Competitions Galore!

So, Im feeling rather generous this month and am giving away loads of wonderful goodies!

Not only can you enter to win the exquisite Urban Decay Urban Bride Kit on here, i am also giving away Cadburys & Anatomicals bathing goodies and Colour On Eye Envy Instant Eyeshadow on the website a-musemag.com which i also write on.

Its nice to make someones day just a little bit cheerier by being able to send them some lovely goodies, so make sure you enter to be in with a chance of winning!

Goodluck!

Charity campaigns for no more cruel comsetics

Animal charity BUAV has recently launched a high-profile campaign to end animal testing for cosmetics sold within the EU.

Celebrities such as Kimberley Wyatt, Jodie Kidd and Meg Matthews have joined together to support this campaign along with Marks & Spencer, male grooming brand Bulldog and Kimberly Wyatt’s new make-up range BM Beauty.

The BUAV website states that;

The EU is due to ban the sale of all new cosmetics and toiletries that have been tested on animals outside the EU from 2013. However, officials are now considering extending this deadline. This is despite massive public opposition to animal tested cosmetics and an existing ban on conducting animal tests for cosmetics inside the EU. The 2013 ban on sales could be delayed for 10 more years during which thousands of animals will be injected, gassed, force-fed and killed for cosmetics on sale in the EU.

Why, in the year 2011 and with all the vast advancements in technology and science are we still testing cosmetics on animals and how, when we are a so called nation of ‘animal lovers’ are we still allowing this to happen?

I adore cosmetics. I love my daily routine of primping and preening, languishing time on apply my make up and enjoying every second of it. However, as a massive animal lover im ashamed to admit to admit that I rarely (if ever) check to see if my cosmetics have been tested on animals. I know that the Body Shop doesn’t test on animals, though I can’t remember how I know this, but when it comes to the majority of the other products I use, I wouldn’t know.

I am the kind of person who gets bleary eyed at animal charity adverts, turns the page of a newspaper rather than reading an article about animal cruelty as I find it too upsetting and who regularly donates to the RSPCA and Dogs Trust.

Why then am I not aware of which of my beauty products I use haven’t been tested on animals? It makes me shudder at the prospect that it could be because either they have been, or they just haven’t advertised the fact they aren’t. How many people research a foundation or mascara to see if it’s been tested on animals before buying it? I would put my money on not many.

I realise it is unlikely, but I wonder what would happen if every cosmetics company was required by law to feature a logo to show whether their products have or haven’t been tested on animals. I know that I could never purchase an item which I knew for a fact had been tested on animals, and ignorance would no longer be as acceptable excuse for buying them.

Im sure there are thousands of people out there that would feel the same and I wonder if that would cause a drop in sales of certain products, which would in turn cause the companies to re-evaluate the way on which they test their products? One can dream.

Win a Gorgeous Bridal Make Up Kit!

Your wedding day is without a doubt one of the biggest days of your lives- I know, I got married last year! You want everything to be perfect; the dress, the venue, the weather, the decorations and you want to be the most beautiful version of yourself that you can be. Why wouldn’t you, your wedding photos will be something you treasure, along with your memories, for years to come (with a bit of luck anyway!)

Deciding what cosmetics to wear on your day will be a massive decision and knowing which products to choose and use will be just as hard. It took me 6 months of practicing, experimenting and trying new brands and products to find my wedding day look. If only this item had been around when I was getting married!

Urban Decay have launched a brilliant product called Urban Bride- basically it is a Bridal Beauty survival kit! They describe this product as being Perfect for the Bride, Bridesmaid, Mother in Law and anyone else who is making an appearance in the wedding photos, its contents set the bar really high for products designed to work over time. Leave nothing to chance, prime face and eyes for the camera, make lips more luscious and set your looks so it lasts until the final guests leave.



The products are beautifully packaged within a silver and purple keepsake box and it feels like opening a goody bag! I don’t know what to look at, open or try first!

Included in the kit is All Nighter, a long lasting makeup setting spray, Supercurl Curling Mascara, Ultra Sharp Ultra-Defining Finishing Powder, Marshmallow Sparkling Lickable Body Powder ( which by the way tastes amazing, nom nom), Eyeshadow Primer Potion and Midnight Cowboy Lip Junkie Lip Gloss.

You can get your hands on one of these for £25 from selected Debenhams stores, or you can enter this competition to win one!

All you need to do is follow my Blog and post a comment below. If you are unable to do this for whatever reason, please follow me on Twitter and tweet me @ sarah_berryman1.

A winner will be chosen at random after the closing date of 30th June. Goodluck!

THIS COMPETITION IS NOW CLOSED.

Varnish yourself Pretty!

Nail varnish is brilliant for a multitude of different reasons, not least because it allows you to chop and change the colour as often as you like to suit your mood, an occasion or even to reflect the seasons.
With that in mind I wanted to tell you about two brand new varnish releases perfect for the upcoming summer months which you wont want to miss out on.

First is Nails Inc Candy Shop Collection, a set of 4 beautiful new pastel colours inspired by the SS11 catwalk shows and named Wimbledon, Cambridge, Oxford and Richmond. The colours are the perfect way to instantly update your look and channel the world of Haut Couture, but on a shoe string budget of either £25 for the set or £11 per polish. The Collection Launches in July 2011.



The second Varnish product is Revlons new Scents of Summer collection. They have launched a gorgeous collection of nail enamel infused with a variety of different ‘summer’ themed scents such as Peach, Coconut, Mango and Papaya. As if nail varnishes couldn’t get any better they now smell amazing too! This idea of scented products takes me back to my school days when scented pens first came out and it was a race to see who could collect the most amounts of different fragrances first! They sure did make your homework smell great, and as these varnishes are only available for a limited time until August 2011, I suggest that you grab and collect them all now before they go!

Modern Icon, Emma Watson?

At the start of March Emma Watson was confirmed as the new face of Lancôme. As stated by Youcef Nabi, president of Lancôme International; 'Thanks to her charm, romanticism and her incredible modernity, Emma Watson has become the icon of her generation. We are delighted by this new collaboration with Emma, who brings a fresh spirit to Lancome.'
‘Icon of her generation’. Really? What has made this 20 year old actress ascend to the status of Icon? Since she first burst onto our screens in 2001 she has starred almost exclusively in just Harry Potter films. This young girl from Oxfordshire (although born in Paris where she lived for 5 years) while a talented actress, can hardly be referred to as an Icon of her generation surely. What has she done to deserve this accolade?

An icon, as per Dictionary.com is; a person or thing regarded as a symbol of a belief, nation, community, or cultural movement.

Perhaps it is just me, but when I hear the word ‘Icon’, I think of Ghandi, Marilyn Monroe, Nelson Mandela, Martin Luthor King, James Dean, Jackie Kennedy Onassis, even Madonna and Kylie. These people will all do down in history as Icons, granted for a variety of different reasons, some of which have more relevance and historical importance than others, but all of them deserve the honour none the less.

I just cant help but feel somewhat aggrieved by such a young woman who really, has yet to even begin her life and career being referred to by such a term which is historically given to long standing, innovative and influential individuals. Perhaps I am wrong, perhaps to lots of teens and twenty-somethings she is an Icon, perhaps even their icon.