Soap & Glory Sugar Crush Body Wash

Hello Lovelies,

Today I wanted to share with you something I am absolutely loving at the moment and that is Soap & Glory’s Sugar Crush Body Wash. I have quite a few Soap & Glory products and don’t think I have ever been disappointed with any of them. They always smell so gorgeous and I love the packaging too.

I really like that Soap & Glory make shower gels and body washes in quite big bottles with pumps, because I think this makes them super easy to use and also stops you using too much.

This Body Wash has quite a creamy texture and I always use it with a shower puff and it lathers up really well. It feels quite moisturising and leaves your skin feeling lovely and clean, but what I love most about this is the scent. It has lime oil, kiwi juice water and omega-rich veggie oil in it and I think it smells like sugar and limes and it makes the whole bathroom smell lovely when I use it. If you haven’t tried this, you at least have to smell of it next time you are in Boots.

Soap & Glory also make a body scrub and body butter in this scent, I have the body scrub too, but haven't tried the body butter yet, although I think I will have to try it :) 

Have you tried this? Would you like to see more posts about some of the other Soap & Glory products I love using?

Thanks for reading :)

Nyss x

Would you Rather? Beauty Edition

Hey Lovelies,

Over the last few weeks I have seen a few bloggers post their answers to the Would You Rather – Beauty Edition Tag and after reading Kayleigh from Couture Girl and Gemma from Miss Makeup Magpie answers, I decided to give it a go myself. I find these sorts of posts really interesting to read and think they help you get to know someone better and they are quite fun to do.

So here are my answers…..

Would you rather lose all of your mascaras, eyeliners, lipsticks, and lip glosses or lose all of your palettes and eyeshadows?

I would rather lose all my palettes and eyeshadows, because I think my eyes would look better with mascara and no eyeshadow, than eyeshadow and no mascara and you could use eyeliners as eyeshadows especially if you had some soft blendable ones :) Also I would much rather lose all my palettes and eyeshadows than lipsticks and lip glosses, when shopping I am always more drawn to lip products than eyeshadows. 

Would you rather chop off all your hair or never be able to cut it again?

I think I would have to say never be able to cut it again, I think it would be bad for my hair, but I would just have to invest in lots of deep conditioning treatments, because the thought of having all my hair cut off is a nightmare for me.

Would you rather have a coral cheek or a pink cheek?

If I had to choose I would say coral, I think on me those sorts of colour look more natural, although I do love pink blushes too.

If you had £1000 to spend, Would you rather buy clothes or makeup?

I would say makeup, because I have a bigger makeup wish list than clothes wish list. I would probably buy a few expensive bits that I otherwise wouldn't be able to justify buying.

Would you rather apply lipstick as eyeliner, or eyeliner as lipstick?

I don’t know how to choose here as I wouldn't want to do either, if I had to I guess I would choose eyeliner as lipstick and choose an eyeliner colour that looked more like a lip colour, because applying lipstick to your eyes would not only look strange but I imagine it would also feel horrible. 

Would you rather only shop at MAC or Sephora?

I have never been to a Sephora and I think there aren’t any in the UK, but from what I have read Sephora sells lots of different brands, so I would have to choose Sephora.

Would you rather only use one eyeshadow colour or one lip colour for the rest of your life?

One eyeshadow colour and I would choose a neutral slightly shimmery colour that would look ok for any occasion. 

Would you rather wear winter clothes in summer or summer clothes in winter?

I always feel the cold and so definitely wouldn't want to wear summer clothes in winter so I would have to choose winter clothes in summer and if it’s hot spend lots of time in air conditioned places!

Would you rather dark nails or bright nails all year round?

I would choose dark nails, because I don’t really wear bright nails in the winter and I wouldn't mind dark nails any time of the year. 

Would you rather give up your favourite lip product or your favourite eye product?

I would class mascara as my favourite eye product and would rather wear no lip product than mascara, so I would give up my favourite lip product. Although it says you just have to give up your favourite lip product, so presumably you would still be able to wear other lip products? 

Would you rather only be able to wear your hair in a pony tail or a messy bun?

I don’t really like wearing my hair in a pony tail and don’t wear it in one apart from at home or at the gym, so I would choose a messy bun, because I think you could wear a messy bun for everyday or for a night out.

Would your rather never being able to paint your nails again or never use lip gloss?

I’d rather never to be able to use lip gloss again, because at the moment I paint my nails several times a week and love trying new colours. Also if I don’t have my nails painted they tend to break, so having my nails painted is a must for me.

Would you rather shave your eyebrows and have none at all? or sharpie them in everyday?

I would hate either, but I can’t imagine having no eyebrows and so I would have to sharpie them in everyday. Perhaps I could sharpie them in and then take some of it off, so it’s not such a strong line?!

Would you rather live without makeup or nail polish?

As much as I love nail polish, I would rather live without it than live without makeup, because I wear makeup everyday unless I am staying at home.

Some of these questions were hard to choose between and I'm glad I don’t actually have to live by some of these!

I’d love to see what your answers would be, so if you have done one of these or you do one leave me your link in the comments box.

Thanks for reading :)

Nyss x

Beauty Swap with Clare from A Bit of This and That

Hello Lovelies,

Today I wanted to share with you what I received in a recent Beauty Swap I took part in. 

I had seen bloggers post about these in the past and always thought they looked a great way to meet other bloggers and a good opportunity to try products you might not always buy for yourself. So when Hannah from Hannah Marie Beauty asked if anyone was interested in taking part in one, I jumped at the chance. Hannah allocated everyone who took part in the beauty swap a partner and I was paired with the lovely Clare from A Bit of This and That and we were set a limit of £10. Then it was down to us to get to know each other a bit and let each other know the sorts of things we like.

This being my first beauty swap I wasn’t quite sure what to choose and so looked at some beauty swap posts to see what sort of things people had included and I also looked at Clare’s blog to see what sort of things she liked. After getting to know a bit what Clare likes, I decided to send her things I hope she would like but also things I love using. I did go a little over our £10 limit, but I hope Clare enjoys using the things I sent her as much as I do. If you want to see what I sent Clare you can look at her post here.

I was really excited to see what Clare had chosen for me and my package arrived this week. This is what was in my package :) 

MUA Undress Your Skin Highlighting Powder 

I was really pleased when I saw this because I love highlighters and particularly powder ones. I have been meaning to try this for a while, so looking forward to using it. 

Sleek Shimmer Blush in Rose Gold

I actually already have this, but I love Sleek Blushes and this shade it is one of my favourite ones. I love the colour and how shimmery it is, so I was really happy when I saw that the Blush Clare had sent me was Rose Gold.  

Rimmel Scandaleyes Shadow Stick in Bulletproof Beige

I have not tried these yet, but have seen some reviews of them, saying how good they are, so I am excited to try this. I swatched this straight away and it's a gorgeous shimmery champagne colour, it feels really creamy and I will definitely wear this.

There was also a lovely card from Clare inside.

Thank you Clare for my lovely things :)

I loved taking part in this Beauty Swap and hopefully will be part of some more in the future.

Have you ever taken part in one? If you have leave me your links in the comments box if you posted about them, because I’d love to see what you got.

Thanks for reading :)

Nyss x

A Little Beauty Haul

Hello Lovelies,

Today I have a little haul post for you. I love reading these sorts of posts and I ended up getting a few beauty bits at the weekend, so I thought I would share with you what I got.

A friend of mine is getting married in August and decided she wanted to do her own makeup for her wedding, so on Saturday we went shopping for products for her to use to create her wedding day look. I hadn’t planned on getting anything for myself, but I ended up treating myself to a few bits :) We also came home with a few samples and I love nothing more than getting a lovely little sample to try.

Here is what I bought......

Debenhams had 10% off beauty and from there I got the Urban Decay De-Slick Makeup Setting Spray. This is 30ml and was only £9, so with 10% off was only £8.10, which I thought was a bargain. I have seen a couple of reviews of this and was intrigued to try it. The lady on the Urban Decay Counter convinced us this works really well at keeping your makeup in place all day and we both bought one of these.

I also got from Debenhams the Benefit Skincare set, which includes Foamingly Clean Facial Wash (8.9g), Moisture Prep Toning Lotion (8.9ml), It's Potent! Eye Cream (3g), Total Moisture Facial Cream (8.9g), Triple Performing Facial Emulsion (8.9ml) and Refined Finish Facial Polish (8.9g). This was £12.50, so with the 10% off it was only £11.25. I am really enjoying trying different skincare products at the moment and haven’t tried any of Benefit’s, so I thought this would be a good way to try them. 

I got the Benefit Porefessional from House of Fraser. I love this product and still have some left, but a lovely lady on the Estée Lauder Counter in House of Fraser gave me a £10 off voucher to be used against one of ten selected products and one of them was Porefessional, which meant I got this for only £14.50, so I couldn't resist getting it.

I love Lush products and we spent a while browsing Lush and as always there were so many things I wanted to get. I resisted though and just got a Creamy Candy Bubble Bar and a Butterball Bath Bomb. I have used both of these before and really like them, especially the smell of the Creamy Candy Bubble Bar.

My friend wanted to get a couple of MUA’s Power Pouts and because Superdrug currently have an offer of 3 for 2 across cosmetics, she got me a Power Pout in Runway, which is the colour I wanted to try next. I already love MUA’s Power Pouts and red lip products, so I am sure I will love this.

Here are the samples I got......

We were looking for a foundation for my friend to use on her wedding day and tried a few different one. I came home with a sample of MAC Matchmaster Foundation in shade 1.5, Benefit Hello Flawless Oxygen Wow Brightening Makeup in shade Believe in Me - Ivory and and Estée Lauder Double Wear in shade Ecru. The ladies on these counters were so lovely and helpful. I haven’t tried any of these samples properly yet, but from when I was colour matched to them, I think my favourite one will be the Mac one.

I got the Badgal Lash Mascara from the lovely lady on the Benefit Counter when I bought Porefessional. I have tried this before and it’s not my favourite mascara but I love little mascaras like this as they are perfect to keep in your handbag.

When I bought the Benefit Skincare Set the lovely lady at the Benefit Counter in Debenhams gave me a little sample of Porefessional and Triple Performing Facial Emulsion to try. 

If you have tried any of these, I’d love to know what you thought of them.

Thanks for reading

Nyss x

Garnier’s Miracle Skin Perfector BB Cream

Hello Lovelies,

Today I wanted to share with you a product that I am loving at the moment and have been using most days since about November. It is Garnier’s Miracle Skin Perfector BB Cream for combination to oily skin in the shade light.

I have never really worn liquid foundations apart from occasionally on a night out when I wanted that extra coverage. Day to day I used to just wear concealer where needed and powder foundation applied lightly with a powder brush. Then last year around November I felt my skin looked a bit dull and needed something, but I wasn’t sure what. A friend suggested I try a BB Cream and at around the same time I received in the post a sample of Garnier’s Miracle Skin Perfector BB Cream, so I thought I would give it a try. I loved how it evened out my skin tone, brightened up my face and even reduced the appearance of blemishes, however I have combination skin and found that after a couple of hours my skin looked shiny. So I decided to see if Garnier had a BB Cream for combination skin and they did, so I thought I’d give it a try. I am so pleased I did because now my skin feels naked without it.

Garnier’s Miracle Skin Perfector BB Cream for combination to oily skin has an ‘oil-free formula’ and has ‘ultra-absorbent perlite with mineral pigments’, which mattify your skin and even out your skin tone. Garnier describe this as an ‘all-in-one’ product that immediately perfects skin, provides anti-shine, blurs pores and imperfections, evens tone and boosts glow, moisturises and provides SPF 20 UV protection.

I would agree that it does do what it says it does, although I have to trust that it provides SPF 20 UV protection because I can’t really test this and we haven’t had much sun yet this year!

The texture of this is quite light so it applies really easily and evenly and I apply it with my fingers. I have found you don’t need much, although you can add more for extra coverage if you want. I then apply Rimmel Stay Matte Pressed Powder over the top with a powder brush, just to help keep my skin shine-free throughout the day.

Left - I applied a small amount to my arm so you can see what colour this shade is.
Right - I blended some here so you can see what it looks like when it has been blended

This retails at £9.99, but I have seen it on offer in a few places and at the moment it is on offer in Superdrug for only £6.66 which I think is a bargain, just a shame I have only a week or two ago started a new one. My first tube lasted about 6 months, which I was really pleased with.

Have you tried any BB Creams? I’d love to hear if you have and what ones you enjoy using, especially if you combination skin.

Thanks for reading :)

Nyss x

Liebster Award

Hello Lovelies,

I have been nominated for a Liebster Award 3 times  :) :) 

The 3 lovely ladies that nominated me are:

Rach from What Rach Loves

Molly from What Molly Loves

Tiff from The Indecisive Mind of Me

I had not heard of this Award before and in case you haven’t, I’ve borrowed Rach’s explanation. The word Liebster comes from the German meaning of Favourite and the Liebster Award is an award for bloggers who have under 200 followers and bloggers can nominate other bloggers for this Award.

I think this is a really lovely idea and a great way to learn more about other bloggers.

There are some rules and these are:

When a blogger is nominated for a Liebster Award they have to do the following:

Post 11 random facts about themselves

Answer the questions that have been set for them

Choose 11 new bloggers to tag and link them in this post and go to their page and tell them they have been nominated

Create 11 new questions for the 11 nominated bloggers

NO TAG BACKS

11 Random facts about me

1. The first high end beauty product I purchased was Benefit’s Dandelion

2. I love all things seafood

3. I have 3 Sisters and 1 Niece

4. I like to look for a bargain and will shop around before buying something

5. I love paddling in the sea on a hot sunny day

6. I love Lipton Peach Iced Tea, after trying it in Corfu about 10 years ago

7. This is one of Rach’s but I also secretly enjoy getting to the end of a product and I agree there is nothing like throwing a bunch of empties away

8. I love snorkelling when I go on holiday

9. I like making up new dishes without following a recipe

10. I don’t really like horror films

11. I love Lucky Charms (the cereal)

Rather than answer all the questions from the ladies who nominated me, which would be 33, I choose some from each of them. 

Answers to questions from Rach

What made you get into blogging?

I have always had a love of everything beauty related and have been reading other beauty blogs for about a year. I really enjoy reading other people’s opinions on everything beauty related and life in general, so thought I would give it a go myself and am loving it, particularly meeting other lovely bloggers.

Dogs or Cats?

Cats, I currently have black and white cat called Princess.

What's your favourite soap to watch?

I watch a few of the soaps, but if I had to choose I would probably say Eastenders or Coronation Street. 

What type of blog posts do you enjoy reading?

I love reading all sorts of posts, but I particularly like reviews with lots of photos and ones showing how people have used different products, like NOTD and FOTD and ones that help you get to know the blogger a bit more.

Do you have a particular brand you find yourself reaching for all the time?

I don’t think there is a particular brand that I reach for all the time. If I had written this about a year ago I would have said Benefit and I do still love it, but there are loads of other brands I love too and use on a daily basis, like Clarins, MUA, L’Oreal, Soap and Glory, Clinique, Collection and Maybelline.

What's your favourite shop?

I don’t have a favourite shop, but I love browsing the beauty counters in Debenhams and House of Fraser. I also love visiting Lush Stores, they smell so nice and I always want to buy so many things from there. At the moment because I have just moved house I also like visits shops that sell housey things like Dunelm and B & M to look for little things for my house.

Answers to questions from Molly 

Why is your blog named as it is?

I love sparkly and shiny things like a magpie and also all things beauty and so after thinking for a while me and a friend came up with Miss Nyss Beauty Magpie :)

If you had one superpower, what would it be?

I would be able to teleport, so could visit amazing places whenever I had some free time. 

What would you do if you won the lottery?

Buy a holiday home somewhere hot with amazing beaches and quaint little towns, the house would be big enough so all my friends and family could come and visit. I would also like to open a spa, that has a smoothie bar. 

If you were only allowed to do your hair or makeup which would you choose?

I would choose my makeup because I can get away without doing much to my hair if I don't want to or don't have time. 

What would be your dream house?

A big house, somewhere on the outside of a town, with lots of space and a garden that gets lots of sun in the summer. 

Do you see yourself still blogging in 5 years time?

I hope so :) 

Answers to questions from Tiff

If you had to only ever use either mascara or lipgloss again, which would it be?

Mascara, I think mascara really opens up your eyes and feel naked without it on. 

Where would you like to go on holiday?

Somewhere hot and sunny, I love Menorca and have been twice, but I would love to go back.

Your going shopping with your mates...what shoes are you gonna wear?

Probably some flat ballet pumps or sandals if it's spring/summer, or ugg boots in the winter.

Shimmer eyeshadows or Matte eyeshadows?

Shimmer eyeshadows, I love a bit of shimmer and sparkle!

What is your favourite, must have, never go without make up item?

Under eye concealer, I love Benefit's Erase Paste and Bobbi Brown's Corrector and Creamy Concealer Kit. 

Favourite dessert?

I don't know how I would choose, I do love chocolate brownies and also panna cotta with raspberries :)

My Nominees

1. Jade from Jadewiggins09

2. Sarah from Sarahs Beauty Emporium

3. Natasha from Shot of Beauty

4. Linda from Love for Beauty

5. Emma from DollFace

6. Melissa from Bubbles on: Beauty, Fashion and Life!

7. Zoe from A Little Bit of Everything

8. Lauren from Lauren Emma

9. Jen from Daisy Rose Beauty

10. Gemma-Louise from Live Love Laugh

11. Jamie-Lee from Orangen't You Lovely

My Questions for my Nominees

1. How long have you been blogging for and why did you start?

2. What is on the top of your beauty product wish list?

3. What would you do if you won the lottery?

4. Do you wear makeup everyday?

5. Is there one product that you wouldn’t want to live without and think everyone should try?

6. What is your favourite type of blog post to read?

7. What is the most you have ever spent on a beauty product and what was it?

8. If you could live anywhere in the world, where would you live?

9. Do you prefer Spring, Summer, Autumn or Winter?

10.  What are you most looking forward to this year?

11. Do you have a guilty pleasure, if so what is it?

Thanks for reading :)

Don't forget to add your link in the comment box when you have done your post, I'd love to read your answers.

Nyss x

My May Glossybox

Hello Lovelies,

I love seeing what other people get in their Glossyboxes and my May Glossybox arrived yesterday, so I thought I would share with you what was in mine. After seeing Glossybox’s facebook updates and tweets about this month being their 2nd Birthday, I was really looking forward to seeing what would be in my Glossybox this month. I thought as it was their 2nd Birthday the box might have been a different design to their normal ones, but it wasn't.

 

When I open a Glossybox I always look at what has been included before reading about them and initially this Month I wasn’t that impressed. The products looked quite small and I didn’t know what a couple of them were, but after reading about them my opinion changed and I am really pleased with what I got and I can’t wait to try them.

In my Glossybox this month I got:

Givenchy Noir Couture Mascara – 1.5g

This is quite a small sample size, but I am really excited to try this because it is described as creating ‘instant volume, length and curl’.

Premae Harmony Balm – 10ml

I hadn't heard of this before and wasn't sure what it was, but after reading the description of it I can’t wait to try it. I have combination skin and this is a skin protector and primer that also reduces excess oil and sounds just like the sort of product I would like to use.

Beautiful Movements Cosmetics Prime & Create Mixing Medium – 2.5g

I also hadn't heard of this before. It is a clear gel that can be mixed with powder blushes, bronzers and eye shadows so they can be applied as creams/liquids. I haven’t tried anything like this before, so am looking forward to seeing how well it works.

Caudalie Divine Oil – 15ml

I don’t really use dry oils, because I like to use products that absorb really quickly and the dry oils I have tried in the past haven't done that. This is describes as being ‘immediately absorbed into the skin’, so I will give it a try. It smells really lovely, so I hope I like using it.

Nails Inc Nail Polish in Portobello - 4ml

I have quite a few Nails Inc Nail Polishes and was excited to see this in the box, it is a gorgeous colour that will be lovely for Summer and I will definitely use this. It is a small size, but I think that is quite useful if you wanted to take it on holiday with you.

Glossybox Mini Nail Files

These are the perfect size to put in your handbag and were a nice little extra this month.

Overall I am really pleased with what I got this month :)

If you are interested in trying a Glossybox, you can find out more here: Glossybox

What did you get in your Glossybox this month? Leave me your link as a comment if you have posted about yours.

Thanks for reading :)

Nyss x

Collection's Hot Looks Nail Polish

Hello Lovelies,

I moved house last weekend and don't have Internet at my new house yet, so haven't been able to get on here as much as I would have liked, but today I tried a new nail polish I bought recently and wanted to share it with you because instantly I loved the colour and was really impressed with how well it applied. So here goes my first post from my phone :)

The nail polish was Collection's Hot Looks Nail Polish in Milkshake. In the photo I have applied two coats and one coat of No.7 Stay Perfect Top Coat.

It was only £1.99 and I loved the colour in the bottle so couldn't resist trying it. It's a gorgeous kind of dusky pink, nude colour and it applied really smoothly and evenly. The bottle states it dries in 60 seconds and I don't know if it did, but it did dry really quickly. It also states that it gives a high gloss look and has easy application and I think it lives up to both of these statements. The bottle is on the small side at only 8ml but I think it was excellent value for money and I will definitely be trying some other colours in this range.

Let me know if you have tried these and what you thought of them.

Thanks for reading :)

Nyss x

Beauty Tip #1 - Reshaping Your Eyebrows

Hello Lovelies, 

I am about to move house and won’t have much time to post this week, as I am busy packing and organising things. I finally get the keys this Friday after what seems like ages from when I had my offer accepted, but it is all coming together now and I’m really excited. 

Anyway today I thought I would share with you a beauty tip, that I mentioned to a friend recently and she thought it was a good idea, so maybe it will be useful to you too.

About 2 months ago I decided after years of having my eyebrows the same sort of shape I wanted to reshape them and have them thicker. They have always been quite thin and I think I have probably been guilty of over plucking, so I decided it was time to reshape them and let them grow a bit. I’ve always plucked them myself and decided the best way to let them grow into the shape I wanted was to draw with a dark eyebrow pencil the shape I wanted them to be before I plucked them and then I just plucked hairs that were outside of this shape. I did this every time I plucked them and it did look a bit strange having dark drawn on eyebrows, but it worked really well as a guide of where to pluck and where not to. I bought an MUA eyebrow pencil to use for this because it was only a £1 and I did have to be careful not to smudge it too much, but it worked really well. I guess you could use any kind of eyebrow pencil or eyeliner to so this.

Below are photos showing my eyebrows as they were before and how they are now.

In then 'Now' photo I have used my Benefit Brow Zings in Medium to define them and I am much happier with the shape they are now.

Let me know if you think this beauty tip was helpful and if you like this sort of post.

Thanks for reading :)

Nyss x