Review: Chantecaille Lip Chic in Lupine

As part of their Spring 2020 range Chantecaille released a limited edition range of their Lip Chic. There are four different colours and each case is a different metallic shade. I chose Lupine (£38) which is a soft cool pink shade. As always  Chantecaille gives back with their Lip Chic range and this season with every sale of a Lip Chic Chantecaille will give back to the Amazon Conservation Team to support their work maintains and protecting the hummingbirds’ natural rainforest habitat.

As the theme of the collection is hummingbirds there is a tiny hummingbird etched into the lid of the lipstick metallic blue twist bullet case. The  component itself is quite weighty and there is a satisfying click when the lid is replaced. The lipstick is vegan, cruelty free, gluten free, free from both parabens and phthalates. It is crafted in Italy and is full of botanical extracts which will moisturise your lips. The lipstick has a very glossy formula and is infused with Hyaluronic acid to endure a plump pout. The lipstick does feel very moisturising and light on the lips. They also look healthy and plumper, with a tiny of colour that looks like my lips but better. I did find that after being carried around in my bag for a few weeks the metallic case started to look a little worn and dinted. These lipsticks are expensive but they are well worth the money and I certainly enjoy using them. 

I purchased this item myself and the views expressed in this blog are my own. 

Review: Chantecaille Hummingbird Eye Quartet (Cool)

Chantecaille’s spring collection was based around and inspired by the Hummingbird’s iridescent wings. As always for every purchase of a Lip Chic (review in the next post) Chantecaille will give back to the Amazon Conservation  Trust, a charitable organisation which is working to protect the hummingbirds’ natural Amazonian habitat.

The eye quartet(£68) comes in two shades, cool and warm. I chose the cool option. The colours are as follows:

 top left, glowing pink pearl (which can be used as an inner corner highlight);

Top right, soft taupe (which can be used as an all over base and tradition shade);

Bottom left, shimmering deep plum (eye liner/ outer eye to deepen dimension);

Bottom left, duo-chrome sparkling rose gold (all over lid).

The metallics can be amplified by using a damp brush. As the eyeshadows are a powder-gel formula they have a lot of dimension and felt light and comfortable to wear. As I wear glasses I always worry about fall out but there didn’t appear to be any. In the pictures I show the shadows in different lights and with/without glasses to illustrate how the colours shift and sparkle, just like hummingbird wings. 

I really like this quad. The packaging is beautiful and the shadows are easy to blend and beautiful to look at. I wish the shadows and the inside packaging could be removed as the box itself would make such a pretty travel jewellery/ trinket box once the shadows have been panned. 

I purchased the item myself and the views expressed in this blog are my own.

Review: Gardman Kids Bird Seed Feeder

I have reviewed several Gardman bird items - the kids feeding station and seed feeder (briefly) in 2017, the Hanging feed station and the Mini bird bath. Since reviewing and using these items from 2017/2018 onwards I have managed to encourage a wide variety of birds (see picture of a select few posers) into my garden.  I feel that it is down to the ease of use of the items I purchased. They are easy to clean and fill up, seem to be easy to eat from, don’t need much maintenance and they are eye catching in colour (especially the kids range) to the birds. I recently purchased a new Gardman Kids Seed Feeder as I intend to hang it from one of my tree branches during the fledgling season so the parent birds don’t have to to fly to get food for their demanding babies. 

I like The sturdiness and brightness of the strawberry red metal lid as it seems to catch the birds’ attention. I use broken up peanuts during fledgling season as the babies are less likely to choke on pieces than full peanuts. These fit nicely (around 240g) into the feeder and they are easily   dispensed - the feeder is empty within a day! The lid and bottom are easy to remove to wash, just twist and pull to remove and to put back in just slot the metal inserts into the holes and twist. Even though I have poor hand control I find this easy to do. The container is easy to fill as the lid has to be fully removed and the tube is quite wide, whereas I struggle with flip top lids as they spring back as I am filling them. The Kids feeders  don’t rust despite being metal but the colour does fade - the one featured  with the two birds used to be red, three years later it is an orangey colour. Despite being a smallish feeder a wide variety of birds use mine without any problem. There is also a matching peanut feeder available but my birds prefer full peanuts to be left on their hanging feeder station! They have me well trained. There is also a bird bingo on the reverse of the paper wrap to help you identify and learn the names of the more well known garden birds which is a nice touch.

                         
 If you want to see more bird/hedgehog/butterfly/flowers photos I have a dedicated IG account - @susangray1375. 

I purchased this item myself and the views expressed in this blog are my own 

We Love Romance with Mills & Boon

Mills & Boon have created their own unlimited e-book subscription service, We Love Romance,  giving access to all your favourite Mills & Boon authors and genres. These are added to every month so you will never run out of books to read!  At the moment the app is only available for Apple devices but there will be an Android version very soon. The service is exclusive to the UK and Ireland and costs £7.99 per month (you can cancel at any time) or £79 per year. You can download as many books as you want and can also read them offline, but you must authenticate your account every 24 hours by logging in, so must have access to the internet. There is a 14 day free try me service for both subscription offers. The app can be downloaded from the Apple App Store. 

I subscribed the day I got the email that the app had launched and there are certainly a lot of books to choose from! I put marriage in the search box and there were 4,219 results. I find the app easy to navigate and your selection can be eIther be favourited or instantly downloaded. There are all the instantly recognisable M&B popular authors and also some “older” genres and authors so it will be interesting to read them and see how M&B have changed. 

I used to belong to Scribed which is also a book subscription service (£6.99 per month) as it did have a small selection of M&B but it was a difficult app to navigate and you could only download a certain amount of books per month. The new subscription service offered by M&B is a much better offer and during lockdown I will certainly make good use of it!

I paid for the subscription myself and the views expressed in this vlog are my own. 

Chantecaille and Tada & Toy: A Safari On My Wrist

Tada & Toy are a demi fine jewellery company that specialise in minimalistic, Scandinavian designs with a timeless yet playful twist.  Recently they designed 6 friendship charm bracelets ($75 each) for the   philanthropic cosmetic company Chantecaille. 

The charms are: pangolin; lion; cheetah; rhino; giraffe and elephant. The aim of the friendship bracelets is to support 6  endangered African wildlife charities.  The bracelets are made in Jaipur. The charms are sterling silver plated in 18k rose gold. The stones are agate, onyx or amethyst. The closure has C on on side and Tada & Toy on the other. The closure is a slider mechanism so the bracelet can be adjusted to fit a wide variety of wrist sizes! Each one arrives presented in a beautiful pouch embossed with Chantecaille + Tada &Toy. Available from the Chantecaille website (I purchased my bracelets via eBay). 

I purchased these items myself and and the views expressed in this blog are my own.

Review: Anna Sui Eyebrow Liner in Light Brown (N500)

Due to the Lockdown and not being able to have my eyebrows threaded, I decided to try out an eyebrow pencil. I purchased the Anna Sui Eyebrow Liner in light brown as it was in offer at Amazon UK for £3.37 (now back to the full price of £15). 

The packaging is nice and protective. The pencil is packaged in an Anna Sui branded box and plastic carton that slides out. There is a spoolie with a lid on one side and the twist up eyebrow pencil on the other. There is 0.14g of product. I love the spoolie, it isn’t too harsh and bristly but isn’t too soft, it feels quite therapeutic to brush the eyebrow hairs into shape. I found the light brown shade to be very light and more blonde than light brown. If I repurchased I would go for either the red/brown or brown versions as this was slightly too light for me. I found the pencil dispensed the right amount of product and I could get get the shade to work for me by going over the stroke marks I made a few times.

I would have liked a lid on the pencil  just in case of any mishaps as I wouldn’t want the nib to snap off. The nib was quite precise without being pointy, feeling scratchy and it was easy to draw eyebrow hairs with it. I did find, however, the pencil wouldn’t work under my eyebrow where I have scar tissue - I have tried other pencils and haven’t been able to get them to work there either. My brows do look more refined and defined in the after shots. As I wear glasses I find the tail end of my brow disappears but using an eyebrow pencil helps me shape them so that they can be seen!  Overall I liked the product and will keep it after it has run out as I like the spoolie. I would repurchase but would try a darker shade.

I purchased this item myself and the views expressed in this blog are my own 

Review: ShopDisney Cinderella Castle Collection Ornament

Disney Store/ Shop Disney have created 10 castle ornaments, the first being Cinderella’s castle. They are £22 and limited edition. There will be 10 bi monthly releases and they arrive beautifully packaged in keepsake style boxes to protect them when they are not out on display. Cinderella’s Castle is a very detailed sculpted ornament with a chiffon hanging loop. The detail doesn’t stop at the front of the castle, there is also a lot of intricate design work on the back of the castle. It is a very grown up and rather gothic interpretation of the castle rather than the white sparkling disneyfied version of old. The castle measures 12x7x4.5cm and would make a great instagram/ blogger prop for any Disney blogger. I’m not sure if I will collect them all, the box makes them easy to store but I want wowed by it like I have been by some pieces of Disney merchandise. I like it, but I don’t love it.

I purchased the item myself and the views expressed in this blog post are my own. 

#Win Lola Rose Black Rozabell Necklace

This month’s blog competition prize is a Lola Rose Black Rozabell Necklace (£80). It comes in a pink LR pouch and is quite a chunky pendant. The stones are rutilated quartz gemstones so every time you look at them you see a different inclusion. The stones are graduated in size and the fastening is a Chinese knot. There is a silver tone LR tag. The necklace measures 66-84cm as it is adjustable in length. 

Enter here - a Rafflecopter giveaway

Rules:
Open internationally
Competition opens 11 May 2020 and closes 02 June 12AM GMT 2020
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Must complete the mandatory Rafflecopter option

Review: ShopDisney Chip ‘n’ Dale Trinket Dish

I saw the Chip ‘n’ Dale Trinket Dish (£15) on the new section of the ShopDisney website and was intrigued as I have been looking for a trinket dish that I can easily display/store earrings on. The heart section at the back of Chip and Dale has been designed for that purpose so I thought I would get one (and my free Disney Elsa key). The trinket dish measures 12x16x9cm and  is made from resin and metal. The chipmunks and peanut are resin the rainbow heart is metal. 

This is a lovely item, slightly different to the ceramic dishes that are widely available. The chipmunks are really detailed and the item is quite sturdy. My only complaint would be that when it arrived there was a huge sticker on the earring section just behind the chipmunks telling me it was a jewellery dish which was quite hard to remove!  The dish looks great as an instagram/ blog prop to display my jewellery as it is an eye catching colourful piece.

I purchased this item myself and the views expressed in this blog are my own