A MAC Velvet Teddy Dupe?

Isn't it wonderful when you find something really cheap that's a near match to something really expensive?

I have just that for you today! I know the colour isn't exactly the same but it's very close. MUA Fawn Fancy is a new shade from MUA's matte lipstick range and it's very close in shade to MAC Velvet Teddy and they both have a matte finish.  

However, MUA Fawn Fancy at just £1 is a fraction of the £15.50 you'd pay for MAC Velvet Teddy and at that price it's definitely worth a try!

Yes you need a few layers of MUA's offering to really get the colour, it's not as comfortable to wear and it will need topping up during the day but for a pound you can't really complain!

Get MUA Fawn Fancy HERE or at your local Superdrug store

What's the best dupe you've ever found?

Thanks for reading,

Wench x

Freebie Friday! #13

I've been at it again! 

Stealthily taking photo's of magazines again I mean! This month we've got some really good offerings. Also, a random nugget of information, this Freebie Friday is the 13th edition and it's on Friday 13th, spooky huh?!

Glamour £2 are giving it's readers a free Clinique gift. There's four to choose from including a red lipstick, a nude lipstick, a moisturiser or a mascara (together worth £29).

Marie Claire £3.99 are giving it's readers a free Elemis sample. There are two to choose from, the Pro-Radiance Illuminating Flash Balm or the Papaya Enzyme Peel. Both dubbed "hero" products of the Elemis range (together worth £22.50). 

InStyle £3.99 are giving it's readers a free sample of Eyeko Mascara worth £12 

By no means free in the true sense of the word but worth it to try something new and something that would normally be out of my price range!

What's the best thing you got out of a magazine?

Thanks for reading,

Wench x 

What Do Those Numbers On Your Hair Colour Mean?

I was eyeing up hair colours as I quite often do the other day and I was looking at the shade numbers on the boxes. It got me thinking, what do all these numbers mean anyway?

I had vague knowledge of what they mean from working in my shop but staring at all the hair dye boxes and not being sure exactly what the numbers and shades meant I decided to do some research and thought I'd share my findings with you.

First thing first, there is a system known as the International Colour Chart (ICC) which most companies use but many use their own numbering system. For the purpose of this post though we'll use ICC. 

So for an example if we take Garnier Nutrisse colour 4.3 Dark Golden Brown.

The number 4 indicates the level of colour (how light or dark it is) and in this instance it's Dark Brown. The numbers after the decimal point .3 indicates the tone of colour, in this case the tone is Golden. Confused? The charts below might help

 COLOUR LEVEL 

1. Black

2. Darkest Brown

3. Dark Brown

4. Medium Brown

5. Light Brown

6. Lightest Brown

7. Dark Blonde

8. Medium Blonde

9. Light Blonde

10. Lightest Blonde

Manufacturers name colours differently but you get the general gist and some also go higher up in number to signify extreme blonde colours.   

TONE LEVEL

.1 Blue Ash      - Cool

.2 Purple Ash   - Cool

.3 Gold              - Warm

.4 Copper         - Warm

.5 Mahogany    - Neutral

.6 Red               - Warm

.7 Khaki            - Cool

.8 Pearl Ash     - Cool

.9 Soft Ash       - Cool  

So the tone of the colour changes its appearance to look either warm or cool. Ash usually means a colour is cool and golden usually means that it is warm, these descriptions can help when looking at your hair colour.

It does get more confusing than that when two numbers come into play after the decimal point. If we take Garnier Nutrisse colour 4.15 Iced Coffee. 

The first number after the point is the primary (stronger) tone and the second is a secondary (weaker) tone. The .1 is the primary tone which if we use the chart above is a cool, blue ash tone and the 5 is the secondary tone which is neutral mahogany (neither warm or cool, this surprised me as I thought mahogany would be warm but its not).  

So the colours below are all the same depth level (4), but the tones running through give them a different appearance (.3 gold and .15 cool mahogany) 

I hope this sheds some light on the subject, this is only a basic summary but it interested me so I thought I would share. It definitely opened my eyes, who knew there was so much to it?!

What's your favourite hair colour?

Thanks for reading,

Wench x

*This is not sponsored and these are not a product placement it just so happened Garnier had the best examples for me to use at the time :-) 

Got2b Mind Blowing Express Dry Styling Spray

I have to say, since having my son I find washing my long hair such a chore, and drying it even more so! Then I found this!

Got2b Mind Blowing Express Dry Styling Spray claims to add heat protection to your hair, detangle, condition and most importantly speed up hair drying time and I have to say it ticks all those boxes! I spray onto my towel dried hair after I've washed it, give it a good brush through and then dry with my hair dryer and it literally takes me half the time I love it! A few things worth mentioning, it doesn't speed up hair drying time if your just leaving it to air dry, that's probably obvious but I thought I'd chuck it in there and also be careful you don't use too much as it can leave your hair crispy!

It's one of those things that I had seen in my shop and deemed totally unnecessary but I picked it up out of curiosity while it was on offer and I have to say it's earned its place in my stash as I've got better things to do than dry my hair for twenty minutes!

Get yours HERE or from your local store

Thanks for reading,

Wench x   

Maybelline Color Drama Velvet Lip Pencils

Hello internet! I have some more make up musings for you today in the form of Maybelline Velvet Lip Pencils.

You know when you find something that you love so much you have to have more? This is what has happened to me with these beauties! I have totally fell in love with the formula of these lip crayons and now I own 5 of them. So let me tell you about them.

The formula of these are lovely and creamy, they apply really smoothly and the pencil format of them means its really easy to outline your lips and fill them in quite precisely (which is great in particularly for the bolder colours). I wouldn't go as far as to say they are like lipliner because they're too thick for that but it does make application a bit easier. 

Once applied I wouldn't say they were completely matte, more of a satin, velvet like finish (as the name suggests, duh!) I really like this finish as completely matte lipsticks tend to be very drying where these are only slightly drying on your lips but have the full staying power of a matte lipstick. When I wear these for work they stay put and don't slide around all over my face (definitely a no-no when working with the general public face to face) and I only touch up on my break after eating and that's more out of habit than necessity. 

The five colours I have are Keep it Classy, Berry Much, Minimalist, Nude Perfection, and Red Essential. My favourite of the bunch has to be Keep It Classy which is the first one I got, it's the perfect balance of bold colour but is also a wearable, everyday colour for me making it a staple in my handbag.

Maybelline Color Drama Lip Pencil in Keep It Classy on the lips

I'm not sure if 5 is enough of these!

What's your favourite of the bunch?

Thanks for reading,

Wench x

I SPIED!

I spy with my little eye something beginning with N Y X!

Photo Source Boots.com

Okay, that was rubbish but cosmetic brand NYX is coming to Boots online! I'm probably the last one to hear about it but it got me excited as I've had a few things from the brand and when I went to my local Next to pick up some more they informed me they stopped doing it and all hope was lost (maybe a little dramatic, but I was gutted!) There's no date for it's launch but click HERE to join the waiting list for the new Liquid Suede Lipsticks, there's limited stock!  

BUT THAT'S NOT ALL!

Photo source Superdrug.com

My favourite offer of the year is now on at Superdrug! It's currently 3 for 2 mix and match across all make up, nails and false lashes. Shop online HERE or at your local store, exciting stuff huh?!

Thanks for reading,

Wench x

Freebie Friday! #12

Freebie time again! The beauty mags have got some good freebies this month so without further ado here we go!

Marie Claire is giving its readers a free L'occitane Hand Cream (worth £8), this is one I picked up myself and got the zesty lime scented one, lovely! 

Elle is giving its readers a free Orly Nail Polish (worth £10.50)

Glamour is giving its readers a free Nails Inc Nail Polish (worth £11)

InStyle is giving its readers a free Ren Skincare Set (worth £14)

I know it's not exactly free, but it's a lot less than buying the product the full price. Tesco also has some special offers on their magazines, InStyle is reduced from £3.99 to £2.50! There's only a couple of weeks left on these so be quick! 

Thanks for reading,

Wench x 

Slimming World! #5

I put a sticky label over my name because they always spell it wrong! It looks like I stole my certificate!

I got my stone award from Slimming World!

I'm so pleased! Goodbye baby weight (and the little extra I accumulated myself.....ahem!) it's slow and steady weight loss and although in the past I've lost weight quite dramatically and quickly it's not healthy and generally unsustainable. Slow and steady wins the race and it's also more likely to stay off too! My work trousers are loose and its quite annoying actually because I'm skint and can't buy anymore yet! 

I know I say it a lot but I'm shocked I lost anything this week, with the baby Splodge at Gran's house for the weekend we had a Tesco takeaway!

It was also taster week and people brought lots of yummy sweet treats which I'm going to have to give a try at home so I will show you how I go on!

Thanks for reading,

Wench x