it in the mad way that only she can! I am not a fan of other medicated lip products(uurgh-Carmex), but this Blistex is really moisturising, and it doesn't smell too bad!

MUA Undressed Palette: After buying this palette, I have worn nothing else on my eyes. I normally wear a very neutral eye, but jazz it up on the weekends. My absolute favourite colours to wear are shades 3, 9 and 10(shades Naked, Toasted, Hustle from the Naked Palette). This is definitely my favourite eye shadows of the month.

Clean and Clear Morning Burst Skin Energising Daily Facial Wash: I have really been enjoying skincare this month, and I have been loving this Clean and Clear face wash. The little beads in the wash burst on your face, giving you a radiant glow. I have actually been using this at night before bed, and it works a treat then, just as good as in the morning.

Lego Harry Potter Years 1-4 App: I have been obsessed with this app during January- it's such a good procrastination tool(oops). I literally completed Years 1-3 in the space of two days with a little help from my sister and Google! Definitely get this if you want an app that you can't stop playing.

Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins: I recieved this book for Christmas, and started reading it a few days afterwards- I had finished it by the end of the afternoon. This book is so sweet, and it really captures the romance of Paris, and it has given me a list as long as my arm of places to visit in Paris! I love this book, and I have already re-read it three times!

Do you have any January Favourites?
Jennifer xx