Just reached 100 followers! Giveaway coming soon!

Hello lovely bloggers,
today i just reached 100 lovely followers! Unfortunately i am not currently in the UK at the moment but as soon as i come back i shall be hosting a giveaway on my blog.

I can't believe how many followers i've gained since september, and i am thankful for every single one!

I am open to suggestions as to what to give away, perhaps a mac lipstick, and some MUA eye shadow palettes.

Again, thank you so much for following my blog! This has really made my day!

MAC Morange

Hello lovely people!

I've been looking for the perfect orange lipstick for a while now as i think that its such a gorgeous, flattering shade, especially with a tan.

I didn't have much luck with drugstore/high street brands as i could never find the bright shade that i wanted.  Then i saw shaaanxo from youtube wearing Mac Morange in one of her videos and it was gorgeous!

I ordered it from the Mac website, retailing at £14 (pricey i know).  Although i did have some problems with the delivery (i paid extra for saturday delivery and it only just arrived today), i'm in love!

it literally is the most flattering shade for my skin tone + eye colour! I can't wait till i'm back home in dubai next weekend to wear this when i get a tan!

The formula is amplified so the colour is bright and saturated, as well as creamy.  I think it definitely is my new favourite lipstick!

 What do you think?  orange lipstick, yes or no?
i personally love them!

The search for the perfect nude! MAC blankety + Velvet teddy

Hello lovely followers!
I've been on the hunt for the perfect nude lipstick now for SO long.  My problem is, i have very pigmented lips (from living in dubai for 23 years, the sun will get ya!) and a very warm complexion.

My skin is very yellow, and due to the pigmented lips, a lot of nudes make me look either sick or dead!

So i scoured the internet for hours, looking for the perfect wearable nude.  It took a while, but i found these two!

Unfortunately, they are MAC lipsticks so they retail at £14 each.  But i had £5 of points to spend (at debenhams) and instead they came to £23!

I know Debenhams is also having 10% off all beauty so currently their lipsticks are £12.60!

I decided on getting two different shades of nude.  Blankety and Velvet teddy (both mac, obviously)

First up: Blankety

Described by MAC as a 'soft pink beige',  it is literally my perfect nude lipstick. The finish of the lipstick is amplified so its quite pigmented, and almost a little drying (but that's because i have dry lips normally). It really is one of those 'your lips, but better' shades.  I'm in love!

Next up: Velvet teddy

This lipstick is a matte lipstick, described as a 'deep tone beige'.  This also is very much like my natural lip colour. The tone is deeper, with more of reddish tone as opposed to a pink tone like blankety. I really love this for more of a classier look :)

Here's swatches of the two :)

left: Velvet teddy   right: blankety

What's your perfect nude?

What's your chat, blogger? TAG

Hello followers :)

I was tagged by the lovely katie from Katie's Cup of Tea to do this tag, so here it is!

BACK TO BASICS

Whats your name? 

Alexia Jade, but most people call me jade (long story)

How old are you and when's your Birthday?

I'm 23, and my birthday is the 13th of July! 

Where do you come from?

This is where it gets complicated. I'm half swedish, half english, but i was born and raised in dubai!

What's your current occupation?

I'm a history student!

FILL ME IN, WHAT'S YOUR BLOG ABOUT?

What category does your blog fall into?
It falls into the beauty/fashion/health category. I like to write reviews and posts about things i love!

What's the aim of your blog?

Just to review products and interact with other bloggers with the same interests as me! I post a lot about my experiences with products and healthy regimes. 

What's the reason behind your URL/blog name?

Its pretty much just a straight forward blog name, i wanted something that was simple and got the theme of my blog across.

Three great blogs to check out, go go go!

INSPIRE US

What inspires you the most?
My dad. He's literally who i look up to most. He has overcome so many obstacles and really made a name for himself in the world. Theres not one day that goes by that i am not thankful that i have the greatest dad ever :)

One quote or motto that you live by?
“All you touch and all you see is all your life will ever be.” 
It's from the song 'Breathe' by Pink Floyd (my favourite band). 
I dont feel like its a quote or motto to live by, but pretty much represents life.

Favourite icon, dead or alive?

I dont think i have a specific favourite icon, i've never really looked at famous people as icons.

LET'S BE RANDOM

So you're an animal, what are you?
A cat.  I'd love to be able to just sleep and eat all day!

You can eat one thing for the rest of your life?

Either swedish hot dogs, or pasta.  I love both!

*Click* and you're anywhere in the world, where are you?
I'd love to go to anywhere sunny. Maybe somewhere in the Caribbean! 

Insert random picture here?

i love both seals and french bulldogs! 

I TAG - 

Rachel - http://thenew62.blogspot.co.uk

Abbie - http://abbiesbeautyblog.blogspot.co.uk

Amber - http://amberluiselove.blogspot.co.uk

Beth - http://www.bethblogsbeauty.com

Dana - http://doseofdainty3.blogspot.co.uk

Charlotte - http://www.lurchhoundloves.com

Amelia - http://missmeliaa.blogspot.co.uk

Sophie - http://sophie-lm.blogspot.co.uk

Andrea - http://lipstickrouge.blogspot.co.uk

Lacey - http://misslaceyloves.blogspot.co.uk

How to go from dark brown to blonde! ColourB4 review + new hair

By now i've realised how many posts i've dedicated to my hair, it's getting out of hand!
Unfortunately i'm one of those people who just can't leave their hair alone :(

I did say i was only going to be brunette for winter, and as soon as it hit january, i decided it wasn't winter anymore (even though it clearly is).

So without further do, here is how i achieved it without killing my hair!

ColourB4 extra strength:

This is a product i've used before, and i swear by it whenever i'm trying to remove dark hair. It really is the best way to do it without destroying your hair with bleach!

I bought mine from boots, for £11.99 (available here)

I bought the extra strength as my hair was quite a dark brown, and had been dyed a few times since i went dark as well.

The product works as a colour stripper, it reduces all the artificial pigment using the mixture you're given, and then you wash or 'buff' it out for about 15 minutes in the shower! It really is brilliant.
I wouldn't say it doesn't damage your hair at all, but its no where near as damaging as bleach.

The mixture absolutely STINKS.  It smells like rotten eggs, but thats down to the chemicals that are used to strip your hair, so there isn't actually much you can do about that, but it works great!

I would definitely recommending sticking EXACTLY to the instructions in the leaflet, the product will not work properly if you do not follow the instructions properly.

Anyway, here's what my hair looked like just before i used colourb4:

During:

(before i washed out the colour b4)


After:

As you can see, it worked excellently at removing my previous colour! I was so happy with the result! However, i still wanted to go blonder, so i used the same highlighting kit (Jerome Russell Bblonde) i used in a previous blog post (found here: DIY highlights at home)

I've also been using this shampoo recently too, to rid me of any brassiness:

Touch of Silver: Twice a week brightening shampoo.
This shampoo has been a life saver with freshening my blonde and keeping it from going that awful butter yellow blonde. I'd definitely recommend it!

available from super drug and savers

and here is the result!

the lighting is very yellow here, but my hair is ash blonde :)

Have you tried colour b4?

Hair update: a new twist!

Hello lovely followers,
Anyone who has been following my blog for a bit now are very aware that i cannot just leave my hair colour alone!  I jump from different colours all the time, whenever i get bored and just want an update!

my most recent change was adding a slight ombre to my hair. I'm aware that its 'out' of fashion recently, and I know everyone and their mother has had this hairstyle (including me previously) but i feel like its a really nice way to update your hair without going too drastic.  Its often quite flattering as well.

I used the L'oreal Wild Ombre box kit for light to dark brown hair.

image from superdrug.com

Although the kit says just to start from 2/3's of the way down and brush the bleach through, i ignored that. I recommend adding the bleach to the tips, waiting 10 minutes, then work the bleach a little further up, again, wait 10 minutes and work the bleach just above that. Continue with this technique until you reach where you want your ombre to stop. Working your way up from the bottom to the mid sections gives a really nice graduated effect, with much lighter tips, especially with the brush they provide in the kit! You could use any bleaching kit and a comb for the same effect :)

So, here's my new hair!

And can i just say, the quadruple weft extensions i'm wearing here from Crown and Glory extensions have been dyed brown twice, and then ombre-d, and they're still in amazing condition! I use heat on them all the time.  I definitely recommend checking their extensions out, look how shiny they are!

December favourites!

Hello lovely followers,
i hope you all had an amazing New year's and 2013 has been good to you so far! I personally am so glad 2012 is over, it was a horrible year for me.

But nevermind that, here are my December favourites:

1.  Smashbox Bronze lights in 'Suntan Matte'.  

Ever since my NARS laguna bronzer broke, i have been searching for another matte bronzer. Unfortunately i am in Dubai at the moment and i can't find NARS anywhere so i checked out the smashbox bronzers.  I really love this one, its perfect for contouring (which is what i used laguna for) and it also has antioxidants built into it. I accidently dropped mine a few hours after buying it and it didnt break (thank god).  

2. L'oreal Studio secrets Pro lip tint in 30 Fashion Fuchsia

I've been looking for a lip tint for a while now, and even though the Revlon ones are quite popular, i stumbled across this whilst looking through the l'oreal section in boots.  I LOVE the colour! Its just the colour i was looking for. It gives a raspberry/dark pink tint to the lips and works so well with my skin tone. The colour lasts quite long, and it even tastes like raspberries! My only issue with it is that you really have to layer it up because the pen nip on it is quite dry, but im not sure if its just because i picked up a damaged one.

3. L'oreal Caresse Lipstick in 101 tempting lilac

I've been looking for a more nude pink, but because my lips are naturally quite pigmented its hard to find a shade that doesn't make me look washed out/dead.  This colour is gorgeous! It actually reminds me so much of Snob by MAC, although snob has more lilac undertones. It goes on smoothly and has great lasting power :)

4. Sally Hansen Hard a Nails

My nails were becoming quite brittle recently due to wearing acrylic nails quite often (to stop me from biting my own, gross i know). I was in TK Maxx and came across this beauty! I put this on my nails as a base coat, and not only does it protect and strengthen my nails, but it also helps to prevent chipping!

5. Elf Make up: Mist and set

I've been looking for a setting spray for a while as my skin is quite dry so setting powder just makes my face look cakey.  When i was purchasing some other Elf products online i found this and decided to give it a try. I love it! It gives my skin a dewy finish without drying it out, and the extra benefits of the spray such as aloe, cucumber extract , green tea and vitamins A,C and E prevent my skin from feeling and looking too dry.  The perfect way for me to set my make up! My only issue is the nozzle of the bottle doesn't spray evenly and you have to go round and spray sections of your face to make sure its all covered. But for the price you pay (£3) its not really a problem!

6. Sally Hansen: No chip 10 day colour in Red October

Another Sally Hansen nail polish that i found on offer in an outlet make up store, this colour is GORGEOUS. Its a metallic deep red and a nail colour that can be worn all year round. As for the 10 day no chip, i'm not sure if thats true because i bite my nails, they always chip. But i would definitely recommend this! It dries well and you only need 2 coats for the full colour.

7. Naked 2 palette by Urban decay

I have been waiting a LONG time for this palette! I bought this back in November and i have been using it non stop ever since. I love the original naked palette, as well as this one. I usually mix the two for my eyeshadow looks! I am really happy that this palette featured 3 matte shades this time as well in foxy (highlight), tease (crease) and black out (crease).  The palette is full of stunning colours, but they are definitely cooler tones than the original naked palette. All in all, definitely worth the price! 

Foxy, Half Baked, Bootycall, Chopper 

Tease, Snakebite, Suspect, Pistol

Verve, YDK, Busted, Blackout

What are your December favourites?