USA Beauty Haul! Credo + Sephora + More!

It’s been nearly a month since my trip to San Fransisco! I canny believe it! I had an incredible time – it was my first ever trip to the USA and I basically ate all the food and bought all the things. Obv.

One of my most anticipated stops for beauty was Credo Beauty A.K.A Heaven. I had quite the list for myself, and for a few other people too, and in the end I got what is pictured above. There was much deliberation, and I wanted 1000 more things of course, but I’m not made of money 😉

I have wanted to try Marie Veronique for so, so long, so I headed straight for her shelf and picked up the Pre + Probiotic Mist. A hydrating coconut water mist with a microbiotic complex and many other goodies. I am loving it so far!
I also needed a new eyeliner and from their vast selection the Antonym Cosmetics Eye Pencil in Noir stood out to me the most; it’s buttery soft, black as can be and vegan. It’s a dream! I will be so sad when it runs out as there isn’t a UK stockist… yet??
I did want to try the Ultra-Hydrating Shampoo from Acure, but as it was out of stock I thought I would try the Clarifying Shampoo instead. I am loving this so far, it has made my hair so shiny after every use. I would still prefer to try the hydrating to benefit my bleached ends more, but will have to order from iherb in the new year, and I’ll try the conditioner too!
Lastly, I picked up two travel sized charcoal deodorants from Kaia Naturals. I was going to get a full size but when I saw the adorable minis I couldn’t resist because then I could try two scents instead of one! I chose Lime Mint and Juicy Bamboo.

And that’s all! I did forget a few things, but I was so overwhelmed and having good chats with everyone in the store, so all is forgiven 😉

I also stopped at Sephora, obviously, and made a beeline for Bite. I wasn’t sure what I wanted but ended up coming away with a Matte Lip Creme Crayon in the shade Fraise, a beautiful red with orange undertones. Not the best for making your teeth look whiter, but I love it none the less. Red scares me, but I think I’ve been quite brave wearing this regularly 😉

I got the ILIA Mini Tinted Lip Conditioner set from Anthropologie for 30% off! Thanks black Ffriday weekend deals 😉 This set comes with a different colour to the more expensive mini set that comes with a purse, and the tiny lipsticks are so freakin’ adorable.

I then picked up the Herbivore Blue Clay Soap from an Urban Outfitters, as I’m about to run out of my Osmia soap and this was $10 cheaper.

When in Wholefoods I finally came across Andalou Naturals and had to pick up some of their sheet masks because they sound so good. I can’t wait to use them, but the single use-ness of a sheet mask upsets me – what if it’s utterly awesome and I can’t get them again?? I also found more Acure haircare so I could have got the hydrating shampoo after all! I should have bought it, silly me, but instead I picked up the Deep Root Conditioner which I’ve only used once so far and it seem’s to be quite good!.

And that’s all! The rest of my money went on vegan snacks to bring home, lots of those little seaweed snacks (WHY are they not an easily accessible thing over here?!) chocolate and funny flavoured crisps. Oh and I bought an oven glove and a hat, too

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The Sunday Tittle Tattle: Good Legs and Crazy Cats

best cat toys

1) I bought Mr Bear some new catnip toys – sardines squished into a tin! I find this “Yeowww!” brand to be the best, the cat nip lasts for ages and the designs are fun. Which doesn’t matter to the cat, who would go completely out-of-this-world crazy whatever the stuff looked like, so long as the wacky weed was inside, but it pleases me. I get the annoyingly-named “Yeowwww!” stuff from Amazon but I’m pretty sure you can get it in pet shops too. They do a banana that’s quite good, though the dog got hold of that one and now it’s leaking ‘erbs all over the place.

elemis face and body qvc

2) Elemis have an offer on QVC today – the Love Your Skin face and body collection. It includes the Pro-Radiance Cream Cleanser that doesn’t officially launch until next year, as well as the Pro Collagen Marine Cream and a load of other lovely bits. I don’t have a price at time of writing (Friday) but the TSVs are usually great value and not to be missed if you’re an Elemis fan. You can click here to check the offer if I haven’t yet updated this page.

3) I bought the “side double elastic” leggings from Topshop and I think that they must be the sturdiest and thickest leggings I’ve tried to date. (I haven’t tried to actually date any leggings; I mean “so far”. Just so we’re clear.) They give me instant “good legs”. The waistband doesn’t look incredibly flattering on the website pics but these are basically high-waisted ponte skinny-fit trousers rather than traditional leggings: you could just about get away with wearing them as an actual garment. Unlike most of the semi-sheer crappy leggings that are offered up on the high street, which basically have to be treated as tights. Extra bonus: these leggings seem to pull everything in and are on the generous side, length-wise, so legs look long and lean. Find them for twenty quid here. They fit just about true to size but if you’re between sizes, go with the smaller option.

More fashion posts…

dexter and the bear

4) Pets, above. Photo is entitled: When Everything in My Life is the Same Colour.

Read more Sunday Tittle Tattle posts…

The post The Sunday Tittle Tattle: Good Legs and Crazy Cats appeared first on A Model Recommends.

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DulcoEase

DulcoEase – making it easier and more comfortable to go to the loo

Weleda Foot Balm: Saviour for Sore Feet

Weleda Foot Balm Review

Well, Weleda’s Foot Balm is something of a surprise hit! It’s not really the right time of year to be testing out refreshing, cooling foot products, but after a particularly hefty day of walking about in my Belstaff boots (low heel, but very structured and not much give) my soles were burning and my muscles were aching. I wanted something zingy and light but with enough slip to massage into my skin so that I could have a bit of a knead at those tendons and little crackly bones…

Weleda’s Foot Balm is the most perfect texture: quite thick and buttery, but instantly absorbing and any residue has disappeared within seconds. It’s amazing that it feels so nourishing and substantial to apply but there’s the tingle and freshness of a gel. It feels vaguely medicinal, in a way, like a healing cream rather than a beauty product, but that’s exactly what I wanted, really, so this properly hit the spot! If your main concern was dryness or cracked heels, then you might want something a little more moisturising, but if you’re in need of an all-round foot salve that you can treat your feet with at the end of a long day then this is great. Refreshing, comforting, mildly antibacterial to keep away unpleasant odours and, at ÂŁ9.95, not too badly priced. I’ve had far more expensive potions and lotions for my feet that have done absolutely bugger all, so I wouldn’t begrudge the odd tenner for a really effective treatment.

Great for: skyscraper-heel-wearers, people who spend lots of their day standing up, walkers, gardeners, pretty much anyone with tired and sore feet! Not so great for: incredibly dry or cracked skin. You might need a little extra in the moisture department.

Weleda Foot Balm is £9.95 with free delivery at LookFantastic.com

The post Weleda Foot Balm: Saviour for Sore Feet appeared first on A Model Recommends.

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Colab Dry Shampoo – The “Thank You” Giveaway!

london look

Sorry to my Daily Fix subscribers; this post should have made it into your inboxes yesterday, but I was transferring some video files and my internet had a meltdown. It can’t handle anything more taxing than sending an email attachment, so trying to transfer 1.5GB of video just about killed it off. But anyway, here we are, all safe and sound, and I want to do a bit of a thank you, if you don’t mind?

Two weeks ago I launched my invisible dry shampoo, Colab, and the support from readers and Youtube viewers has been phenomenal. I am really very touched. And not only has the support been amazing, but the feedback on the product itself has been more wonderful than I could ever have imagined. I mean, I thought that it was brilliant, obviously, otherwise I would never have let it go out into the world, but having so many other people report back and say that they love it, that it does “exactly what it says on the tin”, that it’s a “game changer” – it’s immensely satisfying and also, I must admit, a bit of a relief. Because it’s a scary thing putting a product out there, especially when so much time and energy has been invested in it – I wanted CoLab to be something that would become a staple beauty item for a long, long time, so it was important that it was as near to perfect as possible.

colab hair products

It’s funny, too, that I have been relying on my CoLab more and more to style my hair; there was a point, over the summer, that I actually couldn’t even bear to look at the cans, let alone use them. I had discussed the concept so much, tried so many versions and seen so many prototypes of the packaging that I just wanted to lock it away in a cupboard and forget about it for a while! Now I’m back to my daily use. I still can’t quite believe that I have a dry shampoo that’s bloody INVISIBLE! I do a little dance every time I spray it in! Because there’s no chalky residue, I even use it on freshly-washed hair to give a bit of life to my roots, as well as day-old hair to banish any oiliness.

Anyway, I shall be back, as I promised, with a little how-to video (basically SHAKE, SPRAY, STYLE) but for now, thank you thank you thank you to everyone who has so kindly given me feedback and tweeted me pictures and so on. I can’t tell you how grateful I am. If you’d like to see a lovely review of the range, head on over to BritishBeautyBlogger – it also made an appearance on ViviannaDoesMakeup and Luke Stephens’ blog this week and dozens of other beauty blogs and vlogs including an amazing shout-out on from Zoella, so if you have a link then do leave it in the comments below so I can have a read and tweet it!

colab new york look

Now to the business of the giveaway – I have ten full-size sets of Colab dry shampoo and ten sets of the handbag minis to give away. I am SO sorry that this is UK only, there’s a law about posting combustible products that means it’s just not feasible to send them abroad. Fear not, though, because CoLab will be available in more and more countries as the months go by – I’ll keep you updated. Those in the UK can find CoLab at Superdrug and it’s also at FeelUnique and the brilliant BeautyMart (including concessions at Topshop Oxford Street and Harvey Nichols).

To enter the giveaway, please make sure you’re signed up to either the Daily Fix mailing list (daily post straight to your inbox) or the Exclusive list, which is a quarterly email. (Well, the last one was about two hundred years ago but the Autumn 2014 edition is out in the next week or so!) Then leave a comment below making sure you enter your email into the form. I’ll be randomly picking winners at noon on Friday 31st October and announcing them in the following Sunday Tittle Tattle. Good luck!

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