Get some Zest

Merry Christmas guys! 

Part of running a blog is regularly posting, and being busy is not an excuse! However I've just got back from holiday and it's christmas, so I think I should be let off. 

Hope you all had a great day yesterday.

Now I'm back on the blogosphere radar, I have quite a few posts up my sleeve which I'm sure you'll all enjoy! 

The first is about Zest Magazine.

You might of heard of it, you might even read it. If so, you'll know what to expect, if not, keep reading.

I got a free ad-in of Zest in Cosmo. 

Being on holiday, and running out of things to read, I started to scan the pages whilst lounging by the pool.

Described as a health and lifestyle magazine didn't much appeal to me and being a student means I don't exercise much, I drink too much, and I like pretty much all junk food over an apple any day.

However, the magazine's articles were so insightful.

One of which was about headaches (I get them regularly) which gave me a few more clues as to the causes, with solutions I could try. 

I'm also changing my diet to cut out carbs more (to help with my skin) and there were some great dietary articles about this and recipes to try. 

Being young and care free often means we don't think about the consequences of drinking as much as we should. One article really made me think about how to improve my drinking habits. 

That's what a good magazine does, makes you stop, read and continue reading as well as think about the content (usually so you buy it again next week). 

There were also great exercise tips, how to survive the winter blues and beauty care as well. 

Pretty standard stuff for a health and lifestyle magazine. 

But after reading this, I feel motivated to get healthier and do more to feel better. 

With New Years coming around quickly (urgh) it is a great chance to throw yourself into it for 2013. 

Desperately trying not to sound like a fitness advert and say a 'new you'. 

I don't think I've kept a resolution for more than a month, but regular reads of Zest should keep up the fitness and health levels as well as tips for revealing your new and improved self for the summer. 

(gag at cheesy ending).

Hello Kiko

Hi Guys,

I'm in Spain and as my family know about my nail addiction, my auntie thoughtfully showed me this Italian cosmetics brand Kiko. They have thousands of colours for only £1.50! Not only that, they have loads of make up and cosmetics for really good prices too! 

They have everything from concealer to blue mascara and their moto is 'be who you want' which is quite nice.

Below are a few of my favourites from them and the colours that I bought. 

Something I've never seen before to test nail varnishes is putting out cellotape for the customers to tear off, put on their arm or hands and paint some of the colours on to it to see what they look like, really good idea.

I've seen crackle before but not in wacky colours, so I got two to try out.

This says magnetic but its metallic pink, a cool shiny silver affect mixed with the colour.

And these three bold colours. I got some shades that I'm missing from my collection at the moment to make it a bit more complete. I really love the orange.

And here are a few of my favourite make up bits. 

Glossy Eye Pencil  

£5.20

Soft Focus Compact Wet & Dry Mineral Foundation

£3.00

Sunproof Powder Foundation 

£5.50

Blooming Eyeshadow Palette

£3.00

Super Colour Mascara 

£5.90

Lip Glaze

£1.50

Smart Lipstick 

£2.00

Skin Evolution Concealer

£3.80

They always have special offers going on but the only shop they have in the UK is in London Westfield. They have a UK website but I'm not sure about the delivery charges. 

Anyway I think its a great international brand and I hope they bring more stores to the UK soon!

Vita Liberata Self Tan Review

Now, I never use fake tan, ever. I always thought it was too hard to put on. Girls are always complaining about streaks and smell. So when my mum told me to try this Vita Liberata 'pHenomenal 2-3 week tan' I was skeptical. When I tried it however I was pleasantly surprised! 

Vita Liberata are all about skin, mostly producing tanning products with this product being their newest creation. Supposedly used by all the celebs to give them their summer tan top up, its no wonder that each bottle costs a whopping £37.50. This is a small price to pay for some pseudo sun but when you're on a beauty budget it's best to get saving those Boots points for this one.

The ins and outs:

The self tan comes in three shades - light, medium and dark.

The bottle pumps out a foam which is easier to apply than the thick cream of usual self tan solutions. All you need is a tanning glove and your away!

This is the foam when it comes out. It's not the most appealing thing to look at but once you lather it onto your legs it feels really light and smooth. It takes a few seconds to settle into the skin, so you can rub out any streaks if you're quick to notice them but as the consistency is different, the lines were no where near as bad as when using fake tan creams.

Although drying quickly, it leaves you sticky for a minute or two so I wouldn't recommend putting clothes on straight away. My mum made that mistake and found her white blouse covered in orange stains after a brisk walk to work!

This a before and after shot, this is after two applications and there is quite a difference! 

Apologies for my scrappy pins!

 However when putting it on for the second time, when pumping out the solution, it didn't come out as a foam. The tan had become very watery and dripped all over a nice cream towel, not really what I wanted to achieve!

This meant it was harder to apply, and did leave a few streaks this time.

As with any self tan's it does leave an off smell on your skin until you shower. 

It's meant to last 2-3 weeks, however I only put it on last week so I can't prove this works yet! But so far so good, even after showering my legs have stayed the same as when applied.

They give you a bit of summery themed thinspiration on the side of the box too!

Overall I was impressed with the product, the price seemed a bit steep, but if it is being bought for me, I can't complain!

I would definitely use it again, it seems a lot less hassle than the usual self tanning ranges, and the compliments speak for themselves.

My mum bought it from boots, but if you order it from the website here you get a free tan mitt! 

Face Mask Heaven

Recently I've been looking for some kind of skin regime as I've never really had one and my skin is terrible. Yesterday I was complaining about my oily and blocked pores when my dad saunters off to his room and comes back with a tube of Soap and Glory No Clogs Allowed Deep Pore Detox Mask and simply mutters the words 'Don't Ask'. I was impressed with his choice, and pleasantly surprised as I love the Soap and Glory range but have never been able to afford it, so I couldn't wait to try. 

Just before bed I decided to give it a go. I loved reading the instructions, as with any Soap and Glory products, they are always funny and quirky. After applying and scrubbing into my face the 'grape-sized' amount needed, your skin quickly gets a heated sensation as it starts to take effect, this was intensified by the tiny exfoliating beads and 'skin smoothing scrub stuff' as they put it. This was very weird but oddly pleasurable as it felt like a reaction was happening, in a good way. After leaving it on for about 4 minutes, it had dried and gone a funny blue colour, which was supposed to happen apparently. I washed it off and gently towel dried my face. Although I couldn't see much difference to make skin straight away, the feel of my skin was instantly softer, not oily, and refreshed. 

I asked my dad how much this miracle face mask in a tube was and of course he didn't know, so after a bit of scoping on the Boots website my heart dropped as I found it was £11. This may be a bit of a dip into the student pocket but as my dad rightly pointed out, a 'grape-sized' amount used each time is hardly much so it will last a good few months which made it seem more worth it, especially thinking about how much nicer my skin will become with every use. 

Today I head back to Uni, upon giving the tube back to my Dad he said 'no, its alright, you can have it,' I was ecstatic. 

Moral of this story, if you can fish around for £11 I would definitely invest in this product, my skin feels illuminated and my pores feel unblocked and minimised (well, on their way) and if you can't, why not see what your Dad has in his bathroom cupboard, you might find something worth trying!