Give and Make Up

Thanks to Caroline Hirons' fab skin care blog I've not only learnt so much about skin care but also discovered the charity Give and Make Up which helps women and children affected by domestic violence in the UK.

Instead of monetary donwtikns , Give and Make Up ask for every day essentials like toiletries, make up and baby products, so it' s a great way to put a love for beauty products to good use.

The charity also accepts any products that have been 'lightly' used so it's ideal if you are moving house and don't want to take toiletries with you or for unwanted products or gifts! Wish I'd known about this when I was moving to Qatar, I donated so many products to friends and family!

Definitely will be sending a package when I go back to the UK in March, such a lovely idea. At the moment boxes can only be donated to shelters in England and Wales, the charity is looking for assistance to help those in Scotland and Northern Ireland - get involved!! X

The Blogger Made Me Buy It!

This tag is so relevant to my life just now. I've dipped in and out of blogs for the past few years but it's only been recently that I've really got into blogs and YouTube and have taken on so many recommendations of late. I love it. It's like when you share beauty tips with your friends but just on a more global, glamourous and informed manner! So here I go....

1. Who are your most influential bloggers? Who are the ones you really rely on for reviews and swatches?

For general reviews and recommendations its without a doubt Fleur. Fleur is one of my favourite bloggers and YouTubers, her videos are varied there's everything from high end princess product reviews to drugstore hauls and dupes. Having seen the size of her makeup and beauty collection, anyone who has gone through that many products knows what they are talking about!

For nail polish, there is only one blog: Polishaholic You can literally find every shade of polish, from every brand here. Her attention to detail is incredible - for every polish she show how it looks in different lights, how many coats you need, she even has a spreadsheet of every polish she owns! It's so inspiring to see someone so dedicated.

I'm also very easily influenced by the lovely girls over at Peaches and Cream I stumbled upon their blog by chance a few years ago and instantly fell in love with their blog. They are all from Liverpool so their style of make up might not be to everyone's taste but I personally love them and a lot of their recommendations have found their way into my every day make up bag.

2. Do you buy a product solely as a result of one review from your favourite bloggers, or do you look around for more reviews from others?

 I think it depends what type of product it is and how much it is. For drugstore make-up, if I see one or two good reviews, I'll pick it up without much more thought.

For more high-end purchases and for skin care I definitely look around more blogs so I don't waste my money on dud products.

3. What's your most favourite item you've ever bought as a consequence of blogs?

I have a few, all of which are now I use almost every day:

• MAC Mineralize Skin Finish Natural - Medium Deep: the Peaches and Cream girls use this for contouring, I use it as my every day bronzer and for contouring. It has a really nice, natural colour and gives my skin a really lovely glowly finish (but with no awful sparkly bits)
• MAC Pigment in Vanilla - Another Peaches and Cream one. I use this in the inner corner of my eye for day time make up to fake that wide awake look and then on my brow bone and sometimes cheeks as a highlighter for going out make up. You only need a tiny bit, I've had mine for about 2 years and it looks like I've hardly used any of it so it's been a economical purchase too!
• Illamasqua Eye Liner Cake - Wow this is embarrassing. Guess who recommended it... Another product I probably would never tried if it wasn't for Peaches and Cream and another product which I now use every day. You need to mix this with a little bit of water and it gives an amazing long lasting finish. The amount of water you add affects the overall colour and finish so you can use more or less depending on what look you are going for and can really build up the colour. Like the MAC pigment, it's been a long lasting purchase as I've had mine about 2 years too and you couldn't tell by looking at it 

4. What is your least favourite item that you have ever bought as a consequence of blogs?

Ugh definitely Biotherm Micelle Solution make up remover. This is raved about on many a blog but I felt it was such a waste of money and I actually feel disappointed in myself for buying this. It's a make up remover and it removes make up so I shouldn't complain but I just don't see the point in paying between £4.50 for a tiny bottle and £14.50 for the large size when you can get perfectly good make up removers from the likes of Simple, Garnier and so on for half the price.

5. Name five products you've recently bought as a result of blogs

Ren Glycolactic Radiance Renewal Mask - Buynowbloglater / Fleur

Collection 2000 Lasting Perfection Concealer - Fleur / Tanya Burr

Revlon Colour Burst Lip Butters - Fleur

Lit Cosmetics Clearly Liquid Glitter Base - Peaches and Cream

L'oreal Rouge Caresse Gloss - Fleur


6. Have you ever given in to blogger hype? If so, which hype?

All the time - see above! I am always a bit dubious when suddenly every blog has glowing reviews about a product but it is so easy to get swept away with the hype.

7. Have you ever avoided blogger hype? If so, which hype?

Currently I'm avoiding Oribe Try Texturising Spray. Yes it looks amazing (especially on buynowbloglater) but the price tag puts me off.

8. Is everything you buy based on blogger reviews or are there some items you buy without checking out a review?
Most of my recent make up purchases are heavily blogger influenced and I'm currently on the look out for a recommended moisturiser. But I'm a beauty addict so I can't resist impulse buys!

I'd love to hear more about what blogs and products you have found/recommend/avoid so comment below and share! xoxo

Ren Glycolactic Radiance Renewal Mask

Wow this mask is awesome. I'd heard so many great things about this mask that I had to try it it myself. Ren isn't a brand I would usually consider (I've always found the brand a little blah and hard to get excited about) but I'm so glad I bought it.

£30 from Marks and Spencer (I completely missed M&S transforming their beauty section, it's awesome!) and considering you only need to use a light layer I think it'll be a good investment. 

My skin is combination, spot prone (I'm 28 and still get spots ugh) and can be sensitive at times. I read the mask has a tingling feeling so I wasn't sure if it might be too much for my skin but it wasn't at all. For me it was more like a little soft itch feeling in places but nothing unpleasant or irritating and only for a moment. 

It claims to 'renew the complexion, reduce fine lines and dramatically improve skin tone' and pretty much spot on! (oh dear is that an unintended skin care pun?)  I wouldn't go as far to say my skin is dramatically improved but straight after washing off my skin is so smooth, brighter and it shifts any lingering or potential breakouts pretty quickly. 

I've been using it once a week since Christmas and highly recommend adding it to your skin are routine! In the UK it's available in all the big department stores plus loads of places online, even ASOS! I haven't seen Ren in Qatar but I would it must be available in Dubai? Dubai has everything (or at least it seems that way living in Qatar!

I'm now on a mission to find an awesome moisturiser, watch this space... 

Face it

Wow I am terrible at coming up with blog post names. "Face it". Oh dear. It's only going to get worse I warn you!

I user my Dermalogica Daily Microfoliant face scrub for the first time in about a month and instantly felt inspired to write a quick blog post about two of my favourite exfoliators!

The Dermalogica Microfoliant is amazing. I love it. I first tried it as a sample, fell in love and I've had this bottle for almost two years. Yep two years. Ok so I don't use it every other day or every week but I use it at least a couple times a month and will go through phases of using it more when my skin needs it. I swear this bottle is never ending, it's worth the investment!

On Lookfantastic it's currently £35 but on the Dermalogica website it's £40! But it does last for sooooo long. Definitely shop around for the best deal, Lookfantastic usually have some sort of offer on so they are a good starting point. 

The product itself gets a bit of getting used to, it's a white powder! But this is the beauty of it, you don't need much so the bottle lasts for ages and it would suit most skin types since you can control how fine the scrub will be. The more water you add, the gentler the scrub or add a couple of drops and you can really slough away your dead skin cells! 

My other current favourite face scrub is Dead Sea Spa Magik Mild Exfoiliant. This is a more traditional scrub, no mixing required! It's quite grainy so you can really notice a difference but it's still gentle enough for my sensitive skin. 

Bit disgusting but I find it really helps loosen up the many many blackheads on my nose so I like to have a good squeeze afterwards. Lovely. I wouldn't say it prevents them but it does seem to help loosen what's there if you scrub your nose for a bit!

Anyone got face scrub recommendations? xoxo

#OOTW

Recently discovered instagram. Again I am OBSESSED. (When I like something I tend to go a little over the top). Below is a collection of what I wore this week, I think instagram forces me to dress pretty for work. I like this. You can find me on instagram here

Starting top right:

1. Shoes: New Look. Super comfy! Same style also available in grey which is really pretty too. 

Jeans: Joe Browns. These featured in a eBay advertising campaign a few years ago and I had to have them. Never heard of the brand below and haven't since! Some on eBay

2. Topshop blazer, £10/60 QAR bargain in the Christmas sales in Glasgow! Originally £50/300 QAR! No longer online but try eBay

Trousers and necklace, Forever 21. Bought both in summer 2013 so no longer available but similar necklace here and the US site has the trousers in olive/black or on the UK site these are same same but different

3. River Island Kimono from summer 2011 but Love Kimono has similar styles on ASOS which are all on sale just now! 

Top (US link exact colour, or UK link in teal) and necklace, Forever 21, both from December 2013 in Dubai. Necklace is still in stores in the Middle East but can't see it online on the US or UK websites. Forever 21 and H&M have loads of this style though. The top is actually from Forever 21's plus size range, I got the XL size and it's a nice baggy/long fit ideal for leggings but would look equally pretty as a more fitted top. 

4. Necklace again plus shirt, Forever 21. Shirt is still in Forever 21 stores in UAE in loads of colours but not online. ASOS have similar styles in different colours

xoxo

Hello!

I've recently become slightly obsessed with beauty and fashion blogs. Actually scrap that I'm 100% obsessed to the extent that all my recent beauty purchases have been inspired mainly by fleurdeforce and buynowbloglater. And every beauty related conversation starts with "I saw this on so and so's blog" I love their blogs.

So inspired by them and the fact I'm always trying so many beauty products that I forget what I have or haven't tried and what does or doesn't work, I figured why not start blogging. Let's see how long I can keep this up.

Boring stuff - I'm Natalie, I'm 28 (ahh how did this happen) and live in Qatar. I'm originally from Scotland. My 'La Natalie' blog name may be slightly misleading so apologies if you were expecting some LA glamour. I used to think I was quite ghetto (I guess I still do particularly when drunk) and this video from years ago inspired the nick name. You wanna go hula hoop!

So lets see what happens, if you can dream it you can do it xoxo