March 2016 Update

Hello lovely readers, I hope you're all doing well today! My update for this month really isn't very long, so I decided to add a small haul to keep things a little more interesting ^_^

Ending University

*exhales* Can any of you believe that I completed university this month? Three years of hard work, sweat, tears, procrastination, procrastination and oh yes currently writing a 10,000 word dissertation on procrastination too! At the end of my final lecture and the whole drive home, I have to admit I felt pretty emotional. I mean half of me felt like university started only last month and all the memories of meeting people, sitting on stinky buses, missing trains then waiting another 20 minutes for the next one and spending tonnes of money on coffee, taxis and Greggs all came rushing back to me. Then I started thinking about everything I have accomplished in my three years at uni and it hit me that, although I didn't have the typical University experience, of staying away at a campus and meeting life-long friends - University had helped me grow intellectually, in maturity, confidence, independence and of course it has stretched my waist line too (but we'll skip past that shall we). The other half of me has been so excited to get away from exams and deadlines, I want to fast forwards to the years I'll be earning a decent salary, travelling often and... well getting into the real world.

Yesterday I submitted my final Psychology assignment and it was very bittersweet. I know a part of me will really miss the somewhat relaxed student lifestyle, which allows me to sleep at 4am and wake up as late as I like (mum is so excited for this to end though haha). I do feel ready for the end of University and to begin my career as a teacher though and I'm excited to see what the future holds (once I've completed and submitted my dissertation of course..OH and I have one exam left too haha).

Filming, Birthdays & Burgers
So March basically consisted of me writing and frantically handing in four assignments and participating in a presentation on OCD. We all know how stressful group work at a University level can be, however I think we did pretty well and we even got together and filmed a short clip too. I took charge of the filming and editing and to be honest I was in my absolute element - I enjoyed it all ^_^ The actual presentation itself was mortifying of course, however we got through it and the markers of the presentation actually asked if we had made the video ourselves! I was flattered, thrilled and pretty proud about this haha...and we got the grade we deserved. In between this stressful time, it was my dad's birthday and my uncle's birthday too. My uncle turned the big 40 so we all went out to Birmingham to celebrate. I asked my lovely readers to recommend me the best halal places and we ended up going with Ibrahim's Grill and Steakhouse which was a great choice! Pictured above is the burger and chips my sister ate and I of course had to have a chicken steak (I was too hungry to take a photo at this point though). It's always nice to make a bit of time for family, especially when you've spent most of the month chugging down coffee and junk food, whilst weeping about everything under the sun, stressed was not a strong enough word.

Heavenly's Desserts

We FINALLY got to visit the most talked about desserts place ever and it took me a good 5 minutes to hunt this beauty down on the menu - if I'm not mistaken I believe it's called 'I'll have what he's having'. A warm slightly vanilla flavoured waffle, split into four and drizzled with white chocolate, strawberry sauce, freshly cut strawberries, whipped cream and a sprinkle of sugar. It was literally heavenly, I can't think of a better word to describe this...wonderful, fantastic, amazing, fabulous, scrumptious...they are simply not enough. This dessert is the queen of all desserts for me and although I'm kind of glad I don't live near enough to Birmingham to have this on a regular basis - I CAN'T WAIT TILL I GET TO HAVE IT AGAIN! 

At the end of February I was kindly sent a small size of Benefit's Pore fessional Matte Rescue* which is designed to be used along side their pore fessional original primer (which is great by the way, it really does blur pores!). I have used this a handful of times, concentrating it only on my nose, because for some reason that's the part of my face which gets oily. Used under the NARS TM, I found it worked a treat, keeping shine at bay for ages and it also meant that I didn't have to use a powder to touch up! However used under my MUFE Ultra HD, I didn't see a big difference. It with-held oil for around 1-2 hours and then I got the usual shine. I still need to test this out some more, as I have had pretty mixed experiences thusfar... but the gel like consistency I likes!

The Haul

So moving onto the haul part of this post, if you know anything about me then you know that when I'm stressed I ONLINE SHOP. Last week I bought the Philips Lumea, which my mum kindly went in halves for...though it was still a blow to my bank account. However early pay day colliding with three deadlines meant procrastination turned into extra spending too. I went onto the beautiful site: here and I was blown away by how cute AND beautifuo the stationary was. Honestly these items were quite the treat, but nothing motivates me like stationary (it used to be make-up but I am a somewhat changed woman after going 6 months without buying any!). I love the cute little ribbon and label with my name on it too, personal touches like that really make me appreciate businesses more! I purchased the Rifle Paper Co. TO-DO notepad, small, compact and beautiful! The colours, the illustration and the quality - is gorgeous and although it was a little smaller than I expected, it's actually a great size for jotting down things to do haha.

I also purchased a duo pack of notebooks, these are totally plain on the inside and pretty small in size (A6 size). I didn't manage to get a picture of the second book, which it a light pink with gold polka dots, however you can see it on their website here. I mainly purchased it for the green floral book, as it is stunning, the gold detail amongst the roses..how could I not? (Tis rather expensive, but I don't indulge in stationary too often, that's my excuse).

Finally the most useful item from my haul and the one I'll be reaching for the most, is this monthly planner. It's essentially like a calendar in one small book. It has a waterproof cover making it very practical for day to day use and I have to say I love the format of the little squares. There's nothing like seeing the month ahead on one spread. I've slotted in blog posts, put in deadlines, birthdays and other important dates. I just prefer using a book/paper and pen, rather than my phone or laptop when it comes to planning in this format. There are 12 double page spreads, which are blank so you can circle the month and use it from whichever date you please. There are also note pages at the back and right at the front, there is yet another monthly spreadsheet which actually spans the whole year. Why am I writing so much detail, I actually don't know..I think you get the picture!

So there's my little haul and my update, how did your month go?

*This post contains press samples or products gifted to me. All opinions are my own. For more info check my Disclaimer.

Thank-you for reading ♥

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March 2016 Update

Hello lovely readers, I hope you're all doing well today! My update for this month really isn't very long, so I decided to add a small haul to keep things a little more interesting ^_^

Philips Lumea Prestige SC2007/00 | What, Why, How? | #1

Hello everybody! I'M super excited to write this post, because the decision to purchase the Philips Lumea Prestige SC2007/00 has been one that I have ummed and ahhed over for at least a year. Three days ago I bit the bullet, went in halves with mum and purchased the little device. It arrived today (Easter Sunday) which I was very happy about, talk about speedy on a national holiday!! So I decided to write a post explaining what it is, what I hope to achieve with it, why I went for this model in particular and also first impressions too. I plan to write multiple updates and let you know how we get on with this, as often as I can and I hope these posts will be useful for anyone who's been thinking about investing in one too.


Hair Removal and I
So it's important to start this blog post off with a disclaimer - I am a South Asian female, therefore body hair is something I have learned to just deal with. Us brown girls grow so much hair it's a little overwhelming when you hit puberty and start wondering how best to deal with it! Of course when I was a teen I was mortified, my skin is a light brown shade and my hair is dark so it was pretty visible. As I've gotten older I've definitely developed more of an ehhh attitude towards hair on my body, because I'm not a fan of shaving it grows back too quick and feels prickly, at home waxing is too time consuming and going to a salon? Girl I am on a student budget, I'd much rather be slightly furry arms and highlight on point, than have smooth arms ya feel me?? The primary method of hair removal I use is an epilator - except it frequently gives me ingrown hairs, causes my skin to be sensitive and is honestly more pain than it's worth as it rarely catches the majority of hair. Despite the attitude of I CANNOT BE BOTHERED, that had developed by the age of 20, I don't particular enjoy letting all the hair grow out, I just have more important things to care about...like third year assignments and what I'm going to do post University.

So that brings us to the last year and a half, when I have seriously been thinking about more permanent forms of hair removal. Hair removal on the regular can get expensive, can be painful, can take forever, can be uncomfortable and I just had enough of the regular process, which lead to the decision to purchase this IPL!

Laser Hair Removal At A Salon or IPL At Home?
The idea of going into a clinic serval times to get professional laser hair removal done did not phase me, I mean I'm not the most comfortable person with a stranger zapping me, but sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do right? Laser hair removal at a salon is basically the use of a very strong laser, at least 6-8 times (over the period of a few weeks I believe) on an area of the skin, to permanently remove the hair. It is expensive, there is no doubt about it, with a full body laser course costing at least £1.6K+. Of course you don't pay it all upfront, you pay per session and the advantages of going into a salon are firstly, there is a professional who knows what they are doing and have experience and secondly the strength of the laser means you are more LIKELY to have your hair removed permanently and for a longer amount of time.  I really was considering saving up money and getting laser done, at least on my upper lip and side burns to begin with, but after tweeting about it I found out that apparently when some women get pregnant, the hair all grows back! Hearing this totally stopped me in my tracks, of course one day I would like to have children i'a and I just don't think I could risk spending so much money on a treatment which could be reversed due to hormonal changes. So I decided to spend a couple of weeks doing as much research as I could into the lumea, which my auntie has been using for over a year now.  Her feedback was one of the reasons I gave this a shot and also the fact that it's currently on sale on Amazon from £300- £269.95 and the same price on John Lewis too!

What is IPL?
It stands for 'Intense Pulsed Light' therapy and it is one of the most effective methods to 'continuously prevent hair growth'. The pulses/flashes of light are applied to the skin and absorbed by the hair root. This will stimulate the hair follicle to go into a resting phase and prevent hair growth. To Philip's credit, at no point do they claim that this will permanently rid you of hair forever and after reading as many reviews as I could, I have concluded that this device will probably remove 60-80% of my body hair if I stick to it! This amount sounds amazing to me, I am not fussy if I have a little bit of hair regrowth here and there - the fact that a large portion of my hair could be banished for good sounds almost too good to be true! I didn't know this, but apparently hair grows in cycles and of course not every single hair on the body is growing in the same cycle, which is the reason why it takes several repeated regular treatments to get long term results.

Who can use the Lumea?
This is an important one, fair to dark skintones can use this safely, however very deep skintones cannot. It works on dark hair only - not white, red or blonde. This is to do with how well the light picks up the dark pigment of the hair. Pregnant or breastfeeding ladies, those with skin canceer, areas of excema, burns, wounds, diabetes, lupus erythematodes, porphyria, congestive heart disease and anyone with a history of immunosuppressive diseases (including HIV or AIDS). Also if you are on Accutane or have used it in the last six months, you can't use it AND if you're using skincare products containing AHAs or BHAs you should avoid those areas. (No more liquid gold for me for a while). Finally if you tan from sunbeds or creams you can't use it until its all faded, something I wish I had known before, because my face is still half tanned from the Bareminerals faux face tan ._. 

This list should be written clearly online, because I can imagine a lot of people buying this and then being unable to use it!

How does it work?
According to Philip's instructions you must first remove the hairs on the surface of the skin. A lot of people think you have to shave, I did too, however you can use an epilator, short-trim or even wax before using this! But more on that later. You cannot use hair removal cream though, as the chemicals in cream mixed with the light could cause a skin reaction. Once your skin is hair free, you select the correct light intensity according to the table above. Now based on this table I'm light brown so I should be using 4/5...but of course I'm starting with 2/3! Once you've selected the intensity, you press it down on the skin and when it's ready, a green light on the back turns on, at which point you press the button and zap. At this point there is a bright flash of red light and there is most definitely a sensation. Not exactly pain, but it's like a quick zap of heat, gone as quick as it comes but nonetheless still enough to make my mum flinch at each zap!

The Philip's guide comes with a recommended treatment schedule. There are two phases, the first being the initial one in which you are supposed to use the Philips Lumea once every two weeks for the first 4-5 weeks. After each of these treatments hair will grow back and fall out, as the weeks go on, most of the hair will permanently stop growing. The second phase is called the touch-up one, which is recommended every 4-8 weeks. Its the part of the treatment which targets the small percentage of hair which hasn't stopped growing and as far as I know, these touchups are essential to keep skin smooth all the time.

So to break this down, you need to go through 8 weeks of regular shaving and zapping on a fortnightly basis (essentially 4-5 sessions) to get the majority of the hair permanently removed. The touchups keep it this way but it is not really essential to keep it up, as far as I can tell...although I guess time will tell!

I read a review on Amazon in which this lady stated that she didn't notice a difference by following the recommended schedule. So she decided to use it once a week on a notch higher than she had been, and within 8 weeks she had absolutely zero hair left on the areas she treated. Therefore I will be keeping an eye on my treatment and adjusting it based on how it's going.

Which Model is the best?
The way Philips have numbered their models is quite confusing, because although they seem to go up in consecutive order it is not necessarily a case of the higher the number the better the model. I bought the 2007 model because it contains 250,000 flashes before it is exhausted, which means that for two people it should last approximately 4 years. The 2008 model has a third attachment for the bikini line but only has 140,000 flashes...and you can easily use the face attachment on this model for the bikini line (with regular cleaning of course). So don't rush into buying the latest model, make sure you take you time and read into the differences. Personally this one is the best in my opinion, it has all the attachments you really need and a long life too which makes it better value for money. All philips lumeas are brilliant for the fact that they don't need replacement parts and the latest versions are all cordless.

First Impressions
I started off with using this one both arms, I actually shaved them, which was bizarre and something I am not used to at all but it was nice to have smooth arms for a good 7 hours, before they started feeling prickly and uncomfortable *eye rolls*. Anyway, I turned on the lumea and put it onto level 1. The process of pushing it onto the skin and the green light switching on was super quick and simple and it didn't feel uncomfortable at all. As soon as it zapped and the flash came on, there was the slightest outline of the window, which was helpful because straight afterwards I moved it down a little and flashed again. I cranked up the intensity to a 3 and it was pretty quick and easy to zap my forearm in a couple of minutes. I used a taupe coloured eyeliner to draw lines over my arms, marking out which areas I've done. I'll definitely be using a nude pencil next time though! In terms of covering all my arm, it did take a little manouvering sometimes horizontal was good, other times vertical was good.  It wasn't too hard, but it did take a little bit of patience. All in all my first experience was good, there were pings of heat and it does take a little getting used to but it's over before you really think about it AND it's less painful than using my epilator too. In fact I wouldn't call it painful, just a tiny bit uncomfortable, but definitely bearable. Plus the knowledge that with dedication and patience, in a couple of weeks the hair will be gone for the most part is super motivating.

This morning I shaved my upperlip using an eyebrow razor (horrific to do, seriously even atom of my being was urging me not to do it, but I have faith!). I then attached the smaller piece on and turned the intensity to a 2. I was amazed at the speed, within 30 seconds I had zapped my whole upperlip area and I will definitely be moving up to a three next time.

My mum's experience wasn't quite the same, she didn't like the idea of shaving so she epilated and then used the Lumea about 10 minutes later. Mum experienced a lot of sensitivity, which I found odd considering she has quite a high pain tolerance and doesn't even wince during epilation! We both realised it was because her skin was still tender from epilation and for future treatment we'll wait at least 24 hours (which is what they recommended for waxing).

Next Sunday I think I'm going to do other areas and my arms and upper lip again, so I'm all in sync and then I'll see what the progress is on Sunday the 10th - the date you can expect my next update. Feel free to leave me any questions you have, I think I've covered everything but let me know if I haven't! Also if you're interested in this particular model - the Philips Lumea Prestige SC2007/00 IPL Hair Removal System for Face and Body, get it now whilst it's reduced because it's a somewhat affordable price here. 

Have any of you used this before? I'd love to hear your experiences ^_^

First update post is available to read HERE!

Thank-you for reading ♥

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Philips Lumea Prestige SC2007/00 | What, Why, How? | #1

Hello everybody! I'M super excited to write this post, because the decision to purchase the Philips Lumea Prestige SC2007/00 has been one that I have ummed and ahhed over for at least a year. Three days ago I bit the bullet, went in halves with mum and purchased the little device. It arrived today (Easter Sunday) which I was very happy about, talk about speedy on a national holiday!! So I decided to write a post explaining what it is, what I hope to achieve with it, why I went for this model in particular and also first impressions too. I plan to write multiple updates and let you know how we get on with this, as often as I can and I hope these posts will be useful for anyone who's been thinking about investing in one too.

Review | Brushes That Look Exactly Like The Real Techniques Bold Metals Line

Hello everybody, long time no blog D: Third year deadlines are slowly but surely coming to an end (thank goodness) and I've taken out a couple of hours to blog, before I hit the journals again.

So back in January, I stumbled across these very familiar looking brushes on ebay and decided to pick up two sets, one for me and one for my mother. Unfortunately the seller from which I purchased both of these sets (yes I chose different sellers because I wanted to see if there was any difference), is no longer selling them...I don't know why this happens on eBay but there was hardly any difference between either set so I'll link another one at the end of the post if you want to purchase it yourself. The price of this seven piece brush kit is between £5-£6.50, so of course as it was such a bargain I had to purchase it and I have not been disappointed!

Now before we get into individual reviews, you may be wondering why I haven't called this a dupe post...well the thing is I don't own any of the original bold metal brushes.  For my budget they're a little too pricy and I'd much rather spend £20 on a NARS blush, or put it towards an eyeshadow brush set from Zoeva, so I wasn't ever compelled to purchase any of the brushes. Not that they don't look beautiful! I'm just quite the savy shopper haha. Therefore calling this a dupe post would be untrue, I'm not comparing these directly to the originals (although they have cheekily included the RT initials on the barrel of the brushes too!) as I haven't used them, but from whatever knowledge I may have of specific brushes I'll do my best to comment.

Starting with the obvious the original bold metals brushes are actually made from metal and feel heavy and weighty when you pick them up. These brushes are most certainly not made from metal, they're created from plastic and are super lightweight. The bristles are incredibly soft as they're synthetic and each brush works well with powder, cream and liquid products. Also all of these brushes have the same name as the originals, so let's get into the details shall we!

Large Fluffy Powder Brush 100 
This brush is great for applying powder, the bristles aren't very dense so it doesn't pack on the product which is exactly what I look for. I'm not a fan of a powdery face, however having an oilyish T-zone means that a bit of setting is required in order to keep the shine away. A quick dip of this brush in powder and swish onto the face is perfect and it takes less than 3 seconds. I also enjoy this brush for bronzing up the skin, again the fluffiness of the bristles means it evenly distributes the product on the skin. Also the barrel of this brush is ever so slightly squashed, which makes the width of the head a little elongated, again making it easier to apply bronzer to a designated area. On simple makeup days, a quick sweep of this along the cheekbones creates the most effortless definition and warmth at the same time.

Triangle Foundation Brush 101
I have to say this brush was the one I was most dubious about, it's definitely very unique! The shape is a 3D triangle, with three flat sides and it ends with a neat little point at the end. I checked out some of the reviews of the original (which costs £22 by the way!) and there were some complaints of it being rough and scratchy. Like I said I can't speak for the original, however this version is lovely and soft to use on the skin. This brush really surprised me too, it's a lot more useful than it looks. I enjoy it for applying and blending out concealer, cream contour and most surprising for me, it works well for setting the under-eyes and baking with loose powder too! Probably the best thing about this brush is that you can use each side for a different purpose in one use. I'll blend my concealer in with one side, apply and blend contour with the second and with the third I apply powder. It's a fantastic brush for travelling - for obvious reasons!

Both the rose gold brushes were what I was most excited to try, I mean a girl can never have enough blush or contour brushes am I right? heh. If any of the original brushes tempted me, it was these two but I'm glad I held back and purchased this set instead now!

Blush Brush 300
One of my favourite brushes in the set by far! The head is small and tapered, ensuring you can apply blusher just on the apples of the cheeks without going all clown faced. Similar to the powder brush, this also has a squashed barrel (which you can see clearly in the next photo I hope) so this adds a flatter dimension to the brush. I wasn't sure if this would be helpful at first, however it makes the brush more versatile, you can use it for highlight, blending out contour using the tapered tip, or simply using the flatter side of the brush to pack on pigment onto the cheeks. I personally LOVE blusher, my makeup isn't complete without it, however I like to apply it directly over my contour line and blend it in. This gives me more of an elongated lifted look and I highly recommend you try it, rather than popping blush all over the cheeks if you have a rounder face. This isn't my all time favourite blusher brush, but it's landed a spot in my top three and I think everyone could find a use for it in their everyday makeup routine.

Contour Brush 301

I noticed straight away that this brush isn't the best copy to the original one, which seems a lot more rounded and neat. As you can see there are to stray hairs - not a big deal and probably quite expects. But the main difference is that this brush has one flatter edge and one rounder edge. The second difference is that this brush seems to be wider in diameter to what I expected. This means that when blending out contour, it's a lot easier using the rounder edge on the side, rather than straight up using the flat part of the brush. I tend to use this brush more when I'm using cream products, or if I'm using a powder bronzer it'll be lighter shade. Sometimes with a strong bronzer colour it can look a little harsh, however it's all about control and practice. I am much more used to using a small round brush for contouring, over this style of brush and I haven't fallen head over heels for it - but it's a nice addition to my collection.

Finally we have the eyeshadow brushes, which I didn't have any expectations for and certainly wouldn't spend the full price for any of them - MORPHE/ZOEVA have my heart instead!

Shader brush 200
This is a great brush for quick shadow application all over the lid. When I only have 10-15 minutes to do my makeup I tend to use one side of this to blend out concealer around the brows (a new thing I've been doing which has made the HUGEST difference!). I'll then flip over the brush and use the other side to set a base shadow all over the lid and it's a great brush to have as it blends out cream and picks up powder with ease. Not great for precision work at all, but everyone needs a large shader brush!


Pointed Crease 201
This brush is pretty decent, but nothing outstanding. I use it to add depth to my crease, but as the size is medium, it's not great for blending out, nor is it good for smoking out the lower lashline. The two primary uses are really to add a deeper shadow into the crease, or to blend two shades together on the lid. It's also decent for adding a bit of inner corner highlight and I guess it would be good for pin point concealing too. It's not a must have in my opinion, however it's a nice addition.


Angled Brush 202
I didn't really bother with this brush for a long time, however I've recently misplaced my ABH brow brush so I started using it with the dip brow pomade and I really like it! It is firm enough to add shape and small enough to give you control. Best brow brush ever? No. It is a very welcome brush in my stash though, as I seem to lose eyebrow brush left, right and centre!


So there's my review for the set everyone! If you're interested in buying it here is a link. I would recommend it if you're looking for some newer brushes but don't want to spend more than a tenner. I could do most of my makeup with a beautyblender and just this set, which is pretty awesome ^_^ There are obviously some brushes I like and use more than others, but I have genuinely used each brush a handful of times, washed them a few times too and been very impressed. They feel pretty cheap but they do the job good enough for me.

Do you own any of the Bold Metals brushes? Would you recommend splurging on any in particular?

Thank-you for reading ♥

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