Candy Blossom: Review

First Impressions | Sleek Matte Me/Metallic Must Haves (Christmas Collection)

Christmas is just over a month away and all the shops are officially full of the festive spirits. Everywhere you go, there are a ton of Christmas gifts to shop from. Christmas is my fave time of the year, purely for the exclusive Christmas gift sets that many brands come out with. Not only do they have some great deals but they have the most cutest packaging to go with it (which makes it even more tempting to buy).

As you've probably figured, today’s post is all about the lipstick sets I recently purchased from Boots. They are the Sleek Matte Me Collection set & the Matte Me Metallic Must Haves. I picked this up from the 3 for 2 selection of Christmas gifts. So if you do need to get a secret Santa gift for a friend or colleague or whether you just want a treat for yourself, check out the huge selection of items in this offer.

When I saw these online, I had to get both sets. Although I'm not in to metallic lipsticks much I thought I'd give it a try. I have tried a few other products from this brand previously and have really enjoyed using them. I've also heard quite a few good things about the Sleek Lipsticks in general.

This post is just my first impressions/opinions. I've not actually tried out all the colours as of yet but I have tried a few over the past week or so and today I’m here to share my thoughts.

The first set of lipsticks are all of a matte finish. There is 4 different shades in this collection; Old Hollywood, Velvet Slipper, Rioja Red and Birthday Suit. The Second set has also got 4 shades; Vino Tinto, Shabby Chic, Volcanic and Rusted Rose.

Left Side - Matte Me Collection (Set 1) Right Side - Metallic Must Haves (Set 2)

First Impressions

I love how there is a good variety of colours between the packs so you really get the chance to explore and try out new colours. They come in the standard doe foot applicator and each lipstick contains 3ml of product.

When it came to application, it was easy to apply on. The consistency is quite thin so it does dry quick. I found that it did need to be reapplied throughout the day which usually isn’t a problem for me as I do touch up my lipstick anyway.As far as the actual lipstick, I must say that I was initially quiet disappointed. The first few times I tried some of the colours, I did find them to be very drying on my lips causing my lips to become flaky, chapped and cracked! I couldn't stand keeping it on for more than three hours because it had dried out my lips that bad. I literally had to remove it and soak my lips in some heavy duty lip balm!

Despite my experience with these, I still decided to give them another shot and carried on using them. I figured that I probably needed to use a different technique and make sure that my lips were EXTRA moisturised as these lipsticks seemed to dry in to a super matte finish. I made sure that I had put lip balm on before hand and just before application I put some Vaseline on and then applied the lipstick over the top.

By doing this, It meant the lipstick wasn't as matte but it still dried in to a nice finish. I have found that this has worked so much better and I am now beginning to enjoy this product a lot more.

Positives

As you can see from the swatches above, they have such a beautiful selection of colours. They are a great value for money and if you have been wanting to try these out then you can't go wrong with £6. As these are mini's, its great because it makes them very travel friendly. Oh & they would make a great stocking filler too. Also, If you’re someone who likes a matte finish lipstick and wants to expand on your collection then these are a great buy but personally, I would say there are other better drugstore lip products out there that you could probably buy.

At this moment in time, I wouldn’t repurchase this product in the full size tube only because I still haven't had the chance to develop my full thoughts on the lipsticks. Having said that, I am slowly beginning to like this product but will continue using it and trying it out in different ways to see what works best for me.

Have you tried out any of the Matte Me collection?
If so, How did you find them? Did they work for you? Leave me a comment down below and let me know :D

Fatimaxxx

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, by Fatima

In Black Jagua, Henna

Jagua Henna| My Experience

A while back, I uploaded a picture of my Jagua henna on Instagram. Many people both on social media and in real life wanted to know more about it and really liked it so I’ve finally got round to doing a post on it.

So my sister was looking for someone who does Jagua henna locally and since we discovered that there was actually a few people nearby we both got a bit carried away and have now had henna done 2/3 times (which by the way works out expensive if you keep doing it) but I absolutely love the finish tattooed look of it.

I am going to share with you 2 different henna artist that I went to and my thoughts on them both. Before I get in to it let me tell you a bit about Jagua Henna.

About Jagua Henna

Before I begin I just want to mention that Black henna and Jagua henna are NOT the same thing. They are both very different from each other and I will explain how.

Jagua is a gel which is a natural from of skin decoration. It is made from the extracts of the actual Jagua fruit which is found in Central and South America. It has also been known to be used for medicinal purposes as well. Jagua gel is 100% natural and does not contain any other ingredients that are harmful to the skin.

Black henna on the other hand contains many harmful chemicals which can cause irritation to the skin. I have read and seen pictures many times whereby someone has used black henna and have had severe reactions. This is why it is best to stay away from black henna as it can cause many problems to the skin.

Now the Jagua consistency itself is different from normal henna. It’s more like a gel which means it makes it harder to apply. You also have to be much more careful with jagua because if you make a mistake then it gets stained pretty much straight away and will ruin the whole design. So it’s one that you definitely need to be careful with.

Henna Artists
So the first time I ever got my Jagua done was by this lovely lady who goes by the name of 'Mehnainarts' on Instagram. I hadn’t heard of her before this but her work looked incredible! She mainly does bridal bookings but recently started doing Jagua too.

When I met her, she was super kind. She made me and my sister feel welcome and soon enough we were chatting away and time just flew by. She has pure talent and has been doing mehndi for many years now. Although she just started doing Jagua not too long ago she did hell of an amazing job!

Honestly I have nothing but good things to say about her and I can 100% say that my first Jagua experience was amazing and most importantly I loved the end results of the stain <3

Left side - Gel consistancy when applied.
Right side - Results less than 24 hours later

Here is the design I got done. I wanted something quite simple and I really liked this design that I came across. This was inspired from a very well known Jagua artist called fusionfashionista on Instagram! Mehnainarts did an amazing job at re creating the design and I absolutely loved the stain. I got so many compliments on it too<3

I kept the Jagua on for about 2 hours or so and then took it off. At first, when you remove it, it will look like there is nothing there and the stain is barely visible but just give it some time and within the next 24 hours the colour should change - Mines did!

The stain lasts anywhere from one week to three weeks. This just depends on which area of the body it has been applied on. Within 24 hours of applying the stain changed in to this greeny/blue kind of colour which was actually quite nice. I was so impressed at how dark it had come out! <3 It gets even darker over the next 48 hours and literally looks like a real tattoo once you get the full colour <3

The second Henna Artist goes by the name of Safina Adam. She is a beautiful, young lady who we once again came across on Instagram. She was so down to earth and It was lovely getting to know her and just chatting to her. Safina does do normal mehndi as well but as we wanted the Jagua henna the prices do vary. I was browsing around for the longest time ever to find a design I wanted and I found ton loads online.

I just couldn’t make my mind as to which one to pick! In the end, I eventually decided to go with this design. How pretty does it look?!

I loved how detailed and intricate it was! I also took some shots of the stain a few hours after I had taken the henna off. I don't know if you can tell very well but the Jagua is still fairly light and the colour was slowly turning in to to a greeny/blue shade.

Less then 24 hours later!

Colour slowly coming through

Just look at how dark it got<3

Below is another design that me and my sister got done by Safina. How stunning does it look <3

This legit looked like a real tattoo & was inspired from an actual tattoo design. I think she did a spectacular job with this one. I mean just look at the shading and everything. That is some serious talent right there!

Only thing I found with this being on my arm was that it didn't come out as dark as I would have liked it to be. I don't know if that was just the case for me but never the less the design was still beautiful <3

Longevity

I mentioned this earlier but I think this is different for a lot of people because it really just depends how much your hand or the area which you have Jagua on comes in contact with water. ( (I think)
If I’m completely honest mines didn’t last that long – about a week I would say. (If you’re one who doesn’t like having a mehndi stain for long this would be great for you)

Having said this, my sister that had the jagua stain done at the same time as me but her stain lasted so much longer than mines. I would say hers roughly lasted one and a half weeks maybe?

I don’t know why that is but I guess it’s different on everyone’s skin.

Overall Thoughts

Overall, I loved both my experiences. Both of these henna artist are super talented and such lovely ladies with great personalities. As you can see from the pictures the Jagua stains came out amazing!

If you want to try Jagua out or are thinking about it, I would definitely recommend both of these lovely ladies to you guys. I absolutely loved my stain and I got lots of compliments both times. A few people even thought it was an actual tattoo!

That concludes my review on the Jagua Henna. I do hope you enjoyed reading my experience and review on Jagua henna/tattoo. If you do get it done or have got it done before leave me a comment below and tell me about it or tweet me if you want. I would love to know about it <3

Lots of love

Fatima xx

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, by Fatima

In Hot Drinks, Leicester

Review | Saints Of Mokha

So my bestie and I popped in to Saints of Mokha over a week ago now as I really wanted to try it out. I've seen so many people post pictures on insta especially of their coloured coffee so finally stopped by at this place! (I can now join the bandwagon and upload some insta worthy pictures haha)

The place itself is a quite small but I like it that way. It has a wooden rustic vibe to it with the colours and decor. I love how they have frames and cool quotes up around the shop as well. For me personally I love seeing quotes and stuff around - it just adds a little something to the shop.

I was sort of hungry so I decided to go all out and brought a chicken tikka panini with salad on the side. Alongside it I got a hot chocolate and a Terry's chocolate orange cheesecake. My friend brought a flat white with a slice of oreo cake.

When everything had arrived, I probably spent a good couple of minutes changing the setup of it and taking pictures. My bestie literally sat there waiting for me to take piks - I mean I wanted to take the best shots possible but had to be quick because I didn't want the drinks to get cold & on top of that she let me use her camera because her phone camera is way better than mines.
She always makes sure there's some battery left for me to take pictures because I love photography and of course who doesn't want a nice picture of hot drinks and desserts! (Shout out to yah Zainab ‘kuz I know you be reading this!)

Speaking of battery life, they also have sockets there so you can charge your phone. I love it when I see plug sockets in a shop because if you're like me and end up rinsing your battery life then any shop with plug sockets are a life saver! Also if you're there doing some work on your laptop then sockets will come in handy when it comes to charging your laptop.

Back to the food and hot drinks..

Starting off with the mains, The chicken tikka panini was yummy and with the salad on the side it tasted even better <3

The hot chocolate was deee-licious as was the cakes. I definitely had an overdose of chocolate but hey sometimes it’s okay and after all chocolate does help to boost your serotonin levels which means you will be happier :D so all in all there's some good that came out of it :P The hot chcolate was decorated with marshmallows and cream on top. Love a good cuppa' hot chocolate!

When it came to the cakes, we both shared them and had some of each others. (I say we had some of each others but my bestie isn’t a big fan of so much chocolate so she didn’t taste mine!)

I LOVED the Oreo cake <3 The cake was so soft and fluffy! It was actually pretty light as well and not so heavy which I liked. It tasted absolutely amazing <3 It was covered in a layer of Oreo icing with an Oreo at the end. I'm not good when it comes to describing so you can see how it looks in the pictures. if any of you go in to this place next time defo try out there Oreo cake if it is available - you will love it!

The Terry's chocolate orange cheesecake is obviously much heavier. I like the actual chocolate bar but haven't had it in ages! This tasted so damn good too and I could definitely taste that Terry’s chocolate orange- Yumm!

My friend didn't even eat any of this so basically I munched away on half of it and ended up taking the rest home - I wasn't going to leave something that tasted so good behind! :P

Overall, I would say this place is definitely worth the hype! I thoroughly enjoyed everything that I had and will be popping in to there sometime soon hopefully when I get the chance. The service was great and everything arrived very quickly. The owners there were also very friendly.

If you haven't already tried this place and you're around the area then pop in and go try something.. Maybe a hot drink or a coffee? Afterall, that’s what they are known for best!

Go follow and check out there Insta page whilst you're at it @saintsofmokha

All reviews are my own honest thoughts and opinions on this place.

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, by Fatima

In Gerard Cosmetics, Hydra Matte Lipstick

Gerard Cosmetics - Hydra Matte Liquid Lipsticks | Review

I ordered a bunch of Gerard Cosmetics lipsticks a while back as they were being raved about all over social media and I can certainly give you feedback and say I think that this product was worth the hype! Recently I purchased a few more of their matte lipsticks as they had dropped a few more new colours to the collection. (If you follow me on instagram I uplaoded a picture of the ones I got) Today I will be swatching and giving you a honest review of my personal thoughts on the hydra matte lipsticks.

Packaging

So from the start.. The boxing and design of the outer packaging is minimal and very simple with a basic black box, their gold GC logo and all the other important information in white.

The actual product itself is designed in a sleek transparent frosted tube with a gold top which has their brand printed on there.

Personally, I love the actual product packaging. There is just something about that frosted finish which I love <3 I feel as though the packaging of these are so appealing and aesthetically pleasing to the eye. So if you're one who likes to keep some of your makeup on display, I think these would really make a great addition on your vanity!

The wand of this product is like any other regular lipstick with a doe-foot applicator which makes it easy to apply on the lips.

Each lipstick has a sticker at the bottom which indicates the shade of the lipstick.

The 3 colours that I picked up were

- 1995

- Cher &

- Everything Nice

Below are the swatches of each shade so you can see the colours against my skin.

Review

Overall, I love the selection and range of colours Gerard Cosmetics provides as they have some really unique and gorgeous shades in their collection.

I think the formula of these are great and super pigmented. They do dry rather quickly on the lips and after a minute or two it should dry in to a complete matte finish. For me I find that these can dry out my lips but I mean it is a matte finish after all so before applying any matte liquid lipstick be sure you exfoliate and moisturise your lips very well so that when you do actually apply the liquid lipstick it will prevent your lips from drying or getting any cracks.

The lipstick lasts on the lips for quite a long time. I never actually checked how many hours it’s lasted on me but it’s pretty amazing - even after eating food (including Indian foods which tends to be oily) most of the product is still on my lips. There's only a tiny bit that probably comes off which can easily be reapplied. Usually when I eat, most of the lipstick I'm wearing has pretty much rubbed off by the end so for this one to stay on speaks for itself.

I’m in love with all the shades I picked up. The one that become my fave very quickly was the shade 1995. I’m so glad they made this in to a liquid lipstick. 1995 was originally in a lipstick format and was a very popular lipstick which was inspired from the 90’s. It also became very popular through Kylie Jenner. 1995 is this really gorgeous mauvy-brown colour and I think this one is going to become one I pick up regularly!

The second shade I have is Cher which I actually already had but my sister loves it so I ordered another one to stock up and with it I decided to get the Cher Lip liner too. Cher is a beautiful rosy dusty mauve with a berry undertone. I love this colour and it is definately a colour I recommend you guys to try out as it is one that can be worn daily and also one that would suit many skin tones.

The last and final colour is Everything Nice. (This one did't quite make it in the picture because the lip shape didn't come out right so it didn't look as nice as the other two!) I would say this colour is very similar to 1995. Gerrard Cosmetics describe this colour as pale cofee beige but I would say it is more of lighter cofee brown with a hint of rusty red/orange.

Price

These liquid lipsticks are retailed at a reasonable price, although they have recently increased the prices from £9.50 or £10.50 to £11.50 which is a bit disappointing. However, sometimes you will find that they have a sale or discount codes available so it’s great to order then! I mean who doesn't love a good discount?!

If you're deciding whether you should try this lipstick then I would definately say YES and tell you to take a shot and try it because I think you will be pretty impressed with it :D Gerard Cosmetics can be purchased directly from their website but if you live out of the US you may get custom charges which ends up working out very expensive so I purchased mines from Beauty Bay.

Have you tried any lipsticks from the Hydra Matte range or anything from this brand that you’ve thoroughly loved? If so, then do share them with me in the comments below.

Lots of Love

Fatima

Xox

1Comments

, by Fatima

In Essence, Lipliners

Essence Lip Liners | Review + Swatches

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, by Fatima

In First Impressions, Lipstick

Maybelline Creamy Matte Lipstick - Touch Of Spice | First Impressions

A couple of weeks ago I made an online order from Amazon which was for a Maybelline Matte Lipstick. I have had my eye on this shade for quite a while but unfortunately this shade is unavailable in the UK.

Maybelline don’t seem to have as many colours available in the UK as they do in the US for the Matte Range.

The colour that I was after and had seen many reviews on is the shade Touch of Spice. This is a gorgeous rosy mauve shade which is perfect for everyday wear.

I was looking forward to ordering this because I hadn’t treated myself to makeup in a while and it was my first ever Maybelline Matte lipstick so it was exciting of course! The price I got this for was about £7/£8 including postage which is great considering it did come from the US and Maybelline lipsticks retail around that price anyway so I found my self quite a good deal I would say! The lipstick arrived within two weeks or so which I was very impressed by.

Obviously before purchasing the lipstick, I did look at swatches and reviews from other bloggers. All of the ones I did read had positive reviews on them. I also saw that quite a few people had mentioned that it is a dupe for MAC Twig. I personally don’t own that shade (which unfortunately means I can’t swatch it for you side by side) but it is a colour that I have wanted to purchase from MAC for quite a while but now that I have got my Maybelline one I guess I have the dupe :D

As you can imagine, I was super excited to try this out when it arrived because.. I mean who doesn't love trying out new makeup! I haven’t had it for long at all so I can’t give you a proper review but so far I love the simple packaging of the product, the texture of this is creamy so it definitely lives up to its name. It glides on really nicely without any dragging and the pigmentation/colour pay off is amazing <3

Since I've got it I've been wearing this shade literally everyday! I like to wear it with the Rimmel lipliner in 'Spice' but pretty much looks similar when worn alone too.

I will do a swatch of the lipstick and show you a picture of when it is applied on my lips so you can see the colour against my skin.

Have any of you lovelies tried any lipsticks from the Maybelline Creamy Matte collection? Which is your favourite shade? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.

Fatima
xox

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, by Fatima

In Dessert, Food

Review | Sprinkles Cafe (Lemon Pepper)

Hey there. So today I decided to do a food related post which is going to be a mini review on Sprinkles Café. In case you didn't know it is part of Lemon Pepper (in Leicester) . I have tried Lemon Pepper’s food before but have never had the chance to go and try their desserts so the other day after I had dinner there me and my bestie popped in to see what they had in store!

Okay so where to begin?! The actual café area of the shop is beautiful <3 OMG I absolutely LOVE everything about it from the colour scheme, the decorations and all the other extra details they put thought in to.

I literally just wanted to pull my camera out and start taking a ton of pictures but I couldn’t! (Well, maybe I might have took a couple of pictures) but then it got quite busy so I didn’t take as many as I would have liked to use for this post.

Everything in there is minimal, super cute and a little bit vintage. The café itself is pastel themed. I couldn’t get enough of how cute it was. (I mean could I just go there to take all my pictures please?!)

Anyway, I’ll show you a few snaps of what I managed to capture.

Told you I didn't get many pics but anyway, now to the main bit that you’re probably interested in...

THE DESSERTS

So me and the bestie didn’t get much because we were so full after eating the food from there (which by the way was really nice - If you're wondering..I had steak) but we still really wanted to try the desserts so we just went for it.

We ended up getting the Raspberry & White Chocolate Cookie Dough. At first, I wasn’t too sure about it but after one bite I didn’t regret getting this one bit. It was hands down one of the best cookie dough’s I’ve probably had in a long time!

It was absolutely LUSH <3

It was a moist scrumptious hot cookie dough which was layered with melted white chocolate and topped off with some fresh raspberries. It was deeeeeee-licious - and of course with ice cream it tasted even better!

We were both so stuffed after this but we also got the Nutella roll ups! (They gave us this on the house which was so lovely and kind of them) This came with 3 roll ups, A shot of chocolate, vanilla ice cream and whipped cream. We were told that this was one of the popular’s. I don't think I had anymore space to fit anything in my stomach but I mean I still had to try it!

After having half of one roll up I couldn’t eat anymore just because it was quite heavy and very filling with all that Nutella stuffed inside and as I had already had a cookie dough I had to control my intake! (Looks like I’m going to have to go to the gym to burn all that off now) However, I did end up packing the rest and taking it home. If you’re a chocoholic and love Nutella then I think this one definitely screams for you!

Overall, I genuinely enjoyed this place and would definitely recommend you guys to try it if you haven’t already. All the items in the café are reasonably priced so it is affordable for all and they have a variety of different items to suit your taste buds.

If you wanted to know the kind of stuff they sell before actually going they have a website with their menu so it’s convenient to check on there if that makes it easier.
Here is the link to their website where you can check the kind of stuff they sell.

Thank You to Sprinkles Cafe for the great service and for giving us the yummy Nutella roll ups on the house.

4Comments

, by Fatima

Pages

First Impressions | Sleek Matte Me/Metallic Must Haves (Christmas Collection)

Jagua Henna| My Experience

Review | Saints Of Mokha

Gerard Cosmetics - Hydra Matte Liquid Lipsticks | Review

Packaging

Review

Essence Lip Liners | Review + Swatches

Maybelline Creamy Matte Lipstick - Touch Of Spice | First Impressions

Review | Sprinkles Cafe (Lemon Pepper)

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First Impressions | Sleek Matte Me/Metallic Must Haves (Christmas Collection)

Jagua Henna| My Experience

Review | Saints Of Mokha

Gerard Cosmetics - Hydra Matte Liquid Lipsticks | Review

Packaging

Review

Essence Lip Liners | Review + Swatches

Maybelline Creamy Matte Lipstick - Touch Of Spice | First Impressions

Review | Sprinkles Cafe (Lemon Pepper)

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