THE LACE PEPLUM

Last night consisted of a catch up with friends over good food (aka Nando's) and a glass of wine or two. Whilst mulling over what to wear I stumbled across this little peplum top tucked in a carrier bag at the back of my wardrobe and thought i'd snap a few pics for you all. One of the few sales purchases I made in the new year, this lacy number was a bargain from Oasis, reduced from £35 to £18. Being rather partial to the peplum I find them super flattering plus they cover a food baby rather well after a hefty dose of chicken!

Hope you are all having a good week!

SOME AMAZING BLOGS #3

Another month and another bunch of lovely blogs. Just click on the links below to take you to the blogs!

One Girls Obsession with Makeup

Sjmwell

Beauty Butterfly

Fashion Fairytale

agirl's fancies 

Nail The Look

The Imperfect Beauty

Wild Wolfy 

La Vida Fresa 

Pretty Squared

In case you were not aware my advertising has changed slightly and I am no longer offering ad-swaps. I did a whole post explaining this which I urge you to read. You can read the post here. If you are interested in advertising on my blog then please visit my updated advertising page here. Thank you once again to the lovely bloggers that have been part of the ad-swaps over the past few months!

GHD OVAL DRESSING BRUSH

ghd Oval dressing brush* £17

Ever since I can remember I have owned a pair of ghd hair straighteners. At one point I had a limited edition pink pair although these days I settle for the extra wide black ones to settle my unruly tresses.  Having already been a fan of ghd as a brand I was in full acceptance when ghd got in contact and gave me the chance to test their ghd Oval Dressing Brush*.

The brush is natural bristled and designed to finish the hair. Its a wooden finish which does mean you need to be extra careful when cleaning and has a chic ghd silver hardwear logo on the end. All in all its a really sturdy quality made brush. For everyday blowdrying and styling this doesn't really cut it in terms of getting through stubborn tangles yet this is perfect at smoothing your ponytail into place or brushing over loose hair to give it a smooth finish. It literally works on the surface of the hair, but with a little added pressure it does the business. I have been blow drying/straightening with my usual  paddle brush and then giving a quick brush through with the dressing brush to smooth my locks. If you are like me and your hair can get quite static, you know the drill, you run your hairbrush through only to be left with a mass of hair stuck on  your lipgloss then this could be your answer! 

SHOPPING MY SAMPLES #1

After making a promise to start using more samples (post here) I took the opportunity this week whilst the boyfriend was at work to indulge in a little pampering. So after a quick mooch in my samples stash I trotted off to the bathroom with these delights. I have tried to introduce the samples into everyday beauty shenanigans so first stop was the bubble bath! 

Anatomicals 'don't clean it woman, scrub it' is probably the longest name for a body scrub in the history of body scrubs but this gets a big thumbs up from me. A sweet smelling scrub, this is good enough to eat. The beads are fine and its packed full of them so you can really feel them doing the business plus this leaves your skin smelling rather yummy. Next up I reached for Alison Claire's Mango Body Butter. If you like smelling like a rather alcoholic Christmas pudding then this will be right up your street. Me and the boyf spent a long time  trying to come up with what this smelt like and this is the best I can come up with. Not my cup of tea, not very moisturising and after it had sunk in my skin didn't feel too different. Sorry Alison Claire but this just wasn't for me. I was rather relieved to find a small bottle of Monu micro Exfoliant in this months Glossy Box as my skin has been in dire need of a good exfoliation. This is not for the light hearted and I would only recommend using this once a week. It is very finely grained and if you don't mix with water can feel like rubbing sand over your face. I went hardcore and used on a dry face, adding water sporadically before rinsing with a steaming hot flannel and oh boy this did the biz! My skin felt smoother than it has ever and looked almost glowing! A winner all round! Finally I threw a wildcard into the bunch with Murad Hydro Dynamic Ultimate moisture for eyes. This wasn't too rich nor too light and after a quick pat under the eye and across the brow bone my skin literally drank it up and I was good to retire to my bed! 

2013 BEAUTY RELEASES

Every now and again I like to sit down with my laptop and have a browse to see whats new in the beauty world so I thought it was only fair to share my pick of the bunch. I don't think theres a beauty blogger around that has not heard or seen the much anticipated Rimmel Apocolips and theres nothing like an overly hyped anticipated Rimmel release to send the blogging world crazy. Will I be buying? Of course! The newest offering from Benefit Fine One One is a multi-tasking wash of colour for cheeks and lips and looks bloody gorgeous. Corals and pinks - yes please! Chanels spring/summer collection has definitely not been a let down in the palette stakes, Clarins watch your crown theres a new girl in town! This highlighter is definitely getting me a tad excited and being on the lookout for a powder highlighter this could be a contender! Since Clinique released those chubby sticks everyone and their mother knew it would not be long before they branched out and these chubby sticks for eyes definitely look interesting, I can see a multitude of 'cheaper' alternatives coming out though - yes I am talking to you Revlon! Finally, move over Glossy Box, hot from the UK Birchbox has arrived in the UK replacing Joliebox and yes I am contemplating signing up. Having first discovered Birchbox on the American YouTube scene a year ago you could say this was my first introduction to the world of beauty boxes. I look forward to seeing whether this lives up to the hype!

What products are you excited for this year?

UK Release dates

Rimmel Apocolips - released 23rd January 2013

Benefit Fine One One - Released 26th January 2013

Chanel Highlighter - 18th January 2013

Clinique Chubby Sticks for Eyes -  January/February TBC

Birchbox - January available now 

ADVERTISING

Image source - weheartit.com

Grab yourself a drink ladies and get settled. I would love to offer you one of the above but hey whats a blog post without a pretty picture right? I wanted to cover this topic in a blog post and let you guys know about the changes I am planning. As you will be aware for the past few months I have been offering free advertising spaces on my blog in the form of ad-swaps. In case you are not aware of what this is - basically I put another bloggers button in my sidebar in exchange for my button in theirs. Its a great way for promoting blogs and a great way for newer bloggers to get noticed. Not only did I put a button in my sidebar but I also wrote a blog post showcasing the months ‘sponsors’ directing people to their blog. This is something I enjoyed doing. 

Chargeable advertising, however has always been a little bit of a controversial subject throughout the blogging community and is something that I, myself have always been on the fence about. Because of this I have always steered clear of the topic. However with this in mind Beckys Makeup has grown over time and is something I am extremely proud of. Along with that I have gained some loyal and regular readers. After some very careful consideration and a lot of thinking. Please do not think that this was a quick decision, I have decided to charge for advertising. 

Of course I fully understand that this will not be for everyone and I hope that you as my readers will respect my decision. 

To those that have an ad running at the moment via my ad-swaps programme , all existing ad-swaps will remain to the end of the 30 days scheduled. Going forward though the cost of adverts on my blog will be £10 - this will include a button in my sidebar and a blog post introducing your blog/business. For full details see me updated advertising page here!

I just want to say thank you to you all and for your on going support and for reading my blog. It really does mean a lot. I hope whether you are a new reader or a regular reader you will support the change. Please also bear in mind that this is only a pilot and if this does not work out all is not lost!

Much Love,

THE PERSONALISED PHONE CASE

When I upgraded my phone a while ago to the iPhone 5 there was one thing missing - a decent case. I quickly snapped up a cheapy on Amazon for the time being, a plain rubberised purple one that completely lacked personality. Then I came across this little gem on Not on the High Street.com*. I love anything thats personalised so this was right up my street. Once I had picked the case I had to complete a form of up to 16 lines including all my likes and loves and then pick a colour scheme - I opted for bright colours. Not on The High Street then got to work and a few days later it had landed on my doorstep. Being the clutz that I am a solid plastic case suited me fine and I can report that this has been bashed and dropped numerous times and has resulted in zilch damage plus its easy enough to  give it a wipe clean at the end of the day when it has been bouncing around in my handbag amongst makeup and other grim finds that can be found at the bottom of my bag. My only gripe? This does not come cheap and will set you back £23.99 which is quite a lot for a phone case but if you are on the look out for a quirky phone case for your iPhone then definitely check out this site as they have a few gooden's on there. You can purchase this particular case here. Click here for more phone cases.

*PR Sample

THE SAMPLES CHALLENGE

When I signed up for Glossy Box over a year a go I envisaged a mountain of samples which I would use on a monthly basis. But more often than not Glossy Box comes and goes and after a quick mooch over its contents, gets pushed to one side to add to my ever growing mountain of samples. Cue product overflow. This year though I have decided to do some 'housekeeping' so to speak. So this week on my days off I pulled out every box of samples I owned and proceeded in a mammoth task of categorising all the products! Hair, makeup, body etc and I have made it my mission to start using 3-5 of these products weekly which I will then report back to you guys via 'mini-reviews' either on a weekly basis or when the products are empty.

THE PERFECT BUBBLE BATH

Since I was bought an abundance of bath goodies for Christmas I seem to have re-discovered my love of baths and this latest offering from Bliss has definitely added that little something to bath times aside from a ton of glittery bath balls ala Lush! So - Picture the scene - a bath full of bubbles and an array of YouTube videos on catch up. This is definitely my time to rewind after a long day in the office. 

 This is a  dual product of a body wash and a bubble bath. I like to add lashings to a hot bath and then lather a handful up in my exfoliating mitts to give my body a good clean before shaving and what not else. Bliss is certainly a brand I had not tried before but is definitely something I will buy again. Plus the bottle is haa-uge so providing Mr Beckys Makeup doesn't get his paws on it, should last a while! But given my new found love for laying in the bath for hours at a time thats no promise! 

Providing just the right amount of bubbles to sink into this expels sweet vanilla aromas but not in a sickening sweet way, almost that holiday scent - if you have ever used the Hawaiian Tropic or Banana Boat oils on holiday then you will understand what I mean. On a plus side the smell actually lingers well after you have got out of the bath although the only downside is that its not too moisturising and can leave the skin feeling a tad on the dry side, but this is nothing that a good slap of moisturiser can't fix. If you are prone to dry skin though then you might want to reserve this for the bubble bath only and use an alternative moisturising body wash. 

Now please excuse me, I have a bath to attend to! :-) Actually I jest as I am currently at work, in a busy office completing technical tasks, or I am trying my best to look like I know what I am doing to...

DIY - LIP SCRUB

If there is one thing that I hate and that is dry lips which seems to be inevitable come the winter months which is why once in a while I like to look after my lips by doing an intensive scrub once in a while. Trust me this is a godsend for when you want to wear darker shades of lipsticks which can cling to all the dryer patches and ruin the look. A quick raid of my kitchen produced these items and make a good contender to the more ip scrubs you can buy on the market. Not that there is anything wrong with those, I have been quite partial to the Lush one before...

What you will need:

Olive Oil

Sugar

A plate and spoon 

Cotton buds

If I am doing this as a one off I will use a tea spoon of sugar and then a few drops of olive oil until the sugar sticks. You can make a batch and put it in a pot but I find that it does not last too long and goess hard after a while. If you choose to do this then just use more etc. I then like to apply with a cotton bud, rub in with my fingers for a few minutes and then rinse with cold water. Afterwards I slap on a generous amount of a moisturising lip balm, my current favourite being Nuxe Rêve de Miel which although is slightly too greasy for my liking during the day, makes for the perfect bedtime balm for soft lips in the morning. 

THE PERFECT RED? DIORIFIC 014 GRAND BAL 2012

Last Saturday I had no plans for NYE but I did know that whatever we were doing I wanted the perfect red lippie. I put the question out on Twitter and amongst the rec's Dior seemed to be a contender. So whilst mooching around Lakeside I took a detour into Boots and found myself hovering over the Dior counter. I told the assistant I was looking for a red lippy, no pink undertones, it had to last and had to be matte. Based on this info she sent me to the mirror with lip brush in hand with shade 014 - one application and it was a done deal. A seal of approval from the bf and I was good to go, new lippy in hand and £25 lighter (oops). The ultimate post box red, this will see you through the night with minimum need for re-application. After several drinks last night plus a cheeky kiss at midnight and this was still going strong and I am pleased to report back that this literally did not transfer at all - no red lips for the other half, much to his relief! I hope you all had fun last night whatever you were doing. Now I must go and catch up on some sleep zzzZZZ