Charlottes Collection | Leeds UK Blog : Fashion | Beauty

Beauty Blogger Summer Essentials Favourites

Models Own HyperGel Polish - White Light | Bourjois Healthy Mix Serum Gel Foundation | Melvita L'Or Bio Extraordinary Oil* | L'Orèal Paris Sublime Bronze Self-Tanning Fresh Feel Gel | Rimmel London 60 Seconds Nail Polish - Mary Mary Quite Contrary | Caudalíe Vinosource S.O.S Thirst Quenching Serum

I decided to write this post on a beautiful sunny day, it was a few days later when I actually got round to posting it and oh how things have changed... is it raining everywhere else like it is in Leeds?! Hey ho, summer will be back with us soon, right?

Since the weather's been getting warmer I've felt more and more inclined to get my tan on. I've not actually used fake in tan in a long time so was a little unsure of what to try first. Having borrowed my mum's bottle of of the L'Orèal Paris Fresh Feel Gel before a wedding we recently attended, I was more than happy to go out and pick my one of my own. This is really a Fresh Feel product, not something that you often find with fake tans, the light gel goes on incredibly easily and gives a decent bronzed look without too much 'biscuit smell' or orange side effects.

I've had the Melvita L'Or Bio Extraordinary Oil for nearly a year, I use it all the time and still have nearly half the bottle left! This dry oil can be used on the face, hair and body but I only ever use it on my body. I can't get on with body butters on a regular basis, they are too heavy for everyday use in my opinion - I just don't have the time to wait for them to dry! Melvita's Extraordinary oil leave my skin nicely moisturised without being remotely sticky or greasy. The best thing about the oil is that it smells amazing, just like the Nuxe Huile Prodigieuse... basically, holidays and summer!

I'm so in love with the Caudalíe Vinosource SOS Thirst Quenching Serum, I'm never without a bottle! It truly feels like a gulp of water or an injection of some seriously oxygenated moisture onto your skin, perfect on those warmer mornings. I wish the feeling would last all day, but it definitely continues to work wonder for my skin, aided by the contents of hyaluronic acid for some serious moisture absorption.

I've never been a fan of heavy foundation, non that I've tried have ever sat very well on my skin - especially when the sun is out. The Bourjois Healthy Mix Serum Gel Foundation however is light enough for me to feel comfortable, and has just enough coverage that those pesky spots and imperfections are muted. The serum consistency gives that healthy dewy finish that I fell like I've been striving for for such a long time, but that up until now has always fallen short with other high street foundations - that instead just look that little bit oily!

Finally light coloured nail polishes are a definite essential for me in summertime! Two of my favourites at the moment are Models Own HyperGel in White Light and Rimmel London's Mary Mary Quite Contrary. Both apply really nicely, and look nicely summery, they'll be even better if I ever get a tan! The Models Own Hyper Gel doesn't have the longevity you'd expect from such a well known brand, it can chip within the day for me. A good top coat goes a way to fix that though, nothing will stop loving a whit nail polish at the moment!

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My first ever Glossybox! Like most followers of fashion and beauty blogs I'd come to know the glossybox rather well, reading countless posts from bloggers, both raving and slamming the monthly beauty boxes. Although intrigued by the concept from first having heard about glossybox, I'd held back on subscribing as month after month the contents had failed to leave me jealous from not having received any particular item from a box. Though the HD Brows palette in the September box come very close! However if I was ever gonna part with my well earned cash and start a subscription, December was going to be the month to do it, the Glossy Team were promising a very special box for Christmas!

I have to start by being honest say that when my box arrived, once I'd gotten over the prettiness of the limited edition glossy red box itself (perfect for storage), my first impressions of the contents were a little underwhelming, I knew it was definitely good value for money with the quality and size of the samples received, but nothing immediately jumped out. It was only after closer inspection, and a few days of actually using the products, that I began to appreciate the purpose of Glossybox, the thought put into making the December box cohesive with a 'Christmas Party' theme and begin to appreciate the products themselves.

Cargo Lip Gloss: I thought I'd start with this product as it's the one which, for me, was most 'blah'. I'm not a massive wearer of lipgross but I can appreciate it's a very pretty colour in the tube. Non sticky, which a bonus, the issue I have with this product is that the colour just doesn't show up at all. I'm sure it would like nice layered with a lipstick, if your that type of girl, I just don't usually bother!

Deborah Lippmann Razzle Dazzle Nail Polish: The standard item in everyones box, and the one I'm most excited about! If you've read my older post on Nail Polishes, my follow me on instagram or twitter, you may have noticed that I'm liking glittery nail polishes at the moment. Razzle Dazzle is perfect for Christmas, the perfect berry colour, and I'm in love! Apologies for the appauling application in the pictures, I was in such a rush, but you can get an idea of how it looks applied. It took about 3 light coats to get that finish, and trust me, it's a lot more sparkly in real life. I've had tonnes of compliments on it!

Ritual Foaming Shower Gel: I've used this nearly every day since I received my Glossybox a week ago and it's really great! Mandarin and mint scented, it's quite a Christmassy smell, so has genuinely brightened up my mood in the morning before work! I also never realised, before using this shower gel, just how frustrated I used to get with the lack of foam my regular shower gel would produce! The Rituals shower gel really does make shower time feel that little bit more luxurious!

MeMeMe Seventh Heaven Facebase: First thoughts were what a lovely little sample size with very classy packaging, however I wasn't quite sure what to do with product, moisturiser or primer? As it's winter and my skin has been feeling quite dry, I've aired on the side of caution and used a light moistruriser underneath, but this a really lovely primer, helping lock in moisture and keep my foundation in place. Absolutely stunning smelling, again it's another product where Glossybox has got me feeling very Christmassy everytime I use it. I'm loving the citrusy smell of orange, lime, lemon and manderin!

Blink +Go Long Lasting Mascara: This is only the product in the box that I've not given a go, and not because I don't desperately want to either! I'm try to be restrained and save this one, I've got too many mascara's on the go at the moment and also a couple unopened. Even more so because I've such great reviews on other blogs, I don't want to have this go off after only using it a few times.

So, overall I've benn really please with my first ever Glossybox! I'm definately gonna continue my subscription for the time being, now I've finally tried a subsription box I'm definately interested in trying out a few more. Watch this space!

Have you tried Glossbox? What do you think? Is there a beauty subscription box that you prefer?

I've featured some of my Models Own purchases on my blog already, along with my dodgy attempts at nail art! I've been holding off posting about the rest of the nail polishes I got in the 50% off sale, partly because I've been a bit of a bad blogger, but also because there was a slight mistake with my order. It was a slight disappointment after unpacking the fabulously packed polishes to discover that, instead of 'Golden Peach', I was sent 'Bubblegum', slightly to noon a pink for me! I think I might be giving this polish away! The mistake wasn't a problem though, the really helpful team at Models Own sent out the Golden Peach polish once I informed them, although it took a while to reach me, now I've got it, I really love it!

Pink Fizz, I love the colour and chunky glitter. In this picture I had applied two light coats which looks fab, but I also love it with a couple more layers, which you can see pictures of here.

Proper Copper, a lovely coppery-metallic colour with tiny flecks of gold. This was the colour which I was most excited about for autumn. I do love the colour, but was more than disappointed with the polish as a whole. Little air bubbles in the formula pretty much ruined the finish, also the packaging was pretty much broken. The first time I opened it the lid came off, slightly inconvenient when trying to apply polish!

Purple Grey, a perfect colour for the autumn winter and perfect to apply!

Golden Peach, the colour I waited so long for! Not quite peach, but a beautiful golden orange. I wished I picked this up over the summer months though!

Juicy Jules, I love the disco ball effect of this polish. I'm looking forwarded to layering this with just about every polish I own!

Purple Ash, a gorgeous plum colour and again, stunning for autumn. Very easy to apply too!

Did any of you guys pick up any nice Models Own polishes in their 50% sale? Let me know what you think of their polishes, and my picks.

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I hope you don't find this post too random, being that this mascara was discontinued earlier this year (I think)! However, when I recently found the Maybelline Pulse Perfection mascara in the cosmetics section of TK Maxx I was reminded how this was a mascara that I'd repurchased a couple of times in the past. I'd simply forgotten about when it disappeared from stores!

I remember reading tonnes of conflicting reviews when this mascara was originally released. Obviously the main feature of this mascara is the vibrating brush, something originally done by Lancome and Dior. I have generally always preferred a larger brush, with proper bristles, which does give more volumised look than plastic bristles, but was of course intreged to try out this new idea in mascara 'technology'. Well, as you may have guessed by this not being my first purchase of Pulse Perfection, I really like this mascara!

With a button that requires being constantly held in for the vibration action, this mascara can take a bit of getting used to. Also, and not surprisingly, the thing that takes most getting used it is of course, the vibrations themselves! Following the instructions, and starting by placing the mascara wand at the base of your lashes, does tickle! I always feel like i'm going to sneeze, DISASTER when mixed with wet mascara! I've never actually sneezed using this mascara though, PHEW!

Once you do get used to the vibrations, and operating them, this is such a quick and easy mascara to use. The vibrations distribute the mascara beautifully whilst also lengthening and separating the lashes. Because of the way the vibrations distribute the product, if you're a lazy make-up girl like me, you'll love the fact that this mascara does not need numerous strokes of the brush, the below picture was done with one coat!

More of a day time look, I know, but I think it's lovely. I was so glad when I found it in TK Maxx! Since re-discovering the Pulse Perfection I've had numerous complements on my lashes, each one making me ever so slightly gutted that this mascara is now not so easy to come by!... Luckily a quick google search still brings up a few online stores that still sell Pulse Perfection, for bargainous prices too!