Worth The Hype? | Real Techniques Makeup Sponge

Blogmas Day 6

Another day another post. Today I'm going to be talking to all you lovely people about the Real Techniques Miracle Complexion sponge. About 18 months ago now I was curious about different ways of applying my foundation, rather than the classic foundation brush, or a stipling brush. I first stumbled across the Beauty Blender after seeing numerous YouTubers rave on about it. So obviously I bought one. Fast forward a year and I had gone through 2 Beauty Blenders (no-one wants a dirty bacteria fuelled sponge lol eww!) It was time I purchased a clean one but I just couldn't bring myself to splurge another £18. It just so happened that Casey Holmes posted a video reviewing Beauty Blender alternatives, the Real Techniques Sponge being one of them. After hearing how comparable she thought they were I thought I might as well go and try this out. I got mine for £5.99 from Boots, which is a much better price tag. At first I though it wouldn't be as good, however to my surprise, it applied my foundation like a dream.

Please excuse my foundation covered one, I wanted to show you the size comparison of a damp one to a fresh one.

How to use:
This sponge can be used damp or dry to apply foundation. I squeeze mine underneath a running tap for a good minute, until it has about doubled in size and absorbed plenty water, before ringing out all the excess. I then dot my foundation over my face and bounce the largest part of the sponge all over my face. I then use the little pointed side to pop my concealer underneath my eyes.

The result:
Moisturised, dewy looking, flawless skin even with a matte foundation.

The verdict:
Winner winner chicken dinner lol! This sponge gives the same airbrushed result a Beauty Blender would and for less than half the price! This is one makeup product definitely worth the hype!

Let me know your experiences with the Sponge.

Until next time,

To YouTube or Not To YouTube?

Blogmas Day 5

 

So as some of you may know long before starting my blog I was reading other blogs and watching YouTube videos, oh what about 5 years ago now. Over the years I have toyed with the idea of making my own videos, and even recorded a few, but have never put any of them online. However it has now come to the point where I am watching others YouTubers and thinking why aren't I doing that I should've just put the videos up when I wanted to. In all honesty I guess I was just scared of what others would think. But I have finally decided that there's no more putting it off, I'm going to start my own YouTube channel! Yay! I'm so excited to start posting videos and think that it will work greatly alongside my blog. So what can you expect from my channel, well, anything and everything I want to post, be in makeup tutorials, look books, vlogs...whatever I fancy!

I have asked for a new camera for Christmas so I am hoping to have videos up in the New Year. It would mean the world to me if you would go check my channel out and hit the cheeky subscribe button!

You can search 'That Beauty Blonde' or click the link over in the side bar.

I cant wait to start on my new journey

Until next time,

Christmas Time Mistletoe and Wine | Xmas Decor Haul

Blogmas Day 4
If you hadn't already guessed by now, I absolutely adore Christmas and everything that goes with it. Including getting my house looking all festive. This year marks our first Christmas in our very own home together (mine and my boyfriend's) so of course I was highly excited to buy all my own trimmings and turn the house into a grotto!!
I thought I would share with you a few of the decorations we got, because lets face it, everyone loves being nosey!

This is our very cute angel from Asda. She was only £5 and is white and sparkley crochet. My boyfriend actually picked this out and I was quite surprised as its very shabby chic and not like a traditional fairy or star.

The rest of our tree decorations are a mixture of Asda and The Range.

Gold glitter tutu £1.50 from The Range

White glitter reindeer £1.50 from The Range. White glitter icicles from Asda, £1.50 (i think?) for a set of 12. White glittery tinsel from Asda £2.

All the individual decorations here are from The Range and cost between £1-£1.80

The beads and little fancy wrap arounds are also from Asda and only cost a couple of pounds at the most. How amazing have Asda decorations been this year! We picked up the candy canes from The Range and are slowly making our way through them already! The little red decorations you can see were all handmade by my mum and have our names and pet's names on them!

Gold glittery reindeers were £5 for the pack of two from The Range. They're guarding our tree!

I switched out all my decorations on my shelves in favour for more festive ones. The snowflake came in a pack of 3 for £1 and the gold hurricane vase with trimmings around was about £4?

Here's my Christmas Cookie Yankee Candle on a Yankee Christmas lid and plate which I got from a local outlet store. This sets the scene so nicely when lit on an evening. It's also really cool when you blow it out as it all comes through the top like a little chimney! (The little things ha!)

This gold jingle bell Christmas tree is yet again from The Range and was £5. My mum gifted me this Red Apple Wreath Yankee large jar from a local outlet shop and I am saving this to burn on Christmas Day.

Everyone has to have some tat at Christmas and this is mine. He's a singing and dancing Christmas tree. He sings jingle bell rock and spins around!! I actually bought this a couple of years ago so can't remember too much what I paid for him but you can find things like this all over.

Gold and white sparkly twigs and snowflakes, £1-£2.99 from The Range. I usually keep brighter flowers in this vase from Next, but changed them round for winter.

I hope you enjoyed this little insight into some of the things I have picked up this Christmas.

Until next time,

Jumping On the Bandwagon | St Tropez Bronzing Mousse

Blogmas Day 3

So this is me jumping on the bandwagon with the St. Tropez Bronzing Mousse. As a fake tan user for a good 7 years I've tried my fair few of self tanners, so it may come as a surprise for you to hear that I have only just recently tried this tan. I had received a voucher for Marks and Spencers so headed straight towards the beauty section, and to my surprise they had a whole section of different St. Tropez products. I've heard everyone rave on about how good this mousse was so thought I may as well give it a go. I was a bit wary of how deep the colour would be since I'd heard most people prefer the darker version. At first I did agree and didn't think the colour was too dark, however by morning it had developed into a lovely golden colour.

I applied my mousse with a St. Tropez mitt which I think together make a great team. The mousse glides on with the mitt and it makes it very easy to buff in. I will say that over some areas (my legs and chest) I did apply two layers almost instantly and this gave me the best colour and I didn't feel sticky at all.

Please excuse the dirty-ness of my mitt, but lets face it, that's just real and what happens when you tan!

All in all I would recommend this tan to anyone. Its practically fool proof and you can get a deeper or a more natural tan. I do think I may try the darker in the summer though!

Let me know you're experiences with this tan.

Until next time,