Saturday, 26 January 2013

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! 

Friday, 25 January 2013

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 




Thursday, 24 January 2013

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,

Friday, 18 January 2013

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