New In My Beauty Stash: Revlon

I have been loving applying makeup again these past couple of days. Having this baby insistent on not coming out of me just yet has me pretty fed up to be honest and although it's been nice not wearing makeup for the last couple of weeks and giving my skin a bit of a breather, all I've wanted to do recently is play around with my new bits. Revlon kindly sent me a couple of pieces a few weeks ago and although I've had one or two chances to try makeup from them before, I've never really had a chance to properly test out their collections or anything much other than their foundation and primers.  

The Revlon Ultra Matte HD Lipstick Addictions are products that I've had my eye on for a while now and although I'm yet to have seen any in the shops (I haven't gotten out much recently) I've been spying these on Instagram and getting pretty excited about them. I haven't been into liquid lip products for some time as honestly I haven't been bothered with the faff of them and especially with matte ones which I've found far too drying, but these beauties have been like a new light shining down on the liquid lipstick market. As you can see by my swatch photo, they appear a lot more glossy than matte liquid lips usually do and although they dry matte, they do still seem to have a really nice sheen to them. They also don't dry out my lips and unlike others which dry up and leave my lips looking a little less than desirable these seem to have a really nice look to them all day long. After a couple of minutes of being on the lips they really don't budge and even with a little lunch and a cup of hot chocolate, they still stay pretty solid! I love these; how pigmented they are, the packaging and even the longevity and I definitely think you should head out to pick one of these up asap! 

Slicking on a gloss of the Revlon Ultra HD Gel Lip colours has also been something of beauty over the last couple of days. I haven't really been going full out with the lip colours recently (apart from testing purposes) so on the days where I have been wearing a full face of makeup, I've been opting for these as a way of slipping in a bit of colour whilst still keeping my lips glossy and refreshed. A lot more pigmented than I ever thought they would be, these glide on like an absolute dream for a lighter lip; they're really buttery and smooth and keep my lips hydrated throughout the day without being sticky and having your hair get stuck in them when the wind picks up too much. The kind of product I've never liked before, these have surprised me in how much I've fallen in love with them. I'd say they're more a gel-type lip balm and they're definitely up there now with my fave lip products.

A cream highlight is something I never usually go for as I'm more of a powder glow kinda gal but I was excited to see how this Revlon PhotoReady Instafix Highlighting Stick would fair when it popped through my door. As a quick and easy product to use I had high hopes this would be my new go-to for a slick of highlight above my cheekbones but sadly I wasn't all that impressed by this. For a subtle sheen this is really great for applying in a hurry but to apply on top of your foundation straight from the stick for a more natural glow this isn't quite the one. I was a little disappointed when I saw how it moved around my foundation and although it's more convenient in terms of cutting down on time spent applying, it just doesn't quite look good enough for a finished look. I did find that rubbing my damp Beauty Blender onto the end of the stick and dabbing the product onto my cheekbones was a far more effective way of using this product though and although I wouldn't use it on it's own, it did make for a nice base that then made my usual powder highlight 'pop' that little bit extra. I'd definitely recommend this if you're looking for that kind of product but for a stand-alone highlight, sadly this just didn't make the cut for me.

Last up I wanted to talk to you today about the Revlon Mega Multiplier Mascara which is something I've had my eye on ever since they were launched many moons ago. I'd seen it advertised by lots of different beauty guru's and bloggers when they were first released and was super excited to see one in my package. This mascara is definitely one that for me has been outshining many of my other high street favourites ever since I started using it. It's packaging alone is up there with some of the nicest as the sleekness of it and shape is just so practical and handy to carry around with you. The wand is what seals the deal for me on this one though! As you can see from my images above the wand is tapered at one end giving you the room for precision when it comes to layering your lashes right. In my opinion a good mascara is one you can really coat your lashes with, with the least amount of effort and a brush like this is always going to be a winner for me. The larger end is great for fuller volume over the main body of your lashes whilst the tapered end is perfect for picking up the smaller hairs and those in the inner and outer corners; not to mention how easy it makes for coating your bottom lashes too! As soon as I saw this wand I was sold on it instantly and the fact that the mascara formulation itself is also pretty damn good was just the icing on the cake for me! I wouldn't say this was the most lengthening of mascaras but as far as volume is concerned, this beauty has buckets of it. Primed with my favourite Primark eyelash primer before hand, my lashes are good to go for both length and volume with just one slick of the Mega Multiplier mascara and it's one I've been reaching for constantly these past few weeks. Even on days when I don't wear any other makeup, a quick cover of mascara always makes me feel more alive and this one has been perfect for that job too. It's such a lovely natural looking product and for me it's definitely one I'll be picking up again.

What are your thoughts on Revlon's latest products? I've been really loving the majority of these pieces and also love their PhotoReady foundation (which I really need to restock on asap). Let me know in the comments if there's any other pieces you'd recommend for me to try from Revlon as it's a brand I've never really explored before and would love to try some new bits from after loving these pieces so much!

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BekyLou, Beauty, Fashion, Fitness and Lifestyle Blog based in the South West and London.

(*this post may contain items gifted to me for PR purposes*)

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John Frieda Core Restore; Current Haircare Favourites Part 2

If you haven't already seen my current haircare favourites part 1 blog post then a) where have you been hiding and b) why the hell have you not popped over there yet? I've been loving a couple of different haircare brands at the moment and to put all of my current favourites into one blog post was just a bit too much and would have made the post far too long. So here, without further ado is part two!

Preparing to get my Body back; Plans for Fitness post baby!

*This post contains PR samples gifted to me for review*

Over the last couple of months my fitness has really taken a knock; obviously I have a pretty good reason for this and it's not just because I'm being lazy, but sometimes it still does really get to me that my body isn't how it used to be. Being a first time pregnant lady has really taken it's toll on my body and my mental health surrounding the way I look and although being pregnant is one of the best things to ever happen to me (no matter how shitty it's been) I still long for the days of wearing size 8 clothes and feeling good in my own skin again.

Primark PINK; Their most Aesthetically pleasing range to date, but do they work?

As you can all imagine I got pretty damn excited when this package from Primark arrived in the post for me. A Pink makeup range like this is surely enough to get any beauty bloggers hearts racing?! Being an extremely affordable range the PS Pink range at Primark is one that many of us have been wanting to try out for a while and especially for me, I've wanted to know just how good it really is. 

If you've read some of my recent posts, you'll know that the Primark Bronze Eyeshadow Palette compared to the Urban Decay Naked Palette really well for  me; I was super impressed and loved the pigmentation and buttery feel to the shadows, however unfortunately I can't quite hype up the Primak Eye Candy palette quite as much. Having tried this a couple of times since receiving this I have to say I just haven't been that impressed. The shades are gorgeous and with a little setting spray really do stay put on your lids all day, but in terms of the initial application and the shadows themselves, I'm just not a happy bunny. It really pains me to say this as I loved loved loved the Bronze Palette so much and was really impressed with the formulation but for this Pink range, it's just not up to scratch.  The shades are absolutely beautiful but the pigmentation really isn't there with these ones. As you can tell from the images above, the palette is pretty pastel but unfortunately the colour just doesn't come through when brushed onto the eyes. One in particular that I was the most disappointed in was the deep purple on the bottom right as this took quite a lot of build up to even get near the shade showed in the pan. Although disappointing as dry shadows I have to say a little spritz of water on the brush and these do apply a lot better wet and obviously then produce a lot less kick back than they do as powders. It's not all doom and gloom for the rest of the Ps Pink range though as if you read on you'll see how I've been loving lots more of the collection!

How I'm Preventing Stretch-Marks with Palmer's Cocoa Butter Formula Range

Getting pregnant is such an amazing thing. Who knew our bodies could handle so much and create such a beautiful thing so naturally? Pregnancy is such an incredible journey for you and your body  but it's also a bloody difficult one and for your body to go through so many changes in such a short period of time (although it feels like you're pregnant for around ten years) sometimes it does just need a little TLC. Throughout my pregnancy there have been quite a lot of products that I've been religiously using to combat some of the slightly more horrid side effects that my body's been throwing my way (you can find the majority of these in my Pregnancy Essentials blog post) but more recently I've been trying out a couple of other products to try and fight against one of the most common side effects of growing a baby.

Super Facialist Vitamin C+ Brighten Skincare Review

*This post contains PR samples gifted to me for review*

We all know that skincare is something I'm passionate about. I mean, give me a good facial scrub, cleanser or moisturiser any day of the week and it's likely we'll be best friends forever. Skincare is something that I'll never skimp on and being a beauty blogger, I love the fact that I get the opportunity to try out so many new and amazing products (and some not so great ones, but we'll try not to dwell on those). As a blogger and skincare enthusiast, my skincare collection (believe it or not) is quite sizeable and recently it's been added to yet again. This month I've been trying out some of the Vitamin C+ Brighten range from Skin Facialist by Una Brennan, a brand I'd not really heard too much about before now but have definitely started to see cropping up everywhere over the gram (you can follow me here). 

Nesting made easy; Why Milton have it sussed for Mum's to be!

There are so many things to think about as a new Mum and every time you think you've got it sussed and got everything ready for the arrival of your baby someone else pipes up with something you haven't thought of. Honestly, the amount of times in the last month alone that I've sat and thought about how bad a Mum I'm going to be just because I haven't thought of buying a baby thermometer or I haven't bought any sleeping bags for her is just ridiculous (FYI I now have both). I think when it comes to having a baby for the first time you really do go in blind; no matter how many people tell you what to get, what not to get and try and force advice upon you, you really just don't know what you're going to need and what you're going to be like as parents until it actually happens. This whole time I've thought I'm as prepared as I can be for our little girl making her appearance and until she's here and crying through the night and needing her nappy changed, I don't think I'll ever actually be ready. 

One thing I definitely didn't think of when it came to preparing myself for our baby was sterilising. Like, what the hell is sterilising when it comes to a baby?! Naïve little Beky over here literally didn't have a clue. I think it was actually through Mrs Meldrum or Kate Murnane that I first realised sterilising ready for your baby was a thing. Obviously (kind of) I knew that when it came to having a baby everything had to be cleaned thoroughly and clothes had to be washed on a certain, more gentle setting with detergent that wasn't going to aggravate her skin, but as far as actual sterilising was concerned for bottles and breast pumps and surfaces baby would be touching, I didn't know the first thing. 

Milton has been a leading name in baby sterilising equipment at home for around 70 years now and as I've been well and truly settling into my 'nesting' period (the period where us new mamas just want to frantically clean and prepare everything), they're the brand I've turned to for all of my baby preparing needs. Trusted by Mums, Milton have got everything covered when it comes to hygiene for our little ones and ensuring that surfaces and feeding equipment are sterilised ready for use. When I first did a bit of research on how and what to sterilise I was quite amazed by how easy Milton have made it for us; something that sounds so daunting when you first hear about it and is so important to your baby's health and immune system is definitely not as complicated as it seems at all. Obviously I haven't had much experience with sterilising with a baby just yet as my baby girl still has a couple more weeks of cooking to do, but just by reading the Milton website and watching their step-by-step videos on how to properly sterilise your baby's bottles and toys I already feel like I'm an expert and will be ready to go when it comes to sterilising everything for it's first use.

One set of products I have been using religiously as I get bubba's room ready though have been from the Milton hygiene range. Their 3-in-1 Anti-bacterial Surface Spray and Anti-bacterial Surface Wipes have been all I've been using to ensure everything in her room is baby ready before the big day. As part of the Milton family, the 3-in-1 Antibacterial Surface Spray still cleans, disinfects and freshens the surfaces it comes into contact with but without being full of the harsh chemicals that other cleaning sprays are. With it containing no bleach or alcohol, I feel really safe using this and have been using it on every surface available in her room and will be using it on every other surface I can think of when she finally arrives. I love how easy it is to just spray on and wipe over with a damp cloth and can definitely see this becoming a staple in our household for everyday cleaning when baby is here. Items like her bath support, high chair (when she's old enough) and changing table can easily be cleaned with this with no extra fuss and I know it'll leave everything safe for her to use straight away. 

The other product I've been loving lately and can honestly see me carrying around with me everywhere are the Antibacterial Surface Wipes from Milton. An easy compact pack of antibacterial wipes perfect for keeping everywhere for a quick clean up solution. Again these are bleach and alcohol free, so perfectly safe for baby and just like the surface spray, these kill up to 99.9% of germs.  Easy and mess free with no need for water and a cloth, these wipes are going to be perfect for having in my changing bag to clean up any messes, for a quick clean of any toys or dummy's or wiping over changing surfaces when we're on the go. I don't know about you, but the idea of changing my baby's bare bum on one of those communal changing tables in public toilets has my skin crawling and so a pack of these Milton Antibacterial wipes are definitely going to be a must for carrying around with me. These are also going to be great for at home, having a pack next to our changing table will be a must and especially in the kitchen for a quick clean of the high chair before meals; they're already so handy and I can see us buying pack after pack of these when bubba is here! 

Milton really do seem to have it sussed when it comes to cleaning and sterilising and as the day of our little girl arriving comes closer and closer (just under 4 weeks now) I'm finding myself reading more and more on the different methods and how-to's for preparing everything for her. Milton products will 100% be replacing the usual surface wipes and sprays we use in our house to make sure we're baby safe and not using chemicals that are too harsh for her skin. I can't wait to get my hands on some of the sterilising products and getting all of her bottles etc ready for use over the next few weeks before she arrives! 

What are your baby sterilising tips and tricks? I'd love to get as much advice as I can in the comments from some of you mamas out there! 

This is not a paid for advertorial however I was kindly gifted the products to review. 

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BekyLou, Beauty, Fashion, Fitness and Lifestyle Blog based in the South West and London.

(*this post may contain items gifted to me for PR purposes*)