Lush Ultrabland Cleanser Review

Well Hello There!!

This is the kind of post that I love doing: A Review of a product that I LOVE!!
I mentioned this product in my May Haul, but I had been using this product for a while before hand as I had a 'tester sample' - which incidentally lasted me AAGES!

I am really loving Lush and its wonderful array of products at the minute - I must admit that for years I have avoided simply because of the overwhelming smell of the shop, you can smell it (almost literally) a mile away. Well I have now concluded that I should have ventured in a long time ago as they have something for every one!

So onto Ultrabland...

In the Pot

Before Use

Melted/Massaged in to the Skin

Lush describe it as: " A rich, soft, oily cleansing cream that cares gently for all skin types" and "Ultra Effective, Ultra Gentle face cleanser"
It is a beautiful cleanser that I would describe as more of a balm than a cream, it is super soft and smells just like Honey - which makes the experience of cleansing with it all the more enjoyable. As for oily, I would disagree  the product strikes me more as waxy than oily, and it certainly doesn't leave your skin feeling oily or greasy.

To Use:
I like to run a bowl or warm water in the sink and let a face flannel/wash cloth soak. I then use a half walnut size amount of Ultrabland and then soften it in my fingertips. I then apply to my face and massage all over. To remove I use the warm wash cloth, this also helps with gentle exfoliation.

This product WILL remove all makeup - even my Lancome Hypnose Drama Waterproof Mascara, which whilst it is a product I could not live without, it is a notorious b**ch to get off: but Ultrabland melts it right off really gently so that my eyes don't feel sore afterwards. Although, because of the massage action you do end up looking like a panda before you use the face flannel.

All in all I love this product and can see me using it for a long time to come, I have been using it twice a day for a few weeks now and my skin feels more moisturised and softer already.

I would give this product 5 stars and would and am recommending it to you all!

Have you tried and loved any Lush products?

C
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Eye of the Day!

Hey Beauties!

I have basically decided to re-brand my 'Look of the day''s as 'Eye of the Day''s ...as I think this is a more accurate description for what I am providing.

Who knows, maybe one day I can suck it up and photograph my whole face, but for now I'm just not ready for that.

So today I did a bit more work shopping, nothing special, but it was successful. Even came back with some lovely black high heel peep toe shoes... definitely for work (or at least that's what I'm telling myself).
But I thought I would share my make up choice.

I'm really into browns at the minute and I have rediscovered the Revlon Colourstay pallet I used in my Everyday Brow blog. It has really lovely shades and they seem to be so compatible with so many other eyeshadows I have. These shades worked really well with the gold (I am definitely a brown/gold aholic these days) 

I did regret one choice however - after I used my eyeshadow primer I then applied a creamy base in a burnished bronze shade (a really old Avon product I came across) - this seemed to counteract any staying power any eyeshadow had or indeed the power of my primer. I may be a little over dramatic, it wasn't sliding down my face or anything, its just creased and blended on its own accord, so my lovely eye makeup kind of did its own thing after a while. 

Will NOT be using that again! 

Anywhoo - hope you like it and hope you are all having a lovely weekend! 

C

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My Everyday Brows

Hiiiiiiiiiii!

So I get a lot of people asking me about my brows - the likelihood is that because they are prominent they get a lot a lot of attention. Now I'm not saying that this post shows them off particularly well, the reason for this being that I am not wearing makeup at all so they look a bit odd on their own.

I love my eyebrows, and even though they are not the tamest of beasts they are strong and thick and I like this. Even though they caused me grief in my teens due to people picking on me because of them (*sob*)...I love them and I own them. I love to put colour through them and even glitter from time to time (the inner drag queen just dying to come and play).

Nevertheless I thought as I get asked what I do with them...I would share...so here we are.

First of all here are the products that I use:

Here we have: 

Revlon Colourstay 515 (colour 4), The Body Shop Matte it Primer, Illamasqua Brow and Lash Gel, Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer in 2 Light, Benefit High Beam, Real Techniques Angled Brush, Tweezerman Tweezers and Ted Baker brow brush and comb. 

I do swap up what colour I use (if any) as sometimes I want a bold colour (purple any one!?) and other times I want my brows to be warm and light. As my brow hairs are naturally black I try and not go any darker than dark brown - other wise we have a scouse brow situation going on. In summer I tend to go for a mid brown to keep it warm. 

Before

After

1. First I prep and prime - tweeze any stray hairs and prime my brow by running primer against the hair. Also at this point I conceal under the brow to get rid of any redness from any tweezing. 
2. I dab the angled brush in the colour and tap off excess. When putting colour in my brows for every day I start from half way in the brow and run the colour to the tip, creating the desired shape. Then with what colour is left on the brush I sweep and take the colour to the front of my brow (this helps stop the 'scouse' brow). 
3. With the brow brush I then brush and blend the colour to make sure that it is soft and there are no harsh lines. 
4. I then apply brow gel in an upward motion. Making my brows look wild and untamed. I then let this set for a few seconds. 
5. After this I tame them by brushing the top of the brow with the brow comb to give a smooth yet full shape. 
6. The last step is to add (if I'm feeling jazzy) a highlight on my brow bone - I do this any way if I am doing a full face of makeup, but even if I'm not sometimes its nice to add a highlight. 

And there we have it. 

I am dying to do a full glitter brow and put it up to show everyone - but maybe that would be too much!? Maybe not. 

So I hope you have enjoyed reading it and I hope it helps if you have problems taming your brows. But own them and remember that they are such an important part of your face - they frame your eyes and give your look structure - LONG LIVE THE FULL BROW!! 

C

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May Haul!

Ok, so it has been aaaages since I spent money on things for myself, well apart from new work clothes.
So I felt it necessary to splurge a little bit and have had a few trips shopping and built up over the last few weeks a nice haul - which I thought some of you may like to see.

This is just a bit of a show and tell post - I will however be trying to do more reviews as they seem to be popular - so watch this space for those.

Here we go!
 

• The Body Shop: Hemp Hand Oil - £7 

This hand oil is a deep moisturising and protecting hand care product, I would describe it as a more intense product than the hemp hand protector cream (which I also swear by). I bought this as my medication has caused me to have eczema on my hands and this has been helping brilliantly - it is not a greasy oil, it melts and is absorbed quite quickly. It does however have the strong hemp smell, which I have actually become used to from using the cream, but this may put people off. 

• Lush: Ultrabland Facial Cleanser - £6.75/45g or £10.75/100g

This is a product that I have been after for a while, I was given a sample back when I bought Angels on Bare Skin ( here in my February Haul - see how long its been since I did a 'proper' shop!?). I have only recently tested it; but loved what I have tested so thought it was worth a purchase. It is a cream/balm cleanser that smells just like honey - fantastic! 

• Lush: Godiva Shampoo and Conditioning Bar - £6.25/55g 

I have wanted to try one of Lush's  solid shampoo bars for SO LONG! But as we don't have a Lush in my home town I have had to wait until I could get to one. I love lush as all the staff are so help full and can match you with the perfect products for your needs. I bought Godiva over the others as it conditions as well as cleanses the hair, supposedly making it really nourishing ( I have yet to use this) - but most of all, it smells exactly like Jasmine, I could just carry it round with me to smell, its gorgeous. 

• Lush: Jungle Solid Conditioner - £2.95/55g

Again I wanted a solid conditioner to match the Godiva shampoo - this is a really lovely smelling product too, less intense than Godiva and more fruity; but in a subtle way not a sickly way. Due to the length of my hair I need a really nourishing conditioner that tames frizz near the scalp and moisturises the ends of my hair. I have been promised that this is the perfect product for me - only time will tell! 

• NARS: Orgasm Blush - £21.50/4.8g 

Possibly the most famous blush in the history of makeup - hyped up to the extreme and revered as many peoples best product. I have resisted buying it for so long as I simply just didnt see what all the fuss was about. Happy with my Matte Mac blush I just plodded along without it. However...since getting clear skin I wanted something more 'glowy' for the summer months (Hello Sun! Where are you??) and so I gave in, marched my way up to the counter and gave in... succumbed to its pinky peachy glowyness; wapped it on my cheeks straight away and strutted out the shop - I will be writing a full review of this later when I have used it a bit more. 

• NARS: Albatross Highlighting Blush Powder - £21.50/4.8g

I have been using Benefit's High Beam (again featured in my February Haul) for my highlight when I wear a full face of makeup - however with my dry skin the texture of it is not working for me at the minute, plus the colour is perfect in colder months as it has a lovely icy sheen - but this is not what I want for warmer months. Albatross however (despite its appearance  has an amazing gold sheen that works in conjunction with the gold shimmer in Orgasm. The powder texture also works better for my skin while its dry.

 I must add here that I love NARS packaging, it is beautiful - not practical as it gets dirty very easily - but nonetheless beautiful and I also love the attention to detain with a mirror in all powder product packaging! LOOK AT IT!!

BEAUTIFUL!!

I have bought a couple more products as well as these but I am deeming them not interesting enough for this post - plus I don't think I can bear to see the price of any more of the products - its like my own post telling me off for splurging! 

As I said I will be reviewing most of these products in more depth when I have used them a bit more. 

Hope you enjoyed the read! 

C

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Now Follow me on Bloglovin'

Hii Everyone

So I know that probably all of you are now aware that Google reader is becoming extinct...
and I'm sure many of you have seen very similar blogs to this one. So I will keep it short and sweet.

There is this wonderful thing called Blog Lovin'! If you havent noticed my snazzy button in the corner of my page, I am pointing it out to you now! (hehe)

So if you would care to clickity click it and follow me on there then that would be grand! This way you can keep completely up-to-date on all of my One Brush Beauty  posts and goings on. Plus this way, when Google Reader is eventually no more we can still be friends!!

Thankyou to those who already follow me and a big HEY THERE and also thank you to any possible new followers...I look forward to your company.

Grande Love

C
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New Nails!!! Again!!

Now it certainly doesn't seem like 5 weeks since I reverted to my almond nails...but it is!

I went to see my lovely nail technician today and we decided on something a bit different. I have had glitter tips on now for nearly a year now, so I've gone for an all over colour. I've also opted for a pinky nude, with Swarovski detail...yep you read that right Swarovski!!

I loved the baguette cut crystals as they are something a bit different. I also kept the length instead of having them cut back down like I usually do. They are a bit full on and talon like...but I LOVE them!!

Hope you like them too!

C
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LOTD - An Evening out!

Hey peeps!

So for those who follow me on twitter, you will have seen me tweet about a girlie meet up yesterday. Every now and again I pry my fingers away from my laptop to indulge in a few alcoholic - or indeed non alcoholic beverages with a few friends: last night would be one of these instances.

I decided to go for a gold and chocolate look on the eye, full on glam with some eyelashes. I even used my 'jazz in a pot' (see my Jan & Feb faves) Chanel eyeshadow!

The photos dont quite show how much of a cut crease this look was - I'm really getting in to cut creases now that I have more confidence with them. I love this look as the colours are still fairly neutral so its not over the top for a chilled evening with the girls. Yet still glam enough to feel glamorous.

Products I used:

Avon Eyeshadow primer

Nars Eyeshadow - Voyage 

Nars Eyeshadow - Galapagos 

Chanel Illusion D'Ombre - Vision 

Avon Supershock Gel eyeliner pencil - Black 

Rimmel Glam Eyes liquid eyeliner - Black Glamour 

Eyelure Lashes - 100 Superfull 

Hope you like it!!

C

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March and April Faves!

Hi guys so it has been a while since I did a faves blog post and thought it was time to update.

I like the idea of doing a favorites blog every couple of months as I don't tend to stray too much from my routine so doing one every few weeks could be pretty boring.

So first of all I will do my make-up choices.

MUA - Undressed pallet - 

I have been travelling around a bit in March and April and this pallet has proved to be worth its salt, it is compact and contains lovely neutrals that can be adapted to: no make-up make-up, everyday neutrals, cut crease drama, smokey eyes and full on drama! It fits in my travel make-up bag perfectly. Great Value too!
- Superdrug £4

Avon - Supershock Gel Eyeliner Pencil in Black 

This is such a versatile product, its great on the waterline and as a liner on the upper and lower lash line. The great thing about this product is...it sets! Its like the perfect intermediate between a khol pencil and a liquid liner. I have found myself going back to this very often on days where I just want to do a simple bit of eye definition - which has been a LOT lately. - Avon £6

Nars - Single Eyeshadow in Voyage

I bought this a while ago (maybe over a year) and loved it, and for a while it was my every day shadow, just sweep this over the lids and add mascara - ready to go. But as I bought other products this got pushed to the back and I must admit I had forgotten what a gorgeous nude it was, with just the right amount of sparkle. So for the last month I have been bringing it back! Love Nars shadows too, great colour payoff and staying power. - Nars £18


Clinique - Supermoisture Foundation 

This is a product that I featured a while ago, I have been using this a lot as it is made for super dry skin. It is a good foundation for this purpose. And because I need it I am putting it in. But I will not be continuing this once my skin is back to normal moisture levels. Not that there is anything wrong with the foundation, its just a very very dewy - and I need a bit more matte in my life! But all in all it is a really good formula for dryer or super dry (like mine) skin. - Clinique £21

MAC Blusher in Pink Swoon

Apologies if I have mentioned this product before - but I will rave about it! This is the best blusher I have ever used, it is a matte bright pink blush. The colour pay off is perfect and suits my skin tone to a T. Its a bit scary looking in the pan, but once applied it looks wonderful. Just enough for my pale skin.
MAC - £17.50

Avon Solutions Hydra Beyond 

This is a lovely light gel moisturiser that I have been using for a while now. I must say I use a fair amount of different moisturisers, basically just based on what my skin needs at the time. The Hydra Beyond has become one of my favorites due to its formula, it melts on to the skin and really does pump moisture back into my skin easily. The gel is fairly watery (as you would expect) - so on really dry days I do need something thicker. But this is a great product with great results. Avon - £7.50

Amazon Kindle

AGAIN! This has to be my favourite thing that is non-beauty related for the last two months. I have been travelling a lot and going to meetings and interviews in preparation for starting my new job and this has been great to read on the: train, plain, bus, car, horseback, dolphin...how ever else you want to travel...although thinking about it I don't think its water proof so I take back dolphin.


So that's all folks. Tried my hardest not to bombard you with products in this faves.

Let me know what your faves at the minute are and if you have tried any of mine!

Muchos Love

C
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