nspa Beauty Rituals Beauty Balm

Hello! Today I am going to be reviewing the Beauty Balm from nspa. I have seen nspa products around for a while now while doing my food shopping at Asda at university and was very kindly sent the Beauty Balm by nspa to try out. This brand is exclusive to Asda which I think is going to make doing my food shopping on my own a little bit more bearable once I get back to university in September and with the products ranging from £3 to £7, it's not going to break the bank if you pop a few items in your basket!

Beauty Balms or BB creams have been a beauty buzz word for quite a while now and are known for 'blurring' any lines and wrinkles or blemishes on the skin while providing a light colour coverage. I was actually really pleased when I was sent this particular product as I had used the Garnier BB cream after buying it last year only the night before I received this in the post. I was thinking how wrong the shade was for my skin and how I didn't really like the effect it gave. The nspa one however was the perfect colour for my skin tone. 

As you can see there is actually quite a bit of difference between the balm and my natural skin colour (which is pretty much Casper the friendly ghost) but once applied to the face it blends really nicely and doesn't leave those awful lines of colour on the jaw line. I also liked how it was slightly darker as it did what it said on the tin, it gave me the look of dewy, healthy skin. As the coverage is so light and doesn't make you feel like you're wearing make-up it's perfect for the day time and with the added SPF 15 it is perfect for this weather we have been having! I would however probably use this as a base/primer for foundation if i was going out at night, just because I like to have slightly more coverage on a night out. 

The overall effect is natural and flawless so overall I really like this product! As it contains moisturising properties I have been skipping my usual moisturiser and have just been using this which makes getting ready really quick and easy. I am also really prone to break-outs but this hasn't given me any spots at all which is great. Sometimes I can love a product because of how it looks/works on the skin but have to abandon it because it gives me spots but luckily I wont have to do that with this!

I think I should mention that the nspa products are all labelled with a number from one to four, the photo above explains what stage each number represents. The idea of products that have different stages to them really appeals to me as I am using one cleanser at the moment (my Amie Morning Clear which was my very first review that you can read here), one moisturiser and then am using other products when I think I need them. However my skin has been playing up quite a bit recently with break outs and dryness from the humidity. Therefore I am really interested in purchasing a few more things to create more of a 'routine' for my skin.

By the looks of it Asda are doing a '2 for £8' deal at the moment on a few of the nspa products so i may have go and pick up a few things soon!

Hope you enjoyed reading and thank you again to nspa for kindly sending me something to review!
Happy Friday x

Celebration Style

Hello! This weekend was my brothers 18th birthday and we celebrated by going to The Crazy Bear in Beaconsfield aswell as a BBQ the following day. I thought i would show you the clothes and make up that i wore...

If you haven't heard of it or if you're reading from outside the UK (I know a few people do which i find amazing) The Crazy Bear is a hotel which is known for being quite extravagant and is somewhere you would only really go for a special occasion (unless you're loaded!) so it was a nice change to go somewhere a bit different.

The bar area 

The eating area

Crazy Bear Outfit 

I chose to wear something quite simple and classic, with just a plain black cami top, black matt/leather look leggings, a white blazer and Zara heels...

The cami was £10 from River Island and is a kind of silky material which makes it a bit more dressy but is also great for dressing down with jeans and sandals. The blazer was £29.99 from H&M which my mum was initially trying on for a wedding, I also tried it on and loved it so we both have the same one!

The matt/leather look leggings were about £18 as far as I can remember as I got those a while ago and those were from Miss. Selfridge...

I really recommend these leggings to anyone who wants something that is going to work for most occasions as I've got so much wear out of these. I've worn them on so many nights out with various tops and heels and then also with black patent boots in the winter time to go out to dinner instead of wearing jeans!

For heels I wore my new ones from Zara which were £29.99 from their Spring/Summer Collection 2013. I've seen so many girls wearing these style of heels recently and I loved the look of them and how versatile they can be as they go great with skinny jeans as well as shorts or skirts. I brought a pair of Zara heels in Marbella last year and although they needed a bit of wearing in (I always get blisters with any new shoes) they became so comfy after a few wears so I'm hoping the same will happen with these as they pinch slightly at the moment! 

Make-up

For make-up i used No7's Stay Perfect foundation in the shade Calico (their lightest shade) which has become my favourtite foundation after being matched up to the shade and type of foundation that i should be wearing at a No7 counter, I felt very much like that lady on the advert! I then used Mac's Studio Fix Foundation in shade NC30. I know that putting a powder foundation over a liquid foundation seems a bit much, and to be honest it did feel a bit much, but I needed a slightly darker shade as I had been using fake tan a few nights before and this shade is slightly too dark for my normal skin tone. I don't know why but this powder has to go over a liquid foundation on my skin or it gives me spots, really strange but something I've noticed! 

I then used Clinique's True Bronze Bronzer in the shade 02 Sunkissed on places where the sun would naturally catch my face such as forehead, nose, chin and temples. For this i used the Mac 168SE brush. I then curled my lashes using my Jemma Kidd eyelash curlers and applied just one coat of Maybelline The Falsies before applying some false eyelashes. I used a pair from the Eyelure Girls Aloud range and I used the 'Kimberly' ones as I thought these looked really soft and natural but great for night time as they were slightly more intense at the corners of the eyes, love that look! 

I then put a bit of the Bourjois blush in shade 34 Rose d'or onto my cheeks and then added a bit of the Bobbie Brown Shimmer Brick in Nector on top as a highlighter. I love the shimmer brick so much and have honestly used it every single day (that I've worn make-up) since January when I got it for my birthday, it gives such an amazing glow to the face and I don't think my face looks right without it now! 

I then added eyeliner using the Collection 2000 gel eyeliner and a Mac 212SE brush. I finished off with a slick of red lipstick on my lips using a lipstick from the Rimmel Kate (Moss) collection in the shade 01 which is a lovely true red, very classic which complimented the look I wanted to go for. This may seem a strange order to do everything in but that's how I do my make-up for some reason!

My brother really enjoyed his weekend and I loved celebrating it with everyone too, anything with cake and I'm there! I always love reading 'lifestyle' blog posts about where people have been and what they wore so I hope you've enjoyed reading this post. 

Happy Wednesday x