Miners Tin o' Tinted lip balms

I am a huge lip balm lover, I have hundreds! However most of mine are either clear or pink, I don’t own any nude shades. So I was really excited to discover new Miners Tin o' Tint lip balms, which have three flavours in the range – cherry, watermelon and vanilla, which is a nude shade! Created with a delicious Vanilla fragrance and an added moisturising formulation, you lips feel soft and smooth with a hint of gorgeous nude brown colour that looks really natural. I also happen to love vanilla –flavoured products so love the taste. I am not so keen on cherry and watermelon flavours so will give those a miss, but for only £2.99 you can afford to try them all out! The packaging is also gorgeous as well :-)

Has anyone else tried these out?

x

My latest obsession..... Retail Therapy!

Ok I have been indulging in a different type of retail therapy over the weekend, in the form of new virtual Facebook game Retail Therapy! The insanely addictive new game from PopSugar enables you to mix and match your favourite brands (including Diane von Furstenberg, Gap, Topshop, Barneys New York, Banana Republic, Juicy Couture, and Tory Burch), play with your friends, and feel the experience of running your very own high-end fashion boutique! You can create and dress up your own avatar, hire your friends (we have all hired each other!) and decorate your store as it grows. 

The user selects items to sell from a catalogue of virtual goods which are actually replicas of real life, in-season products from the retail partners (I actually owns several of the items from Topshop!). Players can buy any of the items in real-life by clicking a link that redirects to the designers' e-commerce sites. Sugar says that the catalogue of items to choose from will be refreshed frequently to reflect any real world changes such as new product launches. With each new level— there are currently more than 45— you unlock new products for purchase. However, until you hit the higher levels the choice of items to sell can get a bit boring as there is not much variety on each level.

The game has pretty much taken over my life as timing is key! For example, when you order stock for your store you must make sure you can log-on to unpack the items otherwise they will get eaten by moths!

In order to maximise the game’s potential, I think it would be more exciting if PopSugar could expand the offering from just fashion items. For example, beauty products could be sold alongside fashion items to make the game more appealing to users who might not be interested solely in fashion. It would also be better if you could buy products to sell in your store from other stores, so you can make a profit at your neighbours’ expense! Finally in order to maximise social media, a Twitter account solely for Retail Therapy alongside the Facebook page would ensure fans are updated regularly with news and special time-sensitive offers. For example, a 

Twitter update giving users the chance to buy a limited-edition item to sell in your shop would help ensure excitement levels are maintained and people are following you religiously! Unless you are obsessed like us, users may lose interest as it can take a while to jump through the levels and you are not incentivised to keep playing by PopSugar to stay ahead of the fashion pack.


Who has played Retail Therapy? Why not have a go yourself and become my neighbour! I might even employ you to work in my shop!

bareMinerals Refillable buffing brush for portable perfection

 My little sister is a huge bareMinerals fan and has written a review for me of her favourite new product to share with you. She has totally different skin from mine, oily, so it's nice to have another alternative on a skin product.

The new bareMinerals Refillable buffing brush (£16.75 from QVC) is perfect for people who love using bareMinerals products but hate carrying them around all day, just for that little touch up. This buffing brush provides a brilliant solution, simply fill up the container at the end with your own shade of bareMinerals twist and buff away. You can use it just as a top up or as a fresh start after coming out of the gym, it gives an even but slightly lighter finish that you can top up later with other bareMineral products such as the Mineral Veil, the illuminating Mineral veil is also a new product to look out for.   

Let me know what you think, have you tried this product?

Favourite new hair products

When I go on holiday I always struggle to decide which hair products to take with me because of the stupid weight allowances. I have just spent two weeks in Germany and Turkey and took with me several of of my newest hair products to trial out, two of which I loved.

After I wash my hair I always use a smoothing treatment or spray of some sort to protect my hair against heat damage and straighteners. I usually always stick to my favourite brand TIGI but tried out a new leave-in smoothing treatment called Senscience Moisture Lock (£12.95). It is infused with Vitalock-6 Complex to nourish your hair without weighing it down and has been developed to treat your hair whilst styling too. What I love about the treatment is the silkiness, which reminds me a bit of a runnier TIGI Afterparty (another one of my favourites!). It promises to leave your hair three times shiner, seven and a half times more resistant to breakage and protected against damaging UV rays which is crucial for me when choosing which hair products for holiday.  I was really impressed with the treatment and will definitely carry on using it after holiday, it is perfect for thick, knotty hair like mine which needs serious moisture!!

I also love the latest range from TIGI (surprise!) called Love Peace & The Planet. The products are a unique range of hair care products that are rich with renewable, organic and bio-degradable ingredients with no artificial colours or fragrances. My favourite product from the range is the Totally Beachin’ Body & Waves Styling Mist (£11.95) which contains no chemicals, is 82% organic and its innovative natural blend will give texture and add body to your hair. It also contains coconut water and sea kelp to help nourish hair, as well as pineapple and sea salt for adding texture and body to your hair which smells gorgeous. Plus it is all packed within a tube made from 50% recycled material so you are doing your bit for the planet too.

Let me know if you have tried any of these new products!

On holiday again.....Istanbul!

Today I am off to the gorgeous Istanbul for ten days of shopping, sightseeing, food, sun, culture and sea! I love Istanbul and the people there, they are so friendly and welcoming. The customer service and pride from the people who work there is also unbelievable, it puts the attitude of English restaurant and retail staff to shame.

My favourite place to go shopping is a place called Kadıköy, which has an unbelievable market with much lower prices and better products than the more famous Grand Bazaar and Spice Bazaar on the European 'Touristy' side of Istanbul. They also have loads of outlet shopping shops (heaven) like Mango. So if you ever visit Istanbul don't miss out on a trip to the Asian side it's better!