"Let's do what we love and a lot of it.. " Marc Jacobs




Wednesday 31 March 2021

My Little Box x Caudalie Mars 2021 Belle Plante French edition

 Bonjour mes amis!

Well this blog has truly needed a little dusting down as it has been an age since I have posted on here. I hope you have all been well during these crazy times we are living in. I have been finding the small wins have been keeping me going and My Little Box is one of them. A little package of joy I receive every month all the way from France which is always a nice surprise. I recently received the French edition of the March My Little Box which is in collaboration with Caudalie. I think I have previously mentioned that My Little Box do not currently operate in the UK, they suspended their boxes here a few years ago now. As I was so sad to see it go I decided to have the French edition shipped to the UK via a parcel forwarding site. 

This months box is in collaboration with Caudalie, a French brand I absolutely love. A fair few of the previous boxes have featured the odd Caudalie product however not a dedicated box so I am excited! My Little Box often feature with quite well known brands such as Nuxe, MAC and Estee Lauder. 


This months box is not typically in a "box" fashion and instead the items are all found to be in a woven, canvas style plant pot. 

Lifestyle Items

I really like the style of this pot and will most definitely get use of it. I really like this trend we are seeing; plenty of greenery and plants in hanging style pots much like this one. A nice trailing style plant would suit this pot really well I think, going to have a browse and do a bit of plant shopping. 

The next of the lifestyle items is a turban style towel for your hair. I received one of these in a box a loong time ago and have only recently started using it and what can I tell you?... Its a revelation. What was my life before this? It fits perfectly on your head and is held secure with a button, no more oversized towels balancing on the top of your head. The one I am currently using is like a flannel type material which is lovely and soft. The one in this box has a slightly different material with a more fleecy like texture. Very happy to have received this as they are so compact and ideal for travelling. Now I have two I can alternate them between washes. If you do not have one of these and have considered getting one, you will not be disappointed. I used to see them and think they could be a little "gimicky" and would not be any good but I love mine and I am very pleased to have discovered them so thank you My Little Box. An aspect of My Little Box that I am always impressed with is their variety and innovation of products. They deliver items that are quirky, useful and always delightful. I probably use 90% of the items I receive and see my box every month as a little present to me, from me.


The next of the lifestyle items are of the jewellery variety - always a win in my eyes. I am always delighted to receive an item of jewellery and have amassed a fair collection now. 



As you can see from the image, I received a little package with two delicate gold rings inside. These are adorable and something I will definitely wear. A dainty ring is always a cute option and this was a great choice for spring. 

I often wear costume jewellery and like to layer rings together so I will most likely do that with these. Gold is my preference of jewellery so I am a very happy customer MLB! :) The rings compliment the theme of the box very well and are very cute against the floral cotton bag that the beauty items come in. 


Beauty Items

Ok... Here comes the every exciting little bag of beauty goodies and I know from the the collaboration of the box that they will all be Caudalie products. 

The first item out the bag is a Vinoclean Instant Foaming Cleanser with moisturising grape and purifying sage in 150 ml. I have recently been experimenting a little with different cleansers to see what suits my skin type better. Currently, I am enjoying the milky jelly cleanser from Glossier and I am finding that a milky like formulation is more kinder to my skin. I will try this cleanser and see what the results are, foaming cleansers can be quite stripping to my skin and leave it feeling quite irritated after. With that being said.. I have not yet tried a Caudalie cleanser and I really like them overall as a brand so will see how it goes..


The next of the Caudalie items is a Nourishing body lotion in 30 ml size. This is a little compact body lotion ideal for when travelling can resume. I have tried this out on my arms, the scent is pleasant and smells very natural. Some body lotions can often smell a bit artificial and are too overbearing on my skin so this is lovely for my skin. The lotion is quick drying, non sticky and has left a lovely soft, nourishing feeling on my skin.

The last of the Caudalie items is a Vinosource moisturising sorbet in a travel size of 15 ml. This cream comes like it is described in a sorbet like texture, almost fluffy like. It is lightly scented and this moist quenching cream aims to 'deeply hydrate all skin types, even the hyper-sensitive ones' much like mine. This cream is gentle on my skin and has it has complimented it well. 

Marks out of 10 : 9
Favourite item: The turban hair wrap
Least Favourite Item: Caudalie foaming cleanser

And thats it! My round up of the Caudalie Beautiful Plant box. My overall feeling about this box is very positive and really impressed me. As I previously mentioned I think that because My Little Box are solely focusing on the French edition it has become very impressive. I would say the quality has improved and I am really happy that I can still get My Little Box. I hope you have enjoyed having a read of this review. If you were are a previous MLB subscriber in the UK. do you miss it at all? Let me know. 

Until next time... I hope to continue to receive these boxes and review them for you all.. So stay tuned. I hope you all stay safe and well.. we are just beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel so stick in there.  

A bientot et bisous

Cheryl xxx















Monday 30 March 2020

My Top 5 Podcasts of the moment

Bonjour mes amis!

Welcome to another post, this time I am going to be doing a run through of my top 5 podcasts right now.

I have been listening to podcasts for a number of years now and really enjoy them. I regularly listen to them whilst cleaning around the flat, doing the dishes and getting ready. I find it comforting to listen them and it is also a good way to learn about new things. I think I would be a little bit lost without my favourite podcasts and I am always eager to listen to new episodes as they are released.

Ok, so first up is.. The Fringe of It.

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This podcast is brought to you by the fabulous Charlotte Jacklin and Liv Purvis; who are wonderful content creators and are all about lifestyle, fashion, beauty, travel and more. This podcast started in 2018 with weekly episodes and this week we are now onto episode 53. To summarise this podcast; Liv and Charlotte like to discuss a series of topics that range from friendships, body image, money matters and a whole lot more. Recently the podcast has taken a more relaxed approach in my opinion, which is something I really love. Liv and Charlotte regularly discuss their tv/film recommendations on telly talk and natter about their style finds and favourite foods. Occasionally they have a few guests on to speak  and this was the focus of season 2 which was highly entertaining with guests such as Sarah Powell, Lucy Sheridan and Julia Day. There have been a couple of live podcast recordings which are very interactive with the audience, I would love to attend one of these as they look so much fun although I haven't yet had an opportunity (maybe one day!) 

If you are looking for a feel good, uplifting podcast that feels like you are having a catch up with your besties then this is the one for you! 

Podcast number 2 is... Ru Pauls: What's the Tee.

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What's the Tee is Ru Pauls weekly podcast with his bestie Michelle Visage where they discuss a series of topics such as; what they have been up to, pop culture, behind the scenes of Ru Pauls Drag Race and a whole lot more. This podcast is a mixed bag and you never really know what you are going to get which keeps it really fresh and vibrant. Ru and Michelle like to have a proper catch up then go on to have a chatter with guests (most commonly the people who are guest judges on drag race at that time.) There are some amazing guests with the likes of  Lady Gaga, Aubrey Plaza, Lena Dunham, Jeff Goldblum, Whoopi Goldberg and too many more to name! Ru and the guests end up discussing random topics and there isn't really a format in place, just natural conversations which makes for very easy and entertaining listening. Ru has a lot of the previous drag queens on the podcast to have chat with which are some of my favourite episodes. This podcast has been around since 2014 so there are plenty of episodes to keep you going! If it sounds like its your thing and you love Drag race then definitely check it out.

And now on to Podcast number 3.. and its the Gemma Collins Podcast.

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This is a reasonably new-ish podcast brought to us by the one and only GC! Gemma started her podcast in August 2019 and in this time she has brought a lot of joy and a breath of fresh air to the podcasting world. Gemma likes to talk candidly on her podcast and discusses a wide range of interesting subjects, most of the topics are things that spark her curiosity like dreams, the supernatural, the illuminati, the concept of time and so many more. The podcast delves into the life of the GC, what shes up to, chats with her nearest and dearest and advice for listeners dilemmas. In my opinion, this podcast is the ultimate escapism from daily life and really gets you thinking about some unusual things. I find Gemma very entertaining, endearing and funny so I have found one of my favourite podcasts, if I am feeling a bit out of sorts I know I can put an episode on and I will be chuckling away. Really happy Gemma started a podcast and I look forward to what else she has to bring to the podcast because with Gemma you just never know!

On to Podcast number 4 and I am pleased to say it is the Jules and Sarah podcast.

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Ok,, where do I begin with this podcast.. its basically a little nugget of joy. The podcast is intended to "uplift, soothe and essentially amuse one ears" according to the podcast synopsis. Jules Von Hep and Sarah Powell are friends, both from the north of England who decided to start a podcast based on their love of lighthearted and nonsense driven fun, which is exactly what you will get from this podcast. Jules and Sarah are cheese lovers which can explain the "fromage" t-shirts as seen in the photo above and so they have formed a Port Salut crew of dedicated cheese loving, podcast fans who write to them from all over the world. Listening to Jules and Sarah's candid chats always brightens my mood and their "news from the north" section is not to be missed! I would highly recommend the Jules and Sarah podcast for a bit of light hearted, down right fun and don't we all need a little bit of that in times like these.

And now for the last podcast of my top 5 and it is... Full Coverage - The Beauty Podcast.

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Full Coverage podcast is "a podcast by beauty lovers for beauty lovers" and is brought to you by professional make up artist Harriet Hadfield and the unprofessional beauty junkie Lindsey Kelk. In this podcast Harriet and Lindsey discuss all things makeup, skincare, haircare and much more. It is nice to hear opinions from Harriet on products from a professionals perspective and then Lindsey who is an international best-selling author loves all things make up so she is more than able to offer her opinions on all the new products and what they have been trying out. Occasionally, Full Coverage has some guests on to speak all things beauty related, some of the guests include; Marcia Kilgore, Caroline Hirons, Nadine Baggott, Emma Guns and many more. If you love to see what is trending in the beauty world then this is certainly up your street. A personal highlight of this podcast for me is the episode where they discuss their favourite looks from the Oscars red carpet. This podcast has been ongoing since 2017 so there is a decent back catalogue of episodes to delve into if it takes your fancy and new episodes are uploaded usually every week on a Wednesday. If you love beauty related chats like myself then you can do no wrong with this one. 

Well there you have it... my top 5 podcasts of the moment. 

All of these podcasts can be found on apple podcasts which is where I listen from. If you are looking for a mixed bag of candid chats, celebrity interviews, beauty chat and so on then I am sure you will find something from these 5 that will spark your interest.

Thanks for reading! See you on the next post.

Lots of Love
A Bisous
Cheryl

Friday 20 March 2020

My top 5 TV series of the moment


Bonjour mes amis!

Well.... Its been a long time coming! Almost a year since I posted anything on here but I decided to brush off the cobwebs of this little blog and write up some of my thoughts on my favourite tv shows I have been enjoying recently.

Ok so first up... is Shrill

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This series stars Aidy Bryant and is based on the book: Shrill: Notes from a Loud Woman by Lindy West. The series first aired on March 15th 2019 on Hulu and for the UK viewers like myself I was able to watch this on BBC iplayer. Aidy Bryant plays Annie Easton who is a young woman navigating through life in Portland, Oregon with her best friend/room mate Fran. Annie is an aspiring journalist working for a local magazine; juggling her life around an unfavourable boyfriend, a difficult boss and her tasking parents. Each episode is no longer than 30 minutes long so its perfect for a bit of quick viewing. I absolutely loved this! So much so I have watched both series twice.. there's everything to love about this series; the brilliantly scripted characters, the aesthetics, the costumes and the general cool vibe of the show. Annie and Frans' house is beautiful, I for sure wouldn't mind living there, it has lots of gorgeous greenery and very cool interiors. A personal highlight of this series is Annie's boss Gabe played by John Cameron Mitchell, he plays the role of Gabe perfectly and I cannot imagine anyone else in this role, the entertaining dynamic between Annie and Gabe is so amusing to watch. 


Shrill gets top marks from me! I am praying they will do another series, which I think is very highly anticipated and would be very well received.

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Next on my list is... AJ and the Queen


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This latest offering from Mamma Ru (RuPaul Charles) is the fabulous AJ and the Queen. The last time I had seen RuPaul in more of an acting role and aside from RuPauls Drag Race was Girlboss; he played the role of Sophia Amoroso's neighbour and since then I have been eager to see him in another acting role and this did not disappoint. The series premiered on Netflix on the 10th of January 2020 and has 10 episodes with each episode running for approx 1 hour. The series follows Ruby Red played by RuPaul who is a highly successful drag queen with big dreams of opening her own drag club. A few bumps in the road and Ruby embarks on a cross country American tour of drag clubs with more than she bargains for when 10-year old AJ stowaways in Rubys RV in the hope of reaching her pop pop as she has recently been neglected by her mother and decides this is the best hope for her future. Ruby and AJ find themselves in a situation where they find some solace in each other and are able to teach each other things along the way, creating a loving impact on each other and the lives of others. 


This series is heart warming, witty and executed brilliantly. I gorged the series in under a week and really found myself bonding to these characters and their journey, it touched my heart and leaves you with a warm fuzzy feeling. As much of a RuPaul fan as I am, I was almost certainly going to enjoy this and it surpassed that, if you want a bit of feel good escapism with some killer drag then please watch it! 

Ok, now for number 3 and drum roll please.... LIVE! WORK! POSE!


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Yes its Pose and it is everything I dreamed this would be. Pose premiered on the 3rd of June 2018 on FX in the US, I recently watched it on BBC iplayer which is available for people based in the UK. The series is based in New York City in the 1980s with season 2 in the early 1990s, the series is about the gender-nonconforming ballroom scene in NYC encompassing a largely African American and Latino LGBTQ community who compete in various categories such as dancing and modelling to win trophies and recognition from their peers. The community largely consists of chosen families which are known as Houses. Many themes are addressed within this series such as gender, nonconformity, the downtown social scene of NYC and HIV/AIDS. Pose can be quite hard hitting at times and a real wake up call to what life was like for these certain people in these times, coping with social rejection, poverty, disease and other struggles. The ballroom scene is an escape from the outside world and a place to truly be themselves and achieve recognition amongst the community.


I thoroughly enjoyed this series and loved the 80s aesthetic of the gritty NY downtown scene with the glamour and creativity of the balls. Some of the ideas and concepts around the costumes and what they bring to the balls is truly amazing! There are a lot of very strong characters each with their own interesting story to tell, you will not be disappointed for sure! Also the soundtrack is spot on :)

Lets move on to Series number 4 and for this one its going to be.. the one and only.. The Marvelous Mrs Maisel.

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Now I must admit that initially this did take me a little while to get into.. but once I was there I could not stop watching. The humour in this show is quite interesting and not something I was that familiar with, that's why I think it initially took me a little bit of time to settle in to the dialogue and the relationship between the characters. However, after minimal persistence I was loving this programme. The series is now on season 3 which I have watched entirely and I am desperate for another season, for which it has been renewed (a lot of excited Maisel fans here.) The series is based in New York City in the late 50s/early 60s, it follows the story of Miriam "Midge" Maisel played by the lovely Rachel Brosnahan who realises she has a blossoming talent for stand up comedy and decides to pursue a career in it. I love the 50/60s era of this series, the costume design is off the scale and the eye to detail in capturing the time period is wonderful. This show is witty, fashionable, heart warming and a bit tear jerking at times. If you're in the mood for something fun, vibrant and a good laugh then get on your amazon prime and hit up Mrs Maisel!

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Ok.. Here is the final one and its a Netflix original series called Spinning Out.

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Unfortunately this series was not renewed for a second series however do not let that deter you from giving this a watch. The main character in Spinning Out is Kat played by Kaya Scodelario who is a young aspiring figure skater who unfortunately suffers a serious ice skating injury which jeopardises the future of her ice skating career. Kat is offered a chance opportunity to get herself back on the ice in the form of pairs skating with an unlikely partner Justin who Kat has a fiery relationship with. The pair embark on their hopes of realising their Olympic dream together. Battling a series of events that stack against them such as Kats own struggles with mental illness as well as it running in her family. Justin and Kat face financial sacrifices, physical and mental issues which all test them on their Olympic journey. The main story is focused around Kat and Justin although there are other stories running alongside this in the form of Kats family, her volatile relationship with her mum (played by January Jones) who also suffers from mental illness and her relationships with her fellow ice skating sister and friend. I really enjoyed this series as it not only focused on ice skating but touched on a lot of other serious topics, the ice skating is soo impressive and I loved watching the routines and glitzy costumes (it gave me serious doubts about why I didn't get into ice skating at an early age!) 

So there you have my mini reviews of my top 5 series I have been watching lately, it may give you a little inspo for some things to watch seeing as we are mainly staying indoors for the time being. Just a quick run through of places to find these shows, if you are in the UK then Shrill and Pose can be found on BBC iplayer, I also think series one of Pose is streaming on Netflix. The Marvelous Mrs Maisel is on Amazon Prime and AJ and the Queen and Spinning out are currently on Netflix.

Hope you enjoy! Stay safe everyone and let me know your thoughts if you happen to watch any of these. I am considering doing a similar review for podcasts in my next post so look out for that.

Lots of Love
A bisous!

Cheryl x






Tuesday 9 April 2019

Origins x Kate La Vie: Blooming Bold Bouquet Workshop with Mud Urban flowers


Salut mes amis! 




I hope you are all well and are having a fantastic week thus far. The sun is happily shining here in Glasgow so there ain't much to complain about and everyone's spirits seem to be up. All good vibes here!

So... I am here today to tell you all about the most adorable little afternoon I spent last Thursday at my favourite coffee spot in the Southside of Glasgow called Market. It is fair to say I am a frequent visitor at Market where I enjoy many a cappuccinos on the weekends and really enjoy spending time there; it is such a lovely space with great interiors and such good vibes. The coffee alone.. is the best in my opinion (cannot find anywhere else to top it!). Jordan takes great pride in the coffees he creates and it shows by how meticulous he is, in his barista work. I thoroughly enjoy this coffee shop for its amazing coffee, beautiful aesthetics and the calming vibe the shop emits.

Market is blogger Kate La Vie's business venture she has set up in Glasgow with her husband Jordan who is primarily the main barista of the shop. I think their combined interests of coffee, beautiful interiors and aesthetics have created such a lovely little space nestled in the Southside and I am really happy for its existence as it is now my first destination for coffee and tasty cake!

Kate La Vie announced via her instagram prior to the event that two Bouquet arranging classes would be running in Market on the afternoon of Thursday the 4th of April and it was the opportunity to grab some tickets. The event was free which was so generous of them and I managed to grab myself the last ticket for the 4pm class (believe me when I say the event spaces were all reserved super quick!) so I was lucky to nab one. The premise of the class for the lucky 8 of us who all got a space was to create our own Blooming Bold Bouquet with Kate and Chloe from Mud Urban Flowers which is an online florist and their flowers are so stunning! Definitely check them out on instagram if you want a look. Even more excitement to add to this event was that Origins skincare were on hand to provide expert skincare advice and to try out their new Blooming Bold Lipsticks range.


The shop was decorated so beautifully in an abudance of flowers provided by Mud Urban Flowers and lots of Origins products with their full range of the new lipsticks on offer to try. The girls from Mud generously gave us a mini masterclass of how to properly arrange a little posie of flowers, wrap and present them. In addition to not only providing the flowers they gave us an adorable little pink glass vase to place the flowers in when we returned home and for future floral arrangements. Such a sweet touch and they really thought of all the details, I was so impressed and really enjoyed the experience. Whilst arranging our flowers it was a great opportunity to have a chat with Kate, who I have followed for a while now so was lovely to be able to chat IRL and to also get the opportunity to meet other Glasgow gals who came along for the experience. Jordan was on hand to keep everyone fuelled with coffee and complimentary cakes - which were delicious! - Soo generous of Market coffee! Really appreciated it. I came away from the event with a little Origins goodie bag complete with a Blooming Bold Bouquet lipstick in the shade Peach Petal which is a lovely peach/coral colour which I really love and have already had a few comments on it. Origins were also very generous to allow us to book in for a complimentary visit for a Feel Good Facial in store so I am really excited to receive that.




Coming away from the event I was so grateful to leave with the bouquet I created, Origins goodies and a facial to look forward to... oh and cake for the road! It was the perfect way to spend an afternoon... a lovely event hosted by Kate, great flower expertise from Mud Urban, lovely beauty bits provided by Origins to try out and the best coffee to accompany the day with thanks to Market Coffee.


Would highly recommend one of these events to try out; if you get the opportunity! If its anything like this one, you won't be disappointed. Such a unique and delightful experience it was great to try something new, chat to new people and be involved in all things that interest me.


A massive thank you to Kate La Vie, Market Coffee, Origins and Mud Urban Flowers for creating such a fun filled day. I certainly came away feeling really happy and grateful to have been involved. I hope Kate will look to host more of these type of events soon! Really enjoyable and a great success!

A bientot et bisous!

Cheryl 

xxx


Wednesday 27 March 2019

Flower Beauty Review


Bonjour mes amis!

"Flower Beauty is for Everybody"

Hope you are all well and are all having a lovely week so far. I have a much anticipated review of Drew Barrymore's debut make up line called Flower Beauty.


I purchased my items from Superdrug UK online as the brand is not yet available to be purchased from Superdrug in store. To my delight, Superdrug currently have a 3 for 2 offer across all of their make up lines so I took full advantage of this offer and went for 3 of the Flower Beauty items. My choice of three products quickly became a tricky decision, but I was able to narrow it down and I decided to purchase a foundation, concealer and a highlighting palette (it would be so easy to just go all out and order one of everything!). I was a bit disappointed to see that the Supernova Celestial Skin Elixir Primer was sold out, as this is an item I am very intrigued to try after watching Drew Barrymore do a 'get ready with me' video with Jamie Genevieve. Here is a link if you have yet to see it.


This is such a fun introduction video to get a feel for the Flower Beauty brand and what products they have on offer, this ultimately captured my attention of the brand and made me want to try it out. 

Ok... so on to my thoughts of the products I purchased. For starters, lets have a look at the foundation which I have been most excited to try. I am always on the look out for new foundations and because I have a very pale skin tone I am always interested to see how light the brands will take the foundations to; my normal base line for a foundation is start with the lightest and work forward but most likely I will tend to buy the lightest shade available.


The foundation range on the Superdrug website is a core collection of the line and has only 5 shades available: Porcelain, Nude, Natural Beige, Tawny and Sable. Needless to say I chose Porcelain and just hoped for the best that the shade would be light enough for my pale skin as testing the product in store is just not a possibility at the moment. The affordability of this brand is most definitely a plus point as the range is in the middle ground I would say; not on the low end of the spectrum but not high end either. The Light Illusion liquid foundation is £12.99 for 30 ml which I think is reasonable enough for a drug store foundation. My initial impression of this foundation having swatched it on my hand is that this foundation is medium to full coverage as the formula was a lot thicker than I expected when I pumped some on to my hand - it would seem a little goes a long way with this formula so happy days. The shade felt a bit on the darker side for me but I am not going to judge too prematurely and will see how it goes when I apply it to my face and blend it out properly. 


Upon applying this foundation to my face I was really impressed with the coverage and the colour blended out a lot better than I expected once buffed in to the skin. For application I used a beauty blender and before application I used a primer which was a really nice base for this foundation and added to the luminosity effect of it. I normally like to set my foundation with powder but on this occasion I really liked the look of the foundation as it was that I only used a very light dusting of powder to not deter from the foundation's dewy effect.This foundation initially had me sceptical with its thick texture and appearing more on the dark side for a porcelain shade in my opinion however, after having applied it to my face I have been turned and I really love this foundation. The formulation is brilliant, its dewy, luminous, creates a natural look and I just love how it felt on my skin, not heavy at all and felt very silky on the skin whilst maintaining wear. I sometimes have the problem of foundation sinking in to my pores but I did not see this with Flower Beauty and I really believe a good primer sets this foundation off. I will be really interested to see what other shades Flower Beauty have to offer but for the mean time I am more than content with the Porcelain one and have found my new favourite foundation.

The next product I had a play with is the Light Illusion Concealer, I chose the shade Fair which is the lightest shade available. 


There are 5 shades of concealer; as like the foundation, these are in the shades of Fair, Light, Light Medium, Medium Deep and Deep. The Concealer is priced at £8.99 which in my opinion is reasonable enough for a concealer. The concealer comes with a doe foot applicator sponge that is well suited to glide in the under eye area, on initially swatching the product on my hand I was thinking it was a bit on the darker side for me but lets not be too hasty and try it on the face. 



The concealer is definitely high coverage and has a really creamy consistency. I applied this over the Flower Beauty foundation on my under eye area, on blemishes and any red or problem areas on my face. Due to having very pale and sensitive skin, my skin can be quite red at times in places so I like to target these areas with concealer for extra coverage. Yet again my initial impression of this product has been completely changed and I LOVE this concealer - the only slight draw back would be that the shade could be ever so slightly on the lighter side but for first impressions I am more than happy with the fair shade. I would say with the shades being ever so slightly darker than I am used to I spent more time in blending this into the skin but felt this only added to the flawless finish of the product and I was super impressed with how long lasting this was and barely transferable. I did set my under eye area with a little powder however, after around 6 hours of wear I was pleased to not see any creasing and did not require any touch ups. I normally wear the Glossier stretch concealer which I really love and was just about to re-purchase this however I think for the meantime I will stick to this one. I find the stretch concealer to be a little greasy at times and I feel like this can cause some creasing at times under my eyes but I didn't seem to get this with Flower Beauty, I found this formulation not too drying but set enough so it felt like it sort of melted in to the skin and created a really flawless, illuminating finish. 



The final product I have been have been testing out is the Shimmer and Strobe Highlighting Palette which costs £12.99. The palette is actually a lot larger than I expected and comes complete with a strobing brush. The brush is a nice little feature and I will likely use it at some point but for my application I used a more feathery. lighter highlighter brush. There are three shades of highlighter which are all universal, the first one is more of a subtle faun, pearl like shade with the middle one more of a pinkish/rose gold shade and the last one is a more gold like shade.



I will get wear from all of these depending on which occasion it is and how much of a highlight I feel like. The formulation of these highlighters are super pigmented, very smooth and the powder is so fine it glides on like it could be butter. For the photo below I chose the left highlighter on the palette - the pearl like one and I only had to apply a very little amount of this to achieve a really nice highlight. The powders are so fine they feel weightless on the skin which I often find can be problematic with powder highlighters as often they can feel heavy on the skin and I become really aware of it just sitting on my face. Not the case for Flower Beauty it feels so slick and my skin feels luminous. 10's, 10's, 10's across the board!




Well it looks like Flower Beauty is quite a game changer for me in the beauty department. I am now eager to try out more products especially the Elixir primer and the Liquid lipsticks. I am really impressed with the items I have purchased and can see the products being super long lasting as the formulations have super staying power! Great work Drew!













Have you tried Flower Beauty yet? Interested to know what you make of it and if you have opinions of other products I haven't tried out yet.



A bientot et bisous

Cheryl xxx

Monday 18 March 2019

My Little Cosmos Box Fevrier 2019


Bonjour mes amis!

Well... Its been quite a long time since I posted anything on here. The blog has well and truly been given a good dusting off and I am here with a new post all about the French edition of My Little Box. Sadly My Little Box UK ceased in November 2017 and brought with it a lot of unhappy subscribers, myself for one! I really enjoyed my subscription with My Little Box so was pretty disappointed to see them stop sending to the UK.

However.... Silver linings and all that.. I have been able to subscribe to the French edition by having it sent to a forwarding address in France for them to then send it on to me. It does mean I can be a little behind in receiving boxes as the delivery process is longer, but I am just happy to be able to get my hands on it and carry on my subscription. The first offering I have for you here is the February box which is the theme of the Cosmos. I have been receiving boxes from France for a little while now but I am finally just getting around to sitting down and writing a review for you.... So Here Goes..!


The concept of the box is primarily the same as the UK one however I would say the contents are better and I feel the box is more value for the money. Of course I pay a bit more to have it forwarded to me but I feel that the quality of the box justifies this, so for the time being I am really happy to receive this.

The February box is the theme of the Cosmos which is super cute with the constellations of stars design on the box and everything in midnight blue and silver.

So lets delve in to this box...


Upon opening the box.. we are presented with the contents tied up cutely in a silver ribbon with some really cute holographic stickers.. always gotta love some stickers and My Little Box are strong with their sticker game. For someone who super enjoys seeing stickers in their Glossier orders - I am really happy to receive these.


Only one small downside was that there was no sticker this month on the insider of the outer cardboard packaging, normally they do have one - its a bit of a hit or a miss really.

Lifestyle items

Ok so on to the lifestyle items in this exciting box!..

First up... A beautiful gold necklace from jewellery brand Satellite. Customised to my own star sign Cancer this necklace is two gold discs, a smaller one in front of another engraved with my astrological sign on it. I really love this cute necklace and will be something I will get plenty of wear from. I am impressed that they have tailored this product unique to everyone and it is just a really nice little customised detail of the box.




The beauty products in this box are contained in a very stylish metallic silver clutch purse which says "Kit a emporter sur la lune" on it and this translates to "Kit to take to the moon".


Beauty items

Ok so on to the excitement of the beauty items and in true My Little Box style there are three items with one of them being an item from the My Little Beauty range.

The My Little Beauty item is a Masque de l'espace, translated to ... Space mask. This mask is a purifying silver face mask (50 ml) which I have now used twice and I am really impressed with it, after leaving it on for 10 minutes it leaves my skin feeling ultra clean, smooth and really purified. I am aiming to use this around twice a week to keep my skin in check and so far so good..


The second of the beauty items is a REDKEN multi-benefit treatment for hair in a 30 ml sample. As stated, this treatment is multi-use as it can be used as leave-in treatment after shampooing or as a rinse-out after 1-2 minutes for lightweight conditioning. The scent of this is really pleasing and I have been seeing good results using it as a leave-in treatment, can really see me re-purchasing this in a larger size however for the now it is making the perfect travelling companion for my hair.

The final item of the beauties and believe me this one is a beauty! Drum roll please........

Its... Benefit Bad gal Bang mascara!

I have been desperate to try this mascara for forever now and I am delighted to have received it. I received a small size sample of 4.0 g which is perfect for me to pop in my handbag. Let me tell you.... the wand on this mascara is tres bien!! Its a slender intricate comb like wand which catches every eyelash. The perfect mascara for lengthening my lashes, it is giving me vibes from my University days of wearing L'Oreal Telescopic mascara which used to be one of my must have mascaras.







Marks out of 10: 8
Favourite item: Benefit mascara (and the necklace too!)
Least Favourite item: Silver clutch purse


And so you have it... my first review from the French edition of My Little Box. I intend to keep on top of doing these reviews.. as some of the boxes are really impressing me and I would love to share the content with you all. I can see why My Little Box perhaps decided to discontinue the UK boxes and focus on channeling their energy in to the French ones - they are certainly of a better quality with a higher quality of products and the little details, it has also been helping me out with my French! A win-win all round!

Until next time... 

I am waiting to have my March box forwarded to me so I hope to receive this soon and a review will be on its way to you all!

A bientot et bisous!

Cheryl xxx

Thursday 8 June 2017

My Little Los Angeles Box June 2017


Hey everyone!

I am so delighted to be back and to be sharing June's box from MLB with you all. I am especially thrilled about this box as I am travelling to LA in October for one of my best friend's wedding and.... I am a bridesmaid! It is soo exciting and I really cannot wait to go; so this box is an extra special one for me. It has definitely got me in that Cali- mood. 


First thing that needs to be addressed is just how beautifully designed this box is (I know I rattle on a lot about the design of the boxes) but the my little box's are always designed so beautifully and would even make a great gift box for a present - which I have actually done before. 

One thing I did notice upon opening the box was that the usual sticker which is found on the outer cardboard box was missing.. I know a sticker is quite a small aspect but its the little things that can make a box sometimes and I enjoy putting these stickers on my laptop so I was a little sad not to see one there.

The contents of the box were tied together with a palm tree designed MLB ribbon which was very cute for the theme of LA and instead of the usual printed card there was a fold out Welcome to LA things to do and see booklet which folds out to reveal a really cute illustrated map of the LA hotspots by Kanako. I love this and just about everywhere on the map are places I want to visit when I am in LA. The pastel shades used in this box are very California dreaming.... 




Lifestyle items


The first of the lifestyle items to be found in the box was a canvas bag in a leafy design which says "Take me Away" on it. I think this could be perfect to be used as a beach bag when I go over to LA; It is a good decent size and I love the print. I may even be tempted to use it before October!





The second of the lifestyle items came in a little paper bag which says "California Dreamin'" on it. Inside the bag there is a very bright green, pink and gold beaded bracelet with neon pink little tassels. Each of the beads on the bracelet is supposed to represent a wish for: love, health and happiness. I think this is most definitely a holiday piece for on the beach... is a little too bright for wearing in dreary Glasgow at the moment. I like this bracelet although would have preferred to see an anklet as I think that is more summery and something we have not seen in a MLB yet.




The final little lifestyle item was just TOO CUTE and I love them! And it is..... Stickers! Yes I do love me some stickers and these are just so sweet! Little symbols of LA as stickers such as "Hotel California", a cactus, surfboard, etc.... Not sure where I will decorate with these yet... Maybe my passport cover for when I am going to LA.



Beauty items


Now for the beauty bag of treats... 

And I must say.... I am a little disappointed that the little drawstring bag which normally contains the items was missing.... Instead we received the items in a paper type bag designed in palm trees. I really hope the draw string bags return as they are so handy to have for travelling and I think they could have come up with a great design for the LA theme. 


The first beauty item was.... (And I am happy to say was not nail polish!) was actually a small travel size 50ml bottle of Palmers Coconut Oil body lotion. I love this product.. it is a bit of a cult product really and the smell of this is divine! It smells like sun in a bottle and I will definitely be using this to make my skin super soft that smells of paradise.


The second beauty item was a Burt's Bees' deep cleansing cream.in 20g. This cream is supposed to be effective in removing make up and dirt and is formulated with Chamomile, Aloe and a hint of menthol known for its cooling and soothing properties - Perfect for the summer when I get a little sun kissed. I have not used many products from Burt's Bees' before but I have heard excellent reviews and I am excited to give this a go.


The last of the beauty items was a Coco Sunrise Hair and Body Oil from My Little Beauty. I love hair and body oils so there is no doubt I will get use of this.. However I just feel this item is too samey to the others. All of the other items are lotions and creams. I think MLB had the opportunity to throw in a really good make up item to tie in with the glitz of LA like a highlighter or something more exciting other than coconut products. None the less the hair and body oil smells incredible - I recently had my hair dyed so this will be perfect for using on the ends of my hair.


Marks out of 10: 8
Favourite item: Bag and stickers
Least Favourite item: Burt's Bees' cleansing cream

So there you have it readers... My review for the June LA box. This box really did not disappoint.. I feel like this box was almost made for me as I have been making so many plans recently for my trip to LA. I just hope in the next box they will include the little details because when they're gone I tend to miss them! Anyone else feel this way??...



Any who I will send you my Au Revoir's for now.. while I go and watch LA LA Land! ahah

A bientot et bisous!

Cheryl xxx