Collective Haul | Includes Zara, Boots and Mally

Wow, what a busy year third year is! I have been working hard at placement whilst also juggling uni lectures and my dissertation, but lets face it, us girls can always find the time to do a spot of shopping. So I thought I'd show you what I've been buying of late. Hope you enjoy!

First up, I mentioned a while back that I won a £25 Zara voucher from Twitter. Well, having my nearest Zara store quite far away I have only just broken into the voucher, so here are my first couple of purchases with it. Thankfully I still have a tenner of it left after a nice surprise at the checkout!

Baggy t-shirt* | Zara | £15.99 £5.99

I'm in desperate need of some new t-shirts so this is great and really comfy for lazier days, and is long enough to cover your bum and wear with leggings.

Dark blue trousers* | Zara | £35.99 £9.99

These were marked as £22.99 but were £9.99 at the till, don't you just love it when that happens?! They were really hard to photograph and they do just look like jeans on here, but they are lovely dark blue skinny trousers that give a smarter look than jeans. I especially love the gold zips on the legs!

Jumper | Oasis at Debenhams | £40 £15

Another bargain, this is actually a nice deep aubergine purple (again difficult to photograph) and has sparkly thread intertwined. It also has a dipped hem at the back.

M. Asam Aqua Intense Face Toner | TK Maxx | £11.35 £3.99

Max Factor Kohl Eye Liner Pencil | Boots| £4.99 £2.49

Max Factor False Lash Effect Mascara | Boots | £10.99

I bought the Max Factor products when there was an offer for buy one get one half price. I have repurchased the mascara about four times now and it is my absolute favourite.

17 lipstick in Belle | this eBay seller | £2.40

This was recommended to me by Mollie a while back after I mentioned I was looking for a 'your-lips-but-better' lippy shade. So far so good!

Last but certainly not least is this amazing selection of Mally makeup my auntie gave to me! I am SO excited to try all this out, as I've never tried anything from Mally before!

The selection includes:

3 x cute metallic Mally gift bags and the gorgeous box

1 x 24/7 Illuminating Blush in Deep

3 x High-Shine Liquid Lipstick Pens in (top-bottom) Punch, Raspberry and Peach Sorbet

3 x Age Rebel Eyeshadow stick in Jade, Sugar and Burnished Violet

1 x Shaded Liquid Face Defender Foundation in Tan

1 x Face Defender Blush in Pink Perfection

1 x Double Ended Concealer Brush

1 x Champneys Ultra Shine Lip Gloss in Rose

Amazing selection! If there's any particular product you'd like me to review please let me know in the comments. As you probably know, I'm so busy at the moment so I'm not sure how long it will take me to start getting some of these reviews done (sorryyy!).

Have you tried any Mally products before?

What have you been buying recently?

Jo xx

Bio Oil

I've never really had much of a problem with spots. Even as a young teenager, I only ever really got one or two spots at once.

 

I've heard that getting spots in certain places means something, for example that you've got a poor diet or lack of sleep, but unfortunately I don't really know that much about it. All I know is I always had a spot inbetween my eyebrows, often on my chin and very rarely, if ever on my cheeks (anyone have any ideas why this might be?).

 

Anyway getting onto the actual topic of the post, this left me with dark, slightly purple-y coloured spots of skin inbetween my eyebrows. I left them a while hoping they'd fade on their own before attempting to do anything about it, as they still looked like actual spots. However, after a few months I just wanted rid and this is where the Bio Oil came in!

 

 

I'd never really considered Bio Oil as I actually thought it was solely for stretch marks, however after Tweeting for advice it was recommended to me by another blogger (I'm really sorry, I can't remember who this was!).

 

Bio Oil claims to improve the appearance of scars, stretch marks, uneven skin tone, ageing skin and dehydrated skin.

 

On application, it is not in the slightest bit greasy as you may expect, and it absorbs into the skin quickly, leaving it feeling really soft and moisturised. (I am actually considering using it all over my face in the hope it'll give me healthier looking skin, any suggestions? Or not such a good idea on combination skin?)

 

 

 The instructions recommend you to use the Bio Oil twice a day for a minimum of three months in order to start to see any results. Word of warning; a little of this goes a long way and I needed the tiniest blob to cover the area I wanted to. I really wish I had before and after pictures but I'm afraid you'll just have to take my word for this...

...two months in and I'd say my skin tone has evened out by about 60-70%. I can now only see the dark spots if I look for them specifically, whereas before they were very prominent on my forehead (to me anyway!).

 

I am one happy customer!

 

Bio Oil can be purchased from both Boots and Superdrug, where it retails for

£8.99 for 60ml, £14.99 for 125ml or £19.99 for 200ml. 

 

I am also considering using this to reduce the appearance of my stretch marks; have you used Bio Oil on stretch marks?

If you have, I'd love to know how you found it!

 

Jo xx

Guest Post | Current Skin Favourites

Today we have my latest guest post from the gorgeous Katie at Katie Lew La! Enjoy!

Hello people :)

Today is my first ever guest post on the lovely Jo's blog & it will be a few of my current skincare favourites...

The Anti-Aging cream is making an appearance again :)

Garnier Ultra Lift- I originally bought this to combat uneven skin tone and basically it is doing exactly that!! An added bonus is that its very hydrating. Cant say I'm looking younger but then I am only 22 hehe can't expect miracles..... yet!

I've been using the Botanics refreshing eye roll-on for a couple of months now. At first I was applying it in a morning before make-up, however this really wasn't working for me. It left my concealer creased and collected mascara (sad times), it took me a while to realise what was causing it. Since then I've been applying it at night and I much prefer using it that way. When I first apply it I must say it makes my dark circles appear noticeably worse but the morning after there's quite an improvement.

The panoxyl gel is a little saviour. Whenever I feel a pesky spot coming to ruin my day I just pop a little bit of this on (either overnight or under make-up) and it does the best job at fighting them off. However it is drying so I wouldn't advise using this too often.

I've never used the benefit porefessional primer but I've heard others compare the body shop tea tree pore minimiser to it. It is pretty wonderful in my opinion. I apply this under by foundation/BB and it keeps my skin shine free for much longer.

Avene Cleanance K- This is something that I struggled to find reviews on when I received a sample from Avene. Its not a well known product but I'm enjoying using it. Its a AHA/BHA cream exfoliator for oily/blemish prone skin. I apply this before my make-up in a morning to fight oiliness and blemishes. It really does tingle when you apply it which makes me feel it's working.

The Body Shop Seaweed clarifying toner- I've never really used toners in the past as I don't feel they do much (anyone else agree?) but one thing I like about this is that it keeps my skin less oily throughout the day.

Garnier Pure 3in1- This is a product that comes with lots of hype among bloggers. Does it live up to it? Yes I think it does. It has definitely been helping to clear my bad breakouts, it's quite drying so I use it at night followed by a thirst quenching moisturiser :)

Have you tried any of these products?

Let me know what you think.

Hope you enjoy

www.katielewla.co.uk

Thanks again for this post Katie I found it really interesting! I seem to be really lax with my skincare routine (I know I know, don't lecture me please!), but there are a few products in this post that I'm actually really interested in trying out, namely the Botanics eye roll-on, the Panoxyl gel and the Garnier Pure 3 in 1!

Has Katie increased the size of your wish list too?

Make sure you head over and check out her lovely blog, Katie Lew La!

Jo xx

Guest Post Request!

Okay, so life is definitely getting in the way of blogging at the minute.

I obviously haven't reached the drastic stage yet, but as I have exams, deadlines and an increasing amount of hours at the hospital to juggle (as well as the inevitable Christmas preparations) I am predicting a serious case of blog neglect on the horizon.

Damn you third year!

Source

So I was wondering if any of you lovely lot could help me to keep my blog as active as possible by doing me the honours of guest posting on Painted Glitter!

If I have any volunteers for this, my plan is to schedule as many guest posts as possible roughly between now and the end of January.

As I don't expect a huge amount of offers (sad face) I will obviously also be posting myself as much as I can manage.

All I ask is that you use clear images on your posts. I don't have any specific requests on the content, just whatever you fancy (obviously as long as it fits in with the theme of my blog). Beauty, fashion, life, health... anything along those lines!

If you are interested in helping me out, I'd love you to pop me an email at jotwentytwelve@hotmail.co.uk with a rough idea of what you would like to write about.

Thanks for reading!

Jo xx

Makeup Haul

So the other day we had a visit from my auntie. After a bit of a chinwag and a cup of tea, she made her excuses and off she popped, leaving behind a bag of makeup goodies...

...my auntie is always buying makeup (not that I'm complaining, obviously) but due to her very sensitive skin she has to be careful as to what she uses. Which kind of works in my favour. Okay, it really works in my favour.

Here are the fabulous goodies she left me with!

Avon true colour 6 in 1 eye pallette in Glamour Eyes

Bourjois Delice de Soleil bronzing powder in 12 fair/medium

Maybelline Dream Fresh BB cream

17 BB Blemish Balm

Bourjois blush in 92 Santal

Maybelline Instant Anti-Age The Smoother primer

Laura Geller Baked Marble Eyeshadow in Moonstone/Blue Heaven

Laura Geller Blush 'n' Brighten in Berry

I know, I have the best auntie ever, right?!

I am still a BB cream virgin so I am partiularly looking forward to testing these out!

I will be reviewing all of these products but due to the fact that I have a never-ending list of things to review, if you're interested in seeing a review of anything in particular sooner rather than later, please let me know in the comments and I'll put it to the top of my list!

What do you think of the selection?
Have you tried any of these out before?

Thanks for reading,

Jo xx

Ted Baker | The Lookbook of Love

Please note before reading: this exact Lookbook is no longer available on the Boots website; there is a newer set available containing different colour combinations (but which is otherwise identical to the one I have reviewed).

This review is therefore more for the quality of the contents - please see end of post for further details.

So a few months back, my mum received the Ted Baker Look Book of Love as a gift from one of her friends. Not being a huge makeup fan, she gave it to me to have a bit of a play about with.

The set is beautifully presented in a sturdy almost geometric-patterned box and secured with a pretty stretch band. It includes three seperate lookbooks; Day, Night and Party.



Each book contains two eyeshadows, two lipglosses, a blusher or bronzer, three application brushes (which as far as freebie application brushes go aren't actually that drastic) and a handy little mirror.



L-R: both eyeshadows, both lipglosses and the blusher

The daytime Lookbook is by far my favourite of the three. The colours are really natural and the eyeshadows are so easy to blend, each colour compliments the other beautifully.



L-R: both eyeshadows, both lipglosses and the bronzer

Now with both the Night and the Party book I have to admit I'm not a huge fan of the eyeshadow colour combinations. The differences in colour between the eyeshadows are so small (i.e. both eyeshadows are so dark) that it just looks like one block colour when blended on the eyelids, making my eyes look really closed off.

I will definitely be using these eyeshadows seperately and with lighter shades.



L-R: both eyeshadows, both lipglosses and the bronzer

The eyeshadows and blushers aren't as pigmented as you may expect and do need building up, however once applied they will last throughout the day or night.

The lipglosses however do have great pigmentation without being at all sticky or heavy on the lips. I particularly love the party lip shades: hot pink shade and transparent gloss with pink speckles of glitter.

Overall this would make a lovely little Christmas or birthday gift which I would perhaps buy for a younger sister or friend. Once swatched and used, something about this set makes me think that it is well suited to younger teenagers although I can't quite put my finger on what!

I can only find this exact Lookbook on eBay's private listings here , however

Boots are now selling a newer set, Ted Baker: Ready For My Close Up Look-Book

which appears to have much better colour combinations than The LookBook of Love.

This retails for £16

Thanks for reading,

Jo xx



MUA Lipstick | Shade 8

I have a phobia of lipstick. A phobia that I am trying my absolute best to overcome.

This MUA lipstick is the first ever lipstick I have purchased with my own money. Why did I dive straight in at the deep end and pick shade 8, a deep red colour? I'm afraid I can't answer that one...I literally have no idea what came over me. Probably the worst colour I could have picked.
After all, I'm hardly easing myself in with a bright red, am I.

 

Anyway, onto the lipstick itself.

For the price, I think the packaging is pretty decent! I love the fact you can see what shade of lippy you're picking up without having to peek inside, and the black plastic looks simple and clean. Most importantly, it does its job of protecting the lipstick.

Without flash

With flash (aplologies for the sulky pout)

The pictures above make it look a bit pinky but I can't say I noticed this at all in person.
Shade 8 is in fact a warm deep red colour with a lovely subtle golden sheen. Although the colour does need building up on the lips, with a few layers it is a fab shade that is perfect for my skin tone.

The wear isn't great as it starts to fade (unevenly) once you start eat or drink anything, but then again what do you expect from a lipstick with such a tiny price tag?

Fortunately I can't say it has scared me away from lipstick altogether. I may only be brave enough to traipse round the house with it on at the minute, but I did wear it to nip out to the car yesterday.
I know, calm yourself ladies!

I will definitely be stocking up on a few more shades from this range in an attempt to try and overcome my lipstick fear...

...maybe more subtle colours next time.

The MUA lipsticks can be purchased from the MUA website here for a mere £1, and there are 16 shades to choose from.

Do you have an MUA lipstick?

What shades would you recommend to try for someone who isn't used to wearing lip colour?

Thanks for reading,

Jo xx

All Things Beautiful | Natural Eye Makeup Challenge

A few weeks ago, the lovely Beth over on All Things Beautiful posted up her idea of an eye makeup challenge.

The idea is that every other day there is an eye makeup theme and you can submit your interpretation of that theme to be featured on her blog.

The full set of rules can be found here, and the themes are as follows:

Now, I was pretty keen to get stuck into my new MUA Undressed pallette, but being a bit rubbish at eye makeup I thought I would just have bit of a go at one of the simpler themes.

So here is my version of Day 1 - Something Natural.

Stupidly I decided to do this just as it was starting to get dark, so by the time I'd finished I was struggling for daylight to take the pictures.
Idiot.

I used shades 2, 6 and 7 from the MUA undressed pallette to achieve this look.

What do you think?
Will you be giving Beth's challenge a go?

Thanks for reading,
Jo xo

Collective Haul | Boots, Superdrug and Bodycare

So I planned on going into Boots just to stock up on the essentials.

Did I stick to my plan? Did I heck.

I then continued on into Bodycare and Superdrug to buy a couple more not-so-essentials.

As is life, eh?

Not the most exciting of hauls, but I'm a student, what can I say.

First up, the goodies from Boots and Superdrug:

Good Things Face the Day moisturiser, £7.99, and Fresh Start creamy cleanser, £4.99

I'm a bit confused seeing as when I bought these they were both discounted (can't remember how much I paid exactly) rather than on 3 for 2 offer as listed on the website?

Anyway, these have worked absolute wonders on my skin since I started using them so these are my back ups - I don't want another mascara incident!

Maybelline Dream Satin Liquid foundation in Nude, £7.99, Dream Smooth primer, £8.99 and Dream Touch Lumi concealer, £6.99 free!

I actually only needed the foundation, but seeing as they were on 3 for 2 I thought I'd also give the primer and concealer a go. I must say, so far I'm impressed!

MUA lipstick in shade 8, £1, and Undressed pallette, £3

Neither of these were necessary. But I am a bit of a lipstick phobic and can never figure out which colours and shades would suit my skin tone, and which would look ridiculous. The price tag of these lippys means I can have a play around with different colours for next to nothing!

And with not being able to justify the price tag of the beautiful Urban Decay Naked pallette, it is kind of necessary that I own MUA undressed instead.

My teeny tiny Bodycare haul:

Facial wipes, £1 per packet, Osiris exfoliating facial scrub, £1, and Rimmel Wake Me Up foundation in soft beige, £5.99

Pretty boring stuff, but I have been after adding a facial scrub to my weekly routine to see if it makes much difference to my skin, so I thought I'd try this one out for starters and see how it goes.

After seeing the Wake Me Up hype sweep across the blogosphere, I literally could not resist picking it up at such a bargain price.

Am I converted?

I have used it twice and I can already safely say that my brand spanking new bottle of Dream Satin Liquid is going straight down the drain. Well, straight on eBay.

I love this stuff!

So there we have it. I've got to say, writing this post up has made me feel a lot less guilty about my unnecessary little haul. It doesn't look as much on paper. Phew!

Thanks for reading,

Jo xo



Revlon 3D Extreme Mascara

Now my all time favourite mascara is Max Factor's False Lash Effect Mascara. It is the one mascara I go back to time and time again (if you would like a review on this mascara (with a half decent picture) let me know!).

However, a few weeks ago I ran out without having bought a back up. Could have cried.
Whilst sifting through my make up stash for a replacement, I found Revlon 3D Extreme mascara in 01 Blackest Black.

I remember receiving this in a make up set my mum bought me for Christmas, so I thought I may as well give it a go.

First off, the packaging is A-MAZING. Just how expensive does this mascara look?! I'm a sucker for anything shiny (easily pleased, I know), so this definitely ticks all the bonus boxes for appearance.

The brush is an average size with, quite frankly, a bit of a strange bulbous tip. It does however separate the lashes well and although I did find a bit of difficulty with coating the smaller lashes, I didn't experience any clumping. The mascara definitely did boost the length of my lashes, but being a fan of big eyelashes I was left a little disappointed with the amount of volume it provided.

I apologise for the seriously poor photo, it was the best of a bad bunch! But I'm sure you get the idea

Don't get me wrong my eyelashes definitely appeared thicker, just not quite thick enough for my liking. I felt a little naked to be quite honest. I did also find this mascara to begin to dry out relatively more quickly than usual, but this may just be because I am used to my mascara being a lot more wet to begin with.

Negatives aside, in terms of wear it lasted me the day with no smudging or flaking issues, so a massive thumbs up for that!

All in all, although I will still be returning to my trusty False Lash Effect, I really would recommend this for anyone looking for a slightly more natural looking mascara. I was really impressed by the lengthening and staying powers.

Now, the best bit about this mascara is the price.

I can't find Revlon 3D Extreme Mascara on either the Boots or the Superdrug websites, but...

...you can buy it here from Ebay for just £3.75 with free delivery!

I also have a feeling that in the past this has been stocked in some Poundland stores...can anyone confirm this for definite?

What is your go-to mascara?

Do you prefer more emphasis on lash volume or length?

Thanks for reading,

Jo x




(Don't forget to enter the lovecats inc's fab 1000 follower giveaway to win 30 beauty products!)

Beauty Blog Tag!

Now I wasn't actually planning on doing any of these tags on my blog, but I thought for my first proper post as a little 'get to know you' kinda thing, I would do one.

Unfortunately I can't actually remember where I saw this tag...so I'm really sorry to whoever you are!

Anyway here it is...

1) Is your hair naturally curly or straight?

If I leave it to dry, it's curly. If i dry it, it's kind of straight. Either way, if I then brush it through once it's dry it turns into a frizzy mess that I can't do anything with, so in short it's a nightmare.

2) What is your natural hair colour?

Very dark brown, although a lot of people think it's black

3) Do you dye it yourself or go to the salon?

I have never dyed my hair, ever. I love ombre hair but can never think of a colour that would match my natural colour, so I wimp out!

4) How often do you wash your hair?

Every other night

5) Do you wear the same style every day or change it?

I am a fan of the lazy messy bun, but when i can be bothered I will straighten it, or use my Sleep In Rollers.

6) Do you do your own mani/pedi or go to the salon?

I do my own. Being a student I can't really afford to get them done at the salon, but I also enjoy doing them myself

These are my Union Jack nails from when the Olympics were on.

The fact that they got Retweeted by Revlon made my day!

7) How often do you change your nail polish?

Once it starts to badly chip, which is often every 3 days or so

8) Do you polish your toes in Winter too, or just in the summer?

I do them in both Summer and Winter

9) How long does it take you to put your make up on?

On an average day, around 10-20 minutes. If I'm doing something different for example with my eyeshadow it takes me a little longer

10) What do you do first, face or eyes?

Face... I didn't know anybody did eyes first!

11) Do you collect make up or just buy it when you need it?

I'm a bit of a collector unfortunately, although not as bad as I used to be!

12) How often do you wear false eyelashes?

Not very often; I will wear them on the odd night out if I can be bothered to apply them, but I'm not very good at it so I often skip the falsies!

13) Do you do a full face of make up every day?

I usually do, unless I'm feeling particularly lazy or I haven't got much to do that day

14) Do you wear make up when you are home alone (or with family)?

No

15) Will you leave the house without make up?

I will if I'm just nipping to the shop or the post office, but if I'm going any further afield I feel uncomfortable without make up on

16) How many 'high end' products do you have?

Not many at all, I love my bargains so any expensive items I own are gifts!

17) How often do you wash your make up brushes?

I am awful at washing my brushes...so bad in fact that I must have only ever washed them twice. I know I know, I hear your gasps! My excuse is that I'm waiting for a new set to arrive in the post, so why would I waste time washing my old ones, right...?!

18) Do you decide your OOTD every night, or decide while you are getting ready in the morning?

If I am up early for anything like uni or shopping I decide the night before, otherwise I spend about half an hour gazing into my wardrobe and end up being late. If I know I will have time to decide in the morning, I leave it until then.

I am the most indecisive person you will ever come across. Ever.

19) How often do you change your handbag?

Not very often, as it usually means buying a new one!

20) What time do you get up and go to sleep?

When I'm in uni or placement I get up at around half 6 and go to bed around 10, half 10. On days off I will go to bed when I am tired and get up between 9 and half past.

21) How often and when do you work out?

I play badminton 2 to 3 times a week. I did try to take up running a while ago but I absolutely hated it, I couldn't find any enjoyment in it at all but I am planning to try again with it some time soon. I'll let you know how that goes...

22) Left-handed or right-handed?

Rightie!

23) How tall are you?

I'm guessing around 5'6''

24) Do you speak a foreign language?

I did German at GCSE, but I can't remember much of it.

25) How many pets do you have?

Three. Louis the dog, Dennis the cat, and Siobhan the fish!

My baby Louis :)

26) How often are you on Blogger?

Now I can't really answer this one, seeing as I've only just got it. I will try my best to go on it every day but I can image that being a fairly difficult task if I'm honest!

27) Do you read the comments posted on blogs?

If I am interested in the blog post I read the whole post including the comments

28) Do you keep a list of products to try as you see other posts?

Yes, I list them on my iPod! I have a memory like a fish

29) How did you come up with your blog name?

In all honesty I have absolutely no idea. I typed in about six thousand (okay, maybe not so many) blog names I wanted to use, all of which had been taken. The names got more and more random until i finally found something I could use which was Painted Glitter...and the rest is history.

30) So what kind of camera do you use for photographs?

A blue Panasonic Lumix FS40

31) How often do you clean your house?

I live with my parents so I don't clean the house, but I clean my room once every week or so.

32) What is your favourite colour?

Now I don't actually have a solid answer for this. It depends what mood I'm in. I do love pink though, and at the moment I am loving all the pastel colours

33) What is your favourite beauty/fashion magazine?

Since starting reading blogs I haven't really bought any magazines, although my old favourites are Look and More. They remind me of college!

34) Do you swear?

Not much at all, usually only when I'm angry!

35) What are you doing for the rest of your day?

I was going to try to write a few blog posts but seeing as I'm starting back at Uni this week, I get I'd better check tomorrows' timetable too..

Okay so this is the part where I'm supposed to tag people but.....

I TAG EVERYONE :)

Particularly if you're a new blogger, I'd love to see your tags so please pop them in a comment below!

See you next time,

Jo x