Real Techniques Miracle Sculpting Sponge

I know I can't be the only one that's watched my favourite YouTubers talking me through how they get their flawless foundation look, for them to whip out a beauty blender and have my eyes turn green with jealousy. How on EARTH do they hold onto it and bounce it across their face with not a care in the world? When I try and use a beauty sponge, my hands get cramp and I end up resembling a t-rex before I've even finished my forehead!

After trying a good 3 or 4 different brands and styles of sponges and it happen every time, I decided to steer clear and stick to my trusty Real Techniques Expert Face Brush. That was until I bought the Ready Glow Brush Set which had the sculpting sponge included.

I decided to give it a go just in case by some bizarre turn of events it would be the only sponge that worked for me... and it actually was! The shape of it allows me to use the smaller part almost like a handle, meaning I don't get hand cramp when I'm using it (YAY!). 

It has now become my holy grail tool for applying my foundation, and has even made me love foundations that I didn't like when I applied them with a brush. 

Honestly, give it a go even if you've promised yourself you're not going to waste any more money trying to make sponges happen for you, cos I'm willing to almost guarantee it will work for you! You can pick it up without the rest of the set at Superdrug here for £5.99.

Let me know if you try it out and if it converts you to the sponge life!

My Lip Filler Experience

For a few years now, my lips have been something that I haven’t been 100% happy with. I’ve been researching places to get lip fillers, but never got round to actually booking an appointment.

When I heard about Gemini Faces Aesthetic and saw photos of their previous work, I had to book in straight away. I knew that if I thought about it long enough, I’d probably talk myself out of it, so I made the appointment for a few days later.

I headed to my appointment at 7pm, and was greeted by Sally and Amy. 

The girls applied the numbing cream to my lips and then gave me a 15 minute consultation whilst the cream took effect. They asked what my concerns were and if I knew what I wanted as a final result. I took along some photos to show the kind of thing I wanted, and told the girls that my main concern was that my lip line is quite wonky and they’re extremely thin towards the corners, so I felt like they disappeared when I put lipstick on. 

They talked me through the procedure and what they would do, where they would inject and why. The main focus throughout my procedure was injecting into the lip line to create a fuller border and give me the shape that I want, and then adding plumpness to the corners where I lacked it. 

The actual injecting aspect took about 15 minutes, and I’m not going to lie, it was quite painful. It was the kind of eye watering, stinging pain that you’d expect from injections, but then your lips are very sensitive so it felt a bit more intense. My eyes watered so much that my mascara was all down my face by the end of it. 

Once it was finished, they checked I was completely happy with them, which I was! I actually couldn’t believe what I was seeing. They’d managed to achieve exactly what I wanted! 

The girls were so lovely and friendly and they made me feel so relaxed. They answered any questions I had and couldn’t have done any more to make sure I was happy and comfortable throughout. When I mentioned I’d been considering microblading, they even offered to do a patch test and I had my eyebrows mapped out how they would look so that I could make a better decision. They definitely looked better than the brows I achieve daily (with my very limited skills). 

Now for the before and after photo!

After the procedure:

Day 1:

Straight after the procedure, my lips were not painful. The numbing cream was still working so I couldn’t feel any soreness. As the numbing cream wore off, my lips started to feel tingly.

They felt quite hard and swollen and quite bizarre on my face as I could feel my lips were bigger than I was used to.

Day 2:

My lips were much more swollen (which is to be expected). The bruising started to appear and they still felt hard and swollen. They felt very dry so I bought some lip balm to help keep them hydrated. They were aching a lot towards the end of the second day.

Day 3:

More visible bruising, but the swelling had gone down and my lips don’t feel as hard or foreign on my face as they did.

I can honestly say it’s one of the best things I’ve ever done for myself. 

I would recommend Gemini Faces Aesthetics to anyone considering getting lip fillers. 

Have a look at their instagram @GeminiFacesAesthetics

Let me know if you have any questions or are considering getting lip fillers yourself!

The Little Vegan Pop-Up Shop By Superdrug

Once I heard that Superdrug had a vegan pop-up shop in Shoreditch, I had to rush down there! 

The store is very small as it is only a temporary pop-up, but it's great as it's easy to pick up some new products with peace of mind that it's vegan, without having to spend an hour in the store checking all of the labels.

There is a sign in-store which states "At Superdrug, we define vegan as: the product does not contain any ingredients that are animal derived (including animal products like honey and beeswax) and all ingredients are classified vegan by the raw material suppliers" and states that the store is 100% vegan.

Although the pop-up is small, it does manage to cover all bases: make-up, haircare, skincare, shower/bath products and even fake tan. 

The store is very bright and the displays are all neat and vibrant. The staff were very friendly and helpful, one girl popped over when she saw us staring at the wall of greenery and debating whether it was wallpaper or real and had a chat with us (it's real!) 

I picked up the Rhubarb & Custard Bath and Shower Soak as it always reminds me of getting the sweets when I was younger. It smells exactly like them, and not only is it great for the perfect bath, it's also my favourite make-up brush cleaner.

I'd definitely recommend popping in and grabbing your essentials, or discovering some new cruelty free products without the worry that you're missing an ingredient that you don't want to use, or having to search endlessly for the bunny symbol.

You can visit the pop-up shop for the next 3 months at:

 Shoreditch Boxpark 

2-10 Bethnal Green Road, London E1 6GY 

Monday – Saturday 11am—7pm

Thursday 11am—8pm 

Sunday 12pm—6pm

If you do visit, share your thoughts and photos with the hashtag #LittleVeganPopUp

Colour Freedom Hair Dye

I'm always on the hunt for a fuss-free hair dye that allows me to switch up my colour when I want to. When browsing in Superdrug a while ago, I noticed a new range by Colour Freedom. Colour Freedom provide a selection of approximately 14 non-permanent and 10 permanent hair colours, as well as bleach and pasteliser products.  

I've now used their products a few times and have had an easy and hassle-free experience every time. A lot of dyes I've used before have been very messy and I've ended up with a pink sink, but these dyes are similar to a thick conditioner. They are very easy to apply to towel dried hair with no annoying drips on the bathroom floor. 

The dyes are very conditioning and have left my hair feeling extra soft and shiny with every use, which is a tricky task for most conditioners when it comes to my bleached hair. The shades are easy to adapt to your preference, all you need to do is add in some of their pasteliser or a white conditioner to get a pretty pastel shade, or leave it as it is for a more intense colour.

One of the colours that I tried is called Indigo Night, which developed to this gorgeous purple-blue. It lasted a few weeks, with the colour fading slightly with each wash and eventually fading to a mint green colour (as blue hair dyes do). To get rid of the staining, I used the shade Pink Pizazz as the pink helps to neutralise the green pigment and I was back to blonde once the pink faded out.

                        Indigo Night: Without Flash                                       With Flash

Colour Freedom have definitely become my go-to brand. Here are a couple of other colours I've tried:

                                   Pink Pizazz                                                   Orange Sorbet

Which one is your favourite? I'm currently trying to decide which colour to go next, help me decide please! 

Colour Freedom also have a range of style products under the name of Style Freedom, which I haven't tried yet, but I'm planning to pick some up soon and give them a go. Their products are available at Superdrug and are priced between £6.99-£7.99.

Have you used any of Colour Freedom's other dyes? Or have you found a holy grail blue dye that doesn't stain?

Make Up Brush Cleansing Palette for less than £3!

There is nothing worse than getting to the end of the week and realising it's time to wash your make up brushes. It was taking me an hour and a half every time so I was desperate to find a way to speed up the chore. Browsing online I found this cleansing palette by Real Techniques, but I didn't know if it would work well, so was reluctant to spend £12.99 on it. 

I headed over to eBay and managed to find this almost identical offering from Hong Kong and decided to give it a go. For £2.81, even if it didn't help to speed up the washing process I'd not lost much. I expected to wait a month or two for it to be delivered, as it says in the estimated delivery. However, mine was delivered within 2 weeks. 

Since it arrived, I can't wash my brushes without it. There is a strap around the back of the palette so you can hold it comfortably in the palm of your hand. I use the palette with some baby shampoo and each brush is as clean as when I bought it within 10 seconds and it now takes me about 10 minutes to wash all of my brushes. 

You can buy your own here 

Do you have a Holy Grail brush cleanser or routine? 

Shades London Hair Toner - Lilac Haze

Shades London: Lilac Haze*

I'm a big fan of changing my hair colour constantly as I get bored of it so easily, so when I was asked to try out one of Shade London's products I jumped at the chance. They are a relatively new company, only launching at the start of this year. They offer a range of semi-permanent toners in three easy-to-wear shades: Pink Candy, Lilac Haze and Silver Lining.

After spending two weeks in Dubai with lots of sun and without a silver shampoo (eek!), my hair was quite brassy. As soon as I got home all I wanted to do was tone it!

The Shades London toners are surprisingly very easy to use and mess free - all you have to do is use it as you would a regular conditioner! The instructions recommend to leave it on for 10-15 minutes, but I left it on for an hour to achieve a more toned, long lasting look.

                                 Without Flash                                                            With Flash

As you can see, my hair toned to a very ashy blonde. I think if my hair was white blonde to start off with, then the lilac would have shown up more. However, as I was quite yellow to start off with, all of the lilac pigment was used up toning it to white.

You definitely don't need to use a conditioner afterwards as it left my over-bleached hair extremely soft, shiny and smelling great. You can use one tube for up to five applications (depending on how much hair you have!). 

Shades London toners are available to buy from Savers for £3.99

DIY: Patches iPad Case

I was a bit bored of my plain iPad case and was trying to figure out an easy way to jazz it up a bit. When I was browsing online, I saw a little pink love heart patch that said 'Go Away' and I instantly knew that was to way to go. I think this is the easiest DIY I have ever done, and it's another super cheap one!

All you need to do is choose the patches you want and superglue them straight onto your iPad case! That's literally it.

Here's my finished case:

I already had my iPad case, so I only had to buy the patches - and they only cost £3.96! 

Here are the links to the things I used:

Patches - 99p each!! - They are from a seller based in China, so they took exactly 2 weeks to arrive (this could be different for you!)

Rose Gold iPad Mini 3 Case - £8.99

If you don't have an iPad, why not try it on your laptop case, phone case or purse!

If you try out a super cute patches DIY, send me pics on twitter or instagram! @Melissa_Teague

Gift Guide: Things to buy a dog lover

First things first, who ISN'T a dog lover? Like, really? I can't comprehend it.

Now you're reading this post more than likely for one of the following reasons:

1. You want to buy a present for the dog lover in your life

2. you ARE the dog lover in your life and you want to treat yo'self

Here are 10 super cute, doggy-related gifts:

1. Doodling for Dog People - £10

I absolutely adore everything Gemma Correll does - I even still have one of her pug jumpers from around 2009... I think this book is my favourite thing in this post, and I'm going to order it for myself (sorry, not sorry)

2. Doggy Umbrella - £15

Everybody needs an umbrella, and every dog lover needs a doggy umbrella. You can find this one on the Urban Outfitters website annoyingly listed as a 'Pug Umbrella' when it's CLEARLY a Boston Terrier. I would have forgiven mistaking it for a French Bulldog, but a pug?! Really?!

3. Boo the Pomerian teddy - £12.99  

HOW CUTE? We all love Boo the Pom, but this is Boo in a cuddly bear suit - what more could you want? 

4. Puppy Slippers - £7

These look like the cosiest thing ever. Has anyone else been wearing slippers like this before and caught them out of the corner in your eye and got excited for split second thinking there was a real dog in the room? Even though they're on your own feet? Just me? 

         

5. These cute bits from Sighh Designs:

  Pin Badge - £6.50

A6 Print - £5                                Phone Case - £18

I already have 2/3 of these items and I'm eyeing up the third. Polly from Sighh designs knows exactly what the dog lovers want - and she delivers with super cute designs! Check out her other stuff too, from a huge selection of gorgeous phone and laptop cases to revision plans for students.

6. Dog Selfie Kit - £6.99

If you're lucky enough to actually have a pupper in your life then get this so you can do a mini photo shoot and also shame them with photographic evidence of their misbehaving

7. Dachshund Salt Shakers - £25

If you're looking for a bit more of a 'grown up' present or something more homely, or even just something for a dachshund lover (like me), then this is a great present. I already have a british bulldog set from my brother, but I'm very tempted to get these too..

8. Pug Flask - £14

Everybody loves a pug. Everybody needs a flask. What else needs to be said? 

9. Puppy Piggy Bank - £9

I'm sure many of you have seen the videos of these types of money boxes - you put the coin in the dish and the dog 'eats it' (knocks it into the box below). I promise you, it does not get old. I have a panda bear one and it actually motivates me to save my coins just to watch him sneakily scoop the money away.

10. Pug Pocket Sweater - £20

Cosy, oversized jumpers are perfect for lazy days and they're even better when there's a tiny puppy sticking out of the pocket. Give the gift of comfort as well as the gift of puppies.


I mean, I would be happy with any one of these gifts, but there's only one thing that a dog lover REALLY wants.....A REAL DOG PLS

Coloured Contact Lenses by My Cosmetic Lenses

 I've always wanted to experiment with my eye colour, and recently My Cosmetic Lenses invited me to try out some of their range of non prescription coloured contacts. I wrote a little post about them a couple of weeks ago, you can see that here, and here are my thoughts after trying them out for the first time.

I'm not one of those people that's particular squeamish about putting things near my eyes, but I think the idea of contact lenses can be a bit scary for any first time user. No need to worry though, as these contact lenses are super easy to use and didn't put up a fight when I was putting them in. (You can watch easy to follow videos demonstrating how to put them in on their site!) I did have one lens fold up when I tried to use it, but it's easy to unfold it and just try again. Practise makes perfect! I found it just as easy to remove the lenses as I did inserting them. I drag the lens to the outer corner of my eye, pinch & pull it out.

I naturally have dark brown eyes, and I thought the colours wouldn't really show up on my eyes, but these lenses have no issue transforming them to a striking blue or green, as you can see below. 

top to bottom: one natural eye with one Bright Blue lens, Bright Blue lenses*, Gemstone Green lenses*, Caribbean Blue lenses*

 My Cosmetic Lenses aim to offer a range of colours that both look natural and fit comfortably. They have definitely achieved that. As you can see from the photos, all of the colours I tried are quite natural looking - even the more striking Bright Blue lenses.  The claims of being able to wear the lenses up to 8 hours a day are definitely fair as I have worn mine from midday to evening time whilst out shopping and experienced no discomfort whatsoever. The high water content of 42% supports their claims of being the most comfortable fashion lenses on the market as it helps to hydrate the eyes to avoid any irritation. 

They stock over 30 colours, including 5 from a collaboration with Geordie Shore's Marnie: Pure Blue, Light Hazel, Misty Grey, Pure Violet and Sea Green.The contact lenses can be used 90 times for up to a year, with proper care and cleaning, before they need replacing. I've never heard of lenses lasting that long before, especially for such a great price.

Bright Blue lenses*

Gemstone Green lenses*

 Caribbean Blue lenses*

The lenses are great to add a little something extra to your look for a special occasion, or even just for day to day wear if you fancy a change. 

 The lenses are available at mycosmeticslenses.co.uk and are priced between £12.99-£29.99 (all with free P&P). That's pretty great value considering the lenses last for up to a year!

You can view all of the colours available over on  www.mycosmeticlenses.co.uk 

You can also find Marnie’s range here: http://www.mycosmeticlenses.co.uk/marnie/