2016 | Laura Elizabeth xo

Saturday 24 December 2016

My Favourite films at Christmas





I love watching movies and I particularly love watching Christmas films, or ones that are appropriate for this time of year, especially when you want to get in the Christmas spirit. 

I have put together a list of my top three favourite films to watch at this time of year in the run up to Christmas! 

1) Elf 
Of course I had to include this film. For me, Christmas is not Christmas without watching this film, and until I have watched it, only then am I ready for the big day! This is a perfect mix of humour, family fun, warmth and spirit. Shot on location in New York this is such a brilliant film, with a perfect cast that really leaves you feeling magical and ready for Christmas. Will Ferrell plays a human raised by Elves who sets off to find his real Father and discovers that the true spirit of Christmas seems to be lost amongst society and modern times. 

2) Christmas with The Kranks 
 I don't understand how people don't know or seem to talk about this film as much. This is in my top three that I have to watch every year otherwise all is not right. This makes me laugh throughout and has a cute and emotional ending that really brings a smile to your face. This film was based on the book 'Skipping Christmas' by John Grisham, a couple plan to skip Christmas to take a cruise as their daughter will be away and this causes tension with their neighbours as Christmas is a real community affair. Their plans end up changing last minute when their daughter surprises them by returning home and they have to work together with their neighbours to save Christmas. This film also has an amazing cast; Tim Allen, Jamie Lee Curtis and Dan Aykroyd. 

3) Miracle on 34th Street (1994)
Starring Richard Attenborough as Santa, and Mara Wilson, the child actress from Matilda, this is the fourth remake of the original film. For me, Richard Attenborough is the Santa Claus, and this is a heart warming story of a little girl with a wish for a family and Kris Kringle on a mission to prove that Santa does exist. Kris is hired to be a department stores Santa Claus and with much success, this brings along rivals that decide to frame him and further results in a court case where the judge has to decide if Santa Claus is real. 


Have a very Merry Christmas everyone! 


Wednesday 14 December 2016

Unicorns Heart Rainbow Highlighter





As soon as I saw that I Heart Makeup had a rainbow highlighter, I ordered it straight away, and I will admit, mainly because it looked so pretty and the packaging was cute, I wasn't really thinking about how it was going to work on my skin. I was slightly worried as the rainbow highlighters I have seen scattered about Instagram recently are really pigmented, and really noticeable on the skin, and whilst it looked really cool, it was not ideal for me on a daily basis! 

This heart shaped, rainbow highlighter however is a lot more iridescent and pastel on the skin, but it is still quite pigmented and can be easily built up for a more intense colour. When I swipe my brush in the pan and transfer it to my skin it gives an iridescent glow which I have loved wearing on a daily basis but when swiped with a fan brush it shows all five shades lined up together. According to I Heart Makeup, the product was 'made by real unicorns'! 

This is perfect for achieving the soft, rainbow shimmer that is all the rave right now! 
Shop more from I heart Make up below!



Monday 12 December 2016

Regenerate Enamel Science Advanced Toothpaste







I love trying out different products for my teeth. I had never heard of regenerate enamel science before and once doing some research I decided that this company was one that I definitely wanted to give a try. I am lucky enough to have pretty healthy, straight teeth, and I have never had a brace before having not needed one, so I like to try my best to keep my teeth healthy and clean. 

Advanced Toothpaste
This clinically proven toothpaste is aimed to protect and strengthen your teeth against cavities, reversing the early erosion process as well as restoring the original whiteness of your teeth. With regular use, twice a day in place of your current toothpaste, over time enamel is regenerated by restoring its mineral content and micro hardness. With 75ml and 105g in a tube worth £10, pricey compared to other regular toothpastes, I did feel a difference after the first use. I am however a regular tea and coffee drinker and so I did not really notice a huge difference in the whiteness of my teeth, but they do feel cleaner after using this toothpaste compared to others. The only issue I have is the price, however where results are wanted sometimes price has to be overlooked,  my teeth are stronger and far less sensitive too since using this. 
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               Advanced Enamel Serum
This has the same effects as the toothpaste but is a gel and serum kit, used for three minutes, of three days, once a month. The kit contains a serum, activator gel and two mouth trays which are used to release a concentrated mineral boost to integrate onto your teeth and compliments the use of the toothpaste by boosting it's effectiveness. This looked a little strange to me at first, and the first few uses also felt odd, but after using it for a few months now, it is just a little extra part of my evening routine that makes a difference to my teeth and is therefore worthwhile. Along with the toothpaste this kit leaves my teeth feeling clean and particularly when using this, my teeth appeared brighter. 


If you are looking for a new product to try out and don't mind spending a little bit extra then this is worth a try! 



Monday 21 November 2016

Christmas Gift Ideas


Christmas is just around the corner, and with it slowly but surely creeping upon us I have put together some of my favourite picks, perfect for gifts this Christmas! Happy Shopping!


Friday 18 November 2016

Three High Quality Highlighters




Make Up Revolution I Heart Make Up 'Goddess of Love' Highlighter - £5.99
Urban Decay Afterglow Highlighter in 'Sin' - £19
Barry M Illuminating Strobe Cream 'Iced Bronze' - £4.49

I have put together three great highlighters that differ in price, formula and brand. I was first attracted to the heart boxes from Make Up Revolution as they looked like amazing dupes of the blushes from Too Faced, and I am a sucker for such cute packaging. At first I tried the blushes from Make Up Revolution and after being very impressed with them I decided to try one of their highlighters. This also turned out to be a great product, not particularly as pigmented as the other two highlighters I have picked out but a good product for only £4.99. It gives a natural and subtle glow to the skin, and it has a pink sheen to it, not my favourite in a highlighter but as it is not strongly pigmented it does not show up on the skin with too much of a pink shine. 

After watching Manny MUA rave about the Urban Decay highlighter in 'Sin' I was easily persuaded and went and bought it when it was finally back in stock! It is super pigmented and I always get comments whenever I am wearing it. If you are looking for a higher end product for highlight then this one should definitely be the top of your list! 

If you are looking to try a cream product, the the Barry M strobe stick is great and really affordable. It is easy to apply and blend, without smudging or moving your foundation and although there are only two shades to choose from, I am really pleased with the champagne shade of Iced Bronze. 

Highlighter is by far my favourite make up product and so my collection is always growing and very varied. What are your favourite highlighters? 





Tuesday 1 November 2016

Rimmel The Only 1 Matte Lipsticks








I have always been a huge fan of Rimmel London's lipsticks, they never disappoint me, They are highly pigmented, have a wide selection of different ranges, tons of beautiful shades, and they always smell so good! 

I was lucky enough to receive all nine shades of their new range; 'The Only 1 Matte'. As is quite clear, they are a matte formula but were not drying on my lips at all, and the colour lasted all day, only occasionally having to re apply the lipstick after eating or drinking. 

All shades are rich in pigment and colour and I believe there is a shade available to suit everyone. It is very difficult to find a matte lipstick that is comfortable to wear or gives you the confidence that it will stay in tact without drying out your lips but after wearing each shade I was pleasantly surprised with each one in the range. The slightly darker shades I definitely did have to re apply after food or drink but that was expected and they still stayed just as vibrant throughout the day. My personal favourites are the brown and pink nude shades as I love wearing these at this time of the year. 

The packaging I like, I could easily distinguish these lipsticks as being Rimmel, and the slanted bullet makes for easy application. I can definitely see myself wearing every single shade from this collection, but the one I have been particularly loving is '700 Trendsetter', I think it is a great dupe for shades such as Velvet Teddy from Mac. If you go out and purchase one for £6.99 use the hashtag #liplibrary' to share your thoughts! Thanks again to Rimmel! 

(Below are some of my all time favourite Rimmel lipsticks!) 






Wednesday 26 October 2016

Rimmel Scandaleyes Reloaded





 Rimmel London have recently introduced a few new products, with their original scandaleyes mascara getting a new and improved formula, and two eyeliners that are suitable for whatever look you prefer. 

I have to admit, I have not tried the original mascara, therefore I am unable to compare it to this new one, however I know how beloved that mascara was and so I was very excited to try this out, considering it is a new formula. The scandaleyes reloaded mascara is described as providing 'dangerously bold' and 'lethally full lashes' a bold statement itself, coating every single lash, clump free for up to 24 hours. Now I have never worn a mascara for any longer than 18 hours, but when it came to removing this mascara at the end of the day, it was still very much in tact, with next to no fall down, and still as black as ever. I can confirm that my lashes were coated evenly, the thick and full wand extra useful for creating equally thick and full lashes with no clumps at all. The mascara comes in two version; black and extreme black and both are really easy to remove despite their long staying power. Additionally, the design and packaging of these is great, I love the colours as they have a very Halloween feel about them, and thus I have been loving using them this month! 

The eyeliners, I have to admit, I have found a little more difficult to use. The one on the left in the above image is the 'Thick and Thin' eyeliner, a 3D slanted felt tip so you can choose to draw either a thick or thin line. I always prefer a thin line when doing my eyeliner, and so this product is not ideal for me, the idea itself is really cool, and unfortunately when I tried to use it to create a thin line I found it a challenge and extremely hard to use, however I did like how black and intense the product was. The liner on the right in the above image is
 the 'Precision Micro' and it is much more suited to me as it has a super thin felt tip so I was able to draw a precise line and again this one was also very black. When I tried out both, they had great staying power and had not budged all day. 

Rimmel Scandaleyes Reloaded Mascaras Black and Extreme Black: £6.99
Rimmel Scandaleyes Liners: £5.49
Check out people's looks with the hashtag #scandaleyesreloaded

I really love Rimmel and have been using this brand ever since I started wearing make up. I love that they are always reinventing themselves and creating new and exciting products for us make up lovers to enjoy. Thank you Rimmel London! 



Monday 24 October 2016

My Halloween Picks


Halloween is one of my favourite times of the year and I love all the decor, food and outfits that appear for the spooky event. I put together some of my favourite picks for this year, from outfit ideas to comfy appropriately themed jumpers for the day. Have a great Halloween!



Tuesday 18 October 2016

BRYT Skincare Nourish Serum




BRYT Skincare is all about providing an 'easy and effective way' to take care of your skin, whatever your age. With natural botanical skin products without the use of parabens or sulphates and other preservatives, BRYT Skincare aims to help maintain a healthy complexion whilst maximising suppleness and tone. Their effective method of taking care of your skin includes three steps; cleanse, nourish and protect, a regime that ultimately brings lasting results. 

I am reviewing one of four of BRYT's Serums, each one is suitable for different skin requirements, but all of the Nourish serums are 'soothing, calming, hydrating and penetrating right down to cell level.' What I love about the BRYT website is that they provide you with really useful information on figuring out your skin type if you are unsure. 

The serum comes in an small attractive bottle, at £16.50 I will admit that it is a little pricey in comparison to other skincare products, but if you suffer with dry and dehydrated skin like me, I am willing to try so many different products to get the results I want and this one in my opinion, is worth a try. This serum is in a 30ml bottle and dispensed with a pump which makes it easy to use. The serum is pretty thick and so once on the skin it definitely feels like it is giving it an intense treatment, but a little goes a long way and with just a couple of pumps I could spread the serum across my face and down my neck as instructed. My skin was not left feeling sticky as it sunk in quickly, but was left feeling smooth and soft pretty immediately, and it was still fresh and hydrated in the morning. This I was pleased about as the product is described as 'penetrating right down to cell level' which helps to revive skin, and I have been sceptical about other skin products before that are specialised towards dry skin. 

This serum is cruelty free and has a vegan formula, and includes a number of essential oils, fantastic for retaining moisture and hydrating the skin. It also has a pleasant, fresh and clean smell that is not overpowering at all - I really enjoyed trying out this product and look forward to getting my hands on more products in order to be able to fully take advantage of BRYT's three step process. 

Check out their website and social media handles:
http://www.brytskincare.co.uk/
https://www.facebook.com/brytskincare
https://twitter.com/BRYTSkincare
https://uk.pinterest.com/brytyoungthings/
https://www.instagram.com/brytskincareuk/



Thursday 6 October 2016

Beauty and Fashion Wishlist


Ok - so some of these are way out of my budget, but a girl can dream and they are all visually appeasing, so there is no harm done in sharing the products and items that I would love to get my hands on with you all.


Wednesday 5 October 2016

'Younique' Products













My friend Charlotte was kind enough to recently offer me the chance at trying out some of the many products that Younique offer. Charlotte sells the products through her very own e-commerce store, like many other Younique Presenters and picked out her top five products for myself to try and review. 

Younique has a mission to 'uplift, empower, validate, and ultimately build self-esteem in women around the world through high-quality products that encourage both inner and outer beauty...' 

Moodstruck Addiction Shadow Palette Number 3
I love the colours in this palette, it is versatile and perfect for creating both a day time and night time look. With three shimmers and four mattes you can create a simple and light look or a more intense smokey eye. I found that the shimmer shades were more pigmented than the mattes, but that being said, the colour when using these can be easily built up to get your desired look. The shadows blend out really well and I find that the black matte shade is great to use as eyeliner too. 

Liner/Shader Brush
The perfect partner for any of the eyshadow palettes, I was able to apply the shadows and blend them out perfectly with this double ended brush, and the liner end was great for applying the black matte shade in the palette along my upper lash line to create a winged look.  Precision Brow Liner
This is in my top three favourites of all the products I have tried, it is so easy to use and glides on so effortlessly. I chose to use the medium brown shade, however I had to mix it with a brow product I already own as unfortunately the shade was too much of a brick brown shade to be a perfect match for myself, but the actual product itself definitely rivals benefits brow products. This product also has a spooly on the end to comb through your brow hairs beforehand. 

Royalty Detoxifying Mask
This face mask looks a bit daunting to use at first due to it's charcoal black colour, however once I had got over that, I applied it and felt it working straight away. This is best applied with a spoon or a spatula, as once the product touches the skin it gets to work immediately, bubbling on the surface. The mask is recommended to be used three times a week, which I did my best to stick to. After the first use, it did break me out a little bit, but this tends to happen often when trying out new skincare products, and after a few more uses I started to notice the effects and a clear difference to my skin. In the mornings my skin appeared brighter, my blemishes were clearing up, and overall the redness was reduced. This is a bamboo charcoal mask, that aims to absorb toxins and impurities as well as giving oxygen to your skin through the foaming sensation it creates. Due to it's exfoliating properties, this mask removes dead skin cells, and as it contains tree oils and vitamins, your skin is left nourished and brighter. 

Moodstruck 3D Fiber Lashes+
Now this product really intrigued me. It claims to increase your average lash volume and speaking to others, this product definitely works for so many people. It makes lashes look long and thick but unfortunately it did not do anything too dramatically different to my lashes, however my lashes are so temperamental and nothing ever really seems to make any impact on mine.  When I used this with my own mascara there was more of a difference, and for a light coating of mascara or a simple make up look, where I am not too bothered about the look of my lashes then this is fine for that. I would still recommend this, it is different from anything I have tried before and I know that it works wonders for so many people. This comes in a chic case with two different containers inside; the transplanting gel and the 3D fibers. I applied a coat of my own mascara, before applying the transplanting gel which contains collagen which is the success of the 3D Fiber lashes application. The application of this gel is what helps the fiber lashes to stick to the natural lashes. Take the tube with the natural fibers and swipe them over the gel, they attach themselves to your natural lashes to give volume, length and thickness. Put another coat of the transplanting gel on top to tame any clumping, though I found this to be a very minimal amount. This second coating helps the fibers to stay secure and in place. I love that this is waterproof but easily removable just like any other mascara. 

The prices of all these products are affordable and acceptable for what you are paying for and all their products are available to purchase and browse online, head to https://www.youniqueproducts.com/charlottedunn to check them out! 

I really enjoyed trying out these products and would once again like to thank my friend Charlotte for introducing me to them! 





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