Tuesday 31 May 2011

Black, grey, silver gradient nails

I'm going to keep this quick as no doubt you've seen similar a million times before but this was my first go at it and I mightily impressed with just how easy it was so thought I'd share...

Photo above taken 3 days after initial application


Not sure why this photo won't stayed the right way around, hmmm


I think this is a simple way to create a fun nail effect with all sorts of possible combinations and had been meaning to give it a go for a while. So I did a base coat with the pale pink and allowed it to dry. Sponged the pale grey on to the top 3/4 or so of the nail and allowed to dry (very quick as it's such a light coat) and topped about half with the dark grey on the sponge. The sponge layers dried really quickly which I found really handy. I then added some glitter polish to the tips. Allowed to dry again (this Models Own one is a fairly quick drier in my experience for a glitter). Then applied another coat of glitter down to close to the base of my nails. I should have applied a clear topcoat but was in a hurry and it's held up pretty well I think!


All in all it sounds like a lot more hassle than it was but really it all dried very quickly and I was happy with how it turned out especially for the first go. The beauty of this is that I think it's a good way to use up nail polishes you maybe wouldn't otherwise. I would be tempted to stick with Models Own glitter polishes as I really like the quality of them but as for base coats and gradient colours I think the world is your lobster! The sponges can be bought very cheaply in the likes of Poundland too and the application is really simple once you get the knack for it.

I hope you enjoyed that and maybe it's inspired you to try something new...


LoubouLush x

Friday 27 May 2011

Don't Forget the Giveaway!

Just a quick reminder that the my first giveaway will be ending this Wednesday 1st June 2011 at 12 noon so you still have some time to get your entries in!



All the details are in the original post but the prize is a selection of Soap & glory goodies as seen above. I will be double checking everyone's number of entries before putting them all together but try to be as accurate as you can.

I think that's all for now other than good luck and have a gorgeous weekend!!

LoubouLush x

Tuesday 24 May 2011

Simple Kind to Skin Refreshing Facial Gel Wash

I was intending doing a post this morning about my new haircut but alas our electricity has been off at home since yesterday morning (thanks wind!) so I'm in no mood to take photos of my dishevelled self!

I'm STILL working through LOTS of random toiletries I've gathered at home so it was a bit random that I bought a face wash but the Mr wanted something, well, simple to try on his skin so I picked this up in Boots.

I've been an on-off user of Simple products over the years and although I'm a bit of a brand slut I've tended to go back to it in times of skin breakout.

The photos give you some more information on this particular product...




I've been fairly lucky over the years with my skin but have a regular hormonal breakout in the chin region each month which can be quite annoying. Since using this each morning on my face it seems (fingers crossed I'm not jinxing myself here) to have gone away. I've had no spots whatsoever in the 2 months or so I've been using this which is rather impressive.


It's currently priced at £3.05 in Boots on a 3 for 2 deal which I think is excellent value. It's lightly scented and I don't find the smell offensive. It lasts quite well as it doesn't seem to take much product for a quick wash. The only MINOR downside is it didn't seem to foam up for me which I quite like in a face wash but maybe that's where I've been going wrong previously?

All in all it's something I will definitely be buying again!

Have you tried any good face washes or other Simple products you'd recommend?

LoubouLush x

Wednesday 11 May 2011

Jessie J Inspired Make Up Nobody's Perfect

I thought I’d give another Jessie J inspired look ago. As I mentioned before I love her make up in the “Nobody’s Perfect” Video which is here. There are SO many looks to choose from but I fancied trying to recreate something more wearable. I have tried to adapt the nude kind of look from her video to a slightly more every day look though depending on what you do during your days - maybe it is subtle enough for you anyway!


I used:

Boots No. 7 Lift and Luminate Foundation in Alabaster
Sleek Palettes Storm and Bohemian (golds, nude and brown eyeshadows)
MAC Carbon Eyeshadow
Benefit Hoola for slight contouring
Avon Supershock Eyeliner and Mascara in Black
MAC Blot Powder in Medium to finish
MAC Crème d’Nude Lipstick

Overall I really like the look of this. I have tended to stay away from browns in the past in terms of eyeshadow as I felt I was better suited to greys and black but actually really like how this turned out (not sure if it’s because my hair has a more chocolaty tone now?). I stayed with cooler tones rather yellowy as they just look odd on me. My eyeshadow isn’t quite as strong as Jessie’s but in the flesh as it were, it looked strong enough for me especially for an everyday kind of look. I wasn’t brave enough to attempt a darker nude lip and to be honest I love MAC crème d’nude so much I went with it and think it looks good though obviously isn’t matte as in the video.

Sorry about the quality of some of the photos, the lighting is a bit all over the place but I hope the photos give you the general idea anyway!

Anyway there you go guys – my take on this look – hope you like?

LoubouLush x

100 Followers!

I've just noticed I have reached 100 followers! I wanted to say a HUGE thank you to each and everyone of you - from those who have been with me from the early days to the more recent ones. I love writing my blog and I hope you enjoy reading it too and always welcome suggestions from you as to what you'd like to see etc.


So THANK YOU *mwah*

LoubouLush x

Thursday 5 May 2011

Colour B4 Extra Strength by Scott Cornwall Review

Since I saw this stuff advertised I've been curious to try it. I've been dying my hair since I was about 13/14 (eeeep). As a hair dye novice I didn't know what I was doing in the early days so selected the colours as I liked them on the box - there were purples and reds and browns. Then I went onto a highlighted stage (thankfully done at the hairdressers!). There was also a "Sun In" stage (please tell me we've all been there?!). There have been wash in, wash outs, temporary dyes, permanent dyes, semi-permanent dyes... not to mentioned those bloody coloured hair mascaras of days gone by!

Over the last couple of years I've exclusively been a user of the semi permanent dye in the form of L'Oreal Casting and Casting Creme Gloss. Here we've had "dark chocolate", "medium brown" "chocolate", "iced chocolate", "black cherry" among others no doubt. I did think that "semi permanent" was a good option but found it NEVER actually washed out. It fades very slightly over time and perhaps this has to do with the amounts of peroxide allegedly in it making it more permanent that I'd initially expected. Anyway I redye every 6-8 weeks and so I have quite a bit of build up and my hair has become super dark.

What do they say?
Click here to find the product at Boots and see the official stuff.

What did I expect?
I decided to give Colour B4 ago with an open mind. Being honest I'm not entirely sure what my own hair colour is. It's a medium/dark brown if my roots are anything to go by. I just wanted it lightened as I know I'm not THIS dark so best possible outcome was always only going to be a slight colour change. I have not had bleach on my hair in years so was confident there would be browns underneath all be it with reddish tones due to the build up of dye below. I also used it on the understanding I would not be happy with the initial colour so may redye. Reading about the process and how the hair becomes more porous for a while afterwards I had hoped the colour I found wouldn't be too bad as I wanted to give my hair a rest in between the removal and the redye. I also expected my hair to be dried out at least a little as it would seem dye removal won't be great for hair strength in the first instance.

What did I get?
The fact the product goes on dry hair is a little annoying as I'm used to applying dye on damp hair a la semi perm dyes. The smell of the product is as vile as other people have reported. I can't even begin to describe it but well.... it lingers!! I decide to wait the full hour of having the product on my hair. I add a shower cap over the top to keep it warm (draughts and coldness slow the process down apparently). After this you need to rinse the hair for 5-10 minutes to remove the dye molecules. I had hoped for a victorious stream of browny black water in the shower but alas this never happened. Much rinsing later it's time to add the "buffer" which is to be lathered and left on for 1 minute followed by 5 minutes of rinsing. Then another lot of buffer is added and lathered, rinsed like regular shampoo. And voila the process is finally over. and the smell is still there. I could tell by a few stray wet hairs that the colour seemed a little lighter. On drying my hair thoroughly I could see a noticeable difference (more so than the photographs suggest).

I apologies for the quality of these photos. It was really hard to capture the colour difference and the photo of the "before" actually looks a little lighter than it usually does in photos (see other blog pics)


Before


After



Possibly the weirdest photo ever but I thought it showed a good comparison - right - old wet hair (yes I clean the shower pretty regularly) and left - new wet hair (lighter yes?)


Outcome


Hair is still quite dark at the ends


Hair is lighter brown with reddish tinge towards the roots


Hair is still dark brown but no longer looks so black


Hair is soft but feels a little fragile

The good?
My hair is definitely lighter, even at the ends. The condition isn't as bad as I'd expected. The colour is definitely wearable without me needing to dye (straight away anyway - I intend giving this a few weeks to settle). The price of £12.25 (which I paid in Boots) is reasonable considering how much hair stripping would cost in a hairdressers. The product could be used again on the ends (up to 3 times in total maximum as recommended) to try to remove the older build up. I've read anti dandruff shampoo can be used to tone down the reddish outcome so I can give that a go easily and cheaply. Scott Cornwall himself seems to have a strong online presence answering customers' questions and giving advice which is quite refreshing.

The bad?
The instructions could be a little easier to follow. The red tinge isn't ideal (my natural hair is definitely a more solid brown) but the colour difference between the roots and tips is undoubtedly due to the extra build up of dye on the older hair. The product is for removing darker hair colours and will lighten it to a previous colour so presumably if my hair had been bleached below I would need to use the product to go to bleached colour and redye to achieve a colour close to my natural brown - to be honest though this seems logical enough to me and I think as long as you understand what the product is supposed to do, you can't complain. the worst thing was/is the smell. It's still here though fading and it really is THAT BAD.


Overall
I'm impressed. The best bits have to be the overall effect and the price. The worst bits have to be the length of time it took and the smell. I would use it again at some stage in the future - either months down the line when I want to revert again or I might give my ends another go in a week or two...

I hope you enjoyed this review. I know I've waffled on a bit but wanted to get the information on my experience out there. Have you tried this or anything similar? Is this something you would try yourself or leave to the professionals?

LoubouLush x

Wednesday 4 May 2011

Soap and Glory GIVEAWAY!

I'm a little bit late to my own party but to celebrate the 1st Birthday of the blog, I'm holding a giveaway!

I thought I'd stick with a product range I use a lot and that should be pretty usable for most of you and have went for a Soap & Glory prize...
So what is up for grabs?

Soap & Glory


- Off Your Face Cleansing Cloths (25)


- Hand Food 125ml


- Girligo Body Moisturising Mist 100ml


- The Righteous Butter 300ml



I want to make sure everything is very clear here so please read carefully...

Entries
· be a follower of this blog using Google Friend Connect = 2 entries
· follow me on twitter = 2 entries
· tweet about this giveaway = 1 entry per tweet (to a maximum of 5 entries)
· blog about this giveaway and or add it to your sidebar = 3 entries

All you have to do to enter this giveaway is
· leave a comment below to say you want to be entered
· detail how many entries you feel you are entitled to and why
· provide your twitter name and blog address if you have tweeted or blogged about this
e.g. Please enter me in the giveaway – I follow you on Google Friend Connect, I follow you on Twitter (twittername), I’ve tweeted about this giveaway twice and have blogged about it (www.myblog.com) = 2+2+2+3 = total of 9 entries

This giveaway is open WORLDWIDE!

Winner will be contacted by email so please leave address below or email me at louboulush@googlemail.com if you would prefer to keep your address private.

This giveaway runs from today 4th May 2011 until Wednesday 1st June 2011 12 noon UK time. I will choose a winner randomly and contact the winner by email. If I receive no response from the winner within 48 hrs I will choose another winner randomly and so on.

I hope that is clear but if you have any questions, just let me know.

GOOD LUCK!!


LoubouLush x

Monday 2 May 2011

Afternoon Tea Party

Hi guys, sorry I've been a bit otherwise engaged this week. I'm off work and have been all over the place so normal blogging will resume later in the week including a BLOG GIVEAWAY to celebrate the blog's 1st Birthday which just passed a few days ago. In the meantime I thought I'd do a little post on something I'd been up to...

I love "afternoon tea" (but hate the tea part). Mr Louboulush isn't a fan of the whole "afternoon tea" thing so after years of wanting to host my own, I eventually roped some friends into coming to visit so I could do it! It also just happened to be on the day of the big Royal Wedding...








I must admit I'm very much a baker/maker of sweet things (I don't see to have the patience for more savoury things it seems) so the pavlovas, madeira cake, lemon posset, chocolate ganache, butter shortbread, chocolate chip shortbread, coffee cupcakes and strawberry cupcakes were all homemade. Everything else was bought in!


I hope you've all had a lovely break and celebrated in style :)


LoubouLush x