The 2013 Mother's Day Giveaway sponsored by ASK Cosmetics is now on!

In connection with the launch of the new business blog entitled TIPS by ASK Cosmetics Blog and the Youtube channel TIPS TV the company has decided to stage a huge giveaway with 2 prize packages valued at $250 each.  One winner will be chosen and asked to provide us with a name and postal address of a loved one they would like to spoil with the second gift basket. 

 

We hope these prizes will arrive in time for Mother's Day on April 12, 2013.  So, if you are up for a giveaway, get your multiple entries in before April 26th, 13.  This giveaway is open internationally, as always.  Participants must be 18 + and there is no purchase necessary to enter.

 

Best of luck to all!  Happy Weekend, Lisa M.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Fairy Drops Vanilla Puff Mineral Powder Review

Hi there!

Today I want to share with you this product that I absolutely love~

Fairydrops Vanilla Puff Mineral Powder

They are amazing!

I had done a review for the Fairy Drops BB Cream almost exactly a year ago and had loved those too.

Fairy Drops is a brand developed by a Japanese newscaster that wanted to look flawless all the time~

It is probably one of my favorite brand because it works wonders~ in person and photos

Claims:

Micro-gold Pearl hides scars and freckles without a shiny-effect

99% natural mineral powder

Lasts all-day long leaving you with a flawless-looking face

Squalane oil moisturizes the skin.

Deliciously Vanilla-scented.

The mineral powders comes in 4 shades 

but I have 3 that I'll review for you~

The packaging is so adorable!

It's convenient to take on the go for touch ups, the lid even has a mirror~

It comes in a Puff container; however I don't like using it since I think it can absorb the sweat, oil and dirt that way. However, it can be taken out and washed, but that's a little bit time consuming.

 I just unscrew the top part and use a brush to apply the powder.

The powder has a strong Vanilla scent (like the liquid vanilla that you use in baking)

I have used mineral or face powder that had a weird smell but this smells great! 

It might bother some people but after a while it goes away.

I seriously can't find how much product it has inside -.- sorry.

Once blended the powder gives off a bright semi-matte finish.

It feels absolutely silky and smooth to the touch and doesn't accentuate the dry patches on my face.

Soooo silky smooth~

I'm still trying to find a powder that feels as good as this(without hurting my wallet).

Pros:

Does everything it claims

blends well to match skin tone

works well with bb cream and foundation

Healthy Looking skin without looking caked on!

Cons:

PRICE!! goes up to $30 (ouch)

Availability (hard to find/not many sellers)~

not advisable to wear alone, but with BB cream, foundation, etc.

In conclusion:

I really wouldn't buy a product that is this expensive if I don't really like it, BUT

I love this so much that I would repurchase it again once I run out.

I love the texture and the feel and how flawless it looks.

Honestly, the times I get complimented the most is when I use this LOL

Do you know any powders that feel so silky smooth, looks great and don't cost that much~

Please do share!

thanks for reading!

~Jill

Sinful Colors - Rain Storm 1053

Upon adding this somewhat dreary shade to my collection I was very spectical about my feelings toward it.  I definitely love the "blues", but this one kept staring at me on my shelf of polishes saying "Try me, you'll like me!"

 

Finally the day came when I decided to give it a whirl, and boy, was I amazed at how much I loved this lacquer on my nails.

 

2 coats of Sinful Colours "Rain Storm 1053"

 

 

It's hard for me to describe this gorgeous shade.   When I was applying it thoughts of my favourite blue jeans came to mind.  It's not a blue that screams at you, but rather subtle, subdued yet very functional and versatile for anyone's wardrobe.

 

As you can see here against my outdoor bricks, it would pair famously with any shades of grey.

 

When doing a manicure, I always make sure I stay clear of my cuticles since nail polish is extremely drying for your cuticles.  Following each mani I do a quick application of TIPS Nail Conditioner in order to treat the cuticles and skin around my nails.

 

Lisa's Tip of the Day: 

If you are using TIPS Nail Conditioner (or TIPS for Toes for your finger nails),  there is no need to apply a hardener/strengthener-type nail care product to your nails.  TIPS will do that and much more for your nails:  it fortifies, nourishes, hydrates, strengthens, protects them against the damage of water, and replenishes the lost lipids giving them strength yet keeping them flexible.

 

Stay in touch with me

 

on Pinterest

 

on Facebook

 

on YouTube

 

What's your experience with Sinful Colors?  Do you have a fave shade?

 

Til next time,  Lisa M.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

QVC Beauty Event on March 24th

I've got great news for all the QVC US shoppers out there.  On Sunday March 24th  QVC US is offering free shipping & handling on the following items/kits by ASK Cosmetics:

A-62260 - 1 bottle of TIPS for Toes

A-62259 - 2 bottles of Revival Nail Polish Remover

A-69605 - 2 x Contour Nail Files in a set

 

A-00563 TIPS 5 Piece Ultimate Manicure Kit

 

A-1859    2 bottles of the Revival Skin Conditioning Milk

 

For more information on these products, check out this page for brief product descriptions and to find out more about the brand, ASK Cosmetics Inc. of Canada.

All these kits are available on QVC's Beauty - TIPS Nail Care website.  These products and all the details about ordering can be found right here.

 

 

Take advantage and save some money on QVC this Sunday, March 24th. 

 

See you soon,  Lisa M.

 

 

The Week of Hauls... #3 MAC Cosmetics

Its the last one, i promise!
(for a little while at least...)

I've had my heart set on some new MAC goodies for a while now, but common sense has always told me i didn't "need" them. Well i ran out of common sense and splurged a little bit! I got the majority from Debenhams with 10% off (which is still on right now) so i won't include prices.

Fix +
This is a back up as I'm quite a way through my current one. I included this in my Winter Favourites post, so check that out for more info on it.

Studio Fix Fluid NW13
Another one included in my Winter Favourites (I'm on a bit of a MAC kick lately). They have recently extended their Studio Fix shade range (hurruh!!) to include a few deeper or in my case lighter shades. I adore my NW15, but have to mix it with my Illamsqua Skin Base unless i have tan on. I had a sample of NW10 which was surprisingly too light for me so i picked up this little beauty.

Strobe Cream (travel size)
I've wanted to try this for a little while so finally took the plunge. My plan is to mix it with my studio fix fluid when i want a more radiant look. I plan to do a full review on it soon!

Plumful Lipstick

Nobody ever has enough MAC lipsticks, right? Plumful is a shade I'd had my eye on for a while. You'll probably see this in a FOTD sooner or later as its a right gem.

168 Brush
Its significantly smaller than i had expected as i am used to my slightly battered Sigma version of this brush. But the size makes it perfect for contouring and it is SO soft! Can't wait to give these a try.

217 Brush

I don't think i really need to say much about this, do i? I had to finally own one.

239 Brush

Another cult favourite brush. I suppose it was time to upgrade from my Elf shader brushes...

208 Brush

I love me a good brow brush. First impression though, I'm a little underwhelmed as it doesn't seem to be as good a quality of the others. Time and testing will tell i guess!


Phew, so thats it for my hauls. *fingers crossed*

 

What have you been hauling lately?

 

xox

The Week of Hauls... #1 Boots.com

Hey lovelies!

Me and my credit card are no longer friends... I may have broken my no buy this week.... epicly. But on the plus side to this it means i have three(ish) hauls to share with you guys. The first that arrived was my Boots.com goodies! I had taken advantage of their 3 for 2 offers and currently if you spend £70 you can use the code MUM2013 to get a further £10 off.... i just couldn’t resist. So i stocked up on some essentials and got a few naughty bits.

    

Dr Jart + - Water Fuse BB - £16
I'd been eyeing this for a while but trying to use up some foundations (i have far, far too many) before i took the plunge. Couldn't refuse with the 3 for 2. Full review coming soon.

Soap and Glory - Sugar Crush Body Buttercream - £10.50
've fallen in love with the scent of the Sugar Crush range, after getting the scrub in the Boots Star Gift at Christmas i new i had to have the entire range. To me, it smells a bit like lime, cola cubes and brown sugar. Not the most refined scent, but i absolutely adore it.

Soap and Glory - Sugar Crush Body Wash - £6.50
Clean On Me is my holy grail shower gel, i won't use anything else... Until i discovered they do it in the Sugar Crush scent. So *fingers crossed* it'll work just the same but just smell more delicious.

Soap and Glory - Make Yourself Youthful Serum - £16
You might be seeing a trend here... I quite like Soap and Glory. This is repurchase, at first i wasn't sure i was going to pick up another one but after not using it for a month or so i really missed it. So i picked up another two to stock up, i haven't done a full review on this so if you'd like to see one, let me know in the comments below.

Collection - Lasting Colour Lipsticks - Vintage Rose & Sweet Tart - £2.99 Each
Honestly, i only picked them up to get my order above the mark to get the £10 discount and as i plus you got a free Extreme Felt Eyeliner. From the swatches, the shades aren't like anything i own (and definitely not like the swatches on the Boots website). But first impressions are good!

Oilatum - Natural Repair Face Cream - £7.65
Holy grail moisturiser. My local Boots has stopped stocking it in store... WHY? OH WHY? So i took the opportunity to grab a few tubes. This moisturiser is hands down better than anything I've tried for dry skin, both "drugstore" and high end. I'd even see it out hydrates Embryolisse by a mile.. If you're skins on the drier side, pick this up, NOW, you won't regret it.
 

So thats it for part 1 of my naughty week of hauls...

What have you been buying lately? Let me know in the comments!

xox

Week 4 of ASK Cosmetics Skincare Challenge

Upon reading Leslie's initial email (sent in Jan 15th, 2013) I just knew she would be a great candidate for the ASK Cosmetics skincare products.  This is what she wrote, you can see from the before pictures that her hands look terribly rough, dry, chapped and painful.

For the past couple of years my hands have became extremely rough. I believe it started after I had my first son. I started washing my hands more frequently and I guess using off brand/cheap hand wash my hands started cracking and become rough. I have since tried using different brands of hand wash and nothing seems to help. I even have tried different hand lotions to try and get them back smooth. At first the lotion seems to make them smooth but after it dries my hands are back to the way they were.

My hands are so bad they even crack and bleed around my knuckles which are not as bad as the palm of my hand and around my fingers. My two boys and my husband tell me when I touch them that my hands are so rough that it scratches them. Which is a horrible feeling for a mom to not try and touch her children. I still do I just put lotion on my hands real quick and then touch there face or arms.

The biggest challenge is when we go to a store and I have to hold my sons hand to cross the road he refuses because first he thinks he is a big boy and second he always tells me that he doesn't like the way my hands feel. My husband well that is a different story about my hands being rough.

My hands are getting cracks so much they get a little sore at times, if that makes sense, especially when my knuckles start to bleed. When I bend my fingers it gets little sore because as you can see in the pictures that is where the cracks are the worse on my hands. Also, I have a Himalayan cat which I pet all the time. I think I could be her brush because every time I pet her I get a lot of her hair all over my hands. Her hair just sticks to my hands.

I would like to take this challenge because I would love to have my soft hands back. Not only for myself but also for my family to tell me I have soft hands and they would love for me to touch them. Most importantly for myself and not to suffer anymore from crack hands that are so rough and bleed. But also to feel good again about myself. A woman loves to be pamper and this would be my way of pampering myself!

Thank you,  Leslie

 

 

A great update (sent in Feb. 24th, 2013) and fantastic results after 4 weeks of applying ASK Cosmetics skincare products.....

 

Photo taken after 4 weeks for using the products

Hi Lisa,

I have uploaded week fours hand pictures for you to look through. I am just amazed that in four weeks my hands are looking great! I am truly loving these products and I can't wait to share the news to my family and friends about them. I have just had rough hands the past couple of years and now in a few weeks my hands are finally getting back to the way they should be. A big thanks to your company. I will update you in another week.

Thank you,  Leslie

 Week 4's Progress Photos taken and sent in by Leslie

 

 

 

For the "Healthy & Enhancing Skin Care Challenge 2013" sponsored by ASK Cosmetics, all participants were provided with the following products including detailed instructions on how and when to apply them for maximum results:

 

Revival Hand & Nail Cleanser for gentle cleansing,

Revival Skin Conditioning Milk for moisturization without waxes and silicones,

TIPS for Toes - our secret weapon against cracked, bleeding, painful areas!!  It works like magic.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Winter Favourites

Hey lovelies!

I don't do favourite posts too often, I'm a creature of habit and stick to a lot of the same stuff most of the time. But I've been loving a lot of newer products i either haven't reviewed, or spoken about too much, so i thought I'd share these little gems with you!

Macadamia - Healing Oil Treatment

Okay, well i may have spoken about this one before... quite a lot. But thats only because it deserves all my raving about it. I ran out of this over Christmas and i could REALLY notice a difference in my hair... and not the good kind. So thankfully, i have a new one! I picked this up for around £6 online, its not full size but as its an oil i only need to use the tiniest amount. If you have dry or damaged hair, give this little beaut a try!

MAC - Studio Fix Fluid NW10/15

This sat unloved in my collection for quite some time, until i came back off holiday and had a bit more colour in me at the beginning of October (NW15 is too dark for me without any sort of tan). I have been using it non-stop since and I'm happy to have discovered MAC have released NW10 (which is strangely too light for me) and 13, yay for us pale ladies! Its a full coverage foundation with a demi matte finish in my opinion and i just love it! It doesn't emphasise my dry areas and stays put ALL DAY. I've been mixing it with lighter foundations to finish this bottle up, then NW13 will be mine!

MAC - Fix +

Another rediscovery of the last few months. I wasn't overly impressed to start with as i picked this up as a setting spray and i love my UD All Nighter a little too much. But as I'm running low and on a no-buy i started using this up and i was pleasantly suprised! I use it after I've set my foundation with powder, it just helps to make the skin look more natural and less powdery, and its a hell of a lot cheaper than the UD alternative.

Origins - Drink Up Overnight Mask

This has been a saviour in the winter months on my dry skin, i use it most nights as a night cream and will be replacing this tube. For a full review, click here.  

Maybelline - Dream Matte Powder

As you can see, its well loved. Its cheap, its cheerful and it sets my foundation without looking over powdery or heavy. This works so well, i probably wouldn't even bother looking for a new  setting powder any time soon, and thats saying something for a spending addict like me!

YSL - Rouge Pur Couture The Mats 
Probably my favourite matte lipsticks available in the UK. I absolutely adore my Wet 'n' Wild Mega Last lippies, but being from America they are a pain in the bum to buy. YSL released this as part of their winter collection i believe and there are only six shades in the range. I own two and absolutely love them, check out my FOTDs to see them in action. The only downside is the price, at a whopping £23 these YSL bad boys don't come cheap.

MAC - Soft and Gentle

I'm a highlighter whore, and this is my fancy of the moment. I've done a full review on it here.

Laura Mercier - Secret Brightening Powder

Ever look in the mirror hours after doing your makeup and notice you have concealer creased under your eyes? Yes? Then you need this... I'm not too sure what ingredients are in it that make it insanely better than normal loose translucent powders for setting concealer, but its wonderful. It is expensive at around £18 in the UK, but i've been using this EVERY time i apply makeup since October and I'm probably only a third of the way through it, if that. I actually wish i could set my entire face with it.... I'll be reviewing this in full soon as its been requested a few times!

So thats it!

Do you have any Winter favourites?

Leave a comment or link me your post!

xox