Birmingham Blogger Haul

Following on from my previous post, I thought it would only be right to do a blogger haul of all the amazing goodies I received on the day of the Birmingham FABB blogger event. I can only say a huge thank you to all the wonderful brands who turned up to the event for all their hard work and contributions. It was such a brilliant day and I met some lovely people!

So to start the day off, we were all given a pink goody bag as we signed in downstairs which contained some amazing samples from some very well known brands. This was followed by a whole range of other goodies as we wandered around and mingled with all the different brands. This included a goody bag from Me Me Me cosmetics who gave us some amazing full sized products including a mascara, some of their gorgeous bronzing balls, eye-liner and foundation. I haven't actually tried any of the make-up yet but it looks amazing. A real up and coming makeup brand, I think Me Me Me cosmetics have a lot of potential. Along with this, for those of us who went and spoke to the other brands, we got given some full sized products from Anovia, another up and coming brand who sell some affordable but amazing beauty products in your local drug stores. Most of their products in fact are priced at only £1 which is unreal. I have been using their shampoo just lately and I must say I am very impressed. It not only smells divine, (something one of the creators of Anovia couldn't help but mention at the event), it also contains keratin, an ingredient that every hairdresser seems to be talking about just lately. 

During my mingling, I also managed to catch up with the creators of Bee Good, a brand I was already familiar with from the last blogger event. I also got my hands on one of Bodhi and Birch's amazing shower gels after testing about 10 different scents on my hand. I cant wait to use this, and just look at the cute little travel bag that came with it (below)!

Just some of the amazing goodies from the FABB Birmingham event including Skinnyboo tea, NKD skin fake tan, Benefit Porefessional and some luxury hair masques

Anovia spoilt us with their full sized treats including this BB Cream

I love the smell of the Bodhi & Birch shower gel

Not forgetting the amazing full sized Me Me Me cosmetics which we all got given

I really wasn't expecting the sheer amount of products we were kindly given on the day - there is just so many to talk about. On that note, if you do want a full review on any of the products listed in this post, then please let me know. I think Me Me Me cosmetics is a must once I have got round to sampling all of the products.

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Eyebrow Envy

There is no denying the impact eyebrows have had on the beauty industry over the past year or so. I certainly have eyebrow envy a lot of the time when I'm out and about. Gone are the days when it seemed the thinner the better. Big eyebrows are in and I am always on the lookout for ways to make mine more defined. I stopped threading my eyebrows about two years ago now and have tried to grow them back as best as I could. I like my eyebrows to a certain degree but I do feel naked now without any eyebrow definer on. I can't seem to grow them back to their full thickness, probably because of all the plucking and threading over the years. Thankfully there are hundreds of products on the market now to fix this.

I must say, I have tried my fair few eyebrow definers over the last couple of years and in this post I am going to talk you through a few of my personal favourites.

First off is this Mac crayon. I have mentioned this in one of my previous beauty posts here as it is truly amazing. However, it doesn't last that long if you are using it everyday and therefore not the best value for money. In terms of coverage there are a range of shades to choose from and it is very long wearing. There is certainly no need to touch up your eyebrows throughout the day, the crayon is both sweat and waterproof resistant. If you haven't already tried this product then I would 100% recommend it. Possibly my favourite eyebrow product on the market at the moment.

I would give this product a 9/10.

Secondly is this fairly new product by Benefit called 'Gimme Brow'. After a Benefit makeover in store quite recently I was reluctant to part with £17.50. However, of course I caved in and went back last week to pick one up from store. I have only been using this product a few days but I must say it's as amazing as I remember it to be during my makeover. A wand applicator, it is recommended that you apply this product backwards through your brows for ultimate definition. I am not to sure how long it's going to last me but it's definitely one of the better products on the market at the moment. It's very natural looking and again is long wearing. You can always rely on Benefit to bring you some of the best beauty products on the market to date.

I would give this product an 8/10.

Thirdly is this Rimmel eyebrow pencil. I am not too keen on this product but it's cheap and good for those days when you aren't going anywhere special but still require a bit of eyebrow coverage. Another great thing about this product is that it's very long lasting. I have this one for over a year now and even though I don't use it everyday it is still going strong. A word of advice, there aren't many shades in this product compared to the Mac definer for example, so make sure you test this beforehand to make sure you get the closest shade to suit your eyebrows.

I would give this product a 7/10.

Finally we have this eyebrow palette by ELF cosmetics. Again a different format to the other products in this post, this eyebrow definer comes with both a gel and powder section. I think this may be the cheapest eyebrow definer out of those featured in the post. I ordered this Ebay and I can't say I am overly impressed. I find this product quite difficult to use on my eyebrows for some reason and won't be purchasing it again. The gel which is used to shape your eyebrows rubs off quite easily, whereas the powder which is used to fill in your eyebrows is fairly light. Obviously you can see a difference but it's not a quick process like the Mac crayon which is so easy to use.

What is your favourite eyebrow definer on the market? Do you have any recommendations?

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Cleansing water vs cleansing and toning

Cleansing water appears to be a life saver these days but is it really as good as people make out? I love cleansing my face and know too well how important it is to do so after wearing make-up. I also love Garnier and have been using their cleansing and toning products for a very long time now. It 's no surprise then that I recently jumped on the bandwagon and bought their cleansing water too. 

In terms of cleansing my face and getting rid of any excess make-up I don't think this product is as good as the classic cleansing and toning routine I have adhered to for years. The main reason for this being that the water itself isn't as powerful in terms of removing any excess make-up or dirt from the skin. My skin doesn't feel like it has been cleansed either which is something I look for in a product. After cleansing and toning, my skin looks much cleaner and also feels much tighter and smoother too. Unlike the cleansing water, my cleanser and toner also help to control my spots too.

Even though this cleansing water was brilliant value for money - only £3.99 from Boots for this huge bottle - I don't think I will be repurchasing. Obviously it works to a certain degree but I much prefer the classic cleansing and toning routine that has been around for years. It works much more effectively (for me anyway) and isn't as expensive as some of the cleansing waters on the market at the moment. Obviously this is only one cleansing water which has been tried and tested so by no means does this apply to cleansing waters as a whole.

What experiences do you have using cleansing water?

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Clinque Anti - Blemish Solutions

My skin has been awful just lately. I don't know if it's due to stress or just pure laziness on my behalf but I have come out in lots of unwanted breakouts and by that I mean SPOTS. That dreaded word nobody wants to be thinking about past the age of 20. I have always had pretty bad skin and suffered from mild acne in my teens. Like any normal teenager, I tried anything and everything to clear my skin. The only thing that really worked for me however was the combined pill as recommended by my doctor.  In my case it was a lot to do with hormone imbalance. However, along the way I have found a few skincare products that are lifesavers when it comes to cleansing your skin and freeing it from acne. One of these being the anti- blemish skincare range by Clinique. 

I first starting purchasing Clinique products when I was around 17. I went to see one of the specialists at Debenhams who sat me down and did a skin test on me. Turns out, I have combination skin which if you didn't know means I can get quite oily on my T zone areas particularly. The specialist recommended I try Clinique's anti - blemish solution foundation and after matching one of their foundations to my skin perfectly I purchased it there and then along with the rest of the products in the collection. Now everyone loves seeing results but I didn't expect my skin to change so rapidly in such a short amount of time.

The skincare regime is so easy and well worth the money. There are three steps in total to this regime. Step 1 requires a quick wash in the morning with the anti - blemish cleansing foam followed by Step 2, a small amount of the clarifying lotion to tone your skin afterwards. The final step of course is to moisturise. Just a tiny amount of the anti - blemish clearing moisturiser and you are finished. Please note, the other products in these pictures are extras I have purchased along the way. These include the spot treatment gel and moisture surge intense skin hydrator.

Step 1 and Step 2 of your cleansing regime

Start by using the cleansing foam

Then move on to the clarifying lotion. Just a small amount on a cotton wool ball will suffice.

Next, just a little bit of the clearing moisturiser will work wonders on your spots.

I tend to follow the exact same routine after taking by make-up off, just before bed as for me leftover make-up on my face causes havoc with my skin. After a couple of weeks you should start to notice a huge difference in the appearance of your skin. Redness should be reduced, pores should be cleansed and most importantly, spots should be starting to clear.

Have you ever tried Clinique products? What products do you swear by for cleaner healthier looking skin?

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