The Great British Beach Clean! #GBBC

September has arrived but are we really ready to say goodbye to summer just yet? With the gorgeous sunshine still blazing down on us, I think it’s safe to say that really…summer isn’t officially over. What’s the first thing you associate with summer sunshine? Beaches.

Now being the proud Cornish girl that I am, I love the beaches that we have here in Cornwall. However, there are also many other beautiful beaches sprawled across our British coast in need of some TLC.

The summer months are the best times to visit the beaches, however, unfortunately it can lead to a large amount of litter and rubbish being scattered across the sand and sadly going into our waters. Luckily starting this September, the multi award winning holiday parks Parkdean are on a mission to clean up our British beaches with the help of their friends at the Marine Conservation Society and hopefully…YOU!

 From the 19^th to the 22^nd of September, Parkdean are hosting 15 beach cleans in total and supporting the events of a further 6, so wherever you are there’s a beach ready for your help! No matter whether you are in Wales, Scotland or England, there’s a place for your volunteering skills to be put to good use.

Here are the beach cleans and the dates and times you need to know.

Signing up is incredibly simple. Just click here, fill out the necessary information and away you go!

No need to worry about equipment as all will be provided by Parkdean! Just wear sensible clothing, slap on some sun cream and grab your hat ready for some beach fun. (There might even be some refreshments for you to tuck into as well!)

Our aim is to make Britain’s beaches cleaner, not only for just marine wildlife but also your children and families. Bring everyone and anyone you know to these big events, we’re in need of your help! Friends, family, work colleagues and neighbours can all join you on this great day out on the beach!  Let’s make our beaches clean again with the Great British Beach Clean! #GBBC

(Please make sure under 18s are accompanied by an adult. You can find the parental consent form here )

If you wish to find out more about the Marine Conservation Society you can find them here

Want to check out Parkdeans? You can find their website right here

Hopefully, we’ll meet on the beach!

Revlon Colorburst Lip Butter in the shade '080 Strawberry Shortcake'

 So yes, I caved in and bought a Revlon lip butter. Everyone raved about them and in all honesty, I was pretty skeptical about these. They appeared to be glorified lip balms but boy was I wrong.

Originally these retail at £7.99 but luckily not long ago, Boots had a reduction on particular items and the Revlon Lip Butters were being sold for £5.99 (bargain!) So I frantically searched for swatches of the shades in an attempt to find one that I felt I would wear often since I was paying nearly 6 pounds for one. I stumbled across Strawberry Shortcake which I can now say has become one of my favourite makeup products of all time.

 The colour is gorgeous (as you can see below) and has a soft, light pink look on the lips which is perfect for everyday wear. It felt sort of sticky at first, but once worn down a bit it's the right consistency and you become accustomed to the texture. I can easily throw this on without looking in the mirror which is perfect for those in a rush days or even days when you are wearing no makeup to bring a bit of colour to your face. It's surprisingly incredibly moisturising and great for everyday use. All in all, I am fully converted to the Revlon Lip Butter.

What's your opinion on this lip product? Let me know in the comments :)

Velvotan "The Original Tanning Mitt" (Self tanning accessories)*

 So Summer is here and pasty, ghostly white girls like myself are in dire need of some fake tan. However there's always the hassle of applying the stuff! Luckily Velvotan are the brand who have saved the day from beauty tanning disaster. This affordable brand has created a line of self tanning accessories to aid you in applying your fake tan...on every part of your body! You can easily find a mitt to use but Velvotan have gone that step or even steps further to ensure that your entire body is evenly coated in your favourite fake tan for summer!

 Here is one of the most adorable products I have ever seen. It's a mini mitt to use to fake tan your face! This cute little mitt allows you to tan your face evenly so you don't have that Casper the ghost look on your face and your body beautifully tanned! I think this is a great mitt as I've never seen someone utilise this idea. The top is fabric and the bottom is a thin foam sponge so that you get a soft touch when applying your tan. As you can see, it easily slips onto your finger ready to be used.

 This next one is probably the tanning accessory you've all seen and used before. This body mitt is essentially a bigger version of the face mitt. The Daddy of mitts! This has the same properties and qualities as the face mitt but larger. Left my fake tan evenly coated and wasn't scratchy.

 This is the body polishing sponge helps to prepare your skin to remove all the dry skin and patches that may leave you with an uneven distribution of tan. No one likes a patchy tan! It sort of works like an exfoliator to scrub away any dead skin cells in order to get a natural looking tan. They advise you to use this daily in the shower and I have to say, I adore this! I love exfoliating products and anything that leaves my skin feeling smooth-this definitely does the job!!

This is the last product/accessory but an interesting one! This is the back applicator! Again, I thought this was genius, something I would have never thought of. It looks similar (dare I say it) to a back scratcher but with foam pads on the end for you to apply your tan. It folds in the centre so you are able to shape the product in a way which makes applying fake tan the easiest for you.

Overall, i think all of these products are innovative, creative and effective in making fake tan application the most efficient and easiest thing to do!

If you want to try these you can buy here:
Amazon.co.uk (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Velvotan-Self-Applicator-Original-Body/dp/B001EJOF16)
Eseller2u.com

Don't forget to follow the lovely and generous Hampton Brands on Twitter and Facebook who often have giveaways for you to enter!
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Hampton-Brands/309978822443191
https://twitter.com/HamptonBrands

Let me know what you think in the comments!

Recent Purchases #4

So I recently have been splurging on a few beauty essentials for my upcoming holiday which meant a few trips to Boots and Superdrug. Here's what I've been buying!

First is the Boots Soltan Protect & Moisturise Face Suncare Cream in SPF 50+ (That's a lot to type out!) A lot of people have mentioned that there are increasingly more sun creams and sun protection for your face. Up until now, I've never used a sun cream specifically for my face. A lot of beauty bloggers have raved about expensive brands and say "invest in skincare". But for those of you like me who don't have much money to spend and the sight of £25 for a sun cream makes your eyes water, here is an alternative. Currently this is half price at Boots and cost me just under £5! It comes in a range of SPF but for my fair skin I chose the highest. I tried this out for a full day under my makeup and it was perfect! No burns!

Next is a repurchase x1000. I've bought Collection's Lasting Perfection Ultimate Wear Concealer so many times I've lost count! However, Superdrug sent me on a wild goose chase for the lightest shade as everywhere I went stocked only shades 2,3 and 4. I needed shade 1! So after searching in every Superdrug and Tesco for the lightest shade I decided to go to Boots for it where it sat patiently waiting for me to pick it up! It's only £4.19 and it's the best highstreet concealer!

Thirdly is the Rimmel London Stay Matte Pressed Powder. I've always gone for even cheaper face powders such as Collection, MUA and NYC but this powder was on offer at Superdrug for only 2.99! so I grabbed it while I have the chance! I have it in 003 Peach Glow.

Finally a product I have heard a lot about. It's the Revlon Super Lustrous Matte Lipstick in the shade Pink Pout. This is supposedly a dupe for MAC's Angel which is a blue toned pink but you MAC lovers will have to decide for yourselves on that one! The colour is gorgeous and the packaging is so sleek and sophisticated. I'm in love with pink lipsticks an especially matte ones so I'm excited to give this a try!

What are your most recent purchases?
Let me know :)

W7 Full Time Lip Colour in the shade 'Mars'*

So the lovely brand of W7 sent me their newest product to test. It's the Full Time Lip Colour!

It's essentially a duo ended product- One end is the lip stain and the other is a clear lip gloss. W7 claims that this is a long lasting product, I'll let you know what I thought of that later in the blogpost when I put this to the test! When I got this in the post, I jumped for joy! It looked amazing! I think the packaging design is gorgeous, I particularly love the different styles of fonts used on the front.

Clear gloss

Duo ended. Clear gloss and red lip stain.

 So once taken out of it's plastic casing, you come to this magical lip product! (You'll see why it's magic in a bit...) You can either go matte or go glossy by using just the red lip stain on it's own or add the gloss to add a bit of a shine! I think that this is such a great aspect of the lip stain as you can get two looks with simply one product! You could even go from daytime to nighttime with a basic stroke of the gloss.

 So I did a day test on this product on my Youtube channel and tested the wear of the product throughout the day to see if it really did live up to the "full time lip" that it claims to be. I followed the steps apart from adding the gloss as I wanted to simply put the red lip stain to the test. 

I was pleasantly surprised to discover that this product really does stay!! Multiple times throughout the day I'd ask family members: "has it worn off?!" But in general, it really didn't budge. The only part of it that came off was the inner part of my bottom lip where it's a bit wet. I also mentioned in my video that it did slightly flake off but I honestly do think that that was due to dry skin on my lips rather than the product.

The colour didn't change. It didn't fade and the texture didn't change. I ate, drank and went about my daily routine without the product changing since the first application. However, even though I did mention that I loved the "matte-ness" of the lip stain, it does feel drying so it is a good idea to apply the gloss on top.

 I will admit that application itself was a struggle. I didn't apply a lip liner (which was a hugeee mistake). If you're going to wear this, I strongly suggest you line your lips before application because it's a bit difficult to put on. I found it hard to get the edges even and straight which may have been easier with a lip liner. I also found that this shade for me was extremely bright and not my particular colour but for someone else I think it would be beautiful! If W7 made these in other shades, maybe a pink, I would rush out to buy straight away!

I would strongly recommend that you follow step 3 by having an oil based makeup remover because it took a hell of a scrubbing to get this bad boy off! (The staying power is remarkable).

Overall, I think it's an amazing product! It does exactly what it says it will do. It doesn't fade, doesn't bleed or smudge and it has such a beautiful look when applied. If you're looking for a bright shade of red to wear on a night out or a day where you're feeling extra confident, glide this beauty on!

Give it a try!