Blog Love #8 Fab Under 50!

Happy Easter everyone! Hope you've had a nice day stuffing your face with chocolate!

During the #bbloggers chat last week I sent a tweet asking for anyone who had a blog that had under 50 followers to tweet me their URL. Whilst I have the same blogs I go back to over and over again, some of which have thousands of followers, I always think its nice to check out the new blogs who are working hard to get their blogs noticed. I am completely happy with the amount of followers I have (a big thank-you to everyone!) but I know it took hard work to put the effort into creating a blog that everyone would want to read. So this weeks blog love is dedicated to the blogs that I have read over the last week that have under 50 followers. It would be great if you could go and check them out!

Bed in the Kitchen
www.bedinthekitchen.co.uk 

Bed in the Kitchen is a cumulative blog about art, fashion, music, food, beauty, London living and today's society. It's written by several people but the founder is Jaye who is an 18 year old student at London College of Fashion. I love the photography on Jaye's blog and there's always somthing about her posts that leaves me wanting to go back for more!

What Cheryl Did
www.whatcheryldid.blogspot.co.uk

Cheryl's blog is a great mix of fashion and beauty. I've loved her recent posts on Nicole Scherzinger's paddock style after the F1 season kicked off a few weeks ago and her recent post on her OPI mini's collect has made me want to start one of my own!

It's a Sarah Story
www.sarahdezutter.blogspot.co.uk 

 Sarah's blog is simple but beautiful, she posts photos of her amazing illustrations and puts together beautiful OOTD's.  Her blog is full of lovely photos with regular updates from Instagram.


I strongly recommend that you check out these three blogs, it's a shame I can't mention more (as my post would be super long!)

I hope you found this post interesting and let me know if you check out the blogs!

John Frieda Haircare Products Review

I've been a John Frieda haicare lover for years, so when I was recently contacted to try out some lovely new products, I jumped at the chance!

 When I worked for Boots, I always used to browse the haircare aisles (whilst putting out stock of course!) and use my staff discount to buy the premium hair care products to try. I always felt like these brands had a little something extra and my hair always felt great! I find brands like Aussie and TREsemme make my hair feel really greasy even when I blow dry my hair straight after a shower.

 The first thing I noticed about the products I was sent, even before I had opened the box, was the gorgeous smell. John Frieda products always have a lovely unique fragrance that I feel just sums up quality.

The new range is called "Luxurious Volume" which is designed to thicken fine hair. I have naturally quite thick hair but it always seems to look dull and flat so I tried out the Root Booster Blow Dry Lotion from the new range. You spray it on towel dried hair and focus it on the roots for crown volume and then blow dry it.

Over the next few days (as I'm naughty and wash my hair everyday) I could tell that the product was working, my hair felt like it had more body but I had to focus drying my hair particularly on the root for it to give the lift I wanted.

The Root Booster comes in two sizes, 125ml and 25ml. I had the smaller one which is a great size for taking on holiday and I will be purchasing the bigger bottle for everyday use on my next shopping trip.

I was also sent the Frizz-Ease Straight Ahead Shampoo and Conditioner which i've been using for just over a week now and my hair feels so soft and shiny. I've even had comments from people at work asking me if I had done anything different with my hair because it looked different (and one of my work colleagues actually went as far as stroking it!)

Finally, my absolute favourite item is this Frizz-Ease Miraculous Recovery Intensive Masque. It's a really thick deep nourishing treatment that contains avocado oil which repairs damaged hair. I love to use this mask as a treat for my hair once a week by massaging it into wet hair and then leaving in for 3-5 minutes. Once its washed out it leaves your hair feeling silky smooth!

You can take a look at any of these products here. 

Or why not take a look at the John Frieda YouTube Channel which is full of videos and tutorials including one for the Root Booster Blow Dry Lotion.

Have you tried any of these John Frieda products before? Or do you use John Frieda in your everyday hair routine?

Happy Birthday MUA!

Whilst browsing my favourite make-up websites this morning I came across something which I had to share with you all...it's Make Up Academy's 3rd Birthday and to celebrate they are having a half price sale (which practically means that they're giving things away as MUA are such an affordable brand anyway!)

I've browsed the sale and they have all sorts on there from shadows to lip glosses to eye liner and more!

The sale will last over the bank holiday weekend but my advice is to be quick as when they had a sale last time most of the better products were gone before I had a chance to get my hands on them (you have been warned!)

I'd definitely recommend that you check out these three items

Mosaic Blusher in English Rose £1.50//The Artiste Collection Palette £3//Shimmer Kiss Blusher £1.50

As well as their half price sale they also have £1 off the Undress Me Too palette and are offering free delivery on orders over £25 (which lets face it, isn't hard to spend nowadays!)

Don't forget to browse their new products section too as it looks like they have bought out a range of lip products like Clinique's Chubby Stick and some great new eye shadow trios.

What products do you own from MUA? Will you be tempted by their Birthday sale?

p.s I would just like to point out that this was not a sponsored post - I just love MUA products!

March Beauty Favourites

Hi everyone, hope you're all well.

I think this is my first ever favourites post! So here goes...

Urban Decay Naked 2 Palette - This is my absolute go-to palette at the moment. I bought it a few months ago when I mentioned it in a previous haul (which you can read here) and have pretty much used it every day since. The colours are perfect and subtle enough to wear to work but you can also "dress" them up with eyeliner to create a glam night look.

Benefit High Beam - I cannot live without this at the moment - I've been really tired (excessively tired lately!) Hubby has been finding me asleep on the sofa at 8.30pm and even when I wake up for work some 9 hours or so later I'm still tired so this has been a real pick me up for my face. I pop it underneath my eyes and across my cheeks and it doesn't make my tired eyes look as bad!

Benefit Fine One One - another product I have been using non stop since I picked it up (in the same haul as the UD palette) I have never used a cream blush before as I had always used powder but now I use this everyday for a little pick me up in my cheeks (I also did a full review of this product in a previous post which you can read here)

Topshop Metallic Nail Varnish in Blitz - A fairly new purchase but one I'm completely in love with. I didn't even need to do a base coat or top coat with this polish and it stayed on for three days without chipping! I thought that £6 for just a nail varnish was a bit excessive (as I don't own any Nail Inc or OPI) and I bought this shade because it matched an outfit I was wearing but I'm so glad I did and I can definitely say I will be buying more from the Topshop make-up range in the future.

Superdrug B Pure Micellar Water - I have only been using this for a few days after wandering round at least four different Superdrugs to find it because I refused to buy it online and pay delivery but it has already made its way into my favourites. Its great for removing my make up (something I have always been really lazy at doing) and you don't even have to wash you face with water after (although I still do because I'm not sure I trust it yet lol) I haven't had any reaction to it and my face has been spot free!

Have you tried any of these products? Have they made their way into your monthly favourites?

Now you're just somebody that I used to know...

Sorry, had that song stuck in my head all week!

Enrapture Encode Totem Hair Styler//My pretty hair after using the styler!//Yummy milkshake at Christchurch Quay

Models Own Fruit Pastel Collection has arrived!//Finally got my hands on the MUA Undress Me Too palette and highlighter//My new "GEEK" T shirt!

I reached over 10,000 pageviews on my blog! Thank-you!//Duck onesie!//Yummy drink from M&S

Blog Love #7

My weekly round up of blog posts I've been loving this week! Leave me a comment if I mention you and keep up the good work!

This week I've been nosying at...

Brogan's everyday make-up routine video. Luckily I own most of the products she uses but I still have a few things to add to my beauty wish list

Jaye from Bed in the Kitchen talks about her birthday haul. I LOVE haul posts. I'm just so nosy and love to see what everyone else is buying!

This great review by Danielle at Miss Sunshine Sparkle is what made me decide to hunt down the new Hask Argan Oil from Primark

I really enjoyed reading about the No7 Beautiful Skin Cleansing Brush on Megan's blog. I own this product (am still yet to do my review on it :s) and love it and love that others do too.

Charlotte from lil miss chickas shows us her top blushers in her latest video

Sorry there aren't that many this week but I've been super busy with work so I haven't had time to read. If you've got a post you'd like me to read, please leave me the link in the comments section below!

Primark, Topshop, Dorothy Perkins and Superdrug Haul!

I love doing these kinds of posts (not because I want to show off) because it makes me appreciate that I have worked hard and that I can treat myself once in a while. I also love reading them, so if you've done one lately, please leave me a link below. I also need to point out that all these items were not purchased on the same shopping trip - my husband probably would have gone insane if I had spent the whole day shopping!

Primark

I always manage to pick up new socks whenever I go to Primark. For some reason my socks seem to disappear or get holes in really easily so I always top up whenever I'm there. The cute owl ones have been added to my owl collection! I love socks to be pretty and girly with lots of pastel colours, I hate boring old black socks!

I managed to pick up a bottle of the Hask Argan Oil that I have seen some beauty bloggers rave about. For £2.50 I was expecting the bottle to be a little bigger but apparently a little goes a long way. I'll be doing a post on it once I have used it for a while.

I picked up another set of the black and white polka dot nail wraps as I really loved them last time. There have tonnes of nail wrap designs in my local Primark (its quite a big one) so I'll probably end up sampling them all eventually! The two facemasks I picked up on my way down to the checkout (blast their add on sales! lol) They were 90p each (cheaper than Boots) and I hadn't tried these "flavours" before so I was sold!

Finally this amazing cushion which was a bargain at £4! Primark have really expanded their range of homeware recently and have lots of lovely cushions for bargain prices. I'm still loving the moustache theme and its now sitting on my bed!

Superdrug

I think I tried at least 4 Superdrug stores before eventually finding this B Pure Micellar Water. Apparently it is supposed to rival Bioderma and cost a fraction of the price. I haven't been able to find Bioderma yet to try. I have looked on ebay and decided it wasn't worth me getting until they release it in Boots (although I don't know when that is) These bottles cost £4.99 each and I picked up the last two. You can also buy them online and when I last checked they were on 3 for 2 (but you have to pay for delivery - unless you're spending over £25.

Topshop

I have finally purchased my first Topshop nail varnish!! After posting lots of questions about them on the #bbloggers chats and getting mixed responses I just took the plunge. I decided on the colour "Blitz" which is a lovely metallic red shade. At first I thought that £6 for a nail varnish was a bit much (as Model's Own are £5 each) but after trying it, I'm in love. The colour is really lovely and I have only used one coat (post to come).

I also got this "GEEK" T shirt which I have been after for a while. I saw it weeks ago and didn't get it and then spent the next few weeks after wishing I had. I couldn't find it on the website so presumed it had sold out but when I went back they had one left and I was determined to have it regardless of the size! Luckily it was a M/L which is slightly too big for me but its soooo comfy and suits me down to a T!

Dorothy Perkins

I am going out for my work colleagues leaving do tonight and I wanted something a bit brighter than my usual dark jeans or black leggings to wear. Dorothy Perkins have a wonderful selection of coloured jeggings and while I was feeling brave I opted for the Raspberry shade (ok not that brave). I can't wait to wear them later as they will match my new Topshop nail varnish.

I also picked up two necklaces. One was in the half price sale. I will probably wear the top one with my outfit tonight. They're both really pretty and I know I will get a lot of use out of them.

Have you been shopping lately? What do you think to my latest haul?

Follow Impatience is a Virtue on Facebook!

Hello my lovelies...

Just wanted to let you know that my blog Facebook page is now up and running! It looks a little basic at the moment but don't worry it will soon be filled with all the latest news and blog posts.

I would really appreciate it if you could click on the link here and like my page. There will be a little surprise for one lucky follower once I reach 50 likes!

Thank-you!

Enrapture Encode Totem Styler Review

I have perfectly dead straight hair, always have, always will. The trouble is...I've always wanted curly hair! My friends say they're so jealous of me when I say I don't even really have to run the GHD's through it when they spend at least half of their morning routine trying to tame their unruly locks!

When I was about 9 I was a Bridesmaid and I was adamant I wanted curly hair as the older Bridesmaids were having curly hair. The Bride wouldn't let me so I was in a huff for days. So when my Wedding came along last year the first thing I said to my hairdresser was that I wanted curly hair. I loved it and got so many comments about how it looked on the day. Unfortunately I can't post the photos on here but here is the link to my Photographers website where you can take a look at my day!

Since then (almost a year on) I've been trying to create the same look but without the hefty price tag (don't get me wrong, I love my hairdresser I just can't afford to pay out that amount of money every time!) so when Enrapture offered to send me their Totem Styler I was more than happy to give it a try!

Firstly I need to talk about the packaging, I LOVE the box it looks so sleek and sophisticated (plus its a lovely purple colour, which just so happens to be my favourite!) When you open it up, everything is hidden away in little pockets which makes it tidy (a big plus in my eyes as I love things to be neat)

The sleek packaging//Adjustable heat settings//The mini flipper

Right, onto the styler, the barrel is split into three sections and they each have their own heat setting which can be adjusted to create the type of curl you want. I had a play around with the settings to start with and tried each one on a different section of my hair. There are also video tutorials for several different looks on the Enrapture website. To recreate my Wedding curls I needed to use code 1-3-3. This meant that the curls were slightly looser on the top and tighter at the bottom. I sectioned my hair and sprayed my Beever Heat Shield spray all over it. I then used the mini flipper at the bottom of the barrel to secure the section and then rolled the styler up to the top of my read. I only had to wait about 10-15 seconds to achieve the curl I wanted as I used fairly small sections of hair. When I unwound the curl it was the perfect shape and with a giant smile on my face I plastered hairspray all over it to stop it from going anywhere! I then started work on the rest of my hair and this is the finished result!

Overall I am really impressed with the results, it took me about 30 minutes to complete the look (whilst applying my make up at the same time!) and was really easy to do. I think with a little more practice I'll be able to get them looking tighter as these were a bit loose but I still love this look!

You can buy the Enrapture Totem Styler at Boots for £59.99. They also do other styling products including Heated Rollers and a Jumbo Waver which look just as good!

Have you tried the Totem Styler or any other Enrapture products? What did you think?

Blog Love #6

Hey everyone! Hope you've all had a lovely weekend! What have you been up to? I've been working - boo!

As I said last week, my blog love posts were going to be slightly different from now on. I decided that even though it was great focusing on one blog at a time, it would take me about a year to get through everyone so I took some inspiration from Bright Town Girl's blog and am starting a favourite posts post(!) instead! That way I can feature more of you lovely lot!

So here are some lovely posts I have enjoyed reading...

Burkatron's Big Apple fashion snaps

A reall insightful post by lilmisschickas on CV writing (something a little bit different from the normal beauty posts I've been reading)

This post by sophierosehearts on the new Revlon Nearly Naked Foundation - I really want to try this as my next drugstore foundation so that was really helpful!

Islay's post on the recent Benefit Blogger event she went to in Brighton - I'm hoping to attend the one in Bournemouth soon if I can get the time off work (fingers crossed!)

Beckawoo's post on her recent Topshop haul - she was lucky enough to win a £500 gift card in a competition. I can't wait to see what else she spends it on!

This post from Jo at Painted Glitter on her DIY small draws. I have some similar which i'm hoping to give a spruce up using this tutorial!

I'm loving this froggie nail art post by Katie Lew La. I really wish I could have the patience to paint my nails like that! (Also, Katie has just done her first ever video post - well done! I definitely don't have the confidence to do that yet!)

Another nails post from Pretty Polly's blog on the new Barry M Gelly varnishes. I have two of these which I am loving at the moment!

Last but by no means least this post from Ashleigh at Belles and Bows on Ten reasons why being a mummy is the best! I thought this post was really cute on Mother's Day. (I'm not a mummy yet but somehow it still managed to put a smile on my face!)

What posts have you been loving this week?

Company Magazine Blogger Awards!

I have put myself forward for this years Company Magazine Blogger Awards and would be extremely grateful if you would vote for me!

I have entered into the category of Best Personal Style Blog - Newcomer (as I have been blogging for less than a year)

Pretty please could you click on the link below (or the one in my sidebar) and vote for me!

 Company Blogger Awards

Thank-you! x

 

My very first FOTD!

Hi everyone, hope you're all well!

Today is my very first FOTD post! These type of posts are most likely to be very rare as I really hate photos of myself. I don't mind having my photo taken and I would never really protest about being in a photo but when it comes to taking photos of myself I have to take at least 50 photos before I get just one i'm happy with!

I think it all comes down to being very self concious about how I look and how I think others percieve me. I know I really shouldn't care, but deep down I always do!

So enjoy this very rare opportunity! (Also excuse the HUGE bags under my eyes...I've been extremely tired lately!)

These are the products I used:

Skin

Nivea Daily Essentials Rich Moisturising Day Cream

No7 Tinted Moisturiser in Fair

Benefit The POREfessional

Maybelline Dream Matte Mousse in Ivory

 Cheeks

Benefit Fine One One

Benefit High Beam

 Eyes

Urban Decay Naked 2 Eyeshadow in Bootycall & Chopper

Loreal Volume Million Excess Lashes in Black

Lips

Rimmel Apocolips in Galaxy

I was going for a natural look, it's pretty much my average everyday makeup (I wore this back home when I visited my Mum for Mother's Day)

What do you think to my FOTD? Should I do more posts like this?

Blog Love #5

Hello my lovelies!

Happy Mother's Day to all of you who are mummies out there!

Today is the final installment of my blog love series, as of next week I will be changing it slightly so that I mention more of the great posts I have been reading over the week rather than just one blog.

This week I will be featuring Hannah from Cosmetic Crave.

I love Hannah's blog because it is absolutely jam packed with reviews of the lovely products she has bought, whenever I'm wondering whether to splurge on a product I always check her blog first to see if she has reviewed it and what her thoughts are.

Hannah is also really active on Instagram (hannahripley1) and posts photos of lovely items she's received or bought that will end up in her "to review" basket so you always know to check back in on her blog when she has reviewed it. Her photos are always crisp and clear (I'm very jealous! lol) and her reviews are full of useful information.

Last month she posted a photo on Instagram of some acrylic makeup storage from Amazon to rival Muji, which i'm desperately waiting for payday so I can buy it!

You can check out Hannah's blog here.

Are you already a follower of Hannah's blog?

 P.S Don't forget to join my first ever blog hop! You can add your link here.

Benefit Fine One One

I may not be the best judge on this as this is the first cream blusher I have ever tried so I don't know how it compares with others on the market but having used my trusty Estee Lauder powder blush for years I am now a complete convert!

You may have read about my recent haul when I recently visited Southampton (if not, you can read it here) where I popped over to the Benefit counter in Debenhams just to pick up another tube of the POREfessional and came out with that, High Beam, Brow Zings and Fine One One after having the MUA test them all on me (well it would be rude not to wouldn't it!)

As I was feeling particularly frivolous at the time I didn't really worry about the £23.50 price tag, but I can honestly say that this product is completely worth it.

The colour is fantastic and lasts all day. It consists of three different shades in one, pink champagne, sheer watermelon and soft coral which gives you an instant lift, shape and pop.

As you would expect with Benefit, the packaging is completely gorgeous too (so much so that I haven't been able to throw it away yet!) I love the play on words - Beauty emergency? Call Fine one one (sounds like Nine one one) and the front is shaped like a police badge.

The blush glides on using the stick applicator from the apple of your cheek to your temple, then you blend the colour with your fingertips in an upward circular motion. You can also use it on your lips but I haven't tried this yet as I am still in love with my Rimmel Apocalips.

This has made its way firmly into my Feb/Mar favourites and will probably end up staying there throughout the spring/summer too!

Have you tried Fine One One? What are your thoughts?

I want to read your blog!

 

Hi everyone!

You may have seen on my blog over the last few months that I have been doing a button swap post, well it occured to me recently that not all of you lovely people have blog buttons so I decided to try this blog collection as well as the button swap.

I think its a great way for us to all connect and read each others blogs and it gives me a chance to have a nosy too!

I have created a widget below which allows you to leave your blog name and link. I haven't decided yet whether this will be a regular post as there is a weekly blog hop on the #bbloggers chat page but I would love it if you left me a link so I can check out your blog personally.

There are no rules but obviously it would be nice if you could have a look at my blog and follow via GFC or Bloglovin if you like it :)

I have hopefully set the widget up right, please let me know if there are any issues with it!

Owl Knitted Booties from Prezzybox

Some of you may know that I have a little obsession with owls. I love the quirky owl prints which have recently been on everything and I own quite a few items with owls on (mugs, earrings, pajamas, tops, my make up bag to name a few...) so when I was contacted recently by Prezzybox and asked if I would like to review something for them, I knew exactly what I wanted to try!

These Owl Knitted Booties which are designed by Aroma Home are absolutely adorable! You might be thinking...it will soon be summery and hot again but I practically live in slippers all year round! You may remember my purchase last year of my last pair of owl slippers from Next (you can read this post here) but these are so much prettier and more colourful than those.

These booties currently retail at £18.95 and they also have booties in a lamb design as well which are super cute! They would make a lovely Mother's Day present, I know my Mum would love them and they come in one size which fits 4-7. I'm a size 4 and they're comfortable for me. Prezzybox also have a dedicated search for Mother's Day gifts which you can find here.

The slippers are made from a super soft material and have a PVC sole and multi grip for maximum slip resistance, perfect for when i'm rushing around the house to get ready!

I know that i'll be practically living in these now for the forseeable future (if I could wear them to work, I would!)

Thank-you Prezzybox!

Have you bought anything from Prezzybox before? What do you think of my slippers?

Blog Love #4

This weeks blog love post is on the lovely Charlotte from lilmisschickas. I have been following this blog pretty much since I created my own Google account and could start following blogs!

Charlotte's blog is a mix of beauty and lifestyle and she has a lovely balance between her posts. She is also an avid vlogger and uploads all her video posts onto her youtube channel which you can find here.

I've loved her recent posts on her trip to New York as it's somewhere I've always wanted to visit, her photos of the trip have really inspired me to save those pennies so I can go on my own trip there in the future.

Charlotte's beauty posts are all really informative and if she doesn't like something she says so, her reviews are the first place I go to when there is a new product I want to try that I'm not quite sure about! Her photos are always crisp and you can always see the true colour of the product (unlike mine which always have weird colour tints!)

I definitely recommend that you check out her blog and subscribe to her youtube channel if you haven't already!

Are you a follower of LMC?

Models Own Fruit Pastel Collection

ModelsOwn have announced recently that they are releasing a new collection called Fruit Pastel! It consists of five shades that cleverly release and infused fruity scent. When they are dry they release a subtle, pretty perfume that matches their name.

Image Source

 From left-right the shades are:

Strawberry Tart

Apple Pie

Banana Split

Blueberry Muffin

Grape Juice

If you're lucky enough to live near the Bottle Shop in Westfield White City, they will be released on Saturday 9th March but the collection is available to pre order on the Model's Own website www.modelsownit.com from now with free delivery for their formal release date on 20th March. You will also be able to pick them up in Boots stores nationwide from 22nd March.

The shades will cost the normal £5 each but Models Own are offering the collection for £20 (normal RRP £25 - so you get one bottle free) on their website.

I'm pre-ordering my collection now as I can't wait to try these! The shades are perfect for spring and I love the quality of Models Own polishes - definitely worth £5 each! I love the idea that they're scented, a really innovative way of making polish more fun!

Are you tempted to try these? What colours/scents would you pick?

Button Swap #3 March

Hi everyone! I'm really sorry for my complete lack of posts over the last week, last weekend I came down with (another) horrendous cold and have been feeling pretty rubbish. I've still been going to work so have been waaay too tired to write up any posts after I get home. You'll be pleased to know that I'm now feeling much better and will be catching up on all my posts over the next few days!

Right! Onto the March edition of button swap! If you've seen my past two button swap posts you'll know how this works. I am looking to get to know more of you and extend our blogging community by hosting a collection of your lovely blog buttons on my sidebar each month. That way we can meet other new lovely bloggers and share our love of fashion/beauty/life. Hopefully it will encourage us to meet more like minded people and hopefully have a few blog meet ups too!

This is my blog button & link:

 

  <center><a href="http://www.impatience-is-a-virtue.blogspot.co.uk/"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhddFFMsPwv1nInF69g0C4dWmDgU-p35MG3t8L3cahHVMvHoIOAI9AuNGKu87qqC9Nnd255rWm_FQdfQL23VyyCRDiSZ4tqWaZmGM0hUSxfMglIWnJt1ArhpNDUIznEGOTfkVTfT3ssqsTZ/s1600/Holly.png" /></a></center>

Firstly, please follow me via GFC or Bloglovin' and then copy the above text and add it to your blogs sidebar by going to your blogs layout and adding a html/javascript gadget. Paste the text into the gadget and then press save. This should mean my button will be added to your sidebar.

Please post your button links in the comments below and I will choose some to add to my sidebar!

If you don't have a blog button, please just leave me your blog link below and I will take a peek!