The Only Make Up Way is Essex

The Only Way is Essex, or TOWIE as it has become known has become a massive phenomenon since it burst onto our screens last year. 

 I was particularly captivated by it given that im from Brentwood (for those of you that don’t watch it that’s just one of the areas in Essex where it is set) and I used to work at the Sugar Hut with Kirk.

Now, you cannot open a newspaper or magazine without seeing the stars of the show splashed across the pages. 

You cannot turn on a talk show without one of them plugging something or other. Theres  Laurens with her fake tan rage, Mark promoting his club, Joey Essex releasing a single (yes really) and the Faiers sisters harping on relentlessly about their clothes shop Minnies boutique ( which yes I have been to and fled in a panic after finding myself drowning in a sea of hoards of pre pubescent girls all vying for a photo with the sisters. I was just looking for a maxi dress.) 

As If they weren’t already taking over the world, Superdrug has announced that come September      (and in plenty of time for Christmas, of course) they will be unveiling the TOWIE beauty range. 

The TOWIE gift range comprises four beauty gift sets designed to offer an archetypal Essex effect whether Essex-eyes, bronzed face and body or even, yes, the scent of Essex with the first ever The Only Way is Essex fragrance.

I have 1 word for you. Wow. My initial reaction is to mock this range relentlessly. A TOWIE beauty range? What is the world coming to!?

The thing is, im absolutely positive that it will be a massive success!  The hundreds of girls at Minnies willing to spend their pocket money on an item of clothing associated with the TOWIE sisters is testament to that! Superdrug has even noticed how the show has changed the sales of some of their products;

The TOWIE effect has been far reaching this year and Superdrug has been at the forefront with sales of Essex favourites false lashes rising 28 per cent, self tan wipes +210 per cent and body boosting dry shampoo +40 per cent.

The figures speak for themselves and with TOWIE set to come back on our TVs in the autumn, ive got a feeling these will be flying off the shelves.

The TOWIE gift sets comprise a lip gloss set (£5.99), eye shadow palette (£5.99), light up lip gloss and mascara set (£7.99) and a classic bronzer set (£7.99) all available exclusively at Superdrug from September.

Revlon Gloss, Pink to make the boys wink

I am a massive fan of nude lipsticks and gloss’, primarily because I always tend to wear heavy eye makeup and I always try to remember the golden rule- eyes or lips never both. ( The heavy on both look doesn’t look good on me)

That said I couldn’t help but notice Revlon’s glimmering gloss’ when I popped into boots this morning. I was seduced by the pretty Lilac and Pink Ice muted and neutral shade, but then I glanced over at the image of Jessica Alba and noticed her hot pink lips. I really liked them. 

Im not naïve enough to think that just because something looks great on a celebrity means it will look great on me too- ive learnt my lesson many a time with this, often with disastrous consequences, but I decided nevertheless to give it a go.

At £7.99 is a mid-high price range for a gloss, but given its large container im sure it would last a while making it value for money.

Before

The gloss almost has a glittery look to it, though upon application it becomes clear that its not glitter.

It has a lovely long wand with a large rectangular applicator to ensure that it can cover you lips in one smooth sweep- and it does feel smooth going on, lovely and silky, not at all gloopy and sticky.

After

Im not sure id go as far as to agree with the claim that it gives lips 5X more shine than patent leather ( why would you want to compare the shininess of you lips to leather anyway I have no idea) but it certainly perked up my lips and injected a wonderful hue of  colour, something my lips rarely experience!

Katy Perry's Smurf Inspired Nail Art

 

So, I like Katy Perry, I like The Smurfs and I like Nail Varnish.  Put the three together and you get last nights premier of the Smurfs movie in New York.  Katy who provides the voice of Smurfette revealed her newly blonde locks in an impossibly tiny white dress with her character emblazoned on the front ,twinkling away under the flashes of the cameras.

As fab as her hair and frock was it was something out I was far more interested in, her nails! On the way to the premier she tweeted a photo of her nail along with the caption ‘Smurf Nails, Duh’. And they were amazing!! Who created these incredible talons?

Well, a company called Kiss did. The USA brand has adorned the fingers of many a celeb, Ms Perry, Rihanna, Leighton Meester and Serena Williams but to name a few. 

Kiss create and sell a massive range of false nails for use at home, but with salon quality results. You can actually buy them at Boots and Superdrug

where you have a wide range of different nails to choose from, though it hard to feel inspired when you see the nail in its original, non coloured, un-customised form.

Fear not- I headed over to their website where I found a vast array of different nail art styles to inspire me . I even found a section on nail art where you can purchase stickers and paint and stencil kits to create your own nail art! If you head to Superdrug you can grab their Nail Artist Manicure Design Kit and try to create your own unique nail art.

While I cant guarantee that your results will match that of Katy's nails ( especially if you are doing  them yourself which i think it's unlikely that Katy did) I think that if they’re good enough her, they’re good enough for me- im off to go and treat my nails to a make over!

Maison d'Anu

While im on the topic of natural and organic products let me introduce you to a new brand called Maison d’Anu. It is a luxury beauty brand which is dedicated to delivering effective, natural products. 

You all think im a hippie now don’t you? 

Anyway, I will be posting more about them and their new products soon, but for now I want to show you their fab, non toxic nail polishes. As d’Anu point out, nail colour is far more than a polish, it’s a fashion accessory, but we already knew that didn’t we girls? 

I decided to accessorise my nails with the gorgeous colour called Cashmere. Unlike some other taup coloured varnishes out there, this one has a slight iridescent gleam to it which brings the colour alive rather than being totally matte. 

2 coats were more than adequate to create a gorgeous look, and with over 40 different shades to choose from, you will be spoilt for choice.

You can grab these varnishes from the Maison d’Anu website for £9.95 each OR you can head over to twitter and win one!


All you have to do is follow my blog via google friends connect and retweet the following:



@sarah_berryman1 #WIN a gorgeous @maisondanu nail polish! RT & Follow iamfabulicious.com on google friends connect to enter

COMPETITION NOW CLOSED

Go Organic - Not just for your fruit!

I love the idea of using natural, organic beauty, skincare and hair care products. The only thing is, I often wonder is  if they will be as effective as other brands, without all the ‘nasty stuff’ which more often that not, is the stuff that makes the products work. 

Take SLS and paraben  free shampoo for example. Whilst I love the idea of it, the results whilst often good, never quite match those of products which contain them.

That said, when you think about the amount of chemicals you are most likely putting on your skin and body, it really does make you think twice about what you use. You can buy organic food to eat and put in your body, why wouldn’t you make the same choice with what you put on your body?

 

Organic Colour Systems is a hair care company that manufactures their products as naturally as possible whilst allowing them to maintain their effectiveness and they don't test their products on animals. (Seems like they’ve read my mind and made these products for me!)

Ive tried out a few items from their Control Systems Range, of which all items are completely plastic free. Plastic! Your telling me there is plastic in other products I’ve been using? It seems that it’s the plastic in other products that gives your hair the ‘crispy’ feeling as it coats your hair. Grim.

I tried their Volume Mousse, Gloss Serum and Leave in Conditioner which is from another of their ranges, the Care System.

I was actually incredibly impressed! The mousse is more like the foam you get from a foam cleanser than traditional mousse which is more like shaving foam in texture- I liked this, it allowed me to massage it into my roots easier and it didn’t leave that sticky feeling on my hands.

When I use mousse in my hair it usually has to be the XXX Strong hold mousse to retain volume as my hair drops pretty quickly.  I wasn’t expecting this mousse to do much, but I was very impressed by the way it held my style, added volume and gave me bigger hair! 

The Leave in conditioner was also divine- it has a delicate, sweet scent and a with small spritz through my damp locks, my hair was protected from the damaging heat of the hairdryer and pollutants in the air. It also felt really soft, which was nice.

The serum was equally as effective- my hair felt glassy smooth, soft and shiny and I had the satisfaction of knowing that I was treating my hair with quality, organic products.

 

I think I may find myself converting to organic not just for my bananas!

You can find out more about Organic Systems here. Products are available at salons nationwide and you can call 01590 613 490 for info on your nearest stockist.