B.E.A.Utiful - Elemis Pro-Collagen Cleansing Balm

If you hadn't already guessed by the title and photo, this post is all about the Elemis Pro-Colagen Cleansing Balm. It isn't the cheapest of products with a retail price of around £40 depending on where you purchase it from. The full size is 105g but I was lucky enough to receive a 20g size pot at one of the blogger events I attended. I have used it about 4 or 5 times and by the photo below you can see I still have most of it left. Therefore the full size product would last a very long time. 

One of the reasons it lasts so long is that you only need to apply a small amount of the product to cover your face. The formula has a greasy jelly consistency (a bit like Vaseline) which means it spreads easily across the skin and is extremely hydrating, hence the anti-aging claim. 

When using it, I always make sure that most of my make-up has already been removed and that my skin is relatively clean. I then apply the cleansing balm all over my face including my eyes, this is probably not recommended by Elemis but the product has no strong chemicals in it and does sting or hurt my eyes at all. I usually leave the product on my face for half an hour to allow it to sink into my skin and break down any dirt (this isn't crucial and can be removed straight away after application). I then use very warm water and a muslin cloth to wipe the cleansing balm off. The reason I use very warm water is to open my pores and remove as much dirt as possible. The combination of the oils in the product and the hot water means that all traces of dirt and make-up are removed from my face and my skin is left feeling soft and already moisturised. I finish off by my rinsing my face with cold water as this will close my pores back up and stop any dirt and bacteria re-entering. 

After trying this product a few times now, I would definitely purchase the full size. My skin always feels healthier and softer after I use it and I am literally left with no make-up residue the next morning. As noted, I still have most of my mini pot to use up so it may be a while yet till I have to invest in the full size. 

I find that out of all the cleansing products I have used, jelly based formulas and liquid cleansers work the best and do the job of removing all of my make-up far more than cream based cleansers. If you have experienced the same thing then I recommend trying this cleansing balm by Elemis. Although expensive, it will last longer than creams and will do what a cleanser is supposed to do without stripping the skin and leaving it dry. Think of it as an investment... One that you will be glad you made in years to come!

Have you tried this cleansing balm before?

What's your favourite cleansing product?

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Go North Festival (Design and Trends Seminar)

Yesterday I attended the GoNorth Festival in Inverness which is a two day annual event and is Scotland's leading creative industries festival.

I went along specifically to attend the Design and Trends seminar where Anna Richie delivered a trend focused workshop for Autumn/Winter 2014. I wasn't entirely sure what to expect as I had never really understand how trends could be forecasted, but Anna explained not only the fashion trends but also interior and retail trends for 2014.

The interior trends included monochrome tribe, hibernate, winter botanist and gypsy caravan. She made the connection between the interior trends and the main fashion trends which for 2014 include industrial landscape, sanctuary, ritual and ritzy. Below is an explanation of each:

Industrial Landscape: used in the Olympics, cooler colours, grainy, distressed, geometric patterns, tailored silhouette, layering, sculptural, hints of metallic, neoprene and sports luxe, blurred printed knits.

Sanctuary: rounded edges, 3D, comfortable fabrics, warm tones, light and lofty yarns, chalky aspect to the finish, tranquil, peaceful, lots of quilting and padding, jacquard.

Ritual: gypsy ethnic patterns, handmade, strong embellishments, stitched on applique, clusters of design, heavy jewellery, peasantry, indian prints, ornate, medley of textures, iconography, tundrid colours.

Ritzy: skin tones, blurring and solidity, vintage lingerie, 1940s glamour, crimsons, flowing shapes and fabrics, brocade, jacquard, smoky atmosphere, sheer fabrics, flemming, silk, lace.


Below are photos from the event including mood boards of both the interior and fashion trends, swatches of the predicted winter fabrics and also the goody bag I was given and my name tag.

Did you attend an event at the Go North Festival?

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The Fashion Edit - What Am I Wearing Today?

I haven't posted a "What Am I Wearing Today" type post in a while so decided to capture what I was wearing at the weekend. I wore this outfit for my first EVER afternoon tea (exciting times!) and it was all very sophisticated and la-de-dah! Couldn't resist putting a photo in! For anyone who is looking for a nice (yummy) afternoon tea with lots of cake, I went to the Kingsmills Hotel in Inverness and definitely recommend it.

Now onto my favourite part - the clothes! I love maxi skirts, especially tube style maxi skirts. I love that this one is a bright cobalt blue shade but still goes with so many things in my wardrobe. It was an absolute bargain from Topshop at £5! The crop top is also from Topshop and is detailed with embroidery and small criss-cross holes. Although you can't see, the top is sleeveless, making it perfect for a hot summers day. When it's not so hot (which is 99.9% of the time) I wear it with my navy blazer which I think is the best colour to go with the blue skirt. The blazer is from H&M and was a gift so not sure of the price but would have been relatively inexpensive. Its made of cotton so is nice and light and again perfect for the warmer season.

Moving onto accessories and the white strappy sandals are Kurt Geiger. They are definitely my kind of sandal as I prefer the barely there, thin strappy sandals instead of the highly embellished ones. Purely because my feet can get more of a tan and they can breathe, plus I personally think it just looks better. Although they are Kurt Geiger, I'm pretty sure my mum bought them from TKMaxx and then I stole them from her! So they would have been a bargain! My bag is probably my joint favourite thing about this outfit along with the maxi skirt. It is from TKMaxx again and is by designer Gharani Strok. The thing I like most about this bag is the hard leather it is made from which makes the bag very structured and sturdy. The clasp is also very unique and I have never seen this type of fastening on a bag before. My earrings are from Topshop and my necklace is from Accessorize. I have had this necklace in my collection for at least a year and never found the right outfit to wear it with, but with the navy blazer and the navy and cream in the necklace, I thought it was a good match and a nice fit with the neckline of the top.

This is one of my favourite looks for Summer, especially for when it's not too hot but I still want to look  relatively summery.

What have you been wearing this week?

What are your favourite looks this summer?

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B.E.A.Utiful - Color Show by Maybelline

YAY! Congratulations to Maybelline! They have produced a product that does exactly what it claims to do - WOW! They have named this nail polish collection "Color Show" and that's exactly what it is. These nail polishes are so highly pigmented that to get the colour thats's in the bottle, all you need is one coat which is pretty good going in the world of nail polish where you usually need AT LEAST two coats.

I chose the shades 181 (Charged and Ready) and 341 (Orange Attack). I love bright coloured nail polish and these two shades stood out to me for that reason alone. Charged and Ready has a shimmer going through which I usually don't like but I just loved the lime green shade and didn't have any other colour like it in my collection. Orange Attack is probably my favourite orange nail polish EVER. It applies so well on the nail (no nasty gloopiness or streaks) and as I said before, one coat gave me the exact opaque colour that's in the bottle. It also has such a high gloss finish to it and for me this shade of orange is perfect and a very true "orange". 

These nail polishes are an absolute bargain at £2.99 and with 38 shades available, I will definitely be adding to my collection. Maybelline deserve a lot of credit for this nail polish and as for Chanel, OPI and Dior, they could learn a thing or two... 

Have you tried the Color Show nail polishes by Maybelline?

What is your favourite shade?

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B.E.A.Utiful - Revlon Colorstay Ultimate Suede Lipstick

Have you seen Revlon's new advert for their Colourstay Ultimate Suede lipstick? If not, check it out below.

I have to admit that I was totally taken in by it and liked the sound of what it claimed to do. I am not a fan of shimmer, sheer or gloss lipsticks and prefer a matte finish, so the "suede" finish really appealed to me.

Surprisingly I hadn't tried any Revlon products before (none worth remembering anyway) so had no idea what to expect. I bought two shades to try: Socialite and Finale (£8.99 each). I swatched every colour in the store on my hand before I bought them and wasn't really impressed by any of the shades. Most were sheer and shimmery on my hand and did not look anything like the advert and from the close up photos of my lips you can see that my lips are nothing like Olivia Wilde's in the advert.

However, out of the two colours I managed to choose, Socialite is definitely the best. I always put Vaseline on my lips before I apply any lipstick because my lips are so dry but this made the lipstick quite sheer and difficult to apply and almost impossible to get a matte finish.

(Persevering) Once I rubbed the lipstick into my lips and reapplied it, I managed to get a nice pinky nude colour. I don't actually suit nude lipsticks but this is just the right shade of nude for me. I was not overly impressed with it but due to the shade, I would wear it again.

Now unfortunately Socialite was the best of the two as Finale was a lot worse! When I swatched this colour on my hand it seemed to have very little colour pigment in it (which probably should have stopped me buying it) but I loved the colour of the actual lipstick and have been wanting to try a coral-red for a while.

I disliked it for a number of reasons:

1. It was more of an orange-red shade which does not compliment my complexion as I suit blue toned reds. 

2. The lipstick was not very pigmented which meant that I was unable to get a solid colour and left my lips quite streaky. You would definitely need to use a lip pencil.

3. It left my lips very sticky and I almost felt like a was wearing a lip gloss.

4. The lipstick dried matte on the lips (that must be where the "suede" part comes in) but it sunk into the cracks of my lips and dried my lips out instead of keeping them moisturised.

Number 3 and 4 applies to both shades. However I prefer the colour of Socialite and would probably wear it again if I needed a pinky nude shade.

Check out the range of shades here.

I hate being so negative about a product so if you have had a better experience of using the new Revlon lipsticks then please let me know in the comments below.

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Am I There Yet? - YouTube!

I am officially on YouTube!! GladRags and NameTags now has it's very own channel!!

Since I started blogging, I have become obsessed with YouTube. I am constantly watching beauty and fashion bloggers talk about about everything from their favourite products and make-up techniques to how they store their cosmetics to the events they are attending.

Some of my favourite bloggers who I subscribe to on YouTube include:

Zoella
Essiebutton
Tanya Burr
Lilly Pebbles (WIHT)
Vivianna Does Makeup
Missglamorazzi
Pixiwoo
FleurDeForce
Superficialgirl
DailyMixTV

My first video is on the May Glossybox which I usually do a blog post for. However I am going to be using my YouTube channel for a mixture of monthly favourites, beauty and fashion hauls, products I am not loving so much and designer versus drugstore. I am also hopefully going to be doing some career/motivating related videos. If you have a video in mind that you would like me to do, let me know in the comments below.

At the moment I am using the camera that is on my Mac, however I am wanting to get a DSLR camera which will shoot high quality videos. So if you have any recommendations let me know, it's much appreciated as I am not so great at all the technical stuff!!

Hopefully you will enjoy watching my videos and want to see more of them! Check out and subscribe to my channel here.

My blog also now has it's own email account so if you feel more comfortable emailing me your feedback or requests rather than leaving a comment below then feel free to send me an email: gladragsandnametags@gmail.com 

What's your favourite YouTube channels?

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The Fashion Edit: Living In Clips

Yesterday I visited a fashion photography exhibition in Inverness called Living In Clips. It was created by Natalie Riachi who aptly named the exhibition after her blog - Living In Clips. Natalie herself is a Scottish fashion designer living in Paris (lucky her) who clearly has a passion for photography and has captured some fantastic images of the weird and wonderful people at Paris Fashion Week. Also featuring in the exhibition were some photos of herself in Paris and Edinburgh as she bases herself between the two cities.

I found the pictures to be quirky, extremely stylish and contemporary. Many of the photos resembled images straight out of ELLE and Vogue; in fact one of the photos (10) of a woman dressed in a red Tudor-like jacket and hat with an extended brim had been featured in an issue of ELLE during Paris Fashion Week. With a clear eye for fashion, Natalie has captured the best dressed from the streets of Paris during fashion week and combined this with photos showcasing her own unique style on the streets of both Paris and Edinburgh.

Highlighting her talent further is the fact she used a mixture of a vintage Olympus camera made the same year that she was born, the camera from her old 3Gs iPhone and the Instagram app - very impressive.

My favourite photo from the entire collection was an image of an older lady who was dressed impeccably with a fur jacket, a cloche hat, pearls and camera in hand. I joked that this would hopefully be me in 50 years time - dressing glamourously and still blogging away.

The exhibition ran from the 10th of May and unfortunately finished today. However if you like Natalie's style of photography check out her blog where you will find many more fashion forward images including her own unique style - it's a fashionista's heaven! To subsrcribe to Living In Clips click here, "like" her Facebook page and follow her on Twitter.

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Apparently I look like the girl in the middle - think it's the bun that does it! 

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My personal favourite from the entire collection

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I recognised this fashionista from ELLE UK

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Natalie photographed in Edinburgh

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How sweet...

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Stylish pink camera...

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Visitors book, along with photo of the Olympus camera she used to capture some of the images

Did you visit the exhibition?

Let me know which photograph is your favourite by leaving a comment below...

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B.E.A.Utiful - IPL Hair Reduction Treatment (Session 4)

Another five weeks have passed so I'm guessing you know by now what that means - another session of IPL!

I am now on my fourth session and am really enjoying the whole process of having the treatment. It's hassle free, takes about 20 minutes per session to complete, is almost pain free and you just watch your hair becoming more and more patchy and thinner. I am still shaving but have definitely noticed the reduction in my hair growth and the area has become quite patchy with hair. According to the therapist, most people will require between 6-12 sessions for the IPL to fully work and for there to be no hair left. This depends on how stubborn your hair is which is usually determined by the thickness and colour of your hair. This was all be taken into account and noted during the consultaion which I had before my treatment started. You can read about this in my first post about IPL. All of my IPL posts can be found easily by clicking on the tag at the bottom of this post labelled "IPL".

For my fourth session my therapist kept my programme the same (number 6) but increased the intensity of the light to 15.0. Even though this was increased, the session was still very comfortable and easily bearable. Let's put it this way - it is NOTHING compared to waxing and epilating!! And the results of IPL are a lot more permanent and long lasting.

If you have any queries about starting a course of IPL, don't hesitate in contacting the girls at Sleeping Beauty. The salon can be contacted by phone (0844 445 7771) or send them a message on their Facebook page. 

Also, if you would prefer to ask myself a question about my own experience of the treatment, then leave me a comment below this post and I will get back to you. 

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B.E.A.Utiful - Glossybox (April)

I will admit that I have been REALLY bad at posting on my blog lately. However my excuse is that I had a ton of work to do for uni and had to focus on getting all my final assignments in. And YAY they are all done and dusted and I don't have to look at another marketing book or carry out another bit of research until September. So to cut a long story short this means that for the next 4 months I am going to be the best blogger ever... well that's the plan anyway!

I am also hopefully going to start uploading some videos to YouTube. I am sooooooooo scared about doing this but I really enjoy watching all the beauty bloggers chat away about their favourite beauty products and I find out about so many brands and techniques that I wouldn't have otherwise tried, simply by watching these videos.  You can completely trust what they are saying and is the best form of a review in my opinion. So I shall be posting my first YouTube video very soon... I'll keep you all posted!

Anyway... back to this post and because I have been so bad at routinely posting I missed the review on April's Glossybox. So I decided to do it now, even though I have now received May's edition, I would hate to leave April out! As you can see the actual box is a little different and was designed by Pearl Lowe. She created this lovely rose pattern in a peachy colour and I now keep the box to store my nail polish - it's too beautiful to throw away!

Inside this month's box was the usual booklet containing a letter from the editor, some information about the products and also an interview with Pearl Lowe herself.

On to the products and this box has definitely been the best yet. The Nip + Fab body butter in Pistachio Sundae literally smells of pistachio and comes in a bright green colour which is really fun and very unique compared to other body butters I've tried - it completely embraces the pistachio flavour! If your not a fan of pistachios then this is not for you!

The Illamasqua Medium pencil is a multi purpose make-up essential which can be used as a lip, eyebrow and eye pencil and comes in a creamy dark brown shade which I like as it's not as harsh as black when using it as an eyeliner.

The Crabtree and Evelyn hand cream is in Somerset Meadow and is the perfect size for my handbag. I'm a big fan of Crabtree and Evelyn but haven't tried this scent before. It's sweet and long lasting and the cream itself is extremely moisturising and helps to cure my horrendously dry nails and cuticles.

The mini perfume bottle is So Elixir Purple by Yves Rocha. It's a sweet smelling scent but it's not summery or girly. It's one of those perfumes which can be worn during the day through to night time. I am really fussy about perfumes and there are only a few that I wear and would repurchase and this one would fall into this category. I also love that the actual perfume is a purple colour as most scents are just clear. Very impressed.

Now, I have saved the best till last. I got an Essie nail polish!! It's my first EVER Essie nail polish and I was so excited when I saw it was in my box. I got the shade "We're In It Together" which is a light pinky colour with a bluey purply shimmer running through it. However the shimmer doesn't take over and is very subtle. Since I received it, I then found out that Boots stock the brand! So I have also got "Mint Candy Apple" in my nail polish collection now which is a favourite amongst beauty bloggers.

You can subscribe to Glossybox here for their special May box which celebrates their 2nd birthday, review coming soon...

What did you get inside you April Glossybox?

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Blogger Event: PURE Spa and Leighton Denny

Last night I attended an exclusive blogger event for members of North East Blogger Events (NEBE). The event was held by PURE Spa in Aberdeen and Nat from Leighton Denny came all the way from London to show us some of the Leighton Denny products and different nail art techniques.

I was first to arrive (just a little bit keen!) and once the other bloggers arrived, we were offered some yummy food and drink - the mini cupcakes were the best I have EVER tasted!

We were then taken on a tour of the spa which did not disappoint. The salon is deceptively HUGE. We were directed through a winding corridor and shown into each of the different treatment rooms. The one that stood out to me was the Infra-Red Sauna which burns up to 800 calories per 30 minute session (above). That's what I call a detox! And the price for such an impressive claim I hear you ask - very affordable at £10 per session. Yes please!

After the tour, we were treated to a master class with Nat from Leighton Denny (above). He focused on nail care and nail art. We were shown how to create nail colour cocktails by layering different shades and also how to recreate different nail art techniques. This included the Tuxedo Manicure which is illustrated in the tutorial from Leighton Denny below. All of the techniques were very achievable and not to difficult to create yourself. Nat also recommended using the Corrector Liquid & Brush (£11) when doing nail art as it will easily erase any mistakes you make and allows you to create different shapes with the polish.  

In addition to this, all of the bloggers received their own personal consultation with Nat. I told him of my problem with my cuticles as I am never able to remove the excess skin which then affects the overall look of my nails when I paint them. He told me I needed to be using Remove & Rectify (£11) which he explained works over a couple of weeks to moisturise and soften the cuticle so you can easily remove excess cuticle skin with a hoof stick. Perfect!

                       

The lovely team from PURE Spa gave us all a goody bag to take home with us. It contained the Pro-Collagen Cleansing Balm by Elemis, the Satin Perfection BB Cream and the Glycolactic Radiance Renewal Mask both by REN, Sole Pleasure by Leighton Denny and a nail polish by Leighton Denny in Paparazzi. I also received booklets containing information on treatments and products from PURE Spa, Leighton Denny, Elemis and REN.  

In Scotland, PURE Spa can be found in Aberdeen (Union Square), Glasgow (Silverburn) and Edinburgh (Ocean Terminal and Lothian Road). 

Have you had a treatment at PURE Spa before?

Ever tried any products by Leighton Denny?

Which would you recommend?

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