Monday 30 March 2015

PRO:VOKE Hair Colour Remover


Be prepared for a long post, as there's quite a bit of explaining to do here!

Hair colour remover

Hello! Today we have a review of PRO:VOKE hair colour remover. When it comes to hair colour and things I would ultimately recommend going to a hair dresser, but I can't afford it and I don't really have the time having a young baby and all. I've always used box dyes for my hair, I know some of you will probably recoil in horror at that but I like to mess with my hair fairly regularly and I know you don't always get the colour you see on the box!

I've used a few different colour removers in the past and this is the one I like the best. The reasons for this is the price (it's the cheapest I've come across) and the fact you only leave this on for half an hour (others I've used you have to leave a full hour). There are a few things you need to know about colour removers:

  • Always patch test!
  • Leave plenty of time - you can't hurry the process and you have to do a lot of rinsing
  • The smell is horrendous (like rotting eggs!)
  • They can only do so much - most hair colours (even dark ones) contain peroxide which permanently changes your hair colour (you usually get a warmer and lighter result than your own colour)
  • Bleached hair will never go back to it's natural colour as bleach strips the colour pigment out of your hair. 
  • Some colours (e.g. Fashion brights) will stain the cuticle of the hair and permanently alter it's colour.   
  • The result is so variable - lots of things can determine the result you get (e.g. previous damage, porosity of the hair etc)
These points are all explained in the box so make sure you read the leaflet before you proceed. Below I've inserted a before/after photo, I do apologise for the poor quality as I only have my phone camera and I had to use the flash for the after photo as it was a particularly dull day. To explain with words, before my hair was reddy brown (I previously had red hair and then coloured over with brown but the red still showed through and I want rid!) and after using PRO:VOKE hair colour remover it turns my hair a light, ginger colour (probably because of the red, when I've used it on over brown it goes more light brown). Before you gasp like worst nightmare ginger hair, it's removed some of the red, which is what I want and then I will colour over this with an ash brown that will hopefully cancel the gingeriness (making up words again but I'm sure you get the gist).     


Colour removing is a harsh process for your hair (even though it claims to have no ammonia or bleach). I'm not particularly precious about my hair, it's hair, it grows back! My advice if you are going to use this type of product would be tread carefully, leave plenty of time, be prepared to stay in (in case it goes horrendously wrong!) and have a colour ready to go over the top (the leaflet inside says you should use semi-permanent only immediately after, I don't always do this, and that's at my own risk).

Congratulations! You've made it this far! 

PRO:VOKE hair colour remover is available in places such as Bodycare (where I got mine), B&M Bargains, and Home Bargains for around the £3.99 mark or at Amazon HERE

Thanks for reading!

Wench x  

Friday 27 March 2015

Freebie Friday! #4



It's Freebie Friday time again. 

Today I have another magazine freebie (I know it's not technically a freebie as you have to pay the £3.99 for the magazine but it's still good!) in the form of Marie Claire who are giving away one of four different Nails Inc nail polishes which are usually £11 each in their April edition!



The shade I got is Fashion and I am currently wearing this nail polish and it's a lovely lilac-grey colour as you can see below.



Please ignore the sloppy paint job, this was hastily done whilst Splodge was napping! 

Nails Inc polishes are lovely and amongst the best I've used but there's no way I'd spend £11 on a nail polish, however to their credit they do seem to come with mags quite a lot so worth picking up a mag if you see a colour you like in it!

Thanks for reading,

Wench x  

Wednesday 25 March 2015

Collection Eyes Uncovered Nude Bronze Palette




Not another nude palette! But hear me out, Collection's new offering is well worth it. I had swatched the urban decay naked 1 palette whilst in Debenham's the other day and was super impressed by the butteriness (I don't think that's a word but what the heck!) and the pigmentation but I do not have a whopping £38 lying around and I don't even have £23 for the smaller basics palette either! I then went into Boots and swatched the Collection Eyes Uncovered palettes. 


These are the Nude Bronze swatches, and this is the palette I ultimately went for but they also do a Nude and Nude Grey. There's also a Little Mix All About Eyes palette too! I can only say that the matte shades swatched well as the palette I picked up are all shimmers but as you can see above the shades are really well pigmented (even the Ivory shade, but you can't see this very well on my very white skin!) and they have stayed on well without creasing (over a primer), and creasing is a big problem for me as I have hooded eye lids. The only downside to these eyeshadows is that there is quite a bit of fall out when you dip your brush in, but this can be reduced if your careful. Below I'm wearing Mink all over the lid and Nutty in the crease and smudged slightly under the eye.   


These are available in many places but you can get yours at Boots HERE for a very purse friendly £3.99! 

Thanks for reading,

Wench x

Monday 23 March 2015

Nip + Fab Deep Cleansing Fix



I just have to tell you about this!


This stuff is the bomb!

Nip + Fab Deep Cleansing Fix is a deep cleansing cream and as you can see from my tub, it's well loved by me! You can use it in the following ways:
  • Massage into dry skin and rinse with warm water 
  • Or use a cloth (like a hot cloth cleanser) to remove make up.
  • Use as a 10 minute face mask.
  • Apply a thin layer as an intensive overnight treatment.
  • Apply directly onto blemishes.
I've used this in all these ways except overnight and it has done wonders for my skin. It doesn't strip your skin but does give you a really nice clean feeling. It's effective at removing make up even stubborn mascara, I've never got out the bath with panda eyes and it doesn't irritate my eye area either. It contains sweet almond oil and tea tree oil which are both great for your skin (especially oily skin like mine). Be warned though the smell is very strong (this is why I haven't used it overnight), described as "uplifting eucalyptus" but I'd say it smells more of tea tree (I suppose these smells are similar). I know it contains both of these so it's to be expected and at first it did put me off, but I got over it and I'm glad I did because I love it!

Full price is around the £7.95 mark and available at Tesco HERE but I got mine on offer (I can't remember exactly) but do shop around as it's on offer a lot.

Thanks for reading!  


Wench x

Friday 20 March 2015

Freebie Friday! #3

Hello Wonderer's! It's that time of week again! 

A photo of some free goodies from Lush

So this time we're talking store freebies, and today's instalment is a gush about Lush! I was in Lush yesterday picking up a gift for my sister-in-law and I received great customer service, they asked if I was okay and when I said I was just tooting they left me to do so. When I was actively looking for something they asked if I needed help and the lady I spoke with was really obliging and helpful and had great product knowledge. 

Now this brings me to my point, when I asked the lady for the sea salt shampoo I was looking for she took me to it and she was telling me about it. We we're chatting about it for a bit and then she was like "why don't I give you some to try first and then you can buy it if you like it." I was really impressed by this, I'm sure it's something they'll do regularly and in Lush they have pots of stuff open for you to sniff and play with but I never knew they did this. It makes sense because if I like I will go back and buy it. What's more, is this was before I'd even picked anything up to buy so it wasn't even a "well since your buying stuff we'll give you this" scenario if you know what I mean. She gave me a sample of the Big sea salt shampoo and the sea salt spray (I don't think this had a specific name other than sea salt spray!). It obviously depends where you are, there probably not going to give samples away in Poundland but if your lucky and your visiting a make up or fragrance counter, even Lush or places like it you might go home with something good to try out!

I think there's a lesson we can learn here, I'm not saying walk into stores demanding samples because you'll probably get no where and that's just cheeky but that a bit of friendliness can go a long way and you might be surprised what comes your way from something as simple as a smile!   
 Have you had any good freebies recently?

Thanks for reading,

Wench x 

Wednesday 18 March 2015

Zoella Beauty - Soak Opera and Fizz Bar



I have a review for you today!

A picture of Zoella soak opera and fizz bar

I know the Zoella Beauty range is all over the bloggersphere already but I picked these up because it's my first mothers day and my hubby promised me a bath to myself! (I get in the bath with my baby, so it has his baby bubbles in. I know it's not recommended blah, blah, blah, but my hubby passes him in to me, it's what works for us and keeps our little family happy) needless to say it excited me greatly and I wanted something new for my special bath! 

A picture of a Zoella bubbly bath!

As you can see from the photo above (please excuse my piles of products around my bath!) , I used the Zoella Beauty Soak Opera to make this awesome amount of bubbles (well, my hubby ran the bath for me). This may seem silly to some but I took this picture because I have bubble trouble. I come from Manchester, in the north, where our water is lovely and soft and makes lots of lovely bubbles just by showing the water the bubble bath (okay, slight over exaggeration but you get the gist!) but since I moved to Stoke, where the water is harder I can't for the life of me run a bubbly bath! So getting this amount of bubbles made me very, very happy! 

The scent of this is a lovely, sweet floral smell which I seriously love! Smell is very subjective mind, so a downside to this would be if you don't like the smell, then the whole range of bath stuff is not going to appeal to you as its the same across the lot. However, I was impressed by how soft and nice my skin felt after I got out of the bath, I read on the bottle that it contains vitamin E, shea butter, and aloe extracts that claim to soften and condition the skin, I was sceptical but actually I have to agree with that and it does this is such a way that doesn't leave a residue making you feel slimy.

Photo of fizz bar


Now on to the Zoella Beauty Fizz Bar. The chocolate bar design is very cute and it gave my bath an added boost of that lovely scent (not that it needed it, with just the bubbles you could really smell it). I think it goes without mentioning that I enjoyed watching the fizzer fizz! The best thing about this is that you get more than one go out it. You could if you really wanted throw the whole thing in or you can break it up however you want, if you only used one at a time you'd get 8 uses out of it which is great, that brings me to my one sticking point, and that is that I found it really hard to break up, I'm quite a weakling though and lucky for me I have a macho, strong husband to break it for me!   

Now the Zoella Beauty range isn't the cheapest in the world but it certainly isn't the most expensive, for me it's a price tag I'm willing to pay for a treat and when you compare the fizz bar with a bath bomb from Lush for example, you pay a similar price but can only use a bath bomb once. You get 490ml of product in the soak opera so you do get plenty for your pennies!

You can get your mitts on Zoella Beauty Soak Opera HERE and the Fizz Bar HERE both for £5 each. 

Thanks for reading!

Wench x


Tuesday 17 March 2015

Next - Make Me Beautiful



Today, I bring you a new discovery I recently made! In the form of a new make up range, Make Me Beautiful by Next.


a photo of Next new make up line
Next Make Me Beautiful Range
Another photo of next new make up
Next Make Me Beautiful Range
The very first thing I need to say is about these images. I took them in store on my phone and the only person in them is me (reflected in the mirror). I honestly haven't a clue about rules and such on that one so if I'm breaking any I will remove and delete the photo's on request. Also, if anyone out there reading DOES know about these things I would really appreciate it if you could let me know! As prices are visible here just be aware that prices and offers seen here are correct at the time of publishing.

Moving on, I knew there was a new range coming because I went in store and asked where the NYX stand had gone and they said they weren't selling it any more (this almost made me cry) but the nice lady told me something new was coming to replace it soon and to keep a look out and here it is!

Now I haven't tried anything from this range yet, truth be told it's simply because I can't afford it yet! However, from browsing the range it looks promising. The packaging is eye catching and looks nice and sturdy, it has an almost mirrored effect to it which I quite like. It doesn't look cheap and nasty either. Price wise, it's not the cheapest, but at the same time it's not the most expensive, the range isn't massive, there was just a little table with it all on in store however it is a new range and I'm sure they'll expand on it as time goes on. The stand itself was really nice, you may be able to see from the pictures but it's not your run-of-mill make up stand more like an actual table which was nice and clean although this may be just because it's new! Everything on it was clearly visible and easy to get at not like those horrible, sharp plastic cassettes where you can never get the products out and can't see a darn thing like your usual stands (and trust me when I say they are sharp and awkward, I've had to work with them the last ten years and have had so many cuts and tantrums I lost count!) So far I'm impressed but I'm still yet to try it, the proof will be in the pudding! 

The Next Make Me Beautiful range is available HERE

Have you tried any of this make up yet? Let me know what you think!

Thanks for reading,

Wench x 
    



Monday 16 March 2015

Mother's Day!



Good morning! Just a quick post that I hope you don't mind me sharing! 

I hope all you Mummy's of the world had a lovely mother's day yesterday?! I celebrated my very first mother's day yesterday and I was very spoilt indeed! I got a lovely card with my babies very first (and very scrunchy!) hand print.

A photo of my first mother's day card

My hubz made me facon (fake bacon - I'm a veggie you see!) butties for brekkie and I got some lovely flowers, new PJ's (I not-so-subtlety hinted at!), a cute little bear, and a little plant.  

a photo of my mother's day gifts

My husband made me a special fake steak tea (lots of fake veggie food going on!) and even ran me a nice, relaxing bubble bath (I have a post on that coming up!). I was treated like a princess but most importantly I got to have lots of cuddles with my special little guy! 

A photo of my sleeping baby!

It was all a bit much for some!

I hope you didn't mind me sharing a few snaps of my first mothers day with you. I had a great day and wanted to share it with you!

Thanks for reading!

Wench x 

Sunday 15 March 2015

Re-Gen Cream


Bargain alert! Bargain alert!







Today I bring you a rediscovery of mine in the form of Re-Gen Cream, and trust me this stuff is AMAZING! I paid £3.99 for mine and it's essentially bargain Bio Oil! I have it in cream form but you can also get it as an oil, a definite Bio Oil dupe right there! I haven't tried the oil personally but I love the cream. The quandary I was having was that I wanted something intense, like Bio Oil, but not greasy and oily, like I found Bio Oil to be. You know when you pick up a product you haven't used for ages and think why did you ever stop using that? This is one of them for me. 


Enter Re-Gen CreamI think I'm addicted to the smell of this stuff, you can smell the lavender in it but it's not over-powering, it has a kind of old-fashioned, primrose-y, face cream smell to it but not the horrible kind (if that makes any sense to anybody) it's a Bio Oil-y smell (shock-shock!) but the scent is quite strong so this may be a turn off for some people. it can be used on your face and body which is excellent and it contains lots of ingredients that skin just loves including vitamin E, lavender, calendula, chamomile, and rosemary oil it also contains PCL liquid which is an active ingredient for skin regeneration. It claims to help and reduce stretch marks, help improve the condition of skin with scars, improve sagging and wrinkled skin, protect against the drying effects of wind and water, moisturise skin, reduce blemishes and pigmentation and make skin soft and supple. 

I have to say I agree with most of this statement. I can't say how it works for sagging, wrinkled skin because I haven't got any (at least I hope not!) and I haven't tested it out against wind and rain or used it on scars but I have to say when I used it on my face it didn't break me out which I thought it would. I have combination skin, my T-zone in particular suffers with extra oiliness and the thought of putting a cream that's similar to Bio Oil on my face did make me wince but I'm glad I did. Existing blemishes and marks faded considerably, it left my skin lovely, soft and moisturised and made a great base for make up. I wish I had thought of this during my pregnancy as I now have lots of stretch marks but I hoping Re-Gen Cream is going to make good on it's claims to help reduce stretch marks!

In short, this is a great multi-purpose cream for face and body.  

I have seen this cream for around the £3.99 mark in Body Care and Home Bargains or you can get it HERE  

Thanks for reading,


Wench x

Friday 13 March 2015

Freebie Friday! #2



The best things in life are free right? 


 

I'm back with another Freebie Friday! Today I'm talking about free samples, and would you believe there are loads of websites offering free beauty samples?! I will admit I was wary because of the old "if it sounds to good to be true then it probably is" moto but I thought what the heck let's give it a go. 

Now when I say free, it will cost you your time (I can hear you from here moan, groan but keep going!). For example, in return for their sample they may want you to give them your opinion on their product, fill in a survey etc but mainly free samples spread the word of a new product, re-spread the word of an old product, and offers a kind of try before you buy experience without having to buy anything if you don't want to! They require your details, obviously they need your address to send you your sample (there are also lots where you have to go to your nearest counter or store) but make sure you look out for those pesky tick boxes which need to be ticked OR unticked if you don't want them to send emails etc I've been stung by that one before but you can always unsubscribe to mailing lists if you find yourself on theirs by accident (usually a tiny link at the very bottom of the email!) 

So far I've had a biscoff spread sample (no picture for that I'm afraid, I soon scoffed that one and it was super yummy by the way!) and a seven day Vichy sample. Both these samples came with money off coupons attached so if you wanted to buy the full size version you can get some money off too! Bonus! I've just sent off for a sample of Ice Elements 2 minute miracle cream, with a name like that I'm eager to see if the claims are true! There's not just beauty stuff there's all sorts of things on there. 


The sites I've used are Latest Free Stuff and Magic Freebies UK but an internet search throws up a load of sites for you to try. Give it a go, you never know what new discovery you might make!

Thanks for reading!


Wench x


F.Y.I This post is NOT sponsored or anything like that. It's just a new thing (for me) I want to share. Just in case you were wondering!   

Tuesday 10 March 2015

007 for Women


Drum roll please! Today we have a new offering from 007 and this one is for us ladies!


My husband told me that he can't read more than 10 words (I wonder if he can read at all! Hubby, if your reading, love you!) so with that in mind to sum up in ten words - 007 for Women is sweet, oriental, and value for money!

For those of you who want a bit more detail, keep reading!...

Now then, for those of you who have your skepticals on, thinking "007? Really? What a load of gimmicky rubbish" I ask you to think again! I will admit when I first saw 007 fragrances hit the shelves of my workplace I thought the same thing but they pleasantly surprised me. Before this one came out I had tested the men's fragrances (I work for a popular retailer and the second new testers come in we get all excited and have to smell them, yes it's a little sad but it's a perk of the job!) and all of them have impressed me. So I was pleased to hear that they have now brought out a fragrance for us ladies!





007 for Women Eau de Parfum 30ml* is housed in a reflective, dark, diamond-cut bottle which is in keeping with it's dangerous, seductive Bond Girl character. It is described as a modern interpretation of an oriental fragrance which I think is fairly accurate, and it dries down to really lovely vanilla, musky scent which is something I really like. The bottle comes inside a shiny, multifaceted, rose gold box (and who doesn't love rose gold these days!?) that mirrors the effect of the bottle, the bottle itself also has a rose gold ring at the top and the spray nozzle (that's a fun word to say in my head, nozzle, nozzle, nozzle) is also rose gold, it's this attention to detail that really ties the bottle and box together and gives it an expensive feel.  I know that one fragrance can't please everybody as smell is such a subjective sense, what I love the smell of, someone else might hate and vice versa but if sweet, musky, oriental scents are your thing, I think you'll love this. 

So what goes into this scent? Well quite a lot actually! Each bottle contains notes of black pepper, black vanilla, white musk, fresh bergamot, sweet blackberry, warm cedarwood, soft gardenia, and jasmine. You get instant spiciness from the black pepper, a slight fruity scent from the blackberry, sweetness from the black vanilla, floral notes from the jasmine and it's all finished off with the luxurious, oriental signature of white musk and cedarwood. It sounds really busy, but it's really not with the right mix of all the notes it's a great all-rounder and will please a lot of noses! 

Another thing I want to point out about this fragrance is that it is an Eau de Parfum. Forgive me if I sound like I'm trying to teach you how to suck eggs here, but the relevance of this is that Eau de Parfum is more concentrated and therefore gives you a stronger, longer lasting scent. Perfume has a higher percentage of perfume oil combined with alcohol compared to your Eau de Toilette (Eau de Toillette's tend to be more common and cheaper in price). You also find that you don't have to spray as much, so even though they are more expensive than their Eau de Toillette counterparts, they often reflect better value for money so the fact this is an Eau de Parfum, for such a great price point really impresses me.    

                   

007 for Women Eau de Parfum is available in 3 sizes, 30ml, 50ml, 75ml and the range also includes a 150ml Shower Gel! It retails at £23 for 30ml, £30 for 50ml, £40 for 75ml and is available HERE 

Thanks for reading!

Wench x

*This was a free sample, the opinions expressed here are all my own and not that of anyone else. I am under no pressure to give "good" reviews. Just in case you were wondering!   

Friday 6 March 2015

Freebie Friday!

Who doesn't love a freebie?!

freebie friday#1


I love a good freebie so I bring to you Freebie Friday! A place when I can share any freebie discoveries with you! When I'm ever in my local corner shop one thing I always look at is the magazines. Not only do I love a good mag to chill out with when I have my afternoon coffee but I'm also looking for magazine freebies and lately there have been some really good ones!


freebie_fridayelle


Elle March 2015 £4.00 - are offering it's readers an exclusive peek of benefits brand new Rollerlash mascara! The full sized product is worth £19.50 but Elle have included a 3g sample to try before you buy!


freebie_fridayglamour


Glamour April 2015 £2.00  - are offering it's readers a choice of four products from the brand Balance Me. You have a choice of a Super Moisturising Body Wash (£6), Pure Skin Face Wash (£11), Radiance Face Mask (£12), and Tinted Lip Salve (£12). I picked up the face wash but I'm very tempting to pick up all of them! Together that's £41 worth of products for £8!


There you have it! I will certainly be keeping my eyes peeled for more freebies I can share with you for Freebie Friday.


What's the best freebie you've ever found? Let me know below!


Thanks for reading!

Wench x

Tuesday 3 March 2015

What Is This? 20 Questions?

Yes actually, it is!





I thought for a little "let's get to know each other" exercise I'd answer 20 questions! So without further ado let's go!


  1. Full Name: Sharron Rachael Jennifer Parsons - yes that's Sharron with 2 "R's"

  2. Age: 25! And getting older by the minute!

  3. Zodiac Sign: Gemini

  4. What's the blog about? Mainly about beauty on a budget, the occasional expensive treat, and really whatever else comes to mind. My own little slice of the internet pie!

  5. Meaning behind the name? Wench's World of Wonder is inspired by my childhood nickname "Wench" which may seem offensive but was given to me lovingly by my older brother, and it just seemed to stick. The world of wonder part came from friends and family that often describe me as being "away with the fairies" or "in a world of my own" (which is a song in Disney's Alice in Wonderland - Hit "like" if you know what song i'm on about!) There you have it!

  6. Relationship Status: Happily married!

  7. Kiddiwinks? 1 beautiful, bouncy, 5 month old baby boy!

  8. Pets? 2 Degu's called Claudia and Chi Chi, I'm a massive cat lover but unfortunately as we rent, we're not allowed any cats *cries*

  9. Where are you from? Originally from Manchester, but have moved to sunny Stoke-on-Trent.

  10. Three Fears: The toilet flush, yes quite strange I know and this has got better over the years but I'm still a flush-and-runner! Worms, they just creep me out! On a more serious note, being a bad mother, I think any mum can relate to that one

  11. Three Loves: Make-up! Obviously! Bargains! Another obvious one! And my gorgeous little boy!

  12. Ideal Sunday: Spending time with my son and hubby! Building a den and watching youtube videos or disney films in our pyjamas!

  13. Tea or Coffee? COFFEE, I'm a massive coffee addict! Vanilla lattes are my favourite!

  14. Favourite Perfume? My all time favourite is Very Irresistible by Givenchy, I also love The Body Shop's White Musk.

  15. Favourite Song? Nothing Else Matters by Metallica, I got married to that song and it has a lot of meaning to me. I love Rock and Metal music!

  16. Favourite Book? I love Stephen King. I couldn't put "Cell" down. And I love Dan Brown too, "The Da Vinci Code" is my favourite I think, just because it was the first one of his I picked up. (I know that's 2 books but shhhhh don't tell anyone!)

  17. Favourite Film? I'm not that big into films really, I'm also one of those annoying people who always points out what was missed out from the book! I don't have a favourite film but my favourite genres are horror/thrillers. And Disney! Who doesn't love a bit of Disney!

  18. Favourite Holiday? This has to be when my brother went travelling for 6 months and I met up with him half way through in Thailand and did a whistle stop tour through Cambodia and Vietnam. I could gush about that for hours so I think that may be a future post!

  19. Last text message? From my mummy asking me if I want to go home on the Easter bank holiday.

  20. Last phone call?  From my mother-in-law, she text me a picture from her new phone and because I didn't have the number saved (but knew it had to be someone from that side of the family - if that makes sense) I text back "which weirdo is this?" She rang me to laugh at me!

There you have it, 20 questions answered by yours truly! If you have any other questions you'd like to ask me, comment with them and i'll answer them! Please excuse the mess, I'm new to blogging and just getting the hang of what's what, if anyone has any pointers they'd be much appreciated! Hope you enjoyed this post and watch this space for more from me.


Thanks for reading


Wench x



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