Welcome back La Senza

Golly gosh, I've missed you. 

Whilst walking through my town's shopping centre yesterday afternoon, I realised that my local La Senza has reopened. A few months ago, La Senza was one of the latest stores to be hit by the recession, but after being sold to Victoria Secrets, La Senza are aiming to reopen as many as 60 of their stores.  Having desperately being in need of a new fitted bra, I popped in to get measured yesterday and I found the staff delightful and the store looking as glamorous as french boutique. I can't say the same for every store, but the Huddersfield branch is homely - whilst you search for your new sexy lingerie, there's draws to pull out, pink dressing rooms and an array of bra's and french knickers in every colour possible.  

This emerald green balconette bra was the first to grab my attention. I was immediately drawn to the black lace details and the luxurious feel of the fabric. Gone are the cheap feeling cotton La Senza bras, they are replaced with what you can see as Victoria Secrets inspired lingerie. 

My second purchase was an everyday perfect black bra. As soon as I came out of the store, I rushed to the nearby toilets and decided to wear it. It gave me a slight lift, that makes my cleavage have volume, but not look too intrusive. The woman who measured me made sure it's a perfect fit and I really can't fault her. This bra is so much more comfier than my older La Senza gear and I like how, from the black lace trim to the little bow, they have made a plain black bra look sexy. 

My local La Senza had an introductory offer of two bra's for £30. Having paid up to £70 for Agent Provocateur underwear before and other sites hitting the £50 mark, I'm so glad to have La Senza bringing back affordable glamourous lingerie. 

What do you think about La Senza coming back?

♥♥♥

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Monday Nails

I've seen so many blogs talk about Nubar nails, but it wasn't until recently that I had the pleasure of trying them for myself. I was kindly sent: a base coat, top coat, Purple Mania and Purple Crazy from the new Tropical range to review and overall, I'm impressed by these £8.49 nail polishes. 

The base coat and top coat dries really quick and great for if you're in a hurry. When taking my nail polish off, I've noticed there's been no stains and when I've applied the top coat, my nails have looked really glossy. The packaging is quite cute and perfect for your handbag.

So far I've only tested one colour and that happens to be the Purple Mania. This is the brightest colour of the two and fits my personality down to a tee. I'm a lover of barbie pink, deep purples and products that dry rather quickly - these nail polishes did not disappoint. The colour is bold and bright, everything you would want for statement nails, but it does have a tendency to chip quite easily. I'm unsure whether this is due to my nails being quite brittle and the fact that I have a part-time job cleaning, so I'm exposed to chemicals or that its due to the nail polish. However, for approximately £8 a polish that gives you a really decent colour, you can't complain much.

You can purchase Nubar nail polish from www.beautyshed.co.uk

Have you tried Nubar nail polish? What do you think?

♥♥♥

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Lush Emotional Brilliance

Lush have recently brought out their new Emotional Brilliance range and after being a fan of their soaps and bath bombs for quite awhile, I couldn't wait to try their cosmetics. The range includes liquid lipsticks, eyeliners and eyeshadows and is fast becoming a big hit amongst bloggers. The products I was sent to trial have given me mixed opinions - I'm in love with the lipsticks, but really can't stand the liquid eyeliner. As I always stress, you really have to try these products for yourself before taking my word for it, but hopefully this review will shed some light on the products.

Glamorous and Confident are two of Lush's new lipsticks and I rather like them.  Glamorous is my favourite colour as I have an obsession with pink and it reminds me of barbie, but confident is a shade I wouldn't usually pick and I seem to have grown fond of it.  The products are £14.50, which I think is a little steep, but I do think they have a great quality to them.

Here's a picture of the 'Glamorous Liquid Lipstick'. I like how effortlessly the product glides on and how the little brush easily givens your lips the definition needed. The colour is highly pigmented, which is great for those feeling adventurous and wanting to step out of their natural shade comfort zone. The lipsticks can also be used as liquid blushers and other makeup, making this incredibly versatile and value for money.

And here's the 'Confident Lipstick'....

I think unfortunately it's a little too dark for my complex, but I love the gothic look - which will be great over the winter.

And finally, this is the eyeliner in the shade of 'Dynamic'. Although the colour may suit other people, it didn't really suit me and I'm not too fond of the brush. It feels like too flimsy and I'm struggling to get an even line. I'm definitely going to try this again to see if I could get used to playing around with it, but so far,  unfortunately it's not for me.

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60s Inspired Makeup

I've always been fascinated by 60s style, music and culture. Short little dresses, beehive or curly hair and bright colours are a few of my favourite things in life. Bridget Bardot is one of my favourite all time models - she was the reason I longed for blonde hair and my inspiration behind this post. Summer fun always has a connection to the 60s. It was the time of the revolution, freedom and finally, women were free to do exactly as they please. So here's my 60s inspired makeup...

For my '60s look' I decided to use my new MUA cosmetics. At £1 a time these highly pigmented eyeshadows and lipsticks are great for a colour boost. I'm in love with their new 'Nectar' shade as it lasts for quite a long time considering the price and it really makes those lips stand out. Nectar is also a lower cost duplicate of Macs Ravishing, another one of my favourite colours. 

I started my makeup by using Ginvera's new BB cream.In the 1960s, women were still playing around with colour, so makeup looked more fresh than natural most of the time. By using a BB cream, it has given me a soft sheen over my face, without being caked in product. I then proceeded to my eyes and eyebrows. I wanted to experiment with my MUA products, so I decided to use a small amount of vaseline on my eyebrow then use the MUA Matt eyeshadow to fill in my eyebrows. This colour is a perfect match for me and blended in so well - £1 is such a great price for such a versatile product. I then used the eyeshadow to fill in my eye sockets and finished with a small amount of black eyeliner on the top. The eye mascara I used was Avon's Super Curlacious (I will be reviewing this later) which came out of this months Marie Claire magazine.

The second set of products I used for this makeup look are by Sheer Cover. I've never used this brand before and I was kindly sent a few products to try. I'm really impressed by the quality of these products - the blusher blends really well and I really enjoy using the eyeliner. If I have one little criticism about the products, it's that the eyeliner smudges a little bit too easily, but then again, it's perfect for shading. I used the Sheer Cover Classic Brown eyeliner under my eyes to give a softer alternative to black. On my cheeks, I used the Ginger blusher (the one on the left). This gave me subtle tangy orange glow on my cheeks, giving it warmth and using a trademark colour of the 60s

The whole look was finished by using my MUA Intense Bright Orange lip liner and the lipstick shade i mentioned earlier - Nectar.

To achieve the ultimate 60s style, I backcombed my hair into a tiny beehive and let half of my hair dangle over the shoulder. 

Here's some 60s nostalgia for you - a song based on makeup!

What do you think of my makeup look?

♥♥♥

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Body Boutique Inch Loss Body Wrap

Every now and then, we all need a body boosting fix. The Body Boutique wrap is based around ancient Egyptian methods of using clay wraps to purify the skin and reduce toxins, therefore promoting 'instant inch loss' and cleansing the body. The 'Wrap Factor' is fast, easy to use and perfect for those looking for a quick solution to the weight worries before a night out. The process takes approximately 90 minutes, but the results can last from hours to days, as long as you stick to the up keep. I decided to the use the wrap as a quick fix before my holiday and I was rather impressed with the results. 

The Wrap Factor includes a fusion of natural ingredients that combine to leave your body feeling refreshed and purified. To use the wrap, all you need to do is mix one clay sachet with kettle water and soak the bandages for 30minutes. Inside the packaging, there's a chart where you can record your inch loss results and a tape measure. Make sure you jot down your measurements before you start and also mark a pen line on your desired area of inch loss,so you can see the immediate results. My initial measurements demonstrated that I had 34inch waist.

Once the bandages are soaked, you need to rinse off the excess water and make sure the temperature is hot, but not scalding. Once you have the bandages prepared, you simply wrap them around the area you would like to see the reduction and wait for 60 minutes. 

It is recommend that you wrap a dressing robe around yourself or a towel to prevent water escaping and you can then simply relax and let the clay wrap do it's thing. 

After the 60 minutes of relaxation, it is time to undress the bandages and see the results. I was shocked to discover that I had lost an inch - leaving me with an improved 33inch waist.  The clay had also left my stomach feeling relatively soft and I felt exactly what the box described - detoxed and rejuvenated.

For £26 from the Body Boutique store, i think this home based salon treatment is at a fantastic price. You can easily fit 3-4 treatments from the one box and in a salon, this could easily cost up to £60 per treatment. Admittedly, I was a little bit skeptical about trying this product, but it's really opened my eyes to weight loss treatments over the counter - even if it's only temporary.

Have you tried any inch loss wraps? What do you think?

♥♥♥

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Orla Kiely Handbag

It has been a really tough last few weeks. I've only recently come out of hospital and then a few days later my beautiful 13 year old cat died of a tragic accident. My mind has been all over the place and my blog has sadly been neglected, but there was a light at the end of the tunnel...

A few days ago I received an email saying that I had won a brand new Orla Kiely handbag and yesterday it arrived.

Doesn't it look beautiful? The bag was won from a competition posted on the Uniqlo website in celebration of their recent collaboration with designer, Orla Kiely. The bag retails at approximately £400 and is made from Italian leather. The sparrow detailing on the side is elegantly printed and the bags interior looks luxurious and spacious.

I really can't wait to do an outfit post with this handbag, it's so versatile and will go with almost everything in my wardrobe. Of course this handbag won't replace my kitty - I loved her since she was so tiny that she could fit into the palm of my hands and I will always miss her terribly, but it does show that luck is on my side and that just maybe, even though she isn't here, she will continue to be my lucky charm. 

What do you think of my new handbag?

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I'm back!

I'm finally back to my good health and ready to return to the world of blogging. I've had a lovely long week away, including a visit to the spa and plenty of shopping and I'm happy to be back.

This is my latest outfit post featuring my H&M dress, leather jacket, the beautiful scarf I recently bought from a vintage store and my beautiful baby pink suede TopShop heels.

What do you think?

♥♥♥

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Blog Break

To my dearest followers,

I will not be blogging for the next few days as I've just come out of hospital having suffered from a kidney infection and I need time to fully recover. I'm off to a spa on Monday which will hopefully give me all the energy I need and I can't wait to share my experiences with you all soon.

Sorry for the absence!

Lots of love,

Jessica

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