NOTD: Tour de Finance

Essie Tour de Finance is a typical Barbie pink. It's a hot pink with a light shimmer to it, although it dries to a non-glossy, almost matte colour. It has the new wide brush, which is perfect and one of my favourite types of brushes now. The formula was a dream to work with, as with all the Essie polishes I have tried. It was opaque in one coat. I probably could have done with two, but I couldn't be bothered (oops). It has lasted well on my nails and remained chip-free for the few days before I changed the colour.

1 coat of Essie nail polish in Tour de Finance

I definitely want to invest in more Essie polishes. Do any of you have any colour recommendations?

xoxo, Joy

Tommy Hilfiger brings Charity and Fashion Together

For the sixth consecutive year, Tommy Hilfiger is partnering with Breast Health International to raise awareness and funds for women who are fighting breast cancer. The bag, modelled by Charlotte Gainsbourg, is true to Tommy Hilfiger's style and is made up of his staple navy blue, red and white, with a twist of rose gold.

The photos and video were shot by none other than Drew Barrymore. Who knew she was so multitalented? In the video, Charlotte reads a poem which was written especially for this initiative, that is very moving and the video can be viewed below:

The bag is already available now in select Tommy Hilfiger stores in Europe, the United Stated, Canada and the Asia Pacific region and £80 from the sale of each limited edition bag will be directly donated to the Fund for Living, a global BHI initiative that provides assistance to women with breast cancer and their families by covering costs that may not be covered by traditional health insurance programs. It can also be bought online here.

xoxo, Joy

*This is a collaborative post. All words and opinions are my own.

Diet Coke Style Showdown

In association with Clothes Show Live, Diet Coke has organized a competition on Instagram called 'The Diet Coke Style Showdown'. If you are an Instagram user, Diet Coke wants you to upload a photo of what you think is your most catwalk-worthy look and tag it with #DietCokeCSL. All entries will be pulled onto the Diet Coke fashion site and the Clothes Show Live site. There will be a winner for each theme: Fashionista, Rock chick and Romantic and you could be in for a chance of winning VIP tickets to Clothes Show Live this December, a goody bag, a stay in a top hotel and on top of all that, you could see your outfit being re-created on the Diet Coke catwalk at the show! The competition started on October 15 and runs until November 23, 2012.

For all of you Birmingham ladies, there will be a Diet Coke Style Spotter in Birmingham on October 26 to scout out the most fashionable people and Instagram them for the competition, so you'd better get started thinking about your outfits and be in town on that day!

Good luck everyone!

xoxo, Joy

*This is a collaborative post. All words and opinions are my own.

NOTD: Frozen Yoghurt

3 coats of MUA nail varnish in 'Frozn Yoghurt' and 1 coat of Models Own 'Disco Mix' on the ring finger

I picked up this nail polish from MUA for a mere £1! It's a pretty midtone purple, with a kind of cornflower blue-esque quality. I found that it was mostly opaque after 2 coats, but had a few streaks. So I did 3 coats in total to even it out and I was left with this beaut. The brush is super thin and I found the short length and wide lid a little difficult and annoying to manage. I decided to put Models Own 'Disco Mix' onto my ring finger as I thought it would jazz it up a little and I think the colours of the glitters are very Autumnal. I have a small dent in the polish on that nail, as I touched it by accident before it had fully dried. Grr. I was impressed with the longevity of the nail polish, as after 4 days there were still no chips. I'm seriously impressed, especially since this cost me a measly £1!

Have you ever used any MUA nail polishes before?

Thank you for reading. xoxo, Joy

Review: Xen Tan Dark Lotion

In a bid to get rid of this Autumn gloominess, I have started fake tanning more frequently. I bought this mini deluxe sample from Xen Tan for £3.99 as I wanted to try the much raved about brand, but couldn't bear to commit to the hefty £30+ price tag as I don't use fake tan often enough.

I found this very easy to use. As a fake tanning amateur, I liked that there was a guide colour and you could easily see where you had missed. The lotion has a marzipan type smell, which was nice as I absolutely hate the biscuity smell of fake tan. The lotion dried quickly and I was in my pyjamas about 5 minutes after I had done the fake tan. Straight away, I could tell that my skin was a lovely olive colour and when I woke up the next day, my skin looked bronzed and natural with no orange or streaks in sight. There was also no sign of the biscuity fake tan smell either, which was brilliant. I find this lasts on my skin about 5-6 days before I need to reapply and I will definitely purchase a full size tube when I'm done with this small one.

What fake tan do you use?

Thank you for reading. xoxo, Joy

Review: Elemis Brighten & Resurface Cleansing Duo

The Tri-Enzyme Resurfacing Facial Wash has fast become one of my favourite cleansers. It's got a creamy consistency, but is not as thick as most traditional cream cleansers. It has a lovely fruity smell and foams slightly on contact with water. I have found that this works a treat with my Clarisonic, as it foams enough to spread it around my face but not too much that it goes up my nose! I thought this would be my saving grace with regards to post acne hyperpigmentation. It has helped to fade the marks faster than if they were left alone, however it isn't a quick fix. My skin always feel soft after use and it doesn't leave my skin feeling dried out. I have noticed that my skin now looks brighter and more even and I would attribute this change to this cleanser.

The Soothing Apricot Toner is a pleasant toner, but to be honest I don't use it that much as I always forget to use it. It has a very strong apricot smell, which may not be great for people with sensitive skin. The spray is very generous and I find that spraying it onto a cotton pad means less wastage.

Have you ever tried these products?

Thank you for reading. xoxo, Joy

September Favourites 2012

I'm really sorry my September Favourites are a little late! Usually when I post my monthly favourites on here, I tend to upload a picture and link you to my Youtube channel as I do a monthly favourites video every month. I was thinking about this recently and I kind of felt bad for just posting a picture and then linking to a video, as most people aren't too interested in watching my Youtube videos. So I have decided to write a summary in the blogpost about the products I love each month:

I never thought I would say this, but I have been enjoying using this Revlon Matte blush in 'Perfectly Peach'. When I first bought and swatched it, I couldn't get over how unpigmented it was and it got relegated to the back of my makeup drawers. Recently I dug it out again in a bid to use it up and I discovered that with the right brush (I use the ELF stipple brush), it leaves a lovely natural looking peachy pink flush to the cheeks. It is a matte blush, but somehow adds a pretty glow to the cheeks. It lasts really well too, which is great.

I have been alternating between the Revlon Matte blush and Benefit Dallas this month. Dallas is a gorgeous red-toned blush, which is a bit like a mix between a bronzer and a blush. I used to wear this every single day and kind of forgot about it. But I'm glad I rediscovered this! It gives such a lovely colour on the cheeks and has a slight shimmer, which isn't obvious but gives a nice glow. I have a blog post (from over 2 years ago!) where I show a dupe of Dallas, so if you're interested then check it out here.

I finished my can of Batiste Original in the middle of the month and picked up the Batiste Tropical version. I definitely prefer this as it smells amazing (coconuts!) and doesn't leave that unsightly white residue on my hair, like the Original did. It gives my hair a boost of life when it's looking a little worse for wear on my second day and I have been using it more often than before.

I neglected my Clarisonic when I went home for the summer and I have been loving using it again this month. I took apart the brush head to make it better for precision cleaning around my nose and cheeks after watching Nur's video on Youtube (here). I feel like my pores look much clearer now that I've started using this again and my skin in general also looks clearer and more even. I have been loving using it with the Elemis Tri-Enzyme Resurfacing Facial Wash, as it is a lovely cleanser that leaves my skin feeling soft and looking brighter. I am going to post a more in depth review soon, which I will link when it's live.

If you watch my monthly favourites videos on Youtube, you will know I always include a random favourite of the month. This month, I have been loving these Links of London style friendship bracelets. I have been lusting after a Links of London friendship bracelet for a while now, but couldn't justify the £150-ish price tag. My mum kindly bought these dupes for me when she went to China. I love the look of the bracelets, as they're a nice twist on a traditional thread friendship bracelet and look great dressed up or down. I have been wearing the red and pink one pretty much every day since I got them and I have found it goes with everything. They look great stacked with other bracelets and on their own.

What were you loving in September?

Thank you for reading. xoxo, Joy

Review: Skin 79 Super+ BB Cream

Over the summer, I bought some mini 5g samples of the Skin79 BB cream, as I wanted to see what the BB hype was all about and I found that a lot of the Western ones were too dark for my skin tone. I have been using this gold Super + BB Whitening one on days where I don't fancy wearing foundation or just want a quick and easy base and have been loving it.

When first squeezed out, the BB cream looks very grey and on my first use, my initial thought was "there's no way this is going to blend into my skin!". However it blends really nice into the skin and I found it to be a great colour match. I didn't include a before picture (as I didn't want to scare you all away!), but you can see on the picture on left that the BB cream has provided a low coverage base. It has helped to even out my skin tone, but has not concealed the redness on and around my nose and around my eyes or the pigmentation and blemishes around my mouth and on my forehead. You can see from the right picture, that once you get a bit of concealer, powder, etc. on, the skin looks lovely (if I do say so myself...).

This BB cream wears nicely on the skin. It lasts on my combination skin around 7 hours, which is great and doesn't go patchy as it wears away. I do get a little shine across my t-zone, which is easily sorted by powder or blotting.

I am very impressed with this BB cream and will definitely be purchasing a full size version of this.

Have you ever used any Skin 79 BB creams?

Thank you for reading. xoxo, Joy