B.B Cream!

Got this lovely sample in the post last week. It's 3 sample sachets, I've already used one.

This stuff is fabulous! It wasn't too dark, blended amazingly and felt fantastic on my skin.

I'll definitely be purchasing a full size tube of this once I have the money.

IvorySmoke

Thank you TK Maxx!

Finally decided to go in and use my five pound gift card that I won from Facebook. Picked up this wee three pack for £7.99 It had an RRP of £21.67 so I'd say I got a good deal!

Bourjois 1 seconde in shade 15 I think. Can't see anything else pointing towards a name or colour. I love the fan effect brush on this polish, makes applying so easy! I'll definitely be purchasing more shades!
Bourjois eyeshadow shade 25 Argent. I love this shade on its own but I'm looking forward to seeing how it blends with other coloues.
Une lipstick in L20. I don't tend to go for lipsticks with brown tones in them so I was q bit skeptical about trying this, however I really like the colour on! The actual lipstick doesn't go on too great, its quite thin. I'm hoping to get a good lip brush soon to see how it sits after building it up.

All in all, I'm quite pleased with these products. I'll need to remember TK Maxx for the future!
What have you purchased recently?

IvorySmoke

Thanks Mr Postman!

So TK Maxx were doing a promotion thing on Facebook for a while. You spun the wheel and what it landed on, you won! I think the top prize was £250 but I won £5. Better than nothing, so I'm happy!

I'll take a walk down in the next few days and see if I can pick up any bargains :)

Did you play the game? If you did, did you win?

IvorySmoke

Haul; But not really a haul?

 I say haul, it's a couple things I picked up when I was out today.

Alberto Balsam Herbal Shampoo and Conditioner in Sun Kissed Raspberry. 

So this one is easy, I needed some new shampoo and conditioner. I've used different Alberto Balsam's before so thought I'd give these one's a fair trial. I love the smell of fruity shampoo but let's see if the 'moisture splash' has any effect on my rather dry ended hair.

I'll review these in a week or two to let you all know if they had any effect on my hair.

Purchased from B&M for £1.69

Technic Electric Beauty 12 eyeshadow pallet

I've had some troubles with Technic before, mainly their polishes but when I saw this in the shop, I just had to have it. Look at those colours! Amazing. Not writing too much as I'm going to do a separate post about these, so stay tuned for that!

Purchased from Bodycare for £1.99

N.Y.C Smooth Mineral Starter Kit 755A Basic Brown

L-R Cocoa Shimmer, Espresso, Almost Apricot,Natural Veil

I've never really used mineral make up so I'm looking forward to trying this out properly. The shadows can be used wet or dry for lining, contouring and highlighting. It says on the box they are intense but extremely blendable. The finishing powder looks great for setting looks. It's quite pale so I don't have to worry about looking tangoe'd, which is always a plus! The blush has an SPF 12 which is always handy! It looks a bit too dark for my skin but if it's a blendable as they say, I won't have to worry about that.

I'll do  proper in depth review of these products once I've tried them out properly. Can't wait to create some looks with this!

Purchased from B&M for £1.49

Dentex Easy White Immediate Brush On Tooth Whitener


My teeth have always been a sore point for me. I don't like them whatsoever, the colour, the shape, the way they feel in my mouth. Nothing! Now I can't do anything about the last two things but the colour, I can work with this!

It's quite simple to use, the brush is just like a nail polish brush, brush it over your teeth, it dries and hey presto! I quickly tried it when I got in and I did notice bit of difference but I'm going to use it again tomorrow morning after I've brushed my teeth and see what it's like then.

To remove the whitener you simply brush your teeth at the end of the day. The only thing I don't like about this is I can feel there is something on my teeth, which I hate.

Purchased from B&M for £1.49

Digital Coin Bank

I'd seen that my boyfriend had one of these, I'd never seen them before and thought it was a great idea! So when I saw one sitting on the shelf, I had to get it! I love the zebra-esque print, gives the box a wee funky look instead of just being one block colour. Let my Illamasqua and Benefit Fund begin! ;)

Purchased from B&M for £3.99

*Oh and mentioning Benefit, I popped into Debenhams to drool over their Benefit counter and picked up the booklet that has descriptions of all the products. I would love one of everything! In all seriousness though, the booklet will help me decide which products to save up for. It also has two little tokens at the back that you can exchange for a make up lesson with one of their Beauty Artists, these will be put to good use. I;ll see if Miss Scarlet Pout would like the other one!

All in all, some really good bargains I reckon! Look out for future reviews of the above products and let me know below if you have these, want to try them or anything else!

IvorySmoke

Nails in daylight

I woke up this morning to find my nails were a lot brighter than I thought they were and I still love this polish that Sarah let me use!

I'm still scared of breaking these nails as I am awfy clumsy but let's see how long they last.

What's your new favourite polish? What's your all time favourite polish?

NOTD; New Favourite Colour!

Again, apologies for the awful phone pictures but I am in love with these nails. Had to share them with you! Hope you like them too :)

Swatchmania!

I am turning into a human swatch when I go out now.
Gotta know which lippy to buy when I have the money!!

Water is your friend!

I drink so much water each day that I get most of my exercise from going up and down the stairs to the bathroom!

The health benefits of drinking enough water astound me, so I can't then understand why people wouldn't consciously drink enough. 

Lips in a flash!

So if I'm in a hurry out the door or something and just want something quick to put on my lips, this is my go to product!

Poundland is my friend!

#3508 Fiery Red

It's not the most fantastic product ever but I like it. I like the colour, how it goes on and how it looks on.  It says the colour is Fiery Red but it looks more of a dark pink to me. Just me?

What are your go to lip products?

Fashion Hypocrisy

One thing I cannot stand these days is those big 'geeky' (and I use that term very loosely when it comes to this!) glasses that tend to not have any lenses as the wearer doesn't in fact need glasses. In all honesty though, most of this hatred is probably due to the fact that I need to wear my glasses constantly, which can sometimes get quite tiring. What I wouldn't give to be able to wear glasses one day and not the next, without the faffing of contacts!

I'd always loved the idea that I could get laser eye surgery and have lovely working eyes. Until my optician told me I couldn't get laser eye surgery due to my eyes being that messed up they wouldn't go near me. Boo!

I'm getting off topic here, so I hate those not needed glasses.

Or I did, till I found these..



Best 25p I have ever spent! Yes, twenty five pence, from that wonder that is eBay! I did feel extremely hypocritical buying these but in my defense, I don't wear them. They sit next to my other Hello Kitty things on my windowsill. That word has always confused me, it never looks right.

But yes, if it has HK on it, I'll probably want it. Above post proving that point!

IvorySmoke

Pale skin

Ok so I am as pale as Casper which means I've always been a bit scared of blusher. I have a really pale pink one with a wee shimmer to it which is lovely on if I just put a wee bit.

But this one, I am so scared of it, I've not even opened it yet! I got it as part of a wee 3 piece set. It looks way too dark for my skin. Like I'd just look ridiculous if I wore it.

Am I right or is there some way I could wear this? I would like to try a blush darker than the one I have just for something different every once in a while.

Leave me any tips or suggestions below in the comments section!

If I can't find a way to wear this then I might as well sell it to someone if I can. Another reason I think I haven't opened it.

Enjoy the close up of my awfully painted thumb. Boo Technic!










IvorySmoke

Look ma, I painted my nails!

Having a wee rummage through my polishes and decide to give my nails a wee lick of paint :)

I wanted to try out the Technic crackle polish as I'd used it once before and wasn't too impressed with it. Can't decide if I like it with this blue or not.

One of my least favourite things about crackle polishes is the matte effect you get after they have dried so I just stick a clear top coat over it so it's nice and shiny. I prefer shiny to matte nails. What about you?

Should have just left my nails like this, think they look much nicer. Ah well, trial and error!

Whats your favourite polish these days? What's your go to polish? What have you heard rave reviews about but not had the chance to try? Let me know!

The start of a beautiful relationship

Hello MAC! So I was actually given the Sheen Supreme Lipstick as a gift from a friend. That was a good day for post! The eyeliner gel was bought off ebay. I'll go into more details about both below.

Sheen Supreme Lipstick in Quite The Thing! - I haven't ever been in love with a lipstick before, but now that I know what it feels like, I don't want the feeling to ever leave!

My horrible phone pictures do this absolutely no justice at all (Must remember to pick up my camera next time I'm at my friend's house!) It's a rich plum colour with a blue kind of tinge to it. I thought this was really strange at first but after I tried it on, I loved it! I'm trying not to use it too much right now, I want to buy a lip brush, don't want to waste it too much by just slapping it on. So for now it's a special occasions lipstick.

The description on the MAC website for the Sheen Supreme range is :

Combining the colour impact of a lipstick with the shine sheen of a lipglass, Sheen Supreme creates the perfect hybrid - with no compromise. Ligtweight, non-sticky, slick to apply and comfortable to wear. This is a must-have for all those who have craved this kind of fusion.


I'd say that is spot on really. It goes on like a dream, however I do need to invest in a lip liner to wear with it as I find it bleeds out after a few hours wear. Don't know if it's just me that suffers from this or other wearers too. Let me know!











Now the eyeliner gel. I bought this off ebay as I said above but it cost me 99p and it wasn't advertised as being MAC which leads to believe it's probably a fake. That, or I got the best bargain ever on ebay!

I'm going to stick with it's probably a fake though. I'd never tried eyeliner gel before so thought I'd give it a bash, that's why I went to ebay first. I got a small brush with the gel as well, it's not pictured because I'm an idiot and forgot to add it.

I really like this stuff though! It goes on quite nicely and is a good bold colour. I find it doesn't last very long so I think I need to maybe invest in an eyelid primer see that will help it last that little bit longer.

I think the gel is a really good idea, it's going to last me longer than my ever faithful Miss Sporty Eye Pencil Magic or Collection (2000) Fast Stroke Eyeliner. I feel like I get a sharper look than the Miss Sporty and straighter lines than the Collection liner. I'm not too great at liquid liner, must practice!

Just need to get it to stay and this will probably be my go to liner.

Now for the questions to you! What is your favourite lipstick? Have you tried the Sheen Supreme Range? If so opinions? Eyeliner, what is your preferred method? I haven't tried the pens yet, have you? Any links to reviews on them would be greatly appreciated!

IvorySmoke

Perfume

I got Flower By Kenzo first. It was a Christmas gift from my mother. I think I must have been about 14 or 15. I felt so grown up, having a ladies perfume not a teenage one (See bottom of post for my 'teen perfume') It smelled and still smells divine and the bottle is great. I love the way that's it's not perfectly straight. I like perfume bottles that look odd, good conversation starter sometimes! I try not to use this one too much, I don't like it running out. It's usually when I have no money to replace it! I tend to use it as my 'going out' scent like for nights out, dates, etc.








DKNY Be Delicious was another Christmas gift from my mum. She's good at this game! I think I was about 16 when I got this, so that was already 2 years of loving Flower but by god, Be Delicious came in and halved that crown! In case you didn't already know or couldn't tell from the picture, it's an apple scented perfume and I just love it. This is more my daytime scent. Quick wee spritz in the morning and I'm good to go. However, I love it that much, I tend to add a bit more as the day goes on.


As a younger teen, I found I only used two perfumes as well. These two being J.Lo's Glow and Beat by Rimmel. Again both presents from both my mums this time. My mother would get me Beat and my (step) mum would get Glow for me.

As much as I love knowing what scents I like and what to buy, I think I need to get myself out there more. Try something different! Any suggestions?

What scents did you wear as a teen? What do you wear now?

IvorySmoke

Escada Rockin' Rio

Got a wee sample in the post today ( yesterday now, I forgot to post this last night). I'm always wary of perfume, I don't like it if they are heavy sitting and I'm really rather fussy! I prefer light, fruity scents.

That's exactly what this is! It's beautiful. Nice and light but still packs a punch of aroma. I could possibly be persuaded to buy this, add it to my two already faithful scents. (I'll do a separate post about them)

This is a great scent for summer I reckon. The bottle as well, looks lovely from what I can see on the above picture. Bright, bold colours which I'm always a fan of.






IvorySmoke

Glamour Magazine May Giveaway

I entered as many days as I could have remembered throughout the month and actually won one day!

I'd never actually heard of nspa until I entered on the day but I always love at home spa products. Sure its not the same as being at an actual spa but it's a close second.

I've only used this product a few times but I love it! Makes my skin feel amazing. A few drops on the palm of my hands, rubbed together then gently pressed onto my skin. Gently but firmly as the bottle says.

It's a 50ml bottle so if I'm only using a few drops at a time, it should last quite a while. It has a 12 month span as well so I don't have to rush to use it.


Nspa is sold in Asda stores throughout the UK. The facial oil costs £6 which I think is great. I can see me checking out the rest of this brand when I have the money.

Great wee prize I'd say!

IvorySmoke

Introduction?

It's taken me so long to think of a name for this blog that I now have no idea how to introduce it! Seriously, I was sat for about 30 minutes before I decided on one I liked. For now. Let's see how long it takes me to change it.
For now though, welcome to Ivory Smoke. My little corner of blogspot.

I will hopefully one day figure out a posting routine, fingers crossed I have that much to post about that I need a routine and to plan it all out! For now it will be a bit of a mixmash of beauty products I've bought, tried in store, received as freebies, any other freebies I get in the post, clothes (if I ever get any, it's a rarity these days) exercise I like doing or exercise I don't like doing but still do, healthy eating (I'm rather fussy so this part should be fun!) and anything else I can think of really that I believe people might enjoy reading about.

And so I sign off on my first post, it shan't be read for a while but it's here waiting for you!

IvorySmoke