Well, it's fair to say I have a little crush on Milani Cosmetics, which up until recently have been the territory of American and Australian bloggers. But after spotting these gorgeously packaged, low cost goodies in all their clear acrylic, tactile cases and compacts, it became my mission to seek these out, at decent prices and without paying a fortune on international shipping.

It turns out, its very easy to get hold of them! There are a few little shops that sell some of the range, such as Comedic.co.uk, but I didn't know that Milani EU cosmetics ship to the UK for low costs and pretty quick delivery (some of their comms and receipts are in what I think is Czech - not 100% on that, me and geography/languages go together like Coke and Mintoes!). But it doesn't stop being able to choose and purchase online.

I'm not going to actually review them at the moment, I just wanted to show some of the range with some swatches so you can see what's available. The face powders, I've actually chosen 3 colours because I like to use my face colour, but use a lighter powder to give a subtle highlight, and because bronzers or contour powders don't give much coverage, I like to use a darker powder to contour or as a Bronzer, or to mix them up to get the perfect colour for someone else's skin tone. In the swatches the face powders (which provide a matte coverage and are apparently very good for oilier skin, without caking....watch this space...) seem slightly oddly coloured in that the middle medium seems lighter than the actual lightest one. But it's just that they are both 2 different skin tones, one warm and rosy, and one with yellow undertones. The lip pencils are opaque and creamy and glide on like butter, no dragging skin with these bad boys! And the glosses all smell like watermelon! The blushers are a visual treat and the illuminating powder has a hint of blush in it. The 2 baked blushers look a bit like they are going to be of the cheaper variety which can be prone to feeling a bit scratchy, but these just feel like powder, soft creamy powder.

Right, the swatches are below, I'm going to spend the next couple of weeks playing around with these and let you know the must-haves, the lust-haves and the don't-bothers (if there are any! So far, so good!).

Hope you've all had a great Monday, just think, one day closer to the weekend! 😁

Loz X x X 😘

1.   Bella Rosa Blusher 04 powder blush
2.   Dolce Pink 01 baked powder blush
3.   Luminoso 05 baked powder blush
4.   Sweet Cheeks 01 powder mosaics
5.   Light 01 The multitasker face powder
6.   Light Medium 02 The multitasker face powder
7.   Dark Tan 07 The multitasker face powder
8.   Beauty's Touch 03 illuminating face powder
9.   Haute Pink 05 Color statement lip liner 
10. Nude 03 Color statement lip liner 
11. Center Stage 50 Glitzy Glamour Gloss
12. Lady Like 08 Glitzy Glamour Gloss
13. All About Me 06 Glitzy Glamour Gloss
14. Luminous 03 Brilliant shine Lipgloss
15. Sweet Grapefruit 09 Brilliant shine Lipgloss

Hi my Lovelies!

Well it's been a manic last couple of days, hence the lack of posts - when the kids are back at school, hopefully I'll get the chance to fire up some mini-reviews and swatches!

So as its's very late now, this is just a quick one! Ok, who am I kidding? I can't DO quick!

First, a Beauty Trial update! So far I still have fine lines (wrinkles!) and no eyebrows, BUT most annoyingly, I'm having some kind of allergic reaction....right in the area I'm trying out the Boots No7 Perfect and Protect body serum! I'm currently still swelling up despite Piriton so we'll have to see how that goes, but for the moment I'm discontinuing the body serum to see if it IS that causing it! I can't think of anything else it could be, but then my allergies are totally hit and miss as to causes! So, watch this space...

Secondly, I just wanted to alert you to my Guest Blog over on Bridal Designs Wedding Jewellery site! Its just a few tips about bridal makeup and a link to my Bridal/MAC lipstick giveaway. The owner of the website is lovely and has made me some absolutely beautiful jewellery, she is highly recommended by me! Anyway, to see her website please visit www.bridaldesignsweddingjewellery.co.uk and to read my guest blog of wedding make up tips, please click here!

Oh and don't forget to read the post before this to enter the MAC lippy giveaway, or just click here to go straight to it.

Lastly, am I the only one who plays "who's going to be in what accident?" on Casualty?! I don't normally watch it, mainly because its too easy to guess who's going to end up in what accident right at the beginning! Person getting on a motorbike? Bike accident. Woman setting off on a long commute to work in her car, on country roads,  listening to music? Gets distracted changing the music track and drives head on into a tractor. Happy man with a happy marriage and cute children working on a building site? Fall off the scaffolding, possibly impaled on a spike, with a chance of death!

On that note, I'm off to go play with my kitten before bed, although you may see me over on Twitter....

P.s. I had the most amazing dream last night! I was rather randomly snogging Orlando Bloom (swoon, melt, melt, double swoon!) interspersed with a no expense spared shopping trip to USA's Sephora! All my dreams come true then! 😁

Night night my Lovelies!

Loz X x X 😘

Ok, well it's not Part 2 of my Summer SOS series, but that's the school holidays for you when you're a single mum of 3 and chief looker-afterer (did I mention I just make up words to save time??) of a very daft dog and very bouncy kitten! In other words, I'm late for everything and I TOTALLY blame them! 😁

So anyway, as I came across the most perfect lipstick ever for a bride today, I thought I'd run a giveaway for one! After all, its now running up to the most popular months for weddings, and knowing how much they can cost I thought, lets share this discovery!

As the photo might hint at, the lippy that I think is the holy grail for the "English Rose" style bride, is of course MACs Lovelorn. I am totally in love as I'm always looking for a good nude colour, but on the rosy side rather than the browny beige side. To be honest I just didn't think it actually existed (just like my dream summer sandals that appeared 2 years ago courtesy of Blowfish! Ah the joy at my imagined perfect heeled sandal/gladiator hybrid being created into actual reality, well, it was a moment right there!). But today I found the answer to my dreams and it struck me how perfect this would be for a wedding day. Its only a couple of tones darker/brighter than a natural lip colour which is perfect because on your wedding day, you want to look like you, but the best version of you. Its not the day for dramatic looks or shimmer - no offence to any brides who've gone for the more unique look, I'm talking about the general bridal makeup and what a makeup artist looks for in a "typical" bridal makeup. Don't forget, we try our hardest to make sure your makeup is compatible with flash photography too, we want you to look gorgeous on your big day and on your memorable photos!

Anyway, the bridal makeup post is scheduled for another day so I won't witter on, and if you want to rock a bright lip or black gothic style on your big day, go for it I say!

So back to Lovelorn, this little tube of rosy vanilla goodness! All MAC lipsticks are made smelling of vanilla - a little pointer if you think you've been sold counterfeit MAC, there's a lot about! And this lipstick is a Lustre lipstick, that doesn't mean frost, I guess you'd call it satin maybe? It's not matte but not glossy! Sorry, all day with 3 children and 2 pets has clearly addled my brain...

TO ENTER:
So the giveaway! To enter, all you have to do is to RT the #Giveaway tweet on Twitter, and to comment below. As it has a bridal theme what I'd like you to do in the comments is tell me how many years you've been married, OR when your future planned wedding is (ok yes, bridesmaids included too! When you will be bridesmaid then!) OR if neither of those are applicable, tell me why you think this would be the perfect lippy for you! I want to see over-the-top selling yourselves here guys! 😁

It's a UK only giveaway too I'm afraid, so sorry international peeps, its the shipping costs (grrrr grumble mumble) 😤

Good luck my Lovelies!

Loz X x X 😘

Well as I was quite literally having a melt down earlier due to this grey humid weather, I thought I'd share some products that are lifesavers for me in hot weather. Unfortunate to say, I'm a face sweater. Some people over-sweat in hot weather in their armpits, their hands, "normal" sweaty places, but I break out in sweat on my face which is annoying and embarrassing in hot weather, plus it causes breakouts. So over the past few years I've adapted my Skincare and cosmetics for warmer weather.

Just as a pointer, the product links below will link to a site that currently has a sale or money off, discounts etc on these items - please do look around online though as I don't know how long they will be at low prices, or available. I also go through to most of the online shops via Quidco.com so I actually earn cashback while spending money on my discounted goods! So not only do I shop around and save money, I actually earn money the more I spend! Its a shopaholics dream! Not that I'm a shopaholic of course....ahem...moving on...

So my first Beauty Love for summer is Eucerin DermoPURIFYER Active Concentrate which is currently in the Third Off French Pharmacy Sale at Escentual.com for the bargain price of £6.00.  I use this product as a serum, under my moisturiser and it basically helps to prevent breakouts, which is exactly what I need in the summer.

The second product is a bit of a well kept secret actually, and I actually used it in a little trial on my best friend. I chose 3 of the better moisturisers for oily/shiny/sweaty skin and applied them to different areas on the skin. A good few hours later I checked and this was the only area that had no shine! Having tried a LOT of matte moisturisers, from drugstore to very high end, the winning summer moisturiser is.....drumroll please....Clean and Clear Oil Free Moisturiser, currently on offer at £3.59 but on Buy One Get One Free! What I love about this moisturiser, apart from it helping with breakouts and staying matte all day, is that for the first couple of hours after applying it, it feels tingly and cold! So it physically cools your face down after overheating in the bathroom, this makes it invaluable! And unlike most products that cause a cold or tingly effect, this is suitable for even the most sensitive of skins.

My third product which I use for many different things, is Avene Thermal Spring water. I buy a big can of this plus a little handbag sized one. I use this to spritz and cool down, and also to set my makeup. Because its the famous Avene Spring Water, its actually proven naturally antibacterial and skin soothing - perfect for eczema and dermatitis sufferers. I also use this on kids scraped knees to wash out dirt without dragging their sore knees about, and of course it doesn't sting. Anyway, my love of Avene is for another day as I could rave about their products all day long!

These are my skin saviours and literal MUST HAVES! Tomorrow I will go into what makeup saviours I have, as no one likes a sweaty top lip or melted smeared foundation (you know, like you leave behind on your mobile after getting off a long and sweaty call!). I know sweaty faces aren't the most glamorous of subjects and a lot of people are lucky indeed to never have this problem, but there are a lot who do, and even more so when we are abroad! These items are all items I've taken abroad and have proven their worth to me over and over! 

Right, I must go and spritz myself!

Take care my Lovelies! 

Loz X x X 😘