Christmas Shopping - The Nightmare Begins!

So, today is Bonfire Night, aka the 5^th of November, aka 49 days until Christmas. 49 days! How terrifying is that. In the past, I have been infamous for leaving all of my shopping until the very last minute and then running around like a headless chicken trying to get it all done. Well this year, I point blank refuse to do that again. I am determined. I am going to start now. I know some people that have finished, so I already feel behind! The only problem is that nobody has told me what they want and I am at a complete loss for ideas! Have you started your Christmas shopping yet? Seen any cool and quirky gifts out there?

 

B xxo

My Top 5 Skills

Albert Einstein once said "Everyone is a genius, but if you judge a fish by it's ability to climb a tree, it will spend it's entire life thinking it's an idiot", and no truer words have been spoken (other than potentially, "It's never too early for wine".) So that got me thinking. I may not be conventionally clever, but I've definitely picked up some life skills in my nineteen years.

1) Zipping dresses up on my own.

I can zip any dress up by myself and this will be a skill I will always be proud of myself for. Never rely on a man for anything, not even a simple wardrobe task. If you can probably do it by yourself, make the effort to learn how, you'll never be sorry.

2) My ability to say "No"

This is something I've only learned recently. Saying no is a big thing to me, I hate hurting people's feelings, but sometimes you have to. I've learned to say no when I don't want to do something, and it's a skill that I think will come in handy for a good few years to come yet.

3) Knowing when to call it a day.

Sometimes you have to cut your losses and know when it's time to leave the table. This is something I am willing to confess I've been having trouble with in a certain aspect of my life, but I'm still aware it's time to call it a day, even if I'm reluctant to do anything about it!

4) Sitting down and reading.

I know this sounds weird to put as a skill, but since I was a kid I've been able to sit and read, and I think that's a skill not enough people have. People want to watch films and experience it for themselves, but sometimes it's nice to read situations described beautifully in unnecessarily complicated words.

5) Pulling through.

Every few weeks I have a few days where I feel horrendously down and lonely and think I'm not going to pull through, but I always do. I think dragging myself out of holes that I get into is amongst my better skills, and it's one I'll be using for a lifetime. It's a skill that everyone should possess, being able to get through things that seem horrendously tough at the time.

So there's my unconventional top skills. I may not be able to climb trees or do science, but my god, if you want to judge me on the skills I've detailed above, you better believe I'm going to come out looking like a genius.

S xo.

Guess who's back!

That's right, I'm back. I know it's been a long while, it's no excuse but I've been trying to get blinkered barbie , my other blog, on it's feet and accidentally ended up neglecting Smekah. Here's my promise though, you'll be seeing a lot more of me over here (hopefully three posts ish a week, eek).

I can't wait to get writing back on here, I hope everyone's good!

S xo.

My Autumn/Winter Essentials So Far - B xo

So I’ve seen LOADS of people posting their Autumn/Winter Favourites/Essentials already this year, and every time I see one, I think to myself; wow. It’s only just really started to get yucky weather wise (In the UK anyway). So while I have a few bits that I would class as Autumn/Winter Essentials, I want to make it clear to everyone that these may change, or get added to, as Winter goes on! Okay, here we go.

We’ll go to skincare for my first product. It is, of course, Liz Earle Cleanse and Polish Hot Cloth Cleanser. You all know by now that I am head over heels in love with this product. Since I started using it a few months ago, I have not strayed from the path, I have been completely faithful. I haven’t even been tempted to stray. This is probably my favourite skincare discovery ever. I started using it in the summer and I’ll be honest, I did wonder if it would work as well for me in the colder months, as skin needs change depending on the weather. I had nothing to be worried about. I’ve used this constantly and had no problems whatsoever. Far from it, my skin has improved dramatically compared to before Liz Earle waltzed into my life. It removes every scrap of makeup with minimal effort and leaves my skin feeling quite frankly, luscious. At £13.25 for a 100ml bottle (more than I think I have ever paid for a skincare product, constantly at least) at first glance this may seem a bit expensive (to those of us that rely heavily on high street products). However, once you have tried this product, you will realise that you have got yourself an absolute bargain. You can’t afford NOT to buy it!

My next Autumn/Winter Essential is also of the skin care theme. It is… Astral Moisturiser! I am a bit of a moisturiser whore, I don’t mind admitting. I flit from product to product, never really finding anything that really floats my boat and just plodding along with products I deem average at best. When I ran out of my little Liz Earle moisturiser (which was really nice, just not for me), I was at a loss as for where to head next in my ever long moisturiser quest. Then one day when I went into Superdrug for a browse, I spotted this on display at the front of the shop. I recognised it immediately as a product that my aunty used to use. It was her holy grail of skincare, and I remember seeing it in her bathroom from when I was a tiny toddler to when she died. And as if that wasn’t enough of a sign, it was on offer. I think I paid £3.50 for a 500ml tub (or something along those lines). I LOVE this moisturiser. And I really never thought I would say that, but it is fantastic. My skin gets dehydrated quite quickly, but once moisture has been restored, it’s okay. This means that I normally struggle to find a moisturiser that deals with both skin situations. This does it, no problem. It goes on smoothly, sinks in to the skin beautifully and has left my skin feeling soft and radiant. I’m VERY impressed. And as it is getting colder here in the UK my skin needs a bit more help. I don’t imagine I will be leaving this behind any time soon.

Moving on from skincare to hair, another thing I would be lost without this winter, is Aussie Miracle Moist Shampoo. Again, this tends to be a little bit more pricey than the kind of shampoo that I used to buy but after using it religiously for a few months now (I’m getting much better at this sticking with products thing), I can totally see why. I tend to try and wait until I see this on offer to buy it, but regardless, it is definitely worth the price tag. No matter what I do to my hair, it is always dry. Before I started using Aussie, it would often be so dry that I had to condition for about 10 minutes before I could even dream of getting a brush through it. I have no more of that. The condition of my hair has really improved since I’ve stuck to this shampoo, and it smells gorgeous too!

My next product, is a fairly recent discovery. However, it’s one of those things that everyone has been raving about for ages and I’m just late to the party. It is, of course, the Revlon Colourburst Lip Butters. There has been SO much hype around these, I thought, I just can’t hold out any longer. These are around the £7 mark, depending on where you buy them and whether they’re included in some sort of offer. A little pricey for what seems at first glance to be basically a lip balm. Or so I thought. I was wrong. At first, I didn’t really get this product. Now that I do, I absolutely love it. The formulation of these are quite unique. They apply like a balm, but have the pigmentation of a lipstick. I find these to be uber hydrating and lovely, they make my lips feel gorgeous. The shade range is VERY impressive, although a lot of high street shops don’t stock them all. The staying power isn’t great, but as this isn’t actually a lipstick, I’m fine with that. The only negative comment I have about these is the packaging. I don’t like it. It seems cheap and impractical and just, not to my taste at all. Apart from that, I think these are brilliant. Definitely worth the hype and I hope to be expanding my collection sometime soon.

Have you guys got any products you'd be totally lost without in the Autumn(Fall)/Winter Months? Let us know in the comments below :)

B xo

Back In Business

Hola bambinos! I know Smekah has been off the radar for the last month or so, hence I just thought I'd do a quick little post to update you on the blog/me/sam/wdf situation. (I've written, deleted and rewritten this about a million times this week so bare with me. If there's anything I haven't covered, feel free to get in touch).

Basically, Smekah is back in business. I know I know, I can hear you all jumping for joy as you read this. After a kind of hiatus, it's all kicking off again here. As you know, Sam is now posting from Blinkered Barbie, however all of us here at Smekah hold a special place in her heart (ew, sickly sweet alert) and she has decided she's going to carry on posting here as well, probably around 3 times a week. I am going to step up my posting - it's going to be everything from reviews on beauty products, ootd's/lookbooks, lifestyle posts, reciepes, all manner of random things, so beware! If ever there is a lull and I've slipped back into my old habbits of not posting like I should, please hassle me into it. Peer pressure is most effective.

So I'm sorry that we haven't been around, but we're back now yaaay. We hope that you're all okay! 

Love,

B xxo

Do's and Do Not's for Autumn/Winter.

Compiled a list of things I need to do more of and things I need to do less of, in the next few months, so I thought I’d share it with you guys. Plus if it’s written down here, that might motivate me a bit more to actually do it!

Do.

Wear Coats

Wear coats. This may sound like a bit of an obvious one but whatever. I am terrible for this – basically I never bother. I own a winter coat, and several jackets for varying types of weather. But despite the fact that I have Raynaud’s (and I live in England, hello, it’s cold here) I pretty much never wear them. I’m not even sure why. Most of the time it just seems like a mahoosive inconvenience. But this year I am going to make a conscious effort, to wear my coats. Not doing so is frankly quite stupid. So I’ve started going out with my winter coat already – keep reminding me!

Drink more water.

Sam will happily tell you, that I am totally caffeine dependant. I’m pretty much like a little gremlin – if I’m tired or hungry or my caffeine levels have dropped, I am a holy nightmare. So I drink a lot of coffee, and tea. During the summer I did a caffeine detox, and completely swapped my cups of tea and coffee for water. This was extremely hard at first, but by the end of it, my skin had improved loads (and I wasn’t quite as grumpy as everybody had expected). But admittedly, as soon as this was over, I kind of forgot about water and went back to tea and coffee (and ovaltine of a night, which is amazing). So now I’m making myself drink at least 2 litres of water a day, in the hope that a) I can get into the habit of it, b) my skin will be all lovely again and c) just for a bit of a change really. This is surprisingly easy. For now anyway. Whether it will be easy to keep up or not, who knows. Time will tell!

Note: the constant needing a wee is driving me insane.

Blogging!

When me and Sam first started this blog, I had a lot going on, and I never really got into the habit of blogging consistently. Recently, I have done. I’m enjoying it, and hopefully you guys reading it are as well. So I’m going to try my very hardest to keep it up J

Do Not.

Hair dying.

I have been dying my hair since I was about 14. It has been every colour under the sun and as a result, it’s gone through some pretty unhealthy stages. When I first started dying my hair, it was a confidence thing. Then it was an experimental thing. Then I realised I had greys coming through, and it became a OH MY GOD I’M TOO YOUNG TO BE GREY kind of thing. A few months ago, I just stopped dying my hair. I’ve been trying to get it into a healthy condition and it is getting there. Growing the colour out and seeing my greys appear, is a whole other matter. I’m not saying I will never dye my hair again, but I don’t want to get back into the cycle of dying it constantly. Watch this space.

Ex boyfriends.

 STAY AWAY FROM THESE, THEY ARE TROUBLE. Even if they try and entice you with things they know you like, this is a very bad idea.

Christmas shopping.

DO NOT leave this until 2 days before Christmas (family trait, totally not my fault). A woman at work told me yesterday that there are only 15 Saturdays left until Christmas, how scary is that! I think I better start saving/shopping now…

B xxo

Sam's New Blog.

If you haven’t noticed this already, Sam has recently started her own (personal as opposed to co owned) blog. It’s a mixture of beauty, fashion, lifestyle, and basically all things Sam.

 It would mean a lot to her if you all went and followed her – she’s working really hard on it, and blinkered barbie is brilliant. 

B xxo

Life Updates. B. xxo

As most of you know by now (hopefully), I’ve been trying to make it clear that this is by no means just a beauty blog, but has lots of other bits (lifestyle/music/fashion etc) going on as well. So, in keeping with this theme, I thought I’d do a bit of a “lifestyle”, this is what’s going on in my life post.

So I started my new job on the 1^st of August, and it’s actually going really well. Just over a month in, I feel pretty settled. A few things are still yet to be sorted, eg if I can keep my desk where it is and what specific duties I should be solely responsible etc. But apart from that, I’m actually loving it. Everyone is really nice, the work I’ve been doing is interesting and I’m sort of sorted into a routine with my days. In general, this part of my life is good.

The other thing that kicked off at the end of July/beginning of August was driving lessons. I’ve been saying that I’d do this since my 17 birthday and for many reasons just hadn’t managed to get round to it. But I was itching to. I’ve always said that I wanted to learn to drive as soon as possible, as I think that for me, it’s just, the right thing. The first instructor that I went with did not suit my learning type at all. In that kind of environment, you have to get along with the person or you’re just going to get nowhere. The instructor that I have now, is really good. The driving is…getting there. My spatial awareness has improved greatly, so that’s something at least! I’m really enjoying my lessons anyway, and hope that it won’t be too long before I’m ready to take my test.

Love and lust and everything of that elk. It’s been 6 whole months since I broke up with my ex. Typing that is crazy. In some ways it feels like it was last week that we were together and in other ways, it feels like a lifetime ago. Us breaking up, for me, was not a difficult decision to make. Actually executing it, was tricky. But I had amazing support in this, and the transition from having a partner of 2 years to being single again was pretty easy. Much easier than I had expected anyway. For quite a long time now, I’ve sort of bounced from relationship to relationship, with varying degrees of seriousness. This 6 months, I haven’t done any of that. I’ve had some time, solely to myself. It’s been really nice. I think I needed to remind myself that I don’t need anybody else, to valid how I feel, about myself. And for having that time and experience, I feel a lot better. Having said that, I am know more than ready to get back in the game. I’m not saying that I need to be in a committed relationship right away, definitely not. But I don’t want to close myself off from any opportunities, be that romance or friendship or whatever. (And if other elements of this could pick up, that would be gr8).

I’m mega keen to get back into photography again, as I kind of fell out of this when I was with my ex. I really miss it. Watch this space!

I’ve also started baking again, and it will soon be time to start my annual Christmas cake. I’m really enjoying trying out new recipes and experimenting with the new baking bits I got for my birthday.

While we’re on the topic of birthdays, I’d like to say a massive thank you to everyone that sent me birthday wishes a few weeks ago – I really appreciate it!

If you’ve read this, thanks. If you’d like to see more or less posts like this, let me know in the comments below. I hope you’re all having a good week. Mwah.

B xxo

Our Moment - One Direction perfume.

A lot of you are probably, understandably, thinking that all Directioners were bound to buy Our Moment, regardless of whether they liked it or not. I can see where you’re coming from, however, this is not me. I am very particular about perfumes. A lot of them make me feel extremely nauseous and therefore if I don’t like it, or if I have any reservations at all, I just won’t wear it, let alone buy it. So when I heard about the impending release of Our Moment I thought oh god, this is potentially going to smell disgusting. If so, I certainly will not buy it. Perfumes in general are not cheap, and I wasn’t going to spend out on something and then not use it.

So last weekend when I was in Liverpool, I popped into the shops to investigate. The perfume had been released that week so naturally, there were cardboard cutouts and displays galore. I was impressed to hear that The Perfume Shop had completely sold out, and were waiting on a delivery of the fragrance. So I popped over the road into Superdrug to suss out the situation there. There was a large crowd gathered around the sample on display. Groups of teenage girls, mothers and daughters, even a man buying it for his girlfriend (how sweet, awh). I took a step back and watched the rabble for a few minutes. It became clear that Superdrug had sold out of the large and medium sized bottles, and only had the 30ml left. The sales assistant behind the counter was frantically phoning around other stores to try and find out who had what in stock. It was, crazy. When I could get close enough, I bought the 30ml bottle (£20).

I love this scent, it is exactly my taste. I do not love the packaging. When H Styles was asked, he said that they wanted to make the perfume as affordable as possible, in the best interest of all the fans. In my opinion, the box kind of does look like it’s a child’s perfume. The floating heads of the 1D boys is quite frankly weird, and there is a whole lot of pink. What I did like, upon opening the box, was the cute little booklet/note basically saying thanks for buying this, you are amazing, with all of the boys signatures. (Nice touch there, Modest). The bottle itself is…interesting. The pinkish tinge to the glass is fine. As is the Our Moment written across the front. The crazy lid certainly makes it stand out. It is kind of shaped like a crown (apparently, we’re all 1D’s princesses…) which is okay, but the big pink netted bit in the middle of the top not only makes it look cheap and tacky, but it’s quite impractical. This makes it difficult to carry it around in your bag because of how big it makes it, and it’s also so quite tricky to actually get in to.

Once you do manage to open the bottle, you discover that the perfume smells amazing. What I will say is that I can imagine this to be a total marmite product. You are either going to love this perfume, or you’re going to hate it. My first thought was, this is very sweet, it’s a little bit like Black XS. (I adore Black XS). My Mumma disagrees completely, and thinks that it smells like Red Door (I love that, too). She doesn’t like it, and described it as a very sickly smell. It has top notes of pink grapefruit, forest fruits and red currants, although to me I don’t think it smells overly fruity when you first spray it. The middle tones of freesia, jasmine and frangipani work to mute the fruit element, without actually taking any of it away. What really comes across as the day wears on, are the undertones of patchouli and musk. All of these different elements compliment each other beautifully to make admittedly, a particularly sweet, yet not overpowering fragrance. It sits on the skin beautiful and does last a long time with no need to reapplying. This product gets a huge thumbs up from me – I smell yummy.

B xxo

A Film, A Band, A Book.

As Autumn/Winter comes in, so does the time for a) going to lots more gigs (this always happens when the weather is rubbish),  b) snuggling up and watching a plethora of weird and wonderful films, and c) reading lots of lovely books. Mine and Sam’s tradition of snugging up to watch utterly crap films kind of prompted this last week. So I’m joining the trend of picking a film, a band, and a book that I think deserves mentioning, each month, and telling you lot about them.

A Dangerous Method

When I originally wrote the intro to the post, I wrote film/band/song that I’m loving. I had to change it, for this film. I can’t not mention this, but it certainly is not something that I am loving.

So as most of you probably know, Netflix recommends you films that it thinks you will like, depending on what you’ve watched/shown interest in before. For months now, Netflix has been recommending A Dangerous Method to me. I didn’t watch it. I didn’t even look to see what it was about – because the cover looked completely rubbish. Then last week when I was looking into Michael Fassbender’s filmography, I stumbled across the description of a film that sounded brilliant. To summarise, A Dangerous Method supposedly documents the relationship between Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung, along with the catalyst of their controversial patient Sabina Spielrien. Freud fascinates me, and through a very good friend I have heard a lot about Jung. Coupled with Michael Fassbender, who is clearly some kind of god, I thought hello, this film is going to be mind-blowingly amazing. So imagine my surprise when I went into Netflix and discovered it was the very film they had been telling me I should watch. Naturally I took this as a sign that I was going to love this film. Let me tell you know; I did not love this film. Everything about this film, dictated that it should be brilliant. It isn’t. It is utterly bizarre – the angle that it chooses to portray the story from is quite frankly crazy. Viggo Mortensen plays a very good Freud, however this was completely wasted on the audience as the whole film seems to work to undermine everything that Freud ever concluded. In fact, there is very little mention of his actual work – bar the odd few lines of Jung mocking his thoughts. Michael Fassbender is, as per usual, brilliant. The part that he plays seems to be a million miles away from the truth about Carl Jung – but as he did a lot of whipping and whatnot, I won’t complain about that. I have watched this film twice (hoping maybe I could teach myself to like it)  and both times I have reached the end of it thinking, what a wasted opportunity. It really could have been such a fantastic film – could have given a lot of people a better understanding of how two brilliant minds came together and shaped a science still applied today. But no, sadly not. Nice one, Cronenberg.

Sensorites. 

If you follow my personal twitter you will know that I’ve been loving this band for a while now. I am the first to admit that my music taste is…varied, to put it mildly. My spotify playlists jump from Death Metal to manufactured boybands, and any number of things in between. I like it that way. So anyway, Sensorites. Completely accidental discovery I won’t lie. I think it was around February of this year. In the midst of breaking up with my now ex boyfried, who I had spent a lot of time at heavy metal gigs with, I was very ready to go back to something sounded completely different. So I toddled off to a Parlour Flames gig (I’m the biggest Oasis fan ever, of course I was going to go) in Liverpool. I will admit, I was a bit sceptical about how this was going to go. The venue was an unusual choice for the kind of event and it wasn’t as busy as I would have liked. So we sat down, and on came the first support act. I can’t even remember who it was, I think I’ve blocked him from memory (if by some weird coincidence you get to read this, sorry honey, you just weren’t my style at all). So by that point I was feeling pretty, yk, what the hell have I walked into, when Sensorites started playing. If you’re into music, then you’ll know exactly how it is when you discover something new and amazing. When your ears prick and the hairs on the back of your neck stand up and the sound just seems to seduce your brain to a puddle on the floor. They have a sound that I won’t even try and describe because there’s no way that I’d do it justice, and it’s the kind of thing that you should discover for yourself. I’ve seen them twice since that night and both times, they have sounded brilliant. I’m just completely loving their sound – it is definitely my soundtrack for the moment. Go and check out their website!

I’m obsessed with reading, but I’ve been that busy this month or so that I haven’t had 5 minutes to pick up a new book, which is kind of soul destroying. Trying to find the time to sit down and read the highway code for my driving lessons is hard enough! Watch this space for a little review on the book I have sitting at home desperately waiting for me to pick up J

B xxo

Autumn Wish List. - B

So this post is a little bit different to the ones I’ve written before, as I’m sure you can tell from the title. As opposed to reviewing new things that I’ve got, I thought I’d share with you guys the things that I would like in the future. Eg “wish list”. What used to frustrate me most about reading certain blogs, was that they only ever used to post about the lovely things that they had, and how amazing they are. It’s important to me (and Sam) that you guys know at the end of the day, we’re hardly made of money and for whatever reason we can’t just always go out and buy all of the things that we want. So I’m going to write about the things that I would like, and then if I’m lucky enough to get them, I’ll update you on it!

The first thing I would really like is touche éclat foundation. Especially since being bought the highlighter for my birthday and absolutely loving it. I have a few concerns about this foundation. Being a high end foundation, it  comes with a high end price tag. I also know that it can slide off oily skin. Although I’m not majorly oily, I’m unsure how this kind of foundation would sit on my skin. However, the finish looks so gorgeous. I’m going to look into getting a sample of this so I can try before I buy. NOTE. Eleanor Calder is known for using this foundation and her skin always looks beautiful.

Mac lipglass: I can’t really explain this one. I’m a big fan of the mac eye products, but as a brand I’m never sure about it. It’s quite a lot more expensive than high street brands, but it doesn’t quite make the high end bracket. I know some people that absolute love mac, and I will admit that some of their stuff is brilliant. But some of it, I personally think, is decidedly average considering the price tag. I always think that their lipsticks aren’t great, and the packaging just doesn’t do it for me. Buuuut, I would love a mac lipglass. I just think it looks lovely and I’ve heard such good things.

The third thing on my wish list is non beauty related, but still something I’ve been lusting after for a long time. I would really like, a parka. If you don’t know what this is, it’s basically a winter coat. Think Liam Gallagher in the music video for Little by Little. Again, this is another one of those real love hate things. Some of you will be reading this and going oh my god what the hell is she thinking! And some of you will know exactly what I mean. I have wanted one of these for as long as I can remember. Maybe when the weather is a bit more wintery I’ll be able to justify it!

Another thing on my wish list is something I’m sure Sam would be interested in as well. It is…. HD Brows! This is a craze that’s really taken off in the last year or so, helped along by looooads of celeb endorsement. Eyebrows are very in at the moment. Chunky fringes are gone and striking brows are back (Thank you, Cara Delevingne). HD brows come from a seven step procedure, involving a shape consultation followed by a mixture of threading, tweezing, plucking and tinting to leave you with perfect brows. This results really are amazing. Having well groomed brows can change the look of your whole face; and this is something that really can’t be achieved at home with a pair of tweezers. HD brows cost around £40, which seems pretty steep when you can get them waxed at your local salon for under £10, but there really is such a difference in the end result. As of yet I have not succumbed to this trend but the more people I’m seeing with HD brows, the more I want to.  

B xxo

One Direction for MUA mini review - Little Things range.

Unless you follow my personal twitter/tumblr/any other social networking platform, most of you probably don’t know my deep dark secret. I am a HUGE (referring to my interest, not my dress size) One Direction fan. S kept this in mind when purchasing my birthday presents (she is fabby), and bought me a lipstick, lip polish and nail varnish from their new 1D for MUA “little things” make up range. As she knows that I have singled out Harry Styles as my one and only, she bought me his colours. This means that I have the “Fuschia Frenzy” nail varnish, Harry Loves Strawberry lip polish, and “Be Mine” lipstick. Now I knew that I wanted these products (I love makeup and I love 1D, of course I wanted them), but I’ll be honest, I didn’t have very high expectations for the quality. MUA, in my opinion, used to be a bit rubbish. Although recently they have seriously stepped it up, I will admit. I have had some really good pieces from them, and I know that Sam loves their heaven and earth palette. For such a reasonably priced brand, you can’t really complain.

So anyway, after receiving these from S, I was tres excited to try them out. I dived straight in with the lipstick. The packaging is nice enough. They all say kiss you on the outside, a cute little merger of a 1D reference and obviously, lips. The lid stays on, which is majorly important for me, and the bottom of the packaging is clear, so you can see what shade the lipstick is. It’s cute, and serves it’s purpose. “Be Mine” is actually a really nice shade. In the packaging, it looks a dark, cherry shade, but when applied it’s actually a very pretty, strawberry kind of red. Not matte, but not glitter overload. It has a shine to it, but you could apply a gloss on top if you wanted a different kind of finish. This product is impressively highly pigmented, and is lovely to apply. I’ve tried it with a lip liner and without and was pleased with it’s staying power. Overall, I really like this product. (And I think it’s so cute that Harry’s signature is on it, awh).

On to the lip polish. Now, I know that me and Harry are destined to be together because I love strawberry too! Coincidence or what? I am a big fan of lipgloss. I love the shine it tends to give, as well as the fact that I don’t always have a mirror to hand which makes applying proper lipstick a risky business. At least with lipgloss I know I can’t go far wrong,. The packaging of this polish is actually really cute. It’s fairly flat, which means it fits well in my makeup bag. It doesn’t look exactly high end, but I’m fine with that. It lids are coloured pretty much the same as the actual gloss, so that you can see what shade it is straight away. And, of course, the boys have their lovely signatures on top. The lids twist off, which is great for making it secure (is there anything worse than ending up with lipstick all over your bag? I think not). Now, the first thing I noticed about this product, the second I had untwisted the lid, was the smell. Harry Loves Strawberry smells amaaaazing. Like strawberries, weirdly. But it isn’t sickly or overpowering. It’s strawberryish in a lovely subtle kind of way and I like it a lot. I applied this product with my fingers. I didn’t need a lot, and it literally glided on. What I liked was that it didn’t make my lips feel too sticky, and it actually stayed on really well. The colour showed up a lovely baby pink. My lips felt extremely kissable (hint hint, come on H).

Finally, came the ultimate test. You lot will probably know by now that I love to have my nails painted, and therefore am a huge fan of nail polishes. However, for some reason, every kind of polish that I put on my nails seems to chip within a matter of hours. I’m pretty critical of nail polishes, I don’t mind admitting. A lot of them, I think are rubbish. So to me, I’d saved the most interesting (and potentially disappointing) until last. My nails are currently in a bit of a sorry state. I recently had acrylics, and although I absolutely loved them, they didn’t last very well at all. I had to take them off and now my real nails are all short and sad. This means that I have the perfect excuse to paint them, and make them look a bit more presentable. Cue time to try out “Fuschia Frenzy”. Again, the packaging of this is quite nice. The bottle is a decent size, and all clear glass so you can see the exact colour that the product is. Plus it has a cutesy little plectrum of Harry’s face, attached, always a winner in my book. On opening the bottle, I had a look at the brush. Let’s be honest, a lot of brushes that come in nail varnishes are utter crap. They’re cheaply made, the bristles come off and end up stuck in your polish, or they just don’t apply smoothly at all. I was very impressed with this brush. A lot of product came out with one dip, enough to paint several nails. This was so easy to put on, I couldn’t believe it. Not much product was needed at all, due to the pigmentation and consistency of the polish. I applied two coats, more for peace of mind than anything else. Habit, I suppose. These both dried in record time. And, as of yet, they have not chipped. So weirdly ,the product I expected to be the least impressive, has been my favourite. Thanks, Harry! And thanks to S for my perfect birthday presents. Love you, kid.

B xxo

Non Beauty things I have been loving lately

If you come here solely for the beauty posts, this is definitely not one for you. Turn away now and come back another day. I like reading people’s non beauty, lifestyle kind of posts so I thought I’d start doing a few on the off chance that you lot do as well.

The first non beauty thing that I have been loving recently is The Great British Bake-off. This is something that’s been going a few years now, and the new series started a few weeks ago on BBC2. The bake-off is definitely a love/hate thing. As a keen baker myself, I think this is brilliant. It’s really interesting to see how people interpret recipes differently, how their personal preferences effect their styles of baking, and how their skills progress throughout the series. It can also be very funny, and I am loving it being back of a Tuesday night. (Also, eye candy alert in the form of Paul Hollywood, he is yummy).

The second non beauty thing I have been loving lately is actually a re-discovery. If you are a female between the ages of 14 and 25 I’m willing to bet you will think these books are brilliant – The Heather Wells Mysteries. They’re written by Meg Cabbot, of Princess Diaries fame, and quite frankly they are brilliant. I read them over and over again. With titles such as Size 14 is not fat either, and Size 12 and ready to rock, how could you not love them. They follow ex pop sensation Heather Wells in her new job as a New York college residence hall worker, and document the fact that death seems to follow wherever she goes. I won’t give too much away because if you haven’t read them you really should. They aren’t too heavy, are full of laughs and just a really great series. Love them!

Another thing that I’ve really been enjoying lately is going to make me sound like I’m about 80, but I really do not care. I  have a lot of trouble sleeping. I don’t know why, I just do. It either takes me hours of tossing and turning to get to sleep, or I fall asleep straight away and then wake up in the middle of the night. As you can imagine, this is most inconvenient. However, I recently discovered…ovaltine! I know, I know, old lady alert. I’m only 19, I swear. I was reluctant to try this – my Grandma used to drink it for goodness sake. But to be honest, I’m willing to try almost anything for a decent night’s sleep. So I invested in some ovaltine (if you’re from the UK you’ll find it in any supermarket, it isn’t expensive) and gave it ago. I don’t know how it works, all I know is, it works. I’ve been sleeping so much better since I started drinking it before bed. Sam described it as a warm drink that tastes like maltesers and she’s right. You can get a kind that you make with milk, or a kind that you make with water. I have the kind you make with water because I don’t like milk sitting on my stomach right before bed. Honestly, this stuff is amazing. It tastes relaxing and it really has improved my sleep pattern. Magic.

B xxo 

Pure Poison Elixir - Search

Hi guys.

This is just a quick post, to see if any of you can help me out. I’m on a desperate search to find Pure Poison Elixir by Dior, and I cannot find it anywhere. If anyone has any ideas on where I can get hold of this, please get in touch!

B xxo

August Monthly Favourites - B.

I have quite a few things to talk about this monthly favourite’s post. In fact, August has been such a good month for new discoveries that I had to be quite brutal with what made the cut for my favourites! There are of course some months where you stick to your old faithful products, or just don’t find anything new that you like. This month I’ve been a bit more adventurous (and naughty with my pennies) than normal, and it has definitely paid off.

The first thing I need to talk about is of course, Liz Earle skin products. I know, I know, we’re a bit late to the party on this one. All of our favourite youtubers/bloggers have spoken about this at one time or another, and I’ve been wanting to try it for a long time. After using up what was left of my Dermalogica skin care bits, I decided to take the plunge into the world of Liz Earle. So during a shopping trip to Liverpool, I popped into Debenhams to speak to a lady at the counter about it. I could have just ordered online, but I wanted to have a chat to the SA and see if she had any advice/general product information. I must say that the lady was lovely. I find that some assistants at beauty counters have no interest in matching you to the right product, they just want a sale. This experience was the complete opposite, and I came away feeling that I had the perfect product for me. I bought the cleanse and polish starter kit. This is basically a travel bag of sample sized products to try out and see whether they suit your skin, before you invest in full size versions. It contains cleanse and polish hot cloth cleanser, instant boost skin tonic, skin repair moisturiser for normal to combination skin, and two muslin clothes. I think I paid £21 for this, which I thought was reasonable. The lady at the counter told me that these should last me around 2 weeks and by then I would know for sure whether I liked the products, if my skin liked them, and if the type of moisturiser was right for me.

I admit, I was a little sceptical. I had literally not heard a bad word said about cleanse and polish and I thought, surely this product cannot be THAT good. I was completely wrong. This product really is THAT good. In fact, it’s not good. It’s amazing. I have tried pretty much every kind of makeup remover/facewash type product you can possibly imagine and I have never known anything to be as lovely as this. I wear quite a lot of eye makeup on a daily basis, and I have quite sensitive eyes. So I thought, there is just no way that this is going to get all of my makeup off and not sting my eyes or take a mammoth amount of scrubbing. The instructions say to take a small amount (the full sized version says one pump) of cleanse and polish and rub it into your skin, makeup still on. You then take your dry muslin cloth, wet it in warm water, and wipe off. The muslin cloth acts as a gentle exfoliator for your skin. This really works. It removes all of my makeup, every last scrap. Even my waterproof mascara. It also leaves my skin feeling gorgeous. I’ve noticed such a difference in a very short space of time. It’s so quick and easy that I have no excuse not to do it. I’ve also been following up my cleanse and polish routine with the skin tonic and the moisturiser and my skin feels amazing. I really cannot recommend this product enough – I sent Sam a mini to try as I wanted to share the discovery! She has done her own mini review in her monthly favourites video, go and check it out on our youtube channel! 

My second favourite of the month is something I picked up whilst shopping with Sam a few weeks ago. We popped into boots and they had a 3 for the price of 2 offer on Soap and Glory. I know this is a brand that a lot of you out there love, but I had never really tried before. Sam herself uses some of their products so we chose a few for me to try out. I bought the butter yourself body cream, sugar crush body scrub, and the smoothie star deep moisturising body milk. Whilst I have been enjoying all of these products, one of them stands out miles ahead of the others. I absolutely adore the body milk, it is seriously one of the best moisturisers I have ever used. The smell of oats, yoghurt, honey and cocoa butter will not be for everybody but I think it is utterly devine. It sinks into the skin so beautifully and the smell lasts really well. The consistency is lovely, not too thick, and it doesn’t take too long to dry in. I get some patches of eczema and this has cleared them right up. I used to be quite lazy with moisturising, but since this product came into my life I’ve been using it religiously, night and day. This product is a little bit more expensive than the kind of moisturiser I used to buy, but not so much that it would be classed as high end. And yet, it feels like a luxury when you apply it, and throughout the day. My skin feels soft and smells so lovely, it’s so pampering. Well worth the £10 price tag – I love it!

YSL touché éclat. If you know me at all you will know that this has been on my wish list for a looooong time. I had my birthday last week and was lucky enough to be bought the highlighter – I was so excited! I have used this product every day since I was given it; it is amazing. Seriously the best highlighter I have ever used. It’s so subtle, but the glow that it gives your skin is really beautiful. To be honest, I’m not entirely sure if I’m using it right, I’m still getting to grips with it. I apply it under my eyes, down my nose and just above the top of my lip line. It really does make my skin look so healthy and…well, glowing. The packaging is really lovely as well and although this is definitely a luxury purchase I feel that it is worth the money and I will be buying again when mine is all gone.

<My last but certainly not least favourite of this month is a bit of a sentimental one. Now obviously this isn’t a monthly thing, Sam is one of my favourite things all year round but I feel like I should mention her now. As some of you may know if you’ve watched our first vlog, we didn’t meet in the most conventional circumstances. But since then, we have become so close, she’s my best friend. That title isn’t really enough for her; she is an amazing girl. We’re so alike it’s scary. We get on so well, and she knows me better than anybody. She’s always been there for me, even when I’ve been a cow or I’ve made stupid decisions or whatever, she’s never given up on me. Similarly, she knows that she’s pretty much stuck with me for life and there is nothing that I wouldn’t do for her. Sam is one of my favourite ever human beings and that is why she is here, in my monthly favourites. Love you, S. xxo

B x

Sammy's Monthly Favourites (August/September)

This month I've done things a little differently and done my monthly favourites as a video!

You can find it here; 

Sammy's Monthly Favourites (August/September)

We'll definitely try to update the youtube channel as much as we can (and hopefully I'll get better at it as we go along!) So please like and subscribe, all items talked about are written in the description and feel free to comment with what you think of the products because I always like to hear what others have to say. 

Thanks!

Sammy xo

Films I Love

I'm taking a little bit of time out from speaking about beauty today to talk to you about some films that I've watched and love in the last few weeks. I recently swapped from Netflix to Lovefilm because I felt like I'd watched as much as I ever would on Netflix, and so I feel like a whole world has now opened up to me in terms of new films, so here are my top five at the moment (new and old alike).

1 : Lady and The Tramp 

For those of you that aren't aware, Lovefilm have a Disney collection  which sports such beauties as "Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen" and "The Emperor's new groove". Nestled between them I managed to find Lady and The Tramp and watched it just because I hadn't in a while.If you haven't watched this since you were a kid, go and find a copy and do it now because it's beautiful (and Lady when she's a puppy is lovely.)

2 : Sucker Punch 

This is a fairly new film and you may have seen the adverts which at the time was just a seemingly mis-put together series of clips that didn't seem to logically link in any way, shape or form. The whole film is a bit like this, but it isn't a bad thing, it's disjointed and confusing, but that's all part of it's charm. Quite hard hitting and hard to decipher, but really worth a watch if you haven't already.

3 : Bridesmaids 

I think I've watched this about five times in the last two weeks. It makes me laugh so much because it really reminds me of me and Bek, but the whole thing is funny, a real cheer up film to sit with a bowl (tub) of ice cream and watch when you're feeling a bit down.

4 : Now You See Me 

This isn't a Lovefilm film, it's one that's out in the cinema at the moment and I couldn't recommend it more. It's a film that's so clever that it has you rooting for the bad guys, it's all about magic and bank robberies and seemingly impossible tasks. It's a pleasure to watch, clever and manipulative and when I came out I wanted to go back in and watch it all again knowing what I knew now. Seriously, it's Sunday, if you don't have anything planned go down to your nearest Odeon with a mate or your significant other (or go on your own, I do that sometimes and it's perfectly fine and not weird. And you get two arm rests.) and watch this!

So there we go. Not the normal kind of updates we have on here but a couple of films to kill a Sunday with if you're that way inclined!

Let me know what you think of my favourite films, and tell me what yours are at the moment!

Sammy xo

Our First Ever Vlog!

In the future we plan to do some videos about our monthly favourites, what's going on in our lives and just general vloggy stuff, however we decided that for our first video we would let you see a little bit of what we are like when we're together and so here is our first ever vlog, all about;

How Smekah Met!

Although we are aware this isn't the most professional video, we hope it gives you the tiniest insight into who is behind the blog, so give us a thumbs up, leave us a comment telling us we're idiots, whatever.

Keep an eye out for future videos, give us a subscribe if you're feeling kind!

Sammy xo (and Bek)

A little update !

So some of you may have heard that tomorrow me and Bek plan on recording our first ever vlog (I don't know whether the nausea is due to excitement or nerves...) so that's the first exciting piece of news for this weekend.

Some more (perhaps slightly less exciting news) is that this week we will have a fair few reviews going up about everything from Nars (blusher, powder and foundation) to Soap and Glory (have any of you ever tried Sit Tight? SO WEIRD.)

Last but not least, I know normally this would be the weekend that I posted my monthly favourites but granted everything goes well with our vlog tomorrow, I'm actually hoping to do my monthly favourites as a video later on in the week, eek.

Just a few little things so keep your eyes peeled :)

Sammy xo

Very Inspiring Blogger Award

So we got nominated for an award, which makes us very happy girlies !

Big thanks to Kammi who nominated us for the Very Inspiring Blogger Award :

 The rules for this award are very simple: Display the logo on your blog and link back to the lovely person who nominated you/your blog, you then share 7 facts about yourself, nominate 10 other blogs you enjoy reading, and then inform them you have nominated them! Simple as that! 

So 7 facts…

1: Last year I had a dye disaster with my naturally blonde hair and had to dye it black for a year

2: I keep my diary key tied around my ankle

3: I don't really watch TV shows, but when I do I watch every season available in a matter of weeks

4: I have an older brother

5: In the last two years I've lost nearly 4 stone

6: I work as a waitress

7: I have a tattoo hardly anyone knows about (so keep it schtum) 

The bloggers and blogs I'm nominating ; (Some of these blogs may have been nominated before) 

Karen (Liverpool lashes)

A genuinely lovely, down to earth person with a sweet, informative blog (also, her nail tutorials on her youtube channel are amazing)

Ellie (uniquelovestyle)

One of my favourite blog layouts at the minute, a nice mixture of just everything pretty.

Rebecca (Ohkalukalay)

A lovely blogger who always seems to be doing something different (in a good way, to clarify) and always seems to be just ahead of a trend.

Cat (Cheshire Cat)

A really lovely, clean blog with gorgeously crisp photographs.

Katie (Katie's world of beauty)

A blog that reviews ready available products, things I can genuinely see myself buying (and seriously, check out her latest green tea post because I guarantee she can make you a convert)

Allie (Allie's Beauty Blog)

Concise, to-the-point reviews. Her photo's have a lovely old timey tinge to them, too, which really sets them apart.

Mehj (Beauty Brownies)

A really personalised blog with a friendly tone. Getting opinions from this blog makes you feel like you're chatting to a friend.

Helen (Treasure Every Moment)
A blog that gives you a peek into every day life, as well as some lovely little diy crafty things, all done with an amazingly positive view.

Hannah (Cosmetic Crave)

A blog that makes me feel like I'm getting really honest reviews, plain and simple.

Vanessa (Circle of Chaos)

A lovely , well put together blog. Also, Vanessa was our first ever follower, so for us she was definitely very inspiring ! 

Thanks, Kammi, for nominating us and thanks to all the blogs above for inspiring us!

Sammy xo

Catching Up.

Hola bloggies!

In contrast with recent post, this isn’t actually a review, more of a catchy uppy kind of post. There is a lot going on currently, life and product wise, that I really need to get round to telling you about in detail. If you follow us on twitter you may know that me and S took a trip to the Trafford center a few weekends ago, where we each purchased a few looooovely bits. I am currently getting to grips with real techniques stippling and blusher brushes that I bought, as well as some more Aussie Miracle products, a Nars blusher and some soap and glory goodies. As well as this, I had my birthday on Monday. This meant that I was treated to some lovely bits, and I also treated myself (naughty, I know!). I was lucky enough to receive YSL touché éclat (highlighter, not foundation), something I have been lusting after for a loooong time now. As well as this, I bought myself a Liz Earle cleanse and polish starter kit as I have heard so many people raving about this. A little sneak preview of a review I will be writing on these shortly – I LOVE THEM. So once I’ve had chance to get a real feel of all of these products, there will be a haul style review post going up, I promise!

As well as this, me and S are planning our very first ever vlog, so that will be coming at you soon – exciting!

If you’ve taken the time to read this, if you follow us here, or anywhere else – thank you. We really appreciate it and we seeing that you guys are interested in what we have to say. 

 B xxo

Nip + Fab Glycolic Fix Cleanser

My love for Nip + Fab knows pretty much no bounds, I went shopping to buy their Sheer Make Up Fix (has this been discontinued, does anyone know? I can't seem to find it anywhere...) and came away with this cleanser, something I didn't particularly need in any way at all. Having said that, I've fallen in love with this Glycolic Fix Cleanser.

This is definitely an in shower cleanser as opposed to a removing make-up cleanser. It's a cloudy gel that smells like grapefruit (absolutely lush) and foams up literally the minute that it hits water. I've swapped my OXY for this, and in terms of having major breakouts (touch wood) this seems to be keeping them at bay just as much as the OXY was, only it's much softer feeling on my skin. According to Nip + Fab this cleanser contains glycolic acid to exfoliate and retexture, apple amino acid to cleanse and purify and olive oil to hydrate and smooth. I literally have no idea if all that is true, but it does definitely leave my skin feeling smoother, cleaner and just as exfoliated as if I had used a much more gritty product.

This isn't the cheapest face wash in the world, I bought it from Sainsbury's for £7.99 (/150ml) but I'd definitely say it's a nice smelling, softer feeling alternative to much harsher spot reducing products on the market and, for me at least, it seems to give a similar effect.

Have you used glycolic fix? What products do you use to prevent breakouts?

Sammy xo

Bourjois Cream Blush

I know, I know, like you haven't seen enough of these reviews already. I'm sorry, but I feel like after trying it I have to review Bourjois Cream Blush.

It's no secret that I'm often dubious about cult products, but this is one I feel like I'm right to be dubious about. I have this blush in 002 which is called "Healthy Glow". The packaging for this is adorable, it's in a little round pink pot (each shade is in a different coloured compact) which open to reveal a tiny mirror and the blush itself. This is a really odd texture, I'm not sure that I would have used the word "cream" I'd say it was actually almost balm like in it's texture, but that's all technicalities. 

This isn't a colour I'd normally go for, it's a lot more coral looking that the usual flush of pink that I choose, but regardless I was willing to give it a go. Applied without blending, the colour is amazing (the swatch to the right above), a rosy coral colour that's exactly how it's described, a healthy glow. However, when it's blended in (the left swatch) it's literally barely noticeable on my skin, and to get the healthy glow look it takes a lot of building up.

This blush isn't one I'd ever repurchase, I'm not a huge fan of the colour once it's blended or of the texture. For a similar colour, I'd definitely stick with The Balm's Instain in "Swiss Dot".

Have you used Bourjois cream blush? What did you think? Any nice alternatives?

Sammy xo.

Soap and Glory Archery

Behold; I'm about to talk about a skincare brand who have done beauty, and done it well. That's right, I'm about to delve into the make-up range presented to us by Soap and Glory.

Although I own a couple of different pieces of make-up from their brand, today I'm going to talk about their Archery brow tint and precision pencil. Before this I used Rimmel Professional Eyebrow Pencil which I liked but was far too dark for my newly lightened hair. Colour choice is one of the reasons that I picked Archery, they do a colour really close to my (artificially) light blonde hair called "Love is Blonde". This is a product that isn't actually similar to any other on the market that I'm aware of, one end is an almost paintbrush looking eyebrow tint and the other is a slightly darker pencil tip.

The tint is to be used first. I draw around the shape of my eyebrows using the precision tip that it offers, then fill them in as a base. This gives precise shape and an all over colour, so far so good.

Then step two is the pencil. This is to fill in spaces and build up the colour to the level that you need it at. After both steps my eyebrows are neat, fairly precisely shaped and still a natural colour that is fairly close to my own.

I do think that for an eyebrow pencil this is quite expensive (£10 just seems a little steep for what it is) and I have to say, if I still had my dark hair I think I'd still favour my rimmel pencil over archery, but for those of you out there with lighter hair using pencils too dark because that's the lightest pencil you can find, I highly recommend swapping over to Archery for a much neater, much more natural look.

Have you ever tried Archery? What eyebrow pencils have worked for you in the past?

Sammy xo

Happy Birthday To My Favourite Prinny

When we set up this blog we struggled to know how to write it, we wanted enough of our personalities to shine through that you didn't think we were boring clones, but obviously we didn't really want to clutter it up with what we were doing (especially as we work. A lot. So that's yawn anyway). As such, we haven't really been ones to write about our personal life on here, but today I am changing all that. Not forever, obviously, just for today.

Because today, my favourite half of Smekah turns a whopping 19 years old. That's right guys, today, Bek enters her last year of being a teenager.

So happy birthday my favourite little Prin, have a fantastic day, continue being fabulous, don't ever change and lets make your nineteenth year one to remember.

Lots of love,

your best friend/sister from another mister/favourite prinny/person who convinces you to buy stuff/fellow daytripper/wifey/coffee provider,

S xx

p.s. I'm not sure if the word Prinny/Prin is a nationwide thing? For those of you who may be confused in Liverpool it's a really common word that means Princess.

Elemis Tri-Enzyme Resurfacing Gel Mask

After me sending them an email Elemis sent me some sample sachets through the post, including two sachets of their Tri-Enzyme Resurfacing Gel Mask. I tried it and absolutely loved it and was devastated when I used both sachets up. I always meant to get a bottle and completely forgot, but then in an odd turn of events when I was cleaning my wardrobe out this weekend I found a tube in the bottom I'd obviously acquired somewhere along the way and thrown at the bottom of a pile without trying. Yay for unexpected surprises!

Finding this has had me falling in love with it all over again. It comes out as a clear gel that smells sweet and almost citrus-ey. You need very little to cover your entire face (excluding mouth and eyes) then you leave it on for ten to fifteen minutes (consider this time an excuse to lie back in the bath and flick through our blog...). When on the skin this has a really weird feeling, it tingles as it dries and it feels for all the world like when you breathe in cold air after eating a mint, which isn't a bad thing given that it really reassure me that it's working. After this simply wash off (use a flannel, if you use your hands it seems to just re-moisten the mask), then do whatever you normally would do.

I'm usually pretty dubious about face masks, I've had ones that make me break out, ones that smell horrible and ones that literally just don't work, but this smells lovely and seems to leave me with clean, shiny, fresh skin. At £48 this isn't a cheap product, but given that it's a once a week ritual I'd say it's definitely worth the money, I'll be repurchasing when I've used up all the samples I can get my hands on!

Sammy xo