Make Up Storage Bargain.....

Hello Lovelies!

Now that I am back from sunning myself in Florida, I thought i'd update you! If you follow us on Twitter, you will probably be aware that I was popping over to the sunshine state for a holiday with my boyfriend. Unfortunately, Orla couldn't come along (although she gets major points for effort for trying to fit in to my suitcase)!

We have recorded a video of my USA Haul which will be going live very soon, and I will update you with a more detailed blog post with pictures and reviews, so keep your eyes peeled! As i'm sure you can imagine, I did go out to the US armed with a list as long as me of beauty things I wanted to pick up! This included the last few Real Techniques brushes that I was missing from my collection. With all of these new things, I realised that I am fast running out of space in my current make up case and that it's time for a make up storage overhaul!

As you probably know, I adore Shabby Chic styles and anything with a Parisian/Romantic theme. I'd been looking for some pots to keep my brushes in but didn't want to break the bank on them. I also think the clear tubs that a lot of beauty bloggers use are really cute but I want something with a little more detail.

Yesterday during my lunch break, I popped over to TK Maxx to see if they had anything exciting in their home section and lo and behold.......these beauties were on the shelf! Not only were they exactly what i'd been looking for, the whole set including three pots and the tray cost me £2.99! My brushes look quite at home too! 

I'm really excited to get my dressing table completely organised and looking pretty, but i'm not in any rush to finish it just now. I'm definitely looking for inspiration! So post your links below if you have any fabulous storage ideas or dressers that you're proud of! We'd love to have a nosy!

Thanks for checking this out, we'd love to hear from you in the comments or via one of the below options! 

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A Little Late......Christmas Gifts!

Happy Wednesday!

I have wanted to do this post since Christmas Day but time has absolutely flown by since then! I can't believe it's the 8th of January already! 2014 feels like it's taken off and isn't set to slow down. One major thing i'm looking forward to is getting the lovely other half of Twice Upon a Blonde back. She's still working her little socks off in Guildford on the costumes in Cinderella! So we've been separated for most of the festive season! Orla will be heading home a few days before I jet off to (hopefully) sunny skies! So our next encounter is set to be brief, but SO overdue! Cannot wait!

Anyway, enough of the life story and more about CHRISTMAS PRESENTS! This year I was well and truly spoilt by everyone, and these are just a selection of my presents. I chose the most relevant to our beauty blog, meaning i'm leaving out anything non beauty related that I was lucky enough to receive!

Finding Mr Bright - Benefit 

This is a gorgeous gift set of miniature sized items I actually already use. The minis are perfect to pop in your handbag if you're like me and cherish those extra 10 minutes in bed in the morning and tend to do your make up on the go! This set includes an erase paste under eye concealer, Girl Meets Pearl night time primer, High Beam highlighter and Posie Tint lip and cheek stain. This includes some of my favourite products, so definitely a huge Christmas present win!

I also had these two Benefit lip glosses as a stocking filler. These are two really pretty colours that are really easy to wear! They last for a good amount of time before needing to reapply and are a really nice consistency. They are not at all sticky and I'll definitely be checking out the other colours in the range! 

 Owl Design Sleep Mask

 Another stocking filler was this super cute eye mask with lavender seeds inside. It's a really relaxing and soothing scent and I can't wait to take this on the plane with me to Florida so that I can try and get 40 winks on the way home! The design is very sweet and the underside has a fleece feel that rests against the eyelids, which feel really comfy when this is on. 

Real Techniques - Travel Brush Set

I have been SO excited to try these and can confirm that I've not been disappointed! This set includes a domed foundation brush, multi task brush and the domed eye shadow brush. I am so excited to have these in my collection, especially now right before my holiday! Trying to put together a condensed make up kit is not the easiest thing to do! This has sorted out my brush choices! 

Body Shop Lip and Concealer Brush (not pictured)

This was one of my gifts from Orla......now I can stop borrowing hers! I love this brush! It makes lipstick application so much easier and makes the lines much cleaner. I have quite full lips but sometimes find it difficult to apply make up without it looking like a toddler has gone at me with my lip stick! This brush allows me to create a really defined cupid bow and generally finish off my lips perfectly!

Lovely Vintage Gift Set

This is a stunning gift set consisting of body lotion, body wash and bath salts. I adore the packaging, it looks like it's taken inspiration from Soap and Glory but with a little more attention to detail. These products smell great and you get a really good amount of product in each, especially considering it's part of a gift set.  

Aussie Hair Care Gift Set

Another stocking filler that couldn't have come at a better time! I totally ran out of my Aussie shampoo and conditioner before Christmas, so was over the moon to open this! I love this brand, it the three minute miracle conditioner does wonders for my split ends and I really do notice a huge difference when I use these. They also came in the cute bag you can see in the background!

Body Shop White Musk body lotion and wash 

This little set was another stocking filler with one of Body Shops signature scents. This set comes with a body sponge and a good sized bottle of each of these products. I was also given a travel nail kit. This is something that I have wanted for a really long time! It comes in this perfect little carry case and has already had lots of use!  

So that's everything beauty related that I was given this year! I hope you enjoyed this post, let me know if you want to see reviews of anything! 

Thanks for checking this out! 

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Beau XOXO Giveaway Video! *LAST FEW DAYS!*

We are now in the final few days of our fabulous GIVEAWAY! We have created this little video to give you some more information on Beau XOXO and show you what we couldn't resist buying from this stunning online boutique!

This giveaway will run through to 29^th November 2013! Anyone can enter and the winner will get a gift card to spend in the Beau XOXO online store! Here's a little link to the website for you so that you can pop over and see all of the beautiful items on offer!

http://www.beauxoxo.com/

‘Beauxoxo is an online boutique that boasts an array of lovingly handmade pieces, for wonderfully affordable prices. What started back in 2010, as a girl's dream for chic yet inexpensive hair accessories, has now blossomed into a worldwide success, and now everyone is able to adorn pieces that are complimented by a unique blend of both whimsical and playful charm.' 

We’re so excited for you to get involved, so please feel free to share this on twitter and social media! Obviously don’t forget to enter the competition to your hearts content! 

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to get in touch. 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

imPRESS Nail Review.....

If you're anything like us, then you will dream of beautiful nails with minimal work! We have tried every nail strengthening product on the market just to achieve the desired look but still haven't found anything we are in love with....yet. 

There has been quite some hype around imPRESS nails, so we have have been desperate to try these out. There was quite a large range of designs available from completely clear, ready to paint any colour to lace patterns and coloured tips. We opted for the classic french manicure design (£8.99) for our trial. 

The packaging claims that these may last up to one week and are extremely easy to apply! Application does stay true to it's word as all you need to do is peel off the adhesive strips, press them into place and go! We really loved the look of them once they were in place and followed the instructions to the letter. The instructions recommend not getting your hands or nails wet for up to 30 minutes after application. We played it safe and kept our hands out of water for well over an hour to try and ensure that the nails had the best chance of survival!

The nails did feel really quite secure once they were on which was great. Although, as the adhesive is not applied all the way up the length of the nail, so they can start to feel quite loose if caught on something. 

In order to give the nails half a chance at surviving, I put them on on Saturday before going out for dinner. They lasted the night very well and all of the following day. With a dance class, audition workshop and singing class. Unfortunately on the Monday the index finger nail came off. I tried to see if one of the spares would fit but none of them were really the right size. I opted to leave them as they were to see how long the rest of them lasted. I managed to keep the remaining 9 nails in place until the Thursday - so 5 days in total.

Although they didn't quite last the full week that they claim to, I thought that the look of these were great and I would absolutely purchase them again for  a one day event. A wedding or night out would be perfect for imPRESS nails!

Overall I feel that these were £8.99 well spent. I think I would keep some nail glue in my purse at all times just in case I was to lose one during the day as one nail falling off was not quite the look we were going for! 

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Poor Unfortunate Souls - Ursula Halloween Looks!

Hi Lovelies,

So, this is a little bit later than we expected BUT thank you so so much for checking out our Ursula from The Little Mermaid Halloween looks!

We have had some computer trouble over the last week and we were very concerned that our videos would be lost forever! Thank fully it all came good in the end! We were most concerned that we would have to re shoot this video, which would not have been ideal! It took 15 takes just to get the introduction and end bit because we were so tired and had a serious case of the giggles! Thankfully, we got there in the end!

This is Orla's full on make up look for Ursula - This would be perfect for any belated Halloween parties or general cosplay!

Christine designed this more every day/glam look for Ursula - Inspired by the colours her character uses in the film!

Please like, comment and subscribe to our channel if you enjoyed this! Don't forget to also follow our blog using the Bloglovin link below! Comment below if you want to share your looks - we love being nosy and seeing what you're up to too!

Thanks for checking this out! 

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What's This? A Nightmare Before Christmas Tutorial...

Welcome to the first of our Halloween make up tutorials! 

If you've read our previous blog posts, you may have seen that we spent three days in Disneyland Paris last week. it was all decked out with pumpkins, ghosts and ghouls at every corner. While we were there were inspired by some of their spooky characters and villains. When you really look at Disney Villains, you begin to see that they are usually quite fabulous! Think of Mother Gothel from Tangled or even fashion obsessed Cruella De Vil. Everything is about looks, appearances and being delightfully villainous. With this in mind, we wanted to try and recreate the signature looks from some of these famous villains for you to try yourselves. 

We toyed with ideas about how to do this, as normally a tutorial only requires one person. We were both completely inspired and had ideas flowing for this venture so decided instead of choosing one character each, we would do two tutorials for each character!

-          One with a full make up look to transform you into the character – perfect of a Halloween party!

-    The other, an inspired look design that is more subtle but could be worn if you don’t have a party to attend or want something a little more every day.

We are really happy with both of these looks and hope you have just as much fun watching and recreating them as we did designing them!

Keep your eyes peeled for the next Villain in our Halloween series…..only ‘Poor Unfortunate Souls’ would miss it!  

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Mini Make Up Haul.....

Monday was pay day, and what better way to celebrate than by popping in to Boots and buying a few essential Autumn make up bits! Since they had a 3 for 2 offer on, it would definitely have been rude not to!  

We only picked up three pieces, but they have been on our wish lists for some time and we decided that October was the month to splash out and treat ourselves! Expect to see these in a YouTube video soon!

So! What’s in the mini haul we hear you ask? Well , let us tell you!

Mini Haul (Hooray)!

Bourjois Paris Bronzing Powder

This is a product that we’ve been seeing EVERYWHERE lately and have been desperate to try out for some time (not just because it looks and smells like chocolate pieces)! This is a really pretty product, it is very soft and goes on really well. The colour looks very natural on and blends beautifully for a flawless sun kissed look. We're currently using this to contour on our cheeks which is a favourite use for this product. It’s also the perfect colour for this season.

Barry M Ultra Moisturising Lip Paint in Black Cherry

This one is definitely a more classic Orla shade, but I picked this up to see how it would work with the autumn colour palette that I’m trying out. It was a concern that this colour might be too dark but once it’s on it actually works really well with fair skin tones. The product itself goes on well and stays put. There haven’t been any issues with it smudging or stains being left on a glass after a few sips of a drink! For just over £4, you really can’t go wrong with this. Definitely recommended if you are trying out a new shade and don’t want to pay MAC prices for something you’re not sure you’ll be comfortable pulling off.

Rimmel London Colour Rush Lip Balm in On Fire

This is such a pretty colour once it’s on. I wasn’t 100% sold on it when I bought it but the more I’ve played around, the more and more I’ve loved it. It is a great subtle lip colour to go with a more natural look. It’s also a fab moisturiser which is a real bonus as we come in to the season of chapped lips! This is definitely a product that I’ll be looking to buy again in all shades!

Thanks for reading, we hope you found this interesting and helpful! Let us know if you have tried these or if you give them a go after reading this post! Comment, like, subscribe and don’t be strangers!

<3  The Twice Upon A Blonde Girlies! xx

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